Desenvolvimento de metodologia para avaliação de desempenho ambiental em edifícios adaptada à realidade do Nordeste brasileiro

This research refers to the production of green buildings, defined, mainly, based on the use of sources of alternative energies, smaller emission of pollutant, use of recyclable materials, systems of recycling of the waters, maximization of the natural illumination, preservation of green areas or native, and appropriate quality of the internal air. From the conception of those buildings, it appears the needs of evaluating them, creating the methodologies for the evaluation of environmental performance of buildings. In that way, this work can be divided in two moments: the first one when it identifies the methodologies for the evaluation of environmental performance for buildings existents in the literature, defining their categories, criteria and sub-criteria to be appropriate to the reality of the Brazilian Northeast; and the second one when starting from the analysis of the systems of existent evaluation. It defines a methodological base and it generates a new evaluation system, denominated MEDACNE (Methodology of Evaluation of Environmental Acting for Construction in the Northeast). In that moment, the process of framing of the section of the building site is verified under the maintainable optics, stimulated mainly by the pressures of the society - conferences, protocols and agreements. Finally, the proposed methodology was applied in a case study, a residential building, called Maria José Gurgel , located in Natal-RN, Brazil, for its validation. This methodological proposition should increase the patterns environmental places for the production of new buildings, and it will be a reference guide for architects, engineers and planners to develop their constructions considering the criteria of the sustainability. This study made use of bibliographical research in books and specialized magazines and the analysis of the data was realized in an interpretative way

Estratégias de avaliação de desempenho dos propagandistas de medicamentos utilizados pela indústria farmacêutica no nordeste do Brasil

A Indústria Farmacêutica é uma das mais competitivas indústrias do mundo contemporâneo, e um dos seus principais desafios está na comercialização de seus medicamentos, que na sua maioria depende da prescrição médica. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar as estratégias de avaliação de desempenho utilizadas pela Indústria Farmacêutica de origem multinacional que atua no nordeste Brasileiro e o papel dos seus gerentes, para avaliar os propagandistas vendedores de medicamentos. Para tanto, buscouse reunir elementos para uma abordagem satisfatória que contemple a complexidade da temática pesquisada: Avaliação de Desempenho, Estratégias da Indústria Farmacêutica, Propaganda Médica e Competências dos Propagandistas de Medicamentos. A temática justifica-se em razão da importância estratégica dos propagandistas de medicamentos para a indústria farmacêutica, que é uma das indústrias que mais investe em pesquisa na atualidade, e contribui para melhorar a qualidade de vida e a saúde humana. A metodologia é caracterizada como um survey, de natureza quali-quantitativa. O objeto de estudo é composto pelas empresas farmacêuticas multinacionais de origem Americanas, Europeias e Asiáticas, associadas à INTERFARMA que atuam no Nordeste do Brasil. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de um questionário fechado (instrumento de pesquisa), composto por 5 perguntas fechadas que abordam a temática central dessa dissertação, 27 afirmativas para medir a concordância(escala likert) e 1 tabela contendo 46 competências, aplicado junto a gerentes da indústria farmacêutica. A análise dos dados foi feita por meio das técnicas de estatística descritiva e uma análise quantitativa para estabelecer o Ranking Médio (RM) para a parte do questionário que utilizou escala tipo Likert de 5 pontos para mensurar o grau de concordância dos respondestes. Através dos resultados desta pesquisa foi possível identificar as estratégias de avaliação de desempenho, utilizadas pelas empresas farmacêuticas, que atuam no Nordeste do Brasil, na gestão dos propagandistas vendedores de medicamentos, e identificar as competências essenciais dos propagandistas de medicamentos, na percepção dos gestores. Os resultados demonstraram que a Indústria Farmacêutica desenvolve e utiliza várias estratégias para medir e avaliar o desempenho dos propagandistas de medicamentos no Brasil, assim como em outros países, e que na percepção dos gerentes da Indústria Farmacêutica existem competências consideradas essenciais ao bom desempenho profissional dos propagandistas de medicamentos da indústria farmacêutica, contribuindo de para avanço do conhecimento deste tema

