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González J, Fonseca DM, Toledo A. Seasonal Dynamics of Tick Species in the Ecotone of Parks and Recreational Areas in Middlesex County (New Jersey, USA). INSECTS 2023; 14:258. [PMID: 36975943 PMCID: PMC10057079 DOI: 10.3390/insects14030258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
People often use parks and other forested areas for outdoor activities such as hiking and walking their dogs. Areas of primary use are paths or grassy meadows on the edges of the forests that constitute transitional areas between different plant communities (aka ecotones). In this study, we monitored the seasonal dynamics of questing ticks in forest/meadow and forest/path ecotones in five areas in Middlesex County, New Jersey (NJ). We found anthropophilic species such as Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum, and Dermacentor variabilis coexisting with Haemaphysalis longicornis, an invasive tick species first detected in NJ in 2017. Surveillance was conducted weekly from March to November 2020, and collected ticks were identified. The most abundant tick species was H. longicornis (83%), followed by A. americanum (9%), I. scapularis (7%), and D. variabilis (<1%). The seasonal dynamics of A. americanum and I. scapularis in the ecotone were similar to previous surveys in forest habitats. The presence of anthropophilic ticks, particularly I. scapularis, suggests the need for specific control approaches to target these habitats. In addition, the extraordinarily high numbers of H. longicornis collected in ecotones (1.70 ticks/m2) and frequent reports of this species on dogs highlight the importance of monitoring its expansion due to its potential as a vector of animal and human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dina M. Fonseca
- Center for Vector Biology, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, 180 Jones Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Alvaro Toledo
- Center for Vector Biology, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, 180 Jones Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
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2
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Sánchez-García D, Cerdá X, Angulo E. Temperature or competition: Which has more influence on Mediterranean ant communities? PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267547. [PMID: 35486575 PMCID: PMC9053807 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Temperature and competition are two of the main factors determining ant community assemblages. Temperature may allow species to forage more or less efficiently throughout the day (in accordance with the maximum activity temperature of each species). Competition can be observed and quantified from species replacements occurring during resource exploitation. We studied the interspecific competitive interactions of ant communities from the Doñana Biological Reserve (southern Spain). Ants were sampled from pitfall traps and baits in three habitats with contrasted vegetation physiognomy (savin forest, pine forest, and dry scrubland). We measured the temperature during the competitive interactions between species and created a thermal competition index (TCI) to assess the relative contribution of temperature and numerical dominance to the competitive outcomes. Temperature had unequal effects on ant activity in each type of habitat, and modulated competitive interactions. The TCI showed that a species’ success during pair interactions (replacements at baits) was driven by the proportion of workers between the two competing species and by the species-specific effect of temperature (how advantageous the temperature change is for each species during bait replacement). During competitive interactions, the effect of temperature (higher values of TCI) and numeric supremacy (higher worker proportion) gave higher success probabilities. Interspecific competitive relationships in these Mediterranean ant communities are habitat dependent and greatly influenced by temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sánchez-García
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Science, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Xim Cerdá
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
- Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay Cedex, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Elena Angulo
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
- Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay Cedex, France
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3
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Mugnai M, Frasconi Wendt C, Balzani P, Ferretti G, Dal Cin M, Masoni A, Frizzi F, Santini G, Viciani D, Foggi B, Lazzaro L. Small-scale drivers on plant and ant diversity in a grassland habitat through a multifaceted approach. PeerJ 2022; 9:e12517. [PMID: 35036118 PMCID: PMC8711281 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Semi-natural grasslands are characterized by high biodiversity and require multifaceted approaches to monitor their biodiversity. Moreover, grasslands comprise a multitude of microhabitats, making the scale of investigation of fundamental importance. Despite their wide distribution, grasslands are highly threatened and are considered of high conservation priority by Directive no. 92/43/EEC. Here, we investigate the effects of small-scale ecological differences between two ecosites present within the EU habitat of Community Interest of semi-natural dry grasslands on calcareous substrates (6210 according to Dir. 92/43/EEC) occurring on a Mediterranean mountain. We measured taxonomic and functional diversity of plant and ant communities, evaluating the differences among the two ecosites, how these differences are influenced by the environment and whether vegetation affects composition of the ant community. Our results show that taxonomic and functional diversity of plant and ant communities are influenced by the environment. While vegetation has no effect on ant communities, we found plant and ant community composition differed across the two ecosites, filtering ant and plant species according to their functional traits, even at a small spatial scale. Our findings imply that small-scale monitoring is needed to effectively conserve priority habitats, especially for those that comprise multiple microhabitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Mugnai
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | | | - Paride Balzani
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy.,Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses, University of South Bohemia, Vodňany, Czech Republic
| | - Giulio Ferretti
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Matteo Dal Cin
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Alberto Masoni
