ABSTRACT. Seasonality of insects in the semi-arid Caatinga of northeastern Brazil. Insects are essential to tropical ecosystems functioning. In semi-arid regions, the increase in abundance and/or activity (e.g. reproduction and foraging behavior) of insects is usually associated with climatic variables. The present study investigates which climatic variables are best predictors of insect abundance in an area of Caatinga in northeastern Brazil. Individuals were sampled for 24 months using Malaise and pitfall traps, and beating trays. A total of 58925 individuals belonging to 20 insect orders were collected. The most abundant orders were Hymenoptera, Diptera, Collembola and Coleoptera. Most orders studied showed a clear maximum abundance in the rainy season. Rainfall and humidity were the best predictors of insect abundance in the Caatinga. However, no climatic variable could explain Psocoptera and Blattodea variance in abundance/activity. Our results suggest that climatic changes associated with rainfall patterns in the Caatinga may affect ecosystem processes and services that depend direct or indirectly on insect abundance/activity. KEYWORDS. Abundance; climatic variables; insect availability; Neotropical region. RESUMO. Sazonalidade de insetos na Caatinga do Nordeste Brasileiro. Os insetos são abundantes e essenciais para o funcionamento dos ecossistemas terrestres tropicais. No entanto, a abundância e/ou atividade (e.g. reprodução ou forrageio) destes organismos podem ser fortemente influenciadas pelas variáveis climáticas. Este estudo examina quais as variáveis climáticas podem atuar como preditoras da abundância e/ou atividade dos insetos em uma área de Caatinga do Nordeste brasileiro. Ao longo de 24 meses, os insetos foram coletados mensalmente utilizando armadilhas Malaise, armadilhas tipo "pitfall" e guarda-chuva entomológico. Um total de 58925 indivíduos de 20 ordens foi coletado. As ordens mais abundantes foram Hymenoptera, Diptera, Collembola e Coleoptera. Entre as doze ordens mais abundantes, dez apresentaram os seus maiores picos durante a estação chuvosa. A precipitação e a umidade relativa foram os principais preditores dos padrões de abundância e/ou atividade dos insetos na caatinga. Nenhuma variável climática foi relacionada com o número de indivíduos coletados de Psocoptera e Blattodea. Os efeitos das variáveis climáticas sobre os insetos sugerem que alterações no clima da caatinga, especialmente em seu padrão de precipitação, podem afetar os serviços ecossistêmicos que dependem direta e indiretamente da abundância e/ou atividade destes organismos.PALAVRAS-CHAVE. Abundância; disponibilidade de insetos; região Neotropical; variáveis climáticas.

RESUMO Espera-se que variações nos fatores ambientais sejam responsáveis pela diversificação das plantas herbáceas na Caatinga. Nesta pesquisa, objetivou-se caracterizar a vegetação herbácea quanto à composição, similaridade e estrutura, em um fragmento de Caatinga em Poço Verde, Estado de Sergipe, Brasil. Além disso, avaliou-se a influência da precipitação na riqueza entre diferentes áreas de Caatinga. A amostragem foi realizada por meio de 30 subparcelas, além de coletas adicionais de plantas no seu entorno. Foram encontradas 80 espécies, sendo 43% típicas de áreas antropizadas de Caatinga. Entre as áreas de Caatinga, a precipitação não explicou a variação de riqueza; os valores de similaridade foram determinados pela heterogeneidade ambiental. A diversidade Shannon-Wiener e a equabilidade de Pielou encontraram-se dentro da faixa esperada para áreas antropizadas de Caatinga. Com base em evidências suportadas por outros estudos, acredita-se que a antropização modificou a estrutura e a composição da vegetação herbácea, razão pela qual se recomendam ações de conservação.

