Avaliação de impacto ambiental e gestão dos recursos natuarias no estuário Apodi Mossoró, nordeste do Brasil

The aim of this study is to investigate the eco-environmental vulnerability, its changes, and its causes to develop a management system for application of eco-environmental vulnerability and risk assessment in the Apodi-Mossory estuary, Northeast Brazil. This analysis is focused on the interference of the landscape conditions, and its changes, due to the following factors: the oil and natural gas industry, tropical fruits industry, shrimp farms, marine salt industry, occupation of the sensitive areas; demand for land, vegetation degradation, siltation in rivers, severe flooding, sea level rise (SLR), coastal dynamics, low and flat topography, high ecological value and tourism in the region and the rapid growth of urbanization. Conventional and remote sensing data were analyzed using modeling techniques based on ArcGIS, ER-Mapper, ERDAS Imagine and ENVI software. Digital images were initially processed by Principal Component Analysis and transformation of the maximum fraction of noise, and then all bands were normalized to reduce errors caused by bands of different sizes. They were integrated in a Geographic Information System analysis to detect changes, to generate digital elevation models, geomorphic indices and other variables of the study area. A three band color combination of multispectral bands was used to monitor changes of land and vegetation cover from 1986 to 2009. This task also included the analysis of various secondary data, such as field data, socioeconomic data, environmental data and prospects growth. The main objective of this study was to improve our understanding of eco-environmental vulnerability and risk assessment; it´s causes basically show the intensity, its distribution and human-environment effect on the ecosystem, and identify the high and low sensitive areas and area of inundation due to future SLR, and the loss of land due to coastal erosion in the Apodi-Mossoró estuary in order to establish a strategy for sustainable land use. The developed model includes some basic factors such as geology, geomorphology, soils, land use / land cover, vegetation cover, slope, topography and hydrology. The numerical results indicate that 9.86% of total study area was under very high vulnerability, 29.12% high vulnerability, 52.90% moderate vulnerability and 2.23% were in the category of very low vulnerability. The analysis indicates that 216.1 km² and 362.8 km² area flooded on 1m and 10m in sea levels respectively. The sectors most affected were residential, industrial and recreational areas, agricultural land, and ecosystems of high environmental sensitivity. The results showed that changes in eco-environmental vulnerability have a significant impact on the sustainable development of the RN state, since the indicator is a function of sensitivity, exposure and status in relation to a level of damage. The model were presented as a tool to assist in indexing vulnerability in order to optimize actions and assess the implications of decisions makers and policies regarding the management of coastal and estuarine areas. In this context aspects such as population growth, degradation of vegetation, land use / land cover, amount and type of industrialization, SLR and government policies for environmental protection were considered the main factors that affect the eco-environmental changes over the last three decades in the Apodi-Mossoró estuary.

Cartografia temporal e análise geoambiental da dinâmica da foz do Rio Piranhas-Açu, regiao de Macau-RN, com base em imagens Landast 5-MT

This work embraces the application of Landsat 5-TM digital images, comprising August 2 1989 and September 22 1998, for temporal mapping and geoenvironmental analysis of the dynamic of Piranhas-Açu river mouth, situated in the Macau (RN) region. After treatment using several digital processing techniques (e.g. colour composition in RGB, ratio of bands, principal component analysis, index methods, among others), it was possible to generate several image products and multitemporal maps of the coastal morphodynamics of the studied area. Using the image products it was possible the identification and characterization of the principal elements of interest (vegetation, soil, geology and water) in the surface of the studied area, associating the spectral characteristics of these elements to that presented by the image products resulting of the digital processing. Thus, it was possible to define different types of soils: Amd, AQd6, SK1 and LVe4; vegetation grouping: open arboreal-shrubby caatinga, closed arborealshrubby caatinga, closed arboreal caatinga, mangrove vegetation, dune vegetation and areas predominately constituted by juremas; geological units: quaternary units beach sediments, sand banks, dune flats, barrier island, mobile dunes, fixed dunes, alluvium, tidal and inundation flats, and sandy facies of the Potengi Formation; tertiary-quaternary units Barreiras Formation grouped to the clayey facies of the Potengi Formation, Macau Formation grouped to the sediments of the Tibau Formation; Cretaceous units Jandaíra Formation; moreover it was to identify the sea/land limit, shallow submersed areas and suspended sediments. The multitemporal maps of the coastal morphodynamics allowed the identification and a semi-quantitative evoluation of regions which were submitted to erosive and constructive processes in the last decade. This semi-quantitative evoluation in association with an geoenvironmental characterization of the studied area are important data to the elaboration of actions that may minimize the possible/probable impacts caused by the implantation of the Polo Gas/Sal and to the monitoring of areas explorated by the petroleum and salt industries

