Caracterização macro e micromorfológica do solo para compreensão de processos erosivos lineares, topossequência Manacá, São Carlos - SP

A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo compreender a dinâmica de comportamento do solo sob escala macro e micromorfológica visualizados em topossequência, no que concerne aos agentes morfológicos que condicionam e contribuem para deflagração de processos erosivos. A área de estudo está inserida na sub-bacia hidrográfica do Laranja Azeda localizada na região centro-leste do estado de São Paulo, no município de São Carlos/SP, e têm fundamental importância por pertencer à bacia hidrográfica do Ribeirão Feijão, importante manancial urbano para a cidade. O planejamento de uso e ocupação adequados aos fatores físicos que compõe a dinâmica desta paisagem são essenciais visando a conservação e preservação dos recursos hídricos ali existentes, onde a expressiva ocorrência de processos erosivos são objetos de preocupação, já que estes podem causar assoreamento de rios e reservatórios. Utilizando uma metodologia multiescalar para seleção da área de pesquisa em detalhe e compreensão da organização e dinâmica da cobertura pedológica, foram utilizados os procedimentos propostos pela Análise Estrutural da Cobertura Pedológica e conceitos e técnicas da micromorfologia de solos. Verifica-se que a distribuição dos solos na Topossequência Manacá está estritamente correlacionada à transformação vertical do materialde origem em solo, em cuja vertente existe uma diferenciação litológica que condiciona a morfologia diferenciada, tanto em escala macromorfológica quanto micromorfológica. O terço superior e médio da vertente está associado à depósitos colúvio-eluvionaresda Formação Itaqueri, onde desenvolve-se um Latossolo Vermelho Amarelo. Já o terço inferior da vertente corresponde a um solo formado a partir dos arenitos da Formação Botucatu, sendo enquadrado enquanto Neossolo Quartzarênico. Com o auxílio técnicas de análise bidimensional de imagens retiradas das lâminas delgadas de solo, foi possível visualizar e quantificar a macroposidade ao longo da vertente, importante atributo morfológico que controla os fluxos de água e são agentes condicionantes para o desenvolvimento de processos erosivos. Conclui-se que a ocorrência de voçorocas no terço médio inferior da vertente é a materialização em forma de processos erosivos deste comportamento diferencial da massa do solo, onde portanto, na Topossequência Manacá a busca de equilíbrio dinâmico na vertente é induzida pela dinâmica genética evolutiva das formações geológicas que sustentam a paisagem, desencadeada em processos erosivos que tendem a progredir em desequilíbrio, a depender do manejo estabelecido para o local.

Alleviation of Zn toxicity by low water availability

Heavy metal contamination and drought are expected to increase in large areas worldwide. However, their combined effect on plant performance has been scantly analyzed. This study examines the effect of Zn supply at different water availabilities on morpho-physiological traits of Quercus suber L. in order to analyze the combined effects of both stresses. Seedlings were treated with four levels of zinc from 3 to 150 µM and exposed to low watering (LW) or high watering (HW) frequency in hydroponic culture, using a growth chamber. Under both watering regimes, Zn concentration in leaves and roots increased with Zn increment in nutrient solution. Nevertheless, at the highest Zn doses, Zn tissue concentrations were almost twice in HW than in LW seedlings. Functional traits as leaf photosynthetic rate and root hydraulic conductivity, and morphological traits as root length and root biomass decreased significantly in response to Zn supply. Auxin levels increased with Zn concentrations, suggesting the involvement of this phytohormone in the seedling response to this element. LW seedlings exposed to 150 µM Zn showed higher root length and root biomass than HW seedlings exposed to the same Zn dose. Our results suggest that low water availability could mitigate Zn toxicity by limiting internal accumulation. Morphological traits involved in the response to both stresses probably contributed to this response.

Animal migration: is there a common migratory syndrome?

