Seasonality of macroalgal communities in a subtropical drainage basin in Paraná state, southern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Análise comparativa da assembléia de aves em dois remanescentes florestais no interior do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Realizou-se o levantamento quantitativo e qualitativo da comunidade de aves de dois fragmentos de floresta estacional semidecídua no interior do estado de São Paulo de julho de 2004 a julho de 2005. Para o estudo quantitativo utilizou-se da metodologia de Pontos de Escuta. Foram analisados os índices de diversidade e de freqüência de ocorrência dessa comunidade. O levantamento qualitativo registrou 181 espécies na Fazenda Rio das Pedras - FRP (Itapetininga, 350 ha) e 126 espécies na Fazenda Santa Maria II - FSM (Buri, 480 ha), enquanto que o levantamento quantitativo registrou a presença de 73 espécies em 988 contatos e 64 espécies em 1019 contatos para FRP e FSM, respectivamente. O índice pontual de abundância (IPA) variou de 0,01 (1 contato) a 1,32 (132 contatos), para FRP e na FSM variou entre 0,01 (1 contato) a 0,97 (97 contatos). A diversidade do fragmento da FRP foi de H = 3,04 e na FSM de H = 2,85 onde a eqüitatividade em ambas áreas foi de 0,91. A comunidade de aves nos fragmentos estudados mostrou o mesmo padrão encontrado em outros fragmentos de floresta estacional semidecídua de tamanhos relativos. As categorias alimentares mais representativas nos dois remanescentes foram insetívoras (53% na FSM e 50% na FRP) e frugívoras (23% na FSM e 26% na FRP). Dentre os insetívoros, destacaram-se as famílias Tyrannidae na FSM e Thamnophilidae na FRP. Tanto na FSM como na FRP os insetívoros de sub-bosque foram mais representativos (53% e 51,4% respectivamente), seguidos pelos frugívoros de sub-bosque (50%) na FSM e frugívoros de copa (52,6%) na FRP. A importância do estudo de comunidade de aves esta ligada à elaboração do plano de manejo e conservação das áreas naturais.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in captive maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) from southeastern and midwestern regions of Brazil

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of antibodies against T gondii and N. caninum in captive maned wolves from Brazil, considering that little information is available at the literature about infections by these parasites in this wild animal. Serum samples were obtained from 59 maned wolves originated from six zoos and from one ecological reserve of the southeastern and midwestern regions of Brazil. To detect IgG antibodies against T gondii, an ELISA protocol was used and the results were expressed as ELISA reactivity indexes (131). Serology for N. caninum was carried out by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and cut-off titers were established at 1:25 dilution. From the total of the analyzed samples, 44 (74.6%) were seropositive for T gondii and only 5 (8.5%) for N. caninum. Seropositivity for T gondii ranged from 0 to 100% in the seven different origin locals, with rates over 50% among the six zoos, whereas no positivity was found in the samples from ecological reserve. For N. caninum, seroprevalence varied from 0 to 50% in the different locals, with the highest rates also detected in zoos. Seroprevalence for T gondii was strongly related with age, with rates significantly higher among adult wolves (91.7%) when compared to newborn or young animals. Seropositive samples for N. caninum were found predominantly in adult wolves. For both parasites, seroprevalence did not show a significant distinction in relation to gender. Although seroprevalence for T gondii was significantly higher when compared to N. caninum in the Brazilian captive maned wolves tested, these findings reflect the great exposure of this species to T gondii and, in lower extension, to N. caninum. Also, the present study demonstrated for the first time the presence of antibodies to N. caninum in wild life from South America. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variação sazonal de alguns parâmetros físicos e químicos em três rios pertencentes a uma bacia de drenagem na região centro-sul do Estado do Paraná, Sul do Brasil

Three small rivers belonging to the Rio das Pedras basin, located in the mid-southern region of Paraná state, were studied in order to evaluate the seasonal variation pattern of some physical and chemical parameters. Monthly samplings were carried out from April 2004 to March 2005. The following limnological parameters were measured: water temperature, specific conductance, oxygen saturation, pH, turbidity, current velocity and depth. The waters of the Rio das Pedras basin presented very peculiar characteristics, showing typical seasonal patterns for some of the studied limnological variables. An Analysis of Variance (Anova) showed significant differences only for pH and depth among streams. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed a weak tendency to form groups based on seasons instead of sampling sites. The results, in general, indicate that temporal variations of the environmental parameters analyzed were not sufficient to draw a clear seasonal pattern in the Rio das Pedras basin. Most likely, the lack of an obvious seasonal pattern has been provoked by a particular regional precipitation regime, where rains are frequent and well-distributed throughout the year.

