02816naa a2200145 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000190006024500830007926000090016252021470017170000150231870000160233377303210234913149272008-09-25       2008    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aSCHMELZ, R. M.  aTowards a characterization of eco-profiles of enchytraeids in Southern Brazil.  c2008  aEnchytraeid species from temperate regions are known to differ in their ecological behaviour, and their differential responses to soil moisture, soil pH, humus type and contamination make them useful indicators of the biological state of the soil. Little is known, however, about the ecological behaviour of tropical or subtropical enchytraeid species, and the factors that influence their distribution. The main reason for this situation is certainly the tremendous backlog in basic taxonomic work: most of the subtropical and subtropical enchytraeids species are simply not known. However, enchytraeids of lower latitudes are also often considered as less diverse as in temperate regions and therefore probably less important and less useful for applied purposes. We addressed this problematic in the framework of the German-Brazilian cooperate project SOLOBIOMA (www.solobioma.ufpr.br), which monitors rain forest recovery from degraded areas (mainly pastures) in the Southern Brazilian Mata Atlântica, among other objectives. Enchytraeids were sampled quantitatively over a wide diversity of habitats, including secondary forests, pastures, agroforestry plantations, and several other sites under human influence. Surprisingly, the taxonomic inventory revealed a species richness (up to 20 species per site) and diversity (up to 6 genera per site) similar to that in temperate regions. All specimens obtained were scrutinized taxonomically, with included investigation in vivo, appropriate fixation and storage, and reinvestigation as stained whole mounts. At the same time, site characteristics were recorded, among them pH, moisture, organic matter content, soil type and texture, vegetation, microbial activity and litter coverage. This double dataset forms the basis for as first characterization of the ecological behaviour of enchytraeid species in Southern Brazil, a preliminary outline of which is presented in this paper. It serves as a starting point, both in ecological and taxonomic terms, for future investigations that should extend to other sites in order to test and to refine the ecological profiles as established here.1 aROMBKE, J.1 aCOLLADO, R.  tIn: INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON SOIL ZOOLOGY, 15; INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON APTERYGOTA, 12., 2008, Curitiba. Biodiversity, conservation and sustainabele management of soil animal: abstracts. Colombo: Embrapa Florestas. Editors: George Gardner Brown; Klaus Dieter Sautter; Renato Marques; Amarildo Pasini. 1 CD-ROM.