The pandemic state of COVID-19 caused by the SARS CoV-2 put the world in quarantine and is causing an unprecedented economic crisis. However, COVID-19 is spreading in different rates at different countries. Here, we tested the effect of three classes of predictors, i.e., socioeconomic, climatic and transport, on the rate of daily increase of COVID-19. We found that global connections, represented by countries' importance in the global air transportation network, is the main explanation for the growth rate of COVID-19 in different countries. Climate, geographic distance and socioeconomics did not affect this big picture analysis. Geographic distance and climate were significant barriers in the past but were surpassed by the human engine that allowed us to colonize almost every corner on Earth. Based on our global analysis, the global network of air transportation could lead to a worst-case scenario of synchronous global pandemic if board control measures in international airports were not taken and are not sustained during this pandemic. Despite all limitations of a global analysis, our results indicate that the current claims that the growth rate of COVID-19 may be lower in tropical countries should be taken very carefully, at risk to disturb well-established and effective policy of social isolation that may help to avoid higher mortality rates due to collapse of national health systems. This is the case of Brazil, a well-connected tropical country that presents the second highest increase rate of COVID-19 and might experience a serious case of human-induced disasters if decision makers take into consideration unsupported claims of the growth rate of COVID-19 might be lower in tropical countries. significant effect in this model (p = 0.054), with a positive coefficient (i.e. drier countries have lower growth rates), although effect size is at least two times lower than the effect of countries importance in global transportation (Table 1). Statistical coefficients were not upward biased by spatial autocorrelation.

The pandemic state of COVID-19 caused by the SARS CoV-2 put the world in quarantine, led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and is causing an unprecedented economic crisis. However, COVID-19 is spreading in different rates at different countries. Here, we tested the effect of three classes of predictors, i.e., socioeconomic, climatic and transport, on the rate of daily increase of COVID-19 on its exponential phase. We found that population size and global connections, represented by countries’ importance in the global air transportation network, are the main explanations for the early growth rate of COVID-19 in different countries. Climate and socioeconomics had no significant effect in this big picture analysis. Our results indicate that the current claims that the growth rate of COVID-19 may be lower in warmer and humid countries should be taken very carefully, risking to disturb well-established and effective policy of social isolation that may help to avoid higher mortality rates due to the collapse of national health systems.

Conflicts of interest are part and parcel of living in a social group, yet actual conflict can be rare in established groups. Within limits, individuals can maximize the benefits of group living by resolving conflict with other group members. Thus, understanding what causes conflict, what determines its outcome, and how it is resolved holds the key to understanding the evolution and maintenance of sociality. Here, we investigate these questions using the clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula. Clownfish live in groups composed of a breeding pair and zero to four non-breeders that queue for breeding positions. Within groups, there is potential conflict over rank yet actual conflict is very rare. We staged contests in aquaria between pairs of nonbreeding individuals over access to a key resource (an anemone), analogous to contests that would occur at the onset of group formation in the wild. The initial size ratio between individuals tended to predict the intensity, and predicted the outcome and resolution of conflict: conflict intensity was greater when individuals were more similar in size; the probability of the smaller individual winning was greater when individuals were more similar in size; and the loser of the contest grew less than the winner when individuals were more similar in size. These results provide a critical test of foundational assumptions upon which our understanding of clownfish and other fish societies has been built. More generally, the results show that one of the simplest and most effective ways for animals to resolve conflict is to modify the phenotype that triggers conflict. causes conflict, what determines its outcome and how it is resolved holds the key to understanding the evolution and maintenance of sociality. Here, we investigate these questions using the clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula. Clownfish live in groups composed of a breeding pair and zero to four non-breeders that queue for breeding positions. Within groups, there is potential conflict over rank yet actual conflict is very rare. We staged contests in aquaria between pairs of non-breeding individuals over access to a key resource (an anemone), analogous to contests that would occur at the onset of group formation in the wild. The initial size ratio between individuals predicted the intensity, outcome and resolution of conflict: conflict intensity was greater when individuals were more similar in size; the probability of the smaller individual winning was greater when individuals were more similar in size; and the loser of the contest grew less than the winner when individuals were more similar in size. These results provide a critical test of foundational assumptions upon which our understanding of clownfish and other fish societies has been built. More generally, the results show that one of the simplest and most effective ways for animals to resolve conflict is to modify the phenotype that triggers conflict.

Using the social clown anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris, whether individuals exhibited consistency in activity levels, boldness and sociability in a paired context, and whether these three behavioural traits were positively correlated within a single behavioural syndrome, was investigated. The results highlight that consistent individual differences in behaviour are expressed in a social fish and suggest that consistent behavioural traits and behavioural syndromes could influence the structure and functioning of their societies.

