Endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy stems and pods of cacao ( Theobroma cacao ) trees in natural forest ecosystems and agroecosystems in Latin America and West Africa. These fungi were collected for screening as a potential source of biocontrol agents for the basidiomycetous pathogens of cacao in South and Central America, Moniliophthora roreri (frosty pod rot) and Moniliophthora pernic...

Our study examines how the mutualism between Atta colombica leaf-cutting ants and their cultivated fungus is influenced by the presence of diverse foliar endophytic fungi (endophytes) at high densities in tropical leaf tissues. We conducted laboratory choice trials in which ant colonies chose between Cordia alliodora seedlings with high (E(high)) or low (E(low)) densities of endophytes. The E(h...

Taiwanese species of Mandarella Duvivier are compared on the basis of morphological and molecular evidence. Only three of eleven morphospecies are considered to be valid. Mandarella uenoi (Kimoto, 1969) is transferred from the genus Luperus Geoffroy. Stenoluperus taiwanus Kimoto, 1991 and Stenoluperus kimotoi Döberl, 2001 are synonymized with Mandarella uenoi. Taiwanese records of Stenoluperus ...

We collected Ectobiidae cockroach specimens from 44 locations in the south of the Yangtze valley. We obtained 297 COI sequences specimens and carried out phylogenetic and divergence dating analyses, as well as species delimitation analysis using a General Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) framework. The intraspecific and interspecific sequence divergence in Ectobiidae cockroaches ranged from 0.0 to ...

BACKGROUND There has never been any published work about the diversity of spiders in the city of Rio de Janeiro using analytical tools to measure diversity. The only available records for spider communities in nearby areas indicate 308 species in the National Park of Tijuca and 159 species in Marapendi Municipal Park. These numbers are based on a rapid survey and on an one-year survey respectiv...

Previous studies have shown that indigenous beetle diversity reflects indigenous plant diversity in modified and remnant habitats. This study examines the indigenous: introduced relationship at a locality where degraded pasture has been progressively revegetated. Pitfall traps were used to collect beetles from three revegetated sites of different ages (5, 17 and 100 years) and in a coastal Mueh...

A hyaline sterile fungus forming epiphyllous mycelial nets was isolated from meristem cultures of Mentha piperita. Histological studies indicated that the culture isolate is able to colonize stems and leaves with no damage to the host plant. In vitro-grown peppermint plants displayed enhanced vegetative growth when infected by the fungus, with mycelium extending from green tissues to growing ro...

The Mid-Cayman spreading centre is an ultraslow-spreading ridge in the Caribbean Sea. Its extreme depth and geographic isolation from other mid-ocean ridges offer insights into the effects of pressure on hydrothermal venting, and the biogeography of vent fauna. Here we report the discovery of two hydrothermal vent fields on the Mid-Cayman spreading centre. The Von Damm Vent Field is located on ...

The genus Rineloricaria is a Neotropical freshwater fish group with a long and problematic taxonomic history, attributed to the large number of species and the pronounced similarity among them. In the present work, taxonomic information and different molecular approaches were used to identify species boundaries and characterize independent evolutionary units. We analyzed 228 samples assembled i...

Phylogenetic analysis of partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) and nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences were used to evaluate initial identification and to investigate phylogenetic relationships of seven Anopheles morphospecies of the Arribalzagia Series from Colombia. Phylogenetic trees recovered highly supported clades for An. punctimaculas.s., An. calde...