When trying to understand the pathophysiology of any infectious agent, one key piece of information is the determination of its habitat. In the case of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, the precise location of the fungus' environmental niche remains undefined despite the efforts of various research groups. This review summarizes recent studies on the ecology of P. brasiliensis and certain facets of paracoccidioidomycosis. Studies on the juvenile form of paracoccidioidomycosis in children less than 13 years of age, the characterization of the ecological factors in the 'reservarea' where the infection is acquired and the presence of P. brasiliensis in the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), are all helping to pinpoint the microniche of this pathogen. The application of molecular biology techniques based on the amplification of nucleic acids will also hopefully help in establishing the precise habitat of P. brasiliensis.

The habitat of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis: how far from solving the riddle?

Lists of Brazilian bats have been compiled since the late 19th century, with remarkable variation in the criteria for species inclusion and use of nomenclature. To update the list of extant bat species that occur in Brazil, the Brazilian Bat Research Society created the Committee of the List of Brazilian Bats. Here we report the first result of the work of this Committee: a list with nine families, 68 genera, and 178 species with documented occurrence in Brazil, including nomenclatural comments. We also present two additional species lists: one with doubtful records (10 species) and other with erroneous records (six species). Since the beginning of the 21st century, 35 new bat species have been recorded for Brazil, and we anticipate that more species will be uncovered over the next years.

/pdf/checklist-of-brazilian-bats-with-comments-on-original-48ka34o7yx.pdf

Checklist of Brazilian bats, with comments on original records

1Brazil is the second most bat species-rich country in the world, but the available information on the occurrence and distribution of bat species in Brazil is still heterogeneous and fragmented.
2We review the occurrence and distribution of bat species in Brazil, analyse the spatial performance of inventories conducted to date and identify knowledge gaps. We also identify the main factors contributing to the recent increase in the knowledge of the Brazilian bat fauna, and make suggestions for maintaining this momentum into the near future.
3We plotted record coordinates on a map, grouped them in 0.5 degrees of latitude × 0.5 degrees of longitude grid cells, and analysed records for each of the five terrestrial biomes in Brazil, and for the 1439 priority polygons for the conservation of Brazilian biodiversity.
4We identified 5502 formal bat records in Brazil, indicating that less than 10% of the country is minimally surveyed, and that for nearly 60% of Brazil there is not a single record of bat species. Record coverage varies from 79% in the Atlantic Forest to 24% in Amazonia, but none of the Brazilian biomes is well surveyed for bats. Bat species have been recorded in only 15% of the priority areas for Brazilian biodiversity conservation.
5If the current rate of recording bats in empty grid cells (10% every 4 years) was maintained, it would take 33 years for all cells to have a single record. If the current rate of recording ≥20 species in a grid cell (0.8% per year) was maintained, it would take 200 years for the bat fauna of Brazil to be minimally surveyed. Alarmingly, most of the data-poor areas are at the expansion frontiers of the agro-business, near the surrounding deforestation fronts.
6We make recommendations for scientific research on bats in Brazil, to ensure the conservation of this ecologically important taxon.

Discovering the Brazilian bat fauna: a task for two centuries?

Aim Understanding large-scale patterns of beta diversity and endemism is essential for ecoregional conservation planning We present a study of spatial patterns of faunal diversification and biogeographical relationships in the Andean region of Colombia This region has a great geomorphological complexity, as it is formed by several mountain ranges with different geologic origins We hypothesize that this complexity results in a high turnover in species composition among subregions



Location  The Andean region of Colombia, including the Santa Marta and Macarena mountain ranges



Methods  The region was divided into subregions, represented by the eastern and western slopes of each of the three Andean cordilleras, the Cauca and Magdalena valley bottoms, and the peripheral mountain ranges of Perija, Macarena and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Species lists for five animal taxa (rodents, bats, birds, frogs and butterflies) were compiled for each subregion and similarities in species composition were determined by cluster analysis To explore biogeographical relationships, species were classified into one of four distributional categories: endemic, tropical Andean, Andean-Central American and wide continental distribution



