Reproductive biology of Hepatus pudibundus (Crustacea: Brachyura), the most abundant crab on the southeastern Brazilian coast

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

Risco climático, vulnerabilidade socioespacial e eventos climáticos extremos relacionados ao calor e ao frio no estado do Rio Grande do Sul- Brasil

Pós-graduação em Geografia - FCT

Características morfogenéticas, perdas de nitrogênio por volatilização, reservas orgânicas e sistema radicular do capim-Tanzânia fertilizado com doses de nitrogênio

O objetivo do trabalho foi estudar as características morfogenéticas e estruturais do capim-Tanzânia, a produção de forragem, as perdas de nitrogênio (N) por volatilização, reservas orgânicas e a avaliação do sistema radicular sob doses de nitrogênio sob pastejo. O experimento foi instalado na área Fazenda Experimental de Iguatemi da Universidade Estadual de Maringá, no período de março de 2007 a março de 2008. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi de blocos completos ao acaso, com parcelas subdivididas com quatro repetições. Nas parcelas, encontravam-se as doses de N (0, 150, 300 e 450 kg ha-1 de N) e, nas sub-parcelas, as estações do ano. As perdas de N por volatilização foram quantificadas depois da adubação N (1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 e 15 dias). As amostragens das raízes foram realizadas nas profundidades de 0-10, 10-20 e 20-40 cm. A aplicação do fertilizante N na pastagem foi parcelada em três aplicações. A produção de massa seca total e de lâmina foliar de forragem respondeu linearmente até 282 kg ha-1 de N na estação do verão. A adubação nitrogenada exerce efeito positivo nas taxas de alongamento e aparecimento foliar, e no número de folhas vivas em plantas de capim-Tanzânia nas estações da primavera e verão. Elevadas adubações nitrogenadas associada a intervalos menores de pastejo promovem uma maior porcentagem de lâmina foliar; no manejo de pastos de capim-Tanzânia sob lotação rotacionada com altura de 70 cm na entrada dos animais para o pastejo e saída com 30 cm de altura do resíduo. A interação entre o nível de adubação e o período depois da aplicação de uréia foi significativa para a variável volatilização acumulada de N-NH3. A aplicação da uréia acarreta perdas percentuais mais elevadas de N nos três primeiros dias após a aplicação. A perda média acumulada de N-NH3 no período para as três estações do ano... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)

How marine upwelling influences the distribution of Artemesia longinaris (Decapoda: Penaeoidea)?

Upwelling events can occur in most of the oceans altering the water physical, chemical and sediment conditions and consequently the species communities dwelling the areas. For better understanding the behavior of populations inhabiting upwelling regions, the spatial and temporal distribution of a Penaeoidea shrimp was studied correlating it with the abiotic factors that vary during upwelling and non-upwelling periods in an area under influence of Cabo Frio upwelling. Bottom salinity and temperature, organic matter and sediment type from each station were sampled from March 2008 to February 2010, in six stations located between 5 and 45 m depth. The lowest temperatures were recorded during spring and summer for both years with temperature values lower than 19 degrees C. A total of 26,466 Artemesia longinaris shrimps were captured mainly in 10-35 m depth. Upwelling periods showed significant differences in abundance in relation to non-upwelling periods. The spatial distribution among stations varied according to the temperature with higher abundance in stations with values between 19 and 21 degrees C. The highest abundance of A. longinaris was recorded in spring and summer when intrusions of the cold waters of South Atlantic Central Waters (SACW) were frequent. Thus, the effect of cold water of SACW boosted by the upwelling was a determinant factor in the spatial and temporal distribution of A. longinaris in the studied region.

Desempenho de bovinos de corte em pastos de Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés manejados em diferentes alturas de pastejo

The production of grazing cattle has been very interesting, due to the low cost to produce fodder, compared to other sources of forage used to feed these animals, but the adequate management pasture has high influence on the success and profitability of cattle production systems. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the optimum grazing height of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraes, which provides the highest individual weight gain and gain per area. The stocking rate was continuous, with variable stocking rate. The experimental period was from January to December 2010. Three Nellore males were used in each experimental plot, and, when needed, additional animals were used for adjusting the desired heights. Monthly sampling was obtained to estimate forage mass (kg.ha(-1) of DM) and the structural characteristics of the pastures, such as, leaf: stem ratio. The animals were weighed at the beginning of the experiment and every 28 days, after 12 hours of fasting, to measure the average daily gain (ADG) After weighings were performed adjustments stocking rate to desired heights. Throughout the experimental period the animals received mineral supplementation. The desired sward heights were 15, 30, 45 and 60 cm, with three replicates each. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and three replications. To body weight gain (BWG) and average daily gain (ADG), each animal was considered an experimental unit. To gain per area and stocking rate, the paddock was considered the experimental unit. The leaf: stem ratio showed a linear increasing behavior in the spring and summer seasons. The smaller grazing heights provided higher gain per unit area (812.15 kg ha(-1)), while the highest grazing heights promoted high individual weight gain (0.790 kg.dia(-1)). The results suggest that Xaraes grass pastures should be grazed between 30 and 45 cm to allow reasonable performances by area and individual performances.