Ornithologists, and especially northern hemisphere ornithologists, have traditionally thought of migration as an annual return movement of populations between regular breeding and non-breeding grounds. Problems arise because selection does not ordinarily act on populations and because organisms of many taxa (including birds) are clearly migrants, but fail to undertake movements of the kind described. There are also extensive return movements that are not migratory. I propose that it is more useful to think of migration as a syndrome of behavioral and other traits that function together within individuals, and that such a syndrome provides a common ground across taxa from aphids to albatrosses. Large-scale return movements of populations are one outcome of the syndrome. Similar behavioral and physiological traits serve both to define migration and to provide a test for it. I use two insect (Hemipteran) examples to illustrate migratory syndromes and to demonstrate that, in many migrants, behavior and physiology correlate with life history and morphological traits to form syndromes at two levels. I then compare the two Hemipterans with migration in birds, butterflies, and fish to assess the question of whether there are migratory syndromes in common between these diverse migrants. Syndromes are more similar at the level of behavior than when morphology and life history traits are included. Recognizing syndromes leads to important evolutionary questions concerning migration strategies, trade-offs, the maintenance of genetic variance and the responses of migratory syndromes to both similar and different selective regimes.

Phylogeny, evolution and biogeography of the Quadrifoliovariinae Yamaguti, 1965 (Digenea : Lecithasteridae)

The Quadrifoliovariinae is revised and three new species of Quadrifoliovarium Yamaguit, 1965 from acanthurid fishes of the genus Naso from waters of the Indo-Pacific are described: Q, maceria n. sp. from N. tonganus, N. annulatus, N. fageni and N. brevirostris; Q. simplex n. sp. from N. tonganus and N. quannulatus; and Q. quattuordecim n. sp. from N. tonganus. Amendments are made to the characterisation of the Quadrifoliovariinae, Quadrifoliovarium, Bilacinia Manter, 1969 and Unilacinia Manter, 1969 in light of observations on type and new material. A molecular phylogeny based on ITS2 and 28S regions of the ribosomal DNA is proposed. The phylogeny suggests that U. asymmetrica is the most basal taxon and Q. simplex n. sp. and Q. quattuordecim n. sp. the most derived. Evolution of morphological traits within the Quadrifoliovariinae are discussed in light of the molecular phylogeny. Molecular sequences of the ITS2 rDNA were identical between specimens of Q. pritchardae collected off Exmouth (Indian Ocean), Heron Island and Lizard Island (Western Pacific) and Moorea (far Eastern Indo-Pacific), indicating a broad Indo-Pacific distribution. All members of the subfamily are recorded only from the acanthurid genus Naso, with the exception of B. lobatum (Yamaguti, 1970), which has been recorded from a pomacanthid. The restricted host range of the group is discussed in the light of the phylogeny of the host genus Naso.

Predator-induced phenotypic plasticity in tadpoles: extension or innovation?

Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a trait to change as a function of the environment, is central to many ideas in evolutionary biology. A special case of phenotypic plasticity observed in many organisms is mediated by their natural predators. Here, we used a predator-prey system of dragonfly larvae and tadpoles to determine if predator-mediated phenotypic plasticity provides a novel way of surviving in the presence of predators (an innovation) or if it represents a simple extension of the way noninduced tadpoles survive predation. Tadpoles of Limnodynastes peronii were raised in the presence and absence of predation, which then entered a survival experiment. Induced morphological traits, primarily tail height and tail muscle height, were found to be under selection, indicating that predator-mediated phenotypic plasticity may be adaptive. Although predator-induced animals survived better, the multivariate linear selection gradients were similar between the two tadpole groups, suggesting that predator-mediated phenotypic plasticity is an extension of existing survival strategies. In addition, nonlinear selection gradients indicated a cost of predator-induced plasticity that may limit the ability of phenotypic plasticity to enhance survival in the presence of predators.

Substantial changes in the genetic basis of tadpole morphology of Rana lessonae in the presence of predators

Predator-induced morphological plasticity is a model system for investigating phenotypic plasticity in an ecological context. We investigated the genetic basis of the predator-induced plasticity in Rana lessonae by determining the pattern of genetic covariation of three morphological traits that were found to be induced in a predatory environment. Body size decreased and tail dimensions increased when reared in the presence of preying dragonfly larvae. Genetic variance in body size increased by almost an order of magnitude in the predator environment, and the first genetic principal component was found to be highly significantly different between the two environments. The across environment genetic correlation for body size was significantly below 1 indicating that different genes contributed to this trait in the two environments. Body size may therefore be able to respond to selection independently in the two environments to some extent.

