Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Ecolog'

Dans cette these nous presentons ecolog, un environnement concu pour la definition et l'experimentation de langages de programmation en logique contrainte, que nous avons implante. L'objectif est de pouvoir definir en ecolog logiques et systemes de contraintes, de pouvoir les combiner et enfin de pouvoir ecrire des specifications dans les logiques contraintes ainsi definies et les executer. Le mecanisme d'execution se fonde d'une part sur les regles de deduction specifiees dans la logique (contrainte) et d'autre part sur les regles de resolution de contraintes. Nous decrivons tout d'abord le langage permettant de specifier la synthaxe des formules et des contraintes. La particularite des grammaires d'ecolog est leur parametrisation par la specification. Puis nous decrivons le langage permettant de specifier les regles de resolution de contraintes. Les regles de resolution de contraintes sont des schemas de regles de reecriture dans une algebre de formules. Nous definissons ensuite le langage d'expression des regles de deduction de la logique. Les differences essentielles avec la resolution de contraintes sont liees au non-determinisme et a la terminaison. Enfin, etant donnees une logique contrainte et la specification d'un programme et d'une requete dans cette logique contrainte, il nous faut definir un mecanisme d'execution. Cela revient a preciser une strategie d'utilisation des regles de deduction et de resolution de contraintes. Pour cette partie, nous nous sommes inspires des tactiques du demonstrateur isabelle. Nous terminons notre expose en presentant quelques logiques (logique equationnelle, clauses de horn) et systemes de resolution de contraintes (disunification, regles d'unification avec sortes ordonnees) deja implantes en ecolog

La condició sèssil de les plantes ha fet que desenvolupin un ampli ventall de defenses físiques i químiques per fer front a herbívors i patògens. Moltes plantes tenen reserves permanents de productes químics (defenses constitutives) per fer front a les agressions biòtiques immediatament, però aquestes defenses també poden augmentar o canviar proporcionalment davant d’un atac (defenses induïdes). Per altra part, podem distingir entre defenses directes, que frenen les agressions intoxicant o reduint el creixement d’herbívors i patògens, i defenses indirectes, que atreuen antagonistes dels atacants, normalment a partir d’emissions de volàtils. Dels més de 100.000 compostos químics que juguen papers defensius en les plantes, uns 20.000 són terpens, un tipus d’hidrocarburs amb un ampli ventall d’estructures i funcions. Les coníferes tenen els terpens com una de les seves principals defenses. Aquesta tesi té per objectiu descriure i aprofundir en el rol defensiu dels terpens en dues interaccions mediterrànies: pi roig (Pinus sylvestris) - processionària del pi (Thaumetopoaea pityocampa), i xiprer (Cupressus sempervirens) – xancre del xiprer (Seiridium cardinale). S’hi analitzen els terpens de teixits de plantes i fongs amb cromatografia de gasos – espectrometria de masses (GC-MS) i s’hi estudia l’expressió gènica de les sintases terpèniques amb qPCR. També s’han realitzat tests de laboratori per determinar l’impacte dels terpens sobre el creixement i la supervivència de la processionària i del xancre del xiprer. En el primer capítol es mostra que les concentracions foliars de terpens disminueixen i les emissions s’incrementen quan el pi roig és atacat per la processionària. Per saber si aquesta disminució de concentracions és deguda a la pèrdua per emissions o a una baixa biosíntesi de terpens, en el segon capítol s’estudia l’expressió gènica de dues sintases terpèniques, i es mostra que la defoliació causada per la processionària tendeix a disminuir l’expressió gènica d’aquestes sintases, fet que és poc habitual. En concordança, s’observa que les concentracions de terpens en fulles també disminueixen, suggerint una dèbil resposta defensiva del pi roig davant l’atac. En el capítol 3 s’estudien els canvis terpènics i nutricionals en fulles noves que han crescut després d’un episodi de defoliació, en dues subespècies diferents de pi roig. Una subespècie reacciona augmentant concentracions de terpens, canviant emissions i reduïnt nutrients, mentre que l’altra no mostra canvis significatius en cap paràmetre. Sorprenentment, aquestes reaccions tan diferents no semblen tenir efectes sobre la supervivència de la processionària, suggerint que aquest herbívor està adaptat a les respostes defensives dels pins. En el 4t capítol es monitoren les reaccions terpèniques en el floema i les fulles de xiprers infectats per Seiridium cardinale. Els resultats mostren fortes induccions de terpens en el floema, incloent la formació de terpens de novo i canvis en les proporcions d’aquests compostos. També es poden constatar canvis en les emissions foliars de terpens. En el 5è i últim capítol es comparen les respostes en el floema d’arbres resistents i no resistents al xancre del xiprer, i s’observa que la inducció terpènica és més forta en els arbres resistents. També es presenten els tests realitzats per veure la capacitat d’inhibició fúngica dels terpens del xiprer. En els resultats es pot apreciar que els terpens induïts per l’atac són molt inhibidors i que aquesta inhibició és més dependent de la concentració que en els terpens constitutius. Així mateix, es demostra que el fong és capaç de biotransformar i detoxificar tres terpens del xiprer, suggerint mecanismes d’adaptació a les defenses de l’arbre. Aquesta tesi aporta nova i valuosa informació sobre el rol dels terpens en dues interaccions mediterrànies, alhora que aprofundeix en alguns aspectes encara poc estudiats del rol defensiu dels terpens en les coníferes.
Plants, due to their sessile condition, have developed a plethora of physical and chemical defences to make front to herbivores and pathogens. Chemical defences are very versatile: permanent reserves of chemical compounds (constitutive defences) are useful to face aggressions immediately, but these defences can also increase or change when biotic aggressions are detected (induced defences). We can also distinguish between direct defences, which fight the aggressions by intoxicating or slowing the growth of the insects and pathogens, and indirect defences, which attract antagonists of the agents attacking the plant, usually by volatile cues. Terpenes, a type of hydrocarbons that has a very wide range of structures and functions, are known to be very important chemical defences of conifers. This thesis aimed to describe and deepen in the role that terpenes play in two Mediterranean interactions: Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) – pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa, PPM) and Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) – cypress canker (Seiridium cardinale). We analyzed the terpenes from plant and fungal tissues with Gas Cromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and quantified the gene expression of terpene synthases with qPCR. We also conducted laboratory bioassays that determined the impact that these defences have on survival and growth of insects and pathogens. In the first chapter we observed that two Scots pine subspecies coexisting in natural stands decrease their needle terpene concentrations and increase their foliar emissions when PPM feeds on them. To know wether the lower concentrations were due to a decrease in terpene biosynthesis or to high terpene emission losses, in chapter 2 we made use of qPCR, and we observed that PPM feeding tended to reduce the gene expression of terpene synthases of local and systemic needles. This was unexpected, as synthases are usually up-regulated in front of herbivory. Accordingly, needle terpene concentrations also decreased, suggesting a weak terpene response of Scots pine needles to PPM infestations. In chapter 3, conducted in the same study site as chapter 1, we studied the terpene and nutritional responses of new Scots pine needles to previous defoliation by the PPM. One Scots pine subspecies grew new needles with increased terpene concentrations, changes in terpene emissions and decreased concentrations of nutrients. Contrarily, the other subspecies did not show any clear response, indicating contrasting reactions to herbivory between the subspecies. Surprisingly, these contrasting reactions did not produce any difference in the survival of young PPM larvae, suggesting that PPM, a specialist herbivore, may be adapted to the defensive responses of pines. In the 4th chapter we monitored the reactions in the phloem and the leaves of cypresses infected by Seiridium cardinale. Results showed strong increases of terpene concentrations in infected phloem and foliar terpene emission increases after infection. Results suggested thus that terpenes play an important role in the defence of the Italian cypress. The 5th and final chapter compared the terpene phloem responses of resistant and non-resistant cypresses, observing a more intense response in resistant trees. We also tested the growth inhibition caused by Italian cypress defences, and found that many of the induced terpenes were very inhibitory and had more concentration-dependent inhibitions than the major, constitutive terpenes. We finally investigated the biotransformation capacities of S. cardinale, and observed that this fungus can biotransform and detoxify three cypress, indicating adaptation to tree defences. This thesis provides thus new and valuable information about two important Mediterranean interactions, but also deepens in some understudied features of terpene conifer defence, such as variety resistance, systemic defences or terpene biotransformation capacities of conifer pathogens.

Phytoplankton embraces a large diversity of life forms, from pioneer oxygenic photosynthetic cyanobacteria to a broad spectrum of phylogenetically distant eukaryotic organisms. In many of the evolutionary branches, colonial organisms have appeared. The evolutionary reasons for the transition to larger sizes are not yet fully understood, but multicellularity is thought to be one of its consequences. Phytoplankton ecological success or failure, under certain conditions is the result of a balance between gains and losses. Unicellular and colonial organisms have to adapt their respective functional traits related to photosynthesis, resource acquisition, and predation, to changes in the environment. The advantages of a certain life-form (unicellular or colonial), could, hence, rely in the relevance of gain processes (light, nutrient related traits), or of losses as main drivers of phytoplankton evolution. Despite coloniality could suppose an opportunity in finding new paths to succeed, previous knowledge pointed to larger phytoplankton cells as worse competitors for nutrients than smaller cells and hence, as the size of the colonies may start to become a constraint for nutrient uptake and utilization. However, other issues changing with size can become advantageous for colonial phytoplankton. For example, large flagellate colonies can move and hence cover a greater space of resources likely to be exploited than small unicellulars, and also can have a larger storage capacity. Large cells (and colonies in particular) can take more advantage of the production of external enzymes since colonial forms, specially mucilaginous ones, could maintain exoenzymes close to the cells in this external matrix. In summary, any strategy by which there is not a proportional increase in the need for nutrients as body size enlarges can be regarded as a competitive advantage for colonial organisms. Besides, a possible advantage for large unicellulars and colonies could be related to the top-down control of the systems by grazers, as smaller unicellulars are subject of grazing by both, small and large filter feeders, whereas large colonies can override the edible size spectrum of some. Also the aggregation of cells to form large colonies harder to gulp or filter by zooplankton is considered a relative widespread defense strategy. The ubiquitousness of colonial forms of phytoplankton and its endurance until today is the basis for believing that there has been a significant selection for it in the ancient unicellular world. Yet it is difficult to guess what the main drivers for coloniality have been, Can we find out the selective forces favoring multicellular colonial forms in phytoplankton? Understanding the ecological advantage that colonial forms could hold in phytoplankton was the main objective of this thesis.
Los orígenes de los organismos que componen la comunidad fitoplanctónica se remontan a distintos eventos endosimbióticos; por ello, una de las principales características del fitoplancton es una enorme diversidad que atañe tanto en sus atributos morfológicos y fisiológicos como en sus formas de vida. A pesar de que la multicelularidad en algunas especies de fitoplancton podría suponer una estrategia para asegurar la conservación de la línea germinal, o para generar un medio interno estable que proteja a las células que forman la colonia del cambiante ambiente que la rodea, actualmente se desconoce el motivo que pudo haber favorecido la transición desde la unicelularidad a la colonialidad. Sin embargo, la existencia de organismos coloniales evolutivamente más avanzados en los que se observa una diferenciación celular y división de tareas, podrían empezar a definir una estrategia de vida compleja y jerarquizada más allá de la simple agregación celular. La gran variedad de formas, tamaños y configuraciones presentadas por las células y colonias, es una muestra de que no hay una estructura óptima, sino un gran abanico de posibilidades exitosas para afrontar los obstáculos a los que estos organismos se enfrentan durante su ciclo de vida. Por otro lado, el paso de una forma de vida unicelular a una colonial en los organismos fitoplanctónicos, implica un número de condicionantes ecológicos que determinan cuándo y cómo las formas coloniales pueden ser más viables. En cualquier caso, el hecho de que las formas unicelulares y coloniales sean ubicuas en el fitoplancton y hayan perdurado durante millones de años, nos da a entender que deben existir ciertas ventajas ecológicas conferidas por la colonialidad. Este trabajo se centra en investigar en qué modo los organismos coloniales han llegado a compensado las desventajas derivadas de la agregación para haberse convertido en una alternativa evolutivamente exitosa a la unicelularidad.

Els anomenats “rangelands” són àrees sense cultivar, àmpliament pasturades per animals domèstics i salvatges, actualment amenaçats pels canvis climàtic i en l’ús del sòl. Els microorganismes del sòl tenen un paper clau tant en la descomposició com en diversos processos de l’ecosistema, fet pel qual composició i funció de la comunitat microbiana han estat utilitzats durant molt temps com a índexs de fertilitat del sòl. Els rangelands europeus i africans comparteixen un origen antropogènic comú, però el clima i la gestió del sòl els afecten d’una manera diferent. És per això que aquesta tesi pretén analitzar la comunitat microbiana d’ambdós tipus d’ecosistemes, per tal d’observar els efectes d’algunes de les amenaces comunes des d’una perspectiva més global. Mentre que la sobrepastura va demostrar tenir l’efecte més perjudicial sobre la funció microbiana en sòls kenyans, es va trobar un efecte més fort del clima sobre els prats europeus. Els fongs i els bacteris van covariar al llarg de gradients altitudinals i climàtics, però la comunitat bacteriana va mostrar una recuperació més ràpida després de les pertorbacions biològiques i físico-químiques del sòl. Aquest conjunt d’estudis afegeix nous coneixements sobre l’estructura i funció dels rangelands africans i europeus, i convida a explorar noves línies de recerca que incloguin tant bacteris com fongs alhora d’estudiar la comunitat microbiana del sòl.
Los llamados "rangelands" son áreas sin cultivar, ampliamente pastoreadas por animales domésticos y salvajes, actualmente amenazados por los cambios climático y de uso del suelo. Los microorganismos del suelo tienen un papel clave tanto en la descomposición como en diversos procesos del ecosistema, por lo que composición y función de la comunidad microbiana han sido utilizados durante mucho tiempo como índices de fertilidad del suelo. Los rangelands europeos y africanos comparten un origen antropogénico común, pero el clima y la gestión del suelo les afectan de una manera diferente. Es por ello que esta tesis pretende analizar la comunidad microbiana de ambos tipos de ecosistemas, a fin de observar los efectos de algunas de las amenazas comunes desde una perspectiva más global. Mientras que el sobrepastoreo demostró tener el efecto más perjudicial sobre la función microbiana en suelos kenianos, se encontró un efecto más fuerte del clima sobre los prados europeos. Los hongos y las bacterias covariaron a lo largo de gradientes altitudinales y climáticos, pero la comunidad bacteriana mostró una recuperación más rápida después de las perturbaciones biológicas y físico-químicas del suelo. Este conjunto de estudios añade nuevos conocimientos sobre la estructura y función de los rangelands africanos y europeos, e invita a explorar nuevas líneas de investigación que incluyan tanto bacterias como hongos en el estudio de la comunidad microbiana del suelo.
Rangelands are uncultivated areas extensively grazed by wild and domestic animals, currently threatened by land use and climatic changes. Soil microorganisms play a key role in decomposition and several ecosystem processes and the composition and function of the microbial community have been long used as indices of soil fertility. African and European rangelands share a common anthropogenic origin, but climate and management affect them in a different way. That is why this thesis aimed to analyze the microbial community of both in order to observe the effects of some common threats from a more global perspective. While overgrazing proved to have the most detrimental effect on the soil microbial function in Kenyan soils, a stronger effect of climate was found to affect European grasslands. Fungi and bacteria co-varied along altitudinal and climatic gradients, but the bacterial community showed a fast recovery after biological and soil physico-chemical disturbances. This group of studies adds new knowledge on the structure and function of the African and European rangelands, and invite to explore new lines of research including both fungal and bacterial consortia when studying the soil microbial community.

Heteropteran bugs make an important contribution to the hyperdiversity of insects. As with other insect taxa, the proper species identification of heteropteran bugs requires diagnostic dichotomous keys. Faunistic studies can considerably benefit from the use of in-situ photographic records and biodiversity web resources, these two new taxonomical tools have the potential to expedite conservation-oriented research and engage the general public in the conservation of nature. Faunistic syntheses such as catalogs and datasets are essential for documenting where species occur and how they are distributed, and may effectively contribute to overcome the ‘Wallace shortfall’ associated with large scale distributional data. The establishment of a research-oriented ‘Heteropteran Bug Monitoring Scheme’ may prove to be an effective faunistic tool that guarantees the constant flow of fine-grain, high-value species data. The gap between taxonomy and conservation may be bridged by explicitly coupling faunistic survey efforts to the monitoring of state variables relevant to ecological research. The hierarchical view is an approach to quantitative ecology with the potential to simultaneously account for the stochasticity associated with the ecological and observation processes. Multi-species site occupancy models are effective quantitative tools that estimate species-specific probabilities of detection and occurrence, from which the size of the community (ie, species richness) may also be estimated. One important advantage of multi-species site occupancy models is the ease by which covariates are specified into the linear predictors of both the ecological and observation process levels. Bayesian methods are powerful inferential tools for the conduction of quantitative research. Estimation of a given parameter under a Bayesian approach results in a posterior probability distribution that provides not only the mean but most importantly its associated uncertainty. The Bayesian mode of inference allows researchers to focus on effect sizes rather than statistical significance. Results from Bayesian analyzes can be communicated clearly and effectively to conservation policy-makers. Species are imperfectly detected. The methods we use to survey insects are important sources of uncertainty that must be taken into account when studying their patterns of occupancy and species richness. Survey protocols should be specifically designed to include spatial and/or temporal replicates from which detection data can be estimated. Heteropteran bugs, as a group, are relatively common across spatial extents, and their communities, as observed at fine grains of resolution, include many rare species that are difficult to detect. The assumption that this pattern holds at bioregional or even larger spatial extents requires more empirical investigation. A properly replicated study, resolved at the municipality or shire level, could contribute to address this gap in knowledge. Novel grassland ecosystems supporting ruderal or spontaneous vegetation are rich depositories of heteropteran bug biodiversity. In urban landscapes, oldroughs and unmanaged urban herbaceous margins may play an important role in the conservation of heteropteran bug species and other insect taxa. Within urban green areas such as golf courses, the complexity of the vegetation structure has a positive effect on heteropteran bug species richness and the species-specific occurrence probabilities of most species. Heteropteran bug species respond to the surrounding landscape. In viticulture landscapes, the proportion of natural habitat surrounding vineyards has a positive effect on mean herbivorous guild-level probability of occurrence. This positive effect is more uncertain for the predatory-guild. In the urban landscapes, species richness of both herbivores and predators decreased along a gradient of increasing urbanization. Almost all species were ‘urban avoiders’, experiencing on average very large decreases in their probabilities of occurrence along the urbanization gradient. Heteropteran bugs in the Iberian Peninsula have a low probability of being detected. This probability varies markedly from family to family and from species to species. Macroecological variables have positive (area, altitudinal range, mean annual temperature and population density) or negative (mean annual precipitation) effects on the mean heteropterofauna detection probability. Methodologies that explicitly account for the observation process may prove fundamental for disentangling which components of species distributions at large bioregional scales are a consequence of imperfect detection as opposed to true patterns of occupancy.
Los heterópteros contribuyen de forma importante a la hiperdiversidad de los insectos. La elaboración de claves dicotómicas actualizadas, ajustadas a la región de estudio y basadas en caracteres de fácil observación, facilita la correcta identificación de los ejemplares. Los estudios faunísticos pueden beneficiarse considerablemente de la existencia de registros fotográficos in-situ y recursos electrónicos de registro de la biodiversidad, ya que ambas herramientas taxonómicas tienen el potencial de favorecer la investigación dirigida a la conservación, así como de implicar al público general en dicho proceso. Las síntesis, los catálogos y las bases de datos faunísticas son esenciales para registrar la ocurrencia y distribución de las especies. La utilización conjunta de estos recursos junto con variables ambientales relevantes para la ecología es clave para acortar la distancia que existe entre ciencias como la taxonomía y la conservación. La visión jerárquica supone una aproximación a la ecología cuantitativa, que tiene el potencial de incluir la estocasticidad asociada a los procesos ecológicos y de observación humana de la naturaleza. Los “modelos de ocupancia de lugar multiespecíficos (msSOM)“ suponen herramientas quantitativas efectivas para estimar la probabilidades de detección y ocurrencia específicas de especies y lugares, así como el tamaño de la comunidad. Los métodos bayesianos de inferencia estadística son herramientas poderosas para realizar análisis cuantitativos. La estimación de los parámetros viene asociada a su incertidumbre y al cálculo del “tamaño del efecto”. Y los resultados pueden comunicarse de forma clara y efectiva a los responsables de desarrollar políticas de conservación. Los heterópteros son detectados de forma imperfecta. Una buena fuente de incertidumbre depende de los métodos que utilicemos para muestrearlos, por lo que debe tenerse en cuenta el proceso de observación a la hora de analizar patrones de ocupancia y riqueza específica. Los protocolos de muestreo deberían estar diseñados de forma que incluyan réplicas espaciales y/o temporales que permitan calcular la detectabilidad. Los insectos heterópteros son relativamente comunes a lo largo de grandes áreas, y sus comunidades incluyen especies raras sólo detectables a pequeña escala. La asumpción de este patrón para la escala bioregional y superiores requiere mayor investigación. Los sistemas herbáceos noveles con vegetación ruderal o espontánea contienen una gran diversidad de insectos heterópteros. Como parte del paisaje urbano, los márgenes herbáceos y otras formaciones poco o nada gestionadas representan zonas importantes para conservar la diversidad de heterópteros y otros insectos. En cuanto a zonas verdes urbanas, como los campos de golf, la complejidad en la estructura de la vegetación tiene un efecto positivo en la biodiversidad de insectos. Los heterópteros se ven influenciados por el paisaje. En paisajes vitivinícolas, la ocurrencia de insectos herbívoros está favorecida por la proporción de hábitat natural favorable. En paisajes urbanos, la urbanizacion tiene un efecto negativo en la presencia de herbívoros y predadores. Ambos estudios, a partir de análisis distintos, convergen hacia una única conclusión.

