Diversidade de insetos em areas cultivadas e reserva legal: consideracoes e recomendacoes.

A demanda mundial por alimentos tem sido crescente com tendencias de continuar aumentando. O esforco para suprir essas demandas vem ocasionando o esgotamento acentuado dos recursos naturais. Por sua vez, tem havido em ambito mundial, mais conscientizacao sobre a necessidade de preservacao dos ambientes naturais. A resolucao dessa equacao (alta producao com baixo custo ambiental) e complexa, mas possível. Avancar na busca de respostas por meio do monitoramento da diversidade biologica e da composicao de especies de mariposas em projetos agricolas foi o objetivo central deste estudo. Os trabalhos forma realizados em Balsas, MA, durante os anos de 96,97, 98, 99, e 2000, utilizando-se de armadilhas luminosas. Ao todo, foram examinados 22.199 exemplares, distribuidos em 993 especies. Observou-se, nas condicoes do estudo, que a maioria das especies são raras e que houve reducao do numero de especie em todas as areas apos a implantacao da lavoura com tendencia de recuperaracao posterior.

A hybrid power system for remote areas in Jordan

This paper presents a techno-economic assessment for a unique Isolated Hybrid Power System (IHPS) design for remote areas isolated from the grid which also has the capability of being operated as a smart μ-grid. The share of renewable energy sources in resource poor developing countries is low. In these countries an increase in the share of alternative energy (wind, water and sun) delivered with inexpensive operationally robust generation and delivery systems is seen to the way forward. In our design also incorporates a novel storage system to increase the effectiveness of the Isolated IHPSs previously reported in the literature. The configuration reported is a system consisting of, the wind and sun powered generation complemented with batteries, fuel cell unit and a diesel generator. The modelling design and simulations were based on Simulations conducted using MATLAB/SIMULINK, and HOMER Energy Planning and Design software tools. The design and simulation of a new storage approach incorporating Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) fuel cell (increasing the efficiency of the fuel cell from 35% to 65%) and a single board computer (Raspberry Pi) used for the energy management and control the system are the novel features of our design. The novel control strategy implemented also includes a synchronization capability that facilitates IHPS to IHPS or IHPS to Main-Grid connection. In the paper after briefly but comprehensively detailing the design and simulations we will present the results on which we conclude that smart independent systems that can utilize indigenous renewable energy with a capability of being able to synchronize with the grid or each other are the most optimal way of electrifying resource poor developing countries in a sustainable way with minimum impact on the environment and also achieve reductions in Green House Gases.

Planning humanitarian projects with educational focus in Guinea rural areas

Dissertação apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Acção Humanitária, Cooperação e Desenvolvimento

Aspects of the biology of Mya arenaria and Ensis spp. (Mollusca; Bivalvia) in the Irish Sea and adjacent areas

This study was undertaken to investigate the general biology, including the reproductive cycle and health status, of two clam taxa in Irish waters, with particular reference to the Irish Sea area. Monthly samples of the soft shell clam, Mya arenaria, were collected from Bannow Bay, Co. Wexford, Ireland, for sixteen months, and of the razor clam, Ensis spp. from the Skerries region (Irish Sea) between June 2010 and September 2011. In 2010, M. arenaria in Bannow Bay matured over the summer months, with both sexes either ripe or spawning by August. The gonads of both sexes of E. siliqua developed over autumn and winter 2010, with the first spawning individuals being recorded in January 2011. Two unusually cold winters, followed by a warmer than average spring, appear to have affected M. arenaria and E. siliqua gametogenesis at these sites. It was noted that wet weight of E. siliqua dropped significantly in the summer of both 2010 and 2011, after spawning, which may impact on the economic viability of fishing during this period. Additional samples of M. arenaria were collected at Flaxfort (Ireland), and Ensis spp. at Oxwich (Wales), and the pathology of all clams was examined using both histological and molecular methods. No pathogenic conditions were observed in M. arenaria while Prokaryote inclusions, trematode parasites, Nematopsis spp. and inflammatory pathologies were observed at low incidences in razor clams from Ireland but not from Wales; the first time these conditions have been reported in Ensis spp. in northern European waters. Mya arenaria from sites in Europe and eastern and western North America were investigated for genetic variation using both mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA genes) and nuclear markers (10 microsatellite loci). Both mitochondrial CO1 and all nuclear markers showed reduced levels of variation in certain European samples, with significant differences in haplotype and allelic composition between most samples, particularly those from the two different continents, but with the same common haplotypes or alleles throughout the range. The appearance of certain unique rare haplotypes and microsatellite alleles in the European samples suggest a complicated origin involving North American colonization but also possible southern European Pleistocene refugia. Specimens of Ensis spp. were obtained from five coastal areas around Ireland and Wales and species-specific PCR primers were used to amplify the internal transcribed spacer region 1 (ITS1) and the mitochondrial DNA CO1 gene and all but 15 razor clams were identified as Ensis siliqua. Future investigations should focus on continued monitoring of reproductive biology and pathology of the two clam taxa (in particular, to assess the influence of environmental change), and on genetics of southern European M. arenaria and sequencing the CO1 gene in Ensis individuals to clarify species identity