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Filippo Frizzi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Giacomo Santini
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Daniele Viciani
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Bruno Foggi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Lazzaro
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
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4
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Podgaiski LR, Guimarães GDC, Dröse W, Pereira Almerão M. Ants benefit from the Japanese raisin tree invasion and favor its invasiveness in the subtropical Atlantic Rainforest. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - William Dröse
- Departamento de Botânica Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brasil
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5
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Deák B, Báthori F, Lőrinczi G, Végvári Z, Nagy DD, Mizser S, Torma A, Valkó O, Tóthmérész B. Functional composition of ant assemblages in habitat islands is driven by habitat factors and landscape composition. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20962. [PMID: 34697323 PMCID: PMC8546063 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00385-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Fragmented natural habitats within human-transformed landscapes play a key role in preserving biodiversity. Ants as keystone species are essential elements of terrestrial ecosystems; thus, it is important to understand the factors influencing their presence. In a large-scale multi-site study, we surveyed ant assemblages using sweep netting and D-vac sampling on 158 ancient burial mounds preserving grassland habitats in agricultural landscapes in East-Hungary. We asked the following questions: (1) How do habitat factors and landscape composition affect species richness and functional diversity of ants? (2) Which ant traits are affected by habitat factors and landscape composition? Despite their small sizes, mounds as permanent and relatively undisturbed landscape elements could provide safe havens for diverse ant assemblages even in transformed agricultural landscapes. The complex habitat structure of wooded mounds supported high species and functional diversity of ant assemblages. Ant species on wooded mounds had small or medium-sized colonies, enabling the co-existence of more species. The effect of landscape composition on ant assemblages was mediated by habitat factors: steep slopes buffered the negative effect of the cropland matrix and enabled higher ant diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balázs Deák
- Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary.,Lendület Landscape and Conservation Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Center for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary
| | - Ferenc Báthori
- Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary.,Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary
| | - Gábor Lőrinczi
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Végvári
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Centre for Ecological Research, Karolina út 29, Budapest, 1113, Hungary.,Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Eberswalder Str. 90, 15374, Müncheberg, Germany
| | - Dávid D Nagy
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Mizser
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
| | - Attila Torma
- Lendület Landscape and Conservation Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Center for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary.,Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Valkó
- Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary.
| | - Béla Tóthmérész
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, 4032, Hungary
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6
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Lutinski JA, Dorneles FE, Guarda C, Lutinski CJ, Busato MA, Giovenardi R, Garcia FRM. Ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Turvo State Park, municipality of Derrubadas, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. BRAZ J BIOL 2021; 83:e239642. [PMID: 34133487 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.239642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The knowledge of ant assemblages that occurs in Conservation Units in the Atlantic Forest domain is a priority, considering the number of endemic species and the impacts that this biome has been suffering. The aim of this study was to evaluate ant assemblages in the Turvo State Park, which is the largest conservation unit in the State of Rio Grande do Sul and presents an important role on biodiversity protection. Two samplings were conducted in 2019, one in the summer (January) and the other in the spring (November and December), at five sites 2 km apart, with pitfall traps (soil and canopy), sardine baits, glucose, beating net, sweeping net and manual collection. We sampled 121 species in the summer and 120 in the spring, totaling 163 ant species. A total of 78 species (47.8%) occurred in both sampling seasons. The richest genera in the study were Camponotus (S = 30), Pheidole (S = 23) and Linepithema (S = 11). Seventeen species were recorded for the first time for Rio Grande do Sul state. The results indicate that this is one of the most species-rich assemblages of ants ever surveyed in a conservation unit in southern Brazil. The study highlights the importance of Conservation Units as protected environments against habitat loss for ant biodiversity. The results of this study contribute to myrmecofauna knowledge and serve as a basis for environmental impact studies, management plans and conservation of Atlantic Forest remnants.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A Lutinski
- Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó - Unochapecó, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Chapecó, SC, Brasil
| | - F E Dorneles
- Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó - Unochapecó, Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Chapecó, SC, Brasil
| | - C Guarda
- Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó - Unochapecó, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Chapecó, SC, Brasil
| | - C J Lutinski
- Universidade Federal Fronteira Sul - UFFS, Departamento de Biologia, Chapecó, SC, Brasil
| | - M A Busato
- Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó - Unochapecó, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Chapecó, SC, Brasil
| | - R Giovenardi
- Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões - URI, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Frederico Westphalen, RS, Brasil
| | - F R M Garcia
- Universidade Federal de Pelotas - UFPel, Departamento de Ecologia, Zoologia e Genética, Capão do Leão, RS, Brasil
