On the relationship between squid and the environment: artisanal jigging for Loligo plei at Sao Sebastiao Island (24 degrees S), southeastern Brazil

The squid Loligo plei concentrates in the southeastern Brazil Bight, where it has traditionally supported small-scale fisheries around Sao Sebastiao Island (SSI). Sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a (Chl a), windspeed, wave height, rainfall, and lunar phase are related to fishing records and to the results of a survey of local fishers to investigate how they believe environmental variables might affect catches of L. plei. Daily fishery-dependent data over the years 2005-2009 were obtained from a fishing cooperative and were matched with satellite and meteorological forecast data. Generalized linear models were used to explore the significance of environmental variables in relation to variability in catch and catch per unit effort (cpue). Squid are fished with jigs in water shallower than 20 m, generally where SST is warmer and Chl a and windspeed are lower. Cpue and monthly catches decreased from 2005 to 2008, followed by a slight increase in 2009. The correlations between fishery and environmental data relate well to fishers` oceanological knowledge, underscoring the potential of incorporating such knowledge into evaluations of the fishery.

Contrafreeloading in maned wolves: Implications for their management and welfare

Contrafreeloading occurs when animals spend time and effort to obtain food in the presence of freely available food. There are several interpretations for such an apparent contradiction to optimal foraging models, with an emphasis either on the need to gather and update information about the environment or on the value of performing species-typical responses. Evidence suggests that both gathering information about the environment and the expression of species-typical behaviour are important for the welfare of captive animals. The aim of the present study was to assess the existence of contrafreeloading in maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus), in a situation where animals could get food directly from a "free" source and/or search and handle hidden food items, an alternative that requires more effort and is probably more similar to natural foraging conditions. Eight captive, pair-housed maned wolves were given weekly choice tests in which they could obtain food either by approaching the usual food tray in one section of the enclosure (Tray), and/or by searching for food at variable sites amongst the vegetation in the other section of the enclosure (Scattered). Results indicate that maned wolves spent more time in the Scattered than in the Tray section of the enclosure (P = 0.02) and that they obtained about half of the food from that section (48.54% +/- SE 0.69). Our results, the first to demonstrate contrafreeloading in maned wolves, have implications for the husbandry and welfare of this endangered species. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biomonitoring study of seasonal anthropogenic influence at the Itamambuca beach (SP, Brazil)

The present work is focused on the study of a seasonal anthropogenic influence on the beach of Itamambuca (Ubatuba, SP, Brazil) carried out using Atherinella brasiliensis as biomonitor. In total 84 fish were caught between July 2004 and February 2005 in different locations at the beach and inside the Itamambuca river. The fish were pooled according to catch and their musculature was analyzed by Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) techniques. While the concentration of light (matrix) elements like C and O were obtained using the RBS technique, major (Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K and Ca) and trace (Si, Al, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br and Sr) elements were measured by PIXE. The results show that differences were observed for several elemental concentrations of fish tissue between high season (spring-summer) and low season (winter-fall), indicating that increased human activity in the beach during high season may have some impact on the beach ecosystem. The role of the water salinity in the results is also discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A detailed description of an economical setup for electroporation of chick embryos in ovo

One of the challenges of the postgenomic era is characterizing the function and regulation of specific genes. For various reasons, the early chick embryo can easily be adopted as an in vivo assay of gene function and regulation. The embryos are robust, accessible, easily manipulated, and maintained in the laboratory. Genomic resources centered on vertebrate organisms increase daily. As a consequence of optimization of gene transfer protocols by electroporation, the chick embryo will probably become increasingly popular for reverse genetic analysis. The challenge of establishing chick embryonic electroporation might seem insurmountable to those who are unfamiliar with experimental embryological methods. To minimize the cost, time, and effort required to establish a chick electroporation assay method, we describe and illustrate in great detail the procedures involved in building a low-cost electroporation setup and the basic steps of electroporation

Slipper lobster (Crustacea, Decapoda, Scyllaridae) fisheries off the southeastern coast of Brazil: I. Exploitation patterns between 23 degrees 00 ` and 29 degrees 65 ` S

In southeastern Brazil, slipper lobsters (Scyllarides deceptor and S. brasiliensis) are caught by fleets trawling for pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis and F. paulensis) and pots-and-traps fishing for octopuses (Octopus vulgaris). Eight hundred fifty-six landings of shrimp trawlers and 28 of the octopus fleet were monitored in the Santos region from May 2006 to April 2007. Additional analysis was performed using a database covering the period from 1999 onwards. This study seeks to identify the recent patterns of exploitation of these lobsters with the goal of improving the way towards fishery sustainability. Scyllarides deceptor was the dominant lobster species with 1032 specimens collected, while only three specimens of S. brasiliensis were identified. The area known as the `Farol do Boi` (23 degrees 01`S, 45 degrees 00`W to 25 degrees 00`S, 45 degrees 40`W at 60-135 m deep) showed the highest Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE). A General Linearized Model (GLM) was used to investigate the factors influencing variations in CPUE in trawl fleets and led to the conclusion that year, month and depth were the most important factors. We detected a significant decrease in the relative abundance of lobsters in the fishing zone despite relatively low fishing effort. Recommendations to protect the lobster resources include taking special precautions in the natural refuge area of the `Farol do Boi`, as an exclusion zone for trawl fleets, and controlling the use of traps longlines to catch octopuses. Concerns about depensatory processes due to the over-exploitation of lobster populations around the world are raised. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors Associated with Height Catch-Up and Catch-Down Growth Among Schoolchildren

