The objective was to verify the association between body dissatisfaction (BD) – constituted by the desire to lose weight – with family and personal aspects related to the shape of the body and weight control practices in female adolescents. A cross-sectional, observational epidemiological study with adolescents aged 12–19 years, enrolled in classes of the 8th and 9th years of public schools belonging to the urban area of the city of Caxias do Sul/Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was conducted. A self-applicable questionnaire was used. BD was assessed using a silhouette scale. Multivariate regression was performed using Poisson regression with robust variation, hierarchically using a pre-established conceptual model, using the prevalence ratio (PR) adjusted with 95 % CI as a measure of effect. A significance level of 5 % (P ≤ 0·05) was considered. Among the 685 female students, 77·2 % had BD. The father’s incentive to diet sometimes (PR 1·19; 95 % CI 1·07, 1·32; P ≤ 0·001) and always (PR 1·15; 95 % CI 1·03, 1·28; P ≤ 0·001), trying to lose weight (PR 1·63; 95 % CI 1·33, 1·99; P ≤ 0·001), dieting five times or more (PR 1·22; 95 % CI 1·09, 1·36; P ≤ 0·001) and skipping meals less than once a week (PR 1·16; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·29; P = 0·026) increased the chances of having BD. In conclusion, among the investigated parents’ behaviours, only the father’s incentive to go on a diet was associated with BD. Adolescent weight control practices increased the chances of having BD. Thus, it facilitates the identification of this condition at an early stage, enabling adequate treatment and prevention of health complications.

The natural areas of the Coastal Plain of Rio Grande do Sul (CPRS) have suffered fragmentation due to anthropic action. The faunal surveys offer a low-cost method to quickly evaluate environmental alterations, and Syrphidae flies are often used as models in this kind of study. We aimed to ascertain the diversity of Syrphidae in the South region of Brazil by estimating its species’ richness, and to use this data to identify new areas for conservation. In this survey Malaise traps were installed for 8 days in the CPRS, which was divided into five regions. Each region was subdivided into seven collecting areas and each of those areas received four traps, totaling 140 traps. A total of 456 Syrphidae individuals from 18 genera and 49 species were collected. In Region 1, there were nine exclusive species; in Region 2, there were three; in Region 3, there were 13, ten of which came from Estação Ecológica do Taim (ESEC Taim). In the Individual-based rarefaction analysis, Region 1 possessed the largest number of expected species out of the regions in the CPRS; we found 97% of these species. This insect collection effort, as one of the first in the CPRS, has broadened the known geographic distributions of 11 species of Syrphidae, and also indicated areas to be conserved. Additionally, it gave support for expanding ESEC Taim and creating new areas of conservation in Region 1, in Arroio Pelotas and Arroio Corrientes.

A world key to the 21 species of Stirtonia is presented. Three new Stirtonia species are described from the Neotropics: Stirtonia ibirapuitensis Aptroot, Käffer & S. M. Martins, with whitish to cream amoeboid ascigerous areas with lichexanthone on a greenish thallus without lichexanthone and ascospores of 27–32×9·5–12·5 µm; Stirtonia punctiformis Aptroot & Sipman, with ascigerous structures of thallus colour, consisting of one or more brown asci with brown walls with surrounding tissue, in groups or irregular lines and brown ascospores 61–73×27–35 µm; and Stirtonia viridis Aptroot, L. I. Ferraro, Sipman & M. Cáceres, with ascigerous structures mostly linear, branched and anastomosing, whitish, and contrasting with the often greenish thallus and with ascospores 50–58×15–22 µm. In addition, a specimen of S. neotropica is reported that contains some patches of lichexanthone, S. curvata is reported new to the Neotropics from Brazil and the Netherlands Antilles, and S. nivea is reported new to the Northern Hemisphere from Puerto Rico. Also, Crypthonia divaricatica Aptroot & Sipman, with an irregular, thick thallus with divaricatic and usnic acids and flat white ascigerous areas and macrocephalic 5–9-septate ascospores 20–27×9·5–12·5 µm is described from Mexico. While only one Stirtonia species was known from the Neotropics as recently as 2009, the total number of Stirtonia species known from the Neotropics is now 12, an equal number to the 12 species that are known from the Palaeotropics.

The mortality of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, on the southern portion of Rio Grande do Sul State coast was investigated based on 914 beach surveys conducted between 1969 and 2006. A total of 188 stranded bottlenose dolphins were recorded during this period, indicating a 1.8M:1F sex-ratio of those animals sexed (N = 79). Mortality was low in calves, high in juveniles and sub-adults and slightly lower than in adults. The overall mortality was clearly seasonal overlapping with higher fishing efforts in the Patos Lagoon Estuary and adjacent coastal areas, where most individuals washed ashore. Analysis of a continuous 14-year long subset (1993–2006) of the data indicated relatively low levels of mortality between 1995 and 2000 and a marked increase between 2002 and 2005 followed by an apparent drop in 2006. By-catch was responsible for at least 43% of the recorded mortality between 2002 and 2006. Juvenile males were more susceptible to incidental catches. Among females, by-catch of adults represented 75%. Results of a potential biological removal analysis suggest that current levels of fishing-related mortality are unsustainable for the small resident population of bottlenose dolphins that inhabits the Patos Lagoon Estuary, and that this population may be declining.

The dinosaur record of the Santa Maria beds of Rio Grande do Sul (Mid–Late Triassic; south Brazil) includes the herrerasaur Staurikosaurus pricei, and two basal members of the sauropodomorph lineage: Saturnalia tupiniquim and Unaysaurus tolentinoi. The most enigmatic of the saurischian taxa is, however, Guaibasaurus candelariensis, previously regarded as either a basal theropod or a basal sauropodomorph. This study provides a detailed anatomical revision of all specimens originally referred to G. candelariensis by Bonaparte and co-authors, including its type-series and a more recently excavated partial postcranium. Although coming from different sites, these specimens share a unique combination of traits, and at least one possible autapomorphic feature of the pelvis, which support the inclusivity and uniqueness of the species. G. candelariensis was a medium-sized (nearly 2 m long) biped with an intriguing mix of plesiomorphic and derived (eusaurischian/theropod) features. Phylogenetic studies reveal weak support for the nesting of G. candelariensis within Theropoda, but this affinity is bolstered by various traits it shares with neotheropods. The Norian age of G. candelariensis corroborates previous studies that suggest the continuous radiation of more basal dinosauromorphs until the end of the Triassic, after the appearance of the three main dinosaur clades.