https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/tede/4098 PPGCB Sun, 06 Sep 2026 07:42:14 GMT 2026-09-06T07:42:14Z https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/38796 Título: Galhas de insetos em brejos de altitude da Paraíba, Nordeste do Brasil Autor(es): Silva, Renata Lima Machado da Orientador: Maia, Valéria Cid Abstract: Galls are pathological changes that occur in plant tissue due to hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia resulting from galling insect-host plant interactions. Despite their abundance and importance, these interactions are little studied to date. Therefore, this work aimed to: in Chapter I, inventory gall diversity, characterizing them according to the host plant organ attacked, shape, color, presence or absence of trichomes, occurrence, inducing insect, identification of host plant species and associated entomofauna; and, in Chapter II, analyze whether there are differences in the richness and abundance of galled plants and in their morphotypes between the dry and rainy seasons. To survey gall diversity in the two remaining areas, active searches for galled plants were conducted, totaling a 72- hour sampling effort in each area. To analyze the influence of seasonality on the richness and abundance of host plants and morphotypes, fixed transects were installed in the Goiamunduba Forest, with gall and host plant sampling conducted during the rainy and dry seasons, totaling two collections in each season. As a result of Chapter I, 48 gall morphotypes were recorded in the Pau-Ferro Forest, associated with 29 plant species, 29 genera, and 19 families. The families with the greatest gall richness were Myrtaceae, Fabaceae, and Sapindaceae, and the organ with the highest gall occurrence was the leaves. Six gall shapes were identified: globoid, lenticular, fusiform, coiled, clavate, and amorphous. The most common gall colors were green and brown, and most galls lacked trichomes. In the Goiamunduba Forest, 53 gall morphotypes were found on 22 host plant species, distributed across 22 genera and 17 families. The largest number of galls was found in Myrtaceae, Lecythidaceae, and Melastomataceae. Regarding the organs where galls occurred, most were on the leaves. Galls with globoid, lenticular, fusiform, conical, amorphous, horn-shaped, coiled, and folded shapes were identified. Green was the predominant color, followed by brown. Regarding the presence of trichomes, most galls were glabrous. In Chapter II, statistically, neither the richness nor the abundance of galled plant species, nor the abundance of gall morphotypes, showed significant differences between transects, seasons, and years. Data analysis revealed a higher occurrence of galled plants during the dry season in both locations. These are the first records of galls from the Pau-Ferro Forest in Areia and the Goiamunduba Forest in Bananeiras. Given the importance of ecological interactions between galling insects and their host plants, particularly in seasonal environments in Northeastern Brazil, these results constitute an important contribution to our knowledge of insect galls in high-altitude marshlands in the region. Editor: Universidade Federal da Paraíba Tipo: Tese Mon, 20 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/38796 2025-01-20T00:00:00Z https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/38783 Título: Comportamento e reprodução em poleiro de quatro espécies de morcegos sinantrópicos neotropicais Autor(es): Hamsi, Isadora Costa Orientador: Rocha, Patrício Adriano da Abstract: Replacement of natural areas with anthropomorphized landscapes brings a need to understand synanthropic animals. Bats are the mammalian group with the largest diversity in urban areas and many species roost in human constructions. describe aspects of the natural history of four species of Neotropical synanthropic bats through their perch ecology in the coastal region of northeastern Brazil. We monitored the roost using Infrared cameras for a year. Bats were divided according to roosting habits as exposed roosts (Saccopteryx leptura e Rhynchonycteris naso ) or cryptic roosts (Carollia perspicillata e Peropteryx macrotis). Roosts were located in the Fazenda Pacatuba (Sapé) and UFPB (João Pessoa) both in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. Roosts were all in human constructions and near natural areas. Behavior was monitored with scan samples. A qui-square test used to calculate seasonal difference. We found roost strategies to influence behavior, sociality, and reproduction. Species in cryptic roosts were more active, social interactions were more common during the day and they adopted resource defense polygyny. Species in exposed roosts were less active, social interactions were rare and adopted alternative mating systems. This is the first record of S. leptura adopting polyandry. All groups were more active in the rainy season than dry season. Editor: Universidade Federal da Paraíba Tipo: Dissertação Wed, 29 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/38783 2020-07-29T00:00:00Z https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/38782 Título: Filogeografia, ecologia e parasitologia de Bothrops erythromelas (Amaral, 1923) (Squamata: Viperidae) : serpente endêmica da Caatinga Autor(es): Matias, Cicera Silvilene Leite Orientador: Garda, Adrian Antonio Abstract: The Neotropical region encompasses the Amazon Forest (AM) and the Atlantic Forest (AF), both renowned for their high levels of endemism and rich biodiversity. These biomes are separated by a dry forest corridor known as the Dry Diagonal (DD), which traverses Brazilian territory in a northeast-southwest orientation. The Dry Diagonal is characterized by a semi-arid climate, reduced vegetation density, and is formed by the Chaco, Cerrado, and Caatinga biomes. A Caatinga is characterized as the largest of the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTFs) and one of the major biodiversity hotspots in South America. This region is characterized by dry deciduous tropical forests, open rocky areas, and interfaces with humid tropical forests. The low