A survey for maintenance of virulent newcastle disease virus-free area in poultry production in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Geographic Distribution and Population Estimate of Leaf-cutting Ants of the Genus Acromyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Southwestern Bahia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Soil erosion fragility assessment using an impact model and geographic information system

A study was taken in a 1566 ha watershed situated in the Capivara River basin, municipality of Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil. This environment is fragile and can be subjected to different forms of negative impacts, among them soil erosion by water. The main objective of the research was to develop a methodology for the assessment of soil erosion fragility at the various different watershed positions, using the geographic information system ILWIS version 3.3 for Windows. An impact model was created to generate the soil's erosion fragility plan, based on four indicators of fragility to water erosion: land use and cover, slope, percentage of soil fine sand and accumulated water flow. Thematic plans were generated in a geographic information system (GIS) environment. First, all the variables, except land use and cover, were described by continuous numerical plans in a raster structure. The land use and cover plan was also represented by numerical values associated with the weights attributed to each class, starting from a pairwise comparison matrix and using the analytical hierarchy process. A final field check was done to record evidence of erosive processes in the areas indicated as presenting the highest levels of fragility, i.e., sites with steep slopes, high percentage of soil fine sand, tendency to accumulate surface water flow, and sites of pastureland. The methodology used in the environmental problems diagnosis of the study area can be employed at places with similar relief, soil and climatic conditions.

Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae, Dendropsophus melanargyreus (Cope, 1887): distribution extension, new state record and geographic distribution map.

We present the first record of Dendropsophus melanargyreus for the state of São Paulo and a distribution map for this species. This new record represents the southeastern limit of distribution, which is 106 Km from the nearest locality previously recorded for this species and is the fourth new register of anuran to northwestern region of São Paulo in the last two years, increasing species list of the region from 33 to 36 species. This results evidence the importance of this region as priority area for inventory.

A study of habitat fragmentation in Southeastern Brazil using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS)

The purpose of this work was to study fragmentation of forest formations (mesophytic forest, riparian woodland and savannah vegetation (cerrado)) in a 15,774-ha study area located in the Municipal District of Botucatu in Southeastern Brazil (São Paulo State). A land use and land cover map was made from a color composition of a Landsat-5 thematic mapper (TM) image. The edge effect caused by habitat fragmentation was assessed by overlaying, on a geographic information system (GIS), the land use and land cover data with the spectral ratio. The degree of habitat fragmentation was analyzed by deriving: 1. mean patch area and perimeter; 2. patch number and density; 3. perimeter-area ratio, fractal dimension (D), and shape diversity index (SI); and 4. distance between patches and dispersion index (R). In addition, the following relationships were modeled: 1. distribution of natural vegetation patch sizes; 2. perimeter-area relationship and the number and area of natural vegetation patches; 3. edge effect caused by habitat fragmentation, the values of R indicated that savannah patches (R = 0.86) were aggregated while patches of natural vegetation as a whole (R = 1.02) were randomly dispersed in the landscape. There was a high frequency of small patches in the landscape whereas large patches were rare. In the perimeter-area relationship, there was no sign of scale distinction in the patch shapes, In the patch number-landscape area relationship, D, though apparently scale-dependent, tends to be constant as area increases. This phenomenon was correlated with the tendency to reach a constant density as the working scale was increased, on the edge effect analysis, the edge-center distance was properly estimated by a model in which the edge-center distance was considered a function of the to;al patch area and the SI. (C) 1997 Elsevier B.V. B.V.

Molecular and geographic analyses of vampire bat-transmitted cattle rabies in central Brazil

Background: Vampire bats are important rabies virus vectors, causing critical problems in both the livestock industry and public health sector in Latin America. In order to assess the epidemiological characteristics of vampire bat-transmitted rabies, the authors conducted phylogenetic and geographical analyses using sequence data of a large number of cattle rabies isolates collected from a wide geographical area in Brazil.Methods: Partial nucleoprotein genes of rabies viruses isolated from 666 cattle and 18 vampire bats between 1987 and 2006 were sequenced and used for phylogenetic analysis. The genetic variants were plotted on topographical maps of Brazil.Results: In this study, 593 samples consisting of 24 genetic variants were analyzed. Regional localization of variants was observed, with the distribution of several variants found to be delimited by mountain ranges which served as geographic boundaries. The geographical distributions of vampire-bat and cattle isolates that were classified as the identical phylogenetic group were found to overlap with high certainty. Most of the samples analyzed in this study were isolated from adjacent areas linked by rivers.Conclusion: This study revealed the existence of several dozen regional variants associated with vampire bats in Brazil, with the distribution patterns of these variants found to be affected by mountain ranges and rivers. These results suggest that epidemiological characteristics of vampire bat-related rabies appear to be associated with the topographical and geographical characteristics of areas where cattle are maintained, and the factors affecting vampire bat ecology.

