Intracultural Variation in the Knowledge of Medicinal Plants in an Urban-Rural Community in the Atlantic Forest from Northeastern Brazil

This study assessed the intracultural knowledge of the use of medicinal plants in an urban-rural community in an Atlantic forest fragment in northeastern Brazil. We examined the importance of native and exotic species and the effects of gender and age on that knowledge. We also compared data obtained from different groups of informants (local experts and general community). We conducted 194 interviews between June 2007 and January 2008, using the freelist technique and semistructured forms to collect ethnobotanical data. Information obtained from the community was compared with that from six local experts who participated in a survey in 2003. From a total of 209 ethnospecies, exotic and herbaceous plants presented higher richness. With respect to the number of citations, women and older informants were shown to know a higher number of medicinal plants. Comparing knowledge of local experts with that of the general community, we noted that experts know a similar wealth of plant families and therapeutic indications, but the community knows a greater species richness. These results indicate that local experts may provide useful information for studies that search for a quick diagnosis of the knowledge of a given community.

Download Full-text

Feather mites (Acari, Astigmata) associated with birds in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Northeastern Brazil

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/1519-6984.23313 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 75 (3) ◽

pp. 726-735 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

HM Silva ◽

FA Hernandes ◽

M Pichorim

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Bird Species ◽

Rio Grande ◽

Neotropical Region ◽

Species Level ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragment ◽

Visual Examination ◽

Feather Mites ◽

First Time

AbstractThe present study reports associations between feather mites (Astigmata) and birds in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Rio Grande do Norte state, in Brazil. In the laboratory, mites were collected through visual examination of freshly killed birds. Overall, 172 individuals from 38 bird species were examined, between October 2011 and July 2012. The prevalence of feather mites was 80.8%, corresponding to 139 infested individuals distributed into 30 species and 15 families of hosts. Fifteen feather mite taxa could be identified to the species level, sixteen to the genus level and three to the subfamily level, distributed into the families Analgidae, Proctophyllodidae, Psoroptoididae, Pteronyssidae, Xolalgidae, Trouessartiidae, Falculiferidae and Gabuciniidae. Hitherto unknown associations between feather mites and birds were recorded for eleven taxa identified to the species level, and nine taxa were recorded for the first time in Brazil. The number of new geographic records, as well as the hitherto unknown mite-host associations, supports the high estimates of diversity for feather mites of Brazil and show the need for research to increase knowledge of plumicole mites in the Neotropical region.

Download Full-text

Dynamics and Edge Effect of an Atlantic Forest Fragment in Brazil

Floresta e Ambiente ◽

10.1590/2179-8087.064713 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 340-349 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Poliana Gabriella Araújo Mendes ◽

Maria Amanda Menezes Silva ◽

Tassiane Novacosque Feitosa Guerra ◽

Ana Carolina Borges Lins-e-Silva ◽

Airton de Deus Cysneiros Cavalcanti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Edge Effect ◽

Woody Plants ◽

Response Times ◽

Forest Edge ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragment ◽

Canopy Tree ◽

Forest Interior

ABSTRACT The woody plants in an edge area formed approximately 35 years ago in an Atlantic Forest fragment in northeastern Brazil were examined, and three environments defined: edge, intermediate, and interior. Canopy tree densities and basal areas were found to be similar in all three environments, and also similar to previous published studies in the same region; species richness was greatest at the forest edge. The understory showed greater species richness in the forest interior, but greater diversity and equitability in the intermediate environment. Understory environments close to the forest edge demonstrated larger stem diameters than in the forest interior, although at lesser densities and with smaller total basal areas. Our results indicated the existence of distinct patterns in canopy and understory that most likely reflect differences in the response times of these two vegetation layers, with the understory being more sensitive to alterations in environmental structure.