Qualidade e conservação frigorificada do fruto de buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L. f.)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise da variação espaço-temporal em diferentes escalas sobre a distribuição ecológica das comunidades de macroalgas de duas bacias de drenagem da região centro-sul do estado do Paraná

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bovinos como bioindicadores da poluição ambiental por chumbo na região de Guarapuava -PR

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FMVZ

Espaço geográfico e educação: um estudo sobre o lugar do Conselho de Escola

In this text, the results of our research on the geographic location and establishing relationships with the School Council. We consider some legal aspects added to the evidence gathered in our experience to check how much the School Council is constituted as a non-state public place. The possibility of setting up this feature to see a meaning whose strength lies precisely in a healthy tension between the state and established community. Here is the legislation of the School Council of Suzano (SP) and some aspects of our experience from the practice of teaching at a school in Rio das Pedras (SP). We see the nature of the legal meaning assigned to this place from the study of law, considering the municipal, regional and federal levels. In the sphere of Geography use the concepts of Space, Place and City, as issues that are dear to that science. We used the concept of Topofilia to see if this particular place is the development of an individual's sense of belonging, and how it unfolds in the dynamic implications of the operation of this instrument of popular participation in the formulation of public policy education. We discussed the elements observed in these experiments to think about the composition of living environments in urban daily life

A formação Serra Alta, Permiano, no centro-leste do Estado de São Paulo, Bacia do Paraná, Brasil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The importance of plant diversity in maintaining the pollinator bee, Eulaema nigrita (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in sweet passion fruit fields

The euglossine bee Eulaema nigrita plays an important role for the pollination of native and economically important plants, such as the sweet passion-fruit Passiflora alata. E. nigrita uniquely collects the nectar from the flowers of P alata, nevertheless, it needs to visit other plants to collect pollen, nectar and other resources for its survival. There are two methods to identify the species of plants used by bees in their diet: by direct observation of the bees in the flowers, and through identification of pollen grains present in brood cells, feces, or in the bees' body. In order to identify the other plants that E. nigrita visits, we analyzed samples of pollen grains removed from the bee's body in the course of the flowering period of P alata. Among our results, the flora visited by E. nigrita comprised 40 species from 32 genera and 19 families, some of them used as a pollen source or just nectar. In spite of being a polyletic species, E. nigrita exhibited preference for some plant species with poricidal anthers. P alata which has high sugar concentration nectar was the main source of nectar for this bee in the studied area. Nonetheless, the pollinic analysis indicated that others nectariferous plant species are necessary to keep the populations of E. nigrita. Studies such as this one are important since they indicate supplementary pollen-nectar sources which must be used for the conservation of the populations of E. nigrita in crops neighbouring areas. In the absence of pollinators, growers are forced to pay for hand pollination, which increases production costs; keeping pollinators in cultivated areas is still more feasible to ensure sweet passion fruit production. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (4): 1553-1565. Epub 2012 December 01.

Reproductive behavior of Acanthagrion truncatum Selys, 1876 (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

Behavioral data on Neotropical coenagrionids is still scanty, with very few studies on their reproductive behavior. Here we present the first description of the reproductive behavior of A. truncatum in a high density population in the Brazilian Neotropical savanna. The observations were made at a pond in an ecological reserve. Males remain at the water searching for females. Females remain in the surrounding vegetation and only approach the water to mate and oviposit. The mean duration of copulation was 25.6 +/- 3.26 minutes. Copulations are concentrated between 12:00 and 14:00 h (71%). Females oviposit in tandem with males, sometimes submerging to oviposit. Oviposition took 43.08 +/- 22.17 minutes. Female underwater oviposition seems to disrupt male guarding and females emerge from the water by themselves. Malemale interactions usually consist of chases and facing off. This damselfly species is apparently non-territorial, since males did not defend resources and searched for females in the area.

