Colêmbolos (arthropoda: hexapoda: collembola) numa área de caatinga do nordeste brasileiro

Edaphic ecosystems are the basis for the production of terrestrial biological resources and their dynamics affect not only the natural environment but also society and their economic activities. In Caatinga biome, the semi-arid climate associated with an inadequate soil management has increased the degradation and loss of productive potential of the soil. In this context, the study of soil fauna, including springtails, becomes an important indicator of soil quality. This study aimed to evaluate the fauna of Collembola in an area of Caatinga of Rio Grande do Norte State and the influence of biotic and abiotic factors, such as soil, vegetation and climate characteristics, on the structure of the taxocenosis. The environmental variables which were used were the following ones: granulometry (represented by the proportion of sand), quantity of organic matter and soil pH, richness, density and aerial biomass of the vegetal structure, and necromass. We used pitfall traps intending to collect specimens of the epiedaphic fauna of Collembola in 30 points located on Cauaçu Farm, João Câmara, RN, in July (rainy season) and November (dry season) 2011. We collected 5513 individuals of 15 species distributed in 13 genera and 9 families of Collembola. Five of the recorded species are new to science, confirming the expected high degree of endemism for Caatinga biome, and the highest abundance was recorded in the rainy season, which suggests Collembola sensitivity to low humidity. Four species were more abundant in the dry season, all of them belonged to the Order Entomobryomorpha. Results of statistical analyzes suggest that plant species richness, aerial biomass of vegetal structure, proportion of sand in the soil, pH and humidity are the main influences to the abundance of Collembola in the region studied

Turismo e meio ambiente: uma análise do ecoturismo e sua contribuição sócio-ambiental no distrito matutuine: caso da reserva especial de Maputo Moçambique

Mozambique holds a potential for tourism development, especially for nature tourism, due to the existence of conservation areas around the country. The Maputo Special Reserve (MES) is considered as one of the most important conservation area and has benefited from investment in order to incruse the development of tourism in the region. Currently the number of visitors to MES has grown substantially with the intention to develop recreational activities related to ecotourism. Now the challenge lies in the way of optimizing opportunities for tourism development in order to achieve economic benefitis reduction the lead to poverty, without degrading the environment. Ecotourism face the demands and environmental discussions has been assumed as an alternative to the tourist market focused on protected areas, as it is believed that this segment is able to reconcile tourism development and simultaneously improve the conservation of the natural environment and still ensure the recovery of local communities and promoting their welfare. This study aims to analyze, from the perception of the local community, social and environmental contribution of ecotourism in Maputo Special Reserve, Mozambique. The research sought to investigate the relationship between ecotourism development in the region and generate benefits for the socio-environmental communities for residents. To achieve the objective, was chosen a critical analysis about the generation of socio-environmental benefits versus ecotourism in which we opted for a qualitative and quantitative approach seeking to establish the degree of agreement and disagreement about the benefits generated by ecotourism through interviews with community members

Diretrizes para conservação da espécie Mimosa Caesalpiniifolia Benth., Macaíba-RN

