Análise geoambiental da baixada santista da Ponta de Itaipu ao Maciço de Itatins (SP)

Pós-graduação em Geociências e Meio Ambiente - IGCE

Validação de bioindicadores de recuperação de áreas degradadas por minerações de bauxita em Poços de Caldas, MG

Pós-graduação em Geociências e Meio Ambiente - IGCE

Preferência alimentar por insetos aquáticos em espécies de peixes de riacho tropical

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeito da alteração do hábitat sobre assembleias de peixes em igarapés afogados da Amazônia oriental

Os ecossistemas aquáticos de água doce constituem sistemas complexos que estão sendo expostos a uma variedade de perturbações. Na região Amazônica, o uso dos recursos e ocupação da terra tem alterado a estrutura física do hábitat desses ambientes, especialmente os de pequeno porte (conhecidos como igarapés), influenciando a estrutura e composição de suas comunidades. Vários estudos e programas de avaliação têm sido desenvolvidos a fim de verificar como essas alterações afetam as comunidades bióticas, através de características do hábitat que se mostram mais sensíveis às perturbações. Nesse contexto, o objetivo desse estudo foi mensurar e descrever atributos do hábitat de igarapés afogados e verificar como as assembleias de peixes respondem aos diferentes níveis de integridade física apresentados por esses igarapés. Para isso, testamos a hipótese de que ambientes estruturalmente mais íntegros suportam uma ictiofauna mais diversa do que ambientes impactados, em virtude destes apresentarem uma diminuição na complexidade ambiental. O estudo foi realizado em 34 igarapés, sendo 17 situados dentro do território da Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, e 17 em seu entorno, localizados próximos aos centros urbanos dos municípios de Portel e Melgaço (PA). O processo de urbanização encontra-se em expansão na região, alcançando áreas de florestas e corpos hídricos que ainda permanecem preservados. Também há uma intensa atividade extrativista madeireira, pois a área está inserida no principal pólo madeireiro da zona do estuário no estado do Pará. O hábitat físico dos igarapés foi avaliado seguindo um protocolo padronizado de avaliação. Para a coleta dos peixes foram utilizadas redes de mão em um trecho de 150 metros por igarapé durante seis horas (divididas entre os segmentos e entre os coletores). Apesar de detectarmos um conjunto de métricas que responderam ao gradiente de alteração local, estas não se mostraram suficientes na redução ou aumento do número de espécies ao longo dos níveis de preservação, mantendo praticamente constante a riqueza e abundância para os três grupos (alterado, intermediário e íntegro). Porém, a diferença foi significativa para a composição, com onze espécies exclusivas de ambientes alterados e oito exclusivas de ambientes íntegros. A degradação do ambiente físico, mesmo que em escalas menores favorece a ocorrência e maior abundância de espécies tolerantes e com grande plasticidade fenotípica, além do aumento populacional de espécies oportunistas. Diferentes efeitos podem ser exercidos sobre os grupos de espécies que compõem uma comunidade, pois elas apresentam diferentes atributos biológicos e ecológicos que incluem também suas respostas para as mesmas variáveis ecológicas. Portanto, a possível desconstrução da comunidade em grupos de espécies (sejam taxonômicos, funcionais, etc) pode mostrar respostas diferenciadas frente às alterações do hábitat, sendo uma estratégia promissora para associar características ambientais aos padrões de riqueza apresentado por essas comunidades. A avaliação da integridade biótica também é uma alternativa para identificar efeitos da alteração do hábitat sobre as espécies, principalmente considerando a peculiaridade da região e a falta de informações acerca da ictiofauna local.

Estudo da dinâmica climática e sua influência na qualidade da água de reservatórios urbanos

The present study sought to develop a methodology to analyze the water quality based on concepts and methods of climate and climatology respectively. In this way, it was tried to relate techniques and methodologies hydro and limno-meteorological with a rhythmic analysis technique developed within the Brazilian geographical climatology to assess and analyze the blooms of cyanobacteria, the main index of water quality found in reservoirs of “Alto Tietê” Basin and consequently the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, an area of high environmental complexity due to its high degree of development and high population density. The meteorological data used to develop the study were collected from the meteorological station of the IAG / USP and the limnological data were collected from the Hydrological Monitoring System implemented by SABESP in Billings and Guarapiranga reservoirs as well as data laboratory of the same entity. The results obtained by the rhythmic and integrated analyze showed that the process of blooms of cyanobacteria is dependent not only on one specific factor, but a combination of meteorological factors that may disrupt the stability of reservoir and which can, during the stabilization process, provides the necessary conditions to the development of cyanobacteria. It was also shown by the results that the pace of Atlantic Polar Front Entrance during the winter in São Paulo, is a limiting factor to the growth of cyanobacteria due to their high frequency, keeping the reservoir balance throughout the period. Furthermore, another importance of this study is the possibility of prevention and forecasting periods which are inappropriate for the use of these reservoirs mainly for recreational activities