El bosque seco tropical estacional (BSTE), con una gran riqueza de especies y endemismos, suele estar integrado en hotspots de biodiversidad y, debido a las amenazas por actividades antropogénicas, ha sido catalogado como uno de los bioma terrestre más amenazado del planeta. Se estima que a nivel global queda menos de un 2% de su distribución original, por lo cual su estudio es prioritario para poder acometer su restauración y conservación. El objetivo general de esta tesis fue aplicar protocolos para evaluar de forma rápida y eficiente la diversidad biológica en áreas tropicales. Para este propósito, se integraron herramientas y métodos moleculares con taxonomía y ecología para delimitar el número de especies, así como las asociaciones tróficas de dos grandes grupos de Chrysomelidae en el BSTE de Nicaragua, donde la riqueza de insectos es abrumadora y aún desconocida. Específicamente, para analizar la diversidad de crisomélidos, el trabajo se centró en dos subfamilias especialmente ricas en especies, Cassidinae y Galerucinae sensu lato. El muestreo se realizó en cuatro localidades de BSTE en el rango de distribución en Nicaragua, y se procesaron 1.320 individuos pertenecientes a 251 morfoespecies. Utilizando dos métodos objetivos de delimitación de especies a partir de filogenias de un gen mitocondrial (cox1)—el modelo Generalizado Mixto de Yule y Coalescencia y el modelo de Árboles por Procesos de Poisson—se infirieron hasta 265 especies putativas. Los linajes evolutivos independientes que se identificaron fueron contrastados con evidencia morfológica y en general fueron altamente congruentes con ésta y entre métodos. Los estimadores de riqueza de especies, mostraron que nuestro muestreo no describió la diversidad total, y alcanzó a representar el 64 % de la biodiversidad esperada para crisomélidos de BSTE. Las cuatro comunidades de crisomélidos estudiadas fueron muy diferentes, y en buena parte debido al reemplazamiento de especies (ßsor > 0,681). Adicionalmente, se aplicaron metodologías moleculares para inferir las asociaciones tróficas de los crisomélidos a partir de la amplificación de secuencias cloroplásticas hipotéticamente provenientes de la dieta de los animales, y cuyo ADN estaría presente en sus extracciones de ADN total. Tras evaluar la posibilidad de contaminación ambiental sesgando las inferencias de dieta, pudimos aprovechar fragmentos cloroplásticos para 872 ejemplares de 257 especies putativas, a partir de los que se realizaron 1.133 inferencias de dieta sobre 188 especies vegetales de 43 órdenes, siendo Acanthaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Bignoniaceae, Cordiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, Rubiaceae, Solanaceae, y muy en particular Fabaceae, las familias que representaron el mayor número de interacciones con las comunidades de Chrysomelidae en el BSTE de Nicaragua. Se aplicaron varias medidas descriptoras de las interacciones tróficas entre crisomélidos y sus plantas hospederas, las cuales permitieron mejorar la compresión de esta interacción, y mostraron que una localidad (Reserva Miraflores-Moropotente) sería la más afectada ante alteraciones del hábitat, al contar con plantas que sustentan muchas interacciones. Finalmente, se exploraron variables ambientales, ecológicas, florísticas y geográficas para evaluar el grado de influencia que éstas podrían tener para explicar las diferencias en composición de las comunidades de crisomélidos en el BSTE en Nicaragua. Los análisis de correlación múltiple entre estas variables mostraron que las diferencias en flora explicarían el 92 % de la variación respecto a las diferencias en las comunidades de crisomélidos, con escasa contribución del componente climático. Una visión de conjunto sobre nuestros resultados sugiere que propuestas de conservación sobre zonas de bosque con los niveles más altos de diferenciación en su composición florística, promoverían la conservación de comunidades únicas y muy ricas de los coleópteros herbívoros que habitan en estos fragmentos de bosque.
The seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) with high species richness and endemism, is usually integrated in biodiversity hotspots. Due to several threats by anthropogenic activities, has been listen as one of the world’s most endangered terrestrial biomes. It is estimated that globally only remains less than 2% of its original distribution, so their study is priority to undertake its restoration and conservation. The general objective of this thesis was to implement protocols to assess quickly and efficiently biodiversity in tropical areas. For this purpose, tools and molecular methods were integrated with taxonomy and ecology, to define the number of species and their trophic associations of two large groups of Chrysomelidae in Nicaraguan STDF, where the richness of insects is overwhelming and unknown. Specifically, to analyse the diversity of beetles, this work focused on two subfamilies especially rich in species: Cassidinae and Galerucinae sensu lato. Sampling was conducted at four locations of SDTF in Nicaragua, and 1320 individuals belonging to 251 morphospecies were processed. Using two objectives methods of species delimitation from mitochondrial gene phylogenies (cox1)—the Generalized Mixed Yule and Coalescence model and the Poisson Tree Processes model—they were inferred up to 265 putative species. Those independent evolutionary lineages were compared with morphological evidence and were generally highly consistent with this and between methods. The estimators of species richness showed that our sampling did not describe the total diversity, reaching to represent 64% of the expected leaf beetles biodiversity of SDTF. Four well-studied Chrysomelidae communities were very different, and largely due to the turnover of species (ßsor > 0,681). Additionally, molecular methodologies for inferring Chrysomelidae trophic associations from chloroplast sequences retrieved from gut contents were applied. After evaluating possible environmental contamination skewing inference diets, we could use chloroplastic fragments from 872 individuals belonging to 257 putative species. From these species, we obtained 1133 diet inferences on 188 plant species of 43 orders. Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Solanaceae, and Malvaceae accounted for the largest number of interactions with Chrysomelidae communities in the SDTF of Nicaragua. Several descriptive measures of trophic interactions between leaf beetles and their host plants were applied, and it showed that one locality (Miraflores-Moropotente Reserve) would be the most affected to habitat alterations, by having plants that support many interactions. Finally, environment, ecological, floristic, and geographical variables were explored to assess the degree of influence they might have to explain differences in community composition of leaf beetles in SDTF of Nicaragua. The multiple correlation analyses between these variables showed that differences in flora explain 92% of the variation from differences in leaf beetles communities with little contribution of climate component. A overview of our results suggest that conservation proposals on forest areas with the highest levels of differentiation in its floristic composition, promote the conservation of unique and very rich communities of herbivorous beetles that inhabit these forest fragments.

El estudio de los microorganismos en cultivo puro ha propiciado el desarrollo de la genética, la bioquímica y la biotecnología. Sin embargo, la ecología ha permanecido reticente a incorporar a los microorganismos en su acervo teórico y experimental, principalmente debido a las dificultades metodológicas para observar a los microbios en la naturaleza, y como resultado de los caminos divergentes que han trazado las disciplinas de la microbiología y la ecología general. Esta tesis trata de demostrar que los patrones ecológicos de comunidades microbianas son susceptibles de ser analizados mediante la combinación de técnicas filogenéticas y herramientas de estadística multivariante. El uso de técnicas filogenéticas permite solventar, o al menos paliar, el hecho de la no independencia de los organismos vivos debido a la ascendencia común. Con la información ambiental adicional (como reflejo del determinismo abiótico) y la información espacial (como amalgama de eventos históricos y de dispersión), es posible explorar los posibles mecanismos que subyacen a la estructura y a la diversidad de las comunidades microbianas.
The study of microorganisms in pure laboratory culture has delivered fruitful insights into genetics, biochemistry and biotechnology. However, ecology has remained reluctant to incorporate microorganisms in its experimental and theoretical underpinnings mainly due to methodological difficulties in observing microorganisms in nature, and as a result of the different paths followed by the disciplines of microbiology and general ecology. In this dissertation, I argue that novel insights into microbial community patterns arise when phylogenetic relatedness are used in conjunction with multivariate statistical techniques in the context of broad scales of description.

Orientadores: João Vasconcellos Neto, Gustavo Quevedo Romero
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T01:27:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Diniz_Suzana_M.pdf: 61632938 bytes, checksum: 7bcbe079e28a7f57357c4d6ecbb16e88 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011
Resumo: A estrutura do hábitat tem sido um tema recorrente na literatura, havendo diversos estudos que correlacionaram uma maior complexidade estrutural do hábitat à riqueza e abundância dos mais variados taxa. Contudo, este é um tema de difícil generalização e as abordagens experimentais ainda são raras. A vegetação é um elemento que proporciona complexidade estrutural ao hábitat devido às diversas organizações arquiteturais de seus módulos. Diversos estudos demonstraram que os artrópodes associados às plantas são um dos grupos mais afetados pela arquitetura da vegetação, particularmente as aranhas. Logo, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os possíveis efeitos da arquitetura da vegetação sobre a abundância e riqueza de guildas de artrópodes, com ênfase na comunidade de aranhas. O estudo foi dividido em duas partes: (1) uma pesquisa exploratória, cujo objetivo foi correlacionar diferentes elementos arquiteturais das plantas com a comunidade de artrópodes, de forma a avaliar se determinados grupos de artrópodes são mais ou menos abundantes em determinadas configurações arquiteturais da vegetação; (2) uma pesquisa experimental, cujo objetivo foi manipular a arquitetura vegetal agrupando e espaçando os ramos vegetativos, de forma a avaliar os efeitos da densidade vegetal sobre a comunidade de artrópodes. Um total de 17 espécies de plantas e oito características arquiteturais foi utilizado na pesquisa exploratória. Já o experimento foi feito para três espécies de plantas e repetido em duas estações climáticas diferentes (seca e chuvosa) para avaliação dos efeitos sazonais sobre a resposta da comunidade de artrópodes à manipulação arquitetural da vegetação. Todos os dados de abundância e riqueza de artrópodes foram expressos por unidade de biomassa de planta e a disponibilidade de presas para os predadores (i.e., o total de artrópodes exceto o grupo de predadores sendo estudado) foi colocada como co-variável. Os padrões de abundância da comunidade de aranhas foram fortemente correlacionados à arquitetura da vegetação, tanto na pesquisa experimental quanto na exploratória. Já as guildas de outros artrópodes, com algumas exceções, foram pouco afetadas pela arquitetura da vegetação. Algumas guildas de fitófagos tiveram padrões consistentes de distribuição em plantas com diferentes arquiteturas. Estes padrões, por sua vez, ocorreram tanto na pesquisa exploratória quanto na experimental. A abundância de parasitóides e predadores (exceto aranhas) foi mais explicada pela disponibilidade de presas do que pela arquitetura per se. O padrão de distribuição das aranhas sobre as plantas pode ser explicado, em grande medida, pelo favorecimento que determinadas arquiteturas proporcionam aos hábitos de forrageio de cada guilda. Já o padrão de abundância das guildas de fitófagos em plantas com diferentes arquiteturas provavelmente decorre de uma modulação da taxa de predação, uma vez que a arquitetura da planta está vinculada à disponibilidade de refúgios
Abstract: Habitat structure has been a recurrent subject in literature and there have been several researches that correlated a greater structural complexity of habitat to the richness and abundance of diverse taxa. However, this represents a subject of hard generalization and experimental approaches are still rare. Vegetation is an element that provides structural complexity to habitat due to diverse architectural organization of their modules. Many researches demonstrated that arthropods associated to plants are one of the most affected groups by the vegetation architecture, especially the spiders. Thus, the objective of present research was to evaluate possible effects of vegetation architecture on the richness and abundance of arthropod guilds, with special emphasis on spider community. The research was divided in two parts: (1) a survey research, whose objective was to correlate diverse architectural traits of plants with the arthropod community, this in order to assess whether certain groups of the arthropod community are more or less abundant in certain plant architectural configurations; (2) an experimental research, whose objective was to manipulate plant architecture by grouping and spacing the vegetative branches in order to evaluate the effects of plant density on the arthropod community. A total of 17 plant species and eight architectural traits was used in survey research, whereas the experiment was performed in three plant species and repeated in two seasons (dry and wet) for evaluation of seasonal effects on the arthropod community response to manipulation of the plant architecture. All data referring to arthropod abundance and richness were given per unit of plant biomass and the prey availability for predators (i.e., all arthropods except the group of predators being studied) was set as a covariate. The abundance patterns of spider community were strongly correlated to the plant architecture, both in experimental and in survey research. Nevertheless, the other arthropod guilds, with some exceptions, were weakly affected by vegetation architecture. Some phytophagous guilds had consistent patterns of distribution on plant with different architectural traits. These patterns, by the way, occurred as in survey as in experimental research. The abundance of parasitoids and predators (except spiders) was more explained by the prey availability than by the plant architecture per se. Patterns of spider distribution on plants can be quite explained by the advantages that some plant architectures provide to the foraging habits of each guild. Abundance patterns of phytophagous guilds on plants with different architectural traits, nevertheless, were probably due to modulation of predation rates, since the plant architecture could determine refuge availability
Mestrado
Mestre em Ecologia

Ammonia oxidation, the first and the rate-limiting step in nitrification, is one of the cornerstones of the cycle. Members from the bacterial and archaeal domains are key players in ammonia oxidation in many different environ- ments. Usually these organisms are found coexisting but the most recent studies suggests that archaeal ammonia oxidizers show an incredible ability to adapt and oxidize ammonia under different environmental conditions and have displaced their bacterial counterparts in terms of importance in the global biogeochemical cycle, providing an avalanche of AOA molecular data (16S rDNA and amoA gene sequences) from very diverse environments worldwide. As far as we don’t have enough genomic data to perform an holistic approach using population genomics and reverse ecology to unveil the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms driving the adaptation; we focused our experiments on the amoA gene sequence. Because ammonia monooxygenase is supposed to be the key enzyme in the ammonia oxidation, we applied a combination of community ecology and molecular evolution methods to understand the mechanisms of the diversification patterns observed in the amoA gene. Another unsolved question in the archaeal ammonia oxidation is the unusual biochemistry found in the genome sequences from cultured archaeal ammonia oxidizers. In archaea, all the elements of the bacterial ammonia oxidizing pathway are missing but the genes coding for the presumptive AMO. To unveil missing pathways in this process, we have developed a powerful approach based on graphical models to capture all the functional associations present in metagenomes based in their ecological co-ocurrence. The results of the analyses revealed for the first time a global picture of the phylogenetic community structure of ammonia- oxidizing assemblages. Our study unveiled larger phylogenetic richness in AOA with more dissimilar communities and clear monophyletic groups for the different habitats. The rates of diversification in AOA were higher than in AOB and the archaeal diversification dynamics showed an unusual feature, with an initial diversification process followed by a long period of stasis and a final burst of diversification. The variations observed between AOB and AOA in terms of community structure, phylogenetic diversity, diversification patterns, and habitat dispersion were unexpected just a very few years ago, and the community phylogenetics approach has nicely captured these differences. Understand the diversification processes observed in AOA and their successful performance under a myriad of different environmental conditions such as low pH, different ammonia concentrations, high hydrostatic pressures, high light exposure, low oxygen availability among others, needs however of a deeper insight adding the evolutionary processes. Individual changes at the level of nucleotides were translated to the global diversification patterns of archaeal ammonia oxidizers. Thus, this resulted in a step further from the results obtained after applying community phylogenetics methods providing precise evolutionary information behind the phylogenetic patterns observed within an ecological context. We will gain the full picture once the results can be integrated in a comparative genomics framework. After applying methods of reverse engineering of regulatory the associations between the known and the unknown fraction were reconstructed offering a pioneering fresh view for microbial ecology. One especially relevant result obtained from this approach on AOA was the reconstruction of the association network of the different AMO subunits to the other proteins previously reported in the marine AOA Nitrosopumilus. The information recovered from metagenomics combined with available genomes fuels hypothesis for the particular and yet unknown biochemistry of ammonia oxidation in Archaea.
La oxidación del amonio es una de las piezas clave del ciclo del Nitrógeno. Tanto las bacterias como las arqueas oxidadoras del amonio se pueden encontrar coexistiendo a lo largo de diferentes ambientes. Pero cuando la primera arquea oxidadora del amonio fue aislada, se puso en relevancia la importancia de estas en comparación con las bacterias en los ciclos biogeoquímicos globales. Desde entonces hemos sido inundados por una avalancha de secuencias génicas de estas arqueas, mostrando una gran capacidad de diversificación y adaptación a ambientes diferentes. Al no disponer de suficientes datos para realizar una aproximación holistica utilizando genómica de poblaciones y de ecología inversa para poder discernir los mecanismos ecológicos y evolutivos relacionados con la adaptación; nos hemos centrado en estudiar la secuencia del amoA. La amonio monooxigenasa es la enzima responsable de la oxidación del amonio, para su estudio hemos aplicado una combinación de técnicas de ecología de comunidades y de evolución molecular con el objetivo de entender los mecanismos de los patrones de diversificación observados. Por otra banda, otro de los misterios asociados a la oxidación del amonio por parte de las arqueas, es su inusual bioquímica para realizar la oxidación del amonio. En arqueas faltan todos los elementos necesarios para llevar a cabo la oxidación del amonio a excepción del AMO. Para poder aportar algo de luz a este misterio hemos desarrollado un potente método basado en modelos gráficos para capturar todas las asociaciones funcionales presentes en los metagenomas basado en sus co-ocurrencias ecológicas.