Biologia reprodutiva de Cyphocharax modestus (Characiformes: Curimatidae) no rio Taquari (alto rio Paranapanema), São Paulo, Brasil

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBB

Cultivo de milho verde em sucessão ao arroz no Vale do Ribeira, SP: subsídios para adoção de zonas de manejo

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Comportamento fenológico da liana Pyrostegia venusta (Ker Gawl.) Miers (Bignoniaceae) em área de cerradão na Estação Ecológica de Assis, SP.

Brazilian cerrado is characterized by an evident seasonality with distinct dry and wet seasons. Pyrostegia venusta is a common vine found in different physiognomies of the Cerrado. The species may present characteristics that allow its adjustment to the seasonal cycles. The phenology of vegetative and reproductive events was studied for this species in 2004 and 2005. The objective was to verify which climatic factors determine the phenological patterns observed in the species. Flowering was inversely related to mean temperatures and to the length of the day, while fruiting was inversely related to the photoperiod and directly related to the mean wind velocity. Seed dispersal was directly related to wind speed. As a consequence, flowering occurred at the end of the rainy season, close to the winter, and was prolonged until the end of the dry season. Fruiting and fruit maturation occurred during the dry period, with the seeds being dispersed at the end of this period. The seed dispersal at the end of the dry season, common to other anemochoric species of cerrado, allows a rapid germination at the beginning of the wet season, favoring the species propagation in this environment.

Reference evapotranspiration models using different time scales in the Jaboticabal region of Sao Paulo, Brazil

The aim of this paper is to compare 18 reference evapotranspiration models to the standard Penman-Monteith model in the Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, region for the following time scales: daily, 5-day, 15-day and seasonal. A total of 5 years of daily meteorological data was used for the following analyses: accuracy (mean absolute percentage error, Mape), precision (R-2) and tendency (bias) (systematic error, SE). The results were also compared at the 95% probability level with Tukey's test. The Priestley-Taylor (1972) method was the most accurate for all time scales, the Tanner-Pelton (1960) method was the most accurate in the winter, and the Thornthwaite (1948) method was the most accurate of the methods that only used temperature data in the equations.

Ammonia volatilization losses in Tanzania grass fertilized with urea

Gaseous losses are the main factors affecting the efficiency of nitrogenous fertilizers in pastures. To evaluate NH3-N volatilization losses in Tanzania grass fertilized with urea in autumn, spring and summer, a completely randomized design with repeated measurements over time and fifteen replicates was used. Plots were represented by urea levels (50; 100 and 150 kg ha-1 N) and subplots by time after fertilization (1; 2; 3; 6; 9; 12 and 15 days). The interaction between fertilization leveland time after urea application was significant for the accumulated NH3-N volatilization. Urea application leads to higher percentage N losses in the first three days after application. The average cumulative NH3- N loss for the three occasions (different seasons of the year) was 28%, 20% and 16% of N applied for fertilizer doses of 50; 100 and 150 kg ha-1 of N, respectively. The season of the year influenced NH3-N loss pattern and volume, with the lowest values recorded in spring, followed by summer and autumn. The cumulative NH3-N volatilization loss varies from 78 to 90% up to the third day after application of the total NNH3 loss.

Ecological distribution of the prawn Nematopalaemon schmitii (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) in three bays on the southeastern coat of Brazil

The relationships between the spatial and temporal variations in the abundance of the shrimp Nematopalaemon schmitti and water temperature, salinity, and texture and organic-matter content of the sediment, were analysed in Ubatumirim, Ubatuba and Mar Virado bays on the northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil. Sampling was carried out monthly, from January 1998 through December 1999, from a shrimp boat equipped with double-rig nets, along six transects in each bay. In total, 2 116 specimens of N. schmitti were caught. Their distribution differed among bays, transects and seasons (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Highest total abundance was found in areas of high organicmatter content, in substrate composed mainly of very fine sand and silt and clay, and during winter and autumn. Although multiple regression analysis showed no significant relationship (p > 0.05), observations suggest that water tempera ture, sediment texture, organic-matter content, and the presence of biodetritus and plant fragments, provided favourable environmental conditions for the establishment of N. schmitti in the region.

