First Record of Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) in Southeastern Brazil

OpenAIRE

Ribeiro, Antonia de Castro; UNIRIO; Cardoso, Debora; UESB; Lessa, Cláudia Soares dos Santos; UNIRIO; Moya-Borja, Gonzalo Efrain; UFRRJ; Aguiar, Valéria Magalhães; UNIRIO

2013-01-01

The present note reports the first record of Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) in Southeastern Brazil, in the municipality of Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro. The collecting was conducted with Diptera traps using fresh fish as bait. Primeiro Registro de Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) no Sudeste do Brasil Resumo. A presente nota relata o primeiro registro da espécie Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), no Sudeste do Brasil, no Município de Serop&...

Geomorphology Drives Amphibian Beta Diversity in Atlantic Forest Lowlands of Southeastern Brazil

OpenAIRE

Luiz, Amom Mendes; Le?o-Pires, Thiago Augusto; Sawaya, Ricardo J.

2016-01-01

Beta diversity patterns are the outcome of multiple processes operating at different scales. Amphibian assemblages seem to be affected by contemporary climate and dispersal-based processes. However, historical processes involved in present patterns of beta diversity remain poorly understood. We assess and disentangle geomorphological, climatic and spatial drivers of amphibian beta diversity in coastal lowlands of the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. We tested the hypothesis that geomorph...

Bat community species richness and composition in a restinga protected area in Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Oprea, M; Esbérard, C E L; Vieira, T B; Mendes, P; Pimenta, V T; Brito, D; Ditchfield, A D

2009-11-01

In Brazil, restingas are under severe human-induced impacts resulting in habitat degradation and loss and remain one of the less frequently studied ecosystems. The main objectives of the present study are to describe the bat community in a restinga in Paulo Cesar Vinha State Park, Guarapari municipality, state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Fieldwork was conducted twice a month from August 2004 to September 2005. A total sampling effort of 40,300 m(2)/h, represents the largest sampling effort for sampling bats in restingas to date. Bats were sampled in five different vegetational types in the area. Captured bats were processed recording information on species, sex, age, forearm length and weight. Shannon Diversity and Jaccard indexes were used to analyse diversity and similarity among habitats in the Park. A total of 554 captures belonging to 14 species and two families were obtained. Noctilio leporinus was recorded through direct observation and an ultra-sound detector also registered the presence of individuals from the family Molossidae, without being possible to distinguish it at specific level. Frugivores were the most representative guild. Richness was higher in Clusia shrubs (11 species) and Caraís lagoon (10 species). Shannon diversity index was estimated at H' = 1.43 for the overall sample, with Caraís lagoon representing the most diverse habitat (H' = 1.60). The greater similarity (J = 0.714) was observed for the two areas under high human influence.

Bat community species richness and composition in a restinga protected area in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Oprea

Full Text Available In Brazil, restingas are under severe human-induced impacts resulting in habitat degradation and loss and remain one of the less frequently studied ecosystems. The main objectives of the present study are to describe the bat community in a restinga in Paulo Cesar Vinha State Park, Guarapari municipality, state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Fieldwork was conducted twice a month from August 2004 to September 2005. A total sampling effort of 40,300 m²/h, represents the largest sampling effort for sampling bats in restingas to date. Bats were sampled in five different vegetational types in the area. Captured bats were processed recording information on species, sex, age, forearm length and weight. Shannon Diversity and Jaccard indexes were used to analyse diversity and similarity among habitats in the Park. A total of 554 captures belonging to 14 species and two families were obtained. Noctilio leporinus was recorded through direct observation and an ultra-sound detector also registered the presence of individuals from the family Molossidae, without being possible to distinguish it at specific level. Frugivores were the most representative guild. Richness was higher in Clusia shrubs (11 species and Caraís lagoon (10 species. Shannon diversity index was estimated at H' = 1.43 for the overall sample, with Caraís lagoon representing the most diverse habitat (H' = 1.60. The greater similarity (J = 0.714 was observed for the two areas under high human influence.

The blunt-headed vine snake, Imantodes cenchoa (Linnaeus, 1758, in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrique Caldeira Costa

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The blunt-headed vine snake, Imantodes cenchoa, has a large distribution, occurring from the east coast of Mexico to Argentina. In Brazil, it is found from the Amazon in the north, to Santa Catarina in the south. In the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, there are only two records of I. cenchoa in the literature. In the present study, a search for I. cenchoa from Minas Gerais was conducted in the main Brazilian herpetological collections, revealing a total of 13 localities with records of this species.

Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Characterization of Humic Acids in Coastal Spodosols from Southeastern Brazil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buurman, P.; Vidal-Torrado, P.; Martin-Neto, L.

2012-01-01

This study on humic acids (HAs) of podzol horizons from the southeastern region of Brazil investigated the accumulation and degradation of soil organic matter (SOM) in warm-climate podzols. Humic acids from sandy coastal Spodosols (Histic Alaquod and Arenic Alorthod) from Cardoso Island in Sao Paulo

Long-term evolution of denudational escarpments in southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Cherem, Luis Felipe Soares; Varajão, Cesar Augusto C.; Braucher, Regis; Bourlés, Didier; Salgado, André Augusto R.; Varajão, Angélica C.

2012-11-01

Topographic relief in southeastern Brazil consists of a sequence of stepped surfaces that formed after the fragmentation of Gondwana during the Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary tectonic pulses. This region is drained by four major rivers within four major river basins, with interfluves that contain denudational escarpments, fault escarpments and mountain ranges. This study presents an analysis of the long-term evolution of two denudational escarpments, the Cristiano Otoni and the São Geraldo steps, which divide the river basins of the São Francisco, Doce and Paraíba do Sul rivers in southeastern Brazil. Denudation rates were obtained through the measurement of mean concentrations of in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be in sand-sized fluvial quartz sediments collected from granitic terrains. The rates were calculated and compared with one another and correlated to the basin-scale mean relief, slope, area, and stream power. The mean denudation rates of the Cristiano Otoni and São Geraldo highlands are 8.77 (± 2.78) m My- 1 and 15.68 (± 4.53) m My- 1, respectively. The mean denudation rates of the Cristiano Otoni and São Geraldo escarpments are 17.50 (± 2.71) m My- 1 and 21.22 (± 4.24) m My- 1, respectively. The denudation rates of the catchments of highlands that drain toward the escarpments are similar to those of their respective highlands. The results demonstrate that relief and slope have similar positive control on the denudation rates for all of the samples despite their different geomorphic context and history of landscape evolution. The São Francisco River Basin is losing area to the Doce River Basin, which, in turn, is losing area to the Paraíba do Sul River Basin.

Soil fungal communities respond compositionally to recurring frequent prescribed burning in a managed southeastern US forest ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Alena K. Oliver; Mac A. Callaham; Ari Jumpponen

2015-01-01

Prescribed fire is an important management tool to reduce fuel loads, to remove non-fire adapted species and to sustain fire-adapted taxa in many forested ecosystems of the southeastern USA. Yet, the long-term effects of recurring prescribed fires on soil fungi and their communities in these ecosystems remain unclear. We Illumina MiSeq sequenced and analyzed fungal...

Effects of human trampling on a rocky shore fauna on the Sao Paulo coast, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, M N; Rosso, S

2009-11-01

Increased tourist activity in coastal regions demands management strategies to reduce impacts on rocky shores. The highly populated coastal areas in southeastern Brazil are an example of degradation caused by development of industry and tourism. Among different shore impacts, trampling has been intensively studied, and may represent a significant source of stress for intertidal fauna. A randomised blocks design was applied to experimentally study the effects of two different trampling intensities on richness, diversity, density and biomass of the rocky shore fauna of Obuseiro beach, Guarujá, southeastern Brazil. Blocks were distributed in two portions of the intertidal zone, dominated respectively by Chthamalus bisinuatus (Cirripedia) and Isognomon bicolor (Bivalvia). Blocks were trampled over three months, simulating the vacation period in Brazil and were monitored for the following nine months. Results indicate that Chthamalus bisinuatus is vulnerable to trampling impacts. Richness, diversity and turn-over index tended to be higher in trampled plots four months after trampling ceased. In general, results agree with previous trampling studies, suggesting that even low intensities of trampling may cause some impact on intertidal communities. Management strategies should include isolation of sensitive areas, construction of boardwalks, visitor education and monitoring programmes. In Brazil, additional data obtained from experimental studies are necessary in order to achieve a better understanding of trampling impacts on rocky shore communities.

Lizards and Amphisbaenians, municipality of Viçosa, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigues, A. C.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We performed a survey of lizards and amphisbaenians from municipality of Viçosa, in Atlantic Forest from state ofMinas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, based on data of the herpetological collections of Museu de Zoologia João Moojen,Universidade Federal de Viçosa, and Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. One hundred and forty sixspecimens of 14 species were analyzed, belonging to the following families: Amphisbaenidae, Anguidae, Gekkonidae,Gymnophthalmidae, Leiosauridae, Polychrotidae, Scincidae, Teiidae and Tropiduridae. We hope to supply basicinformation that helps to understand species distribution of this group in the Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais andsoutheastern Brazil.

Mortality among Guarani Indians in Southeastern and Southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey Moreira Cardoso

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Worldwide, indigenous peoples display a high burden of disease, expressed by profound health inequalities in comparison to non-indigenous populations. This study describes mortality patterns among the Guarani in Southern and Southeastern Brazil, with a focus on health inequalities. The Guarani population structure is indicative of high birth and death rates, low median age and low life expectancy at birth. The crude mortality rate (crude MR = 5.0/1,000 was similar to the Brazilian national rate, but the under-five MR (44.5/1,000 and the infant mortality rate (29.6/1,000 were twice the corresponding MR in the South and Southeast of Brazil. The proportion of post-neonatal infant deaths was 83.3%, 2.4 times higher than general population. The proportions of ill-defined (15.8% and preventable causes (51.6% were high. The principal causes of death were respiratory (40.6% and infectious and parasitic diseases (18.8%, suggesting precarious living conditions and deficient health services. There is a need for greater investment in primary care and interventions in social determinants of health in order to reduce the health inequalities.

Mortality among Guarani Indians in Southeastern and Southern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Andrey Moreira; Coimbra, Carlos E A; Barreto, Carla Tatiana Garcia; Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro; Santos, Ricardo Ventura

2011-01-01

Worldwide, indigenous peoples display a high burden of disease, expressed by profound health inequalities in comparison to non-indigenous populations. This study describes mortality patterns among the Guarani in Southern and Southeastern Brazil, with a focus on health inequalities. The Guarani population structure is indicative of high birth and death rates, low median age and low life expectancy at birth. The crude mortality rate (crude MR = 5.0/1,000) was similar to the Brazilian national rate, but the under-five MR (44.5/1,000) and the infant mortality rate (29.6/1,000) were twice the corresponding MR in the South and Southeast of Brazil. The proportion of post-neonatal infant deaths was 83.3%, 2.4 times higher than general population. The proportions of ill-defined (15.8%) and preventable causes (51.6%) were high. The principal causes of death were respiratory (40.6%) and infectious and parasitic diseases (18.8%), suggesting precarious living conditions and deficient health services. There is a need for greater investment in primary care and interventions in social determinants of health in order to reduce the health inequalities.

Insular ecosystems of the southeastern United States—A regional synthesis to support biodiversity conservation in a changing climate

Science.gov (United States)

Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Wolfe, William J.

2016-08-11

In the southeastern United States, insular ecosystems—such as rock outcrops, depression wetlands, high-elevation balds, flood-scoured riparian corridors, and insular prairies and barrens—occupy a small fraction of land area but constitute an important source of regional and global biodiversity, including concentrations of rare and endemic plant taxa. Maintenance of this biodiversity depends upon regimes of abiotic stress and disturbance, incorporating factors such as soil surface temperature, widely fluctuating hydrologic conditions, fires, flood scouring, and episodic droughts that may be subject to alteration by climate change. Over several decades, numerous localized, site-level investigations have yielded important information about the floristics, physical environments, and ecological dynamics of these insular ecosystems; however, the literature from these investigations has generally remained fragmented. This report consists of literature syntheses for eight categories of insular ecosystems of the southeastern United States, concerning (1) physical geography, (2) ecological determinants of community structures including vegetation dynamics and regimes of abiotic stress and disturbance, (3) contributions to regional and global biodiversity, (4) historical and current anthropogenic threats and conservation approaches, and (5) key knowledge gaps relevant to conservation, particularly in terms of climate-change effects on biodiversity. This regional synthesis was undertaken to discern patterns across ecosystems, identify knowledge gaps, and lay the groundwork for future analyses of climate-change vulnerability. Findings from this synthesis indicate that, despite their importance to regional and global biodiversity, insular ecosystems of the southeastern United States have been subjected to a variety of direct and indirect human alterations. In many cases, important questions remain concerning key determinants of ecosystem function. In particular, few

K-Ar geology, geochemistry and geochronology from the Maria River region dikes, Parana State southeastern part, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva Junior, Renato Oliveira da; Dall'Agnol, Roberto; Oliveira, Elson Paiva de

1996-01-01

The paper synthesizes the geological, petrographical, geochemical and geochronological data from the Maria River region dikes, situated at the southeastern part of the Para State, Brazil. It identifies five groups of dikes and determines the age of these dikes, through the Potassium-Argon (K-Ar) methodology

Effects of season on ecological processes in extensive earthen tilapia ponds in Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Favaro, E G P; Sipaúba-Tavares, L H; Milstein, A

2015-11-01

In Southeastern Brazil tilapia culture is conducted in extensive and semi-intensive flow-through earthen ponds, being water availability and flow management different in the rainy and dry seasons. In this region lettuce wastes are a potential cheap input for tilapia culture. This study examined the ecological processes developing during the rainy and dry seasons in three extensive flow-through earthen tilapia ponds fertilized with lettuce wastes. Water quality, plankton and sediment parameters were sampled monthly during a year. Factor analysis was used to identify the ecological processes occurring within the ponds and to construct a conceptual graphic model of the pond ecosystem functioning during the rainy and dry seasons. Processes related to nitrogen cycling presented differences between both seasons while processes related to phosphorus cycling did not. Ecological differences among ponds were due to effects of wind protection by surrounding vegetation, organic loading entering, tilapia density and its grazing pressure on zooplankton. Differences in tilapia growth among ponds were related to stocking density and ecological process affecting tilapia food availability and intraspecific competition. Lettuce wastes addition into the ponds did not produce negative effects, thus this practice may be considered a disposal option and a low-cost input source for tilapia, at least at the amounts applied in this study.

Ecosystem responses to biogeochemical fronts in the South Brazil Bight

Science.gov (United States)

Brandini, Frederico P.; Tura, Pedro M.; Santos, Pedro P. G. M.

2018-05-01

Here we described the general hydrography in the South Brazil Bight (23-28°S) with emphasis on frontal processes and their role in the structure and functioning of the regional shelf ecosystem. One of the key roles of fronts for ecosystem dynamics is the injection of nutrients into the euphotic zone increasing primary production. Frontal systems also affect plankton biodiversity and fisheries. Physical mechanisms behind frontogenesis in this region are similar in the analogous western side of oceanic basins; their magnitude and seasonal dynamics, however, may differ due to peculiarities in shelf morphology, wind field, tidal circulation and continental drainage. Here we provide a reassessment of earlier and recent ecological and hydrographic studies for a better evaluation of the spatial and temporal dynamics of fronts and their regional ecological implications. Albeit in a fragmented manner, we give a more detailed conceptual framework about the ecosystem responses to the complex frontal system in the South Brazil Bight.

Brazil nut harvesting in Peruvian Amazonia from the perspective of ecosystem services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Risto Kalliola

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Brazil nuts are harvested from the primary rainforests in the Amazonian lowlands as a direct form of sustainably using the region’s biological resources. We analyze the ecological economics of Brazil nut production in the Peruvian region of Madre de Dios where nut extraction occurs on hundreds of small-holder concessions operating under long-term agreements. This activity sustains locally important economies that suffer from small volumes and high seasonality. The size and the remoteness of the NTFP concession determine much of its profitability to concessionaires. Seasonality of the harvest generates short-term income peaks for the majority of collectors. The fragility of the Brazil nut economy in the region is compounded by volatile market prices and the overall development pressures in Amazonia, which usually involve deforestation. Although the current regulatory mechanisms in Peru encourage long-term Brazil nut production in concessions, the income level is seldom high enough to help concession-owners to rise from poverty. Auxiliary financial support based on compensations for the non-valued ecosystem services provided by the forest-covered Brazil nut concessions could change the picture. Funds for these could come from international instruments like those of carbon emission control or debt for nature swaps. Green marketing could be developed to consider payments supporting ecosystem values as well as mechanisms supporting indigenous communities working with Brazil nuts. Appropriate indicators are needed to optimize those management, policy and trading conditions that best help to preserve the invaluable ecosystem functions and services.

Habitat structural effect on squamata fauna of the restinga ecosystem in northeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Eduardo J R; Rocha, Carlos F D

2014-03-01

In this work, we surveyed data on richness and composition of squamatan reptiles and habitat structural effect in nine areas of restinga ecosystem in the State of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. The "restinga" ecosystems are coastal sand dune habitats on the coast of Brazil. Our main hypothesis is that the Squamata fauna composition along these restinga areas would be modulated by habitat structural. After 90 days of field sampling we recorded approximately 5% of reptile species known in Brazil. The composition of Squamata assemblages varied mainly based on the presence or absence of lizards of the genera Ameivula and Tropidurus. Our data showed that habitat structure consistently affected the composition of local Squamata fauna, especially lizards.

Living benthic Foraminifera from the Saquarema lagoonal system (Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil)

OpenAIRE

Belart, Pierre; Laut, Vanessa; Clemente, Iara; Raposo, Débora; Martins, Virgínia; Frontalini, Fabrizio; Lorini, Maria; Fortes, Rafael; Laut, Lazaro

2017-01-01

Transitional environments such as coastal lagoons with narrow connections to the sea are ecosystems very sensitive to natural or anthropogenic pressures. They are biodiversity hotspots and for this reason it should be studied and preserved. This study lists the benthic Foraminifera species from the Saquarema lagoonal system (SLS), Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. This complex ecosystem consists of four large connected lagoons, namely Urussanga, Jardim, Boqueirão, and Saquarema. A poorly diversif...

Assessing climate-sensitive ecosystems in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Costanza, Jennifer; Beck, Scott; Pyne, Milo; Terando, Adam; Rubino, Matthew J.; White, Rickie; Collazo, Jaime

2016-08-11

Climate change impacts ecosystems in many ways, from effects on species to phenology to wildfire dynamics. Assessing the potential vulnerability of ecosystems to future changes in climate is an important first step in prioritizing and planning for conservation. Although assessments of climate change vulnerability commonly are done for species, fewer have been done for ecosystems. To aid regional conservation planning efforts, we assessed climate change vulnerability for ecosystems in the Southeastern United States and Caribbean.First, we solicited input from experts to create a list of candidate ecosystems for assessment. From that list, 12 ecosystems were selected for a vulnerability assessment that was based on a synthesis of available geographic information system (GIS) data and literature related to 3 components of vulnerability—sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity. This literature and data synthesis comprised “Phase I” of the assessment. Sensitivity is the degree to which the species or processes in the ecosystem are affected by climate. Exposure is the likely future change in important climate and sea level variables. Adaptive capacity is the degree to which ecosystems can adjust to changing conditions. Where available, GIS data relevant to each of these components were used. For example, we summarized observed and projected climate, protected areas existing in 2011, projected sea-level rise, and projected urbanization across each ecosystem’s distribution. These summaries were supplemented with information in the literature, and a short narrative assessment was compiled for each ecosystem. We also summarized all information into a qualitative vulnerability rating for each ecosystem.Next, for 2 of the 12 ecosystems (East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods and Nashville Basin Limestone Glade and Woodland), the NatureServe Habitat Climate Change Vulnerability Index (HCCVI) framework was used as an alternative approach for assessing

A new species of Masteria (Araneae: Dipluridae: Masteriinae from southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denis Rafael Pedroso

2015-02-01

Full Text Available A new species of Masteria L. Koch, 1873 from iron ore caves at Caeté and Santa Bárbara, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, Masteria emboaba sp. nov., is described. It was collected inside caves and in the litter of nearby dry forests. It is the first masteriine species described from southeastern Brazil and the second masteriine species for the country. The new species is the only known Masteria with only two eyes. Additionally, the male of M. emboaba sp. nov. has only two regular, thin spines at the apex of tibia I, lacking the tibial apophysis found in most other Masteria species. The only other described Masteria species that has spines in the place of tibial apophysis is M. aimeae (Alayón, 1995 from Cuba; however, the last species has a longer and sinuous embolus, contrasting the embolus of M. emboaba sp. nov., which is much smaller, less sinuous and transversally placed. The only other described Brazilian species, M. manauara Bertani, Cruz & Oliveira, 2013, has a double tibial apophysis, with both ends tipped by a strong, short spine, and a very long embolus, parallel to the bulb.

A new record of the non-native fish species Butis koilomatodon (Bleeker 1849 (Teleostei: Eleotridae for southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riguel Feltrin Contente

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This work reports the second record of the Indo-Pacific invasive mud sleeper, Butis koilomatodon, for coastal São Paulo in southeastern Brazil, and represents the southernmost record for this species in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The risks of a potential invasion mediated by anthropogenic impacts on the area of occurrence are also discussed.

Treehoppers (Homoptera, Membracidae in southeastern Brazil: use of host plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benedito C. Lopes

1995-09-01

Full Text Available A survey on the use of host plants by treehoppers in plants in cerrado (savanna vegetation at Moji-Guaçu (São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil was made. Fifty-two species of treehoppers were recorded in association with 40 host plant species from October 1980 to February 1982. The families Araliaceae, Asteraceae, Leguminosae, Malpighiaceae, Myrtaceae and Nyctaginaceae were the most commonly used for oviposition. Byrsonima intermedia A. Juss. (Malpighiaceae had the highest number of associated treehopper species (10 species. The abundance of treehopper individuals was related to the hot and rainy season (from October to February, while during the cold and dry season (from March to September there was a decrease in the number of these Homoptera. After the occurrence of a frost, few adults and nymphs were observed on the host plants for one to two months.

A new species of the genus Alterosa (Trichoptera: Philopotaminae from Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Abrantes Jardim

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Philopotamidae is a large caddisfly family with 20 extant genera comprising about 1 000 described species worldwide. Alterosa contains 22 described species distributed in South and Southeastern Brazil. Adults of the genus are very similar in general structure, but are remarkable for their wide variation in male genitalic morphology. The specimens were collected with Pennsylvania light traps and preserved in 80% ethanol. Alterosa nessimiani sp. nov. is described and figured from male specimens collected in streams of Rio de Janeiro state, Southeastern Brazil. The new species is closely related to A. jordaensis Blahnik 2005, from which it can be distinguished by the presence of two spines on the intermediate appendages and by the shape of tergum X. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (2: 577-580. Epub 2012 June 01.Philopotamidae es una familia grande de tricópteros la cual está actualmente compuesta por 20 géneros y cerca de 1 000 especies descritas en todo el mundo. El género Alterosa posee 22 especies descritas y están distribuidas en el sur y sureste de Brasil. Los adultos del género son muy similares en su estructura general, pero se diferencian por su amplia variación presente en la morfología de la genitalia masculina. Los ejemplares fueron recolectados en trampas luminosas Pennsylvania y conservados en etanol al 80%. Alterosa nessimiani sp. nov. es descrita e ilustrada basada en ejemplares machos recolectados en el estado de Río de Janeiro, sureste de Brasil. La nueva especie es similar a A. jordaensis Blahnik, 2005, pero puede ser diferenciada por la presencia de dos espinas en los apéndices intermediarios y por la forma del tergo X.

Longitudinal anthropometric assessment of infants born to HIV-1-infected mothers, Belo Horizonte, Southeastern Brazil

OpenAIRE

Fausto, Maria Arlene; Carneiro, Mariângela; Antunes, Carlos Maurício F; Colosimo, Enrico Antonio; Pinto, Jorge Andrade

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the growth parameters in infants who were born to HIV-1-infected mothers. METHODS: The study was a longitudinal evaluation of the z-scores for the weight-for-age (WAZ), weight-for-length (WLZ) and length-for-age (LAZ) data collected from a cohort. A total of 97 non-infected and 33 HIV-infected infants born to HIV-1-infected mothers in Belo Horizonte, Southeastern Brazil, between 1995 and 2003 was studied. The average follow-up period for the infected and non-infected ch...

Potentially inappropriate medication use among institutionalized elderly individuals in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Cunha Xavier Pinto

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, the elderly population in Brazil has grown rapidly, as has concern for the health of this population. Institutionalization in nursing homes has appeared as an alternative form of health care for frail elderly that live alone. The present study evaluated the pharmacotherapy and inappropriate drug prescriptions for institutionalized elderly patients living in long-term institutions in southeastern Brazil. This research was conducted at five institutions with a total sample of 151 individuals aged at least 60 years. Databases were used to identify drug interactions, defined daily dose and inappropriate prescriptions. The prevalence of drug intake among the elderly was 95.36%, and there were an average of 3.31 ± 1.80 drug prescriptions per individual. Based on Beers criteria, the prevalence of inappropriate prescriptions was 25.83%. In addition, 70.2% of prescriptions were prescribed at a higher dosage than the defined daily dose (ATC/WHO. Potential drug interactions were identified for 54.11% of prescriptions; 81.42% of these were of moderate severity. The main inappropriate drugs were prescribed for cardiovascular and nervous system problems. Institutionalized elderly individuals presented a high consumption and misuse of medications, requiring professional intervention to monitor prescriptions and improve the quality of service for this population.

Multiple Determinants of Anuran Richness and Occurrence in an Agricultural Region in South-Eastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Prado, Vitor H. M.; Rossa-Feres, Denise de C.

2014-04-01

In agricultural landscapes, studies that identify factors driving species richness and occupancy are important because they can guide farmers to use conservation practices that minimize species loss. In this context, anurans are threatened by habitat loss because they depend on the characteristics of both local water bodies and adjacent landscapes. We used a model selection approach to evaluate the influence of local and landscape variables in determining anuran species richness and occurrence in 40 freshwater bodies in a heavily deforested region of semideciduous Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. Our aim was to develop recommendations for conservation of anuran communities in rural areas. Pond hydroperiod and area were the most important variables for explaining anuran species richness and occupancy, with greatest species richness being found in water bodies with intermediate hydroperiod and area. Other important variables that reflected individual species occupancies were the number of vegetation types and pond isolation. In addition, recent studies evidenced that water bodies near forest fragments have higher anuran abundance or diversity. In conclusion, we suggest the maintenance of semi-permanent ponds, isolated from large rivers or reservoirs and near forest fragments, as an effective strategy to conserve anuran fauna in agricultural landscapes of southeastern Brazil. Brazilian government requires the maintenance of forests as legal reserve in each farm, and farmers need to maintain ponds as drinking water for cattle or crop irrigation. For this reason, the guidelines suggested in the present study can be easily adopted, without additional costs to rural productivity.

Structure and floristic similarities of upper montane forests in Serra Fina mountain range, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Dias Meireles

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The upper montane forests in the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil have an unusual and discontinuous geographic distribution at the top of the Atlantic coastal mountain ranges. To describe the floristic composition and structure of the Atlantic Forest near its upper altitudinal limit in southeastern Brazil, 30 plots with 10 × 10 m were installed in three forest sites between 2,200 and 2,300 m.a.s.l. at Serra Fina. The floristic composition and phytosociological structure of this forest were compared with other montane and upper montane forests. In total, 704 individuals were included, belonging to 24 species, 15 families, and 19 genera. Myrsinaceae, Myrtaceae, Symplocaceae, and Cunoniaceae were the most important families, and Myrsine gardneriana, Myrceugenia alpigena, Weinmannia humilis, and Symplocos corymboclados were the most important species. The three forest sites revealed differences in the abundance of species, density, canopy height, and number of stems per individual. The upper montane forests showed structural similarities, such as lower richness, diversity, and effective number of species, and they tended to have higher total densities and total dominance per hectare to montane forests. The most important species in these upper montane forests belong to Austral-Antartic genera or neotropical and pantropical genera that are typical of montane areas. The high number of species shared by these forests suggests past connections between the vegetation in southern Brazilian high-altitude areas.

Aspects of sismo-tectonic stability in the South-Eastern region of Brazil of interest to geology of engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mioto, J.A.; Hasui, Y.

1982-01-01

The occurence of earthquakes in Brazil, mainly in the South-eastern region, and its relationship with the geologic features has been discussed by many Authors since the beginning of this Century. It is difficult to define intraplate seismicity and to understand the actual epirogenic displacent, but the definition of the regional stability is important for enginnering purposes and have been considered through seismologic, morphotectonic and geologic criteria. (Author) [pt

Environmental Factors and Ecosystems Associated with Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis in Northeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Costa, Andréa Pereira; Costa, Francisco Borges; Soares, Herbert Sousa; Ramirez, Diego Garcia; de Carvalho Araújo, Andreina; da Silva Ferreira, Juliana Isabel Giuli; Tonhosolo, Renata; Dias, Ricardo Augusto; Gennari, Solange Maria; Marcili, Arlei

2015-12-01

Environment influences the composition, distribution, and behavior of the vectors and mammalian hosts involved in the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), affecting the epidemiology of the disease. In Brazil, the urbanization process and canine cases of VL are indicators for local health authorities. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of the canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in Maranhão State, Brazil. Blood samples collected from 960 dogs from six municipalities and six different ecosystems (Baixada Maranhense, Mangue, Mata dos Cocais, Amazônia, Cerrado, and Restinga) to serological tests (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA], indirect fluorescence antibody test [IFAT], and chromatographic immunoassay methods [Dual Path Platform technology, DPP(®)]) and parasitological diagnosis. From serological tests, 11.14% (107) of the dogs were positive for CVL, with 59.16% (568), 14.5% (148), and 131% (126) positives to ELISA, DPP, and IFAT tests, respectively. Only seven animals (0.73%) were positive in a parasitological test. We also performed parasite isolation and phylogenetic characterization. All isolates of dogs obtained from Maranhão were grouped in a single branch with Leishmania infantum chagasi from Brazil. The ecosystem Amazonia presented the highest positivity rates to CVL in serological and parasitological tests. Brazilian biomes/ecosystems suffer large degradation and may favor, depending on climatic conditions, the installation of new diseases. In the case of VL, dogs are reservoirs of parasites and sentinels for human infection.

Floristic and ecological characterization of habitat types on an inselberg in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiza F. A. de Paula

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Inselbergs are granitic or gneissic rock outcrops, distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. They are considered terrestrial islands because of their strong spatial and ecological isolation, thus harboring a set of distinct plant communities that differ from the surrounding matrix. In Brazil, inselbergs scattered in the Atlantic Forest contain unusually high levels of plant species richness and endemism. This study aimed to inventory species of vascular plants and to describe the main habitat types found on an inselberg located in the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil. A total of 89 species of vascular plants were recorded (belonging to 37 families, of which six were new to science. The richest family was Bromeliaceae (10 spp., followed by Cyperaceae (seven spp., Orchidaceae and Poaceae (six spp. each. Life forms were distributed in different proportions between habitats, which suggested distinct microenvironments on the inselberg. In general, habitats under similar environmental stress shared common species and life-form proportions. We argue that floristic inventories are still necessary for the development of conservation strategies and management of the unique vegetation on inselbergs in Brazil.

A new species of Anacroneuria Klapálek 1909 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Espírito Santo State, southeastern Brazil and comments on additional species.

Science.gov (United States)

Novaes, Marcos Carneiro; Bispo, Pitágoras DA Conceição; Gonçalves, Maísa DE Carvalho

2016-12-14

Specimens of Perlidae (Plecoptera) from Espírito Santo State in southeastern Brazil were studied. A new species, Anacroneuria ruschii n. sp. is described. Brief remarks on A. debilis (Pictet) and Kempnyia neotropica (Jacobson & Bianchi) are also presented.

Lizard assemblage from a sand dune habitat from southeastern Brazil: a niche overlap analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Winck, Gisele R; Hatano, Fabio; Vrcibradic, Davor; VAN Sluys, Monique; Rocha, Carlos F D

2016-01-01

Communities are structured by interactions of historical and ecological factors, which influence the use of different resources in time and space. We acquired data on time of activity, microhabitat use and diet of a lizard assemblage from a sand dune habitat in a coastal area, southeastern Brazil (Restinga de Jurubatiba). We analyzed the data of niche overlap among species in these three axes (temporal, spatial and trophic) using null models. We found a significant overlap within the trophic niche, whereas the overlap for the other axes did not differ from the expected. Based on this result, we discuss the factors acting on the structure of the local lizard community.

Brittle reactivation of mylonitic fabric and the origin of the Cenozoic Rio Santana Graben, southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Gontijo-Pascutti, Ambrosina; Bezerra, Francisco H. R.; Terra, Emanuele La; Almeida, Julio C. H.

2010-03-01

In the Ribeira belt, southeastern Brazil, the Precambrian mylonitic fabric mainly formed during the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogeny (640-480 Ma) and was reactivated as fault zones in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. The reactivation process led to the development of the System of Continental Rifts of southeastern Brazil, from the Paleogene to the Quaternary. We investigated the brittle reactivation of a mylonitic zone, which is part of a major mylonitic belt, Arcádia-Areal. We used geological and geomorphological mapping, resistivity survey, controlled source audiomagnetotelluric survey, and luminescence dating. Our results indicate that this shear zone was reactivated and formed a 15 km long and 2 km wide sedimentary-filled trough, the Rio Santana Graben. It is located on the northwest border of a major structure, the Guanabara Graben, in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Rio Santana Graben forms an almost entirely fault-bounded, NE-elongated depression that was accommodated entirely within the Arcádia-Areal shear zone. The graben consists of two main depocenters separated by a relay ramp. The graben formed by means of multistage activity of several faults during at least two main periods. The first period formed silicified fault breccia and occurred during alkaline magmatism in the Paleogene. The second formed fault breccia and gouge in shallow conditions and occurred at least until the Quaternary. The NE-trending and NW-dipping Precambrian fabric was reactivated as dip-slip and strike-slip faults. These faults triggered clastic-sediment deposition at least 300 m thick. The upper part of the graben consists of Quaternary alluvial and colluvial sediment fill, which yielded maximum luminescence deposition ages from 49 to 13 ka in the center of the trough. An organic layer at the top of the Quaternary alluvial deposits yielded 14C ages at ˜6000 years BP. The lower part of the graben may be composed of Paleogene to Neogene sedimentary deposits, which occur in other

A new record of the non-native fish species Butis koilomatodon (Bleeker 1849 (Teleostei: Eleotridae for southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riguel Feltrin Contente

2016-05-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2016v29n2p113 This work reports the second record of the Indo-Pacific invasive mud sleeper, Butis koilomatodon, for coastal São Paulo in southeastern Brazil, and represents the southernmost record for this species in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The risks of a potential invasion mediated by anthropogenic impacts on the area of occurrence are also discussed.

Arthropod recolonization in the restoration of a semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Pais, Mara P; Varanda, Elenice M

2010-01-01

The use of arthropods for monitoring habitat changes has grown widely in the last decades. In Brazil, however, most of the studies in restored areas have involved only vegetation changes. The present study aimed at investigating recolonization patterns of epigeic arthropods in recently restored sites of semideciduous forests in southeastern Brazil. We compared the community structure of adjoining sites 5, 17, 29 and 36 months old with that at a nearby forest remnant (reference site). We also determined the most abundant species and looked for ecological indicator species of each site age. Arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps, and their assemblages were described and compared with multi- and univariate statistical methods. Species abundance and richness equivalent to the reference site were reached at five months after planting, however species composition was very distinctive not only in relation to the reference site, but also among restored sites. Some of the main species found in this restoration stage are common in agroecosystems or cerrado vegetation. Nevertheless, there was a clear trend of arthropod fauna in restored sites moving toward the fauna in the forest remnant over time. Our results also highlighted ants and termites because of their abundance and ants because of their high value as ecological indicators of restoration age.

Hospital morbidity among Guarani Indians in Southeastern and Southern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Andrey Moreira; Coimbra, Carlos E A; Tavares, Felipe Guimarães

2010-03-01

Studies on hospital morbidity among Brazilian indigenous peoples are relatively recent, show limited coverage, and lack data sources capable of generating specific indicators according to ethnic group. The current study describes hospital morbidity in the indigenous population living in 83 Guarani villages in Southern and Southeastern Brazil (N=6,483), based on primary data obtained from a hospital admissions surveillance system implemented in 2007-2008, specifically for a case-control study on acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Guarani children. During the study period there were 666 hospitalizations in a total of 497 individuals, the majority under 5 years of age (71.9%). Respiratory illnesses were the main causes of hospitalization (64.6%), especially in children (<5 years: 77.6%; <1 year: 83.4%) and exceeded the proportions of hospital admissions from these causes in other indigenous groups. The overall hospitalization rate (per 100 person-years) was 8.8, or 71.4 under 1 year and 21.0 from 1 to 4 years of age. The ARI hospitalization rate (5.3) was 6.5 and 2.0 times higher than for diarrhea and other causes, respectively, while in children under 5 years of age (ARI=23.7) these differences were 7.4 and 5.4 times, respectively. The standardized Guarani hospitalization rate exceeded the standardized rates for the South and Southeast of Brazil by 40% and 210%, respectively. Hospitalization for primary care sensitive conditions and the high ARI rates indicate the need for studies to understand the epidemiology of ARI and investments to upgrade primary health care for the Guarani.

Lizard assemblage from a sand dune habitat from southeastern Brazil: a niche overlap analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GISELE R. WINCK

2016-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Communities are structured by interactions of historical and ecological factors, which influence the use of different resources in time and space. We acquired data on time of activity, microhabitat use and diet of a lizard assemblage from a sand dune habitat in a coastal area, southeastern Brazil (Restinga de Jurubatiba. We analyzed the data of niche overlap among species in these three axes (temporal, spatial and trophic using null models. We found a significant overlap within the trophic niche, whereas the overlap for the other axes did not differ from the expected. Based on this result, we discuss the factors acting on the structure of the local lizard community.

A characterization of ecosystem services, drivers and values of two watersheds in São Paulo State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Periotto

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract The evaluation of ecosystem services is a tool to raise awareness about benefits of ecosystem functions for human well-being. In Brazil, few studies and reports assess ecosystem services in a watershed context. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by assessing ecosystem services of Jacaré-Guaçu and Jacaré-Pepira Watersheds (São Paulo State, Brazil in a temporal scale of 10 years. Land cover and uses’ capacity to provide ecosystem services and drivers were assessed as a result of mapping these areas. Economic values were estimated based on literature information. Results showed that cultivated and managed terrestrial areas stands out over other areas and then, regulation and maintenance services are reduced in these areas. Wetlands and natural vegetation, with smaller areas, are important for the supply of regulation and maintenance services of both watersheds and economic values indicate the magnitude of degradation or maintenance/restoration.

Pollination biology in a tropical high-altitude grassland in Brazil: Interactions at the community level

OpenAIRE

Freitas, L; Sazima, M

2006-01-01

Surveys of local assemblages of plants and their pollinators are among the most useful ways to evaluate specialization in pollination and to discuss the patterns of plant-pollinator interactions among ecosystems. The high-altitude grasslands from southeastern Brazil constitute diminutive island-like formations surrounded by montane rainforests. We registered the floral traits of 124 species from the Serra da Bricaina grasslands (about 60% of the animal-pollinated species of this flora), and d...

Sensitivity of tree ring growth to local and large-scale climate variability in a region of Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Venegas-González, Alejandro; Chagas, Matheus Peres; Anholetto Júnior, Claudio Roberto; Alvares, Clayton Alcarde; Roig, Fidel Alejandro; Tomazello Filho, Mario

2016-01-01

We explored the relationship between tree growth in two tropical species and local and large-scale climate variability in Southeastern Brazil. Tree ring width chronologies of Tectona grandis (teak) and Pinus caribaea (Caribbean pine) trees were compared with local (Water Requirement Satisfaction Index—WRSI, Standardized Precipitation Index—SPI, and Palmer Drought Severity Index—PDSI) and large-scale climate indices that analyze the equatorial pacific sea surface temperature (Trans-Niño Index-TNI and Niño-3.4-N3.4) and atmospheric circulation variations in the Southern Hemisphere (Antarctic Oscillation-AAO). Teak trees showed positive correlation with three indices in the current summer and fall. A significant correlation between WRSI index and Caribbean pine was observed in the dry season preceding tree ring formation. The influence of large-scale climate patterns was observed only for TNI and AAO, where there was a radial growth reduction in months preceding the growing season with positive values of the TNI in teak trees and radial growth increase (decrease) during December (March) to February (May) of the previous (current) growing season with positive phase of the AAO in teak (Caribbean pine) trees. The development of a new dendroclimatological study in Southeastern Brazil sheds light to local and large-scale climate influence on tree growth in recent decades, contributing in future climate change studies.

Mammals of medium and large size in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo, A. A.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The diversity of Brazilian vertebrates is regarded among the highest in the world. However, the biologicaldiversity is still mostly unknown and a good part of it is seriously threatened by human activities. This study aimed toinventory the medium and large size mammals present in the Reserva Biológica de Santa Rita do Sapucaí, an Atlanticforest reserve located in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, southeastern Brazil. Sand-plots, photographic traps and searches foranimal tracks on pre-existent trails in the area, were carried out once every two months between May 2006 andFebruary 2007. The sand-plots and tracks were inspected during five consecutive days per sampling. We obtained 108records of 15 species, mostly of carnivorans. Two confirmed species are threatened with extinction in Brazil (Callithrixaurita and Leopardus pardalis. The results suggest that the sampled reserve has high species richness and plays animportant role in conservation of mammals in this landscape, including species threatened with extinction.

Leveraging 35 years of Pinus taeda research in the southeastern US to constrain forest carbon cycle predictions: regional data assimilation using ecosystem experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn Thomas, R.; Brooks, Evan B.; Jersild, Annika L.; Ward, Eric J.; Wynne, Randolph H.; Albaugh, Timothy J.; Dinon-Aldridge, Heather; Burkhart, Harold E.; Domec, Jean-Christophe; Fox, Thomas R.; Gonzalez-Benecke, Carlos A.; Martin, Timothy A.; Noormets, Asko; Sampson, David A.; Teskey, Robert O.

2017-07-01

Predicting how forest carbon cycling will change in response to climate change and management depends on the collective knowledge from measurements across environmental gradients, ecosystem manipulations of global change factors, and mathematical models. Formally integrating these sources of knowledge through data assimilation, or model-data fusion, allows the use of past observations to constrain model parameters and estimate prediction uncertainty. Data assimilation (DA) focused on the regional scale has the opportunity to integrate data from both environmental gradients and experimental studies to constrain model parameters. Here, we introduce a hierarchical Bayesian DA approach (Data Assimilation to Predict Productivity for Ecosystems and Regions, DAPPER) that uses observations of carbon stocks, carbon fluxes, water fluxes, and vegetation dynamics from loblolly pine plantation ecosystems across the southeastern US to constrain parameters in a modified version of the Physiological Principles Predicting Growth (3-PG) forest growth model. The observations included major experiments that manipulated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, water, and nutrients, along with nonexperimental surveys that spanned environmental gradients across an 8.6 × 105 km2 region. We optimized regionally representative posterior distributions for model parameters, which dependably predicted data from plots withheld from the data assimilation. While the mean bias in predictions of nutrient fertilization experiments, irrigation experiments, and CO2 enrichment experiments was low, future work needs to focus modifications to model structures that decrease the bias in predictions of drought experiments. Predictions of how growth responded to elevated CO2 strongly depended on whether ecosystem experiments were assimilated and whether the assimilated field plots in the CO2 study were allowed to have different mortality parameters than the other field plots in the region. We present

Ichthyofauna diversity in a protected area in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. M. Gomiero

Full Text Available The study site is located in an environmentally protected area known as an "APA" in São Pedro and Analândia, State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, whose watercourses are under strong anthropogenic pressure. Two basins were studied (sub-basin of the Corumbataí River and basin of the Jacaré-pepira River with the purpose of characterizing the ichthyofauna of various streams, comparing fish diversity among assemblages. The Passa-cinco River showed the highest diversity (H', and the Jaccard and Morisita-Horn indices showed low similarity among sites and between the basins. Diversity was correlated with the number of available habitats and with the environmental conditions.

Judicialization of access to medicines in Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Machado, Marina Amaral de Ávila; Acurcio, Francisco de Assis; Brandão, Cristina Mariano Ruas; Faleiros, Daniel Resende; Guerra, Augusto Afonso; Cherchiglia, Mariângela Leal; Andrade, Eli Iola Gurgel

2011-06-01

To analyze the profile of claimants and medicines demanded in lawsuits. Descriptive study that examined 827 lawsuits with 1,777 demands of access to medicines in the period between July 2005 and June 2006 in the state of Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil. There were examined the type of health care provided to claimants and their attorneyship. The medicines were described based on the following: drug registration at the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa); wheter they were essential medicines; supply in the Brazilian Health System programs; and evidence of drug efficacy. More than 70% of the claimants were provided care in the private health system and 60.3% hired private lawyers. The most common diagnosis of claimants was rheumatoid arthritis (23.1%) and the immunosuppressant agents were the most frequent demand medicines (mainly adalimumab and etanercept). Approximately 5% of the medicines demanded were not registered at Anvisa, 19.6% were included in the Brazilian List of Essential Medicine, 24.3% were included in the High-Cost Drug Program and 53.9% showed consistent evidence of efficacy. Among the medicines that were not available in Brazilian Health System, 79.0% had therapeutic alternatives in drug programs. The phenomenon of judicialization of health in Brazil can point out failures in the public health system as some medicines demanded are included in its lists. However, it is a barrier for rational drug use and application of the National Drug Policy guidelines, especially when there are demanded medicines with no evidence of efficacy and that are not included in Brazilian Health System standards.

Thunderstorm incidence in southeastern Brazil estimated from different data sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Pinto Jr.

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a comparative analysis of the thunderstorm incidence in southeastern Brazil obtained from thunderstorm days observed at two different epochs (from 1910 to 1951 and from 1971 to 1984 and from lightning data provided by the Brazilian lightning location system RINDAT (from 1999 to 2006 and the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM satellite (from 1998 to 2010. The results are interpreted in terms of the main synoptic patterns associated with thunderstorm activity in this region, indicating that the prevailing synoptic pattern associated with thunderstorm activity is the occurrence of frontal systems and their modulation by the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ and topography. Evidence of urban effects is also found. The results are also discussed in the context of practical applications involving their use in the Brazilian lightning protection standards, suggesting that the present version of the Brazilian standards should be revised incorporating RINDAT and LIS data. Finally, the results are important to improve our knowledge about the limitations of the different techniques used to record the thunderstorm activity and support future climatic studies.

Intertidal mangrove mudflat 240+239Pu signatures, confirming a 210Pb geochronology on the southeastern coast of Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, C.J.; Patchineelam, S.R.; Ketterer, M.E.

2010-01-01

A sediment core was taken to determine if sediment accumulation rates could be conducted using 240+239 Pu signatures in the coastal mangrove mudflats of southeastern Brazil. The results from this study show that 240+239 Pu fallout activities are sufficient and well preserved in the coastal sediments of this region. Sediment accumulation rates determined from the 240+239 Pu signatures were 4.4 mm/year and 4.1 from 210 Pb (CIC) method. A sediment mixing coefficient rate was calculated using chlorophyll-a profile (9.5 cm 2 ). (author)

Severe Weather Events over Southeastern Brazil during the 2016 Dry Season

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda Rehbein

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Southeastern Brazil is the most populated and economically developed region of this country. Its climate consists of two distinct seasons: the dry season, extending from April to September, the precipitation is significantly reduced in comparison to that of the wet season, which extends from October to March. However, during nine days of the 2016 dry season, successive convective systems were associated with atypical precipitation events, tornadoes and at least one microburst over the southern part of this region. These events led to flooding, damages to buildings, shortages of electricity and water in several places, many injuries, and two documented deaths. The present study investigates the synoptic and dynamical features related to these anomalous events. The convective systems were embedded in an unstable environment with intense low-level jet flow and strong wind shear and were supported by a sequence of extratropical cyclones occurring over the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. These features were intensified by the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO in its phase 8 and by intense negative values of the Pacific South America (PSA 2 mode.

No contribution of GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes to the risk of neutropenia due to benzene exposure in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Silvia Passos Lima

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Exposure to benzene has been associated with haematological diseases such as neutropenia (NEB and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML. We tested whether the null genotypes of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes, involved in benzene inactivation, altered the risk for NEB in southeastern Brazil. Genomic DNA from 55 NEB patients and 330 controls was analysed by multiplex-polymerase chain reaction. The frequency of the GSTM1, GSTT1 and combined null genotypes was similar in patients and controls (GSTM1, 27.3% vs. 38.8%, p = 0.16; GSTT1, 25.5% vs. 19.7%, p = 0.24; GSTM1/GSTT1, 12.7% vs. 6.7%, p = 0.26; respectively. The distribution of genotype classes in NEB patients was similar to normal controls, suggesting that GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes make no specific contribution to the risk of NEB. As the GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes were previously associated with increased risk for AML in Brazil and elsewhere, we hypothesise that different thresholds of chemical exposure relative to distinct GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes may determine whether AML or NEB manifests in benzene exposed individuals from southeastern Brazil. Although indicative, our results still require support by prospective and large scale epidemiological studies, with rigorous assessment of daily chemical exposures and control of the possible contribution of other polymorphic genes involved in benzene metabolism.

Climate change and control of the southeastern Bering Sea pelagic ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, George L., Jr.; Stabeno, Phyllis; Walters, Gary; Sinclair, Elizabeth; Brodeur, Richard D.; Napp, Jeffery M.; Bond, Nicholas A.

2002-12-01

We propose a new hypothesis, the Oscillating Control Hypothesis (OCH), which predicts that pelagic ecosystem function in the southeastern Bering Sea will alternate between primarily bottom-up control in cold regimes and primarily top-down control in warm regimes. The timing of spring primary production is determined predominately by the timing of ice retreat. Late ice retreat (late March or later) leads to an early, ice-associated bloom in cold water (e.g., 1995, 1997, 1999), whereas no ice, or early ice retreat before mid-March, leads to an open-water bloom in May or June in warm water (e.g., 1996, 1998, 2000). Zooplankton populations are not closely coupled to the spring bloom, but are sensitive to water temperature. In years when the spring bloom occurs in cold water, low temperatures limit the production of zooplankton, the survival of larval/juvenile fish, and their recruitment into the populations of species of large piscivorous fish, such as walleye pollock ( Theragra chalcogramma), Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) and arrowtooth flounder ( Atheresthes stomias). When continued over decadal scales, this will lead to bottom-up limitation and a decreased biomass of piscivorous fish. Alternatively, in periods when the bloom occurs in warm water, zooplankton populations should grow rapidly, providing plentiful prey for larval and juvenile fish. Abundant zooplankton will support strong recruitment of fish and will lead to abundant predatory fish that control forage fish, including, in the case of pollock, their own juveniles. Piscivorous marine birds and pinnipeds may achieve higher production of young and survival in cold regimes, when there is less competition from large piscivorous fish for cold-water forage fish such as capelin ( Mallotus villosus). Piscivorous seabirds and pinnipeds also may be expected to have high productivity in periods of transition from cold regimes to warm regimes, when young of large predatory species of fish are numerous enough to

Defense behavior and tail loss in the endemic lizard Eurolophosaurus nanuzae (Squamata, Tropiduridae from southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Conrado A. B. Galdino

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Defense behavior of the endemic tropidurid lizard Eurolophosaurus nanuzae was studied in an area of rocky outcrops at Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. Tail loss aspects of this species were also studied in lizards from three populations (Diamantina, Serra do Cipó, and Serro, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Lizards relied primarily on crypsis to avoid detection by predators. Secondary defense strategies involved a complex set of behaviors. Mean maximum distance of flight was 1.68 ± 1.70 m. When captured,individuals attempted to flee, lifted the tail, produced distress calls, discharged the cloacal contents, waived their tails, and bit. Frequency of tail autotomy was 13.2% (n = 53 in Diamantina, 11.9% (n = 42 in Serra do Cipó, and 4.1% (n = 49 in Serro. Tail autotomy frequency did not differ among the three populations (X2 = 3.3, DF =2, p = 0.19. Tail autotomy did not vary between the years of the study (X2 = 1.32, p = 0.35 and did not differ between males and females among the studied populations.

Leveraging 35 years of Pinus taeda research in the southeastern US to constrain forest carbon cycle predictions: regional data assimilation using ecosystem experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Q. Thomas

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Predicting how forest carbon cycling will change in response to climate change and management depends on the collective knowledge from measurements across environmental gradients, ecosystem manipulations of global change factors, and mathematical models. Formally integrating these sources of knowledge through data assimilation, or model–data fusion, allows the use of past observations to constrain model parameters and estimate prediction uncertainty. Data assimilation (DA focused on the regional scale has the opportunity to integrate data from both environmental gradients and experimental studies to constrain model parameters. Here, we introduce a hierarchical Bayesian DA approach (Data Assimilation to Predict Productivity for Ecosystems and Regions, DAPPER that uses observations of carbon stocks, carbon fluxes, water fluxes, and vegetation dynamics from loblolly pine plantation ecosystems across the southeastern US to constrain parameters in a modified version of the Physiological Principles Predicting Growth (3-PG forest growth model. The observations included major experiments that manipulated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 concentration, water, and nutrients, along with nonexperimental surveys that spanned environmental gradients across an 8.6  ×  105 km2 region. We optimized regionally representative posterior distributions for model parameters, which dependably predicted data from plots withheld from the data assimilation. While the mean bias in predictions of nutrient fertilization experiments, irrigation experiments, and CO2 enrichment experiments was low, future work needs to focus modifications to model structures that decrease the bias in predictions of drought experiments. Predictions of how growth responded to elevated CO2 strongly depended on whether ecosystem experiments were assimilated and whether the assimilated field plots in the CO2 study were allowed to have different mortality parameters than the other field

New species of Parotocinclus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from coastal drainages of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Roxo, Fábio F; Melo, Bruno F; Silva, Gabriel S C; Oliveira, Claudio

2017-02-15

A new species of Parotocinclus is described from tributaries of rio São João, an Atlantic coastal river of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the possession of a triangular patch of dark pigmentation on the anterior portion of the dorsal-fin base, a fully developed adipose fin, complete exposure of the ventral surface of the pectoral girdle, and a distinctive pigmentation pattern of the caudal fin. The caudal fin has a hyaline background with a large black blotch covering its anterior portion, tapering irregularly through distal portions of the ventral lobe with a hyaline rounded area, and a small patch of dark pigmentation on distal portions of the dorsal lobe.

Novel Ehrlichia and Hepatozoon agents infecting the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Aliny P; Souza, Tayse D; Marcili, Arlei; Labruna, Marcelo B

2013-05-01

This study evaluated infection by vector-borne agents in 58 crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous L.) that were road-killed in an Atlantic rainforest reserve in the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Spleen, lung, or blood samples collected from the foxes were tested in the laboratory by a battery of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays targeting bacteria of the genera Rickettsia, Borrelia, Coxiella, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia; and protozoa of the genera Babesia, Hepatozoon, and Leishmania. Of the targeted organisms, evidence of infection in the foxes was detected for Ehrlichia and Hepatozoon organisms only. Overall, six (10.3%) foxes were infected by an ehrlichial agent closely related to an ehrlichial agent recently detected in free-ranging Jaguars [(Panthera onca (L.)] in central-western Brazil, and to Ehrlichia ruminantium. For Hepatozoon, 28 (48.3%) foxes were infected by an agent closely related to Hepatozoon sp. Curupira 2 and H. americanum; and one (1.7%) fox was infected by an organism closely related to reptile-associated Hepatozoon agents. Finally, 11 (19.0%) foxes were found infested by Amblyomma cajennense (F.) nymphs, which were all PCR negative for the range of vector-borne agents cited above. Because the haplotypes found in free-ranging foxes are genetically closely related to pathogens of great veterinary importance, namely E. ruminantium and H. americanum, it is highly desirable to know if these novel organisms have any important role as agents of diseases in domestic animals and wildlife in Brazil.

Noteworthy bird records at Lagoa Santa, southeastern Brazil Registros notáveis de aves em Lagoa Santa, sudeste do Brasil

OpenAIRE

Marcos Rodrigues

2008-01-01

Lagoa Santa, a small town in southeastern Brazil where naturalist Peter Lund lived, is regarded nowadays as an important historical site for the biological sciences. From 1847 to 1855, J.T. Reinhardt, hosted by Lund, collected 343 bird species. This material is an outstanding reference for many modern ornithological studies. The present paper reports the occurrence of some rare and threatened birds for the region of Lagoa Santa between 1998 and 2005. In this account I list the Rusty-margined ...

A new diminutive frog species of Adelophryne (Amphibia: Anura: Eleutherodactylidae) from the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Lourenço-de-Moraes, Ricardo; Ferreira, Rodrigo Barbosa; Fouquet, Antoine; Bastos, Rogério Pereira

2014-08-04

The genus Adelophryne is composed of diminutive frogs occurring in northern Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest. Herein we describe a new species of Adelophryne found in the leaf litter of primary and secondary forests in the mountainous region of Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil. The new species is characterized by its small body size, two phalanges in the finger IV, and a glandular ridge line that runs from the posterior part of eye to the insertion of the forelimb. This species is sensitive to edge effect and conversion of native forest into coffee and Eucalyptus plantations and may be listed as Endangered (EN) under B1ab(iii) criteria of the IUCN Red List.

Contamination of port zone sediments by metals from Large Marine Ecosystems of Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Buruaem, Lucas M; Hortellani, Marcos A; Sarkis, Jorge E; Costa-Lotufo, Leticia V; Abessa, Denis M S

2012-03-01

Sediment contamination by metals poses risks to coastal ecosystems and is considered to be problematic to dredging operations. In Brazil, there are differences in sedimentology along the Large Marine Ecosystems in relation to the metal distributions. We aimed to assess the extent of Al, Fe, Hg, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn contamination in sediments from port zones in northeast (Mucuripe and Pecém) and southeast (Santos) Brazil through geochemical analyses and sediment quality ratings. The metal concentrations found in these port zones were higher than those observed in the continental shelf or the background values in both regions. In the northeast, metals were associated with carbonate, while in Santos, they were associated with mud. Geochemical analyses showed enrichments in Hg, Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn, and a simple application of international sediment quality guidelines failed to predict their impacts, whereas the use of site-specific values that were derived by geochemical and ecotoxicological approaches seemed to be more appropriate in the management of the dredged sediments. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A cave population of Isbrueckerichthys alipionis (Gosline, 1947 in the Upper Ribeira karst area, southeastern Brazil (Siluriformes: Loricariidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleonora Trajano

Full Text Available A cave population of the armored catfish Isbrueckerichthys alipionis is reported from the Santana Cave, in the rio Betari watershed, Upper Ribeira karst area, Iporanga, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. The cave population was compared to an epigean population of I. alipionis and no significant differences where found in morphology or degree of pigmentation. As the cave population is known for at least 30 years and is apparently isolated from epigean streams, it is classified as troglophilic. The discovery of this troglophilic species in the Santana Cave is an additional strong argument for the conservation of that cave.

Evidences of delayed size recovery in Araucaria angustifolia populations after post-glacial colonization of highlands in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdir M. Stefenon

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Up to date, little is known about the relationship between historical demography and the current genetic structure of A. Angus As a first effort towards overcoming this lack, microsatellite data scored in six populations and isozyme allele frequencies published for 11 natural stands of this species were analysed in order to assess molecular signatures of populations' demographic history. Signatures of genetic bottlenecks were captured in all analysed populations of southeastern Brazil. Among southern populations, signatures of small effective population size were observed in only three out of 13 populations. Southern populations likely experienced faster recovery of population size after migration onto highlands. Accordingly, current genetic diversity of the southern populations gives evidence of fast population size recovery. In general, demographic history of A. Angusmatches climatic dynamics of southern and southeastern Brazil during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Palynological records and reconstruction of the past climatic dynamics of southeastern and southern Brazil support the hypothesis of different population size recovery dynamics for populations from these regions.Até o momento, pouco se conhece sobre a relação entre história demográfica e a presente estrutura genética da A. Angus Como uma primeira tentativa em transpor esta deficiência, dados de microssatélites coletados em seis populações e freqüências alélicas de isoenzimas publicadas para 11 populações naturais desta espécie foram analisadas com o objetivo de acessar assinaturas moleculares da história demográfica populacional. Assinaturas de gargalos genéticos foram capturadas em todas as populações analisadas provenientes do Sudeste do Brasil. Entre as populações do Sul, assinaturas de pequeno tamanho populacional efetivo foram observadas em somente três entre 13 populações. Populações do Sul provavelmente apresentaram uma rápida recuperação do

Conservation of mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera in Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiana Criste Massariol

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Conservation of mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera in Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Ephemeroptera exhibits great diversity among bodies of freshwater in the Atlantic Forest, a biome that is suffering from massive human impact. Within this context, the creation of conservation units using biological information is more recommended than economic, cultural, or political criteria. The distribution pattern of 76 Ephemeroptera species was analyzed using the biogeographical methods Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity and Network Analysis Method in order to infer relevant areas for conservation of the mayfly community in Espírito Santo. The results obtained from both analyses were largely congruent, and pointed out four relevant areas for conservation: two in the south of the state, where conservation units or priority areas for conservation are well established; and two in the north, a region in the state where little conservation efforts have been historically done. Therefore, based on our analyses on mayflies, we recommend the expansion of the existing APCs or the creation of new APCs on the north of Espírito Santo.

Professional profile of pediatric intensivists in Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacerda, Jandra Corrêa de; Barbosa, Arnaldo Prata; Cunha, Antonio José Ledo Alves da

2011-12-01

This study described the sociodemographic profile and professional qualifications of pediatric intensive care physicians in the State of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), southeastern Brazil. This investigation was an observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study that was conducted in neonatal, pediatric and mixed intensive care units in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Physicians working in the participating intensive care units voluntarily completed a semistructured and anonymous questionnaire. Questionnaires that were not returned within 30 days were considered lost, and questionnaires with less than 75% questions completed were excluded. The differences in neonatal and pediatric intensive care physicians' medical training were compared using the Chi-squared test with a 5% significance level. A total of 410 physicians were included in this study: 84% female, 48% between 30 and 39 years old and 45% with monthly incomes between US $1,700 to 2,700. Forty percent of these physicians worked exclusively in this specialty, and 72% worked in more than one intensive care unit. Only 50% of the participants had received specific training (either medical residency or specialization) in neonatology, and only 33% were board-certified specialists in this area. Only 27% of the physicians had received specific training in pediatric intensive care medicine, and only 17% were board-certified specialists (p professional activity; 49% were dissatisfied due to working conditions, 23% due to low incomes and 18% due to training-related issues. These results suggested that the medical qualifications of neonatal and pediatric intensive care physicians in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are inadequate, especially in pediatric intensive care medicine. A high level of dissatisfaction was reported, which may jeopardize the quality of medical assistance that is provided by these professionals.

Heterospecific sociality of birds on beaches from southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

César Cestari

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Studies on the sociality of heterospecific assemblages of birds have promoted a greater understanding of the types of interactions and survivorship between coexisting species. This study verified the group compositions in bird assemblages and analyzed the sociality of migratory and resident species on sandy beaches of southeastern Brazil. A transect was established on the median portion of beaches and all the groups of bird species (monospecific, heterospecific and solitary individuals were registered four days per month from November 2006 to April 2007. The sociality of each species was calculated by its frequency in heterospecific groups, its proportional number of contacts with other species in heterospecific groups, and the number of species that it associated with. Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla (Linnaeus, 1766 and Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte, 1825 (both migratory had the highest degree of sociality and did not show a preference to associate with either residents or migratory species. Sanderling Calidris alba (Pallas, 1764 (migratory occupied the third position in the sociality rank and associated with migratory species frequently. Southern Caracara Carara plancus (Miller, 1777 and Black Vulture Coragyps atratus (Beschstein, 1793 (both resident were uniquely found among heterospecific groups with necrophagous and resident species. Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus Lichtenstein, 1823 (resident associated more frequently with resident species. The sociality in assemblages of birds may promote advantages such as an increased collective awareness in dangerous situations and indication of sites with abundant food sources.

Zoo-sanitary aspects of goat husbandry in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurora Maria Guimarães Gouveia

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Minas Gerais is the largest one out of the four states that comprise the southeastern region of Brazil, with the bigest goat herd of this region. The characterization of health aspects of dairy goat husbandry was done in 84 dairy herds in 81 municipalities and 200 beef herds in 70 municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais. A questionnaire was filled out for each herd, requesting data regarding the farm, the herd and the farmer by the veterinarians within the Agriculture and Livestock Institute of Minas Gerais (Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária – IMA. A data bank was developed in Windows Excel and analyzed using the Epi-Info system. Comparisons of categorical variables were based on Chi-square test. The individual identification of the animals was done at 73.8% of dairy farms and at 7.5% of beef farms, use of quarentine at 15.5% and 4.0%, isolation of sick animals at 30.9% and 11.0%, requisition of sanitary certificate in the acquisition of new animals at 28.6% and 1.5%, regular veterinary monitoring at 52.4% and 1.5%, respectively. The main health problems reported at dairy and beef farms, respectively, were abortion (50.0% and 49.5%, mastitis (41.7% and 19.0%, pneumonia (37.4% and 16.5%, diarrhea (34.5% and 16.5% and caseous lymphadenitis (20.2% and 43.0%.

Atlas of marine bony fish otoliths (Sagittae of Southeastern - Southern Brazil Part I: Gadiformes (Macrouridae, Moridae, Bregmacerotidae, Phycidae and Merlucciidae; Part II: Perciformes (Carangidae, Sciaenidae, Scombridae and Serranidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Lucia Del Bianco Rossi-Wongtschowski

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The drawings, detailed pictures, precise descriptions and measurements that characterize otoliths must be made available for studies in various areas, including taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology, fisheries, paleontology, diversity, predator-prey relationships and modeling. The Collection of Teleostei Fish Otoliths of Southeastern-Southern Brazil (COSS-Brasil of IOUSP contains 45,000 pairs of otoliths from 210 species. This publication is the first in a series that will constitute an atlas of Teleostei otoliths for southeastern-southern Brazil and presents the results of the morphologic and morphometric analyses of 11 Gadiformes and 36 Perciformes species by means of the most commonly used features, measurements and indices. Three otoliths of each species were illustrated and photographed whenever possible. The frequency of occurrence was calculated for each characteristic by total length classes (TL, and the ontogenetic differences were analyzed (multiple χ2 test; significance 0.05. Morphometric analyses were conducted for each characteristic per total length (TL class and for the whole sample, and the ontogenetic differences were analyzed.

Bat assemblages from three Atlantic Forest fragments in Rio de Janeiro state, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Leonan Novaes

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Bat species richness in Neotropical localities is generally higher than that of any other group of mammals, and surveys of local bat assemblages may provide useful data for conservation management plans. Although the bat fauna of the Rio de Janeiro state is currently one of the best known in Brazil, there are several localities not adequately surveyed yet, and most of them are in the mountainous regions and in the northern portion of the state. From January 2008 to November 2009, we conducted surveys of bats in three localities in the state of Rio de Janeiro (municipalities of Varre-Sai, Sumidouro, and Cantagalo, and our fieldwork constitutes the first assessment of the bat assemblages of these localities. Surveys were conducted using mist nets in four different habitat types in each locality (forest interior, forest edge, riparian forest, and open areas [pastures]. We captured a total of 148 individuals in 17 species, 14 genera and 3 families. Among them, 11 species were recorded in Sumidouro, seven in Cantagalo, and nine in Varre-Sai. Although species richness was low compared with previous surveys in other close localities, we recorded species that have been rarely sampled in Southeastern Brazil (e.g., Macrophyllum macrophyllum [Phyllostomidae]. The results reinforce the importance of sampling different habitats in short surveys to improve the number of species registered.

Euglossine bee communities in small forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera, Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Willian Moura de Aguiar

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Euglossine bee communities in small forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera, Apidae. Euglossine bees are important pollinators in forests and agricultural areas. Although the structure of their communities is critically affected by anthropogenic disturbances, little is known about these bees in small forest fragments. The objectives of this study were to analyze the composition, abundance, and diversity of euglossine bee species in nine small fragments of different phytophysiognomies of the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil, and to identify the environmental variables that may be related to the species composition of these communities. Males were sampled quarterly from May 2007 to May 2009 with aromatic traps containing methyl cinnamate, vanillin, eucalyptol, benzyl acetate, and methyl salicylate. A total of 1558 males, belonging to 10 species and three genera of Euglossina were collected. The richness ranged from five to seven species per fragment. Euglossa cordata, E. securigera, Eulaema nigrita e E. cingulata were common to all fragments studied. The diversity differed significantly among areas, ranging from H' = 1.04 to H' = 1.65. The precipitation, phytophysiognomy, and altitude had the highest relative importance over the species composition variation. The results presented in this study demonstrate that small forest fragments are able to support populations of euglossine bee species, most of which are widely distributed and reportedly tolerant to open and/or disturbed areas and suggest that the conservation of such areas is important, particularly in areas that are regenerating and in regions with agricultural matrices where these bees can act as important pollinators

Reproduction of a fish assemblage in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LM. Gomiero

Full Text Available Fish reproductions were studied in two river basins (Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira basins in the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In the Corumbataí basin, four sites were sampled: Cabeça River, Lapa Stream, Passa-Cinco River, and Corumbataí River; in the Jacaré-Pepira basin, three sites were sampled: Tamanduá Stream, Jacaré-Pepira River, and Água Branca Stream. A total of 12 bimonthly samples were made. Fish equipment included gill nets, purse seines, sieves, and traps. The main objective of this study was to characterize the fish assemblage regarding their reproductive biology and to compare these reproductive traits between both river basins. Most individuals with gonads in stage C (mature and in stage D (empty gonads were captured in the spring and summer. Multiple spawn and parental care were common strategies, which guaranteed offspring survivorship in unstable conditions.