Validação de espécies de Centropomus (Centropomidae, Perciformes) do litoral do Rio Grande do Norte através de caracterização citogenética e molecular

The Centropomidae family consists of three genera, Centropomus, Lates and Psammoperca. Centropomus is the most diverse group, with six Centropomus species occur in the Western Atlantic Ocean C. poeyi Chávez, 1961, C. parallelus Poey, 1860, C. mexicanus Bocourt, 1868, C. pectinatus Poey, 1860 and C. ensiferus Poey, 1860. Some of these species are considered cryptic, because of its morphological traits showed low resolution for identification purposes. Despite showing great interest as a natural resource and fish culture, aspects of their diversity and karyotypic patterns are poorly understood. In this work morphological identification and comparison of mitochondrial 16S gene sequence were used to identify the species of the genus Centropomus occurring in Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil. Two sepecies were identified, C. undecimalis and C. mexicanus, which had the chromosomal aspects analyzed, through Classical cytogenetic method analyzes (conventional staining, C-banding, Ag-NORs), fluorochrome staining AT- and GC-specific, replication bands by incorporating of the base analog 5-Bromo-2’-deoxyuridine (5-BrdU), in situ chromosomal mapping of (TTAGGG)n sequences and in situ chromosome mapping 18S and 5S rRNA genes. Both species show 2n=48 acrocentric chromosomes, with ribosomal sites (Ag-NOR/18S rDNA/ Mitramycin+) in second chromosomal pair, in telomeric position on the long arm in C. mexicanus and interstitial in C. undecimalis. The nuclear organization pair (pair 2) shown a resolutive cytotaxonomic marker for these two species. The generated data reveal a lower species diversity than previously believed, suggesting that greater attention should be paid in taxonomic identification of the species, in view of optimize commercial actions exploitation, biological conservation and cultivation.

Argaric Sociology: Sex and Death

The detailed, rich and diverse Argaric funerary record offers an opportunity to explore social dimensions that usually remain elusive for prehistoric research, such us social rules on kinship rights and obligations, sexual tolerance and the role of funerary practices in preserving the economic and political organization. This paper addresses these topics through an analysis of the social meaning of Argaric double tombs by looking at body treatment and composition of grave goods assemblages according to gender and class affiliation. The Argaric seems to have been a conservative society, scarcely tolerant regarding homosexuality, and willing to celebrate ancestry associated to certain places as a means of asserting residence and property rights.

Development of a simple and fast “DNA extraction kit” for sea food identification and marine species

