No abstract

Abstract:To investigate the influence of forests and agroforestry systems on fruit consumption by birds, we studied two landscapes, one covered predominantly with forests and the other dominated by traditional shade cocoa plantations. In each landscape, we sampled three forest fragments and three shade cocoa plantations. We placed 15 artificial fruits in 25, 1–2-m-tall shrubs spaced every 50 m and evaluated the detection and consumption of fruits after 72 h. We used hemispherical photographs positioned above each fruit station to evaluate canopy openness. We found a statistically significant difference in fruit consumption between landscapes, which means that more fruits were detected and consumed in the forest-dominated landscape. However, forests and shade cocoa plantations within each landscape exhibited similar fruit consumption. Canopy openness was similar between the landscapes, however, the cocoa plantations exhibited greater canopy openness than forests. The results of this study reinforce the importance of the presence of forests in the agricultural landscape. Thus, to evaluate the capacity of agroforest to protect species and maintain ecological interactions it is also necessary to consider the landscape context.

The present study reports the occurrence of Parakosa flexipes (Pinichpongse) (Chirodiscidae) for the first time in Brazil, along with its infection sites on Molossus rufus E. Geoffroy. Thirty-eight bats were caught using mist nets that were placed near a house at the Mars Center for Cocoa Science in the state of Bahia, of which 14 (37%) were parasitized by P. flexipes. Parakosa flexipes was observed parasitizing M. rufus on hairs that were evidently longer than others distributed over the bat's body, where up to three parasites could be spotted on a single hair.Keywords: Mite, distribution, ectoparasite, Atlantic Forest, Molossus rufus. ResumoO presente estudo registra a ocorrência de Parakosa flexipes (Pinichpongse) pela primeira vez no Brasil, bem como seus sítios de infecção em Molossus rufus E. Geoffroy. Foram capturados 38 morcegos com redes-de-neblina, dispostas próximas a uma residência da "Mars Center for Cocoa Science" no Sul da Bahia, dos quais 14 (37%) estavam parasitados por P. flexipes. Parakosa flexipes foi observada parasitando M. rufus em pelos evidentemente maiores que os demais distribuídos pelo corpo do morcego, onde se pôde observar até três parasitos em um único pelo.