Biotic and abiotic parameters that distinguish types of temporary ponds in a Portuguese Mediterranean ecosystem

Temporary ponds are seasonal wetland habitats subjected to extreme and unstable ecological conditions. Some are classified as priority habitats for conservation by the European Union Habitats Directive. Our study area was the coastal plain of southwest Portugal, which spans across 100km north to south and hosts a large number of temporary ponds as a consequence of climatic and edaphic characteristics. Field sampling of floristic and edaphic data was carried out in 24 temporary ponds every spring between 2005 and 2008. We recorded a total of 174 plant species identified within visually homogeneous plots. We included the data in a geographic information system and classified ponds according to their floristic composition, using a biotic regionalization analysis based on species presence/absence, which is a practical and unambiguous criterion. We found three significantly different groups of ponds which corresponded to an eco-physiognomic pond typology: Mediterranean temporary ponds, marshlands, and disturbed ponds. For the first two pond types we defined characteristic or indicator plant species. We searched also for relationships between pond type and a series of large-scale climatic, geographic, and geological variables, as well as local-scale physical and chemical properties of the soil. Pond type was distinguished by a complex combination of some of these variables, including environmental energy, soil texture, nitrogen content of the soil and pH. A practical way of discriminating between different

Questionário de cooperação organizacional: Estudos diferenciais

O objectivo do presente trabalho foi verificar as diferenças entre grupos, quanto à cooperação, numa amostra de 300 funcionários de 70 Câmaras Municipais, nas variáveis tempo de trabalho, função desempenhada, área de trabalho, idade, sexo e habilitações académicas. Utilizámos o Questionário de Cooperação Organizacional. Não observámos diferenças significativas nas variáveis tempo de serviço, área de trabalho, idade, sexo e habilitações académicas em nenhum dos três factores do QCO (cooperação configurada por regulamentações formais, cooperação decorrente da interdependência de indivíduos únicos articulados entre si, e cooperação através da orientação para a sociedade dos contributos singulares). Na variável função desempenhada, não houve diferenças significativas no primeiro nem no terceiro factores. No segundo factor, observámos uma diferença significativa entre administrativos (que referem que se coopera pouco) e ocupantes de cargos de direcção e chefia (que referem que se coopera moderadamente). As variáveis estudadas não são, em geral, pertinentes para a diferenciação dos processos de cooperação. /ABSTRACT: The aim of this dissertation was to test the differences between groups, concerning cooperation, on a random sample with 300 workers from 70 municipalities, focusing on the variables working time, task, working department, age, gender and qualifications. We used the Questionnaire on Organizational Cooperation. No significant differences in the variables working time, working department, age, gender, and qualifications in any of the three dimensions of the QOC (cooperation shaped by formal regulations; cooperation arising from the interdependence of unique individuals articulated with one another; cooperation towards society, arising from the individual action) were found. We found no significant differences in the variable task, neither in the first nor in the third factor. ln the second factor, we observed a significant difference between clerks (who state that cooperation is little) and workers in leading and management positions (who state that cooperation is moderate). The variables that were studied are not generally relevant to the differentiation of the cooperation processes.