southeastern Brazil

... Available online 12 March 2002. Abstract. The present contribution shows the results of tests on geological materials for determination of the rare-earth elements La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu, as well as Y and Sc. ...

Aqueous extracts, prepared from dried or fresh roots, stems or leaves of Mikania glomerata, a plant found in Mata Atlântica in Southeastern Brazil, were able to efficiently neutralize different toxic, pharmacological, and enzymatic effects induced by venoms from Bothrops and Crotalus snakes. Phospholipase A2 activity and the edema induced by Crotalus durissus terrificus venom were inhibited around 100 and ∼40%, respectively, although this inhibition was only partial for Bothrops venoms. The hemorrhagic activity of Bothrops venoms (Bothrops altenatus, Bothrops moojeni, Bothrops neuwiedi, and Bothrops jararacussu) was significantly inhibited by this vegetal species, while the clotting activity of Crotalus durissus terrificus, Bothrops jararacussu, and Bothrops neuwiedi venoms was totally inhibited. Although, the mechanism of action of Mikania glomerata extract is still unknown, the finding that no visible change was detected in the electrophoretic pattern of snake venom after incubation with the extract excludes proteolytic degradation as a potential mechanism. Since the extract of Mikania glomerata significantly inhibited the studied snake venoms, it may be used as an alternative treatment to serumtherapy and, in addition, as a rich source of potential inhibitors of PLA2s, metalloproteases and serineproteases, enzymes involved in several physiopathological human and animal diseases.

The failure of most efforts undertaken to restore natural high-diversity tropical forests, like the Atlantic Forest, has resulted in a very intense round of discussions on the science and best-practice of ecological restoration in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. This culminated in the participatory elaboration of a state resolution concerning technical and orientation aspects for restoration activities, which

The Ribeira belt in southeastern Brazil was generated during the Brazilian Orogeny, the South American equivalent of the Pan-African Orogeny (∼ 700-450 Ma). The central sector of the belt is characterised by a series of northwest-vergent crustal-scale thrust stacks ...

The complex interactions among endangered ecosystems, landowners’ interests, and different models of land tenure and use, constitute an important series of challenges for those seeking to maintain and restore biodiversity and augment the flow of ecosystem services. Over the past 10 years, we have developed a data-based approach to address these challenges and to achieve medium and large-scale ecological restoration

We discuss the question whether the late Mesoproterozoic and early Neoproterozoic rocks of eastern, central and southern Africa, Madagascar, southern India, Sri Lanka and South America have played any role in the formation and dispersal of the supercontinent Rodinia, believed to have existed between about 1000 and 750 Ma ago. First, there is little evidence for the production of significant volumes of ~1.4–1.0 Ga (Kibaran or Grenvillian age) continental crust in the Mozambique belt (MB) of East Africa, except, perhaps, in parts of northern Mozambique. This is also valid for most terranes related to West Gondwana, which are made up of basement rocks older than Mesoproterozoic, reworked in the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogenic cycle. This crust cannot be conclusively related to either magmatic accretion processes on the active margin of Rodinia or continental collision leading to amalgamation of the supercontinent. So far, no 1.4–1.0 Ga rocks have been identified in Madagascar. Secondly, there is no conclusive evidence for a ~1.0 Ga high-grade metamorphic event in the MB, although such metamorphism has been recorded in the presumed continuation of the MB in East Antarctica. In South America, even the Sunsas mobile belt, which is correlated with the Grenville belt of North America, does not include high-grade metamorphic rocks. All terranes with Mesoproterozoic ages seem to have evolved within extensional, aulacogen-type structures, and their compressional deformation, where observed, is normally much younger and is related to amalgamation of Gondwana. This is also valid for the Trans-Saharan and West Congo belts of West Africa.Third, there is also no evidence for post-1000 Ma sedimentary sequences that were deposited on the passive margin(s) of Rodinia. In contrast, the MB of East Africa and Madagascar is characterized by extensive structural reworking and metamorphic overprinting of Archaean rocks, particularly in Tanzania and Madagascar, and these rocks either constitute marginal parts of cratonic domains or represent crustal blocks (terranes or microcontinents?) of unknown derivation. This is also the case for most terranes included in the Borborema/Trans-Saharan belt of northeastern Brazil and west-central Africa, as well as those of the Central Goı́ás Massif in central Brazil and the Mantiqueira province of eastern and southeastern Brazil.Furthermore, there is evidence for extensive granitoid magmatism in the period ~840 to <600 Ma whose predominant calc-alkaline chemistry suggests subduction-related active margin processes during the assembly of the supercontinent Gondwana. The location of the main Neoproterozoic magmatic arcs suggests that a large oceanic domain separated the core of Rodinia, namely Laurentia plus Amazonia, Baltica and West Africa, from several continental masses and fragments now in the southern hemisphere, such as the São Francisco/Congo, Kalahari and Rio de La Plata cratons, as well as the Borborema/Trans-Saharan, Central Goiás Massif and Paraná blocks. Moreover, many extensional tectonic events detected in the southern hemisphere continental masses, but also many radiometric ages of granitois that are already associated with the process of amalgamation of Gondwana, are comprised within the 800–1000 age interval. This seems incompatible with current views on the time of disintegration of Rodinia, assumed to have occurred at around 750 Ma.