14C dating and stable carbon isotopes of soil organic matter in the Southeastern region of Sao Paulo State

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mofatto, Milene; Pessenda, Luiz Carlos Ruiz; Bendassoli, Jose Albertino; Leite, Acacio Zuniga; Oliveira, Paulo de Oliveira; Garcia, Ricardo Jose Francischetti

2005-01-01

The objective of this research is to characterize the isotopic composition ( 13 C, 14 C) of soil organic matter (SOM) in the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar-Nucleo Curucutu, Sao Paulo state, Southeastern Brazil. The isotopic composition (δ 13 C) of SOM will be used as an indicator of vegetation types from the local ecosystems and 14 C dating (humin fraction) used to determine the chronology. The results from SOM indicated vegetation changes in the last 10,000 years, where, a less dense vegetation occurred in the past, with C 3 plant predominant and/or a mixture of C 3 and C 4 . (author)

The relationships between microbiological attributes and soil and litter quality in pure and mixed stands of native tree species in southeastern Bahia, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Gama-Rodrigues, Emanuela F; Gama-Rodrigues, Antonio Carlos; Barros, Nairam F; Moço, Maria Kellen S

2011-11-01

This study was conducted to link soil and litter microbial biomass and activity with soil and litter quality in the surface layer for different pure and mixed stands of native tree species in southeastern Bahia, Brazil. The purpose of the study was to see how strongly the differences among species and stands affect the microbiological attributes of the soil and to identify how microbial processes can be influenced by soil and litter quality. Soil and litter samples were collected from six pure and mixed stands of six hardwood species (Peltogyne angustifolia, Centrolobium robustum, Arapatiella psilophylla, Sclerolobium chrysophyllum, Cordia trichotoma, Macrolobium latifolium) native to the southeastern region of Bahia, Brazil. In plantations of native tree species in humid tropical regions, the immobilization efficiency of C and N by soil microbial biomass was strongly related to the chemical quality of the litter and to the organic matter quality of the soil. According to the variables analyzed, the mixed stand was similar to the natural forest and dissimilar to the pure stands. Litter microbial biomass represented a greater sink of C and N than soil microbial biomass and is an important contributor of resources to tropical soils having low C and N availability.

Notes on the lesser white-lined bat, Saccopteryx leptura (Schreber (Chiroptera, Emballonuridae, from southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo R. Nogueira

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Saccopteryx leptura (Schreber, 1774 is reported from two new localities in southeastern Brazil, both in Atlantic forest remains in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Analysisof food material showed that individuals from both localities had preyedon insects in the order Hymenoptera. Cheek contents were available from one specimen, and in this case identification of the food item (flying ants achieved generic level (Pheidole Westwood, 1841. Aspects in the social behavior observed in a colony suggest that the same traits documented in Central American populations (small colonies, monogamic mating system, and retention of young for up to a year in the parental unit may also characterize this species in the southern most part of its range. In both external and craniodental selected measurements, specimens from Rio de Janeiro were close to the upper limits of the ranges known for the species.

Sympatric and allopatric combinations of Lymnaea columella and Fasciola hepatica from southern and south-eastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, L H L; Lima, W S; Guimaraes, M P

2009-09-01

Experimental infections of Lymnaea columella with Fasciola hepatica were carried out to test the effect of sympatric and allopatric combinations between parasite and host, by using snails and flukes from southern and south-eastern Brazil. Four groups of 50 snails were infected with four miracidia per snail: two groups in sympatric and two groups in allopatric combinations. Sympatric combinations between parasite and host were more efficient than allopatric ones when snails from Itajubá were used, but the opposite was observed in infections involving snails from Pelotas. The sympatric association between L. columella and F. hepatica from Itajubá was significantly higher than in the other combinations. We concluded that the host-parasite relationship between L. columnella and F. hepatica may vary according to the geographical origin of the snails and flukes involved.

[Accidents reported at the Workers' Reference Center in Ribeirão Preto, southeastern Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Chiodi, Mônica Bonagamba; Marziale, Maria Helena Palucci; Mondadori, Rosângela Murari; Robazzi, Maria Lúcia do Carmo Cruz

2010-06-01

This is a quantitative, descriptive study that aims to investigate work-related injuries involving exposure to biomaterial among health workers in health care units in the city of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Data was obtained from Work-Related Injury Report forms filled at the Worker's Health Reference Center in Ribeirão Preto in 2005. A total of 1,665 work-related injuries (91.7%) were reported and 151 (8.3%) were diagnosed as occupational diseases. Of the 1,665 injuries reported, 480 (28.82%) affected workers working at health care units and 153 (31.87%) were associated to biological material exposure. The situational diagnosis of occupational accidents is relevant for the development of preventive strategies by worker's health services. The results of the present study provide major indicators that allow the organization of actions following the National Network for Workers' Comprehensive Health Care (RENAST) guidelines and effectively contribute for workers health promotion.

Breeding of the blue-and-white swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca in the urban environment of southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zélia da Paz Pereira

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Pygochelidon cyanoleuca is a common species, but little is known about its biology and life history in the urban environment of southeastern Brazil. The objective of this study was to monitor the reproduction of the species in this environment. We determined the total number of nests, nesting peak, construction site, shape, composition and distribution pattern of nests, and the success and possible causes of reproductive failure. The study was conducted between July and December 2007, in the hall of the library of the Federal University of Uberlândia in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Nests were screened in spinning gutters and fixtures in the ceiling of the hall. We found 33 nests, of which 31 were active. Two nesting peaks were observed (August and November. Most nests had a platform shape. The pattern of distribution was aggregate. 19.4% of the nests were successful. The causes of failure were predation and unviable eggs. Pygochelidon cyanoleuca was reasonably successful and was able to make use of the structure of the roof of the library to build its nests. However, the high frequency of unviable eggs underscores the importance of studies on the potential effects of urbanization on birds and other organisms of the Cerrado and other Brazilian regions.

Breeding of the blue-and-white swallow (Pygochelidon cyanoleuca in the urban environment of southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zélia da Paz Pereira

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Pygochelidon cyanoleuca is a common species, but little is known about its biology and life history in the urban environment of southeastern Brazil. The objective of this study was to monitor the reproduction of the species in this environment. We determined the total number of nests, nesting peak, construction site, shape, composition and distribution pattern of nests, and the success and possible causes of reproductive failure. The study was conducted between July and December 2007, in the hall of the library of the Federal University of Uberlândia in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Nests were screened in spinning gutters and fixtures in the ceiling of the hall. We found 33 nests, of which 31 were active. Two nesting peaks were observed (August and November. Most nests had a platform shape. The pattern of distribution was aggregate. 19.4% of the nests were successful. The causes of failure were predation and unviable eggs. Pygochelidon cyanoleuca was reasonably successful and was able to make use of the structure of the roof of the library to build its nests. However, the high frequency of unviable eggs underscores the importance of studies on the potential effects of urbanization on birds and other organisms of the Cerrado and other Brazilian regions.

Microprobe monazite constraints for and early (ca. 790 Ma) Braziliano orogeny: The Embu Terrane, southeastern Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlach, Silvio R.F

2001-01-01

The evolution of the Mantiqueira Orogenetic System, Southeastern Brazil, comprises discrete episodes of tectonic collage and docking of remnants of Rodinia break-up in the borders of the Sao Francisco Craton. This system is related to the closure of the Adamastor ocean and assemblage of the western Gondwana super-continent during Neoproterozoic times (ca. 610-530 Ma, Brito Neves et al., 1999; Campos Neto, 2000). This report presents monazite microprobe dating results for metassediments from the Embu Complex, an important lithological unit from the Ribeira Belt, currently included in the Juiz de Fora terrane, a unit added to the Sao Francisco Craton at ca. 600-580 Ma. (Campos Neto, 2000). The age results unravel a main metamorphic episode and related orogeny at ca. 790 Ma and bring new insights concerning the agglutination of Gondwana in this region during the Neoproterozoic (au)

New insights on the geological evolution of the continental margin of Southeastern Brazil derived from zircon and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and fission-track data

Science.gov (United States)

Krob, Florian; Stippich, Christian; Glasmacher, Ulrich A.; Hackspacher, Peter

2017-04-01

New insights on the geological evolution of the continental margin of Southeastern Brazil derived from zircon and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and fission-track data Krob, F.C.1, Stippich, C. 1, Glasmacher, U.A.1, Hackspacher, P.C.2 (1) Institute of Earth Sciences, Research Group Thermochronology and Archaeometry, Heidelberg University, INF 234, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany (2) Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24-A, 1515 Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil Passive continental margins are important geoarchives related to mantle dynamics, the breakup of continents, lithospheric dynamics, and other processes. The main concern yields the quantifying long-term lithospheric evolution of the continental margin between São Paulo and Laguna in southeastern Brazil since the Neoproterozoic. We put special emphasis on the reactivation of old fracture zones running into the continent and their constrains on the landscape evolution. In this contribution, we represent already consisting thermochronological data attained by fission-track and (U-Th-Sm)/He analysis on apatites and zircons. The zircon fission-track ages range between 108.4 (15.0) and 539.9 (68.4) Ma, the zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He ages between 72.9 (5.8) and 427.6 (1.8) Ma whereas the apatite fission-track ages range between 40.0 (5.3) and 134.7 (8.0) Ma, and the apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He ages between 32.1 (1.52) and 92.0 (1.86) Ma. These thermochronological ages from metamorphic, sedimentary and intrusive rocks show six distinct blocks (Laguna, Florianópolis, Curitiba, Ilha Comprida, Peruibe and Santos) with different evolution cut by old fracture zones. Furthermore, models of time-temperature evolution illustrate the differences in Pre- to post-rift exhumation histories of these blocks. The presented data will provide an insight into the complex exhumation history of the continental margin based on the existing literature data on the evolution of the Paraná basin in Brazil and the latest

Ectoparasitic flies (Diptera, Streblidae) of bats (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in an Atlantic Forest area, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

França, D S; Pereira, S N; Maas, A C S; Martins, M A; Bolzan, D P; Lima, I P; Dias, D; Peracchi, A L

2013-11-01

We studied infestation rates and parasite-host associations between streblid flies and phyllostomid bats in an Atlantic Forest area of Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil. We captured 301 individuals from seven Phyllostomidae bat species. Out of that total, 69 bats had been parasitised by nine Streblidae species; the most frequent species were Trichobius joblingi and Trichobius tiptoni. The species Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with Anoura geoffroyi, was the most frequent species. The highest mean intensity was observed for Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with A. geoffroyi, and Paratrichobius longicrus associated with Artibeus lituratus, both ectoparasite species with a mean intensity of five individuals per bat. Trichobius joblingi exhibited the highest mean abundance, which was over three on its host species. Streblid richness in the study area was similar to the richness found in other studies carried out in the Atlantic Forest. We observed that streblid richness in this biome depends more on inherent characteristics of each physiognomy and on the host-species than on the sampling effort.

The nematode community in the Atlantic rainforest lizard Enyalius perditus Jackson, from south-eastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Barreto-Lima, A F; Toledo, G M; Anjos, L A

2012-12-01

Studies focusing on communities of helminths from Brazilian lizards are increasing, but there are many blanks in the knowledge of parasitic fauna of wild fauna. This lack of knowledge hampers understanding of ecological and parasitological aspects of involved species. Moreover, the majority of research has focused on parasitic fauna of lizards from families Tropiduridae and Scincidae. Only a few studies have looked at lizards from the family Leiosauridae, including some species of Enyalius. This study presents data on the gastrointestinal parasite fauna of Enyalius perditus and their relationships with ecological aspects of hosts in a disturbed Atlantic rainforest area in the state of Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil. Two nematode species, Oswaldocruzia burseyi [(Molineidae) and Strongyluris oscari (Heterakidae) were found. Nematode species showed an aggregated distribution in this host population, with O. burseyi being more aggregated than S. oscari. The present study extends the range of occurrence of O. burseyi to the Brazilian continental area.

Long-term atmospheric wet deposition of dissolved organic nitrogen in a typical red-soil agro-ecosystem, Southeastern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Jian; Zhou, Jing; Peng, Ying; He, Yuan Q; Yang, Hao; Xu, Liang J; Chan, Andy

2014-05-01

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) from atmospheric deposition has been a growing concern in the world and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is increasing quickly in China especially Southeastern China. In our study, DON wet deposition was estimated by collecting and analyzing rainwater samples continuously over eight years (2005-2012) in a typical red-soil farmland ecosystem, Southeast China. Results showed that the volume-weighted-average DON concentration varied from 0.2 to 3.3 mg N L(-1) with an average of 1.2 mg N L(-1). DON flux ranged from 5.7 to 71.6 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) and averaged 19.7 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) which accounted for 34.6% of the total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) in wet deposition during the eight-year period. Analysis of DON concentration and flux, contribution of DON to TDN, rainfall, rain frequency, air temperature and wind frequency and the application of pig manure revealed possible pollution sources. Significant positive linear relation of annual DON flux and usage of pig manure (Pcycle in the red-soil agro-ecosystem in the future.

FROG ASSEMBLAGE ASSOCIATED WITH BROMELIADS IN A SANDY COASTAL PLAIN IN THE STATE OF ESPÍRITO SANTO, SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARCIO MARQUES MAGESKI

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Amphibians may use bromeliads for reproduction (i.e., bromeligenous species or only for refuge and foraging (i.e., bromelicolous species. The partition of bromeliad resources is essential to maintain the coexistence of the associated assemblages. We sampled 913 bromeliads in a sandy coastal plain (i.e., restinga habitat in southeastern Brazil and found 234 frogs belonging to seven species. One of the frog species was bromeligenous and the other six were facultative bromelicolous. The bromeliads of the genus Aechmea were the most frequently used by frogs. The low degree of frog occupancy of bromeliads (26% suggests habitat segregation. Our study highlights the importance of maintenance of bromeliad species for conservation of the associated frog assemblages.

Greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration by agroforestry systems in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Carlos Moreira Miquelino Eleto; Jacovine, Laércio Antônio Gonçalves; Nolasco de Olivera Neto, Sílvio; Fraisse, Clyde William; Soares, Carlos Pedro Boechat; de Castro Neto, Fernando; Ferreira, Lino Roberto; Zanuncio, José Cola; Lemes, Pedro Guilherme

2017-12-01

Agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems can increase carbon sequestration, offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce the carbon footprint generated by animal production. The objective of this study was to estimate GHG emissions, the tree and grass aboveground biomass production and carbon storage in different agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems in southeastern Brazil. The number of trees required to offset these emissions were also estimated. The GHG emissions were calculated based on pre-farm (e.g. agrochemical production, storage, and transportation), and on-farm activities (e.g. fertilization and machinery operation). Aboveground tree grass biomass and carbon storage in all systems was estimated with allometric equations. GHG emissions from the agroforestry systems ranged from 2.81 to 7.98 t CO 2 e ha -1 . Carbon storage in the aboveground trees and grass biomass were 54.6, 11.4, 25.7 and 5.9 t C ha -1 , and 3.3, 3.6, 3.8 and 3.3 t C ha -1 for systems 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The number of trees necessary to offset the emissions ranged from 17 to 44 trees ha -1 , which was lower than the total planted in the systems. Agroforestry systems sequester CO 2 from the atmosphere and can help the GHG emission-reduction policy of the Brazilian government.

Natural history of Holoaden luederwaldti (Amphibia: Strabomantidae: Holoadeninae in southeastern of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Itamar A. Martins

2010-02-01

Full Text Available This study reports the rediscovery of Holoaden luederwaldti Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 and provides information on the distribution, sexual dimorphism, reproduction and vocalization of a population of this species in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo (southeastern Brazil. Sampling was carried out in the Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão (PECJ from October 2005 through December 2008. Collecting was conducted using pitfall traps with a drift-fence on different altitudinal gradients (1,540 m, 1,780 m and 2,000 m a.s.l.. Fifty-two specimens of H. luederwaldti were collected in the PECJ. The mean snout-vent length (SVL was 36.17 mm for males and 42.61 mm for females, indicating sexual dimorphism in body size. Holoaden luederwaldti occurred during the warm-rainy months. The population was distributed between 1500 and 2000 m, and the greater abundance was registered in well preserved forest areas. Mature females contained from 36 to 41 oocytes and the mean of oocyte diameter was 3.72 mm. The advertisement call of H. luederwaldti consists of simple notes composed of three harmonics. The record of the population of H. luederwaldti in the PECJ has reinforced the importance of investigating different areas of the forest when conducting faunal surveys.

In situ measurements of contributions to the global electrical circuit by a thunderstorm in southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, J.N.; Holzworth, R.H.; McCarthy, M.P.

2009-01-01

The global electrical circuit, which maintains a potential of about 280??kV between the earth and the ionosphere, is thought to be driven mainly by thunderstorms and lightning. However, very few in situ measurements of electrical current above thunderstorms have been successfully obtained. In this paper, we present dc to very low frequency electric fields and atmospheric conductivity measured in the stratosphere (30-35??km altitude) above an active thunderstorm in southeastern Brazil. From these measurements, we estimate the mean quasi-static conduction current during the storm period to be 2.5 ?? 1.25??A. Additionally, we examine the transient conduction currents following a large positive cloud-to-ground (+ CG) lightning flash and typical - CG flashes. We find that the majority of the total current is attributed to the quasi-static thundercloud charge, rather than lightning, which supports the classical Wilson model for the global electrical circuit.

Long-term background denudation rates of southern and southeastern Brazilian watersheds estimated with cosmogenic 10Be

Science.gov (United States)

Sosa Gonzalez, Veronica; Bierman, Paul R.; Fernandes, Nelson F.; Rood, Dylan H.

2016-09-01

In comparison to humid temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, less is known about the long-term (millennial scale) background rates of erosion in Southern Hemisphere tropical watersheds. In order to better understand the rate at which watersheds in southern and southeastern Brazil erode, and the relationship of that erosion to climate and landscape characteristics, we made new measurements of in situ produced 10Be in river sediments and we compiled all extant measurements from this part of the country. New data from 14 watersheds in the states of Santa Catarina (n = 7) and Rio de Janeiro (n = 7) show that erosion rates vary there from 13 to 90 m/My (mean = 32 m/My; median = 23 m/My) and that the difference between erosion rates of basins we sampled in the two states is not significant. Sampled basin area ranges between 3 and 14,987 km2, mean basin elevation between 235 and 1606 m, and mean basin slope between 11 and 29°. Basins sampled in Rio de Janeiro, including three that drain the Serra do Mar escarpment, have an average basin slope of 19°, whereas the average slope for the Santa Catarina basins is 14°. Mean basin slope (R2 = 0.73) and annual precipitation (R2 = 0.57) are most strongly correlated with erosion in the basins we studied. At three sites where we sampled river sand and cobbles, the 10Be concentration in river sand was greater than in the cobbles, suggesting that these grain sizes are sourced from different parts of the landscape. Compiling all cosmogenic 10Be-derived erosion rates previously published for southern and southeastern Brazil watersheds to date (n = 76) with our 14 sampled basins, we find that regional erosion rates (though low) are higher than those of watersheds also located on other passive margins including Namibia and the southeastern North America. Brazilian basins erode at a pace similar to escarpments in southeastern North America. Erosion rates in southern and southeastern Brazil are directly and positively related to

Three new species of Macrelmis Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Elmidae: Elminae) from Southeastern Brazil with new definition of species groups to the genus.

Science.gov (United States)

Dos Passos, Maria Inês Silva; De Miranda, Gustavo Silva; Nessimian, Jorge Luiz

2015-12-16

Three new species of Macrelmis Motschulsky, 1859 are described and illustrated based on adult males from Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo states (southeastern Brazil). A new species groups definition is proposed for the genus, with a redefinition of the former six (aristeae sp. group, celsa sp. group, isus sp. group, granigera sp. group, milleri sp. group and striata sp. group) and designation of four new groups (alea new sp. group, amazonica new sp. group, grandis new sp. group and jureceki new sp. group). The male genitalia of M. clypeata is illustrated for the first time and distributional maps for all species of the genus are provided.

Vascular Flora of a Cerrado sensu stricto remnant in Pratânia, state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carvalho, M. B.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The Cerrado (Brazilian savanna has suffered massive destruction in recent years, mainly due tothe expansion of agricultural areas. Many remnants of this vegetation are still poorly studied. Therefore, thepurpose of this study was to carry out a floristic survey in a remnant of Cerrado in the municipality of Pratânia,central-west region of state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In total, 120 species (38 families, 88 genera wereregistered. The families with greater richness were: Fabaceae (23 species, Asteraceae (15, Myrtaceae (10,Malpighiaceae and Rubiaceae (seven each and Bignoniaceae (five. The shrub component was predominant inthe study area representing 37.5 % of the recorded species. A comparison among eight Cerrado areas showedgreater similarity between areas with similar altitude.

Description of the East Brazil Large Marine Ecosystem using a trophic model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kátia M.F. Freire

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to describe the marine ecosystem off northeastern Brazil. A trophic model was constructed for the 1970s using Ecopath with Ecosim. The impact of most of the forty-one functional groups was modest, probably due to the highly reticulated diet matrix. However, seagrass and macroalgae exerted a strong positive impact on manatee and herbivorous reef fishes, respectively. A high negative impact of omnivorous reef fishes on spiny lobsters and of sharks on swordfish was observed. Spiny lobsters and swordfish had the largest biomass changes for the simulation period (1978-2000; tunas, other large pelagics and sharks showed intermediate rates of biomass decline; and a slight increase in biomass was observed for toothed cetaceans, large carnivorous reef fishes, and dolphinfish. Recycling was an important feature of this ecosystem with low phytoplankton-originated primary production. The mean transfer efficiency between trophic levels was 11.4%. The gross efficiency of the fisheries was very low (0.00002, probably due to the low exploitation rate of most of the resources in the 1970s. Basic local information was missing for many groups. When information gaps are filled, this model may serve more credibly for the exploration of fishing policies for this area within an ecosystem approach.

The use of biomarkers to assess the health of aquatic ecosystems in Brazil: a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaís Dalzochio

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Organisms in polluted environments are typically exposed to a complex mixture of chemical contaminants. The great concern about the health of aquatic ecosystems has led to the increased use of biomarkers over the past years. The aim of this work was to review the papers published from 2000 to 2015, which used biomarkers to assess the health of aquatic ecosystems in Brazil. A research resulted in 99 eligible papers. More than 80% of studies were conducted in the states of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. Approximately 63% of studies used fish as bioindicator, whereas the micronucleus test and biochemical analyses were the most used biomarkers. A multibiomarker approach was used by 60.6% of studies, while 39.4% used one single biomarker. Furthermore, 68% were field studies and more than 75% of these used control animals sampled at reference sites. A relationship between the biomarker responses and pollution was reported by 87% of studies; however, 43.4% of studies analyzed only one sampling period, limiting comparisons and comprehension about possible seasonal variations. This review evidenced some weak points in studies using biomarkers in Brazil, especially related to the lack of studies in two important biomes (the Pantanal and the Amazon Rainforest and experimental designs (small sample size, sampling in one single period, use of one single biomarker. Thus, future studies should consider mainly the use of multiple biomarkers, greater sample size, seasonal sampling and water physicochemical parameters to better diagnose the health of aquatic ecosystems.

Oral bacterial microbiota and traumatic injuries of free-ranging Phrynops geoffroanus (Testudines, Chelidae in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno O. Ferronato

2009-07-01

Full Text Available During 2006 and 2007, we collected free-ranging Phrynops geoffroanus, from two anthropogenically altered rivers in southeastern Brazil. Oral microbiological samples were taken for isolation of aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria; a physical examination was performed;and we evaluated possible effects on the turtles’ health. Twenty-nine species of bacteria were isolated in Piracicaba River turtles (n=10, and twenty-four species in Piracicamirim stream turtles (n=8, most of them gram-negative. In both sites, potential pathogens for reptiles were: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter agglomerans, Citrobacter freundii, and Bacillus sp. Although boatpropeller lesions were common on the carapace of the turtles, we have not found turtles with signs of clinical diseases. The oral bacterial microbiota of P. geoffroanus inhabiting the Piracicaba River basin are composed of a diverse microbe spectrum, and long-term studies of the effects of pollution and traumatic injuries on this population and its microbial flora are warranted.

Assessing man-induced environmental changes in the Sepetiba Bay (Southeastern Brazil) with geochemical and satellite data

Science.gov (United States)

Araújo, Daniel Ferreira; Peres, Lucas G. M.; Yepez, Santiago; Mulholland, Daniel S.; Machado, Wilson; Tonhá, Myller; Garnier, Jérémie

2017-10-01

The Sepetiba Bay, Southeastern Brazil, has undergone intense environmental changes due to anthropogenic influence. This work aims to: (i) evaluate the changes in the drainage landscape use over the last decades, (ii) identify new and past punctual and diffuse anthropogenic sources and assess risks of man-induced disturbances of the coastal zones of Sepetiba. A multivariate statistics approach on the sediment's elemental geochemical dataset discriminated three groups: the electroplating waste-affected elements (As, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn), terrigenous elements (Si, K, Ti, Al and Fe), and biogenic and carbonate-derived elements (Ca, Mg, Mn, P, Ni, and Cr). Sediment core profiles of trace elements evidence records of former environmental impacts from old metallurgical wastes. Analysis of two Landsat images from 30 years ago and 2015 reveals a decrease in the mangrove area of nearly 26%. The ongoing suppression of mangroves could enhance the release of trace elements into the Sepetiba Bay, increasing the risks to human and biota health.

Characterization of non-calcareous 'thin' red clay from south-eastern Brazil: applicability in wall tile manufacture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sousa, S. J.G.; Holanda, J. N.F., [Grupo de Materiais Ceramicos - LAMAV-CCT, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil)

2012-04-15

In this work the use of 'thin' red clay from south-eastern Brazil (Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ) as raw material for the manufacture of wall tile was investigated. A wide range of characterization techniques was employed, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), grain-size analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The wall tile body was prepared by the dry process. The tile pieces were uniaxially pressed and fired between 1080 - 1180 deg C using a fast-firing cycle. The following technological properties were determined: linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent density, and flexural strength. The development of the microstructure was followed by SEM and XRD analyses. It was found that the 'thin' red clay is kaolinitic type containing a substantial amount of quartz. The results also showed that the 'thin' red clay could be used in the manufacture of wall tiles, as they present properties compatible with those specified for class BIII of ISO 13006 standard. (author)

Herd characteristics and management practices associated with bulk tank milk quality of dairy herds in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortinhas, Cristina Simões; Botaro, Bruno Garcia; de Macedo, Susana Nori; Dos Santos, Marcos Veiga

2018-04-30

This study identified the association of management practices and herd characteristics with milk quality of bulk tanks in southeastern, Brazil. Milk samples were collected weekly during 8 weeks from 63 dairy herds. Bulk tanks were evaluated for total bacteria (TBC), preliminary incubation (PIC), pasteurization (PC), coliform (CC), and somatic cell counts (SCC). Associations found were type of milking system utilized in the farm with TBC, PIC, and SCC; the use of gloves for milking with TBC and PIC; sanitation of milking equipment prior to milking with PC and CC; strip cup testing of cows with PC; teat washing prior to milking with SCC; pre-milking teat disinfection with TBC and CC; post-dipping with TBC and SCC; and the alkaline-acid washing procedure of milking equipment with PIC and PC. The regression analysis explained the variation of bulk tank PC (- 0.47 log cfu/mL) due to the adoption of strip cup test (P = 0.036) and, by 0.366 log cfu/mL due to alkaline and acid washing of milking equipment (P = 0.036). Herringbone milking systems adopted on farms represented a change of - 0.11 log cfu/mL on the log SCC (P = 0.048). Findings may provide a guideline to prioritize efforts aimed at improving milk quality at the farm level in Brazil.

Technological level and epidemiological aspects of sheep husbandry in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurora M.G. Gouveia

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Epidemiological and health aspects of sheep husbandry were assessed on 213 sheep flocks in 142 municipalities from the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. An updated questionnaire was filled out for each flock, requesting data on the farm, the flock and the farmer by the veterinarians of the State Government Agency for Animal Health (Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária. Thirteen important variables were selected and scored to determine the technological level of the 117 farms; 0.9% of them was classified as high technological level, 45.3% as medium technological level and 53.0% as low technological level. Lamb production was the main objective of the farms and the main features were low-frequencies of individual identification of animals (16.9%, technical assistance (31.9%, use of quarantine for newly acquired animals (0.9% the separation of animals by age group (3.7% and requeste the sanitary certificate at purchasing of animals (11.7%. The main health problems reported were abortion (23.9%, keratoconjunctivitis (17.9%, contagious ecthyma (13.6%, pneumonia (10.3%, diarrhea (9.3% and caseous lymphadenitis (6.1%. Information of the epidemiological situation and the mainly health measures used in the sheep farms are important to improve the productivity and quality of the lamb.

A checklist of arthropods associated with pig carrion and human corpses in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LML Carvalho

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Necrophagous insects, mainly Diptera and Coleoptera, are attracted to specific stages of carcass decomposition, in a process of faunistic succession. They are very important in estimating the postmortem interval, the time interval between the death and the discovery of the body. In studies done with pig carcasses exposed to natural conditions in an urban forest (Santa Genebra Reservation, located in Campinas, State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, 4 out of 36 families of insects collected - Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae (Diptera and Dermestidae (Coleoptera - were considered of forensic importance, because several species were collected in large numbers both visiting and breeding in pig carcasses. Several species were also observed and collected on human corpses at the Institute of Legal Medicine. The species belonged to 17 different families, 6 being of forensic importance because they were reared from human corpses or pig carcasses: Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, Piophilidae (Diptera, Dermestidae, Silphidae and Cleridae (Coleoptera. The most important species were: Diptera - Chrysomya albiceps, Chrysomya putoria, Hemilucilia segmentaria, Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Calliphoridae, Pattonella intermutans (Sarcophagidae, Ophyra chalcogaster (Muscidae, Piophila casei (Piophilidae; Coleoptera - Dermestes maculatus (Dermestidae, Oxyletrum disciolle (Silphidae and Necrobia rufipes (Cleridae.

Ultrastructure and pollen morphology of Bromeliaceae species from the Atlantic Rainforest in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa J.D. Silva

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Pollen grain morphology of Bromeliaceae species collected in areas of the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil was studied. The following species were analyzed: Aechmea bambusoides L.B.Sm. & Reitz, A. nudicaulis (L. Griseb., A. ramosa Mart. ex Schult.f., Ananas bracteatus (Lindl. Schult.f., Billbergia distachia (Vell. Mez, B. euphemiae E. Morren, B. horrida Regel, B. zebrina (Herb. Lindl., Portea petropolitana (Wawra Mez, Pitcairnia flammea Lindl., Quesnelia indecora Mez, Tillandsia polystachia (L. L., T. stricta Sol., T. gardneri Lindl., T. geminiflora Brongn. and Vriesea grandiflora Leme. Light and scanning electron microscopy were used and the species were grouped into three pollen types, organized according to aperture characteristics: Type I - pantoporate pollen grains observed in P. petropolitana, Type II - 2-porate pollen grains, observed in the genera Ananas, Aechmea and Quesnelia, and Type III - 1-colpate pollen grains, observed in the genera Billbergia, Pitcairnia, Tillandsia and Vriesea. Pollen data led to the construction of an identification key. The results showed that the species analyzed can be distinguished using mainly aperture features and exine ornamentation, and that these characteristics may assist in taxonomic studies of the family.

Ultrastructure and pollen morphology of Bromeliaceae species from the Atlantic Rainforest in Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Vanessa J D; Ribeiro, Ester M; Luizi-Ponzo, Andrea P; Faria, Ana Paula G

2016-01-01

Pollen grain morphology of Bromeliaceae species collected in areas of the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil was studied. The following species were analyzed: Aechmea bambusoides L.B.Sm. & Reitz, A. nudicaulis (L.) Griseb., A. ramosa Mart. ex Schult.f., Ananas bracteatus (Lindl.) Schult.f., Billbergia distachia (Vell.) Mez, B. euphemiae E. Morren, B. horrida Regel, B. zebrina (Herb.) Lindl., Portea petropolitana (Wawra) Mez, Pitcairnia flammea Lindl., Quesnelia indecora Mez, Tillandsia polystachia (L.) L., T. stricta Sol., T. gardneri Lindl., T. geminiflora Brongn. and Vriesea grandiflora Leme. Light and scanning electron microscopy were used and the species were grouped into three pollen types, organized according to aperture characteristics: Type I - pantoporate pollen grains observed in P. petropolitana, Type II - 2-porate pollen grains, observed in the genera Ananas, Aechmea and Quesnelia, and Type III - 1-colpate pollen grains, observed in the genera Billbergia, Pitcairnia, Tillandsia and Vriesea. Pollen data led to the construction of an identification key. The results showed that the species analyzed can be distinguished using mainly aperture features and exine ornamentation, and that these characteristics may assist in taxonomic studies of the family.

The female reproductive cycle of the neotropical snake Atractus pantostictus (Fernandes and Puorto, 1993) from south-eastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Resende, F C; Nascimento, L B

2015-06-01

Data on reproductive activity of fossorial species are limited because the specimens are difficult to be observed and captured. Here in, we present the reproductive cycle of female Atractus pantostictus, a fossorial neotropical species, and the sexual maturity of males and females in south-eastern Brazil. The female reproductive cycle of A. pantostictus is seasonal, with vitellogenic follicles being found from September to April and eggs in November, February, March and April with the number varying between two and four. Spermatozoa were found in the lumen of the glandular and non-glandular uterus in females collected during the rainy season. Sperm storage tubules were found in the posterior infundibulum of the females, where the storage of sperm occurs for a short time. The storage may occur because mating and ovulation are dissociated. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Temporal variation of the gammaridean fauna (Crustacea, Amphipoda associated with the sponge Mycale angulosa (Porifera, Demospongiae in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Fernandes de Britto Costa

Full Text Available ABSTRACTMarine sponges are advantageous microhabitats because of their complex architecture. The system of internal canals provides circulation of water and deposition of particulate organic matter, ensuring availability of food and shelter. Diminutive amphipods have little difficulty penetrating the spaces of sponges and remain in their aquiferous systems as one of the most abundant taxa in this association. This study evaluated the temporal variation of the gammaridean amphipod species associated with the sponge Mycale angulosa. Sponge samples were collected every three months over one year at Pontal da Cruz Beach, São Sebastião Channel, southeastern Brazil. The amphipod assembly varied over time, while the amphipod density and sponge biomass remained approximately constant. Six species contributed to the temporal variation infaunal composition, highlighting the importance of the natural history of each species.

Entropy dynamics in cone production of longleaf pine forests in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Xiongwen Chen; Dale G. Brockway; Qinfeng Guo

2016-01-01

Sporadic temporal patterns of seed production are a challenge for the regeneration and restoration of longleaf pine, which is a keystone component of an endangered ecosystem in the southeastern United States. In this study, long-term data for longleaf pine cone production, collected at six sites across the southeastern region, was examined from the perspective of...

Parasite infracommunities of Leporinus friderici: A comparison of three tributaries of the Jurumirim Reservoir in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FÁBIO H. YAMADA

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The degradation and homogenization of natural habitats is considered a major cause of biotic homogenization. Many studies have been undertaken on the effects of dams on aquatic wildlife, in particular fish assemblages. But how do dams affect the parasitic fauna of such fish? The aim of the present study was to examine parasitic similarity, comparing the diversity and structure of parasite communities of Leporinus friderici (Characiformes, Anostomidae in three upstream tributaries under the influence of the Jurumirim Dam on the Upper Paranapanema River in southeastern Brazil. The present study did not find any significant differences in parasite communities among populations of L. friderici in the three upstream tributaries. This result highlights that dams promote and facilitate the dispersal of organisms between localities, and therefore the spatial homogenization of parasite communities. Overall, the results suggest that fish parasite assemblages can provide suitable data for evaluating biotic homogenization caused by dams.

The Path towards Endangered Species: Prehistoric Fisheries in Southeastern Brazil.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Samôr Lopes

Full Text Available Brazilian shellmounds are archaeological sites with a high concentration of marine faunal remains. There are more than 2000 sites along the coast of Brazil that range in age from 8,720 to 985 cal BP. Here, we studied the ichthyoarchaeological remains (i.e., cranial/postcranial bones, otoliths, and teeth, among others at 13 shellmounds on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, which are located in coastal landscapes, including a sandy plain with coastal lagoons, rocky islands, islets and rocky bays. We identified patterns of similarity between shellmounds based on fish diversity, the ages of the assemblages, littoral geomorphology and prehistoric fisheries. Our new radiocarbon dating, based on otolith samples, was used for fishery characterization over time. A taxonomical study of the ichthyoarchaeological remains includes a diversity of 97 marine species, representing 37% of all modern species (i.e., 265 spp. that have been documented along the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. This high fish diversity recovered from the shellmounds is clear evidence of well-developed prehistoric fishery activity that targeted sharks, rays and finfishes in a productive area influenced by coastal marine upwelling. The presence of adult and neonate shark, especially oceanic species, is here interpreted as evidence of prehistoric fisheries capacity for exploitation and possibly overexploitation in nursery areas. Various tools and strategies were used to capture finfish in seasonal fisheries, over rocky reef bottoms and in sandy littoral environments. Massive catches of whitemouth croaker, main target dermersal species of South Atlantic coast, show evidence of a reduction in body size of approximately 28% compared with modern fisheries. Fishery activity involving vulnerable species, especially in nursery areas, could mark the beginning of fish depletion along the southeastern Brazilian coast and the collapse of natural fish populations.

The Path towards Endangered Species: Prehistoric Fisheries in Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Mariana Samôr; Bertucci, Thayse Cristina Pereira; Rapagnã, Luciano; Tubino, Rafael de Almeida; Monteiro-Neto, Cassiano; Tomas, Acácio Ribeiro Gomes; Tenório, Maria Cristina; Lima, Tânia; Souza, Rosa; Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge Domingo; Haimovici, Manuel; Macario, Kita; Carvalho, Carla; Aguilera Socorro, Orangel

2016-01-01

Brazilian shellmounds are archaeological sites with a high concentration of marine faunal remains. There are more than 2000 sites along the coast of Brazil that range in age from 8,720 to 985 cal BP. Here, we studied the ichthyoarchaeological remains (i.e., cranial/postcranial bones, otoliths, and teeth, among others) at 13 shellmounds on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, which are located in coastal landscapes, including a sandy plain with coastal lagoons, rocky islands, islets and rocky bays. We identified patterns of similarity between shellmounds based on fish diversity, the ages of the assemblages, littoral geomorphology and prehistoric fisheries. Our new radiocarbon dating, based on otolith samples, was used for fishery characterization over time. A taxonomical study of the ichthyoarchaeological remains includes a diversity of 97 marine species, representing 37% of all modern species (i.e., 265 spp.) that have been documented along the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. This high fish diversity recovered from the shellmounds is clear evidence of well-developed prehistoric fishery activity that targeted sharks, rays and finfishes in a productive area influenced by coastal marine upwelling. The presence of adult and neonate shark, especially oceanic species, is here interpreted as evidence of prehistoric fisheries capacity for exploitation and possibly overexploitation in nursery areas. Various tools and strategies were used to capture finfish in seasonal fisheries, over rocky reef bottoms and in sandy littoral environments. Massive catches of whitemouth croaker, main target dermersal species of South Atlantic coast, show evidence of a reduction in body size of approximately 28% compared with modern fisheries. Fishery activity involving vulnerable species, especially in nursery areas, could mark the beginning of fish depletion along the southeastern Brazilian coast and the collapse of natural fish populations. PMID:27355355

The Path towards Endangered Species: Prehistoric Fisheries in Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Mariana Samôr; Bertucci, Thayse Cristina Pereira; Rapagnã, Luciano; Tubino, Rafael de Almeida; Monteiro-Neto, Cassiano; Tomas, Acácio Ribeiro Gomes; Tenório, Maria Cristina; Lima, Tânia; Souza, Rosa; Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge Domingo; Haimovici, Manuel; Macario, Kita; Carvalho, Carla; Aguilera Socorro, Orangel

2016-01-01

Brazilian shellmounds are archaeological sites with a high concentration of marine faunal remains. There are more than 2000 sites along the coast of Brazil that range in age from 8,720 to 985 cal BP. Here, we studied the ichthyoarchaeological remains (i.e., cranial/postcranial bones, otoliths, and teeth, among others) at 13 shellmounds on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, which are located in coastal landscapes, including a sandy plain with coastal lagoons, rocky islands, islets and rocky bays. We identified patterns of similarity between shellmounds based on fish diversity, the ages of the assemblages, littoral geomorphology and prehistoric fisheries. Our new radiocarbon dating, based on otolith samples, was used for fishery characterization over time. A taxonomical study of the ichthyoarchaeological remains includes a diversity of 97 marine species, representing 37% of all modern species (i.e., 265 spp.) that have been documented along the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. This high fish diversity recovered from the shellmounds is clear evidence of well-developed prehistoric fishery activity that targeted sharks, rays and finfishes in a productive area influenced by coastal marine upwelling. The presence of adult and neonate shark, especially oceanic species, is here interpreted as evidence of prehistoric fisheries capacity for exploitation and possibly overexploitation in nursery areas. Various tools and strategies were used to capture finfish in seasonal fisheries, over rocky reef bottoms and in sandy littoral environments. Massive catches of whitemouth croaker, main target dermersal species of South Atlantic coast, show evidence of a reduction in body size of approximately 28% compared with modern fisheries. Fishery activity involving vulnerable species, especially in nursery areas, could mark the beginning of fish depletion along the southeastern Brazilian coast and the collapse of natural fish populations.

High prevalence of hepatitis E virus antibodies in Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil: analysis of a group of blood donors representative of the general population.

Science.gov (United States)

Passos-Castilho, Ana Maria; Reinaldo, Mônica Renata; Sena, Anne de; Granato, Celso F H

Brazil is a non-endemic country for hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection with seroprevalence from 1% to 4% in blood donors and the general population. However, data on seroprevalence of HEV in the country are still limited. This study evaluated the prevalence of past or present HEV infection in a group of blood donors representative of the general population of the city of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. Serum samples from 500 blood donors were tested from July to September 2014 by serological and molecular methods. Anti-HEV IgG antibodies were detected in 49 (9.8%) subjects and categorized age groups revealed an age-dependent increase of HEV seroprevalence. Among the anti-HEV IgG positive subjects, only 1 had anti-HEV IgM while none tested positive for HEV-RNA. The present data demonstrate a higher seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG than previously reported in the region. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Infectologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Feeding ecology of the beach silverside Atherinella blackburni (Atherinopsidae in a tropical sandy beach, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Júlio Guazzelli Gonzalez

Full Text Available Abstract The feeding ecology of the beach silverside (Atherinella blackburni in the surf zone of a tropical sand beach, located in the southeastern Brazil, was accessed through the gut content analysis of 198 fish. Factors such as fish's size, season and day period were analysed to understand how these variables affect the diet composition of the species. Results show that A. blackburni is a coastal neritic fish with a broad feeding niche. Most recurrent prey were zooplanktonic crustaceans, insects and benthic molluscs, in which Copepoda crustaceans were the dominant dietary item in occurrence and abundance. A. blackburni appears to have a slight ontogenetic shift in its diet, changing from benthic molluscs to crustaceans and insects along its life cycle. The diel activity also reveals to be an important factor to the A. blackburni feeding ecology. The predominant occurrence of small fish during the morning, along with the main preys for this size class, suggests that small individuals use shallower waters as feeding grounds during the morning and, during the night, they move to deeper waters for protection against predators.

Carbon sequestration and natural longleaf pine ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Ram Thapa; Dean Gjerstad; John Kush; Bruce Zutter

2010-01-01

The Southeastern United States was once dominated by a longleaf pine ecosystem which ranged from Virginia to Texas and covered approximately 22 to 36 million ha. The unique fire tolerant species provided the necessary habitat for numerous plant and animal species. Different seasons of prescribed fire have various results on the ecosystem and the carbon which is stored...

Habitat preferences of common native fishes in a tropical river in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcus Rodrigues da Costa

Full Text Available We determined in this study the habitat preferences of seven native fish species in a regulated river in Southeastern Brazil. We tested the hypothesis that fishes differ in habitat preference and that they use stretches of the river differing in hydraulic characteristics and substrate type. We surveyed fishes in four 1-km long river stretches encompassing different habitat traits, where we also measured water depth, velocity, and substrate type. We investigated preference patterns of four Siluriformes (Loricariichthys castaneus, Hoplosternum littorale, Pimelodus maculatus, and Trachelyopterus striatulus and three Characiformes (Astyanax aff. bimaculatus, Oligosarcus hepsetus, and Hoplias malabaricus, representing approximately 70% of the total number of fishes and 64% of the total biomass. We classified fishes into four habitat guilds: (1 a slow-flowing water guild that occupied mud-sand substrate, composed of two Siluriformes in either shallow ( 8 m, L. castaneus waters; (2 a run-dwelling guild that occurs in deep backwaters with clay-mud substrate, composed of the Characiformes A. aff. bimaculatus and O. hepsetus; (3 a run-dwelling guild that occurs in sandy and shallow substrate, composed of T. striatulus; and (4 a fast-flowing guild that occurs primarily along shorelines with shallow mud bottoms, composed of H. malabaricus and P. maculatus. Our hypothesis was confirmed, as different habitat preferences by fishes appear to occur in this regulated river.

Seasonal Variation and Frequency Distribution of Ectoparasites in Crossbreed Cattle in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria do Socorro Ferraz da Costa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aims of this study were to evaluate the seasonal variation and frequency distribution of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus microplus, Haematobia irritans, and Dermatobia hominis on crossbred heifers under field conditions in the northeast of Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. From November 2007 to September 2009 (23 months, 40 heifers aged 16.6±2.4 months were divided into groups A (1/4 Holstein × 3/4 Gir and B (1/2 Holstein × 1/2 Gir and had the monthly infestation estimated along with the climatic conditions. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures were 28.5 and 19°C, respectively. The ectoparasites were present on animals in all months of the year. The levels of ticks on the animals were low (3.0±0.2 ticks/animal, with the highest density in midwinter. The temperature was the climatic factor that most influenced the tick levels. The population of H. irritans (13.9±0.3 flies/animal and D. hominis (1.5±0.2 larvae/animal on heifers was more influenced by rainfall and exhibited two population peaks during the year. 1/2 Holstein heifers harbored significantly more H. irritans and D. hominis than 1/4 Holstein heifers. The results are discussed considering the most appropriate periods to apply ectoparasiticides and the genetic make-up of the animals.

Seasonal Variation and Frequency Distribution of Ectoparasites in Crossbreed Cattle in Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Ferraz da Costa, Maria do Socorro; Guimarães, Marcos Pezzi; Lima, Walter dos Santos; Ferraz da Costa, Ana Julia; Facury Filho, Elias Jorge; Araujo, Ricardo Nascimento

2014-01-01

The aims of this study were to evaluate the seasonal variation and frequency distribution of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Haematobia irritans, and Dermatobia hominis on crossbred heifers under field conditions in the northeast of Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. From November 2007 to September 2009 (23 months), 40 heifers aged 16.6 ± 2.4 months were divided into groups A (1/4 Holstein × 3/4 Gir) and B (1/2 Holstein × 1/2 Gir) and had the monthly infestation estimated along with the climatic conditions. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures were 28.5 and 19°C, respectively. The ectoparasites were present on animals in all months of the year. The levels of ticks on the animals were low (3.0 ± 0.2 ticks/animal), with the highest density in midwinter. The temperature was the climatic factor that most influenced the tick levels. The population of H. irritans (13.9 ± 0.3 flies/animal) and D. hominis (1.5 ± 0.2 larvae/animal) on heifers was more influenced by rainfall and exhibited two population peaks during the year. 1/2 Holstein heifers harbored significantly more H. irritans and D. hominis than 1/4 Holstein heifers. The results are discussed considering the most appropriate periods to apply ectoparasiticides and the genetic make-up of the animals. PMID:26464941

Cytogenetics of the Brazilian whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus littoralis (Teiidae) from a restinga area (Barra de Maricá) in Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Peccinini-Seale, D; Rocha, C F D; Almeida, T M B; Araújo, A F B; De Sena, M A

2004-08-01

Chromosomes of Cnemidophorus littoralis, a new species of teiid lizard recently described, were studied. The animals are from a restinga area in Barra de Maricá, RJ. The karyotype presents a diploid number of 2n = 46 chromosomes and a chromosomal sex determination mechanism of the type XX:XY. Nucleolar organizer regions, Ag-NORs, are at the sixth pair of chromosomes; there is variability of size and number of the Ag-stained nucleoli on the 50 interphase nuclei for each specimen analyzed. These nucleoli are related to NOR patterns that also demonstrated variability in size and number. This paper presents the first description of the karyotype of Cnemidophorus littoralis and of a chromosomal sex determination mechanism of the XX:XY type in the genus Cnemidophorus from Southeastern Brazil.

Carbon isotopes and charcoal in soils, vegetation changes and climate inferences in the southeastern Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pessenda, L.C.R.; Gouveia, S.E.M; Aravena, R; Boulet, R; Bendassolli, J.A

2001-01-01

The use of carbon isotopes in studies of soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics have been applied to infer information about vegetation and climate changes during the late Quaternary (Schwartz et al., 1986; Pessenda et al., 1996). This approach had also been used in different areas in Brazil to document vegetation changes during the Holocene (Desjardins et al., 1996; Gouveia et al., 1997; Pessenda et al., 1998a, b, 2001) and late Pleistocene/Holocene (Freitas et al., 2001). The application of carbon isotopes is based on the different 13 C composition of C 3 and C 4 plants and its preservation in SOM. 13 C values of C 3 plant species range from approximately -32% o to -20% o PDB, with a mean of -27% o . In contrast, δ 13 C of C 4 species range from -17% o to -9% o with mean of -13% o . Thus, C 3 and C 4 plant species have distinct δ 13 C values and differ from each other by approximately 14% o (Boutton, 1991). The study of charcoal fragments found in sediments and soils also supplies information about climatic conditions. Charcoal distribution in the soil profiles can provide information about the occurrence of paleofires (Pessenda et al., 1996), possibly associated with drier climate periods and/or human disturbance. In this paper we report δ 13 C data of soil and 14 C dates on charcoal from five soil profiles collected under natural vegetation in the Parana and Sao Paulo states, southeastern Brazil. Carbon isotopes are used to evaluate vegetation changes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Charcoal distribution in the soil and its dating are used to infer linkage between forest fires and climate changes and to establish the chronology (au)

Characterization of non-calcareous 'thin' red clay from south-eastern Brazil: applicability in wall tile manufacture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sousa, S.J.G.; Holanda, J.N.F., E-mail: sidnei_rjsousa@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: holanda@uenf.br [Grupo de Materiais Ceramicos - LAMAV-CCT, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil)

2012-04-15

In this work the use of 'thin' red clay from south-eastern Brazil (Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ) as raw material for the manufacture of wall tile was investigated. A wide range of characterization techniques was employed, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), grain-size analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The wall tile body was prepared by the dry process. The tile pieces were uniaxially pressed and fired between 1080 - 1180 deg C using a fast-firing cycle. The following technological properties were determined: linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent density, and flexural strength. The development of the microstructure was followed by SEM and XRD analyses. It was found that the 'thin' red clay is kaolinitic type containing a substantial amount of quartz. The results also showed that the 'thin' red clay could be used in the manufacture of wall tiles, as they present properties compatible with those specified for class BIII of ISO 13006 standard. (author)

Penicillium excelsum sp. nov from the Brazil Nut Tree Ecosystem in the Amazon Basin'.

Science.gov (United States)

Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi; Pitt, John I; Iamanaka, Beatriz T; Massi, Fernanda P; Fungaro, Maria Helena P; Frisvad, Jens C

2015-01-01

A new Penicillium species, P. excelsum, is described here using morphological characters, extrolite and partial sequence data from the ITS, β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. It was isolated repeatedly using samples of nut shells and flowers from the brazil nut tree, Bertolletia excelsa, as well as bees and ants from the tree ecosystem in the Amazon rainforest. The species produces andrastin A, curvulic acid, penicillic acid and xanthoepocin, and has unique partial β-tubulin and calmodulin gene sequences. The holotype of P. excelsum is CCT 7772, while ITAL 7572 and IBT 31516 are cultures derived from the holotype.

Penicillium excelsum sp. nov from the Brazil Nut Tree Ecosystem in the Amazon Basin’

Science.gov (United States)

Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi; Pitt, John I.; Iamanaka, Beatriz T.; Massi, Fernanda P.; Fungaro, Maria Helena P.; Frisvad, Jens C.

2015-01-01

A new Penicillium species, P. excelsum, is described here using morphological characters, extrolite and partial sequence data from the ITS, β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. It was isolated repeatedly using samples of nut shells and flowers from the brazil nut tree, Bertolletia excelsa, as well as bees and ants from the tree ecosystem in the Amazon rainforest. The species produces andrastin A, curvulic acid, penicillic acid and xanthoepocin, and has unique partial β-tubulin and calmodulin gene sequences. The holotype of P. excelsum is CCT 7772, while ITAL 7572 and IBT 31516 are cultures derived from the holotype. PMID:26717519

Hydrological services in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil: An ecosystem-based adaptation using ecohydrological monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Taffarello

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA involves using services on which human well-being depends to help people adapt to the impacts of climate change. Aiming at strengthening ecosystem resilience and reducing ecosystem and people’s vulnerability, EbA has been encouraged worldwide as an option for climate change. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES are incentives offered to farmers and landowners to provide an ecological service and are currently proposed as a method for EbA and water resources sustainability on a global scale. However, organized information on PES in Brazil is limited. This paper provides a concise review of PES initiatives in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, where various PES projects on watershed protection (Water-PES have been set up. We found 16 ongoing Water-PES in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The first initiative was launched in 2005 and since then these projects have grown rapidly. In spite of the advances made in many of these initiatives, they seldom have baseline hydrologic data and an implemented strategy for ecohydrological monitoring. Thus, we discuss how PES projects could be more effective by implementing hydrological monitoring based on ecohydrological concepts. Special attention has been given to explaining how the recent Impact-Vulnerability-Adaptation idea could be integrated into Water-PES. As can be seen from the review, these projects contribute as EbA options for climate change, thereby carrying practical implications for environmental policy makers.

Land-use effect on hydropedology in a mountainous region of Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leandro Campos Pinto

Full Text Available ABSTRACT In Brazil, the Mantiqueira Range, southeastern region, shelters the last remnants of the ecologically important Upper Montane Tropical Forest. since extensive exploration that has been taking place in this biome for decades, the influence of land-use changes on hydropedology in these areas must be investigated once major land-use changes have been observed. This study aims to evaluate the land-use influence on soil drainable porosity (SDP in a headwater watershed located in the Mantiqueira Range region, and to validate the proposed methods based on micromorphological and hydrological indicators. The native vegetation of the study area is Atlantic forest that occupies 62% of the area, and the remaining 38% has been used for pasture. Thirty nine combinations of environmental variables were tested, each one generating a map for predicting SDP. The performance of the spatial prediction of SDP was assessed using 20% of the data from the total number of samples collected throughout the watershed. The least values of SDP are due to the process of removal of native forest and replacement by pasture. Areas with high to moderate SDP are associated with native forest fragments demonstrating the effects of the Atlantic Forest on the water infiltration and groundwater recharge processes, given by the greater contribution of baseflow in a forested catchment located within the studied watershed. The analysis of soil micromorphological images provided useful supporting information on the soil porosity system and along with hydrological properties of the watershed helped understand the SDP behavior on subsurface and groundwater storage capacity.

The tadpole of Chiasmocleis carvalhoi and the advertisement calls of three species of Chiasmocleis (Anura, Microhylidae from the Atlantic rainforest of southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrique Wogel

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The tadpole of Chiasmocleis carvalhoi is figured and described for the first time from individuals collected in the State of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. The advertisement calls of C. atlantica, C. capixaba, and C. carvalhoi also are described and compared with the advertisement calls of others Chiasmocleis species restricted to Atlantic Rainforest. The advertisement calls of C. atlantica, C. capixaba, and C. carvalhoi are similar, consisting of one pulsed note of harmonic structure emitted repetitively. Our study corroborates the monophyly of the genus Chiasmocleis based on similarities in advertisement calls. Calls of syntopic species (C. atlantica with C. carvalhoi and C. capixaba with C. schubarti were less similar than those of closely related allopatric species.

High school students' opinions of gynecological consultations in Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Sandra de Morais; Taquette, Stella Regina; Pérez, Maurício de Andrade

2013-02-01

To analyze sociocultural differences and perceptions of gynecological consultations for high school girls. A transversal study with 418 high school girls from three schools of different profiles in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil in 2010. A structured questionnaire encompassing socio-demographic characteristics, sexual behavior and evaluation of gynecological consultations was completed. Yates' Chi-square test and the Student's t-test were utilized adopting a value of p students of private and federal public schools presented similar profiles but both were different from the state school girls. The latter had lower socioeconomic status, and their parents had lower levels of education, the predominance of afro-descendants was observed, as were a larger number of sexual partners, pregnancy and cases of sexual violence. The average age of menarche and sexarche among the students were similar, but the first gynecological consultation was significantly later among the state school students. The majority showed some knowledge of contraception and STDs, although only a minority received guidance from the consultations. Students expressed the desire that the professionals dedicate more time, patience and availability to them during consultations. The provision of gynecological services for teenagers is not satisfactory, according to the teenagers' evaluations. Users of the private health system have gynecological consultations earlier than those who only have access to the public system. It is necessary to create mechanisms that facilitate access and adhesion to a routine of gynecological prevention for this age group.

Sugar cane burning pollution and respiratory symptoms in schoolchildren in Monte Aprazível, Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Riguera, Denise; André, Paulo Afonso; Zanetta, Dirce Maria Trevisan

2011-10-01

To estimate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to analyze associated factors as well as peak expiratory flow measurements in schoolchildren. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study with schoolchildren aged 10-14 from the city of Monte Aprazível (Southeastern Brazil). Questionnaires containing the asthma and rhinitis components of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood were administered. The questionnaires also approached sociodemographic characteristics, predisposing factors, and family and personal medical history. Repeated measures of peak expiratory flow in the children, and of black carbon and particulate matter (PM2,5) concentration levels were carried out. The prevalence of asthma and rhinitis symptoms was 11% and 33.2%, respectively. Among asthmatic children, 10.6% presented four or more wheezing attacks in the past 12 months. Past family history of bronchitis and rhinitis was associated with presence of asthma (p=0.002 and p PM2,5 concentration. The prevalence of asthma symptoms is below and that of rhinitis is above the national average. Although within acceptable levels, pollution in the cane trash burn season may contribute to the exacerbation of asthma and rhinitis episodes.

Diagnosis of Pentatrichomonas hominis from domestic cats in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline S. dos Santos

2015-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT. dos Santos C.S., McIntosh D., Berto B.P., de Jesus V.L.T., da Rocha C.N.C., Fernandes J.I., Scott F.B. & Lopes C.W.G. Diagnosis of Pentatrichomonas hominis from domestic cats in Southeastern Brazil. [Diagnóstico de Pentatrichomonas hominis em gatos no sudeste do Brasil.] Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 37(Supl.1:25-31, 2015. Curso de Pós-Graduação em Ci- ências Veterinárias, Anexo 1, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR-465 Km 7, Campus Seropédica, RJ 23897-970, Brasil. E-mail: carolinespitz@yahoo.com.br The parabasalid flagellate Tritrichomonas foetus is recognized as the causative agent of large bowel diarrhea in domestic cats. A second species of parabasalid flagellate Pentatrichomonas hominis, has also been reported in association with domestic cats, albeit almost exclusively as a commensal organism. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that P. hominis may also be involved in feline gastro-intestinal disorders including diarrhea and that the incidence of infection with P. hominis may have been underestimated due to it being misidentified as T. foetus. The aim of the current study was to establish the basis for routine morphological identification of P. hominis employing light microscopy and to apply the methodology to the examination of cases of diarrhea in a laboratory population of Brazilian domestic cats (n =39. A detailed morphological description of P. hominis isolated from 11 cats with diarrhea was produced and molecular analyses were performed in support of the morphological data and to demonstrate the absence of T. foetus in infected cats. All animals with diarrhea were demonstrated to be infected solely with P. hominis. The findings of the current study provide a straight forward and validated method for the differential diagnosis of P. hominis and contribute to the on-going debate surrounding the pathogenic potential of this parabasalid flagellate.

Bats from Fazenda Intervales, Southeastern Brazil: species account and comparison between different sampling methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine V. Portfors

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Assessing the composition of an area's bat fauna is typically accomplished by using captures or by monitoring echolocation calls with bat detectors. The two methods may not provide the same data regarding species composition. Mist nets and harp traps may be biased towards sampling low flying species, and bat detectors biased towards detecting high intensity echolocators. A comparison of the bat fauna of Fazenda Intervales, southeastern Brazil, as revealed by mist nets and harp trap captures, checking roosts and by monitoring echolocation calls of flying bats illustrates this point. A total of 17 species of bats was sampled. Fourteen bat species were captured and the echolocation calls of 12 species were recorded, three of them not revealed by mist nets or harp traps. The different sampling methods provided different pictures of the bat fauna. Phyllostomid bats dominated the catches in mist nets, but in the field their echolocation calls were never detected. No single sampling approach provided a complete assessment of the bat fauna in the study area. In general, bats producing low intensity echolocation calls, such as phyllostomids, are more easily assessed by netting, and bats producing high intensity echolocation calls are better surveyed by bat detectors. The results demonstrate that a combined and varied approach to sampling is required for a complete assessment of the bat fauna of an area.

Breeding biology of Tyrannus melancholicus (Aves: Tyrannidae in a restinga reserve of southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hermes Daros

2018-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Existing knowledge of the breeding success and life history characteristics of most Neotropical bird species is scarce. Here, we help fill this gap by analyzing aspects of the breeding biology of the Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus (Vieillot, 1819, which is a good model for this kind of study as it is a common species occurring in various environments, including urban areas, but little is known about its life history. We provide results concerning the breeding period, clutch size, incubation and nestling periods, description of nests, eggs and nestlings, and the plants used for nest sites by this species. Fifty-four nests were monitored over two seasons (2012-2014 in a protected area in southeastern Brazil. Nesting began at the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season. The frequency of active nests varied according to variations in rainfall for each breeding season analyzed. The means and standard deviations of the incubation period (14.2 ± 1.9 days, nestling period (15.1 ± 0.8 days and clutch size (2.5 ± 0.7 eggs were similar to values reported for other Neotropical passerines. Twenty-one plant species used as nest trees and for the construction of the nests were identified. The results show that T. melancholicus is not highly selective when choosing plant species used for nest construction.

Trophic ecology of Lontra longicaudis (Carnivora, Mustelidae in lotic and semilotic environments in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lívia B. Santos

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Lontra longicaudis (Olfers, 1818 (Carnivora, Mustelidae is a semi-aquatic animal spread through the Central and South America, except in Chile. The implantation of a hydroelectric power plant along a river alters the dynamics of the watercourse, transforming a lotic environment into a lentic or semilotic one, what can damage the otter's feeding. From April 2008 to March 2009 we analysed the otter's food habits in lotic (streamlet and semilotic (hydroelectric reservoir environments of Paranapanema Valley, in southeastern Brazil. Aiming to compare the otter's diet of these two environments, we analyzed statistically the frequency of occurrence of main items in the scats. Fishes represent the base of the diet both in the reservoir and in the streamlet and, despite of the total otter's diet showing up similarities in the two environments, the results evidenced modifications on the fish species consumed between them. In the reservoir the otters ate more exotic fish Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758 probably because it is an easy capture prey in this place. The fact that the otters get established and feed in the reservoir doesn't mean that this structure is benefic to the species because the food supplied for it consists mainly of exotic fish species.

Blood parasites, total plasma protein and packed cell volume of small wild mammals trapped in three mountain ranges of the Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MAML. Silva

Full Text Available A study of blood parasites in small wild non-flying mammals was undertaken in three areas of the Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil: Serra de Itatiaia, RJ, Serra da Bocaina, SP and Serra da Fartura, SP, from June 1999 to May 2001. A total of 450 animals (15 species were captured in traps and it was observed in 15.5% of the blood smears the presence of Haemobartonella sp. and Babesia sp. in red blood cells. There was no statistically significant difference between parasited and non-parasited specimens regarding total plasma protein, packed cell volume and body weight, which strongly suggests that these specimens might be parasite reservoirs.

Insect fauna in soil at different grassland ecosystems at Sobral, state of Ceará, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gislane dos Santos Sousa

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was perform a surveillance of the insect fauna in soil in three grassland ecosystems of experimental farm Vale do Acaraú of Universidade Estadual Vale do Acaraú at Sobral, state of Ceará, Brazil, by the using of traps soil, with fortnightly collections, from March 2011 to February 2012. To characterize the insect fauna established a distribution pattern, whereas the rates of occurrence and dominance of species grouped by order, as an indicator of the frequency and the occurrence of the amount of captured. At the end, we collected and identified a total of 17,008 specimens of insects belonging to 11 orders, namely: Blattariae, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Orthoptera and Mantodea. The Order Hymenoptera was the one that stood out the largest number of individuals captured, attributing the presence of large amount of ants, are still considered common to the three ecosystems studied, according to the method employed.

Analysis of floristic composition and structure as an aid to monitoring protected areas of dense rain forest in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliana Cardoso-Leite

2013-03-01

Full Text Available To study forest composition and structure, as well as to facilitate management plans and monitoring programs, we conducted a phytosociological survey in the PE Caverna do Diabo State Park and the Quilombos do Médio Ribeira Environmentally Protected Area, both located within the state of São Paulo, Brazil. We analyzed 20 plots of 400 m² each, including only individuals with a circumference at breast height > 15 cm. We employed cluster analysis and ordination (principal component analysis and correspondence analysis, including species data and abiotic data. We evaluated 1051 individuals, belonging to 155 species in 48 families. Of those 155, 18 were threatened species, 33 were endemic species, and 92 (59.4% were secondary species. The overall Shannon index was 4.524, one of the highest recorded for a dense rainforest in southeastern Brazil. We found that our sample plots fell into three blocks. The first was forest in which there had been human disturbance, showing low species richness, minimal density, and a small relative quantity of biomass. The second was undisturbed mature forest, showing a comparatively larger quantity of biomass. The third was mature forest in which there had been natural intermediate disturbance (dead trees, showing higher species richness and greater density. We identified various groups of species that could be used in monitoring these distinct forest conditions.

Diet and nematode infection in Proceratoprhys boiei (Anura: Cycloramphidae from two Atlantic rainforest remnants in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaís Klaion

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Proceratophrys boiei is an endemic cycloramphid anuran inhabiting the leaf litter of Atlantic rainforests in Southeastern Brazil. We analyzed the whole digestive tract of 38 individuals of Proceratophrys boiei collected in two Atlantic Rainforest areas in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to study the diet composition and the helminth fauna associated with this species. The main food items in P. boiei's diet were Coleoptera, Orthoptera and Blattaria. Five nematode species were found: Aplectana delirae, Cosmocerca parva, Oxyascaris oxyascaris, Physaloptera sp. (larval stage only and an unidentified nematode. Overall prevalence was 71% and mean infection intensity was 7.3 ± 5.8 neatodes per individual.Proceratophrys boiei é um anuro da familia Cycloramphidae que vive no folhico e é endêmico de areas de floresta na Mata Atlantica do Sudeste do Brasil. Nós analisamos o trato digestivo de 38 indivíduos de Proceratophrys boiei provenientes de duas áreas de Mata Atlântica no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, para estudar a composição da dieta e a fauna helmíntica associada a esta espécie. s principais itens alientares na dieta de P. boiei fora Coleoptera, rthoptera e Blattaria. Cinco espécies de nematóides foram encontradas: Aplectana delirae, Cosmocerca parva, Oxyascaris oxyascaris, Physaloptera sp. (apenas larvas e uma espécie de nematóide não identificada. A prevalência total foi de 71% e a intensidade media de infecção foi de 7,3 ± 5,8 nematóides por indivíduo.

