Abstract. 1. As mature tropical forests disappear, secondary forests with their potential to conserve mature tropical forest species are increasingly of interest in a conservation context.2. We investigated the recovery of litter inhabiting beetle diversity and composition during natural forest regeneration in the coastal submontane forest of Southern Brazil, using chronosequences on two different soil types: cambisol and gleysol. Secondary forests, ranging in ages from 5 to 50 years, as well as old-growth forests were studied. Beetles were sifted from leaf litter and extracted using the Winkler technique.3. Young secondary forests had a very low species density and a significantly different and heterogeneous species composition compared to old-growth forests. During forest regeneration, species density greatly increased and the species composition of older secondary forests was similar to that of old-growth forests. The recovery pattern of species density and composition differed between soil types; nonetheless, they showed the same tendencies generally. Thus, mature secondary forests of about 35-50 years can be assumed to contribute substantially to the maintenance of forest beetle species.4. Litter quantity was not only significantly correlated with species density; but, even reflected the density pattern of both soil types. Thus, litter quantity is an important factor for maintaining or recovering high beetle densities. The composition of beetle assemblages was strongly affected by soil type. Thus, soil type should be considered in regional biodiversity monitoring and conservation actions.

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Two species are described as new in Xenopygus, X. davidi sp. n. and X. pycnos sp. n. Dysanellus (Leptodiastemus) excellens Bernhauer is transferred to Xenopygus as X. excellens comb. n. and the subgenus Leptodiastemus syn.n. is placed in synonymy with Xenopygus. Xenopygus sancticamillus Caron and Castro syn. n. is shown to be a junior synonym of X. excellens. Gastrisus punctatus Sharp is transferred to Xenopygus as X. punctatus comb. n. Gastrisus cribrum Fauvel syn. n. and X. petilicolis Caron and Castro syn. n. are shown to be junior synonyms of X. punctatus. Two informal species groups are proposed to accommodate the existing species in Xenopygus and an updated key is provided for the identification of the species.

The ectoparasitoid habit of larvae and the active predatory habit of adults of Aleochara Gravenhorst, 1802 established this group as natural fly regulators and important for ecological studies, biological control programs and forensic entomology. In the current study, a new aleocharine species, Aleochara pseudochrysorrhoa sp. nov., from southern Brazil, is described and its natural history is briefly discussed. The species has a robust body, uniformly dark-brown to black with apex of abdomen rust-brown, median lobe of male with expanded bulbus, sclerites of internal sac forming complex arrangement, and female with spermatheca L-shaped. Aleochara pseudochrysorrhoa sp. nov. may be considered to be closely related to the species belonging to the lustrica group. A complete checklist of Neotropical species of Aleochara is also provided. Nomenclatural problems are also discussed. Aleochara lateralis Erichson, 1839 is a junior primary homonym of A. lateralis Heer, 1839, and is replaced by the available name Aleochara bonariensis Lynch, 1884. A new name, Aleochara newtoni nom. nov., is proposed to replace Maseochara (= Aleochara) duplicata Sharp, 1883, which is a junior secondary homonym of A. duplicata Erichson, 1839.

The species of Bledius Leach, 1819 live in unvegetated, sunny and moist sand adjacent to rivers, lakes and oceans, where they feed on algae and diatoms. Both adults and larvae make burrows in the soil and can be detected by the cast or tumulus left on surface above the entrance of the burrows. Some seacoastal species live in the intertidal zone, and they remain in the burrow during high tide, in an air bubble. An extensive report about the natural history of the genus is found in Herman (1986). Bledius comprises 462 species worldwide (Herman, pers. comm.) placed in 34 species groups, of which seven are in the Neotropical region (mandibularis, aequatorialis, emarginatus, semiferrugineus, forcipatus, punctatissimus and bonariensis groups) (Herman 1986). Herman (2001), in his world catalog of the Staphylinidae, listed ten Bledius species from Brazil, but only B. bonariensis Bernhauer, 1912 was reported from southern Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul; the other nine species are from the north and west in Amazonas and Mato Grosso States. However, in studies focusing on the ecology of the Atlantic beaches in southern Brazil, three species (B.

Changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services are usually evaluated using taxonomic indicators or, to a lesser extent, functional indicators. The present work adds new insights on the links between taxonomic indicators and functional indicators within a disturbance gradient in the Brazilian Amazon. Ground dwelling beetles' functional groups were used to complement taxonomic diversity in indicating disturbance and/or ecosystem restoration. Significant correlations were found between taxonomic and functional indicators. Our results show that increasingly disturbed ecosystems are related with reductions in functional redundancy with probable detrimental effects on the future landscape resilience. Moreover, results highlight that even species-rich Neotropical forest landscapes may be highly vulnerable to the removal of keystone diversity. Remarkably, secondary forests support equivalent functional diversity and, partially, taxonomic diversity to primary forests. Overall, disturbance indicators supported on complementary measures such as composition, species diversity and functionality were sensitive to the ecosystems' gradient and could be used for assessing the extent of landscape change but also to guide restoration and management practices in Neotropical forest landscapes.

The upper portions of sandy beaches usually have a strip of debris deposited by the action of waves and tides known as "drift line" or "stranded wrack". This deposit is inhabited by amphipods Talitridae and insects, particularly beetles of the family Staphylinidae. For their sensitive to environmental variations, these beetles can be considered important bio-indicators of sandy beach ecosystem health. In the southern coast of Brazil three species of the genus Bledius Leach, 1819 were reported: Bledius bonariensis, B. fernandezi and B. hermani. The present work analyses the relationship between sandy beach sedimentological and morphodynamic characteristics and the occurrence pattern of Bledius species from data obtained on a preliminary survey on 12 sandy beaches of Paraná state. B. hermani was the most abundant and frequent species, present in ten of the 12 beaches studied. B. fernandezi showed a positive correlation with morphodynamics and sedimentological characteristics. Furthermore, B. hermani was dominant on beaches with coarse sand and more reflective to intermediate morphodynamic. B. bonariensis showed higher densities at beaches with dissipative characteristics near the mouth of Paranaguá Bay. The highest densities of Bledius were recorded on inhabited Superagüi beaches, located in a national park. This suggests that the group could be affected by human interference, particularly urbanization.

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