The resolution sensitivity of the South Asian monsoon and Indo-Pacific in a global 0.35◦ AGCM

The South Asian monsoon is one of the most significant manifestations of the seasonal cycle. It directly impacts nearly one third of the world’s population and also has substantial global influence. Using 27-year integrations of a high-resolution atmospheric general circulation model (Met Office Unified Model), we study changes in South Asian monsoon precipitation and circulation when horizontal resolution is increased from approximately 200 to 40 km at the equator (N96 to N512, 1.9 to 0.35◦). The high resolution, integration length and ensemble size of the dataset make this the most extensive dataset used to evaluate the resolution sensitivity of the South Asian monsoon to date. We find a consistent pattern of JJAS precipitation and circulation changes as resolution increases, which include a slight increase in precipitation over peninsular India, changes in Indian and Indochinese orographic rain bands, increasing wind speeds in the Somali Jet, increasing precipitation over the Maritime Continent islands and decreasing precipitation over the northern Maritime Continent seas. To diagnose which resolution related processes cause these changes we compare them to published sensitivity experiments that change regional orography and coastlines. Our analysis indicates that improved resolution of the East African Highlands results in the improved representation of the Somali Jet and further suggests that improved resolution of orography over Indochina and the Maritime Continent results in more precipitation over the Maritime Continent islands at the expense of reduced precipitation further north. We also evaluate the resolution sensitivity of monsoon depressions and lows, which contribute more precipitation over northeast India at higher resolution. We conclude that while increasing resolution at these scales does not solve the many monsoon biases that exist in GCMs, it has a number of small, beneficial impacts.

The teleconnection of the tropical Atlantic to Indo-Pacific sea surface temperatures on inter-annual to centennial time scales: a review of recent findings

In this paper, the teleconnections from the tropical Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific region from inter-annual to centennial time scales will be reviewed. Identified teleconnections and hypotheses on mechanisms at work are reviewed and further explored in a century-long pacemaker coupled ocean-atmosphere simulation ensemble. There is a substantial impact of the tropical Atlantic on the Pacific region at inter-annual time scales. An Atlantic Niño (Niña) event leads to rising (sinking) motion in the Atlantic region, which is compensated by sinking (rising) motion in the central-western Pacific. The sinking (rising) motion in the central-western Pacific induces easterly (westerly) surface wind anomalies just to the west, which alter the thermocline. These perturbations propagate eastward as upwelling (downwelling) Kelvin-waves, where they increase the probability for a La Niña (El Niño) event. Moreover, tropical North Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies are also able to lead La Niña/El Niño development. At multidecadal time scales, a positive (negative) Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation leads to a cooling (warming) of the eastern Pacific and a warming (cooling) of the western Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The physical mechanism for this impact is similar to that at inter-annual time scales. At centennial time scales, the Atlantic warming induces a substantial reduction of the eastern Pacific warming even under CO2 increase and to a strong subsurface cooling.

Indo além da judicialização: o Ministério Público e a saúde no Brasil

Este livro realiza uma abordagem sócio-jurídica dos desafios e estratégias de efetivação do direito à saúde por parte dos membros do Ministério Público (MP). Observou-se que o MP possui a capacidade institucional de criar um espaço de diálogo, pois possibilita a comunicação entre os principais atores que compõem o processo de formulação, gestão e fiscalização das políticas públicas em saúde. Assim, a principal estratégia utilizada pelo MP tem sido a atuação extrajudicial, que amplia tanto as possibilidades de sua atuação quanto a efetivação do direito à saúde, razão pela qual se expressa uma juridicização dos conflitos (conflitos são discutidos sob o ponto de vista jurídico); porém não necessariamente uma judicialização (ao máximo, se evita levar os conflitos ao Judiciário). Em virtude dessa atuação, observa-se uma valorização desta Instituição em função da possibilidade de ampliação do diálogo, de modo a gerar ações efetivas no encaminhamento e resolução dos conflitos.

