Flutuação populacional de Meloidogyne enterolobii em pomar de goiabeira (Psidium guajava)

The objective of this work was to study the population fluctuation of Meloidogyne enterolobii in a commercial orchard of 'Paluma' guava with five years of age, under micro sprinkler irrigation system and usual practices for this crop. In the orchard, located in the municipality of Vista Alegre do Alto (SP) Brazil and infested by M. enterolobii, five plants exhibiting nematode symptoms were selected for monthly sampling from July 2007 to June 2008. Two single samples of rhizosphere soil and guava roots were collected from each plant, with the aid of hoe to a depth of 20 cm on the projection of the trees, forming a composite sample per plant. In nematology laboratory of Faculdade de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias Universidade Estadual Paulista, eggs and second stage juveniles (J2) of M. enterolobii were extracted from the samples and quantified. There was not a marked seasonal variation in the nematode population in soil or roots, possibly as a result of the guava vegetation stimulated by irrigation or the presence of invasive plants during the experimental period. However, the soil density reached a peak in January, corresponding to the month of elevated rainfall and temperatures. In roots, there were two significant peaks, in February and a major peak in August. There was a negative correlation between nematode populations in soil and roots.

Food and feeding habits of the neotropical river otter Lontra longicaudis (Carnivora, Mustelidae)

A study of the feeding habits of the neotropical river otter, Lontra longicaudis, based on focal analysis was carried out from July 1986 to July 1987. The study was conducted at a dam in the 'Duas Bocas' Biological Reserve near the town of Cariacica, Espirito Santo State, Brazil. This reserve spreads over an area of 2 910 ha, the surface being mainly covered by the Atlantic Rain Forest. In order to identify the fish and other animal remains found in otter fecal samples, these were compared to the homologous structures of identical species living in the dam. The results of 288 samples were expressed in numbers and frequency of occurrence. Fishes were the most important food item, being present in 281 samples (97.2 %). A species of the genus Geophagus was frequently found in spraints, eaten during all months studied and present in 88.9 % of the samples. Astyanax, Pimelodella, Hoplias, Leporinus, Rhamdia, Tilapia and two other unidentified genera were found less frequently. In decreasing order of occurrence, crustaceans, amphibia, mammals, insects and birds were also encountered. Seasonal variation was verified in the scats between the dry and rainy seasons, with a higher frequency of food items occurring in the latter. In agreement with other species of otters, fishes also are the most commonly ingested prey. Two characteristics of fishes, greater abundance and easier capture, make them the major prey of otters, implying that otters are opportunistic predators eating whatever is more available.

Penfigo foliaceo no Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, SP

BACKGROUND - Pemphigus foliaceus is an autoimmune bullous disease that is endemic in Brazil and in other South American countries such as Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. OBJECTIVES - To compare the observed clinical and epidemiological data with those referred in the literature. METHOD - Retrospective study in patients with pemphigus foliaceus admitted to and treated at University Hospital of the School of Medicine of Botucatu, SP, Brazil, from 1976 to 1993, analyzing the following variables: age, sex, race, origin and onset of disease. RESULTS - From 1976 to 1993, 63 patients were treated, with an average of 3.7 cases/year. Patients within the age range of 20 to 60 years old were the most affected. Most of the patients were white, females being slightly more affected than males. The majority of male patients were rural workers. Some towns presented higher incidence of cases. Most of the patients from rural areas became sick mainly in summer and in autumn. Occurrence of similar cases was observed in blood-related family members and neighbors. CONCLUSIONS - Clinical and epidemiological data were similar to those referred in the literature.

Phenology of Atlantic rain forest trees: A comparative study

This paper describes the phenology of leaf, flower, and fruit phenology in the Atlantic rain forests of southeastern Brazil. For 17 months, we observed the phenological patterns of trees from two Atlantic forest types at four sites: premontane forest (Sites I and IV; the typical Atlantic rain forest) and coastal plain forest (Sites II and III). All sites experience a nonseasonal, tropical wet climate, characterized by an annual rainfall usually > 2000 mm and lacking a dry season. We tested for the occurrence (or absence) of seasonal phenological patterns within each site and compared the patterns detected among the four different forest sites using circular statistics. The expected weakly seasonal phenological patterns were not observed for these forests. Flowering and leaf flush patterns of Atlantic rain forest trees were significantly seasonal, concentrated at the beginning of the wettest season, and were significantly correlated with day length and temperature. These results stress the influence that seasonal variation in day length has on ever-wet forest tree phenology. Fruiting phenologies were aseasonal in all four forests. Flowering patterns did not differ significantly among three of the four forest sites analyzed, suggesting the occurrence of a general flowering pattern for Atlantic rain forest trees.

