We determined the diet of the two most abundant anuran species which occur in the litter of a semideciduous forest (Lençóis, Bahia, Brazil), Physalaemus cf. cicada and Bufo granulosus in the dry and rainy seasons. Pitfall traps were used to collect anuran and invertebrate fauna, which showed the availability of prey in the environment. Physalaemus cf. cicada was present in both seasons and Bufo...

Vulnerability to water stress-induced cavitation was measured on 27 woody shrub species from three arid plant communities including chaparral, coastal sage and Mojave Desert scrub. Dry season native embolism and pre-dawn water potential, and both wet and dry season xylem specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were measured. Cavitation resistance, estimated as water potential at 50% loss in conduc...

This study evaluated changes in phytoplankton and nutrients after an increase in river discharge in four estuaries of northeastern Brazil. Samples were taken during a markedly freshwater-deprived period (Nov/2010, dry season), and during a rainy season (May/2011). While two estuaries are located in urban areas (Ceará CE and Cocó CO), the others are markedly freshwater-deprived (Pacoti PAC and P...

Phytoplankton vertical and diel dynamics in a small shallow lake (Lake Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo) were investigated in two climatological periods: July 2001 (cool-dry season) and March 2002 (warm-rainy season). Monte Alegre is a eutrophic reservoir, with a warm polymictic discontinuous circulation pattern. The lake was thermally stratified in both periods, although dissol...

The authors studied the correlation between the prescription of antimalarial drugs and the results of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and thick smear during dry and rainy seasons in a regional hospital outpatient clinic in North Cameroon. Clinical diagnosis, essentially based on the presence of fever, has a positive predictive value of 2% when compared with laboratory results during the dry seaso...

This study was conducted at the grasscutter section of the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, to estimate effects of non-genetic factors on growth traits. Data consisted of records of 502 kids born from 136 does and 40 sires from 2006 to 2010. Feed intake increased (P<0.01) with increasing parity and years, whilst feed efficiency declined (P<0.01) with years. Animals consumed less (P<0.01...

Environmental stressors impact physiology and behavior in many species of animals. These effects are partly mediated through changing concentrations of glucocorticoids, which also vary with reproductive state and social conditions. Prior research has focused largely on seasonal breeders, but the close temporal linkage between season and reproductive state in these species hinders ability to dis...

This study characterizes the foraging activity of the queenless ant Dinoponera quadriceps (Kempf) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in its natural environment by testing the hypotheses that foraging activity presents both daily and seasonal rhythmic variations, and that these rhythms are related to environmental variables. Four colonies of D. quadriceps were observed in an area of secondary Atlantic fo...

Sand dunes are unique ecosystems with distinct features which limited the accumulation of biomass. The distance from seashore affects both the physical properties of the sand dunes and the biota living above- and below ground. The goal of the present study was to determine the effects of the distance from shore to inland on soil bacterial community composition during wet and dry season. We stud...

On-going fragmentation of tropical forest ecosystems and associated depletion of seed dispersers threatens the long-term survival of animal-dispersed plants. These threats do not only affect biodiversity and species abundance, but ultimately ecosystem functions and services. Thus, seed dispersers such as the straw-coloured fruit bat, E. helvum, which traverse long distances across fragmented la...