About 40% of the earth is occupied by tropical and subtropical forests, including 42% of dry forests, where there is Caatinga Bioma, contemplating tree forests and shrubs, with xerophytic characteristics. Study and conservations of Caatinga biologic diversity is one of the greatest challenges of Brazilian science because those are, proportionally, the less studied among natural areas, with most of the scientific effort centered in very few points around the main cities in the area and also because it is the less protected natural Brazilian area. The environmental degradation is constantly increasing and has its rhythm accelerated by the men appropriation to meet or not their own needs. Therefore, species conservation should be based in three principles: the use of natural resources by present generation, waste prevention and use of the natural resources to benefit the majority of the citizens. Among the strategies to species conservation, we can mention the ex situ conservation , in which the conservation of genetic resources may be realized outside of the natural environment in which the species occur, and in situ conservation , or, in other words, in the places where the species occur. In ex situ conservation, the germplasm collections are maintained in the field and/or in laboratories (conservation chambers), and this mainly conserves intraspecific diversity (genetic variance), the ex situ collections are continuously enriched by collection activities, introduction and germplasm interchange; the in situ conservation preserving ecosystems and habitats, maintaining and recovering native population of species of interest. So, the objective of this paper is the search for strategies to the conservation of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia B. (sabiá) using instruments of environmental perception and plant biotechnology, as mechanisms of in situ and ex situ conservation. To environmental perception, were realized open, semi-structured and qualitative interviews. The questions included socioeconomic data and knowledge of Sabiá specie. To plant biotechnology, Sabiá seed collection were realized in different location to formation of a germplasm bank. The specie micropropagation was made from nodal segment of plants from the matrizeiro. About the knowledge of rural populations and the use of Sabiá plant, some preferences occurred from speeches that the plant possesses a firm wood, not attacked by termites, legalized for exploration by the Brazilian environmental organ (IBAMA), and is a native specie. This research found the rural population has knowledge about Sabiá specie and the natural resources are exhausting. The proposal that the rural community brought was the donation of the Sabiá specie seeding initiating on the rain season, in which the seeding would be plated between the lots, in individual plantations. To the formation of a matrix bank, plant biothecnology brought answers favorable to Sabiá specie seeding, with the formation of multiple shoots

Vulnerabilidade ambiental da zona costeira de Pititinga, Rio do Fogo, Rio Grande do Norte

This work presents a study on the environmental vulnerability of the coastal region of Pititinga, Rio do Fogo/RN. The coastal erosion of Pititinga beach was analyzed and considerated as one more process that produces environmental vulnerability in the area of study, taking into account its human and natural environment and establishing the relation between them, to understand the arrangement that produced its spatial configuration. The natural environment was expressed by thematics maps with geology, geomorphology, vegetation and soil themes, while the human environment was expressed by the use and occupation of the soil map. The coastal erosion was put in an erosion vulnerability map. The methodological procedure to generate the thematics maps, vulnerability maps and of the erosion coastal involved the bibliographic research, field visits with check-list form fill, collect and analysis of sediment sample, photo-interpretation techniques, integration of the information in a database, data store and spatial analysis in a Geographic Information System (GIS) ambient. The natural vulnerability map shows a predominancy of environments with low (29,6%) or medium (42,4%) vulnerability, pointed the frontal and mobile dune as the areas with the highest vulnerability. The environmental vulnerability map, presents a predominancy of environments with low vulnerability (53,8%), with the high vulnerability concentrated on Pititinga community. The coastal erosion vulnerability presented distinct behaviors on three sections among the coastal line according each one characteristics. Where there are frontal and transgressive dunes, vulnerability are, generally, medium or low, respectively, and in the absence of them, as what occurs in Pititinga community, the vulnerability is predominately very high

A percepção dos moradores da comunidade do Passo da Pátria em Natal-RN

This essay: The perception environmental of the Passo da Pátria dwellers in Natal-RN has as its goal, investigate the perception of the dwellers in an degraded environment in ways of urbanizing, at the Potengi River riverine. This is an area in zone environmental risk, which year after year was even forgotten by the municipality, but which attracted a huge estranger public because of its facility in access urbanized areas in Natal at the same rate of its natural riches from the mangue and the sea. Front to problems of economical nature as scarce job offers, its habitants build their dwellings without any kind order or social protection, occupying an inadequate space for the well keeping of the urban environmental equilibrium. The analyzed community is exposed to water floods, tropical diseases, and to criminal problems like gangsters and drug dealers. We propose in such essay observe the connivance of the dwellers with the natural environment and their expectations o citizen transformations. This essay has as its bases the studies of Tuan (1983), Nunes (2000) and principally in Wilhem Reich (1998) in who we found our concept of perception, that here plays like an important analytical category to confront our corpus. Our first chapter debates the concept of place, not in an historical materialistic vision, but within an phenomenological survey; the second chapter presents the impacts of the urbanization in the community perception, and in the third one is analyzed the perception of the Passo da Pátria community. Based in this analyzes we confirmed that the conditions of living of the dwellers are extremely dangerous; but, the most of them do not see such dangers, even saying that are well living in its community