Malgré leur importance reconnue pour la santé publique et la conservation, les études sur l’écologie et l’évolution des maladies infectieuses dans les populations sauvages souffrent de contraintes sur la disponibilité de données permettant l’identification des processus impliqués dans les systèmes considérés. Les méthodes sérologiques (i.e., détection d’anticorps dans des échantillons biologiques) permettent de retracer l’exposition à des agents infectieux spécifiques mais leur interprétation est complexe. Par exemple, la prévalence d’individus séropositifs dans une population résulte d’une combinaison de dynamiques épidémiologiques (ex. : l’incidence de la maladie) et démographiques (ex. le taux de renouvellement de la population). Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de cette thèse est de montrer comment les processus sous-jacents à la circulation d’agents infectieux en populations sauvages peuvent être inférés à partir de données sérologiques. Tout d’abord, j’illustre comment les études transversales focalisée sur une espèce sentinelle à l’interface entre populations sauvages et humaines peuvent permettre d’efficacement décrire informer sur les patterns d’exposition à une hiérarchie d’échelles spatiales. Ensuite, je compare les avantages et inconvénients de ce type d’approches transversales à ceux d’approches longitudinales basées sur les suivis d’individus marqués et je propose une solution pour intégrer ensemble ces deux types de données pour quantifier les dynamiques éco-épidémiologiques. Finalement, en utilisant une population menacée d’oiseaux longévifs régulièrement touchée par des épizooties de choléra aviaire comme cas d’étude, j’illustre les bénéfices de combiner la sérologie avec d’autres approches. Ce travail souligne la valeur des études à long-terme de l’exposition d’hôtes à des agents infectieux en milieu naturel, où les processus écologiques et évolutifs sont clés pour comprendre les dynamiques éco-épidémiologiques et peuvent avoir d’importantes implications pour la conservation de la biodiversité
Despite their increasingly recognized interest for public health and biodiversity conservation, investigations on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases in wildlife have been hampered by the difficulty of collecting data allowing efficient inference of underlying processes. Serology (i.e., detection of antibodies in biological samples) is a useful tool to detect past exposure to specific infectious agents. Still, interpreting serological data is not straightforward. For instance, the prevalence of seropositive individuals in a population is driven by a combination of epidemiological (e.g., disease incidence) and demographic (e.g., population turnover) dynamics. In this context, the objective of this thesis is to show how processes underlying infectious agent circulation in wild populations can be inferred from serological data. First, I illustrate how cross-sectional studies focusing on a sentinel species at the wildlife-human interface can efficiently inform on patterns at a hierarchy of scales. Then, I compare the pros and cons of such cross-sectional approaches to longitudinal sampling designs involving marked individuals when attempting to quantify the dynamics of infectious agents and I propose a way to integrate those two approaches in future studies. Finally, using avian cholera epizootics in a threatened long-lived seabird on an isolated island as a case study, I illustrate the benefits of combining serology with other approaches. This work notably highlights the value of detailed long-term studies of host exposure to infectious agents in the wild, where ecological and evolutionary processes are likely critical drivers of disease dynamics and can have important implications for biodiversity conservation

In this thesis, the ecological role of 26 species of abundant, rare and endangered chondrichthyans present in the western Mediterranean has been studied through the study of trophic ecology and main morphological characters. Due to the number of species included, this thesis constitutes the most complete research on the trophic ecology of sharks, rays and chimeras in the Mediterranean Sea. For this purpose, different methodologies such as stomach content analysis, review of available literature and new tools such as stable isotope analysis have been combined. The results reveal the importance of chondrichthyans in the western Mediterranean as mesopredators and top predators. The small sharks Scyliorhinus canicula, Etmopterus spinax and Galeus melastomus act as mesopredators of the ecosystem and, because of their abundance, they could be considered important species in the Mediterranean Sea. S. canicula presents intraspecific changes in relation to its trophic ecology and small individuals feed on different prey than larger individuals. The same occurs with males and females, probably because they feed on different areas of the continental shelf. These three species, along with Dalatias licha, do not present changes in their trophic ecology between areas with different degrees of human impact such as the Catalan Sea and an area restricted to fishing in the Gulf of Lions. This result is probably related to the fact that S. canicula, E. spinax, and G. melastomus are opportunistic species, being able to exploit different resources including part of the fishing discards. In addition, D. licha prey mainly on these opportunistic species. It may also be that the area of the Gulf of Lions has not recovered significantly after its declaration as an area restricted to fishing and does not show substantially different characteristics to the exploited area of the Catalan Sea. Other chondrichthyans that have an ecological role similar to the small demersal sharks are the different species of skates (Rajiformes), species that feed mainly on crustaceans. Other mesopredator rays, such as Mobula mobular and Myliobatis aquila, have a unique trophic role within the studied species: M. mobular is a filter feeding species and M. aquila feeds mainly on bivalves. As top predators are the sharks Alopias vulpinus and Galeorhinus galeus, the ray Gymnura altavela, Torpediniformes, Chimaeriformes and other medium-sized sharks of the orders Carcharhiniformes, Hexanchiformes and Squaliformes. The results present in this thesis have confirmed that the chondrichthyans of the Mediterranean Sea have different ecological roles, being a very important step in the knowledge of the trophic ecology of these organisms. In addition, it has to be emphasized the use of the stable isotope analysis in blood for the first time, a non-lethal technique, for the study of the trophic ecology of the shark S. canicula. This methodology could be very useful for investigating the trophic ecology and the ecological role in sharks and rays that are rare or endangered.
En esta tesis se ha avanzado en el conocimiento del rol ecológico de 26 especies de condrictios abundantes, poco comunes y en peligro de extinción presentes en el Mediterráneo occidental, mediante el estudio de la ecología trófica y de los principales caracteres morfológicos. Por el número de especies incluidas, la presente tesis constituye el trabajo de investigación más completo sobre ecología trófica de tiburones, rayas y quimeras en el Mar Mediterráneo. Para ello se han utilizado de manera combinada diferentes metodologías como el análisis del contenido estomacal, la revisión de la literatura disponible y herramientas novedosas como el análisis de isótopos estables. Los resultados encontrados ponen de manifiesto la importancia de los condrictios en el Mediterráneo occidental como mesodepredadores y depredadores apicales. Los tiburones de pequño tamaño como Scyliorhinus canicula, Etmopterus spinax y Galeus melastomus actúan como mesodepredadores del ecosistema y por su abundancia pueden ser consideradas especies relevantes en el Mar Mediterráneo. S. canicula presenta cambios intraespecíficos en relación con su ecología trófica. Los individuos pequeños de esta especie depredan sobre presas diferentes a los individuos de mayor tamaño. Lo mismo sucede con los machos y las hembras, probablemente porque se alimentan en diferentes zonas de la plataforma continental. S. canicula, E. spinax y G. melastomus, junto a Dalatias licha, no presentan cambios en su ecología trófica entre áreas con diferente grado de impacto antrópico como lo son el Mar Catalán y una zona restringida a la pesca del Golfo de León. Este resultado probablemente está relacionado con el hecho de que S. canicula, E. spinax y G. melastomus son especies oportunistas, pudiendo explotar diferentes recursos, incluidos parte de los descartes pesqueros. Además, D. licha depreda principalmente sobre estas especies de tiburones oportunistas. Puede ser también que la zona del Golfo de León no se haya recuperado significativamente después de su declaración como área restringida a la pesca y no muestre características substancialmente diferentes a la zona explotada del Mar Catalán. Otros condrictios que tienen un rol ecológico similar a los pequeños tiburones demersales son las diferentes especies de rayas del orden Rajiformes, especies que se alimentan principalmente de crustáceos. Otras rayas mesodepredadoras, como Mobula mobular y Myliobatis aquila, tienen un rol trófico único dentro de las especies estudiadas: M. mobular es una especie filtradora y M. aquila se alimenta principalmente de bivalvos. Como depredadores apicales se encuentran los tiburones Alopias vulpinus, Galeorhinus galeus y la raya Gymnura altavela. Otros deprededaores apicales son los Torpediniformes, Chimaeriformes y otros tiburones de tamaño medio de los órdenes Carcharhiniformes, Hexanchiformes y Squaliformes. En esta tesis doctoral se ha confirmado que los condrictios del Mar Mediterráneo tienen diferentes roles ecológicos y se ha dado un paso muy importante en el conocimiento de la ecología trófica de estos organismos. Además cabe resaltar el uso por primera vez del análisis de isótopos estables en sangre, una técnica no letal, para el estudio de la ecología trófica del tiburón S. canicula. Esta metodología puede ser muy útil para estudiar la ecología trófica y el rol ecológico en tiburones y rayas poco abundantes o en peligro de extinción.

The current thesis covers two important and poorly known aspects of Antarctic bryozoans: biodiversity and chemical ecology. The comparative analyses of diversity carried out here (Chapters 1 and 2) between Antarctica and the last separated fragments of Gondwana support the hypothesis of the sequential separation of Gondwana. We discuss that the high number of species from the Argentine Patagonian (AP) region shared with Antarctica found in our study question the real extent of Antarctic isolation for cheilostome bryozoans. The presence of shared common bryozoan species between these two regions may also be explained by the free migration of marine organisms in and out of the Polar Front, via the deep abyssal plains and the potential passive northwards transport of larvae (or perhaps even adults) to considerable distances, via the branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) flowing northward along the continental shelf of Argentina, the Falkland/Malvinas Current. The role of the Scotia Arc and other dispersal pathways, like eddies of ACC, and human dispersal mechanisms, may increase the bryozoan connection found between the Antarctica and the AP region. Also, our studies (Chapters 1 and 2) are among the first characterizations of the bryozoan communities, mainly at the slope, from the AP region, and from the Southern Ocean (SO), specially the Weddell Sea. The bathymetric distribution from the AP region and the SO found in our studies fits well with the limits of the continental shelf, the slope and the deep sea. Interestingly, our research also shows an expansion in the known distribution of diverse bryozoan species from the AP region and the SO. Our results stress the importance of taxonomical studies in these scarcely explored regions, reporting a high number of new genera and species, and new records too. Among the new species found in our study, a bryozoan of the genus of Reteporella characterized by rare giant spherical avicularia is described in Chapter 3, leading us to discuss which are the potential roles of the avicularia. Since the studied bryozoan communities, below areas affected by local disturbances (iceberg scours and anchor ice), are mainly subject to biotic factors such as competence and predation, the evolution has favoured the development of chemical mechanisms in benthic organisms, which have also been investigated here (Chapters 4 and 5). Our studies are among the first reports on chemical ecology of Antarctic bryozoans. In order to study these chemical interactions, new adapted protocols were designed using sympatric and abundant predators. Our findings demonstrate the importance of diverse chemical ecology mechanisms against competence and predation in Antarctic bryozoans. Most bryozoan species tested here display cytotoxicity and/or repellent activity against the sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri and the amphipod Cheirimedon femoratus, respectively (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5, our results demonstrate that bryozoans seem to be readily defended against at least one of the two abundant predators, Odontaster validus and C. femoratus. The intra- and interspecific variability in bioactivity suggest an adaptive response to diverse abiotic and biotic factors, presence of microorganisms and/or genetic variability. The general trend in our study indicates the presence of a combination of both chemical and physical defensive mechanisms in most bryozoan species, suggesting complementary traits. In general, these results lead to the conclusion that this phylum is very active with extended repellent activities.
Aquesta tesi cobreix dos aspectes importants i poc coneguts dels briozous antàrtics: la biodiversitat i l'ecologia química. L'anàlisi comparatiu de diversitat realitzat aquí (Capítol 1 i 2) entre l'Antàrtida i altres zones geogràficament properes recolzen la hipòtesi de la separació seqüencial de Gondwana. Es discuteix que l'elevat nombre d'espècies de la regió de la Patagònia argentina (PA) compartides amb l'Antàrtida qüestiona el grau real d'aïllament de l'Antàrtida en briozous queilostòmats. Els nostres estudis (Capítols 1 i 2) són també una de les primeres caracteritzacions de les comunitats de briozous, principalment del talús, de la regió de la PA, i de l' Oceà Austral, especialment el Mar de Weddell. Els nostres resultats remarquen la importància dels estudis taxonòmics en aquestes regions escassament explorades, incloent un gran nombre de nous gèneres i espècies, i noves cites. Entre les noves espècies trobades en el nostre estudi, es descriu un briozou del gènere Reteporella caracteritzat per una rara aviculària esfèrica i gegant, portant-nos a reconsiderar quines són les possibles funcions de l'aviculària (Capítol 3). Com les comunitats estudiades de briozous, per sota de les zones afectades per pertorbacions locals (erosió per icebergs), estan subjectes principalment a factors biòtics com la competència i la depredació, l'evolució ha afavorit el desenvolupament de mecanismes químics de protecció (Capítols 4 i 5). Els nostres estudis són dels primers en ecologia química de briozous antàrtics. Els nostres resultats demostren la importància de diversos mecanismes d'ecologia química contra la competència i la depredació en briozous antàrtics. La majoria de les espècies de briozous mostraven activitat citotòxica i/o repel•lent contra l'eriçó de mar Sterechinus neumayeri i l'amfípode Cheirimedon femoratus, respectivament (Capítol 4). En el capítol 5, totes les espècies de briozous estudiats mostraven activitat de repel•lència alimentària contra almenys un dels dos depredadors abundants considerats, l'estrella de mar Odontaster validus i l'amfípode Cheirimedon femoratus. La tendència general en el nostre estudi indica la possessió d'una combinació de mecanismes físics i químics en la majoria de les espècies, fet que suggereix estratègies complementàries.

Per què alguns llinatges de vertebrats, incloent els humans, han evolucionat cervells grans és un dels grans trencaclosques de la biologia evolutiva. De les varies hipòtesis que s’han plantejat per intentar resoldre aquest misteri, la variació ambiental destaca com una de les principals causes de la variació en la mida relativa del cervell. Més formalment, la hipòtesis del cervell protector (CBH, de Cognitive buffer hypothesis”, en anglès) postula que els cervells relativament més grans han evolucionat per facilitar els ajustos de comportament per augmentar la supervivència en condicions canviants. Tot i que la CBH ha rebut suport empíric els darrers anys, alguns autors qüestionen la seva rellevància for explicar l’evolució del cervell argumentant que mantenir un cervell massa gran en períodes d’escassetat de recursos és massa costós, de manera que la variació ambiental hauria de limitar més que no pas afavorir l’evolució dels cervells grans. Aquesta tesi doctoral explora les causes i conseqüències de l’evolució de la mida del cervell, amb especial atenció en la CBH, validant les seves assumpcions, assajant les seves prediccions i avaluant les seves implicacions. La tesi treu profit d’una base de dades de mesures del cervell per més de 1900 espècies d’ocells en combinació amb els més recents mètodes filogenètics comparatius per tal de descobrir els orígens de la variació en la mida del cervell en la classe de vertebrats més diversa. Com a primer objectiu, aquesta tesi valida en quina mesura la mida relativa del cervell és una bona aproximació de la variació en estructures del cervell involucrades en la capacitat de construir respostes de comportament als nous reptes. El capítol 1 mostra que les àrees associatives del cervell, tradicionalment relacionades amb la intel·ligència general, són desproporcionadament més grans en espècies de cervell gran i poden predir de forma acurada la variació en el conjunt del cervell, de manera que es validi la seva utilització en anàlisis comparatives globals. Segons la CBH, les espècies que viuen en regions amb alta variabilitat ambiental haurien de ser seleccionades per cervells grans, a menys que tinguin adaptacions especialitzades per evadir les caigudes en la disponibilitat de recursos. El Capítol 2 mostra com els ocells que viuen en ambients més estacionals i impredictibles , com les regions de latituds altes, posseeixen cervells relativament més grans que els residents d’altres regions, recolzant la CBH en ocells. En el capítol 3 es mostra com els ocells que colonitzen illes oceàniques sembla que han evolucionat cervells relativament més grans que els seus parents continentals. Aquests canvis sembla que en part s’expliquen per un augment de la incertesa en la disponibilitat de recursos que caracteritza les illes, aportant una evidència addicional per la CBH. En el capítol 4 s’estudia el rol actiu del cervell en l’evolució. Tal com prediu la hipòtesi del behavioural drive (behavioural drive hypothesis en anglès), els ajustos de comportament més freqüents com a resposta als reptes ambientals hauria d’exposar els individus més sovint a nous conjunts de pressions selectives, tot afavorint la divergència evolutiva respecte els seus ancestres i finalment afavorint l’aparició de noves espècies. El capítol 4 mostra com els llinatges amb cervells relativament més grans han tingut majors taxes de diversificació taxonòmica. Aquesta troballa recolza així la idea que els animals no són agents passius de la selecció, però que poden modificar activament la seva relació amb l’ambient i influenciar el seu propi camí evolutiu. En resum, els resultats d’aquesta tesi aporten evidència empírica per la CBH, mostrant com els cervells relativament més grans funcionen, i per tant han evolucionat, per fer front als canvis ambientals, i que l’evolució de cervells grans pot a més influir en la diversificació evolutiva d’un llinatge.
Why some vertebrate lineages, including humans, evolved large brains is one of the main puzzles in evolutionary biology. Of the many hypotheses that have been launched to try to resolve this puzzle, environmental variability stands out as a major cause of relative brain size variation. More formally, the cognitive buffer hypothesis (CBH) postulates that relatively large brains evolved to facilitate behavioural adjustments to enhance survival under changing conditions. The rationale of the CBH is that advanced cognition can increase fitness in varying environments by enhancing information gathering and learning, facilitating for instance shifts between different feeding sites or food types to alleviate periods of food scarcity. While the CBH has received ample empirical support in recent years, some authors have questioned its relevance to account for the evolution of enlarged brains on the grounds that maintaining the brain during periods of food scarcity may be excessively costly, so environmental variability should constrain rather than favour the evolution of large brains. The present PhD thesis explores the causes and consequences of the CBH, validating its assumptions, testing its predictions and assessing its evolutionary implications. It takes advantage of a large database on brain size comprising more than 1900 extant bird species in combination with recently developed phylogenetic comparative methods to elucidate the origins of brain size variation in the most diverse vertebrate class. As a first objective, the thesis validates the extent to which relative brain size is a good proxy of the brain structures involved in the capacity to construct behavioural responses to new challenges. Chapter 1 thus shows that the associative areas of the brain, classically related with general intelligence, are disproportionally larger in large brained species and accurately predict variation in the whole brain, therefore validating its use in broader comparative analyses. According to the CBH, species living in regions with higher environmental variation should be selected for larger brains, unless they have adaptive specialisations to avoid drops in resource availability. Chapter 2 shows that birds living in highly seasonal and unpredictable environments, like high-latitude regions, possess relatively large brains than residents from other regions, supporting the CBH in birds. Additional support for the hypothesis is found in Chapter 3, where birds colonizing oceanic islands seem to evolve relatively larger brains than their continental relatives. These changes seem to be in part caused by the increased uncertainty in resource availability that characterizes islands, which together with limited chances to disperse and a trend toward slower life-history strategies can facilitate the evolution of enlarged brains. Finally, Chapter 4 explores the active role of brain size on evolution. As predicted by the behavioral drive hypothesis, frequent behavioral changes as a response to environmental challenges should expose individuals to new sets of selective pressures, thereby favouring evolutionary divergence from the ancestors. Chapter 4 provides evidence for the behavioural drive hypothesis, showing that avian lineages with relatively large brained have experienced higher diversification rates than those with smaller brains. This finding is in line with the view that animals are not passive agents of selection, but by actively modifying its relationship with their environment also influence their own pace of evolution. Overall, the findings of the present thesis provide empirical support for the CBH, showing that a relatively large brain functions, and hence may have evolved, to cope with environmental changes, and that the evolution of enlarged brains may subsequently influence the evolutionary diversification of the lineage.

