A scanning electron microscopy study of the seed and post-seminal development in Angelonia salicariifolia Bonpl. (Scrophulariaceae)

The external morphology of seeds and post-germination developmental stages of Angelonia salicariifolia Bonpl. (Scrophulariaceae) were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Some structural features of the seed exotesta and seedling in Angelonia are presented for the first time and are of potential taxonomic value for this neotropical genus. The seeds are very small (0.9-1.7 mm long and 0.5-0.9 mm wide), ovate, with a reticulate-crested exotesta, reticules arranged uniformly in longitudinal rows, with a high density of microcilia-like projections on the cell wall of the reticule base and on the edge of the crests. The hilum is located beside the micropyle at the narrow end of the seed. Germination is epigeal. During germination the radicle develops, followed by elongation of the hypocotyl and primary root. At this stage dense root hairs develop on the lower part of the hypocotyl. The apical bud-located between the cotyledons-begins to develop after the cotyledons have unfolded. The cotyledons are equal in size, sessile and ovate. The seedlings have two types of trichomes, one characteristic of the cotyledons and first pair of leaves (glandular, sessile, four-celled head with quadrangular shape) and the other characteristic of the hypocotyl and epicotyl (stalked, erect, elongate and three-celled with dome-shaped unicellular head). (C) 2001 Annals of Botany Company.

Considerações biométricas do sistema respiratório de carcará (Polyborus plancus)

Neste trabalho, foram estudados os parâmetros biométricos das vísceras que compõem o sistema respiratório de oito carcarás de ambos os sexos, com pesos corpóreos e idades diferentes. As aves foram eutanasiadas, evisceradas e dissecadas. em seguida os diferentes componentes do sistema respiratório foram estendidos em uma superfície plana, medidos com o auxílio de uma fita métrica em escala milimétrica e pesados em balança eletrônica de precisão. A análise estatística utilizada foi o teste T de Student com o nível de significância P≤0,05. Foi observado que, em carcarás fêmeas, o comprimento da laringe foi significativamente maior do que em carcarás machos. Além disso, a traquéia de carcarás fêmeas possui um menor comprimento do que a de galinha. Também foi observado que a relação entre o peso corpóreo e o peso da traquéia e do pulmão de carcarás é maior do que em Gallus gallus domesticus.

Two Surgical Approaches to Fracture Malunion Repair

Two birds were presented with malunion fractures. The first was a young toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) with malunion of the tarsometatarsus that was treated by an opening-corrective osteotomy and an acrylic-pin external skeletal fixator (type II) to stabilize the osteotomy. The second bird was m adult southern caracara (Caracara plancus) with radial and ulnar malunion that was treated by closing-wedge osteotomies. Stabilization of the osteotomy sites was accomplished through 1 bone plate fixed cranially on the ulna with 6 cortical screws and an interfragmentary single wire in radius. In both cases, the malunion was corrected, but the manus of the southern caracara was amputated because of carpal joint luxation that induced malposition of the feathers.

Aves como potenciais dispersoras de sementes de Ocotea pulchella Mart. (Lauraceae) numa área de vegetação de cerrado do sudeste brasileiro

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

Predation of Platyrrhinus lineatus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) by Cyanocorax chrysops (Vieillot, 1818) (Passeriformes: Corvidae).

The predation on vertebrates by birds, including bats, is very common in some families (Accipitridae, Falconidae, Tytonidae, Strigidae), constituting their main diet. For other families (except those that feed strictly on fish), it is occasional and sometimes a matter of opportunity. Here we recorded the predation on a bat (Platyrrhinus lineatus) by the neotropical bird plush-crested jay (Cyanocorax chrysops). on July 26, 2009, around 11:00 am, we recorded an individual of C. chrysops taking part of a P. lineatus on its beak. This record occurred on Jacarezinho Farm (Valparaiso [long dash] SP). The prey species identification was done by visual observation, considering the bat size and its external morphology, especially by the presence of the white dorsal bright stripe. Probably, Platyrrhinus lineatus behavior, which involves living together or in couples on tree canopies, made the capture by the plush-crested jay easier. This is a new record for the diet of C. chrysops and highlights the necessity of additional studies related to birds diet in the Neotropics, even the more conspicuous ones.