Download Full-text

Species richness and seasonality of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) in an urban Atlantic Forest fragment in Northeastern Brazil

Urban Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s11252-006-0002-7 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 323-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Sidclay C. Dias ◽

Antonio D. Brescovit ◽

Erminda C. G. Couto ◽

Celso F. Martins

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragment

Download Full-text

A Menstruating Taboo is Structuring and Shaping the Human Behavior in the Harvesting of Medicinal Plants in a Semiarid Landscape in Brazil

10.21203/rs.3.rs-402037/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jorge Izaquiel Alves de Siqueira ◽

Luci de Senna-Valle ◽

Edna Maria Ferreira Chaves ◽

Jesus Rodrigues Lemos

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Rural Community ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Great Influence ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Traditional Practice ◽

Research Participants ◽

Home Remedies ◽

The Social

Abstract BackgroundThis article presents, from a biocultural perspective, a menstruating taboo related to the touching, harvesting and preparation of home remedies based on the use of medicinal plants in a rural community located in a semiarid landscape of Cocal municipality, Piauí state, Northeastern Brazil. MethodsMethods used include participant observation and semi-structured interviews performed with 27 local people (21 female and six male) that recognized a taboo regarding the menstruating cycle and the harvesting of medicinal plants in Franco rural community, Cocal, Piauí, Northeastern Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were used to document data regarding the profile of research participants, their perceptions about the taboo documented, as well as the social and biocultural implications of the execution of this traditional practice of prohibition. Participant observation was conducted in order to grasp a better understanding of the social and biocultural implications of the taboo. Additionally, a photographic record was kept during this stage.ResultsIt was verified in Franco rural community that female adolescents and/or women in their menstruating period were prohibited from touching, harvesting and/or preparing home remedies based on the use of medicinal plants. Research participants believed that this can cause the death of medicinal plants, or that they lose their medicinal properties. This taboo has serious social and biocultural implications locally, and can be structured firstly as maladaptive of cultural information at the individual level, as it inhibits the ability of menstruating women to take care of themselves and the health of their families, and secondly as an adaptative strategy at the group level among its users (promotes the transmission of knowledge and cooperation among its users). This traditional practice has serious positive implications for maintaining local bioculturality, sustainability of local medical systems and women's health.ConclusionThis taboo documented within the Franco community is an important informal institution with great influence on human biocultural behavior. The inclusion of these perspectives on taboos in biocultural studies offers opportunities for a greater understanding of biocultural attitudes related to interactions between the human species/biota and the environment in a complex knowledge system.

Download Full-text

Small non-volant mammals (Didelphimorphia and Rodentia) from the RPPN Guarirú, an Atlantic Forest fragment in northeastern Brazil

Check List ◽

10.15560/11.6.1782 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1782

Author(s):

Mateus Souza de Carvalho ◽

Téo Veiga de Oliveira

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Pitfall Traps ◽

Forest Fragment ◽

Relative Lack ◽

Northern Half ◽

One Year ◽

Didelphis Aurita ◽

Privately Owned

Due to the very rare mammal inventories in the northern half of the Atlantic Forest in the state of Bahia, Brazil, all initiatives to increase the knowledge of the group in this region are greatly appreciated. Thus, herein we present an inventory conducted in the privately owned Guarirú Nature Reserve, a fragment of Atlantic Forest in several conservation/regeneration stages. Sampling was carried out using Tomahawk, Sherman, and Pitfall traps over one year. The sampling resulted in 154 captures of 93 individuals from 12 different species. The didelphids Didelphis aurita, Gracilinanus microtarsus, Marmosa murina, Marmosops incanus, Metachirus nudicaudatus, Micoureus paraguayanus, and Monodelphis americana were recorded, as well as the cricetids Akodon cursor, Oligoryzomys sp., and Rhipidomys sp., and the echimyids Trinomys albispinus and T. setosus. Given the relative lack of knowledge about this important portion of the Atlantic Forest this inventory is an important contribution to the mammalogy of Brazil.

Download Full-text

New record of Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Felidae), in an Atlantic Forest fragment in the Pernambuco Endemism Center, northeastern Brazil

Check List ◽

10.15560/17.4.1067 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 1067-1073

Author(s):

Déborah Maria Soares Ramos ◽

Lucas Gonçalves da Silva ◽

João Pedro Souza-Alves ◽

Isabella Ribeiro Carlos ◽

Martín Alejandro Montes

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

New Record ◽

New Records ◽

Camera Trap ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragment ◽

Important Data ◽

Leopardus Pardalis ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Forest Inventories

The Pernambuco Endemism Center is a key region for the maintenance of biodiversity of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Inventories of the medium-sized terrestrial mammals in this region are scarce, and several information gaps still remain. We conducted a camera trap survey at the Tapacurá Ecological Station, São Lourenço da Mata, Pernambuco. We obtained new records of at least four females and three male individuals of Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758). The records provide important data about occurrence and distribution of a threatened population of this mesocarnivore in northeastern Brazil.