Length structure of fishes from a protected area in the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

The aim of this work was to study the length distribution of some fish species from the Protected Area of São Pedro and Analândia, State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. Length distributions were correlated to environmental conditions at each sample site. For the most abundant species, length structure was compared among the streams of each basin and between basins. Differences in length structure were related to differences in growth, habitats, and even population.

Spatial clustering applied to health area

The significant volume of work accidents in the cities causes an expressive loss to society. The development of Spatial Data Mining technologies presents a new perspective for the extraction of knowledge from the correlation between conventional and spatial attributes. One of the most important techniques of the Spatial Data Mining is the Spatial Clustering, which clusters similar spatial objects to find a distribution of patterns, taking into account the geographical position of the objects. Applying this technique to the health area, will provide information that can contribute towards the planning of more adequate strategies for the prevention of work accidents. The original contribution of this work is to present an application of tools developed for Spatial Clustering which supply a set of graphic resources that have helped to discover knowledge and support for management in the work accidents area. © 2011 IEEE.

Investigation of the genetic diversity of domestic Capra hircus breeds reared within an early goat domestication area in Iran

Background: Iran is an area of particular interest for investigating goat diversity. Archaeological remains indicate early goat domestication (about 10 000 years ago) in the Iranian Zagros Mountains as well as in the high Euphrates valley and southeastern Anatolia. In addition, mitochondrial DNA data of domestic goats and wild ancestors (C. aegagrusor bezoar) suggest a pre-domestication management of wild populations in southern Zagros and central Iranian Plateau. In this study genetic diversity was assessed in seven Iranian native goat breeds, namely Markhoz, Najdi, Taleshi, Khalkhali, Naini, native Abadeh and Turki-Ghashghaei. A total of 317 animals were characterized using 14 microsatellite loci. Two Pakistani goat populations, Pahari and Teddy, were genotyped for comparison.Results: Iranian goats possess a remarkable genetic diversity (average expected heterozygosity of 0.671 across loci, 10.7 alleles per locus) mainly accounted for by the within-breed component (G(ST) = 5.9%). Positive and highly significant F-IS values in the Naini, Turki-Ghashghaei, Abadeh and Markhoz breeds indicate some level of inbreeding in these populations. Multivariate analyses cluster Iranian goats into northern, central and western groups, with the western breeds relatively distinct from the others. Pakistani breeds show some relationship with Iranian populations, even if their position is not consistent across analyses. Gene flow was higher within regions (west, north, central) compared to between regions but particularly low between the western and the other two regions, probably due to the isolating topography of the Zagros mountain range. The Turki-Ghashghaei, Najdi and Abadeh breeds are reared in geographic areas where mtDNA provided evidence of early domestication. These breeds are highly variable, located on basal short branches in the neighbor-joining tree, close to the origin of the principal component analysis plot and, although highly admixed, they are quite distinct from those reared on the western side of the Zagros mountain range.Conclusions: These observations call for further investigation of the nuclear DNA diversity of these breeds within a much wider geographic context to confirm or re-discuss the current hypothesis (based on maternal lineage data) of an almost exclusive contribution of the eastern Anatolian bezoar to the domestic goat gene pool.

Diversity, natural history, and geographic distribution of snakes in the Caatinga, Northeastern Brazil

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

Spatial distribution of runoff depth from a watershed located in a cuesta relief area of São Paulo State, Brazil