Diurnal evolution of the hourly diffuse solar radiation incident on tilted surfaces in Southeast of Brazil

Evaluation has been made on the monthly and annual average diurnal evolution of the hourly diffuse radiation as well as its radiometric fractions on surfaces inclined at 12.85, 22.85 and 32.85° to face North, in climate conditions of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil (22.85° S and 48.43° W). Measurements were made between 04/1998 to 08/2001 for 22.85°; 09/2001 to 02/2003 for 12.85° and 01/2004 to 12/2007 for 32.85°, with concomitant measures in the horizontal. For all surfaces the diffuse radiation was obtained from different method. Assessment has been performed as well on the radiometric fractions obtained from the ratio of diffuse radiation and global radiation (KDH and KDβ) and between radiation and diffuse radiation at the top of the atmosphere (KʹDH and KʹDβ) for the horizontal and tilted surfaces in hourly partition. The diffuse radiation levels were dependent on variations in precipitation and cloudiness. There was an increase in the differences between the diffuse radiation and the radiometric fractions with the increment of the angle, and in horizontally, which affected higher levels of diffuse radiation in spring and summer. The values of KDH and KDβ present in an inverse behavior were compared to diffuse radiation and theydecreased in the southern passage due to the increase of the direct component in the total of incident radiation.

James Pinckney Kinard Papers - Accession 8

The James Pinckney Kinard Papers consist of family history charts of the Kinard family and related Kuhn and Summer families, and a Kinard family history, personal correspondence including letters to and from his wife Lee Wicker Kinard (1873-1963), their daughter Nelle Kinard, and other family members, business correspondence, financial papers, literary manuscripts, scrapbooks, and photographs pertaining to Kinard’s student days at the Citadel, his personal and family affairs, his teaching career, his presidency of Winthrop, and his efforts to get his literary manuscripts published. This collection consists primarily of correspondence and offers an informative insight into the personal lives and family affairs of Dr. Kinard and his wife, Mrs. Lee Wicker Kinard. The correspondence generally deals with Dr. Kinard’s struggle against the South Carolina legislature’s cuts in educational appropriations for Winthrop during the Depression; and his varied activities on behalf of Winthrop as President Emeritus. The collection also includes several unpublished manuscripts ranging from his student days at the Citadel to his later life. Areas of research would perhaps include, among others, biographical information on Dr. Kinard and social history during the Depression.

Management of Wolf-Livestock Conflicts in Minnesota

In 1975, the gray wolf (Canis lupus) population in Minnesota was protected by the federal Endangered Species Act (USA). At that time, there were 500-750 wolves. By 2004, the population had grown to an estimated 3,020 wolves. Over time, conflicts between wolves and livestock increased. Wolf depredation control programs have been conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1975-1986) and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program (1986 to present). In 1978, Minnesota’s wolves were reclassified from endangered to threatened which allowed authorized federal agents to lethally remove wolves that had depredated on livestock or pets. A State funded wolf compensation program was also established in 1978. Wildlife Services’ wolf damage management approach utilizes both nonlethal and lethal methods of control. Currently, wolf depredations are verified at 60-85 farms annually and 125-175 wolves are taken each year. Wolf compensation payments to livestock producers have averaged $67,111 per year during the past five years. Most livestock losses occur during spring and summer. Selective removal of depredating wolves, coupled with improvements in animal husbandry practices, has potential for reducing wolf-livestock conflicts. Minnesota’s wolf population is currently considered to be fully recovered and federal delisting is expected to occur in the near future.

Determining Farm Custom Rates

As I write this, there is still snow in some ditches and fence rows, and many fields look like they are just about right for rice planting rather than corn or soybeans. Nonetheless, spring fever has hit and the field work will soon be going at full throttle. This raises a frequently asked question: “What are custom rates this year?” The Nebraska Custom Rate Survey is conducted every two years, and we are in the process of analyzing the data from our 2010 survey. We will publish those numbers as soon as possible. At this point we are working on the data for Part I, Spring and Summer Activities, and surveys are still coming in for Part II on Fall and Miscellaneous Operations. We thank all responders who helped out by completing surveys and sending us their information. We conduct a relatively extensive survey across the state, and as a result, it takes considerable time to get the data entered and analyzed by region.