Avaliação de um periódico na área de medicina tropical

Realizou-se um estudo de avaliação da Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, por meio de procedimentos de técnicas bibliométricas que identificaram qualidades e consistência científicas do periódico. Verificou-se, mediante os resultados obtidos, que os conceitos de avaliação indicaram elevado desempenho do mesmo em relação aos seus aspectos intrínsecos e extrínsecos que permitiram conhecer: tipologia dos artigos publicados nas seções, temática enfocada para determinar o núcleo de assuntos de pesquisas realizadas e publicadas, procedência de autoria -- nacional e estrangeira, vínculo autor/instituição, distribuição --, mala direta, identificação das bases de dados nas quais o periódico é indexado e freqüência de citação. Esses resultados oferecem importantes dados que podem contribuir significativamente como parâmetro para o estudo de avaliação de outros periódicos científicos.

Presencia de Symbiocladius wygodzinskyi Roback, 1965 (Diptera, Chironomidae) en Perú. Notas taxonómicas.

Se cita la presencia de S. wygodzinskyi Roback, 1965 (Diptera: Chironomidae) en dos áreas diferentes de Perú, mucho más al norte de la distribución original y viviendo sobre ninfas del género Meridialaris sp. (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae), ambas localidades se sitúan en ríos de la zona alta de los Andes, siempre en agua muy frías. Se señalan algunos detalles de la morfología de las larvas y las pupas no bien descritos en los trabajos originales y se discute la posición de los quironómidos sobre su hospedador.

Fenología del anillo de crecimiento de Pinus uncinata Ramond y Pinus sylvestris L. en un gradiente altitudinal en los Pirineos Centrales

En el presente trabajo, describimos el desarrollo y la estructura del anillo anual de crecimiento de Pinus uncinata Ramondy Pinus sylvestris L. en un gradiente altitudinal en los Pirineos centrales. Medimos mensualmente el aumento de la anchura del anillo y el número de traqueidas añadidas a lo largo de 1993. En ambas especies, la mayor parte del anillo se forma desde mediados de jimio hasta mediados de julio de 1993. El desarrollo de la madera tardía -formación, coloración y engrasamiento y lignificación de las paredes celulares- comienza en julio y acaba en octubre. El anillo comienza antes su formación en los bosques estudiados de P. sylvestris que en P. uncinata, el cual vive a mayor altitud. P. uncinata forma anillos más estrechos, con menor múmero de células y con mayor heterogeneidad de color de la madera tardía que P. sylvestris. Existe una gran variabilidad entre árboles en la posición de las células de las maderas temprana y tardía a lo largo del anillo de crecimiento. Los distintos patrones fenológicos en el crecimiento del anillo anual, a lo largo del gradiente altitudinal seleccionado, pueden explicarse en parte, por la influencia de distintas condiciones climáticas, principalmente térmicas.

Estructura de un ecotono bosque Subalpino-pastos alpinos (Las Cutas, Ordesa, Pirineos Centrales)

Describimos la estructura de un ecotono bosque subalpino-pastos alpinos en los Pirineos Centrales, que incluye los límites altitudinales del bosque y del árbol y está dominado por Pinus uncinata Ram. Para cada individuo de P. uncinata situado dentro de una parcela rectangular paralela a la pendiente anotamos su localización y medimos diversas variables estructurales o deforma (número y tipo de pies por individuo). Estos individuos fueron clasificados según su tamaño (adultos, jóvenes, vastagos y plántulas) y forma («krummholz» ¿individuos arbustivos policórmicos¿, krummholz con pies verticales). La estructura del ecotono se describió mediante los cambios de tamaño y forma de los individuos de P. uncinata a lo largo del ecotono y en relación con el clima de la zona, que se caracteriza por espesores de nieve máximos en primavera (abril) y fuertes vientos del N-NW-W. La mayoría de los individuos vivos eran krummholz, situándose por encima del límite del bosque y mostrando proximidad espacial con las plántulas. Los individuos grandes, verticales y unicórmicos predominaban en el bosque. Los cambios estructurales o deforma de los individuos eran bruscos a lo largo del ecotono. Los daños de las copas debidos al viento eran evidentes en individuos arbustivos y predominaban en las direcciones de viento más fuertes durante todo el año. La interacción nieve-viento permite explicar en parte la localización de este límite del bosque que puede considerarse un fenómeno local. La situación espacial de las distintas clases de individuos, la interacción espacial entre plántulas y krummholz más los cambios deforma de crecimiento (de arbustiva a arbórea o viceversa) pueden modificar la respuesta de estas poblaciones de P uncinata a cambios climáticos.