Seafood products fraud, the misrepresentation of them, have been discovered all around the world in different forms as false labeling, species substitution, short-weighting or over glazing in order to hide the correct identity, origin or weight of the seafood products. Due to the value of seafood products such as canned tuna, swordfish or grouper, these species are the subject of the commercial fraud is mainly there placement of valuable species with other little or no value species. A similar situation occurs with the shelled shrimp or shellfish that are reduced into pieces for the commercialization. Food fraud by species substitution is an emerging risk given the increasingly global food supply chain and the potential food safety issues. Economic food fraud is committed when food is deliberately placed on the market, for financial gain deceiving consumers (Woolfe, M. & Primrose, S. 2004). As a result of the increased demand and the globalization of the seafood supply, more fish species are encountered in the market. In this scenary, it becomes essential to unequivocally identify the species. The traditional taxonomy, based primarily on identification keys of species, has shown a number of limitations in the use of the distinctive features in many animal taxa, amplified when fish, crustacean or shellfish are commercially transformed. Many fish species show a similar texture, thus the certification of fish products is particularly important when fishes have undergone procedures which affect the overall anatomical structure, such as heading, slicing or filleting (Marko et al., 2004). The absence of morphological traits, a main characteristic usually used to identify animal species, represents a challenge and molecular identification methods are required. Among them, DNA-based methods are more frequently employed for food authentication (Lockley & Bardsley, 2000). In addition to food authentication and traceability, studies of taxonomy, population and conservation genetics as well as analysis of dietary habits and prey selection, also rely on genetic analyses including the DNA barcoding technology (Arroyave & Stiassny, 2014; Galimberti et al., 2013; Mafra, Ferreira, & Oliveira, 2008; Nicolé et al., 2012; Rasmussen & Morrissey, 2008), consisting in PCR amplification and sequencing of a COI mitochondrial gene specific region. The system proposed by P. Hebert et al. (2003) locates inside the mitochondrial COI gene (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) the bioidentification system useful in taxonomic identification of species (Lo Brutto et al., 2007). The COI region, used for genetic identification - DNA barcode - is short enough to allow, with the current technology, to decode sequence (the pairs of nucleotide bases) in a single step. Despite, this region only represents a tiny fraction of the mitochondrial DNA content in each cell, the COI region has sufficient variability to distinguish the majority of species among them (Biondo et al. 2016). This technique has been already employed to address the demand of assessing the actual identity and/or provenance of marketed products, as well as to unmask mislabelling and fraudulent substitutions, difficult to detect especially in manufactured seafood (Barbuto et al., 2010; Galimberti et al., 2013; Filonzi, Chiesa, Vaghi, & Nonnis Marzano, 2010). Nowadays,the research concerns the use of genetic markers to identify not only the species and/or varieties of fish, but also to identify molecular characters able to trace the origin and to provide an effective control tool forproducers and consumers as a supply chain in agreementwith local regulations.

Bananas adrift in time – a case study in the Solomons

Diseases, pests and environmental constraints pose a major threat to the sustainability of banana production globally. To address these challenges, the discovery and study of new sources of genetic resistance and adaptability are required, along with the general conservation of diversity. The Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific region near Papua New Guinea, are a major center of banana diversity. Some collections had been made by nationals of some of the diversity present but little was known internationally of the rich genetic resource present. Two separate visits to the Solomon Islands characterized banana collections, documented and collected germplasm, recommended conservation strategies and provided training in cultivar characterization. A remarkable range of genetic diversity was found, including: many AA and AAA cooking types somewhat like those present in Papua New Guinea; nine Fei cultivars in relatively common usage, and two undescribed wild species as well as five AAB Pacific Plantains and four ABB cooking bananas belonging to the Kalapua subgroup. About six of the unique cultivars were successfully collected and established in the regional in vitro germplasm collection of SPC in Suva, Fiji. Nine Solomon Islanders were trained in the finer points of characterizing banana cultivars. Further collecting and study/evaluation of this rich diversity will promote its appreciation and potential utilization for meeting the challenges and opportunities ahead. Future studies could also determine the spread of the Awawe species and variability of morphological traits in the population. Community-based conservation could promote awareness of dietary diversity for better nutrition, via using the Fei bananas described in this paper. Establishing a virus-free regional field collection could help in comprehensively characterizing and evaluating regional Musa genetic resources. Existing sites could embrace the broader unique diversity of the Solomon Islands, and facilitate sharing this diversity in conjunction with a regional virus-tested in vitro collection.

Effects of light quality supplied by light emitting diodes (LEDs) on microalgal production

Dissertação de mestrado, Aquacultura, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2014

L’influence des capacités cognitives mâles et femelles sur le choix de partenaire chez le diamant mandarin (Taeniopygia guttata)

