Our objective in this study was to examine the frugivory performed by the black-eared opossum, Didelphis aurita Wied-Neuwied, 1826, in an area of the coastal Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil, including differences between sexes, seasonal variation, and relationships to other sympatric marsupials. We collected 63 fecal samples from a trap grid over a six-month period and analyzed seed presence, seed number and richness, and diversity of fruit species in feces. Diversity of fruit items was estimated by the Shannon index. Results showed a high variability in fruit consumption along the seasons, but no sexual difference in consumption. Sympatric marsupial species, including D. aurita, showed substantial differences in frugivory which may be related to body size, space use and differences in the foraging behavior of such species.Key words: coexistence, food partitioning, fruit consumption, Neotropical marsupial ResumoFrugivoria pelo gambá-de-orelha-preta Didelphis aurita em Floresta Atlântica do sul do Brasil: o papel do sexo, estação do ano e espécies simpátricas. Nosso objetivo neste estudo foi examinar a frugivoria desempenhada pelo gambá-de-orelha-preta Didelphis aurita Wied-Neuwied, 1826 em uma área de floresta atlântica da costa do Brasil, incluindo diferenças entre sexos, variação sazonal e relações com espécies simpátricas. Nós coletamos 63 amostras fecais em uma grade num período de seis meses. Foram analisadas a presença e o número de sementes e a riqueza e a diversidade de frutos nas fezes. A diversidade de frutos nas fezes foi estimada pelo índice de Shannon. Os resultados mostraram alta variabilidade no consumo de espécies de frutos ao longo dos meses, mas não havendo diferenças entre os sexos. As espécies de marsupiais simpátricas, incluindo D. aurita, mostraram diferenças substanciais quanto à frugivoria as quais devem estar relacionadas a diferenças de tamanho do corpo, uso do espaço e comportamento de forrageio dessas espécies.

ResumoA composição e a distribuição dos répteis em Santa Catarina são pouco conhecidas, particularmente em suas áreas abertas naturais do planalto (estepe ombrófila) e do litoral (faixa litorânea de restingas com dunas Aspects of the distribution and conservation of these species are discussed briefly.

Composition of mixed-species flocks of forest birds in the Parque Estadual das Araucárias, western Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Mixed-species flocks are associations of two or more species possibly derived from the maximization of foraging and/or minimization of predation. Several studies with mixed-species flocks have been carried out in southern Brazil, but none of them in a native Araucaria forest. Mixed-species bird flocks were surveyed between 2006 to 2007 at the Parque Estadual das Araucárias (PEA), in São Domingos, in the western part of the state of Santa Catarina. Fifty-six species were recorded in 29 flocks and the average number of birds per flock was 11. Of these species, 36 (64%) had a frequency of occurrence that was higher than 10%. The most abundant species were Parula pitiayumi (72%), Hemithraupis guira (65%), Basileuterus culicivorus (62%), Lepidocolaptes falcinellus (62%), Veniliornis spilogaster (55%) and Sittasomus griseicapillus (51%). Apparently, there was no nuclear species that assumed responsibility for the mixed flock's constitution and cohesion, but instead a complex of nuclear species that acted in way that favored the relatively large sizes of the flocks.