Geomorphology Drives Amphibian Beta Diversity in Atlantic Forest Lowlands of Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Luiz, Amom Mendes; Leão-Pires, Thiago Augusto; Sawaya, Ricardo J

2016-01-01

Beta diversity patterns are the outcome of multiple processes operating at different scales. Amphibian assemblages seem to be affected by contemporary climate and dispersal-based processes. However, historical processes involved in present patterns of beta diversity remain poorly understood. We assess and disentangle geomorphological, climatic and spatial drivers of amphibian beta diversity in coastal lowlands of the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. We tested the hypothesis that geomorphological factors are more important in structuring anuran beta diversity than climatic and spatial factors. We obtained species composition via field survey (N = 766 individuals), museum specimens (N = 9,730) and literature records (N = 4,763). Sampling area was divided in four spatially explicit geomorphological units, representing historical predictors. Climatic descriptors were represented by the first two axis of a Principal Component Analysis. Spatial predictors in different spatial scales were described by Moran Eigenvector Maps. Redundancy Analysis was implemented to partition the explained variation of species composition by geomorphological, climatic and spatial predictors. Moreover, spatial autocorrelation analyses were used to test neutral theory predictions. Beta diversity was spatially structured in broader scales. Shared fraction between climatic and geomorphological variables was an important predictor of species composition (13%), as well as broad scale spatial predictors (13%). However, geomorphological variables alone were the most important predictor of beta diversity (42%). Historical factors related to geomorphology must have played a crucial role in structuring amphibian beta diversity. The complex relationships between geomorphological history and climatic gradients generated by the Serra do Mar Precambrian basements were also important. We highlight the importance of combining spatially explicit historical and contemporary predictors for understanding

Geomorphology Drives Amphibian Beta Diversity in Atlantic Forest Lowlands of Southeastern Brazil.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amom Mendes Luiz

Full Text Available Beta diversity patterns are the outcome of multiple processes operating at different scales. Amphibian assemblages seem to be affected by contemporary climate and dispersal-based processes. However, historical processes involved in present patterns of beta diversity remain poorly understood. We assess and disentangle geomorphological, climatic and spatial drivers of amphibian beta diversity in coastal lowlands of the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. We tested the hypothesis that geomorphological factors are more important in structuring anuran beta diversity than climatic and spatial factors. We obtained species composition via field survey (N = 766 individuals, museum specimens (N = 9,730 and literature records (N = 4,763. Sampling area was divided in four spatially explicit geomorphological units, representing historical predictors. Climatic descriptors were represented by the first two axis of a Principal Component Analysis. Spatial predictors in different spatial scales were described by Moran Eigenvector Maps. Redundancy Analysis was implemented to partition the explained variation of species composition by geomorphological, climatic and spatial predictors. Moreover, spatial autocorrelation analyses were used to test neutral theory predictions. Beta diversity was spatially structured in broader scales. Shared fraction between climatic and geomorphological variables was an important predictor of species composition (13%, as well as broad scale spatial predictors (13%. However, geomorphological variables alone were the most important predictor of beta diversity (42%. Historical factors related to geomorphology must have played a crucial role in structuring amphibian beta diversity. The complex relationships between geomorphological history and climatic gradients generated by the Serra do Mar Precambrian basements were also important. We highlight the importance of combining spatially explicit historical and contemporary predictors for

Geographic expression of AIDS epidemic in Campinas, Southeastern Brazil, between 1980 and 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephan, Celso; Henn, Carlos Alberto; Donalisio, Maria Rita

2010-10-01

To analyze the spatial distribution of reported AIDS cases in adults and its association with living conditions in the city of Campinas, Southeastern Brazil. Data on AIDS cases in men (n=2,945) and women (n=1,230) aged more than 13 years and living in Campinas, recorded in the SINAN (Brazilian Information System for Notifiable Diseases), were used to map the spatial distribution of this disease and the male:female ratio. Maps were constructed for the following periods: from 1980 to 1995, from 1996 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005. The variables included in the analysis were address, sex and age. A weighted composite index was used to study living and health conditions in the area. Patients' home addresses were geocoded on a cartographic base, after correction and standardization according to a reference database of streets. A generalized additive model was adjusted to analyze the spatial distribution of the ratio of male:female cases in space, in the three study periods. The ratio of male:female cases was higher in areas with better living conditions (central) and around the prison (northwestern), where families of prisoners and former prisoners live temporarily, while this ratio was lower in the city suburbs (southwestern). The trends towards the AIDS epidemic affecting more women and poorer individuals were confirmed by the decrease in the ratio of male:female cases in the period, particularly in vulnerable and impoverished populations. Geographic information systems and spatial data analysis can be useful for AIDS control and surveillance actions.

Edge effect on post-dispersal artificial seed predation in the southeastern Amazonia, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Penido, G; Ribeiro, V; Fortunato, D S

2015-05-01

This paper evaluates the post-dispersal artificial seed predation rates in two areas of the southeastern Amazon forest-savanna boundary, central Brazil. We conducted the survey in a disturbance regime controlled research site to verify if exists an edge effect in these rates and if the disturbance (in this case annual fire and no fire) affects seed predation. We placed 800 peanuts seeds in each area at regular distance intervals from the fragment`s edge. Data were analyzed by a likelihood ratio model selection in generalized linear models (GLM). The complete model (with effects from edge distance and site and its interaction) was significative (F3=4.43; p=0.005). Seeds had a larger predation rates in fragment's interior in both areas, but in the controlled area (no disturbance) this effect was less linear. This suggests an edge effect for post-dispersal seed predation, and that disturbances might alter these effects. Even if we exclude the site effect (grouping both areas together) there is still a strong edge effect on seed predation rates (F3=32.679; p>0.001). We did not verify predator's species in this study; however, the presence of several species of ants was extremely common in the seeds. The detection of an edge effect in only a short survey time suggests that there is heterogeneity in predation rates and that this variation might affect plant recruitment in fragmented areas of the Amazon forest. Henceforth, this seed predation should be taken in consideration in reforestation projects, where the main source of plants species is from seed distribution.

Chemical composition, antischistosomal and cytotoxic effects of the essential oil of Lavandula angustifolia grown in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André L.L. Mantovani

Full Text Available This paper reports on the chemical composition, the in vitroantischistosomal effects, and the cytotoxicity of the essential oil from the leaves of Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Lamiaceae, grown in the Southeastern Brazil. Borneol (22.4%, epi-α-muurolol (13.4%, α-bisabolol (13.1%, precocene I (13.0%, and eucalyptol (7.9% were the major essential oil constituents. Incubation with essential oil at 200 μg/ml killed all the adult S. mansoni worms after 24 h (LC50117.7 and 103.9 μg/ml at 24 and 120 h of incubation, respectively. At a concentration of 50 μg/ ml, the essential oil significantly decreased the motor activity and reduced the percentage of egg development after 120 h. In addition, the essential oil separated all the coupled S. mansoni worm pairs into individual male and female at 25 and 50 μg/ml within 120 and 24 h, respectively. This oil was cytotoxic to GM07492-A cells at only concentrations higher than 200 µg/ml (IC50243.7 µg/ml. These data indicate that LA-EO exhibits moderate in vitro activity against adult S. mansoniand exerts remarkable effects on eggs development.

Population biology and distribution of the tanaid Kalliapseudes schubarti Mañé-Garzon, 1949, in an intertidal flat in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. P. P. Leite

Full Text Available The population biology and the spatial and temporal distribution of Kalliapseudes schubarti Mañé-Garzon, 1949, a common tanaidacean in mud flats and estuaries in southern and southeastern Brazil, was studied in the Araçá region, São Sebastião (SP, Brazil. This species showed a clustered dispersion in the area and the individuals were concentrated in the superficial sediment layer (5 cm. Higher densities of K. schubarti were recorded in areas characterized by moderately sorted fine sediment. Multiple regression analysis revealed a positive influence of the organic matter contents and a negative effect of the silt-clay contents on the abundance of K. schubarti. This species showed a marked temporal variation with very low abundance in winter and fall (March to August. Sexual dimorphism was evidenced with males being larger than females. Ovigerous females were also larger than pre-ovigerous ones. Sex ratio was skewed towards females. Seven cohorts were identified during the sampling period, the estimated longevity was 12 months, and no seasonal oscillation in growth was evidenced. The continuous reproduction, as evidenced by the presence of larval phases (manca II and neutron and reproductive females throughout the year, and high fecundity among the tanaids associated with fast growth and limited longevity support the case for the opportunistic life strategy suggested for this species in the literature.

Hepatozoon canis infecting dogs in the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Spolidorio, Mariana G; Labruna, Marcelo B; Zago, Augusto M; Donatele, Dirlei M; Caliari, Késia M; Yoshinari, Natalino H

2009-08-26

From May 2007 to March 2008, blood samples were collected from 92 healthy dogs living in 21 households (17 farms in rural area, and 4 homes in urban area) in 6 counties of the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. In addition, ticks were collected from these dogs. A mean of 4.4+/-3.0 dogs (range: 1-12) were sampled per household; 78 and 14 dogs were from rural and urban areas, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) designed to amplify fragments of the 18S rDNA gene of Babesia spp or Hepatozoon spp revealed amplicons of the expected size in 20 (21.7%) dogs for Babesia, and 54 (58.7%) dogs for Hepatozoon. All Babesia-positive dogs were also Hepatozoon-positive. Among the 21 households, 15 (71.4%) from 3 counties had at least one PCR-positive dog, including 13 farms (rural area) and 2 homes (urban area). A total of 40 PCR products from the Hepatozoon-PCR, and 19 products from the Babesia-PCR were submitted to DNA sequencing. All generated sequences from Hepatozoon-PCR were identical to each other, and to corresponding 18S rDNA sequences of H. canis in GenBank. Surprisingly, all generated sequences from the Babesia PCR were also identical to corresponding 18S rDNA sequences of H. canis in GenBank. Dogs from 10 rural and 2 urban households were found infested by Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. Immature of Amblyomma cajennense ticks were found in dogs from only 4 rural households (also infested by R. sanguineus). All but one household with R. sanguineus-infested dogs had at least one Hepatozoon-infected dog. Statistical analysis showed that the presence of ticks (i.e. R. sanguineus) infesting dogs in the households was significantly (P0.05) between PCR-positive dogs and urban or rural households. Canine hepatozoonosis caused by H. canis is a high frequent infection in Espírito Santo, Brazil, where it is possibly vectored by R. sanguineus. Since all infected dogs were found apparently healthy, the pathogenicity of H. canis for dogs in Espírito Santo is

Recommendations for monitoring avian populations with point counts: a case study in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vagner Cavarzere

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In the northern hemisphere, bird counts have been fundamental in gathering data to understand population trends. Due to the seasonality of the northern hemisphere, counts take place during two clearly defined moments in time: the breeding season (resident birds and winter (after migration. Depending on location, Neotropical birds may breed at any time of year, may or may not migrate, and those patterns are not necessarily synchronous among species. Also in contrast to the northern hemisphere, population trends and the impact of rapid urbanization and deforestation are unknown and unmonitored. Throughout one year, we used point counts to better understand temporal patterns of bird species richness and relative abundance in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, to examine how to implement similar bird counts in tropical America. We counted birds twice each day on 10 point transects (20 points day‑1, separated by 200 m, with a 100 m limited detection radius in a semideciduous tropical forest. Both species richness and bird abundance were greater in the morning, but accumulation curves suggest that longer-duration afternoon counts would reach the same total species as in morning counts. Species richness and bird abundance did not vary seasonally and unique species were counted every month; relatively few species (20% were present in all months. Most (84% known forest species in the area were encountered. We suggest that point counts can work here as they do in the northern hemisphere. We recommend that transects include at least 20 points and that the simplest timing of bird counts would also be seasonal, using timing of migration of austral migrants (and six months later to coordinate counts. We propose that bird counts in Brazil, and elsewhere in Latin America, would provide data to help understand population trends, but would require greater effort than in temperate latitudes due to greater species richness and different dynamics of

Fish Biodiversity Patterns in Reef Communities of the Southeastern Coast of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralf Riedel

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Marine Protected Areas are increasingly becoming a tool of choice for conservation and management of marine resources and ecosystems. Data on biodiversity are necessary to assist in establishing protected areas for conservation objectives to be met. Toward that effect, we investigated reef biodiversity patterns in three large-scale coastal regions of Brazil. The study areas comprised of an upwelling region, an adjacent high impacted region, and a more distant marine park. We surveyed four reef sites in each study region. Fish species and abundance, substrate relief, and water temperature were recorded during the surveys. Biodiversity was estimated using Simpson’s and Shannon’s indices on species richness and abundance. Fish diversity was highest at the upwelling area. No difference in diversity was observed between the high impacted region and the marine park. No substrate relief patterns were found. Temperature readings showed higher frequency of low temperature episodic events at the upwelling region. Our results favor the upwelling region for establishment of a Marine Protected Area. Moreover, the similar diversity between the high impacted region and the marine park showed evidence of spillover effects from the upwelling into the high impacted region, further demonstrating the importance of the upwelling region for conservation.

Links between riparian landcover, instream environment and fish assemblages in headwater streams of south-eastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Bruna B.; Miranda, Leandro E.; Cetra, Mauricio

2013-01-01

We hypothesised and tested a hierarchical organisation model where riparian landcover would influence bank composition and light availability, which in turn would influence instream environments and control fish assemblages. The study was conducted during the dry season in 11 headwater tributaries of the Sorocaba River in the upper Paraná River Basin, south-eastern Brazil. We focused on seven environmental factors each represented by one or multiple environmental variables and seven fish functional traits each represented by two or more classes. Multivariate direct gradient analyses suggested that riparian zone landcover can be considered a higher level causal factor in a network of relations that control instream characteristics and fish assemblages. Our results provide a framework for a hierarchical conceptual model that identifies singular and collective influences of variables from different scales on each other and ultimately on different aspects related to stream fish functional composition. This conceptual model is focused on the relationships between riparian landcover and instream variables as causal factors on the organisation of stream fish assemblages. Our results can also be viewed as a model for headwater stream management in that landcover can be manipulated to influence factors such as bank composition, substrates and water quality, whereas fish assemblage composition can be used as indicators to monitor the success of such efforts.

The Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic passive margin Lajeado Group and Apiaí Gabbro, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.A.C. Campanha

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The Lajeado Group in the Ribeira Belt, southeastern Brazil, corresponds to an open-sea carbonate platform, comprised of seven overlapping siliciclastic and carbonatic formations, intruded in its upper portion by the Apiaí Gabbro. These rocks have a Neoproterozoic tectonometamorphic overprint related to arc magmatism and the Brasiliano collisional orogeny. Geochronological constraints are given by new U-Pb SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS data for Lajeado Group detrital zircons and for magmatic zircons from the Apiaí Gabbro. The youngest detrital zircons in the Lajeado Group are 1400–1200 Ma, and constrain its maximum age of deposition to be <1200 Ma, whereas the 877 ± 8 Ma age for magmatic zircons in the Apiaí Gabbro give the minimum age. Detritus source areas are mainly Paleoproterozoic (2200–1800 Ma with some Archean and Mesoproterozoic contribution (1500–1200 Ma, with distal or tectonic stable cratonic character. The Lajeado Group should be a Stenian–Tonian carbonate platform passive margin of a continent at this time, namely the Columbia/Nuna or the Rodinia. The Apiaí Gabbro displays similar age to other intrusive basic rocks in the Lajeado and Itaiacoca groups and represents tholeiitic MORB-like magmatism that we relate to the initial break-up of a Mesoproterozoic continent and the formation of the Brasiliano oceans.

Assessing Changes in Precipitation and Impacts on Groundwater in Southeastern Brazil using Regional Hydroclimate Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, A.; Fernandes, M.; Silva, G. C., Jr.

2017-12-01

Aquifers can be key players in regional water resources. Precipitation infiltration is the most relevant process in recharging the aquifers. In that regard, understanding precipitation changes and impacts on the hydrological cycle helps in the assessment of groundwater availability from the aquifers. Regional modeling systems can provide precipitation, near-surface air temperature, together with soil moisture at different ground levels from coupled land-surface schemes. More accurate those variables are better the evaluation of the precipitation impact on the groundwater. Downscaling of global reanalysis very often employs regional modeling systems, in order to give more detailed information for impact assessment studies at regional scales. In particular, the regional modeling system, Satellite-enhanced Regional Downscaling for Applied Studies (SRDAS), might improve the accuracy of hydrometeorological variables in regions with spatial and temporal scarcity of in-situ observations. SRDAS combines assimilation of precipitation estimates from gauge-corrected satellite-based products with spectral nudging technique. The SRDAS hourly outputs provide monthly means of atmospheric and land-surface variables, including precipitation, used in the calculations of the hydrological budget terms. Results show the impact of changes in precipitation on groundwater in the aquifer located near the southeastern coastline of Brazil, through the assessment of the water-cycle terms, using a hydrological model during dry and rainy periods found in the 15-year numerical integration of SRDAS.

Mechanical mastication as a fuels treatment in southeastern forests

Science.gov (United States)

Jesse K. Kreye; J. Morgan Varner; Leda N. Kobziar

2016-01-01

Mastication is an increasingly common fuels treatment that redistributes ‘‘ladder’’ fuels to the forest floor to reduce vertical fuel continuity, crown fire potential, and fireline intensity. Despite its widespread adoption, it remains unclear how mastication impacts fuels, fire behavior, or plant communities  across Southeastern forest ecosystems. We evaluated these...

Patterns of infestation by chigger mites in four diurnal lizard species from a Restinga habitat (Jurubatiba) of southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha-Barros, M; Van Sluys, M; Vrcibradic, D; Galdino, C A; Hatano, F H; Rocha, C F

2003-08-01

We studied the parasitism by larvae of the chigger mite Eutrombicula alfreddugesi on the lizard community of Restinga de Jurubatiba, Rio de Janeiro State, Southeastern Brazil. We investigated the patterns of infestation (prevalence and intensity) of chigger mites in four sympatric lizards: Tropidurus torquatus, Mabuya agilis, M. macrorhyncha and Cnemidophorus littoralis. All lizards collected were checked for the presence of mites, which were counted under stereomicroscope. We tested the relationship between intensity of infestation and lizard body size for each species using regression analysis. The prevalences and mean intensities (+ one standard deviation) of infestation on each host species were, respectively: 100%; 86.4 + 94.6 in T. torquatus (n = 62); 100%; 20.9 + 9.3 in M. agilis (n = 7); 100%; 11.1 + 13.1 in M. macrorhyncha (n = 12); and 95.2%; 19.1 + 16.8 in C. littoralis (n = 21). Only for C. littoralis did body size significantly affect the intensity of infestation (r = 0.27, p = 0.02). For all lizard species, the body parts where chiggers occurred with the highest intensity were those of skin folds and joint regions.

Edge effect on post-dispersal artificial seed predation in the southeastern Amazonia, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Penido

Full Text Available This paper evaluates the post-dispersal artificial seed predation rates in two areas of the southeastern Amazon forest-savanna boundary, central Brazil. We conducted the survey in a disturbance regime controlled research site to verify if exists an edge effect in these rates and if the disturbance (in this case annual fire and no fire affects seed predation. We placed 800 peanuts seeds in each area at regular distance intervals from the fragment`s edge. Data were analyzed by a likelihood ratio model selection in generalized linear models (GLM. The complete model (with effects from edge distance and site and its interaction was significative (F3=4.43; p=0.005. Seeds had a larger predation rates in fragment’s interior in both areas, but in the controlled area (no disturbance this effect was less linear. This suggests an edge effect for post-dispersal seed predation, and that disturbances might alter these effects. Even if we exclude the site effect (grouping both areas together there is still a strong edge effect on seed predation rates (F3=32.679; p>0.001. We did not verify predator’s species in this study; however, the presence of several species of ants was extremely common in the seeds. The detection of an edge effect in only a short survey time suggests that there is heterogeneity in predation rates and that this variation might affect plant recruitment in fragmented areas of the Amazon forest. Henceforth, this seed predation should be taken in consideration in reforestation projects, where the main source of plants species is from seed distribution.

Can environmental pollution by metals change genetic diversity? Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) as a study case in Southeastern Brazilian mangroves.

Science.gov (United States)

Banci, Karina Rodrigues da Silva; Mori, Gustavo Maruyama; Oliveira, Marcos Antonio de; Paganelli, Fernanda Laroza; Pereira, Mariana Rangel; Pinheiro, Marcelo Antonio Amaro

2017-03-15

Industrial areas on estuarine systems are commonly affected by heavy metals, affecting all local biota. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to evaluate genetic diversity of Ucides cordatus at mangroves in southeastern Brazil (Juréia, J; São Vicente, SV; and Cubatão, C), with distinct pollution levels by metals. The genetic diversity of this species was compared with concentrations of metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr and Hg) in the environment. A pollution gradient was confirmed (SV>C>J), with low levels detected in water, except for mercury in SV. All metals in the sediment samples were below Threshold Effect Level (TEL), without an apparent biological risk to the biota. Genetic distance was very similar between J and C, with SV occurring as an out-group. RAPD was a powerful tool to investigate the effect of metal pollution on genetic diversity of this mangrove crab, and to evaluate the conservation status of the mangrove ecosystem. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of oceanic basins on drought and ecosystem dynamics in Northeast Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, Marcos Paulo Santos; Justino, Flavio; Malhado, Ana Claudia Mendes; Barbosa, Humberto; Marengo, José

2014-01-01

The 2012 drought in Northeast Brazil was the harshest in decades, with potentially significant impacts on the vegetation of the unique semi-arid caatinga biome and on local livelihoods. Here, we use a coupled climate–vegetation model (CCM3-IBIS) to: (1) investigate the role of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the 2012 drought, and; (2) evaluate the response of the caatinga vegetation to the 2012 climate extreme. Our results indicate that anomalous sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Atlantic Ocean were the primary factor forcing the 2012 drought, with Pacific Ocean SST having a larger role in sustaining typical climatic conditions in the region. The drought strongly influenced net primary production in the caatinga, causing a reduction in annual net ecosystem exchange indicating a reduction in amount of CO 2 released to the atmosphere. (letter)

Lianas, tree ferns and understory species: indicators of conservation status in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest remnants, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Castello, A C D; Coelho, S; Cardoso-Leite, E

2017-01-01

Indicators are applied faster and at lower costs than conventional surveys, providing quick and efficient responses that can facilitate protected areas management. Our aim was to select indicators from vegetation to monitor protected areas. For this purpose, we analyzed understory and quantified lianas and tree ferns in protected and non-protected areas, in order to find indicator species. Our study areas are located in Vale do Ribeira, southeastern São Paulo state, Brazil. One of the areas is under two protection categories (IUCN's categories II and V), and the other is a privately owned farm. Lianas with large diameters (> 13 cm) and tree ferns with great heights (> 19 m) were considered indicators of undisturbed areas (protected areas) because their growth is directly related to forest successional stage. Indicator species within the protected area were shade tolerant species, such as Bathysa australis (A.St.-Hil.) K.Schum., whereas outside the protected area were pioneer species, such as Pera glabrata (Schott) Poepp. ex Baill. e Nectandra oppositifolia Ness. All of the suggested indicators can be used in management actions, especially in protected areas, to guarantee forest maintenance and ensure fulfillment of the conservation objectives of these areas.

Lianas, tree ferns and understory species: indicators of conservation status in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest remnants, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. C. D. Castello

Full Text Available Abstract Indicators are applied faster and at lower costs than conventional surveys, providing quick and efficient responses that can facilitate protected areas management. Our aim was to select indicators from vegetation to monitor protected areas. For this purpose, we analyzed understory and quantified lianas and tree ferns in protected and non-protected areas, in order to find indicator species. Our study areas are located in Vale do Ribeira, southeastern São Paulo state, Brazil. One of the areas is under two protection categories (IUCN's categories II and V, and the other is a privately owned farm. Lianas with large diameters (> 13 cm and tree ferns with great heights (> 19 m were considered indicators of undisturbed areas (protected areas because their growth is directly related to forest successional stage. Indicator species within the protected area were shade tolerant species, such as Bathysa australis (A.St.-Hil. K.Schum., whereas outside the protected area were pioneer species, such as Pera glabrata (Schott Poepp. ex Baill. e Nectandra oppositifolia Ness. All of the suggested indicators can be used in management actions, especially in protected areas, to guarantee forest maintenance and ensure fulfillment of the conservation objectives of these areas.

Effect of shadow availability at pasture on reproductive traits of Nelore bulls (Bos indicus raised in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Octavio Fabián Bao Tarragó

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Solar radiation is responsible for bull body temperature elevation. An alternative to minimize heat stress is to use artificial shade. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of thermal stress reduction, through shade availability, on reproductive characteristics of Nellore bulls (Bos indicus. For this, ten bulls were divided in: Available artificial shade (AS, n = 5 and Unavailable shade (US, n = 5. Each group was kept in two hectare paddocks, in which shade availability for group AS was artificially created. Animals were submitted to a clinical-reproductive evaluation and seminal analyses. No interaction was observed between treatments (AS and US and time (8 collections for all analyzed variables (P>0.05. No significant effect (P > 0.05 of treatment was observed for all parameters analyzed. So, it can be concluded that the absence of shaded areas during summer does not negatively affect reproductive characteristics such as: scrotal circumference, testicular consistency, progressive motility, percentage of rapidly moving cells (Computer Assisted Semen Analysis - CASA, morphology or sperm viability in Nellore bulls raised in southeastern Brazil, considering that results could be different in other regions of the country where average temperature is higher.

Payment for Ecosystem Services | Benjamin | Potchefstroom ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This address focuses on the legislative design for payment or ecosystem services (PES) since most countries do not have specific legislation that addresses the subject. Brazil is in the process of drafting national legislation on ecosystem services and there are several important issues that can be learnt from this experience.

Fuel consumption models for pine flatwoods fuel types in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Clinton S. Wright

2013-01-01

Modeling fire effects, including terrestrial and atmospheric carbon fluxes and pollutant emissions during wildland fires, requires accurate predictions of fuel consumption. Empirical models were developed for predicting fuel consumption from fuel and environmental measurements on a series of operational prescribed fires in pine flatwoods ecosystems in the southeastern...

Paepalanthus sphaeroides, a new species of Eriocaulaceae from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trovó, M.; Echternacht, L.; Sano, P.T.

2012-01-01

We describe and illustrate Paepalanthus sphaeroides (Eriocaulaceae, Paepalanthoideae) from the Mantiqueira Range in South-eastern Brazil and compare it with the morphologically most similar species: Paepalanthus aequalis and Paepalanthus eriophaeus. Paepalanthus sphaeroides has unique membranaceous

Ecosystem carbon stocks in Pinus palustris forests

Science.gov (United States)

Lisa Samuelson; Tom Stokes; John R. Butnor; Kurt H. Johnsen; Carlos A. Gonzalez-Benecke; Pete Anderson; Jason Jackson; Lorenzo Ferrari; Tim A. Martin; Wendell P. Cropper

2014-01-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) restoration in the southeastern United States offers opportunities for carbon (C) sequestration. Ecosystem C stocks are not well understood in longleaf pine forests, which are typically of low density and maintained by prescribed fire. The objectives of this research were to develop allometric equations for...

Germination responses of the invasive Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br. (Apocynaceae): comparisons with seeds from two ecosystems in Northeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Leal, Laura C; Meiado, Marcos V; Lopes, Ariadna V; Leal, Inara R

2013-09-01

Life history traits are considered key indicators of plant invasibility. Among them, the germination behavior of seeds is of major relevance because it is influenced by environmental factors of invaded ecosystem. Here, we investigated how seed traits and seed tolerance to environmental factors on seed germination of Calotropis procera vary depending on the invaded ecosystems in northeastern Brazil. We have tested seeds from two vegetation types - Caatinga and Restinga - to different levels of light intensity, salinity, and water stress. Previous to those experiments, seed-set and morphometric analysis were carried out for both studied populations. We have observed a higher seed-set in Caatinga. Seeds produced in this ecosystem had lower seed moisture content. Seeds from Restinga showed lower germination time when light intensity decreased. We observed a reduction in both the germinability and the synchronization index with decreasing osmotic potential and increasing salinity. Nevertheless, both populations exhibited changes in photoblastism when seeds were submitted to water and saline stress. In conclusion, C. procera seeds are tolerant to environmental factors assessed. That characteristic ensures the colonization success and wide distribution of this plant species in the studied ecosystems.

Litterfall mercury deposition in Atlantic forest ecosystem from SE – Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teixeira, Daniel C.; Montezuma, Rita C.; Oliveira, Rogério R.; Silva-Filho, Emmanoel V.

2012-01-01

Litterfall is believed to be the major flux of Hg to soils in forested landscapes, yet much less is known about this input on tropical environment. The Hg litterfall flux was measured during one year in Atlantic Forest fragment, located within Rio de Janeiro urban perimeter, in the Southeastern region of Brazil. The results indicated a mean annual Hg concentration of 238 ± 52 ng g −1 and a total annual Hg deposition of 184 ± 8.2 μg m −2 y −1 . The negative correlation observed between rain precipitation and Hg concentrations is probably related to the higher photosynthetic activity observed during summer. The total Hg concentration in leaves from the most abundant species varied from 60 to 215 ng g −1 . Hg concentration showed a positive correlation with stomatal and trichomes densities. These characteristics support the hypothesis that Tropical Forest is an efficient mercury sink and litter plays a key role in Hg dynamics. - Highlights: ► The litter production from an Atlantic Forest was measured by one year. ► Concentration and flux of mercury was measured from these litter samples. ► The Hg concentrations from 5 trees were taken. ► Correlations between the data found and meteorological and anatomical plant parameters were confronted. ► The high Hg values found and their distribution points to a great sequester potential from this biome. - Hg high values in litter are a pattern found at Tropical Forest, it seems to be correlated with physio-anatomical plant characteristics from this biome.

Patterns of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Distribution on Mainland and Island Sandy Coastal Plain Ecosystems in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Iolanda Ramalho; de Souza, Francisco Adriano; da Silva, Danielle Karla Alves; Oehl, Fritz; Maia, Leonor Costa

2017-10-01

Although sandy coastal plains are important buffer zones to protect the coast line and maintain biological diversity and ecosystem services, these ecosystems have been endangered by anthropogenic activities. Thus, information on coastal biodiversity and forces shaping coastal biological diversity are extremely important for effective conservation strategies. In this study, we aimed to compare arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities from soil samples collected on the mainland and nearby islands located in Brazilian sandy coastal plain ecosystems (Restingas) to get information about AM fungal biogeography and identify factors shaping these communities. Soil samples were collected in 2013 and 2014 on the beachfront of the tropical sandy coastal plain at six sites (three island and three mainland locations) across the northeast, southeast, and south regions of Brazil. Overall, we recorded 53 AM fungal species from field and trap culture samples. The richness and diversity of AM fungal species did not differ between mainland and island locations, but AM fungal community assemblages were different between mainland and island environments and among most sites sampled. Glomeromycota communities registered from island samples showed higher heterogeneity than communities from mainland samples. Sandy coastal plains harbor diverse AM fungal communities structured by climatic, edaphic, and spatial factors, while the distance from the colonizing source (mainland environments) does not strongly affect the AM fungal communities in Brazilian coastal environments.

[Prevalence of wheezing and associated factors in Guarani indigenous children hospitalized for acute respiratory infections in Southern and Southeastern Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Patrícia Gomes de; Cardoso, Andrey Moreira; Sant Anna, Clemax Couto

2014-07-01

Prevalence of wheezing was studied in Guarani indigenous children hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infections in Southern and Southeastern Brazil, recruited by a surveillance routine established in villages from May 2007 to June 2008. Data were obtained from hospital records. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios for wheezing were estimated according to categories of target variables, using Poisson regression with robust variance. Prevalence of wheezing was 58.1% (136/234). Risk factors that remained significantly associated with wheezing in the final model were: age bracket, inversely associated (0-11 months: reference; 24-35 months: 0.63, 95%CI: 0.40-0.99); hospitalization in the autumn (summer: reference; autumn: 1.58, 95%CI: 1.05-2.40); dyspnea (1.41, 95%CI: 1.09-1.83); chest indrawing (1.42, 95%CI: 1.16-1.73); crackles (1.43, 95%CI: 1.09-1.87). The results show a high disease burden related to wheezing and suggest the phenotype of early-onset persistent wheezing related to recurrence of viral respiratory infections.

Impacts of fish farm pollution on ecosystem structure and function of tropical headwater streams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, Rodrigo dos Santos; Aguiar, Anna Carolina Fornero; Boëchat, Iola Gonçalves; Gücker, Björn

2013-01-01

We investigated the impacts of effluent discharge from small flow-through fish farms on stream water characteristics, the benthic invertebrate community, whole-system nitrate uptake, and ecosystem metabolism of three tropical headwater streams in southeastern Brazil. Effluents were moderately, i.e. up to 20-fold enriched in particulate organic matter (POM) and inorganic nutrients in comparison to stream water at reference sites. Due to high dilution with stream water, effluent discharge resulted in up to 2.0-fold increases in stream water POM and up to 1.8-fold increases in inorganic nutrients only. Moderate impacts on the benthic invertebrate community were detected at one stream only. There was no consistent pattern of effluent impact on whole-stream nitrate uptake. Ecosystem metabolism, however, was clearly affected by effluent discharge. Stream reaches impacted by effluents exhibited significantly increased community respiration and primary productivity, stressing the importance of ecologically sound best management practices for small fish farms in the tropics. -- Highlights: ► Fish farm effluent discharge had moderate effects on stream water quality. ► Impacts on the benthic invertebrate community occurred at one stream. ► Whole-stream nitrate uptake showed no consistent impact pattern. ► Effluents caused considerable increases in stream ecosystem metabolism. ► Compliance with best management practices is important for small fish farms. -- Moderate water pollution by small fish farms caused considerable eutrophication responses in tropical headwater streams

Bionomics of Culex quinquefasciatus within urban areas of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Rocha David

2012-10-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To evaluate density, parity rates, daily survival and longevity of natural populations of Culex quinquefasciatus in three neighborhoods with distinct socio-economic and infrastructure profiles. METHODS: Mosquito collections of the Culex quinquefasciatus species were performed weekly during two four month periods, from August to November 2008 (spring and March to June 2009 (fall, in a favela (slum, a suburban area and a middle class area of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. Collections were performed with backpack aspirators, in 20 randomly selected houses in each area per week, during 15-20 minutes per house. Ovaries were removed from captured females and classified as initial, intermediary or final stage. Furthermore, females were dissected for determination of parity based on the condition of the tracheal system. Mosquito survival rate and longevity were estimated on a per month basis for each neighborhood. RESULTS: We collected a total of 2,062 Culex quinquefasciatus, but monthly vector density was not correlated with temperature and rainfall. We dissected the ovaries of 625 Culex quinquefasciatus, and overall, there was a higher proportion of nulliparous females during the dryer months, while gravid females were more frequent in rainy months. In the middle class neighborhood, the parity rate reached up to 93.75% with survivorship of 0.979. Lower parity and survival rates were obtained in the suburban area (as low as 36.4% parity and 0.711 daily survival. Up to 84.7% of Culex quinquefasciatus females could survive the eight day period needed to complete West Nile Virus incubation. CONCLUSIONS: The survival rate of Culex quinquefasciatus varied significantly between the neighborhoods. This suggests that vectorial capacity and disease transmission risk may vary greatly between different urban areas, which is potentially useful information for vector control programs.

Descrição da larva de Scinax similis (Cochran com notas comparativas sobre o grupo "ruber" no sudeste do Brasil (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae Description of the larva of Scinax similis (Cochran with comparative notes on the Scinax ruber group in Southeastern Brazil (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana C.R Alves

1999-06-01

Full Text Available The larva of Scinax similis (Cochran, 1952 is described from Ilha do Fundão (Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Comparisons with other species of the group that occur in Southeastern Brazil are added. The larva of S. similis can be distinguished by the following diagnostic features: (1 eyes large in relation to body length (17,3%, body height (26,8%, and body width (29,7%, interocular distance three times larger than eye diameter; (2 lower beak with two transverse stripes, proximal half white and distal half black.

The man revamping Brazil's approach to water quality | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2017-09-20

Sep 20, 2017 ... Following the rupture of a large dam in southeastern Brazil, metal waste and mud flowed downstream, contaminating the water and wreaking havoc as the worst environmental disaster in the nation's history. Adalto Bianchini's research is helping the country rewrite its rules on one of its most precious ...

Multivariate benthic ecosystem functioning in the Arctic – benthic fluxes explained by environmental parameters in the southeastern Beaufort Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Link

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The effects of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems and their biogeochemical cycles are difficult to predict given the complex physical, biological and chemical interactions among the ecosystem components. We studied benthic biogeochemical fluxes in the Arctic and the influence of short-term (seasonal to annual, long-term (annual to decadal and other environmental variability on their spatial distribution to provide a baseline for estimates of the impact of future changes. In summer 2009, we measured fluxes of dissolved oxygen, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, soluble reactive phosphate and silicic acid at the sediment–water interface at eight sites in the southeastern Beaufort Sea at water depths from 45 to 580 m. The spatial pattern of the measured benthic boundary fluxes was heterogeneous. Multivariate analysis of flux data showed that no single or reduced combination of fluxes could explain the majority of spatial variation, indicating that oxygen flux is not representative of other nutrient sink–source dynamics. We tested the influence of eight environmental parameters on single benthic fluxes. Short-term environmental parameters (sinking flux of particulate organic carbon above the bottom, sediment surface Chl a were most important for explaining oxygen, ammonium and nitrate fluxes. Long-term parameters (porosity, surface manganese and iron concentration, bottom water oxygen concentrations together with δ13Corg signature explained most of the spatial variation in phosphate, nitrate and nitrite fluxes. Variation in pigments at the sediment surface was most important to explain variation in fluxes of silicic acid. In a model including all fluxes synchronously, the overall spatial distribution could be best explained (57% by the combination of sediment Chl a, phaeopigments, δ13Corg, surficial manganese and bottom water oxygen concentration. We conclude that it is necessary to consider long-term environmental variability along with

Extreme Water Deficit in Brazil Detected from Space

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira Getirana

2016-01-01

Extreme droughts have caused significant socioeconomic and environmental damage worldwide. In Brazil, ineffective energy development and water management policies have magnified the impacts of recent severe droughts, which include massive agricultural losses, water supply restrictions, and energy rationing. Spaceborne remote sensing data advance our understanding of the spatiotemporal variability of large-scale droughts and enhance the detection and monitoring of extreme water-related events. In this study, data derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission are used to detect and quantify an extended major drought over eastern Brazil and provide estimates of impacted areas and region-specific water deficits. Two structural breakpoint detection methods were applied to time series of GRACE-based terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSA), determining when two abrupt changes occurred. One, in particular, defines the beginning of the current drought. Using TWSA, a water loss rate of 26.1 cmyr21 over southeastern Brazil was detected from 2012 to 2015. Based on analysis of Global Land Data Assimilation System(GLDAS) outputs, the extreme drought is mostly related to lower-than-usual precipitation rates, resulting in high soil moisture depletion and lower-than-usual rates of evapotranspiration. A reduction of 2023 of precipitation over an extended period of 3 years is enough to raise serious water scarcity conditions in the country. Correlations between monthly time series of both grid-based TWSA and ground-based water storage measurements at 16 reservoirs located within southeastern Brazil varied from 0.42 to 0.82. Differences are mainly explained by reservoir sizes and proximity to the drought nucleus.

Patterns of infestation by chigger mites in four diurnal lizard species from a restinga habitat (Jurubatiba of Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Cunha-Barros

Full Text Available We studied the parasitism by larvae of the chigger mite Eutrombicula alfreddugesi on the lizard community of Restinga de Jurubatiba, Rio de Janeiro State, Southeastern Brazil. We investigated the patterns of infestation (prevalence and intensity of chigger mites in four sympatric lizards: Tropidurus torquatus, Mabuya agilis, M. macrorhyncha and Cnemidophorus littoralis. All lizards collected were checked for the presence of mites, which were counted under stereomicroscope. We tested the relationship between intensity of infestation and lizard body size for each species using regression analysis. The prevalences and mean intensities (+ one standard deviation of infestation on each host species were, respectively: 100%; 86.4 + 94.6 in T. torquatus (n = 62; 100%; 20.9 + 9.3 in M. agilis (n = 7; 100%; 11.1 + 13.1 in M. macrorhyncha (n = 12; and 95.2%; 19.1 + 16.8 in C. littoralis (n = 21. Only for C. littoralis did body size significantly affect the intensity of infestation (r = 0.27, p = 0.02. For all lizard species, the body parts where chiggers occurred with the highest intensity were those of skin folds and joint regions.

Foliar growth of Eriocnema fulva Naudin (Melastomataceae in a forest fragment in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PM. Andrade

Full Text Available Eriocnema fulva Naudin is an endangered herbaceous, perennial, iteroparous, evergreen species geographically restricted to southeastern-center Minas Gerais State, SE Brazil. The individuals occur as patches on rocky riverbanks shaded by seasonal semideciduous Atlantic forest; they are fixed by roots and have a pending stem. Aiming to investigate leaf development and its importance for individual survival, fifteen contiguous plots (1 x 1 m were set down in Jambreiro Forest (19° 58’-59’ S and 43° 52’-55’ W, 800-1100 m altitude, in the municipality of Nova Lima. A total of 260 individuals with the largest leaf blade length > 1 cm was tagged and measured in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Leaf expansion was recorded each month during 26 months until April 2000. Plant size was measured through leaf blade length, petiole length, stem length, and number of leaves. Significant changes were detected only after two years, thus indicating that plant growth is slow. The proportion of surviving leaves after two years was 60%. Total blade expansion took over 14 months, a slow growth rate when compared to leaves of other tropical forest canopy and understory species. Long leaf lifespans are to be found in plants exhibiting slow growth, and we observed that some leaves lived longer than three years. Petiole growth can help to better position the leaf in the search for light, thus contributing to the growth and survival of the plant. The relationships among size measures were significant, reinforcing the great contribution of leaf size for plant size. The age of the largest individual was estimated as 36 years based on the median annual leaf production rate.

Heterogeneity of bird communities in a mosaic of habitats on a restinga ecosystem in southeast Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verônica S. da M. Gomes

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Restinga occurs as a narrow band of coastal habitats throughout the Atlantic Forest, although it presents considerable variation in vegetation structure, which likely contributes to heterogeneity in species inhabiting this endangered ecosystem. The goal of this study is to examine how variation in vegetation and abiotic conditions in the restinga ecosystem may contribute to heterogeneity of bird communities in Restinga de Jurubatiba, Brazil. Temperature, relative humidity, and vegetation structure were sampled to characterize four sites (dry forest, flooded forest, open scrub and closed scrub. Birds were sampled using observations, mist-netting and voice recordings. Results indicate that major differences of all variables occur between forest and scrub in both vegetation and birds. In addition, differences also exist within forests and within scrub, resulting in considerable heterogeneity among sampled areas. Scrub sites were richer in bird species (n = 58 than forest sites (n = 41, while closed scrub had the most species (n = 49. Also, 64% (47 of 73 of bird species were exclusive to forest or scrub habitats. Scrub habitats were more similar to each other than forest habitats. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI calculated from satellite images distinguished scrub sites and may be useful to monitor changes in vegetation patches through time. The restinga ecosystem is quite heterogeneous with considerable turnover in bird species composition and differences in vegetation structure. Forest strips may serve as connectors on the landscape and to help maintain species diversity and conservation of forest species. Also, this highly dynamic ecosystem, which includes a mosaic of habitat types, likely promotes resilience of bird populations under changing conditions.

Particle Fluxes and Bulk Geochemical Characterization of the Cabo Frio Upwelling System in Southeastern Brazil: Sediment Trap Experiments between Spring 2010 and Summer 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANA LUIZA S. ALBUQUERQUE

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Physical and biogeochemical processes in continental shelves act synergistically in both transporting and transforming suspended material, and ocean dynamics control the dispersion of particles by the coastal zone and their subsequent mixing and dilution within the shelf area constrained by oceanic boundary currents, followed by their gradual settling in a complex sedimentary scenario. One of these regions is the Cabo Frio Upwelling System located in a significantly productive area of Southeastern Brazil, under the control of the nutrient-poor western boundary Brazil Current but also with a wind-driven coastal upwelling zone, inducing cold-water intrusions of South Atlantic Central Water on the shelf. To understand these synergic interactions among physical and biogeochemical processes in the Cabo Frio shelf, a series of four experiments with a total of 98 discrete samples using sediment traps was performed from November 2010 to March 2012, located on the 145 m isobath on the edge of the continental shelf. The results showed that lateral transport might be relevant in some cases, especially in deep layers, although no clear seasonal cycle was detected. Two main physical-geochemical coupling scenarios were identified: singular downwelling events that can enhance particles fluxes and are potentially related to the Brazil Current oscillations; and events of significant fluxes related to the intrusion of the 18°C isotherm in the euphotic zone. The particulate matter settling in the Cabo Frio shelf area seems to belong to multiple marine and terrestrial sources, in which both Paraiba do Sul River and Guanabara Bay could be potential land-sources, although the particulate material might subject intense transformation (diagenesis during its trajectory to the shelf edge.

Particle Fluxes and Bulk Geochemical Characterization of the Cabo Frio Upwelling System in Southeastern Brazil: Sediment Trap Experiments between Spring 2010 and Summer 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Albuquerque, Ana Luiza S; Belém, André L; Zuluaga, Francisco J B; Cordeiro, Livia G M; Mendoza, Ursula; Knoppers, Bastiaan A; Gurgel, Marcio H C; Meyers, Philip A; Capilla, Ramsés

2014-05-14

Physical and biogeochemical processes in continental shelves act synergistically in both transporting and transforming suspended material, and ocean dynamics control the dispersion of particles by the coastal zone and their subsequent mixing and dilution within the shelf area constrained by oceanic boundary currents, followed by their gradual settling in a complex sedimentary scenario. One of these regions is the Cabo Frio Upwelling System located in a significantly productive area of Southeastern Brazil, under the control of the nutrient-poor western boundary Brazil Current but also with a wind-driven coastal upwelling zone, inducing cold-water intrusions of South Atlantic Central Water on the shelf. To understand these synergic interactions among physical and biogeochemical processes in the Cabo Frio shelf, a series of four experiments with a total of 98 discrete samples using sediment traps was performed from November 2010 to March 2012, located on the 145 m isobath on the edge of the continental shelf. The results showed that lateral transport might be relevant in some cases, especially in deep layers, although no clear seasonal cycle was detected. Two main physical-geochemical coupling scenarios were identified: singular downwelling events that can enhance particles fluxes and are potentially related to the Brazil Current oscillations; and events of significant fluxes related to the intrusion of the 18°C isotherm in the euphotic zone. The particulate matter settling in the Cabo Frio shelf area seems to belong to multiple marine and terrestrial sources, in which both Paraiba do Sul River and Guanabara Bay could be potential land-sources, although the particulate material might subject intense transformation (diagenesis) during its trajectory to the shelf edge.

Activity, habitat use, feeding behavior, and diet of four sympatric species of Serranidae (Actinopterygii: Perciformes in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Zaniolo Gibran

Full Text Available Diplectrum formosum (the sand perch, Diplectrum radiale (the aquavina, Epinephelus marginatus (the dusky grouper and Mycteroperca acutirostris (the comb grouper are four sympatric serranid of remarkable ecological and commercial importance. This study investigated the feeding of these four species in the São Sebastião Channel, São Paulo State (southeastern Brazil, comparing their diet, habitat utilization and morphological features related to foraging. These four serranids are opportunistic visual predators that use a total of nine different tactics to capture their preys, feed mostly on crustaceans during the day and twilight, and keep stationary and quiescent at night. The ecomorphological study was conducted to test its predictive value to infer lifestyles. It was verified that such analysis should be used carefully and must be complemented by field observations. Although morphologically and behaviorally very similar, D. formosum and D. radiale showed different preferences to the substratum type used by large individuals, which are exclusively sit-and-wait predators. On the other hand, E. marginatus displayed more sedentary habits than M. acutirostris, the most versatile predator from the studied species. The studied species of Diplectrum and E. marginatus can be regarded as benthic serranids, while M. acutirostris could be viewed as a nektobenthic species.

Ecological aspects of the casque-headed frog Aparasphenodon brunoi (Anura, Hylidae in a Restinga habitat in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Oliveira Mesquita

2004-09-01

Full Text Available We describe some aspects of the ecology of Aparasphenodon brunoi, a species associated with bromeliads. We comment on the relationships of this species with bromeliad size, microhabitat use, diet and sexual dimorphism. This study was conducted on a Restinga habitat near Presidente Kennedy, state of Espírito Santo, southeastern coast of Brazil. When the animals were found inside the bromeliads, we measure bromeliad and head size of frogs. We analyzed stomach contents and determined the sex and reproductive condition. We found 17 individuals (58.6% in bromeliad leafs, six (20.7% in Cactaceae, three (10.3% in liana and three (10.3% on trunks. The correlation between head measurements and bromeliad size were high, indicating that animals apparently use bromeliads based on their size, which could be related to the minimization of water loss. The most common prey items were beetles, ants, and insect larvae, suggesting that the species is relatively generalist in prey consumption. Aparasphenodon brunoi showed significant sexual size and shape dimorphism with females having larger bodies than males (size and females having tibia, eye diameter and SVL larger than males (shape, but larger sample size and more detailed ecological and life history data are needed to elucidate the factors that have led to sexual size dimorphism.

Effect of physical inactivity on major noncommunicable diseases and life expectancy in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Rezende, Leandro Fornias Machado; Rabacow, Fabiana Maluf; Viscondi, Juliana Yukari Kodaira; Luiz, Olinda do Carmo; Matsudo, Victor Keihan Rodrigues; Lee, I-Min

2015-03-01

In Brazil, one-fifth of the population reports not doing any physical activity. This study aimed to assess the impact of physical inactivity on major noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), all-cause mortality and life expectancy in Brazil, by region and sociodemographic profile. We estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) for physical inactivity associated with coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer, and all-cause mortality. To calculate the PAF, we used the physical inactivity prevalence from the 2008 Brazilian Household Survey and relative risk data in the literature. In Brazil, physical inactivity is attributable to 3% to 5% of all major NCDs and 5.31% of all-cause mortality, ranging from 5.82% in the southeastern region to 2.83% in the southern region. Eliminating physical inactivity would increase the life expectancy by an average of 0.31 years. This reduction would affect mainly individuals with ≥ 15 years of schooling, male, Asian, elderly, residing in an urban area and earning ≥ 2 times the national minimum wage. In Brazil, physical inactivity has a major impact on NCDs and mortality, principally in the southeastern and central-west regions. Public policies and interventions promoting physical activity will significantly improve the health of the population.

Pervasive hydrologic effects on freshwater mussels and riparian trees in southeastern floodplain ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Andrew L. Rypel; Wendell R. Haag; Robert H. Findlay

2009-01-01

We present long-term growth trends for 13 freshwater mussel species from two unregulated rivers and one regulated river in the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain. We also collected baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) tree cores adjacent to mussel collection sites in one river and directly compared tree and mussel chronologies in this river. To extend our analysis...

The Effects of Different Tillage Systems on Soil Hydrology and Erosion in Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Bertolino, A. V. F. A.; Fernandes, N. F.; Souza, A. P.; Miranda, J. P.; Rocha, M. L.

2009-04-01

Conventional tillage usually imposes a variety of modifications on soil properties that can lead to important changes in the type and magnitude of the hydrological processes that take place at the upper portion of the soil profile. Plough pan formation, for example, is considered to be an important consequence of conventional tillage practices in southeastern Brazil, decreasing infiltration rates and contributing to soil erosion, especially in steep slopes. In order to characterize the changes in soil properties and soil hydrology due to the plough pan formation we carried out detailed investigations in two experimental plots in Paty do Alferes region, located in the hilly landscape of Serra do Mar in southeastern Brazil, close to Rio de Janeiro city. Farming activities are very important in this area, in particular the ones related to the tomato production. The local hilly topography with short and steep hillslopes, as well as an average annual rainfall of almost 2000 mm, favor surface runoff and the evolution of rill and gully erosion. The two runoff plots are 22m long by 4m wide and were installed side by side along a representative hillslope, both in terms of soil (Oxisol) and steepness. At the lower portion of each plot there is a collecting trough connected by a PVC pipe to a 500 and 1000 liters sediment storage boxes. Soil tillage treatments used in the two plots were: Conventional Tillage (CT), with one plowing using disc-type plow (about 18 cm depth) and one downhill tractor leveling, in addition to burning residues from previous planting; and Minimum Tillage (MT), which did not allow burning residues from previous planting and preserved a vegetative cover between plantation lines. Runoff and soil erosion measurements were carried out in both plots immediately after each rainfall event. In order to characterize soil water movements under the two tillage systems (CT and MT), 06 nests of tensiometers and 04 nests of Watermark sensors were installed in each

Parasite fauna of wild and cultured dusky-grouper Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834 from Ubatuba, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Roumbedakis

Full Text Available This study aimed at identifying and quantifying the parasites of wild and cultured dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus. During a year and thereby all four seasons, 20 wild and 20 cultured groupers were examined for the presence of parasites, except in the last season, in which 19 wild and 20 cultured fish were examined, totalling 159 groupers analysed from Ubatuba, southeastern Brazil. Prevalence, mean intensity of infection, mean abundance and mean relative dominance were calculated. Five species of parasites were identified in fish from both origins: Pseudorhabdosynochus beverleyburtonae (Monogenea, Neobenedenia melleni (Monogenea, Pseudempleurosoma sp. (Monogenea, Helicometrina nimia (Digenea and larvae of Contracaecum sp. (Nematoda. The prevalence of ectoparasites, in most cases, was higher than endoparasites. The most abundant parasite was the monogenea Pseudorhabdosynochus beverleyburtonae in both wild and cultured fish, along all seasons. Neobenedenia melleni was observed in wild and cultured fish in all seasons, with a gradual increase in the number of parasites from the coldest to the hottest seasons, with the highest prevalence and mean intensity in the summer. Helicometrina nimia was found in all seasons in both wild and cultured fish, except for summer, where its presence was detected only in wild fish. Pseudempleurosoma sp. and larvae of Contracaecum sp. showed low prevalence occurring in wild and cultured fish in the autumn and spring, respectively. This study revealed high intensities of potentially pathogenic parasites that could favour disease outbreaks in culture conditions.

Parasite fauna of wild and cultured dusky-grouper Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834) from Ubatuba, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Roumbedakis, K; Marchiori, N C; Paseto, Á; Gonçalves, E L T; Luque, J L; Cepeda, P B; Sanches, E G; Martins, M L

2013-11-01

This study aimed at identifying and quantifying the parasites of wild and cultured dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus. During a year and thereby all four seasons, 20 wild and 20 cultured groupers were examined for the presence of parasites, except in the last season, in which 19 wild and 20 cultured fish were examined, totalling 159 groupers analysed from Ubatuba, southeastern Brazil. Prevalence, mean intensity of infection, mean abundance and mean relative dominance were calculated. Five species of parasites were identified in fish from both origins: Pseudorhabdosynochus beverleyburtonae (Monogenea), Neobenedenia melleni (Monogenea), Pseudempleurosoma sp. (Monogenea), Helicometrina nimia (Digenea) and larvae of Contracaecum sp. (Nematoda). The prevalence of ectoparasites, in most cases, was higher than endoparasites. The most abundant parasite was the monogenea Pseudorhabdosynochus beverleyburtonae in both wild and cultured fish, along all seasons. Neobenedenia melleni was observed in wild and cultured fish in all seasons, with a gradual increase in the number of parasites from the coldest to the hottest seasons, with the highest prevalence and mean intensity in the summer. Helicometrina nimia was found in all seasons in both wild and cultured fish, except for summer, where its presence was detected only in wild fish. Pseudempleurosoma sp. and larvae of Contracaecum sp. showed low prevalence occurring in wild and cultured fish in the autumn and spring, respectively. This study revealed high intensities of potentially pathogenic parasites that could favour disease outbreaks in culture conditions.

Erratum: Vascular epiphyte vegetation in rocky savannas of southeastern Brazil

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Alves, R. J. V.; Kolbek, Jiří; Becker, J.

2009-01-01

Roč. 27, č. 4 (2009), s. 351-352 ISSN 0107-055X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : epiphytes * Brazil * rocky savannas Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 0.868, year: 2009

7Be content in rainfall and soil deposition in South American coastal ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardoso, R.; Ayub, J. Juri; Anjos, Roberto Meigikos dos; Cid, Alberto Silva; Velasco, H.

2011-01-01

soil deposition in a semiarid ecosystem at San Luis Province, central Argentina. Now, we are starting measurements in coastal ecosystems at Niteroi, southeastern Brazil. At this conference, we are going to present preliminary results on 7 Be content in rains, relationships with precipitation regime, and assess the 7 Be deposition in soil and its seasonality. (author)

Seaweed cultivation on the Southern and Southeastern Brazilian Coast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franciane Pellizzari

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Seaweeds are used directly as food or applied indirectly as texturing agents with gelling and thickening properties (carrageenan, agar and alginates in many industries. They can also be used as fertilizers, animal feed, biomass for fuel, cosmetics and a source of pharmaceuticals, among other applications. The aquaculture of macroalgae is an alternative for producing raw material. Brazil has a coastline with numerous locations suitable for this endeavor. However, despite the known economical and social relevance of seaweed cultivation, Brazilians do not have tradition of using edible seaweeds. In general, the raw material for indirect use (e.g., as a texturing agent is imported. Consequently, seaweed aquaculture is still incipient in Brazil. This contribution presents data and information about macroalgae cultivation on commercial and experimental scales performed on the Southern and Southeastern Brazilian Coastline, as well as a brief overview of research related to some species cultivated in the last decade.

An inventory of wetland non-passerine birds along a southeastern Brazilian coastal area

OpenAIRE

D.C. Tavares; S. Siciliano

2013-01-01

This paper presents the list of non-passerine birds of coastal environments of the Quissama municipality, northern Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil. The surveys were conducted monthly between June 2011 and May 2012. Additional ad libitum observations were made between February 2008 and July 2012. We recorded 76 waterbird species of 15 families, of which Scolopacidae was the most representative, with 15 species. The high Nearctic shorebird species richness observed in coastal lagoo...

Rocks age and metamorphic occurrence from the southeastern part of Sao Paulo State and their crustal evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tassinari, C.C.G.

1988-01-01

Pb-Pb and Rb-Sr whole rock isotope systematics and U-Pb on zircons method analyses are reported for rocks from the southeastern part of Sao Paulo state Brazil. The isotopic studies on granitic intrusions, orthogneissic rocks and migmatitic terranes, in this area, provides an important indication of the age and nature of the continental crust. (author) [pt

Population biology and diet of Pomadasys corvinaeformis Perciformes: Pomadasyidae in Caraguatatuba Bay, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Márcia Regina Denadai

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Pomadasys corvinaeformis inhabits sandy and rocky bottoms in coastal waters, and is common in trawl samples taken from beaches. The species is very abundant on the Brazilian coast, and is of high economic and ecological importance. This study examined the spatio-temporal distribution, population biology and diet of P. corvinaeformis in Southeastern Brazil. Samples were taken by trawling monthly from August 2003 to October 2004, in two previously selected areas. The Northern area is more exposed to wave activity and is influenced by a river, functioning as a small estuary. In contrast, the Southern area is relatively sheltered from wave energy and influenced to a lesser degree by smaller rivers. The length of the specimens was measured, and the sex and gonadal stage were macroscopically identified. The abundance of this species was compared between areas and among months. The diet was analyzed seasonally by the frequency of occurrence, the percent volume, and the index of alimentary importance. P. corvinaeformis occurred in unequal proportions in the two study areas 86 in the Northern area and 14 in the Southern area and was found most abundant in May 2004, followed by June 2004. The proportion of mature and in-maturation individuals increased gradually from autumn to summer. Nine major groups of food items were recorded in the diet of P. corvinaeformis, and crustaceans comprised five of the categories: unidentified crustacean fragments, zoea larvae, amphipods, copepods and shrimps. In both, fish stomach and intestine, crustacean fragments were the most frequent item. The second most frequent items were shrimp in the stomach, and amphipods in the intestine mainly represented by their tubes. These results demonstrate that P. corvinaeformis can be considered a carnivore, with a preference on benthic organisms.

Disentangling the influences of habitat structure and limnological predictors on stream fish communities of a coastal basin, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Cop Ferreira

Full Text Available In stream environments habitat structure and limnological factors interact regulating patterns of energy and material transfer and affecting fish communities. In the coastal basins of Southeastern Brazil, limnological and structural characteristics differ between clear and blackwaters streams. The former have a diversity of substrate types, higher water velocities, and lower water conductivity, while the latter have sandy substrate, tea-colored and acidic waters, and low water velocities. In this study, we verified the relative importance of habitat structure and limnological variables in predicting patterns of variation in stream fish communities. Eight first to third order streams were sampled in the coastal plain of Itanhaém River basin. We captured 34 fish species and verified that community structure was influenced by physical habitat and limnology, being the former more important. A fraction of the variation could not be totally decomposed, and it was assigned to the joint influence of limnology and habitat structure. Some species that were restricted to blackwater streams, may have physiological and behavioral adaptations to deal with the lower pH levels. When we examined only the clearwater streams, all the explained variation in fish community composition was assigned to structural factors, which express specific preferences for different types of habitats.

Determination of water quality, toxicity and estrogenic activity in a nearshore marine environment in Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

do Nascimento, Marilia Teresa Lima; Santos, Ana Dalva de Oliveira; Felix, Louise Cruz; Gomes, Giselle; de Oliveira E Sá, Mariana; da Cunha, Danieli Lima; Vieira, Natividade; Hauser-Davis, Rachel Ann; Baptista Neto, José Antonio; Bila, Daniele Maia

2018-03-01

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) can be found in domestic sewage, wastewater treatment plant effluents, natural water, rivers, lakes and in the marine environment. Jurujuba Sound, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, receives untreated sewage into its waters, one the main sources of aquatic contamination in this area. In this context, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the estrogenic potential of water sampled from different depths and from areas with differential contamination levels throughout Jurujuba Sound. Water quality was evaluated and acute toxicity assays using Allviibrio fischeri were conducted, while estrogenic activity of the water samples was determined by a Yeast Estrogen Screening assay (YES). Water quality was mostly within the limits established for marine waters by the Brazilian legislation, with only DOC and ammoniacal nitrogen levels above the maximum permissible limits. No acute toxicity effects were observed in the Allivibrio fisheri assay. The YES assay detected moderate estrogenic activity in bottom water samples from 3 sampling stations, ranging from 0.5 to 3.2ngL -1 , as well as in one surface water sample. Estrogenic activity was most frequently observed in samples from the bottom of the water column, indicating adsorption of estrogenic compounds to the sediment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparing Bioenergy Production Sites in the Southeastern US Regarding Ecosystem Service Supply and Demand

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Markus A.; Chand, Tanzila; Priess, Joerg A.

2015-01-01

Biomass for bioenergy is debated for its potential synergies or tradeoffs with other provisioning and regulating ecosystem services (ESS). This biomass may originate from different production systems and may be purposefully grown or obtained from residues. Increased concerns globally about the sustainable production of biomass for bioenergy has resulted in numerous certification schemes focusing on best management practices, mostly operating at the plot/field scale. In this study, we compare the ESS of two watersheds in the southeastern US. We show the ESS tradeoffs and synergies of plantation forestry, i.e., pine poles, and agricultural production, i.e., wheat straw and corn stover, with the counterfactual natural or semi-natural forest in both watersheds. The plantation forestry showed less distinct tradeoffs than did corn and wheat production, i.e., for carbon storage, P and sediment retention, groundwater recharge, and biodiversity. Using indicators of landscape composition and configuration, we showed that landscape planning can affect the overall ESS supply and can partly determine if locally set environmental thresholds are being met. Indicators on landscape composition, configuration and naturalness explained more than 30% of the variation in ESS supply. Landscape elements such as largely connected forest patches or more complex agricultural patches, e.g., mosaics with shrub and grassland patches, may enhance ESS supply in both of the bioenergy production systems. If tradeoffs between biomass production and other ESS are not addressed by landscape planning, it may be reasonable to include rules in certification schemes that require, e.g., the connectivity of natural or semi-natural forest patches in plantation forestry or semi-natural landscape elements in agricultural production systems. Integrating indicators on landscape configuration and composition into certification schemes is particularly relevant considering that certification schemes are governance

Comparing bioenergy production sites in the Southeastern US regarding ecosystem service supply and demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Markus A; Chand, Tanzila; Priess, Joerg A

2015-01-01

Biomass for bioenergy is debated for its potential synergies or tradeoffs with other provisioning and regulating ecosystem services (ESS). This biomass may originate from different production systems and may be purposefully grown or obtained from residues. Increased concerns globally about the sustainable production of biomass for bioenergy has resulted in numerous certification schemes focusing on best management practices, mostly operating at the plot/field scale. In this study, we compare the ESS of two watersheds in the southeastern US. We show the ESS tradeoffs and synergies of plantation forestry, i.e., pine poles, and agricultural production, i.e., wheat straw and corn stover, with the counterfactual natural or semi-natural forest in both watersheds. The plantation forestry showed less distinct tradeoffs than did corn and wheat production, i.e., for carbon storage, P and sediment retention, groundwater recharge, and biodiversity. Using indicators of landscape composition and configuration, we showed that landscape planning can affect the overall ESS supply and can partly determine if locally set environmental thresholds are being met. Indicators on landscape composition, configuration and naturalness explained more than 30% of the variation in ESS supply. Landscape elements such as largely connected forest patches or more complex agricultural patches, e.g., mosaics with shrub and grassland patches, may enhance ESS supply in both of the bioenergy production systems. If tradeoffs between biomass production and other ESS are not addressed by landscape planning, it may be reasonable to include rules in certification schemes that require, e.g., the connectivity of natural or semi-natural forest patches in plantation forestry or semi-natural landscape elements in agricultural production systems. Integrating indicators on landscape configuration and composition into certification schemes is particularly relevant considering that certification schemes are governance

Comparing bioenergy production sites in the Southeastern US regarding ecosystem service supply and demand.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus A Meyer

Full Text Available Biomass for bioenergy is debated for its potential synergies or tradeoffs with other provisioning and regulating ecosystem services (ESS. This biomass may originate from different production systems and may be purposefully grown or obtained from residues. Increased concerns globally about the sustainable production of biomass for bioenergy has resulted in numerous certification schemes focusing on best management practices, mostly operating at the plot/field scale. In this study, we compare the ESS of two watersheds in the southeastern US. We show the ESS tradeoffs and synergies of plantation forestry, i.e., pine poles, and agricultural production, i.e., wheat straw and corn stover, with the counterfactual natural or semi-natural forest in both watersheds. The plantation forestry showed less distinct tradeoffs than did corn and wheat production, i.e., for carbon storage, P and sediment retention, groundwater recharge, and biodiversity. Using indicators of landscape composition and configuration, we showed that landscape planning can affect the overall ESS supply and can partly determine if locally set environmental thresholds are being met. Indicators on landscape composition, configuration and naturalness explained more than 30% of the variation in ESS supply. Landscape elements such as largely connected forest patches or more complex agricultural patches, e.g., mosaics with shrub and grassland patches, may enhance ESS supply in both of the bioenergy production systems. If tradeoffs between biomass production and other ESS are not addressed by landscape planning, it may be reasonable to include rules in certification schemes that require, e.g., the connectivity of natural or semi-natural forest patches in plantation forestry or semi-natural landscape elements in agricultural production systems. Integrating indicators on landscape configuration and composition into certification schemes is particularly relevant considering that certification

Helminth communities of two sympatric skinks (Mabuya agilis and Mabuya macrorhyncha) from two "restinga" habitats in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Vrcibradic, D; Rocha, C F D; Bursey, C R; Vicente, J J

2002-12-01

The helminth fauna of two sympatric congeneric skinks (Mabuya agilis and M. macrorhyncha) from two distinct "restinga" habitats (Praia das Neves and Grussaí) in southeastern Brazil were studied, totalling four data sets (sample sizes ranging from 11 to 28). A total of ten helminth species were associated with the skinks: Raillietiella sp., Paradistomum parvissimum, Pulchrosomoides elegans, Oochoristica ameivae, Hexametra boddaertii, Parapharyngodon sceleratus, Physalopteroides venancioi, Physaloptera sp., an unidentified acuariid nematode and an unidentified centrorhynchid acanthocephalan. Except for Hexametra boddaertii (found only in Grussaí) and Pulchrosomoides elegans (found only in Praia das Neves), all helminth species were present at both localities. Half of the helminth species were present only as larvae and, in most cases, appear to represent paratenic parasitism. Overall prevalences of infection were high for both host species in both localities. Mabuya agilis tended to have richer and more diverse infracommunities than M. macrorhyncha. Some parameters of infection by individual helminth species seem to be related to the ecology of each Mabuya species. The parasite faunas were qualitatively very similar among species and/or localities, but quantitative similarities were more varied, due to differential representativeness of individual helminth species among host populations. The helminth communities of both skink species can be classified as non-interactive, being composed of site-specialists and immature stages of non-lizard parasites.

Youth map of the city of Santo André, Southeastern Brazil: an instrument to read social inequalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Yonekura, Tatiana; Soares, Cássia Baldini; Minuci, Elaine Garcia; Campos, Célia Maria Sivalli; Trapé, Carla Andrea

2010-02-01

To analyze social inequalities in young adults living in an urban area by mapping sociodemographic and economic data. Using data from the 2000 Demographic Census, 57 sociodemographic and economic variables of young adults aged from 15 to 24 years, living in the city of Santo André, Southeastern Brazil, were distributed among 43 areas of statistical data, corresponding to a division of the region into smaller districts. Data from the year 2000 were collected from the Santo André City Hall Department of Socioeconomic Indicators. Using factorial analysis, 13 variables were grouped in two factors - working conditions and life conditions, which distinguished areas that were similar to one another statistically. Cluster analysis of areas was performed, resulting in four social groups. The area that concentrated young adults with higher access to wealth was classified as central and that including individuals with lower access to wealth was classified as peripheral. Two intermediate areas could be identified, one closer to the highest access to wealth ('almost central') and another close to the lowest access to wealth ('almost peripheral'). Discriminating variables were associated with work, migration, level of education, fertility, adolescent's position in the household, presence of spouse or partner, living conditions and assets owned. Differences among social groups revealed important inequalities among young adults who live, study and/or work in the city, which will contribute to the planning of public social policies aimed at these groups.

Scyliorhinus ugoi, a new species of catshark from Brazil (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Soares, Karla D A; Gadig, Otto F B; Gomes, Ulisses L

2015-03-25

A new species of catshark (Carcharhiniformes, Scyliorhinidae), Scyliorhinus ugoi sp. nov., is described from off Northeastern and Southeastern Brazil. The new species is closest to the Scyliorhinus haeckelii/besnardi group and S. hesperius but differs in background coloration, head width, sexual maturity, and in cranial and body proportions.

