Se estudió a las moscas parásitas (Diptera: Streblidae) en una comunidad de murciélagos en la cueva de San Francisco, Chiapas. Los datos se obtuvieron entre febrero y agosto de 2013 mediante captura y revisión de 569 individuos de 12 especies de murciélagos. Se identificaron 3 especies de moscas: Trichobius joblingi, Metelasmus pseudopterus y Megistopoda aranea; T. joblingi se presentó en 6 especies de murciélagos mostrando los mayores valores de prevalencia y abundancia. En este trabajo se registra por primera vez en México la presencia simultánea de estas 3 especies como parásitos en Artibeus jamaicensis, además, la presencia de T. joblingi es un nuevo registro para A. jamaicensis y Pteronotus parnellii en Chiapas. La mayor prevalencia y abundancia de T. joblingi se presentó en hembras de Desmodus rotundus y en juveniles de A. jamaicensis, aunque no se encontró diferencia en la intensidad de infección, lo que demuestra que las características biológicas, como el sexo y la edad de los hospederos, pueden influir en la relación ectoparásito-hospedero. Se sugiere que la prevalencia, abundancia e intensidad de infección de ectoparásitos también podrían relacionarse con patrones de conducta social y hábitos de refugio.

Los escarabajos de la subfamilia Scarabaeinae son considerados importantes para estudios de diversidad biológica y conservación de ecosistemas. Realizan una variedad de funciones y son sensibles a las perturbaciones ambientales. Chiapas es una de las regiones con mayor número de registros de Scarabaeinae en México, pero aún existen extensas zonas con poco conocimiento sobre este grupo de insectos, incluyendo algunas áreas naturales protegidas, como es el caso de la Reserva de la Biosfera Selva El Ocote. Se analizaron los ensambles de escarabajos copronecrófagos, producto de cinco muestreos sistemáticos realizados durante 2011 y 2012, en tres hábitats representativos de la reserva. Las recolecciones se realizaron mediante trampas de caída utilizando calamar, estiércol de cerdo y estiércol vacuno como atrayentes. Se recolectaron 5421 escarabajos de seis tribus, 12 géneros y 37 especies. La cobertura del muestreo fue cercana al 100 % y las evaluaciones indican que la Selva tuvo la riqueza más cercana a la estimada mientras que el cultivo de café es el hábitat con mayor posibilidad de adicionar especies al inventario. Los valores de diversidad beta sugieren que las faunas de los tres hábitats forman parte de una sola comunidad de escarabajos, pero la composición de los gremios tróficos es diferente en todos ellos. La fauna obtenida constituye el 31,1 % de las especies registradas en Chiapas. Este trabajo representa el primer estudio mediante muestreos sistemáticos en la Reserva de la Biosfera Selva El Ocote.

Background Anthropized landscapes play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, as they encompass about 90% of the remaining tropical forest. Effective conservation strategies require a deep understanding of how anthropic disturbances determine diversity patterns across these landscapes. Here, we evaluated how attributes and assembly mechanisms of dung beetle communities vary across the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve (REBISO) landscape. Methods Community attributes (species diversity, abundance, and biomass) were assessed at the landscape scale, using spatial windows and vegetation classes. Windows were categorized as intact, variegated, or fragmented based on their percent cover of tropical forest. The vegetation classes analyzed were tropical forest, second-growth forest, and pastures. Results We collected 15,457 individuals and 55 species. Variegated windows, tropical forests, and second-growth forests showed the highest diversity values, while the lowest values were found in intact windows and pastures. Landscape fragmentation was positively and strongly related to dung beetle diversity and negatively related to their abundance; biomass was positively associated with forest cover. Beta diversity was the primary driver of the high dung beetle diversity in the landscape analyzed. Discussion The landscape heterogeneity and its biodiversity-friendly matrix facilitate the complementarity of dung beetle assemblages in the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve. Random processes govern beta diversity patterns in intact and variegated windows. Therefore, vegetation cover in the region is sufficient to maintain a continuous flow of dung beetles between forested landscape segments. However, intense anthropic disturbances acted as deterministic environmental filters in fragmented windows and pastures sites, leading to biotic homogenization processes. Our results suggest that increasing habitat variegation in highly fragmented sites is an effective strategy to prevent or buffer homogenization processes in the REBISO landscape.

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The Pjiekakjoo are the smallest indigenous group in the State of Mexico. They have managed to survive and maintain an ethnic project despite their proximity to the largest metropolitan areas in central Mexico: Mexico City, Toluca and Cuernavaca. Sadly, their indigenous language is considered to be in danger of extinction. Their knowledge of insects and other invertebrates was recorded through a collaborative project that included the collection of organisms, semi-structured interviews and intergenerational workshops. The documentation and systematisation of their ethnoentomological information was with the active participation of the Tlahuicas. Discussions with the Tlahuicas about other topics, such as the importance of biocultural diversity and the heritage it represents, was promoted. The methodology developed is based in Freire’s ideas of education for freedom and Smith's proposals for the decolonisation of methodologies in anthropological research. An emic perspective was preferred. We documented invertebrates in general. A total of 70 taxa of invertebrates were documented distributed in 3 phyla: Arthropoda (67), Mollusca (2) and Annelida (1).These have 58 Pjiekakjoo names and 66 names in Spanish. The most representative class is the Insecta, with 60 out of 67 categories of arthropods. Half of the taxa (34) have uses: 14 are edible, 7 medicinal, 8 recreational, 2 ornamental, one as an aphrodisiac and one as flavouring. The edible insects are primarily Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera orders. The Pjiekakjoo use 4 invertebrate products: honey, honeycomb, beebread and spider web. The use of insects and other invertebrates requires specialised ecological and ethological knowledge. 9 taxa are associated with distinctive beliefs, commonly as omens. The present paper recommends the use of ethnoentomological research to help the heirs of this biocultural heritage to face the challenges of the contemporary world.