Ecología de la dispersión de plantas en los bosques secos del suroccidente Ecuatoriano

La importancia del proceso de dispersión de semillas en la estructura y dinámica de los ecosistemas es ampliamente reconocida. Sin embargo, para los bosques tropicales estacionalmente secos los estudios relacionados con este proceso son aún escasos y dispersos en comparación con los bosques tropicales lluviosos. En este trabajo se estudió la importancia de los síndromes de dispersión de semillas en la estructuración de comunidades, mediante el análisis de los patrones de dispersión de semillas en el espacio y tiempo para comunidades de leñosas en los bosques secos del suroccidente Ecuatoriano. Esta área forma parte de la región Tumbesina, una de las áreas de endemismo más importantes del mundo, pero también uno de los hotspots más amenazados. El clima se caracteriza por una estación seca que va de mayo a noviembre y una estación lluviosa que se extiende desde diciembre a abril. Para toda esta zona se estima una temperatura promedio anual entre 20° y 26°C y una precipitación promedio anual entre 300 y 700 mm. El trabajo de campo se desarrolló entre febrero de 2009 y septiembre de 2012. El primer paso fue la recopilación de información sobre las especies leñosas nativas de los bosques secos del suroccidente de Ecuador, que permitiera asignar a cada especie a un síndrome de dispersión para determinar el espectro de síndromes de dispersión de semillas. Luego, utilizando la información disponible de 109 parcelas establecidas previamente a lo largo de cuatro cantones de la provincia de Loja que conservan bosques secos en buen estado, se analizó la relación entre el síndrome de dispersión y condiciones ambientales. La relación de los síndromes de dispersión con los patrones espaciales de las especies y con los patrones de la lluvia y banco de semillas se estudió dentro de una parcela permanente de 9 ha, en la Reserva Ecológica Arenillas. Dentro de esta parcela se estableció un transecto de aproximadamente 3,4 km, que se recorrió mensualmente para colectar excretas de cérvidos y analizar el rol de este grupo como dispersor de semillas. Una gran variedad de plantas en los bosques secos tropicales del suroccidente de Ecuador requirió la asistencia de animales para la dispersión de semillas. Sin embargo, un análisis del espectro de dispersión considerando no solo la riqueza, sino también la abundancia relativa de especies, permitió determinar que a pesar de la alta variedad de especies zoócoras, la mayor parte de la comunidad correspondía a individuos anemócoros, que no proveen ninguna recompensa para la dispersión por animales. Este patrón puede deberse a la abundancia relativa de hábitats adecuados para especies con diferente síndrome de dispersión. Las condiciones ambientales afectaron la estructura del espectro de dispersión en la comunidad de bosque seco neotropical estudiada. El análisis de la importancia relativa del síndrome de dispersión y de la heterogeneidad espacial en la formación de patrones espaciales de árboles adultos permitió determinar que la heterogeneidad ambiental ejercía un efecto adicional (y en algunos el único) en la formación de patrones agregados de la mayoría de especies estudiadas. Los resultados señalaron diferencias en los patrones espaciales de las especies dependiendo del síndrome de dispersión, pero también una gran variación en los patrones espaciales incluso entre especies del mismo síndrome de dispersión. El análisis simultáneo de los patrones de la lluvia de semillas y banco de semillas de una comunidad de leñosas y su relación con la vegetación establecida indicaron que la lluvia de semillas era temporalmente variable en número de especies y abundancia de semillas, y dependía del síndrome de dispersión. El síndrome de dispersión también influyó en la formación de bancos de semillas, siendo las especies con capacidad de dispersión limitada (autócoras) las de mayor riqueza de especies y abundancia de semillas. Los cérvidos también se consideraron como un elemento clave en el proceso de dispersión de semillas. Al menos ocho especies leñosas fueron dispersadas legítimamente vía endozoócora. La mayoría de las especies dispersadas presentaron diásporas sin adaptaciones obvias para la dispersión, por lo que la ingestión de semillas por cérvidos se constituye en una vía potencial para la dispersión de sus semillas a largas distancias y, con ello, mejora la posibilidad de colonizar nuevos sitios y mantener el flujo genético. Los resultados de este estudio aportan nuevas evidencias para el entendimiento de la importancia de los procesos de dispersión de semillas en la estructura de los bosques secos neotropicales. Uno de los principales hallazgos