Root, shoot and leaf traits of the congeneric Styrax species may explain their distribution patterns in the cerrado sensu lato areas in Brazil

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

Priority areas for the conservation of Atlantic forest large mammals

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Human Accessibility Modelling Applied to Protected Areas Management

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

Anchor Areas to Improve Conservation and Increase Connectivity within the Brazilian "Mesopotamia of Biodiversity"

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Habitat of juvenile Caribbean reef sharks, Carcharhinus perezi, at two oceanic insular marine protected areas in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean: Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Atol das Rocas, Brazil

Habitat of juvenile Caribbean reef sharks, Carcharhinus perezi (Carcharhinidae), was identified using fishing surveys and capture of immature specimens at two Brazilian insular sites in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Atol das Rocas. Standardized sampling at Fernando de Noronha indicated that parturition occurred from February to April and that a wide depth-range (at least 5-30 m) along the insular shelf was used by immature sharks throughout the year. The catch-per-unit effort of C. perezi was significantly higher inside than outside a marine protected area at this location, suggesting that these sharks are more common in pans of the reef least disturbed by human activities. More limited sampling at Atol das Rocas suggested that juvenile C. perezi occurred at similar depths and utilized similar substrate as sharks at Fernando de Noronha. These findings suggest that successful conservation and management of this economically important, protected species will need to include conservation of habitat around insular reef systems. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the Naturally Acquired Antibody Immune Response to the Pv200L N-terminal Fragment of Plasmodium vivax Merozoite Surface Protein-1 in Four Areas of the Amazon Region of Brazil

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

Characterization of native and oxidized starches of two varieties of Peruvian carrot (Arracacia xanthorrhiza, B.) from two production areas of Paraná state, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Patulin determination in apples with rotten areas

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

Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata, Sarcoptiformes and Trombidiformes) associated to soybean in Brazil, including new records from the cerrado areas

In Brazil, soybean Glycine max (L.) Merril crops are subjected to incidence of several pests, which are mainly insect species. However, the occurrences of other pest species are growing. In this context, outbreaks of phytophagous mites are becoming more frequent. Nevertheless, records of mites in such crop are available only for Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul states. Thus, this work gathers all information published about the diversity of mites found in soybean in Brazil, and also new records of mite species made on samplings taken from the central Cerrado area. In the whole, occurrence of 44 species of plant mites in soybean has been recorded in Brazil. Data from prior studies and the results of this work present the tetranychid Mononychellus planki (McGregor) as the mite species most frequently occurring in the Brazilian soybean crops. A large portion of Phytoseiidae species has occurred in crops from Rio Grande do Sul state. In addition, spontaneous soybean has hosted almost half of the phytoseiid species sampled in Cerrado region. High diversity of Tarsonemidae has been found in the cultivated soybean. More studies about soybean mites are needed to clarify the damage potential of phytophagous mites and the biological role of predatory mites in this crop.

Limnogeology in Brazil's "forgotten wilderness": a synthesis from the large floodplain lakes of the Pantanal

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

Evaluating and classifying contaminated areas based on loss functions using annealing simulations

This paper presents a methodology based on geostatistical theory for quantifying the risks associated with heavy-metal contamination in the harbor area of Santana, Amapa State, Northern Brazil. In this area there were activities related to the commercialization of manganese ore from Serra do Navio. Manganese and arsenic concentrations at unsampled sites were estimated by postprocessing results from stochastic annealing simulations; the simulations were used to test different criteria for optimization, including average, median, and quantiles. For classifying areas as contaminated or uncontaminated, estimated quantiles based on functions of asymmetric loss showed better results than did estimates based on symmetric loss, such as the average or the median. The use of specific loss functions in the decision-making process can reduce the costs of remediation and health maintenance. The highest global health costs were observed for manganese. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Hydrochemical investigations on waste disposal areas of industrial activities at Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil

Groundwaters; and surface waters around two waste disposal areas at Rio Claro municipality, nearly in the center of São Paulo State, Brazil, were chemically analysed with the purpose of evaluating the influence on the water quality of the chemicals released without any care with the environment and using a prevention system for the containment of environmentally polluting substances.

Flow rate and hydrochemistry in areas of sand mining activities

This investigation reports the results of a study realized in areas related to the development of sand mining activities, which belong to CRS-Mineragao Industria e Comercio Ltd. and Sibelco Mineracao Ltd. Both areas are located around Analandia municipality, nearly in the center of São Paulo State, Brazil. Flow rate and hydrochemical analyses were realized over different periods of time, with the aim of evaluating the possibility of release of several constituents to the liquid phase, which may be a source of pollution of the surface hydrological resources. This is because some tributaries from the Corumbatai River may be suffering contamination, implying on the impoverishment of the water quality that is a very important resource in the region, as it is extensively used for drinking purposes, among others.

Dissolved organic carbon in rainwater from areas heavily impacted by sugar cane burning

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