RESUMO
This study reports the factors which led a gated community located in Bragança Paulista (SP, Brazil), a non-endemic area for Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF), to be classified as a Risk Area for transmission of this disease, showing that an increasing resident population of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in the area was likely responsible for a proliferation of Amblyomma sculptum ticks and acted as an amplifying host for Rickettsia rickettsii, the main etiologic agent of BSF. We report management actions proposed to control the local tick burden and reduce BSF risk, including measures to control parasitic and free-living tick populations and exclusion of the resident capybara population. Analyses of tick population data and R. rickettsii serology tests indicate that these measures were effective, greatly reducing the environmental burden of Amblyomma sculptum ticks and reducing the BSF transmission risk at the area.(AU)
Este estudo relata os fatores que levaram um Residencial localizado em Bragança Paulista (SP, Brasil), área não-endêmica para Febre Maculosa Brasileira (FMB), a ser classificado como Área de Risco para a doença, mostrando que uma crescente população residente de capivaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) na área era a provável responsável por uma proliferação de carrapatos Amblyomma sculptum e estava atuando como hospedeiro amplificador da bactéria Rickettsia rickettsii, principal agente etiológico da FMB. Relatamos as ações de manejo ambiental propostas para controlar a quantidade de carrapatos no local e reduzir o risco de transmissão da doença, incluindo medidas para o controle de populações de carrapatos parasíticas e no ambiente e a eliminação da população residente de capivaras. Análises de dados populacionais de carrapatos e testes serológicos para R. rickettsii indicaram que as medidas tomadas foram efetivas, causando grande redução da população de carrapatos no ambiente e reduzindo o risco de transmissão de FMB na área.(AU)
Assuntos
Animais , Roedores/parasitologia , Controle Biológico de Vetores , Febre Maculosa das Montanhas Rochosas/parasitologia , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
Morphological integration refers to the fact that different phenotypic traits of organisms are not fully independent from each other, and tend to covary to different degrees. The covariation among traits is thought to reflect properties of the species' genetic architecture and thus can have an impact on evolutionary responses. Furthermore, if morphological integration changes along the history of a group, inferences of past selection regimes might be problematic. Here, we evaluated the stability and evolution of the morphological integration of skull traits in Carnivora by using evolutionary simulations and phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results show that carnivoran species are able to respond to natural selection in a very similar way. Our comparative analyses show that the phylogenetic signal for pattern of integration is lower than that observed for morphology (trait averages), and that integration was stable throughout the evolution of the group. That notwithstanding, Canidae differed from other families by having higher integration, evolvability, flexibility, and allometric coefficients on the facial region. These changes might have allowed canids to rapidly adapt to different food sources, helping to explain not only the phenotypic diversification of the family, but also why humans were able to generate such a great diversity of dog breeds through artificial selection.