Tree species composition in areas of Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil is consistent with a new system for classifying the vegetation of South America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Vasconcellos Eisenlohr

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Rigorous and well-defined criteria for the classification of vegetation constitute a prerequisite for effective biodiversity conservation strategies. In 2009, a new classification system was proposed for vegetation types in extra-Andean tropical and subtropical South America. The new system expanded upon the criteria established in the existing Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics classification system. Here, we attempted to determine whether the tree species composition of the formations within the Atlantic Forest Biome of Brazil is consistent with this new classification system. We compiled floristic surveys of 394 sites in southeastern Brazil (between 15º and 25ºS; and between the Atlantic coast and 55ºW. To assess the floristic consistency of the vegetation types, we performed non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS ordination analysis, followed by multifactorial ANOVA. The vegetation types, especially in terms of their thermal regimes, elevational belts and top-tier vegetation categories, were consistently discriminated in the first NMDS axis, and all assessed attributes showed at least one significant difference in the second axis. As was expected on the basis of the theoretical background, we found that tree species composition, in the areas of Atlantic Forest studied, was highly consistent with the new system of classification. Our findings not only help solidify the position of this new classification system but also contribute to expanding the knowledge of the patterns and underlying driving forces of the distribution of vegetation in the region.

Proceedings of the 7. Symposium on geology from southeastern Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

This document presents papers on the following subjects: regional geology of the proterozoic and fanerozoic, metallic and non metallic resources, tectoni-sedimentary evolution of the eastern margin Brazil basins and petroleum geology applied to the Santos, Campos and Espirito Santo basins, engineering and environmental geologies, ornamental rocks/building materials/mineral waters/industrial ores

Modeling the potential impacts of climate change on the water table level of selected forested wetlands in the southeastern United States

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Jie; Sun, Ge; Li, Wenhong; Zhang, Yu; Miao, Guofang; Noormets, Asko; McNulty, Steve G.; King, John S.; Kumar, Mukesh; Wang, Xuan

2017-01-01

The southeastern United States hosts extensive forested wetlands, providing ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, groundwater recharge, and wildlife habitat. However, these wetland ecosystems are dependent on local climate and hydrology, and are therefore at risk due to climate and land use change. This study develops site-specific empirical hydrologic models for five forested wetlands with different characteristics by analyzing long-t...

The genus Alterosa Blahnik, 2005 (Trichoptera, Philopotamidae, Philopotaminae) in northeastern Brazil, including the description of three new species and an identification key for the genus

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Leandro Lourenço; Calor, Adolfo Ricardo; Nessimian, Jorge Luiz

2013-01-01

Abstract Alterosa Blahnik, 2005 contains 35 described species distributed in southern and southeastern Brazil. Three new species of Alterosa from northeastern Brazil are described and illustrated, Alterosa amadoi sp. n., Alterosa castroalvesi sp. n. and Alterosa caymmii sp. n., the first records of the genus from northeastern Brazil. An identification key for all known species of the genus is also presented. PMID:23950667

Didelphis albiventris naturally infected with Hepatozoon canis in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Maria Regina Lucas; Fornazari, Felipe; Demoner, Larissa de Castro; Teixeira, Carlos Roberto; Langoni, Helio; O'Dwyer, Lucia Helena

2017-10-01

Hepatozoon species are vector-borne pathogens that infect domestic and wild animals. Marsupials of the species Didelphis albiventris are adapted to urban and peri-urban areas and act as reservoir hosts for several parasites. The present study evaluated the occurrence of infection by Hepatozoon species in synantropic D. albiventris from Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. Blood samples and ectoparasites from 19 D. albiventris were collected from urban and peri-urban areas. Hepatozoon spp. detection was performed by microscopy and molecular analysis. One opossum was positive for Hepatozoon spp. in microscopy analysis and PCR, while another animal was positive only in PCR. The obtained sequences were 100% identical to Hepatozoon canis. Six species of ticks and two species of fleas were detected on D. albiventris. This is the first report of H. canis in synantropic D. albiventris. In Brazil, H. canis transmission among dog populations is not well established, which highlights the importance of investigating the role that opossums might play in the epidemiology of this protozoan. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Insights into changes in precipitation patterns in Brazil from oxygen isotope ratios on speleothems

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, F.; Mathias, V.; Stephen, B. J.; Wang, X.; Cheng, H.; Werner, M.; Edwards, R. L.; Karmann, I.; Auler, A. S.

2008-12-01

Variations in tropical precipitation on millennial and orbital time scales can reflect a Hadley-cell-related anti- phasing between the Northern and Southern hemispheres due to the influence of insolation on the global summer monsoons. A new δ18O speleothem record from northeastern Brazil shows that insolation- driven changes in monsoon intensity are capable of producing a similar, zonally oriented anti-phasing within the same hemisphere. Comparison of our speleothem record with other precipitation-sensitive proxies from the central Andes and southeastern Brazil shows that precipitation in Northeastern Brazil has been out of phase with insolation and rainfall in the rest of tropical South America south of the equator since the Last Glacial Maximum. Northeastern Brazil experienced humid conditions when summer insolation was reduced and arid conditions when insolation was high. While previous interpretations of past climate change in NE South America have commonly invoked meridional displacements in ITCZ location as the main mechanism for changes in precipitation on millennial time scales, our results suggest that remote monsoon forcing is responsible for much of the observed precipitation changes on orbital time scales during the Holocene. These results demonstrate that orbitally driven out-of-phase relationships in precipitation are not limited to interhemispheric anti-phasing as demonstrated previously, but may well occur within the same hemisphere. Speleothem records also indicate contrasting climatic conditions around the Last Glacial Maximum in Brazil, characterized by marked dry and wet climates in the Nordeste and in southeastern Brazil, respectively. It is likely, however, that these regional differences primarily reflect more distant extratropical teleconnections from the Atlantic Ocean and high northern latitude changes during glacial conditions.

Pregnancy rates and predictors in women with HIV/AIDS in Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Khalili Friedman

2011-04-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To assess incidence and predictors of first pregnancy among women with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: Prospective cohort study was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, between 1996 and 2003. This study comprised 225 women with HIV/AIDS followed up until their first pregnancy or first censored event (hysterectomy, tubal ligation, menopause, 50 years of age, loss to follow-up, death or the end of December 2003. Pregnancy and abortion rates were estimated, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify baseline characteristics associated with pregnancy risk. RESULTS: The women were followed up for 565 person/years with a median follow-up of 3 years per women. The mean age was 32 years (SD: 7, and 54.7% were white. There were 60 pregnancies in 39 women, and 18 were terminated (induced abortions, accounting for a rate of 6.9% and 2.1% women/year, respectively. Repeated pregnancies occurred in 33.3% of the women (13/39. Higher pregnancy risk was seen among younger women (HR=3.42; 95%CI: 1.69;6.95 and those living with their partners (HR=1.89; 95%CI: 1.00;3.57. Lower pregnancy risk was associated with higher education level (HR=0.43; 95%CI: 0.19;0.99 and use of antiretroviral therapy (HR=061; 95%CI: 0.31;1.17. CONCLUSIONS: Lower pregnancy rates were found in our cohort than in the general population. Sociodemographic characteristics should be taken into consideration in the management of reproductive health in HIV-positive childbearing age women. Reproductive and family planning counseling must be incorporated into HIV/AIDS programs for women to help preventing HIV transmission to their partners and offspring.

Dispersal pattern of the sand fly Lutzomyia neivai (Diptera: Psychodidae in a cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic rural area in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudio Casanova

2005-11-01

Full Text Available The dispersal pattern of the sand fly Lutzomyia neivai was studied through mark-release-recapture experiments in an American cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic rural area in Southeastern Brazil. Over 6500 specimens were marked with fluorescent powder and released in forest edge and peridomicile habitats from August to November 1999, February and April 2000. Recapture attempts were made using Shannon and CDC traps up to eight successive nights after releases. A total of 493 (7.58% specimens were recaptured. The number of recaptured males and females of L. neivai in CDC traps was not affected by the distance between the trap and the release points. Approximately 90% of males and females recaptured in CDC traps were caught up to 70 m from the release points. The maximum female flight range recorded was 128 m. The average flight range per day was less than 60 m for males and females. Of the flies released in forest edge, approximately 16% of the recaptured females were caught in Shannon traps in the peridomicile habitat. The results indicate that the movements of L. neivai are spatially focal and the possibility of dispersion from forest to peridomicile habitat may be an important way of contracting leishmaniasis in dwellings.

Financial viability study using a heat pump as an alternative to support solar collector for water heating in Southeastern Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reis, Roberts Vinicius de Melo; Oliveira, Raphael Nunes; Machado, Luiz; Koury, Ricardo Nassau N. [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering], E-mails: robertsreis@ufmg.br, luizm@demec.ufmg.br, koury@ufmg.br

2010-07-01

Along with related greenhouse effect environmental issues, constant problems changes in oil prices,make the use of solar energy an important renewable energy source. Brazil is a country which is privilege, considering the high rates of solar irradiation present throughout most of the entire national territory. Nevertheless, during certain times of the year, a solar energy deficit, leads solar systems to require electrical resistance support. The use of electrical resistance represents 23.5% of electric energy consumption and it presents a low residential energy efficiency. The purpose of this work is conducting a study of Brazilian States in the Southeastern region regarding the financial viability of replacing a resistive system combined with the use of solar collector and a heat pump. One such heat pump has been designed, constructed and tested experimentally. The average performance coefficient is equal to 2.10, a low value due to the use of a hermetic reciprocating compressor. Despite this low-moderate price coefficient of acquisition and installation of a heat pump, a return on investment in from 2.1 to 2.7 years can be expected. Whereas the equipment has a useful life of about 20 years, this period of return on investment is interesting. (author)

Understanding the Fate of Applied Nitrogen in Pine Plantations of the Southeastern United States Using 15N Enriched Fertilizers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jay E. Raymond

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of using enhanced efficiency fertilizer (EEFs products compared to urea to improve fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency (FNUE in forest plantations. All fertilizer treatments were labeled with 15N (0.5 atom percent and applied to 100 m2 circular plots at 12 loblolly pine stands (Pinus taeda L. across the southeastern United States. Total fertilizer N recovery for fertilizer treatments was determined by sampling all primary ecosystem components and using a mass balance calculation. Significantly more fertilizer N was recovered for all EEFs compared to urea, but there were generally no differences among EEFs. The total fertilizer N ecosystem recovery ranged from 81.9% to 84.2% for EEFs compared to 65.2% for urea. The largest amount of fertilizer N recovered for all treatments was in the loblolly pine trees (EEFs: 38.5%–49.9%, urea: 34.8% and soil (EEFs: 30.6%–38.8%, urea: 28.4%. This research indicates that a greater ecosystem fertilizer N recovery for EEFs compared to urea in southeastern pine plantations can potentially lead to increased FNUE in these systems.

Population genetic relationships between Casearia sylvestris (Salicaceae) varieties occurring sympatrically and allopatrically in different ecosystems in south-east Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallari, Marcelo Mattos; Gimenes, Marcos Aparecido; Billot, Claire; Torres, Roseli Buzanelli; Zucchi, Maria Imaculada; Cavalheiro, Alberto Jose; Bouvet, Jean-Marc

2010-10-01

Species delimitation can be problematic, and recently diverged taxa are sometimes viewed as the extremes of a species' continuum in response to environmental conditions. Using population genetic approaches, this study assessed the relationship between two Casearia sylvestris (Salicaceae) varieties, which occur sympatrically and allopatrically in the landscape of south-east Brazil, where intermediate types are also found. In total, 376 individuals from nine populations in four different ecosystems were sampled, and nine microsatellite markers were used to assess the relative effects of the ecosystems and varieties on the distribution of genetic diversity among populations of this species. As a by-product of this study, several PCR products with more than two alleles were observed. The possibility that extra bands represent non-specific amplification or PCR artefacts was discarded by sequencing a sample of these bands. We suggest that (partial) genome duplication in C. sylvestris most probably explains this phenomenon, which may be a key factor in the differentiation of the two taxa, as it was markedly more frequent in one of the varieties. AMOVA indicated that approx. 22 % of the total genetic diversity was found between the two varieties. Bayesian analysis identified varieties and ecosystems as evolutionary units, rather than the individual populations sampled. The results are in agreement with field observations and support the recognition of two varieties, as well as documenting the occurrence of hybridization between them.

Biology and ecomorphology of stream fishes from the rio Mogi-Guaçu basin, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katiane M. Ferreira

Full Text Available The córrego Paulicéia is a direct tributary of the rio Mogi-Guaçu, located in Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. This stream runs inside a savannah-like (cerrado environment and it associated vegetation. Biological and ecomorphological aspects of its fish community were studied in three stretches of the stream, denominated herein as the upper, middle and lower courses. The fish fauna recorded in this study consisted of 15 species, belonging to five orders and nine families, based in a total of 715 collected individuals representing 1,450 kg of biomass. The most important abiotic factors related to the occurrence and distribution of the fish fauna were the substrate, current speed, and presence or absence of riparian vegetation. The analysis of 336 stomach contents of 13 species demonstrated that 65% of food items are autochthonous, 32% allochthonous, and 3% are of unknown origin. Four alimentary guilds could be identified, based on the predominant food items: omnivores with tendency to insectivory - Astyanax paranae, A. fasciatus and Piabina argentea; larvivores - Corydoras difluviatilis, Cetopsorhamdia iheringi, Phenacorhamdia tenebrosa, Characidium gomesi, Eigenmannia virescens, and Rhamdia quelen; periphyton feeders - Hisonotus sp., Hypostomus ancistroides and Synbranchus marmoratus; and piscivore - Hoplias malabaricus. Reproductions data are presented for Astyanax altiparanae and Hisontus sp. Three ecomorphological groups could be established, based on swimming, feeding, and microhabitat strategies: nektonic (A. fasciatus, A. paranae, Bryconamericus stramineus, P. argentea, H. malabaricus and Phallotorynus jucundus, benthic (C. gomesi, P. tenebrosa, C. iheringi, R. quelen, C. difluviatilis, H. ancistroides and Hisonotus sp., and necktobenthic (E. virescens and S. marmoratus.

Colonization by Chironomidae larvae in decomposition leaves of Eichhornia azurea in a lentic system in Southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silveira, Lidimara Souza; Martins, Renato Tavares; da Silveira, Guilherme Augusto; Grazul, Richard Michael; Lobo, Danielle Pinheiro; Alves, Roberto da Gama

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to analyze the colonization of Chironomidae (Diptera) larvae during the decomposition of Eichhornia azurea (Swartz) Kunth (Commelinales: Pontederiaceae) leaves in a lake in southeastern Brazil in two seasons of the year. The experiment was conducted from September to November 2007 and February to April 2008. In each period, 21 litter bags were used, each containing 10 g of dried leaves. Three bags were removed after 2, 5, 8, 12, 25, 45, and 65 days of colonization. The decomposition rate of the E. azurea leaves was rapid in both seasons, with no significant difference between them. The Chironomidae showed higher density than the other invertebrates. Goeldichironomus, Tonytarsus, and Corynoneura were the most abundant genera of Chironomidae. The invertebrate density increased during the experiment, differing within days but not between seasons. The faunal composition differed between the decomposition phases (initial and final), but did not differ between the seasons (dry and wet). The taxa Ablabesmyia, Caladomyia, Chironomus, Goeldichironomus, and Parachironomus were the most closely related to the final days of the experiment. Litter was the main food item found in the gut contents of the organisms of all the genera analyzed, both at the beginning and end of the decomposition. We believe that the feeding activity combined with the high larval density is an important factor contributing to the rapid decomposition of the E. azurea leaves. In conclusion, the succession process along the detritus chain of E. azurea was more important in structuring the assemblage of Chironomidae larvae than seasonal variations.

Diel feeding chronology of the skate raja Agassizii (Müller & Henle (Pisces, Elasmobranchii on the continental shelf off Ubatuba, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucy Satiko Hashimoto Soares

1999-03-01

Full Text Available The diet and diel feeding pattern of the skate Raja agassizii were investigated through analysis of stomach contents. A total of 280 stomachs were collected by a series of hauls during a daily cycle in three periods, 8-10 January 1987, 22-24 July and 2-4 December 1988, from the inner continental shelf of the coastal ecosystem of Ubatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil (25º35'S; 45º00'W. According to the results of the stomach fullness and of the number of fresh prey, it is suggested that this species presents continuity in the feeding activity during a day. The stomach contents were mainly composed of crustaceans. Nematodes, polychaetes and fishes also occurred. No changes were observed in dietary composition between day and night.

Seasonality and Management Affect Land Surface Temperature Differences Between Loblolly Pine and Switchgrass Ecosystems in Central Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Ahlswede, B.; Thomas, R. Q.; O'Halloran, T. L.; Rady, J.; LeMoine, J.

2017-12-01

Changes in land-use and land management can have biogeochemical and biophysical effects on local and global climate. While managed ecosystems provide known food and fiber benefits, their influence on climate is less well quantified. In the southeastern United States, there are numerous types of intensely managed ecosystems but pine plantations and switchgrass fields represent two biogeochemical and biophysical extremes; a tall, low albedo forest with trees harvested after multiple decades vs. a short, higher albedo C4 grass field that is harvested annually. Despite the wide spread use of these ecosystems for timber and bioenergy, a quantitative, empirical evaluation of the net influence of these ecosystems on climate is lacking because it requires measuring both the greenhouse gas and energy balance of the ecosystems while controlling for the background weather and soil environment. To address this need, we established a pair of eddy flux towers in these ecosystems that are co-located (1.5 km apart) in Central Virginia and measured the radiative energy, non-radiative energy and carbon fluxes, along with associated biometeorology variables; the paired site has run since April 2016. During the first 1.5 years (two growing seasons), we found strong seasonality in the difference in surface temperature between the two ecosystems. In the growing seasons, both sites had similar surface temperature despite higher net radiation in pine. Following harvest of the switchgrass in September, the switchgrass temperatures increased relative to pine. In the winter, the pine ecosystem was warmer. We evaluate the drivers of these intra-annual dynamics and compare the climate influence of these biophysical differences to the differences in carbon fluxes between the sites using a suite of established climate regulation services metrics. Overall, our results show tradeoffs exist between the biogeochemical and biophysical climate services in managed ecosystems in the southeastern United

On the use of 10-minute point counts and 10-species lists for surveying birds in lowland Atlantic Forests in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vagner Cavarzere

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Due to rapid and continuous deforestation, recent bird surveys in the Atlantic Forest are following rapid assessment programs to accumulate significant amounts of data during short periods of time. During this study, two surveying methods were used to evaluate which technique rapidly accumulated most species (> 90% of the estimated empirical value at lowland Atlantic Forests in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Birds were counted during the 2008-2010 breeding seasons using 10-minute point counts and 10-species lists. Overall, point counting detected as many species as lists (79 vs. 83, respectively, and 88 points (14.7 h detected 90% of the estimated species richness. Forty-one lists were insufficient to detect 90% of all species. However, lists accumulated species faster in a shorter time period, probably due to the nature of the point count method in which species detected while moving between points are not considered. Rapid assessment programs in these forests will rapidly detect more species using 10-species lists. Both methods shared 63% of all forest species, but this may be due to spatial and temporal mismatch between samplings of each method.

A new species of Pacholenus Schoenherr from southeastern Brazil (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae, and new occurrences of species of the genus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Antonio Vanin

2008-01-01

Full Text Available A new species of Pacholenus Schoenherr from southeastern Brazil (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae, and new occurrences of species of the genus. Pacholenus monteiroi sp. nov. (type-locality Brazil, Rio de Janeiro state, Carapebus, Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba is described and illustrated. The weevil develops as a stem gall-former in Calyptranthes brasiliensis Spreng (Myrtaceae. The new species is easily distinguished from the other five known of the genus by the presence of a prominent supra-ocular ridge. An updated key for identification for all species of Pacholenus is provided. Three species of Pacholenus are presently recorded for the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; P. pelliceus and P. monteiroi occur in both states, while P. penicillus is only known from Rio de Janeiro; P. hispidus occurs in São Paulo, being the most widespread species of the genus, ranging from Minas Gerais south to Santa Catarina.Nova espécie de Pacholenus Schoenherr do sudeste do Brasil (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae, e novas ocorrências de espécies do gênero. Pacholenus monteiroi sp. nov. (localidade-tipo Brasil, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Carapebus, Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba é descrita e ilustrada. Esse gorgulho se desenvolve em galhas caulinares de Calyptranthes brasiliensis Spreng (Myrtaceae. A nova espécie é facilmente distinta das outras cinco conhecidas do gênero devido à presença de uma crista supra-ocular proeminente. Uma chave atualizada para identificação das espécies de Pacholenus é fornecida. Três espécies de Pacholenus ocorrem nos estado do Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo; P. pelliceus e P. monteiroi ocorrem em ambos os estados, enquanto que P. penicillus apenas no Rio de Janeiro; P. hispidus ocorre em São Paulo, sendo a espécie do gênero com a distribuição mais ampla, sendo encontrada desde Minas Gerais até Santa Catarina.

Cetacean records along São Paulo state coast, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos César de Oliveira Santos

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The São Paulo state (SP coast (23º18'S, 44º42'W; 25º14'S, 48º01'W is of approximately 600 km in length, bordering the Western Atlantic Ocean, in southeastern Brazil. Cetacean sightings and strandings have long been observed throughout this area. Scattered data from scientific publications, skeletal remains in museums, photographs and articles from newspaper files, universities and aquaria have been organised and updated since 1993. Field investigations on strandings and sightings have also been conducted. A total of 29 cetacean species have been recorded, including 7 baleen whales (Mysticeti and 22 toothed whales (Odontoceti, as follows: Balaenoptera physalus, B. borealis, B. edeni, B. acutorostrata, B. bonaerensis, Megaptera novaeangliae, Eubalaena australis, Physeter macrocephalus, Kogia breviceps, K. sima, Berardius arnuxii, Mesoplodon europaeus, M. mirus, Ziphius cavirostris, Orcinus orca, Feresa attenuata, Globicephala melas, G. macrorhynchus, Pseudorca crassidens, Delphinus capensis, Lagenodelphis hosei, Steno bredanensis, Tursiops truncatus, Stenella frontalis, S. longirostris, S. coeruleoalba, Lissodelphis peronii, Sotalia guianensis and Pontoporia blainvillei. Several species have been observed only once and include strays from their areas of common distribution, as well as species with known preferences for offshore distribution. Others, such as P. blainvillei and S. guianensis, are common coastal dwellers year-round. Z. cavirostris, P. crassidens and L. hosei are reported for the first time on the SP coast.A costa do Estado de São Paulo (SP (23º18'S, 44º42'O; 25º14'S, 48º01'O apresenta aproximadamente 600 km de extensão voltada para o Oceano Atlântico Ocidental no sudeste do Brasil. Registros de encalhes e de avistamentos de cetáceos vêm sendo realizados ao longo desse litoral. Desde 1993, dados obtidos em literatura científica, material osteológico encontrado em museus, fotografias e artigos de arquivos de jornais

Angiostrongylus cantonensis and Rat Lungworm Disease in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira Simões, Raquel; Fernandez, Monica Ammon; Júnior, Arnaldo Maldonado

2013-01-01

The metastrongyloid nematode genus Angiostrongylus includes 18 species, two of which are relevant from a medical standpoint, Angiostrongylus costaricensis and Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The first was described from Costa Rica in 1971 and causes abdominal angiostrongyliasis in the Americas, including in Brazil. Angiostrongylus cantonensis, first described in 1935 from Canton, China, is the causative agent of eosinophilic meningitis. The natural definitive hosts are rodents, and molluscs are the intermediate hosts. Paratenic or carrier hosts include crabs, freshwater shrimp, amphibians, flatworms, and fish. Humans become infected accidentally by ingestion of intermediate or paratenic hosts and the parasite does not complete the life cycle as it does in rats. Worms in the brain cause eosinophilic meningitis. This zoonosis, widespread in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, has now been reported from other regions. In the Americas there are records from the United States, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Ecuador, and Haiti. In Brazil seven human cases have been reported since 2007 from the southeastern and northeastern regions. Epidemiological studies found infected specimens of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus as well as many species of molluscs, including the giant African land snail, Achatina fulica, from various regions of Brazil. The spread of angiostrongyliasis is currently a matter of concern in Brazil. PMID:23901376

Comparison of two mammalian surveys made with camera traps in southeastern Brazil, focusing the abundance of wild mammals and domestic dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, W D; Adania, C H; Esbérard, C E L

2013-02-01

Sampling allows assessing the impact of human activities on mammal communities. It is also possible to assess the accuracy of different sampling methods, especially when the sampling effort is similar. The present study aimed at comparing two mammalian surveys carried out over a three-year interval, in terms of sampling effort, capture success, abundance of domestic dogs, impact of human activities, and relative biomass using camera traps, in the Serra do Japi Biological Reserve and surroundings, located in Jundiaí, state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. The total richness recorded was 13 species, one domestic and 12 wild mammals. Sampling effort in both surveys was similar, but capture success and number of captures differed. The abundance of wild mammals and dogs did also differ between surveys. There was a highly significant correlation between abundance of wild mammals and capture effort for the survey performed in 2006/2007, but not for the survey performed in 2009/2010. The difference between samples may be related to human disturbance, since the number of domestic mammals photographed was higher in the second survey, three years after the first survey. Despite being a reserve, the area is still under pressure from urbanization, biological invasion, environmental degradation, and hunting, which may reduce the abundance of wild mammals.

Longleaf pine ecosystem restoration: the role of the USDA Forest Service

Science.gov (United States)

Charles K. McMahon; D.J. Tomczak; R.M. Jeffers

1998-01-01

The greater longleaf pine ecosystem once occupied over 90 million acres from southeastern Virginia, south to central Florida, and west to eastern Texas. Today less than 3 million acres remain, with much of the remaining understory communities in an unhealthy state. A number of public and private conservation organizations are conducting collaborative longleaf pine...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a large South American industrial coastal area (Santos Estuary, Southeastern Brazil): Sources and depositional history

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, Cesar C.; Bicego, Marcia C.; Mahiques, Michel M.; Figueira, Rubens C.L.; Tessler, Moyses G.; Montone, Rosalinda C.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → In early 1980s, Santos Estuary became known as one of the worst polluted in the world. → PAHs levels were similar to the values reported for marine sediments worldwide. → PAHs analyses indicated multiple sources of these compounds (oil and pyrolitic origin). → The decline of oil consumption due to the world oil crisis (late 1970s) was shown. → The input of organic pollutants is a historical problem for the Santos Estuary. - Abstract: Located in southeastern Brazil, the Santos Estuary has the most important industrial and urban population area of South America. Since the 1950's, increased urbanization and industrialization near the estuary margins has caused the degradation of mangroves and has increased the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents. The main objectives of this work were to determine the concentrations and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment cores in order to investigate the input of these substances in the last 50 years. The PAHs analyses indicated multiple sources of these compounds (oil and pyrolitic origin), basically anthropogenic contributions from biomass, coal and fossil fuels combustion. The distribution of PAHs in the cores was associated with the formation and development of Cubatao industrial complex and the Santos harbour, waste disposal, world oil crisis and the pollution control program, which results in the decrease of organic pollutants input in this area.

SURVEILLANCE FOR NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUS, AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS AND MYCOPLASMA GALLISEPTICUM IN WILD BIRDS NEAR COMMERCIAL POULTRY FARMS SURROUNDED BY ATLANTIC RAINFOREST REMNANTS, SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MB Guimarães

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The geographic overlap between areas of Atlantic rainforest and human activities allows interactions to occur between humans and wild and domestic animals. Despite the great importance of the domestic animal-wildlife-human interface that occurs at poultry farms in terms of public health, economic production and wildlife conservation, there are few studies in Brazil examining the distribution and health of wild birds that interact with poultry farms. From January to December 2010, mist nets were used to capture 166 free-ranging birds that were within close proximity to three poultry farms in Atlantic rainforest remnants in south-eastern Brazil. The species composition was examined, and molecular methods were used to test for avian influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus, and Mycoplasma gallisepticum. The avian communities near the poultry farms were dominated by three synanthropic species, which corresponded to 70% of all captured individuals: house sparrows Passer domesticus (33%, saffron finches (Sicalis flaveola (22%, and ruddy ground-doves (Columbina talpacoti (15%. These predominant bird species were in poor body condition (27%, were infested with feather mites (43%, or presented both conditions (23%. No evidence of infection by avian influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus or M. gallisepticum was identified in any of the studied birds. Although no evidence of the studied pathogens was, our findings demonstrate that differences in the environmental characteristics and biosecurity practices influence the wild bird community near poultry farms, which in turn may affect the health status of these synanthropic birds and strengthen their role in the transmission of pathogens.

Feeding habit of the Brazilian tapir, Tapirus terrestris (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae in a vegetation transition zone in south-eastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sônia A. Talamoni

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Tapirs are considered generalist herbivores and the differences in the proportions of dietary items are often attributed to differences in the habitats where individuals live. This study characterized the feeding habit of Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758 in a nature reserve in south-eastern Brazil, located in a region considered a transition zone between the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna and the Atlantic Forest biomes. Fecal samples from T. terrestris individuals were collected monthly at six sampling areas that encompassed a total of 242.22 ha. There were 147 fresh samples found (77 during the dry season and 70 during the wet season. The diet of the tapirs in this reserve was characterized by the prevalent browsing on leaves and stems. There was a low frequency of fruit seeds in the diet of the tapirs during both the wet and dry seasons. However, in the dry season a higher percentage of samples containing seeds was observed. Fruits of Rubiaceae, Solanaceae, and Annonaceae were most consumed during the dry season. Most of the fruit seeds found presented small mean diameter (3.7-8.4 mm and most of the fruits were capsules and dry fruits. The characteristics of the fruits consumed by the tapirs indicate that they forage in the lower forest stratum and upon species from Cerrado. Additionally, Psidium myrtoides O. Berg. clusters found in the study site suggest that the tapirs may be acting as dispersal agents of this species.

Rainfall Interception in Mangrove in the Southeastern Coast of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emerson Galvani

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Mangroves are among the ecosystems biologically more productive and important in the world, providing unique goods and services to societies and coastal systems. These areas, however, are increasingly fragmented, contributing to the loss of their services and benefits. The rains have an important influence in this ecosystem is central to the dissolution of sea salts. This study investigated the total rainfall in the mangroves located in the Coastal System Cananeia-Iguape (SP at different time scales (daily, monthly, sea-sonal and annual and its interception by the mangrove canopy. It found an intercept of 8.8%, ranging from 13% to 4% in the annual scale, showing that the annual variation of rainfall, which reflects both its quantity and its intensity contributes to the percentage of that interception by the canopy. It was also found that as the intensity of precipitation increases, trapping the mangrove canopy reduces.

Feeding ecology of a nocturnal invasive alien lizard species, Hemidactylus mabouia Moreau de Jonnès, 1818 (Gekkonidae, living in an outcrop rocky area in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CFD. Rocha

Full Text Available We studied in fieldwork, the feeding ecology of a Hemidactylus mabouia population from southeastern Brazil throughout one year in a region with marked climatic seasonality. A sampling of availability of arthropods in the environment was carried out, which evidenced that the availability of food resources influenced the composition of the diet of H. mabouia. There were no seasonal differences on diet composition, which may be due to the relatively constant availability on prey throughout the year. In general, this population can be classified as generalist and opportunistic regarding diet. There was a high food niche overlap among juveniles and adults, although juvenile lizards tend to eat higer number of prey (but in lower volume when compared to adult lizards. The ability to exploit a wide array of prey in an efficient way, maintaining a positive energetic balance, may be a factor determining the efficiency of this exotic species to occupy invaded areas.

Association of the "IUCN vulnerable "spiny rat Clyomys bishopi (Rodentia:Echimyidaewith palm trees and armadillo burrows in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana A Bueno

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The globally vulnerable Clyomys bishopi ,a semi-fossorial and colonial rodent,is apparently limited to cerrado (savannah-like vegetationphysiognomies in São Paulo State,Brazil.The aim of the study was to verify whether the presence of C.bishopi is associated to the occurrence of palm trees (Attalea gearensis, Syagrus loefgrenii and armadillo burrows.Thirty six quadrats were placed in different physiognomies of cerrado vegetation at Itirapina Ecological Station,southeastern Brazil to survey the number of C.bishopi burrows of individuals of palm trees and burrows of armadillos.There was a strong dependence and association between the number of C.bishopi burrows and all measured variables (Contingency tables and Spearman rank correlations.It is suggested that this rodent can be found in great numbers where palm trees are abundant.The use of armadillo burrows possibly makes the movement of the rodents easier inside their own galleries.Rev.Biol. Trop. 52(4:1009-1011.Epub 2005 Jun 24.El roedor colonial Clyomys bishopi está aparentemente limitado a vegetación de semi-sabana (cerradoen el estado de São Paulo,Brasil.El objetivo de este estudio fue verificar si la presencia de C.bishopi está asociada a la individuos de las palmeras Attalea gearensis,Syagrus loefgrenii y madrigueras de armadillos.El estudio fue realizado en la Estación Ecológica de Itirapina,en el sureste de Brasil.Treinta y seis cuadrantes fueron dispuestos en diferentes fisionomías del la vegetación del cerrado para encuestar el número de madrigueras de C.bishopi, árboles individuales de palma y madrigueras de armadillos.Se calcularon tablas de contingencia y correlaciones de Sperman para evaluar, respectivamente, la dependencia y asociación entre el número de madrigueras de C.bishopi y las otras variables.Se encontró una fuerte dependencia y asociación entre el número de madrigueras de C.bishopi y todas las variables medidas.Esto sugiere que este roedor alcanza grandes

Potential role of frugivorous birds (Passeriformes) on seed dispersal of six plant species in a restinga habitat, southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, Verônica Souza da Mota; Correia, Maria Célia Rodrigues; de Lima, Heloisa Alves; Alves, Maria Alice S

2008-03-01

Restingas are considered stressful habitats associated with the Brazilian Atlantic forest, and their ecological interactions are poorly known. The goal of the present study was to determine the potential role of frugivorous birds as seed dispersers in a restinga habitat. Data were collected in Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, southeastern Brazil, where the main physiognomy (Open Clusia Formation) is characterized by the presence of patches of vegetation covering 20 to 48 % of the sandy soil and reaching a height of 5 m. Birds were captured with mist nets (12 x 2.5 m; 36 mm mesh; 1,680 net-hrs) and had their fecal and regurgitate samples inspected for seeds. Six plant species found in these bird samples were studied. The germination of seeds obtained from plants was compared to those from the birds. Both groups of seeds were set on Petri dishes at room temperature and washed when infected with fungi. In general, there was no effect on germination rate, and the effect on germination speed was negative. Germination of seeds from Pilosocereus arrabidae treated by the birds seemed to be influenced by storage of defecated seeds, while few Miconia cinnamomifolia seeds both from plants and from birds germinated. Ocotea notata presented a great variation in time to the onset of germination, perhaps an advantage against dissecation. Aechmea nudicaulis, Clusia hilariana and Erythroxylum subsessile probably take advantage of the arrival to favorable microhabitats, not by the gut effect on the seeds. All plant species studied are numerically important for the community and some of them are main actors in the succession of vegetation patches. Among the birds, Mimus gilvus is an important resident species, endemic to restingas in Brazil, while Turdus amaurochalinus is a visitor and may be important for plants that fructify during its passage by the study site. Although the effect of pulp removal was only tested for one species (Achmea nudicaulis) in the present study

Birds, Montane forest, State of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Foster, A.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Field surveys in montane Atlantic forest of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, provided a list of 82 bird species in four sitesvisited. Our protocol relied on standardized use of mist nets and observations. The birds recorded include 40 Atlanticforest endemics, three globally and two nationally Vulnerable species, and two regionally Endangered species. Data onspecies elevation are included and discussed. This work enhances baseline knowledge of these species to assist futurestudies in these poorly understood, but biologically important areas.

First report on the whitefly, Aleurodicus pseudugesii on the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Omena, Rose Paula Mendonça; Guzzo, Elio Cesar; Ferreira, Joana Maria Santos; de Mendonça, Fernando Antônio Cavalcante; de Lima, Aurino Florencio; Racca-Filho, Francisco; Santana, Antônio Euzébio Goulart

2012-01-01

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera L. (Arecales: Arecaceae), is currently grown extensively throughout the intertropical zones of the world, including Brazil, where it constitutes an important source of income for growers. Although whiteflies are not normally considered coconut pests, these insects can damage crops directly by sucking the sap, which weakens the plant; indirect damage may be caused by sooty mold formation over the excreted honeydew and by the transmission of pathogens. Whiteflies have infested coconut plants in the northeastern, northern, and southeastern regions of Brazil. Infested materials were collected and the causative insect was identified as Aleurodicus pseudugesii Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). This is the first report of A. pseudugesii in Brazil as a pest of the coconut palm.

Bryophyte communities of restingas in Northeastern Brazil and their similarity to those of other restingas in the country

OpenAIRE

Silva, Mércia Patrícia Pereira; Zickel, Carmen Sílvia; Pôrto, Kátia Cavalcanti

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Restingas are a coastal component of the Atlantic Forest. They experience high temperatures and possess soils with a low capacity to retain water, low nutrient content and high salt concentrations. Studies on bryophytes of restingas have been mostly conducted in Southeastern Brazil, and so we aimed to characterize the bryophyte flora of seven areas of restinga in the Northeastern Region and to establish their floristic affinities with other restingas in Brazil. Fifty-five species wer...

Protecting the Amazon with protected areas

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Robert; Moore, Nathan J.; Arima, Eugenio; Perz, Stephen; Simmons, Cynthia; Caldas, Marcellus; Vergara, Dante; Bohrer, Claudio

2009-01-01

This article addresses climate-tipping points in the Amazon Basin resulting from deforestation. It applies a regional climate model to assess whether the system of protected areas in Brazil is able to avoid such tipping points, with massive conversion to semiarid vegetation, particularly along the south and southeastern margins of the basin. The regional climate model produces spatially distributed annual rainfall under a variety of external forcing conditions, assuming that all land outside protected areas is deforested. It translates these results into dry season impacts on resident ecosystems and shows that Amazonian dry ecosystems in the southern and southeastern basin do not desiccate appreciably and that extensive areas experience an increase in precipitation. Nor do the moist forests dry out to an excessive amount. Evidently, Brazilian environmental policy has created a sustainable core of protected areas in the Amazon that buffers against potential climate-tipping points and protects the drier ecosystems of the basin. Thus, all efforts should be made to manage them effectively. PMID:19549819

Improving the characterization of fish assemblage structure through the use of multiple sampling methods: a case study in a subtropical tidal flat ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Contente, Riguel Feltrin; Del Bianco Rossi-Wongtschowski, Carmen Lucia

2017-06-01

The use of multiple sampling gears is indispensible to obtain robust characterizations of fish assemblage structure in species-rich subtropical ecosystems. In this study, such a dependence was demonstrated by characterizing the structure of the high-tide fish assemblage in a subtropical tidal flat ecosystem (the Araçá Bay, southeastern Brazil) using eight different gears along five seasonal surveys and estimating the bay's fish species richness, combining these data with those from local tide pool fish surveys. The high-tide fish assemblage was spatially structured, contained five threatened species, and was dominated by persistent and large populations of Eucinostomus argenteus and of the fisheries species Mugil curema and Diapterus rhombeus that intensively use the bay throughout their life cycles. Large, small-bodied fish populations supported a regular use of the bay by piscivores. The autumn-winter peak in abundance of juvenile fishes caused a subsequent increase in piscivore abundance, and both events explained the bulk of the seasonal variability of the fish assemblage. The estimated richness revealed that the combination of sampling methods was enough for sampling the bulk of the local richness, and the bay may hold a surprisingly high richness compared to other costal ecosystem of the region. This faunal characterization, only viable using multiple gears, will be critical to support the implementation of a future study to monitor the impacts on local fish biodiversity of an imminent port expansion over the tidal flat.

Ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae in an urban ecosystem near the Atlantic Rainforest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CM. Kamura

Full Text Available The relationships between an urban ecosystem located near the Atlantic Rainforest in southeastern Brazil and ant communities were studied with the objective of quantifying the ant richness and abundance in the household environment and its surroundings. Eighty residences were sampled, where 58 species and 28 genera pertaining to 7 sub-families were found to be present. Inside the residences, the species richness was found to be lower (26, although the abundance was greater (10,670, with the wash area and kitchen being the locales that contributed with the greatest number of hits. The opposite was true in the areas outside the residences, where 54 species and 3,747 ants were observed. Inside houses, the species known as Tramp ants were found, in the following order of importance: Solenopsis -saevissima, Tapinoma melanocephalum, Linepithema humile, Paratrechina fulva, Wasmannia -auropunctata, P. -longicornis, Pheidole megacephala, Monomorium pharaonis and M. floricola. Externally, mainly in the yards and gardens, species such as Octostruma rugifera, Heteroponera dolo, Hypoponera sp.1 and sp.6, Gnamptogenys sp. 4, G. striatula, Odontomachus meinerti, Pachycondyla constricta and P. striata were found. In general, a greater number of species and lower abundance of individuals were observed in the neighborhoods nearer the mountains than in those closer to the urban center.

Leaf δ15N as an indicator of arbuscular mycorrhizal nitrogen uptake in a coastal-plain forest (restinga forest) at Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Mardegan, S. F.; Valadares, R.; Martinelli, L.

2013-12-01

Restinga diversity contrasts with a series of adverse environmental conditions that constrain their development, including nutrient limitation. In this sense, the mutualistic symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may contribute in nutrient acquisition, including nitrogen. However, this association deeply affects plant nitrogen isotopic composition (δ15N), since assimilation processes and biochemical reactions within the fungi may reflect in a delivered product with an isotopic composition about 8 to 10 ‰ lower than that observed at the fungal symbiont per se. Here we assessed if the association with AMF affects δ15N values of plant species from a coastal-plain forest (restinga forest) at Southeastern Brazil. Accordingly, we analyzed the nutritional and isotopic compositions from ecosystem key-compartments (soil, litter and leaves), relating plant δ15N with the colonization rates. The study was carried out in a permanent plot (1 ha) at a coastal-plain forest (restinga forest) at the Serra do Mar State Park, SP, Brazil. Sampled vegetation is characterized by the lack of a well-defined stratification and a rather open canopy. It also comprises trees ranging from 10 to 15-m high. Soils are deep and sandy, being characterized by high acidity, nutrient deficiency and a dense litter cover. We randomly collected five samples (250 mg) from topsoil (0-10 cm) and five to ten leaves from individuals belonging to 16 plant species of high relevance within the site (IVI index). We also collected superficial (0-10 cm depth) fine roots (5 g) and 13 samples (100 g) of fine litter next to the individuals sampled. Soil samples were air-dried, sieved, homogenized and used in the physical-chemical characterization. The remainder was ground to a fine powder to determine nitrogen concentrations and δ15N values. Leaves were dried at 50 °C, finely milled and used for the determination of nitrogen concentrations, C/N ratios and δ15N values. Root samples were

Exploring spatial change and gravity center movement for ecosystem services value using a spatially explicit ecosystem services value index and gravity model.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yingbin; Chen, Youqi; Tang, Huajun; Yao, Yanmin; Yang, Peng; Chen, Zhongxin

2011-04-01

Spatially explicit ecosystem services valuation and change is a newly developing area of research in the field of ecology. Using the Beijing region as a study area, the authors have developed a spatially explicit ecosystem services value index and implemented this to quantify and spatially differentiate ecosystem services value at 1-km grid resolution. A gravity model was developed to trace spatial change in the total ecosystem services value of the Beijing study area from a holistic point of view. Study results show that the total value of ecosystem services for the study area decreased by 19.75% during the period 1996-2006 (3,226.2739 US$×10(6) in 1996, 2,589.0321 US$×10(6) in 2006). However, 27.63% of the total area of the Beijing study area increased in ecosystem services value. Spatial differences in ecosystem services values for both 1996 and 2006 are very clear. The center of gravity of total ecosystem services value for the study area moved 32.28 km northwestward over the 10 years due to intensive human intervention taking place in southeast Beijing. The authors suggest that policy-makers should pay greater attention to ecological protection under conditions of rapid socio-economic development and increase the area of green belt in the southeastern part of Beijing.

Potential geographic distribution of hantavirus reservoirs in Brazil.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Vilges de Oliveira

Full Text Available Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is an emerging zoonosis in Brazil. Human infections occur via inhalation of aerosolized viral particles from excreta of infected wild rodents. Necromys lasiurus and Oligoryzomys nigripes appear to be the main reservoirs of hantavirus in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. We estimated and compared ecological niches of the two rodent species, and analyzed environmental factors influencing their occurrence, to understand the geography of hantavirus transmission. N. lasiurus showed a wide potential distribution in Brazil, in the Cerrado, Caatinga, and Atlantic Forest biomes. Highest climate suitability for O. nigripes was observed along the Brazilian Atlantic coast. Maximum temperature in the warmest months and annual precipitation were the variables that most influence the distributions of N. lasiurus and O. nigripes, respectively. Models based on occurrences of infected rodents estimated a broader area of risk for hantavirus transmission in southeastern and southern Brazil, coinciding with the distribution of human cases of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. We found no demonstrable environmental differences among occurrence sites for the rodents and for human cases of hantavirus. However, areas of northern and northeastern Brazil are also apparently suitable for the two species, without broad coincidence with human cases. Modeling of niches and distributions of rodent reservoirs indicates potential for transmission of hantavirus across virtually all of Brazil outside the Amazon Basin.

Floral visitors and reproductive strategies in five melittophilous species of Bignoniaceae in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuriko A. N. Pinto Yanagizawa

2007-11-01

Full Text Available In order to evaluate the pollination strategies of Bignoniaceae, the floral biology and the floral visitors in five species, three cerrado shrubs (Arrabidaea brachypoda (DC. Bor., Jacaranda decurrens Cham., and Jacaranda oxyphylla Cham., and two lianas from the border of a semideciduous seasonal forest (Arrabidaea samydoides (Cham. Sandw., and Arrabidaea triplinervia H. Baill. were studied in Botucatu, São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil. The flowering periods were partially overlapping, especially between species in the same habitat. All the five species were functionally allogamous, melittophilous, nototribic and mainly pollinated by long tongued large bees. Some medium-sized and small pollen-foraging bees were occasional legitimate visitors, whereas others visitors were robbers/thieves. Each species showed a particular set of pollinators. Only two pollinator species were observed in more than one bignon. There was no partition of pollinators even among the species of bignons blooming at the same time at the same habitat.Com objetivo de avaliar as estratégias de polinização de espécies de Bignoniaceae, foram estudados a biologia floral e os visitantes florais de cinco espécies, três arbustivas do cerrado (Arrabidaea brachypoda (DC. Bor., Jacaranda decurrens Cham. e Jacaranda oxyphylla Cham. e duas lianas da orla da floresta estacional semidecidual (Arrabidaea samydoides (Cham. Sandw. e Arrabidaea triplinervia H. Baill., na região de Botucatu (22º52'20" S e 48(026'37" W, estado de São Paulo, sudeste do Brasil. Os períodos de florescimento, principalmente entre espécies do mesmo habitat, apresentaram sobreposição parcial. Observou-se que as cinco espécies são alogâmicas funcionais, melitófilas, nototríbicas, polinizadas principalmente por abelhas grandes de língua comprida. Algumas abelhas coletoras de pólen de tamanho médio e pequeno atuaram como polinizadoras ocasionais, enquanto outros visitantes foram pilhadores. Cada

Towards a Political Ecology of Education: The Educational Politics of Scale in Southern Pará, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Meek, David

2015-01-01

Social movements have initiated both academic programs and disciplines. I present ethnographic data that I gathered during 17 months of fieldwork with the Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement (MST) in southeastern Pará, Brazil, to explore the MST's role in creating agroecological education opportunities. My analysis highlights three factors in…

CUSTOMIZATION IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY: SURVEY RESULTS IN SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre Reis Graeml

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the advantage of using kanban, postponement, modularization, just-in-time, production sequencing, milk-run and cross-docking by companies that intend to increase their flexibility, agility and reliability in order to support web-based businesses. It presents the results of a survey carried out with more than 600 manufacturing companies in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and evaluates the changes that are taking place in operations, in order to make companies better suited to provide customized products, which are made to meet the individual requirements of each customer.

CUSTOMIZATION IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY: SURVEY RESULTS IN SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre Reis Graeml

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the advantage of using kanban, postponement, modularization, just-in-time, production sequencing, milk-run and cross-docking by companies that intend to increase their flexibility, agility and reliability in order to support web-based businesses. It presents the results of a survey carried out with more than 600 manufacturing companies in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and evaluates the changes that are taking place in operations, in order to make companies better suited to provide customized products, which are made to meet the individual requirements of each customer.

Notas sobre predação em uma taxocenose de anfíbios anuros no sudeste do Brasil Predation notes in an anuran amphibians assemblage from southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José P. Pombal Jr

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Anfíbios anuros são predados por todos os grupos de vertebrados e muitos invertebrados. Todavia os estudos sobre predação em anfíbios anuros ainda são esparsos e anedóticos. Neste estudo são fornecidas informações sobre predação de anuros de uma assembléia no sudeste do Brasil. Invertebrados (aranhas e barata d’agua, a rã Leptodactylus cf. ocellatus e cinco espécies serpentes (quatro Colubridae e um Viperidae predaram espécies ou indivíduos de pequeno porte.Anuran amphibians are preyer by all vertebrate groups and several invertebrates. However, predation studies on amphibians are still occasional and anecdotic. Herein, informations on predation of an anuran assemblage of southeastern Brazil are provided. Invertebrates (spiders and water bugs, the frog Leptodactylus cf. ocellatus, and five snake species (four Colubridae and one Viperidae preyer on small individuals or small anuran species.

Lophiobrycon weitzmani, a new genus and species of glandulocaudine fish (Characiformes: Characidae from the rio Grande drainage, upper rio Paraná system, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo M. C. Castro

Full Text Available A new genus and species of glandulocaudine, Lophiobrycon weitzmani, is described based on specimens collected in headwater tributary streams of the rio Grande, upper rio Paraná system, State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The inclusion of the new species in the phylogeny of the subfamily Glandulocaudinae proposed by Weitzman & Menezes (1998, reveals a sister group relationship between the new genus and the monophyletic group composed of Glandulocauda and Mimagoniates that currently form the tribe Glandulocaudini. The new species can be readily distinguished from all other species of the tribe by the autapomorphic presence in adult male individuals (with more than 23.9 mm standard length of an adipose-fin whose base extends for almost the entire distance between the posterior terminus of the base of the dorsal fin and the base of the upper lobe of the caudal fin and averages approximately 25% standard length, along with the presence of globular expansions formed by the lepidotrichia and hypertrophied soft tissue in the middle portions of the first and second pectoral-fin rays. The diagnosis of the tribe Glandulocaudini is modified to accommodate the new genus.

Litterfall dynamics in a iron-rich rock outcrop complex in the southeastern portion of the Iron Quadrangle of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo André Ribeiro Valim

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Ecosystems on cangas (duricrust present considerable heterogeneity of habitats due to microtopographic variations, soil accumulation and a variety of plant functional groups. Therefore, spatial and temporal ecosystem processes such as litterfall are to be expected to be large, and the absence of a level of productivity represents all the facets of iron-rich landscapes. We investigated litterfall in a iron-rich rock complex in the Iron Quadrangle of Brazil, with habitats formed on different evolutionary stages of the soil, resulting in a gradient of biomass, canopy cover and community structure. The measurements were made in open field areas, dominated by herb-shrub vegetation and interspersed with islands of dense vegetation in which there were individual trees, as well as in areas of semideciduous forest. The litterfall, especially that of leaf litter, followed the gradient of woody cover and was approximately two times greater in the forest formation. However, the spatial and temporal variations in deposition were greatest in the herb-shrub areas and least in the semideciduous forest area, intermediate values being obtained for the tree island areas. The peaks in litterfall also varied among habitats, occurring in some periods of the rainy season and during the transition from rainy to dry in the herb-shrub and tree island areas, whereas they occurred at the end of the dry season in the semideciduous forest area. The results show significant differences in the patterns of litterfall among different physiognomies within the same iron-rich rock complex, indicating the need for expanded studies, focusing on the flow of matter and energy in such environments.

Mineral cycling in southeastern ecosystems. Proceedings of a symposium held at Augusta, Georgia May 1--3, 1974

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howell, F.G.; Gentry, J.B.; Smith, M.H. (eds.)

1975-01-01

Sixty-six papers were presented on cycling of natural and man-made elements, including terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, as well as current ideas on modeling. Principles governing elemental flow included radiocesium in natural environments, especially in the southeastern United States. Individual entries were made for 47 items.

Distribution and size of the mojarra Diapterus rhombeus (Cuvier) (Actinopterygii, Gerreidae) in a Southeastern Brazilian bay

OpenAIRE

Costa,Marcus Rodrigues da; Albieri,Rafael Jardim; Neves,Leonardo Mitrano; Santos,Alex Braz Lacone; Araujo,Francisco Gerson

2012-01-01

Diapterus rhombeus is one of the most abundant fish species in the Sepetiba bay, which is a 520 km² semi-closed coastal area in Southeastern Brazil. The size and distribution of this species have been described in order to assess the use of the area as a rearing ground in both spatial and temporal (seasonal) dimensions. A fish sampling program was conducted monthly by using an otter trawl between October 1998 and September 1999, in three bay zones (outer, middle and inner), defined according ...

Visceral leishmaniasis in an environmentally protected area in southeastern Brazil: Epidemiological and laboratory cross-sectional investigation of phlebotomine fauna, wild hosts and canine cases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Rita Donalisio

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Leishmaniasis is a rapidly expanding zoonosis that shows increasing urbanization. Concern exists regarding the role of wildlife in visceral leishmaniasis (VL transmission, due to frequent natural or anthropogenic environmental changes that facilitate contact between wildlife, humans and their pets. The municipality of Campinas, in southeastern Brazil, initially recorded VL in 2009, when the first autochthonous case was confirmed in a dog living in an upscale residential condominium, located inside an environmentally protected area (EPA. Since then, disease transmission remains restricted to dogs inhabiting two geographically contiguous condominiums within the EPA.We conducted a cross-sectional study of the VL focus to investigate Leishmania spp. infection in domestic dogs, wild mammals and sand flies using molecular tools and recommended serological techniques. Canine seroprevalences of 1.5% and 1.2% were observed in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Six insect species, confirmed or suspected vectors or potential transmitters of Leishmania, were identified. Two specimens of the main L. (L. infantum vector in Brazil, Lutzomyia longipalpis, were captured in the EPA. Natural infection by L. (L. infantum was recorded in one Expapillata firmatoi specimen and two Pintomyia monticola. Natural infection by L. (L. infantum and Leishmania subgenus Viannia was also detected in two white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris, a known reservoir of VL. Geographical coordinates of each sampling of infected animals were plotted on a map of the EPA, demonstrating proximity between these animals, human residences, including the dogs positive for VL, and forest areas.The EPA, which is inhabited by humans, has an active VL focus. The risk of establishing and maintaining disease transmission foci in similar scenarios, i.e. wild areas that undergo environmental modifications, is evident. Moreover, different epidemiological profiles of VL must be included to elaborate

Visceral leishmaniasis in an environmentally protected area in southeastern Brazil: Epidemiological and laboratory cross-sectional investigation of phlebotomine fauna, wild hosts and canine cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Donalisio, Maria Rita; Paiz, Laís Moraes; da Silva, Vanessa Gusmon; Richini-Pereira, Virgínia Bodelão; von Zuben, Andrea Paula Bruno; Castagna, Claudio Luiz; Motoie, Gabriela; Hiramoto, Roberto Mitsuyoshi; Tolezano, José Eduardo

2017-07-01

Leishmaniasis is a rapidly expanding zoonosis that shows increasing urbanization. Concern exists regarding the role of wildlife in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) transmission, due to frequent natural or anthropogenic environmental changes that facilitate contact between wildlife, humans and their pets. The municipality of Campinas, in southeastern Brazil, initially recorded VL in 2009, when the first autochthonous case was confirmed in a dog living in an upscale residential condominium, located inside an environmentally protected area (EPA). Since then, disease transmission remains restricted to dogs inhabiting two geographically contiguous condominiums within the EPA. We conducted a cross-sectional study of the VL focus to investigate Leishmania spp. infection in domestic dogs, wild mammals and sand flies using molecular tools and recommended serological techniques. Canine seroprevalences of 1.5% and 1.2% were observed in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Six insect species, confirmed or suspected vectors or potential transmitters of Leishmania, were identified. Two specimens of the main L. (L.) infantum vector in Brazil, Lutzomyia longipalpis, were captured in the EPA. Natural infection by L. (L.) infantum was recorded in one Expapillata firmatoi specimen and two Pintomyia monticola. Natural infection by L. (L.) infantum and Leishmania subgenus Viannia was also detected in two white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris), a known reservoir of VL. Geographical coordinates of each sampling of infected animals were plotted on a map of the EPA, demonstrating proximity between these animals, human residences, including the dogs positive for VL, and forest areas. The EPA, which is inhabited by humans, has an active VL focus. The risk of establishing and maintaining disease transmission foci in similar scenarios, i.e. wild areas that undergo environmental modifications, is evident. Moreover, different epidemiological profiles of VL must be included to elaborate prevention and

Low water quality in tropical fishponds in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SIMONE M. COSTA

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Expansion of aquaculture around the world has heavily impacted the environment. Because fertilizers are needed to raise fish, one of the main impacts is eutrophication, which lowers water quality and increases the frequency of algal blooms, mostly cyanobacteria. To evaluate whether the water quality in 30 fishponds in southeastern Brazilian met the requirements of Brazilian legislation, we analyzed biotic and abiotic water conditions. We expected that the high nutrient levels due to fertilization would cause low water quality. We also analyzed cyanotoxins in seston and fish muscle in some systems where cyanobacteria were dominant. The fishponds ranged from eutrophic and hypereutrophic with high phytoplankton biomass. Although cyanobacteria were dominant in most of the systems, cyanotoxins occurred in low concentrations, possibly because only two of the 12 dominant species were potential producers of microcystins. The high phosphorus concentrations caused the low water quality by increasing cyanobacteria, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and thermotolerant coliforms, and by depleting dissolved oxygen. We found that all the 30 systems were inappropriate for fish culture, according to Brazilian legislation, based on at least one of the parameters measured. Furthermore, there was not any single system in the water-quality thresholds, according to the Brazilian legislation, to grow fish. Our findings indicate the need for better management to minimize the impacts of eutrophication in fishponds, in addition to a rigorous control to guarantee good food.

Hepatozoon spp. infections in wild rodents in an area of endemic canine hepatozoonosis in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Demoner, Larissa de Castro; Magro, Natalia Mizuhira; da Silva, Maria Regina Lucas; de Paula Antunes, João Marcelo Azevedo; Calabuig, Cecilia Irene Pérez; O'Dwyer, Lucia Helena

2016-07-01

Hepatozoon canis is a tick-borne parasite that occurs worldwide. In rural areas of Brazil, H. canis vectors remain unknown, which has led to speculation about alternative routes of transmission. Small rodents can play a role in the transmission (via predation) of Hepatozoon americanum, which led us to question whether predation might be an alternative mode of transmission for H. canis. Thus, this study investigated whether Hepatozoon spp. are present in wild small rodents in forest fragments that surround rural areas in Botucatu County, São Paulo, Brazil, where canine hepatozoonosis is endemic. The study included blood samples from 158 dogs, which were screened by microscopy and molecular analysis. Blood samples and tissues from 67 rodents were obtained for histopathology and molecular detection. The prevalence of H. canis was high (66.45%) in dogs from rural areas of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. The molecular analysis showed that wild rodent species in Brazil were infected with Hepatozoon spp. other than H. canis. Therefore, although the hypothesis that sylvatic rodents act as reservoirs for H. canis was not supported, the presence of monozoic cysts in the rodents suggests that, in addition to intermediate hosts, wild small rodents in Brazil might act as paratenic hosts of Hepatozoon spp. because they harbor infective stages for intermediate host predators. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Pisces, Anguilliformes, Moringuidae, Moringua edwardsi (Jordan and Bollman, 1889: First record in Atol das Rocas, northeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paiva, C. C.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Moringua edwardsi is recorded for the first time at Atol das Rocas, northeastern Brazil. Previous records of thespecies were located in the western Atlantic Ocean, from Florida to southeastern Brazil, but with many gaps between theseregions. A single specimen was collected in Atol das Rocas in July 2007 and it is deposited in the Dias da Rocha IchthyologicalCollection. The new record of M. edwardsi fills a geographic distribution gap of this species and complements the inventoryof fish species inhabiting one of the most unique marine protected areas in the world.

Synergistic effects of drought and deforestation on the resilience of the south-eastern Amazon rainforest

OpenAIRE

Staal, A.; Dekkers, S.; Hirota Magalhaes, M.; Nes, van, E.H.

2015-01-01

The south-eastern Amazon rainforest is subject to ongoing deforestation and is expected to become drier due to climate change. Recent analyses of the distribution of tree cover in the tropics show three modes that have been interpreted as representing alternative stable states: forest, savanna and treeless states. This situation implies that a change in environmental conditions, such as in the climate, could cause critical transitions from a forest towards a savanna ecosystem. Shifts to savan...

Zika virus in Brazil and the danger of infestation by Aedes (Stegomyia mosquitoes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Brisola Marcondes

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Zika virus, already widely distributed in Africa and Asia, was recently reported in two Northeastern Brazilian: State of Bahia and State of Rio Grande do Norte, and one Southeastern: State of São Paulo. This finding adds a potentially noxious virus to a list of several other viruses that are widely transmitted by Aedes (Stegomyia aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia albopictus in Brazil. The pathology and epidemiology, including the distribution and vectors associated with Zika virus, are reviewed. This review is focused on viruses transmitted by Aedes (Stegomyia mosquitoes, including dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, Mayaro, and yellow fever virus, to emphasize the risks of occurrence for these arboviruses in Brazil and neighboring countries. Other species of Aedes (Stegomyia are discussed, emphasizing their involvement in arbovirus transmission and the possibility of adaptation to environments modified by human activities and introduction in Brazil.

Zika virus in Brazil and the danger of infestation by Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcondes, Carlos Brisola; Ximenes, Maria de Fátima Freire de Melo

2016-02-01

Zika virus, already widely distributed in Africa and Asia, was recently reported in two Northeastern Brazilian: State of Bahia and State of Rio Grande do Norte, and one Southeastern: State of São Paulo. This finding adds a potentially noxious virus to a list of several other viruses that are widely transmitted by Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus in Brazil. The pathology and epidemiology, including the distribution and vectors associated with Zika virus, are reviewed. This review is focused on viruses transmitted by Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes, including dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, Mayaro, and yellow fever virus, to emphasize the risks of occurrence for these arboviruses in Brazil and neighboring countries. Other species of Aedes (Stegomyia) are discussed, emphasizing their involvement in arbovirus transmission and the possibility of adaptation to environments modified by human activities and introduction in Brazil.

Precambrian continental crustal evolution of Southeastern Sao Paulo state - Brazil: based on isotopic evidences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tassinari, C.C.G.

1988-01-01

The isotopic studies on granitic intrusions, orthogneissic rocks and migmatitic terranes in the Southeastern Sao Paulo are presented, indicating the age and the geochemical nature of the continental crust of this area. Approximately 300 Ar, Sr and Pb isotopic age determinations are included in this paper, categorized as to their reliability and significance. Looking for the continental crust growth related to the geological time, at the end of the lower Proterozoic, at least 85% of the continental crust has already accreted and differentiated. (C.G.C.)

Effect of coarse woody debris manipulation on soricid and herpetofaunal communities in upland pine stands of the southeastern coastal plain.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, Justin, Charles

2009-04-01

Abstract -The majority of studies investigating the importance of coarse woody debris (CWD) to forest- floor vertebrates have taken place in the Pacific Northwest and southern Appalachian Mountains, while comparative studies in the southeastern Coastal Plain are lacking. My study was a continuation of a long-term project investigating the importance of CWD as a habitat component for shrew and herpetofaunal communities within managed pine stands in the southeastern Coastal Plain. Results suggest that addition of CWD can increase abundance of southeastern and southern short-tailed shrews. However, downed wood does not appear to be a critical habitat component for amphibians and reptiles. Rising petroleum costs and advances in wood utilization technology have resulted in an emerging biofuels market with potential to decrease CWD volumes left in forests following timber harvests. Therefore, forest managers must understand the value of CWD as an ecosystem component to maintain economically productive forests while conserving biological diversity.

Photoacclimation in a tropical population of Cladophora glomerata (L.) Kützing 1843 (Chlorophyta) from southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Bautista, A I N; Necchi-Júnior, O

2008-02-01

Photoacclimation of photosynthesis was investigated in a tropical population of C. glomerata (São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil, 20 degrees 48' 24" S and 49 degrees 22' 24" W) by chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and chlorophyll a content. Plants were acclimated to two levels of irradiance: low (65 +/- 5 micromol.m(-2).s(-1)) and high (300 +/- 10 micromol.m(-2).s(-1)) and exposed short-term (4 days) and long-term (28 days) under a light-dark cycle of 12:12 hours. Photosynthesis-irradiance (PI) curves revealed distinct strategies of photoacclimation. In long-term exposure, plants acclimated by altering the photosynthetic units (PSU) number and keeping fixed the PSU size, revealed by increased rates of maximum photosynthesis (Pmax), lower photosynthetic efficiency (alpha) and higher values of the saturation parameter (Ik) under high irradiance. The short-term acclimation strategy consisted of changing the PSU size, with a fixed number of PSUs, as revealed by similar Pmax but higher alpha and lower Ik under low irradiance. Chlorophyll a contents followed the general pattern reported in green algae of higher concentrations under lower irradiance. Dark/light induction curves revealed consistently higher values of potential quantum yield under low irradiance. Initial and final values showed a higher recovery capacity in the short (84.4-90.6%) term exposure than in the long-term case (81.4-81.5%). ETR (electron transport rate) and NPQ (non-photochemical quenching) values were consistently higher under low irradiance. ETR showed a continuous and steady increase along the light exposure period in the short and long-term experiments, whereas NPQ values revealed a rapid increase after 15 seconds of light exposure, kept a slightly increasing trend and stabilized in most treatments. Lower photosynthetic performance (ETR) and recovery capacity of potential quantum yield were observed, particularly in long-term exposure, suggesting that this population is constrained by the

Laboratory diagnosis of amebiasis in a sample of students from southeastern Brazil and a comparison of microscopy with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for screening of infections with Entamoeba sp.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Valeriana Valadares; Conceição, Abiqueila da Silva; Maximiano, Leandro Henrique Silva; Belligoli, Leonardo de Queiroz Gomes; Silva, Eduardo Sergio da

2014-01-01

Epidemiological studies on amebiasis have been reassessed since Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar were first recognized as distinct species. Because the morphological similarity of these species renders microscopic diagnosis unreliable, additional tools are required to discriminate between Entamoeba species. The objectives of our study were to compare microscopy with ELISA kit (IVD®) results, to diagnose E. histolytica infection, and to determine the prevalence of amebiasis in a sample of students from southeastern Brazil. In this study, diagnosis was based on microscopy due to its capacity for revealing potential cysts/trophozoites and on two commercial kits for antigen detection in stool samples. For 1,403 samples collected from students aged 6 to 14 years who were living in Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil, microscopy underestimated the number of individuals infected with E. histolytica/E. dispar (5.7% prevalence) compared with the ELISA kit (IVD®)-based diagnoses (15.7% for E. histolytica/E. dispar). A comparison of the ELISA (IVD®) and light microscopy results returned a 20% sensitivity, 97% specificity, low positive predictive value, and high negative predictive value for microscopy. An ELISA kit (TechLab®) that was specific for E. histolytica detected a 3.1% (43/1403) prevalence for E. histolytica infection. The ELISA kit (IVD®) can be used as an alternative screening tool. The high prevalence of E. histolytica infection detected in this study warrants the implementation of actions directed toward health promotion and preventive measures.

Laboratory diagnosis of amebiasis in a sample of students from southeastern Brazil and a comparison of microscopy with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for screening of infections with Entamoeba sp.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeriana Valadares Pereira

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Epidemiological studies on amebiasis have been reassessed since Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar were first recognized as distinct species. Because the morphological similarity of these species renders microscopic diagnosis unreliable, additional tools are required to discriminate between Entamoeba species. The objectives of our study were to compare microscopy with ELISA kit (IVD® results, to diagnose E. histolytica infection, and to determine the prevalence of amebiasis in a sample of students from southeastern Brazil. Methods: In this study, diagnosis was based on microscopy due to its capacity for revealing potential cysts/trophozoites and on two commercial kits for antigen detection in stool samples. Results: For 1,403 samples collected from students aged 6 to 14 years who were living in Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil, microscopy underestimated the number of individuals infected with E. histolytica/E. dispar (5.7% prevalence compared with the ELISA kit (IVD®-based diagnoses (15.7% for E. histolytica/E. dispar. A comparison of the ELISA (IVD® and light microscopy results returned a 20% sensitivity, 97% specificity, low positive predictive value, and high negative predictive value for microscopy. An ELISA kit (TechLab® that was specific for E. histolytica detected a 3.1% (43/1403 prevalence for E. histolytica infection. Conclusions: The ELISA kit (IVD® can be used as an alternative screening tool. The high prevalence of E. histolytica infection detected in this study warrants the implementation of actions directed toward health promotion and preventive measures.

Parotocinclus seridoensis, a new hypoptopomatine catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae from the upper rio Piranhas-Açu basin, northeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Telton Pedro A. Ramos

Full Text Available A new species of Parotocinclus is described from the upper rio Piranhas-Açu basin, northeastern Brazil. The new species differs from all its congeners, except P. bidentatus, P. muriaensis (both from rio Paraíba do Sul basin, southeastern Brazil, and P. spilurus (rio Jaguaribe basin, northeastern Brazil by presenting the adipose fin rudimentary or absent. The new species differs from P. bidentatus, P. muriaensis, and P. spilurus mainly by presenting the abdomen region extensively naked, with few reduced rounded dermal platelets between the pectoral girdle and the anus. Parotocinclus seridoensis is probably an endemic species of the semi-arid Caatinga, region where the genus presents high species richness.