Decaimento bacteriano em lagoas de estabilização no Nordeste brasileiro

Stabilization pond system consisting in more sewage treatment used in Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Brazil, representing about 90% of all systems. Fecal bacteria are removed mainly facultative ponds and in maturation ponds. Many factors influence bacterial decay, such as the levels of pH and DO, temperature, light intensity, HDT and nutrient availability. The bacterial decay rate (Kb) is calculated considering many variables, but the hydraulic regime is a significant influence for microorganisms removal, and the dispersed flow which best characterizes a stabilization pond. However, some authors developed equations for the Kb accordant plug flow and complete mixing. This research study aimed to evaluate the bacterial decay of fecal coliform and Enterococcus sp. in stabilization ponds designed to treat domestic sewage, full-scale, in RN. All systems have assessed pretreatment, a facultative pond (LF) followed by two maturation (LM1 and LM2). The parameters availed were: temperature, pH, DO, BOD5, COD, fecal coliform, Enterococcus sp., Chlorophyll a, total suspended solids, fixed and volatile. In general, there were not significant differences for pH, DO and temperature in the ponds, except for the new systems, since they have low flow and hydraulic loads. The removal of organic matter in the ponds was low, about 70%, and nearly all are overloaded organic and operational problems. The bacterial removals were low, with average 96% for LF for fecal coliform, and 98% for Enterococcus sp.; LM1 were in itself a removal for fecal coliform about 71%, and 81% for Enterococcus sp.; LM2 have efficiency of 69% for fecal coliform, and 68% for Enterococcus sp. The equation proposed by Von Sperling (1999), according to the dispersed flow regime, generated empirical values of Kb more approximate to calculated values of Kb. On average, the calculated Kb to coliforms in the LF was 0.31 d-1, and for both maturation ponds were 0.35 d-1. For Enterococcus sp. the average was 0.40 d-1 for LF, 0.55 d-1 for LM1, and 0.58 d-1 for LM2. These results also showed that the Kb obtained in full-scale systems are smaller than those found in pilot-scale ponds. Moreover, one can say that the equation proposed by Marais (1974), according to the complete-mix regime, overestimates Kb. Actual results of Kb indicated that fecal coliforms are more resistant to adverse conditions present in stabilization ponds than Enterococcus sp., therefore, an indicator of microbiological safety and efficiency. The factors significant interventions in the rate of bacterial decay were concentrations of COD, the organic loading and HDT. The few Kb relationship between pH, DO and temperature were not significant. Finally, we conclude that it s essential to correct operation and maintenance, for not performing these activities is one of the main factors contributing to low rates of bacterial decay.

Remoção de matéria orgânica em sistemas de lagoas de estabilização no Nordeste brasileiro

Stabilization pond is the main technology used for treatment wastewater, in northeast Brazil, due to lower cost of deployment, operation and maintenance compared to other technologies. Most systems of stabilization ponds has been in operation for some time, on average 10 years of operation, receiving high organic loads and do not have good removal efficiencies of the main parameters for which have been designed. Therefore it is necessary to work to quantify the efficiency of current systems. This study evaluated the biodegradability of organic matter in raw sewage, the removal of organic matter in reactors and determination of the kinetic constant removal of organic matter (k), both in reactors and in raw sewage, based on the analysis made in the laboratory and through mathematical methods proposed in the literature, in nine systems stabilization ponds, located in Rio Grande do Norte. In relation the degradation kinetics in stabilization ponds, it was observed that many papers published in the literature were obtained in pilot-scale systems, which often, due to the action of external factors such as wind and temperature, these can t be considered as a reference in the analysis of the kinetic constant K, so the need for more research into systems of scale. This study had three distinct phases and simultaneous, routine monitoring, study of the daily cycle and the determination of kinetic constant of degradation of organic matter (K). The monitoring showed that the removal efficiencies of organic matter on most systems were lower than suggested by the literature, the best efficiencies of around 76% (BOD) and 72% (COD) and the worst of the order of 48% (BOD) and 55% (COD). The calculation of K in raw sewage (Ke) was within the range of variation expected in the literature (0.35 to 0.60 days-1). Already for the results obtained for K in the reactors (Kr), there were well below the values recommended in the literature (0.25 to 0.40 d-1 for complete mix and from 0.13 to 0.17 d-1 for flow dispersed), in line with the overloads that organic systems are subject

Ideologia e poder no agendamento do discurso polifônico da imprensa em relação à seca no nordeste