Performance of constructed wetland system for public water supply

The project is being conducted in the town of Analândia, São Paulo, Brazil. The constructed wetlands system for water supply consists of a channel with floating aquatic macrophytes, HDS system (Water Decontamination with Soil - Patent PI 850.3030), chlorinating system, filtering system and distribution. The project objectives include investigating the process variables to further optimize design and operation factors, evaluating the relation of nutrients and plants development, biomass production, shoot development, nutrient cycling and total and fecal coliforms removal, comparing the treatment efficiency among the seasons of the year; and moreover to compare the average values obtained between February and June 1998 (Salati et al., 1998) with the average obtained for the same parameters between March and June 2000. Studies have been developed in order to verify during one year the drinking quality of the water for the following parameters: turbidity, color, pH, dissolved oxygen, total of dissolved solids, COD, chloride, among others, according to the Ministry of Health's Regulation 36. This system of water supply projected to treat 15 L s-1 has been in continuous operation for 2 years, it was implemented with support of the National Environment Fund (FNMA), administered by the Center of Environmental Studies (CEA-UNESP), while the technical supervision and design were performed by the Institute of Applied Ecology. The actual research project is being supported by FAPESP.

Periphyton on natural substratum in jurumirim reservoir (São Paulo, Brazil): Community biomass and primary productivity

Seasonal variation in the biomass and primary productivity of the periphyton on natural substratum (internodes of Echiiwchloa polystaclya HBK Hitch.) was studied during one year (from August 1993 to July 1994) in a lagoon with permanent connection with a river. We also analysed the relationships between the hydrological regime, climatic conditions and physico-chemical variables of water with the biological compounds of the periphyton. Values of dry mass, ash-free dry mass, chlorophyll a and phaeophytin of periphyton ranged from 0.55±0.24 g m-2 to 7.86±4.93 g m-2; 0.28±0.18 g m-2 to 3.72±2.23 g m-2; 0.57±0.09 mg m-2 to 15.57±4.52 mg m-2; 0.03±0.03 mg m-2 to 4.74±3.46 mg m-2, respectively. The primary productivity of periphytic algae measured by C14 method ranged from 6.45±1.29 mg C m-2 h-1 to 52.88± 7.55 mg C m-2 h-1. The biomass showed a peak in October 1993, February and April 1994. Higher value of primary productivity was recorded in December 1993 and January 1994 and was due to the peculiar light and nutrition conditions during this period. We conclude that biomass and productivity of the community are controlled mainly by hydrological regime (fluctuations of water level). © INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS.

Composição fitoquímica dos óleos essenciais de folhas de Lippia alba (Mill.)N.E.Br. em diferentes épocas de colheita e partes do ramo

This work aimed to determine the best harvest time for biomass production, yield and essential oil composition considering the seasonal variation (spring, summer, autumn and winter) on different plant parts (apical, medial and basal). Essential oils were extracted by hydro-distillation with a Clevenger apparatus for both fresh and dry mass obtained in field and lab conditions respectively. The extracted essential oils were analyzed by GS/MS (Shimadzu, QP-5000). The chemical components were identified by comparing their mass spectrum to the patterns filed in the MS computer memory (Wiley,139,Lib.), to the literature references, and by co-injection with authentic standards. Applying phyto-chemical tests on fresh and dry mass, the chemical component percentages of essential oils were calculated and identified as follows: citral (neral and geranial), myrcene, caryophylene and elemene.

Solar photodegradation of dichloroacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenol using an enhanced photo-Fenton process

The photo-Fenton process using potassium ferrioxalate as a mediator was investigated for the photodegradation of dichloracetic acid (DCA) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) in aqueous medium using solar light as source of irradiation. The influence of the solution depth, the light intensity and the effect of stirring the solution during irradiation process were evaluated using DCA as a model compound. A negligible influence of stirring the solution was observed when the concentration of ferrioxalate (FeOx) was 0.8 mM and solution depth was 4.5 or 14 cm. The optimum FeOx concentration determined for solution depths between 4.5 and 14 cm was 0.8 mM considering total organic carbon (TOC) removal during DCA irradiation. The high efficiency of the photo-Fenton process was demonstrated on summer days, when only 10 min of exposition (around noon) were sufficient to completely destroy the organic carbon of a 1.0 mM DCA solution in the presence of 0.8 mM FeOx and 6.0 mM H2O2 using a solution depth of 4.5 cm. It was observed that the photodegradation efficiency increases linearly with the solar light intensity up to values around 15 Wm-2 but this linear relationship does not hold above this value showing a square root dependence. The photodegradation of a solution of DCP/FeOx showed a lower TOC removal rate than that observed for DCA/FeOx, achieving ∼90% after 35 min irradiation under 19 Wm-2, while under this light intensity, the same TOC removal of DCA/FeOx was achieved in only 10 min irradiation. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalência, sazonalidade e intensidade de infecção por Diplostomum (Austrodiplostomum) compactum Lutz, 1928 (Digenea, Diplostomidae), em peixes do reservatório de Volta Grande, Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil

The present study was conducted in the Aquaculture Station of Hydroeletric Power Station situated in Volta Grande Reservoir, MG, Brazil. Seventy freshwater corvinas, Plagiscion squamosissimus, and 66 tucunarés, Cichla ocellaris were captured bimonthly from April 2000 through April 2001 with net and hook. The helmints were identified as Diplostomun (A.) compactmn which showed the highest prevalence in the corvina's eyes in April 2000 (70%), February 2001 (80%) and April 2001 (60%), while in tucunaré occurred in April 2000 (33.3%), August 2000 (18.2%) and October 2000 (18.2%). Nevertheless, increase in the mean intensity of parasites was related in April (6.6), June (6.0), August (18.5) 2000 and February (5.7), April (4.8) 2001 for corvina and in August (16.0) and October (7.0) 2000 for tucunaré. Corvina's females showed infection during all period, while males did not show the same prevalence in June 2000 and April 2001. On the other hand, tucunare's males were infected in all months while females in August and October 2000. The highest prevalence in corvina was observed in the months which presented elevated water temperature (April, October, December 2000 and April 2001). The number of parasites collected in corvina on February 2000 was higher than the one observed in August 2000. The same was not observed for tucunaré. This work demonstrate corvina's high susceptibility to metacercariae of Diplostomum.

Metacercárias de Diplostomum (Austrodiplostomum) compactum Lutz, 1928 (Digenea, Diplostomidae) em peixes do rio Paraná, Brasil. Prevalência, sazonalidade e intensidade de infecção

This paper aims at evaluating the occurrence of Diplostommn (Anstrodiplostomum compactum (Digenea: Diplostomatidae) in the eyeball of Plagioscion sqnamosissimus (corvina) and Cichla ocellaris (tucunaré), monthly captured in Paraná river, Presidente Epitácio, state of São Paulo, Brazil. From 61 corvinas under analysis, 56 of them contained parasites (92%) with intensity rate of 42.0 host parasites. From an amount of 81 tucunarés, 45 contained parasites (55%) with intensity rate of 9.3 parasites. Corvinas showed prevalence from 71 to 100% with the highest intensity rates (103.3 and 106.9) from February to March, 2001. Comparatively, the tucunaré showed the highest prevalence from November 2000 (90%) to February 2001 (80%). The tucunaré highest intensity rates occurred on September, 2000 (12.7), December, 2000 (12.2) and February, 2001 (16.1). Metacercariae showed a hollow womb body and a posterior region of a sinuous conic protuberance, an oral sucker smaller than the acetabulae, a simple acetabulae located in the pre-equatorial region of helminto. A short pre-pharynx followed by a muscular pharynx, genital pore next to acetubulae. Corvina metacercariae presents 1.434,0 μm (880 to 1.840) long by 611.2 ± 93.4 μm (400 to 792) wide. Tucunaré metacercariae, 1.462.4 μm (960 to 2.480) by 710.8 μm (560 to 960). Authors confirmed corvina great susceptibility to Diplomastum and the relationship between the parasitism and the aquatic and climatic parameters.

Abundance of zooplankton from different zones (pelagic and littoral) and time periods (morning and night) in two Amazonian meandering lakes

The abundance of zooplankton in two lakes of Southwest Amazonia was studied for 10 months in different regions and at different periods of the day. The lakes were Lago Amapá, located at 10°02′36″S, 67°50′24″W, and Lago Pirapora, at 9°27′21″S, 67°31′39″. Both lakes are characterized as oxbow lakes. The aim of this study was to compare the pelagic and littoral regions, as well as to determine differences in the distribution of zooplankton in the water column in the morning and at night. Collections were made by filtering water through a 55μm zooplankton net into a 5L Van Dorn bottle, collecting 4L from the top and 5L from the middle and bottom layers, totaling 14L of water for each sampling location. In addition, physical and chemical parameters were measured, including transparency, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity and turbidity. Anova (analysis of variance) and Tukey's test were used. There was no statistically significant difference between the regions studied, nor between the two time periods examined. The results of the Pearson correlation (p<0.05) demonstrated that the physical and chemical characteristics of the water correlated with the cladocerans Moina spp. (represented by M. minuta and M. reticulata) and Ceriodaphnia cornuta, and that Daphnia gessneri was associated with Chaoboridae.

