The use of zootherapeutics in folk veterinary medicine in the district of Cubati, Paraíba State, Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present work addresses the use of zootherapy in folk veterinary medicine (ethnoveterinary) by the residents of the municipal district of Cubati, microregion of Seridó, Paraíba State, Brazil. It sought to identify the principal animals used as medicinal sources for zootherapeutics and to contribute to the preservation and sustainability of this traditional knowledge.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Field research was undertaken on a weekly or biweekly basis during the period November, 2006, to January, 2007. Free, semi-structured, and open interviews were made with local residents of the municipal district of Cubati (in both urban and rural settings) as well as with venders in public markets. A total of 25 individuals of both sexes were interviewed (with ages varying from 26 to 78 years) although only 16 were finally chosen as informants as these people demonstrated the greatest degree of knowledge concerning zootherapeutics. Graphs and percentages were generated using Microsoft^©Excel 2007 software, and the species were identified by photographic registration and subsequent bibliographical surveys.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mammals constitute the main medicinal zootherapeutic source for folk veterinary medicines in the studied area, both in terms of the total number of species used and the frequency of their citation. Sheep (<it>Ovis aries</it>), pigs (<it>Sus scrofa</it>), cattle (<it>Bos taurus</it>), and foxes (<it>Cerdocyon thous</it>) were mentioned by 62.5, 43.75, 37.5, and 31.25% of the informants, respectively, as being used in folk veterinary medicine. Additionally, chameleons (<it>Iguana iguana</it>), chickens (<it>Gallus domesticus</it>), and rattlesnakes (<it>Crotalus durissus</it>) were mentioned by 75, 43.75, and 31.25% of the informants, respectively. Relatively simple animal illnesses, such as furuncles, or injuries resulting from embedded thorns or skin eruptions are responsible for the largest number of zootherapeutic treatment, while, diseases of greater complexity, such as rabies and brucellosis, were not even mentioned. Fat from various animals constituted the most frequently cited resource used for its medicinal-veterinary properties.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The examination of folk knowledge and health practices allows a better understanding of human interactions with their local environment, and aids in the formulation of appropriate strategies for natural resource conservation.</p

Interactions between Oncideres humeralis Thomson (Coleoptera : Cerambycidae) and Melastomataceae: Host-plant selection and patterns of host use in south-east Brazil

Oncideres humeralis Thomson (Cerambycidae) was observed girdling the main trunk of plants of the Melastomataceae family in south-eastern Brazil. The main objectives of this work were to identify which host plants O. humeralis selects in the field and which are the characteristics of the preferred plants. O. humeralis specifically used Melastomataceae as host plants, attacking only four of the I I species present in the study area. From the four attacked species, Miconia sellowiana Naudin and M jucunda Triana were the preferred owes; they are the most abundant and the largest species, respectively. When the plants were taller, O. humeralis girdled the trunk at higher positions, indicating that females select plants with optimum trunk diameter and adjust the point to girdle according to the host height. Females also selected plants with greater numbers of secondary branches. These results indicate that O. humeralis is specific to certain species of Melastomataceae, and that host plants are selected on the basis of their abundance, size or number of secondary branches.34171

The effects of the wood-boring Oncideres humeralis (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) on the number and size structure of its host-plants in south-east Brazil

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The biology of Oncideres humeralis thorms (Coleoptera : Cerambycidae : Lamiinae) and new Cerambycidae-Melastomataceae host-plant associations

Beetles in the genus Oncideres (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) are girdlers and borers that can cause plant mortality and alterations in the recruitment and age structure of their host-plant populations. Host-plant association, oviposition behavior, development and insect associates of Oncideres humeralis were studied in southeastern Brazil. Oncideres humeralis Thorms used four species of Melastomataceae as host plants. Females oviposited in forks of branches and their larvae fed on the parenchyma tissue of the forks. Histological analyses showed that these sites were the softest parts of the branches and provided an entrance for newly hatched larvae. Females prepared their oviposition sites with their mandibles, and inserted their ovipositors into the slits to deposit one to three eggs under the bark. We found about six oviposition slits per branch and a mean of eight eggs per branch. The larvae bored into and grew inside the girdled branches. Larval development took 10-12 months. Another cerambycid, Temnopsis megracephala Germ, developed in the thinner sections of branches that had been girdled by O. humeralis and was thus considered a secondary colonizer.41322723

Costs and benefits of reproducing under unfavorable conditions: an integrated view of ecological and physiological constraints in a cerrado shrub

Disentangling the relative importance of biotic and abiotic constraints in plant reproduction is a major challenge in reproductive ecology. Here, we tested the &apos;resource limitation hypothesis'that predicts a high-level ovule abortion under resource scarcity; the &apos;flowering displacement hypothesis'that predicts low levels of pollen limitation driven by relaxed competition for pollinators; and the &apos;herbivory escape hypothesis'that predicts low impact by natural enemies during unfavorable conditions. We followed reproductive phenology, measured the seasonal variation in resource abundance, and calculated initial ovule budgets to estimate the relative importance of each limiting factor on final reproductive output. Ovule fate was determined of ovules in different positions within the pods, and a germination experiment was conducted to identify bottlenecks at the germination stage. Despite marked decreases in resource availability during the dry season, reproduction consistently occurred during mid-to-late dry season. Destruction by natural enemies and abortion were the most likely ovule fates, with only 2.2 % of flower buds converted into ripe fruits. Ovule fates were not random along fruit positions, with higher likelihood of well-formed seeds in fruit tips and higher likelihood of ovule abortion and non-fertilized ovules near the fruit bases. The benefits derived from flowering displacement to the dry season include reduced competition for pollinators and synchronization of seedling establishment with the onset of the rainy season. However, we found no support for the herbivory escape hypothesis. We argue that a cost-benefit approach is a useful framework to understand the evolutionary ecology of phenological strategies in seasonal environments.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Universidade Federal de Uberlândia - Instituto de Biologia, Uberlândia, BrazilDepartamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, BrazilDepartamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências,Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Ria Claro, BrazilUniversidade Federal de Minas Gerais - Ecologia Evolutiva & Biodiversidade, Belo Horizonte, BrazilDepartment of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USAUniversidade Estadual Paulista, Ria Claro, Brazil - Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de BiociênciasCNPq: 486742/2012-