Pablo Rodrigues Gonçalves

Morphological and Genetic Variation between Two Sympatric Forms of Oxymycterus (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae): An Evaluation of Hypotheses of Differentiation within the Genus

Abstract Species limits in the genus Oxymycterus have been controversial because of difficulties in detecting discrete morphological and cytogenetic variation. Several authors have considered many of the species described from Brazil to be conspecific with O. rufus, including O. dasytrichus described from Bahia. This tendency represents a null hypothesis for the species-level diversity within the genus. A recently proposed alternative hypothesis based on analyses of allopatric samples recognizes O. rufus and O. dasytrichus as valid species within rufus and dasytrichus species complexes, respectively. Two sympatric forms of Oxymycterus from Viçosa, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil, are phenotypically similar to members of these 2 species-groups. Investigation on the status of these populations and their relationships to the rufus and dasytrichus complexes provided a test of the alternative hypothesis regarding diversity within the genus. Morphometric, morphological, and molecular (cytochrome-b DNA sequences) comparisons of samples representing the rufus, dasytrichus, and judex species-groups provided evidence that the 2 sympatric forms from Viçosa are distinct evolutionary units, one related to the dasytrichus species-group and the other to the rufus species-group. The structures of morphological and molecular variation within each species-group supported an isolation-by-distance model of phenotypic differentiation in the rufus group, and a smooth pattern of phenotypic differentiation along a north–south axis in the dasytrichus group. The relevance of these patterns for species delimitation within these groups and the validity of O. dasytrichus and O. rufus are discussed.

New species of Cerradomys from coastal sandy plains of southeastern Brazil (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae)

Abstract A new species of Cerradomys is described from the sandy plains of the northeastern littoral of Rio de Janeiro State and the southern littoral of Espírito Santo State, southeastern Brazil. Morphological and karyological characters were used to distinguish the new taxon from the 3 closest related species: C. subflavus, C. vivoi, and C. langguthi. Skull differences include the relatively larger general size, pronounced crests, broader rostrum, broader lacrimals, and wider sphenopalatine vacuities. Canonical variate analyses based on craniometric data showed that the new species has little overlap with C. subflavus, C. vivoi, and C. langguthi in multivariate space. The pelage of the new species has a unique, sparser, and thinner aspect. The diploid number of 54 chromosomes and the autosomal fundamental number of 66 arms (the highest among the 3 related species), added to the morphology of both sexual chromosomes, are diagnostic for the new species. The new taxon is restricted to a particular section of the Brazilian littoral covered by a mosaic of open vegetation locally named restingas, where it is one of the most abundant terrestrial mammals. In the restingas of this region this species is associated more with shrub patches than more forested physiognomies, being captured both on ground and on tree branches, especially of Clusia trees, suggesting a degree of arboreality. The recognition of this species adds further biogeographic uniqueness to the restingas of the northeastern littoral of Rio de Janeiro and southern littoral of Espírito Santo.

Divergence in Zygodontomys (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) and Distribution of Amazonian Savannas

Northern South America presents a diverse array of nonforest or savanna-like ecosystems that are patchily distributed. The distribution of these open habitats has been quite dynamic during Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles; yet, the relevance of climatically driven vicariance events to the diversification of nonforest Amazonian vertebrates remains poorly known. We analyzed karyologic and mitochondrial DNA sequence data of the genus Zygodontomys, a small cricetid rodent distributed throughout nonforest habitats of northern Amazonia. Samples analyzed represented 4 Brazilian Amazonian localities and 2 French Guiana localities. Karyologic variation among Amazonian Brazilian Zygodontomys populations is high, with, at least, 3 karyomorphotypes. Molecular phylogenetic analyses recovered 3 major clades congruent with known karyotypes, a finding that suggests the existence of 3 species, 2 of which currently undescribed. The French Guiana and Surumú clade, identified as Zygodontomys brevicauda microtinus, is characterized by 2n = 86 and is sister to the clade formed by the 2 nondescribed forms. The Rio Negro-Rio Branco form is characterized by 2n = 82, and the Ferreira Gomes-Itapoá form is characterized by 2n = 84. The distribution of the 3 Zygodontomys lineages identified is in accordance with the geography of the open vegetation patches in Northern Amazonia, and divergence time estimates relate speciation events to the middle-upper Pleistocene, supporting the prominent role of Quaternary climatically driven vicariance events in the diversification of the genus.

