A gestão da qualidade nos cursos de graduação a distância da UFRN/SEDIS : a percepção dos discentes

The management of water resources in the river basin level, as it defines the Law nº 9433/97, requires the effective knowledge of the processes of hydrological basin, resulting from studies based on consistent series of hydrological data that reflect the characteristics of the basin. In this context, the objective of this work was to develop the modeling of catchment basin of the river Jundiaí - RN and carry out the study of attenuation of a flood of the dam Tabatinga, by means of a monitoring project of hydrological data and climatology of the basin, with a view to promoting the development of research activities by applying methodologies unified and appropriate for the assessment of hydrological studies in the transition region of the semiarid and the forest zone on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. For the study of the hydrological characteristics of the basin was conducted the automatic design of the basin of the river Jundiaí, with the aid of programs of geoprocessing, was adopted a hydrological model daily, the NRCS, which is a model determined and concentrated. For the use of this model was necessary to determine some parameters that are used in this model, as the Curve Number. Having in mind that this is the first study that is being conducted in the basin with the employment of this model, it was made sensitivity analysis of the results of this model from the adoption of different values of CN, situated within a range appropriate to the conditions of use, occupation and the nature of the soil of this basin. As the objective of this study was also developing a simulation model of the operation of the Tabatinga dam and with this flood control caused in the city of Macaíba, it was developed a mathematical model of fluid balance, developed to be used in Microsoft Excel. The simulation was conducted in two phases: the first step was promoted the water balance daily that allowed the analysis of the sensitivity of the model in relation to the volume of waiting, as well as the determination of the period of greatest discharges daily averages. From this point, it was assumed for the second stage, which was in the determination of the hydrograph of discharges effluent slots, that was determined by means of the fluid balance time, on the basis of the discharges effluents generated by a mathematical equation whose parameters were adjusted according to the hydrograph daily. Through the analyzes it was realized that the dam Tabatinga only has how to carry out the attenuation of floods through the regularization of the volume of waiting, with this there is a loss of approximately 56.5% on storage capacity of this dam, because for causing the attenuation effect of filled the shell of this dam has to remain more than 5m below the level of the sill, representing at least 50.582.927m3. The results obtained with the modeling represents a first step in the direction of improving the level of hydrological information about the behavior of the basins of the semiarid. In order to monitor quantitatively the hydrographic basin of the river Jundiaí will be necessary to install a rain gauge register, next to the Tabatinga dam and a pressure transducer, for regular measurements of flow in the reservoir of the dam. The climatological data will be collected in full automatic weather station installed in Agricultural School Jundiaí

Zoneamento agroclimático da palma forrageira (Opuntia sp.) para o estado da Paraíba

The cactus pear has become over the years an important forage alternative for brazilian semiarid region, especially during long periods of drought. Despite its importance for agriculture, its cultivation has dispensed basic crop practices and fundamentals technical-scientific basis about its climatic requirements. Thus, the main objective of this study was to elaborate the agroclimatic zoning of cactus pear (Opuntia sp.) for the state of Paraíba. The agroclimatic zoning of cactus pear was based on climatic indicators outlined in the literature and climatological data of precipitation and temperature (mean, maximum, and minimum) from 97 locations in the state of Paraíba. According to the results, the region of ‘Borborema’ is the most favorable for the cultivation of cactus pear. The regions of ‘Agreste’, ‘Sertão’, and coastal part of Litoral may be used but with restrictions. However, the cultivation of cactus pear is recommended throughout the state of Paraíba, except the coastal part of the Litoral and the region around Areia. In both cases, the inability is due to excessive precipitation.

Borboletas no semiárido: sazonalidade e padrões de diversidade de borboletas frugívoras em um ambiente extremo

The spatial and temporal distribution of the population reflects the adjustment of their biological characteristics to environmental conditions and biotic interactions as adaptive and phylogenetic precursors elements. The habitat’s heterogeneity and alternating seasons tend to cause patterns of activity of organisms and species diversity. However, these seasonal and spatial patterns in butterfly communities in dry environments are not yet clear. We studied a community of frugivorous butterflies in ESEC Seridó, in northeastern Brazil, aiming to characterize the guild in semiarid and check the relative contribution of climate and vegetation variables on its composition, diversity and phenofaunistic. The butterflies were sampled monthly during one year, and the distribution of species was associated with structural characteristics of three vegetation types (eg. richness and abundance of tree and shrub species, canopy cover, herbaceous cover, litter) and climatological data (temperature, rainfall and humidity). We captured 9580 individuals of 16 species of butterflies belonging to four subfamilies (Biblidinae, Charaxinae, Nymphalinae and Satyrinae). The richness, abundance and diversity varied in different scales, especially in time, being higher in the rainy season, while the β-diversity and turnover was higher in the dry. The distribution of species mainly followed the changes in humidity, rainfall and vegetation phenology, with no defined boundaries between habitats. The flight period was shared within subfamilies, which should have distinct response to environmental stimuli, as well as respond to the phenology of host plants and have different reproductive strategies. There is even evidence of physiological and behavioral adaptations as seasonal reproduction and aestivation. So there was environmental control over the distribution and diversity of species, with the key role climate Association and vegetation structure in the community of differentiation in the seasons, and the availability and quality of resources on the variation of species abundance in small scales. These results may support the biomonitoring and conservation preserved areas, particularly in environments under human pressure and extreme environmental conditions such as semi-arid.