This dissertation work is an effort to understand how the ideology and the power interferes in the signification of the speeches immersed in the context of the printed media concerning the drought in the Northeast of Brazil, weather occurrence that punishes 23 million of Brazilians, with all sort of problems. It also has specific concern about the everyday usage of the language and with the routines of the information production, without losing of sight the role of History in the formation of the identity of individuals and people. The research work is also developed in an interdisciplinary environment, applying to the formed corpus five articles from Folha de São Paulo , collected from January to July of 2005, the French Analysis method of the Speech and the theory of the polyphony of Bakhtin, in the Applied Linguistics area, accomplished with Communication beddings as the agenda-setting. The results ended to a good understanding about the ideology and power´s influence and chaining in the speeches formations as well as to comprehend peoples concept in an environment of almost-mediated interaction, bringing a media look about polyphony in the bakhtinian mold, besides showing how all these questions interferes with the half-barren the Northeast media´s vision on the subject

Infografia interativa na redação: o processo de produção no Diário do Nordeste à luz da teoria do jornalismo

The infographics historically experience the process of evolution of journalism, from the incipient models handmade in the eighteenth century to the inclusion of computers and sophisticated software today. In order to face the advent of TV against of the partiality readers of the printed newspaper, or to represent the Gulf War, where not allowed photography, infographics reaches modern levels of production and publication. The technical devices which enabled the infographics to evolve the environment of the internet, with conditions for the manipulation of the reader, incorporating video, audio and animations, so styling of interactive infographics. These digital models of information visualization recently arrived daily in the northeast and on their respective web sites with features regionalized. This paper therefore proposes to explore and describe the processes of producing the interactive infographics, taking the example of the Diário do Nordeste, Fortaleza, Ceará, whose department was created one year ago. Therefore, based on aspects that guide the theory of journalism, as newsmaking, filters that focus on productive routine (gatekeeping) and the construction stages of the news. This research also draws on the theoretical framework on the subject, in concepts essential characteristics of computer graphics, as well as the methodological procedures and systematic empirical observations in production routines of the newsroom who can testify limitations and / or advances

Migração e seletividade na região nordeste: um estudo a partir dos dados do censo demográfico de 2010

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of migration on the income differential between northeastern migrants and nonmigrants and there by verify that the immigrants make up a group or not positively selected. The assumption that will be tested is that the presence of these immigrants affects income inequality in the region receptor, which may explain part of the high-stopping inequality in the Brazilian Northeast. The study is based on the literature selectivity migration introduced by Roy (1951), Borjas (1987) and Chiswick (1999). Does the estimated wage equation Mincer (1974) through the method of OLS, using information from the microdata sample of the 2010 Census, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The results which correspond to the comparison of socioeconomic profile, showed that immigrants are more qualified and, on average, better paid than non-migrants. With the estimation of the model, it was found that, keeping all other variables constant, the income that immigrants earn is 14.43% higher than that of non-migrants. Thus, there was existence of positive selectivity in migration directed to the Northeast

Caracterização in situ e diversidade genética de algodoeiros mocós (Gossypium hissutum raça marie galante) da Região Nordeste do Brasil

Brazil is one of the major centers of diversity for polyploid cotton plants; these plants belong to the genus Gossypium, which has three known species: G. hirsutum, G. barbadense and G. mustelinum. The Northeast is the only region where the three species occur, the last group being endemic. Northeast s cotton plants can be important sources of variability for genetic breeding. It is believed that great part of local diversity is being lost, due to economic, political, cultural and agricultural problems. In an attempt to mitigate this loss and delineate conservation strategies it is necessary to know how the species are found where they occur. The objective was to characterize and determine how plants are maintained in situ in the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba at the beginning of the XXI century. The in situ characterization of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense was conducted through structured interviews with the cotton plants owners and through the analysis of the environment. The data were collected during expeditions undertaken between the years 2004 to 2005. Twenty-two plants were collected in the state of Paraíba, forty-four in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, one hundred and forty-six in the state of Ceará, forty in the state of Maranhão and ninety-one plants in the state of Piauí. All plants collected in the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte belonged to moco type. Moco cotton plants also predominated in the other states, representing 92%, 62% and 78% of plants collected in Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão, respectively. The other cotton plants collected belong to the species G. barbadense. The cotton plants were found in situ as dooryard plants, roads side, feral populations, cultivation or local varieties. Great part were dooryard plants (45.2%), being major in Piauí and Maranhão. Cultivation predominated in Ceará; in Rio Grande do Norte feral populations were the most frequent and, in Paraíba, local varieties. The maintenance of moco plants is related, mainly, to the phytotherapic domestic use (20.9%) and to confection of lamp wicks (29.7%). Few inhabitants in Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Piauí and none in Maranhão used harvest the plants, storage the seeds or gin; however, in Ceará, 40.5% of owners affirmed that they harvested and commercialized the fiber. It was found that the maintenance of species is dependent of the fragile cultural habits of local inhabitants, therefore the maintenance in situ is not a suitable way to conservation of genetic resources. The efforts must be directed to the continuity of collections, maintenance and characterization ex situ