a partir de estos cuatro capítulos es que los patrones espaciales de las especies, así como las estrategias que utilizan para dispersarse y hacer frente a las condiciones adversas (es decir, lluvia o banco de semillas) llevan consigo un efecto del síndrome de dispersión, y que la intensidad ese efecto depende a la vez de las condiciones ambientales del lugar. ABSTRACT The importance of seed dispersal process in the estructuring and ecosystem dynamic is widely recongnized. However, for seasonally tropical dry forest studies related to this process are still scarce and scattered compared to tropical rain forests. The present research deals with the importance of seed dispersal syndromes as a driver in the community structure, focusing its attention to temporal and spatial patterns of seed dispersal in woody communities of seasonally dry forest at Southwestern Ecuador. This area is part of the Tumbesian region, one of the most important areas of endemism, but also one of the most threatened areas around the world. Climate is characterized by a dry season from May to November, and a rainy season from December to April. For the whole area an average temperature between 20 ° and 26 ° C, and an average annual rainfall between 300 and 700 mm are estimated. Fieldwork was carried out between February 2009 and September 2012. During a first step information about native woody species of dry forests of southwestern Ecuador was gathered, enabling to assign a dispersal syndrome to each species to determine the seed dispersal spectrum. In a second step, available information from 109 established plots along four municipalities in Loja province, which hold the highest and best conserved dry forest remanants, was analyzed to establish the relationship between dispersal syndromes and environmental conditions. The relationships between dispersal syndromes and species spatial patterns; and between dispersal syndromes and seed rain and seed bank patterns, were studied within a permanent plot of 9 ha, in the Arenillas Ecological Reserve. Within this plot one transect of approximately 3.4 km was set to collect monthly deer droppings, which were used to latter analyze the rol of this group as seed dispersers. The results showed that a large variety of plants in tropical dry forest of Southwestern Ecuador require animal assistance to dispers their seeds. However, an analysis of seed dispersal spectrum considering not only species richness, but also the relative abundance of species, allowed to determine that despite the high variety of zoochorous species, most individuals in the community corresponds to anemochoruos species. This shift may be due to the relative abundance of habitats that are suitable for species with different dispersal syndromes. Moreover, quantitative data analysis showed that environmental conditions affect the structure of seed dispersal spectrum in the studied community. The analysis of relative importance of dispersal syndrome, and the environmental heterogeneity on formation of adult trees spatial patterns, indicated that environmental heterogeneity exert an additional (or was the only) effect limiting the distribution of most species in this forest. The findings showed differences in spatial patterns related to dispersal syndrome, but also showed a large variation in spatial patterns even among species sharing the same dispersal syndrome. Simultaneous analysis of seed rain and seed bank patterns of a woody community, and their relationship with established vegetation, suggested that seed rain is temporally variable in species number and seeds abundance, and that variation is related to the dispersal syndrome. Dispersal syndrome also influenced on the formation of seed banks, being species with limited dispersal abilities (autochorous) the ones with highest species richness and seed abundance. Deer were found as a key element in the seed dispersal process. At least to eight woody species were dispersed legitimately by ingestion. Diaspores of most dispersed species had no obvious adaptations to seed dispersal, therefore, seed ingestion by deer represents a potential pathway for long-distance dispersal, and hence, improves the chances to colonizing new sites and to maintain gene flow. Overall, these results provide new evidence for understanding the importance of seed dispersal processes in the structure of Neotropical dry forests. One of the major findings from these four chapters is that spatial patterns of species, and the strategies used to disperse their seeds and to deal with the adverse conditions (i.e. seed rain or seed bank) are related with dispersal syndromes, and the intensity of that relation depends in turn, on environmental conditions.