Water and vegetation indices by using MODIS products for eucalyptus, pasture, and natural ecosystems in the eastern São Paulo state, Southeast Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

de C. Teixeira, Antônio H.; Leivas, Janice F.; Ronquim, Carlos C.; Garçon, Edlene A. M.; Bayma-Silva, Gustavo

2017-10-01

Eucalyptus (Ec) and pasture (Pt) are expanding while natural vegetation (Nv) are losing space in the Paraíba Valley, eastern side of the São Paulo state, Southeast Brazil. For quantification of water and vegetation conditions, the MODIS product MOD13Q1 was used together with a net of weather stations and vegetation land masks during the year 2015. The SAFER algorithm was applied to retrieve the actual evapotranspiration (ET), which was combined with the Monteith's radiation use efficiency (RUE) model to estimate the biomass production (BIO). Three moisture indices were applied, the climatic water balance ratio (WBr), the ratio of precipitation (P) to ET, the water balance deficit (WBd), the difference between P and ET, and the evapotranspiration ratio (ETr), the ratio of ET to the reference evapotranspiration (ET0). On the one hand, the highest ET rates for the Ec ecosystem should be a negative aspect under water scarcity conditions; however, it presented the best water productivity. Although the Ec ecosystem presenting the lowest WBr and WBd values, it had the highest ETr, averaging 0.92, when comparing to those for Nv (0.88) and Pt (0.79). These results indicated that eucalyptus plants have greater ability of conserving soil moisture in their root zones, increasing WP, when comparing with Pt and Nv ecosystems. These water relationships are relevant issues under the land-use change conditions in the Paraiba Valley, confirming the suitability of using the MODIS products together with weather stations to study the ecosystem dynamics.

An invasive foundation species enhances multifunctionality in a coastal ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramus, Aaron P; Silliman, Brian R; Thomsen, Mads S; Long, Zachary T

2017-08-08

While invasive species often threaten biodiversity and human well-being, their potential to enhance functioning by offsetting the loss of native habitat has rarely been considered. We manipulated the abundance of the nonnative, habitat-forming seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla in large plots (25 m 2 ) on southeastern US intertidal landscapes to assess impacts on multiple ecosystem functions underlying coastal ecosystem services. We document that in the absence of native habitat formers, this invasion has an overall positive, density-dependent impact across a diverse set of ecosystem processes (e.g., abundance and richness of nursery taxa, flow attenuation). Manipulation of invader abundance revealed both thresholds and saturations in the provisioning of ecosystem functions. Taken together, these findings call into question the focus of traditional invasion research and management that assumes negative effects of nonnatives, and emphasize the need to consider context-dependence and integrative measurements when assessing the impact of an invader, including density dependence, multifunctionality, and the status of native habitat formers. This work supports discussion of the idea that where native foundation species have been lost, invasive habitat formers may be considered as sources of valuable ecosystem functions.

Population density of Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea: Delphinidae in the Cananéia region, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liisa Havukainen

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Population density in cetaceans can be estimated through photo-identification, mark-recapture, land-based observations and visual estimative. We the aim to contribute with conservation strategies, we used line transects (distance method to estimate the population density of the river dolphin, S. guianensis, in the estuarine region of Cananéia, Southeastern Brazil. The study, developed from May 2003 until April 2004, during dry and rainy seasons and different times of the day, included a sampling area divided into three sectors according to their proximity to the open sea: Sector I (the closest to the open sea; Sector II (with a large flow of fresh water and a salient declivity; and Sector III (with a large flow of fresh water and non salient declivity. Onboard random sampling was carried out in all three sectors, and dolphins seen from the bow to 90° on both port and starboard sides, were registered along with their position and distance from the boat. The total density found was 12.41ind/km² (CV=25.53% with an average of 2.2 individuals per group for both periods of the day, morning and afternoon. Densities also varied between dry and rainy seasons, being lower in the first with 5.77ind/km² (CV=27.87% than in the second 20.28ind/km² (CV=31.95%, respectively. Regarding the three sectors, a non-causal heterogeneous distribution was found: Sector I was the most populated (D=33.10ind/km², CV=13.34%, followed by Sector II (D=7.8ind/km², CV=21.07% and Sector III (D=3.04ind/km², CV=34.04%. The aforementioned area, due to its proximity to the open sea, has the highest salinity level and therefore has the greatest chance of holding most of the marine fish schools which can be cornered by dolphins on high declivity areas during fishing activities. This suggests that food availability may be the most important factor on the river dolphin’s distribution in the estuary. Similar studies will contribute to a better understanding of these populations

Status and prospects for renewable energy using wood pellets from the southeastern United States

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dale, Virginia H.; Kline, Keith L.; Parish, Esther S.

2017-01-01

The ongoing debate about costs and benefits of wood-pellet based bioenergy production in the southeastern United States (SE USA) requires an understanding of the science and context influencing market decisions associated with its sustainability. Production of pellets has garnered much attention...... as US exports have grown from negligible amounts in the early 2000s to 4.6 million metric tonnes in 2015. Currently, 98% of these pellet exports are shipped to Europe to displace coal in power plants. We ask, 'How is the production of wood pellets in the SE USA affecting forest systems and the ecosystem...... services they provide?' To address this question, we review current forest conditions and the status of the wood products industry, how pellet production affects ecosystem services and biodiversity, and what methods are in place to monitor changes and protect vulnerable systems. Scientific studies provide...

Gamma-ray irradiation of a boreal forest ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guthrie, J.E.; Dugle, J.R.

1983-01-01

A long-term radiation ecology research project called Field Irradiator - Gamma (FIG) began at the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment in 1968. The experimental area is in southeastern Manitoba and is located on the western edge of the Precambrian shield. The project studies the ecological effects continuous exposure to a gradient of gamma radiation has on a mixed boreal forest ecosystem. The gradient ranges from 1 to 460,000 times the natural background radiation level. This paper describes the forest, the gamma irradiator and its radiation field, and the research program

Physical, Chemical, Ecological, and Age Data and Trench Logs from Surficial Deposits at Hatch Point, Southeastern Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Harland L.; Miller, Mark E.; Yount, James C.; Reheis, Marith C.; Reynolds, Richard L.; Belnap, Jayne; Lamothe, Paul J.; McGeehan, John P.

2009-01-01

This report presents data and describes the methodology for physical, chemical and ecological measurements of sediment, soil, and vegetation, as well as age determinations of surficial deposits at Hatch Point, Canyon Rims area, Colorado Plateau, southeastern Utah. The results presented in this report support a study that examines geomorphic and soil factors that may influence boundaries between shrubland and grassland ecosystems in the study area. Shrubland ecosystems dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and grassland ecosystems dominated by native perennial grasses (for example, Hilaria jamesii and Sporabolis sp.) are high-priority conservation targets for the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other resource managers because of their diversity, productivity, and vital importance as wildlife habitat. These ecosystems have been recognized as imperiled on a regional scale since at least the mid-1990s due to habitat loss (type conversions), land-use practices, and invasive exotic plants. In the Intermountain West, the exotic annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is recognized as one of the most pervasive and serious threats to the health of native sagebrush and grassland ecosystems through effects on fire regimes and resource conditions experienced by native species.

Arraias em rios da região Sudeste do Brasil: locais de ocorrência e impactos sobre a população Stingrays in rivers in southeastern Brazil: occurrence localities and impact on the population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domingos Garrone Neto

2010-02-01

Full Text Available INTRODUÇÃO: No presente trabalho objetivamos descrever o processo de colonização da Bacia do Alto Paraná, Sudeste do Brasil, por arraias, demonstrando sua atual situação e provável tendência, os impactos gerados e discutindo algumas ações de manejo e medidas mitigadoras. MÉTODOS: Foram realizadas entrevistas com ribeirinhos e profissionais de saúde para o levantamento de informações sobre a ocorrência de arraias e acidentes associados a estes animais, além de coletas e observações subaquáticas de potamotrigonídeos, entre 2004 e 2009, em localidades situadas nos Estados de São Paulo, Paraná e Mato Grosso do Sul, no Sudeste, Sul e parte do Centro-Oeste do Brasil. RESULTADOS: Três espécies de arraias foram identificadas na área de estudo, demonstrando utilizar os caminhos abertos pela Hidrovia Tietê-Paraná para se dispersarem. Dezesseis vítimas de acidentes envolvendo esses animais foram encontradas, notadamente banhistas e pescadores, chamando a atenção pelo fato dos casos não serem notificados e apresentarem elevada morbidade, com marcante incapacidade temporária para o trabalho. CONCLUSÕES: Este é o primeiro relato de invasão biológica envolvendo espécies de elasmobrânquios conhecido na literatura e, pelas arraias estarem colonizando áreas densamente povoadas e ampliando sua área de distribuição a cada ano, é de se esperar que sua interação negativa com humanos se intensifique, provocando alterações importantes no perfil epidemiológico dos acidentes por animais peçonhentos ocorridos no sudeste brasileiro.INTRODUCTION: In this paper, our aim was to describe the process of colonization of the upper Paraná basin, southeastern Brazil, by stingrays, showing the current situation, likely trend and impact caused and discussing some management actions and mitigation measures. METHODS: Interviews were held with riverbank people and health professionals, to gather information on occurrences of stingrays

Spatial distribution of mercury in southeastern Alaskan streams influenced by glaciers, wetlands, and salmon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagorski, Sonia A.; Engstrom, Daniel R.; Hudson, John P.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Hood, Eran; DeWild, John F.; Aiken, George R.

2014-01-01

Southeastern Alaska is a remote coastal-maritime ecosystem that is experiencing increased deposition of mercury (Hg) as well as rapid glacier loss. Here we present the results of the first reported survey of total and methyl Hg (MeHg) concentrations in regional streams and biota. Overall, streams draining large wetland areas had higher Hg concentrations in water, mayflies, and juvenile salmon than those from glacially-influenced or recently deglaciated watersheds. Filtered MeHg was positively correlated with wetland abundance. Aqueous Hg occurred predominantly in the particulate fraction of glacier streams but in the filtered fraction of wetland-rich streams. Colonization by anadromous salmon in both glacier and wetland-rich streams may be contributing additional marine-derived Hg. The spatial distribution of Hg in the range of streams presented here shows that watersheds are variably, yet fairly predictably, sensitive to atmospheric and marine inputs of Hg. -- Highlights: • We sampled 21 streams in southeastern Alaska for water, sediments, and biota. • Aqueous Hg showed significant relationships with wetlands and DOC. • Biota had higher mercury in wetland-rich streams than in glacier-fed streams. • Spawning salmon appear to contribute methylmercury to stream foodwebs. -- This original survey of mercury concentration and form in southeastern Alaskan streamwater and biota shows substantial spatial variation linked to landscape factors and salmon influence

Organic Carbon Burial in Brazilian Mangrove Sediments (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, C.; Smoak, J. M.; Sanders, L.; Patchineelam, S.

2010-12-01

This study reviews the organic carbon (OC) burial rates in mangrove forests, margins and mud flats in geographically distinct areas of the Brazilian coastline. We exam the burial rates, taking into account the geomorphology of each region. Our initial results indicate that the Northeastern region of Brazil is sequestering significantly more OC than in the Southeastern areas, being that the mass sediment accumulation rates remained consistent within the forests as opposed to large variations found in the mudflats. The other pertinent factor was OC content, which differed substantially in respect to region. Given that the mangrove forests of the Southeastern regions of Brazil may be more susceptible to a rising sea level, as these areas are constricted by vast mountain ranges, this work attempts to put in perspective the possible impacts of climate change on mangrove ecosystems and OC burial along the Brazilian coastal ocean. We also compare our result to global averages.

Ecosystem Function in Appalachian Headwater Streams during an Active Invasion by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

Science.gov (United States)

Robert M. Northington; Jackson R. Webster; Ernest F. Benfield; Beth M. Cheever; Barbara R. Niederlehner

2013-01-01

Forested ecosystems in the southeastern United States are currently undergoing an invasion by the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Previous studies in this area have shown changes to forest structure, decreases in canopy cover, increases in organic matter, and changes to nutrient cycling on the forest floor and soil. Here, we were interested in how the effects of canopy...

Role of Anopheles (Kerteszia bellator as malaria vector in Southeastern Brazil (Diptera: Culicidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oswaldo Paulo Forattini

1999-11-01

Full Text Available New research concerning Anopheles bellator in the southeast of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, are reported. Adult females of this mosquito showed remarkable endophily and endophagy which was even greater than An. cruzii. The epidemiological role of this anopheline as a malaria vector is discussed.

The occurrence of amphibians in bromeliads from a southeastern Brazilian restinga habitat, with special reference to Aparasphenodon brunoi (Anura, Hylidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, R L; Schineider, J A P; Almeida, G I

2002-05-01

Five species of anuran amphibians, all belonging to the family Hylidae, were collected at Praia das Neves, municipality of President Kennedy, southeastern Brazil. The species were represented by four genera: Scinax, Hyla, Aparasphenodon, and Trachycephalus. Four species (A. brunoi, Hyla albomarginata, Scinax altera, and S. cuspidatus) were found during the dry season (August 1999), and two (A. brunoi and Trachycephalus nigromaculatus) in the rainy season (February 2000). Aparasphenodon brunoi was the most abundant species in Praia das Neves. Some reproductive aspects and feeding habits of this hylid were investigated. Aparasphenodon brunoi was found mainly inside the bromeliad Aechmea lingulata, the largest plant analyzed. Fifteen specimens were collected during the dry season (August 1999) (11 males and 4 females). During the rainy season (February 2000), we collected 14 specimens (3 males, 10 females, and 1 juvenile). Sex-ratio was 1:1. Frogs ranged in snout-vent length from 31.2 to 69.3 mm. Females were larger than males. One female had 1,451 fully developed oocytes in her ovaries. The major groups of prey found in the stomachs were: Insecta, Myriapoda, and Arachnida. Blattodea, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera (only ants) were the main food types in frequency, number, and weight. Aparasphenodon brunoi is a threatened species in many habitats of southeastern Brazil. Only natural vegetation protection may guarantee its survival during the immediate future.

The occurrence of amphibians in bromeliads from a Southeastern Brazilian restinga habitat, with special reference to Aparasphenodon brunoi (Anura, Hylidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TEIXEIRA R. L.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Five species of anuran amphibians, all belonging to the family Hylidae, were collected at Praia das Neves, municipality of Presidente Kennedy, southeastern Brazil,. The species were represented by four genera: Scinax, Hyla, Aparasphenodon, and Trachycephalus. Four species (A. brunoi, Hyla albomarginata, Scinax altera, and S. cuspidatus were found during the dry season (August 1999, and two (A. brunoi and Trachycephalus nigromaculatus in the rainy season (February 2000. Aparasphenodon brunoi was the most abundant species in Praia das Neves. Some reproductive aspects and feeding habits of this hylid were investigated. Aparasphenodon brunoi was found mainly inside the bromeliad Aechmea lingulata, the largest plant analyzed. Fifteen specimens were collected during the dry season (August 1999 (11 males and 4 females. During the rainy season (February 2000, we collected 14 specimens (3 males, 10 females, and 1 juvenile. Sex-ratio was 1:1. Frogs ranged in snout-vent length from 31.2 to 69.3 mm. Females were larger than males. One female had 1,451 fully developed oocytes in her ovaries. The major groups of prey found in the stomachs were: Insecta, Myriapoda, and Arachnida. Blattodea, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera (only ants were the main food types in frequency, number, and weight. Aparasphenodon brunoi is a threatened species in many habitats of southeastern Brazil. Only natural vegetation protection may guarantee its survival during the immediate future.

Ecology of a snake assemblage in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo A. Hartmann

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this study was to examine the natural history and the ecology of the species that constitute a snake assemblage in the Atlantic Rainforest, at Núcleo Picinguaba, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, located on the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. The main aspects studied were: richness, relative abundance, daily and seasonal activity, and substrate use. We also provide additional information on natural history of the snakes. A total of 282 snakes, distributed over 24 species, belonging to 16 genera and four families, has been found within the area of the Núcleo Picinguaba. Species sampled more frequently were Bothrops jararaca and B. jararacussu. The methods that yielded the best results were time constrained search and opportunistic encounters. Among the abiotic factors analyzed, minimum temperature, followed by the mean temperature and the rainfall are apparently the most important in determining snake abundance. Most species presented a diet concentrated on one prey category or restricted to a few kinds of food items. The large number of species that feed on frogs points out the importance of this kind of prey as an important food resource for snakes in the Atlantic Rainforest. Our results indicate that the structure of the Picinguaba snake assemblage reflects mainly the phylogenetic constraints of each of its lineages.O principal objetivo deste estudo foi obter informações sobre a história natural e a ecologia das espécies que compõem uma taxocenoses de serpentes da Mata Atlântica, no Núcleo Picinguaba do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, localizado no litoral norte do estado no Estado de São Paulo, sudeste do Brasil. Os principais aspectos estudados foram: riqueza, abundância relativa de espécies, padrões de atividade diária e sazonal, utilização do ambiente e dieta. Um total de 282 serpentes, distribuídas em 24 espécies, pertencentes a 16 gêneros e quatro famílias, foi

The Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, as a segmented internationalization territory of the national space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adolmar A. Rückert

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes recent scenarios of the territorial restructuring and the new roles of territories as links of the global society, specially limited to the case of the Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The constitutional reform of the Brazilean economy southeast portion of the country - particularly in Rio Grande do Sul, a southern state that borders Argentina and Uruguay. The above process has redefined the role of borders from defensive to articulating, focusing the strategic infrastructure and the industrial economy's dynamic nuclei toward the geoeconomical core Mercosur. This has led to deepening of the interreglonal inequalities in southeastern and southern Brazil, as well as internally amongthe Federation states.

Longitudinal anthropometric assessment of infants born to HIV-1-infected mothers, Belo Horizonte, Southeastern Brazil Evaluación antropométrica longitudinal de lactantes nacidos de madres infectadas por VIH-1 Avaliação antropométrica longitudinal de lactentes nascidos de mães infectadas pelo HIV-1

OpenAIRE

Maria Arlene Fausto; Mariângela Carneiro; Carlos Maurício F Antunes; Enrico Antonio Colosimo; Jorge Andrade Pinto

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the growth parameters in infants who were born to HIV-1-infected mothers. METHODS: The study was a longitudinal evaluation of the z-scores for the weight-for-age (WAZ), weight-for-length (WLZ) and length-for-age (LAZ) data collected from a cohort. A total of 97 non-infected and 33 HIV-infected infants born to HIV-1-infected mothers in Belo Horizonte, Southeastern Brazil, between 1995 and 2003 was studied. The average follow-up period for the infected and non-infected ch...

Extreme weather impacts on tropical mangrove forests in the Eastern Brazil Marine Ecoregion.

Science.gov (United States)

Servino, Ricardo Nogueira; Gomes, Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira; Bernardino, Angelo Fraga

2018-07-01

Extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent in the 21st century bringing significant impacts to coastal ecosystems. However, the capacity to detect and measure those impacts are still limited, with effects largely unstudied. In June 2016, a hailstorm with wind gusts of over 100 km·h -1 caused an unprecedented mangrove dieback on Eastern Brazil. To quantify the scale of impact and short-term recovery of mangroves (15-mo), we used satellite imagery and field sampling to evaluate changes in forest structure in control and impacted areas after the hailstorm. Satellite imagery revealed mangrove dieback in over 500 ha, corresponding to 29.3% of the total forest area suddenly impacted after the hailstorm. Fifteen months after the hailstorm, some impacted areas show an initial recovery, while others continued to degrade. The El Niño years of 2014-2016 created mild drought conditions in Eastern Brazil. As observed in wetlands of semi-arid regions during the same period, mangrove recovery may have been impaired by continued physiological stress and climate change effects. Economic losses in the study site from typical mangrove ecosystem services including food provision, climate regulation, raw materials and nurseries are estimated to at least US$ 792,624 yr -1 . This is the first evidence of an extreme weather impact on mangroves in Brazil that typically provide unique ecological and economic subsistence to coastal populations. Our results reveal that there is a pressing need for long-term monitoring and climate change adaptation actions for coastal wetlands in Brazil, and to provide broad estimates of ecosystem values associated with these ecosystems given many areas are already experiencing chronic stress from local impacts, drought and high temperatures. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new species of Actinote Hübner (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae: Acraeini from southeast Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Victor Lucci Freitas

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The present paper describes a new species of Actinote (Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae, Acraeini from southeastern Brazil, and describes the morphology of the adults and immature stages of this species. Actinote mantiqueira sp. nov. occurs in the Serra da Mantiqueira and Serra do Mar in the Atlantic Forest. Adults from this population are very similar to other species of the “orangish red mimicry complex”, including Actinote alalia (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860, its sister species, restricted to the mountains of southern Brazil. Actinote mantiqueira sp. nov. and A. alalia are distinguishable by wing pattern, male genitalia and larval morphology, and have strongly allopatric distributions. A redescription of Actinote alalia is also provided. Keywords: Atlantic Forest, Araucaria Forest, Actinote alalia, Species redescription, Immature stages

Ecological distribution of stream macroalgal communities from a drainage basin in the Serra da Canastra National Park, Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Necchi-Júnior O.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Twelve stream segments were sampled four times in 1998-1999 (one sampling per season in the drainage basin of the upper São Francisco River (19º45'-21º25'S, 49º05'-51º30'W, situated in Serra da Canastra National Park, at altitudes ranging from 1,175 to 1,400 m. The macroalgae survey resulted in 30 species, with a predominance of Cyanophyta (12 species = 40% and Chlorophyta (11 species = 36.5% and a lower proportion of Rhodophyta (seven species = 23.5%. Two species, Klebsormidium rivulare (Chlorophyta and Kyliniella latvica (Rhodophyta, were new records for Brazil. Capsosira sp. and Stigonema sp. (Cyanophyta and the "Chantransia" stage of Batrachospermum (Rhodophyta were the most widespread macroalgae, occurring in six sampling sites, whereas 11 species were found at only one site. The proportion of macroalgal morphological types were as follows: mats (33%, free filaments (27%, gelatinous filaments (27%, crusts (7%, tufts (3%, and gelatinous colonies (3%. The flora revealed few species in common (4%-8% with stream macroalgae from other Brazilian regions. The macroalgal communities proved to have species richness values close to the highest values reported in previous studies. The patterns typical for stream macroalgal communities (patchy distribution and dominance of few species were also found in this basin. However, the stream variables most influential in macroalgal distribution in this study (rocky substratum, low pH, high COD, water color, and current velocity were essentially the same that best describe the limnological characteristics of this lotic ecosystem. In addition, this combination of variables differed sharply from results of previous studies in other Brazilian stream ecosystems.

Structural control over well productivity in the Jundiaí River Catchment, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirna A. Neves

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The well productivity in crystalline terrains is extremely changeable and depends on external factors, in addition to the intrinsic properties of rocks. In the Jundiaí River Catchment, Southeastern Brazil, the main factor that influences well productivity is the existence of open discontinuities permeability in geologic environments that favor groundwater recharge. In that area, Pre-Cambrian shear and fault zones were reactivated throughout geologic time, controlling the morphostructural compartments and the Cenozoic sedimentary deposition. Superposition of productivity data and structural maps showed that more productive wells are concentrated mainly along the regional geologic structures. The structural control over well productivity is also noticeable in detailed scale. Using fine scale maps we show that the most productive wells are located in areas where brittle structures with NW-SE and E-W directions denote the action of neotectonic transtensional stress. The comprehension of evolutionary geologic history allied to fracturing analysis proved to be an efficient and a low cost technique, which is adequate for selecting areas for further developments using more expensive methods.A produtividade dos poços tubulares profundos em terrenos cristalinos é extremamente variável e depende, além das propriedades intrínsecas da rocha, de fatores externos a ela. Na bacia do rio Jundiaí, Região Sudeste do Brasil, a existência de descontinuidades abertas em situações geológicas favoráveis à recarga constitui o principal fator que influencia a produtividade dos poços. Nesta área, zonas de cisalhamento e zonas de falhas pré-cambrianas reativadas ao longo do tempo geológico controlam a compartimentação morfoestrutural e a deposição de sedimentos cenozóicos. O cruzamento do mapa estrutural com os dados dos poços que explotam o Sistema Aqüífero Cristalino mostrou que poços com produtividade elevada em relação aos demais concentram

Leptospirosis in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: An Ecosystem Approach in the Animal-Human Interface

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Maria Cristina; Najera, Patricia; Pereira, Martha M.; Machado, Gustavo; dos Anjos, Celso B.; Rodrigues, Rogério O.; Cavagni, Gabriela M.; Muñoz-Zanzi, Claudia; Corbellini, Luis G.; Leone, Mariana; Buss, Daniel F.; Aldighieri, Sylvain; Espinal, Marcos A.

2015-01-01

Background Leptospirosis is an epidemic-prone neglected disease that affects humans and animals, mostly in vulnerable populations. The One Health approach is a recommended strategy to identify drivers of the disease and plan for its prevention and control. In that context, the aim of this study was to analyze the distribution of human cases of leptospirosis in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and to explore possible drivers. Additionally, it sought to provide further evidence to support interventions and to identify hypotheses for new research at the human-animal-ecosystem interface. Methodology and findings The risk for human infection was described in relation to environmental, socioeconomic, and livestock variables. This ecological study used aggregated data by municipality (all 496). Data were extracted from secondary, publicly available sources. Thematic maps were constructed and univariate analysis performed for all variables. Negative binomial regression was used for multivariable statistical analysis of leptospirosis cases. An annual average of 428 human cases of leptospirosis was reported in the state from 2008 to 2012. The cumulative incidence in rural populations was eight times higher than in urban populations. Variables significantly associated with leptospirosis cases in the final model were: Parana/Paraiba ecoregion (RR: 2.25; CI95%: 2.03–2.49); Neossolo Litolítico soil (RR: 1.93; CI95%: 1.26–2.96); and, to a lesser extent, the production of tobacco (RR: 1.10; CI95%: 1.09–1.11) and rice (RR: 1.003; CI95%: 1.002–1.04). Conclusion Urban cases were concentrated in the capital and rural cases in a specific ecoregion. The major drivers identified in this study were related to environmental and production processes that are permanent features of the state. This study contributes to the basic knowledge on leptospirosis distribution and drivers in the state and encourages a comprehensive approach to address the disease in the animal-human-ecosystem

Hydraulically Induced Seismicity in South-Eastern Brazil Linked to Water Wells

Science.gov (United States)

Convers, J.; Assumpcao, M.; Barbosa, J. R.

2017-12-01

While hydraulic stimulus on seismic activity is most commonly associated with hydraulic fracturing processes, we find in SE Brazil a rare case of seismicity influenced by hydraulic stimulation linked to seasonal rain and water wells in a farming area. These are thought to be the main factors influencing the seasonal seismicity activity in Jurupema, a farming town located in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, southern Brazil. With temporary seismic station deployments during 2016 and 2017, we analyze the seismicity in this area, its temporal and spatial distribution, and its association with the drilling of ground water wells in this particular area. In a region where water wells are often drilled to provide irrigation for farming, these are often perforated down to about 100 m depth, penetrating below the uppermost sandstone rock layer ( 50 m) into a fractured basaltic rock layer, reaching the confined aquifer within it. While the wells are constantly pumped during the dry season, during the course of the rainy season (when these are not being used), a possible infiltration into the confined basaltic aquifer, from both the rainwater and the upper sandstone aquifer, adds changes to the pore pressure of the fractured rock, and modifies the tectonic pre-stress conditions, to facilitate stress release mechanisms in pre-existing faults and cracks. With our temporary seismic station deployments, we not only examine the seismicity in this region during both 2016 and 2017, but we additionally compare its characteristics to the nearby Bebedouro case in an apparent induced seismic case of analogous source, and seismic activity with magnitudes up to 2.9 occurring between 2005 and 2010.

Zika virus in Brazil and the danger of infestation by Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes

OpenAIRE

Marcondes,Carlos Brisola; Ximenes,Maria de Fátima Freire de Melo

2016-01-01

Abstract Zika virus, already widely distributed in Africa and Asia, was recently reported in two Northeastern Brazilian: State of Bahia and State of Rio Grande do Norte, and one Southeastern: State of São Paulo. This finding adds a potentially noxious virus to a list of several other viruses that are widely transmitted by Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus in Brazil. The pathology and epidemiology, including the distribution and vectors associated with Zika virus, are ...

The Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station's Southwestern Borderlands Ecosystem Management Project: building on ten years of success [Abstract

Science.gov (United States)

Gerald J. Gottfried; Carleton B. Edminster

2005-01-01

The USDA Forest Service initiated the Southwestern Borderlands Ecosystem Management Project in 1994. The Project concentrates on the unique, relatively unfragmented landscape of exceptional biological diversity in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Its mission is to: "Contribute to the scientific basis for developing and implementing a comprehensive...

In search of Archean basement from Rio Maria region, southeastern of Para State

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macambira, M.B.; Lancelot, J.

1991-01-01

The Rio Maria Region, southeastern part of the Amazonian craton (Brazil), displays a typical Archaean granite-greenstone association intruded by Proterozoic granites. The greenstone is crosscut by Archaean granitoids, such as the Rio Maria granodiorite. Clear field contacts between the Xingu gneisses and the granodiorite are lacking, making it difficult to determine the stratigraphic sequence. U-Pb data for zircons from the Xingu gneiss and the Rio Maria granodiorite provide upper intercept ages of 2971 +30/ -28 Ma and 2874 +9/ -10 Ma respectively on the Concordia diagram. 2.97 Ga is the most ancient age ever obtained on zircons from gneisses of the Amazonian craton. It provides an upper limit for the beginning of the continental crust formation in this part of the craton. (author)

Hydrogeological Study of Mangrove Areas Around Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Gerson Cardoso da Silva Júnior;; Carlos Eduardo Braga; Ingrid de Carvalho Lage

2003-01-01

The study area covers part of the mangrove belt located around Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Representing a continental-marine transition, the mangrove ecosystem is very susceptible to environmental variations and impacts. The vegetation cover plays an important role in prevention of erosion and contamination processes in those areas. An ongoing extensive research effort in the Petrochemical Complex of Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, focuses on the man-induced cha...

Undecomposed Twigs in the Leaf Litter as Nest-Building Resources for Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae in Areas of the Atlantic Forest in the Southeastern Region of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae Tanaami Fernandes

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In tropical forests, the leaf-litter stratum exhibits one of the greatest abundances of ant species. This diversity is associated with the variety of available locations for nest building. Ant nests can be found in various microhabitats, including tree trunks and fallen twigs in different stages of decomposition. In this study, we aimed to investigate undecomposed twigs as nest-building resources in the leaf litter of dense ombrophilous forest areas in the southeastern region of Brazil. Demographic data concerning the ant colonies, the physical characteristics of the nests, and the population and structural of the forest were observed. Collections were performed manually over four months in closed canopy locations that did not have trails or flooded areas. A total of 294 nests were collected, and 34 ant species were recorded. Pheidole, Camponotus, and Hypoponera were the richest genera observed; these genera were also among the most populous and exhibited the greatest abundance of nests. We found no association between population size and nest diameter. Only tree cover influenced the nest abundance and species richness. Our data indicate that undecomposed twigs may be part of the life cycle of many species and are important for maintaining ant diversity in the leaf litter.

Estimated hydrologic budgets of kettle-hole ponds in coastal aquifers of southeastern Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Donald A.; Masterson, John P.

2011-01-01

Kettle-hole ponds in southeastern Massachusetts are in good hydraulic connection to an extensive coastal aquifer system that includes the Plymouth-Carver aquifer system on the mainland and aquifers underlying Cape Cod. The ponds receive water from, and contribute water to, the underlying glacial aquifer; ponds also receive water from precipitation and lose water to evaporation from the pond surface. Some ponds are connected to surface-water drainage systems and receive water from or contribute water to streams or adjacent wetlands. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection currently (2011) is developing Total Maximum Daily Loads of phosphorus for the freshwater ponds in the region to maintain the health of pond ecosystems; the amounts and sources of water fluxes into and out of the ponds are important factors in determining the amount of phosphorus that can be assimilated into a pond. To assist in this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey used groundwater-flow models of the coastal aquifer system to estimate hydrologic budgets-including inflows and outflows from the aquifer system and adjacent streams and wetlands, and recharge from precipitation-for 425 ponds in southeastern Massachusetts.

First record of Amphisbaena mertensi Strauch, 1881 (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) in Minas Gerais state, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Silveira, Adriano; Brites, Vera; Valinhas e Valinhas, Raquel

2012-01-01

We present here the first record of Amphisbaena mertensi in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. Through analysis of scientific collections, we found specimens of A. mertensi from municipalities of Patos de Minas, Uberaba, Indianópolis, Uberlândia and Araguari, in Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba regions. These localities are inserted in the Cerrado biome, with Atlantic Forest enclaves, and represent an expansion of the previously known geographic distribution for the species.

Sightings of Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & D' Orbigny, 1844 and Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853 (Cetacea in South-eastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Paula M. Di Beneditto

2001-09-01

Full Text Available Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & D' Orbigny, 1844 and Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853 have typically coastal habits and are sympatric in South-eastern Brazil. The purpose of this work was to record sightings and describe aspects concerning the behaviour of both species in this region, between 1993 and 1998. The sightings were accomplished by cruises and from a fixed point. Information provided by fishermen were also considered. In general, P. blainvillei was observed in all seasons of the year, up to five nautical miles away from the coast, up to 15 m deep and the groups comprised up to five specimens. The most part of the groups of S. fluviatilis, were observed in autumm and winter times and comprised up to 10 specimens. In about half of the sightings, the presence of calves and/or juveniles was noted. The cooperative (group fishing was the foranging behaviour most frequently noted for S. fluviatilis.Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & D’Orgigny, 1844 e Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853 possuem hábitos tipicamente costeiros e são simpátricas no Sudeste do Brasil. O objetivo deste trabalho foi registrar avistagens e descrever aspectos relacionados ao comportamento de ambas as espécies na região, entre 1993 e 1998. As avistagens foram realizadas através de cruzeiros e ponto fixo. Informações fornecidas por pescadores também foram consideradas. Em geral, P. blainvillei foi observada em todas as estações do ano, a até cinco milhas náuticas de distância da linha da costa e 15 m de profundidade e, os grupos eram formados por até cinco espécimens. A maior parte dos grupos de S. fluviatilis foi observada no período de outono e inverno e, era formada por até 10 espécimens. Em metade das avistagens, a presença de filhotes e/ou juvenis foi verificada. A pesca cooperativa (em grupo foi o comportamento alimentar observado com maior freqüência para S. fluviatilis.

On the operationalization of a spatially explicit evaluation of the complexity of land use trajectories in semi-arid Mediterranean agro-ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nainggolan, Doan

This thesis aims to unpack the complexity of trajectories of land use change in semi-arid Mediterranean agro-ecosystems – illustrated using findings from the Torrealvilla catchment in south-eastern Spain. The research looks at multiple dimensions of land use change and addresses the past, present...

Spatiotemporal Analysis of AIDS Incidence Among Adults in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva Lizzi, Elisangela Aparecida; Nunes, Altacilio Aparecido; Martinez, Edson Zangiacomi

2016-01-01

AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide and, currently, the overall prevalence rate of HIV infection in Brazil is 0.5% among men and 0.3% among women. To evaluate the spatiotemporal trend of AIDS in Brazil from 2006 to 2012 and its relationship with human development index (HDI) and their components income, education and life expectancy. This ecological study evaluate the spatiotemporal trend of standardized incidence ratio of AIDS among adults in Brazil from 2006 to 2012 and its relationship with HDI by using a Bayesian analysis, considering the Brazilian Federal Units as units of analysis. The proposed statistical model allows obtaining a standardized incidence ratio (SIR, adjusted by gender and age). Among the men, our results show higher incidence rates in the States of the Southern regions as well as in the state of Amazonas (Northern Brazil). In females, we found other patterns for SIR, with higher incidence rates in the states of Rio de Janeiro (Southeast region), Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina (both in Southern region). Among men it was observed as an expressive association between the SIR values and the overall HDI and income and education components, but it was observed to have an inverse association with the life expectancy component. Among women, it is noted that the SIR values are associated with the overall HDI and the education components only at the beginning of the studied period. AIDS remains a major public health problem in Brazil, mainly in the southern and southeastern regions of the country. Considering its association with HDI, it is noted that the disease still remains related to the pattern observed in the early years of the studied period, at least in the more developed regions of Brazil. This certainly happened because of the chronicity of the disease, thus affecting people with good socioeconomic status.

Simulated responses of streams and ponds to groundwater withdrawals and wastewater return flows in southeastern Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Carl S.; Walter, Donald A.; Barbaro, Jeffrey R.

2015-12-21

Water use, such as withdrawals, wastewater return flows, and interbasin transfers, can alter streamflow regimes, water quality, and the integrity of aquatic habitat and affect the availability of water for human and ecosystem needs. To provide the information needed to determine alteration of streamflows and pond water levels in southeastern Massachusetts, existing groundwater models of the Plymouth-Carver region and western (Sagamore flow lens) and eastern (Monomoy flow lens) Cape Cod were used to delineate subbasins and simulate long-term average and average monthly streamflows and pond levels for a series of water-use conditions. Model simulations were used to determine the extent to which streamflows and pond levels were altered by comparing simulated streamflows and pond levels under predevelopment conditions with streamflows and pond levels under pumping only and pumping with wastewater return flow conditions. The pumping and wastewater return flow rates used in this study are the same as those used in previously published U.S. Geological Survey studies in southeastern Massachusetts and represent the period from 2000 to 2005. Streamflow alteration for the nontidal portions of streams in southeastern Massachusetts was evaluated within and at the downstream outlets of 78 groundwater subbasins delineated for this study. Evaluation of streamflow alteration at subbasin outlets is consistent with the approach used by the U.S. Geological Survey for the topographically derived subbasins in the rest of Massachusetts.

Using fish larvae as indicators of estuarine ecosystem condition in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regis Vinícius Souza Santos

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Estuaries enhance growth and maximize the survivorship of initial development stages of fish species, functioning as nursery grounds for many species. However, estuaries throughout the world host a wide variety of human activities, and fish communities can be severely impacted. Protection of aquatic biodiversity and proper management of these coastal systems require robust tools to assess habitat integrity and ecological quality status. Thus, the present study investigated the use of fish larvae as indicators of estuarine ecosystem condition in Brazil, testing the hypothesis that estuaries with different human impacts and environmental conditions carry distinct larval fish assemblages. For this, four estuaries were analysed with: similar environmental conditions (the same water mass surveyed, similar pool of species (the same geographical region and no seasonal influences (different periods analysed separately. Surveys were conducted in Macaé, São João, Bracuí and Perequê-Açu estuaries located in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Sampling surveys were conducted every two months between May 2013 and March 2015. All samples were taken in the estuary middle region (salinity 15-25 during nightly ebb tides. At each estuary, ichthyoplankton subsurface tows were perfomed using a Bongo net. Water parameters were measured by a multiparameter probe and surface water samples collected for further analytical analyses. Fish larvae were identified and species were assigned into functional guilds. The water conditions were assessed based on water temperature, pH, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen and total particulate matter. Faecal coliforms, nutrient load (NO3, NO2, NH3, PO4, SiO3 and presence/absence of dams, dredging and mangroves were used as anthropogenic pressure descriptors. The species composition and ecological guilds of Macaé and Perequê-Açu differed significantly of São João and Bracuí, separating the impacted versus non-impacted estuaries

COMPARISON OF DIET AND USE OF BROMELIADS BETWEEN A BROMELICOLOUS AND A BROMELIGENOUS ANURAN AT AN INSELBERG IN THE SOUTHEASTERN OF BRAZIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PERTEL WESLEI

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Anurans from an inselberg in southeastern Brazil were studied using a sample ofsixty tank of bromeliads Alcantharea sp. We found 153 tadpoles of S. arduous, 21adults of S. arduous, 30 adults of T. miliaris, and two adults of Scinax x-signatus,which were not considered in our analyses. Tadpoles of S. arduous were present in35% of the analyzed plants. Adults of S. arduous (bromeligeneous occurred in 25%of analyzed plants, while adults of T. miliaris (bromelicolous occurred in 30%.Apparently the presence of toe pads in S. arduous allow them to occupy the centerportion of bromeliads, while T. miliaris, which lack pads on their toes, were foundon the base of the plant axils. The number of anuran species and the abundance ofindividuals found were low. This may be a result of the high altitude of our studiedsite or a restriction imposed by the saxicolous environment, such as high temperaturesand low humidity during the day. Both species can be considered generalist feedersdue to their wide variety of ingested prey. Formicidae was their main prey but wasabsent segregation in the bromeliads. Blattodea was very common inside the bromeliadaxils and represented the most signifi cant prey by weight in both frog species. Weconclude that both anurans forage inside and outside of bromeliads. Trophic nichebreadth in S. arduous was larger than in T. miliaris. Even both species being commoninhabitants of the same environment, they demonstrated a marked spatial segregationin the bromeliads. Based on their diet, however, there may be disputes for territoryoutside of the bromeliads.

PCB and PBDE levels in a highly threatened dolphin species from the Southeastern Brazilian coast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavandier, Ricardo; Arêas, Jennifer; Quinete, Natalia; Moura, Jailson F. de; Taniguchi, Satie; Montone, Rosalinda; Siciliano, Salvatore; Moreira, Isabel

2016-01-01

In the Northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State is located the major urban centers of the oil and gas industry of Brazil. The intense urbanization in recent decades caused an increase in human use of the coastal areas, which is constantly impacted by agricultural, industrial and wastewater discharges. Franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) is a small cetacean that inhabits coastal regions down to a 30 m depth. This species is considered the most threatened cetacean in the Western South Atlantic Ocean. This study investigated the levels of 52 PCB congeners and 9 PBDE congeners in liver of nine individuals found stranded or accidentally caught between 2011 and 2012 in the Northern coast of Rio de Janeiro. PCB mean levels ranged from 208 to 5543 ng g"−"1 lw and PBDEs mean concentrations varied between 13.84 and 36.94 ng g"−"1 lw. Contamination patterns suggest the previous use of Aroclor 1254, 1260 and penta-BDE mixtures in Brazil. While still few studies have assessed the organic contamination in cetaceans from the Southern Hemisphere, including Brazil, the levels found in this study could represent a health risk to these endangered species. - Highlights: • PCBs and PBDEs were measured in liver samples from Franciscana dolphins. • BDE 47, 99 and 100 were found in all individuals samples. • PCB-153, 138 and 180 were the major PCB congeners detected. • Results suggest the existence of PCBs and PBDEs contamination sources in Brazil. • PCBs and PDBEs levels could represent a risk to these endangered dolphin species. - PCB and PBDE concentrations found in Franciscana dolphins suggest the presence of contamination sources in Southeastern Brazil and could represent a high health risk to these endangered species.

Coffee Beverage Quality Assessment Based on ETA/CPTEC-HadCM3 Model (A1B-IPCC/SRES Scenario), Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Giarolla, A.; Resende, N.; Chou, S. C.; Tavares, P. S.; Rodrigues, D. C.

2012-04-01

Environmental factors influence the coffee beverage quality and air temperature has a significant importance in this process. The grain maturation occurs very quickly in regions that present high temperatures and sometimes there is not enough time to complete all this phase adequately. In the other hand, with mild temperatures, the grain maturation occurs more slowly and it promotes a better quality beverage. The aim of this study was to assess the coffee beverage quality in the southeastern Brazil, based on climate projections using the Eta-CPTEC regional model driven by four members of an ensemble of the Met Office Hadley Centre Global Coupled climate model (HadCM3). The global model ensemble was run over the 21st century according to IPCC SRES, A1B emissions scenario. Each ensemble member presented different climate sensitivity in the analysis. The Eta-CPTEC-HadCM3 model was configured with a 40-km grid size and was run over the period of 1961-90 to represent a baseline climate, and over the period of 2011-2100 to simulate possible future changes and the effects on the coffee beverage quality. A coffee beverage quality classification, which depends on the annual air temperature proposed by Bressani (2007) and also, a quality coffee beverage sensory classification, based on Camargo and Cortez (1998) were considered in this study. An evaluation of the systematic errors (BIAS) for each member for the period from 1961 to 1990 was made. The results presented by Eta/CPTEC-HadCM3 model indicated that in the case of an occurrence of A1B emission scenario, the coffee beverage quality could be affected in this region due to the fact that the flavor may become stronger and unpleasant caused by rising air temperatures. The BIAS evaluation and subsequent errors removal demonstrated improvement in the scenarios simulations. A short review concerning agronomic techniques to mitigate extreme meteorological events or global warming on coffee crop based on Camargo (2010) also is

Creating a stakeholder-driven unified conservation blueprint for 15 southeastern states.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, T. E.

2017-12-01

The dramatic changes sweeping the Southeastern United States — such as urbanization, competition for water resources, extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and climate change — pose unprecedented challenges for sustaining our natural and cultural resources. Defining the conservation landscape of the future requires a new model of working together across entities, factions, and political boundaries through a collaborative process. We will illustrate how ecosystem service valuation can be built using a stakeholder-drive process which has united the conservation community through a shared, long-term vision for the future through the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). Through SECAS, diverse public and private partners have worked together to design and achieve a connected network of landscapes and seascapes that supports thriving fish and wildlife populations and improved quality of life for people across the southeastern U.S. and the Caribbean. The scope of SECAS is the fifteen southeastern states that comprise the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) plus Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. SECAS was initiated by SEAFWA and the federal Southeast Natural Resource Leaders Group with support from six Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs), the Southeast Climate Science Center, and the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership. In October of 2016, SECAS achieved a major milestone with the release of a first draft of a conservation blueprint for the Southeast and Caribbean. This blueprint stitches together the conservation and restoration priorities of multiple LCCs in the region into one unifying map — a living spatial plan to make the SECAS vision a reality. Whether you are an urban planner, a private landowner, a non-profit advocate, a public lands manager, or anyone else committed to sustaining our natural and cultural heritage for future generations, join the SECAS conversation at www.secassoutheast.org

A comparison study of convective and microphysical parameterization schemes associated with lightning occurrence in southeastern Brazil using the WRF model

Science.gov (United States)

Zepka, G. D.; Pinto, O.

2010-12-01

The intent of this study is to identify the combination of convective and microphysical WRF parameterizations that better adjusts to lightning occurrence over southeastern Brazil. Twelve thunderstorm days were simulated with WRF model using three different convective parameterizations (Kain-Fritsch, Betts-Miller-Janjic and Grell-Devenyi ensemble) and two different microphysical schemes (Purdue-Lin and WSM6). In order to test the combinations of parameterizations at the same time of lightning occurrence, a comparison was made between the WRF grid point values of surface-based Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE), Lifted Index (LI), K-Index (KI) and equivalent potential temperature (theta-e), and the lightning locations nearby those grid points. Histograms were built up to show the ratio of the occurrence of different values of these variables for WRF grid points associated with lightning to all WRF grid points. The first conclusion from this analysis was that the choice of microphysics did not change appreciably the results as much as different convective schemes. The Betts-Miller-Janjic parameterization has generally worst skill to relate higher magnitudes for all four variables to lightning occurrence. The differences between the Kain-Fritsch and Grell-Devenyi ensemble schemes were not large. This fact can be attributed to the similar main assumptions used by these schemes that consider entrainment/detrainment processes along the cloud boundaries. After that, we examined three case studies using the combinations of convective and microphysical options without the Betts-Miller-Janjic scheme. Differently from the traditional verification procedures, fields of surface-based CAPE from WRF 10 km domain were compared to the Eta model, satellite images and lightning data. In general the more reliable convective scheme was Kain-Fritsch since it provided more consistent distribution of the CAPE fields with respect to satellite images and lightning data.

Modeling the potential impacts of climate change on the water table level of selected forested wetlands in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jie; Sun, Ge; Li, Wenhong; Zhang, Yu; Miao, Guofang; Noormets, Asko; McNulty, Steve G.; King, John S.; Kumar, Mukesh; Wang, Xuan

2017-12-01

The southeastern United States hosts extensive forested wetlands, providing ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, groundwater recharge, and wildlife habitat. However, these wetland ecosystems are dependent on local climate and hydrology, and are therefore at risk due to climate and land use change. This study develops site-specific empirical hydrologic models for five forested wetlands with different characteristics by analyzing long-term observed meteorological and hydrological data. These wetlands represent typical cypress ponds/swamps, Carolina bays, pine flatwoods, drained pocosins, and natural bottomland hardwood ecosystems. The validated empirical models are then applied at each wetland to predict future water table changes using climate projections from 20 general circulation models (GCMs) participating in Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project 5 (CMIP5) under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. We show that combined future changes in precipitation and potential evapotranspiration would significantly alter wetland hydrology including groundwater dynamics by the end of the 21st century. Compared to the historical period, all five wetlands are predicted to become drier over time. The mean water table depth is predicted to drop by 4 to 22 cm in response to the decrease in water availability (i.e., precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration) by the year 2100. Among the five examined wetlands, the depressional wetland in hot and humid Florida appears to be most vulnerable to future climate change. This study provides quantitative information on the potential magnitude of wetland hydrological response to future climate change in typical forested wetlands in the southeastern US.

Modeling the potential impacts of climate change on the water table level of selected forested wetlands in the southeastern United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Zhu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The southeastern United States hosts extensive forested wetlands, providing ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, groundwater recharge, and wildlife habitat. However, these wetland ecosystems are dependent on local climate and hydrology, and are therefore at risk due to climate and land use change. This study develops site-specific empirical hydrologic models for five forested wetlands with different characteristics by analyzing long-term observed meteorological and hydrological data. These wetlands represent typical cypress ponds/swamps, Carolina bays, pine flatwoods, drained pocosins, and natural bottomland hardwood ecosystems. The validated empirical models are then applied at each wetland to predict future water table changes using climate projections from 20 general circulation models (GCMs participating in Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project 5 (CMIP5 under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. We show that combined future changes in precipitation and potential evapotranspiration would significantly alter wetland hydrology including groundwater dynamics by the end of the 21st century. Compared to the historical period, all five wetlands are predicted to become drier over time. The mean water table depth is predicted to drop by 4 to 22 cm in response to the decrease in water availability (i.e., precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration by the year 2100. Among the five examined wetlands, the depressional wetland in hot and humid Florida appears to be most vulnerable to future climate change. This study provides quantitative information on the potential magnitude of wetland hydrological response to future climate change in typical forested wetlands in the southeastern US.

Scytonema santannae, a new morphospecies of Cyanobacteria from the Atlantic rainforest, southeastern Brazil

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hentschke, G. S.; Komárek, Jiří

2014-01-01

Roč. 37, č. 3 (2014), 293-298 ISSN 1806-9959 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP506/12/1818 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : aerophytic habitat * Scytonemataceae * subtropical ecosystems Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 0.648, year: 2014

Reproductive ecology of the exotic tree Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae) in southeastern Brazil

OpenAIRE

Figueiredo,Rodolfo Antônio de; Oliveira,Aline Aparecida de; Zacharias,Maria Alice; Barbosa,Sandra Maria; Pereira,Flávia Fontes; Cazela,Gisele Natacha; Viana,Joyce Pedroso; Camargo,Reila Andreza de

2008-01-01

The exotic tree Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae), a species native to Central America, is used as fish feed and fiber and cellulose production in Brazil. This study was carried out in urban areas and verified the reproductive biology of this plant species. Flower and fruit morphology, compatibility system, reproductive phenology, pollination and frugivore animals, and germination of disseminated seeds were recorded by standard field and laboratory procedures. This tree is self-compatible...

Trophic model of the outer continental shelf and upper slope demersal community of the southeastern Brazilian Bight

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela C. Nascimento

2012-10-01

Full Text Available It is increasingly recognized that demersal communities are important for the functioning of continental shelf and slope ecosystems around the world, including tropical regions. Demersal communities are most prominent in areas of high detritus production and transport, and they link benthic and pelagic biological communities. To understand the structure and role of the demersal community on the southeastern Brazilian Bight, we constructed a trophodynamic model with 37 functional groups to represent the demersal community of the outer continental shelf and upper slope of this area, using the Ecopath with Ecosim 6 (EwE approach and software. The model indicates high production and biomass of detritus and benthic invertebrates, and strong linkages of these components to demersal and pelagic sub-webs. The level of omnivory indexes in this ecosystem was high, forming a highly connected trophic web reminiscent of tropical land areas. Although high levels of ascendency may indicate resistance and resilience to disturbance, recent and present fisheries trends are probably degrading the biological community and related ecosystem services.

Spatial variability in persistent organic pollutants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in beach-stranded pellets along the coast of the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taniguchi, Satie; Colabuono, Fernanda I.; Dias, Patrick S.; Oliveira, Renato; Fisner, Mara; Turra, Alexander; Izar, Gabriel M.; Abessa, Denis M.S.; Saha, Mahua; Hosoda, Junki; Yamashita, Rei; Takada, Hideshige; Lourenço, Rafael A.; Magalhães, Caio A.; Bícego, Márcia C.; Montone, Rosalinda C.

2016-01-01

High spatial variability in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, such as DDTs, and polybrominated diphenylethers was observed in plastic pellets collected randomly from 41 beaches (15 cities) in 2010 from the coast of state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. The highest concentrations ranged, in ng g −1 , from 192 to 13,708, 3.41 to 7554 and < 0.11 to 840 for PAHs, PCBs and DDTs, respectively. Similar distribution pattern was presented, with lower concentrations on the relatively less urbanized and industrialized southern coast, and the highest values in the central portion of the coastline, which is affected by both waste disposal and large port and industrial complex. Additional samples were collected in this central area and PCB concentrations, in ng g − 1 , were much higher in 2012 (1569 to 10,504) than in 2009/2010 (173 to 309) and 2014 (411), which is likely related to leakages of the PCB commercial mixture. - Highlights: •Organic pollutant amounts adsorbed in plastic pellets showed high variability. •Contamination suggests the influence of local sources and their transport to other sites. •Temporal changes of PCB amount are related to leakages of the commercial mixture.

Seasonality of Mansonia titillans during dam construction, Biritiba-Mirim, São Paulo State, Brazil

OpenAIRE

D'Avila,Frederico Alves; Gomes,Almério de Castro

2013-01-01

A two and a half year survey was conducted at a dam in southeastern Brazil. Shannon Traps were used for sampling. Kruskal-Wallis test showed little relation between rainfall and abundance. The data clearly show three abundance peaks, all of them in the end of the dry season, in consonance with the scarce literature existent. Although Kruskal-Wallis Test did not find a clear preference for the dry season, Pairwise Wilcoxon Rank Test revealed a significant difference between Fall and Spring sam...

Discovery of asphalt seeps in the deep Southwest Atlantic off Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Fujikura, Katsunori; Yamanaka, Toshiro; Sumida, Paulo Y. G.; Bernardino, Angelo F.; Pereira, Olivia S.; Kanehara, Toshiyuki; Nagano, Yuriko; Nakayama, Cristina R.; Nobrega, Marcos; Pellizari, Vivian H.; Shigeno, Shuichi; Yoshida, Takao; Zhang, Jing; Kitazato, Hiroshi

2017-12-01

The discovery and description of cold seeps with deep-sea chemosynthetic communities in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean are still incomplete, despite the large proven oil and gas reserves off the coast of Brazil. In the southeastern Brazilian continental margin, where over 71% of the country's oil and gas production takes place, there are previous geological and qualitative biological evidence of seep biota associated with pockmarks on the upper slope of the Santos Basin. In order to further study seep ecosystems on the Brazilian margin, a deep-sea investigation named Iatá-Piúna cruise was conducted using the human-occupied vehicle Shinkai 6500 off Brazil's southeast continental margin. Asphalt seeps were discovered on the seafloor of the North São Paulo Plateau from depths of 2652-2752 m, representing only the third discovery of this type of seep worldwide, following those in the Gulf of Mexico and off Angola. Video and isotopic analyses indicated a number of megabenthic animals in the asphalt seeps in the North São Paulo Plateau and revealed typical deep-sea heterotrophic and photosynthesis-based fauna occupying hard substrates provided by the asphalt seep. There was no evidence of chemosynthesis-based megabenthic fauna such as vesicomyid clams, Bathymodiolus mussels, and siboglinid tube worms, or any sediment bacterial mats, gas seepage, and carbonate rock in/around the seeps. The benthic fauna was composed mainly of sponges (ca. 15 species), such as the hexactinellids Caulophacus sp., Poliopogon amadou, Saccocalyx pedunculatus, Farrea occa and cf. Chonelasma choanoides; besides typical deep-sea isidid octocorals, brisingid starfishes and galatheid crabs. The δ13C values of poriferan sponges suggested a heterotrophic and pelagic nutrition. Geochemical analyses of asphalt revealed a heavy biodegradation of hydrocarbon molecules, supported by the depletion of light n-alkanes and other labile compounds. This advanced asphalt biodegradation is the likely reason

Identifying ecosystem service hotspots for targeting land degradation neutrality investments in south-eastern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willemen, Louise; Crossman, Neville D.; Quatrini, Simone; Egoh, Benis; Kalaba, Felix K.; Mbilinyi, Boniface; de Groot, Rudolf

2017-01-01

Land degradation response actions need motivated stakeholders and investments to improve land management. In this study we present methods to prioritise locations for degradation mitigation investments based on stakeholder preferences for ecosystem services. We combine participatory and spatial

Identifying ecosystem service hotspots for targeting land degradation neutrality investments in south-eastern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willemen, Louise; Crossman, Neville D.; Quatrini, Simone; Egoh, Benis; Kalaba, Felix K.; Mbilinyi, Boniface; Groot, de Dolf

2017-01-01

Land degradation response actions need motivated stakeholders and investments to improve land management. In this study we present methods to prioritise locations for degradation mitigation investments based on stakeholder preferences for ecosystem services. We combine participatory and spatial

Microalgae of the continental shelf off Paraná State, southeastern Brazil: a review of studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederico P. Brandini

1996-01-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the taxonomic and ecological works on marine microalgae (phytoplankton and microphytobenthos off Paraná State, Southeastern Brazil. Various studies refer to the taxonomy of benthic diatoms. Few descriptive field works in coastal and adjacent shelf waters contribute to the understanding of phytoplankton dynamics in coastal and shelf areas. Patterns of geographic distribution and changes in the phytoplankton community are described in relation to water masses and seasonal variations in the hydrographic regime. During summertime, when warm oligotrophic waters predominate over the shelf, the phytoplankton is nummerically dominated by small phytotlagellates, dinotlagellates, coccolithophorids and filaments of cyanobacteria. During wintertime, the abundance of micro-size diatoms over the shclf increase due to the dominance of cold nutrient-rich waters from the South Atlantic Central Water and wind-driven vertical circulation. The phytoplankton community off Paraná State may be classified into two categorics: the diatom-dominated coastal assemblage, mainly controlled by nutrient inputs from land drainage and ressuspension of bottom sediments, and the tlagellate-dominated shelf assemblage, more affectcd by the seasonality of local hydrographic regime.O trabalho é uma revisão dos estudos taxonômicos e ecológicos das microalgas (planctônicas e bentônicas realizados no Estado do Paraná. A maioria dos trabalhos sobre microfitobentos são de caráter taxonômico e, basicamente, referem-se à diatomáceas bênticas sobre macroalgas ou fundos lodosos e consolidados. Poucos trabalhos contribuiram para o estudo da dinâmica espaço-temporal do fitoplâncton em áreas costeiras e de plataforma. São descritos os padrões de distribuição geográfica e as mudanças sazonais na comunidade fitoplanctônica em relação ao regime hidrográfico. No verão, quando águas quentes oligotróficas predominam na superfície, o fitoplâncton �

Ecology of Mabuya agilis (Squamata: Scincidae from a montane atlantic rainforest area in Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teixeira, Rogério L.

2003-05-01

Full Text Available Alguns aspectos da ecologia (principalmente reprodução e dieta do lagarto scincídeo Mabuya agilis foram estudados com base em amostras mensais realizadas de dezembro de 1997 a abril de 1999 em uma área de floresta tropical serrana no estado do Espírito Santo, sudeste do Brasil. Dos 197 espécimes coletados, 82 eram machos, 110 eram fêmeas, e o resto não pôde ser corretamente sexado. Lagartos variaram em comprimento rostro-coacal de 30 a 96 mm e foram sexualmente dimórficos em tamanho, com fêmeas atingindo maiores tamanhos que machos. A menor fêmea grávida mediu 54.0 mm. O tamanho da ninhada para 49 fêmeas grávidas variou de 2 a 9 (média = 5.7 e esteve positiva e significativamente relacionado ao tamanho dos lagartos. As presas dominantes na dieta de M. agilis foram baratas, ortópteros e aranhas. A população de M. agilis aqui estudada diferiu de outras populações conspecíficas previamente estudadas em hábitats de «restinga» nos estados do Rio de Janeiro e Espírito Santo, sendo que os indivíduos crescem a tamanhos maiores e a fecundidade é mais alta, possivelmente devido a uma maior disponibilidade de alimento no hábitat de floresta tropical serrana Some aspects of the ecology (mainly reproduction and diet of the skink Mabuya agilis were studied based on monthly samples taken from December 1997 to April 1999 at a montane rainforest area in Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil. Of 197 collected specimens, 82 were males, 110 were females, and the rest could not be properly sexed. Lizards varied in snout-vent length (SVL from 30 to 96 mm and were sexually dimorphic in size, with females growing larger than males. The smallest gravid female measured 54.0 mm in SVL. Litter size of 49 gravid females varied from 2 to 9 (mean= 5.7 and was positively and significantly related to lizard SVL. The dominant prey items in the diet of M. agilis were cockroaches, orthopterans and spiders. The population of M. agilis here studied

Technical note: A hydrological routing scheme for the Ecosystem Demography model (ED2+R tested in the Tapajós River basin in the Brazilian Amazon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. F. Pereira

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Land surface models are excellent tools for studying how climate change and land use affect surface hydrology. However, in order to assess the impacts of Earth processes on river flows, simulated changes in runoff need to be routed through the landscape. In this technical note, we describe the integration of the Ecosystem Demography (ED2 model with a hydrological routing scheme. The purpose of the study was to create a tool capable of incorporating to hydrological predictions the terrestrial ecosystem responses to climate, carbon dioxide, and land-use change, as simulated with terrestrial biosphere models. The resulting ED2+R model calculates the lateral routing of surface and subsurface runoff resulting from the terrestrial biosphere models' vertical water balance in order to determine spatiotemporal patterns of river flows within the simulated region. We evaluated the ED2+R model in the Tapajós, a 476 674 km2 river basin in the southeastern Amazon, Brazil. The results showed that the integration of ED2 with the lateral routing scheme results in an adequate representation (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency up to 0.76, Kling–Gupta efficiency up to 0.86, Pearson's R up to 0.88, and volume ratio up to 1.06 of daily to decadal river flow dynamics in the Tapajós. These results are a consistent step forward with respect to the no river representation common among terrestrial biosphere models, such as the initial version of ED2.

New and additional records of Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 (Decapoda, Caridea, Alpheidae from Brazil, with a key to the southern Atlantic species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur Anker

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Two species of the alpheid shrimp genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955, are reported from shallow waters of São Sebastião (SP, southeastern Brazil. Salmoneus depressus Anker, 2011 is recorded for the first time in Brazil and the southwestern Atlantic; this species was previously known only from the Caribbean region. Salmoneus ortmanni (Rankin, 1898 is recorded for the first time in southern Brazil (23°S, being previously known in Brazilian waters from a single confirmed record from Atol das Rocas (03°S, with older records referring to Salmoneus carvachoi Anker, 2007. A hitherto unknown morphological variation in S. depressus is discussed and illustrated. Both species are shown in colour to facilitate their identification in the field. A key to the southern Atlantic species of Salmoneus is also provided.

Hydrological modeling of the Ribeirão das Posses – An assessment based on the Agricultural Ecosystem Services (AgES watershed model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Porta Nova da Cruz

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Southeastern Brazil has recently experienced drought conditions that have impacted watershed conservation and the management of water quality and quantity for agricultural and urban demands. The Ribeirão das Posses watershed is being monitored as a headwater of the Jaguarí River, which is one of the contributing rivers of the Cantareira Reservoir Complex in the state of São Paulo. The landscape has changed over the last century from native forests to more homogeneous vegetation for pastures, crops and some forest plantations of eucalyptus, which have cumulative impacts on water yield and quality. Currently, the Projeto Conservador das Águas (Water Conservationist Project has planted small areas with native species vegetation in order to recover degraded areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quantity of water in the Ribeirão das Posses Basin by both measurements and by simulating hydrological responses. The Agricultural Ecosystem Services (AgES watershed model was applied to simulate water movement and storage among land areas. The simulation period was from 2009 to 2014, because the daily streamflow and meteorological data were available for model calibration and testing. We discuss data input requirements, model calibration to fit measured streamflow, and sensitivity to spatially variable rainfall inputs. The calibrated model may be used to estimate streamflow during periods of missing data, and in the future to estimate impacts of land use changes on stream water quantity and quality. Such information can be used in programs of payments for ecosystem services.

Southeastern Power Administration 2011 Annual Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2011-12-31

Dear Secretary Chu: I am pleased to submit Southeastern Power Administration’s (Southeastern) fiscal year (FY) 2011 Annual Report for your review. This report reflects our agency’s programs, accomplishments, operational, and financial activities for the 12-month period beginning October 1, 2010, and ending September 31, 2011. This past year, Southeastern marketed approximately 6.2 billion kilowatt-hours of energy to 489 wholesale customers in 10 southeastern states. Revenues from the sale of this power totaled more than $264 million. With the financial assistance and support of Southeastern’s customers, funding for capitalized equipment purchases and replacements at hydroelectric facilities operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) continued in FY 2011. This funding, which totaled more than $45 million, provided much needed repairs and maintenance for aging projects in Southeastern’s marketing area. Currently, there are more than 214 customers participating in the funding efforts in the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina, Kerr-Philpott, and Cumberland Systems of projects. Drought conditions continued in the southeastern region of the United States this past year, particularly in the Savannah River Basin. Lack of rain placed strains on our natural and financial resources. Power purchases for FY 2011 totaled approximately $38 million. About $9 million of this amount was for replacement power, which is purchased only during adverse water conditions in order to meet Southeastern’s customer contract requirements. Southeastern’s goal is to maximize the benefits of our region’s water resources. Competing uses of these resources will present another challenging year for Southeastern’s employees. With the cooperation and communication among the Department of Energy (DOE), preference customers, and Corps, I am certain Southeastern is positioned to meet these challenges in the future. We are committed to providing reliable hydroelectric power to

Yeasts and coliform bacteria of water accumulated in bromeliads of mangrove and sand dune ecosystems of southeast Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagler, A N; Rosa, C A; Morais, P B; Mendonça-Hagler, L C; Franco, G M; Araujo, F V; Soares, C A

1993-10-01

Yeasts and coliform bacteria were isolated from water that accumulated in the central cups and adjacent leaf axilae of two bromeliads, Neoregelia cruenta of a coastal sand dune and Quesnelia quesneliana of a mangrove ecosystem near the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mean total coliform counts were above 10,000 per 100 mL for waters of both plants, but the mean fecal coliform counts were only 74 per 100 mL for Q. quesneliana and mostly undetected in water from N. cruenta. Of 90 fecal coliform isolates, 51 were typical of Escherichia coli in colony morphology and indol, methyl red, Volges-Proskauer, and citrate (IMViC) tests. Seven representatives of the typical E. coli cultures were identified as this species, but the identifications of nine other coliform bacteria were mostly dubious. The yeast community of N. cruenta was typical of plant surfaces with basidiomycetous yeasts anamorphs, and the black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans was prevalent. Quesnelia quesneliana had a substantial proportion of ascomycetous yeasts and their anamorphs, including a probable new biotype of Saccharomyces unisporus. Our results suggested that the microbial communities in bromeliad waters are typically autochtonous and not contaminants.

Impacts of multiple stressors on ecosystem function: Leaf decomposition in constructed urban wetlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mackintosh, Teresa J.; Davis, Jenny A.; Thompson, Ross M.

2016-01-01

The impact of stormwater on stream biota is well documented, but less is known about the impacts on ecosystem processes, such as the breakdown of organic matter. This study sought to establish whether the degree of urbanisation affected rates of leaf-litter breakdown within constructed wetlands. A litter bag method was used to ascertain rate of decomposition along a gradient of urbanisation (total imperviousness, TI), in constructed wetlands in western and south-eastern Melbourne. A significant positive relationship between TI and breakdown rate was found in the south-eastern wetlands. The significant reduction in rate of invertebrate-mediated breakdown with increasing concentration of certain metals was consistent with other studies. However, overall there was an increase in rate of breakdown. Studies have shown that the effects of heavy metals can be negated if nutrient levels are high. Our results suggest that other parameters besides exposure to contaminants are likely to affect leaf litter breakdown. - Highlights: • There have been few studies on the effect of urbanisation on ecosystem function. • Rate of leaf litter breakdown increased moving along a gradient of urbanisation. • There was a reduction in invertebrate mediated breakdown with certain metals. • Results suggest other parameters besides contaminants affect leaf litter breakdown. - Certain heavy metals led to a decrease in leaf litter breakdown; however overall, there was a positive relationship between breakdown and increasing urbanisation.

