Brazil hosts a wide range of Odonata species, including many hitherto unde¬scribed ones, especially in remote and unexplored regions where logistics are difficult. The northwestern Brazilian Amazon is an example of this situation, and many locations still need to be sampled there and have their taxonomic inventories compiled.
The final-instar larva of Psaironeura tenuissima is described based on reared specimens from Amazonas and Pará states in the Brazilian Amazon.
Land use influences the biodiversity of stream systems by changing the chemical composition of the water and the physical structure of the habitat. The present study evaluated the influence of these processes on the diversity metrics of Odonata at regional and local scales, testing the hypothesis that the two odonate suborders Anisoptera and Zygoptera will respond differently to habitat and landscape variables.
The growth of agricultural and mining activities in the Amazon has impacted land-use and caused significant changes in the local environmental conditions of streams. In the face of these changes, our study aimed at assessing how environmental changes affect Odonata larval assemblages in streams in the eastern Amazon.
Our study evaluated the effects of environmental variables on the assemblages of the suborder Zygoptera, and tested the hypothesis that environmental variables are more important determinants of the structure of these assemblages than limnological variables in streams. We sampled 17 streams in the Carajás National Forest and tested our hypothesis using a linear regression analysis, with the zygopteran species composition, richness, and abundance as the response variables.
To date 57 species of Telebasis have been described. Most are Neotropical species, only three extending North of Mexico. From Peru 17 species were known. Most are found in the Amazonian lowlands; two are known from higher elevations in the Andes. From Brazil 26 species were known. In this article another Neotropical species is described,…
The Colombian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse and unexplored regions in the world. Inventories and deeper research are needed for most of its biota, including for dragonflies. This work reports the results of a trip to the Amazon region in order to collect Odonata. It includes revision of CBUCES, CEUA and ICN entomological…
Polythorid damselflies are Neotropical stream dwellers, whose behavior has rarely been recorded. Here we describe the territorial and courtship behavior of Chalcopteryx scintillans McLachlan, an Amazonian damselfly with shiny copper-colored hind wings. Territorial behavior consists of aerial contests, when males engage in threat displays and mutual pursuits in ascending and rocking flights. During courtship, males…
Our goal was to investigate whether the loss of riparian forests alters the structure of assemblages and populations of dragonflies and damselflies. We tested the hypothesis that the composition of the odonate assemblages found upstream from dams are significantly different from those found downstream of these barriers. To test the hypothesis, we investigated stream sectors…
This study showed that the main impact on Odonata species of removal of riparian vegetation for road building was on community composition, since species richness remained unaltered. This result, most evident in damselflies, was probably driven by the entry of generalist species that replaced specialist species after the impact. We collected adult odonates in forested…