Rigoberto Solis

• University of Chile

Evoked vocal responses of male frogs are quite selective for temporal features contained in conspecific calls. However, responses to sound features not contained in natural vocalizations can also elicit evoked calling, indicating a relative broadness of acoustic recognition spaces. Former studies have shown that Batrachyla leptopus, a frog from the...

Trypanosoma cruzi is the causal agent of Chagas disease, a parasitic zoonosis transmitted mainly through the feces of triatomine insects. Triatoma infestans is the main triatomine vector of this disease in South America. Previous research has shown that T. cruzi infection modifies the behavior of triatomines. We evaluated, for the first time, the e...

Background Mepraia spinolai, a wild vector of Trypanosoma cruzi in Chile, is an abundant triatomine species that is frequently infected by the parasite that causes Chagas disease. The aim of this study was to determine if the parasitic load of T. cruzi in M. spinolai is related to its blood meal source and the infecting DTUs of T. cruzi. Methods T...

Simple Summary We studied the locomotor activity of one of the kissing bug species that transmit the Chagas disease-causing parasite in humans, which usually bites during the night. To date, no other reports researching its behavior take into account the amount of parasites inside the kissing bug; however, some studies have demonstrated that the pr...

Mepraia spinolai, (Porter) 1934, is a diurnal triatomine endemic to Chile and a wild vector of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, (Chagas) 1909, which causes Chagas disease. Behavioral changes in M. spinolai induced by this parasite have been reported previously, which include detection of a potential host, defecation latency, and some life history t...

Phonotactic female and vocal male responses of frogs to advertisement calls have been shown to encompass broader ranges than those of variation of natural mate-attracting signals. Anuran aggressive calls contribute to expand the range of sound features significant for communication. Evoked vocal responses (EVRs) of males of Batrachyla leptopus to s...

Evoked vocal responses of male frogs Batrachyla taeniata to synthetic advertisement calls and variants having different temporal features altered parametrically were studied to identify patterns of evoked vocal responses (EVRs) that conform with static and dynamic modes of variation and with corresponding selective processes affected by different t...

The locomotor activity of the Chilean recluse spider Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet, 1849), and the spitting spider, Scytodes globula Nicolet, 1849, were studied in the laboratory under controlled conditions (LD 12:12). In Chile, these are two common synanthropic spiders which share a microhabitat and show extensive thermal niche overlap. Although no sy...

Alometric relationships among morphological characters provide evidence of the evolutionary forces that act on a particular trait. Spiders that live on the ground are less dimorphic than orb web spiders, which have been attributed to their different reproductive and foraging strategies. It has been proposed that long legs with respecto to the body...

It has been reported that Scytodes spiders are predators of spiders of the genus Loxosceles, but the question of the effect of Scytodes globula Nicolet on Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet) populations is still unanswered. The goal of this study is to analyze the population effect of S. globula on the population dynamics of L. laeta by means of simulation...

Most male spiders are smaller than females; during sexual maturity, males change their behaviour, abandoning their web or nest to seek out receptive females actively, whereas females stalk prey near their web or nest and tend not to move away from it. Considering this behavioural difference to be associated with increased locomotor activity at matu...

Spiders are small arthropods that have colonized terrestrial environments. These impose three main problems: (i) terrestrial habitats have large fluctuations in temperature and humidity; (ii) the internal concentration of water is higher than the external environment in spiders, which exposes them continually to water loss; and (iii) their small bo...

The rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide release of primitive hunters and weaver spiders, the Chilean Recluse spider Loxosceles laeta Nicolet (Araneae: Sicariidae) and the Chilean Tiger spider Scytodes globula Nicolet (Araneae: Scytodidae), are analyzed, and their relationship with body mass is studied. The results are compared with the m...

In small mammals, huddling appears as an efficient response to low temperature with important consequences in energy saving, which in turn affect individual fitness. It has been proposed that this behavior is a self-organized process. However, to prove self-organization, it is necessary to study the dynamics of huddling, ruling out the presence of...

In Chile, all necrotic arachnidism is attributed to the Chilean recluse spider, Loxosceles laeta Nicolet, a species that shares the microenvironmental habitats with the spitting spider Scytodes globula Nicolet. The latter species has been proposed as a potential predator of L. laeta. For this research, we studied the interaction between both specie...

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a causal agent of infectious disease and decline of anuran populations inhabiting mountain systems in Central and South America. The chytrid is believed to have spread from Ecuador southward, as has recently been detected in the Andean cordilleras of Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. However, sin...

Despite the abundant eco-epidemiological knowledge of the Chilean reclusive spider, Loxosceles laeta, which causes all forms of loxoscelism in Chile, the main characteristics of this species its stages of development remains poorly known especially in the medical area. In this study we address these issues with the goal of providing clear images of...

Loxoscelism is a health problem caused by the bite of spiders of the genus Loxosceles. In Chile all cases are attributable to Loxosceles laeta. It has been suggested that the spitting spider Scytodes globula may be a predator of L. laeta and control its population, which is only possible if they share the microhabitat. This study compared the therm...