Disturbance, age and size structure in stands of Pinus uncinata Ram

Las estructuras de tamaño y edad de dos bosques monoespecificos subalpinos de Pinus uncinata en el Pirineo, fueron estudiadas e interpretadas introduciendo una clasificación sencilla de los árboles según la exposición de su copa a la radiación solar directa. Ambas poblaciones muestran distribuciones de diámetro de J invertida irregulares, cuya Interpretación es incierta. Por el contrario, la estructura de edad en ambos bosques muestra picos visibles, los cuales, si se tienen en cuenta la exposición de la copa, indican que la regeneración se produce en claros del bosque. Se analizaron las series de anillos de crecimiento de los árboles de cada sitio para reconstruir su historia reciente de perturbaciones Identificando los incrementos bruscos del crecimiento. El régimen de perturbaciones en los dos bosques es diferente, y en ambos casos muestra un efecto madelador análogo sobre la estructura de edad. Se concluye que P. uncinata se comporta como una especie heliófila que puede formar bosques maduros o multicohorte bajo determinados regímenes de perturbaciones suaves, gracias a su capacidad para iniciar la regeneración en claros pequeños. Este proceso tiene lugar en un lapso de tiempo corto después de la incidencia de las perturbaciones.

Contribucion al estudio de los briofitos acuaticos de lagunas y charcas de España

Se citan las especies de briófitos obtenidas en muéstreos limnológicos generales de lagunas y charcas de España y se describen someramente las 28 localidades donde éstas fueron halladas. Drepanocladus aduncus aparece como la especie más ampliamente distribuida, seguida por Leptodictyum riparium. Citas destacables son las de Octodicems fontanum y Cratoneuron conmutatum var. fluctuóos fina, crassinervia. Los briófitos acuáticos se encontraron preferentemente en habitat con intensidades luminosas reducidas y substratos turbosos.

Experimental evidence that intra-specific competition in seagrass meadows reduces reproductive potential in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck)

To better understand the biological controls that regulate sea urchin dynamics, we studied the effects of potential inter- and intra-specific competition for food on several biological variables of the main sea urchin in the Mediterranean (Paracentrotus lividus). We carried out a caging experiment in which we manipulated sea urchin density (natural vs. high density) and herbivorous fish (Sarpa salpa) accessibility (free access vs. exclusion) in a Posidonia oceanica meadow. No evidence of competition between fish and urchins was detected. Neither density-dependent mortality nor changes in the somatic variables were found; however, we detected that intra-specific competition affected the reproductive potential of P. lividus. The gonad index of urchins at high population densities was ca. 30% lower than that of urchins at natural densities. As a spawning event had just occurred when urchins were collected, these differences probably reflect differences in reserve content, which may compromise the following reproductive period and decrease survival in the long term, as the gonads are also used as storage organs. For the time period studied, mortality rates appeared to be independent of local densities. The results indicate that a long-term negative feedback mechanism appears to take place in P. lividus in response to increased population density.

