Longitudinal patterns of fish assemblages in mountain streams from tropical forest biome

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Dinâmica populacional do camarão Sicyonia dorsalis (Crustacea: Penaeoidea) no litoral de Cananéia, sul do estado de São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Prevalence of ectoparasites and bacteriological diagnosis in Nile tilapia bred in net-tanks in the Corvo's river, Parana, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Immunohistochemical expression of B and T-lymphocytes and TGF-beta in experimentally transplanted canine venereal tumor

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

Interview W.T. "Dub" Massey

In his April 27th, 1981 interview with Phil O’Quinn, W.T. Massey recollects his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement as one of the Friendship 9 protestors and non-violent activists. Massey retells the preparation and events leading up to the sit-in at McCrory’s lunch counter. Massey also shares the negative effects he experienced with his involvement as an activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement, in particular, his arrest from the McCrory’s sit-in. Massey concludes his interview with advice and hope for the black community. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

Seasonal home ranges and fidelity to breeding sites among ringed seals

Population structure and patterns of habitat use among ringed seals (Phoca hispida) are poorly known, in part because seasonal movements have not been adequately documented. We monitored the movements of 98 ringed seals in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas between 1990 and 2006 using three forms of telemetry. In the winter—spring period (when the seals were occupying shorefast ice), we used radio and ultra-sonic tags to track movements above and below the ice, respectively. We used satellite-linked transmitters in summer and fall (when the seals ranged away from their winter sites) to track at-sea movements. In the shorefast ice habitat, the home ranges of 27 adult males ranged from\1 to 13.9 km2 (median = 0.628) while the home ranges of 28 adult females ranged from \1 to 27.9 km2 (median = 0.652). The 3-dimensional volumes used by 9 seals tracked acoustically under the ice averaged 0.07 (SD = 0.04) km3 for subadults and adult males and 0.13 (SD = 0.04) km3 for adult females. Three of the radio-tracked seals and 9 tracked by satellite ranged up to 1,800 km from their winter/spring home ranges in summer but returned to the same small (1–2 km2) sites during the ice-bound months in the following year. The restricted movements of ringed seals during the ice-bound season— including the breeding season—limits their foraging activities for most of the year and may minimize gene flow within the species.

2006 East Campus Arbor Day Celebration

It cannot be lost on those of us present here today that Nebraska, the land of tall skies and wide prairies, where early settlers saw grass roll to the horizon broken only by the call of the lark, is the home of Arbor Day. Nebraska is, indeed, the tree planter state.

Changes in intrapopulation resource use patterns of an endangered raptor in response to a disease-mediated crash in prey abundance

1. A long-standing question in ecology is how natural populations respond to a changing environment. Emergent optimal foraging theory-based models for individual variation go beyond the population level and predict how its individuals would respond to disturbances that produce changes in resource availability. 2. Evaluating variations in resource use patterns at the intrapopulation level in wild populations under changing environmental conditions would allow to further advance in the research on foraging ecology and evolution by gaining a better idea of the underlying mechanisms explaining trophic diversity. 3. In this study, we use a large spatio-temporal scale data set (western continental Europe, 19682006) on the diet of Bonellis Eagle Aquila fasciata breeding pairs to analyse the predator trophic responses at the intrapopulation level to a prey population crash. In particular, we borrow metrics from studies on network structure and intrapopulation variation to understand how an emerging infectious disease [the rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD)] that caused the density of the eagles primary prey (rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus) to dramatically drop across Europe impacted on resource use patterns of this endangered raptor. 4. Following the major RHD outbreak, substantial changes in Bonellis Eagles diet diversity and organisation patterns at the intrapopulation level took place. Dietary variation among breeding pairs was larger after than before the outbreak. Before RHD, there were no clusters of pairs with similar diets, but significant clustering emerged after RHD. Moreover, diets at the pair level presented a nested pattern before RHD, but not after. 5. Here, we reveal how intrapopulation patterns of resource use can quantitatively and qualitatively vary, given drastic changes in resource availability. 6. For the first time, we show that a pathogen of a prey species can indirectly impact the intrapopulation patterns of resource use of an endangered predator.

Witzkeite: A new rare nitrate-sulphate mineral from a guano deposit at Punta de Lobos, Chile

