No abstract

In an elevational gradient, the mountain top generally presents a reduced species diversity. However, it is there where we often find microendemic and quite often still undescribed species. That prediction is very common in underexplored Neotropical mountains, like those of the Caparaó National Park – a protected area that includes the highest peak of the Atlantic Forest, a megadiverse domain. Up in its top, we found a dwarf frog of the genus Physalaemus (Anura, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperinae), belonging to the P. signifer clade. After an integrative (morphological, bioacoustical, and genetic) analysis, we were able to describe it as a new species and found it to be sister to P. maculiventris. Due to its very restricted distribution at a site with extreme environmental conditions (which includes fires and frosts) and current instability in national environmental policy, we suggest this to be classified as an endangered species. A brief description of its natural history and the description of the species itself will now enable its proper conservation status categorization and the future planning for conservation actions.

-The spatial distribution of fauna associated to marine macroalgae has mostly been investigated considering a horizontal plane. However, the macroalgal substrates can present a three-dimensional structure. In this sense, investigating how the associated fauna varies throughout a vertical plane can contribute to understanding the distribution of these organisms. The brown macroalga Sargassum presents a vertical stratification along its thallus and harbors an amphipod fauna with a variety of feeding habits. In this work, we tested if the amphipod assemblage varies along different portions of the Sargassum thallus. We collected whole Sargassum stenophyllum thalli, as well as isolated basal and distal portions, from a rocky shore located on the north coast of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. The composition of amphipod families varied according to the Sargassum portion and the families Corophiidae, Caprellidae and Hyalidae accounted for most of the differences. Moreover, the basal portion of Sargassum had a higher diversity of amphipod families than the distal one, which may be related to differences regarding habitat complexity (herein, measured as algal biomass) between these portions. Detritivores (such as Corophiidae) were more associated to the basal portion and herbivores to the distal portion (Hyalidae) or along the whole Sargassum thallus (Ampithoidae). The variation of amphipod assemblage along Sargassum thallus seems to result from the interaction between the fauna natural history and the differences in conditions and physical structure along the algal thallus. In this sense, the vertical stratification of Sargassum can add another source of variation to the spatial distribution of associated fauna.(GBOM, SAD) Pós

The Outlook article 'Expanding the reach of science' (Nature 562, S10-S11; 2018) cited the wrong value for the number of STEM teachers in Accra who have been trained by The Exploratory. It should have been 70, not 700. Support for African clinician scientists As members of Africa's next generation of scientists, we agree that there is a need to build the capacity of African institutions to train skilled researchers and scholars (see go.nature. com/2araify). To this end, we recently founded the South African Clinician Scientists Society (www.sacss.co.za). By creating a collegial environment for emerging specialists, we hope this, and similar societies, will contribute to attracting and retaining African scientists and easing their scientific journey (see Nature 562, S58-S61; 2018). Researchers who return from training abroad to a supportive and enabling environment make the transition into successful independent scientists faster than do isolated researchers. So, the society uses three strategies to nurture talented professionals, centred on relationships. First, it identifies suitable mentors. Second, the society develops research networks. Third, it aims to create multidisciplinary research units that provide administrative and research support.

Using an integrative approach (morphology of the adult and larvae, bioacoustics, osteology, karyotype, and molecular data), we described a new tetraploid species of Odontophrynus to the Mantiqueira mountain range, in southeastern Brazil. The data suggest that Odontophrynus toledoi sp. nov., O. juquinha and Odontophrynus sp. (aff. juquinha) comprise a clade with specimens distributed along three distinct mountain ranges in Brazil: Mantiqueira (O. toledoi sp. nov.) and Espinhaço (O. juquinha) mountains, both in southeastern Brazil, and Diamantina Plateau (O. aff. juquinha), in northeastern Brazil. The new species is morphologically similar and closely related to O. juquinha, but is distinguished in morphology (both adult and larval), karyotype (O. toledoi sp. nov. is tetraploid and O. juquinha is diploid), and corroborated by phylogenetic inferences. We also show that these species do not exchange haplotypes in the 16s gene. Furthermore, although the raw acoustic parameters of Odontophrynus toledoi sp. nov. and O. juquinha overlap at the limits of their ranges, we found a clear difference in the acoustic space structure.