Chemical composition of the small coastal lagoons of the Mediterranean Spanish littoral

About sixty small water bodies (coastal lagoons, marshes, salt pans, channels, springs, etc.) of the Spanish Mediterranean coast were sampled seasonally for one year (1979-1980), in order to study different aspects of their chemical composition. The concentrations of major ions (alkalinity, Cl-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+), nutrients (N.NO-3, N.NO2-, TRP and Si), oxygen and pH were determined for this purpose. The salt concentrations measured range between 0.4 and 361.3 g l-1. The samples have been divided into four classes of salinity (in g l-1): Cl, S < 5; C2, 5 40. Within these classes, the pattern of ionic dominance recorded is remarkably constant and similar to that found in most coastal lagoons (Cl- > So42- > Alk., for the anions, and Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+, for the cations), although other models occur especially in the first class. The dominance of Na+ and Cl-, as well as the molar ratios Mg2+/Ca2+ and Cl- / SO42- ,clearly increase from class Cl to class C4. The hyperhaline waters include different subtypes of the major brine type"c",, of EUGSTER & HARDIE (1978), the Na+ - (Mg2+) - Cl- - (SO42-) being the most frequent. Nutrient concentrations fall within a wide range (N.NO3 from 0.1 to 1100 mg-at 1-1; PRT from 0.01 to 23.56 mg-at l-1 and Si from 1.0 to 502.0 mg-at l-1). The oxygen values are very variable too, ranging between 0 and 14.4 ml l-1. Four different patterns of nutrient distribution have been distinguished based on the mean concentrations of N.NO3-, and TRP (mean values in mg-at l-1): A, N.NO3- < 10, TRP > l ; B, N.NO3- > 100, TRP < 1; C, 10 < N.NO3- < 100, TRP < 1; C, D, N.NO3- < 10, TRP < 1. As a rule, lagoons of low salinity (C1 and C2 classes) display the nutrient pattern C, and lagoons of high salinity (C3 and C4) show the nutrient pattern D. Model A only appears in waters of very low salinity, whereas model B does not seem to be related to salinity.

Consumption of macrophytes by invertebrates in Tancada lagoon (NE Spain)

Gammarus aequicauda and Sphaeroma hookeri are the most abundant macroinvertebrates on Ruppia cirrhosa (1275 and 1290 individuals.m-2) and Potamogeton pectinatus (140 and 680 individuals. m-2) in Tancada lagoon, a Mediterranean coastal lagoon in the Ebro Delta (NE Spain). Consumption and assimilation efficiencies were calculated from bell jar experiments. Gammarus grazing effects are higher than Sphaeroma on both Ruppia cirrhosa and Potamogeton pectinatus. Green Ruppia leaves lost 0.3 mg per mg Gammarus per day, while Potamogeton leaves lost 0.2 mg per mg Gammarus per day. Decomposing Ruppia leaves lost 0.35-0.54 mg per mg Gammarus per day. Losses of weight by both Ruppia and Potamogeton due to Sphaeroma feeding were less than half those by Gammarus. Assimilation efficiencies are higher for Gammarus (44-78% feeding on Ruppia 2% feeding on Potamogeton) than for Sphaeroma (26-48%) feeding on Ruppia). These assimilation efficiencies were higher than those reported by other authors working at higher latitudes perhaps because of the higher temperature under which the experiments were carried out.

Seasonal patterns op biomass variation of Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande and Potamageton pectinatus L. in a coastal logoon

Coastal lagoons where salinity varies within a wide range during the year are colonized by euryhaline macrophytes which can develop extensive beds. Seasonal changes in biomass of Ruppia cirrhosa and Potamogeton pectinatus were studied in Tancada Lagoon (Ebro Delta, NE Spain) in order to reveal the environmental factors controlling their population development. Ruppia cirrhosa occupy a larger area of the lagoon than Potarnogeton pectinatus. Their maximum above ground biomasses are also different (495 g m-2 and 351 g m-2 ash free dry weight, respectively). Below ground biomass of Ruppia cirrhosa is between 9 and 53 % of the above ground biomass, while it is 3-40 % for Potamogeton pectinatus. Chlorophyll a contents show fluctuations similar to biomass. Low salinity and high turbidity caused by freshwater inflows favour Potamogeton expansion, while Ruppia development is favoured by high salinity and transparent water.

