A practical tool to identify water bodies with potential for mosquito habitat under mangrove canopy: Large-scale airborne scanning in the thermal band

We address the practical issue of using thermal image data without adjustment or calibration for projects which do not require actual temperatures per se. Large scale airborne scanning in the thermal band at 8.5–13 μm was obtained for a mangrove and salt marsh in subtropical eastern Australia. For open sites, the raw image values were strongly positively correlated with ground level temperatures. For sites under mangrove canopy cover, image values indicated temperatures 2–4°C lower than those measured on the ground. The raw image was useful in identifying water bodies under canopy and has the potential for locating channel lines of deeper water. This could facilitate modification to increase flushing in the system, thereby reducing mosquito larval survival.

Image calibration to like-values in mapping shallow water quality from multitemporal data

The applicability of image calibration to like-values in mapping water quality parameters from multitemporal images is explored, Six sets of water samples were collected at satellite overpasses over Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Australia. Analysis of these samples reveals that waters in this shallow bay are mostly TSS-dominated, even though they are occasionally dominated by chlorophyll as well. Three of the images were calibrated to a reference image based on invariant targets. Predictive models constructed from the reference image were applied to estimating total suspended sediment (TSS) and Secchi depth from another image at a discrepancy of around 35 percent. Application of the predictive model for TSS concentration to another image acquired at a time of different water types resulted in a discrepancy of 152 percent. Therefore, image calibration to like-values could be used to reliably map certain water quality parameters from multitemporal TM images so long as the water type under study remains unchanged. This method is limited in that the mapped results could be rather inaccurate if the water type under study has changed considerably. Thus, the approach needs to be refined in shallow water from multitemporal satellite imagery.

Accurate performance of a rat model of schizophrenia in the water maze depends on visual cue availability and stability: a distortion in cognitive mapping abilities?

Rats were treated postnatally (PND 5-16) with BSO (l-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine) in an animal model of schizophrenia based on transient glutathione deficit. The BSO treated rats were impaired in patrolling a maze or a homing table when adult, yet demonstrated preserved escape learning, place discrimination and reversal in a water maze task [37]. In the present work, BSO rats' performance in the water maze was assessed in conditions controlling for the available visual cues. First, in a completely curtained environment with two salient controlled cues, BSO rats showed little accuracy compared to control rats. Secondly, pre-trained BSO rats were impaired in reaching the familiar spatial position when curtains partially occluded different portions of the room environment in successive sessions. The apparently preserved place learning in a classical water maze task thus appears to require the stability and the richness of visual landmarks from the surrounding environment. In other words, the accuracy of BSO rats in place and reversal learning is impaired in a minimal cue condition or when the visual panorama changes between trials. However, if the panorama remains rich and stable between trials, BSO rats are equally efficient in reaching a familiar position or in learning a new one. This suggests that the BSO accurate performance in the water maze does not satisfy all the criteria for a cognitive map based navigation on the integration of polymodal cues. It supports the general hypothesis of a binding deficit in BSO rats.

Mapping, organic matter mass and water volume of a peatland in Serra do Espinhaço Meridional

Peatlands form in areas where net primary of organic matter production exceeds losses due to the decomposition, leaching or disturbance. Due to their chemical and physical characteristics, bogs can influence water dynamics because they can store large volumes of water in the rainy season and gradually release this water during the other months of the year. In Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil, a peatland in the environmental protection area of Pau-de-Fruta ensures the water supply of 40,000 inhabitants. The hypothesis of this study is that the peat bogs in Pau-de-Fruta act as an environment for carbon storage and a regulator of water flow in the Córrego das Pedras basin. The objective of this study was to estimate the water volume and organic matter mass in this peatland and to study the influence of this environment on the water flow in the Córrego das Pedras basin. The peatland was mapped using 57 transects, at intervals of 100 m. Along all transects, the depth of the peat bog, the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates and altitude were recorded every 20 m and used to calculate the area and volume of the peatland. The water volume was estimated, using a method developed in this study, and the mass of organic matter based on samples from 106 profiles. The peatland covered 81.7 hectares (ha), and stored 497,767 m³ of water, representing 83.7 % of the total volume of the peat bog. The total amount of organic matter (OM) was 45,148 t, corresponding to 552 t ha-1 of OM. The peat bog occupies 11.9 % of the area covered by the Córrego das Pedras basin and stores 77.6 % of the annual water surplus, thus controlling the water flow in the basin and consequently regulating the water course.