Heterospecific sociality of birds on beaches from southeastern Brazil

Studies on the sociality of heterospecific assemblages of birds have promoted a greater understanding of the types of interactions and survivorship between coexisting species. This study verified the group compositions in bird assemblages and analyzed the sociality of migratory and resident species on sandy beaches of southeastern Brazil. A transect was established on the median portion of beaches and all the groups of bird species (monospecific, heterospecific) and solitary individuals were registered four days per month from November 2006 to April 2007. The sociality of each species was calculated by its frequency in heterospecific groups, its proportional number of contacts with other species in heterospecific groups, and the number of species that it associated with. Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla (Linnaeus, 1766) and Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte, 1825 (both migratory) had the highest degree of sociality and did not show a preference to associate with either residents or migratory species. Sanderling Calidris alba (Pallas, 1764) (migratory) occupied the third position in the sociality rank and associated with migratory species frequently. Southern Caracara Carara plancus (Miller, 1777) and Black Vulture Coragyps atratus (Beschstein, 1793) (both resident) were uniquely found among heterospecific groups with necrophagous and resident species. Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus Lichtenstein, 1823 (resident) associated more frequently with resident species. The sociality in assemblages of birds may promote advantages such as an increased collective awareness in dangerous situations and indication of sites with abundant food sources.

Toucans ( Ramphastidae) and hornbills ( Bucerotidae) as ant followers.

Toucans, especially species of the group Ramphastos vitellinus, occasionally follow armies of ants in tropical forests, on the look out for prey disturbed by the ants. Two methods of searching are used: examining the ground or the lianas and trunks. In contrasts, forest hornbills, (white crested hornbill Tropicranus albocristatus), frequently follow ant armies in Africa. After waiting poised in an erect position, they leap forward towards the ground or at the trunk, sometimes reaching up into the leaves.-translated by C.Wilson

A gap analysis of ornithological research in the brazilian state of Roraima

Neste artigo, o esforço de investigação ornitológica no estado de Roraima será investigado utilizando abordagens de análises de lacunas. Basicamente, apresentaremos uma síntese sobre todo o esforço ornitológico feito até o momento em Roraima, visando responder as seguintes questões: (a) quais os locais bem amostrados para aves? (b) quais são as lacunas geográficas de investigação? (c) em que estágio de descobertas está o inventário das espécies de aves em Roraima? (d) quais são os macro-hábitats prioritários para investigação? (e) quais os tipos de vegetação bem investigados e quais os que podem ser classificados como prioritários para investigação? Como resultados, detectamos Oitenta e duas localidades com algum tipo de informação ornitológica. Dentre essas, a Estação Ecológica de Maracá (442 sp), seguido pelo Parque Nacional do Viruá (420 sp), Colônia do Apiaú (320 sp), Mucajaí (267 sp), e Pacaráima (212 sp), são as cinco localidades com maior grau de conhecimento ornitológico dentro do estado. Nos últimos 20 anos apenas duas localidades ornitológicas em Roraima podem ser acrescidas à lista de sítios bem estudados de acordo com o critério de pelo menos 100 espécies registradas (peles, gravações de voz e observações visuais): Parque Nacional do Viruá e a Fazenda Paraense. Cinco áreas são aqui apontadas como lacunas de amostragem da avifauna de Roraima e devem receber prioridade para novos inventários e estudos sobre a avifauna dessa região, são elas: Noroeste do estado, nas áreas junto à fronteira com a Venezuela e divisa com o Estado do Amazonas; Baixo Rio Branco, desde a cidade de Caracaraí à sua foz; Florestas de terra firme no sudeste do Estado; As savanas do nordeste junto à fronteira com a Guiana e as regiões de floresta montana e os tepuis.