An integrative appraisal of the diversification in the Atlantic forest genus Delomys (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) with the description of a new species

Recent taxonomic studies on Neotropical mammals have benefited from the use of genetic data to unravel and recognize species diversity in a number of genera, including the Atlantic forest endemic genus Delomys. However, the success of this approach depends on ability to link genetically identified lineages to species names based on voucher specimens that lack genetic data. Cytogenetic studies in the Atlantic forest endemic rodent genus Delomys have revealed two widespread karyotypes, 2n=72/FN=90 and 2n=82/FN=80, which have been respectively ascribed to Delomys sublineatus (Thomas, 1903) and D. dorsalis (Hensel, 1872). More recently, a third karyotype, 2n=82/FN=86, reported from specimens collected on two montaintops in southeastern Brazil, was interpreted as evidence for a third species, D. collinus Thomas, 1917. This nominal form had originally been described as a subspecies of D. dorsalis from Itatiaia, one of the mountain ranges where the third karyotype was later detected. The detection of two sympatric karyotypes at the type locality of D. collinus in the Itatiaia mountain range, Southeastern Brazil, prompted a reevaluation of the association of karyomorphs and species names. In this paper, we assessed the congruence of molecular (cytochrome b), cytogenetic and morphological characters, to diagnose the species in the genus, including data from recently collected series and type specimens. Our results indicate that the genetic and morphological patterns are largely congruent with the recognition of three species, each of which is karyotypically and morphologically diagnosable. Our morphological analyses of sympatric samples from Itatiaia refute the former association of the 2n=82/FN=86 karyotype with the holotype of D. dorsalis collinus (which is more similar to D. dorsalis with 2n=82/FN=80). Instead, we recognize and describe a new species for the 2n=82/FN=86 populations from the highest altitudinal zones of the Itatiaia and Caparaó mountains. The geographical variation in D. dorsalis is also explored and the status of D. d. collinus is discussed in the light of the molecular and morphological evidence. Finally, we discuss biogeographic hypotheses concerning the disjunct distributions of D. dorsalis and the new species.

Barn Owl pellets (Aves: Tyto furcata) reveal a higher mammalian richness in the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, Southeastern Brazil

O litoral norte do estado do Rio de Janeiro possui a maior planicie deltaica recoberta por restingas do sudeste brasileiro, porem sob intensa ameaca devido e ocupacao humana recente. Neste contexto, a realizacao de inventarios torna-se urgente para fortalecer politicas de manejo e conservacao ambiental. Esse trabalho teve como objetivo complementar inventarios mastofaunisticos do Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba atraves da utilizacao de pelotas da coruja suindara Tyto furcata. A analise de 4745 fragmentos osseos de mamiferos (1739 individuos) revelou a ocorrencia de 17 especies pertencentes es ordens Rodentia (9 spp.), Didelphimorphia (2 spp.) e Chiroptera (6 spp.). Os roedores Mus musculus e Cerradomys goytaca foram responsaveis por 77,2% do total de individuos predados, sugerindo que a suindara caca tanto em ambientes peridomiciliares perturbados como em formacoes naturais arbustivas da restinga. A compilacao de registros anteriores com os fornecidos pelo presente estudo indica a ocorrencia de 44 especies de mamiferos no Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, dentre as quais seis (13.6%) foram exclusivamente detectadas em pelotas. Dentre estes novos registros, destaca-se a presenca de especies adaptadas a formacoes abertas do interior do Brasil que nao tinham sua ocorrencia documentada em restingas a partir de especimes-testemunho, como os roedores Necromys lasiurus e Calomys tener, esta ultima registrada pela primeira vez no litoral do estado do Rio de Janeiro. Esse estudo corrobora a importância das analises de pelotas de coruja como metodo complementar e imprescindivel em inventarios de mamiferos, alem de destacar o Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba como uma das restingas mais ricas em especies de mamiferos do sudeste brasileiro.