Feature selection through gravitational search algorithm

In this paper we deal with the problem of feature selection by introducing a new approach based on Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA). The proposed algorithm combines the optimization behavior of GSA together with the speed of Optimum-Path Forest (OPF) classifier in order to provide a fast and accurate framework for feature selection. Experiments on datasets obtained from a wide range of applications, such as vowel recognition, image classification and fraud detection in power distribution systems are conducted in order to asses the robustness of the proposed technique against Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)-based algorithm for feature selection.

Phosphatidylcholine and Sphingomyelin Profiles Vary in Bos taurus indicus and Bos taurus taurus In Vitro- and In Vivo-Produced Blastocysts

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

Características da anatomia foliar de espécies de braquiária e sua relação com a sensibilidade a herbicidas

O objetivo deste trabalho foi relacionar as características da anatomia foliar de Brachiaria decumbens (capim-braquiária) e Brachiaria plantaginea (capim-marmelada), em três estádios de desenvolvimento da planta, com a sensibilidade a herbicidas. A semeadura foi feita em vasos plásticos, contendo solo, mantidos em casa de vegetação. Foi amostrada a porção mediana do limbo da terceira folha expandida, a partir da base do colmo, compreendendo três estádios de desenvolvimento da planta: estádio 1 (com 4-6 folhas), estádio 2 (com 3-4 perfilhos) e estádio 3 (plantas adultas no início do florescimento). Foram quantificados os seguintes descritores anatômicos das regiões da quilha (nervura central) e da asa (porção entre a nervura central e a margem do limbo): área da secção transversal; porcentagens de epiderme das faces adaxial e abaxial, esclerênquima, bainha do feixe vascular, feixe vascular e parênquima; espessura da folha; distância entre os feixes vasculares; comprimento do estômato; e número de estômatos e de tricomas (curtos e longos). Os valores obtidos foram submetidos aos testes estatísticos multivariados de Análise de Agrupamento e Análise dos Componentes Principais. Os descritores avaliados permitiram diferenciar o estádio 3 de desenvolvimento da planta em relação aos demais, o qual pode ser considerado o menos sensível à ação dos herbicidas aplicados em pós-emergência.

Caracterização morfológica de espécies de trapoeraba (Commelina spp.) utilizando a análise multivariada

As espécies Commelina benghalensis, C. villosa, C. diffusa e C. erecta são conhecidas como trapoeraba e, freqüentemente, são confundidas entre si, dificultando o controle químico, o que pode provocar prejuízos econômicos e danos ambientais. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo selecionar características morfológicas que possibilitem facilitar a identificação dessas espécies, utilizando a técnica de análise multivariada. Foram avaliadas 12 características morfológicas descritivas e 13 quantitativas, utilizando-se os métodos de análise de agrupamento e análise de componentes principais. As espécies apresentaram alto grau de dissimilaridade, sobretudo em relação às características descritivas, destacando-se: hábito da planta, pilosidade do caule e da folha, entre outros. As características quantitativas também mostraram poder discriminatório. Características que apresentaram alto valor taxonômico foram selecionadas para compor a chave de identificação para as quatro espécies de Commelina.