availability of water and the high diversity of soils characterize the Caatinga, a biome that nonetheless hosts a rich diversity of flora and fauna, including numerous endemic groups and species. Bothrops erythromelas, also known as Jararaca-da-Caatinga, is one of the smallest snakes in its genus, measuring around 54 cm. It has a wide distribution across the Caatinga, including states like Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe. Additionally, it is notably recognized in medicine and pharmacology. This study integrates taxonomy, evolution, ecology, and parasitism of Bothrops erythromelas. We analyze a dataset of mitochondrial DNA (COI and CytB) with the aim of identifying the historical and contemporary processes influencing landscape evolution and species diversification, as well as assessing its geographic distribution limits. We used samples from six Brazilian states (Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Rio Grande do Norte) for molecular analyses, and samples from seven Brazilian states (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe) for morphological analyses, in which the occurrence of Bothrops cf. erythromelas was observed. Our sampling includes a total of 112 mtDNA gene sequences, of which 89 belong to B. cf. erythromelas, 20 sequences are from the sister species Bothrops lutzi, and three sequences are used as an outgroup group (B. jararaca, B. diporus, and B. pubescens). We conducted the construction of a dated concatenated genetic tree with posterior probability, haplotype network analysis, tests of population structure, spatial- temporal inference of geographic origin (RRW), as well as assessments of climatic suitability areas and niche overlap for Bothrops erythromelas. The study also resulted in the description of a new snake species within the studied genus, with findings indicating a separation between Bothrops sp. nov. and B. erythromelas based on mitochondrial genes (COI and CytB) and morphology. The differentiation is evidenced by at least ten discrete variables, with low overlap (1.5%) of characters, and further supported by a genetic distance of 2.5% for COI and 1.6% for CytB. A total of 247 individuals were studied, including 107 specimens (63 females and 44 males) for diet description, 200 specimens (116 females and 84 males) for sexual dimorphism analysis, 225 specimens (124 females and 101 males) for recruitment and reproductive studies, and 112 specimens (69 females and 43 males) for other related assessments. The collected data are crucial for understanding the biological and ecological aspects, serving as essential tools to develop strategies aimed at the conservation of the species. Finally, we analyzed the gastrointestinal tract of 127 specimens and found that 76 individuals were infected with at least one endoparasite, representing 17 helminth taxa: two Acanthocephala, three Cestoda, and 12 Nematoda. These findings hold significant importance in advancing the understanding of Brazilian biodiversity, addressing existing gaps in knowledge. This is particularly noteworthy as it represents a pioneering study on the helminth fauna of B. erythromelas, in which the occurrence of the species Physaloptera lutzi and Parapharyngodon hispidus is described for the first time in snakes. Editor: Universidade Federal da Paraíba Tipo: Tese Thu, 28 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/38782 2025-08-28T00:00:00Z https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/37858 Título: Estrutura da taxocenose de lagartos em uma região de dunas no semiárido brasileiro: avaliando a influência de fatores históricos e ecológicos Autor(es): Silva, Josivan Bernardo da Orientador: Mesquita, Daniel Oliveira Abstract: Studies on taxocene structure seek to understand the mechanisms responsible for species organization in natural environments. Aspects such as species richness and abundance, organism distribution, and resource use are important elements of this structure and have been the focus of ecological studies. We investigated the structure of a lizard taxocene in a dune area of the Brazilian semi-arid and analyzed the influence of ecological and historical factors on this structure. The study was conducted in the municipality of Casa Nova-BA, in the São Francisco River region. We quantified the trophic and morphological niche of the lizards in the community and subjected these data to a niche overlap analysis, revealing the degrees of overlap between each pair of species, as well as the overall taxocene overlap. We used the null model proposed by Geange (2011) to test whether resource use in the taxocene differed from what would be expected by chance. We submitted the proportions of each food item consumed by each species, as well as the mean of each morphological variable, to a phylogenetic principal component analysis (pPCA) to identify the influence of ecological and historical factors on the lizard community. The niche overlap analysis revealed the absence of trophic structure, indicating a low niche segregation among species. Additionally, a greater influence of ecological factors on lizard diet was observed. This, along with the considerable overlap values found between several species pairs, suggests that recent competition may be influencing the structure of the taxocene. The niche overlap results in the morphological dimension showed that the community is structured, with species being grouped. Eight out of ten morphological variables were responsible for niche partitioning, and the highest overlaps occurred among closely related species. The pPCA results for morphology indicated a greater influence of historical factors on the Casa Nova taxocene, highlighting a set of morphological attributes that separate lizards into distinct niche dimensions, allowing them to occupy and explore different microhabitats. This morphological pattern is similar to that found in other studies on lizard taxocenes in Neotropical regions and points to strong niche conservatism. Editor: Universidade Federal da Paraíba Tipo: Dissertação Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/37858 2025-03-28T00:00:00Z