Wave Energy Resource along the Coast of Santa Catarina (Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasquale Contestabile

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Brazil has one of the largest electricity markets in South America, which needs to add 6000 MW of capacity every year in order to satisfy growing the demand from an increasing and more prosperous population. Apart from biomass, no other renewable energy sources, besides hydroelectricity, play a relevant role in the energy mix. The potential for wind and wave energy is very large. Brazil's Santa Catarina state government is starting a clean energy program in the state, which is expected to bring more than 1 GW of capacity. Assessment of wave energy resources is needed along the coastline. This work studied the potential wave energy along the north-central coasts of Santa Catarina, in Southern Brazil, by analysis of the hindcast data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF. The annual offshore wave power was found to be equal to 15.25 kW/m, the bulk of which is provided by southeastern waves. The nearshore energetic patterns were studied by means of a numerical coastal propagation model (Mike21 SW. The mean wave power of 20 m isobaths is 11.43 kW/m. Supplementary considerations are drawn on realistic perspectives for wave energy converters installations.

Trophic relationships and habitat preferences of delphinids from the southeastern Brazilian coast determined by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Lemos Bisi

Full Text Available To investigate the foraging habitats of delphinids in southeastern Brazil, we analyzed stable carbon (δ(13C and nitrogen (δ(15N isotopes in muscle samples of the following 10 delphinid species: Sotalia guianensis, Stenella frontalis, Tursiops truncatus, Steno bredanensis, Pseudorca crassidens, Delphinus sp., Lagenodelphis hosei, Stenella attenuata, Stenella longirostris and Grampus griseus. We also compared the δ(13C and δ(15N values among four populations of S. guianensis. Variation in carbon isotope results from coast to ocean indicated that there was a significant decrease in δ(13C values from estuarine dolphins to oceanic species. S. guianensis from Guanabara Bay had the highest mean δ(13C value, while oceanic species showed significantly lower δ(13C values. The highest δ(15N values were observed for P. crassidens and T. truncatus, suggesting that these species occupy the highest trophic position among the delphinids studied here. The oceanic species S. attenuata, G. griseus and L. hosei had the lowest δ(15N values. Stable isotope analysis showed that the three populations of S. guianensis in coastal bays had different δ(13C values, but similar δ(15N results. Guiana dolphins from Sepetiba and Ilha Grande bays had different foraging habitat, with specimens from Ilha Grande showing more negative δ(13C values. This study provides further information on the feeding ecology of delphinids occurring in southeastern Brazil, with evidence of distinctive foraging habitats and the occupation of different ecological niches by these species in the study area.

Mercury in litterfall and sediment using elemental and isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen in the mangrove of Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Fragoso, Cynara Pedrosa; Bernini, Elaine; Araújo, Beatriz Ferreira; Almeida, Marcelo Gomes de; Rezende, Carlos Eduardo de

2018-03-01

Mercury and elemental and isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen were determined in litterfall and sediments from the mangrove of the Paraíba do Sul River, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Total mercury (THg) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentrations in sediment ranged from 33 to 123 ng g-1 and 0.20-1.38 ng g-1, respectively. The δ13C in sediment varied from -29.4 to -26.5‰ and from 2.4 to 5.8‰ in δ15N. The THg concentration in litterfall and its annual input to the mangrove was 21 ± 2 ng g-1 and 16 ± 4 μg m-2 for the species Laguncularia racemosa, 18 ± 1 ng g-1 and 17 ± 3 μg m-2 for Rhizophora mangle, and 53 ± 4 ng g-1 and 33 ± 4 μg m-2 for Avicennia germinans, respectively. The isotopic composition of leaf litter ranged from -28.6 to -26.9‰ for δ13C and 4.5-7.2‰ for δ15N. Both the highest annual Hg input via litterfall and highest sediment Hg concentration were observed in areas dominated by A. germinans. These results suggest that the rate of litterfall of plant species and the atmospheric deposition have played an important role in the Hg biogeochemical cycle in the mangrove ecosystem.

Diet adjustments of maned wolves, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger (Mammalia, Canidae, subjected to supplemental feeding in a private natural reserve, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joaquim A. Silva

2003-06-01

Full Text Available From the analysis of 230 scats, the diet of the maned wolves, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815, was determined in a private natural reserve in southeastern Brazil in which ecotourism activities are developed and the animals are deliberately fed bovine meat. A total of 569 occurrences of food items were recorded, of which 56.8% were of animal origin and 29.1% of vegetal origin. Rodents, insects and birds added up to 35.8% of the occurrences, yet accounted for 68.5% of the total number of preys (277. Insects, however, had practically no importance (0.1% in the total estimated biomass consumed. Even though the fruit Solanum lycocarpum St.-Hil. is a common food item in the diet of the maned wolf, its occurrence in the diet at the Serra do Caraça Reserve was insignificant, accounting for only 4.8% of the total number of food item occurrences and 3.4% of the total estimated biomass consumption. Food items of anthropic origin and inorganic items (e.g., plastic represented 14.1% of all occurrences, which shows that the animals are used to the presence of humans. Seasonal variations in consumption were found for S. lycocarpum (c² = 10,09; p < 0,001, for other fruits (c² = 19,73; p < 0,001, and for reptiles (c² = 15,56; p < 0,001, all of which were more frequently eaten during the dry months. There was a significant correlation between the availability of small mammals and their consumption by the maned wolves (r s = 0.59; p = 0.041, yet the same was not observed for the fruits of S. lycocarpum (r s = 0,101; p = 0,754. Our findings stress the need for a better understanding of the effects of additional foods on the natural feeding habits of the maned wolf.

Satellite-Enhanced Regional Downscaling for Applied Studies: Extreme Precipitation Events in Southeastern South America

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, A.; Gomes, G.; Ivanov, V. Y.

2016-12-01

Frequently found in southeastern South America during the warm season from October through May, strong and localized precipitation maxima are usually associated with the presence of mesoscale convective complexes (MCCs) travelling across the region. Flashfloods and landslides can be caused by these extremes in precipitation, with damages to the local communities. Heavily populated, southeastern South America hosts many agricultural activities and hydroelectric production. It encompasses one of the most important river basins in South America, the La Plata River Basin. Therefore, insufficient precipitation is equally prejudicial to the region socio-economic activities. MCCs are originated in the warm season of many regions of the world, however South American MCCs are related to the most severe thunderstorms, and have significantly contributed to the precipitation regime. We used the hourly outputs of Satellite-enhanced Regional Downscaling for Applied Studies (SRDAS), developed at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, in the analysis of the dynamics and physical characteristics of MCCs in South America. SRDAS is the 25-km resolution downscaling of a global reanalysis available from January 1998 through December 2010. The Regional Spectral Model is the SRDAS atmospheric component and assimilates satellite-based precipitation estimates from the NOAA/Climate Prediction Center MORPHing technique global precipitation analyses. In this study, the SRDAS atmospheric and land-surface variables, global reanalysis products, infrared satellite imagery, and the physical retrievals from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), on board of the NASA's Aqua satellite, were used in the evaluation of the MCCs developed in southeastern South America from 2008 and 2010. Low-level circulations and vertical profiles were analyzed together to establish the relevance of the moisture transport in connection with the upper-troposphere dynamics to the development of those MCCs.

Ectoparasites of bats (Chiroptera, Furipteridae, with a description of a new species of Synthesiostrebla Townsend (Diptera, Streblidae from Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Graciolli

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Ectoparasites of bats (Chiroptera, Furipteridae, with a description of a new species of Synthesiostrebla Townsend (Diptera, Streblidae from Brazil. Records of ectoparasites from furipterid bats are restricted to bat flies (Streblidae. Only three streblid species were known before this work: Trichobius pallidus (Curran, 1934, Strebla wiedemanni Kolenati, 1856, and Synthesiostrebla amorphochili Townsend, 1913. A second species of Synthesiostrebla is described here, increasing the geographical distribution of the genus to east of the Andes. Synthesiostrebla cisandina sp. nov. was found on Furipterus horrens (Cuvier, 1828 in southeastern Brazil. Anterior parts of the body, wing, tergite 7, epiproct and male genitalia are illustrated, and a key to females for species of Synthesiostrebla is provided.

Protozoan and metazoan parasites of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus cultured in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanderson Pantoja MF

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Objective. This study describes the parasitic fauna and relative condition factor (Kn in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus L. (Cichlidae from fish farms in the State of Amapá. Material and methods. 123 fish from four fish farms in the state of Amapá, Brazil were necropsied for parasitological and Kn analysis. Results. 64.2% of the examined fish, had the gills infected with Cichlidogyrus tilapiae Paperna, 1960 (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae; Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876 (Protozoa: Ciliophora, Trichodina Ehrenberg, 1830 and Paratrichodina africana Kazubski & El-Tantawy, 1986 (Protozoa: Trichodinidae. The highest prevalence found corresponded to Monogenoidea C. tilapiae while the lowest corresponded to Trichodinidae. However, I. multifiliis was the parasite that presented the greatest intensity and abundance. The differences found in the infection rates of the different fish farms due to causes further discussed. The parasitism did not influence the relative condition factor (Kn of fish. This was the first record of P. africana in Brazil and occurred in the Eastern Amazon. Conclusions. In Brazil, Lamproglena sp. is an emerging parasite in the Southern and Southeastern regions, but this crustacean was not found in the Nile tilapia in the State of Amapá. The parasitic infections in Nile tilapia farmed in Brazil are caused by protozoan, monogenoidea, crustacea and digenea species, and the regional differences on their prevalence and intensity rates are discussed in this study.

Mortality among Guarani Indians in Southeastern and Southern Brazil Mortalidade indígena Guarani no Sul e Sudeste do Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey Moreira Cardoso

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Worldwide, indigenous peoples display a high burden of disease, expressed by profound health inequalities in comparison to non-indigenous populations. This study describes mortality patterns among the Guarani in Southern and Southeastern Brazil, with a focus on health inequalities. The Guarani population structure is indicative of high birth and death rates, low median age and low life expectancy at birth. The crude mortality rate (crude MR = 5.0/1,000 was similar to the Brazilian national rate, but the under-five MR (44.5/1,000 and the infant mortality rate (29.6/1,000 were twice the corresponding MR in the South and Southeast of Brazil. The proportion of post-neonatal infant deaths was 83.3%, 2.4 times higher than general population. The proportions of ill-defined (15.8% and preventable causes (51.6% were high. The principal causes of death were respiratory (40.6% and infectious and parasitic diseases (18.8%, suggesting precarious living conditions and deficient health services. There is a need for greater investment in primary care and interventions in social determinants of health in order to reduce the health inequalities.Mundialmente, povos indígenas apresentam elevada carga de doença, expressa por profundas iniquidades em saúde na comparação com os não-indígenas. Neste estudo, descreve-se a mortalidade Guarani no Sul e Sudeste do Brasil, com foco nas iniquidades em saúde. A estrutura populacional Guarani expressa elevada natalidade, mortalidade precoce e baixa idade mediana e esperança de vida ao nascer. A taxa de mortalidade bruta (TM bruta = 5,0/1.000 se assemelha à nacional, mas a TM < 5 anos (44,5/1.000 e a taxa de mortalidade infantil (29,6/1.000 são duas vezes maiores que as TM correspondentes nas regiões Sul e Sudeste. A proporção de óbitos infantis pós-neonatais foi de 83,3%, 2,4 vezes maior que a população geral. As proporções de causas mal definidas (15,8% e de evitáveis pelos serviços de saúde (51

Spatial dynamics of understorey insectivorous birds and arthropods in a southeastern Brazilian Atlantic woodlot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MA. Manhães

Full Text Available Spatial distribution and spatial relationships in capture rates of understorey insectivorous birds and density of arthropods were investigated in a patch of upper montane rain forest in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil, from January to December 2004. The composition of the arthropod fauna collected was similar to that reported for other tropical forests, with predominance of Araneae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Hemiptera non-Heteroptera. A total of 26 bird species were captured, among which the more common were Dysithamnus mentalis, Conopophaga lineata, Platyrinchus mystaceus, Basileuterus culicivorus and Sclerurus scansor. Variation in the bird capture rates among sampling net lines were not correlated with arthropod density. Rather, individual analyses of some bird species suggest that spatial distribution of understorey insectivorous birds is better explained by habitat type.

Response of the Invasive Grass Imperata cylindrica to Disturbance in the Southeastern Forests, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shibu Jose

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Imperata cylindrica is an invasive plant species that threatens diversity and forest productivity in southeastern ecosystems. We examined the effects of disturbance events, particularly fire and hurricane/salvage harvesting, to determine the effects on I. cylindrica abundance in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris forests in the Florida panhandle. Areas that were burned or had greater biomass removal following a hurricane had a greater number of I. cylindrica patches and larger patch size. These results highlight the importance of disturbance events on expanding invasive species populations in this region and are likely applicable for other invasive species as well. Monitoring and treatment should follow disturbance events to ensure that invasive species populations do not exceed unmanageable levels.

Water beetles in mountainous regions in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MO. Segura

Full Text Available Inventories provide information on the state of biodiversity at a site or for a geographic region. Species inventories are the basis for systematic study and critical to ecology, biogeography and identification of biological indicators and key species. They also provide key information for assessments of environmental change, for natural resource conservation or recovery of degraded ecosystems. Thus, inventories play a key role in planning strategies for conservation and sustainable use. This study aimed to inventory the fauna of water beetles, larvae and adults, in two mountainous regions in the state of São Paulo, in Serra da Mantiqueira (Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão and Pindamonhangaba region and in Serra do Mar (Santa Virgínia and Picinguaba Divisions as well as to generate information about the habitats used by the different genera recorded. Specimens were collected in lotic and lentic systems, between the years 2005 to 2010. In total 14,492 specimens were collected and 16 families and 50 genera of Coleoptera were identified. This study in mountainous regions showed a significant portion of the faunal composition of South America and the state of São Paulo. The composition of the fauna, in terms of richness and abundance by family, indicated the predominance of Elmidae, followed by Hydrophilidae and Dytiscidae. Despite the diversity found, the results of estimated richness indicated the need for additional sampling effort for both regions, since the curves of estimated richness did not reach an asymptote, suggesting that new species can be found in future surveys.

Echovirus 30 associated with cases of aseptic meningitis in state of Pará, Northern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ceyla Maria Oeiras de Castro

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Investigation of the aetiology of viral meningitis in Brazil is most often restricted to cases that occur in the Southern and Southeastern Regions; therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the viral meningitis cases that occurred in state of Pará, Northern Brazil, from January 2005-December 2006. The detection of enterovirus (EV in cerebrospinal fluid was performed using cell culture techniques, RT-PCR, nested PCR and nucleotide sequencing. The ages of the 91 patients ranged from 60 years old (median age 15.90 years. Fever (87.1%, headache (77.0%, vomiting (61.5% and stiffness (61.5% were the most frequent symptoms. Of 91 samples analyzed, 18 (19.8% were positive for EV. Twelve were detected only by RT- PCR followed by nested PCR, whereas six were found by both cell culture and RT-PCR. From the last group, five were sequenced and classified as echovirus 30 (Echo 30. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that Echo 30 detected in Northern Brazil clustered within a unique group with a bootstrap value of 100% and could constitute a new subgroup (4c according to the phylogenetic tree described by Oberste et al. (1999. This study described the first molecular characterization of Echo 30 in Brazil and this will certainly contribute to future molecular analyses involving strains detected in other regions of Brazil.

Fraction of work-related accidents attributable to occupational noise in the city of Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Dias, A; Cordeiro, R

2008-01-01

Background: Noise is the most common agent of occupational exposure. It may induce both auditory and extraauditory dysfunction and increase the risk of work accidents. The purpose of this study was to estimate the fraction of accidents attributable to noise occupational exposure in a mid-size city located in southeastern Brazil. Materials and Methods: In this population case-control study, which included 108 cases and 324 controls, the incidence rate ratio of work accidents controlled for sev...

Hospitalization flow in the public and private systems in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha, Juan Stuardo Yazlle; Monteiro, Rosane Aparecida; Moreira, Marizélia Leão

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE To describe the migration flows of demand for public and private hospital care among the health regions of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.METHODS Study based on a database of hospitalizations in the public and private systems of the state of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, in 2006. We analyzed data from 17 health regions of the state, considering people hospitalized in their own health region and those who migrated outwards (emigration) or came from other regions (immigration). The index of migration effectiveness of patients from both systems was estimated. The coverage (hospitalization coefficient) was analyzed in relation to the number of inpatient beds per population and the indexes of migration effectiveness.RESULTS The index of migration effectiveness applied to the hospital care demand flow allowed characterizing health regions with flow balance, with high emigration of public and private patients, and with high attraction of public and private patients.CONCLUSIONS There are differences in hospital care access and opportunities among health regions in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Southeastern Power Administration 2012 Annual Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2012-01-01

Dear Secretary Moniz: I am pleased to submit Southeastern Power Administration’s (Southeastern) fiscal year (FY) 2012 Annual Report for your review. This report reflects our agency’s programs, accomplishments, operational, and financial activities for the 12-month period beginning October 1, 2011, and ending September 30, 2012. This past year, Southeastern marketed approximately 5.4 billion kilowatt-hours of energy to 487 wholesale customers in 10 southeastern states. Revenues from the sale of this power totaled about $263 million. With the financial assistance and support of Southeastern’s customers, funding for capitalized equipment purchases and replacements at hydroelectric facilities operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) continued in FY 2012. Currently, there are more than 214 customers participating in funding infrastructure renewal efforts of powerplants feeding the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina, Kerr-Philpott, and Cumberland Systems. This funding, which totaled more than $71 million, provided much needed repairs and maintenance for aging projects in Southeastern’s marketing area. Drought conditions continued in the southeastern region of the United States this past year, particularly in the Savannah River Basin. Lack of rainfall strained our natural and financial resources. Power purchases for FY 2012 in the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina System totaled approximately $29 million. About $8 million of this amount was for replacement power, which is purchased only during adverse water conditions in order to meet Southeastern’s customer contract requirements. Southeastern’s goal is to maximize the benefits of our region’s water resources. Competing uses of these resources will present another challenging year for Southeastern’s employees. With the cooperation and communication among the Department of Energy (DOE), preference customers, and Corps, I am certain Southeastern is positioned to meet these challenges in the future. We

Application of Physically based landslide susceptibility models in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho Vieira, Bianca; Martins, Tiago D.

2017-04-01

Shallow landslides and floods are the processes responsible for most material and environmental damages in Brazil. In the last decades, some landslides events induce a high number of deaths (e.g. Over 1000 deaths in one event) and incalculable social and economic losses. Therefore, the prediction of those processes is considered an important tool for land use planning tools. Among different methods the physically based landslide susceptibility models having been widely used in many countries, but in Brazil it is still incipient when compared to other ones, like statistical tools and frequency analyses. Thus, the main objective of this research was to assess the application of some Physically based landslide susceptibility models in Brazil, identifying their main results, the efficiency of susceptibility mapping, parameters used and limitations of the tropical humid environment. In order to achieve that, it was evaluated SHALSTAB, SINMAP and TRIGRS models in some studies in Brazil along with the Geotechnical values, scales, DEM grid resolution and the results based on the analysis of the agreement between predicted susceptibility and the landslide scar's map. Most of the studies in Brazil applied SHALSTAB, SINMAP and to a lesser extent the TRIGRS model. The majority researches are concentrated in the Serra do Mar mountain range, that is a system of escarpments and rugged mountains that extends more than 1,500 km along the southern and southeastern Brazilian coast, and regularly affected by heavy rainfall that generates widespread mass movements. Most part of these studies used conventional topographic maps with scales ranging from 1:2000 to 1:50000 and DEM-grid resolution between 2 and 20m. Regarding the Geotechnical and hydrological values, a few studies use field collected data which could produce more efficient results, as indicated by international literature. Therefore, even though they have enormous potential in the susceptibility mapping, even for comparison

An Ecological Comparison of Floristic Composition in Seasonal Semideciduous Forest in Southeast Brazil: Implications for Conservation

OpenAIRE

Lopes, Sérgio de Faria; Schiavini, Ivan; Oliveira, Ana Paula; Vale, Vagner Santiago

2012-01-01

We examined floristic patterns of ten seasonal semideciduous forest sites in southeastern Brazil and conducted a central sampling of one hectare for each site, where we took samples and identified all individual living trees with DBH (diameter at breast height, 1.30 m) ≥4.8 cm. Arboreal flora totaled 242 species, 163 genera, and 58 families. Fabaceae (38 species) and Myrtaceae (20 species) were families with the largest number of species. Only Copaifera langsdorffii and Hymenaea courbaril occ...

Impacts of multiple stressors on ecosystem function: Leaf decomposition in constructed urban wetlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackintosh, Teresa J; Davis, Jenny A; Thompson, Ross M

2016-01-01

The impact of stormwater on stream biota is well documented, but less is known about the impacts on ecosystem processes, such as the breakdown of organic matter. This study sought to establish whether the degree of urbanisation affected rates of leaf-litter breakdown within constructed wetlands. A litter bag method was used to ascertain rate of decomposition along a gradient of urbanisation (total imperviousness, TI), in constructed wetlands in western and south-eastern Melbourne. A significant positive relationship between TI and breakdown rate was found in the south-eastern wetlands. The significant reduction in rate of invertebrate-mediated breakdown with increasing concentration of certain metals was consistent with other studies. However, overall there was an increase in rate of breakdown. Studies have shown that the effects of heavy metals can be negated if nutrient levels are high. Our results suggest that other parameters besides exposure to contaminants are likely to affect leaf litter breakdown. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fish, Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira river basins, São Paulo State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Braga, F. M. S.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Fish were studied in two river basins (Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira subjected to strong human pressure, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In the Corumbataí basin, four sites were sampled: Cabeça river, Lapa stream, Passa-Cinco river, and Corumbataí river; in the Jacaré-Pepira basin, three sites were sampled: Tamanduá stream, Jacaré-Pepira river, and Água Branca stream. A total of 4,050 specimens belonging to 48 species and 13 families were caught and analyzed.

Frugivoria em morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera no Parque Estadual Intervales, sudeste do Brasil Frugivory in bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera at the Intervales State Park, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando C. Passos

2003-09-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out at the Intervales State Park, an Atlantic Rain Forest area in Southeastern Brazil. Bats were monthly mist netted over a full year, and fecal samples were collected for dietary analysis. The seeds found in each sample were identified in the laboratory under a stereoscopic microscope by comparison with seeds taken from ripe fruits collected in the study area. Three hundred and seventy one bats were collected, of which 316 (85.2% were frugivorous. The total number of fecal samples with seeds and/or pulp was 121. Sturnira lilium (E. Geoffroy, 1810 was the most abundant species in the study area (n = 157 captures and Solanaceae fruits accounted for 78.5% of the fecal samples with seeds (n = 56. Artibeus fimbriatus Gray, 1838 (n = 21 samples fed mostly on Cecropiaceae (38% and Moraceae fruits (24%, and Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818 (n = 7 samples on Cecropiaceae (57% and Moraceae (29%. Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758 (n = 16 samples fed mostly on Piperaceae fruits (56,3%, but Solanaceae (31,3% and Rosaceae seeds (12,5% were also found in feces. Overall, seeds found in bat feces belong to eight plant families: Solanaceae (n = 67 samples; Cecropiaceae (n = 14; Piperaceae (n = 14; Moraceae (n = 8; Rosaceae (n = 3; Cucurbitaceae (n = 3; Cluseaceae (n = 1, and Araceae (n = 1. The close association of different bat species with fruits of certain plant families and genus may be related to a possible mechanism of resource partitioning that shapes the structure of the community.

A fatal case of Brazilian spotted fever in a non-endemic area in Brazil: the importance of having health professionals who understand the disease and its areas of transmission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Vilges de Oliveira

Full Text Available Abstract Brazilian spotted fever (BSF is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii. Because of its high case-fatality rate and apparent increase in areas of transmission, it is considered to be the rickettsial illness of primary public health interest. Cases of this disease have historically occurred in Southeastern Brazil. This article reports the first fatal case of BSF in Southern Brazil. This case high lights the importance of BSF to be considered as a differential diagnosis for acute hemorrhagic fever in areas where cases of BSF may not be expected.

Winter climate change and coastal wetland foundation species: salt marshes vs. mangrove forests in the southeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Osland, Michael J; Enwright, Nicholas; Day, Richard H; Doyle, Thomas W

2013-05-01

We live in an era of unprecedented ecological change in which ecologists and natural resource managers are increasingly challenged to anticipate and prepare for the ecological effects of future global change. In this study, we investigated the potential effect of winter climate change upon salt marsh and mangrove forest foundation species in the southeastern United States. Our research addresses the following three questions: (1) What is the relationship between winter climate and the presence and abundance of mangrove forests relative to salt marshes; (2) How vulnerable are salt marshes to winter climate change-induced mangrove forest range expansion; and (3) What is the potential future distribution and relative abundance of mangrove forests under alternative winter climate change scenarios? We developed simple winter climate-based models to predict mangrove forest distribution and relative abundance using observed winter temperature data (1970-2000) and mangrove forest and salt marsh habitat data. Our results identify winter climate thresholds for salt marsh-mangrove forest interactions and highlight coastal areas in the southeastern United States (e.g., Texas, Louisiana, and parts of Florida) where relatively small changes in the intensity and frequency of extreme winter events could cause relatively dramatic landscape-scale ecosystem structural and functional change in the form of poleward mangrove forest migration and salt marsh displacement. The ecological implications of these marsh-to-mangrove forest conversions are poorly understood, but would likely include changes for associated fish and wildlife populations and for the supply of some ecosystem goods and services. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

THE LBA PROJECT: NUTRIENT CYCLES AND TRACE GAS EXCHANGE IN SAVANNAS OF CENTRAL BRAZIL

Science.gov (United States)

The Cerrado of central Brazil is one of the largest savannah regions on Earth. The stressors affecting ecosystems in this region, including deforestation, fire, soil degradation, unwise agricultural practices, climate change, and urbanization, are all experienced in many U. S. ec...

A new species of Trichogenes from the rio Itapemirim drainage, southeastern Brazil, with comments on the monophyly of the genus (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mário C. C. de Pinna

Full Text Available A new species of the formerly monotypic genus Trichogenes is described from a high-altitude stream of the rio Itapemirim system, an isolated Atlantic drainage in the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Trichogenes claviger, new species, differs from all other trichomycterids by the sexually dimorphic posterior process of the opercle, much elongated in males; the terminal mouth; the deeply bifurcated anterior neural spines and the presence of a large anterodorsal claw-like process on the neural arches of the anterior four free vertebrae. The new species also differs from its only congener, T. longipinnis, by a number of additional traits, including the the lack of branched anal-fin rays in specimens of any size; the broader than long posterior nostril; the deeper head (head depth 72.9-86.6% HL; the presence of a fine dark line along the base of the anal fin; the lack of dark spots on cheeks; the shape of the interopercle; the presence of odontodes on a bony expansion on the posterodorsal margin of the interopercle; the fewer vertebrae (35; the absence of an antorbital; and the fewer pleural ribs (eight. Small juveniles of the new species are also strikingly different from those of all other Trichomycteridae, including T. longipinnis, having a very large lateral eye, an upturned mouth, and compressed head. Trichogenes claviger occurs in shaded sectors of a blackwater sluggish stream with sandy substrate and patchy accumulations of vegetable debris, a habitat markedly different from the rocky torrential environment known for T. longipinnis. A comparison of the internal anatomy of the two species provides the basis for a hypothesis of a monophyletic Trichogenes. Data from the new species further support a sister-group relationship between Trichogeninae and Copionodontinae, as well as the position of that clade as sister group to all remaining Trichomycteridae.

Termite Communities in Sugarcane Plantations in Southeastern Brazil: an Ecological Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Termites are key components of soil fauna, playing an essential role in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling. However, they can cause significant economic losses in commercial plantations, such as sugar cane. Therefore, the correct identification of termite species is critical for pest control. Here, we evaluated the species richness, abundance and functional groups of termites in sugarcane plantations in 53 cities throughout the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. We also analyzed the influence of macroclimatic variables on termite species distribution and functional groups. We found 22 taxa of two families, of which the most frequent species were Termitidae (96.51%. Within this family, Apicotermitinae had the highest frequency of occurrence (37.12%, followed by Termitinae (30.57%, Syntermitinae (27.95%, and Nasutitermitinae (0.8 %. The other family, Rhinotermitidae, had the lowest frequency (3.5%, being represented only by Heterotermes sulcatus Mathews. We classified Neocapritermes opacus Hagen (29.26%, Apicotermitinae sp.2 (24.89%, Cornitermes cumulans Kollar (13.10%, and Apicotermitinae sp.1 (6.99% as common taxa. The remaining 18 species were classified as rare. The most common functional group was humus-feeders (37%, followed by wood-feeders (34%, grass-litter feeders (25%, and intermediate feeders (4%. Climate influenced the distribution of common species, humus-feeders and grass-litter feeders. Regarding the pest status of termites in sugar cane plantations, we suggest that the exasperated use of pesticide in the last decades has reduced the abundance of species considered pests (e.g. Heterotermes and reinforce the importance of ecological approaches for determining the best pest control methods. Comunidades de Cupins em Cultivos de Cana-de-Açúcar no Estado de São Paulo: Uma Abordagem Ecológica Resumo. Os cupins são importantes componentes da fauna de solo, atuando na decomposição da mat

Density of the tegu lizard (Tupinambis merianae) and its role as nest predator at Anchieta Island, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Bovendorp, Ricardo S.; Alvarez, Ariane D.; Gialetti, Mauro

2008-01-01

Mammals has been pointed out to be the main nest predators in islands, but recent studies has shown that tree snakes are also important nest predator in tropical forests. Here we present information on the density tegu lizards Tupinambis merianae and its role as nest predator at Anchieta Island, Ubatuba, in southeastern Brazil. The mean density of tegu lizards wets estimated to be 83 individuals/km2, which is 1.83 times lower than other well-known population (Fernando de Noronha Archipelago)....

Environmental parameters affecting the structure of leaf-litter frog (Amphibia: Anura communities in tropical forests: a case study from an Atlantic Rainforest area in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carla C. Siqueira

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Despite a recent increase of information on leaf litter frog communities from Atlantic rainforests, few studies have analyzed the relationship between environmental parameters and community structure of these animals. We analyzed the effects of some environmental factors on a leaf litter frog community at an Atlantic Rainforest area in southeastern Brazil. Data collection lasted ten consecutive days in January 2010, at elevations ranging between 300 and 520 m above sea level. We established 50 quadrats of 5 x 5 m on the forest floor, totaling 1,250 m² of sampled area, and recorded the mean leaf-litter depth and the number of trees within the plot, as well as altitude. We found 307 individuals belonging to ten frog species within the plots. The overall density of leaf-litter frogs estimated from the plots was 24.6 ind/100m², with Euparkerella brasiliensis (Parker, 1926, Ischnocnema guentheri (Steindachner, 1864, Ischnocnema parva (Girard, 1853 and Haddadus binotatus (Spix, 1824 presenting the highest estimated densities. Among the environmental variables analyzed, only altitude influenced the parameters of anuran community. Our results indicate that the study area has a very high density of forest floor leaf litter frogs at altitudes of 300-500 m. Future estimates of litter frog density might benefit from taking the local altitudinal variation into consideration. Neglecting such variation might result in underestimated/overestimated values if they are extrapolated to the whole area.

Fish, Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira river basins, São Paulo State, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Gomiero, Leandro; Braga, Francisco

2006-01-01

Fish were studied in two river basins (Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira) subjected to strong human pressure, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In the Corumbataí basin, four sites were sampled: Cabeça river, Lapa stream, Passa-Cinco river, and Corumbataí river; in the Jacaré-Pepira basin, three sites were sampled: Tamanduá stream, Jacaré-Pepira river, and Água Branca stream. A total of 4,050 specimens belonging to 48 species and 13 families were caught and analyzed....

Pollination and breeding system of Canna paniculata(Cannaceae in a montane Atlantic Rainforest: asymmetric dependence on a hermit hummingbird

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pietro Kiyoshi Maruyama

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We studied the pollination biology of Canna paniculata (Cannaceae, a plant species common in the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil. The species presents specialized ornithophilous flowers, which in our study area are solely pollinated by the hermit hummingbird Phaethornis eurynome. Although C. paniculata is capable of bearing fruit after self-pollination, it requires pollinators for reproduction. We discuss the importance of hermit hummingbirds for the reproduction of specialized ornithophilous plants such as C. paniculata, including their asymmetric dependence on hermit hummingbirds - core pollinators in Neotropical forest ecosystems.

Impact of petroleum pollution on aquatic coastal ecosystems in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, E.M. da; Peso-Aguiar, M.C.; Navarro, M.F.T.; Chastinet, C.B.A.

1997-01-01

Although oil activities generate numerous forms of environmental impact on biological communities, studies of these impacts on Brazilian coastal ecosystems are rate. Results of tests for the content of oil in sediments and organisms indicate a substantially high rate of degradation. Results for uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bivalves suggested the recent occurrence of oil spills and that these organisms differed in their capabilities to bioconcentrate oil. The mangrove community has suffered constant inputs of oil and has responded with increased numbers of aerial roots, generation of malformed leaves and fruits by plants, and a decrease in litter production. Studies of the impact of oil on rocky shore communities and the toxicity of oil and its by-products to marine organisms have confirmed the results reported in the literature. Presently most of the available studies deal with the macroscopic effects of oil on organisms and have indicated that the nature of oil, climate characteristics, the physical environment, and the structure of the community influence the symptoms of oil contamination in organisms of coastal waters. Long-term studies should be carried out to assess changes in community structure, sublethal effects in populations, and the resilience of contaminated ecosystems

New morphological data on Cucullanus pinnai pinnai (Nematoda) parasitizing Pimelodus maculatus (Pimelodidae) in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, Vivian Suane de Freitas; Vieira, Fabiano Matos; Luque, José Luis

2015-01-01

This paper describes the morphology of Cucullanus pinnai pinnai parasitizing Pimelodus maculatus in the Guandu River, Brazil, based on differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), providing new morphological data about this species of parasite. Nematodes were collected between May and October 2012 from specimens of Pimelodus maculatus in the Guandu River (22°48'2"S, 43°37'35"W), in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Some characteristics of specimens of Cucullanus in this study fall within the range of morphological variations of previously studied C. pinnai pinnai. Most of the specimens studied here had excretory pore and deirids located at the posterior end of the oesophagus, a feature not recorded in previous studies of this species. In addition, the size of the gubernaculum was larger than the other specimens previously studied. The SEM and DIC analyses of C. pinnai revealed several morphological details of the cephalic region and the tail papillae. With regard to the polymorphism of C. pinnai, morphological and genetic studies of this cucullanid nematode are needed, involving large numbers of host species and a wide geographical distribution.

Southeastern Power Administration 2008 Annual Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2008-12-29

Dear Secretary Chu: I am pleased to submit Southeastern Power Administration’s (Southeastern’s) fiscal year (FY) 2008 Annual Report for your review. The information included in this document reflects our agency’s programs, accomplishments, operational and financial activities for the 12-month period beginning October 1, 2007 and ending September 30, 2008. Southeastern marketed more than 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours of energy to 491 wholesale customers in ten southeastern states this past year. Revenues from the sale of this power totaled approximately $263 million. Drought conditions persisted in the southeastern region of the United States during FY 2008 placing strains on our natural and financial resources. Power purchases for FY 2008 totaled $91 million. Approximately $44 million of this amount was for replacement power which is paid only during adverse water conditions in order to meet our customers’ contract requirements. With the continued financial assistance and support of our Federal power customers, funding for capitalized equipment purchases and replacements at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) hydroelectric projects provided much needed repairs and maintenance for these aging facilities. Southeastern’s cyber and physical security programs continued to be reviewed and updated to meet Department of Energy (DOE), Homeland Security, and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards and requirements. In the coming year, Southeastern will continue open communication and cooperation with DOE, the Federal power customers, and the Corps to maximize the benefits of our region’s water resources. Although competing uses of water and the prolonged drought conditions will present another challenging year for our agency, Southeastern’s employees will meet these challenges and continue to provide reliable hydroelectric power to the people in the southeast. Sincerely, Kenneth E.Legg Administrator

Thermochronological evidence for polyphase post-rift reactivation in SE Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Cogné, N.; Gallagher, K.; Cobbold, P. R.; Riccomini, C.

2012-04-01

area cooled and uplifted during the Neogene. The synchronicity of the cooling phases with tectonic pulses in the Andes and in NE Brazil, as well as the tectonic setting of the Tertiary basins (Cogné et al., submitted) lead us to attribute these phases to a plate-wide compressive stress, which reactivated inherited structures during the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary. The relief of the margin is therefore due, more to polyphase post-rift reactivation and uplift, than to rifting itself. - Cobbold, P.R., Meisling, K.E., Mount, V.S., 2001. Reactivation of an obliquely rifted margin, Campos and Santos Basins, Southeastern Brazil. AAPG Bulletin 85, 1925-1944. - Cogné, N., Gallagher, K., Cobbold, P.R., 2011. Post-rift reactivation of the onshore margin of southeast Brazil: Evidence from apatite (U-Th)/He and fission-track data. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 309, 118-130. - Cogné, N., Cobbold, P.R., Riccomini, C., Gallagher, K. Tectonic setting of the Taubaté basin (southeastern Brazil): insights from regional seismic profiles and outcrop data. Submitted to Journal of South American Earth Sciences.

Myrtaceae throughout the Espinhaço Mountain Range of centraleastern Brazil: floristic relationships and geoclimatic controls

OpenAIRE

Bünger, Mariana de Oliveira; Stehmann, João Renato; Oliveira-Filho, Ary Teixeira

2014-01-01

Although biological surveys and taxonomic revisions provide key information to ecological and evolutionary studies, there is a clear lack of floristic and phytogeographic studies of the mountainous regions of Brazil, which harbor some of the most threatened plant ecosystems on the planet. Myrtaceae has been reported to be one of the most important families in the upland areas of Brazil, as well as in the Atlantic Forest Domain. In this study, we investigated the floristic composition of Myrta...

A floodplain continuum for Atlantic coast rivers of the Southeastern US: Predictable changes in floodplain biota along a river's length

Science.gov (United States)

Batzer, Darold P.; Noe, Gregory; Lee, Linda; Galatowitsch, Mark

2018-01-01

Floodplains are among the world’s economically-most-valuable, environmentally-most-threatened, and yet conceptually-least-understood ecosystems. Drawing on concepts from existing riverine and wetland models, and empirical data from floodplains of Atlantic Coast rivers in the Southeastern US (and elsewhere when possible), we introduce a conceptual model to explain a continuum of longitudinal variation in floodplain ecosystem functions with a particular focus on biotic change. Our hypothesis maintains that major controls on floodplain ecology are either external (ecotonal interactions with uplands or stream/river channels) or internal (wetland-specific functions), and the relative importance of these controls changes progressively from headwater to mid-river to lower-river floodplains. Inputs of water, sediments, nutrients, flora, and fauna from uplands-to-floodplains decrease, while the impacts of wetland biogeochemistry and obligate wetland plants and animals within-floodplains increase, along the length of a river floodplain. Inputs of water, sediment, nutrients, and fauna from river/stream channels to floodplains are greatest mid-river, and lower either up- or down-stream. While the floodplain continuum we develop is regional in scope, we review how aspects may apply more broadly. Management of coupled floodplain-river ecosystems would be improved by accounting for how factors controlling the floodplain ecosystem progressively change along longitudinal riverine gradients.

Fauna of Simuliidae (Diptera from the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil: distribution, new records and list of species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karina Bertazo

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Fauna of Simuliidae (Diptera from the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil: Distribution, new records and list of species. The fauna of Simuliidae in Brazil is composed of 87 species, 17 of which are recorded from the state of Espírito Santo. Entomological collections were carried out in 2010-2011 with the objective of increasing the knowledge of the species richness of this family in the state. Ninety three rivers and streams were sampled, each collection being carried out in a 50m transect. During the study period 30 species were collected, 13 of which represent new records for the state, 12 of the genus Simulium and one of the genus Lutzsimulium. Among these new state records one, Simulium lobatoi, also represents a new record from southeastern Brazil. The other newly recorded species are: Lutzsimulium hirticosta, Simulium distinctum, Simulium exiguum, Simulium oyapockense, Simulium botulibranchium, Simulium petropoliense, Simulium clavibranchium, Simulium rappae, Simulium minusculum, Simulium dinellii, Simulium ochraceum and Simulium scutistriatum.

New endophytic Toxicocladosporium species from cacti in Brazil, and description of Neocladosporium gen. nov.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bezerra, Jadson D.P.; Sandoval-Denis, Marcelo; Paiva, Laura M.; Silva, Gladstone A.; Groenewald, Johannes Z.; Souza-Motta, Cristina M.; Crous, Pedro W.

2017-01-01

Brazil harbours a unique ecosystem, the Caatinga, which belongs to the tropical dry forest biome. This region has an important diversity of organisms, and recently several new fungal species have been described from different hosts and substrates within it. During a survey of fungal endophyte

Helminth parasites of Galictis cuja (Carnivora, Mustelidae, from localities in the Atlantic forest of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pilar Corrêa

Full Text Available Abstract The current study aimed to investigate the helminth parasites of a population of Galictis cuja (Carnivora, Mustelidae that occur in Atlantic Forest in the Southeastern region of Brazil. We necropsied 18 specimens of G. cuja, collected between January 2009 and May 2014, ran over victims on BR-040 highway, between the municipalities of Duque de Caxias, state of Rio de Janeiro and Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais, localities inserted in Atlantic rainforest Biome. A total of six species of helminths were identified: Dioctophyme renale, Molineus elegans, Physaloptera sp., Strongyloides sp., Platynosomum illiciens, and Pachysentis gethi. Molineus elegans, Physaloptera sp. and P. illiciens were recorded for the first time in this host. Data provided in the current study when compared to the previous reports of parasitism by helminths in G. cuja in Brazil demonstrate that this study is the most representative with this host species.

International risk of yellow fever spread from the ongoing outbreak in Brazil, December 2016 to May 2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorigatti, Ilaria; Hamlet, Arran; Aguas, Ricardo; Cattarino, Lorenzo; Cori, Anne; Donnelly, Christl A; Garske, Tini; Imai, Natsuko; Ferguson, Neil M

2017-07-13

States in south-eastern Brazil were recently affected by the largest Yellow Fever (YF) outbreak seen in a decade in Latin America. Here we provide a quantitative assessment of the risk of travel-related international spread of YF indicating that the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Italy and Germany may have received at least one travel-related YF case capable of seeding local transmission. Mitigating the risk of imported YF cases seeding local transmission requires heightened surveillance globally. This article is copyright of The Authors, 2017.

Hysteresis response of daytime net ecosystem exchange during drought

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Pingintha

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Continuous measurements of net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE using the eddy-covariance method were made over an agricultural ecosystem in the southeastern US. During optimum environmental conditions, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR was the primary driver controlling daytime NEE, accounting for as much as 67 to 89% of the variation in NEE. However, soil water content became the dominant factor limiting the NEE-PAR response during the peak growth stage. NEE was significantly depressed when high PAR values coincided with very low soil water content. The presence of a counter-clockwise hysteresis of daytime NEE with PAR was observed during periods of water stress. This is a result of the stomatal closure control of photosynthesis at high vapor pressure deficit and enhanced respiration at high temperature. This result is significant since this hysteresis effect limits the range of applicability of the Michaelis-Menten equation and other related expressions in the determination of daytime NEE as a function of PAR. The systematic presence of hysteresis in the response of NEE to PAR suggests that the gap-filling technique based on a non-linear regression approach should take into account the presence of water-limited field conditions. Including this step is therefore likely to improve current evaluation of ecosystem response to increased precipitation variability arising from climatic changes.

Habits and customs of crab catchers in southern Bahia, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Firmo, Angélica M S; Tognella, Mônica M P; Tenório, Gabrielle D; Barboza, Raynner R D; Alves, Rômulo R N

2017-08-23

Brazilian mangrove forests are widely distributed along the coast and exploited by groups of people with customs and habits as diverse as the biology of the mangrove ecosystems. This study identifies different methods of extracting crabs that inhabit the mangrove belts; some of these activities, such as catching individual crabs by hand, are aimed at maintaining natural stocks of this species in Mucuri (south Bahia), Brazil. In the studied community, illegal hunting activities that violate Brazilian legislation limiting the use of tangle-netting in mangrove ecosystem were observed. According to our observations, fishermen, to catch individual crabs, use the tangle-netting technique seeking to increase income and are from families that have no tradition of extraction. This analysis leads us to conclude that catchers from economically marginalised social groups enter mangroves for purposes of survival rather than for purposes of subsistence, because the catching by tangle-netting is a predatory technique. Tangle-netting  technique increase caught but also increases their mortality rate. We emphasise that traditional catching methods are unique to Brazil and that manual capturing of crab should be preserved through public policies aimed at maintaining the crab population.

Determination of Fertility Rating (FR in the 3-PG Model for Loblolly Pine Plantations in the Southeastern United States Based on Site Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santosh Subedi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Soil fertility is an important component of forest ecosystems, yet evaluating soil fertility remains one of the least understood aspects of forest science. We hypothesized that the fertility rating (FR used in the model 3-PG could be predicted from site index (SI for loblolly pine in the southeastern US and then developed a method to predict FR from SI to test this hypothesis. Our results indicate that FR values derived from SI when used in 3-PG explain 89% of the variation in loblolly pine yield. The USDA SSURGO dataset contains SI values for loblolly pine for the major soil series in most of the counties in the southeastern US. The potential of using SI from SSURGO data to predict regional productivity of loblolly pine was assessed by comparing SI values from SSURGO with field inventory data in the study sites. When the 3-PG model was used with FR values derived using SI values from SSURGO database to predict loblolly pine productivity across the broader regions, the model provided realistic outputs of loblolly pine productivity. The results of this study show that FR values can be estimated from SI and used in 3-PG to predict loblolly pine productivity in the southeastern US.

Agrochemical residue-biota interactions in soil and aquatic ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

Two FAO/IAEA coordinated research programmes are concerned with isotopic tracer-aided studies of agrochemical residue-biota interactions in soils and aquatic ecosystems. They currently involve 18 studies in 14 countries: Brazil, Canada, Egypt, F.R. Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, USA and USSR. The aim was to develop, standardize and apply labelled substrate techniques for comparative assays of primary autotrophic and microheterotrophic production and decay, and complementary tracer techniques to determine the fate, persistence and bioconcentration of trace contaminants. Comparable data were studied concerning the current status of water bodies and likely changes due to contaminants. Soil capacity to decompose undesirable contaminants and residues, and to promote desirable transformations were studied. The techniques were also applied as a diagnostic and prognostic tool, with priority given to rice ecosystems

Stonefly (Plecoptera fauna in a mountainous area of Central Brazil: composition and adult phenology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pitágoras C. Bispo

2002-07-01

Full Text Available A survey of the stonefly (Plecoptera fauna of streams of the Almas River basin, Pirenópolis, Goiás State, Central Brazil, is presented as well as data of some factors that could affeet the temporal distribution of the adults. For checking adult phenology, light sources were used in three stations from June 1993 to Jully 1994. The sampled individuais were identified to species or morphospecies, as possible. In this study, 301 individuais belonging to the perlid genera Anacroneuria Klapálek, 1909, Kempnyia Klapálek, 1916 and Macrogynoplax Enderlein, 1909 were collected. Adults of most species were collected along the studied period, except for those of Kempnyia that were restricted to the warm-rainy season, the same pattern for this genus in southeastern Brazil. Although adults of most species were collected along most of the studied period, the largest number of adults was collected in the months with larger mean temperatures, showing a clear seasonality in abundance.

Reproduction of the cutlassfish Trichiurus lepturus in the southern Brazil subtropical convergence ecosystem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnaldo Silva Martins

2000-03-01

Full Text Available The reproduction of the cutlassfish Trichiurus lepturus was studied from samples collected in bottom trawl surveys on the continental shelf and shelf break off southern Brazil. The mean total length (LT at first gonadal maturity was 63.9 cm for males and 69.3 cm for females. Batch fecundity ranged from 3,917 in a specimen of 70 cm LT to 154,216 in a specimen of 141 cm but the number of spawning batches in each season was not established. Spawning occurs in late spring and summer in the continental shelf and probably year round over the shelf break. High surface temperatures and moderate stratification of the water column were associated with the final stages of gonadal maturation. Seasonal and spatial differences in sex ratios, sizes, maturity stages and feeding intensities suggest that adult female T. lepturus remain during the cold season in the continental shelf of southern Brazil to feed, while adult males move to warmer waters northward or offshore.

Characterization of potassic materials of Pocos de Caldas alkaline massif, Southeastern Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncalves, P.; Navarro, F.C.; Roveri, C.D.; Bergerman, M.G.

2016-01-01

Potassium, which has featured in Brazil's agricultural sector and in the world's in the application of fertilizers, is present in magmatic rocks, such as nepheline syenite and phonolite, found in the Alkaline Massif of Pocos de Caldas (AMPC). The rare earth elements (REE), in turn, also occur in this region and have important uses in various industrial fields. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of potassic rocks of AMPC in the fertilizer and rare earths industry. Five samples were collected and characterized. It was observed that there was no preferential concentration by granulometric range of potassium oxide, alumina, silica and iron oxide. Feldspathic mass, potash feldspar, and muscovite were found in all samples. The samples show REE with amounts greater than those found in the earth's crust, except for lutetium and scandium and possessed average content of potassium oxide from 8.70 to 14.40%. (author)

GIS-based health assessment of the marine ecosystem in Laizhou Bay, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Debin; Gao, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Hua; Xu, Fuxiang; Zheng, Xiangyu; Ai, Jinquan; Hu, Xiaoke; Huang, Guopei; Zhang, Haibo

2017-12-15

According to 2014-2016 monitoring data, an assessment index system including water quality, depositional environment and ecosystem was built to evaluate the health statue of marine ecosystem in the Laizhou Bay using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. The results, spatialized in ArcGIS software, show: while the comprehensive ecological health index is 0.62, the ecological environmental quality in the Laizhou Bay is in a sub-healthy state; the unhealthy area is mainly concentrated in southwestern inshore region, and impacted by serious environmental problems, such as water eutrophication and heavy metal pollution; the northwestern and southeastern inshore regions are in a sub-healthy state, while the eastern inshore and northern areas are in the healthiest state. The land-based pollutants that discharge into the sea may be the leading factors that are causing ecological environment deterioration in the Laizhou Bay, and the reclamation work ongoing around the port has exacerbated the ecological risk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Religions in South-Eastern Europe: The Historico-Anthropological Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Mitterauer

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The article approaches religious phenomena in South-Eastern Europe in a historico-anthropological manner. With the aid of historical comparison, the author tries to throw light on the religious phenomena of South-Eastern Europe and to present them in a lucid review. A significant place in this process is given to historical sociology as a discipline which, among other, also deals with the religious conditioning of social processes. The text consists of two parts. In the first, the author deals with the question of the religious particularity of South-Eastern Europe and considers it from several viewpoints. The author regards the most important features of the religious situation in that part of Europe as being particularism, archaicism and syncretism. He analyses the historical conditioning of the viability of the three monotheistic world religions in the region, their influence on the social development of South-Eastern Europe, the stance of the authorities towards religious communities and the existence of diverse traditions within individual religious cultures. Along with analysis of the presence of ancient elements and the continuity of pre-Christian rituals and beliefs, the author also stresses the strong syncretism marking the religious traditions of South-Eastern Europe. In the second part of the text the author compares religious phenomena in South-Eastern Europe and analyses regional religious traditions. He presents from the historico-anthropological aspect the religious rituals, the bearers of rituals, the place and time of rituals and the ritual languages of each of the world religions represented in the region. Emphasising the continuity of religious life and religious traditions in South-Eastern Europe, the author ends with the period of Communist rule in the second half of the 20th century, and deliberation that Communism, too, with its atheist doctrine in the secular form of cult, in fact carried on from religious tradition.

Water use by terrestrial ecosystems: temporal variability in rainforest and agricultural contributions to evapotranspiration in Mato Grosso, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lathuillière, Michael J; Johnson, Mark S; Donner, Simon D

2012-01-01

The state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, has experienced rapid land use changes from the expansion of rain-fed agriculture (primarily soybean and pasture). This study presents changes to evapotranspiration contributions from terrestrial ecosystems in Mato Grosso over the 2000–9 period. Instead of focusing on land use change to infer hydrologic change, in this paper we assess hydrologic changes using remote sensing, meteorological and agricultural production data to determine the rainforest, crop and pasture components of total evapotranspiration. Humid tropical rainforest evapotranspiration represented half of the state’s total evapotranspiration in 2000 despite occupying only 40% of the total land area. Annual evapotranspiration fluxes from rainforest declined at a rate of 16.2 km 3 y −1 (R 2 = 0.82, p-value < 0.01) as a result of deforestation between 2000 and 2009, representing a 25% decline in rainforest evapotranspiration since 2000. By 2009, rainforest cover accounted for only 40% of total evapotranspiration. Over the same period, crop evapotranspiration doubled, but this increase was offset by a decline in pasture evapotranspiration. Pasture fluxes were at least five times larger than crop evapotranspiration fluxes in 2000–9, with increases spatially focused at the agricultural frontier. The results highlight the expanding appropriation of soil moisture stocks for use in Mato Grosso’s rain-fed agroecosystems. (letter)

Benthic macrofaunal structure and secondary production in tropical estuaries on the Eastern Marine Ecoregion of Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Bissoli, Lorena B; Bernardino, Angelo F

2018-01-01

Tropical estuaries are highly productive and support diverse benthic assemblages within mangroves and tidal flats habitats. Determining differences and similarities of benthic assemblages within estuarine habitats and between regional ecosystems may provide scientific support for management of those ecosystems. Here we studied three tropical estuaries in the Eastern Marine Ecoregion of Brazil to assess the spatial variability of benthic assemblages from vegetated (mangroves) and unvegetated (tidal flats) habitats. A nested sampling design was used to determine spatial scales of variability in benthic macrofaunal density, biomass and secondary production. Habitat differences in benthic assemblage composition were evident, with mangrove forests being dominated by annelids (Oligochaeta and Capitellidae) whereas peracarid crustaceans were also abundant on tidal flats. Macrofaunal biomass, density and secondary production also differed between habitats and among estuaries. Those differences were related both to the composition of benthic assemblages and to random spatial variability, underscoring the importance of hierarchical sampling in estuarine ecological studies. Given variable levels of human impacts and predicted climate change effects on tropical estuarine assemblages in Eastern Brazil, our data support the use of benthic secondary production to address long-term changes and improved management of estuaries in Eastern Brazil.

Observations on inshore and pelagic Dolphins on the South-Eastern Cape coast of South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. S Saayman

1972-12-01

Full Text Available The occurrence, size and seaward distribution of schools of inshore and pelagic dolphins is described for three study areas on the south-eastern Cape coast (Algoa Bay; the Tsitsikama Coastal National Park and Plettenberg Bay. Inshore dolphins {Tursiops and Sousa sp. frequented the coastline in relatively small schools whereas pelagic dolphins {Delphinus delphis and Stenella caeruleoalba occurred in very large schools far out to sea. Different ecological zones were used by Sousa for feeding and for social behaviour and maintenance activities. The frequency of occurrence of Sousa at Plettenberg Bay was not affected by seasonal fluctuations in sea surface temperatures. The role of dolphins as predators and their implication in the regulation of the ecosystem of the Tsitsikama Coastal National Park is discussed.

Systematic Planning and Ecosystem-Based Management as Strategies to Reconcile Mangrove Conservation with Resource Use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca Borges

2017-11-01

Full Text Available About 120 million people worldwide live within 10 km of large mangrove forests, and many of them directly depend on the goods and services provided by these ecosystems. However, it remains unclear how to synchronize ecological definitions and legal conservation strategies regarding mangroves, especially in developing countries, such as Brazil. The influence of human populations' socio-economic context in mangrove conservation policies, as well associated challenges in incorporating this influence, are underestimated or, often, largely ignored. Considering the recent threats emerging from changes in legislation and the lack of spatial and social-ecological integrated data to plan mangrove conservation in Brazil, this paper aims to answer the following questions: (1 What suitable measures could managers and other decision makers adopt for efficient mangrove conservation planning?; (2 What are the site-specific, social-ecological aspects that need to be taken into account when deciding on conservation and management strategies?; and (3 How could science contribute to the development of these measures? In order to achieve an ecosystem-based management approach, mangrove ecosystems should not be divided into sub-systems, but instead treated as an integrated system. Furthermore, interconnections with other coastal ecosystems must be assessed and taken into account. This is crucial for effective systematic conservation planning. Also, most of the particular social-ecological aspects in the different types of mangrove ecosystems along the Brazilian coast, and how those differences might be considered while planning for conservation, remain poorly understood. Based on similar drivers of change, geological features, and likely impacts of climate change, a macro-unit approach is proposed to group mangrove systems along the Brazilian coast and guide national policies. This paper draws parallels with management approaches worldwide to find common points and

Chilean jagged lobster, Projasus bahamondei, in the southeastern Pacific Ocean: current state of knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricio M Arana

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The Chilean jagged lobster (Projasus bahamondei is a deep-water crustacean (175-550 m occurring in certain areas of the southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Nazca Ridge, Desventuradas Islands, the Juan Fernandez archipelago and ridge, and the continental slope off the central coast of Chile. This review describes the taxonomic status, geographical and bathymetric distribution, some biological aspects and habitat characteristics of this species. Additionally, both artisanal and industrial exploitation attempts made within the region are detailed, as well as fishing operation results, chemical composition, different elaboration procedures and the destination of the catch. The main objectives of this review are to contribute to the knowledge of P. bahamondei as a component of the deep-sea ecosystem and to highlight its importance as a potential fishery resource.

The genomic history of southeastern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathieson, Iain; Alpaslan-Roodenberg, Songül; Posth, Cosimo; Szécsényi-Nagy, Anna; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; Olalde, Iñigo; Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen; Candilio, Francesca; Cheronet, Olivia; Fernandes, Daniel; Ferry, Matthew; Gamarra, Beatriz; Fortes, Gloria González; Haak, Wolfgang; Harney, Eadaoin; Jones, Eppie; Keating, Denise; Krause-Kyora, Ben; Kucukkalipci, Isil; Michel, Megan; Mittnik, Alissa; Nägele, Kathrin; Novak, Mario; Oppenheimer, Jonas; Patterson, Nick; Pfrengle, Saskia; Sirak, Kendra; Stewardson, Kristin; Vai, Stefania; Alexandrov, Stefan; Alt, Kurt W; Andreescu, Radian; Antonović, Dragana; Ash, Abigail; Atanassova, Nadezhda; Bacvarov, Krum; Gusztáv, Mende Balázs; Bocherens, Hervé; Bolus, Michael; Boroneanţ, Adina; Boyadzhiev, Yavor; Budnik, Alicja; Burmaz, Josip; Chohadzhiev, Stefan; Conard, Nicholas J; Cottiaux, Richard; Čuka, Maja; Cupillard, Christophe; Drucker, Dorothée G; Elenski, Nedko; Francken, Michael; Galabova, Borislava; Ganetsovski, Georgi; Gély, Bernard; Hajdu, Tamás; Handzhyiska, Veneta; Harvati, Katerina; Higham, Thomas; Iliev, Stanislav; Janković, Ivor; Karavanić, Ivor; Kennett, Douglas J; Komšo, Darko; Kozak, Alexandra; Labuda, Damian; Lari, Martina; Lazar, Catalin; Leppek, Maleen; Leshtakov, Krassimir; Vetro, Domenico Lo; Los, Dženi; Lozanov, Ivaylo; Malina, Maria; Martini, Fabio; McSweeney, Kath; Meller, Harald; Menđušić, Marko; Mirea, Pavel; Moiseyev, Vyacheslav; Petrova, Vanya; Price, T Douglas; Simalcsik, Angela; Sineo, Luca; Šlaus, Mario; Slavchev, Vladimir; Stanev, Petar; Starović, Andrej; Szeniczey, Tamás; Talamo, Sahra; Teschler-Nicola, Maria; Thevenet, Corinne; Valchev, Ivan; Valentin, Frédérique; Vasilyev, Sergey; Veljanovska, Fanica; Venelinova, Svetlana; Veselovskaya, Elizaveta; Viola, Bence; Virag, Cristian; Zaninović, Joško; Zäuner, Steve; Stockhammer, Philipp W; Catalano, Giulio; Krauß, Raiko; Caramelli, David; Zariņa, Gunita; Gaydarska, Bisserka; Lillie, Malcolm; Nikitin, Alexey G; Potekhina, Inna; Papathanasiou, Anastasia; Borić, Dušan; Bonsall, Clive; Krause, Johannes; Pinhasi, Ron; Reich, David

2018-03-08

Farming was first introduced to Europe in the mid-seventh millennium bc, and was associated with migrants from Anatolia who settled in the southeast before spreading throughout Europe. Here, to understand the dynamics of this process, we analysed genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12000 and 500 bc. We document a west-east cline of ancestry in indigenous hunter-gatherers and, in eastern Europe, the early stages in the formation of Bronze Age steppe ancestry. We show that the first farmers of northern and western Europe dispersed through southeastern Europe with limited hunter-gatherer admixture, but that some early groups in the southeast mixed extensively with hunter-gatherers without the sex-biased admixture that prevailed later in the north and west. We also show that southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between east and west after the arrival of farmers, with intermittent genetic contact with steppe populations occurring up to 2,000 years earlier than the migrations from the steppe that ultimately replaced much of the population of northern Europe.

Model-experiment synthesis at two FACE sites in the southeastern US. Forest ecosystem responses to elevated CO[2]. (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, A. P.; Zaehle, S.; De Kauwe, M. G.; Medlyn, B. E.; Dietze, M.; Hickler, T.; Iversen, C. M.; Jain, A. K.; Luo, Y.; McCarthy, H. R.; Parton, W. J.; Prentice, C.; Thornton, P. E.; Wang, S.; Wang, Y.; Warlind, D.; Warren, J.; Weng, E.; Hanson, P. J.; Oren, R.; Norby, R. J.

2013-12-01

Ecosystem observations from two long-term Free-Air CO[2] Enrichment (FACE) experiments (Duke forest and Oak Ridge forest) were used to evaluate the assumptions of 11 terrestrial ecosystem models and the consequences of those assumptions for the responses of ecosystem water, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fluxes to elevated CO[2] (eCO[2]). Nitrogen dynamics were the main constraint on simulated productivity responses to eCO[2]. At Oak Ridge some models reproduced the declining response of C and N fluxes, while at Duke none of the models were able to maintain the observed sustained responses. C and N cycles are coupled through a number of complex interactions, which causes uncertainty in model simulations in multiple ways. Nonetheless, the major difference between models and experiments was a larger than observed increase in N-use efficiency and lower than observed response of N uptake. The results indicate that at Duke there were mechanisms by which trees accessed additional N in response to eCO[2] that were not represented in the ecosystem models, and which did not operate with the same efficiency at Oak Ridge. Sequestration of the additional productivity under eCO[2] into forest biomass depended largely on C allocation. Allocation assumptions were classified into three main categories--fixed partitioning coefficients, functional relationships and a partial (leaf allocation only) optimisation. The assumption which best constrained model results was a functional relationship between leaf area and sapwood area (pipe-model) and increased root allocation when nitrogen or water were limiting. Both, productivity and allocation responses to eCO[2] determined the ecosystem-level response of LAI, which together with the response of stomatal conductance (and hence water-use efficiency; WUE) determined the ecosystem response of transpiration. Differences in the WUE response across models were related to the representation of the relationship of stomatal conductance to CO[2] and

Taxonomic key for the genera of Elmidae (Coleoptera, Byrrhoidea occurring in Goiás State, Brazil, including new records and distributional notes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe F. Barbosa

2013-06-01

Full Text Available A taxonomic key for the genera of Elmidae (Coleoptera, Byrrhoidea occurring in Goiás State, Brazil, including new records and distributional notes. Despite their great diversity and high abundance in Neotropical aquatic environments, the fauna of Elmidae remains practically unknown in some areas and even entire biomes in this region. In this work we bring, for the first time, faunistic data for the Elmidae of central Brazil. The aim of this work was to inventory the Elmidae fauna in central, southwestern and southeastern Goiás State, Brazil and to produce a taxonomic key, at genus level, for adults from the studied region. The taxonomic key presented herein offers means for the identification of all the 13 genera known to occur in Goiás, 11 of them being new records for the State. Moreover, the number of named species registered for Goiás increased from one to nine.

Herpetofauna of Paranapiacaba: expanding our knowledge on a historical region in the Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vivian Trevine

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The largest area of preserved Atlantic forest is located in the southern portion of Brazil. The region of Paranapiacaba is depicted in Brazilian zoological studies as one of the first and most intensely sampled areas of the state of São Paulo.We provide a concise list of reptiles and amphibians from the Paranapiacaba Municipal Park. It represents the first comprehensive survey of the group in the area. We recorded 136 species of reptiles and amphibians from field surveys, museum collections and the literature. The anuran diversity of Paranapiacaba is greater than that of Estação Ecológica de Boracéia, which has been considered the most distinctive areas in São Paulo in terms of amphibian diversity. The rich history of herpetological research in the region, including the occurrence of the two most threatened species in Brazil, converts the area to an important conservation landmark for the Brazilian herpetofauna.

Comparison Between Paeoenvironmental and Land Use Changes Records in Brazilian Amazon Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Cordeiro, R. C.; Turcq, B. J.; Rodrigues, R. A.; Sifeddine, A.; Seoane, J. S.; Simões Filho, F. L.; Conceicao, M. G.

2008-12-01

Interpretations of biomass burn records in lacustrine sediments need a comparison among the charcoal particle fluxes influenced by different plant communities. The charcoal fluxes, which are related with paleofires, represent an important disturbance to the atmospheric system. These charcoal particles emitted to the atmosphere can promote a decrease in the sunlight penetration and greenhouse gas enhancement.Thus, the evaluation of charcoal deposition, as a consequence of regional burns, will have great importance to determine the impact of climatic change in different tropical ecosystems. This subject will be an important contribution for understanding the dynamics among vegetation, climate and carbon cycle along the present interglacial. In this study, paleofires records were obtained through the charcoal particle fluxes analysis in sediments of lakes surrounded by different vegetation, which represents the most spread ecosystems in Brazil. The main goals were to identify major events of vegetation burn during the Holocene and evaluate the influence of biomass availability to charcoal fluxes. Fires records were obtained through the charcoal particles flux analyses in lacustrine sediments cores at the following locations Brazilian Amazon: Lagoa da Pata (AM); Humaitá (AM), Lago do Saci (PA), Carajás N4, (PA); and Caracarana (RO) and reservoirs sediments in an intense land use change region (Alta Floresta, MT). The charcoal analyses could have also a great importance in evaluating the impact of dry climates in different ecosystems. Determination of fire frequencies and dimensions in key areas of South America, during the Holocene, is a first step to understand the global carbon transference between terrestrial and atmospheric systems. The synchronism among the fires occurrences show a good relation with the middle Holocene dry climate phase in Brazil. Discrepancy in the flux values could be attributed to differences in biomass availability provided by these

DOCUMENTED RECORD OF A MIGRATING EASTERN SLATY THRUSH (Turdus subalaris) (TURDIDAE, PASSERIFORMES) IN WESTERN MATO GROSSO STATE, BRAZIL

OpenAIRE

Breno Dias Vitorino; Angélica Vilas Boas da Frota; Renato da Silva Nunes

2016-01-01

The Eastern Slaty Thrush (Turdus subalaris) occurs in the meridional parts of South America, from Bolivia Southward to Argentina, Paraguay and South and Southeastern Brazil. During the winter on the continent, it performs migration little known toward areas of ecotone between Amazon and Cerrado, with little information on their area of wintering in the Mato Grosso state. In this study we report on a record documenting the species for the Alto Rio Guaporé basin, Western Mato Grosso, based on a...

The invasive spotted-wing Drosophila (Diptera, Drosophilidae has been found in the city of São Paulo (Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Ribeiro Vilela

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The invasive spotted-wing Drosophila (Diptera, Drosophilidae has been found in the city of São Paulo (Brazil. Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931, the cherry fly or spotted-wing Drosophila, a pest species from the Oriental and southeastern Palaearctic regions belonging to the melanogaster group, invaded the Nearctic and western countries of the Palaearctic regions late last decade (2008 and, more recently (2013, the southern Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Early in 2014 it was reared from blueberries produced in São Joaquim, state of Santa Catarina, that were bought at a São Paulo city grocery store. Despite being a cold-adapted species, after having arrived to the southeastern state of São Paulo, this invasive fly will probably expand its territory to other Brazilian states and South American countries through trade of cultivated soft skin small fruits, such as blueberries and strawberries, as well as naturally through the use of small wild fruits as breeding sites.

