Vanessa Gabrielle Nóbrega Gomes

Many modern urban parks have free-ranging animals. This helps with the ex situ conservation of species and raises empathy and awareness. However, these populations, which receive food and medical treatment, can exceed expected densities and require management. Estimating population size is the first step. In this study, we used the capture–marking–recapture method to estimate the population size of free-ranging Dasyprocta sp. at the Emílio Goeldi Zoobotanical Park. Captures were conducted between October 2024 and December 2025. Each individual was weighed, measured, sexed and microchipped. We estimated population size using the Rcapture package and selected the best-fitting model using the Akaike information criterion (AIC). Size structure data showed that only two young animals were captured, and medical data recorded only two deaths during the study period. Due to closure, high population density and low birth and death proportions, we used closed population models. A total of 123 captures were made, including 94 markings and 28 recaptures. The estimated population size was 201 individuals, corresponding to a density of 37.2 ind/ha. This greatly exceeds previously reported densities for agoutis, and suggests an ecological imbalance in the study area. These findings provide an important baseline for monitoring and managing this population.

Forage cactus (Opuntia spp. and Nopalea spp.) have great potential for animal feed and human consumption due to their adaptability to semi-arid conditions. This study evaluated six accessions of N. cochenillifera, analyzing pollen viability, stigma receptivity and reproduction mode. Four types of pollination were tested: spontaneous self-pollination, manual self-pollination, natural pollination and cross-pollination. The results indicated high pollen viability and stigma receptivity in some accessions during flower bud development, allowing for self-pollination and controlled hybridization. After 24 hours of anthesis, pollen viability decreased, but stigma receptivity reached 100%. Fruiting occurred via natural pollination in all accessions, and by self-pollination and cross-pollination in accessions ac-02 and ac-03, which showed a mixed reproductive system. These results are essential for breeding programs, contributing to sustainable agriculture in semi-arid regions.

This work discusses a fascinating ecological relationship, in which the lizard Tropidurus cocorobensis and the cactus Melocactus violaceus engage in a double mutualism. In this interaction, observed in a Caatinga, a dry tropical forest in Northeastern Brazil, T. cocorobensis feed on the nectar and pollen of M. violaceus, transferring the grains to the stigmas of another flower, acting as a potential pollinator. Additionally, the lizards consume fruits of M. violaceus, helping to disperse the seeds. The concentrated nectar of M. violaceus attracts lizards, and the morphological compatibility between the small pink flowers and the size of T. cocorobensis is important to this double mutualism. The findings mentioned here highlight the importance of Tropidurus lizards in the reproductive success of Melocactus species and provide insights into the coevolution of these species in a seasonal and resource‐scarce environment, like the Caatinga.

Plant phenology reflects the reproductive responses of plants to seasonal cycles and climate change. Herbarium collections can be valuable tools for filling in gaps in phenological studies. We investigated the seasonality of the reproductive phenology of Xiquexique species using circular statistics, estimated their flowering and fruiting periods by interpolation via inverse distance weighting based on herbarium specimens (n = 290), and analyzed the relationships among phenophases, temperature, and precipitation using generalized linear models. Xiquexique species flowered and fruited throughout the year, with X. gounellei exhibiting peak flowering in February and peak fruiting in March, while X. tuberculatus exhibited those peaks in August–October and August, respectively, with decreased intensity during the austral winter. The maps produced through interpolation showed higher probabilities of flowering and fruiting between February and August at sites with mean annual rainfall rates between 500 and 800 mm. Temperature and precipitation were positively correlated with flowering. Xiquexique tuberculatus is important for providing continuous resources to pollinators and seed dispersers in the Caatinga. Herbarium collections and interpolation methods for filling in gaps concerning the reproductive ecology of Cactaceae can aid in better understanding altered phenological patterns resulting from environmental changes.

Mandacaru is a cactus with great socioeconomic potential, but lack of information about its cultivation hinders its domestication. Here, we aimed to evaluate the acclimatization and vegetative development of mandacaru under different substrates and irrigation levels. For this, seeds inoculated in vitro were grown for 120 days, being transplanted to pots containing four types of substrate (S1—caatinga soil + gravel; S2—washed sand + organic matter + soil + charcoal; S3—washed sand + cattle manure + soil + sand; S4—commercial organic substrate). Pots were irrigated with 100% of the field capacity (FC) once-a-week, or with 50% FC twice-a-week, and kept in a greenhouse for six months. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme, with six replications. Plant height and diameter, axial and radial growth rate, fresh and dry mass of stem and root, water content, and photosynthetic pigments were determined. Growth was affected mainly by the substrate, with S4 resulting in higher growth and pigment content, while S1 was impaired and S2 and S3 resulted in intermediate growth. The use of S4 and 100% FC once per week was the best condition for mandacaru.