Surface mapping, organic matter and water stocks in peatlands of the Serra do Espinhaço meridional - Brazil

Peatlands are soil environments that store carbon and large amounts of water, due to their composition (90 % water), low hydraulic conductivity and a sponge-like behavior. It is estimated that peat bogs cover approximately 4.2 % of the Earth's surface and stock 28.4 % of the soil carbon of the planet. Approximately 612 000 ha of peatlands have been mapped in Brazil, but the peat bogs in the Serra do Espinhaço Meridional (SdEM) were not included. The objective of this study was to map the peat bogs of the northern part of the SdEM and estimate the organic matter pools and water volume they stock. The peat bogs were pre-identified and mapped by GIS and remote sensing techniques, using ArcGIS 9.3, ENVI 4.5 and GPS Track Maker Pro software and the maps validated in the field. Six peat bogs were mapped in detail (1:20,000 and 1:5,000) by transects spaced 100 m and each transect were determined every 20 m, the UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates, depth and samples collected for characterization and determination of organic matter, according to the Brazilian System of Soil Classification. In the northern part of SdEM, 14,287.55 ha of peatlands were mapped, distributed over 1,180,109 ha, representing 1.2 % of the total area. These peatlands have an average volume of 170,021,845.00 m³ and stock 6,120,167 t (428.36 t ha-1) of organic matter and 142,138,262 m³ (9,948 m³ ha-1) of water. In the peat bogs of the Serra do Espinhaço Meridional, advanced stages of decomposing (sapric) organic matter predominate, followed by the intermediate stage (hemic). The vertical growth rate of the peatlands ranged between 0.04 and 0.43 mm year-1, while the carbon accumulation rate varied between 6.59 and 37.66 g m-2 year-1. The peat bogs of the SdEM contain the headwaters of important water bodies in the basins of the Jequitinhonha and San Francisco Rivers and store large amounts of organic carbon and water, which is the reason why the protection and preservation of these soil environments is such an urgent and increasing need.

Expression quantitative trait locus mapping across water availability environments reveals contrasting associations with genomic features in Arabidopsis.

The regulation of gene expression is crucial for an organism's development and response to stress, and an understanding of the evolution of gene expression is of fundamental importance to basic and applied biology. To improve this understanding, we conducted expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping in the Tsu-1 (Tsushima, Japan) × Kas-1 (Kashmir, India) recombinant inbred line population of Arabidopsis thaliana across soil drying treatments. We then used genome resequencing data to evaluate whether genomic features (promoter polymorphism, recombination rate, gene length, and gene density) are associated with genes responding to the environment (E) or with genes with genetic variation (G) in gene expression in the form of eQTLs. We identified thousands of genes that responded to soil drying and hundreds of main-effect eQTLs. However, we identified very few statistically significant eQTLs that interacted with the soil drying treatment (GxE eQTL). Analysis of genome resequencing data revealed associations of several genomic features with G and E genes. In general, E genes had lower promoter diversity and local recombination rates. By contrast, genes with eQTLs (G) had significantly greater promoter diversity and were located in genomic regions with higher recombination. These results suggest that genomic architecture may play an important a role in the evolution of gene expression.

Characterization and genetic mapping of eceriferum-ym (cer-ym), a cutin deficient barley mutant with impaired leaf water retention capacity.

The cuticle covers the aerial parts of land plants, where it serves many important functions, including water retention. Here, a recessive cuticle mutant, eceriferum-ym (cer-ym), of Hordeum vulgare L. (barley) showed abnormally glossy spikes, sheaths, and leaves. The cer-ym mutant plant detached from its root system was hypersensitive to desiccation treatment compared with wild type plants, and detached leaves of mutant lost 41.8% of their initial weight after 1 h of dehydration under laboratory conditions, while that of the wild type plants lost only 7.1%. Stomata function was not affected by the mutation, but the mutant leaves showed increased cuticular permeability to water, suggesting a defective leaf cuticle, which was confirmed by toluidine blue staining. The mutant leaves showed a substantial reduction in the amounts of the major cutin monomers and a slight increase in the main wax component, suggesting that the enhanced cuticle permeability was a consequence of cutin deficiency. cer-ym was mapped within a 0.8 cM interval between EST marker AK370363 and AK251484, a pericentromeric region on chromosome 4H. The results indicate that the desiccation sensitivity of cer-ym is caused by a defect in leaf cutin, and that cer-ym is located in a chromosome 4H pericentromeric region.