A precautionary tale when describing species in a world of invaders: Morphology, coloration and genetics demonstrate that Lysmata rauli is not a new species endemic to Brazil but a junior synonym of the Indo-Pacific L. vittata

The objective of this study was to investigate morphological variation in traits of systematic relevance and the phylogenetic position, ecology, and reproductive biology of the shrimp Lysmata rauli Laubenheimer and Rhyne, 2010 (Caridea: Hippolytidae), described based only on a single specimen collected in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. We analyzed a total of 89 specimens from Camamu Bay, Bahia (n = 88) and from S3o Vicente estuary, São Paulo (n = 1). Considerable morphological variation was detected in the rostral spine series, number of segments on the carpus and merus of pereiopod 2, number of spiniform setae on the ventrolateral margin of merus and on the ventral margin of propodus of pereiopods 3-5. Importantly, L rauli can be distinguished neither using morphology, nor coloration from the Indo-Pacific L. vittata (Stimpson, 1860). Furthermore, molecular phylogenetic analyses (using the 16S mt DNA fragment) did not reveal any considerable genetic dissimilarities between L rauli and L vittata. Thus, our results clearly indicate that L rauli is not a new species but a junior synonym of L vittata. The high density observed within the structures of oyster farming indicates that the invasive L vittata lives in crowds in Brazil. The studied population was composed of males, hermaphrodites, and transitional individuals (having characteristics of males and hermaphrodites). The above information suggests that L rauli is a protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite, as it has been observed in all species of Lysmata that have been investigated. Lysmata vittata has invaded the southwestern Atlantic and is present in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and S3o Paulo, Brazil. © The Crustacean Society, 2013. Published by Brill NV, Leiden.

Occurrence of the Indo-Pacific freshwater prawn Macrobrachium equidens Dana 1852 (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) on the coast of Brazilian Amazonia, with notes on its reproductive biology

O camarão de água doce Macrobrachium equidens, nativo da região do Indo-Pacífico, foi registrada pela primeira vez na costa da Amazônia Brasileira. Esta espécie foi encontrada habitando o mesmo ambiente que duas espécies nativas do gênero Macrobrachium: M. amazonicum e M. acanthurus, e é morfologicamente muito similar à última. A identificação dessa espécie foi confirmada pela análise da sequencia genética do gene mitocondrial Citocromo Oxidase (COI). Uma descrição detalhada das características morfológicas e biologia reprodutiva de M. equidens neste novo ambiente que é apresentada.

Na beleza do lugar, o Rio das Contas indo ... ao mar

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Invasion of the Indo-Pacific blenny Omobranchus punctatus (Perciformes: Blenniidae) on the Atlantic Coast of Central and South America

Nós examinamos 308 espécimes do blenídeo Omobranchus punctatus, de origem Indo-Pacífica, depositados em coleções de quatro museus. Os dados de distribuição foram analisados com o objetivo de avaliar a invasão das águas costeiras do Oceano Atlântico nas Américas do Sul e Central. Em sua área de distribuição original, O. punctatus ocorre em ambientes marinhos e estuarinos. Amostragens datadas de 1930 e de 2004 produziram 20 registros da espécie no Atlântico Oeste tropical, incluindo amostras do Panamá, Colômbia, Venezuela, Trinidade e Brasil. Neste trabalho nós apresentamos 17 novos registros em áreas da Venezuela e nordeste do Brasil. O padrão temporal dos dados (1930-2009) e a proximidade da maioria das áreas de amostragem a regiões portuárias indicam que a espécie foi inicialmente introduzida no Atlântico pela água de lastro de navios navegando na rota India-Trinidade. No Brasil, a introdução parece estar associada ao movimento de navios em torno das plataformas de petróleo. No Maranhão e no Pará, a introdução está associada ao movimento de navios entre os portos próximos à foz do rio Amazonas. Alternativamente, a expansão de área desta espécie ao longo da costa da América pode ter acontecido através de dispersão larval, acompanhando as correntes em direção ao norte. Nós recomendamos o monitoramento desta espécie, bem como o desenvolvimento de estudos sobre sua ecologia em ambientes do Atlântico ocidental agora ocupados por ela.

