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Body size is correlated with many species traits such as morphology, physiology, life history and abundance as well; it is one of the most discussed topics in macroecological studies. The aim of this paper was to analyze the body size distribution of Chrysomelidae, caught with Malaise traps during two years in four areas with different levels of conservation in the Araucaria Forest, Paraná, Brazil, determining if body size is a good predictor of abundance, and if body size could be used to indicate environmental quality. Body size was considered the total length of the specimen from the anterior region of head to the apex of abdomen/elytron. Measurements were taken for up to ten specimens of each species for each area and for all specimens of those species represented by fewer than ten individuals. The highest abundance and richness of Chrysomelidae were obtained in the lowest body size classes. This herbivorous group showed a trend toward a decrease in body size with increasing abundance, but body size was not a good predictor of its abundance. There was a trend toward a decrease in body size from the less to the most conserved areas; however, the definition of a pattern in successional areas not seems to be entirely clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taxonomic Catalog of the Brazilian Fauna (CTFB) is an initiative involving the effort of hundreds of researchers in several institutions, including international partners. Its main objective is to make public and give free access to a checklist of valid species occurring in Brazil. This catalog includes information on Cladocera, a group of microcrustaceans that occupy inland water and marine ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the Cladocera part of the Brazilian Fauna Catalog. Among the taxa described or reported, we observed 155 valid species (37 endemic) and 61 genera (2 endemic) distributed in 11 families. European researchers represented 50% of all the authors involved in descriptions of species, and European collections keep most primary types, although many species have types that have been lost or not designed. Brazilian researchers were involved with a large number of descriptions, especially in the last 15 years. Our findings indicated that Cladocera taxa were observed in all hydrographic regions (Paraná with 119 species), biomes (Atlantic Forest with 126 species) and states, except state of Rondônia. The catalogue of Brazilian cladoceran fauna should be improved, as there are still large geographic ranges to be sampled in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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