Pollination depends on morphological and behavioural adjustments between visitors and plants. Some plant species as Ipomoea bahiensis (Convolvulaceae) provide nectar and pollen to visitors and occur in anthropic areas, therefore becoming an important source of resources for the maintenance of native pollinating insects. However, what is the efficiency of each floral visitor species for the pollination of this plant species? What morphological and behavioural characteristics determine the pollinators? In this regard, this study evaluated the I. bahiensis flower and visitor morphology in a semi-arid area and the foraging behaviour of these floral visitors. Also, the efficiency rate of potential pollinators was quantified. Bees and butterflies visited the flowers of I. bahiensis, but the bees Melitoma spp., Apis mellifera (Linnaeus, 1758), and Pseudaugochlora pandora (Smith, 1853) were the most frequent visitors. These species presented medium-sized and compatible with the floral tube width. In addition to the size, these bees presented behaviour that favoured the contact with the reproductive structures of the flower, as evidenced by the efficiency test of the flower visits. Although butterflies often collect nectar from the flowers, they do not present characteristics that could result in pollination. Hence, medium-sized bees played the role of efficient pollinator of I. bahiensis.

Does climatic niche change during invasion? We used Digitonthophagus gazella (F.) as a model to test the niche conservatism hypothesis and found out that climatic niche was stable between native and invasive ranges of this exotic dung beetle. Distribution maps based either on native or invasive occurrences exhibited the same picture of a widespread dung beetle restricted by areas with low precipitation and cold temperatures. We believe that this species opportunistic behavior is one of the main reasons behind this pattern. We suggest that use of native occurrences to predict a potential risk of biological invasions is a useful tool.

This study aims to analyze how the vegetation structure (physiognomy) and seasonal changes between seasons (wet and dry) influence richness, diversity and composition of ant species of arboreal and shrubby Caatinga environments. The vegetation structure was significantly different among the three strata for all parameters (mean diameter of vegetation, level of herbaceous cover, degree of coverage and thickness of litter and percentage of canopy cover). We collected 127 ant species. The mean number of species was approximately two times higher in the rainy season than in the dry season. There was no difference in species richness between the arboreal and shrubby Caatinga physiognomies nor interaction between season and physiognomy. Despite the similarity in richness, species composition differed between physiognomies, however we found no difference in composition between seasons. The seasonal differentiation may be mainly related to the variation in the overall numbers of individuals circulating in the environment, since the enhancement of resource availability during rainy season allows the colony to grow or expand foraging activities, which increases local diversity. Water restriction explains the limited diversity in both environments, while the occurrence of species with greater resource specificity may determine differences in ant composition. Differences in composition of each of Caatinga's physiognomy enhance beta diversity, therefore, raising the overall diversity in the Caatinga Domain.

Dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Scarabaeinae) activity is influenced by rainfall seasonality. We hypothesized that rainfall might also play a major role in regulating the community structure of this group. In this study, we describe seasonal changes in the richness, composition, and structure of the Scarabaeinae community in a Brazilian tropical dry forest. A fragment of arboreal Caatinga was sampled using baited pitfall traps during the early dry season (EDS), late dry season (LDS), early wet season (EWS), and middle wet season (MWS). We compared the dung beetle community in each season in relationship to species richness, rank-dominance, curves, and composition. We collected 1352 Scarabaeinae individuals , belonging to 15 species. Dichotomius aff. laevicollis Felsche (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) was the dominant species, representing 73.89% of the individuals. There were no seasonal changes in the rank dominance curves; all had a single dominant species and a few species with low abundance, typical for arid areas. Estimated richness was highest in MWS, followed by EWS. Dry-season samples (EDS and LDS) had lower richness, with no significant difference between the dry seasons. Although species richness increased as the habitat became wetter, the difference between the wet and dry seasons was small, which differs completely from the findings of other studies in Neotropical dry forests, where almost all species cease activities in the dry season. Species composition changes were found in non-metric multidimensional scaling and sustained by analysis of similarity. All the seasons had pairwise differences in composition, with the exception of EDS and MWS, which indicates that the dung beetle community in this fragment requires more than three months of drought to trigger changes in species composition; this is probably due to small changes in the forest canopy. There was no difference in composition between EDS and MWS. As in other tropical dry forests, although to a lesser extent, the dung beetle community of this fragment responded to rainfall seasonality with changes in species composition and reduced species richness. Such responses, even to this lesser extent, may occur because of small changes in tree cover and minor microclimate changes.