Biological associations of color variation in the Indo-Pacific swimming crab Charybdis hellerii

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Biological Background on Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops spp.) in the 'Live-Capture' Trade and Specifically on the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, T. Aduncus

The most significant cetacean trade items until commercial whaling all but ceased in the 1990s (aside from scientific exchanges of tissues etc.) were meat and blubber from baleen whales for human consumption. Since then, live dolphins and 'small' whales for display (and to some extent for research, military use, and 'therapy') have become the most significant cetacean 'products' in international trade. Trade in live cetaceans is presently dominated by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.), beluga whales (Debhinapterns leucas) and to a lesser extent killer whales (Orcinus orca) (Fisher and Reeves 2005). In the past, most of the dolphins in trade were common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) originating in the United States, Mexico and the Black Sea, but since the 1980s the United States has essentially stopped its capture-for-export activities and in 2001Mexico implemented a moratorium on live-captures. The source countries for dolphins in trade are now geographically diverse, but Cuba and Japan are currently major source nations for common bottlenose dolphins. Russia is the only current source for belugas. Russia and Japan have become the main potential sources for killer whales since Iceland ceased exporting them in the 1980s or early 1990s.

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin Assessment Workshop Report

A workshop on the assessment of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), with the Solomon Islands as a case study, took place from 21-23 August 2008 in Apia, Samoa. It was planned and organized under the auspices of the Cetacean Specialist Group and attended by 19 invited participants from eight countries. Financial support was provided by WWF (International), The Ocean Conservancy, Animal Welfare Institute, Humane Society of the United States, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, U.S. Marine Mammal Commission and U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The workshop was hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP). Live-capture, holding in captivity and export of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands began in 2003. These activities stimulated global interest and generated concern about the potential conservation implications. The IUCN Global Plan of Action for the Conservation of Cetaceans had stated that as a general principle, small cetaceans should not be captured or removed from a wild population unless that specific population has been assessed and shown capable of sustaining the removals. A principal goal of the present workshop was to elaborate on the elements of an assessment that would meet this standard. Participants noted that an assessment involving delineation of stock boundaries, abundance, reproductive potential, mortality and trend cannot necessarily be achieved quickly or inexpensively.

Assessment of the resilience of coral reefs to natural and human disturbances by means of recruitment panels in Indo-Pacific

Indo-Pacific region encompasses about 75% of world's coral reefs, but hard coral cover in this region experienced a 32% region-wide decline since 1970s. This great change is primarily ascribable to natural and anthropogenic pressures, including climate change and human activities effects. Coral reef conservation requires management strategies oriented to maintain their diversity and the capacity to provide ecosystem goods and services. Coral reef resilience, i.e. the capacity to recover after disturbances, is critical to their long-term persistence. The aims of the present study were to design and to test field experiments intended to measure changes in recruitment processes, as a fundamental aspect of the coral reef resilience. Recruitment experiments, using artificial panels suspended in the water column, were carried out in two Indo-Pacific locations affected by different disturbances: a new mine in Bangka Island (Indonesia), and the increased sedimentation due to coastal dynamics in Vavvaru Island (Maldives). One (or more) putatively disturbed site(s) was selected to be tested against 3 randomly selected control sites. Panels’ arrangement simulates 2 proximities to living corals, i.e. the sources of propagules: few centimetres and 2 meters over. Panels were deployed simultaneously at each site and left submerged for about five months. Recruits were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and recruited assemblages were analysed in terms of percent cover. In general it was not possible to detect significant differences between the benthic assemblages recruited in disturbed and control sites. The high variability observed in recruits assemblages structure among control sites may be so large to mask the possible disturbance effects. Only few taxa showed possible effects of the disturb they undergo. The field tests have highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the proposed approach and, based on these results, some possible improvements were suggested.