Música dos espaços: paisagem sonora do Nordeste no movimento armorial

This work exams the presence of music in the imaginary constitution of spaces, taking as study s object part of the musical production of the Armorial Movement, officially casted in 1970 in the city of Recife, Pernambuco. From that so called, by the Armorial s discourse, the essence of the brazilian northeastern popular art , the armorialists has intended to make an art that express an idea of northeasternity and brazility . Tries to demonstrate how the music has exerted a basic function of condensation and spreading of the armorial aesthetics, auditorily delimiting the territory of Brazilian Northeastern and, at the same time, trying to impose a sonority to it. This work still analyses the elaboration of what would be a proper soundscape of the Northeastern and how this elaboration passes trough the desire of crystallization of an idealized space, perpetual, escape line of the characteristic modernizing and postmodernizing experience of the twentieth century, product, in turn, of the anxiety of conservation of the Northeastern as a shelter to the traditions that has been evidenced by the construction of an visibility and, also, an audibility to the so called northeastern universe. It analyses, too, the way as works the confrontation between the idea of a so called northeastern soundscape - sonorous events set taken as typical from the rural space - and a sonorous archives series produced since 1920 with the regionalist discourse, showing how was elaborated an armorial music that has intended to represent the brazilian Northeastern. It evidences how, to the elaboration of armorial music, it was managed elements from the European musical culture so called scholar. It argues that the utilization of, to the manufacture of the armorial thinking and aesthetics, of a European mimical capital, so called that way by Stephen Greenblat, was consequence of the intellectual leadership of the Movement, centered in the writer Ariano Suassuna. It argues that Suassuna, followed by the musicians and the artists of the Movement, has searched to evidence a genetic linking between what he has considered the Brazilian true popular art and the medieval Iberian culture. For in such a way, the music was taken as a formation element of the social imaginary and directed to verify a relationship between the Northeastern idealized by the Armorial and the music produced by the Movement. This work has searched, therefore, through the analysis of the armorial music, to study the possible confluences between music and the space that has produced it to, by this analysis, to think the complicity between music and history

Avaliação de pastagens tropicais em sistemas de produção de ovinos de corte no nordeste brasileiro

He aim of this study was to evaluate the structural characters, herbage accumulation, nutritive value and performance of sheep in different tropical pastures. The treatments were two cultivars and two of the genera Panicum Brachiaria pastures under intermittent stocking and variable stocking rate, in the rainy season. We evaluated the masses and the components of herbage pre grazing in two layers, and after grazing. Chemical analyzes were made of the stems and leaf blades pre grazing in two layers. We used 48 male sheep and whole for the assessment of individual weight gain and area, and anestrous females to adjust the stocking rate. In the cv. Massai showed the highest herbage mass, leaf blades and dead material, and the largest volume density and leaf blade: stem pre grazing. There was no difference among cultivars for the percentage of leaf blade (PLB) in both strata, but the higher the PLB was higher than the bottom. The highest percentage of dead material (PDM) was observed in cvs. Massai and Marandu in the two strata. In cvs. Massai and Piatã were observed lower levels of crude protein in stem and leaf. In stratum 0-25 cm lower nutritional value was observed in the stem in the leaf blades did not grant the nutritional value among the strata. Herbage mass, leaf blade, PLB and proportion of stem in the residue of the Massai pastures were higher than cv. Aruana. There was no difference for efficiencies in harvest leaf and stem between the cultivars. The cv. Massai got the higher accumulation of leaf per cycle per day. Animals kept in grass swards Aruana had the highest average daily gain. The higher stocking rates and earnings per area were observed in grass swards and Marandu Massai. The cultivars are suitable for sheep meat production in the rainy season