Construção coletiva de uma trilha ecológica no cerrado: pesquisa participativa em educação ambiental

Dentre os muitos temas ambientais que podem ser problematizados pela Educação Ambiental encontra-se a proteção aos ecossistemas. Definiu-se como tema, num projeto de Educação Ambiental, o Cerrado, bioma amplamente degradado por ações antrópicas e que faz parte do ambiente natural de Botucatu, interior de São Paulo. Com o objetivo de despertar um olhar crítico-ambiental, visando a integração do ambiente natural e urbano, o projeto, realizado com alunos da 8ª série do Ensino Fundamental, teve como eixo a construção de uma Trilha Ecológica no Cerrado. Todo o processo de planejamento, realização e avaliação da trilha foi participativo: os participantes estudaram as características do Cerrado; identificaram, na área, as espécies remanescentes; discutiram as condições de conservação da área, e tomaram decisões sobre a construção da trilha como recurso educativo. Problematizaram, coletivamente, a interação comunidade-ambiente, articulando consciência ambiental e ação educativa, concluindo sobre o potencial desencadeador deste recurso para reflexões sobre temas socioambientais. O grupo teve a oportunidade de vivenciar um trabalho educativo com crianças da educação infantil, concretizando a trilha como recurso didático-pedagógico na aproximação visitantes-educandos-ambiente.

Hierarchical status and colour preference in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

We studied the colour preference of isolated Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and whether previous residence or body size can affect environmental colour choice. In the first phase, a cylindrical tank was divided into five differently coloured compartments (yellow, blue, green, white and red), a single fish was introduced into the tank and the frequency at which this fish visited each compartment was recorded over a 2-day study period. An increasingly larger fish (approx +2 cm in length each time) was then added into the tank on each of days 3, 5 and 7 (=four fish in the tank by day 7), and the frequency at which each fish visited the different compartments of the tank was observed twice a day to obtain visit frequency data on the differently sized fishes. This experiment was replicated six times. In the first phase, the solitary fish established residence inside the yellow compartment on the first and second days. Following the introduction of a larger fish, the smaller fish was displaced from the occupied compartment. Nile tilapia possibly shows this preference for yellow as a function of its visual spectral sensitivity and/or the spectral characteristics of its natural environment. Moreover, body size is an important factor in determining hierarchical dominance and territorial defence, and dominant fish chose the preferred environmental colour compartment as their territory.

Morphological study of the spermatogenesis in the teleost Piaractus mesopotamicus

The spermatogenesis of Piaractus mesopotamicus was investigated under light and transmission electron microscopy. The specimens were captured from their natural environment (Rio Miranda and Rio Aquidauana, Pantanal Matogrossense, Brazil) during April and September. The results were compared with the spermatogenic data of specimens under captivity condition. In both conditions, P mesopotamicus presented the typical spermatogenesis pattern of the teleost fishes, showing no significative differences. The spermatozoon was classified as type 1, which has a globular head without acrosome, a short middle piece and a long tail constituted only by the flagellum. This type of spermatozoon is considered the basic type in fishes.

Cladophialophora saturnica sp nov., a new opportunistic species of Chaetothyriales revealed using molecular data

While many members of the black yeasts genus Cladophialophora have been reported to cause diseases in humans, understanding of their natural niche is frequently lacking. Some species can be recovered from the natural environment by means of selective isolation techniques. The present study focuses on a Cladophialophora strain that caused an interdigital tinea nigra-like lesion in a HIV-positive Brazilian child. The fungal infection was successfully treated with oxiconazole. Similar strains had been recovered from the environment in Brazil, Uruguay and the Netherlands. The strains were characterized by sequencing the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) regions and the small subunit (SSU) of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene, as well as the elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1) gene. Since no match with any known species was found, it is described as the new species, Cladophialophora saturnica.