S’approvisionner en nourriture est essentiel à la survie et au succès reproducteur. Lorsque les animaux font face à des changements environnementaux brutaux, ils doivent s’ajuster rapidement à leur nouvel environnement et parfois même innover dans leur façon de s’approvisionner. Des processus comportementaux et cognitifs, tels que l’innovation et l’apprentissage, permettent aux animaux d'intégrer de nouveaux comportements à leur répertoire comportemental afin de s'adapter de façon optimale. Les performances cognitives varient entre les individus d’une même population et bien que des études récentes se soient intéressées aux causes de ce phénomène, de convaincantes évidences sont manquantes afin d’expliquer pourquoi ces variations sont maintenues. Au cours de ce mémoire, les questions des pressions de sélection s'exerçant sur les performances d’alimentation par une tâche motrice nouvelle sont abordées afin de mieux comprendre l'évolution des capacités cognitives au sein d'une population captive de diamants mandarins (Taeniopygia guttata). Nous avons tout d'abord testé si les femelles diamants mandarins modifient leurs préférences d'accouplement après avoir observé la performance d'alimentation par une tâche motrice nouvelle des mâles. Afin de déterminer si les femelles sont capables de discriminer entre les mâles sur la base de leur capacité cognitive, nous avons également évalué les performances d’apprentissage de chacune d’elles. En effet, des études ont suggéré qu’il peut être coûteux, spécialement en terme de temps, de discriminer entre des partenaires potentiels sur cette base. La généralisation d’une préférence pour un mâle performant à d’autres mâles possédant le même phénotype permettrait la réduction de ces coûts. Nous avons donc finalement testé si les femelles diamants mandarins peuvent généraliser leur préférence après avoir observé les performances d’alimentation pour une tâche motrice nouvelle d’un mâle. Nos résultats suggèrent que les femelles diamants mandarins ne peuvent évaluer les capacités cognitives d’un mâle par l’intermédiaire de traits indicateurs. Toutefois, nous avons démontré qu’une observation directe des performances d’alimentation d’un mâle guide le choix d’appariement des femelles. Également, nous avons montré que les femelles peuvent généraliser l’apparence du mâle le plus performant et utiliser cette information lors de l’évaluation de nouveaux mâles. La relation entre les performances cognitives et le choix de partenaire pourraient s’expliquer par exemple par une meilleure exploitation de l’habitat, mais nécessite des études plus approfondies.

L’influence des capacités cognitives mâles et femelles sur le choix de partenaire chez le diamant mandarin (Taeniopygia guttata)

S’approvisionner en nourriture est essentiel à la survie et au succès reproducteur. Lorsque les animaux font face à des changements environnementaux brutaux, ils doivent s’ajuster rapidement à leur nouvel environnement et parfois même innover dans leur façon de s’approvisionner. Des processus comportementaux et cognitifs, tels que l’innovation et l’apprentissage, permettent aux animaux d'intégrer de nouveaux comportements à leur répertoire comportemental afin de s'adapter de façon optimale. Les performances cognitives varient entre les individus d’une même population et bien que des études récentes se soient intéressées aux causes de ce phénomène, de convaincantes évidences sont manquantes afin d’expliquer pourquoi ces variations sont maintenues. Au cours de ce mémoire, les questions des pressions de sélection s'exerçant sur les performances d’alimentation par une tâche motrice nouvelle sont abordées afin de mieux comprendre l'évolution des capacités cognitives au sein d'une population captive de diamants mandarins (Taeniopygia guttata). Nous avons tout d'abord testé si les femelles diamants mandarins modifient leurs préférences d'accouplement après avoir observé la performance d'alimentation par une tâche motrice nouvelle des mâles. Afin de déterminer si les femelles sont capables de discriminer entre les mâles sur la base de leur capacité cognitive, nous avons également évalué les performances d’apprentissage de chacune d’elles. En effet, des études ont suggéré qu’il peut être coûteux, spécialement en terme de temps, de discriminer entre des partenaires potentiels sur cette base. La généralisation d’une préférence pour un mâle performant à d’autres mâles possédant le même phénotype permettrait la réduction de ces coûts. Nous avons donc finalement testé si les femelles diamants mandarins peuvent généraliser leur préférence après avoir observé les performances d’alimentation pour une tâche motrice nouvelle d’un mâle. Nos résultats suggèrent que les femelles diamants mandarins ne peuvent évaluer les capacités cognitives d’un mâle par l’intermédiaire de traits indicateurs. Toutefois, nous avons démontré qu’une observation directe des performances d’alimentation d’un mâle guide le choix d’appariement des femelles. Également, nous avons montré que les femelles peuvent généraliser l’apparence du mâle le plus performant et utiliser cette information lors de l’évaluation de nouveaux mâles. La relation entre les performances cognitives et le choix de partenaire pourraient s’expliquer par exemple par une meilleure exploitation de l’habitat, mais nécessite des études plus approfondies.