The climatic rhythm and blooms of cyanobacteria in a tropical reservoir in São Paulo, Brazil

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

Complexidade do ambiente e assimetria no andar de idosos com doença de Parkinson

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estrutura da comunidade parasitária de duas espécies de peixes autóctones da RPPN Foz do rio Aguapeí, Alto rio Paraná

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

Simply a nest? Effects of different enrichments on stereotypic and anxiety-related behaviour in mice

Improving the home cages of laboratory mice by environmental enrichment has been widely used to reduce cage stereotypies and anxiety-related behaviour in behavioural tests. However, enrichment studies differ substantially in type, complexity and variation of enrichments. Therefore, it is unclear whether success depends on specific enrichment items, environmental complexity, or novelty associated with enrichment. The aim of this study was therefore to dissociate the effects of environmental complexity and novelty on stereotypy development and compare these effects with the provision of nesting material alone. Thus, 54 freshly weaned male ICR (CD-1) mice were pairwise allocated to standard laboratory cages enriched in three different ways (n = 18 per group). Treatment 1 consisted of cotton wool as nesting material. Treatments 2 and 3 were structurally more complex, including a shelter and a climbing structure as additional resources. To render complexity and novelty independent of the specific enrichment items, three shelters (cardboard house, plastic tunnel, red plastic house) and three climbing structures (ladder, rope, wooden bars) were used to create nine different combinations of enrichment. In treatment 2 (complexity), each pair of mice was assigned to a different combination that remained constant throughout 9 weeks, whereas in treatment 3 (novelty), each pair of mice was exposed to all 9 combinations in turn by changing them weekly in a pseudorandom order. After 9 weeks, stereotypic behaviour in the home cage was assessed from video recordings, and anxiety-related behaviour was assessed in two behavioural tests (elevated zero-maze, open-field). However, no significant differences in stereotypy scores and no consistent differences in anxiety-related behaviours were found between the three groups. These findings indicate that within standard laboratory cages neither complexity nor novelty of simple enrichments have additional effects on stereotypic and anxiety-related behaviour beyond those of adequate nesting material. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preference for structured environment in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and checker barbs (Puntius oligolepis)

Information about the welfare and husbandry of pet and laboratory fish is scarce although millions of fish are sold in pet shops and used in laboratory research every year. Inadequate housing conditions can cause behavioural problems also in fish since they are complex animals with sophisticated behaviour. In this study, we investigated the influence of environmental complexity on compartment preference and behaviour in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and checker barbs (Puntius oligolepis). For the preference test, large aquaria were divided by two semi-transparent walls of Plexiglas into an empty compartment, a structured compartment enriched with plants and clay pots, and a smaller compartment in-between, where food was provided. For observation, the empty and structured compartments were divided into six zones of similar size by defining three vertical layers and two horizontal areas (back vs. front area). Seven groups of six to nine zebrafish and seven groups of seven or eight checker barbs were observed on four days each (within a time period of ten days) to assess compartment use and activity, and to assess behavioural diversity and use of zones within compartments. Both zebrafish and checker barbs showed a significant preference for the structured compartment. Nevertheless, in neither species did behavioural diversity differ between the empty and structured compartment. Zebrafish used all zones in both compartments to the same extent. Checker barbs, however, used the structured compartment more evenly than the empty compartment, where they mainly used the lower and middle zones. These results suggest that zebrafish and checker barbs have a preference for complex environments. Furthermore, they indicate that the behavioural and ecological needs of fish may vary depending on species, and recommendations for husbandry should be specified at species level. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The market for preferences

Learning processes are widely held to be the mechanism by which boundedly rational agents adapt to environmental changes. We argue that this same outcome might also be achieved by a different mechanism, namely specialisation and the division of knowledge, which we here extend to the consumer side of the economy. We distinguish between high-level preferences and low-level preferences as nested systems of rules used to solve particular choice problems. We argue that agents, while sovereign in high-level preferences, may often find it expedient to acquire, in a pseudo-market, the low-level preferences in order to make good choices when purchasing complex commodities about which they have little or no experience. A market for preferences arises when environmental complexity overwhelms learning possibilities and leads agents to make use of other people's specialised knowledge and decision rules.

