The goal of conservation biology should be related to the preservation of species and also to the evolutionary and ecological processes that were responsible to form them and that are still acting. We review the conservation status of the species of tuco-tuco (Ctenomys torquatus, C. lami, C. minutus, and C. flamarioni) from southern Brazil, and relate these data to the geological history of a p...

ed landscape with relatively few native birds. Its original host remains unknown, but unlike many islands, New Zealand had endemic mosquitoes, which could have coevolved with viruses. Another signifi cant disease because of its pandemic potential is avian infl uenza. The normal hosts are waterfowl, shorebirds, and seabirds. Sampling for infl uenza antibodies in Australian seabirds shows variati...

The visual pigments of fish are thought to be adapted to the variable spectral qualities of aquatic light environments. Most research on the role of natural selection on the evolution of rhodopsins and dim-light vision in fish has focused on variation among species and higher taxa. In this issue, Larmuseau et al. reveal substantial intraspecific sequence variation in RH1 (the rhodopsin gene) in...

Mature specimens of the nematode Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) minutus (Rudolphi, 1819) (Ascaridida, Cucullanidae, Seuratoidea) were obtained from the intestine of flounder Platichthys flesus (L.) caught in the Oresund, Denmark. Plaice Pleuronectes platessa L. and common goby Pomatoschistus microps (Kröyer) also harbour this species. The eggs embryonate on the seabottom. Larvae about 440 microm lon...

III Lehtonen, T. K. & Lindström, K.: Sexual selection for body size is determined by the intensity of male-male interactions in the sand goby IV Lehtonen, T. K. & Lindström, K.: Females decide whether size matters: plastic mate preferences tuned to the intensity of male-male competition

The species of Lutrochidae occurring in Venezuela are revised. The only previously recorded species, Lutrochus acuminatus Grouvelle, is redescribed and a lectotype is designated. Lutrochus vestitus Sharp, is recorded from Venezuela and French Guiana for the first time. Six new species Lutrochus gustafsoni n. sp., L. cauraensis n. sp., L. maldonadoi n. sp., L. meridaensis n. sp., L. minutus n. s...

In the present investigation the effect of different concentrations of zinc and cadmium chloride (ZnCl2 and CdCl2) on one of the Cyanophyta "Chroococcus minutus" isolated from ponds in Sana'a Yemen was evaluated. The two heavy metals adversely affected cell division; however the protein and glucose contents of the cells were slightly affected. They caused destruction of chlorophyll a as the res...