In developed countries, children with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) or born preterm (PT) tend to achieve catch-up growth. There is little information about height catch-up in developing countries and about height catch-down in both developed and developing countries. We studied the effect of IUGR and PT birth on height catch-up and catch-down growth of children from two cohorts of liveborn singletons. Data from 1,463 children was collected at birth and at school age in Ribeirao Preto (RP), a more developed city, and in Sao Luis (SL), a less developed city. A change in z-score between schoolchild height z-score and birth length z-score >= 0.67 was considered catch-up; a change in z-score <=-0.67 indicated catch-down growth. The explanatory variables were: appropriate weight for gestational age/PT birth in four categories: term children without IUGR (normal), IUGR only (term with IUGR), PT only ( preterm without IUGR) and preterm with IUGR; infant's sex; maternal parity, age, schooling and marital status; occupation of family head; family income and neonatal ponderal index (PI). The risk ratio for catch-up and catch-down was estimated by multinomial logistic regression for each city. In RP, preterms without IUGR (RR = 4.13) and thin children (PI<10th percentile, RR = 14.39) had a higher risk of catch-down; catch-up was higher among terms with IUGR (RR = 5.53), preterms with IUGR (RR = 5.36) and children born to primiparous mothers (RR = 1.83). In SL, catch-down was higher among preterms without IUGR (RR = 5.19), girls (RR = 1.52) and children from low-income families ( RR = 2.74); the lowest risk of catch-down (RR = 0.27) and the highest risk of catch-up (RR = 3.77) were observed among terms with IUGR. In both cities, terms with IUGR presented height catch-up growth whereas preterms with IUGR only had height catch-up growth in the more affluent setting. Preterms without IUGR presented height catch-down growth, suggesting that a better socioeconomic situation facilitates height catch-up and prevents height catch-down growth.

Model-based reuse for crosscutting frameworks: assessing reuse and maintenance effort

Abstract Background Over the last years, a number of researchers have investigated how to improve the reuse of crosscutting concerns. New possibilities have emerged with the advent of aspect-oriented programming, and many frameworks were designed considering the abstractions provided by this new paradigm. We call this type of framework Crosscutting Frameworks (CF), as it usually encapsulates a generic and abstract design of one crosscutting concern. However, most of the proposed CFs employ white-box strategies in their reuse process, requiring two mainly technical skills: (i) knowing syntax details of the programming language employed to build the framework and (ii) being aware of the architectural details of the CF and its internal nomenclature. Also, another problem is that the reuse process can only be initiated as soon as the development process reaches the implementation phase, preventing it from starting earlier. Method In order to solve these problems, we present in this paper a model-based approach for reusing CFs which shields application engineers from technical details, letting him/her concentrate on what the framework really needs from the application under development. To support our approach, two models are proposed: the Reuse Requirements Model (RRM) and the Reuse Model (RM). The former must be used to describe the framework structure and the later is in charge of supporting the reuse process. As soon as the application engineer has filled in the RM, the reuse code can be automatically generated. Results We also present here the result of two comparative experiments using two versions of a Persistence CF: the original one, whose reuse process is based on writing code, and the new one, which is model-based. The first experiment evaluated the productivity during the reuse process, and the second one evaluated the effort of maintaining applications developed with both CF versions. The results show the improvement of 97% in the productivity; however little difference was perceived regarding the effort for maintaining the required application. Conclusion By using the approach herein presented, it was possible to conclude the following: (i) it is possible to automate the instantiation of CFs, and (ii) the productivity of developers are improved as long as they use a model-based instantiation approach.

Catch rates of artisanal fisheries targeting Dasyatis guttata (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) in Todos os Santos Bay, northeastern Brazil

Dasyatis guttata has been target of artisanal fisheries in the coast of Bahia (Northeast Brazil) mainly by “arraieira” (gillnet) and “grozeira” (bottom long-line), but until now there is no stock assessment study. One of the important data for this knowledge is reliable indices of abundance. The aims of the present work are to: (1) estimate the best predictor for relative abundance (catch-per-unit-of-effort, CPUE), examining whether catch (production – kg) was related to: soak time of the gear, size of the gillnet or number of hooks, applying generalized linear model (GLM); (2) estimate the annual CPUE (kg/hooks and kg/m) averaged by gear; and (3) assess the temporal CPUE variance. Based on monthly sampling between January 2012 and January 2013, 222 landings by grozeira and 76 by arraiaiera were recorded in the two landing sites in Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia. A total of 14,550 kg (average = 44 kg/month) of D. guttata was captured. Models for both gears were highly significant (P < 0.0001). The analysis indicated that the most appropriate variable for CPUE analysis was the size of the gillnet (P < 0.001) and the number of hooks (P < 0.0001). Soak time of the gear was not significant for both gears (P = 0.4). High residual deviance expresses the complexity of the relations between ecosystem factors and other fisheries factors affecting relative abundance, which were not considered in this study. The average CPUE by grozeira was 6.39 kg/100 hooks ± 8.89 and by arraieira, 1.47 kg/100 m ± 1.66 over the year. Kruskal-Wallis test showed effect of the month on the mean grozeira CPUE (P = <0.001), but no effect (P = 0.096) on the mean arraieira CPUE. Grozeira CPUE values were highest in December and March, and lowest between May to August