Decomposition of Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande in the sediment of a coastal lagoon

The decomposition process of Ruppia cirrhosa was studied in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon in the Delta of the River Ebro (NE Spain). Leaves and shoots of Ruppia were enclosed in 1 mm-mesh and 100 pm-mesh litter bags to ascertain the effect of detritivores, macroinvertebrates, and bacteria and fungi, respectively. Changes in biomass and carbon, and, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the detritus were studied at the sediment-water interface and in the sediment. Significant differences in biomass decay were observed between the two bag types. Significant differences in decomposition were observed between the two experimental conditions studied using 100 pm-mesh bags. These differences were not significant when using the 1 mm-mesh bags. The carbon content in the detritus remained constant during the decomposition process. The percentage of nitrogen increased progressively from an initial 2.4 % to 3 %. The percentage of phosphorus decreased rapidly during the first two days of decomposition from an initial 0.26 % to 0.17 %. This loss is greater in the sediment than in the water column or at the sediment-water interface. From these results we deduce that the activity of microorganisms seems to be more important in the sediment than in the water-sediment interface, and that grazing by macroinvertebrates has less importance in the sediment than in the water column.

Domicola lithodesi n.gen n.sp. (Amphipoda: Calliopiidae), inhabitant of thepleonal cavity of a South African lithodid crab

Domicola lithodesi, a new genus and species of gammaridean amphipod is described. It is placed in the family Calliopiidae. Two specimens, a male and a preparatory female, were collected in August 1990 from the pleonal cavity of the lithodid crab Lithodes ferox (Filhol, 1885), an anomuran crab caught at 300 m depth from off Namibia. The more relevant characters are: anophtalmous; body smooth, gammarid-like, male smaller than female, urosomite 1 with a prepeduncular spine; telson broad, entire, unlobed and unarmed; short rostrum; accessory flagellum scale-like, calceoli absent; lower lip without inner lobes; coxa 4 posteriorly excavated; gnathopods basic, subequal, with numerous palmar spines; dactyls on P3-7 with specialized adhesive organs; coxal gill 7 present; uropods eusirid type.

Alkaline phosphatase activity as a tool for assessing nutritional conditions in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica.(L.) Delile

The effects of experimental phosphorus enrichments on alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile were tested. Short-term additions (as phosphate, 12 hours, in the laboratory) decreased APA by 18-2896, depending on the plant part considered (roots, young leaves or old leaves). The values of APA after this treatment were well correlated with interna1 phosphorus pools (as P concentration in plant tissues). Long-term additions (as phosphate, added to the sediment, 1 month in situ) decreased APA by 40-75%, also depending on the plant part. We conclude that alkaline phosphatase activity is a good indicator of P deficiency in this seagrass. We used this indicator to assess the P-nutritional status in a series of meadows in the NW Mediterranean, finding a high geographical variability, but correlations between APA and basic features of the meadows (carbonate content of the sediment, organic content of the sediment, shoot density, etc.) were not significant. Consequently, phosphorus deficiency does not seem to be directly related to these descriptors.

A general approach to the in situ energy butget of Eudendrium racemosum (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) in the Western Mediterranean

An in situ energy budget of the hydropolyp Eudendrium racemosum (Cavolini, 1785) is presented. Ingestion and respiration rates and ammonium excretion were studied over two 24 h cycles, with two-hour sample intervals. The species ingested as much as 25.9% of its own biomass per day (minimum rate). Respiration was 1.62 ml O2 g-1 d w h-1 while excretion was 13.6 mM NH4 g-1dw h-1. We estimated that the species increased its biomass at a rate of 9.6% per day (Growth + Reproduction). This value is higher than those previously reported for other cnidarians. We can assume that the capacity of E. racemosum to survive - albeit for a limited period of the year - in the highly-competitive shallow-water communities is based on its high growth rate.