Juniperus navicularis - a study of Portuguese population structure and fitness

Juniperus navicularis Gand. is a dioecious endemic conifer that constitutes the understory of seaside pine forests in Portugal, areas currently threatened by increasing urban expansion. The aim of this study is to assess the conservation status of previously known populations of this species located on its core area of distribution. The study was performed in south-west coast of Portugal. Three populations varying in size and pine density were analyzed. Number of individuals, population density, spatial distribution and individual characteristics of junipers were estimated. Female cone, seed characteristics and seed viability were also evaluated. Results suggest that J. navicularis populations are vulnerable because seminal recruitment is scarce, what may lead to a reduction of genetic variability due solely to vegetative propagation. This vulnerability seems to be strongly determined by climatic constraints toward increasing aridity. Ratio between male and female shrubs did not differ from 1:1 in any population. Deviations from 1:1 between mature and non-mature plants were found in all populations, denoting population ageing. Very low seed viability was observed. A major part of described Juniperus navicularis populations have disappeared through direct habitat loss to urban development, loss of fitness in drier and warmer locations and low seed viability. This study is the first to address J. navicularis conservation, and represents a valuable first step toward this species preservation.

The flora and vegetation in an area of the Caatinga in Taperuaba, Sobral, Ceará state, Brazil

The Caatinga, covering about 800.000 km2, is the predominant vegetation type of the semi-arid region of Brazil. The Caatinga biome comprises several phytophysiognomies and floristic compositions, with many endemic species, especially in Fabaceae, Cactaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Bignoniaceae e Combretaceae. Despite considerable advances, the Brazilian semi-arid needs more studies and inventories of biodiversity, especially the Ceará state. On the basis of these considerations, the present study aims to identify the flora and vegetation, in order to characterize the phytophysiognomy in an area of the Caatinga, in locality of Taperuaba, municipality of Sobral, Ceará, Brazil. Field work was conducted in March 2015 and 2016 respectively, in three transects. The life-forms were established in accordance of Raunkiaer´s system. The floristic list is composed of 87 species, distributed in 66 genera and 36 families. The flora comprises 22 Brazilian endemic species. The most representative family was Fabaceae with 15 species, followed by Malvaceae (7) Convolvulaceae (6), Euphorbiaceae (5) and Poaceae (5). The biological spectrum had a high proportion of therophytes (29,9%), chamaephytes (29,9%) and phanerophytes (26,4%). In the area were identified two phytophysiognomies: outcrops communities highlighting succulent phanerophytes (Pilosocereus chrysostele (Vaupel) Byles & G.D. Rowley subsp. cearensis P.J. Braun & Esteves and P. gounellei (F.A.C. Weber) Byles & Rowley), chamaephytes (Encholirium spectabile Mart. ex Schult. & Schult. f. and Lepidaploa chalybaea (Mart. ex DC.) H. Rob.) and therophytes (Mitracarpus baturitensis Sucre), mixed with communities including small trees and shrubs on deeper soil, composed of Cereus jamacaru DC., a succulent phanerophyte, and many woody phanerophytes, such as Cordia oncocalyx Allemão, Crateva trapia L., Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth., M. tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir., Poincianella bracteosa (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz and P. pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz.

Changes in trophic ecology of fish assemblages after no take Marine Protected Area designation in the southwestern coast of Portugal.

Changes in fish assemblage structure caused by human activities, such as fishing, can alter trophic relations in fish assemblages. In this context, Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are efficient tools for habitat recovery and ideal environments for evaluating changes on the trophic structure resulting from human activities. The present work targeted fish assemblages from two no-take MPAs from the northern half of South Alentejo and Costa Vicentina Marine Park, established in 2011. Previous works reported positive effects on local fish assemblages after no-take MPA designation, and it is therefore important to further study its impact on local fish assemblages, especially concerning trophic interactions. Local fish assemblages were sampled (summer 2011, winter 2012, summer 2013 and winter 2013) using trammel nets. Diets were characterized and digestive tract contents of the 10 most abundant fish species were compared between the no take MPAs (treatment) and adjacent areas (controls), and changes evaluated as a function of time since protection. Results revealed significant differences between the diets of fish from protected and non protected areas, with crabs being the preferential prey in both protected and control areas but being more ingested outside the no-take areas. However, these differences were evident since the beginning of the study. Fish assemblages from the northern area presented significantly larger niche breadth and significantly increasing with time. This way, the main effects of no-take MPA implementation were directly visible on the niche breadth but did not directly impact the diet composition of the sampled fish assemblages, contributing however to reinforce the already naturally existent differences. This work provides important information regarding the effect of changes in the fish assemblage caused by MPA designation on the trophic ecology of fish.