Los cocolitofóridos son fitoplancton calcificante unicelular cosmopolita involucrado en importantes ciclos biogeoquímicos globales. Esta tesis doctoral se centra en los impactos del calentamiento del océano y la acidificación sobre la morfología y la calcificación de los cocolitofóridos, con especial atención a la especie cosmopolita y dominante Emiliania huxleyi. El estudio incluye experimentos de temperatura usando cepas de E. huxleyi aisladas en el noroeste del océano Pacífico, y el análisis de muestras de agua colectadas a lo largo de un transecto que cubre aguas del Golfo de California y del margen NE del oceáno Pacífico. Este tipo de trabajo es oportuno dado que el calentamiento global y el rápido aumento del CO2 antropogénico en la atmósfera tienen consecuencias notables en el medio marino. Para aclarar discrepancias que aparecen en la literatura sobre la respuesta de la calcificación a los cambios de temperatura, comparamos tres cepas de E. huxleyi cultivadas bajo condiciones no limitantes de nutrientes ni de luz, a 10, 15, 20 y 25 ºC de temperatura. Las tres cepas mostraron tasas de crecimiento similares en función de la temperatura, con un óptimo en los 20–25 ºC. Se correlacionaron positivamente con la temperatura: la tasa de producción de cocolitos y de elementos particulados (carbono inorgánico particulado (PIC), carbono orgánico particulado (POC), nitrógeno particulado total (TPN)), la masa y tamaño del cocolito, el ancho del ciclo de elementos del tubo de los cocolitos, el número de cocolitos en la cocosfera, la masa de la cocosfera, y la velocidad de hundimiento y la relación PIC : POC de las células individuales. La correlación entre la producción de PIC y la masa/tamaño del cocolito apoya la noción de que la masa del cocolito se puede usar como proxy para la producción de PIC en muestras de sedimentos. Encontramos que los cocolitos incompetos no se deben a la escasez de tiempo a altas producciones de PIC. Las temperaturas de crecimiento subóptimas aumentan el porcentaje de coccolitos malformados en algunas cepas. La relación PIC : POC mostró un mínimo a la temperatura óptima de crecimiento. En el contexto del cambio climático, el calentamiento global podría causar una disminución en la contribución del PIC exportado de los cocolitofóridos, podría ser una conveniencia en algunos genotipos debido a una menor cantidad de malformaciones de cocolitos y podría influir de manera importante sobre las velocidades de hundimiento. Dado que el calentamiento, la acidificación y la menor disponibilidad de nutrientes pueden ocurrir simultáneamente en los escenarios de cambio climático, existe la pregunta sobre cuál será el efecto neto de los diferentes factores de influencia. Aquí analizamos 68 muestras de agua abarcando una amplia gama de condiciones. Enfocamos el estudio en las principales variaciones morfológicas y de morfotipo de la especie E. huxleyi, y también en las diferentes especies del género Gephyrocapsa. Descubrimos que E. huxleyi tipo O es un morfotipo más frío potenciado por concentraciones más altas de amonio y es más tolerante a valores de pH más bajos que el morfotipo A. El morfotipo A sobre-calcificado compartió nicho con el morfotipo O. Las aberraciones morfológicas observadas y la morfología sub-calcificada se asociaron a condiciones desfavorables, tales como bajas (aunque no las más bajas) concentraciones de nutrientes. La contribución de PIC por litro de G. oceanica fue más alta que la de E. huxleyi, en tercer lugar fue la de G. muellerae. Gephyrocapsa oceanica presentó la mayor afinidad a las aguas más cálidas con menores concentraciones de nutrientes, y G. muellerae la mayor tolerancia a un pH más bajo. En el contexto del cambio climático, G. oceanica y G. muellerae podrían aumentar su abundancia relativa, generando cambios en la producción de PIC.
Coccolithophores are cosmopolitan unicellular calcifying phytoplankton involved in important biogeochemical global cycles. This PhD thesis focuses on the impacts of ocean warming and acidification on the morphology and calcification of coccolithophores, with special attention to the cosmopolitan and dominant species Emiliania huxleyi. The study includes temperature experiments using three strains of E. huxleyi isolated in the NW Pacific Ocean, and the analysis of water samples collected along a transect covering the Gulf of California and NE Pacific margin waters. This type of work is timely since global warming and the rapid increase in anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 have remarkable consequences on the marine environment. To clarify discrepancies featuring in the literature about the calcification response to temperature changes, we compared three strains of E. huxleyi grown under non-limiting nutrient and light conditions, at 10, 15, 20 and 25 ºC of temperature. All three strains displayed similar growth rate versus temperature relationships, with an optimum at 20–25 ºC. Over the sub-optimum to optimum temperature range (10–25 ºC), elemental production (particulate inorganic carbon (PIC), particulate organic carbon (POC), total particulate nitrogen (TPN)), coccolith mass, coccolith size, width of the tube element cycle, number of attached coccoliths per coccosphere, coccosphere mass, individual sinking velocity, individual cell PIC : POC ratio, and coccolith production rate, were positively correlated with temperature. The correlation between PIC production and coccolith mass/size supports the notion that coccolith mass can be used as a proxy for PIC production in sediment samples. We found that incompleteness of coccoliths is not due to time shortage at high PIC production. Sub-optimal growth temperatures lead to an increase in the percentage of malformed coccoliths in a strain-specific fashion. The PIC : POC ratio showed a minimum at optimum growth temperature in all investigated strains. In the context of climate change, global warming might cause a decline in coccolithophore’s PIC contribution to the rain ratio, as well as improved fitness in some genotypes due to fewer coccolith malformations; our data also point to an important influence of global warming on sinking velocities. Given that warming, acidification, and lowered nutrient availability might occur simultaneously under climate change scenarios, there is the question about what the net effect of different influential factors will be. Therefore, we analysed 68 summertime samples along a transect at different stations and depths, giving a large range of conditions. The studied regions are expected to be particularly susceptible to both warming and acidification, and are characterized by high seasonal primary production through upwelling events. We focused the study on the coccosphere standing stock variations of the main morphotypes and morphological variations of the species E. huxleyi and on the different species of the genus Gephyrocapsa. We found that E. huxleyi type O is a colder morphotype enhanced by higher ammonium concentrations and is more tolerant to lower pH values than the morphotype A. The over-calcified E. huxleyi type A shared niche with the morphotype O. The observed morphological aberrations and the under-calcified morphology were associated to unfavorable conditions for the cell such as low (though not the lowest) nutrient concentrations. The PIC contribution per liter of G. oceanica was higher than that of E. huxleyi, in third place was that of G. muellerae. Gephyrocapsa oceanica presented the highest affinity to warmer waters with lower nutrient concentrations, and G. muellerae the highest tolerance to lower pH. In the context of climate change, G. oceanica and G. muellerae might increase their relative abundance with subsequent changes in the coccolithophore PIC production.

Orientadores: Sergio Furtado dos Reis, Glauco Machado
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T02:04:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Araujo_MarcioSilva_D.pdf: 2407731 bytes, checksum: 8775de8c335558a4381e1293aad0f17e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007
Resumo: A teoria ecológica clássica, em especial a teoria de nicho, foi construída sob a suposição de que os indivíduos de uma população são equivalentes em termos da utilização de recursos. Entretanto, é sabido que os indivíduos de uma população podem variar no uso de recursos e que essa variação pode ter importantes implicações ecológicas e evolutivas. Essa variação interindividual pode dar origem a morfotipos discretos (¿polimorfismo de recursos¿) ou ser contínua (¿especialização individual¿). O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar a variação interindividual no uso de recursos em quatro populações de rãs do Cerrado brasileiro (Leptodactylus sp., L. fuscus, Eleutherodactylus cf. juipoca e Proceratophrys sp.), uma população de vespas-caçadoras de uma área de Mata Atlântica (Trypoxylon albonigrum) e uma população do peixe lacustre Gasterosteus aculeatus da Columbia Britânica, Canada. Houve evidência de variação interindividual em todas as populações estudadas, indicando que esse fenômeno não é exclusivo de comunidades temperadas de baixa diversidade. Houve uma associação entre a amplitude dos nichos populacionais e o grau de variação interindividual, indicando que os nichos individuais permanecem estreitos apesar da expansão do nicho populacional. Esse padrão é consistente com a presença de trade-offs funcionais associados ao uso dos recursos. A base dos trade-offs permanece desconhecida no caso das rãs e das vespas, mas é provavelmente comportamental. No caso de G. aculeatus, os trade-offs têm base morfológica, mas são mediados pelo comportamento. Além disso, foi identificado um padrão de partição de recursos inédito nesses peixes, em que os indivíduos formam microguildas que representam subdivisões dos recursos litorâneos e pelágicos. São propostos dois novos métodos para a investigação da variação intrapopulacional no uso de recursos, um deles baseado no uso de isótopos estáveis de carbono (d13C) e o outro na teoria de redes complexas
Abstract: Ecological theory, and specially niche theory, was built on the assumption that individuals are equivalent in terms of resource use. However, the individuals in a population may vary in their resources, and this interindividual variation may have important ecological and evolutionary implications. Such variation may give rise to discrete morphological groups (¿resource olymorphism¿) or it may be more continuous (¿individual specialization¿). In the present study, we investigated interindividual variation in resource use in four populations of frogs inhabiting the Brazilian Cerrado (Leptodactylus sp., L. fuscus, Eleutherodactylus cf. juipoca e Proceratophrys sp.), one population of hunting-wasp of the Atlantic Rainforest (Trypoxylon albonigrum), and one population of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from British Columbia, Canada. We found evidence of interindividual diet variation in all studied populations, indicating that such variation is not restricted to temperate, depauperate comunities. There was an association between niche width and the degree of interindividual variation, indicating that individual niches remain constrained as the population niche expands. This pattern is consistent with the presence of functional trade-offs associated with resource use. In the case of the frogs and the wasps, the nature of the trade-offs remains unknown, but are likely to be behavioral. In the sticklebacks, the trade-offs have a morphological basis, but are mediated by behavior. We found that individual sticklebacks partition resources within littoral and within pelagic prey, which represents a finer pattern of resource partitioning than the traditional ¿littoral-pelagic¿ dichotomy. Two new methods for the quantification of interindividual diet variation are proposed, one based on carbon stable isotopes (d13C) and another based on complex-network theory
Doutorado
Ecologia
Doutor em Ecologia

O presente trabalho procura, através da Ecologia Humana, fazer algumas reflexões sobre a relação Homem - Meio e a importância da educação ambiental, nomeadamente através da atuação do Pólo, no seu primeiro ano de funcionamento. Este é um projeto da responsabilidade do Município de Odemira, que contou com apoio do governo, para implementar nesta região, um sistema integrado de educação ambiental ativa. Neste sentido, depois de compreender as camadas ecológicas que circundam a população desta região, estudou-se o desempenho deste projeto, aplicou-se um questionário aos seus principais intervenientes, estabelecimentos do pré-escolar e 1° ciclo do concelho de Odemira. Verificando-se que este teve uma boa atuação, considera-se um bom exemplo a seguir pelas autarquias do nosso país. /ABSTRACT - The present paper attempts to, through Human Ecology, make not only some reflexions on the Man Nature relationship, but also to reflect on the importance of Environmental Education, using the example of the Polo de Educação Ambiental de Odemira, during its first year of existence. This is a project that was initiated by the Municipio de Odemira, and that had the support of the Portuguese Government, in order to implement, in this region, an active and integrated system of environmental education. In order to achieve this goal, it was important to understand the ecological layers that surround this region’s population, through the use of an enquiry by questionnaire, applied to its main interveners, members of kindergarten and primary schools. We could verify that this Polo played a good role and it is a good example to follow by all the public authorities in this country.

No Alentejo (Portugal), os insectos são normalmente desprezados, ou quando estudados, é sobrevalorizada a sua acção negativa. A nossa atitude perante um grupo de animais tão abundante e diversificado, não pode restringir-se às espécies que directa ou indirectamente competem connosco, aplicando frequentemente métodos de gestão e/ou controlo dos insectos baseados na aplicação de insecticidas e outros pesticidas ou produtos agroquímicos. Neste trabalho procurou-se fazer uma revisão sobre a importância ecológica dos insectos, nomeadamente a nível das interacções tróficas que estabelecem. Numa perspectiva antropocêntrica, são apresentadas formas de aproveitamento dos insectos, destacando-se a componente pedagógica (parte experimental educacional do trabalho, onde são apresentadas estratégias, materiais e métodos que podem ser aplicados nos ensinos básico e secundário, de forma a serem desenvolvidas competências essenciais, tais como, a vontade de conhecer e preservar os seres vivos). Com vista à aplicação do método científico, foi feita uma amostragem de entomofauna crepuscular e nocturna, centrada nos lepidópteros noctuídeos, entre Agosto de 2000 e Janeiro de 2001, nas zonas de Arraiolos e Leiria, sendo utilizadas 4 armadilhas luminosas "Pennsylvania". Através da análise estatística dos resultados (índices de diversidade das espécies capturadas - a e constância simultânea – Cs), verificou-se que: a zona de Leiria apresenta maiores índices de diversidade; nas duas zonas em estudo esse índice revela valores mais elevados nos períodos alegadamente "mortos" entomologicamente, nomeadamente nos meses de Dezembro (Leiria) e de Janeiro (Arraiolos); relativamente aos valores de constância simultânea, foi durante o mês de Janeiro que se registaram maiores semelhanças (Cs=0,440) entre as duas zonas, considerando o número de espécies iguais que foram capturadas. Para uma gestão racional do "recurso" insecto, é necessário começar por investir no seu estudo, na sua valorização e na formação da consciência ecológica de todos os cidadãos, com início na escola... /*** Abstract - In the Alentejo region of Portugal, at least, insects are frequently overlooked, and when studied, their negative effects are exaggerated. Our attitude regarding such an abundant and diversified animal group should not be limited to the species that direct or indirectly compete with mankind. Very often methods of management and for control are limited to pesticide or agro chemical product applications. We present an attempt to review part of the ecological importance of insects, especially regarding trophic interactions they establish. Under an anthropocentric perspective, we present forms of profiting insects, stressing also pedagogic points of view (we show strategies, material and methods that can be applied at the basic and secondary level in order to help develop essential competences, like the will to discover and preserve life forms. In order to apply the scientific method, we proceeded to a sampling and monitoring past of the local insect fauna, especially noctuid Lepidopterans, between August 2000 and January 2001, in Arraiolos and Leiria, using to that and 4 black light traps type "Pennsylvania". Through the statistic analyses of results (diversity index of captured species — a and simultaneous constancy — Cs), has been verified that: Leiria presents larger diversity indexes; on the two places of study, Arraiolos and Leiria, that index shows higher numbers on the alleged entomologically "dead" periods, namely on December (Leiria) and on January (Arraiolos); relating to simultaneous constancy numbers, it was during January that were registered bigger similitude (Cs=0,440), considering the number of species that were captured. For a rational management of the "recourse" insect is necessary to start investing on their study, valuation and also on the formation of an ecological conscience of ail citizens, early in school...

L’urbanisation aboutit à une grande diversité environnementale, paysagère, historique des espaces verts en ville, avec également des pratiques de gestion très variées, qui, peuvent affecter la biodiversité qu’ils abritent. Or, la composante du sol reste très peu étudiée et les communautés de Collemboles présentes dans les parcs urbains constitue une thématique de recherche jusqu’à présent relativement ignorée. Si ces Arthropodes sont de petite taille (de l’ordre du millimètre), ils sont en effet très nombreux dans les sols et aujourd’hui reconnus comme de bons indicateurs pour le monitoring des sols.Les effets de différents filtres abiotiques ont été testés en appliquant à la fois une approche taxonomique et fonctionnelle des communautés de Collemboles dans les parcs urbains de Naples et de Montpellier. La thèse se développe alors en trois axes correspondant à l’étude des effets:- de la composition et fragmentation de la mosaïque urbaine proche- des dynamiques temporelles propres aux parcs- des pratiques de gestion courantesL’analyse conduite à Montpellier a permis de mettre en évidence l’existence de plusieurs groupes homogènes de paysages auxquels étaient associées des structures de communautés différentes. En effet, les paysages urbains les plus hétérogènes favorisent le développement et le maintien de communautés mieux structurées et plus riches en espèces.Par ailleurs, l’étude menée à Naples a montré que le maintien d’un couvert végétal spécifique et principalement boisé, conjointement à la présence de litière au sol, apparaissent comme les facteurs les plus importants pour permettre l’établissement de communautés mieux structurées et plus riches en espèces. Dans une moindre mesure, l’âge des parcs et le précédant usage du sol étaient également déterminants.Enfin, une analyse fonctionnelle (étude de traits morphologiques et préférences de microhabitats) a été envisagée pour évaluer l’intensification de la gestion du sous-bois au sein des habitats boisés des parcs des deux villes. Un gradient abiotique clair a été observé. En revanche, contrairement aux hypothèses énoncées et à la littérature récente sur le sujet, les communautés de Collemboles étaient mieux discriminées du point de vue taxonomique que du point de vue fonctionnel. Il semblerait donc que l’intensification de la gestion du sous-bois ne soit pas un filtre environnemental imposant des changements dans les patterns de traits des espèces présentes.Si d’un côté les études développées dans cette thèse apportent des connaissances fondamentales sur l’écologie des Collemboles présents dans les parcs urbains, de l’autre elle vise à intégrer ces résultats pour un développement plus durable en termes d’aménagement et de gestion des espaces verts urbains
Urbanization causes a huge diversity in landscapes, environmental conditions and green spaces history. This phenomena also induces different vegetation management practices, which may affect urban fauna. However, scarce attention has been paid to belowground communities in cities and Collembola hosted by soils of urban parks represent a neglected research topic. These taxa are very common in most soils and have been recognized as proper indicators for soil monitoring programs.The effects of diverse abiotic filters on Collembola in Naples and Montpellier public parks has been studied from both taxonomic and functional points of view. In particular, the PhD work was developed based on three principal axes, aiming to test the effects of:- the neighboring landscape context,- the park historical dynamics,- the current park management.The analyses carried out in Montpellier showed different neighboring landscape patterns to which belonged diverse species communities. Indeed, more heterogeneous landscape patterns guarantee the richest and most structured species communities.The study conducted in Naples highlighted that maintaining a specific land cover, especially a canopy cover, jointly to a litter layer on soils are the main factors assuring more structured species communities. To a less extent, park age and the previous land use of the area were also important drivers in modelling species assemblages.Finally, a functional analysis (i.e. morphological traits and microhabitat preferences) was applied to evaluate the brushwood management intensification in woody areas of both cities parks. A clear abiotic gradient was observed. By contrast, functional responses of Collembola communities to brushwood management intensification contradicted our research hypothesis based on the recent literature. Thus, it seems that brushwood removal does not cause shifts in species trait patterns in urban parks.This PhD work increased fundamental knowledge on urban park Collembola ecology, and it strives to integrate these findings in a more suitable landscaping and management of urban green spaces

