BURROW-BUILDING STRATEGIES AND HABITAT USE OF VOLES IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST ORCHARDS

Seidel and Booth (1960) wrote that the "life histories of the genus Microtus are not numerous in the literature." In support of his observation he cited 6 publications, all dated between 1891 and 1953. Since then the literature has exploded with a proliferation of publications. An international literature review recently revealed over 3,500 citations for the genus. When Pitymys and Clethrionomys are included another 350 and 1,880, respectively, were found. Over the last 10 years approximately 3 new publications on voles appeared every 4 days; a significant output for what some would consider such an insignificant species. Most of the publications were the result of graduate research projects on population dynamics and species ecology. As such, many do not explore more than the rudimentary ecological relationships between the animal and their environments. Unfortunate, as well, is that all but one confined their observations to only a small part of their total environment. For many of these animals, their life underground may be more important for their survival than that above ground. Trapping studies conducted by Godfrey and Askham (1988) with permanently placed pitfall live traps in orchards revealed a significant inverse population fluctuation during the year. During the winter, when populations are expected to decrease, as many as 6 to 8 mature Microtus montanus were collected at any 1 time in the traps after several centimeters of snow accumulation. During the summer, when populations are expected to increase, virtually no animals were collected in the traps. According to current population dynamics theory, greater numbers of animals, including increasingly larger numbers of immature members of the community, should appear in any sample between the onset of the breeding period, generally in the spring, taper off during the latter part of the production season, usually late summer, and then decline as the limiting factors begin to take effect. For us, we trapped more animals in the fall and early winter than we did during the spring and summer. A review of the above literature did little to answer our question. Where are the animals going during the summer and why?

THE ROLE OF BIRD MANAGEMENT IN FIRE PROTECTION

Two years ago, Mike Fall and I showed you some ideas we had regarding mod¬ern architecture and bird problems. This year we've switched to considering bird hazards in older frame dwellings and on buildings where a fire hazard may be ap¬parent. During a class project some time ago, I was examining a nest of house sparrows and discovered that these birds incorporated cellulose cigarette filters into their nests. Filters were stripped of their paper wrapping and were apparently used by the sparrows as a substitute for or a supplement to fluffy air-born seeds and seed mat¬erials. The incidence of the cigarette filters varied. In the nests that I sampled the numbers varied anywhere from six up to two dozen filter remnants. We feel that the incidence will probably vary with the relative availability of discarded cigarette filter butts. We are concerned with the incidence of filters as an index to the possibility that the birds are picking up live cigarette butts, and this leads us to investigate some records of fires over the past three quarters of a century that were claimed to have been caused by birds.

Proposta de captação de água de chuva de para fins não potáveis em projetos residenciais

Water is an economic, strategic and social valuable resource of the utmost importance to society. This renewable natural resource is increasingly scarce with the growing of populations, industries and agriculture, in addition to the pollution surface and underground water and the waste have aggravated this situation. Investments in the sector of water resources so that this resource meets in quantity and quality the demand from its multiple uses, represent a significant portion of national and regional budgets. Therefore, the use of alternative sources of water capture can reduce the pressure on conventional public water supply systems. In this work was designed and executed a rain water collection system to a residence in the city of Barueri (SP), which can be applied to other residences. In this system, the rooftop of the residence was used as the waterproof and capture area. The gutter and the PVC conductors were used for driving the water to two connected reservoirs. The stored water was designed to address activities that are not potable, such as washing clothes and external areas and garden irrigation. The system showed economic viability, with 34-month return of investment time, wherein after that period, in addition to environmental and social benefits derived from the implementation of the project, the economy made with the payment of public supply rates should be considered. This rainwater capture system is inexpensive and uses materials available in the market. Therefore, its application to a greater number of households should be encouraged as a measure of sustainable water management

As histórias em quadrinhos no limiar de novos tempos: em busca de sua legitimação como produto artístico e intelectualmente valorizado

Enfoca a trajetória das histórias em quadrinhos para sua legitimação artística e cultural. Discute as dificuldades para aceitação dos quadrinhos em equipamentos culturais já estabelecidos e destaca o trabalho de artistas que utilizaram recursos da linguagem quadrinística em suas obras. Contextualiza a busca pela autonomia artística em obras produzidas no circuito underground e do quadrinho mainstream. Apresenta as graphic novels como novo formato para disseminação da linguagem dos quadrinhos em nível mundial, possibilitando atingir outras camadas de públicos e novos espaços de comercialização. Identifica tendências inovadoras na publicação de histórias em quadrinhos, com destaque para o jornalismo em quadrinhos e a utilização de quadrinhos para narrativas biográficas, identificando os principais autores e obras na área.