Results  The highest species richness in the region was found in the Pacific and eastern versants of the Andes, and the lowest in the Cauca and Magdalena valley bottoms Inter-Andean slopes were intermediate in species richness However, when species richness was calculated per unit area, the most diverse regions were the Santa Marta and Macarena ranges, the Cauca Valley watershed and the Pacific slope Although each taxonomic group had a different branching pattern, dendrograms indicated five common subregional clusterings: (1) Perija-Sierra Nevada, (2) the Pacific slope, (3) the eastern Andean slope, (4) the Cauca and Magdalena valley bottoms, and (5) the inter-Andean slopes Clustering patterns of inter-Andean slopes varied among taxa In birds, bats and rodents, grouping was by opposite slopes of the same valley, whereas frogs were grouped by mountain ranges and butterflies by valleys and their respective slopes Seventy-five per cent of species in all taxa were found in less than five subregions The fauna of the Magdalena and Cauca valley bottoms was composed mostly of lowland species with wide geographical distributions, whereas the cordilleran fauna was mostly restricted to the tropical Andes



Main conclusions  The western and eastern versants of the Andes have the highest species richness, but are also the largest subregions On a per unit area basis, the peripheral ranges (Santa Marta and Macarena) are the richest, followed by the western portion of the Andes (the Cauca Valley watershed and the Pacific versant) Clustering patterns in dendrograms suggest two major patterns of differentiation of the Andean fauna: one elevational (lowlands vs highlands) and one horizontal (among ranges and/or slopes) Biogeographical affinities of the inter-Andean valley bottoms are with the lowland faunas of tropical America In contrast, Andean faunas diversified locally, resulting in the evolution of a large number of endemic species, particularly among the less vagile taxa Three different main branches of Andean fauna can be recognized, one confined to the Pacific, another to the eastern (Amazonian-Llanos) versant of the Andes, and the third one composed by the inter-Andean slopes of the Cauca and Magdalena valleys The identification of five main biogeographical units in the Andean region of Colombia has important implications for the conservation of the regional biota Conservation initiatives that seek to preserve representative samples of the regional biodiversity should take into account the patterns of diversification described here, and the evolutionary processes that gave rise to these patterns

Resumen

El conocimiento de los patrones de diversidad beta y endemismo a gran escala espacial es esencial para la planificacion ecorregional En este articulo se presenta un estudio de los patrones espaciales de diversificacion de la fauna y de sus relaciones biogeograficas en la region andina de Colombia y serranias perifericas Esta region es de una gran complejidad geomorfologica, ya que esta conformada por varias cordilleras y serranias de diferentes origenes geologicos Nuestra hipotesis es que esta complejidad genera una alta composicion de especies entre las subregiones La region andina de Colombia (incluyendo la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta y la serrania de La Macarena), fue dividida en subregiones, constituidas por las vertientes oriental y occidental de cada una de las tres cordilleras, las planicies de los valles del Cauca y Magdalena, las serranias de Perija y La Macarena y la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Para cada una de estas subregiones compilamos la lista de especies para cinco grupos taxonomicos: roedores, murcielagos, aves, ranas y mariposas En cada grupo, determinamos la similitud en composicion de especies por medio de analisis de agrupamiento (cluster analysis) Con el objectivo de explorar las relaciones biogeograficas, clasificamos las especies en cuatro categorias de distribucion geografica: endemica, Andes tropicales, andina-centroamericana y distribucion amplia La riqueza de especies mas alta se encontro en las vertientes Pacifica y oriental de los Andes, y la mas baja en los valles del Cauca y Magdalena Las vertientes interandinas presentaron una riqueza intermedia Sin embargo, por unidad de area las subregiones mas diversas fueron La Macarena y Santa Marta, el valle del Cauca y sus vertientes, y la vertiente del Pacifico Aunque el analisis arrojo diferentes patrones de agrupamiento para cada grupo taxonomico, en los dendrogramas se destacan cinco ramas: (1) Perija-Sierra Nevada, (2) la vertiente Pacifico, (3) la vertiente oriental de los Andes, (4) las planicies de los dos valles, y (5) las vertientes interandinas Los patrones de agrupamiento de las vertientes interandinas fueron variables En aves, murcielagos y roedores, las vertientes opuestas de cada valle resultaron muy cercanas en composicion de especies; en cambio, en las ranas se agruparon primero las dos vertientes de cada cordillera; en mariposas, cada valle se agrupo con sus respectivas vertientes La fauna de las planicies del Cauca y Magdalena esta compuesta principalmente por especies de tierras bajas y amplias distribuciones geograficas La fauna de las cordilleras, en cambio, esta compuesta principalmente por especies restringidas a los Andes tropicales Los patrones de agrupamiento en los dendrogramas sugieren dos patrones principales de diferenciacion de la fauna andina: un patron vertical (tierras bajas versus tierras altas) y otro horizontal (entre cordilleras y entre vertientes) Las planicies interandinas del Cauca y Magdalena tienen afinidad biogeografica con la fauna de tierras bajas del tropico americano, mientras que las faunas andinas muestran una diversificacion local, lo cual ha resultado en la evolucion de un gran numero de especies endemicas, particularmente en los taxones menos moviles Se pueden reconocer tres grandes ramas en la fauna propiamente andina: una confinada a la vertiente del Pacifico, otra a la vertiente oriental de los Andes, y una tercera compuesta por las vertientes interandinas de los valles del Cauca y Magdalena La identificacion de cinco grandes unidades biogeograficas en la region andina de Colombia tiene importantes implicaciones para la conservacion de la biota regional Las iniciativas de conservacion que buscan preservar muestras representativas de la diversidad regional deben tener en cuenta no solo los patrones de diversidad descritos en este articulo, sino tambien los procesos evolutivos que originaron estos patrones