This study was undertaken in a 1566 ha drainage basin situated in an area with cuesta relief in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The objectives were: 1) to map the maximum potential soil water retention capacity, and 2) to simulate the depth of surface runoff in each geographical position of the area based on a typical rainfall event. The database required for the development of this research was generated in the environment of the geographical information system ArcInfo v.10.1. Undeformed soil samples were collected at 69 points. The ordinary kriging method was used in the interpolation of the values of soil density and maximum potential soil water retention capacity. The spherical model allowed for better adjustment of the semivariograms corresponding to the two soil attributes for the depth of 0 to 20 cm, while the Gaussian model enabled a better fit of the spatial behavior of the two variables for the depth of 20 to 40 cm. The simulation of the spatial distribution revealed a gradual increase in the depth of surface runoff for the rainfall event taken as example (25 mm) from the reverse to the peripheral depression of the cuesta (from west to east). There is a positive aspect observed in the gradient, since the sites of highest declivity, especially those at the front of the cuesta, are closer to the western boundary of the watershed where the lowest depths of runoff occur. This behavior, in conjunction with certain values of erodibility and depending on the land use and cover, can help mitigate the soil erosion processes in these areas.

Macroecology of Caribbean Bats: Effects of Area, Elevation, Latitude, and Hurricane-Induced Disturbance

Understanding the geographic and environmental characteristics of islands that affect aspects of biodiversity is a major theme in ecology (Begon et al. 2006; Krebs 2001) and biogeography (Cox and Moore 2000; Drakare et al. 2006; Lomolino et al. 2006). Such understanding has become particularly relevant over the past century because human activities on continents have fragmented natural landscapes, often creating islands of isolated habitat dispersed within a sea of land uses that include agriculture, forestry, and various degrees of urban and suburban development. The increasingly fragmented or islandlike structure of mainland habitats has critical ramifications to conservation biology, as it provides insights regarding the mechanisms leading to species persistence and loss. Consequently, the study of patterns and mechanisms associated with island biodiversity is of interest in its own right (Whittaker 1998; Williamson 1981), and may provide critical insights into mainland phenomena that otherwise could not be studied because of ethical, financial, or logistical considerations involved with the execution of large-scale manipulative experiments.

Using Genetics to Assess Differentiation Among Raccoons in an Area with Variable Rabies Status in Alabama

The western spread of raccoon rabies in Alabama has been slow and even appears to regress eastward periodically. While the disease has been present in the state for over 30 years, areas in northwest Alabama are devoid of raccoon rabies. This variation resulting in an enzootic area of raccoon rabies primarily in southeastern Alabama may be due to landscape features that hinder the movement of raccoons (i.e., gene flow) among different locations. We used 11 raccoon-specific microsatellite markers to obtain individual genotypes to examine gene flow among areas that were rabies free, enzootic with rabies, or had only sporadic reports of the disease. Samples from 70 individuals were collected from 5 sampling localities in 3 counties. The landscape feature data were collected from geographic information system (GIS) data. We inferred gene flow by estimating FST and by using Bayesian tests to identify genetic clusters. Estimates of pairwise FST indicated genetic differentiation and restricted gene flow between some sites, and an uneven distribution of genetic clusters was observed. Of the landscape features examined (i.e., land cover, elevation, slope, roads, and hydrology), only land cover had an association with genetic differentiation, suggesting this landscape variable may affect gene flow among raccoon populations and thus the spread of raccoon variant of rabies in Alabama.

Understanding bias in geographic range size estimates

Aim Estimates of geographic range size derived from natural history museum specimens are probably biased for many species. We aim to determine how bias in these estimates relates to range size. Location We conducted computer simulations based on herbarium specimen records from localities ranging from the southern United States to northern Argentina. Methods We used theory on the sampling distribution of the mean and variance to develop working hypotheses about how range size, defined as area of occupancy (AOO), was related to the inter-specific distribution of: (1) mean collection effort per area across the range of a species (MC); (2) variance in collection effort per area across the range of a species (VC); and (3) proportional bias in AOO estimates (PBias: the difference between the expected value of the estimate of AOO and true AOO, divided by true AOO). We tested predictions from these hypotheses using computer simulations based on a dataset of more than 29,000 herbarium specimen records documenting occurrences of 377 plant species in the tribe Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae). Results The working hypotheses predicted that the mean of the inter-specific distribution of MC, VC and PBias were independent of AOO, but that the respective variance and skewness decreased with increasing AOO. Computer simulations supported all but one prediction: the variance of the inter-specific distribution of VC did not decrease with increasing AOO. Main conclusions Our results suggest that, despite an invariant mean, the dispersion and symmetry of the inter-specific distribution of PBias decreases as AOO increases. As AOO increased, range size was less severely underestimated for a large proportion of simulated species. However, as AOO increased, range size estimates having extremely low bias were less common.