ABSTRACT Pathogens of veterinary and medical importance were investigated in 240 feral pigeons (Columba livia) captured in warehouses in São Paulo State, Brazil for one year. Rapid serum agglutination test (RST) was performed for the detection of antibodies against Mycoplasma synoviae, Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Salmonella Pullorum/Gallinarum. Positive samples were submitted to hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and tube seroagglutination tests, respectively. Molecular techniques (RT-PCR and PCR) were performed for Newcastle Diseases Virus (NDV) and Chlamydia psittaci diagnosis. Additionally, HI test was applied to detect antibodies against NDV. Serological results by RST were 3.3% positive for M. synoviae, 2.5% for M. gallisepticum, and 0.4% for S. Pullorum/Gallinarum, all negative on the confirmatory tests performed. NDV RNA or antibodies were not detected. C. psittaci DNA was detected in 13% of the samples. Further research on pigeon health status should be conducted because this species is highly adaptable and their numbers are rapidly rising around the world, posing risks for animals and human beings.

Nós estudamos a ecologia trófica de duas espécies de anuros hilídeos (Hypsiboas raniceps e Scinax acuminatus), vivendo simpátrica e sintopicamente no Pantanal do Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. As duas espécies possuíram largura da boca similar mas diferiram no tamanho do corpo. Ambas as espécies consumiram artrópodos, distribuídos em 11 diferentes tipos de presas das quais sete foram comuns entre elas. A amplitude do nicho trófico de H. raniceps (B A = 0,64) foi relativamente superior aquela de S. acuminatus (B A = 0,48). A sobreposição do nicho trófico entre as espécies foi de 60,7 %. Embora, para muitas espécies, a dieta tenda a refletir a disponibilidade de presas no microhabitat, nossos resultados sugerem que estas duas espécies de anuros, apesar de partilharem microhabitat e período de atividade (e, portanto, potencialmente estarem expostas ao mesmo universo de presas) tendem a diferir em algum grau nas suas dietas (cerca de 40%) o que pode ser resultante de alguns aspectos ecológicos intrínsecos a cada uma delas (e.g. ecofisiologia) e/ou diferenças no tamanho corpóreo.

We studied the feeding ecology of two Hylinae anurans (Hypsiboas raniceps and Scinax acuminatus), living sympatrically and syntopically in the Pantanal of Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. The two hylid species had similar relative mouth width but differed in body size. The diet of the two frog species were composed of arthropodan prey. Both species consumed 11 different prey types, of which seven were common among them. Hypsiboas raniceps had a larger niche breadth (B A = 0.64) than S. acuminatus (B A = 0.48). Trophic niche overlap among frog species was 60.7 %. Our data are suggestive that although for many anurans the diet simply tend to reflect prey availability in the microhabitat, these two frog species, despite sharing similar microhabitat and period of activity (thus potentially exposed to a similar array of preys), tends to differ somewhat in diet (about 40%) which may result from some intrinsic ecological aspects to each of them (e.g. ecophysiology) and/or differences in body size.