comprise geographically restricted surveys (Almeida Jr. et al. 2009), with the exception of the review of two floristic surveys and herbarium collection, on the restingas of Ceará state, by Santos-Filho et al. (2011). It is necessary to continue studies on these formations in order to improve our knowledge about the Brazilian restingas (Almeida Jr. et al. 2009). This is essential to support land use and occupation of the coastal region (Queiroz 2007), which is particularly important to protect the few areas along the Brazilian coast that are still occupied by remnants of native vegetation. In Sergipe, Northeast's smallest state, published works in areas of restinga are still scarce, featured only by Santos et al. (2011). However, some studies, monographs and dissertations have already donebeen, as the floristic survey accomplished by Nascimento, Jr. (2011) in Santo Amaro das Brotas, on the north coast of the state. Although there are protected areas in the region (one Biological Reserve, on the northern coast of the state, and one Environmental Protection Area, on the southern coast), the increased occupation of Sergipe's coast is raising concerns about the threats to the conservation of these environments and their diversity. This work presents a list of species of Angiosperms collected in the restingas of Sergipe state, in an effort to fill the research gap of the restingas in this area. Materials and Methods Study site Situated in the Northeast Region, the state of Sergipe has an area of 21,918,354 km 2 , with a population of 2068,017 inhabitants (IBGE 2010). Located between the coordinates 9°30′ and 11°30′ S, and 36°20′ and 38°00′ W, it is limited in the north by the state of Alagoas, in the east, by the Atlantic Ocean, and in the south and west, by the state of Bahia (Figure 1). (Sacramento et al. 2007). In the sandy coastal plains, the restinga vegetation consists of a mosaic of plant communities subject to marine and fluvial-marine influence, though physiognomically distinct (CONAMA Resolution No. 07/1996). It is a very peculiar ecosystem, diverse in structure and flora composition (Assis et al. 2004). The physiognomies found may vary from psammophylous-reptant herbaceous communities, in the region close to the seashore, to coastal forests, formed by shrub and tree species, in more distant areas ofthe ocean influence (Oliveira-Filho and Carvalho 1993). The restinga vegetation plays a primary role in the consolidation of the substrate, and provides food resources for resident and migratory wildlife (Scherer et al. 2005). Despite its importance, its composition is not well known, requiring further studies (Pereira et al. 2001), particularly in Northeastern Brazil (Sacramento et al. 2007). In this region, the restingas comprise a strip of sandy substrate, that goes from Bahia state to the mouth of the Parnaíba River, between the states of Maranhão and Piauí (Almeida Jr. et al. 2007). Despite the high diversity of species in the restingas of the Northeast (Almeida Jr. et al. 2007), there are still few studies ...

The current study presents a list of angiosperm species collected in restinga areas of Santa Isabel Biological Reserve, in the northern coast of Sergipe state. We gathered a preliminary floristic list using herbarium records, and subsequently supplemented it by performing new field samplings. The results showed considerable richness and comprised 260 species, 184 genera and 78 families. Forty-seven out of the 260 species are new records to Sergipe restingas. Fabaceae (28 species), Cyperaceae (21 species) and Rubiaceae and Poaceae (12 species) were the most representative families. Rhynchospora Vahl (six species), Polygala L. (five species) and Byrsonima Rich.ex Kunth, Cuphea P.Browne, Cyperus L. and Utricularia L. (four pecies) were the most speciose genera. The herbs were the most frequent habit (122 species or 47% of the total).

<p>O Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana está inserido numa região de ecótono entre os domínios fitogeográficos Mata Atlântica e Caatinga. Por ser uma das principais áreas de estudos científicos em Sergipe, existem trabalhos que abordam famílias botânicas e listagens da sua flora vascular. Entretanto, percebeu-se a necessidade de atualização e compilação das listas para melhor conhecimento da diversidade e conservação da flora local. Diante disso, elaborou-se um checklist a partir de publicações pretéritas e do banco de dados do Herbário da Universidade Federal de Sergipe (ASE). Foram registradas 124 famílias e 830 espécies, distribuídas entre Angiospermas (803 espécies), Samambaias e Licófitas (26) e Gimnospermas (1). As famílias de maior riqueza foram: Fabaceae (73 espécies), Poaceae (65), Cyperaceae (59), Rubiaceae (40) e Asteraceae (36). Ervas (41.2%), arbustos (24.7%) e árvores (17.6%) foram os hábitos mais representativos. Cento e setenta espécies são novas ocorrências para Sergipe, há uma nova espécie para a ciência, seis espécies raras, três em perigo de extinção, nove quase ameaçadas e três vulneráveis, além de 80 espécies endêmicas da Mata Atlântica e 13 endêmicas da Caatinga.</p><p><strong>Palavras chave</strong>: Checklist, coleção biológica, ecótono, florística.</p>

-(Floristic survey of the Mata do Junco Wildlife Refuge, Capela, Sergipe State, Brazil). Seeking to expand the floristic studies for the Atlantic rainforest, we herein present, based on field trips (January 2011 to April 2013) and herbarium records, a list of vascular plants found in the Mata do Junco Wildlife Refuge, State of Sergipe, Northeastern Brazil. We registered a total of 380 species, 244 genera and 80 families, with 45 new occurrences for the Atlantic rainforest of the State of Sergipe. The most representative families were Fabaceae (36 species), Cyperaceae (29) and Poaceae (28). Herbs were the most representative regarding habit (167 species or 44%). We found two threatened species: Caesalpinia echinata Lam. and Campylocentrum pernambucense Hoehne, both in the "endangered" category. Overall, the results indicate that the Mata do Junco Wildlife Refuge is floristically similar to other areas of Atlantic rainforest in the State of Sergipe. Moreover, the existence of new records and of a threatened native species reinforces its importance for conservation.