Des origines de l'écologie politique à nos jours, beaucoup d'écologistes pensent qu'ils participent à la réalisation d'une transformation politique et sociale de leur univers social, ainsi que de l'univers scientifique, cela dépasse les limites d'un pays et d'un continent, mais cela recouvre aussi certaines particularités au niveau national. Nous nous proposons d'étudier les spécificités de l'écologie politique française en la mettant en relation avec l'écologie politique américaine, puis en insistant sur le rôle des acteurs radicaux pour redéfinir une écologie radicale moins consensuelle que l'écologie institutionnalisée. Au XXIe siècle, l'intensité du besoin social d'un courant politique et d'une science écologique s’accroît avec la multiplication des catastrophes humaines et naturelles et avec l'augmentation de leur visibilité dans les médias. L'écologie radicale se propose de répondre à ces nouveaux défis. Nous pouvons en dégager une spécificité de l'écologie politique française placée à la fois à proximité des acteurs politiques conventionnels acceptant les règles du jeu existant et à la fois à la lisière, ainsi qu'à l'écoute, des marges politiques
From the origins of the political ecology to now days, many ecologists think they are involved in the process of political and social transformation of their social and scientific universes. But it exceeds national borders and also continental limits. We will study the specificity of the French political ecology and outlook it with the American political ecology and, then, we will incite on the role of radical actors to redefine a radical ecology less consensual that the institutionalized ecology. In the 21st century the social need for a political stream and an ecological science increases trough the multiplication of human and natural disasters and the rise of their visibility in medias. Radical ecology suggests answers to those new challenges. We could then draw the specificity of the French political ecology which is, at the same time, close to conventional political actors by accepting the rules of the political field, at its frontiers, and, finally in touch with political margins

Orientador: Sergio Furtado dos Reis
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T02:08:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cruz_LeonardoDominici_M.pdf: 940936 bytes, checksum: 81e2b8fe5609409fcde008e36b285281 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007
Resumo: A teoria do nicho ocupa uma posição central na Ecologia, tendo um papel fundamental nos modelos de dinâmicas populacionais e de comunidades. Apesar disso, sua formalização tradicional é baseada nos princípios da aproximação do campo médio e da lei da ação das massas, os quais presumem que os indivíduos de uma espécie são ecologicamente equivalentes e suas interações são proporcionais às suas densidades. Esta abordagem tem se mostrado inadequada em descrever as dinâmicas do nicho trófico, visto que tanto fatores endógenos quanto exógenos contribuem de forma significativa para a variação do nicho populacional. Desse modo o presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar a dieta, a dinâmica do nicho trófico populacional do marsupial Gracilinanus microtarsus (Wagner, 1842) em uma área de cerradão em São Paulo, assim como investigar a influência da variação inter-individual neste fenômeno. A dieta de G. microtarsus foi composta de invertebrados e frutos, com a predominância de insetos. As amplitudes de nicho trófico de machos e fêmeas foram maiores na estação quente-úmida do que na fria-seca. Entre os sexos, a amplitude do nicho de machos e fêmeas aparentemente não diferiu na estação quente-úmida. Na estação fria-seca, fêmeas apresentaram nichos mais amplos do que os machos. No nível individual, os nichos tróficos de machos e fêmeas foram similarmente proporcionais ao nicho de sua população. No entanto, esta similaridade foi maior na estação fria-seca. Nem o tamanho amostral, nem o número de categorias alimentares detectadas nas fezes influenciaram estes resultados. Isto indica que, no geral, os indivíduos de G. microtarsus se comportam de forma oportunística, utilizando os recursos de acordo com sua disponibilidade no ambiente
Abstract: The niche theory occupies a central position in the Ecology, having a fundamental role in the population and community dynamic models. Despite this, its traditional formalization is based on the principles of the mean-field and on the law of mass action, which presume that the individuals of a species are ecologically equivalent and their interactions are proportional to their densities. This approach is inadequate in describing the dynamics of trophic niche, since many endogenous and exogenous factors contribute significantly to the variation of the population niche. This study aimed to investigate the diet, the dynamics of the population trophic niche of the gracile mouse opossum Gracilinanus microtarsus (Wagner, 1842) in a ¿cerradão¿ area of São Paulo state, as well as to investigate the influence of the inter-individual variation in this phenomenon. The diet of G. microtarsus was composed of invertebrates and fruits, with the predominance of insects. The trophic niche width of males and females was higher in the warm-wet season than in the cool-dry season. Between sexes, the niche width of males and females did not differ in the warm-wet season and in the cool-dry season. Females presented larger niche width than males. At the individual level, the niches of males and females were similarly proportional to their populations. However, in the cool-dry season, this similarity was higher. Neither amostral size nor number of food resource types detected in faeces influenced these results. This indicates that, in general, the individuals of G. microtarsus behave as opportunistic foragers, using the resources in according to with their availability in the environment
Mestrado
Mestre em Ecologia

Introducción y objetivos El creciente desarrollo humano que a lo largo de la historia ha sufrido las zonas Mediterráneas, ha provocado que la cantidad de impactos a los que se ven sometidos los sistemas naturales en estas áreas haya sido enorme. Esto ha provocado una importante degradación de las zonas naturales. Algunos de estos impactos vienen derivados de los procesos de fragmentación resultantes de los desarrollos urbanos y agrícolas. Los efectos de los mismos sobre las formaciones naturales bajo condiciones semiáridas han sido poco estudiados. Por ello, los objetivos generales de la presente tesis son: i) Conocer la biodiversidad asociada a fragmentos naturales y los efectos de la urbanización o la agricultura sobre la misma. ii) Estudiar el comportamiento de grupos indicadores (vegetación y aves) en redes de sistemas naturales bajo diferentes fisionomías vegetales (bosques, matorrales arbolados y matorrales). iii) Investigar acerca del comportamiento de los mecanismos de dispersión de arbustos mediterráneos de frutos carnosos por aves en estos sistemas. iv) proponer medidas de gestión para el incremento de la biodiversidad, la mejora paisajística e incentivar la restauración pasiva en estas áreas. Metodología La metodología utilizada ha sido variada según el capítulo de la tesis referido. De manera genérica, en diversos fragmentos naturales con composición vegetal variada, se han realizados muestreos de aves y vegetación (densidades y frecuencias respectivamente). Con estos datos, se han calculado índices de conservación para ambos grupos y de diferente índole (regional, nacional y Europeo). También se obtuvieron datos de variables físicas que actuarían como factores independientes en los análisis. Dichas variables se basaban en medidas de cobertura de diferentes estratos, fisionómicas de la mancha, y variables paisajísticas. Las técnicas estadísticas utilizadas fueron variadas, utilizando análisis contrastados como Análisis de Componentes Principales (ACP), modelos de regresión mixtos ó análisis de correlación. También se utilizaron otras técnicas estadísticas novedosas como los Análisis Parciales de Regresión. Por otro lado, para los experimentos de dispersión, se utilizaron bandejas de recogida para la medida de la lluvia de semillas en posaderos seleccionados. También se obtuvieron datos de producción y de consumo. Con todo ello, se pudo determinar la Dispersión de Semillas Efectiva. Por otro lado, se hicieron aproximaciones a los movimientos de dispersión mediante observaciones directas del consumo y posterior movimiento, así como jornadas de anillamientos y recogidas de excrementos. Resultados y Conclusiones Entre los principales resultados que se han obtenido se ha observado un comportamiento diferente de la vegetación y las aves ante la fragmentación. La baja movilidad de las especies vegetales hacen que la influencia de la fragmentación y del efecto borde quedé más patente. En el caso de las aves, ciertas especies (con interés nacional o europeo) obtienen mayores abundancias con niveles intermedios de degradación, pudiendo verse beneficiadas por desarrollos intermedios. A este respecto, se proponen la inclusión de áreas buffer entre las zonas urbanas y naturales, así como evitar el aislamiento total de parches naturales en futuros desarrollos urbanos. En cuanto a la fisionomía de estas zonas fragmentadas, las restrictivas condiciones semiáridas reducen la posibilidad de mantener masas arbóreas auto-sostenibles en estas áreas. Paisajes de matorral o matorral arbolado presentan mejores comunidades vegetales y avícolas, además de ser más acordes con las condiciones ambientales. En cuanto a los procesos de dispersión, tienden a concentrarse en el interior de las manchas naturales, con bajos flujos hacia zonas adyacentes (excepto zonas ajardinadas), existiendo una direccionalidad interna hacia los ejemplares arbóreos que pueden actuar como perchas y plantas nodrizas. En el futuro estos resultados deberían tenerse en cuenta para mejorar las condiciones naturales de zonas fragmentadas Mediterráneas.
Introduction and objectives Along the history, Mediterranean areas had suffered the impacts generated by human development growth. This fact has caused a degradation of natural areas. Some of these impacts derived from fragmentation process promoted by urban and agricultural developments. The effects of these have been little studied under semiarid conditions. For that, the aims of this thesis are: i) To know biodiversity in this natural fragments and the effects of urbanizations and agricultural on this. ii) To study the behavior of indicator groups (vegetations and birds) in nets of natural patches with different vegetation physiognomies (forests, shrub woodlands and scrublands). iii) To research about the behavior of seed dispersal mechanisms of Mediterranean fleshy fruits by birds in this systems. iv) To propose management measures to increase biodiversity, the landscape improvement and encouraging passive restoration in these areas. Methods A different methodology has been used according to the chapter of the thesis. In general way, in natural fragment with different flora composition, birds and vegetation have been sampled (density and frequency). With this data, conservation indexes at different level (local, national and European) have been calculated. Also, physical variables as independent factors in the analyses have been obtained. These variables are based on cover measures of different strata, patch physiognomy and landscape variables. Statistical variables were contrasted analyses as Principal Component Analyses (PCA), mixed models or correlation analyses. Also, other news statistical techniques as Partial Least Square Regressions (PLRS) have been used. In the other hand, for seed dispersal experiments, collecting trays to know seed rain in selected perches have been installed. With all, Seed Dispersion Effectiveness could be calculated. Finally, seed dispersion movement has been studied while directed observations of consume, ringing days and faecal collection. Results and Conclusions A different response of birds and vegetation to urban development has been found. Low mobility of flora species makes a greater influence of fragmentation and edge effect in that. For birds, some species (with national or European interest) obtain greater abundances with intermediate degradation levels. So, these species may benefit for intermediate developments. At this respect, the inclusion of buffer areas between urban and natural zones has been proposed. As physiognomy of these fragmented areas, restrictive conditions of semiarid lands reduce the possibility of maintain self-sustaining tree patches. Scrublands or shrub woodlands present better vegetation and bird communities. Furthermore, they are more consistent with the environmental conditions. As for seed dispersal processes, tends to concentrate inside the patch, with few seeds flow to adjacent areas (except garden areas). There is a internal directionality towards trees individuals that may act as perches and nurse plants. So, in the future, this results should be taken into account to improve natural conditions of fragmented Mediterranean areas.

The sessile oak Quercus petraea is widespread in Central Europe. The populations in the NE Iberian Peninsula are at the southernmost limit of the species range, in the most Mediterranean-type conditions and at the xeric limit. The results of study show that the community species composition has been altered since the second half of the 20th century, but in slightly different ways in each region. The sessile oak forest is recovering from the change in forest use, and the Montseny Massif is the best example of this dynamic. For some oak forests, however, such as those in the Montnegre natural park, climate change poses an uncertain future. For this reason, it is important to take advantage of natural refuges of these species as reservoirs and places where the habitat can be preserved
El roure de fulla gran Quercus petraea és àmpliament present a centre Europa. Les poblacions del NE de la Península Ibèrica es trobarien al seu límit meridional de distribució i les de condicions més mediterrànies en el xeric limit per aquesta espècie. Els resultats de la tesi, mostren que la comunitat ha canviat la seva composició d’espècies des de la segona meitat del s. XX, però de forma sensiblement diferent segons cada regió. La dinàmica de les rouredes de roure de fulla gran és, doncs, la de recuperació del canvi dels usos del bosc, i el Montseny és bon exemple d’aquest procés; però, en canvi, per algunes rouredes com les del Montnegre, el canvi climàtic presenta un futur incert. Per aquest motiu és important aprofitar les localitats que es troben en refugis naturals com a reservoris i punts on poder conservar aquest hàbitat

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2005-04-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:08:01Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 andrade_pm_dr_rcla.pdf: 716893 bytes, checksum: 746a97644a6d9cec3d6a533c402e7e7e (MD5)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
O primeiro capítulo trata da estrutura espacial e temporal das assembléias na bacia do ribeirão Grande. Após verificar que a dimensão espacial foi a mais importante para explicar a variabilidade das assembléias amostradas, realizou-se uma análise correlativa mais detalhada da distribuição espacial e diversidade de espécies em relação a variáveis ambientais. Os resultados indicaram que características físicas e químicas da água e fisiográficas do trecho amostrado foram importantes para definir, entre todas as espécies disponíveis, aquelas capazes de colonizarem e coexisterem em determinado trecho dos riachos. Além desta influência, que pode ser considerada abiótica, alguns testes de randomização indicaram a possibilidade de interações competitivas como importantes determinantes da estrutura das assembléias, mas os resultados não foram concordantes para todas as simulações realizadas. Os pontos P6 e P7, localizados na transição entre tributários e curso principal do ribeirão Grande, foram considerados representativos de um ecótono, em que a diversidade de espécies foi maior. Este ecótono seria uma transição entre as condições ambientais dos tributários e do curso principal. Nas comunidades de peixes destes pontos apareceram espécies exclusivas do curso principal e espécies exclusivas dos tributários. Para avaliar a estabilidade das comunidades, ao longo de 1 ano, foram utilizados o coeficiente de variação e o coeficiente de correlação não paramétrico de Kendall. A estabilidade das comunidades foi avaliada em relação a duas zonas: curso principal do ribeirão Grande e seus tributários. As assembléias foram relativamente constantes durante o período de 1 ano, apesar do estudo não satisfazer as premissas necessárias para se tirar conclusões a respeito da estabilidade de comunidades...
The first chapter dealt with the spatial and temporal structure of the fish assemblages at the ribeirao Grande basin. The spatial dimension was the main source of variability in the fish assemblages, so the distribution of fish species throughout the basin were analysed with a multivariate ordination method and with linear regressions. The results of a canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the most importat variables correlated with the distribution of the ictifauna were the altitude, width and depth of the sampling stations. Variables like temperature and conductivity were probably correlates of altitude, having no causal effects in the distribution of species. Complementary distribution of closely related species were observed. Randomization tests indicated the possibility of competitive interactions in shaping the distribution of fish species in the basin. The results were not concordant, however, among the different scenarios simulated. Notwithstanding, in each scenario at least one statistic rejected the null hypotesis of random distribution of species. The sampling stations P6 and P7, located in the transition between tributaries and main channel, were considered an ecotone, where the species diversity was higher. To acess the stability of the fish assemblages were used the coeficient of variation and the non-parametric Kendall correlation coeficient The fish assemblages were stable, during a one year sampling period and the stability of communities in the tributaries was compared with the main channel. The tributaries have communites that were considered more stable than in the main channel. The second chapter dealt with the feeding relationships of the fish assemblages.The most abundant species had their stomacal contents analysed by sampling station and by sampling period. The GPA index (feeding preference degree) was used to acess the relative...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