Unraveling Deep Branches of the Sigmodontinae Tree (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Eastern South America

Neotropical cricetid rodents of the subfamily Sigmodontinae constitute an incredibly diverse and ubiquitous clade of mammals in South America. In spite of recent advances in sigmodontine systematics, a variable collection of genera from eastern South America with no clear tribal affiliations and well-differentiated morphologies has been pervasive in most classification attempts, being generally listed as Sigmodontinae incertae sedis. Here, we assess the phylogenetic relationships of these incertae sedis genera based on supermatrix and multispecies coalescent analyses of a multilocus molecular dataset (one mitochondrial and five nuclear loci) for 76 genera, calibrated with ten fossil-based node dates. Both analytical approaches provided concordant and unprecedented resolution of suprageneric clades within the large Oryzomyalia clade (constituted by most sigmodontine genera), recovering a natural group constituted by the genera Wiedomys , Wilfredomys , and the Atlantic Forest endemics Juliomys and Phaenomys - here redefined as the Wiedomyini tribe - and a sister-relationship between this group and the tribe Abrotrichini. The enigmatic spiny rodent genus Abrawayaomys was recovered as sister to Akodontini in three of four analyses, but pending higher support. Morphological comparisons performed among the four wiedomyine genera highlighted a number of shared external, cranial, and dental similarities useful to emend the tribe diagnosis, such as the presence of chromo-genetic fields associated with the muzzle, pinnae, and rump, the long and narrow rostrum flanked by shallow and narrow zygomatic notches, and the asymmetrically divided procingulum of M1, among other characters. Molecular dating coupled with fossil evidence suggests Wiedomyini as one of the oldest sigmodontine tribes with a late Miocene autochthonous origin in eastern South America, highlighting the relevance of this region as an ancient cradle of sigmodontine lineages.

ATLANTIC MAMMAL TRAITS: a data set of morphological traits of mammals in the Atlantic Forest of South America

Measures of traits are the basis of functional biological diversity. Numerous works consider mean species-level measures of traits while ignoring individual variance within species. However, there is a large amount of variation within species and it is increasingly apparent that it is important to consider trait variation not only between species, but also within species. Mammals are an interesting group for investigating trait-based approaches because they play diverse and important ecological functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, predation, grazing) that are correlated with functional traits. Here we compile a data set comprising morphological and life history information of 279 mammal species from 39,850 individuals of 388 populations ranging from -5.83 to -29.75 decimal degrees of latitude and -34.82 to -56.73 decimal degrees of longitude in the Atlantic forest of South America. We present trait information from 16,840 individuals of 181 species of non-volant mammals (Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, Carnivora, Primates, Cingulata, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla) and from 23,010 individuals of 98 species of volant mammals (Chiroptera). The traits reported include body mass, age, sex, reproductive stage, as well as the geographic coordinates of sampling for all taxa. Moreover, we gathered information on forearm length for bats and body length and tail length for rodents and marsupials. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