O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a composição florística e a estrutura fitossociológica dos bosques de manguezais de áreas urbanas em Aracaju, estado de Sergipe, com diferentes tempos de regeneração e intensidades de impacto antrópico. Para o levantamento fitossociológico, foi adotado o método de parcelas múltiplas, sendo seis ou sete parcelas distribuídas equitativamente em dois transectos paralelos em quatro bosques de manguezais nos bairros 13 de julho, Porto Dantas, São Conrado e Mosqueiro. Destes, somente o bosque do Mosqueiro não apresentava tensores antrópicos contínuos como descarga de esgotos domésticos, retirada de madeira ou contribuição alóctone de sedimento. Para caracterizar a estrutura dos manguezais foram calculados os parâmetros densidade, frequência, dominância e o índice de valor de importância de cada espécie. Procedeu-se com a comparação estatística entre os bosques avaliados pelo teste de Kruskal-Wallis quanto a densidade geral e por espécie, diâmetro e altura geral dos indivíduos. Foram identificadas quatro espécies: Laguncularia racemosa, Avicennia schaueriana, Rhizophora mangle e Conocarpus erectus, que apresentaram diferenças de abundância e dominância entre os bosques analisados. De maneira geral, L. racemosa foi à espécie mais abundante e dominante nos bosques mais impactados, porém no bosque do Mosqueiro, R. mangle foi a mais dominante. Não houve diferenças significativas na densidade, diâmetro e altura geral dos indivíduos, porém a densidade de A. schaueriana e R. mangle diferiu entre os bosques. Em relação à altura, os bosques da 13 de julho e São Conrado apresentaram os maiores valores, ainda que possuíssem o menor tempo de regeneração pós-distúrbios.Phytosociology of mangroves in urban areas: a case study in Aracaju city, Sergipe stateA B S T R A C TThe aim of this paper was to compare the floristic composition and the phytosociological structure of the mangrove forests in urban areas with different levels of regeneration and intensities of anthropic impact. The study was performed in the municipality of Aracaju, Sergipe state, Brazil Northeast. For the phytosociological survey, the multiple plots method was adopted; so six or seven plots were equally distributed in two parallel transects in four mangrove forests in the neighborhoods 13 de Julho, Porto Dantas, São Conrado and Mosqueiro. Of these, only the Mosqueiro mangrove did not have continuous anthropic tensors such as discharge of domestic sewage, removal of wood or allochthonous contribution of sediment. To characterize the structure of the mangroves, the parameters density, frequency, dominance and the importance value index for each species were calculated. Statistical comparison was made among the mangroves evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis test between general density and by species, diameter and general height of individuals. Four species were identified: Laguncularia racemosa, Avicennia schaueriana, Rhizophora mangle and Conocarpus erectus, which showed differences in abundance and dominance between the mangroves evaluated. In general, L. racemosa was the most abundant and dominant species in the most impacted mangrove, but in the Mosqueiro mangrove, R. mangle was more dominant. There were no significant differences in the density, diameter and general height of the individuals; however the density of A. schaueriana and R. mangle differed between mangroves. In relation to height, the forests of 13 de Julho and São Conrado presented the highest values, even though they had the shortest time of regeneration after disturbances.Keywords: ecotone, mangrove, forest structure, coastal zone, Brazil northeast.

The phenology of zoochoric species is fundamentally important for understanding fluctuations in the availability of food resources for the fauna. The objective of this study is to describe the phenological patterns of shrub and tree species in the National Forest of Ibura, Sergipe. In addition, we sought to analyze whether phenological cycles are influenced by climatic seasonality. Sampling was done by means of plots, ten plots in an area of more conserved forest and ten in a eucalypt plantation (Corymbia citriodora). All individuals satisfying the inclusion criteria had their phenological cycles monitored monthly (November 2013 to May 2016). Results showed that leaf fall was more typical between December and February, while budding was more common from February to May. Flowering occurred between the months of December and March and consequent fruiting between February and May. Phenological data describe reproductive rhythms highly synchronized with precipitation, resulting in the development of flowering at the end of the dry season and fruiting at the beginning of the rainy season. Most individuals had a well-defined reproductive pattern with cycles influenced by seasonal conditions.