Miocene catfishes (Ariidae,Bagridae) from Lisbon: a Nilotic (or Sudanian) type fauna

Miocene catfishes from Lisbon are dealt with. Two distinct sets of pectoral and dorsal pterygiophores are described. That from the Langhian V-b is referred to Arius sp. probably close to A. heudeloti. Another ser from the uppermost Burdigalian V-a may be ascribed to a bagrid, cf. Chrysichthys sp., identified for the first time in this region. The catfish and Lates association is sctrikingly similar to African, nilotic or sudanian ones as far as freshwaters are concerned. In marine, coastal environments, stenotherm warm-water forms (Polynemids, large barracudas and several sharks) indicate, as a model, faunas like chose from Cape Verde to northern Angola. There is some gradation for brackish waters (fig. 1). Catfishes and Lates probably migrated into the Iberian Peninsule in the lower Miocene. They are unknown after Langhian V-b except for a reappearance of Arius in the middle Tortonian VII-b. Decreasing temperatures and aridity account for local extinction at least in freshwaters. Expansion of these fishes have been made easier owing to the displacement of land masses chat narrowed or closed the marine waterway between Europe and Africa. Salinity tolerance is not necessarily the sole explanation for migration. Catfishes plus Lates associations colonized inland waters from both sides of the Paleomediterranean. Local extinction may have weighed more in the development of modern distribution patterns than migration.

Castor fiber na gruta do Caldeirão. Existência, distribuição e extinção do castor em Portugal

Beaver only had been found in Portugal in a Chalcolithic locality, the Vila Nova de S. Pedro castrum. It has now been identified in the Upper Paleolithic (Solutrean) from Gruta do Caldeirão, near Tomar. The species has been found recently at «Gruta do Almonda»; 4 teeth were collected in bed C, older than a Solutrean sequence (see Anexo for details). The species seems to have been rare, as it was also the case with portuguese Miocene Castoridae Enroxenomys minutus and Chalicomys jaegeri. If account is taken of the presence in the Middle Ages until Castille of words meaning beaver (relared to the popular latin Fiber/Biber), it is obvious that these animais still existed then. Such nouns were largely predominant over rhe rather erudite latin (greek deríved) words as Castor,-óris and derived ones, as it could be expected. This allowed us to recognize that veiro should be the corresponding word with Fiber affinities in archaic portuguese. It was previously supposed to mean only expensive furs then imported into Portugal. Indeed it was also a zoonym. Anywày, beaver should be scarce by XIIIth century since it is not included in the quite detailed price list imposed by the «Lei da Almotaçaria» from December 26, 1253 (see Quadro II). Toponyms in veiro and derived words (fig. 2; Quadro III) (plural, feminines, diminutives, inhabited places) give a resrrictive view of rhe Middle Age distribution. Some of them are certainly older than Portugal itself (firsr half of XIlth cenrury); others existed by the XIVth century bur were probably older. Some rare toponyms seem to be derived from the erudite latin Castor,-óris. Nothing suggests that these words were still in use as zoonyms during the Middle Ages. All toponyms are located in regions near rivers and other freshwaters ecologically suitable for beavers, so we can approximately retrace its former, Middle Age disrribution in Portugal (fig. 2; Quadro III). Most of them are locared in the Center-West and Northwest of Portugal, with a suitable c1imate (rainfall in general over 800 mílimerers per year); the only sure geographical exception is Veiros, in Alto Alentejo province, in a region with comparable precipitations and less dry climate conditions than mosr of the territories South of rhe Tagus. There are less and less of these toponyms towards rhe South and the inner part of the country, and they are enrirely lacking in all drier regions from Trás-os-Montes, Beira, Alentejo beyond Tagus' basin, and in Algarve. Nothing suggests beavers lived there, No post-medieval toponym is known, nor any reference after middle XVth century. No such locality was at, or close by to, any frontier. Hence the hypothesis of veiro (et al.} as meaning but points where expensive furs (supposedly known as veiros in general but without c1early saying from what animal they were obrained from) is to be discarded. During the Middle Ages, beaver discriburion concerned all the main river basins from Minho to Tagus ones. Quite rarefied in rhe XIIIth, the beavers may have disappeared from Portugal during the XVth century. Ecological requiremenrs restricted their former distriburion. Vulnerability to natural causes (i.e., severe drought) and to human pressure may have accounted heavily for this species' extinction. Last (1446) reference for Portugal known to us suggests the species was by then almost extinct.

Diversity in Teams: Source of Conflict or Source of Creativity? Investigating Hidden Mental Models

The workforce in organizations today is becoming increasingly diverse. Consequently the role of diversity management is heavily discussed with respect to the question how diversity influences the productivity of a group. Empirical studies show that on one hand there is a potential for increasing productivity but on the other hand it might be as well that conflicts arise due to the heterogeneity of the group. Usually according empirical studies are based on interviews, questionnaires and/or observations. These methods imply that answers are highly selective and filtered. In order to make the invisible visible, to have access to mental models of team members the paper will present an empirical study on the self-understanding of groups based on an innovative research method, called “mind-scripting”.

Monitoring chlorophyll-a with remote sensing techniques in the Tagus Estuary

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Gestão e Sistemas Ambientais

Unlimited or disrupted communication? How does the development of the mobile phone effect our ability of social action?

The aim of this essay is to discuss the thesis of the German Sociologist Günter Burkhart that in modern societies a phenomenon appeared which he calls “handymania”, an excessive and nearly addictive use of the mobile phones especially from adolescents. After a short overview about the history of the cell phone, I will relate this development to Jürgen Habermas “theory of communicative action”, more precisely to his diagnosis of a pathological society (“lifeworld”) to find out if the “handymania” could be one expression of it. Adjacent I will present social-psychological theories from E.H.Erikson and Tilmann Habermas to ascertain whether juveniles could really be a high-risk group for this kind of addiction. I will focus on the ability to communicate in an Habermasian way that could be seriously harmed by the unregulated usage of cell phones.

Development of biocompatible and “smart” porous structures using CO2-assisted processes

Dissertação apresentada para a obtenção do grau de Doutor em Engenharia Química, especialidade Engenharia da Reacção Química, pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia

Analysis of glycosylation heterogeneity in antibody production by Pichia pastoris

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Biotecnologia