Pentatomidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) in Herbaceous and Shrub Strata of Atlantic Forest Remnants in Northeastern Brazil.

Most pentatomids are phytophagous, many of which are economically important crop pests. The family may also be a potentially important group to monitor the health of neotropical forests. However, there is a lack of biological inventories of Pentatomidae, especially in forest remnants of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. This is the first systematic survey of pentatomids reported in three Atlantic forest fragments in northeastern Brazil. In total, 997 individuals belonging to 38 species were recorded, some of which are considered economically important pests. Singletons and doubletons represented 45.9% of all species collected. The most abundant genera were Mormidea Amyot & Serville, 1843; Stictochilus Bergroth, 1918; Xynocoris Garbelotto & Campos 2014; and Edessa F., 1803. Species richness differed among fragments, with a richness gradient correlated with decreased urbanization and increased fragment size. The species abundance distribution fitted the logseries function but not the lognormal, in accordance with what is found for other assemblages in southern Brazil. Species composition also changed, in association with changes in temperature (revealed by the canonical correspondence analysis [CCA]), among fragments. Murici is one of the last remaining dense forests with high plant diversity in the region, having higher pentatomid species richness and a distinctive fauna. This first diversity study for Pentatomidae in fragments of tropical Atlantic Forest in northeastern Brazil reveals richness comparable with those from subtropical southern Brazil, with some species in common as well.

Unexplored diversity and conservation potential of neotropical hot caves.

The term hot cave is used to describe some subterranean chambers in the Neotropics that are characterized by constantly high ambient temperatures generated by the body heat of high densities of certain bat species. Many of these species have limited geographic ranges, and some occur only in the hot-cave environment. In addition to the bats, the stable microclimate and abundant bat guano provides refuge and food for a high diversity of invertebrates. Hot caves have so far been described in the Caribbean and in a few isolated locations from Mexico to Brazil, although there is some evidence that similar caves may be present throughout the tropics. The existing literature suggests these poorly known ecosystems, with their unique combination of geomorphology and bat-generated microclimate, are particularly sensitive to disturbance and face multiple threats from urbanization, agricultural development, mining, and tourism.