A cybernetic methodology to study and design human activities

This thesis offers a methodology to study and design effective communication mechanisms in human activities. The methodology is focused in the management of complexity. It is argued that complexity is not something objective that can be worked out analytically, but something subjective that depends on the viewpoint. Also it is argued that while certain social contexts may inhibit, others may enhance the viewpoint's capabilities to deal with complexity. Certain organisation structures are more likely than others to allow individuals to release their potentials. Thus, the relevance of studying and designing effective organisations. The first part of the thesis offers a `cybernetic methodology' for problem solving in human activities, the second offers a `method' to study and design organisations. The cybernetics methodology discussed in this work is rooted in second order cybernetics, or the cybernetics of the observing systems (Von Foester 1979, Maturana and Varela 1980). Its main tenet is that the known properties of the real world reside in the individual and not in the world itself. This view, which puts emphasis in a, by nature, one sided and unilateral appreciation of reality, triggers the need for dialogue and conversations to construct it. The `method' to study and design organisations, it based on Beer's Viable System Model (Beer 1979, 1981, 1985). This model permits us to assess how successful is an organisation in coping with its environmental complexity, and, moreover, permits us to establish how to make more effective the responses to this complexity. These features of the model are of great significance in a world where complexity is perceived to be growing at an unthinkable pace. But, `seeing' these features of the model assumes an effective appreciation of organisational complexity; hence the need for the methodological discussions offered by the first part of the thesis.

Market-driven strategies and the design of flexible production systems: evidence from the electronics industry

Links the concept of market-driven business strategies with the design of production systems. It draws upon the case of a firm which, during the last decade, changed its strategy from being “technology led” to “market driven”. The research, based on interdisciplinary fieldwork involving long-term participant observation, investigated the factors which contribute to the successful design and implementation of flexible production systems in electronics assembly. These investigations were conducted in collaboration with a major computer manufacturer, with other electronics firms being studied for comparison. The research identified a number of strategies and actions seen as crucial to the development of efficient flexible production systems, namely: effective integration of subsystems, development of appropriate controls and performance measures, compatibility between production system design and organization structure, and the development of a climate conducive to organizational change. Overall, the analysis suggests that in the electronics industry there exists an extremely high degree of environmental complexity and turbulence. This serves to shape the strategic, technical and social structures that are developed to match this complexity, examples of which are niche marketing, flexible manufacturing and employee harmonization.

The impact of cross -training on team processes and performance

Recently, researchers have begun to investigate the benefits of cross-training teams. It has been hypothesized that cross-training should help improve team processes and team performance (Cannon-Bowers, Salas, Blickensderfer, & Bowers, 1998; Travillian, Volpe, Cannon-Bowers, & Salas, 1993). The current study extends previous research by examining different methods of cross-training (positional clarification and positional modeling) and the impact they have on team process and performance in both more complex and less complex environments. One hundred and thirty-five psychology undergraduates were placed in 45 three-person teams. Participants were randomly assigned to roles within teams. Teams were asked to “fly” a series of missions on a PC-based helicopter flight simulation. ^ Results suggest that cross-training improves team mental model accuracy and similarity. Accuracy of team mental models was found to be a predictor of coordination quality, but similarity of team mental models was not. Neither similarity nor accuracy of team mental models was found to be a predictor of backup behavior (quality and quantity). As expected, both team coordination (quality) and backup behaviors (quantity and quality) were significant predictors of overall team performance. Contrary to expectations, there was no interaction between cross-training and environmental complexity. Results from this study further cross-training research by establishing positional clarification and positional modeling as training strategies for improving team performance. ^

Tuberculosis epidemiology in islands: insularity, hosts and trade

Because of their relative simplicity and the barriers to gene flow, islands are ideal systems to study the distribution of biodiversity. However, the knowledge that can be extracted from this peculiar ecosystem regarding epidemiology of economically relevant diseases has not been widely addressed. We used information available in the scientific literature for 10 old world islands or archipelagos and original data on Sicily to gain new insights into the epidemiology of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). We explored three nonexclusive working hypotheses on the processes modulating bovine tuberculosis (bTB) herd prevalence in cattle and MTC strain diversity: insularity, hosts and trade. Results suggest that bTB herd prevalence was positively correlated with island size, the presence of wild hosts, and the number of imported cattle, but neither with isolation nor with cattle density. MTC strain diversity was positively related with cattle bTB prevalence, presence of wild hosts and the number of imported cattle, but not with island size, isolation, and cattle density. The three most common spoligotype patterns coincided between Sicily and mainland Italy. However in Sicily, these common patterns showed a clearer dominance than on the Italian mainland, and seven of 19 patterns (37%) found in Sicily had not been reported from continental Italy. Strain patterns were not spatially clustered in Sicily. We were able to infer several aspects of MTC epidemiology and control in islands and thus in fragmented host and pathogen populations. Our results point out the relevance of the intensity of the cattle commercial networks in the epidemiology of MTC, and suggest that eradication will prove more difficult with increasing size of the island and its environmental complexity, mainly in terms of the diversity of suitable domestic and wild MTC hosts.