LIZARDS AND SNAKES (LEPIDOSAURIA, SQUAMATA) FROM THE LATE QUATERNARY OF THE STATE OF CEARA IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

We present the first formal report on the squamate assemblage from Parque Nacional de Ubajara. This park contains the most important cave complex in the state of Ceara in northeastern Brazil, called Provincia Espeleologica de Ubajara. The material comes from the Urso Fossil cave at Pendurado Hill. All previously reported fossil remains found in this cave are tentatively attributed to the Quaternary (late Pleistocene-early Holocene). Probably only Arctotherium brasiliense represents a relictual fossil bear from the late Pleistocene megafauna. The taxa recognized in this paper belong to Tropidurus sp., Ameiva sp., cf. Epicrates, and cf. Crotalus durissus, adding to the knowledge of the Brazilian Quaternary squamate fauna as a whole, and contribute to a major taxonomic refinement of the squamate assemblages from the early Holocene of northeastern Brazil.

Litterfall and leaf decomposition in forest fragments under different successional phases on the Atlantic Plateau of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Litterfall and litter decomposition are vital processes in tropical forests because they regulate nutrient cycling. Nutrient cycling can be altered by forest fragmentation. The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes in the world due to human occupation over the last 500 years. This scenario has resulted in fragments of different size, age and regeneration phase. To investigate differences in litterfall and leaf decomposition between forest successional phases, we compared six forest fragments at three different successional phases and an area of mature forest on the Atlantic Plateau of Sao Paulo, Brazil. We sampled litter monthly from November 2008 to October 2009. We used litterbags to calculate leaf decomposition rate of an exotic species, Tipuana tipu (Fabaceae), over the same period litter sampling was performed. Litterfall was higher in the earliest successional area. This pattern may be related to the structural properties of the forest fragments, especially the higher abundance of pioneer species, which have higher productivity and are typical of early successional areas. However, we have not found significant differences in the decomposition rates between the studied areas, which may be caused by rapid stabilization of the decomposition environment (combined effect of microclimatic conditions and the decomposers activities). This result indicates that the leaf decomposition process have already been restored to levels observed in mature forests after a few decades of regeneration, although litterfall has not been entirely restored. This study emphasizes the importance of secondary forests for restoration of ecosystem processes on a regional scale.

COMPARING RAINFALL INTENSITY DURATION RELATIONSHIPS FOR SITES OF THE STATE OF SAO PAULO

Rainfall intensity durations relationships are extremely important in the design of systems for mitigating runoff losses. The objective of this work was to compare rainfall depths generated by the PLUVIO 2.1 software, with depths from the standard intensity duration curves developed by MARTINEZ & MAGNI (1999). It was compared rainfall intensities of 10, 20, 30, 60, 120 and 1440 minute durations for 2, 5, 10, 50 and 100 year return periods for 30 sites in the state of Sao Paulo. The results showed that PLUVIO was effective, except in predicting the 24 hours rainfall from 100 year return period events in four locations in the central and eastern regions of the state.

Cost Management Practices and Strategic Perspectives: a study in the construction industry of the State of Parana

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cost management practices of building industry companies of Parana that follow the typology of Porter's strategies. The sample comprises member companies of the Association of Construction Industries of the State of Parana (PR-SINDUSCON) operating in the segment of residential buildings. The data were collected by means of questionnaires sent to 317 SINDUSCON members. 69 were returned and 54 used for our research. Exploratory Factorial Analysis of the data allowed us to identify two groups of cost management practices. Analyses suggest equality between the adopted cost management practices and the Cost Control Planning (CCP) practices among the companies of the Group 1, regardless of the generic strategy adopted. The companies of the Group 2 that adopted the differentiation strategy seem to use mainly the ACR cost management practice. Our findings differ from those obtained by Chenhall insofar as companies that adopt low cost strategies tend to use managerial controls focused on cost control and rigid budgetary controls.

Vanadium biomonitoring by using Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758) mussels transplanted in the coast of the State of So Paulo, Brazil

The increased pollution in the aquatic ecosystem has led to the investigation of toxic elements in sea water by using marine organisms to assess marine pollution from human activities. Among these organisms, the mollusks bivalves have been used as biomonitors since they can accumulate trace elements and other substances, without the occurrence of their death. In this study, Perna perna mussels were transplanted from a mussel farm (reference region) to four sites located in coastal regions of So Paulo State, Brazil, close to anthropic discharge areas. Vanadium was determined in mussel tissues by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Quality control of V analysis was checked by analyzing biological reference materials and the results obtained were precise and in good agreement with the certified values. Comparisons between the V concentrations obtained in transplanted mussels indicated that those from So Sebastio region, close to an oil terminal presented the highest concentration of this element, during spring.