Testing time-place learning in the cichlid fish Nile tilapia

Time-place learning based on food association was investigated in the fish Nile tilapia. During a 30-day period, food was placed at one side of the aquarium (containing three compartments) in the morning and at the opposite side in the afternoon. Learning was inferred by the number of correct side choices of all fish in each day of test (15th, 30th). During the test day, fish were not fed. The Nile tilapia did not learn to switch sides at the correct day period in order to get food, suggesting thus that this species does not have time-place learning ability.

Time-place learning in individually reared angelfish, but not in pearl cichlid

Time-place learning based on food association was investigated in the cichlids angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) and pearl cichlid (Geophagus brasiliensis) reared in isolation, therefore eliminating social influence on foraging. During a 30-day period, food was placed in one side of the aquarium (containing three compartments) in the morning and in the opposite side in the afternoon. Learning was inferred by the number of correct side choices of all fish in each day of test (15th and 30th). During the test day fish were not fed. The angelfish learned to switch sides at the correct day period in order to get food, suggesting this species has time-place learning ability when individually reared. on the other hand, the same was not observed for pearl cichlid. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental blue light prevents stress in the fish Nile tilapia

The present study aimed to test the effects of blue, green or white light on the stress response of the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.). Each color was tested on two groups of isolated adult Nile tilapia (8 replicates each): one being subjected to confinement stress, and the other not (control). A different environmental color was imposed on each compartment by covering the light source with cellophane of the respective color (green or blue; no cellophane was used for white light). The intensity of green, white and blue lights was 250, 590 and 250 lux, respectively. Basal plasma cortisol levels were determined for each fish prior to the experimental procedures. The fish were confined by being displaced toward one side of the aquarium using an opaque partition for 1 h both in the morning and the afternoon of the two consecutive days of the test. At the end of this 48-h period, plasma cortisol levels were measured again. Basal cortisol levels (ng/ml) were similar for each group (ANOVA, F(2;42) = 0.77, P = 0.47). Thus, plasma cortisol levels were analyzed in terms of variation from their respective basal level. After confinement, plasma cortisol levels were not increased in fish submitted to a blue light environment. Thus, blue light prevents the confinement-induced cortisol response, an effect not necessarily related to light intensity.

A Case Study: The Effect of Visitors on Two Captive Pumas With Respect to the Time of the Day

This study analyzed the effects of noise levels and number of visitors on the behaviors of a mother puma and her daughter in a zoo environment with respect to the time of day. The study monitored visitation (noise and number) over two 1-week periods (4 weeks between periods) and frequency of various puma behaviors (videorecorded). The study analyzed videotaped behavior of the pumas based on the time of day and visitors number and noise levels. There was a direct association of puma behaviors with visitors number and noise levels. The daughter puma was the most affected and behavioral changes of both pumas correlated more strongly with the noise level than the number of visitors. The noise level and number of visitors affected the behavior of the mother and her daughter only in the morning. The results of this study indicate that both noise level and number of visitors affected these pumas but revealed the noise as predominant. Moreover, the response of these pumas to visitors depended on the time of the day.

Ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and predation by ants on the different stages of the sugarcane borer life cycle Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Leaf gas exchange and fruit yield in sweet orange trees as affected by citrus variegated chlorosis and environmental conditions

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Daily cleaning activity and diversity of clients of the barber goby, Elacatinus figaro, on rocky reefs in southeastern Brazil

Gobies of the genus Elacatinus are regarded as the most specialised cleaner fishes in the western tropical Atlantic, yet there are no studies on these cleaners in the southern portion of West Atlantic. We studied the diversity of clients and the daily cleaning activity of the barber goby, Elacatinus figaro, on rocky reefs in southeastern Brazil (23-24 degrees S). A total of 34 fish client species in 16 families were recorded over 484 cleaning events. The most frequent clients were damselfishes, Pomacentridae (37.9% of cleaning events) and grunts, Haemulidae (16.9%). Planktivores were the most frequently attended trophic category, and two species in that category accounted for about a half (44%) of the total cleaning events. Size of clients ranged 4.5-55 cm and most individuals were medium-sized (12-30 cm); as the barber goby ranged 2-4.5 cm, clients were 1.5 to 15 times larger than the cleaner was. Cleaning activity started at dawn and ended shortly before nightfall, the highest frequency of interactions occurring at early morning (nocturnal clients) and mid-afternoon (diurnal clients). By midday the frequency of cleaning events decreased and their duration increased. A total of 109 +/- 3 cleaning events and 30 +/- 1 min of cleaning activity were estimated per cleaning station per day, both figures low when compared to those recorded for cleaner fishes in tropical areas of the western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Microhabitat use by species of the genera Bothrops and Crotalus (Viperidae) in semi-extensive captivity

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Photosynthetic characteristics of the freshwater red alga Batrachospermum delicatulum (Skuja) Necchi & Entwisle

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Daily dynamics of photosynthesis of the freshwater red alga Sirodotia delicatula (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Perfil morfológico de culturistas brasileiros de elite em período competitivo

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Cisto coloide no terceiro ventrículo e morte súbita em jovem

Morte súbita de jovem, sexo masculino, 23 anos, assintomático, suscitou verificação de óbito. Antes queixou-se de cefaleia excruciante, em sala de aula, caindo sobre o computador. Encéfalo apresentou edema e congestão vascular. Sem herniações. Cortes coronais evidenciaram dilatação dos ventrículos laterais e nódulo aderido ao teto do terceiro ventrículo. À microscopia o diagnóstico foi cisto coloide do terceiro ventrículo. A ameaça de morte súbita em portadores de cisto coloide é sério problema diagnóstico na emergência médica. A relevância deste caso está em lembrar aos médicos que esta entidade deve permanecer como diagnóstico diferencial nas cefaleias em crianças, adolescentes e adultos jovens.

Avaliação dos níveis séricos de testosterona em pacientes com síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono

Homens com síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono (SAOS) podem apresentar diminuição dos níveis de testosterona devido à hipóxia. OBJETIVOS: Relacionar os níveis séricos da testosterona, em pacientes com SAOS, com parâmetros clínico-laboratoriais. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Foram revisados 103 prontuários de pacientes com SAOS, entre os anos de 2002 e 2009, e coletados os seguintes dados: idade à época da realização da polissonografia, valores do Hematócrito e Hemoglobina, nível sérico da testosterona total, IMC, índice de apneia/hipopneia(IAH) e SatO2. FORMA do ESTUDO: Estudo de casos retrospectivo em corte transversal. RESULTADOS: 79 pacientes (77%) não apresentaram alteração hormonal e 24 (23%) apresentaram níveis séricos inferiores. Dos pacientes com testosterona normal 70% estavam com sobrepeso, enquanto que 63% com testosterona alterada apresentaram obesidade grau I (p<0,05). Os pacientes com testosterona alterada apresentaram as dosagens médias do Ht e da Hb e dos níveis médios do andrógeno significantemente inferiores aos dos pacientes sem alteração androgênica. A média do IMC dos pacientes com alteração hormonal foi significativamente maior que a média daqueles sem alteração. CONCLUSÃO: A relação entre o perfil sérico da testosterona matinal e a obesidade e, em menor grau, a idade, o IAH e a hipóxia, podem ser responsáveis pela supressão central da testosterona nesses pacientes. A queda dos valores hematimétricos pode ser relacionada aos baixos níveis circulantes da testosterona.

Effects of daily changes in environmental factors on the abundance and richness of Odonata

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Indicadores de bem-estar baseados em reações comportamentais de matrizes pesadas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)