The Conde municipality is located in the northern coast of the state of Bahia (NC), northeastern Brazil, and is part of the Atlantic Tropical domain. The anuran fauna of the northern portion of the NC is still poorly known if compared to the southern portion. The Restinga is one of the predominant environments of the coastal plains of the NC and it is characterized essentially by presenting sandy soil covered by herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. The objective of this study was to determine the anuran species composition and diversity for the Restinga of the Conde municipality. Sampling was carried out at night by active search over four periods of five consecutive days each, two over the 'main rainy season' and two in a 'lesser rainy season', using 14 sample units (SUs) and five extra sample plots (EPs). We calculated dominance and species diversity using the Berger-Parker and Shannon-Wiener H' indices, respectively. We used accumulation curves and the Jackknife 1 estimator to estimate anuran species richness, considering only the data obtained from the SUs. We recorded 713 anuran specimens distributed within 33 species, 13 genera and five families (Bufonidae, Craugastoridae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae and Microhylidae). The Hylidae and Leptodactylidae families had the highest species richness. Considering only the SUs (Jackknife 1 estimator in brackets), we recorded 28 species in the study area (33.9 ± 2.3), 13 in Shrubby Vegetation Zones - SVZ (20.8 ± 2.9) and 25 in Freshwater Wetland Zones - FWZ (28.9 ± 1.9). The abundance and species diversity of the FWZ (n = 638 specimens; H'= 2.4) were higher than those recorded for the SVZ (n = 52 specimens; H' = 1.9). The SVZ and FWZ showed distinct dominant species, wherein Pristimantis paulodutrai was the dominant species in SVZ and Scinax fuscomarginatus in FWZ. The Restinga of the Conde municipality stands out as the one with the highest anuran species richness already recorded considering only SVZ and FWZ. Moreover, its anuran species composition represented 55% of the anuran species known for the NC and included taxa common to three different morphoclimatic domains (Tropical Atlantic, Cerrado and Caatinga).

No abstract

We investigate the disengagement of four former activists of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra—MST) in Brazil. The MST is the largest Brazilian social movement and has mobilized activists for over 30 years. The trajectories of recruitment, participation and disengagement of its activists serve as emblematic cases for the study of disengagement in social movements in general. This research contributes to the understanding of the activists’ disengagement from a social movement, a phenomenon that has been little studied. It sheds new light on the study of disengagement in two ways. First, some characteristics of the MST, in particular that many activists live in tight-knit communities, children participation and the activists’ long-lasting participation, open up new possibilities for the analysis of factors that influence disengagement pointed out in previous studies. In addition, the analysis of former activists’ whole trajectories of recruitment-participation-disengagement allows us show that considering disengagement as the analogous process as recruitment cannot explain all of its aspects. Given that the reasons that make someone leave a movement are, not always, the same that made someone join it. A multiple-case study design was used. The semi-structured interviews encompassing the engagement trajectories of the former activists served very well to the purpose of evidencing the multi-level character of the disengagement decision-making. Our analysis reveals how the social context, the movement and the activists’ personal characteristics in conjunction play a pivotal role.

No abstract