El crecimiento, densificación y ordenación de la ciudad difusa en Galicia: desarrollo urbanístico del área urbana de la Ría de Vigo 1990-2010

El área urbana localizada en el contorno de la ría de Vigo se vino comportando hasta finales de los años ochenta del siglo XX como una verdadera "ciudad difusa", entendida la difusión como la forma de urbanización de baja densidad que todavía conserva unas características y una funcionalidad propiamente urbanas, aportadas por la malla tradicional parroquial de caminos y núcleos de población. Esta Tesis demuestra que en el período de veinte años transcurrido entre 1990 y 2010, el área, en la que ya se apreciaban fenómenos de naturaleza metropolitana y policentrismo, experimentó una transformación basada en los factores y formas de urbanización estudiados en otras áreas y ciudades intermedias de similares dimensiones. Para la delimitación del ámbito de estudio se consideraron las diferentes dimensiones y escalas de áreas funcionales utilizadas en distintos estudios y planes territoriales, eligiéndose el que toma como referente principal la Ría de Vigo como soporte de la conurbación polinuclear de su contorno. Para investigar el desarrollo urbanístico operado en el período se estudiaron los factores y formas de urbanización característicos de la urbanización en territorios de baja densidad en esta época, y las variables de densidad es de población y vivienda, primacía y polaridad territorial, ritmos de edificación, planeamiento urbanístico y territorial, actividades económicas, movilidad, desplazamientos residenciatrabajo y vacíos urbanos. Las conclusiones permiten observar como el crecimiento residencial descentralizado, que se ha dado principalmente en el litoral, y la localización periférica de las actividades y dotaciones públicas han introducido elementos de dispersión y fragmentación espacial y social, así como las nuevas y potentes infraestructuras viarias, que han mejorado los desplazamientos a costa de una dependencia abusiva del vehículo privado, y han comenzado a amenazar la sostenibilidad del sistema. La planificación de ordenación territorial a escala metropolitana y el planeamiento urbanístico, que se comenzaron a utilizar con normalidad en esta época, se vislumbran como una oportunidad para reconducir el proceso, integrando los territorios genéricos surgidos entre las nuevas infraestructuras y dotaciones y la malla tradicional, así como los vacíos urbanos susceptibles de compactación, protegiendo aquellos otros vacíos que deben constituir la principal reserva ecológica: Los montes en mano común y la Ría de Vigo. La necesidad de una planificación operativa, sostenible y participativa, que integre la ordenación territorial, la gestión integral de los recursos de la Ría, y articule las diferentes competencias y escalas, la gobernanza , la participación ciudadana y el mercado, se considera la principal conclusión para el futuro. ABSTRACT The urban area located around the Ría de Vigo* used to behave like a “diffused city” until the late 1980s, understanding this difussion as the low-density urbanization that still today exhibits ‘urban’ characteristics and functionality, given by the traditional network of parish paths and town cores. This Thesis shows that during the twenty-year period from 1990 to 2010, this area, which previously showed signals of polycentrism and metropolitan character, started a transformation based on the factors and ways of urbanization studied in other areas and intermediate cities of similar dimensions. In order to demarcate the scope of this study, different dimensions and functional area scales previously used in other studies have been taken into account, choosing the one that takes the Ría de Vigo as the main reference and the basis of the polynuclear conurbation of its surroundings. To research the urban development in this period, factors and ways of urbanization regarding lowdensity territories have been considered, as well as some variables like density of population and housing, territorial primacy and polarity, building rates, territorial planning, economic activities, mobility, home-to-work trips and urban holes. Conclusions allow us to point out how the decentralised residential growing (that occurred mainly on the litoral surface) and the periferic localization of the activities and public facilities, have created elements of “sprawl” and spacial and social fragmentation, which, together with the new and powerfull road infraestructures network (that made the movements easier by means of an abusive dependence on the private vehicle), have started to threaten the sustainability of the system. The planification of the territorial ordinance at metropolitan scale and the urban planning, that in that time started to be established, can be considered as an opportunity to get things back on track, integrating the territories risen up from the new infrastructures and facilities and the traditional network together with the urban holes liable to be compacted, with a special protection of the spaces that must be the main ecological reserve: the communal forests and the Ría de Vigo. The need of a sustainable and participatory operative planification, able to integrate the territory planning, the integral management of resources and the citizen involvement and the market, has to be considered as the main goal for the future.