Avian Piscivores as Vectors for Myxobolus cerebralis in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Myxobolus cerebralis, the cause of whirling disease in salmonids, has dispersed to waters in 25 states within the USA, often by an unknown vector. Its incidence in Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri within the highly protected environment of Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, is a prime example. Given the local abundances of piscivorous birds, we sought to clarify their potential role in the dissemination of M. cerebralis. Six individuals from each of three bird species (American white pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus, and great blue heron Ardea herodias) were fed known-infected or uninfected rainbow trout O. mykiss. Fecal material produced during 10-d periods before and after feeding was collected to determine whether M. cerebralis could be detected and, if so, whether it remained viable after passage through the gastrointestinal tract of these birds. For all (100%) of the nine birds fed known-infected fish, fecal samples collected during days 1–4 after feeding tested positive for M. cerebralis by polymerase chain reaction. In addition, tubificid worms Tubifex tubifex that were fed fecal material from known-infected great blue herons produced triactinomyxons in laboratory cultures, confirming the persistent viability of the parasite. No triactinomyxons were produced from T. tubifex fed fecal material from known-infected American white pelicans or double-crested cormorants, indicating a potential loss of parasite viability in these species. Great blue herons have the ability to concentrate and release viable myxospores into shallow-water habitats that are highly suitable for T. tubifex, thereby supporting a positive feedback loop in which the proliferation of M. cerebralis is enhanced. The presence of avian piscivores as an important component of aquatic ecosystems should continue to be supported. However, given the distances traveled by great blue herons between rookeries and foraging areas in just days, any practices that unnaturally attract them may heighten the probability of M. cerebralis dispersal and proliferation within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Experimental Bolbophorus damnificus (Digenea: Bolbophoridae) Infections in Piscivorous Birds

In order to determine potential definitive hosts of the digenetic trematode, Bolbophorus damnificus, two American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), two Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), two Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias), and two Great Egrets (Ardea alba) were captured, treated with praziquantel, and fed channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) infected with B. damnificus metacercariae. Patent infections of B. damnificus, which developed in both American White Pelicans at 3 days post-infection, were confirmed by the presence of trematode ova in the feces. Mature B. damnificus trematodes were recovered from the intestines of both pelicans at 21 days post-infection, further confirming the establishment of infection. No evidence of B. damnificus infections was observed in the other bird species studied. This study provides further evidence that Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, and Great Egrets do not serve as definitive hosts for B. damnificus.

Population size of threatened and endemic birds of the Cerrado in Estacao Ecologica de Itirapina, a fragmented area in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

The pressures for land use change have led to an increasing isolation of habitat remnants throughout the world. The goal of this study was to estimate the population size and density of some endemic and threatened species in a nature reserve in the Cerrado biome. One hundred and thirty four point transects were undertaken at the Estacao Ecologica de Itirapina (EEI), one of the last natural grassland savannah remnants in Sao Paulo state, in the south-east of Brazil between September and December 2006 and densities estimated for seven species (four endemic to the Cerrado, one near-endemic and two grassland specialists). Neither species reached the minimum viable population size of 500-5000 individuals. Four species, White-banded Tanager, White-rumped Tanager, Black-throated Saltator and Sharp-tailed Tyrant have populations ranging from 112 to 248 individuals, while the other species have a low population (< 60 individuals). The mean densities of Sharp-tailed Tyrant and Cock-tailed Tyrant in the EEI grassland showed similar values to those observed in larger areas of the Cerrado, which may indicate that the EEL grassland area is well conserved. In spite of the restricted size of the EEI, small areas can maintain some endemic and threatened bird populations, thus contributing to local biodiversity and the ecological processes in the region. The capacity of fragments of Cerrado (similar to 2,000 ha) to maintain populations of endemic and threatened bird species is unlikely to be effective in the long term.

Modellazione bidimensionale della propagazione nell'entroterra della inondazione da mare negli scenari dei previsti cambiamenti climatici

