Studies with emphasis on assessment and quantification of species biological diversity should be recognized as important tools in the process of knowledge, especially where basic data are scarce. This study was conducted at the Reserva Biológica Unilavras-Boqueirão (21° 20' 47" S and 44° 59' 27" W) inserted in the Cerrado, Ingaí municipality, southern Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. We aimed to characterize and understand local lizard species. Sampling occurred between June 2008 and February 2010 in weekly excursions during the day in the field. Captures were carried out by means of pitfall traps, distributed in six sets, three in Cerrado sensu stricto and three in the gallery forest, making a sampling effort of 6120 buckets per day. Animals viewed, occasionally found or collected by third parties were also included in the sample. A total of 10 lizard species from seven families were captured. The richest vegetation type was the Cerrado sensu stricto with nine species. Only Heterodactylus imbricatus was restricted to gallery forests, where pitfalls sampled 74.12% of lizards captured. The lizard fauna is well represented in the area with species typical of open areas as Ameiva ameiva, Polychrus acutirostris and Mabuya frenata. The species Urostrophus vautieri and Heterodactylus imbricatus, not yet reported for the Cerrado, were also found in the area.

Body size has a strong influence on the ecology and evolution of organisms’ life history. Turtle species can exhibit variation in body size and shape between populations of conspecifics through usually broad geographical scales. This prediction is timely to be tested in this study with the species Hydromedusa tectifera. We aimed to evaluate the variation in body size between and sexual dimorphism within populations of H. tectifera in two areas in Brazil. Sampling occurred in Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul states in order to obtain morphometric measures of carapace and plastron of the individuals. We observed sexual dimorphism within populations. In Rio Grande do Sul state, females were larger than males in most of the carapace and plastron measures. In Minas Gerais state, males were larger than females regarding maximum carapace width. Overall, individuals from Rio Grande do Sul state were larger than those from Minas Gerais state. We discuss possible factors that might cause variation in morphology within and between populations of conspecifics. Research on morphology is encouraged to facilitate comparisons among populations in geographically broad areas.

(table III). During stem extension, the progress of the fungus from the last sheath to the stem did not occur as systematically as for the eyespot fungus (fig 3). Moreover, the effect of sharp-eyespot on the last yield components has been shown only one year (

Linear infrastructures are a primary driver of economic development. However, they also can negatively affect wildlife by mortality and the barrier effect. In this paper, we address how paved and unpaved roads, high-tension power lines, and gas/oil pipelines affect home range size, core areas, and movement in an endangered primate, the golden lion tamarin (GLT). Location data were recorded using radio telemetry on 16 groups in two protected areas and in privately owned forest fragments. The GLT’s home range, not core area, increased in size for the groups that occupied locations far from linear infrastructures; home range was also significantly influenced by available forest size. None of the home ranges contained a road, but home ranges did contain power lines. GLTs used the surrounding landscape near all types of infrastructure. Movement analysis showed that most of the step lengths (distances between subsequent locations) were less than 100 m between two consecutive locations, but step length was longer for roads and longer for groups in fully forested habitats. Tamarins avoided paved roads when in close proximity to this type of infrastructure; this behavior increased in areas without adequate adjacent forest habitat. Our results show that linear infrastructures differ in their level of impact: roads can act as a barrier, whereas other types of infrastructure have minimal effect on movement and home range. We discuss these differences in impact in terms of structure, maintenance schedules, and edge effects of infrastructure.