Abstract English is the lingua franca for scientific communication, but some journals, especially in developing countries, still publish non-English studies. A shift towards publishing in English may promote internationalization and more visibility of scientific journals. Here we compared quality indexes between Brazilian journals that have always published in English and journals that have published in languages other than English. We also investigated whether a temporal shift towards publishing in English led to elevated quality measures. Our analyses covered 16 Brazilian biodiversity journals and accounted for 12640 papers published since 2007. The mean impact factor was on average 55% higher in journals that have published consistently in English, compared to the so-called multilanguage journals. The proportion of publications in English increased to nearly three times the original value in multilanguage journals between 2007 and 2016, and the impact factor tripled during this period. At the same time, the Qualis-Capes classifications (B1-B2-B3) tended to fall. Publishing in English can be a first step to increased visibility, and this is particularly important for biodiversity journals, since Brazilian ecosystems are considered of interest to the international scientific community and nature conservation.

ABSTRACT Plant development is influenced by several abiotic factors, which in turn influence morphological traits and life history. We investigated whether leaf area, herbivory, toughness, fluctuating asymmetry, structural complexity and the number of inflorescences of Palicourea rigida are influenced by sun/shade conditions or by Cerrado phytophysiognomy (typical cerrado or rupestrian field). We expected to find greater structural complexity, leaf toughness and more inflorescences in sun plants; shaded plants were expected to exhibit a greater degree of fluctuating asymmetry (an index of plant stress), reduced leaf toughness and greater herbivory. As for phytophysiognomies, we expected to find higher levels of leaf toughness and reduced structural complexity in plants from the rupestrian field. We sampled plants in the sun and shade from both phytophysiognomies. Leaf area, toughness, herbivory and fluctuating asymmetry, were influenced more by sun/shade conditions than phytophysiognomy; leaf toughness was the only variable to show greater values in conditions of sun. Our results indicate that exposure to sunlight is not a requirement for increased plant development, but plants in shade are experiencing stress, as shown by increased fluctuating asymmetry; increased leaf area, which is a strategy to compensate for lower light exposure for plants and higher herbivory, which depicts lower toughness.

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) can be defined as small, random deviations from bilateral symmetry in structures that are bilaterally symmetrical and can estimate a population's inability to buffer its growth against perturbations of environmental origins. Another important issue about FA is whether biotic factors may also induce stress in organisms. Therefore, in this study I aimed to investigate the influence of both the abiotic (light exposure) and biotic (Ditylenchus sp. galls) factors accounting for increased FA in Miconia fallax leaves. Galls are known as parasites and a major cause of leaf stress. Additionally, since M. fallax is a pioneer plant species, individuals in the shade were supposed to present high levels of FA relative to plants on the edges exposed to direct sunlight. Results showed no concomitant interaction between gall abundance, light exposure and FA. Separate analysis showed that plants in the shade presented the highest level of FA, almost 25% higher than plants on the edges, indicating that plants growing in places with little sunlight were in stressful condition. The presence of galls did not cause alterations in FA relative to leaves without galls. The lack of relationship between galls and leaf FA indicates that M. fallax can tolerate and buffer the presence of these leaf parasites, revealing the high homeostasis ability of this plant species against a biotic stress.

La asimetría fluctuante (AF) se refiere a las pequeñas desviaciones al azar en la simetría bilateral de las estructuras y órganos que son bilateralmente simétricos, y permite estimar la incapacidad de una población cualquiera para corregir su crecimiento de acuerdo con disturbios y tensiones ambientales. Una consideración importante en los estudios de la AF es si los factores bióticos también pueden causar estrés en la planta. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este estudio fue investigar la influencia conjunta de factores abióticos (exposición solar) y bióticos (presencia de agallas de Ditylenchus sp.) en la asimetría de las hojas de Miconia fallax. Las agallas de las hojas son parásitos, y como M. fallax es una planta pionera, los individuos que se encuentran en la sombra pueden presentar niveles altos de AF en comparación con los de los bordes, expuestos a la luz solar directa. El análisis no mostró ninguna interacción entre la abundancia de agallas, la exposición al sol y AF. El análisis separado reveló que los individuos a la sombra tenían niveles más altos de la AF, aproximadamente 25% más alto que los individuos en los bordes, lo cual muestra que los individuos de M. fallax con poca luz se encuentran en condiciones de estrés. La presencia de agallas no causó ningún cambio o aumento de la AF en comparación con las hojas sin agallas. La falta de relación entre la presencia de agallas y AF indica que los individuos de M. fallax tienen una gran capacidad para mantener la homeostasis, ya que la planta ha tolerado estos parásitos sin cambios significativos en la AF de las hojas.