Biological diversification in a complex region: a spatial analysis of faunistic diversity and biogeography of the Andes of Colombia

The conservation status of the 21 extant armadillo species was re-assessed by specialists of the IUCN/SSC Anteater, Sloth and Armadillo Specialist Group between December 2009 and May 2010. Information on their geographic range, population size and status, habitat and ecology, threats, and existing conservation measures was collected from the literature and personal communications. Four armadillo species were classified as Vulnerable, four as Near Threatened, and four were categorized as Data Deficient. Less than half of all armadillo species were listed as Least Concern. Virtually all assessed species are affected by hunting as well as habitat fragmentation and degradation. The populations of only two species are thought to be increasing, while those of at least seven species are in decline. Much work is still needed to ensure the long-term survival of all species. Most armadillo species occur in at least one protected area, but other conservation actions are scarce.

The 2009/2010 Armadillo Red List Assessment

Richness, endemism and conservation of Colombian mammals. We update the list of Colombian mammal species based upon a new revision of specimens in the major collections within and outside the country and a compilation of recent taxonomic changes of species present in the country. The result of these changes is a total of 492 native species, which represents a net increment of 62 species with respect to the previous list published in the year 2000, and this exceeds similar updates in other Neotropical countries. Although the level of knowledge differs greatly between groups, we provide some general indicators, as diversity on the level of orders, endemism, patterns of distribution, and conservation state. The greatest species richness occurs in the orders Chiroptera (198 spp.) and Rodentia (122 spp.), but there are 23 endemic species of rodents in contrast to only seven endemic bats. According to the nature and scale of the evaluations, between 39 (MAVDT) and 52 (IUCN) species of Colombian mammals are considered to be endangered. The major threats are still deforesta- tion, hunting and illegal commerce.

https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:379681/UQ379681_OA.pdf

Riqueza, endemismo y conservación de los mamíferos de Colombia

Mamíferos (Synapsida: Theria) de Colombia

En Colombia, la region Andina es una de las regiones con mayor diversidad biologica (Rangel-Ch. 1998), pero tambien es una de las mas amenazadas por la transformacion de sus habitats naturales (Kattan & Alvarez-Lopez 1996). Es aqui donde esta ubicado el departamento de Caldas. Sus limites se extienden desde la cuenca del Rio Magdalena hasta la cuenca del Rio Cauca, incluyendo ambas vertientes de la Cordillera Central y la vertiente oriental de la Cordillera Occidental, abarcando cinco ecorregiones (Dinerstein et al. 1995) y dos provincias biogeograficas (HernandezCamacho et al. 1992).