Habenaria sect.Macroceratitae from Brazil is revised, and seven species are recognized:H. bractescens, H. gourlieana, H. johannensis, H. longicauda, H. macronectar, H. nabucoi, and the newly describedH. paulistana. A main feature of these species is the presence of long, separated, involute stigmatic processes.Habenaria bractescens, H. gourlieana, H. johannensis, andH. macronectar are distributed mainly from central and southeastern Brazil to southern Brazil and southern South America, whereasH. longicauda andH. nabucoi are distributed mainly from west central, southeastern and northeastern Brazil to northern South America.Habenaria paulistana is restricted to the state of São Paulo.Habenaria bradei, H. juergensii, andH. sartoroides are lectotypified, andH. kleyi is neotypified. The identity ofH. fastor is discussed andH. nabucoi is recognized as the valid name for this species. Seven other species previously placed in sect.Macroceratitae are sufficiently distinct and are removed from the section. É apresentada uma revisão deHabenaria seçãoMacroceratitae de ocorrência no Brasil, sendo reconhecidas sete espécies:H. bractescens, H. gourlieana, H. johannensis, H. longicauda, H. macronectar, H. nabucoi e uma nova espécie descrita comoH. paulistana. Uma das principais características destas espécies são os estigmas separados, longos e com as bordas involutas.Habenaria bractescens, H. gourlieana, H. johannensis eH. macronectar distribuem-se principalmente do Centro-Oeste e Sudeste do Brasil ao Sul do Brasil e Sul da América do Sul, enquantoH. longicauda eH. nabucoi distribuem-se principalmente do Centro-Oeste, Sudeste e Nordeste do Brasil ao Norte da América do Sul.Habenaria paulistana é restrita ao estado de São Paulo.Habenaria bradei, H. juergensii eH. sartoroides são lectotipificadase H. kleyi é neotipificada. A identidade deH. fastor é discutida eH. nabucoi é reconhecido como o nome válido para esta espécie. Outras sete espécies previamente incluídas na seçãoMacroceratitae são suficientemente distintas e são excluídas da seção.

Six species of Crenicichla, three of which are new, are recognized from the Atlantic coastal rivers of souhteastern Brazil from the state of Bahia south to the state of Rio Grande do Sul: C. mucuryna (upper rio Mucuri, Minas Gerais), C. lacustris (from the rio Paraíba do Sul north to the rio Buranhem, Bahia), C. iguapina, new species (rio Ribeira de Iguape), C. tingui, new species (from the rio Itapocu to the rio Nhundiaquara drainage), C. maculata, new species (lagoa dos Quadros, rio Maquiné, Rio Grande do Sul to rio Itapocu, Santa Catarina drainages), and Crenicichla punctata (laguna dos Patos basin). Crenicichla biocellata is a synonym of C. lacustris; and also a secondary homonym of Sparus biocellatus, a synonym of C. saxatilis. Crenicichla dorsocellata is also a synonym of C. lacustris.