Comparative study of the zooplankton composition of two lacustrine ecosystems in Southwestern Amazonia

The zooplankton communities of two lacustrine ecosystems in southwestern Amazonia (Lago Amapá and Lago Pirapora) were studied based on samples collected over an 11-month period. The general aim of the present work was to contribute to the knowledge of the zooplankton fauna in southwestern Amazonia, by studying the occurrence of certain species; and to improve the knowledge of the Rio Acre tributaries. The total number of taxa included 38 species of rotifers, 6 cladocerans and 7 copepods. Most of the species were from the rotifer family Brachionidae. Jaccard's similarity index was similar for the two lakes at 0.6964 The constancy index defined the species Keratella cochlearis, Filinia cf. terminate, Filinia opoliensis, Hexarthra intermedia braziliensis, Ceriodaphnia cornuta, Moina minuta, Diaphanosoma spinulosnm, and immature forms (nauplii and copepodites) as the constant in these lakes. The presence of zooplankton with higher number of species occupying the middle depths, during morning and night periods.

Efeito da salinidade e do esgoto orgânico sobre a comunidade zooplanctônica, com ênfase nos copépodes, do estuário do rio Itanhaém, Estado de São Paulo

The objective of this work is to analyze the effects of salinity and wastewater on the zooplankton community of the Itanhaém river estuary, São Paulo state. Samples of zooplankton as well as physical and chemical variables of water were collected in four sites, located between the coastal line and the superior part of the estuary, including a secondary channel where wastewater is thrown without previous treatment. The samples were collected in low and high tide in winter and summer. Results showed that the estuary presents a temporal and spatial variation of physical and chemical characteristics, especially salinity, in function of the tide and seasonal variation of rain. The high values of salinity occurred in winter and high tide. Zooplankton community was adapted to the dynamic of salinity, and marine and estuarine species occurred in the low part of the estuary in winter. Although the Itanhaém river estuary has the same temporal and spatial dynamic of other estuaries, the values of salinity are low when compared with others located in the southern coast of São Paulo. Consequently, mainly oligohaline and fresh water species constitute the zooplankton community. These characteristics are due to the great drainage area of the Itanhaém river basin. The waste water modified physical and chemical characteristics of water that now presents higher concentrations of nutrients, higher values of suspended matter and lower concentrations of oxygen. It was observed a positive relation between the density of nauplii of copepods and organic pollution in this estuary.

Feeding and condition factor of characidiin fish in Ribeirão Grande system, Southeastern Brazil

Feeding, seasonal changes in visceral fat and condition factor were compared in two species of characidiin fishes, Characidium lauroi and C. alipioi from Ribeirão Grande system, southeastern Brazil. Five streams of Ribeirão Grande system were sampled (22° 47' 08 S, 45° 28' 17W). The samples were taken four times per site, from July, 2001 to April, 2002: winter (July 2001), spring (October 2001), summer (February 2002) and autumn (April 2002). Quantitative collections were made with an electro-fishing device powered by a generator with maximum capacity of 1,500 V and 8.7 A of 60 Hz alternating current. Ephemeroptera nymphs, Diptera larvae (Chironomidae, Simuliidae), Plecoptera nymphs, Trichoptera larvae (Hydroptilidae, Psychoyiidae), terrestrial insects (Coleoptera, Isoptera, Hemiptera [Heteroptera, Homoptera]), Megaloptera larvae (Corydalidae), Arachnida, Ostracoda and vegetal debris were found in both species' diets. Visceral fat declined in February, coinciding with the decline of the condition factor in both species. The increased feeding from summer to fall provides fat accumulation. During subsequent seasons, fish may utilize visceral fat reserves for maintenance and reproduction.

Size-fecundity relationships and reproductive investment in female frogs in the Pantanal, south-western Brazil

The ovarian complement of anurans exhibiting different reproductive modes is highly diverse, and intraspecific variation in reproductive output of anurans is generally related to variation in female properties and/or environmental conditions. The size-fecundity relationships, reproductive investment, and correlation between ovary mass and fat body mass were investigated for females of an anuran assemblage in the Pantanal, Brazil. Female body size was positively correlated with clutch size among seven of the eight species analyzed. However, these results seem to be influenced by seasonal variation in fecundity. Interspecific size-fecundity relationships revealed that female SVL was positively correlated with clutch size and egg size regardless of reproductive mode. Among 11 species analyzed, the reproductive investment (RI: ovary mass relative to body mass) varied from 5.5 to 18%, and there were no differences among reproductive modes and activity patterns (explosive/prolonged). RI correlated negatively with female size. Among three Leptodactylus species examined, negative correlation between ovary mass and fat body mass was verified for two species. Variations in the reproductive strategies are closely related to the reproductive activity patterns and reproductive modes exhibited by individual species, but are also influenced by environmental conditions. However, regardless of reproductive mode or activity pattern, each species seems to exhibit a reproductive strategy that allows them to respond differently to the same environmental restrictions.