The Neotropical genus Cephaloleia Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) includes 214 species distributed from the south of Mexico to Argentina. Cephaloleia beetles feed mostly on plants from the order Zingiberales. The interactions between Cephaloleia beetles and their Zingiberales host plants is proposed as one of the oldest and most conservative associations. Here we describe a ne...

Cladistic analysis of ndhF sequences identifies eight major bromeliad clades arranged in ladderlike fashion. The traditional subfamilies Tillandsioideae and Bromelioideae are monophyletic, but Pitcairnioideae are paraphyletic, requiring the description of four new subfamilies, recircumscription of Pitcairnioideae and Navioideae, the sinking of Ayensua, and description of the new genus Sequencia...

A substantial fraction of the freshwater available in Neotropical forests is enclosed within rosettes bromeliads that form small aquatic islands a terrestrial landscape. These oases provide shelter, water, nutrients and resting aggregation sites for several organisms, among them crustaceans. However, comparison with multitude studies on open systems, our knowledge crustaceans inhabiting semi-te...

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was conceived in the spirit of cooperation, with the aim of ensuring that the international trade in wild animals and plants, including all parts and derivatives, did not threaten their survival. However, concerns have been raised by scientists that CITES hinders the cross-border movement of scientific specimens. To our knowled...

Vascular epiphytes are extraordinarily diverse in the tropical Andean region. Compared to trees and terrestrial herbs, more vulnerable forest alteration due their structural dependence on environmental requirements. Based experimental approaches for ecological purposes, monitoring air pollutants, seeking propagation alternatives, rescue translocation of vascular (mainly bromeliads orchids) from...