Biodiversity crisis on Brazilian roads

Roadkill is one of the main causes of wildlife loss worldwide (Fahrig and Rytwinski 2009). Since the 1950s, countries in North America and Europe have adopted large structures (e.g. wildlife passages and highway protection fences) in areas of high biodiversity in order to allow animals to safely cross roads. These measures reduce wildlife roadkill (Clevenger and Huijser 2011) and other negative ecological effects, such as edge and barrier effects, that ultimately isolate populations and may intensify the random loss of their genetic variation, elevating their susceptibility to local extinctions (Laurance, Goosem, and Laurance 2009; Holderegger and Di Giulio 2010). Meanwhile, Brazil, a megadiverse country harbouring the largest rainforest in the world and the fourth largest highway system in the world (around 1.7 million kilometres), has nearly 475 million animal deaths per year due to collisions with vehicles (https://news.mongabay.com/ 2014/12/an-app-to-save-400-million-animals/). Furthermore, new construction and expansion projects are being planned and executed at this time, including highways that cross the Amazon. As Fearnside (2015) remarked, the implantation/expansion of highways in the Amazon region, such as the BR-174, BR-319, and BR-163 roads (in a region already known as the Deforestation Arch), illustrates several negative effects of roads on tropical biodiversity. These roads cut large tracts of Amazonian forests and favour the entrance of landless farmers or illegal claimants, contributing to the expansion of human settlements, construction of secondary roads and severe deforestation. The protection of Brazilian tropical biodiversity from these and other human impacts has heavily relied on a fragile network of protected areas (PA), which is insufficient to protect most species (Le Saout et al. 2013; Oliveira et al. 2017) and also suffers increasing threats by linear infrastructures (power transmission and gas lines, in addition to highways). In the case of the Atlantic Rainforest, considered a major biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. 2000), most PAs are cut by roads and face intense conflicts due to their proximity to areas with high potential for agricultural production (Laurance et al. 2014). Despite the biodiversity loss in this important hotspot (Brooks, Tobias, and Balmford 1999; Galetti et al. 2017) and the rigorous environmental Brazilian law (McAllister 2008), few roads have installed measures to mitigate the daily loss of road-killed animals, such as limiting traffic speed, constructing roadside fencing and wildlife passage structures. Those that have adopted mitigation measures on a larger scale are administrated by private corporations under a road concession program started by the federal government in the late 1990’s. In these cases, mitigation measures were oriented by environmental impact assessments (EIA – required by law for large-scale roads), which in the first stages of the environmental licensing process proposed re-adjustments in the engineering project before the construction works. Nevertheless, as EIA are usually short-term (less than 12 months of sampling), they fail to identify all appropriate mitigation measures in their final reports. The EIA should follow the proper actions hierarchically (i.e. avoid, minimise, mitigate, and lastly offset) and not only suggest mitigation measures to wildlife roadkill impact from a database normally limited to few months of sampling (Stokes 2015), which is insufficient for reliable estimates of roadkill spatio-temporal distribution. A five-year study by Santos et al. (2017) suggested that the location of consistent patterns of roadkill aggregation and the implementation of cost-effective mitigation measures require more than one year of sampling. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of such long-term studies to support decision making regarding the locations and types of mitigation measures to be implemented along roads (Teixeira et al. 2016). This is important because in Brazil the mitigation measures are largely focused on building or adapting water drainage structures as wildlife underpasses, which might not be efficient to reduce roadkill and ensure population connectivity (van der Grift, van der Ree, and Jaeger 2015; Ciocheti et al.

Expansion of the range of Necromys lasiurus (Lund, 1841) into open areas of the Atlantic Forest biome in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and the role of the species as a host of the hantavirus

Necromys lasiurus is a generalist rodent that is thought to be the main reservoir of the Araraquara hantavirus, which causes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, in the Brazilian Cerrado savanna. This species occurs naturally in the open habitats of the Cerrado, Pantanal and Caatinga biomes, where it often occurs at high densities, although the distribution of the species has recently been observed expanding into the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. This study aimed to map the occurrence of N. lasiurus within the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state and discuss the potential role of the species as a reservoir of the Araraquara hantavirus in these areas. The study was based on a comprehensive literature search and four expeditions for the collection of specimens in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The data were used to predict the distribution of N. lasiurus, confirm the distribution of the species in the state, and detect the rates of hantavirus infection in these rodents. Necromys lasiurus has been recorded at 16 localities in 10 municipalities of Rio de Janeiro state. The relative abundance of N. lasiurus was low at all localities, except for the REBIO Poço das Antas and APA-BRSJ, two protected areas. Necromys lasiurus was associated primarily with landscapes dominated by farmland (plantations or pasture) at relatively low altitudes in the vicinity of bodies of water. A total of 204 serum samples were collected, but none were reactive for hantavirus. The distribution of N. lasiurus is expanding into many areas of the anthropogenic matrix, but it is not usually either abundant or dominant in these areas. The relatively reduced abundance of N. lasiurus in Rio de Janeiro and the lack of infection in all the areas investigated indicate that it is unlikely to be a reservoir of hantavirus in this region in the near future.