/pdf/mamiferos-del-departamento-de-caldas-colombia-41awejywyj.pdf

Mamíferos del Departamento de Caldas - Colombia

Frugivory and seed dispersal Oenocarpus bataua palm (Arecaceae) in a forest from the Colombian Andes. Seed dispersal is a key process that determines the spatial structure and dynamics of popula- tions of plants, establishes the potential area of recruitment and in this way, the basis for subsequent processes such as predation, germination, competition and growth. The purpose of this research was to identify the guild of frugivores of the Oenocapus bataua palm in fragments of Andean forest, determine the effective dispers- ers and relate the spatial distribution of palm populations with the dispersion of seeds. To this end, between August 2005-June 2006, observations of the removal of fruits from eight clusters were done, and counting of consumption of fruits beneath 78 palms with mature fruits was undertaken; focal observations of 13 individuals during 90 hours; registration of frugivory with photographic traps during 165 days/nights for a total of 195 pho- tographs and 144 consumption events; experiments with dispersion using 751 perforated fruits/seeds attached to strings and finally, plots to determine spatial distribution all were carried out. In the study area at least five species of mammals ate, dispersed, buried (Sciurus granatensis, Microsciurus mimulus, Dasyprocta punctata y Proechimys sp.), cover (Marmosa robinsoni) and carried the fruits of O. bataua off to caves (Marmosa robinsoni y Proechimys sp.) without damaging the seed. A 21.7% of the fruits were dispersed, 13.2 gnawed or peeled, 5.6% covered, buried and carried to caves. The average distance of removal of seeds and fruits was 3.1m although in a lesser proportion, dispersion events of >50m were recorded. The abundant production of fruits, their size and weight, their intense removal by frugivores, the short dispersion distances, the absence of large size frugi- vores (reduced by hunting and fragmentation), that might perform long-distance dispersion, and the increase of rodents, especially squirrels, that strongly pressure the fruit resource, generate a spatially restricted seed rain of seeds responsible for the aggregate patterns of distribution of seeds, seedlings and subsequently of juveniles and sub-adults. However the short time and high percentage of seed germination and the robustness of seeds and seedlings give O. bataua the capacity to survive in dense aggregations. Therefore, despite the limitations on dispersion, this is a dominant species in the study area. Populations of O. bataua have been reduced by intense exploitation and by the transformation and reduction of their natural habitat. The over-exploitation of the fruits or the juvenile phases of this palm can affect the age structure and population dynamics. Therefore, the manage- ment and exploitation of this palm in the future will depend to large degree on the conservation of forest habitats. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (4): 1445-1461. Epub 2012 December 01.

/pdf/frugivoria-y-dispersion-de-semillas-de-la-palma-oenocarpus-45ghmcmoxx.pdf

Frugivoría y dispersión de semillas de la palma Oenocarpus bataua (Arecaceae) en un bosque de los Andes colombianos

The howler monkey clade includes species of Alouatta and four extinct genera, Stirtonia, Paralouatta, Protopithecus, and probably Solimoea as well Contrary to expectations, this radiation may have originated as a largely frugivorous group; advanced, Alouatta-like leaf-eating is a novelty well-developed in the Alouatta-Stirtonia sublineage only Revised body mass estimates place Stirtonia and Paralouatta within the size range exhibited by the living forms and confirm the place of Protopithecus in a larger, baboon-like size range While their dentitions are more primitive than the Alouatta-Stirtonia pattern, the cranial anatomy of Protopithecus and Paralouatta is distinctly similar to living howler monkeys in highly derived features relating to enlargement of the subbasal space in the neck and in head carriage, suggesting that ancestral alouattines may have had an enlarged hyolaryngeal apparatus All alouattines also have relatively small brains, including Protopithecus, a genus that was probably quite frugivorous The successful origins of the alouattine clade may owe more to key adaptations involving communication and energetics than dental or locomotor breakthroughs While the fossil record confirms aspects of previous character-analysis reconstructions based on the living forms, alouattines experienced a complexity of adaptive shifts whose history cannot be recoverable without a more complete fossil record*

https://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9781493919567-c1.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-1490429-p176918223

Yaneth Muñoz-Saba

Papers

Riqueza, endemismo y conservación de los mamíferos de Colombia

Mamíferos (Synapsida: Theria) de Colombia

Mamíferos del Departamento de Caldas - Colombia

Frugivoría y dispersión de semillas de la palma Oenocarpus bataua (Arecaceae) en un bosque de los Andes colombianos

Fossil Alouattines and the Origins of Alouatta: Craniodental Diversity and Interrelationships