Padrões de organização das assembleias de aves florestais em uma paisagem fragmentada de Floresta Atlântica

Brazil is home to one of the richest avifaunas the world, which is subject to high levels of environmental degradation, in particular forest fragmentation. The Atlantic Forest biome depicts this history of devastation and today remains as small isolated fragments on highly degraded landscapes. This project aimed to evaluate the effects of forest fragmentation in an area with Atlantic Forest remnants in northern Paraná (Brazil) on the distribution and the organization of assemblage of forest birds and tested the hypothesis that the structure of the assembly in the fragments is different than expected by chance. We did four qualitative samplings of birds in three sets of forest fragments in the landscape, each with three fragments: large, medium and small. The method applied in the sampling was point counts along transects, traveled randomly for four hours in each fragment. Samples were taken in two periods: from September to November / 2013, and between March and May / 2014. The structure of the meeting was assessed by rates of co-occurring species (Checkerboard and CScore) and α diversity patterns (wealth) and β (turnover of species), while the landscape structure was analyzed from the parameters: area, distance between fragments, fractal dimension, edge density, fragment shape index and nuclear area index. The null hypothesis of no structure in the assembly of birds in the landscape was tested with null models from the co-occurrence indexes. The effects of landscape structure on the assembly of the structure were analyzed by the Mantel test and principal component analysis (PCA). The assembly of the structure in the landscape showed a pattern of spatiotemporal organization significantly different from that expected by chance, revealing a structure most influenced by segregation of the species. The fragments showed significant differences in richness, unlike sets of fragments, indicating relative homogeneity in the landscape structure. The differences between the size and the distance between the fragments significantly influenced the patterns of organization of the meeting of forest birds in the landscape and patterns of α and β diversity, indicating that the higher the fragment and smaller distances between them, more the standard of species cooccurrence is different than expected by chance. Thus, the fragmented landscape of remnants of the northern Paraná Atlantic Forest still has availability of environmental resources and physical characteristics that allow a persistent organizational structure of the assembly of forest birds in space over time.

Proposta de avaliação de práticas sustentáveis nas operações de serviço em instituições de ensino superior da Rede Federal de Educação Profissional, Científica e Tecnológica

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have an extremely important social role, they are responsible for the place where they work and to form citizens who contribute to a fair and cooperative society. Universities can engage with sustainable development in planning, management, education, research, operations, community services, procurement of materials, transportation and infrastructure; this research seeks to analyze the sustainability practices in service operations in the Higher Education Institutions of the Federal Network of Professional, Scientific and Technological Education in Brazil through the development and application of a model called the Sustainability Assessment for Higher Technological Education (SAHTE). To achieve the proposed goal, a systematic survey of the scientific literature on sustainability assessment models in higher education institutions was conducted, making it possible to identify the characteristics and features of existing models. The model was applied through multiple case studies. The proposal compares the sustainability performance of service operations among individual institutions using a common methodology. It presents five areas to be evaluated in the HEI: Governance and Policies, People, Food, Water and Energy, and Waste and Environment, with a total of 134 questions. The need for greater support from the senior management of institutions to formulate and implement policies on sustainable development was identified when the lack of policies on sustainability in service operations was found; initiatives tend to be isolated. The participation of students and teachers in studies on the daily operations of the campus can be expanded and more widespread. The model seeks to evaluate sustainable practices in the service operations of the Brazilian Federal Network of Professional, Scientific and Technological Education; studies related to the evaluation of teaching sustainability are absent and the applicability of the model in private institutions and other countries is needed. The results obtained with the application of the SAHTE model are useful for the preparation and development of policies on sustainable development, especially in the service operations of the surveyed HEI. The results can sensitize staff and students, who can reflect on their roles in the HEI, as well as the community and suppliers.