ABOVE-GROUND BIOMASS ESTIMATION OF OPUNTIA FICUS-INDICA (L.) MILL. FOR FORAGE CROP IN A MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT BY USING NON-DESTRUCTIVE METHODS

In marginal lands Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) could be used as an alternative fruit and forage crop. The plant vigour and the biomass production were evaluated in Portuguese germplasm (15 individuals from 16 ecotypes) by non-destructive methods, 2 years following planting in a marginal soil and dryland conditions. Two Italian cultivars (Gialla and Bianca) were included in the study for comparison purposes. The biomass production and the plant vigour were estimated by measuring the cladodes number and area, and the fresh (FW) and dry weight (DW) per plant. We selected linear models by using the biometric data from 60 cladodes to predict the cladode area, the FW and the DW per plant. Among ecotypes, significant differences were found in the studied biomass-related parameters and several homogeneous groups were established. Four Portuguese ecotypes had higher biomass production than the others, 3.20 Mg ha−1 on average, a value not significantly different to the improved ‘Gialla’ cultivar, which averaged 3.87 Mg ha−1. Those ecotypes could be used to start a breeding program and to deploy material for animal feeding and fruit production.

Distribution patterns of endemic flora to define hotspots on Hispaniola

Nineteen areas on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) were studied with the aim of determining the distribution pattern of the endemic flora in these areas, and their variability with altitude. The main concentration of endemic species occurs in mountains with a medium altitude and in certain mountain sites (palaeo-islands), which coincide with hotspots; a lower number of endemics are found in low-lying areas (coldspots), due to the degradation of their habitats. A total of 1,582 endemic species were studied and were distributed in 19 areas. The whole island is of outstanding interest for its richness in endemics; it has 2,050 endemic species, representing 34.16% of its total flora. The territory in the study is home to 1,284 genera of which 31 are endemic to the island, including monotypical genera such as Tortuella abietifolia Urb. & Ekman, and endemic genera such as Hottea, containing seven endemic species. The sites with the highest rate of endemics are area A16 in the central range with a total of 440 endemic species, of which 278 are exclusive to the territory; and the Sierra de Bahoruco, la Selle, La Hotte and Tibur on in area A12, where we found 699 plants of which 482 are endemic and exclusive to the area; and A13 with 173 and 129 respectively. This work highlights the exceptional floristic diversity in endemic species and genera and analyses their distribution patterns as a tool for conservation in this area of the world, whose high endemicity rate makes it one of the most significant hotspots in the Caribbean.

Effects of small scale non-mechanised forest management and high impact and mechanised forest management on the forest dynamics and growth of the residual trees.

This study was perfonned in PSPs located at the CPAr-ACRE EMORAPA expcrirnental area and at the PC Peixoto management areas. AI CPA F-ACR E the managed area was meehanically exploited in 1992 and at PC Peixoto animal traction was used to extract the planks.

Correcting for bias when estimating the cost of hospital-acquired infection : an analysis of lower respiratory tract infections in non-surgical patients

Hospital acquired infections (HAI) are costly but many are avoidable. Evaluating prevention programmes requires data on their costs and benefits. Estimating the actual costs of HAI (a measure of the cost savings due to prevention) is difficult as HAI changes cost by extending patient length of stay, yet, length of stay is a major risk factor for HAI. This endogeneity bias can confound attempts to measure accurately the cost of HAI. We propose a two-stage instrumental variables estimation strategy that explicitly controls for the endogeneity between risk of HAI and length of stay. We find that a 10% reduction in ex ante risk of HAI results in an expected savings of £693 ($US 984).

A Petrov-Galerkin method for a singularly perturbed ordinary differential equation with non-smooth data

In this paper, a singularly perturbed ordinary differential equation with non-smooth data is considered. The numerical method is generated by means of a Petrov-Galerkin finite element method with the piecewise-exponential test function and the piecewise-linear trial function. At the discontinuous point of the coefficient, a special technique is used. The method is shown to be first-order accurate and singular perturbation parameter uniform convergence. Finally, numerical results are presented, which are in agreement with theoretical results.