La malaltia de la ràbia és probablement una de les malalties més descuidades pels serveis sanitaris en aquells països on es classifica com a endèmica; no obstant això, els estudis realitzats al llarg de molts anys, que presentem en aquest document, mostren que la ràbia salvatge transmesa per ratpenats hematofàfags és més una malaltia emergent de curs lent que un enzoòtic per se. La importància de la ràbia rau no només en el fet que es tracta d’una malaltia mortal per als animals humans, domèstics i salvatges (de vida lliure), per a aquells de nosaltres que hem tingut l’oportunitat d’estudiar-la, la seva importància se centra en l’oportunitat que la ràbia proporciona per poder estudiar l’epidemiologia d’una manera integral. La ràbia és una malaltia zoonòtica que afecta diverses espècies, incloent-hi els humans, molts dels reservoris de la ràbia són animals salvatges, per tant, incorpora en el seu estudi moltes disciplines com la biologia, l’ecologia, la història natural, la genètica, la veterinària, la medicina, permetent integrar de manera transversal conceptes com nínxols ecològics, anàlisi filogenètica, epidemiologia molecular, teoria de la coalescència Etc. Els enfocaments de la salut dels ecosistemes, la salut compartida o un món de salut convergeixen d’una manera perfecta a l’hora de parlar de ràbia, perquè les seves forces de prevenció i control treballin amb una perspectiva integral i multidisciplinària. Analitzar els determinants socials que permeten l’aparició d’aquesta malaltia d’importància de la salut pública és una prioritat. La ràbia com a malaltia infecciosa és complexa en estat salvatge, i és impulsada en certa mesura pels canvis ecosistèutiques que s’associen amb el creixement de la població humana en zones de risc, l’augment de la demanda de proteïna animal i, per tant, l’augment de la cria d’animals domèstics, el consum insostenible de recursos naturals , la pèrdua de biodiversitat i la fragmentació de l’hàbitat són factors que es tradueixen en una disminució dels serveis ecosistènics, per tant la ràbia, ja que una malaltia emergent augmenta els riscos per a la salut de totes les espècies en un ecosistema, humans, animals domèstics i fauna salvatge. A més, a partir del canvi climàtic i de la pèrdua de resiliència ecosistèutic que són factors que obren el camí per a l’aparició de noves amenaces com la ràbia transmesa per ratpenats, afegeix la sinantropia dels ratpenats hematofàgens i els factors antropogènics que afavoreixen el seu desplaçament, contribueixen directament a l’aparició, augment i incidència de la ràbia al Perú. L’objectiu principal d’aquest estudi ha estat el desenvolupament d’una anàlisi epidemiològica exhaustiva i detallada de la ràbia salvatge, els resultats i les discussions que plantegem són inèdits, reveladors, però sobretot valuosos en la prevenció i control de la ràbia salvatge transmesa per ratpenats hematofàgics.
Probablemente la enfermedad de la rabia es una de las enfermedades más desatendidas por los servicios de salud en aquellos países donde la tienen categorizada como endémica; sin embargo, los estudios realizados por muchos años y los cuales plasmamos en este documento, evidencian que la rabia silvestre trasmitida por murciélagos hematófagos es más una enfermedad emergente de curso lento que una enzoótia per se. La importancia de la rabia no solo radica en el hecho que es una enfermedad mortal para humanos, los animales domésticos y silvestres (de vida libre), para aquellos que hemos tenido la oportunidad de estudiarla, su importancia se centra en la oportunidad que la rabia brinda para poder estudiar la epidemiología de manera integral. La rabia es una enfermedad zoonótica que afecta a un sin número de especies incluyendo el humano, muchos de los reservorios de la rabia son animales silvestres por tanto incorpora en su estudio a muchas disciplinas como la biología, ecología, historia natural, genética, veterinaria, medicina, permitiendo integrar de manera transversal los conceptos como nichos ecológicos, análisis filogenéticos, epidemiología molecular, teoría de la coalescencia, etc. Los enfoques de salud ecosistémica, salud compartida o un mundo una salud convergen de una manera perfecta si se habla de la rabia, para su prevención y control obliga a trabajar con una perspectiva integral y multidisciplinaria. Analizar los determinantes sociales que permiten la emergencia de esta enfermedad de importancia para la salud pública, es prioritario. La rabia como enfermedad infecciosa es compleja en el medio natural, y se ve impulsada hasta cierto punto por cambios ecosistémicos que se asocian con el crecimiento de la población humana en las zonas de riesgo, el aumento de la demanda de proteína animal y por ende el aumento de la crianza de animales domésticos, el consumo insostenible de los recursos naturales, la pérdida de biodiversidad y la fragmentación del hábitat son factores que se traducen en una disminución de servicios ecosistémicos, de esta manera, la rabia, como enfermedad emergente aumenta los riesgos para la salud de todas las especies de un ecosistema, los seres humanos, los animales domésticos y la fauna silvestres. Además, del cambio climático y la perdida de resiliencia ecosistémica que son factores que preparan el terreno para la irrupción de nuevas amenazas como la rabia trasmitida por murciélagos, se suma la sinantropía de los murciélagos hematófagos y los factores antropogénicos que favorecen su desplazamiento, contribuyen directamente en la emergencia, incremento e incidencia de la rabia en el Perú. El objetivo principal de este estudio ha sido el desarrollo de un análisis epidemiológico minucioso y detallado de la rabia silvestre, los resultados y discusiones que planteamos son inéditos, reveladores, pero sobre todo valioso en la prevención y control de la rabia silvestre trasmitida por murciélagos hematófagos.
Rabies is probably one of the most neglected diseases by health services in those countries where it is categorized as endemic; however, studies conducted for many years and which we present in this document, show that wild rabies transmitted by vampire bats is more of a slow emerging disease than an endemic disease per se. The importance of rabies lies not only in the fact that it is a deadly disease for humans, domestic and wild animals (free-living), but for those of us who have had the opportunity to study it, its importance lies in the opportunity that rabies provides to be able to study epidemiology comprehensively. Rabies is a zoonotic disease that affects several species including humans, many of the reservoirs of rabies are wild animals therefore incorporates into its study many disciplines such as biology, ecology, natural history, genetics, veterinary medicine, allowing to integrate into cross-sectional manner concepts such as ecological niches, phylogenetic analysis, molecular epidemiology, the theory of coalescence, etc. The approaches of ecosystem health, shared health or one world one health converge in a perfect way if we talk about rabies, for its prevention and control requires working with a comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective. Analyzing the social determinants that allow the emergence of this disease of public health importance is a priority. Rabies as an infectious disease is complex in the natural environment, and is driven to some extent by ecosystem changes associated with human population growth in risk areas, increased demand for animal protein and thus increased breeding of domestic animals, and unsustainable consumption of natural resources, biodiversity loss, and habitat fragmentation are factors that result in a decline in ecosystem services, thus rabies as an emerging disease increases the health risks for all species in an ecosystem, humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Besides, climate change and the loss of ecosystem resilience, which are factors that pave the way for the emergence of new threats such as bat-borne rabies, are compounded by the synanthropy of hematophagous bats and the anthropogenic factors that favor their displacement, directly contributing to the emergence, increase, and incidence of rabies in Peru.
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Programa de Doctorat en Metodologia de la Recerca Biomèdica i Salut Pública

Submitted by Cássia Santos (cassia.bcufg@gmail.com) on 2014-11-11T12:27:31Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese Rodrigo Assis de Carvalho -2014.pdf: 3328420 bytes, checksum: a1e02cfe43c98e24427c7466b7570d2d (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5)
Approved for entry into archive by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2014-11-18T15:43:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese Rodrigo Assis de Carvalho -2014.pdf: 3328420 bytes, checksum: a1e02cfe43c98e24427c7466b7570d2d (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2014-11-18T15:43:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese Rodrigo Assis de Carvalho -2014.pdf: 3328420 bytes, checksum: a1e02cfe43c98e24427c7466b7570d2d (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-25
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
Species richness became a classical descriptor of biological communities, however, this concept does not encompass functional differences among species which may be linked to the functioning and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. For example, species with similar ecological traits should play similar ecological functions while species with distinct traits should play different functions. Understanding functional patterns of communities and how ecological processes act on their structuring is a challenge to ecologists, mainly in environments poorly known as tropical freshwater systems. In this context, the main goals of this thesis are to: i) test if the functional structure of headwater fish assemblages are influenced by drainage area and/or environmental components of basins; ii) comprehend the functional structure of river and headwater stream fish assemblages and evaluate the role of environment and spatial components on this structure; iii) test if functional diversity and species diversity patterns, besides spatial priorities for their conservation, are spatially congruent. The first objective was evaluated with a set of 25 headwater streams distributed in the Araguaia (13) and Tocantins (12) River basins. We tested for (dis)similarities among Araguaia and Tocantins fish assemblages with an analysis of similarities (ANOSIM), and we evaluated the role of space and environment on fish assemblages functional structure with RLQ and Fourthcorner analyses. We found a functional dissimilarity between fish assemblages of Araguaia and Tocantins (R = 0.09, p = 0.03) and RLQ was significant for trait/environment relationships (p = 0.005), although spatially structured environment also seems to be relevant. Altitude, channel depth, water temperature, turbidity and conductivity are environmental variables that influenced: body mass, water column position, substrate preference, parental care, foraging location and migratory habits. In this ways, fish assemblages' functional structure of Araguaia and Tocantins River basins are delimited is influenced by both space and local conditions of the environment. For evaluating the second objective, we calculate the net relatedness index (NRI) of 22 rivers and 27 headwater stream of Tocantins-Araguaia basin and related them with environmental variables of each watercourse. We used a variation partitioning for understanding how much of NRI variation could be explained by environment and/or space. The spatial pattern of NRI indicated that fish assemblages from headwater streams tend to be functionally clustered and from rivers overdispersed, and their separation is associated with four environmental variables: depth, width, water velocity and dissolved oxygen. However, variation partitioning indicated a lower influence of the environment on NRI variation when compared with the spatial components. Therefore, the functional structure of rivers and headwater streams is associated with neutral processes such as the dispersal limits of each species through the space. We evaluated the third objective using 21 units formed by the combination of one river and one headwater stream. Utilizing null models, we verified if units with higher species richness also have higher functional diversity. We created conservation scenarios for species richness and functional diversity with an algorithm of complementarity. No unit had higher functional diversity than expected by it species richness, which might indicate the possibility of developing a single conservation strategy for them. However, the congruence between conservation scenarios for species richness and functional diversity seems to be the result of the algorithm used that selects areas harboring species with restricted spatial occurrence, independently of other criteria used.
A riqueza de espécies é um descritor clássico das comunidades biológicas, porém, seu conceito não engloba as diferenças ecológicas entre as espécies que podem estar ligadas à manutenção de processos ecossistêmicos. Por exemplo, espécies com características ecológicas semelhantes devem desempenhar funções ecológicas similares enquanto as de características distintas desempenhariam funções diferentes. Entender os padrões funcionais das comunidades e os processos que atuam sobre a sua estruturação é um desafio para os ecólogos, principalmente em ambientes pouco conhecidos como os de água doce tropicais. Dentro deste contexto, os objetivos desta tese são: i) testar se a estrutura funcional das assembleias de peixes de riachos pode ser influenciada pelos limites da área de drenagem e/ou pelos componentes ambientais das bacias hidrográficas; ii) compreender a estruturação funcional das assembleias de peixes em rios e riachos de cabeceira e avaliar o papel do ambiente e do espaço sobre esta estruturação; iii) testar se os padrões de diversidade funcional e de riqueza de espécies das assembleias de peixes, além das prioridades espaciais para sua conservação, são congruentes espacialmente. O primeiro objetivo foi testado com um conjunto de 25 riachos distribuídos nas bacias hidrográficas dos Rios Araguaia (13) e Tocantins (12). Testamos as (dis)similaridades entre as assembleias de peixes do Araguaia e Tocantins com uma análise de similaridades (ANOSIM), e avaliamos o papel do espaço e do ambiente sobre a sua estrutura funcional com análises de RLQ e Fourthcorner. Encontramos uma dissimilaridade funcional entre as assembleias do Araguaia e Tocantins (R = 0.09, p = 0.03) e a RLQ foi significativa para as associações entre atributos/ambiente (p = 0.005), embora o ambiente espacialmente estruturado também pareça ser relevante. Altitude, profundidade do canal, temperatura da água, turbidez e condutividade são as variáveis do ambiente que influenciam: massa corporal, posição na coluna d'água, preferência pelo substrato, cuidado parental, local de forrageio e migração. Desta forma, a estrutura funcional das assembleias de peixes das bacias dos Rios Araguaia e Tocantins é influenciada tanto pelo espaço quanto pelas condições locais do ambiente. Para avaliar o segundo objetivo, calculamos os índices de parentesco líquido (NRI) de 22 rios e 27 riachos de cabeceira da bacia Tocantins-Araguaia e os relacionamos com as variáveis ambientais de cada curso d'água. Utilizamos ainda uma partição de variância para compreender o quanto da variação do NRI é explicada pelo ambiente e/ou pelo espaço. O padrão espacial do NRI indicou que as assembleias dos riachos de cabeceira tendem a ser funcionalmente agrupadas e as de rios sobredispersas, e a sua separação está associada a quatro variáveis ambientais: profundidade, largura, velocidade e oxigênio dissolvido. Porém, a partição de variância indicou um papel menor do componente ambiental na variação do NRI em relação aos componentes associados ao espaço. Portanto, a estruturação funcional de riachos e rios está associada a processos neutros, como os limites de dispersão intrínsecos de cada espécie. Avaliamos o terceiro objetivo utilizando 21 unidades formadas por: um rio e um riacho de cabeceira. Por meio de modelos nulos, verificamos se as unidades com maior riqueza de espécies possuíam maior diversidade funcional do que o esperado ao acaso. Criamos ainda cenários de conservação para riqueza de espécies e diversidade funcional com um algoritmo de complementaridade. Nenhuma unidade apresentou maior diversidade funcional do que o esperado pela riqueza de espécies, o que pode indicar a possibilidade de desenvolver uma única estratégia de conservação para ambos. Entretanto, a congruência entre os cenários para a riqueza de espécies e diversidade funcional parece ser resultado do algoritmo utilizado, selecionando áreas com espécies de ocorrência restrita, independente dos demais critérios utilizados.

Orientador : Enrique Ortega Rodriguez
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-03T14:53:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CcopaRivera_ElmerAlberto_M.pdf: 3016534 bytes, checksum: be45f6b4596e6a80a50bf600c5d86310 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003
Resumo: O estudo da qualidade da água em reservatórios naturais ou artificiais constituise de suma importância para impedir a eutrofização cultural e desenvolver projetos para usos múltiplos. Segundo Kent e Odum (2000) a compreensão da eutrofização cultural é um problema importante no desenvolvimento da interface entre civilização e meio ambiente. Através do conhecimento dos diagramas de fluxo de funcionamento do reservatório e da hierarquia dos fatores que atuam no mesmo, pode-se propor sistemas de manejo com o objetivo de manter a qualidade da água. A energia é o fator limitante mais relevante para um ecossistema, e o conceito de fluxo de energia proporciona não somente meios para comparar diversos ecossistemas, mas também possibilita uma avaliação relativa de cada componente do sistema. Assim, no presente trabalho, utilizando a linguagem de fluxos de energia desenvolvida por Odum (1983), propõe-se representar um reservatório como um sistema. Este sistema fornece uma visão geral da sua estrutura e suas funções, além de organizar dados e conceitos para a compreensão da eutrofização. Dois modelos foram avaliados e simulados no tempo para considerar questões relacionadas ao processo continuo de entrada de fósforo no sistema a longo prazo e o metabolismo diário do reservatório. Os modelos foram testados com base nos dados observados no Reservatório do Lobo. Verificase a partir do trabalho, que utilizando a linguagem de fluxos de energia como ferramenta da ecologia de sistemas, é viável a construção de modelos para representar estruturas e funções importantes do comportamento sistêmico do reservatório facilitando a compreensão dos sistemas reais. Os modelos sistêmicos são ótimos instrumentos de integração de informações e dados de um determinado ambiente e serve também para testar algumas hipóteses que são difíceis de realizar no campo, transformando resultados numéricos em mensagens significativas, melhorando a precisão das discussões teóricas
Abstract: The study of the water quality in natural or artificial reservoirs is constituted of utmost importance to hinder cultural eutrophication and develop projects for multiple uses. According to Kent et al. (2000) the understanding of cultural eutrophication is an important problem in developing interfaces between civilization and environment. Through the knowledge of reservoir functioning flow diagram and the hierarchy of the factors that act on this it can be proposed management systems with the objective of maintain the quality of water. The energy is the more relevant limit factor for an ecosystem, and the flow energy concept provides not only ways to compare diverse ecosystems, but also enables a relative evaluation of each component of the system. Thus in this present study utilizing the energy fluxes language developed by Odum (1983) it proposes to represent a reservoir as a system. This system provides a general view of reservoir structure and its functions beyond organizing dates and concepts for the eutrophication understanding. Two models had been evaluated and simulated in the time to consider questions related to the process. This process consists to keep inflow of phosphorus in the system in the long term and thereservoir daily metabolic. The models were tested on the basis of the data observed in the Lobo Reservoir. It is verified from the work, that the use of energy flows language, as a tool of the ecology of systems, makes possible the construction of models to represent structures and important functions of the water reservoir system. In this manner the understanding of the real system is facilitated. The systems models are excellent instruments of integration of information and society and can serve to test hypotheses that are difficult to carry out in the field, transforming numerical results into significant messages to theoretical research and for regional planning
Mestrado
Mestre em Engenharia de Alimentos

Orientador: Eleonore Zulnara Freire Setz
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T19:06:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pinto_LiliamPatricia_D.pdf: 1402160 bytes, checksum: 5781b9e9527706d97db9acae22b9a353 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008
Resumo: A ecologia de um grupo cuxiú-de-nariz-vermelho (Chiropotes albinasus) foi estudada entre agosto de 2004 e janeiro de 2006 em uma mata primária na Floresta Nacional do Tapajós, Pará. Para analisar a disponibilidade de itens e preferências por alimentos, foi realizado em 16 parcelas de 25 x 25 m (1 ha) um levantamento florístico e um monitoramento fenológico na área de estudo. A dieta e o padrão de atividades diárias de C. albinasus foram investigados pelo método de varredura instantânea. Esta pesquisa está entre os estudos de maior esforço amostral já realizados com o gênero Chiropotes. Durante 38 dias completos distribuídos em onze meses, os cuxiús se alimentaram de 125 espécies de plantas pertencentes a 38 famílias (n = 5.197 registros de alimentação). Brosimum parinarioides (Moraceae) foi a fonte de alimentos mais utilizada (9,5% dos registros), e teve um alto índice de seletividade. Sementes imaturas foram os itens mais consumidos (48,2%), seguidas de polpa de frutos maduros (39,2%) e sementes maduras (6,0%). A maior parte do tempo (n = 22.373 registros) foi gasta em viagem (36,3%) e repouso (27,5%). As atividades de alimentação somaram 23,8% dos registros e a socialização 8,8%. O grupo teve um tamanho máximo de 56 membros e apresentou uma dinâmica de agrupamento muito variável. Os subgrupos podiam permanecer fissionados por algumas horas ou por vários dias, um padrão diferente do observado em outros estudos com cuxiús. A área de vida de 1.000 ha é uma das maiores já registradas para primatas neotropicais. A desigualdade na distribuição espacial e temporal dos recursos alimentares afeta a ecologia alimentar dos cuxiús-de-nariz-vermelho, que selecionaram espécies mais produtivas e ajustaram seus padrões de forrageio de acordo a oferta de alimentos
Abstract: The ecology of a group of red-nosed bearded sakis (Chiropotes albinasus) was studied between August 2004 and January 2006 in continuous primary forest at the Floresta Nacional do Tapajós, Pará. To investigate food availability and food preferences, tree composition, forest structure and phenology were measured in 16 plots of 25 x 25 m, totaling 1 ha. C. albinasus diet and activity budgets were recorded by instantaneous scan method. This study represents the largest study of Chiropotes in continuous forest. During 38 complete observation days over eleven months, bearded sakis fed on 125 plant species from 38 families (n = 5,197 feeding records). Brosimum parinarioides (Moraceae) was the most used food source (9.5% of records), and has a high selectivity index. Immature seeds were the most consumed items (48.2%), followed by ripe fruit pulp (39.2%) and mature seeds (6.0%). Most time (n = 22,373 activity records) was spent in traveling (36.3%) and resting (27.5%). Feeding represented 23.8% of the records and social activities 8.8%. The group with up to 56 individuals could subdivide in subgroups of variable sizes, which could remain apart for some hours or up to several days. This grouping dynamic differed from other studied bearded sakis. Home range was estimated in more than 1000 ha, one of the largest recorded for a Neotropical primate. Food resource heterogeneity in space and time influenced feeding ecology of the red-nosed bearded saki, which showed preference for more productive plant species and adjusted their foraging patterns to food availability
Doutorado
Doutor em Ecologia