Neotropical snake assemblages present high species richness and complex structures. The Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil, and was included among the 25 World's biodiversity hotspots. In southeastern Brazil, the remnant Cerrado areas have suffered intense destruction, and presently less than 2% of Cerrado natural vegetation remain in São Paulo state. Virtually no detailed study on Cerrado snakes was carried out in this region. The Itirapina region has one of the last well preserved remnants of open cerrado in São Paulo state. Our purpose in this work was the study of natural history and composition of the Cerrado snakes of Itirapina region. We performed an extensive field sampling combining six sampling methods in Estação Ecológica de Itirapina and disturbed Cerrado areas in its surroundings (municipalities of Itirapina and Brotas), during 101 trips throughout 43 months, between September 1998 and March 2002, corresponding to 446 days of field sampling. We also collected additional data from museum specimens housed in scientific collections. We present data on size, general abundance, habitat and macrohabitat use, daily and seasonal activity, feeding, reproduction, and defense. We also compared the Itirapina snake assemblage with nine snake assemblages of Brazil, from Amazonia, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and other open habitats. We recorded a total of 36 snake species among 755 individuals found in the field and six records from scientific collections and literature, belonging to 25 genera and five families. The snake assemblage comparisons indicate that the Cerrado has its own identity regarding the snake composition. Although small (about 2,300 ha), the Estação Ecológica de Itirapina encompasses well preserved and representative Cerrado physiognomic forms, which harbors a rich and typical Cerrado snake fauna. The occurrence of some species only inside the reserve also indicates that the Estação Ecológica de Itirapina is of fundamental importance to the maintenance of Cerrado biodiversity.

The Bocaina Plateau, which is situated on the eastern flank of the continental rift of southeastern Brazil, is the highest part of the Serra do Mar. Topographic relief in this area is suggested to be closely related to its complex tectono-magmatic evolution since the breakup of Western Gondwana and opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. Apatite fission track ages and track length distributions from 27 basement outcrops were determined to assess these hypotheses and reconstruct the denudation history of the Bocaina Plateau. The ages range between 303 ± 32 and 46 ± 5 Ma, and are significantly younger than the stratigraphic ages. Mean track lengths vary from 13.44 ± 1.51 to 11.1 ± 1.48 μm, with standard deviations between 1.16 and 1.83 μm. Contrasting ages within a single plateau and similar ages at different altitudes indicate a complex regional tectonothermal evolution. The thermal histories inferred from these data imply three periods of accelerated cooling related to the Early Cretaceous continental breakup, Early Cretaceous alkaline magmatism, and the Paleogene evolution of the continental rift of southeastern Brazil. The oldest fission track ages (> 200 Ma) were obtained in the Serra do Mar region, suggesting that these areas were a long-lived source of sediments for the Paraná, Bauru, and Santos basins.

Cyrtopodium brunneum, C. lamellaticallosum andC. poecilum var.roseum, from thecerrado andcampo rupestre vegetation of central and southeastern Brazil are described and illustrated. Although the description ofCyrtopodium gonzalezii indicated that it is a distinct species, the holotype is referrable toC. brandonianum. The undescribed plants are now described here asC. brunneum.Cyrtopodium gonzalezii is placed in the synonym ofC. brandonianum.

Although the Brazilian sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon lalandii (Muller and Henle, 1839), is an inshore species widely distributed in the Western Atlantic from Panama to Uruguay, there is little available information on its biology. During a long-term study of small coastal sharks caught by gill net fisheries in southeastern Brazil (PROJETO CAÇÃO), 3643 specimens of R. lalandii were examined, comprising 61.3% of the total sharks, and including all sizes classes, from 30 to 78.5 cm TL, and weights from 100 to 2950 g. The length–weight relationships were not significantly different between sexes. Overall sex ratio favoured the males slightly at the rate of 1.3:1. Sex ratios, however, did differ significantly between season and size classes. This species occurred in this area all year long. Three seasonal size-class occurrence patterns were recognized: (1) between October and March, the juveniles were more frequent; (2) from April to July, adults were most common; and (3) from August to September, neonates were most numerically abundant. Such patterns were associated with reproductive tactics that may reduce intra-specific and inter-specific competition with hammerhead shark neonates (Sphyrna lewini), probably result in reduced natural mortality of the offspring during their first few months.