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The species Boana bischoffi and Boana marginata are endemic to the Atlantic Forest, where they often occur in sympatry. There is a large gap in the knowledge of natural history of both species. In this study, we aimed to describe and compare the diet composition of B. bischoffi and B. marginata in the southern domain of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We analyzed the gastrointestinal contents of 43 individuals of B. bischoffi and 30 individuals of B. marginata. Both showed a high trophic niche overlap (0.90 O jk ). The most important prey categories for both species belonged to the orders Araneae and Coleoptera. The species niche breadth (Bsta) varied from 0.35 to 0.42, suggesting a generalist feeding behavior for both species. Our data provide unprecedented information on these species' food composition, contributing to a better knowledge of the natural history of neotropical anurans. Dieta e sobreposição de nicho trófico deBoana bischoffi e Boana marginata (Anura: Hylidae) no sul do Brasil Resumo: As espécies Boana bischoffi e Boana marginata, são endêmicas da Mata Atlântica onde frequentemente ocorrem em simpatria. Existe uma grande lacuna no conhecimento da história natural de ambas as espécies. Nesse estudo, nosso objetivo foi descrever e comparar a composição da dieta de B. bischoffi e B. marginata no limite sul da Mata Atlântica brasileira. Analisamos o conteúdo gastrointestinal de 43 indivíduos de B. bischoffi e 30 indivíduos de B. marginata. Ambas apresentaram elevada sobreposição de seus nichos tróficos (0,90 O jk ). As categorias de presas mais importantes para ambas as espécies pertenciam as ordens Araneae e Coleoptera. A amplitude de nicho das espécies (Bsta) variou de 0,35 a 0,42, sugerindo comportamento alimentar generalista para ambas. Nossos dados trazem informações inéditas sobre a composição alimentar destas espécies, contribuindo para um maior conhecimento da história natural dos anuros neotropicais.

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Species richness and abundance, as well as trophic relationships, are affected by habitat configuration. Smaller habitat patches suffer greater external interference, being more susceptible to diversity loss and could also receive more trophic subsidies from outside or matrix, which can favour the maintenance of populations even in small patches. Natural mosaics of forest patches in a grassland matrix in southern Brazil are good places to analyse such a process. Our objective was to analyse the effect of habitat patching on trophic relationships based on the evaluation of two forest amphibian species (Physalaemus lisei and P. carrizorum) and compare those from habitat patches versus core/contiguous habitat. We compared isotopic carbon (d 13 C) and nitrogen ratios (d 15 N) in two anuran species as well the variation in their diet at different forest patch sizes. We chose carbon isotopes since they act as a proxy for inferences on the original habitat from which the matter flows towards the anurans, while nitrogen reveals their tropic level. Our results revealed that trophic sources for these amphibians derives predominantly from primary forest productivity. However, Physalaemus lisei d 13 C values indicated that the contribution of grassland trophic sources in the diet was higher in frogs from forests patches (<100 ha) than in those from core forest habitat. In smaller patches, P. lisei consumed predominantly ants, which was the most abundant prey on habitat. On the other hand, in the core forest, where isopods were the most abundant prey, most of its consumption was beetles, spiders and ants. In contrast, P. carrizorum showed no significant changes in isotopic ratios or diet across habitats. Isotopic data suggested that both species occupied lower trophic levels in smaller forests than in core forests. Our data showed a tendency towards the increase of grassland contribution and decrease of amphibian trophic position in patched habitats in comparison to continuous habitat.

Soccer is a team sport that requires players to process a significant amount of information quickly and respond with both speed and accuracy to the ever-changing demands of the game. As such, success in soccer depends not only on physical attributes but also on cognitive abilities such as perception and decision-making. The aim of the current study was to investigate the acute effects of caffeine ingestion on Stroop test performance before and after repeated small-sided games (SSG) in professional soccer players. Twelve professional male soccer players (29 ± 4.1 years; 78.1 ± 7.7 kg body mass) participated in this study. A randomized crossover double-blind placebo-controlled trial was used. Caffeine (5 mg.kg−1) or a placebo was ingested 45 min before a protocol consisting of five 5 min SSG with 1 min rest intervals. A computerized version of the colour Stroop test was completed immediately before and after the exercise protocol. During the Stroop test, words appeared on the computer screen in three different ways: (i) neutral words (neutral condition); (ii) correspondent colour (i.e., “red” painted in red; congruent condition), or; (iii) different colour (i.e., “red” painted in green; incongruent condition). The incongruent condition aimed to cause the interference effect, as the colour and the word did not match. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed after each SSG. RPE increased during the five sets of the SSG protocol (p < 0.001), without differences between the caffeine and placebo trials. The soccer-specific exercise protocol promoted a faster response during the Stroop test (two-way ANOVA main effect for SSG protocol: p < 0.05), with no differences in accuracy (p > 0.05). Caffeine ingestion resulted in slower reaction time during the Stroop test during the congruent and neutral trials but not during the incongruent trial (two-way ANOVA main effect for supplementation: p = 0.009, p = 0.045, and p = 0.071, respectively). Accuracy was lower in the caffeine trial in congruent and incongruent trials (p < 0.05 caffeine vs. placebo both on the pre- and post-SSG protocol). In conclusion, a soccer-specific exercise protocol improved the Stroop test performance in professional soccer players, but acute caffeine ingestion (5 mg.kg−1) was detrimental.

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