Adequacy assessment of mathematical models in the dynamics of litter decomposition in a tropical forest Mosaic Atlantic, in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FP. Nunes

Full Text Available The study of litter decomposition and nutrient cycling is essential to know native forests structure and functioning. Mathematical models can help to understand the local and temporal litter fall variations and their environmental variables relationships. The objective of this study was test the adequacy of mathematical models for leaf litter decomposition in the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. We study four native forest sites in Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, a Biosphere Reserve of the Atlantic, which were installed 200 bags of litter decomposing with 20×20 cm nylon screen of 2 mm, with 10 grams of litter. Monthly from 09/2007 to 04/2009, 10 litterbags were removed for determination of the mass loss. We compared 3 nonlinear models: 1 – Olson Exponential Model (1963, which considers the constant K, 2 – Model proposed by Fountain and Schowalter (2004, 3 – Model proposed by Coelho and Borges (2005, which considers the variable K through QMR, SQR, SQTC, DMA and Test F. The Fountain and Schowalter (2004 model was inappropriate for this study by overestimating decomposition rate. The decay curve analysis showed that the model with the variable K was more appropriate, although the values of QMR and DMA revealed no significant difference (p> 0.05 between the models. The analysis showed a better adjustment of DMA using K variable, reinforced by the values of the adjustment coefficient (R2. However, convergence problems were observed in this model for estimate study areas outliers, which did not occur with K constant model. This problem can be related to the non-linear fit of mass/time values to K variable generated. The model with K constant shown to be adequate to describe curve decomposition for separately areas and best adjustability without convergence problems. The results demonstrated the adequacy of Olson model to estimate tropical forest litter decomposition. Although use of reduced number of parameters equaling the steps of the

Adequacy assessment of mathematical models in the dynamics of litter decomposition in a tropical forest Mosaic Atlantic, in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, F P; Garcia, Q S

2015-05-01

The study of litter decomposition and nutrient cycling is essential to know native forests structure and functioning. Mathematical models can help to understand the local and temporal litter fall variations and their environmental variables relationships. The objective of this study was test the adequacy of mathematical models for leaf litter decomposition in the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. We study four native forest sites in Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, a Biosphere Reserve of the Atlantic, which were installed 200 bags of litter decomposing with 20 × 20 cm nylon screen of 2 mm, with 10 grams of litter. Monthly from 09/2007 to 04/2009, 10 litterbags were removed for determination of the mass loss. We compared 3 nonlinear models: 1 - Olson Exponential Model (1963), which considers the constant K, 2 - Model proposed by Fountain and Schowalter (2004), 3 - Model proposed by Coelho and Borges (2005), which considers the variable K through QMR, SQR, SQTC, DMA and Test F. The Fountain and Schowalter (2004) model was inappropriate for this study by overestimating decomposition rate. The decay curve analysis showed that the model with the variable K was more appropriate, although the values of QMR and DMA revealed no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the models. The analysis showed a better adjustment of DMA using K variable, reinforced by the values of the adjustment coefficient (R2). However, convergence problems were observed in this model for estimate study areas outliers, which did not occur with K constant model. This problem can be related to the non-linear fit of mass/time values to K variable generated. The model with K constant shown to be adequate to describe curve decomposition for separately areas and best adjustability without convergence problems. The results demonstrated the adequacy of Olson model to estimate tropical forest litter decomposition. Although use of reduced number of parameters equaling the steps of the decomposition

Origin and structural evolution of the Cenozoic Rift System of Southeastern Brazil; Origem e evolucao estrutural do Sistema de Riftes Cenozoicos do Sudeste do Brasil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zalan, Pedro Victor [PETROBRAS S.A., Salvador, BA (Brazil). E e P. Gerencia de Gestao de Projetos Exploratorios], E-mail: zalan@petrobras.com.br; Oliveira, Joao Alberto Bach de

2005-05-15

The southeastern region of Brazil did not constitute a typical passive margin as one would expect from the premises of Plate Tectonics. After 25 m.y. that rifting (134-114 Ma) ceased an uplift of epeirogenic nature of the continental crust started in response to the drifting of the South American Plate over a thermal anomaly (Trindade hot spot). This Late Cretaceous (89-65 Ma) uplift was accompanied by intense alkaline (over non-extended crust) and basaltic (over thinned crust) magmatism. A marked absence of tectonism, however, also characterized this event. The resulting highlands extended over 300 000 km{sup 2} (Cretaceous Serra do Mar), and they were the main source area for coniacian-maastrichtian sediments of the Santos, Campos and Parana Basins. By the end of the rising (exactly at the K/T boundary) a widespread erosional surface had developed (Japi Surface) and leveled the top of the highlands at around 2 000 m (in relation to present-day sea level). This mega-plateau was adjacent to the subsiding Santos and Campos Basins and created an isostatically unstable situation. Gravitational collapse began around 7 m.y. after K/T, towards the depocenters of the basins. From Late Paleocene to Early Miocene (58-20 Ma) the continental crust broke and collapsed into a series of grabens, thus forming corridors (rifts) parallel to the current coastline. The ancient eastern edge of the Cretaceous Serra do Mar coincided with the current cretaceous hinge line of the Santos and Campos Basins. The topographic remnants of the mega-plateau nowadays form the highest parts of the Mantiqueira and Serra do Mar Ranges, modified by elastic rebound and tilting of the fault blocks. (author)

Organic matter composition in the sediment of three Brazilian coastal lagoons: district of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

OpenAIRE

Zink,Klaus-Gerhard; Furtado,André L. S.; Casper,Peter; Schwark,Lorenz

2004-01-01

Freshwater lagoons comprise important coastal ecosystems and natural buffers between urbanized land areas and open ocean in the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Studies of sediment and water chemistry, zooplankton and bacterial communities to assess the extent of anthropogenic disturbance are available. Here we contribute with an organic-geochemical approach supplemented by some microbiological aspects to complete the characterization of these lagoonal ecosystems. Bulk organic matter and extract...

Spatially-explicit modeling of multi-scale drivers of aboveground forest biomass and water yield in watersheds of the Southeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajaz Ahmed, Mukhtar Ahmed; Abd-Elrahman, Amr; Escobedo, Francisco J; Cropper, Wendell P; Martin, Timothy A; Timilsina, Nilesh

2017-09-01

Understanding ecosystem processes and the influence of regional scale drivers can provide useful information for managing forest ecosystems. Examining more local scale drivers of forest biomass and water yield can also provide insights for identifying and better understanding the effects of climate change and management on forests. We used diverse multi-scale datasets, functional models and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) to model ecosystem processes at the watershed scale and to interpret the influence of ecological drivers across the Southeastern United States (SE US). Aboveground forest biomass (AGB) was determined from available geospatial datasets and water yield was estimated using the Water Supply and Stress Index (WaSSI) model at the watershed level. Our geostatistical model examined the spatial variation in these relationships between ecosystem processes, climate, biophysical, and forest management variables at the watershed level across the SE US. Ecological and management drivers at the watershed level were analyzed locally to identify whether drivers contribute positively or negatively to aboveground forest biomass and water yield ecosystem processes and thus identifying potential synergies and tradeoffs across the SE US region. Although AGB and water yield drivers varied geographically across the study area, they were generally significantly influenced by climate (rainfall and temperature), land-cover factor1 (Water and barren), land-cover factor2 (wetland and forest), organic matter content high, rock depth, available water content, stand age, elevation, and LAI drivers. These drivers were positively or negatively associated with biomass or water yield which significantly contributes to ecosystem interactions or tradeoff/synergies. Our study introduced a spatially-explicit modelling framework to analyze the effect of ecosystem drivers on forest ecosystem structure, function and provision of services. This integrated model approach facilitates

Brazil's Market for Trading Forest Certificates.

Science.gov (United States)

Soares-Filho, Britaldo; Rajão, Raoni; Merry, Frank; Rodrigues, Hermann; Davis, Juliana; Lima, Letícia; Macedo, Marcia; Coe, Michael; Carneiro, Arnaldo; Santiago, Leonardo

2016-01-01

Brazil faces an enormous challenge to implement its revised Forest Code. Despite big losses for the environment, the law introduces new mechanisms to facilitate compliance and foster payment for ecosystem services (PES). The most promising of these is a market for trading forest certificates (CRAs) that allows landowners to offset their restoration obligations by paying for maintaining native vegetation elsewhere. We analyzed the economic potential for the emerging CRA market in Brazil and its implications for PES programs. Results indicate a potential market for trading 4.2 Mha of CRAs with a gross value of US$ 9.2±2.4 billion, with main regional markets forming in the states of Mato Grosso and São Paulo. This would be the largest market for trading forests in the world. Overall, the potential supply of CRAs in Brazilian states exceeds demand, creating an opportunity for additional PES programs to use the CRA market. This expanded market could provide not only monetary incentives to conserve native vegetation, but also environmental co-benefits by fostering PES programs focused on biodiversity, water conservation, and climate regulation. Effective implementation of the Forest Code will be vital to the success of this market and this hurdle brings uncertainty into the market. Long-term commitment, both within Brazil and abroad, will be essential to overcome the many challenges ahead.

Brazil's Market for Trading Forest Certificates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Britaldo Soares-Filho

Full Text Available Brazil faces an enormous challenge to implement its revised Forest Code. Despite big losses for the environment, the law introduces new mechanisms to facilitate compliance and foster payment for ecosystem services (PES. The most promising of these is a market for trading forest certificates (CRAs that allows landowners to offset their restoration obligations by paying for maintaining native vegetation elsewhere. We analyzed the economic potential for the emerging CRA market in Brazil and its implications for PES programs. Results indicate a potential market for trading 4.2 Mha of CRAs with a gross value of US$ 9.2±2.4 billion, with main regional markets forming in the states of Mato Grosso and São Paulo. This would be the largest market for trading forests in the world. Overall, the potential supply of CRAs in Brazilian states exceeds demand, creating an opportunity for additional PES programs to use the CRA market. This expanded market could provide not only monetary incentives to conserve native vegetation, but also environmental co-benefits by fostering PES programs focused on biodiversity, water conservation, and climate regulation. Effective implementation of the Forest Code will be vital to the success of this market and this hurdle brings uncertainty into the market. Long-term commitment, both within Brazil and abroad, will be essential to overcome the many challenges ahead.

Effects of a Possible Pollinator Crisis on Food Crop Production in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Novais, Samuel M A; Nunes, Cássio A; Santos, Natália B; D Amico, Ana R; Fernandes, G Wilson; Quesada, Maurício; Braga, Rodrigo F; Neves, Ana Carolina O

2016-01-01

Animal pollinators contribute to human food production and security thereby ensuring an important component of human well-being. The recent decline of these agents in Europe and North America has aroused the concern of a potential global pollinator crisis. In order to prioritize efforts for pollinator conservation, we evaluated the extent to which food production depends on animal pollinators in Brazil-one of the world's agriculture leaders-by comparing cultivated area, produced volume and yield value of major food crops that are pollinator dependent with those that are pollinator non-dependent. In addition, we valued the ecosystem service of pollination based on the degree of pollinator dependence of each crop and the consequence of a decline in food production to the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product and Brazilian food security. A total of 68% of the 53 major food crops in Brazil depend to some degree on animals for pollination. Pollinator non-dependent crops produce a greater volume of food, mainly because of the high production of sugarcane, but the cultivated area and monetary value of pollinator dependent crops are higher (59% of total cultivated area and 68% of monetary value). The loss of pollination services for 29 of the major food crops would reduce production by 16.55-51 million tons, which would amount to 4.86-14.56 billion dollars/year, and reduce the agricultural contribution to the Brazilian GDP by 6.46%- 19.36%. These impacts would be largely absorbed by family farmers, which represent 74.4% of the agricultural labor force in Brazil. The main effects of a pollinator crisis in Brazil would be felt by the poorer and more rural classes due to their lower income and direct or exclusive dependence on this ecosystem service.

Using Remote Sensing and Random Forest to Assess the Conservation Status of Critical Cerrado Habitats in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Reynolds

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Brazil’s Cerrado is a highly diverse ecosystem and it provides critical habitat for many species. Cerrado habitats have suffered significant degradation and decline over the past decades due to expansion of cash crops and livestock farming across South America. Approximately 1,800,000 km2 of the Cerrado remain in Brazil, but detailed maps and conservation assessments of the Cerrado are lacking. We developed a land cover classification for the Cerrado, focusing on the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, which may also be used to map critical habitat for endangered species. We used a Random Forest algorithm to perform a supervised classification on a set of Landsat 8 images. To determine habitat fragmentation for the Cerrado, we used Fragstats. A habitat connectivity analysis was performed using Linkage Mapper. Our final classification had an overall accuracy of 88%. Our classification produced higher accuracies (72% in predicting Cerrado than existing government maps. We found that remaining Cerrado habitats were severely fragmented. Four potential corridors were identified in the southwest of Mato Grosso do Sul, where large Cerrado patches are located. Only two large patches remain in Mato Grosso do Sul: one within the Kadiwéu Indian Reserve, and one near the southeastern edge of the Pantanal-dominated landscape. These results are alarming for rare species requiring larger tracts of habitat such as the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus.

Restoring a disappearing ecosystem: the Longleaf Pine Savanna.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harrington, Timothy B. [USFS; Miller, Karl V. [University of Georgia; Park, Noreen

2013-05-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savannas of the southeastern United States contain some of the worlds most diverse plant communities, along with a unique complement of wildlife. Their traditionally open canopy structure and rich understory of grasses and herbs were critical to their vigor. However, a long history of land-use practices such as logging, farming, and fire exclusion have reduced this once-widespread ecosystem to only 3 percent of its original range. At six longleaf pine plantations in South Carolina, Tim Harrington with the Pacific Northwest Research Station and collaborators with the Southern Research Station used various treatments (including prescribed burns, tree thinning, and herbicide applications) to alter the forest structure and tracked how successful each one was in advancing savanna restoration over a 14-year period. They found that typical planting densities for wood production in plantations create dense understory shade that excludes many native herbaceous species important to savannas and associated wildlife. The scientists found that although tree thinning alone did not result in sustained gains, a combination of controlled burning, thinning, and herbicide treatments to reduce woody plants was an effective strategy for recovering the savanna ecosystem. The scientists also found that these efforts must be repeated periodically for enduring benefits.

Diet and potential feeding overlap between Trichiurus lepturus (Osteichthyes: Perciformes and Pontoporia blainvillei (Mammalia: Cetacea in Northern Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa T. Bittar

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This study describes the diet and assesses potential overlap in the feeding habits of Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758 and Pontoporia blainvilleiGervais & D'Orbigny, 1844 in northern Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Fishes were numerically dominant in both diets, followed by cephalopods for P. blainvillei and crustaceans for T. lepturus. Both predators move along similar coastal feeding areas in northern Rio de Janeiro, but our results indicate differences in their resource exploitation, what allows for their coexistence.

Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Lohani, S.; Heilman, P.; deSteiguer, J. E.; Guertin, D. P.; Wissler, C.; McClaran, M. P.

2014-12-01

Quantifying ecosystem services is a crucial topic for land management decision making. However, market prices are usually not able to capture all the ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystem services from rangelands, that cover 70% of the world's land area, are even less well-understood since knowledge of rangelands is limited. This study generated a management framework for rangelands that uses remote sensing to generate state and transition models (STMs) for a large area and a linear programming (LP) model that uses ecosystem services to evaluate natural and/or management induced transitions as described in the STM. The LP optimization model determines the best management plan for a plot of semi-arid land in the Empire Ranch in southeastern Arizona. The model allocated land among management activities (do nothing, grazing, fire, and brush removal) to optimize net benefits and determined the impact of monetizing environmental services and disservices on net benefits, acreage allocation and production output. The ecosystem services under study were forage production (AUM/ac/yr), sediment (lbs/ac/yr), water runoff (inches/yr), soil loss (lbs/ac/yr) and recreation (thousands of number of visitors/ac/yr). The optimization model was run for three different scenarios - private rancher, public rancher including environmental services and excluding disservices, and public rancher including both services and disservices. The net benefit was the highest for the public rancher excluding the disservices. A result from the study is a constrained optimization model that incorporates ecosystem services to analyze investments on conservation and management activities. Rangeland managers can use this model to understand and explain, not prescribe, the tradeoffs of management investments.

Southeastern Power Administration 2007 Annual Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2007-12-28

Dear Secretary Chu: I am proud to submit Southeastern Power Administration’s (Southeastern’s) fiscal year (FY) 2007 Annual Report for your review. The information included in this report reflects Southeastern’s programs, accomplishments, and financial activities for the 12-month period beginning October 1, 2006 and ending September 30, 2007. Southeastern marketed more than 5 billion kilowatt-hours of energy to 492 wholesale Federal power customers in an 11-state marketing area in FY 2007. Revenues from the sale of this power totaled approximately $219 million. Drought conditions continued to plague the southeast region of the United States during 2007 placing strains on our natural and financial resources. Southeastern purchased more than $40 million in replacement power to meet customer contract requirements to ensure the continued reliability of our nation’s power grid. With the financial assistance and support of our Federal power customers, continued funding for capitalized equipment replacements at various Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) hydroelectric projects provided much needed repairs and maintenance for aging facilities. Southeastern’s cyber and physical security program continued to be reviewed and updated to meet Department of Energy (DOE), Homeland Security, and North American Electric Reliability Corporation standards and requirements. Plans for the upcoming year include communication and cooperation with DOE, Federal power customers, and the Corps to maximize the benefits of our nation’s water resources. Competition for the use of water and the prolonged drought conditions will present another challenging year for our agency. The employees at Southeastern will be proactive in meeting these challenges and providing reliable hydroelectric power to the people in the southeast. Sincerely, Kenneth E. Legg Administrator

Revealing Invisible Water: Moisture Recycling as an Ecosystem Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Keys, Patrick W; Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; Gordon, Line J

2016-01-01

An ecosystem service is a benefit derived by humanity that can be traced back to an ecological process. Although ecosystem services related to surface water have been thoroughly described, the relationship between atmospheric water and ecosystem services has been mostly neglected, and perhaps misunderstood. Recent advances in land-atmosphere modeling have revealed the importance of terrestrial ecosystems for moisture recycling. In this paper, we analyze the extent to which vegetation sustains the supply of atmospheric moisture and precipitation for downwind beneficiaries, globally. We simulate land-surface evaporation with a global hydrology model and track changes to moisture recycling using an atmospheric moisture budget model, and we define vegetation-regulated moisture recycling as the difference in moisture recycling between current vegetation and a hypothetical desert world. Our results show that nearly a fifth of annual average precipitation falling on land is from vegetation-regulated moisture recycling, but the global variability is large, with many places receiving nearly half their precipitation from this ecosystem service. The largest potential impacts for changes to this ecosystem service are land-use changes across temperate regions in North America and Russia. Likewise, in semi-arid regions reliant on rainfed agricultural production, land-use change that even modestly reduces evaporation and subsequent precipitation, could significantly affect human well-being. We also present a regional case study in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil, where we identify the specific moisture recycling ecosystem services associated with the vegetation in Mato Grosso. We find that Mato Grosso vegetation regulates some internal precipitation, with a diffuse region of benefit downwind, primarily to the south and east, including the La Plata River basin and the megacities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. We synthesize our global and regional results into a generalized

Post-fire regeneration in seasonally dry tropical forest fragments in southeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Mayke B; Menezes, Luis Fernando T DE; Nascimento, Marcelo T

2017-01-01

Seasonally dry tropical forest is one of the highly threatened biome. However, studies on the effect of fire on these tree communities are still scarce. In this context, a floristic and structural survey in three forest areas in the southeast of Brazil that were affected by fire between 14 and 25 years ago was performed with the objective of evaluating post-fire regeneration. In each site, five systematically placed plots (25 m x 25 m each) were established. The more recently burnt site had significantly lower values of richness and diversity than the other two sites. However, the sites did not differ in density and basal area. Annona dolabripetala, Astronium concinnum, Joannesia princeps and Polyandrococos caudescens were within the 10 most important species for the three sites. Comparing these data with adjacent mature forests, the results indicated differences both in structural and floristic aspects, suggesting that the time after fire was not sufficient for recuperation of these areas. The recovery process indicate at least 190 years for areas return to basal area values close to those observed in mature forests nearby.

Taxonomy of Cotylea (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida) from Cabo Frio, southeastern Brazil, with the description of a new species.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahia, Juliana; Padula, Vinicius; Lavrado, Helena Passeri; Quiroga, Sigmer

2014-10-20

Polyclads are free-living Platyhelminthes with a simple, dorsoventrally flattened body and a much ramified intestine. In Brazil, 66 species are reported; only three from Rio de Janeiro State (RJ). The main objective of this study is to describe and illustrate coloration pattern, external morphology, reproductive system morphology and, when possible, biological and ecological aspects of species of the suborder Cotylea found in Cabo Frio, RJ. Of the 13 cotylean polyclad species found, Pseudobiceros pardalis, Cycloporus variegatus and Eurylepta aurantiaca are new records from the Brazilian coast and one species is new to science, Pseudoceros juani sp. nov. Feeding observations were made of four species. It is the first time that Lurymare utarum, Cycloporus gabriellae, C. variegatus and E. aurantiaca are illustrated with digital photographs of live specimens and histological preparations. This study increases to 70 the number of Brazilian Polycladida and to 14 the number of species known from Rio de Janeiro State. However, the knowledge about Polycladida in Brazil still has gaps, with great parts of the coast remaining unsampled. 

The impact of asthma in Brazil: a longitudinal analysis of data from a Brazilian national database system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thiago de Araujo Cardoso

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To present official longitudinal data on the impact of asthma in Brazil between 2008 and 2013. Methods: This was a descriptive study of data collected between 2008 and 2013 from an official Brazilian national database, including data on asthma-related number of hospitalizations, mortality, and hospitalization costs. A geographical subanalysis was also performed. Results: In 2013, 2,047 people died from asthma in Brazil (5 deaths/day, with more than 120,000 asthma-related hospitalizations. During the whole study period, the absolute number of asthma-related deaths and of hospitalizations decreased by 10% and 36%, respectively. However, the in-hospital mortality rate increased by approximately 25% in that period. The geographic subanalysis showed that the northern/northeastern and southeastern regions had the highest asthma-related hospitalization and in-hospital mortality rates, respectively. An analysis of the states representative of the regions of Brazil revealed discrepancies between the numbers of asthma-related hospitalizations and asthma-related in-hospital mortality rates. During the study period, the cost of asthma-related hospitalizations to the public health care system was US$ 170 million. Conclusions: Although the numbers of asthma-related deaths and hospital admissions in Brazil have been decreasing since 2009, the absolute numbers are still high, resulting in elevated direct and indirect costs for the society. This shows the relevance of the burden of asthma in middle-income countries.

Deforestation and climate feedbacks threaten the ecological integrity of south-southeastern Amazonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Coe, Michael T; Marthews, Toby R; Costa, Marcos Heil; Galbraith, David R; Greenglass, Nora L; Imbuzeiro, Hewlley M A; Levine, Naomi M; Malhi, Yadvinder; Moorcroft, Paul R; Muza, Michel Nobre; Powell, Thomas L; Saleska, Scott R; Solorzano, Luis A; Wang, Jingfeng

2013-06-05

A mosaic of protected areas, including indigenous lands, sustainable-use production forests and reserves and strictly protected forests is the cornerstone of conservation in the Amazon, with almost 50 per cent of the region now protected. However, recent research indicates that isolation from direct deforestation or degradation may not be sufficient to maintain the ecological integrity of Amazon forests over the next several decades. Large-scale changes in fire and drought regimes occurring as a result of deforestation and greenhouse gas increases may result in forest degradation, regardless of protected status. How severe or widespread these feedbacks will be is uncertain, but the arc of deforestation in south-southeastern Amazonia appears to be particularly vulnerable owing to high current deforestation rates and ecological sensitivity to climate change. Maintaining forest ecosystem integrity may require significant strengthening of forest conservation on private property, which can in part be accomplished by leveraging existing policy mechanisms.

Complementary systems of aeolian and hydraulic energy in Brazil; Sistemas complementares de energia eolica e hidraulica no Brasil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schultz, Dario Jackson; Sugai, Martha Regina von Borstel [Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL), Curitiba, PR (Brazil)]. E-mail: dario@copel.com; martha.sugai@copel.com; Amarante, Odilon A. Camargo do [Camargo Schubert Engenheiros Associados Ltda., Curitiba, PR (Brazil)]. E-mail: ventar@terra.com.br; Rocha, Nelson de Andrade [Promon Engenharia Ltda, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)]. E-mail: nelson.rocha@promon.com.br; Bittencourt, Rogerio Motta [Companhia Hidro Eletrica do Sao Francisco (CHESF), Recife, PE (Brazil)]. E-mail: rogeriob@chesf.gov.br

2005-10-15

One important historical challenge to the operation planning of the Brazilian interconnected electrical system has been the seasonal stabilization of the energy supply, due to the stochastic nature of hydro resources. Most of the significant Brazilian hydro power stations rely on the hydrological regimes of the Southeast, which have a remarkable tendency for seasonal fluctuations of significant amplitude. In the last decades, wind power generation has proven its suitability to the Gigawatt scale, necessary to an effective contribution to electric systems. This paper demonstrates, from existing data, the wind / hydro seasonal complementarity in the relevant areas of Brazil, and discusses its possible effect on the feasibility of seasonal stabilization of the energy supply in the Brazilian interconnected grid, taking advantage of the country's large natural resources available. Case studies for the southern/southeastern and the northeastern regions of Brazil are presented. (author)

Murine (endemic typhus in Brazil: case report and review Tifo murino (endêmico no Brasil: relato de caso e revisão

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz J. Silva

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Murine typhus has been increasingly recognized worldwide and is becoming a relevant differential diagnosis in febrile conditions. In Brazil, murine typhus has never received much attention. We present a recently diagnosed case and a literature review that suggests that the disease could be more prevalent in Southeastern Brazil than acknowledged until now.O tifo murino tem sido reconhecido com freqüência crescente em todo o mundo e vem se tornando um relevante diagnóstico diferencial de quadros febris. No Brasill, o tifo murino nunca mereceu grande atenção. Descrevemos um caso clínico e fazemos revisão da literatura que sugere que a doença poderia ser mais prevalente no sudeste brasileiro do que reconhecido até então.

A comparative study of resource allocation in Pteridium in different Brazilian ecosystems and its relationship with European studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DM Silva Matos

Full Text Available Pteridium is a cosmopolitan genus that acts as an invasive species in many parts of the world. Most research on this genus has occurred in Europe, and there is a lack of data on it from South America, in spite of causing considerable conservation problems. We compared the biomass allocation of P. esculentum subsp. arachnoideum in two ecosystems in Brazil - Atlantic forest and Brazilian savanna. We measured the biomass of fronds, rhizomes and above-ground litter. We also compared the density, length and biomass of fronds from this Brazilian study with similar data of P. esculentumsubsp. arachnoideum derived from Venezuela and P. aquilinum from Europe. P. esculentum subsp. arachnoideum showed a wide response range. We found a negative relationship between frond and necromass, indicating a negative feedback effect, while a positive relationship was observed between frond and rhizome biomass. The continental comparison of relationships showed that Pteridium responds in a different way in both Brazil and Europe, and that in Brazil fronds tend to be longer and heavier, presumably as a result of the continuous growing season in South America while is shortened in Europe by frost. The paper shows the ability of Pteridium to adapt to different ecosystems.

Reproductive ecology of the exotic tree Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae in southeastern Brazil Ecologia reprodutiva da árvore exótica Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae no sudeste do Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo Antônio de Figueiredo

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The exotic tree Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae, a species native to Central America, is used as fish feed and fiber and cellulose production in Brazil. This study was carried out in urban areas and verified the reproductive biology of this plant species. Flower and fruit morphology, compatibility system, reproductive phenology, pollination and frugivore animals, and germination of disseminated seeds were recorded by standard field and laboratory procedures. This tree is self-compatible and autonomously self-pollinated, with its flowers being mainly visited by bees and its fruits consumed by birds and bats. Germination of its dispersed seeds is fast and occurs at a high rate. The results of this work suggest that M. calabura is very adaptable to cultivated areas,thus being an excellent choice for urban reforestation. However, its reproductive characteristics place this plant as an invasive species with significant potential in southeastern Brazil.A árvore exótica Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae é nativa da América Central e, no Brasil, ela é utilizada para alimentação de peixes e para produção de fibras e celulose. Este estudo, realizado em áreas urbanas, verificou a biologia reprodutiva dessa espécie vegetal. A morfologia de flores e frutos, o sistema de compatibilidade, a fenologia reprodutiva, os animais polinizadores e frugívoros e a germinação das sementes foram estudados através de procedimentos-padrão de campo e laboratório. A árvore é autocompatível e apresenta autopolinização espontânea, com suas flores visitadas por abelhas e frutos consumidos por aves e morcegos. A germinação das sementes é rápida e com elevada taxa. A conclusão é que M. calabura é uma espécie vegetal altamente adaptada à reprodução sob condições de cultivo, sendo uma excelente opção para inclusão em projetos de reflorestamento urbano. Apesar disso, as características reprodutivas colocam essa espécie como importante

Extending GIS Technology to Study Karst Features of Southeastern Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Y.; Tipping, R. G.; Alexander, E. C.; Alexander, S. C.

2001-12-01

This paper summarizes ongoing research on karst feature distribution of southeastern Minnesota. The main goals of this interdisciplinary research are: 1) to look for large-scale patterns in the rate and distribution of sinkhole development; 2) to conduct statistical tests of hypotheses about the formation of sinkholes; 3) to create management tools for land-use managers and planners; and 4) to deliver geomorphic and hydrogeologic criteria for making scientifically valid land-use policies and ethical decisions in karst areas of southeastern Minnesota. Existing county and sub-county karst feature datasets of southeastern Minnesota have been assembled into a large GIS-based database capable of analyzing the entire data set. The central database management system (DBMS) is a relational GIS-based system interacting with three modules: GIS, statistical and hydrogeologic modules. ArcInfo and ArcView were used to generate a series of 2D and 3D maps depicting karst feature distributions in southeastern Minnesota. IRIS ExplorerTM was used to produce satisfying 3D maps and animations using data exported from GIS-based database. Nearest-neighbor analysis has been used to test sinkhole distributions in different topographic and geologic settings. All current nearest-neighbor analyses testify that sinkholes in southeastern Minnesota are not evenly distributed in this area (i.e., they tend to be clustered). More detailed statistical methods such as cluster analysis, histograms, probability estimation, correlation and regression have been used to study the spatial distributions of some mapped karst features of southeastern Minnesota. A sinkhole probability map for Goodhue County has been constructed based on sinkhole distribution, bedrock geology, depth to bedrock, GIS buffer analysis and nearest-neighbor analysis. A series of karst features for Winona County including sinkholes, springs, seeps, stream sinks and outcrop has been mapped and entered into the Karst Feature Database

Dental caries experience in 12-year-old schoolchildren in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Cypriano

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of caries-free children using DMFT and significant caries (SiC indexes in different caries prevalence groups in cities of the region of Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil. The methodology proposed by the World Health Organization (1997 was used for caries diagnosis in 2,378 individuals. According to the DMFT index obtained in each evaluated city, 3 prevalence groups with representative samples were formed, being classified as low, moderate and high. SiC index was used to classify the one third of the population with the highest caries prevalence. In the low prevalence group, 32.4% of the children were caries free (DMFT=0, with mean DMFT of 2.29 and SiC index of 4.93. In the moderate prevalence group, 21.8% of the children were caries free, with mean DMFT of 3.36 and SiC of 6.74. Only 6.9% of the children in the high prevalence group were caries free and the mean DMFT was 5.54 (SiC=9.62. There was a great heterogeneity in dental caries distribution within the studied population, as well as a high caries prevalence considering the 3 classifications. Other indexes besides DMFT could be used to improve oral health assessment during establishment of the treatment plan and intervention.

Flammability of litter from southeastern trees: a preliminary assessment

Science.gov (United States)

J. Morgan Varner; Jeffrey M. Kane; Erin M. Banwell; Jesse K. Kreye

2015-01-01

The southeastern United States possesses a great diversity of woody species and an equally impressive history of wildland fires. Species are known to vary in their flammability, but little is known about southeastern species. We used published data and our own collections to perform standard litter flammability tests on a diverse suite of 25 native overstory trees from...

Ecology and conservation of the endemic lizard Tropidurus hygomi in “restinga” habitats of the north coast of Bahia state, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Karina Vieira Martins; Eduardo José dos Reis Dias; Carlos Frederico Duarte da Rocha

2010-01-01

“Restingas” are herbaceous/ shrubby coastal sand-dune habitats that cover great areas of Brazil, particularly along the Bahia state coast. The restingas are disturbed and are under strong pressure, mainly in northeastern Brazil. Fragmentation of the landscape and habitat loss within natural ecosystems are the factors which are mainly responsible for reduction of species diversity by extinction events. The goal of thepresent study was elucidate whether the conservation status of restinga habit...

Impact of anthropogenic development on coastal ground-water hydrology in southeastern Florida, 1900-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Renken, Robert A.; Dixon, Joann; Koehmstedt, John A.; Ishman, Scott; Lietz, A.C.; Marella, Richard L.; Telis, Pamela A.; Rodgers, Jeff; Memberg, Steven

2005-01-01

Southeastern Florida is an area that has been subject to widely conflicting anthropogenic stress to the Everglades and coastal ecosystems. This stress is a direct consequence of the 20th century economic competition for limited land and water resources needed to satisfy agricultural development and its expansion, its displacement by burgeoning urban development, and the accompanying growth of the limestone mining industry. The development of a highly controlled water-management system designed to reclaim land for urban and agricultural development has severely impacted the extent, character, and vitality of the historic Everglades and coastal ecosystems. An extensive conveyance system of canals, levees, impoundments, surface- water control structures, and numerous municipal well fields are used to sustain the present-day Everglades hydrologic system, prevent overland flow from moving eastward and flooding urban and agricultural areas, maintain water levels to prevent saltwater intrusion, and provide an adequate water supply. Extractive mining activities expanded considerably in the latter part of the 20th century, largely in response to urban construction needs. Much of the present-day urban-agricultural corridor of southeastern Florida lies within an area that is no more than 15 feet above NGVD 1929 and formerly characterized by freshwater marsh, upland, and saline coastal wetland ecosystems. Miami- Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties have experienced explosive population growth, increasing from less than 4,000 inhabitants in 1900 to more than 5 million in 2000. Ground-water use, the principal source of municipal supply, has increased from about 65 Mgal/d (million gallons per day) obtained from 3 well fields in 1930 to more than 770 Mgal/d obtained from 65 well fields in 1995. Water use for agricultural supply increased from 505 Mgal/d in 1953 to nearly 1,150 Mgal/d in 1988, but has since declined to 764 Mgal/d in 1995, partly as a result of displacement of the

Land Use in LCA: Including Regionally Altered Precipitation to Quantify Ecosystem Damage.

Science.gov (United States)

Lathuillière, Michael J; Bulle, Cécile; Johnson, Mark S

2016-11-01

The incorporation of soil moisture regenerated by precipitation, or green water, into life cycle assessment has been of growing interest given the global importance of this resource for terrestrial ecosystems and food production. This paper proposes a new impact assessment model to relate land and water use in seasonally dry, semiarid, and arid regions where precipitation and evapotranspiration are closely coupled. We introduce the Precipitation Reduction Potential midpoint impact representing the change in downwind precipitation as a result of a land transformation and occupation activity. Then, our end-point impact model quantifies terrestrial ecosystem damage as a function of precipitation loss using a relationship between woody plant species richness, water and energy regimes. We then apply the midpoint and end-point models to the production of soybean in Southeastern Amazonia which has resulted from the expansion of cropland into tropical forest, with noted effects on local precipitation. Our proposed cause-effect chain represents a complementary approach to previous contributions which have focused on water consumption impacts and/or have represented evapotranspiration as a loss to the water cycle.

Soil-plant-atmosphere conditions regulating convective cloud formation above southeastern US pine plantations.

Science.gov (United States)

Manoli, Gabriele; Domec, Jean-Christophe; Novick, Kimberly; Oishi, Andrew Christopher; Noormets, Asko; Marani, Marco; Katul, Gabriel

2016-06-01

Loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda L.) occupy more than 20% of the forested area in the southern United States, represent more than 50% of the standing pine volume in this region, and remove from the atmosphere about 500 g C m-2 per year through net ecosystem exchange. Hence, their significance as a major regional carbon sink can hardly be disputed. What is disputed is whether the proliferation of young plantations replacing old forest in the southern United States will alter key aspects of the hydrologic cycle, including convective rainfall, which is the focus of the present work. Ecosystem fluxes of sensible (Hs) and latent heat (LE) and large-scale, slowly evolving free atmospheric temperature and water vapor content are known to be first-order controls on the formation of convective clouds in the atmospheric boundary layer. These controlling processes are here described by a zero-order analytical model aimed at assessing how plantations of different ages may regulate the persistence and transition of the atmospheric system between cloudy and cloudless conditions. Using the analytical model together with field observations, the roles of ecosystem Hs and LE on convective cloud formation are explored relative to the entrainment of heat and moisture from the free atmosphere. Our results demonstrate that cloudy-cloudless regimes at the land surface are regulated by a nonlinear relation between the Bowen ratio Bo=Hs/LE and root-zone soil water content, suggesting that young/mature pines ecosystems have the ability to recirculate available water (through rainfall predisposition mechanisms). Such nonlinearity was not detected in a much older pine stand, suggesting a higher tolerance to drought but a limited control on boundary layer dynamics. These results enable the generation of hypotheses about the impacts on convective cloud formation driven by afforestation/deforestation and groundwater depletion projected to increase following increased human population in the

Effects of ice storm on forest ecosystem of southern China in 2008 Shaoqiang Wang1, Lei Zhou1, Weimin Ju2, Kun Huang1 1Key Lab of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing, 10010

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shaoqiang

2014-05-01

Evidence is mounting that an increase in extreme climate events has begun to occur worldwide during the recent decades, which affect biosphere function and biodiversity. Ecosystems returned to its original structures and functions to maintain its sustainability, which was closely dependent on ecosystem resilience. Understanding the resilience and recovery capacity of ecosystem to extreme climate events is essential to predicting future ecosystem responses to climate change. Given the overwhelming importance of this region in the overall carbon cycle of forest ecosystems in China, south China suffered a destructive ice storm in 2008. In this study, we used the number of freezing day and a process-based model (Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator, BEPS) to characterize the spatial distribution of ice storm region in southeastern China and explore the impacts on carbon cycle of forest ecosystem over the past decade. The ecosystem variables, i.e. Net primary productivity (NPP), Evapotranspiration (ET), and Water use efficiency (WUE, the ratio of NPP to ET) from the outputs of BEPS models were used to detect the resistance and resilience of forest ecosystem in southern China. The pattern of ice storm-induced forest productivity widespread decline was closely related to the number of freezing day during the ice storm period. The NPP of forest area suffered heavy ice storm returned to normal status after five months with high temperature and ample moisture, indicated a high resilience of subtropical forest in China. The long-term changes of forest WUE remain stable, behaving an inherent sensitivity of ecosystem to extreme climate events. In addition, ground visits suggested that the recovery of forest productivity was attributed to rapid growth of understory. Understanding the variability and recovery threshold of ecosystem following extreme climate events help us to better simulate and predict the variability of ecosystem structure and function under current and

Annual report of ecological research at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-05-01

Studies on mineral cycling are concerned with availability of stable elements and radionuclides to the biota of the southeastern coastal plain; the role of primary producers, consumers, and detritivores in cycling processes; the factors that limit or regulate rate processes in southeastern ecosystems; the importance of interactions among energy flow, thermal environments, and mineral cycling processes on rates of biomass buildup and transfer within southeastern ecosystems; the extent to which transfer coefficients are modified by population processes that influence the temporal or spatial turnover of compartmental standing crops; and the validation of models of cycling processes in southeastern ecosystems at various sites on the southeastern coastal plain. Research in thermal ecology is being conducted on macrophytes, snails, fishes, high parasites, shrimp, crayfish, turtles, and alligators

Ecosystem carbon density and allocation across a chronosequence of longleaf pine forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Samuelson, Lisa J; Stokes, Thomas A; Butnor, John R; Johnsen, Kurt H; Gonzalez-Benecke, Carlos A; Martin, Timothy A; Cropper, Wendell P; Anderson, Pete H; Ramirez, Michael R; Lewis, John C

2017-01-01

Forests can partially offset greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation, mainly through increases in live biomass. We quantified carbon (C) density in 20 managed longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests ranging in age from 5 to 118 years located across the southeastern United States and estimated above- and belowground C trajectories. Ecosystem C stock (all pools including soil C) and aboveground live tree C increased nonlinearly with stand age and the modeled asymptotic maxima were 168 Mg C/ha and 80 Mg C/ha, respectively. Accumulation of ecosystem C with stand age was driven mainly by increases in aboveground live tree C, which ranged from ecosystem C. Live root C (sum of below-stump C, ground penetrating radar measurement of lateral root C, and live fine root C) increased with stand age and represented 4-22% of ecosystem C. Soil C was related to site index, but not to stand age, and made up 39-92% of ecosystem C. Live understory C, forest floor C, downed dead wood C, and standing dead wood C were small fractions of ecosystem C in these frequently burned stands. Stand age and site index accounted for 76% of the variation in ecosystem C among stands. The mean root-to-shoot ratio calculated as the average across all stands (excluding the grass-stage stand) was 0.54 (standard deviation of 0.19) and higher than reports for other conifers. Long-term accumulation of live tree C, combined with the larger role of belowground accumulation of lateral root C than in other forest types, indicates a role of longleaf pine forests in providing disturbance-resistant C storage that can balance the more rapid C accumulation and C removal associated with more intensively managed forests. Although other managed southern pine systems sequester more C over the short-term, we suggest that longleaf pine forests can play a meaningful role in regional forest C management. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Activity cycle of the pollen wasp, Trimeria howardi (Hymenoptera: Vespidae in Southeastern Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Rita Mech

1999-12-01

Full Text Available Among the wasps, the Masarinae are a peculiar subfamily. It is the only group of wasps that provisions brood cells with pollen and nectar. The studied species Trimeria howardi Bertoni, 1911, was until recently abundant in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. This paper deals with plant species visited by T. howardi, in relation to the species’ annual cycle of activity, based on periods of nest foundation, flight activity, and development stages of immatures present in the cells. During the study period (five years T. howardi visited four species of plants in two botanical families: Bidens pilosa L.(Asteraceae; Xanthium spinosum L. (Asteraceae; Stylosanthes guianensis (Aulb. Sw. (Leguminosae, and Zornia diphylla (L. Pers. (Leguminosae. Based on the number of visited families, T. howardi can be considered a narrow polylectic species. In general, the species annual activity cycle consists of three phases: Active phase: January to July; Inactive phase: August - September; Active phase: October to December. The annual cycle is bivoltine or multivoltine and the diapause is facultative, because it occurs in a single generation during the year.

Laurel Wilt in Natural and Agricultural Ecosystems: Understanding the Drivers and Scales of Complex Pathosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Randy C. Ploetz

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Laurel wilt kills members of the Lauraceae plant family in the southeastern United States. It is caused by Raffaelea lauricola T.C. Harr., Fraedrich and Aghayeva, a nutritional fungal symbiont of an invasive Asian ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff, which was detected in Port Wentworth, Georgia, in 2002. The beetle is the primary vector of R. lauricola in forests along the southeastern coastal plain of the United States, but other ambrosia beetle species that obtained the pathogen after the initial introduction may play a role in the avocado (Persea americana Miller pathosystem. Susceptible taxa are naïve (new-encounter hosts that originated outside Asia. In the southeastern United States, over 300 million trees of redbay (P. borbonia (L. Spreng. have been lost, and other North American endemics, non-Asian ornamentals and avocado—an important crop that originated in MesoAmerica—are also affected. However, there are no reports of laurel wilt on the significant number of lauraceous endemics that occur in the Asian homeland of R. lauricola and X. glabratus; coevolved resistance to the disease in the region has been hypothesized. The rapid spread of laurel wilt in the United States is due to an efficient vector, X. glabratus, and the movement of wood infested with the insect and pathogen. These factors, the absence of fully resistant genotypes, and the paucity of effective control measures severely constrain the disease’s management in forest ecosystems and avocado production areas.

Southeastern Federal Power Program. Combined financial statements, September 30, 1996 and 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-05-01

The Southeastern Federal Power Program (SEFPP) consists of all activities associated with the production, transmission and disposition of Federal power marketed under Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944 from projects in the ten southeastern states. The ten states are: Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Power is marketed to customers in 11 states - the above ten plus Illinois. SEFPP includes the accounts of two separate Federal government agencies- the Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern) of the Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Southeastern purchases, transmits, and markets power within four separate power systems (each including one or more Corps generating projects for which rates are set). Specific and joint-use costs allocated to power are included in the attached statements of assets. Federal investment and liabilities under utility plant and cash. The accounts of SEFPP are maintained in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and the Uniform System of Accounts prescribed for electric utilities by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). SEFPP`s accounting policies also reflect requirements of specific legislation and executive directives issued by the applicable government agencies. Southeastern and Corps properties and income are exempt from taxation. Southeastern and the Corps receive Congressional appropriations through the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense to finance their operations. The Corps also receives Congressional appropriations to finance construction of its hydroelectric projects.

Assessment of organochlorine pesticide residues in Atlantic Rain Forest fragments, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soares Quinete, Natalia, E-mail: nataliaquinete@yahoo.com.br [Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia, Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica e Metrologia em Quimica, Av. Venezuela, 82 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20081-312 (Brazil); Santos de Oliveira, Elba dos [Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia, Departamento de Energia, Av. Venezuela, 82 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20081-312 (Brazil); Fernandes, Daniella R. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Quimica, Departamento de Quimica Analitica, CT - Bloco A, Cidade Universitaria, 21941-909 - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Souza Avelar, Andre de [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Geografia, Instituto de Geociencias, CCMN, Bloco F, Cidade Universitaria, 21941-919 - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Erthal Santelli, Ricardo [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Quimica, Departamento de Quimica Analitica, CT - Bloco A, Cidade Universitaria, 21941-909 - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2011-12-15

A superficial water quality survey in a watershed of the Paraiba do Sul River, the main water supply for the most populated cities of southeastern Brazil, was held in order to assess the impact of the expansion of agricultural activity in the near border of the Atlantic Rain Forest. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of priority organochlorine pollutants in soils and superficial waters of Atlantic rainforest fragments in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro State. Soil sample preparations were compared by using ultrasound, microwave assisted extraction and Soxhlet extraction. Recoveries of matrix spiked samples ranged from 70 to 130%. Analysis of a certified soil material showed recoveries ranging from 71 to 234%. Although low concentrations of organochlorine residues were found in water and soil samples, this area is of environmental importance and concern, thus demanding a monitoring program of its compartments. - Highlights: > The organochlorine pollutants occurrence in the Atlantic Rain Forest was investigated. > PARNASO was considered a control area of environmental quality. > Extractions methods were compared for typical C-rich soils samples from Brazil. > Low concentrations of organochlorine residues were found in water and soil samples. > A monitoring program is demanded due to the environmental importance of the area. - The occurrence of organochlorine pollutants in soils of the Atlantic rainforest fragments in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil demands a monitoring program of its compartments.

Assessment of organochlorine pesticide residues in Atlantic Rain Forest fragments, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soares Quinete, Natalia; Santos de Oliveira, Elba dos; Fernandes, Daniella R.; Souza Avelar, Andre de; Erthal Santelli, Ricardo

2011-01-01

A superficial water quality survey in a watershed of the Paraiba do Sul River, the main water supply for the most populated cities of southeastern Brazil, was held in order to assess the impact of the expansion of agricultural activity in the near border of the Atlantic Rain Forest. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of priority organochlorine pollutants in soils and superficial waters of Atlantic rainforest fragments in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro State. Soil sample preparations were compared by using ultrasound, microwave assisted extraction and Soxhlet extraction. Recoveries of matrix spiked samples ranged from 70 to 130%. Analysis of a certified soil material showed recoveries ranging from 71 to 234%. Although low concentrations of organochlorine residues were found in water and soil samples, this area is of environmental importance and concern, thus demanding a monitoring program of its compartments. - Highlights: → The organochlorine pollutants occurrence in the Atlantic Rain Forest was investigated. → PARNASO was considered a control area of environmental quality. → Extractions methods were compared for typical C-rich soils samples from Brazil. → Low concentrations of organochlorine residues were found in water and soil samples. → A monitoring program is demanded due to the environmental importance of the area. - The occurrence of organochlorine pollutants in soils of the Atlantic rainforest fragments in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil demands a monitoring program of its compartments.

Southeastern Science Policy Colloquium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Humphries, F.

1995-06-22

This conference covers four main topics: (1) Southeastern Labor Market and its Impact on Corporate/Industry Development; (2) New Issues for Science and Technology in the Year 2000 and Beyond; (3) The Role of Academia in Developing the Labor Force of the Southeast; and (4) K-12 Education: Challenges for the 21st Century.

Population density of Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea: Delphinidae in the Cananéia region, Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liisa Havukainen

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Population density in cetaceans can be estimated through photo-identification, mark-recapture, land-based observations and visual estimative. We the aim to contribute with conservation strategies, we used line transects (distance method to estimate the population density of the river dolphin, S. guianensis, in the estuarine region of Cananéia, Southeastern Brazil. The study, developed from May 2003 until April 2004, during dry and rainy seasons and different times of the day, included a sampling area divided into three sectors according to their proximity to the open sea: Sector I (the closest to the open sea; Sector II (with a large flow of fresh water and a salient declivity; and Sector III (with a large flow of fresh water and non salient declivity. Onboard random sampling was carried out in all three sectors, and dolphins seen from the bow to 90° on both port and starboard sides, were registered along with their position and distance from the boat. The total density found was 12.41ind/km² (CV=25.53% with an average of 2.2 individuals per group for both periods of the day, morning and afternoon. Densities also varied between dry and rainy seasons, being lower in the first with 5.77ind/km² (CV=27.87% than in the second 20.28ind/km² (CV=31.95%, respectively. Regarding the three sectors, a non-causal heterogeneous distribution was found: Sector I was the most populated (D=33.10ind/km², CV=13.34%, followed by Sector II (D=7.8ind/km², CV=21.07% and Sector III (D=3.04ind/km², CV=34.04%. The aforementioned area, due to its proximity to the open sea, has the highest salinity level and therefore has the greatest chance of holding most of the marine fish schools which can be cornered by dolphins on high declivity areas during fishing activities. This suggests that food availability may be the most important factor on the river dolphin’s distribution in the estuary. Similar studies will contribute to a better understanding of these populations

Myxomycetes in Alagoas state (Brazil and notes on its distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Carla Caldas Bezerra

2014-04-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2014v27n3p13 The state of Alagoas is located in the northeastern region of Brazil, and covers an area of 27,767 km2. Several different ecosystem types exist in this area, including mangroves forests and Atlantic rainforest on the coast, and Caatinga inland. The literature reports the occurrence of 43 species of Myxomycetes in Alagoas, all of which are recorded in humid forest environments, or in stored sugarcane bagasse. This study is the first one to record members of family Didymiaceae, and the genera Badhamia, Comatricha, Perichaena, Reticularia and Stemonaria in Alagoas. A species key is presented. Licea succulenticola, Reticularia jurana and Stemonaria longa are new references for the Caatinga biome. Licea succulenticola is also reported for the first time in Brazil.

Survey for Tick-Borne Zoonoses in the State of Espirito Santo, Southeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Spolidorio, Mariana G.; Labruna, Marcelo B.; Machado, Rosangela Z.; Moraes-Filho, Jonas; Zago, Augusto M.; Donatele, Dirlei M.; Pinheiro, Sônia R.; Silveira, Iara; Caliari, Késia M.; Yoshinari, Natalino H.

2010-01-01

Blood samples collected from 201 humans, 92 dogs, and 27 horses in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil, were tested by polymerase chain reaction, indirect immunofluorescence assays, and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for tick-borne diseases (rickettsiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, borreliosis, babesiosis). Our results indicated that the surveyed counties are endemic for spotted fever group rickettsiosis because sera from 70 (34.8%) humans, 7 (7.6%) dogs, and 7 (25.9%) horses were reactive to at least one of the six Rickettsia species tested. Although there was evidence of ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis) and babesiosis (Babesia canis vogeli, Theileria equi) in domestic animals, no human was positive for babesiosis and only four individuals were serologically positive for E. canis. Borrelia burgdorferi-serologic reactive sera were rare among humans and horses, but encompassed 51% of the canine samples, suggesting that dogs and their ticks can be part of the epidemiological cycle of the causative agent of the Brazilian zoonosis, named Baggio-Yoshinari Syndrome. PMID:20595502

Yellow fever in Brazil: thoughts and hypotheses on the emergence in previously free areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This article describes and discusses factors associated to the reemergence of yellow fever and its transmission dynamics in the states of São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil and Rio Grande do Sul (Southern during 2008 and 2009. The following factors have played a pivotal role for the reemergence of yellow fever in these areas: large susceptible human population; high prevalence of vectors and primary hosts (non-human primates; favorable climate conditions, especially increased rainfall; emergence of a new genetic lineage; and circulation of people and/or monkeys infected by virus. There is a need for an effective surveillance program to prevent the reemergence of yellow fever in other Brazilian states.

Levantamento da fauna de abelhas silvestres na "zona da mata" de Minas Gerais: III. Mata secundária na região de Viçosa (Hymenoptera, Apoidea Survey of the wild bees of the "zona da mata" of Minas Gerais, Brazil: III. Secondary forest in Viçosa region (Hymenoptera, Apoidea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Ricardo Cure

1992-01-01

Full Text Available The outcome of a wild bee fauna survey in a secondary forest is reported. Sampling was carried out mainly on herbaceous and shrubby vegetation under and at the border of the forest. Results are compared with data collected with the same methodology from a previously surveyed grassland nearby. The secondary forest was richer in Anthophoridae and Apidae species, and less diverse in Megachilidae. Similarity between the two habitats was low. Several unidentified species of Ceratinula, Trichocerapis mirabilis and the stingless bees Melipona bicolor, M. quadrifasciata, M. marginata, Paratrigona subnuda, Scaptotrigona tubiba and S. xanthotricha, are among the species dependent on the forest environment to survive. Bee population densities in the forest understory are as large as the largest values found for open vegetation in Southeastern Brazil; species richness is also comparable to those of other areas in Southeastern Brazil. Sampling strategies are discussed.

Carotenoid composition and vitamin A value of a squash and a pumpkin from northeastern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Arima, H K; Rodríguez-Amaya, D B

1990-06-01

The carotenoid composition of a squash and a pumpkin from Northeastern Brazil was determined. Nineteen carotenoids were detected in Cucurbita moschata variety "Baianinha"; beta-carotene was the principal carotenoid, contributing about 74% of an average total carotenoid content of 317.8 micrograms/g. In C. maxima variety "Jerimum Caboclo", 11 carotenoids were found with lutein, and beta-carotene as the major pigments accounting for about 60% and 27%, respectively, of an average total carotenoid content of 78.4 micrograms/g. The abundance of beta-carotene in the C. moschata variety "Baianinha" makes this squash one of the richest sources of provitamin A. The average vitamin A value was 43,175 IU (International Units) per 100 g or 4,317 RE (retinol equivalents) per 100 g. Its vitamin A values is more than 11 times that of C. maxima variety "Jerimum Caboclo" and five times that of C. moschata cultivar "Menina Verde", the squash found previously to be highest in provitamin A among the Cucurbita vegetables most commercialized in São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil).

Noteworthy bird records at Lagoa Santa, southeastern Brazil Registros notáveis de aves em Lagoa Santa, sudeste do Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos Rodrigues

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Lagoa Santa, a small town in southeastern Brazil where naturalist Peter Lund lived, is regarded nowadays as an important historical site for the biological sciences. From 1847 to 1855, J.T. Reinhardt, hosted by Lund, collected 343 bird species. This material is an outstanding reference for many modern ornithological studies. The present paper reports the occurrence of some rare and threatened birds for the region of Lagoa Santa between 1998 and 2005. In this account I list the Rusty-margined Guan Penelope superciliaris Temminck, 1815; the Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja Linnaeus, 1758; the Maguari Stork Ciconia maguari (Gmelin, 1789; the Wood Stork Mycteria americana Linnaeus, 1758; the Black Hawk-eagle Spizaetus tyrannus (Wied, 1820 and the Turquoise-fronted Parrot Amazona aestiva (Linnaeus, 1758. It is also reported the southernmost record for the Blue-and-yellow Macaw Ara ararauna (Linnaeus, 1758 and the range extension of the Crowned Slaty flycatcher Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus (d'Orbigny and Lafresnaye, 1837. These data can be used as a baseline for studies of colonization and extinction.Lagoa Santa, cidade onde viveu Peter Lund é um dos sítios de maior importância histórica para as ciências biológicas. Durante os anos de 1847 e 1855, J.T. Reinhardt, a convite de Lund, coletou 343 espécies de aves que são hoje referência para vários estudos ornitológicos. O presente artigo relata a ocorrência de algumas aves raras e/ou ameaçadas para a região de Lagoa Santa, entre 1998 e 2005. A lista de espécies inclui a jacupemba Penelope superciliaris Temminck, 1815, o colhereiro Platalea ajaja Linnaeus, 1758, a maguari Ciconia maguari (Gmelin, 1789, a cabeça-seca Mycteria americana Linnaeus, 1758, o gavião-pega-macaco Spizaetus tyrannus (Wied, 1820; e o papagaio-verdadeiro Amazona aestiva (Linnaeus, 1758. Relata-se também a ocorrência mais meridional da arara-canindé Ara ararauna (Linnaeus, 1758, e a expansão da distribui

Low sensitivity of polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in southeastern Brazil Baixa sensibilidade da reação em cadeia da polimerase para o diagnóstico de meningite tuberculosa no sudeste do Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vânia Maria Sabadoto Brienze

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Two polymerase chain reaction (PCR protocols showed low sensitivity (36% and 53% for TB AMPLICOR and MPB64 nested PCR, respectively, when compared with classic microbiological methods (73% and 54% for Ziehl-Neelsen staining and culture, respectively, in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in 91 patients in southeastern Brazil. Only three PCR-positive, microbiologically negative patients were found. Analysis of sequential cerebrospinal fluid samples by nested PCR detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA up to 29 days after the introduction of antituberculosis chemotherapy.Dois protocolos de reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR apresentaram baixa sensibilidade (36% e 53%, respectivamente, para TB AMPLICOR e PCR aninhado baseado no gene MPB64, quando comparados aos métodos microbiológicos clássicos (73% e 54% respectivamente para baciloscopia e cultura, no diagnóstico de meningite tuberculosa em 91 pacientes do sudeste do Brasil. Somente três pacientes apresentaram PCR positiva e microbiologia negativa. A análise de amostras seqüenciais de líquor com a PCR aninhada detectou DNA de Mycobacterium tuberculosis até 29 dias após a introdução de tratamento.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: MA Ecosystems

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: MA Ecosystems provides data and information on the extent and classification of ecosystems circa 2000, including coastal,...

Trends and drivers of fire activity vary across California aridland ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Syphard, Alexandra D.; Keeley, Jon E.; Abatzoglou, John T.

2017-01-01

Fire activity has increased in western US aridland ecosystems due to increased human-caused ignitions and the expansion of flammable exotic grasses. Because many desert plants are not adapted to fire, increased fire activity may have long-lasting ecological impacts on native vegetation and the wildlife that depend on it. Given the heterogeneity across aridland ecosystems, it is important to understand how trends and drivers of fire vary, so management can be customized accordingly. We examined historical trends and quantified the relative importance of and interactions among multiple drivers of fire patterns across five aridland ecoregions in southeastern California from 1970 to 2010. Fire frequency increased across all ecoregions for the first couple decades, and declined or plateaued since the 1990s; but area burned continued to increase in some regions. The relative importance of anthropogenic and biophysical drivers varied across ecoregions, with both direct and indirect influences on fire. Anthropogenic variables were equally important as biophysical variables, but some contributed indirectly, presumably via their influence on annual grass distribution and abundance. Grass burned disproportionately more than other cover types, suggesting that addressing exotics may be the key to fire management and conservation in much of the area.

Understanding the variations in the vegetation of Cabo Frio, Southeastern coast of Brazil, during the Quaternary

Science.gov (United States)

Macario, K.; Coe, H. H.; Gomes, J.; Oliveira, F.; Gomes, P.; Carvalho, C.; Linares, R.; Alves, E.; Santos, G. M.

2012-12-01

The Brazilian Southeast was formerly occupied by Atlantic forest before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, when deforestation slowly started to take place. To understand the variations in the vegetation of Cabo Frio during the Quaternary, and possibly identify when they roughly took place, we make use of soil phytolith identification (as proxy), stable isotopes analyses and 14C dating of soil profiles. Nowadays, those are helpful tools to reveal the palaeoenvironmental secrets hidden below-ground. The soil profile studied, which was divided in 4 horizons ranging from 10 and 115 cm in depth, was collected in the surroundings of Cabo Frio, in the Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Southeastern coast of Brazil. Its total organic carbon (TOC) varied from 0.42 to 1.11% (for the different horizons), when its δ13C values ranged from -18.81 (topsoil) to -23.72‰ (~ 80cm deep). Phytolith D/P index varied from 0.1 to 0.21. Due to the low carbon content within soil horizons, soil organic matter (SOM) fractions were chosen for isotopic analyses. Mostly of the 14C-SOM analyses were performed in a newer 14C facility, which runs a NEC 250 kV Single Stage Accelerator Mass Spectrometry system, the Radiocarbon Laboratory of the Fluminense Federal University (LAC-UFF) located in Niteroi, RJ. In brief, before measurements could be performed, the soil samples were treated with HCl 1.0M to remove carbonates, then combusted in sealed evacuated pre-baked tubes, cryogenically clean and converted to graphite (as decribed in Xu et al. 2007). In order to verify the distribution of 14C ages of different chemical soil fractions (Pessenda et al. 2001), a refractory C fraction (humin) was extracted from the topsoil horizon, and also converted to graphite following established protocols (Santos et al. 2007a,b). Due to its very low carbon mass (measured at the Keck-CCAMS Facility at University of California, Irvine. (UCI), which runs a modified NEC AMS-system (NEC 0.5MV 1.5SDH-2 AMS system). Other

Epidemiology of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in a population in a sunny country: Geospatial meta-analysis in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira-Santos, Marcos; Santos, José Yure Gomes Dos; Carvalho, Gisele Queiroz; Santos, Djanilson Barbosa Dos; Oliveira, Ana Marlúcia

2018-02-08

Studies conducted among populations of tropical countries have reported high prevalences of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency. Information resulting from meta-analyses on the spatial distribution of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in tropical countries is still rare. The aim of this review was investigated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among the Brazilian population. Observational studies were searched in eight electronically databases. Additionally, theses and dissertations and abstracts were screened. Details on study design, methods, population, mean and data on serum concentrations of vitamin D in different age groups in Brazil were extracted. Data were pooled using a random-effects model and choropleth maps were created based on the geopolitical regions of the country. 72 published paper met the inclusion criteria. The mean vitamin D concentration among the Brazilian population between 2000 and 2017 of 67.65 nmol/L (95% CI: 65.91, 69.38 nmol/L).The prevalences of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were 28.16% (95% CI: 23.90, 32.40) and 45.26% (95% CI: 35.82, 54.71), respectively, for the Brazilian population. The highest prevalence of deficiency were observed in the southern and southeastern regions and the highest occurrence of vitamin D insufficiency was among the populations of the southeastern and northeastern regions. Finally, there are high prevalence of inadequate vitamin D concentrations among the population, regardless of age group in Brazil. The development of vitamin D food fortification policies in needs to be cautious and carefully planned.

Restoration of freshwater Cypress-Tupelo Wetlands in the southeastern U.S. following severe hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Conner, William H.; Krauss, Ken W.; Shaffer, Gary P.

2012-01-01

Freshwater forested wetlands commonly occur in the lower Coastal Plain of the southeastern US with baldcypress (Taxodium distichum [L.] L.C. Rich.) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica L.) often being the dominant trees. Extensive anthropogenic activities combined with eustatic sea-level rise and land subsidence have caused widespread hydrological changes in many of these forests. In addition, hurricanes (a common, although aperiodic occurrence) cause wide-spread damage from wind and storm surge events, with impacts exacerbated by human-mediated coastal modifications (e.g., dredging, navigation channels, etc.). Restoration of forested wetlands in coastal areas is important because emergent canopies can greatly diminish wind penetration, thereby reducing the wind stress available to generate surface waves and storm surge that are the major cause of damage to coastal ecosystems and their surrounding communities. While there is an overall paucity of large-scale restoration efforts within coastal forested wetlands of the southeastern US, we have determined important characteristics that should drive future efforts. Restoration efforts may be enhanced considerably if coupled with hydrological enhancement, such as freshwater, sediment, or sewage wastewater diversions. Large-scale restoration of coastal forests should be attempted to create a landscape capable of minimizing storm impacts and maximizing wetland sustainability in the face of climate change. Planting is the preferred regeneration method in many forested wetland sites because hydrological alterations have increased flooding, and planted seedlings must be protected from herbivory to enhance establishment. Programs identifying salt tolerance in coastal forest tree species need to be continued to help increase resilience to repetitive storm surge events.

Ichthyoplankton distribution and abundance off southeastern and southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Débora Martins de Freitas

2004-08-01

Full Text Available This study describes the distribution of fish eggs and larvae along the southeastern and southern Brazilian coast. Plankton samples were collected at 85 stations using a Bongo net, and water salinity and temperature were profiled with a CTD. Results showed that fish eggs and larvae, and zooplankton biovolume were distributed in coastal waters with mean temperature of 23ºC and salinity between 33 and 34. The largest egg abundance occurred along Iguape (24º'S with a partial overlap with zooplankton biovolume and fish larvae were most abundant near shore close to Santos (24ºS. These protected coastal waters presented a surface layer with lower salinity and higher temperatures, while the bottom layer had cooler water. Ichthyoplankton abundance was low off Cabo Frio (22º'S, while a maximum in fish eggs occurred around Cabo Santa Marta Grande (28ºS.A abundância de ovos e larvas de peixes serve como um indicador do tamanho do estoque desovante, e a variabilidade nestes parâmetros está associada a flutuações no recrutamento de recursos pesqueiros. No sul e sudeste do Brasil a distribuição do ictioplâncton é influenciada pela dinâmica da Confluência Subtropical, pelo aporte de água doce e pela ação do vento na camada superficial do oceano. Este trabalho tem como objetivo descrever a distribuição de ovos e larvas de peixes ao longo da área compreendida entre Cabo Frio (22º'S e o Cabo de Santa Marta Grande (28ºS, entre 15/11 e 05/12/95. Em 85 estações foram coletadas amostras de plâncton com uma rede Bongo de 60cm de diâmetro e 330m m de malha, dotada de fluxômetro e arrastada obliquamente. Salinidade e temperatura foram obtidas em cada estação com um CTD. O maior número de ovos e larvas de peixes e biovolume de zooplâncton foram encontrados em áreas distintas na região costeira, em temperaturas entre 23 e 24ºC e salinidades entre 33 e 34. As larvas foram mais abundantes na costa de Santos; os

Rickettsia parkeri in Gulf Coast Ticks, Southeastern Virginia, USA

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-01

Rickettsia parkeri in Gulf Coast Ticks, Southeastern Virginia, USA Chelsea L. Wright, Robyn M. Nadolny, Ju Jiang, Allen L. Richards, Daniel E...Virginia. We found that 43.1% of the adult Gulf Coast ticks collected in the summer of 2010 carried Rickettsia parkeri, suggesting that persons living in...or visiting southeastern Virginia are at risk for infection with this pathogen. Rickettsia parkeri is an obligate intracellular bacterium belonging

Hydrogeological Study of Mangrove Areas Around Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerson Cardoso da Silva Júnior;

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The study area covers part of the mangrove belt located around Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Representing a continental-marine transition, the mangrove ecosystem is very susceptible to environmental variations and impacts. The vegetation cover plays an important role in prevention of erosion and contamination processes in those areas. An ongoing extensive research effort in the Petrochemical Complex of Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, focuses on the man-induced changes in the physical environment (soils, groundwater flow system, type and volumes of contaminants, geochemical aspects and the consequences on the neighboring mangrove ecosystem. This article describes the importance of hydrogeological studies in mangrove areas as part of an appropriate environmental assessment, taking as an example an industrial dumping area located in that Petrochemical Complex. Field work included extensive drilling and sampling to obtain basic geological and hydrogeological parameters and data in the pilot area, such as hydraulic conductivity and piezometric heads; emphasizing the tracking of possible contamination by industrial effluents and the marine influence; validation of the conceptual model with mathematical models (numerical and analytical models was carried out. Results show the great importance of well conducted and detailed hydrogeological studies to properly address environmental problems caused by industrial plants in mangrove areas.

40 CFR 81.30 - Southeastern Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Region. 81.30 Section 81.30 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.30 Southeastern Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (Wisconsin) has been renamed the Southeastern...

Spatial and temporal distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in a Southeastern Brazilian river.

Science.gov (United States)

Silveira, M P; Buss, D F; Nessimian, J L; Baptista, D F

2006-05-01

Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages are structured according to physical and chemical parameters that define microhabitats, including food supply, shelter to escape predators, and other biological parameters that influence reproductive success. The aim of this study is to investigate spatial and temporal distribution of macroinvertebrate assemblages at the Macaé river basin, in Rio de Janeiro state, Southeastern Brazil. According to the "Habitat Assessment Field Data Sheet--High Gradient Streams" (Barbour et al., 1999), the five sampling sites are considered as a reference condition. Despite the differences in hydrological parameters (mean width, depth and discharge) among sites, the physicochemical parameters and functional feeding groups' general structure were similar, except for the less impacted area, which showed more shredders. According to the Detrended Correspondence Analysis based on substrates, there is a clear distinction between pool and riffle assemblages. In fact, the riffle litter substrate had higher taxa in terms of richness and abundance, but the pool litter substrate had the greatest number of exclusive taxa. A Cluster Analysis based on sampling sites data showed that temporal variation was the main factor in structuring macroinvertebrate assemblages in the studied habitats.

Microclimate and soil moisture in a silvopastoral system in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Ricardo Macedo Pezzopane

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, the microclimate changes in silvopastoral systems are quantified at different time and spatial scales and compared with single-pasture systems. The study was conducted in a silvopastoral system in São Carlos, Brazil (22°01' South and 47°53' West. The silvopastoral system consisted of grass pastures [Urochloa (sin. Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilik] lined with strips of native trees spaced at 17 m. Continuous microclimate measurements (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and incident photosynthetically active radiation were carried out from September 2010 to September 2012 at two positions of the silvopastoral system (2.0 and 8.5 m from the rows of trees and at a pasture under full sunlight, located in an adjacent area. The soil moisture was monitored weekly from 24 March 2010 to 1 April 2012 at distances of 0.0, 2.0, 4.75, and 8.5 m from the rows of trees. The rows of native trees reduced wind speeds (46% reduction and changed the photosynthetically active radiation incidence pattern on the pasture (up to 40% reduction of incidence at the point nearest to the trees. The combined action of these factors promoted thermal and air humidity changes on the pasture at the different points measured. With respect to soil moisture, there was greater soil moisture removal at the sampling points near the rows of native trees under the silvopastoral system, mainly due to enhanced exploration by tree roots at greater depths in dry spells or early dry periods, when compared with the midpoints between the rows.