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van der Mescht A, Pryke JS, Gaigher R, Samways MJ. Sympatric bush cricket species co-exist across a complex landscape by optimising both acoustic and ecological space. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1925589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aileen van der Mescht
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - James S Pryke
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - René Gaigher
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Michael J Samways
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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8
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Dilworth KA, Borowiec ML, Cohen AL, Mickelson GS, Oeller EC, Crowder DW, Clark RE. Ants of the Palouse Prairie: diversity and species composition in an endangered grassland. Biodivers Data J 2021; 9:e65768. [PMID: 34012316 PMCID: PMC8128849 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.9.e65768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Grasslands are globally imperilled ecosystems due to widespread conversion to agriculture and there is a concerted effort to catalogue arthropod diversity in grasslands to guide conservation decisions. The Palouse Prairie is one such endangered grassland; a mid-elevation habitat found in Washington and Idaho, United States. Ants (Formicidae) are useful indicators of biodiversity and historical ecological disturbance, but there has been no structured sampling of ants in the Palouse Prairie. To fill this gap, we employed a rapid inventory sampling approach using pitfall traps to capture peak ant activity in five habitat fragments. We complemented our survey with a systemic review of field studies for the ant species found in Palouse Prairie. Our field inventory yielded 17 ant species across 10 genera and our models estimate the total ant species pool to be 27. The highest ant diversity was found in an actively-managed ecological trust in Latah County, Idaho, suggesting that restoration efforts may increase biodiversity. We also report two rarely-collected ants in the Pacific Northwest and a microgyne that may represent an undescribed species related to Brachymyrmexdepilis. Our score-counting review revealed that grassland ants in Palouse Prairie have rarely been studied previously and that more ant surveys in temperate grasslands have lagged behind sampling efforts of other global biomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla A Dilworth
- Washington State University, Pullman, United States of America Washington State University Pullman United States of America
| | - Marek L Borowiec
- University of Idaho, Moscow, United States of America University of Idaho Moscow United States of America
| | - Abigail L Cohen
- Washington State University, Pullman, United States of America Washington State University Pullman United States of America
| | - Gabrielle S Mickelson
- Washington State University, Pullman, United States of America Washington State University Pullman United States of America
| | - Elisabeth C Oeller
- Washington State University, Pullman, United States of America Washington State University Pullman United States of America
| | - David W Crowder
- Washington State University, Pullman, United States of America Washington State University Pullman United States of America
| | - Robert E Clark
- Washington State University, Pullman, United States of America Washington State University Pullman United States of America
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Ferreira PMA, Andrade BO, Podgaiski LR, Dias AC, Pillar VD, Overbeck GE, Mendonça MDS, Boldrini II. Long-term ecological research in southern Brazil grasslands: Effects of grazing exclusion and deferred grazing on plant and arthropod communities. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0227706. [PMID: 31931512 PMCID: PMC6957338 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Grazing exclusion may lead to biodiversity loss and homogenization of naturally heterogeneous and species-rich grassland ecosystems, and these effects may cascade to higher trophic levels and ecosystem properties. Although grazing exclusion has been studied elsewhere, the consequences of alleviating the disturbance regime in grassland ecosystems remain unclear. In this paper, we present results of the first five years of an experiment in native grasslands of southern Brazil. Using a randomized block experimental design, we examined the effects of three grazing treatments on plant and arthropod communities: (i) deferred grazing (i.e., intermittent grazing), (ii) grazing exclusion and (iii) a control under traditional continuous grazing, which were applied to 70 x 70 m experimental plots, in six regionally distributed blocks. We evaluated plant community responses regarding taxonomic and functional diversity (life-forms) in separate spatial components: alpha (1 x 1 m subplots), beta, and gamma (70 x 70 m plots), as well as the cascading effects on arthropod high-taxa. By estimating effect sizes (treatments vs. control) by bootstrap resampling, both deferred grazing and grazing exclusion mostly increased vegetation height, plant biomass and standing dead biomass. The effect of grazing exclusion on plant taxonomic diversity was negative. Conversely, deferred grazing increased plant taxonomic diversity, but both treatments reduced plant functional diversity. Reduced grazing pressure in both treatments promoted the break of dominance by prostrate species, followed by fast homogenization of vegetation structure towards dominance of ligneous and erect species. These changes in the plant community led to increases in high-taxa richness and abundance of vegetation-dwelling arthropod groups under both treatments, but had no detectable effects on epigeic arthropods. Our results indicate that decision-making regarding the conservation of southern Brazil grasslands should include both intensive and alleviated levels of grazing management, but not complete grazing exclusion, to maximize conservation results when considering plant and arthropod communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M. A. Ferreira
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução da Biodiversidade, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Bianca O. Andrade
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Luciana R. Podgaiski
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Amanda C. Dias
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Valério D. Pillar
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Gerhard E. Overbeck
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Milton de S. Mendonça
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Ilsi I. Boldrini
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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