Reexamining the science of marine protected areas: Linking knowledge to action

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are often implemented to conserve or restore species, fisheries, habitats, ecosystems, and ecological functions and services; buffer against the ecological effects of climate change; and alleviate poverty in coastal communities. Scientific research provides valuable insights into the social and ecological impacts of MPAs, as well as the factors that shape these impacts, providing useful guidance or "rules of thumb" for science-based MPA policy. Both ecological and social factors foster effective MPAs, including substantial coverage of representative habitats and oceanographic conditions; diverse size and spacing; protection of habitat bottlenecks; participatory decisionmaking arrangements; bounded and contextually appropriate resource use rights; active and accountable monitoring and enforcement systems; and accessible conflict resolution mechanisms. For MPAs to realize their full potential as a tool for ocean governance, further advances in policy-relevant MPA science are required. These research frontiers include MPA impacts on nontarget and wide-ranging species and habitats; impacts beyond MPA boundaries, on ecosystem services, and on resource-dependent human populations, as well as potential scale mismatches of ecosystem service flows. Explicitly treating MPAs as "policy experiments" and employing the tools of impact evaluation holds particular promise as a way for policy-relevant science to inform and advance science-based MPA policy. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A method of assessing air toxics concentrations in urban areas using mobile platform measurements.

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate an approach to characterize the spatial variability in ambient air concentrations using mobile platform measurements. This approach may be useful for air toxics assessments in Environmental Justice applications, epidemiological studies, and environmental health risk assessments. In this study, we developed and applied a method to characterize air toxics concentrations in urban areas using results of the recently conducted field study in Wilmington, DE. Mobile measurements were collected over a 4- x 4-km area of downtown Wilmington for three components: formaldehyde (representative of volatile organic compounds and also photochemically reactive pollutants), aerosol size distribution (representing fine particulate matter), and water-soluble hexavalent chromium (representative of toxic metals). These measurements were,used to construct spatial and temporal distributions of air toxics in the area that show a very strong temporal variability, both diurnally and seasonally. An analysis of spatial variability indicates that all pollutants varied significantly by location, which suggests potential impact of local sources. From the comparison with measurements at the central monitoring site, we conclude that formaldehyde and fine particulates show a positive correlation with temperature, which could also be the reason that photochemically generated formaldehyde and fine particulates over the study area correlate well with the fine particulate matter measured at the central site.

Molecular mapping of movement-associated areas in the avian brain: a motor theory for vocal learning origin.

Vocal learning is a critical behavioral substrate for spoken human language. It is a rare trait found in three distantly related groups of birds-songbirds, hummingbirds, and parrots. These avian groups have remarkably similar systems of cerebral vocal nuclei for the control of learned vocalizations that are not found in their more closely related vocal non-learning relatives. These findings led to the hypothesis that brain pathways for vocal learning in different groups evolved independently from a common ancestor but under pre-existing constraints. Here, we suggest one constraint, a pre-existing system for movement control. Using behavioral molecular mapping, we discovered that in songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds, all cerebral vocal learning nuclei are adjacent to discrete brain areas active during limb and body movements. Similar to the relationships between vocal nuclei activation and singing, activation in the adjacent areas correlated with the amount of movement performed and was independent of auditory and visual input. These same movement-associated brain areas were also present in female songbirds that do not learn vocalizations and have atrophied cerebral vocal nuclei, and in ring doves that are vocal non-learners and do not have cerebral vocal nuclei. A compilation of previous neural tracing experiments in songbirds suggests that the movement-associated areas are connected in a network that is in parallel with the adjacent vocal learning system. This study is the first global mapping that we are aware for movement-associated areas of the avian cerebrum and it indicates that brain systems that control vocal learning in distantly related birds are directly adjacent to brain systems involved in movement control. Based upon these findings, we propose a motor theory for the origin of vocal learning, this being that the brain areas specialized for vocal learning in vocal learners evolved as a specialization of a pre-existing motor pathway that controls movement.

Placement of Small Vertical Axis Wind Turbine to Maximize Power Generation Influenced by Architectural and Geographic Interfaces in Urban Areas

Current methods for large-scale wind collection are unviable in urban areas. In order to investigate the feasibility of generating power from winds in these environments, we sought to optimize placements of small vertical-axis wind turbines in areas of artificially-generated winds. We explored both vehicular transportation and architecture as sources of artificial wind, using a combination of anemometer arrays, global positioning system (GPS), and weather report data. We determined that transportation-generated winds were not significant enough for turbine implementation. In addition, safety and administrative concerns restricted the implementation of said wind turbines along roadways for transportation-generated wind collection. Wind measurements from our architecture collection were applied in models that can help predict other similar areas with artificial wind, as well as the optimal placement of a wind turbine in those areas.