Witzkeite, ideally Na4K4Ca(NO3)(2)(SO4)(4)center dot 2H(2)O, is a new mineral found in the oxidation zone of the guano mining field at Punta de Lobos, Tarapaca region, Chile. It occurs as colorless, tabular crystals up to 140 mu m in length, associated with dittmanite and nitratine. Witzkeite is colorless and transparent, with a white streak and a vitreous luster. It is brittle, with Molts hardness 2 and distinct cleavage on {001}. Measured density is 2.40(2) g/cm(3), calculated density is 2.403 g/cm(3). Witzkeite is biaxial (-) with refractive indexes alpha = 1.470(5), beta = 1.495(5), gamma = 1.510(5), measured 2V = 50-70 degrees. The empirical composition is (electron microprobe, mean of five analyses, H2O, CO2, and N2O5 by gas chromatography; wt%): Na2O 12.83, K2O 22.64, CaO 7.57, FeO 0.44, SO3 39.96, N2O5 12.7, H2O 4.5, total 100.64; CO2 was not detected. The chemical formula, calculated based on 24 O, is: Na3.40K3.95Ca1.11Fe0.05(NO3)(1.93)(SO4)(4.10)(H4.10O1.81). Witzkeite is monoclinic, space group C2/c, with unit-cell parameters: a = 24.902(2), b = 5.3323(4), c = 17.246(1) angstrom, beta = 94.281(7)degrees, V = 2283.6(3) angstrom(3) (Z = 4). The crystal structure was solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data and refined to R-1(F) = 0.043. Witzkeite belongs to a new structure type and is noteworthy for the very rare simultaneous presence of sulfate and nitrate groups. The eight strongest X-ray powder-diffraction lines [d in angstrom (I in %) (h k l)] are: 12.38 (100) (2 0 0), 4.13 (19) (6 0 0), 3.10 (24) (8 0 0), 2.99 (7) ((8) over bar 02), 2.85 (6) (8 02), 2.69 (9) ((7) over bar 1 3), 2.48 (12) (10 0 0), and 2.07 (54) (12 0 0). The IR spectrum of witzkeite was collected in the range 390-4000 cm(-1). The spectrum shows the typical bands of SO42- ions (1192, 1154, 1116, 1101, 1084, 993, 634, and 617 cm(-1)) and of NO3- ions (1385, 1354, 830, 716, and 2775 cm(-1)). Moreover, a complex pattern of bands related to H2O is visible (bands at 3565, 3419, 3260, 2405, 2110, 1638, and 499 cm(-1)). The IR spectrum is discussed in detail.

Underground leaves of Philcoxia trap and digest nematodes

The recently described genus Philcoxia comprises three species restricted to well lit and low-nutrient soils in the Brazilian Cerrado. The morphological and habitat similarities of Philcoxia to those of some carnivorous plants, along with recent observations of nematodes over its subterranean leaves, prompted the suggestion that the genus is carnivorous. Here we report compelling evidence of carnivory in Philcoxia of the Plantaginaceae, a family in which no carnivorous members are otherwise known. We also document both a unique capturing strategy for carnivorous plants and a case of a plant that traps and digests nematodes with underground adhesive leaves. Our findings illustrate how much can still be discovered about the origin, distribution, and frequency of the carnivorous syndrome in angiosperms and, more generally, about the diversity of nutrient-acquisition mechanisms that have evolved in plants growing in severely nutrient-impoverished environments such as the Brazilian Cerrado, one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots.

CeO2 nanoparticles synthesized by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method: evolution from nanospheres to nanorods

Ceria (CeO2) plays a vital role in emerging technologies for environmental and energy-related applications. The catalytic efficiency of ceria nanoparticles depends on its morphology. In this study, CeO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method under different synthesis temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman scattering spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering results indicated that all the synthesized samples had a pure cubic CeO2 structure. Rietveld analysis and Raman scattering also revealed the presence of structural defects due to an associated reduction in the valence of the Ce4+ ions to Ce3+ ions caused by an increasing molar fraction of oxygen vacancies. The morphology of the samples was controlled by varying the synthesis temperature. The TEM images show that samples synthesized at 80 degrees C consisted of spherical particles of about 5 nm, while those synthesized at 120 degrees C presented a mix of spherical and rod-like nanoparticles and the sample synthesized at 160 degrees C consisted of nanorods with 10 nm average diameter and 70 nm length. The microwave-assisted method proved to be highly efficient for the synthesis of CeO2 nanoparticles with different morphologies.

Positron annihilation spectroscopy techniques applied to the study of an HPGe detector.

Doppler Broadening Spectroscopy of the large Ge crystal of an HPGe detector was perforrned using positrons from pair production of 6.13 MeV ϒ-rays from the 19F(p,αϒ) 16O reaction. Two HPGe detectors facing opposite sides of the Ge crystal acting as target provided both coincidence and singles spectra. Changes in the shape of the annihilation peak were observed when the high voltage applied to the target detector was switched on or off, amounting to somewhat less than 20% when the areas of equivalent energy intervals in the corresponding normalized spectra are compared.

Quasi-bound alpha resonant states populated by the 12C(6Li,d) reaction.

Several narrow alpha resonant 16O states were detected through the 12C(6Li,d) reaction, in the range of 12 to 17 MeV of excitation energy. The reaction was measured at a bombarding energy of 25.5 MeV employing the São Paulo Pelletron-Enge-Spectrograph facility and the nuclear emulsion technique. Experimental angular distributions associated with four natural parity quasi-bound states ncar the 4α threshold are presented and compared to DWBA predictions.