Seed germination and removal of Michelia champaca L. (Magnoliaceae) in eucalypt stands: the influence of the aril

Testou-se o efeito do arilo na germinação de M. champaca em condições controladas, bem como na sua remoção, em ambiente natural. Os ensaios de germinação foram mantidos a 25 ± 2 °C, sob luz branca constante. Os experimentos de remoção foram levados a cabo em três talhões velhos (idades de 39 a 62 anos) e três novos (15 anos de idade) de eucalipto mantidos no Horto Florestal Navarro de Andrade, em Rio Claro, SP. Os resultados indicaram que o arilo inibe a germinação, sendo as sementes fotoblásticas positivas. Observou-se que a remoção de sementes foi maior em talhões velhos do que em novos, provavelmente devido à maior densidade de roedores nos talhões velhos. Nos talhões novos, verificou-se que formigas removiam mais sementes ariladas. Esses insetos são importantes agentes na remoção do arilo de sementes derrubadas por pássaros, promovendo, assim, aumento na germinação e evitando a possível predação das sementes por roedores.

Interação entre fatores visuais e olfativo em localização de recursos pela mosca-varejeira, Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), em condições naturais

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

Testing the ecomorphological hypothesis in a headwater riffles fish assemblage of the rio São Francisco, southeastern Brazil

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

Geochemical characterization of heavy metal contaminated area using multivariate factorial kriging

This paper describes a geostatistical method, known as factorial kriging analysis, which is well suited for analyzing multivariate spatial information. The method involves multivariate variogram modeling, principal component analysis, and cokriging. It uses several separate correlation structures, each corresponding to a specific spatial scale, and yields a set of regionalized factors summarizing the main features of the data for each spatial scale. This method is applied to an area of high manganese-ore mining activity in Amapa State, North Brazil. Two scales of spatial variation (0.33 and 2.0 km) are identified and interpreted. The results indicate that, for the short-range structure, manganese, arsenic, iron, and cadmium are associated with human activities due to the mining work, while for the long-range structure, the high aluminum, selenium, copper, and lead concentrations, seem to be related to the natural environment. At each scale, the correlation structure is analyzed, and regionalized factors are estimated by cokriging and then mapped.

Schooling and swimming behaviors of Hyla semilineata tadpoles (Anura, Hylidae)

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

Abundância e sazonalidade de histerídeos (Coleoptera) associados ao esterco de granja aviária da Região Nordeste do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Programas que visam o controle biológico precisam ser embasados principalmente em liberações de predadores e parasitóides para tentar minimizar efeitos adversos para o ambiente. Os coleópteros da família Histeridae como predam larvas de dípteros sinantrópicos podem auxiliar no controle das moscas que se desenvolvem em fezes acumuladas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar um levantamento das espécies de histerídeos em granja avícola no município de São João da Boa Vista, estado de São Paulo, verificar seu padrão sazonal de ocorrência e investigar possíveis associações entre as mesmas. As coletas foram realizadas de janeiro de 2001 a dezembro de 2002, utilizando-se dois métodos de coleta (armadilhas de solo e o funil de Berlese - Tullgren). As espécies de histerídeos encontradas foram: Euspilostus modestus, Euspilostus (Hesperosaprinus) spp., Carcinops troglodytes e Hololepta quadridentata. O número de cada espécie diferiu entre os métodos utilizados. Na armadilha de solo, E. modestus correspondeu a 87,01% do número total de indivíduos capturados, enquanto que no funil, C. troglodytes obteve maior destaque (84,38%). E. modestus e H. quadridentata apresentaram padrões de variação mensal positivamente correlacionada com a precipitação pluviométrica (P<0,05 e P<0,01, respectivamente).