Potential role of frugivorous birds (Passeriformes on seed dispersal of six plant species in a restinga habitat, southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verônica Souza da Mota Gomes

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Restingas are considered stressful habitats associated with the Brazilian Atlantic forest, and their ecological interactions are poorly known. The goal of the present study was to determine the potential role of frugivorous birds as seed dispersers in a restinga habitat. Data were collected in Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, southeastern Brazil, where the main physiognomy (Open Clusia Formation is characterized by the presence of patches of vegetation covering 20 to 48 % of the sandy soil and reaching a height of 5 m. Birds were captured with mist nets (12 x 2.5 m; 36 mm mesh; 1 680 net-hrs and had their fecal and regurgitate samples inspected for seeds. Six plant species found in these bird samples were studied. The germination of seeds obtained from plants was compared to those from the birds. Both groups of seeds were set on Petri dishes at room temperature and washed when infected with fungi. In general, there was no effect on germination rate, and the effect on germination speed was negative. Germination of seeds from Pilosocereus arrabidae treated by the birds seemed to be influenced by storage of defecated seeds, while few Miconia cinnamomifolia seeds both from plants and from birds germinated. Ocotea notata presented a great variation in time to the onset of germination, perhaps an advantage against dissecation. Aechmea nudicaulis, Clusia hilariana and Erythroxylum subsessile probably take advantage of the arrival to favorable microhabitats, not by the gut effect on the seeds. All plant species studied are numerically important for the community and some of them are main actors in the succession of vegetation patches. Among the birds, Mimus gilvus is an important resident species, endemic to restingas in Brazil, while Turdus amaurochalinus is a visitor and may be important for plants that fructify during its passage by the study site. Although the effect of pulp removal was only tested for one species (Achmea nudicaulis in the

40 CFR 81.123 - Southeastern Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Region. 81.123 Section 81.123 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.123 Southeastern Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Southeastern Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by the...

Characterization of soil fauna under the influence of mercury atmospheric deposition in Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Buch, Andressa Cristhy; Correia, Maria Elizabeth Fernandes; Teixeira, Daniel Cabral; Silva-Filho, Emmanoel Vieira

2015-06-01

The increasing levels of mercury (Hg) found in the atmosphere arising from anthropogenic sources, have been the object of great concern in the past two decades in industrialized countries. Brazil is the seventh country with the highest rate of mercury in the atmosphere. The major input of Hg to ecosystems is through atmospheric deposition (wet and dry), being transported in the atmosphere over large distances. The forest biomes are of strong importance in the atmosphere/soil cycling of elemental Hg through foliar uptake and subsequent transference to the soil through litter, playing an important role as sink of this element. Soil microarthropods are keys to understanding the soil ecosystem, and for such purpose were characterized by the soil fauna of two Units of Forest Conservation of the state of the Rio de Janeiro, inwhich one of the areas suffer quite interference from petrochemicals and industrial anthropogenic activities and other area almost exempts of these perturbations. The results showed that soil and litter of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil tend to stock high mercury concentrations, which could affect the abundance and richness of soil fauna, endangering its biodiversity and thereby the functioning of ecosystems. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Two new species of Rineloricaria (Siluriformes: Loricariidae from the rio Iguaçu basin, southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo F. S. Ingenito

Full Text Available Rineloricaria langei and R. maacki, new species, are described from upper and middle regions of the rio Iguaçu basin, a left bank tributary of the rio Paraná basin, southern Brazil. Rineloricaria langei has narrow body and is similar to R. quadrensis, which is found in coastal rivers of Rio Grande do Sul State and is distinguishable by several morphometric characters. Rineloricaria maacki is distinguishable from all other congeners by the shape and extension of the naked area of the ventral region of pectoral girdle and other morphological characters. The presence of a naked region on the abdominal surface is shared with other species from the rio Paraná and rio Uruguay basins and coastal drainages from southeastern and southern Brazil. This may indicate a close phylogenetic relationship among these species. Similarities between the two new species and species from the aforementioned drainages also suggest close biogeographic relationship between the Paraná basin and other Brazilian coastal Atlantic drainages throughout the rio Iguaçu basin.

The first canine visceral leishmaniasis outbreak in Campinas, State of São Paulo Southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Paula Bruno von Zuben

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction Early detection of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL outbreak in animals is crucial for controlling this disease in non-endemic areas. Methods Epidemiological surveillance (2009-2012 was performed in Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Results In 2009, Leishmania chagasi was positively identified in four dogs. Entomological research and three serological studies (2010-2012 were undertaken as monitoring measures; these approaches revealed a moderate prevalence of Leishmania present in 4% of the canine population. Nyssomyia whitmani and Lutzomyia longipalpis were the predominant species identified. Conclusions Detection of an AVL outbreak in dogs in an area with an evolving natural landscape containing sand flies is crucial for control programs.

Differential responses of seabirds to environmental variability over 2 years in the continental shelf and oceanic habitats of southeastern Bering Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Takashi; Kokubun, Nobuo; Kikuchi, Dale M.; Sato, Nobuhiko; Takahashi, Akinori; Will, Alexis P.; Kitaysky, Alexander S.; Watanuki, Yutaka

2016-04-01

Seasonal sea-ice cover has been decreasing in the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, which might affect ecosystem dynamics and availability of food resources to marine top predators breeding in the region. In this study, we investigated the foraging responses of two seabird species, surface-foraging red-legged kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris (hereafter, RLKI) and pursuit-diving foraging thick-billed murres Uria lomvia (TBMU) to different marine environmental conditions over 2 years. At-sea distributions of RLKI and TBMU breeding on St. George Island, the largest seabird colony in the region, were recorded using GPS loggers, and blood samples were taken to examine their physiological condition and isotopic foraging niche in a given year. Between the study years, winter ice retreated earlier and summer water temperatures were relatively warmer in 2014 compared to those in 2013. RLKI foraging occurred mostly over the oceanic basin in both years. TBMU, however, foraged mostly over the shelf but showed a relatively higher use of the shelf break and oceanic basin in 2013. The foraging distances from the colony peaked at 250-300 km in 2013 and bimodally at 150-250 and 300-350 km in 2014 for RLKI and tended to be farther in 2013 compared to those in 2014 for TBMU. Plasma levels of corticosterone did not differ between the years in RLKI but differed in TBMU, showing higher levels of physiological stress incurred by murres in 2013, the year of relatively cooler sea surface temperatures with later sea-ice retreat. δ13N (a proxy of trophic level of prey) did not differ between the years in either RLKI or TBMU. These results suggest that the response of ecosystem dynamics to climate variability in the southeastern Bering Sea may differ between the ocean basin and continental shelf regions, which, in turn, may generate differential responses in seabirds relying on those habitats for foraging.

Response to state comments on the revised draft Southeastern Regional Characterization Reports for the Crystalline Repository Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-08-01

The purpose of this document is to respond to the comments received from the states of the Southeastern Region on the revised draft Southeastern Regional Characterization Reports (RCRs). The responses in this document indicate the manner in which the suggestions or comments received have been considered in modifying the revised draft Southeastern RCRs. Both general comments related to the overall Crystalline Repository Project (CRP) and comments on specific sections of the RCRs are addressed. This document responds to Southeastern State comments on both the revised draft Southeastern Regional Geologic Characterization Report (RGCR) and the revised draft Southeastern Regional Environmental Characterization Report (RECR)

Zirconium and hafnium in the southeastern Atlantic States

Science.gov (United States)

Mertie, J.B.

1958-01-01

The principal source of zirconium and hafnium is zircon, though a minor source is baddeleyite, mined only in Brazil. Zircon is an accessory mineral in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, but rarely occurs in hardrock in minable quantities. The principal sources of zircon are therefore alluvial deposits, which are mined in many countries of five continents. The principal commercial deposits in the United States are in Florida, though others exist elsewhere in the southeastern Coastal Plain. The evidence indicates that conditions for the accumulation of workable deposits of heavy minerals were more favorable during the interglacial stages of the Pleistocene epoch than during Recent time. Therefore detrital ores of large volume and high tenor are more likely to be found in the terrace deposits than along the present beaches. Other concentrations of heavy minerals, however, are possible at favored sites close to the Fall Line where the Tuscaloosa formation rests upon the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont province. A score of heavy and semiheavy minerals occur in the detrital deposits of Florida, but the principal salable minerals are ilmenite, leucoxene, rutile, and zircon, though monazite and staurolite are saved at some mining plants. Commercial deposits of heavy minerals are generally required to have a tenor of 4 percent, though ores with a lower tenor can be mined at a profit if the content of monazite is notably high. The percentages of zircon in the concentrates ranges from 10 to 16 percent, and in eastern Florida from 13 to 15 percent. Thus the tenor in zircon of the ore-bearing sands ranges from 0.4 to 0.6 percent. The content of hafnium in zircon is immaterial for many uses, but for some purposes very high or very low tenors in hafnium are required. Alluvial zircon cannot be separated into such varieties, which, if needed, must be obtained from sources in bedrock. It thus becomes necessary to determine the Hf : Zr ratios in zircon from many kinds of

Nitrate/nitrite poisoning in dairy cattle from the Midwestern Minas Gerais, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Amaral Gontijo

2017-11-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: In a rural property of the Midwestern Minas Gerais, Brazil, three 2.5 to 3-year-old female bovines (7/8 Holstein x 1/8 Gir weighing approximately 380kg died after showing brownish colored mucosa of conjunctiva and vaginal vestibule, gray-bluish tongue, dyspnea, sialorrhea, tympany, and progression to sternal decubitus and death. In the macroscopic evaluation of one of the bovines, dark (chocolate-colored blood of difficult coagulation, and intensely cherry-red skeletal and cardiac musculature were observed. Beyond that were observed brownish lungs, kidneys, liver, and encephalon, and all the stomach compartments were dilated due to large amounts of gas. In addition, the carcass exhaled a nitrous odor. The diphenylamine test and the nitrate dosage in the forage (Pennisetum purpureum, “elephant grass”, Napier grass cultivar used in feeding the bovines showed a high concentration of nitrate, allowing the diagnosis of nitrate/nitrite intoxication. The main factors leading to the poisoning were attributed to excessive fertilization of grass with bovine manure, the occurrence of a drought period followed by a rainy season, lack of adaptation of the bovines to a nitrate-rich diet, and a diet composed almost exclusively of elephant grass. This is the first report of spontaneous nitrate/nitrite poisoning in cattle in southeastern Brazil.

Pedological Studies of Subaqueous Soils as a Contribution to the Protection of Seagrass Meadows in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Nuto Nóbrega

2018-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Seagrass meadows are considered one of the most important and valuable ecosystems on the planet, but also one of the most threatened. Missing knowledge about their existence and their subtidal nature are the main reasons for the lack of information about seagrass soils, especially in Brazil and other tropical areas. This study discussed the paradoxical lack of information about subaqueous soils, with a view to stimulate research on soil properties of seagrass meadows. This short communication provides information about the ecosystem and first descriptions of seagrass soils along the Brazilian Coast, marked by gleyzation, sulfidization, salinization, paludization, solonization, and classified as Gleissolos tiomórficos. Pedological studies on these ecosystems provide useful tools for their management, protection, and restoration. Thus, it is fundamental that soil scientists increase their knowledge about subaqueous soils, not only as a contribution to the Brazilian Soil Classification System, but for the conservation of these ecosystems.

Ecosystem-based management and the wealth of ecosystems

OpenAIRE

Yun, Seong Do; Hutniczak, Barbara; Abbott, Joshua K.; Fenichel, Eli P.

2017-01-01

Ecosystems store vast quantities of wealth, but difficulties measuring wealth held in ecosystems prevent its inclusion in accounting systems. Ecosystem-based management endeavors to manage ecosystems holistically. However, ecosystem-based management lacks headline indicators to evaluate performance. We unify the inclusive wealth and ecosystem-based management paradigms, allowing apples-to-apples comparisons between the wealth of the ecosystem and other forms of wealth, while providing a headl...

Magmatism and fenitization in the Cretaceous potassium-alkaline-carbonatitic complex of Ipanema São Paulo State, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Guarino, Vincenza; Azzone, Rogério Guitarrari; Brotzu, Pietro; de Barros Gomes, Celso; Melluso, Leone; Morbidelli, Lucio; Ruberti, Excelso; Tassinari, Colombo Celso Gaeta; Brilli, Mauro

2012-01-01

The Ipanema alkaline-carbonatitic complex is part of the Meso-Cenozoic alkaline magmatism located within the southeastern part of the Brazilian Platform. Drill-core and field sampling have indicated the occurrence of glimmerites, with subordinate shonkinites (mela-syenites), clinopyroxene-bearing glimmerites, diorites and syenites. The glimmerites are cross-cut by lamprophyric dykes and calciocarbonatites. Fenitization has deeply affected the country rocks, originating dioritic and syenitic rocks. The Ipanema rocks show a distinct potassic affinity. The initial Sr-Nd- isotopic composition of the Ipanema rocks (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70661-0.70754 and 143Nd/144Nd = 0.51169-0.51181) is similar to that of tholeiitic and potassium-rich-alkaline rocks of the Eastern Paraguay. Stable isotope data for the Ipanema calciocarbonatite suggest interaction with fluids at temperatures typical of hydrothermal stages, as hypothesized for other carbonatite complexes from southeastern Brazil. The chemical differences between the lamprophyre, glimmerites, carbonatites, apatitites and magnetitites, and the absence of marked REE enrichment in the evolved lithologies, all indicate that fractional crystallization and accumulus of liquidus phases in a magma reservoir, likely coupled with liquid immiscibility processes, may have played an important role in the genesis of the Ipanema rocks.

Cultivation of the red algae Kappaphycus alvarezii in Brazil and its pharmacological potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Hayashi

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales is a red algae widely cultivated as the main source of raw material for the carrageenan industry. This hydrocolloid is normally used in the food industry as a gelling and stabilizing agent. The facility of its commercial farming based on vegetative propagation promoted the success of the aquaculture of this macroalgae that consequently stimulated studies focusing on new potential uses of this resource. This work presents a brief review of the studies related to K. alvarezii cultivation in southern and southeastern Brazil, the latest discoveries in the world concerning pharmacological studies with this species and the advantages of the use of carrageenan as a source of dietary fiber, cholesterol reducer, and antioxidant, anti-viral and anti-cancer compounds, as well as the effects in hemagglutination activity.

Cultivation of the red algae Kappaphycus alvarezii in Brazil and its pharmacological potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Hayashi

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales is a red algae widely cultivated as the main source of raw material for the carrageenan industry. This hydrocolloid is normally used in the food industry as a gelling and stabilizing agent. The facility of its commercial farming based on vegetative propagation promoted the success of the aquaculture of this macroalgae that consequently stimulated studies focusing on new potential uses of this resource. This work presents a brief review of the studies related to K. alvarezii cultivation in southern and southeastern Brazil, the latest discoveries in the world concerning pharmacological studies with this species and the advantages of the use of carrageenan as a source of dietary fiber, cholesterol reducer, and antioxidant, anti-viral and anti-cancer compounds, as well as the effects in hemagglutination activity.

High spatial resolution mapping of the Cerrado's land cover and land use types in the priority area for conservation Chapada da Contagem, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro, F.; Roberts, D. A.; Davis, F. W.; Antunes Daldegan, G.; Nackoney, J.; Hess, L. L.

2016-12-01

The Brazilian savanna, Cerrado, is the second largest biome over South America and the most floristically diverse savanna in the world. This biome is considered a conservation hotspot in respect to its biodiversity importance and rapid transformation of its landscape. The Cerrado's natural vegetation has been severely transformed by agriculture and pasture activities. Currently it is the main agricultural frontier in Brazil and one of the most threatened Brazilian biomes. This scenario results in environmental impacts such as ecosystems fragmentation as well as losses in connectivity, biodiversity and gene flow, changes in the microclimate and energy, carbon and nutrients cycles, among others. The Priority Areas for Conservation is a governmental program from Brazil that identifies areas with high conservation priority. One of this program's recommendation is a natural vegetation map including their major ecosystem classes. This study aims to generate more precise information for the Cerrado's vegetation. The main objective of this study is to identify which ecosystems are being prioritized and/or threatened by land use, refining information for further protection. In order to test methods, the priority area for conservation Chapada da Contagem was selected as the study site. This area is ranked as "extremely high priority" by the government and is located in the Federal District and Goias State, Brazil. Satellites with finer spatial resolution may improve the classification of the Cerrado's vegetation. Remote sensing methods and two criteria were tested using RapidEye 3A imagery (5m spatial resolution) collected in 2014 in order to classify the Cerrado's major land cover types of this area, as well as its land use. One criterion considers the Cerrado's major terrestrial ecosystems, which are divided into forest, savanna and grassland. The other involves scaling it down to the major physiognomic groups of each ecosystem. Other sources of environmental dataset such

Necrophagous species of Diptera and Coleoptera in northeastern Brazil: state of the art and challenges for the Forensic Entomologist

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simão D. Vasconcelos

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Inventories on necrophagous insects carried out in Brazil encompass mostly species from the southeastern and central-western regions of the country. This review aims to produce the first checklist of necrophagous Diptera and Coleoptera species of forensic relevance in northeastern Brazil, an area that concentrates high rates of homicides. We performed a literature survey on scientific articles, theses and dissertations regarding necrophagous insect species in the region, and contacted scientists who develop research on forensic entomology. Fifty-two species of Diptera belonging to eight families with previous record of necrophagy were reported in the region: Sarcophagidae, Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Fanniidae, Piophilidae, Phoridae, Anthomyiidae and Stratiomyidae. Coleopteran species from six families of forensic relevance were registered, although taxonomical identification remained superficial. Bait traps were the most frequent methodology used, followed by collection on animal carcasses. Seven Dipteran species from two families were registered on human cadavers. All species had been previously reported in other Brazilian states and/or other countries, although none has been effectively used in legal procedures in the region. The status of research on forensic entomology in northeastern Brazil is incipient, and the checklist produced here contributes to the knowledge on the local diversity of necrophagous insects.

An inventory of wetland non-passerine birds along a southeastern Brazilian coastal area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.C. Tavares

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the list of non-passerine birds of coastal environments of the Quissama municipality, northern Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil. The surveys were conducted monthly between June 2011 and May 2012. Additional ad libitum observations were made between February 2008 and July 2012. We recorded 76 waterbird species of 15 families, of which Scolopacidae was the most representative, with 15 species. The high Nearctic shorebird species richness observed in coastal lagoons in Quissama (17 species is an evidence of the important role of the region as staging site for migratory birds at national level. Also, nine of the species recorded are threatened at regional and one is threatened at national level. It should be emphasized that three species considered locally extinct in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, the most extensively surveyed area in the State, were recorded in the present study. Additionally, we present a high number of previously unrecorded species in northern Rio de Janeiro, and report the first documented record of Stercorarius pomarinus in Rio de Janeiro State. The region has a notorious Waterbird richness including endangered and migratory species, when compared to other coastal areas of the state.

Cytisus scoparius (Fam. Fabaceae in southern Brazil - first step of an invasion process?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo León Cordero

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The occurrence of Scotch broom Cytisus scoparius (L. Link (Fabaceae, is reported for the first time in Brazil. The species has been registered in the species-rich Campos Sulinos grasslands, in the Campos de Cima da Serra, and in the Serra do Sudeste. Naturalizing populations were frequently formed in natural habitats near to human settlements, where prevailing land uses and disturbances facilitate dispersal and establishment. The plant is an invasive species that has globally caused significant damage to biodiversity and economic losses. In Brazil, the species has a strong potential for spreading into a wide range of ecosystems. The Atlantic Forest biome and part of the Pampa biome, together known as the Campos Sulinos, represent optimal areas for the species. Features of the observed populations and recommendations for management are presented.

Suicide in Batman, Southeastern Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Altindag, Abdurrahman; Ozkan, Mustafa; Oto, Remzi

2005-01-01

The southeastern part of Turkey has comparatively high female suicide rates. We aimed to research social, economic, cultural, and psychiatric reasons of suicides in Batman in a case-controlled psychological autopsy study comparing suicides with matched community controls. The female suicide rate was 9.3 per 100.000 and the female/male ratio was…

Microbial community dynamics and transformation of vascular plant detritus in two wetland ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moran, M.A.

1987-01-01

The microbial ecology of two wetland ecosystems in southeastern Georgia, USA, was studied with respect to microbial community dynamics and microbially-mediated transformations of vascular plant detritus. In the Okefenokee Swamp, biomass of microorganisms in the water column and sediments was generally lower in winter months and higher during spring and summer. Biomass and activity (measured as 14 C-lignocellulose mineralization) differed significantly among five habitats within the Okefenokee, and also among locations within each habitat. Significant heterogeneity in the structure of Okefenokee microbial communities was found at scales from 30 cm to 150 m. In field and laboratory studies of vascular plant decomposition in the Okefenokee and a salt marsh on Sapelo Island, the mathematical model which best describes decomposition kinetics is the decaying coefficient model

High temperatures and absence of light affect the hatching of resting eggs of Daphnia in the tropics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thécia A.S.V. Paes

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Temperature and light are acknowledged as important factors for hatching of resting eggs. The knowledge of how they affect hatching rates of this type of egg is important for the comprehension of the consequences of warming waters in recolonization of aquatic ecosystems dependent on dormant populations. This study aimed at comparing the influence of different temperature and light conditions on hatching rates of Daphnia ambigua andDaphnia laevis resting eggs from tropical environments. The ephippia were collected in the sediment of three aquatic ecosystems, in southeastern Brazil. For each lake, the resting eggs were exposed to temperatures of 20, 24, 28 and 32 °C, under light (12 h photoperiod and dark conditions. The results showed that the absence of light and high temperatures have a negative influence on the hatching rates. Statistical differences for hatching rates were also found when comparing the studied ecosystems (ranging from 0.6 to 31%, indicating the importance of local environmental factors for diapause and maintenance of active populations.

Characterizing rainfall parameters which influence erosivity in southeastern Nigeria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obi, M.E.; Salako, F.K.

1993-12-01

An investigation was carried out to characterize some selected parameters which influence rainfall erosivity in southeastern Nigeria. Rainfall amount, distribution, duration, intensity, storm types, energy loads and frequency of rain events in the region were studied using data from stations located in three major agroecological zones. Raindrop size and detaching capacity were evaluated in one of the stations for two months. The mean annual rainfall erosivity values for southeastern Nigeria point to the fact that rainfall tend to be highly erosive. 25 refs, 6 figs, 8 tabs

Range extension for Thomas' Mastiff bat Eumops maurus (Chiroptera: Molossidae in northern, central and southeastern Brazil Distribuição geográfica de Thomas' Mastiff Eumops maurus (Chiroptera: Molossidae na região norte, central e sudoeste do Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miriam M. Sodré

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Thomas' Mastiff bat, Eumops maurus (Thomas, 1901 is known from northern South America in Ecuador, Venezuela and Guiana and so it probably occurs in Brazil, yet it has not been reported. Here, we present the first record for E. maurus in Brazil. Captures were from the Brazilian states of Tocantins and Goiás (northern and midwestern Cerrado region of the country, and São Paulo (southeastern Brazil, Atlantic Forest. In the first two locations, all bats were roosting in palm leaves while in the later location, a single animal was found alive in a 15th-storey apartment in the city of São Paulo. This bat inhabits savannas with swamps dominated by the palm Mauritia flexuosa (buriti and gallery forests. This record is the first of E. maurus in an urban area. Brazilian specimens are apparently larger than those from northern South America.Eumops maurus (Thomas, 1901 tem sua ocorrência no norte da América do Sul, no Equador, na Venezuela e na Guiana. O presente estudo descreve a primeira ocorrência de E. maurus para o Brasil, com capturas recentes de espécimes nos estados de Tocantins e Goiás (regiões Norte e Centro-Oeste do país, domínio de Cerrado, e no estado de São Paulo, região sudeste, inserido no domínio da Mata Atlântica. Nos dois primeiros casos, os espécimes estavam no interior de folhas de palmeiras, e último, o indivíduo foi encontrado vivo dentro do quarto de um apartamento na cidade de São Paulo. Dados bibliográficos revelam que esta espécie habita regiões abertas, associada às áreas periodicamente alagadas (no cerrado, veredas dominadas por palmeiras da espécie Mauritia flexuosa (buriti e matas de galeria. Este trabalho ressalta o primeiro registro desse morcego em local urbanizado. Os espécimes brasileiros apresentam dimensões corpóreas maiores que os espécimes provenientes na região norte da América do Sul.

Ecosystem Services of UHE Carlos Botelho (Lobo/Broa: a new approach for management and planning of dams multiple-uses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NA. Periotto

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to identify and make an initial accounting of the ecosystem services of the hydroelectric power generation plant, UHE Carlos Botelho (Itirapina Municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil, and its most extensive wetlands - total of 2,640 ha - and also identify the drivers of change of these services. Twenty (20 ecosystem services were identified and the estimated quantitative total value obtained was USD 120,445,657.87. year−1 or USD 45,623.35 ha−1.year−1. Investments on restoration of spatial heterogeneity along Tietê-Jacaré hydrographic basin and new technologies for regional economic activities must maintain ecological functions as well as increase marginal values of ecosystem services and the potential annual economic return of ecological functions.

Beliefs and Attitudes about Childhood Epilepsy among School Teachers in Two Cities of Southeast Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanni, Karina Piccin; Matsukura, Thelma Simões; Maia Filho, Heber de Souza

2012-01-01

Childhood epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder associated with profound psychosocial limitations epileptic children's routine. Lack of information and inappropriate beliefs are still the factors that most contribute to the stigma and discrimination. This study aimed at characterizing teacher's beliefs and attitudes at regular and special schools in two cities of southeastern Brazil where students with epilepsy studied. Fifty-six teachers of public regular schools and specialized educational institutions for children with disabilities from two cities of Southeast Brazil who had epileptic children in their classroom completed the Brazilian version of The Epilepsy Beliefs and Attitudes Scale: Adult Version and answered a data sheet about sociodemographic characteristics. The results showed that no significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) have been found between the beliefs and attitudes of teachers in mainstream and special schools but both schoolteachers had more inappropriate beliefs and attitudes than appropriate ones against childhood epilepsy. These findings raise an important issue, providing us with the knowledge that epilepsy is still a condition which is surrounded by wrong beliefs. Also, educational programs could help reduce the gaps in knowledge about how such disease has been perceived worldwide.

Ecological behavior and effects of energy related pollutants. Progress report, June 1976--August 1977. [SO2 impact on survival and stability of plant species; fallout /sup 137/Cs transfer processes in Southeastern Coastal Plain ecosystem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Platt, R.B.; Ragsdale, H.L.; Murdy, W.H.; Shure, D.J.

1977-10-25

The impact of SO/sub 2/ on the survival and stability of plant populations and communities was studied. The results to date have an important bearing on the adequacy of current permissible ambient air levels for SO/sub 2/. Atmospheric SO/sub 2/ concentrations at near permissible levels had a significant adverse effect on sexual reproduction processes, which results in a reduced number of viable seeds, in all 8 populations tested. Implications for both natural and agricultural plant species and possible significant losses of fruit production are discussed. An ecological implication of the invisible effect of fruit and seed mortality is postulated since the life cycle of many insects and the trophic relations of numerous animals depend, at least in part, on fruit production by trees and shrubs. Hence, there is a potential for disruptive effects on ecosystem level processes. Results are also reported from four systems-oriented studies within the Lower Three Runs Creek Watershed, Savannah River Plant, to examine fallout /sup 137/Cs transfer processes in ecological systems characteristic of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. These studies were carried out within the stream and its floodplains, within floodplains along the stream gradient, in upland aquatic systems (Carolina Bays), and in the upland scrub-oak forest system. Results are discussed.

Biological parameters and feeding behaviour of invasive whelk Rapana venosa Valenciennes, 1846 in the south-eastern Black Sea of Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hacer Saglam

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To determine length-weight relationships, growth type and feeding behavior of the benthic predator Rapa whelk at the coast of Camburnu, south-eastern Black Sea. Methods: Rapa whelk was monthly collected by dredge sampling on the south-eastern Black Sea at 20 m depth. The relationships between morphometric parameters of Rapa whelk were described by linear and exponential models. The allometric growth of each variable relative to shell length (SL was calculated from the function Y=aSLb or logY=loga+blogSL. The functional regression b values were tested by t-test at the 0.05 significance level if it was significantly different from isometric growth. The total time spent on feeding either on mussel tissue or live mussels was recorded for each individual under controlled conditions in laboratory. Results: The length-weight relationships showed positive allometric growth and no inter-sex variability. Body size in the male population was significantly higher than in the individuals of the female. All characters in males and females showed a trend towards allometry rather than isometry. While the total time spent feeding increased with increasing prey size the total time that Rapana venosa spent feeding decreased with increasing Rapa whelk size. The total average feeding time needed by Rapa whelks was 160 min. But they took 310 min on live mussels in 27-28 °C in the laboratory conditions. Conclusions: Length and weight relationships, growth type, total time spent feeding of this species were explained in details for this region. It would be useful to sustainable management in the south-eastern Black Sea of Turkey. The results about the feeding behaviour of this species will contribute to the understanding of the role of this species within the ecosystem.

Geographical patterns in climate and agricultural technology drive soybean productivity in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Caetano, Jordana Moura; Tessarolo, Geiziane; de Oliveira, Guilherme; Souza, Kelly da Silva E; Diniz-Filho, José Alexandre Felizola; Nabout, João Carlos

2018-01-01

The impacts of global climate change have been a worldwide concern for several research areas, including those dealing with resources essential to human well being, such as agriculture, which directly impact economic activities and food security. Here we evaluate the relative effect of climate (as indicated by the Ecological Niche Model-ENM) and agricultural technology on actual soybean productivity in Brazilian municipalities and estimate the future geographic distribution of soybeans using a novel statistical approach allowing the evaluation of partial coefficients in a non-stationary (Geographically Weighted Regression; GWR) model. We found that technology was more important than climate in explaining soybean productivity in Brazil. However, some municipalities are more dependent on environmental suitability (mainly in Southern Brazil). The future environmental suitability for soybean cultivation tends to decrease by up 50% in the central region of Brazil. Meanwhile, southern-most Brazil will have more favourable conditions, with an increase of ca. 25% in environmental suitability. Considering that opening new areas for cultivation can degrade environmental quality, we suggest that, in the face of climate change impacts on soybean cultivation, the Brazilian government and producers must invest in breeding programmes and more general ecosystem-based strategies for adaptation to climate change, including the development of varieties tolerant to climate stress, and strategies to increase productivity and reduce costs (social and environmental).

Perforated peptic ulcer in southeastern Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chin-Hsien; Chang, Wen-Hsiung; Shih, Shou-Chuan; Lin, Shee-Chan; Bair, Ming-Jong

2010-09-01

No studies focus on the population with perforated peptic ulcer in southeastern Taiwan. The present study aimed to assess the differences between the different races and the risk factors related to mortality and morbidity in postoperative patients in southeastern Taiwan. The medical records of 237 patients were reviewed retrospectively. The following factors were analyzed: patient profiles, coexisting illnesses, diagnostic method, fever, preoperative shock, clinical data at emergency room, delay operation, site of perforation, operative method, positive ascites culture, species of microbes in ascites culture, postoperative complications, death and the length of hospital stay. Aborigines were significantly different from non-aborigines in the ratio of female cases and in the habits of alcohol drinking and betel nut chewing. There were also four significantly different variables between them: fever, hemoglobin value, site of perforation and operative method. Total postoperative complication rate was 41.3% and 39 patients (16.6%) died. In multivariate analysis, age > or = 65 years, lipase > upper normal limit and preoperative shock were independent predictors of mortality. Significant risk factors associated with morbidity were NSAIDs use, creatinine > 1.5 mg/dL and preoperative shock. Aborigines were different from non-aborigines in several categories. In southeastern Taiwan, NSAIDs use, creatinine > 1.5 mg/dL and preoperative shock were independent risk factors of morbidity, and age > or = 65 years, lipase > upper normal limit and preoperative shock were independent risk factors of mortality in postoperative perforated peptic ulcer. Lipase > upper normal limit is needed for further research on the influence on mortality.

Approach towards total knee arthroplasty in Brazil: cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raul Frankllim de Carvalho Almeida

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA has evolved particularly since the 1970s, with improvements in implants and surgical instruments, and has thus become an effective intervention for treating knee arthrosis. Many studies have presented rates of satisfactory clinical and radiological results greater than 90%, from follow-ups of over ten years. Nevertheless, despite scientific evidence showing the efficacy of TKA, the approaches taken present controversies in certain respects. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the Brazilian orthopedists deal with TKA, with investigation of the main aspects of this procedure. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional survey conducted during the 39th Brazilian Congress of Orthopedics and Traumatology, in São Paulo, Brazil, in November 2007. METHODS: We applied a questionnaire to orthopedists registered at the congress. The questionnaire was randomly distributed and participation was voluntary; 858 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Most of the Brazilian orthopedists were members of SBOT and worked in the southeastern region. They used imported cemented implants through an anterior access route centered on the patella, with replacement of the joint surface of the patella and preservation of the posterior cruciate ligament. They did not have experience with simultaneous bilateral TKA. Postoperatively, they used antibiotics and suction drains for 48 hours. There was no consensus regarding prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism or the frequency of the main complications. CONCLUSION: The majority of Brazilian orthopedists work in the southeastern region of the country and agree about the main aspects of the approaches towards TKA.

Between the sea and the land: the livelihood of estuarine people in southeastern Brazil Entre o mar e a terra: modos de vida de comunidades estuarinas no sudeste do Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia anazaki

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The central focus of this study is to characterize and compare the livelihood strategies of two coastal communities from the estuarine region of Ribeira Valley (São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil, analyzing the interplay among four economic activities: small-scale agriculture, fishing, tourism-related jobs, and extraction of non-timber vegetal resources. The local people of these communities are mostly Caiçara, the native inhabitants of southeastern Brazilian coast, in an Atlantic forest area. The miscegenation of Amerindians, European colonizers, and African Brazilians gave rise to the Caiçara people, whose subsistence was originally based on small-scale itinerant agriculture, small-scale fishery, and some extraction of forest products. Their livelihoods activities changed through time: agricultural practices were gradually abandoned, while fishing grew in importance. Recently, tourism-related jobs and the extraction of non-timber vegetal resources acquired a key role in the estuarine Caiçara livelihood. After an historical overview, we focus our analysis on the local factors and external pressures affecting the combination of these activities.O objetivo central deste artigo é caracterizar e comparar as estratégias dos meios de vida de duas comunidades da região estuarina do vale de Ribeira (Estado de São Paulo, analisando a inter-relação entre quatro atividades econômicas: agricultura de pequena escala, pesca, trabalhos relacionados ao turismo e extração de recursos vegetais não madeireiros. Os habitantes destas comunidades são na maior parte Caiçaras, nativos da costa sudeste do Brasil, vivendo em área do domínio Mata Atlântica. Caiçaras são descendentes de ameríndios e colonizadores europeus, com influências mais recentes de escravos africanos. Sua subsistência era baseada originalmente na agricultura itinerante de pequena escala, na pesca artesanal e, em menor grau, na extração de produtos florestais. Suas

Penicillium excelsum sp. nov from the Brazil Nut Tree Ecosystem in the Amazon Basin'

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi; Pitt, John I; Iamanaka, Beatriz T.

2015-01-01

A new Penicillium species, P. excelsum, is described here using morphological characters, extrolite and partial sequence data from the ITS, β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. It was isolated repeatedly using samples of nut shells and flowers from the brazil nut tree, Bertolletia excelsa, as well as ...

Diet of Eared Doves (Zenaida auriculata, Aves, Columbidae in a sugar-cane colony in South-eastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. RANVAUD

Full Text Available Farmers in the Paranapanema Valley (São Paulo, Brazil have reported problems with flocks of Eared Doves (Zenaida auriculata eating sprouting soybeans. In this region these birds breed colonially in sugar-cane, and eat four crop seeds, using 70% of the dry weight, in the following order of importance: maize, wheat, rice, and soybeans. Three weeds (Euphorbia heterophylla, Brachiaria plantaginea, and Commelina benghalensis were important. This information suggests that the doves adapted particularly well to the landscape created by the agricultural practices in the region, exploiting many available foods.

Uranium assessment for the Precambrian pebble conglomerates in southeastern Wyoming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borgman, L.E.; Sever, C.; Quimby, W.F.; Andrew, M.E.; Karlstrom, K.E.; Houston, R.S.

1981-03-01

This volume is a geostatistical resource estimate of uranium and thorium in quartz-pebble conglomerates, and is a companion to Volume 1: The Geology and Uranium Potential to Precambrian Conglomerates in the Medicine Bow Mountains and Sierra Madre of Southeastern Wyoming; and to Volume 2: Drill-Hole Data, Drill-Site Geology, and Geochemical Data from the Study of Precambrian Uraniferous Conglomerates of the Medicine Bow Mountains and the Sierra Madre of Southeastern Wyoming

Southeastern Regional Geologic Characterization Report. Executive summary. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-08-01

This Executive Summary of the final Southeastern Regional Geologic Characterization Report (RGCR) is issued primarily for public information purposes, and provides a general overview of the report. The complete RGCR presents available regional geologic information pertinent to siting a repository for high-level nuclear waste in crystalline rock in central Maryland; noncoastal Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina; and northern Georgia. For each of the states within the Southeastern Region, information is provided on the geologic disqualifying factor and the geologic regional screening variables to be used in region-to-area screening

Southeastern Regional Environmental Characterization Report: executive summary. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-08-01

This Executive Summary of the final ''Southeastern Regional Environmental Characterization Report'' (RECR) is issued primarily for public information purposes and provides a general overview of the report. The complete RECR presents available regional environmental information pertinent to siting a repository or high-level nuclear waste in crystalline rock in central Maryland; noncoastal Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina; and northern Georgia. For each of the states within the Southeastern Region, information is provided on the environmental disqualifying factors and the environmental regional screening variables to be used in region-to-area screening

Effects of reintroduced beaver (Castor canadensis) on riparian bird community structure along the upper San Pedro River, southeastern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Glenn E.; van Riper, Charles

2014-01-01

Chapter 1.—We measured bird abundance and richness along the upper San Pedro River in 2005 and 2006, in order to document how beavers (Castor canadensis) may act as ecosystem engineers after their reintroduction to a desert riparian area in the Southwestern United States. In areas where beavers colonized, we found higher bird abundance and richness of bird groups, such as all breeding birds, insectivorous birds, and riparian specialists, and higher relative abundance of many individual species—including several avian species of conservation concern. Chapter 2.—We conducted bird surveys in riparian areas along the upper San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona (United States) and northern Sonora (Mexico) in order to describe factors influencing bird community dynamics and the distribution and abundance of species, particularly those of conservation concern. These surveys were also used to document the effects of the ecosystem-altering activities of a recently reintroduced beavers (Castor canadensis). Chapter 3.—We reviewed Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) nest records and investigated the potential for future breeding along the upper San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona, where in July 2005 we encountered the southernmost verifiable nest attempt for the species. Continued conservation and management of the area’s riparian vegetation and surface water has potential to contribute additional breeding sites for this endangered Willow Flycatcher subspecies. Given the nest record along the upper San Pedro River and the presence of high-density breeding sites to the north, the native cottonwood-willow forests of the upper San Pedro River could become increasingly important to E. t. extimus recovery, especially considering the anticipated effect of the tamarisk leaf beetle (Diorhabda carinulata) on riparian habitat north of the region.

Downgrading, downsizing, degazettement, and reclassification of protected areas in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernard, E; Penna, L A O; Araújo, E

2014-08-01

Protected areas (PAs) are key elements for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. Brazil has the largest PA system in the world, covering approximately 220 million ha. This system expanded rapidly in the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. Recent events in Brazil, however, have led to an increase in PA downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD). Does this reflect a shift in the country's PA policy? We analyzed the occurrence, frequency, magnitude, type, spatial distribution, and causes of changes in PA boundaries and categories in Brazil. We identified 93 PADDD events from 1981 to 2012. Such events increased in frequency since 2008 and were ascribed primarily to generation and transmission of electricity in Amazonia. In Brazilian parks and reserves, 7.3 million ha were affected by PADDD events, and of these, 5.2 million ha were affected by downsizing or degazetting. Moreover, projects being considered by the Federal Congress may degazette 2.1 million ha of PA in Amazonia alone. Relaxing the protection status of existing PAs is proving to be politically easy in Brazil, and the recent increase in frequency and extension of PADDD reflects a change in governmental policy. By taking advantage of chronic deficiencies in financial and personnel resources and surveillance, disputes over land tenure, and the slowness of the Brazilian justice, government agencies have been implementing PADDD without consultation of civil society. If parks and reserves are to maintain their integrity, there will need to be investments in Brazilian PAs and a better understanding of the benefits PAs provide. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

ECOLOGIC FEATURES OF WOOD ANATOMY OF Casearia sylvestris SW (SALICACEAE IN THREE BRAZILIAN ECOSYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graciene da Silva Mota

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Casearia sylvestris SW (Salicaceae is a highly adaptive perennial species that is found throughout Latin America and widely spread in Brazil. This work analyzed the ecological features of wood anatomy of C. sylvestris occurring in three ecosystem types: Cerrado, Gallery Forest (Northern of Minas Gerais and Mata Atlântica (Southern of Minas Gerais. Qualitative features were similar among plants in the three ecosystems, differing only in the distribution of pith flecks and neighboring tyloses that were more frequent in Cerrado and Gallery Forest. The quantitative results showed significant differences for several parameters, as well as variation between individuals of vegetation types of Northern and Southern of Minas Gerais. The correlation matrix of variables including quantitative anatomical characteristics, soil characteristics, height and diameter of the plants showed that plants were grouped by ecosystem type. Casearia sylvestris might adopt different survival strategies regarding safety and efficiency of water transport by wood anatomy ecological adaptation. The adaptive anatomical features to drought were mostly an decrease of vessel frequency and an increase of ray width and frequency.

Variability of Ecosystem State in Rivers Containing Natural Dams: A Chemical Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Z. A.

2015-12-01

Flooding, and the resulting economic damage to roads and property, is associated with natural dams such as beaver dams or log jams. For this reason, humans often remove natural dams; however, river reaches with natural dams provide very different ecosystem services in comparison with free-flowing river reaches. Therefore, the goal of this project is to assess the differences in ecosystem state between these different river reach types in the northeastern United States. We focused on differences in basic chemistry (e.g., dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and organic carbon) to assess the impact of natural dams on river ecosystem state. Study sites include rivers in the White Mountains and southeastern New Hampshire at locations with beaver dams, beaver ponds, beaver meadows, log jams, and free-flowing reaches. Dissolved oxygen, ORP, pH, temperature, and conductivity were measured in the field with a YSI Professional Plus meter. Water samples were collected for subsequent laboratory analysis of total organic carbon with a Shimadzu TOC-L. Preliminary results show that the chemistry of river water varies with feature type. Most significantly, dissolved oxygen concentrations are highest in free-flowing reaches and lowest in beaver ponds. Although beaver ponds are often associated with lower pH, due the increased concentration of organic acids, some beaver ponds can increase pH when compared to free-flowing reaches on the same river. Early results also show that water chemistry returns quickly to the chemistry typical of the free-flowing river reaches after being altered by a natural dam. Overall, natural dams create a river system that has more heterogeneity, and therefore has opportunities to provide more ecosystem functions, than a purely free-flowing river; this can increase the number of supported instream and riparian species. By increasing the understanding of how natural dams affect the chemistry of river water, river engineers can improve their decisions on how

Spatiotemporal Distribution and Population Structure of Monokalliapseudes schubarti (Tanaidacea: Kalliapseudidae in an Estuary in Southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Freitas-Júnior

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Monokalliapseudes schubarti is an endemic tanaidacean microcrustacean from southeastern Brazil to Uruguay inhabiting low energy estuaries. Saco da Fazenda is located in the estuary of the Itajaí-Açú River, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is exposed to strong anthropic impact and receives intensive flows of domestic wastewater, solid residues, and drainage activities. Specimens of M. schubarti were collected monthly, in the intertidal and subtidal regions of Saco da Fazenda, in four stations defined as a function of the physiography of the environment during the period of July 2003 to June 2004. Fecundity values were high, with continuous reproductive activity during the whole period of study. The greatest population densities were observed in the intertidal region, where they are nevertheless intensely consumed by birds, swimming crabs, and fish. This species represents a fundamental link in the food chain of Saco da Fazenda, transferring energy from the detritus level to higher trophic levels. Habitat disturbance and high organic matter may represent factors controlling the distribution of populations of M. schubarti. For this reason, the species may be used to monitor anthropic effects in estuarine areas.

Estimating the impacts of conservation on ecosystem services and poverty by integrating modeling and evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferraro, Paul J; Hanauer, Merlin M; Miteva, Daniela A; Nelson, Joanna L; Pattanayak, Subhrendu K; Nolte, Christoph; Sims, Katharine R E

2015-06-16

Scholars have made great advances in modeling and mapping ecosystem services, and in assigning economic values to these services. This modeling and valuation scholarship is often disconnected from evidence about how actual conservation programs have affected ecosystem services, however. Without a stronger evidence base, decision makers find it difficult to use the insights from modeling and valuation to design effective policies and programs. To strengthen the evidence base, scholars have advanced our understanding of the causal pathways between conservation actions and environmental outcomes, but their studies measure impacts on imperfect proxies for ecosystem services (e.g., avoidance of deforestation). To be useful to decision makers, these impacts must be translated into changes in ecosystem services and values. To illustrate how this translation can be done, we estimated the impacts of protected areas in Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, and Thailand on carbon storage in forests. We found that protected areas in these conservation hotspots have stored at least an additional 1,000 Mt of CO2 in forests and have delivered ecosystem services worth at least $5 billion. This aggregate impact masks important spatial heterogeneity, however. Moreover, the spatial variability of impacts on carbon storage is the not the same as the spatial variability of impacts on avoided deforestation. These findings lead us to describe a research program that extends our framework to study other ecosystem services, to uncover the mechanisms by which ecosystem protection benefits humans, and to tie cost-benefit analyses to conservation planning so that we can obtain the greatest return on scarce conservation funds.

Neoproterozoic alkaline magmatism in Ilha do Cardoso, southeastern coast of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, Werner; Basei, Miguel A.S.; Siga Junior, Oswaldo; Sato, Kei

2001-01-01

This work focuses on the geology and geochronology of rocks cropping out on Cardoso Island, on the southeastern coast of Sao Paulo State, close to the boundary with Parana State. The island, with an area of about 151 km 2 is a protected area administered by the Forest Institute of the Secretariat for the Environment of the State of Sao Paulo. It is mountainous, with a peak at 814 m, and is covered by dense Atlantic Forest vegetation. The island is made up mainly of an igneous complex with light grey leucocratic, inequigranular, medium to coarse-grained syenites. The Tres Irmaos Syenite (STI), composed of pyroxene, hornblende, and perthitic to mesoperthitic microcline, predominates has magmatic flow structures, and it cut by the pinkish grey, leucocratic medium-grained Cambriu alkali-feldspar granites (GC). Geochemical analysis of STI and GC demonstrate their metaluminous alkaline nature and late orogenic to anorogenic character. The bodies formed between 620 and 570 Ma according to U-Pb dating of zircons and cooled between 597 and 531 Ma (K-Ar in amphiboles). Whole rock Sm-Nd analyses yield Meso- and Paleoproterozoic TDM ages (1,500 - 2,200 Ma). A belt of low-grade metasedimentary rocks occurs in the northern part of the island. Quartz schist, quartz-mica schist and mica-quartz schist, often-containing andalusite and cordierite, predominate. Geochemical and geochronological data suggest that the sources of the metasediments were continental arc andesites of whose protoliths separated from the mantle between 1,800 and 2,200 Ma during the Paleoproterozoic. These metasediments probably continue on the continent in the Taquari region and extend southwards in narrow strips between the granitoids of the Paranagua Domain. (author)

Rainwater chemistry at the summit and southern flank of the Itatiaia massif, Southeastern Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mello, William Z. de; Almeida, Marcelo D. de

2004-01-01

Wet deposition and related rainwater chemistry were studied at the Itatiaia massif, on which is settled the Itatiaia National Park (INP). Samples were simultaneously collected on a weekly basis over 12 months, using automated wet and dry samplers, at the INP-Headquarters (INP-Hq; altitude=820 m) and the Itatiaia Plateau (It-Pt; altitude=2460 m). Conductivity, pH, Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , NH 4 + , Cl - , NO 3 - and SO 4 2- were determined in 36 rainwater samples. Volume-weighted mean (VWM) pH was lower at the INP-Hq (4.9) than at the It-Pt (5.3). Very strong correlation between Cl - and Na + was found for the INP-Hq (r=0.99). At the Itatiaia massif, SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , and NH 4 + comprised together about 60% of the total inorganic ions and appear to exert the major control on rainwater pH. - Rainwater chemistry at the Itatiaia massif in SE Brazil is strongly dominated by S and N inorganic species, and influenced by human activities

Anatomy of Phyllodina persica (Bivalvia: Tellinidae, and its first occurrence in southeastern Brazilian waters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Cesar Marques

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study presents a detailed anatomy of a rare Western Atlantic tellin, Phyllodina persica, under a comparative scenario. Some characters are shared with other tellinids such as the large hemipalps compared to gills; gills with outer demibranch with a single lamella absent from the pericardial region; the type-V stomach associated with the style sac conjoined with the proximal intestine, and distal intestine presenting a dorsal and ventral group of loops, separated by the transverse muscle. The stomach presents a laterally enlarged typhlosole, although shallow, without flange in the margins. This feature is not found in other tellinid species. Another noteworthy feature in the stomach is the aperture of both caeca, which are larger than the left pouch aperture, and as wide as the style sac aperture. Furthermore, there is an interesting small process in the anterior hinge, and a pair of oblique protractor muscles placed posteriorly to the anterior foot retractor muscle, being a new type of intrinsic muscle described in bivalves. In addition to anatomy, this study presents the southernmost record of P. persica, expanding its distribution to the southeastern region of Brazil.

Geothermometric evaluation of geothermal resources in southeastern Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Neupane, G.; Mattson, E. D.; McLing, T. L.; Palmer, C. D.; Smith, R. W.; Wood, T. R.; Podgorney, R. K.

2016-01-01

Southeastern Idaho exhibits numerous warm springs, warm water from shallow wells, and hot water from oil and gas test wells that indicate a potential for geothermal development in the area. We have estimated reservoir temperatures from chemical composition of thermal waters in southeastern Idaho using an inverse geochemical modeling technique (Reservoir Temperature Estimator, RTEst) that calculates the temperature at which multiple minerals are simultaneously at equilibrium while explicitly accounting for the possible loss of volatile constituents (e.g., CO2), boiling and/or water mixing. The temperature estimates in the region varied from moderately warm (59 °C) to over 175 °C. Specifically, hot springs near Preston, Idaho, resulted in the highest reservoir temperature estimates in the region.

Human consumption of a vagrant South American Fur Seal Arctocephalus australis (Carnivora: Otariidae in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Siciliano

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The South American Fur Seal Arctocephalus australis is one of the most widely distributed South American otariid species. In Brazil, during austral winter months specimens of A. australis are regularly found along the Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina coasts. Occasionally, vagrants have been recorded along the southeastern coast but rarely moves north of Rio de Janeiro, at 23°S. On 01 May 2015, fishermen noticed in the surf zone an unidentified large animal in Ilhéus, Bahia, northeastern Brazil. Severely wounded, it was still alive when first spotted. Numerous shark bites were observed in the rostrum and flippers, the peduncle was severely lacerated and the intestines were protruding. The specimen was identified as an adult of South American Fur Seal based on the combination of the characteristic coloration of the pelage, head shape, body size, the relatively large eye size, and mainly due to the pronounced three cusped teeth in post canines. Fishermen decided to butcher the carcass and share the meat among their companions. The present record, however, is of special concern as human consumption South American Fur Seal seems to be unusual in Brazil. Pieces of meat were shared among fishermen. In addition, small pieces of blubber were used as bait in the local shark long-line fishery. Consumption of an injured and presumably weak marine mammal carcass points to an increasing risk of contact between potentially harmful viruses, bacteria and fungi and humans. This note represents an alert to public health specialists and wildlife authorities in Brazil. It calls the urgency of an outreach campaign advertising to the potential risks of ingesting bushmeat either from land or aquatic sources. 

Modeling Soil Quality Thresholds to Ecosystem Recovery at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garten Jr., C.T.

2004-03-08

The objective of this research was to use a simple model of soil C and N dynamics to predict nutrient thresholds to ecosystem recovery on degraded soils at Fort Benning, Georgia, in the southeastern USA. The model calculates aboveground and belowground biomass, soil C inputs and dynamics, soil N stocks and availability, and plant N requirements. A threshold is crossed when predicted soil N supplies fall short of predicted N required to sustain biomass accrual at a specified recovery rate. Four factors were important to development of thresholds to recovery: (1) initial amounts of aboveground biomass, (2) initial soil C stocks (i.e., soil quality), (3) relative recovery rates of biomass, and (4) soil sand content. Thresholds to ecosystem recovery predicted by the model should not be interpreted independent of a specified recovery rate. Initial soil C stocks influenced the predicted patterns of recovery by both old field and forest ecosystems. Forests and old fields on soils with varying sand content had different predicted thresholds to recovery. Soil C stocks at barren sites on Fort Benning generally lie below predicted thresholds to 100% recovery of desired future ecosystem conditions defined on the basis of aboveground biomass (18000 versus 360 g m{sup -2} for forests and old fields, respectively). Calculations with the model indicated that reestablishment of vegetation on barren sites to a level below the desired future condition is possible at recovery rates used in the model, but the time to 100% recovery of desired future conditions, without crossing a nutrient threshold, is prolonged by a reduced rate of forest growth. Predicted thresholds to ecosystem recovery were less on soils with more than 70% sand content. The lower thresholds for old field and forest recovery on more sandy soils are apparently due to higher relative rates of net soil N mineralization in more sandy soils. Calculations with the model indicate that a combination of desired future

Malaria in Brazil: what happens outside the Amazonian endemic region.

Science.gov (United States)

de Pina-Costa, Anielle; Brasil, Patrícia; Di Santi, Sílvia Maria; de Araujo, Mariana Pereira; Suárez-Mutis, Martha Cecilia; Santelli, Ana Carolina Faria e Silva; Oliveira-Ferreira, Joseli; Lourenço-de-Oliveira, Ricardo; Daniel-Ribeiro, Cláudio Tadeu

2014-08-01

Brazil, a country of continental proportions, presents three profiles of malaria transmission. The first and most important numerically, occurs inside the Amazon. The Amazon accounts for approximately 60% of the nation's territory and approximately 13% of the Brazilian population. This region hosts 99.5% of the nation's malaria cases, which are predominantly caused by Plasmodium vivax (i.e., 82% of cases in 2013). The second involves imported malaria, which corresponds to malaria cases acquired outside the region where the individuals live or the diagnosis was made. These cases are imported from endemic regions of Brazil (i.e., the Amazon) or from other countries in South and Central America, Africa and Asia. Imported malaria comprised 89% of the cases found outside the area of active transmission in Brazil in 2013. These cases highlight an important question with respect to both therapeutic and epidemiological issues because patients, especially those with falciparum malaria, arriving in a region where the health professionals may not have experience with the clinical manifestations of malaria and its diagnosis could suffer dramatic consequences associated with a potential delay in treatment. Additionally, because the Anopheles vectors exist in most of the country, even a single case of malaria, if not diagnosed and treated immediately, may result in introduced cases, causing outbreaks and even introducing or reintroducing the disease to a non-endemic, receptive region. Cases introduced outside the Amazon usually occur in areas in which malaria was formerly endemic and are transmitted by competent vectors belonging to the subgenus Nyssorhynchus (i.e., Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles aquasalis and species of the Albitarsis complex). The third type of transmission accounts for only 0.05% of all cases and is caused by autochthonous malaria in the Atlantic Forest, located primarily along the southeastern Atlantic Coast. They are caused by parasites that seem to be (or

Malaria in Brazil: what happens outside the Amazonian endemic region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anielle de Pina-Costa

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Brazil, a country of continental proportions, presents three profiles of malaria transmission. The first and most important numerically, occurs inside the Amazon. The Amazon accounts for approximately 60% of the nation’s territory and approximately 13% of the Brazilian population. This region hosts 99.5% of the nation’s malaria cases, which are predominantly caused by Plasmodium vivax (i.e., 82% of cases in 2013. The second involves imported malaria, which corresponds to malaria cases acquired outside the region where the individuals live or the diagnosis was made. These cases are imported from endemic regions of Brazil (i.e., the Amazon or from other countries in South and Central America, Africa and Asia. Imported malaria comprised 89% of the cases found outside the area of active transmission in Brazil in 2013. These cases highlight an important question with respect to both therapeutic and epidemiological issues because patients, especially those with falciparum malaria, arriving in a region where the health professionals may not have experience with the clinical manifestations of malaria and its diagnosis could suffer dramatic consequences associated with a potential delay in treatment. Additionally, because the Anopheles vectors exist in most of the country, even a single case of malaria, if not diagnosed and treated immediately, may result in introduced cases, causing outbreaks and even introducing or reintroducing the disease to a non-endemic, receptive region. Cases introduced outside the Amazon usually occur in areas in which malaria was formerly endemic and are transmitted by competent vectors belonging to the subgenus Nyssorhynchus (i.e., Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles aquasalis and species of the Albitarsis complex. The third type of transmission accounts for only 0.05% of all cases and is caused by autochthonous malaria in the Atlantic Forest, located primarily along the southeastern Atlantic Coast. They are caused by parasites

European ancestry predominates in neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis patients from Brazil.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doralina Guimarães Brum

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO is considered relatively more common in non-Whites, whereas multiple sclerosis (MS presents a high prevalence rate, particularly in Whites from Western countries populations. However, no study has used ancestry informative markers (AIMs to estimate the genetic ancestry contribution to NMO patients. METHODS: Twelve AIMs were selected based on the large allele frequency differences among European, African, and Amerindian populations, in order to investigate the genetic contribution of each ancestral group in 236 patients with MS and NMO, diagnosed using the McDonald and Wingerchuck criteria, respectively. All 128 MS patients were recruited at the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto (MS-RP, Southeastern Brazil, as well as 108 healthy bone marrow donors considered as healthy controls. A total of 108 NMO patients were recruited from five Neurology centers from different Brazilian regions, including Ribeirão Preto (NMO-RP. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: European ancestry contribution was higher in MS-RP than in NMO-RP (78.5% vs. 68.7% patients. In contrast, African ancestry estimates were higher in NMO-RP than in MS-RP (20.5% vs. 12.5% patients. Moreover, principal component analyses showed that groups of NMO patients from different Brazilian regions were clustered close to the European ancestral population. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that European genetic contribution predominates in NMO and MS patients from Brazil.

Aspectos sobre a biologia de Tonatia bidens (Spix no estado do Rio de Janeiro, sudeste do Brasil (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae Biological aspects of Tonatia bidens (Spix in Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos E. L. Esbérard

2004-06-01

Full Text Available A biologia de Tonatia bidens (Spix, 1823 foi estudada no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, sudeste do Brasil. Um total de 76 morcegos foi capturado usando redes de neblina e redes manuais para insetos em refúgios diurnos. Algumas observações dos morcegos em cativeiro foram incluídas. Machos compreenderam 47% das capturas. Fêmeas prenhas foram observadas em novembro e maio, e fêmeas lactantes em janeiro, abril e maio. Animais subadultos foram registrados em dezembro, fevereiro, maio e julho. Os restos de presas observadas em refúgios de alimentação demonstram a dieta insetívora e carnívora deste morcego. O comportamento alimentar é similar a de outras espécies carnívoras de morcegos Phyllostomidae.The biology of Tonatia bidens (Spix, 1823 was studied at Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil. A total of 76 bats was captured using mist nets or using hand nets during sampling in diurnal roosts. Some observations of bats in captivity are also included. Males comprised 47% of the captures. Pregnant females were observed in November and May and lactant females in January, April and May. Subadult animals were recorded in December, February, May and July. The prey remains observed in feeding roosts demonstrates the insectivorous and carnivorous diet of this bats. The feeding behavior is similar to other carnivorous species of phyllostomid bats.

Threats to bioethical principles in medical practice in Brazil: new medical ethics code period.

Science.gov (United States)

Gracindo, G C L; da Silva Gallo, J H; Nunes, R

2018-03-15

We aimed to outline the profile of medical professionals in Brazil who have violated the deontological norms set forth in the ethics code of the profession, and whose cases were judged by the higher tribunal for medical ethics between 2010 and 2016. This survey was conducted using a database formed from professional ethics cases extracted from the plenary of the medical ethics tribunal of the Federal Council of Medicine. These were disciplinary ethics cases that were judged at appeal level between 2010 and 2016. Most of these professionals were male (88.5%) and their mean age was 59.9 years (SD=11.62) on the date of judgment of their appeals, ranging from 28 to 95 years. Most of them were based in the southeastern region of Brazil (50.89%). Articles 1 and 18 of the medical ethics code were the rules most frequently violated. The sentence given most often was the cancellation of their professional license (37.6%) and the acts most often sentenced involved malpractice, imprudence, and negligence (18.49%). It is acknowledged that concern for the principles of bioethics was present in the appeal decisions made by the plenary of the medical ethics tribunal of the Federal Council of Medicine.

Threats to bioethical principles in medical practice in Brazil: new medical ethics code period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.C.L. Gracindo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available We aimed to outline the profile of medical professionals in Brazil who have violated the deontological norms set forth in the ethics code of the profession, and whose cases were judged by the higher tribunal for medical ethics between 2010 and 2016. This survey was conducted using a database formed from professional ethics cases extracted from the plenary of the medical ethics tribunal of the Federal Council of Medicine. These were disciplinary ethics cases that were judged at appeal level between 2010 and 2016. Most of these professionals were male (88.5% and their mean age was 59.9 years (SD=11.62 on the date of judgment of their appeals, ranging from 28 to 95 years. Most of them were based in the southeastern region of Brazil (50.89%. Articles 1 and 18 of the medical ethics code were the rules most frequently violated. The sentence given most often was the cancellation of their professional license (37.6% and the acts most often sentenced involved malpractice, imprudence, and negligence (18.49%. It is acknowledged that concern for the principles of bioethics was present in the appeal decisions made by the plenary of the medical ethics tribunal of the Federal Council of Medicine.

Summary of southeastern group breakout sessions

Science.gov (United States)

Bob Ford; Charles P. Nicholson

1993-01-01

The breakout sessions held by the southeastern representatives at the Partners In Flight meeting in Colorado were extremely well attended Most states were represented, as well as several federal agencies (including USFS, USFWS, TVA, EPA), and non-government organizations. Two sessions were held, one to discuss a strategy of management by...

Seed Bank Variation under Contrasting Site Quality Conditions in Mixed Oak Forests of Southeastern Ohio, USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Small, Ch.J.; McCarthy, B.C.

2010-01-01

Seed bank composition was sampled in 192-2.5 m 2 quadrats, established in six regenerating clearcut (∼7 years) and six second-growth ((∼125 years) mixed-oak forest stands in southeastern Ohio. Seed bank and aboveground composition diverged markedly (Sorensen's coefficient <10%), emphasizing the importance of fast-growing, early-successional germinants to early ecosystem recovery. Seed richness was significantly (ρ<.01) higher in clearcut stands, suggesting declining richness with stand age. Richness estimations 28%-60% higher than observed values demonstrated high seed bank heterogeneity, emphasizing the need for intensive sampling to assess temperate forest seed bank variation. Site quality (topographic aspect) strongly influenced seed bank composition, with greater importance of early-successional trees, thicket-forming shrubs, and nonnative species on mesic sites. Thus, forest seed banks are likely to play an important, site-dependent role in shaping competitive environments for commercially important timber species after harvesting and soil disturbance and have the potential for marked influence on post harvest forest development.

Multilocus analysis of divergence and introgression in sympatric and allopatric sibling species of the Lutzomyia longipalpis complex in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Araki, Alejandra S; Ferreira, Gabriel E M; Mazzoni, Camila J; Souza, Nataly A; Machado, Ricardo C; Bruno, Rafaela V; Peixoto, Alexandre A

2013-01-01

Lutzomyia longipalpis, the main vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Latin America, is a complex of sibling species. In Brazil, a number of very closely related sibling species have been revealed by the analyses of copulation songs, sex pheromones and molecular markers. However, the level of divergence and gene flow between the sibling species remains unclear. Brazilian populations of this vector can be divided in two main groups: one producing Burst-type songs and the Cembrene-1 pheromone and a second more diverse group producing various Pulse song subtypes and different pheromones. We analyzed 21 nuclear loci in two pairs of Brazilian populations: two sympatric populations from the Sobral locality (1S and 2S) in northeastern Brazil and two allopatric populations from the Lapinha and Pancas localities in southeastern Brazil. Pancas and Sobral 2S are populations of the Burst/Cembrene-1 species while Lapinha and Sobral 1S are two putative incipient species producing the same pheromone and similar Pulse song subtypes. The multilocus analysis strongly suggests the occurrence of gene flow during the divergence between the sibling species, with different levels of introgression between loci. Moreover, this differential introgression is asymmetrical, with estimated gene flow being higher in the direction of the Burst/Cembrene-1 species. The results indicate that introgressive hybridization has been a crucial phenomenon in shaping the genome of the L. longipalpis complex. This has possible epidemiological implications and is particularly interesting considering the potential for increased introgression caused by man-made environmental changes and the current trend of leishmaniasis urbanization in Brazil.

Aids em área rural de Minas Gerais: abordagem cultural AIDS in rural Minas Gerais state (Southeastern Brazil: a cultural approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia Neves Guimarães

2007-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Descrever comportamentos facilitadores à exposição ao HIV/Aids em população rural. MÉTODOS: Pesquisa qualitativa realizada com 52 pacientes atendidos em ambulatório de DST/Aids, em 2002-2003. Foram feitas entrevistas abertas e semi-estruturadas em profundidade com os participantes (30 homens e 22 mulheres, conduzidas no ambulatório ou em suas residências, em municípios rurais da região norte de Minas Gerais. As entrevistas foram transcritas, analisadas em categorias: concepções da doença, trabalho, sociabilidade, informações prévias sobre a doença, modo de vida. A interpretação dos resultados baseou-se na análise de conteúdo. RESULTADOS: Na percepção dos entrevistados, a Aids era "doença de cidade grande" e de "forasteiro", desvinculada da cultura local. Todos os entrevistados se infectaram através de atividades heterossexuais ou homossexuais. A migração rural-urbana é aspecto relevante da infecção do HIV na região devido ao deslocamento em busca de trabalho. CONCLUSÕES: As noções populares de doença contribuem para vulnerabilidade à infecção pelo HIV. É necessário apreender noções culturais locais para melhor entender as categorias de pensamento dessa população, enfocando essas noções ao divulgar informações sobre a doença.OBJECTIVE: To describe behaviors facilitating HIV/AIDS exposure in rural population. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted comprising 52 patients who attended a STD/AIDS outpatient clinic in 2002 and 2003. In-depth open and semi-structured interviews were carried out with subjects (30 males, 22 females at the clinic or at home in rural municipalities in the northern area of Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed considering categories such as disease, work, social life, prior HIV/AIDS knowledge, and lifestyle. Content analysis was used for result interpretation. RESULTS: Interviewees perceived AIDS as a "big city

Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems in East Asia based on food-web and energy-flow models

Science.gov (United States)

Matsukawa, M.; Saiki, K.; Ito, M.; Obata, I.; Nichols, D.J.; Lockley, M.G.; Kukihara, R.; Shibata, K.

2006-01-01

In recent years, there has been global interest in the environments and ecosystems around the world. It is helpful to reconstruct past environments and ecosystems to help understand them in the present and the future. The present environments and ecosystems are an evolving continuum with those of the past and the future. This paper demonstrates the contribution of geology and paleontology to such continua. Using fossils, we can make an estimation of past population density as an ecosystem index based on food-web and energy-flow models. Late Mesozoic nonmarine deposits are distributed widely on the eastern Asian continent and contain various kinds of fossils such as fishes, amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, mammals, bivalves, gastropods, insects, ostracodes, conchostracans, terrestrial plants, and others. These fossil organisms are useful for late Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystem reconstruction using food-web and energy-flow models. We chose Early Cretaceous fluvio-lacustrine basins in the Choyr area, southeastern Mongolia, and the Tetori area, Japan, for these analyses and as a potential model for reconstruction of other similar basins in East Asia. The food-web models are restored based on taxa that occurred in these basins. They form four or five trophic levels in an energy pyramid consisting of rich primary producers at its base and smaller biotas higher in the food web. This is the general energy pyramid of a typical ecosystem. Concerning the population densities of vertebrate taxa in 1 km2 in these basins, some differences are recognized between Early Cretaceous and the present. For example, Cretaceous estimates suggest 2.3 to 4.8 times as many herbivores and 26.0 to 105.5 times the carnivore population. These differences are useful for the evaluation of past population densities of vertebrate taxa. Such differences may also be caused by the different metabolism of different taxa. Preservation may also be a factor, and we recognize that various problems occur in