Volume 7, Number 1—February 2001
Research
Emerging Chagas Disease: Trophic Network and Cycle of Transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi from Palm Trees in the Amazon
Figure 4

Figure 4. . Palm tree (Attalaea phalerata) frond-sheet microsystem and cycle of transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi. This natural dwelling of triatomine species and top predators (Didelphis marsupialis, circle) consists of clefts formed by the insertion of frond sheets into the stipe of babassu palm.
1In this study, a major ecosystem is defined as a set of ecoregions of comparable dynamics, response characteristics to disturbance, species diversity, and conservation needs. An ecoregion is a geographically distinct set of natural communities with similar species, ecologic dynamics, environmental conditions, and ecologic interactions critical for long-term persistence (1).