Tesis por compendio de publicaciones
Esta tesis doctoral está compuesta por cuatro artículos que han sido publicados en revistas científicas internacionales, los cuales tratan de resolver cuestiones relacionadas con la biología, ecología y conservación de los murciélagos en ambientes mediterráneos semiáridos (SE España). La investigación está enfocada a aspectos fundamentales de la biología de los murciélagos, teniendo en consideración que se tratan de estudios preliminares en áreas en las cuales existe muy poca información y donde deben aplicarse medidas de conservación. El primer artículo es un estudio biométrico de las medidas alares de Myotis myotis. Los objetivos eran: 1) la presencia de dimorfismo sexual (SSD) en las medidas alares y determinar qué medidas son más discriminantes, 2) estudiar sí existen diferencias entre machos emparejados y solitarios en los refugios de cópula, y 3) discutir las implicaciones del SSD en esta especie. La longitud del antebrazo y del tercer dedo eran las medidas más discriminantes. No se encontraron diferencias entre machos emparejados y solitarios, siendo los segundos mucho más pesados y con una mejor condición física. El estudio muestra que no existe selección sexual por los machos más pequeños. El segundo artículo estudia la actividad de los murciélagos y la riqueza de especies en una zona cercana a un área protegida. Se utilizó puntos de escuchas y detectores de ultrasonidos para estudiar el uso del hábitat y el papel de los elemento hidráulicos. Los resultados muestran que la actividad era significativamente mayor en el trasvase Tajo-Segura y en las balsas de irrigación en comparación con otros hábitats (bosque, matorral y cultivos). Sólo dos especies de pipistrelos muestran una respuesta positiva significativa con respecto al tipo de hábitat, mientras que otras especies eran influenciadas por otros factores ambientales. La alta actividad en los cuerpos de agua artificiales muestra que tienen un valor para la conservación de los murciélagos, especialmente para los pipistrelos. Sin embargo, un incremento de los cuerpos de agua en esta área podría reducir el valor de conservación para el resto de especies de murciélagos. Se proponen medidas para incrementar el valor de conservación de estas infraestructuras. El tercero emplea una base de datos de presencias para elaborar modelos de nicho ecológico de tres especies de murciélagos simpátricas con características biológicas y ecológicas similares y así conocer su preferencia de hábitat, sus interacciones inter-específicas y la segregación de nichos entre ellas. Esta base fue obtenida mediante diferentes metodologías (refugios, puntos de escucha y trampeo) para evitar sesgos. Los resultados muestran que estas especies coinciden en los sitios muestreados, pero los modelos muestran que existen diferencias en las variables ecológicas entre especies, aunque todas muestran preferencias por los hábitats acuáticos. Estos resultados muestran que las especies tienen una segregación del nicho, aunque existe solapamiento entre ellas. El cuarto artículo trata sobre la efectividad de las áreas protegidas en la conservación de los murciélagos, muchas de las cuales se encuentran en el Anexo II de la Directiva Hábitat y por eso es necesario evaluar la efectividad de la Red Natura 2000. Se evaluó la efectividad de los Lugares de Importancia Comunitaria (LIC) en la protección de seis especies de murciélago cavernícolas e incluidas en el Anexo II. La efectividad fue evaluada a dos niveles: 1) protección de los refugios y 2) protección de los hábitats óptimo e idóneo. Los resultados mostraban que el 60% de los refugios están protegidos, mientras que el porcentaje de protección de los hábitats era menor. El estudio enfatiza la importancia de evaluar la efectividad de las áreas protegidas.
Bat ecology and conservation in semiarid Mediterranean landscapes Abstract This doctoral thesis is composed by four articles that have been published in international journals, attempts to resolve questions related with the biology, ecology and conservation of bats in semiarid Mediterranean landscapes (SE Spain). The research effort focused on fundamental aspects of bat biology that is take into consideration in preliminary studies in areas for which little information exists and where conservation measures need to be applied. The first article is a biometrical study of the wing measurements of Myotis myotis. The aims were: 1) to ascertain whether sexual size dimorphism (SSD) applies to wing measurements and to determine which of these measurements are more discriminant, 2) to check whether there are differences between paired and single males inside the swarming roosts, and 3) to discuss the ecological implications of SSD in this species. Our results confirmed SSD in M. myotis, where females are significantly bigger than males. The forearm and third finger lengths were the most discriminant wing measures. When we examined the differences between paired and single males, we found that there were no significant differences in the wing measurements between them, but the single males were significantly heavier and had a better physical condition. Our study shows that there is not sexual selection for smaller males. The second article studies the activity and richness of bats species which are closed to a protected natural area. We used listening points and ultrasound detectors to study bat habitat use and the role played by different hydraulic elements. Our results show that bat activity was significantly higher in the Tagus-Segura channel and irrigation ponds than in other habitats (forests, scrub and crops). Only two species of pipistrelle showed a significant positive response to habitat type, while other species were influenced by environmental factors. The higher activity recorded in artificial water bodies shows that it has a conservation value for bats, especially for pipistrelle. However, an increase in water bodies in this area would reduce the overall conservation value of the bat community. We propose measures to increase the conservation value of these infrastructures. The third article uses a “presence data set” to elaborate ecological niche models for three sympatric bat species with very similar biological and ecological characteristics in order to ascertain their habitat preferences, inter-species interactions and possible niche segregation phenomena between them. The “presence data-set” were obtained for each species using different methodologies (roosts, listening points, traps) to avoid bias. Our results showed that these species shared the sites surveyed, but the models showed that there are differences in ecological variables between species, although all three species showed preferences for aquatic habitats. These results showed that although the species shows habitat-niche segregation, there is a high overlap between them. We discuss the effects of substantial changes in landscape uses on bats. The fourth paper deals with the analysis of the effectiveness of protected areas in conserving bat populations. There are many bat species in Annex II of the Habitats Directive and the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network needs to be evaluated. We assessed the effectiveness of the Special Areas Conservation (SAC) sites as regards the protection they offer to six species of cave-dwelling bats included in Annex II. We checked the effectiveness at two levels: 1) the protection offered to roosts, and 2) the protection offered for their suitable and optimal habitats. Our results showed that a 60% of roosts are protected, but the protection levels offered by habitats are generally too low to ensure an effective protection of their populations. Our study emphasizes the importance of assessing the efficiency of protected areas.

Ecology is the study of interaction of living organisms in the environment. However the modern meaning of the concept of ecology has a wider meaning than in the early decades of the development of this science. Currently, most often under the mistaken environmental issues are understood, above all, the protection of the environment. In many ways, this shift is due to sense more tangible consequences of human impact on the environment. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/31584

Wildfires are expected to increase in frequency and intensity because of climate change and changes in land use and management. In last decades, the research on fire effects on aquatic systems has grown, but it has been mainly conducted in the short- and mid-term (<5 years). Therefore, longer time frames are needed to assess fire effects on freshwater ecosystems. For instance, fire impacts on riparian and upland forests can be long-lived and wildfires often extirpate fish populations from streams, which may not recover due to barriers within the river network. Regarding fish extirpations, it is worth noting that freshwater fish are one of the most threatened fauna worldwide, especially the small-bodied species. In this context, the overarching goal of this PhD thesis was to investigate the long-term effects of a wildfire in Mediterranean streams. Specifically, this PhD thesis covered the indirect effects of two fire legacies: (1) the riparian canopy reduction and (2) the local extinction of the top predator in these streams, the endangered small-bodied fish Barbus meridionalis. The findings of this PhD thesis showed how the fire legacy in the riparian forest accelerated leaf-litter breakdown in an intermittent Mediterranean stream eight years after fire. The opening of the riparian forest canopy by fire increased light levels and water temperatures and reduced terrestrial-to-aquatic litter inputs. The increased water temperatures engendered by removal of canopy cover enhanced microbial mediated leaf breakdown. The reduction in leaf-litter inputs probably led to lower benthic organic matter levels, bringing to the observed increased shredder aggregation in leaf packs, thereby accelerating leaf breakdown rates. Our results demonstrated that the apex consumer was functionally irreplaceable, its local extinction led to the loss of an important functional role that resulted in major changes to the ecosystem's structure and function. Our mesocom experiment showed that Barbus meridionalis absence led to 'mesopredator release, and also to 'prey release despite intraguild predation, which contrasted with traditional food web theory. Top predator extirpation also changed whole macroinvertebrate community composition and increased total macroinvertebrate density. Regarding ecosystem function, periphyton primary production decreased in apex consumer absence. Moreover, we studied the feeding ecology of B. meridionalis from a functional perspective. Our results indicated that prey morphological and behavioral traits may explain prey vulnerability to predation. Specifically, the trait-based analysis showed that 10 of the 13 traits tested significantly influenced food choice (e.g. body size, concealment, locomotion, aggregation tendency, feeding habits). In addition, the leaf bags experiment confirmed that top predator absence enhanced leaf-litter breakdown, which was caused by the increase in shredder and scraper biomass in the absence of the predatory fish top-down control. Fish absence reduced leaf fungal biomass, but did not decrease microbially mediated leaf breakdown. These results suggested that leaf fungal biomass was stimulated from the bottom-up through nutrient recycling by the top predator. This PhD thesis demonstrated that past fires may have current influence on the structure and function of Mediterranean streams. Moreover, our findings evidenced that intermittent streams can be affected by the consequences of apex consumers’ extinctions, and that the loss of small-bodied top predators can lead to complex ecosystem changes. This PhD thesis interconnected several current topics in ecology research (i.e. fire effects on aquatic systems, top predator declines, and intermittent streams). Its relevance lies in the projected increase in fires in the Mediterranean region and in the current high extinction risk of small-bodied fish in freshwater ecosystems.
Debido al cambio climático y a los cambios en el uso y la gestión de la tierra, se espera que la frecuencia e intensidad de los incendios forestales aumenten. La mayoría de los estudios sobre los efectos de los incendios forestales en los ecosistemas acuáticos continentales cubren el corto y medio plazo (<5 años), siendo necesarias series temporales más largas. En este contexto, el objetivo general de esta tesis doctoral fue investigar los efectos a largo plazo de un incendio forestal en ríos mediterráneos. En concreto, esta tesis doctoral se centra en los efectos de dos legados del fuego: (1) la reducción de la cobertura del bosque de ribera y (2) la extinción local del superdepredador en estos ríos, Barbus meridionalis, un pez amenazado de pequeño tamaño. Los resultados de esta tesis doctoral probaron cómo el legado del fuego en el bosque de ribera aceleró la descomposición de la hojarasca en un arroyo mediterráneo intermitente ocho años después del incendio. Nuestros resultados también demostraron que el superdepredador era funcionalmente insustituible. Nuestro experimento de mesocosmos mostró que la ausencia de Barbus meridionalis provocó el incremento de los depredadores y de los consumidores primarios, y redujo la producción primaria del perifiton. El estudio de la ecología trófica de B. meridionalis desde una perspectiva funcional reveló que los rasgos morfológicos y de comportamiento de los macroinvertebrados pueden explicar su vulnerabilidad a la depredación. Esta tesis también confirmó que la ausencia del superdepredador modificó otra función clave del ecosistema, aceleró la descomposición de las hojas. Nuestros resultados también sugirieron que el superdepredador tiene un papel clave en el reciclado de nutrientes. Esta tesis doctoral ha demostrado que los incendios del pasado pueden influir en la estructura y función actual de los ríos mediterráneos. Además, también ha evidenciado que los ríos intermitentes pueden verse afectados por las consecuencias de la extinción de sus superdepredadores. La relevancia de esta tesis doctoral radica en el incremento esperado de los incendios forestales en la región mediterránea y en el alto riesgo de extinción de los peces de pequeño tamaño en los ecosistemas acuáticos continentales.

Esta tesis plantea un examen sobre cómo el pensamiento ecológico y ecologista se relacionó con la organización de los Juegos Olímpicos de 1992 en Barcelona. Celebrados en un periodo en que ciertos problemas ecológicos iban adquiriendo conciencia social y política global, esta investigación se asienta en fuentes primarias para exponer que la gestión de Barcelona’92 indujo principios medioambientales y de sostenibilidad. El exhaustivo análisis de fuentes documentales y la realización de entrevistas a personalidades relevantes permite describir medidas y proyectos medioambientales implementados en Barcelona durante la organización de los JJOO de 1992. Al mismo tiempo, la Cumbre de la Tierra de 1992 en Río decretó un mes antes de Barcelona’92 unas recomendaciones de comunicación ecológica que empezaron a ser tenidas en cuenta en estos JJOO. Tales iniciativas permitieron que los Juegos de Barcelona comenzasen a gestar los primeros pasos de la conciencia medioambiental del Olimpismo moderno. La investigación incluye un análisis de contenido de los medios de comunicación que recogían algunas medidas medioambientales aplicadas durante la gestión de los JJOO de 1992. Las medidas medioambientales que el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona y el comité organizador COOB’92 estaban adoptando para restaurar el ecosistema costero y para garantizar un aire sin episodios de contaminación durante este evento deportivo, más la construcción mediática del ‘modelo Barcelona’ como un paradigma de legado urbano sostenible, se reflejaron de alguna manera en los medios de comunicación.
This thesis examines how ecological and environmentalist thought was related to the organisation of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Held at a time of growing global social and political awareness of certain environmental problems, this study of the event is based on primary sources to show that its management ushered in environmental and sustainability principles. The exhaustive analysis of documentary sources and interviews with important figures reveal environmental steps taken and projects implemented in Barcelona during the 1992 Olympic Games. Just one month before, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro had issued some recommendations on environmental communication that were first taken into account during the 1992 Games. These initiatives allowed the Games to begin to manage the first efforts to raise environmental awareness in the modern Olympics. The thesis also analyses media coverage of some environmental steps taken during the management of the 1992 Games. To some extent, the media reported on the environmental measures taken by Barcelona City Council and the Organising Committee (COOB’92) to restore the coastal ecosystem and to protect the air from outbreaks of pollution during the 1992 Games, as well as the media construct of the ‘Barcelona model’; as a paradigm of a sustainable urban legacy.

Les comunitats fúngiques dels sòls juguen un paper vital en molts processos ecosistèmics forestals, així com en el manteniment de les poblacions d'espècies vegetals. Amb l'aparició de noves tècniques moleculars és possible estimar la diversitat i composició d'aquestes comunitats de forma més precisa i conèixer la seva resposta a pertorbacions com la gestió forestal o els canvis en el clima. L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi va ser descriure l'efecte de dos factors en les comunitats fúngiques de sòls forestals: la gestió forestal (concretament les aclarides) i el clima. A més, hem desenvolupat un mètode per analitzar la diversitat i composició d'espores de fongs a l'aire, així com els seus canvis en el temps i en l’espai. Aquesta tesi doctoral es va realitzar sobre un dispositiu experimental consistent en 28 parcel·les forestals localitzades en el Paratge Natural d’Interès Nacional de Poblet i dominades per Pinus pinaster de 60 anys, on es van aplicar aclarides de diverses intensitats. Mitjançant l'ús de diverses tècniques moleculars com la PCR en temps real (qPCR), seqüenciació massiva d'ADN (PacBio RS II, Illumina MiSeq) i l'extracció d'ergosterol, hem descrit les dinàmiques de biomassa i composició fúngica d'aquests sòls forestals, així com de la comunitat aèria (espores). Les dades obtingudes s'han analitzat en un gradient d'humitat i temperatura del sòl, així com també en les aclarides realitzades l’any 2009. Pel que fa a la part metodològica d'aquesta tesi, observem com liofilitzant els sòls es va recuperar el màxim d'ADN i es va evitar el creixement de floridures. Un cop establert el millor tractament d'assecat, es va observar com la sequera d'estiu afectava negativament la biomassa fúngica del sòl i causava importants canvis funcionals i estructurals en les comunitats de fongs. Entre les espècies més resistents a la sequera figuraven els fongs ectomicorízics, probablement per la seva relació simbiòtica amb arbres hoste. Els màxims valors de biomassa fúngica en sòl es van observar a la tardor, coincidint amb majors abundàncies de fongs ectomicorízics, molt probablement a causa d'una redistribució del carboni al sòl per part de la planta hoste. D'altra banda, la majoria de fongs sapròfits es van veure afavorits sota condicions d’alta humitat i baixes temperatures al sòl. A diferència dels factors climàtics, les aclarides realitzades l’any 2009 no van afectar a la composició de fongs als sòls, possiblement degut a que es va deixat un nombre d’arbres suficients per mantenir la comunitat. Finalment, les comunitats d'espores en l'aire variaven a escala espaial però sobretot a escala temporal. Les variacions temporals d'aquesta comunitat es veien condicionades en gran part per la fenologia de la comunitat de bolets. Moltes espècies que produïen cossos fructífers van poder ser detectades a les trampes d'espores, i per tant aquesta tècnica es podria utilitzar per detectar l'emergència de bolets. En base a aquests resultats es pot concloure que 1.- La liofilització és el mètode d'assecat que millor preserva l'ADN de fongs específics i evita el creixement de floridures. 2.- El cicle anual de certes espècies de fongs es pot veure modificat en un context de canvi climàtic, amb menor biomassa fúngica a l'estiu però major biomassa durant l’hivern i primavera. 3.- Les condicions climàtiques afecten les comunitats de fongs segons els seus trets funcionals, essent els fongs ectomicorrízics els que suporten millor les condicions de sequera estiuenca. 4.- Increments d'humitat afavoreixen la proliferació de sapròfits i fongs degradadors de miceli. 5.- Les aclarides no afecten de manera significativa les poblacions de fongs del sòl si es deixen en peu el nombre suficient d'arbres. 6.- Mitjançant l'ús de tècniques moleculars i trampes d'espores, és possible estudiar la comunitat d'espores a l'aire, essent aquesta altament afectada per la fenologia dels cossos fructífers de fongs i mostrant variabilitat espaial i temporal.
Las comunidades fúngicas de los suelos juegan un papel vital en muchos procesos ecosistémicos forestales, así como en el mantenimiento de las poblaciones de especies vegetales. Con la aparición de nuevas técnicas moleculares es posible estimar la diversidad y composición de estas comunidades de forma más precisa y conocer su respuesta a perturbaciones como la gestión forestal o los cambios en el clima. El objetivo principal de esta tesis fue describir el efecto de dos factores en las comunidades fúngicas de suelos forestales: la gestión forestal (concretamente las claras forestales) y el clima. Además, hemos desarrollado un método para analizar la diversidad y composición de esporas de hongos en el aire, así como sus cambios espacio-temporales. Esta tesis doctoral se realizó sobre un dispositivo experimental consistente en 28 parcelas forestales localizadas en el Paraje Natural de Interés Nacional de Poblet y dominadas por Pinus pinaster de 60 años, en las que se aplicaron diferentes intensidades de claras. Mediante el uso de varias técnicas moleculares como la PCR en tiempo real (qPCR), secuenciación masiva de ADN (PacBio RS II, Illumina MiSeq) y la extracción de ergosterol, hemos descrito las dinámicas de biomasa y composición fúngica de estos suelos forestales, así como de la comunidad aérea (esporas). Los datos obtenidos se han analizado en un gradiente de humedad y temperatura del suelo, así como también en las claras realizadas el año 2009. En cuanto a la parte metodológica de esta tesis, observamos como liofilizando los suelos se recuperó el máximo de ADN y se evitó el crecimiento de mohos. Una vez establecido el mejor tratamiento de secado, se observó como la sequía de verano afectaba negativamente la biomasa fúngica del suelo y causaba importantes cambios funcionales y estructurales en las comunidades de hongos. Entre las especies más resistentes a la sequía figuraban los hongos ectomicorrízicos, probablemente por su relación simbiótica con los árboles huésped. Los máximos valores de biomasa fúngica en suelo se observaron en otoño, coincidiendo con mayores abundancias de hongos ectomicorrízicos, muy probablemente debido a una redistribución del carbono en el suelo por parte de la planta huésped. Por otro lado, la mayoría de hongos saprófitos se vieron favorecidos en condiciones de alta humedad y bajas temperaturas en suelo. A diferencia de los factores climáticos, las claras realizadas en 2009 no afectaron a la composición de hongos en suelos, posiblemente debido a que se dejó un número de árboles suficiente para mantener la comunidad. Finalmente, las comunidades de esporas en el aire variaban a escala espacial, pero sobre todo a escala temporal. Asimismo, comprobamos como las variaciones temporales de estas comunidades se veían condicionadas en gran parte por la fenología de la comunidad de setas. Muchas de las especies que producían cuerpos fructíferos pudieron ser detectadas en las trampas de esporas, y por lo tanto creemos que esta técnica podría ser utilizada para detectar la emergencia de setas. En base a estos resultados se puede concluir que 1.- La liofilización es el método de secado de muestras de suelo que mejor preserva el ADN de hongos específicos y previene el crecimiento de mohos. 2.- El ciclo anual de ciertas especies de hongos se puede ver modificada en un contexto de cambio climático, con menor biomasa fúngica en verano, pero mayor durante invierno-primavera. 3.- Las condiciones climáticas afectan a las comunidades de hongos según sus rasgos funcionales, siendo los hongos ectomicorrízicos los que soportan mejor las condiciones de sequía estival. 4.- Incrementos de humedad favorecen la proliferación de saprófitos y hongos degradadores de micelio. 5.- Las claras no afectan de manera significativa las poblaciones de hongos del suelo si se dejan en pie el número suficiente de árboles. 6.- Mediante el uso de técnicas moleculares y trampas de esporas, es posible estudiar la comunidad de esporas en el aire, siendo esta altamente afectada por la fenología de los cuerpos fructíferos de hongos y mostrando una elevada variabilidad espacio-temporal.
Fungal communities inhabiting soils play a vital role in many forest ecosystem processes, as well as in the maintenance of plant species. With the emergence of new molecular techniques, it is possible to estimate the diversity and composition of these communities more precisely and study their responses to disturbances such as forest management or changes in climate. The main objective of this thesis was to describe the effect of two factors in the soil fungal communities: forest management (specifically forest thinnings) and climate. In addition, we have developed a method to study the diversity and composition of airborne fungal spores, as well as their spatio-temporal changes. This doctoral thesis was carried out in an experimental set-up consisting of 28 forest plots located in the Natural Park of Poblet, dominated by 60-year-old Pinus pinaster trees, where thinnings were applied under different intensities. Using several molecular techniques such as real-time PCR (qPCR), high-throughput DNA sequencing (PacBio RS II, Illumina MiSeq) and ergosterol extraction, we have described the fungal biomass dynamics and fungal composition of these forest soils, as well as from the airborne community (spores). The data obtained have been analyzed in a gradient of soil moisture and temperature, as well as in the forest thinnings made in 2009. Regarding the methodological part of this thesis, we observed how maximum DNA recovery and lowest growth of molds occurs under freeze-drying treatments. Once the best drying treatment was established, we observed how summer drought negatively affected the soil fungal biomass and caused important functional and structural changes in the fungal community. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were the most resistant species to drought, probably because of their symbiotic relationship with host trees. The maximum soil fungal biomass was observed in autumn, coinciding with higher abundances of ectomycorrhizal fungi, most likely due to a redistribution of soil carbon by the host plant. On the other hand, most saprotrophic fungi were promoted under conditions of high soil moisture and low temperatures. Unlike climatic factors, the forest thinnings made in 2009 did not affect the soil fungal community, likely because a sufficient number of trees were left to support the community. Finally, the airborne spore community changed at spatial scale, but especially at temporal scale. We verified how the temporal variations of these communities were largely determined by fruiting body emergence. Many of the species that produced fruiting bodies could be detected in the spore traps, and therefore this technique could be used to detect fruiting body emergence Based on these results, it can be concluded that 1.- Freeze-drying is the method that best preserves the DNA of specific fungi and prevents the growth of molds. 2.- The annual cycle of specific fungal species can be modified in a context of climate change, with predicted lower fungal biomass in summer, but higher biomass during winter-spring. 3.- Micro-climatic soil conditions affect fungal communities according to their functional traits, with ectomycorrhizal fungi being the ones that better resist summer drought conditions. 4.- High soil moisture promote the proliferation of saprotrophs. 5.- Forest thinnings does not affect significantly the soil fungal communities if enough trees are left standing. 6.- It is possible to study the airborne spore community using spore traps and molecular techniques, being these communities highly affected by the phenology of the fruiting bodies and showing spatio-temporal variability.