O BOCA A BOCA ON-LINE: AS IMPLICAÇÕES DA VOZ DO CONSUMIDOR NA COMUNICAÇÃO DE MERCADO

O consumidor contemporâneo, inserido em um novo ambiente de comunicação, potencializa suas expressões, capaz de avaliar uma marca ou produto e transmitir sua opinião pelas redes sociais, ou seja, o consumidor expressa suas opiniões e desejos dialogando com seus pares de forma espontânea nas redes sociais on-line. É neste ambiente de participação e interação (ciberespaço) que está nosso objeto de estudo, o boca a boca on-line – a voz do consumidor contemporâneo, também conhecido como uma manifestação informativa pessoal ou uma conversa, a opinion sharing. Proporcionado pelos consumidores nas redes sociais on-line, o boca a boca se fortalece em função das possibilidades de interação, característica da sociedade em rede. Nesse cenário, oobjetivo desta pesquisa é caracterizar o boca a boca on-line como um novo fluxo comunicacional entre consumidores, hoje potencializado pelas novas tecnologias da comunicação, capazes de alterar a percepção da marca e demonstrar o uso, pelas marcas, das redes sociais on-line ainda como um ambiente de comunicação unidirecional. Mediante três casos selecionados por conveniência (dois casos nacionais e um internacional), o corpus de análise de nossa pesquisa se limitou aos 5.084 comentários disponibilizados após publicação de matérias jornalísticas no Portal G1 e nas fanpages (Facebook), ambos relativos aos casos selecionados. Com a Análise de Conteúdo dos posts, identificamos e categorizamos a fala do consumidor contemporâneo, sendo assim possível comprovar que as organizações/marcas se valem da cultura do massivo, não dialogando com seus consumidores, pois utilizam as redes sociais on-line ainda de forma unidirecional, além de não darem a devida atenção ao atual fluxo onde se evidencia a opinião compartilhada dos consumidores da sociedade em rede.

Biología reproductiva de Polioptila lembeyei (Aves: Polioptilidae) en la Reserva Ecológica Siboney-Juticí, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

Se estudió la biología reproductiva de Polioptila lembeyei en la Reserva Ecológica Siboney-Juticí, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba durante los años 2006 y 2007 en seis formaciones vegetales. Se describieron aspectos de su reproducción en términos de cronología reproductiva, tamaño de puesta, duración del período de incubación, permanencia de los polluelos en el nido, morfometría de nidos y huevos, y caracterización del sitio de nidificación en cuanto a la altura de los nidos y especie y altura de las plantas utilizadas como sitio de nidificación. Se localizaron 89 nidos durante las dos temporadas reproductivas, 43 en el año 2006 y 46 en el 2007. El período reproductivo se extendió desde finales de marzo hasta julio, abarcando 129 días en el año 2006 y 122 días durante el año 2007. Las nidadas tuvieron una duración de 36–56 días (construcción 8,6 ± 2,8 días, puesta 8,6 ± 2,7 días, incubación de 14,0 ± 1,2 días y permanencia de los pichones en el nido 14,5 ± 1,0 días). De los 45 nidos examinados el tamaño de puesta modal fue de tres huevos (88,9 %), encontrándose también nidadas de dos (6,7 %) y cuatro huevos (4,4 %). De 38 nidos con huevos para ambas temporadas, 15 nidos produjeron pichones (32 pichones en el 2006 y 20 pichones en el 2007) y solo tres nidos durante el 2006 (37,5 %) lograron producir volantones, los cuales salieron con éxito del nido. La planta más utilizada como sitio de nidificación fue Acacia macracantha (80 % de los nidos detectados), aunque también se hallaron nidos en otras ocho especies de plantas. Las alturas de ubicación del nido fue de 2,7 ± 1,5 m (n = 82; rango 0,3–6,4 m) y la distancia del nido al dosel de la planta utilizada como sustrato fue de 1,1 ± 0,9 m (n = 80; rango 0,1–5,4 m).