Cacti fruits are key resources to many frugivorous animals in Neotropical arid and semiarid regions. However, most studies have focused on a particular animal group or cacti species, but few have explored the overall interactions of such species at the community level. Here we monitored frugivory on five cacti species using camera traps that sampled diurnal and nocturnal interactions. We investigated the structure of interactions with bird, mammal, and reptile frugivores in the Brazilian Caatinga dry forest. We hypothesized that the height of cacti limit interactions with different types of frugivores, which would result in highly structured and modular interaction networks. In 2929 camera‐days, we recorded 23 vertebrate species feeding on cacti fruits, including seven new records, all determined to be primary seed dispersers. As predicted, the cacti‐frugivore network was modular and non‐nested, with the two shortest cacti species grouped in a module dominated by interactions with reptiles and non‐flying mammals. The tallest cacti species were dominated by frugivory interactions with birds and had comparatively less interaction diversity than shorter cacti species. Our results support the contention that cacti are keystone species in semiarid ecosystems where they produce small‐seeded fleshy fruits year‐round.

Advancing functional ecology depends fundamentally on the availability of data on reproductive traits, including those from tropical plants, which have been historically underrepresented in global trait databases. Although some valuable databases have been created recently, they are mainly restricted to temperate areas and vegetative traits such as leaf and wood traits. Here, we present Rock n' Seeds, a database of seed functional traits and germination experiments from Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation, recognized as outstanding centers of diversity and endemism. Data were compiled through a systematic literature search, resulting in 103 publications from which seed functional traits were extracted. The database includes information on 16 functional traits for 383 taxa from 148 genera, 50 families, and 25 orders. These 16 traits include two dispersal, six production, four morphological, two biophysical, and two germination traits—the major axes of the seed ecological spectrum. The database also provides raw data for 48 germination experiments, for a total of 10,187 records for 281 taxa. Germination experiments in the database assessed the effect of a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors on germination and different dormancy‐breaking treatments. Notably, 8255 of these records include daily germination counts. This input will facilitate synthesizing germination data and using this database for a myriad of ecological questions. Given the variety of seed traits and the extensive germination information made available by this database, we expect it to be a valuable resource advancing comparative functional ecology and guiding seed‐based restoration and biodiversity conservation in tropical megadiverse ecosystems. There are no copyright restrictions on the data; please cite this paper when using the current data in publications; also the authors would appreciate notification of how the data are used in publications.

Odonates (Insecta: Odonata) are important insects in the food chains of freshwater environments around the world, being used as a model species for areas of behavior and analysis of environmental quality. In Brazil, especially in the Northeastern region, both knowledge about the distribution and molecular information of odonate species found in the two main biomes of the region is still limited. Aiming to improve these issues, here, we carried out an Odonata survey in two locations and built a DNA barcode database for species from the state of Paraíba. In total, 15 first records were reported for this Brazilian state and 142 specimens from 27 genera and 45 species had their ‘Folmer’ cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) fragment evaluated. The database we generated includes data for 70% of the Odonata species found in Paraíba state. For 16 species, this is the first DNA barcode available in public sequence repositories. Our results demonstrate that using the COI in the regional scale can help identify and delimit those evaluated. Eight species (17%) showed a low percentage of differentiation (<2%) compared to other species currently deposited in the GenBank or BOLD System; nevertheless, we present morphological traits that reaffirm our identifications. Barcode data provide new insights into Neotropical diversity and deliver basic information for taxonomic analyses.

A Caatinga é um bioma exclusivamente brasileiro, caracterizado por baixas precipitações e altas temperaturas durante o ano. Atividades antrópicas agrícolas e urbanas são os fatores principais de degradação desse bioma, favorecendo o surgimento de ervas espontâneas (daninhas), que se estabelecem com vigor após perturbações ecológicas. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito da técnica de solarização do solo como medida mitigadora de ervas espontâneas em uma área de Caatinga, Paraíba, Brasil. O experimento foi realizado no Instituto Nacional do Semiárido (INSA), usando o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, com quatro tratamentos e nove repetições: (solo autoclavado; solo solarizado; solo natural; solo solarizado + esterco bovino). Registramos a germinação de 67 plântulas de ervas espontâneas pertencentes a 13 epécies no tratamento de solo natural e 7 plântulas de 5 espécies no tratamento de solo solarizado + esterco bovino. Poaceae foi a família predominante, com cinco espécies. O tratamento com solarização apresentou supressão total da germinação, assim como o solo esterilizado por autoclavagem, no qual ocorreu a germinação de apenas uma espécie. A solarização por 45 dias, realizada sobre as condições edafoclimáticas de Campina Grande, Paraíba inibiu totalmente a emergência de ervas espontâneas no solo da Caatinga.