Le ricerche di carattere eustatico, mareografico, climatico, archeologico e geocronologico, sviluppatesi soprattutto nell’ultimo ventennio, hanno messo in evidenza che gran parte delle piane costiere italiane risulta soggetta al rischio di allagamento per ingressione marina dovuta alla risalita relativa del livello medio del mare. Tale rischio è la conseguenza dell’interazione tra la presenza di elementi antropici e fenomeni di diversa natura, spesso difficilmente discriminabili e quantificabili, caratterizzati da magnitudo e velocità molto diverse tra loro. Tra le cause preponderanti che determinano l’ingressione marina possono essere individuati alcuni fenomeni naturali, climatici e geologici, i quali risultano fortemente influenzati dalle attività umane soprattutto a partire dal XX secolo. Tra questi si individuano: - la risalita del livello del mare, principalmente come conseguenza del superamento dell’ultimo acme glaciale e dello scioglimento delle grandi calotte continentali; - la subsidenza. Vaste porzioni delle piane costiere italiane risultano soggette a fenomeni di subsidenza. In certe zone questa assume proporzioni notevoli: per la fascia costiera emiliano-romagnola si registrano ratei compresi tra 1 e 3 cm/anno. Tale subsidenza è spesso il risultato della sovrapposizione tra fenomeni naturali (neotettonica, costipamento di sedimenti, ecc.) e fenomeni indotti dall’uomo (emungimenti delle falde idriche, sfruttamento di giacimenti metaniferi, escavazione di materiali per l’edilizia, ecc.); - terreni ad elevato contenuto organico: la presenza di depositi fortemente costipabili può causare la depressione del piano di campagna come conseguenza di abbassamenti del livello della falda superficiale (per drenaggi, opere di bonifica, emungimenti), dello sviluppo dei processi di ossidazione e decomposizione nei terreni stessi, del costipamento di questi sotto il proprio peso, della carenza di nuovi apporti solidi conseguente alla diminuita frequenza delle esondazioni dei corsi d’acqua; - morfologia: tra i fattori di rischio rientra l’assetto morfologico della piana e, in particolare il tipo di costa (lidi, spiagge, cordoni dunari in smantellamento, ecc. ), la presenza di aree depresse o comunque vicine al livello del mare (fino a 1-2 m s.l.m.), le caratteristiche dei fondali antistanti (batimetria, profilo trasversale, granulometria dei sedimenti, barre sommerse, assenza di barriere biologiche, ecc.); - stato della linea di costa in termini di processi erosivi dovuti ad attività umane (urbanizzazione del litorale, prelievo inerti, costruzione di barriere, ecc.) o alle dinamiche idro-sedimentarie naturali cui risulta soggetta (correnti litoranee, apporti di materiale, ecc. ). Scopo del presente studio è quello di valutare la probabilità di ingressione del mare nel tratto costiero emiliano-romagnolo del Lido delle Nazioni, la velocità di propagazione del fronte d’onda, facendo riferimento allo schema idraulico del crollo di una diga su letto asciutto (problema di Riemann) basato sul metodo delle caratteristiche, e di modellare la propagazione dell’inondazione nell’entroterra, conseguente all’innalzamento del medio mare . Per simulare tale processo è stato utilizzato il complesso codice di calcolo bidimensionale Mike 21. La fase iniziale di tale lavoro ha comportato la raccolta ed elaborazione mediante sistema Arcgis dei dati LIDAR ed idrografici multibeam , grazie ai quali si è provveduto a ricostruire la topo-batimetria di dettaglio della zona esaminata. Nel primo capitolo è stato sviluppato il problema del cambiamento climatico globale in atto e della conseguente variazione del livello marino che, secondo quanto riportato dall’IPCC nel rapporto del 2007, dovrebbe aumentare al 2100 mediamente tra i 28 ed i 43 cm. Nel secondo e terzo capitolo è stata effettuata un’analisi bibliografica delle metodologie per la modellazione della propagazione delle onde a fronte ripido con particolare attenzione ai fenomeni di breaching delle difese rigide ed ambientali. Sono state studiate le fenomenologie che possono inficiare la stabilità dei rilevati arginali, realizzati sia in corrispondenza dei corsi d’acqua, sia in corrispondenza del mare, a discapito della protezione idraulica del territorio ovvero dell’incolumità fisica dell’uomo e dei territori in cui esso vive e produce. In un rilevato arginale, quale che sia la causa innescante la formazione di breccia, la generazione di un’onda di piena conseguente la rottura è sempre determinata da un’azione erosiva (seepage o overtopping) esercitata dall’acqua sui materiali sciolti costituenti il corpo del rilevato. Perciò gran parte dello studio in materia di brecce arginali è incentrato sulla ricostruzione di siffatti eventi di rottura. Nel quarto capitolo è stata calcolata la probabilità, in 5 anni, di avere un allagamento nella zona di interesse e la velocità di propagazione del fronte d’onda. Inoltre è stata effettuata un’analisi delle condizioni meteo marine attuali (clima ondoso, livelli del mare e correnti) al largo della costa emiliano-romagnola, le cui problematiche e linee di intervento per la difesa sono descritte nel quinto capitolo, con particolare riferimento alla costa ferrarese, oggetto negli ultimi anni di continui interventi antropici. Introdotto il sistema Gis e le sue caratteristiche, si è passati a descrivere le varie fasi che hanno permesso di avere in output il file delle coordinate x, y, z dei punti significativi della costa, indispensabili al fine della simulazione Mike 21, le cui proprietà sono sviluppate nel sesto capitolo.