Download Full-text

Analysis of the reproductive stage and ovarian histomorphometry of Dermanura cinerea (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in an Atlantic Forest fragment of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil

Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira ◽

10.1590/1678-5150-pvb-4934 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 167-174 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nivaldo B. Lima Junior ◽

Maria J.G. Arandas ◽

Fabricya R. Silva ◽

Erivaldo A. Antonio ◽

Francisco C.A. Aguiar Júnior ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Ovarian Follicle ◽

Optical Microscope ◽

Reproductive Period ◽

Reproductive Stage ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Histomorphometric Analysis ◽

Forest Fragment

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to analyze the reproductive stage, histology and morphometry of the ovary of Dermanura cinerea in an Atlantic Forest fragments in the Biological Reserve of Saltinho, Pernambuco, Brazil. Adult females were captured monthly by mist net, during two consecutive nights from June/2014 to November/2015. The meteorological data were provided by the National Institute of Meteorology and grouped together with the reproductive data, in six periods: period I (June to August/2014), period II (September to November/2014), period III (December/2014 to February/2015), period IV (March to May/2015), period V (June to August/2015) and period VI (September to November/2015). The females were classified according to their reproductive stages in: Inactive, pregnant, lactating and postlactating. Among the 25 females caught, 10 inactive females were selected for the histomorphometric analysis of the ovaries and then they were euthanized. After that, the specimens had their ovaries removed, fixed, processed and included in Paraplast. The organs were cut and stained by Hematoxylin - Eosin and the histological slides produced were submitted to the appropriate optical microscope analysis. Each type of ovarian follicle was estimated according to the histological characteristics evidenced for other mammals. In the morphometric analysis, it was considered: The area of the ovary (measured in square millimeter), Quantification of different types of ovarian follicles (unilaminar and multilaminar primary follicles, antral and matures) and corpus luteum, as well as the area of each by those different follicles (measured in square micrometer) The results indicated that 16 females were inactive, 5 were lactating, 4 were pregnant and no post-lactating. The histological analysis revealed that the ovaries of D. cinerea exhibit characteristics, structures and cellular types similar to other mammals. The morphometric data of the study area were statistically evaluated using the Student’s t-test. Therefore, ovarian histomorphometric analysis are very important to infer with greater certainty about the reproduction of a species. Thus, it was observed that females of D. cinerea exhibit two reproductive peaks, that is, they can give birth either at the end of dry periods or from the beginning to the middle of the rainy season. The main feature observed in the ovary of this species, found in the Atlantic Forest area of the state of Pernambuco, is the preparation of the ovarian cortex to ovulate in months of high rainfall throughout the year. Therefore, this species tries to adjust its reproductive period with the variations of the environmental conditions, so that the reproduction might occur during the period more favorable for the maintenance of their offspring.

Download Full-text

Gall-inducing insects from Atlantic Forest of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/s1676-06032012000300020 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 196-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Jean Carlos Santos ◽

Jarcilene Silva de Almeida-Cortez ◽

Geraldo Wilson Fernandes

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Host Plants ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Insect Galls ◽

Green Color ◽

Host Plant Species ◽

Plant Families ◽

Galling Insects

An inventory of gall inducing insects and their host plants in the Atlantic forest of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil is presented. Samples of galls and their host plants were taken in six fragments of Atlantic forest. One hundred thirty-six different morphotypes of insect galls on 79 host plant species belonging to 35 plant families and 53 genera were recorded. The host plant families most attacked by galling insects were: Lecythidaceae, Myrtaceae, and Nyctaginaceae. The most frequent galling taxa were Diptera of the Cecidomyiidae family (95%), followed by Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Galls occurred most frequently on leaves and stems, had globoid and elliptical shapes, green color and absence of trichomes on the external walls. The data indicate an intermediary richness of gall inducing insects when compared to other Brazilian Atlantic forests.

Download Full-text