Respostas morfogênicas e estruturais de gramíneas tropicais em regime de corte no nordeste brasileiro

The production of forage grasses is directly related to the morphogenesis. The knowledge of the morphogenetic and structural variables of forage plants is important for determining appropriate conditions of grazing livestock to ensure efficient and sustainable. Thus the objective of this study was to evaluate morphogenetic and structural responses of three genera of grasses, Brachiaria, Panicum and Cenchrus in a cutting regime. The experimental design was randomized blocks with three replications and six treatments. After each section were evaluated for forage production, appearance and elongation rates of leaves and stem, phyllochron, final leaf length, number of living leaves, leaf lifespan, leaf senescence rate, tiller density and tiller dynamics. On forage yield the highest values were obtained in cultivars Xaraes, Piata and Massai. The tiller density was higher for cv Massai. It is concluded that the cultivars of Panicum and Brachiaria had a higher tillering dynamics in increasing the turnover rate of tissues that are indicators of forage production, assuming that the cultivars of these genera are predisposed to use forage in the Northeast

Ecologia comportamental de tropidurus Hispidus e Tropidurus Semitaeniatus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) em Simpatria, em área de caatinga do nordeste do Brasil.

This study evaluated the spatial, time and alimentary niches of Tropidurus hispidus and Tropidurus semitaeniatus in sympatry in a caatinga of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, as well as their foraging and termoregulatory behaviors, the activity body temperature and their reproductive and fat body cycles. Monthly excursions, from October 2006 to May 2008, were conducted at the Ecological Station of the Seridó (ESEC Seridó), Serra Negra do Norte municipality, using specific methodology for investigation of the aforementioned objectives. The two species presented similarities in space niche use, mainly in rocky habitat, however they differed in vertical microhabitat use with T. hispidus using a larger vertical microhabitat range. In the dry season the time of activity of both species was bimodal. In the wet season T. semitaeniatus showed a unimodal activity period, while T. hispidus maintained an bimodal activity period. In terms of importance in the diet, to both species, Hymenoptera/Formicidae and Isoptera predominated during the dry season. In the wet season, although Hymenoptera/Formicidae had larger importance among the prey items, lizards opportunistically predated on Lepidoptera larvae, Coleoptera larvae/adults and Orthoptera nymphs/adults. The foraging intensity revealed differences between the species, mainly in the wet season, when T. semitaeniatus was more active than T. hispidus. The mean activity body temperature of T. semitaeniatus was significantly higher than that of T. hispidus. The thermoregulatory behavior showed that during the dry season T. hispidus and T. semitaeniatus spent more time in shade or under filtered sun. In the wet season, T. hispidus did not show differences in the amount of time spent among the light exposure locations, however T. semitaeniatus spent most of their time exposed to direct sun or filtered sun. The reproductive cicle of T. hispidus and T. semitaeniatus occurred from the middle of the dry season to the beginning of the wet season. In both species, female reproductive activity was influenced by precipitation, whereas males exhibited spermatozoa in their testes throughout the year, and their reproductive activity was not related with any of the climatic variables analysed. In the two species, the fat storage varied inversely with reproductive activity, and there was no difference in fat body mass between females and males. We concluded that the segregation between T. hispidus and T. semitaeniatus in this caatinga area occurs in vertical space use, in the largest vagility of T. hispidus in microhabitat use and larger range size of their alimentary xviii items. Additionally, significant seasonal differences in relation to the activity period, body temperature, and foraging and termoregulatory behaviors between these two Tropidurus species facilitate their coexistence.