Neural network modelling of the wave-structure interaction processes

This thesis presents a new Artificial Neural Network (ANN) able to predict at once the main parameters representative of the wave-structure interaction processes, i.e. the wave overtopping discharge, the wave transmission coefficient and the wave reflection coefficient. The new ANN has been specifically developed in order to provide managers and scientists with a tool that can be efficiently used for design purposes. The development of this ANN started with the preparation of a new extended and homogeneous database that collects all the available tests reporting at least one of the three parameters, for a total amount of 16’165 data. The variety of structure types and wave attack conditions in the database includes smooth, rock and armour unit slopes, berm breakwaters, vertical walls, low crested structures, oblique wave attacks. Some of the existing ANNs were compared and improved, leading to the selection of a final ANN, whose architecture was optimized through an in-depth sensitivity analysis to the training parameters of the ANN. Each of the selected 15 input parameters represents a physical aspect of the wave-structure interaction process, describing the wave attack (wave steepness and obliquity, breaking and shoaling factors), the structure geometry (submergence, straight or non-straight slope, with or without berm or toe, presence or not of a crown wall), or the structure type (smooth or covered by an armour layer, with permeable or impermeable core). The advanced ANN here proposed provides accurate predictions for all the three parameters, and demonstrates to overcome the limits imposed by the traditional formulae and approach adopted so far by some of the existing ANNs. The possibility to adopt just one model to obtain a handy and accurate evaluation of the overall performance of a coastal or harbor structure represents the most important and exportable result of the work.

A mutation in hairless dogs implicates FOXI3 in ectodermal development

Mexican and Peruvian hairless dogs and Chinese crested dogs are characterized by missing hair and teeth, a phenotype termed canine ectodermal dysplasia (CED). CED is inherited as a monogenic autosomal semidominant trait. With genomewide association analysis we mapped the CED mutation to a 102-kilo-base pair interval on chromosome 17. The associated interval contains a previously uncharacterized member of the forkhead box transcription factor family (FOXI3), which is specifically expressed in developing hair and teeth. Mutation analysis revealed a frameshift mutation within the FOXI3 coding sequence in hairless dogs. Thus, we have identified FOXI3 as a regulator of ectodermal development.

Bird count in Mastbos forest (Breda, Netherlands) in the years 1950 to 1981

Notes from Henrik de Nie: The project started as a phenological study in cooperation with the (Dutch) meteorological institute (KNMI) to register the time of arrival of Fitis and Tjiftaf. During 1951 to 1969 he went every day to the wood (except 1966, in this year his wife died). Thereafter he went no more daily, but because he knew the wood very well and he was free to choice the day on which he did a survey, therefore he choose days with relatively good weather. He did not observe very common bird species, maybe because they are dependent on nest boxes and he did not want to be dependent on the management of the nest box-people (in fact I forgot precisely his arguments, and now I cannot ask him this): Common Starling; Eurasian Tree Sparrow (not common); Great Tit; Eurasian Blue Tit Pieter mentioned 14 species that scored many zero values or only one observation: Stock Dove; Common Cuckoo; Lesser Spotted Woodpecker; Eurasian Golden Oriole; Eurasian Nuthatch; Short-toed Treecreeper; Common Nightingale; Marsh Warbler; Lesser Whitethroat; Goldcrest; Common Firecrest (after 1970 he had difficulties in hearing these two species); Spotted Flycatcher; Eurasian Bullfinch; Black Woodpecker He also mentioned species that he found much fewer as: European Greenfinch; European Pied Flycatcher; Long-eared Owl; Red Crossbill; Sedge Warbler; Icterine Warbler; Eurasian Woodcock; Eurasian Siskin; European Green Woodpecker; Great Spotted Woodpecker; Eurasian Hobby; Western Barn Owl; Woodlark; Common Wood Pigeon; Little Owl; European Crested Tit; Hawfinch. But for these species I think that observations are strongly dependent on the number of visits to the wood. Also here, many zeros and few 1 x during the whole series of visits.