Mapping of use and occupation of the soil and irrigation water quality in the city of Salto do Lontra-Paraná, Brazil

The objective of this study consisted on mapping the use and soil occupation and evaluation of the quality of irrigation water used in Salto do Lontra, in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Images of the satellite SPOT-5 were used to perform the supervised classification of the Maximum Likelihood algorithm - MAXVER, and the water quality parameters analyzed were pH, EC, HCO3-, Cl-, PO4(3-), NO3-, turbidity, temperature and thermotolerant coliforms in two distinct rainfall periods. The water quality data were subjected to statistical analysis by the techniques of PCA and FA, to identify the most relevant variables in assessing the quality of irrigation water. The characterization of soil use and occupation by the classifier MAXVER allowed the identification of the following classes: crops, bare soil/stubble, forests and urban area. The PCA technique applied to irrigation water quality data explained 53.27% of the variation in water quality among the sampled points. Nitrate, thermotolerant coliforms, temperature, electrical conductivity and bicarbonate were the parameters that best explained the spatial variation of water quality.

Mapping of adhesion forces on soil minerals in air and water by atomic force spectroscopy (AFS)

The adhesion force between an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and sample surfaces, mica and quartz substrates, was measured in air and water. The force curves show that the adhesion has a strong dependence on both the surface roughness and the environmental conditions surrounding the sample. The variability of the adhesion force was examined in a series of measurements taken at the same point, as well as at different places on the sample surface. The adhesion maps obtained from the distribution of the measured forces indicated regions contaminated by either organic compounds or adsorbed water. Using simple mathematical expressions we could quantitatively predict the adhesion force behavior in both air and water. The experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical calculations, where the adhesion forces in air and water were mostly associated with capillary and van der Waals forces, respectively. A small long-range repulsive force is also observed in water due to the overlapping electrical double-layers formed on both the tip and sample surfaces.

Mapping brain Fos immunoreactivity in response to water deprivation and partial rehydration: influence of sodium intake

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

MAPPING, ORGANIC MATTER MASS AND WATER VOLUME OF A PEATLAND IN SERRA DO ESPINHACO MERIDIONAL

Peatlands form in areas where net primary of organic matter production exceeds losses due to the decomposition, leaching or disturbance. Due to their chemical and physical characteristics, bogs can influence water dynamics because they can store large volumes of water in the rainy season and gradually release this water during the other months of the year. In Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil, a peatland in the environmental protection area of Pau-de-Fruta ensures the water supply of 40,000 inhabitants. The hypothesis of this study is that the peat bogs in Pau-de-Fruta act as an environment for carbon storage and a regulator of water flow in the Corrego das Pedras basin. The objective of this study was to estimate the water volume and organic matter mass in this peatland and to study the influence of this environment on the water flow in the Corrego das Pedras basin. The peatland was mapped using 57 transects, at intervals of 100 m. Along all transects, the depth of the peat bog, the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates and altitude were recorded every 20 m and used to calculate the area and volume of the peatland. The water volume was estimated, using a method developed in this study, and the mass of organic matter based on samples from 106 profiles. The peatland covered 81.7 hectares (ha), and stored 497,767 m(3) of water, representing 83.7 % of the total volume of the peat bog. The total amount of organic matter (OM) was 45,148 t, corresponding to 552 t ha(-1) of OM. The peat bog occupies 11.9 % of the area covered by the Corrego das Pedras basin and stores 77.6 % of the annual water surplus, thus controlling the water flow in the basin and consequently regulating the water course.

Mapping, organic matter mass and water volume of a peatland in Serra do Espinhaço Meridional

Peatlands form in areas where net primary of organic matter production exceeds losses due to the decomposition, leaching or disturbance. Due to their chemical and physical characteristics, bogs can influence water dynamics because they can store large volumes of water in the rainy season and gradually release this water during the other months of the year. In Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil, a peatland in the environmental protection area of Pau-de-Fruta ensures the water supply of 40,000 inhabitants. The hypothesis of this study is that the peat bogs in Pau-de-Fruta act as an environment for carbon storage and a regulator of water flow in the Córrego das Pedras basin. The objective of this study was to estimate the water volume and organic matter mass in this peatland and to study the influence of this environment on the water flow in the Córrego das Pedras basin. The peatland was mapped using 57 transects, at intervals of 100 m. Along all transects, the depth of the peat bog, the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates and altitude were recorded every 20 m and used to calculate the area and volume of the peatland. The water volume was estimated, using a method developed in this study, and the mass of organic matter based on samples from 106 profiles. The peatland covered 81.7 hectares (ha), and stored 497,767 m³ of water, representing 83.7 % of the total volume of the peat bog. The total amount of organic matter (OM) was 45,148 t, corresponding to 552 t ha-1 of OM. The peat bog occupies 11.9 % of the area covered by the Córrego das Pedras basin and stores 77.6 % of the annual water surplus, thus controlling the water flow in the basin and consequently regulating the water course.