Comportamento e ecologia acústica da baleia jubarte (Megaptera novaeangliae) na região Nordeste do Brasil

The acoustic ecology concept involve the relation between the live organisms and their sound environment and is applied in the present work to study the context in which the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) singing behavior, known as the most complex display in the nature, occurred in the northeastern Brazilian coast, outside the core area of Abrolhos Bank, between 2005 and 2010.I analyze the singer male occurrence , their spatial distribution and probable relations with oceanographic features, such as depth, tide regimen and moon phases. I also describe the acoustic structure and temporal variation of the singing behavior, based on song frequency and time measurements outside the Abrolhos Bank, and further compare the song complexity, registered in the same period, between Abrolhos Bank (16°- 19° S, 37°- 39° W) and the adjacent North Coast, herein considered from Itacaré (14° S, 38° W) to Aracaju (11° S, 37° W). Additionally, I look for describe and analyze anthropogenic noise sources in the marine environment of the study area, produced by the oil industry as well as by the whale watching operation, relating their frequencies to the acoustic niche utilized by the humpbacks. The results indicated a great plasticity in the singing behavior, evidenced by the occurrence of singer males in diverse social structures, from solitary individuals to other groups, even containing females and calves, as well as by the diversity which compound the song, when compared between two regions inside the same breeding area, which present distinct oceanographic characteristics. The singer male distribution may be related with the continental shelf extent along the study area. The anthropogenic noise presented frequency range, amplitude and sound intensity in potential to interfere acoustically in the singing behavior of the species, may resulting in disturbance during the breeding season in the Brazilian coast. Implications about the obtained results in the humpback whale mating system are discussed. In this way, I pretend to contribute with the acoustic ecology subject and provide information to subsidize humpback whale conservation

Boto cinza (Sotalia guianensis, Van Benédén, 1864) (Cetacea, Delphinidae): Atividade aérea, forrageio e interações inter-específicas, na Praia de Pipa (Tibau do Sul RN) e estudo comparativo entre duas populações do Nordeste do Brasil

Sotalia guianensis is a small cetacean of the Delphinidae family, with coastal habits and whose area of distribution ranges from Florianópolis (27º35'S, 48º34'W), in Brazil, to Honduras (15º58'N, 85º42'W). At Pipa beach, on the south coast of RN state, in Brazil, the species occur throughout the year. The present study was carried out in two bays, which are bordered by cliffs. The animals were monitored from vantage points, using the "Ad libitum" and "all the occurrences" methods; during the years of 1999 and 2004. The study was divided in 4 chapters: Behavioral standards of two populations of gray dolphin, (Sotalia guianensis, Van Benédén, 1864) in the northeast of Brazil; Aerial activity of the gray dolphin: its possible function and the influence of environmental and behavioral factors; The influence of daily and monthly variation of the tides, of the period of the day and group size on the gray dolphin forage activity; kleptoparasitism interactions of frigatebird (Fregata magnificens, Mattheus, 1914) during the gray dolphin forage activity. The results have shown that the gray dolphin has a varied and complex behavioral repertoire. The leap is the most frequent behavior; the aerial activity is diffuse during daylight and is influenced by some factors, such as the level of the tide and social factors. The gray dolphin, when in the bay, most frequently feeds isolate or in small groups. The forage is diffuse during daylight; however, being more frequent in the morning and is influenced by the daily and monthly variation of the tide. At Pipa beach, kleptoparasitarian interactions were registered between the gray dolphin and the frigatebird (Fregata magnificens). The frigatebird forage strategy consists basically of two ways: to fly over great extensions searching for dead fish and to steal food (kleptoparasitism). These interactions were predominantly carried out between immature and female adult birds and adult and immature dolphins, and occurred during daylight. The present study can be considered an initial landmark to a better knowledge on the gray dolphin surface behavior, especially regarding the aerial behavioral repertoire and forage strategy of this species. However, it is necessary to continue these studies, so that we can understand better the complex social life of these animals and thus create effective measures for its conservation

Dieta e compotamento de forrageio de duas espécies de Tropidurus (Squamata,Tropiduridae) em uma área de Caatinga do Nordeste do Brasil

Tropidurus semitaeniatus and Tropidurus hispidus are lizard species that are widely distributed in Brazil. The former is endemic to the Caatingas, where they live in syntopy with the latter, which is distributed in other ecosystems and biomes. In this work, diet was evaluated including seasonal variations as well as foraging behavior, to determine the importance of these factors in the structure of these populations and the coexistence of these species in syntopy. No significant difference was found in diet composition between the two species, although T. hispidus feed on larger preys than do T. semitaeniatus; this fact, along with the different foraging behavior in the rainy season, are ecological factors that contribute to the syntopic coexistence of these species in the Caatinga area studied