Since 1985, the Chilean government with the participation and support of different specialists in plant and animal conservation, started the publication of checklists (i.e. red books) of plant (1985) and animal species (1987) with high to moderate risk of extinction due to human activities (i.e. threatened species). The seven categories of threats...

Since 1985, the Chilean government with the participation and support of different specialists in plant and animal conservation, started the publication of checklists (i.e. red books) of plant (1985) and animal species (1987) with high to moderate risk of extinction due to human activities (i.e. threatened species). The seven categories of threats...

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a causal agent of disease and population decline of amphibian populations, and the extinction of several anuran species worldwide. Diverse hypotheses have been provided for the emergence of this fungus in different continents, ranging from global climate change to the vectoring of Bd via the international trad...

Es te capítulo resume el conocimiento existente a la fecha respecto a los aspectos básicos de la ecofisiología de herpetozoos residentes de Chile. Dado que el mayor desarrollo teórico y experimental de la ecofisiología de herpetozoos es en reptiles, el capítulo parte con la discusión de los estudios concernientes a termorregulación, energética y he...

Thresholds for evoked vocal responses and thresholds of multiunit midbrain auditory responses to pure tones and synthetic calls were investigated in males of Pleurodema thaul, as behavioral thresholds well above auditory sensitivity have been reported for other anurans. Thresholds for evoked vocal responses to synthetic advertisement calls played b...

Lizards from different families use acoustic signals in different communicative contexts. This study characterizes the hissing sounds emitted by individuals of Pristidactylus volcanensis (Polychrotidae) of both sexes, when confronted with a threatening stimulus. These hissing sounds have broadband spectra centered at 2.4–3.6 kHz throughout most of...

We analyze the most relevant concepts about complexity of sciences, showing examples and consequences in medical sciences. In the first section we introduce some basic concepts about fractals and its relationship with the geometry of nature and chaos dynamics. We also introduce notions of critic systems, the role of energy in them and we propose a...

We analyze the most relevant concepts about complexity of sciences, showing examples and consequences in medical sciences. In the first section we introduce some basic concepts about fractals and its relationship with the geometry of nature and chaos dynamics. We also introduce notions of critic systems, the role of energy in them and we propose a...

There are two vectors of Chagas disease in Chile: Triatoma infestans and Mepraia spinolai. We studied the feeding behavior of these species, looking for differences which could possibly explain the low impact of the latter species on Chagas disease. Both species used thermal cues to locate their feeding source and consumed a similar volume of blood...

Variation of the amplification effect of burrows of the leptodactylid frog Eupsophus emiliopugini on conspecific calls generated externally was investigated. Advertisement calls broadcast through a loudspeaker placed in the vicinity of a burrow were monitored with small microphones positioned inside and outside the cavity. For 150 presentations of...

En Chile se han descrito dos especies de Triatominos: Triatoma infestans y Mepraia spinolai. De éstas, la primera es la más estudiada por su importancia en el ciclo doméstico de la enfermedad de Chagas en Chile y América. De la segunda en cambio, se conoce poco de su biología e importancia epidemiológica. En este artículo, resumimos los aspectos má...

Sound pressure levels and the spectral structure of the advertisement calls of five species of frogs from the South American temperate austral forest were analyzed. Males of Eupsophus emiliopugini, Batrachyla antartandica and B. leptopus call from the ground in bogs, while males of Hylorina sylvatica and Pleurodema thaul call from the water surface...

Relationships between testosterone plasma levels and evoked vocal responses of males of the leptodactylid frog Batrachyla taeniata from southern Chile were studied. Evoked vocal responses were elicited in the field with playbacks of a synthetic imitation of the conspecific advertisement call and variants of this signal for which different temporal...

Preferred temperature and activity patterns of Triatoma infestans Klug and Triatoma spinolai Porter were studied, both are vectors of Chagas' disease in Chile. In the laboratory, 24 T. spinolai and 18 T. infestans were exposed to a temperature gradient between 50 and 15 degrees C and a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D) h. Temperature and hourly position o...

The effect of burrow acoustics on the reception of sounds by a leptodactylid frog,Eupsophus emiliopugini, from Southern Chile was investigated. Burrows occupied byE.emiliopuginimales amplified vocalizations produced by conspecific individuals calling nearby and conspecific calls played back through a speaker positioned in the vicinity of the burrow...

The population effects of known fluctuations in fecundity and mortality of T. infestans was studied through simulation using Leslie matrices. The effect of mortality and fecundity cycles was a stepped cycling through the growing phase, with no significant population decreases. Density dependent regulation stabilizes changes during the steady phase....

Fecundity and mortality in population of insects is relevant to the epidemiology of insect transmitted diseases. These variables were studied for T. infestans during 5 years under constant conditions of temperature, relative humidity, light periods and individual density. Mean fecundity was 0.96 +/- 0.69 eggs/female-week, range 0 to 4. Minima were...

South American male toads Bufo chilensis emit a release call in contact with other individuals and a soft amplectic call, B. spinulosus males emit a release call while isolated in breeding areas, and B. arenarum produces a release call plus an intense mating call. Release calls of the 3 species measure 72–86 dB SPL RMS at 20 cm in front of the anim...