Using chemical and physical parameters to define the quality of Pardo River water (Botucatu-SP-Brazil)

This paper aims to study the ecological system of the Pardo River, at the source and lower-order passages, which are in the Botucatu area, São Paulo State, Brazil. This study was carried out to determine water quality with some chemical-physical indicators, coliforms, and chemical species of samples taken monthly, 1995/02-1996/01, from eight sampling stations sited along the Pardo River. The results in the river monitoring are discussed based on annual averages, analysis of variance, and compared to Tukey's Studentized Range-HSD, and principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to normalize data to assess association between variables. We can conclude that the variables used are very efficient for identifying and that the dry season shows the worst water quality. These were caused by organic matter, nutrients (originate) from anthropogenic sources (spatial sources) and mainly municipal wastewater, affecting the quality and hydrochemistry of the river water, which have been differentiated and assigned to polluting sources. Meanwhile, the degree of degradation of the Pardo River is low (sewage treatment carried out by the city of Pardinho is efficient), leaving the water of the river suitable for use by the population of Botucatu, after conventional treatment (Conama, Resolucao No. 20, CONAMA, Brazilia DF, 09-23, 1986-the water of the Pardo river is classified as level 03). (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in abiotic characteristics of water in the Paranapanema River and three lateral lagoons at mouth zone of the Jurumirim Reservoir during the flood period, São Paulo, Brazil

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

Biometrics studies of caste development in Nasutitermes coxipoensis (Isoptera; Termitidae)

A biometric study of caste development was carried out using Nasutitermes sp., by measuring the height, width, and length of the head, the length and width of the pronotum and mesonotum, and the length of the posterior tibia. These measurements were taken on 200 individuals, including larvae, nymphs, workers, pre-soldiers and soldiers. For instar separation, it was verified that the Principal Component Analysis (P.C.A.) was the most efficient methodology. Results of this analysis showed that Nasutitermes coxipoensis follows the general pattern of development presented by other Nasutitermes.

Toward a hierarchical concept of plant stress

A number of attempts have been made to obtain a clear definition of biological stress. However, in spite of the efforts, some controversies on the concept of plant stress remain. The current versions are centered either on the cause (stress factor) or on the effect (stress response) of environmental stress. The objective of this study was to contribute to the definition of stress, using a hierarchical approach. Thus, we have performed an analysis of the most usual stress concepts and tested the relevance of considering different observation scales in a study on plant response to water deficit. Seedlings of Eucalyptus grandis were grown in vitro at water potentials ranging from -0.16 to -0.6 MPa, and evaluated according to growth and biochemical parameters. Data were analyzed through principal component analysis (PCA), which pointed to a hierarchical organization in plant responses to environmental disturbances. Growth parameters (height and dry weight) are more sensitive to water deficit than biochemical ones (sugars, proline, and protein), suggesting that higher hierarchical levels were more sensitive to environmental constraints than lower hierarchical ones. We suggest that before considering an environmental fluctuation as stressful, it is necessary to take into account different levels of plant response, and that the evaluation of the effects of environmental disturbances on an organism depends on the observation scale being used. Hence, a more appropriate stress concept should consider the hierarchical organization of the biological systems, not only for a more adequate theoretical approach, but also for the improvement of practical studies on plants under stress.

Evidence of higher photosynthetic plasticity in the early successional Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. compared to the late successional Hymenaea courbaril L. grown in contrasting light environments

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

Compartilhamento de recursos por duas espécies de peixes nectobentônicas de riachos na bacia do rio Cachoeira (BA)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Performance of an Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) in treatment of cassava wastewater

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

Variabilidade espacial e temporal de parâmetros físico-químicos nos rios Turvo, Preto e Grande no estado de São Paulo, Brasil

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

Distribuição ecológica de comunidades de macroalgas de ambientes lóticos do Parque Nacional de Itatiaia (RJ, MG), Brasil

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