Submitted by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-01-09T16:01:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MORENO_Daniele Janina_2015.pdf: 78237455 bytes, checksum: efa50b8a0ec9c0d58693a8b3ce61451b (MD5)
Approved for entry into archive by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-01-09T16:01:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MORENO_Daniele Janina_2015.pdf: 78237455 bytes, checksum: efa50b8a0ec9c0d58693a8b3ce61451b (MD5)
Approved for entry into archive by Maria de Lourdes Mariano (lmariano@ufscar.br) on 2017-01-09T16:01:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MORENO_Daniele Janina_2015.pdf: 78237455 bytes, checksum: efa50b8a0ec9c0d58693a8b3ce61451b (MD5)
Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-09T16:01:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MORENO_Daniele Janina_2015.pdf: 78237455 bytes, checksum: efa50b8a0ec9c0d58693a8b3ce61451b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-28
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
Não informado pelo autor.
*
Não informado pelo autor

Orientador: Gustavo Quevedo Romero
Banca: Adalberto José dos Santos
Banca: Maria Stela M. Castilho Noll
Resumo: Até dez espécies de aranhas do gênero Peucetia (Oxyopidae), incluindo duas espécies sul-americanas, P. flava e P. rubrolineata, vivem associadas a várias espécies de plantas com tricomas glandulares nas regiões Neotropical, Paleártica, Neártica e Afrotropical; estas associações provavelmente evoluíram porque insetos aderidos aos tricomas glandulares podem ser utilizados como fonte de alimento pelas aranhas. Na região noroeste do estado de São Paulo, indivíduos de P. flava ocorrem estritamente sobre a planta com tricomas glandulares Rhynchanthera dichotoma (Melastomataceae). Neste sistema nós desenvolvemos experimentos para testar quais os custos e benefícios de P. flava para R. dichotoma e se há condicionalidade nestas associações. Além disso, testamos o papel dos tricomas glandulares como mediadores destas associações aranhas-plantas. Nós observamos que estas aranhas atuam como guarda-costas das plantas e que este efeito é temporalmente condicional; forças base-topo minimizam os efeitos das aranhas durante o período chuvoso. Além disso, estas aranhas indiretamente aumentaram a aptidão da planta pela redução do número de botões inviáveis. Os tricomas glandulares podem ter uma função análoga ao de uma teia pela retenção de presas. As aranhas preferem plantas com tricomas glandulares intactos e permanecem mais tempo sobre estas do que em plantas com tricomas glandulares removidos. Análises isotópicas de 15N mostraram que estas aranhas podem se alimentar tanto de insetos vivos como de carcaças de insetos aderidos aos tricomas glandulares, exibindo hábitos carniceiros. Estes resultados demonstram que esta associação é um mutualismo facultativo.
Abstract: Up to ten species of the genus Peucetia (Oxyopidae), including two South American species, P. flava and P. rubrolineata, live strictly associated with many species of glandular plants in Neotropical, Palearctic, Afrotropical and Neartic regions; this associations probably evolved because insects adhered to these sticky structures may be used as prey by the spiders. In southeastern Brazil specimens of P. flava were reported to occur strictly on Rhynchanthera dichotoma (Melastomataceae), a glandular shrubby plant that typically inhabits swamps. In this system we used experiments to test the cost and benefit of these spiders to plants and also the role of glandular trichomes as mediators of this association. We found that these spiders act as plant body-guards and this function is temporally conditional; bottom-up forces mitigate the impact of spiders during the rainy season. Moreover, these spiders indirectly increase fitness of the host plant by reducing the number of unviable flower buds, without influence on the seed set. Glandular trichomes probably have an analogous function of a web by capture or prey retention. Spiders prefer plants with intact glandular trichomes, remaining much longer on these ones than on those with these structures removed. Isotopic analyses of 15N demonstrated that these spiders fed on live and dead prey adhered to glandular trichomes, exhibiting a scavenging behavior. These results demonstrate that this association is a facultative mutualism.
Mestre

The Systems Approach Framework (SAF) is a methodological framework designed to enhance the efficacy of human decision-making processes within social-ecological systems with regard to sustainability. The SAF was applied in two case studies in the coastal zone of Catalonia, in two separate European Commission Framework Programme projects entitled “Science and Policy Integration for Coastal System Assessment” (SPICOSA) and “Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas-marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors" (VECTORS). During the SPICOSA application, a common issue of interest to most stakeholders was the water quality (harmful bacteria and water clarity) of the local city beaches, particularly following combined sewer overflow events, and mitigating this impact by using stormwater collectors. Water quality influences the beach users’ decision whether to stay at the beach or to leave, thus affecting the revenue received by the bars and restaurants on the beach front. A social-ecological model was constructed using the methodology outlined in the SAF to represent this issue, so that it could be used as a tool for deliberation between the stakeholders. The model output implies that the stormwater collectors have been useful in improving beach water quality in Barcelona, but there will be diminished returns in constructing more. The value of the beach is clearly large in terms of both non-market value and revenues generated in the nearby bars and restaurants. However, the impact changes in water quality would have on the recreational appeal of the beach is estimated to be low and further research is recommended to determine beach users’ sensitivity to beach closures (bacteria limit exceeded) and turbidity. At the beginning of the VECTORS project, stakeholders who had participated during the previous SAF application expressed a lack of willingness to engage due to a lack of human resources. The scientific team therefore chose to continue the application with the aspiration of demonstrating the SAF model and results at a later date if the stakeholders found the required resources to engage with the process. There is a general perception that jellyfish abundances are increasing along the Catalan coast. Local authorities are concerned about the stranding events and arrivals of jellyfish to beaches and believe it could reduce the recreational appeal of the beaches. Previous studies also demonstrate the predation of jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca ephyrae) upon some small pelagic fish larvae (Engraulis encrasicolus). Small pelagics are the principal source of revenue for the local fisheries. A social-ecological model was created in order to capture the effects of changes in abundance of Pelagia noctiluca upon the local fisheries, the tourist industry and the wider economy. Various future scenarios for different abundances of jellyfish blooms were run. Given the changes that these scenarios would cause on the regional gross domestic product and employment, this study concludes that the overall impact of either of these scenarios on the economy would not be significant at the regional scale. The inclusion of stakeholders in the SAF methodology is rightly fundamental, but in practice, it can be extremely difficult to persuade key stakeholders to participate, and this is a flaw in the SAF which needs addressing. SAF Application model builders are dependent on stakeholders sharing important data or knowledge but this may be withheld for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, lack of resources to participate, disinterest, and concern about how the results will be used. The SAF is a well-structured methodology for cases where a mathematical model is both relevant and feasible and should be considered as a useful step-by-step guide for managing coastal zone systems towards sustainability.

Iberian Pinus uncinata tree-growth variability and its responses to climate are analyzed by means of dendrochonological methods from an individual- to a population-level scale across its distribution area in the Iberian Peninsula. This multiple approach provides new knowledge about the site-tree-climate interactions at an individual scale, and about the species performance at a population scale. Age-related changes in sapwood area were the main drivers of BAI in mountain P. uncinata forests. Thus, any potential climate-induced effect on BAI will be mainly driven by sapwood production, which is mediated by tree age and altitude. Because slow-growing high-elevation trees get older than fast-growing low-elevation trees, we expect differential age-mediated BAI responses along the altitudinal gradient. Climate plays a secondary role in controlling TRWi variability among coexisting trees even in these high-elevation environments. Actually, altitude plays a major role affecting P. uncinata TRWi responses to climate at the site and tree scales. This suggests that the altitude-mediated decrease in air temperatures is the major driver of TRWi at both the site and tree levels determining the maximum elevation of the tree growth form. These results also stress that both (a) a tree-scale approach to quantify growth-index responses to climate and (b) a detailed characterization of the potential drivers of those individual tree responses are requisites for applying an individual-based framework in dendroecology. Following a population-based approach, a weakness of the theoretically temperature-sensitive TRW proxy to capture recent warming trends is observed. Instead, summer drought is increasingly influencing TRW along the 20th century, which agrees with observations from Iberian mountain forests. Rising temperatures might have led to an increase in drought stress of Pyrenean and Iberian high-elevation forests as has been observed in other Mediterranean similar ecosystems. We may be attending how a physiological threshold in terms of optimal temperature for growth is surpassed, reinforcing the role of drought as a plausible growth-limiting factor of Iberian high-elevation forests during the last decades. The intricate topography and diverse climate of the Mediterranean Basin produce varied and often opposite trend signs in dendrochronological proxies like TRW or BAI even between neighbouring sites, during the last decades. In spite of this local complexity, our findings reveal a pattern acting at synoptic scales where tree growth across the Mediterranean Basin is limited by drought or low water availability during the growing season.
La variabilitat del creixement de Pinus uncinata (pi negre) a la Península Ibèrica i les seues respostes al clima són analitzats a aquesta tesi mitjançant mètodes dendrocronològics, des d’una escala individual a una escala poblacional. Aquesta aproximació múltiple proveeix nous coneixements sobre les interaccions lloc-arbre-clima a escala individual, i sobre el comportament de la espècie a escala poblacional. Canvis a l’àrea d’albeca relacionats amb la edat van ser els principals factors de control de l’increment d’àrea basal (BAI) a aquests boscos de muntanya durant el segle XX. Per tant, els efectes potencials del clima sobre el BAI seran controlats principalment per la producció d’albeca, la qual al seu torn està influïda per la edat de l’arbre i la altitud. A més, arbres de creixement lent solen trobar-se en major proporció a altituds més elevades que arbres de creixement ràpid; com els primers solen ser més longeus, esperem unes respostes del BAI influïdes per la edat. El clima juga un paper secundari en el control de la variabilitat dels índexs d’amplària d’anell (TRWi) entre arbres coexistents, inclòs tractant-se d’aquests ecosistemes d’alta muntanya. Al contrari, l’altitud juga un paper prominent pel que fa a les respostes dels TRWi de P. uncinata al clima a escales de lloc i d’arbre. Açò suggereix que el decreixement en altitud de la temperatura de l’aire és el principal factor de control dels TRWi a ambdues escales. Aquests resultats també manifesten que (a) una aproximació dendrocronològica a nivell d’arbre per a quantificar les respostes dels TRWi al clima i (b) una caracterització detallada dels factors de control potencials d’aquestes respostes individuals són requisits per a fer servir una estratègia individual en dendroecologia. Seguint una aproximació poblacional, s’observa un debilitament de l’amplària d’anell (TRW) a l’hora de reflectir les tendències recents d’increment de temperatura. Per contra, la sequera estival està influint al TRW cada vegada més al llarg del segle XX, lo qual concorda amb observacions a altres boscos ibèrics de muntanya. L’increment recent de temperatura pot haver produït un augment de l’estrès per sequera als boscos pirenaics i ibèrics d’alta muntanya, com s’ha observat en altres ecosistemes mediterranis similars. D’aquesta manera, és possible que s’estiga depassant un llindar fisiològic des del punt de vista de la temperatura optima de creixement, reforçant el paper de la sequera com a plausible factor limitant del creixement a boscos ibèrics d’alta muntanya durant les darreres dècades. La topografia intricada i el clima divers de la Conca Mediterrània produeixen tendències variades recents als proxies dendrocronològics com ara TRW o BAI, sovint de signe oposat fins i tot entre llocs propers. Malgrat aquesta complexitat local, els nostres resultats posen de relleu un patró a escala sinòptica on el creixement arbori al llarg de la Conca Mediterrània està limitat per sequera o per baixa disponibilitat hídrica durant el període de creixement.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-02-10Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:52:39Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 nunes_ps_me_bauru.pdf: 1500573 bytes, checksum: efddc95a88a0ca67ca49f61d3e523913 (MD5)
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
O conceito de sucessão ecológica, que possui um potencial integrador no ensino de Ecologia, vem passando por diversas transformações desde que foi desenvolvido. Para entendê-lo faz-se necessária a compreensão de outros conceitos tais como, o de população, de ecossistemas, de relações entre os seres vivos e o de habitat. O entendimento deste processo justifica-se, pois, por meio dele, torna-se possível compreender a dinâmica vegetacional, essencial, dentre outras coisas, para a prática de restauração de áeras degradadas. Mesmo diante da importância desse conceito, muitas vezes, evidencia-se que aspectos necessários para o seu entendimento, como o caráter dinâmico das comunidades são apresentados de maneira distorcida, enfatizando-se inclusive a existência de um clímax estável. Assim, tendo em vista a importância desse conceito, objetivou-se neste trabalho analisar como os alunos ingressantes em um curso de Licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas o compreenderam, visando obter um indicador que auxilie na definição de estratégias didáticas que levem em consideração suas concepções alternativas. Foi dada preferência a esse público, pois esses futuros professores de Biologia, ainda no primeiro ano de graduação, carregam muitos dos conceitos aprendidos no Ensino Médio e ainda não sofreram intervenção sobre o assunto no nível superior. Para entender as concepções apresentadas pelos respondentes foam analisados livros didáticos e apostilas utilizadas por eles durante o Ensino Médio, bem como textos históricos sobre o conceito. Além disso, foi elaborado um diagrama semiótico, o qual auxiliou na análise dos esquemas elaborados pelos graduandos. Na análise dos manuais didáticos verificou-se que esse conceito geralmente é apresentado de maneira dogmática, simplista e fragmentada, desconsiderando-se...
The ecological succession concept, which has a potential integrator in the ecology teaching, has undergone several transformations since it was developed. To understand it is necessary to know other concepts suc as the population, relationship between living and habitat. The understanding of this process is justified because, through this, it's possible to understand the vegetation dynamics, essential, among other things, the practice of land reclamation. Even considering the importance of this concept, many times, it's clear that elements necessary for its understanding, as the communities' dynamic nature are presented in a distorted way, including emphasis on existence of a stable climax. Thus, in view of the importance of this concept, this study aimed to examine how newly admitted students (pre-service teachers' education in Biology's graduation) understand it, to obtain an indicator to assist in the strategies teaching definition that take into account their misconceptions. We choose this audience, because these future biology's teachers, in first year of graduation, they carry many of the concepts learned in high school and they haven't received intervention of college studies. To understand the concepts presented by the respondents were analyzed textbooks and handout used by them during high school, as well as historical texts about the concept. In addition, we constructed a semiotic diagram, which helped in the analysis of the schemes prepared by undergraduates. In the textbooks analysis we found that the concept is often presented in a dogmatic, simplistic and fragmented way, disregarding the complexity of the phenomenon. Moreover, the prospects of few researchers were explored in these materials, leaving a clear predilection for Clements' deterministic theories, over the Gleason's... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-23Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:01:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 prado_vhm_dr_sjrp.pdf: 868559 bytes, checksum: 4eff74306b333f0f2e5cc7306f290e50 (MD5)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
O presente estudo teve como objetivo verificar os fatores determinantes da estrutura de comunidades de anuros em corpos d’água e no interior de fragmentos florestais na região noroeste do estado de São Paulo. Foram amostrados 51 corpos d’água por busca em sitio de reprodução e o interior de oito fragmentos florestais por armadilhas de interceptação e queda. Primeiramente analisamos a influência de variáveis locais e da paisagem na riqueza e composição de espécies nos corpos d’água. A riqueza de espécies foi afetada por variáveis de escala local: cobertura vegetal e profundidade (relação positiva) e número de tipos de vegetação (relação negativa). Entretanto, as variáveis da paisagem influenciaram a riqueza de espécies em guildas: a distância até o corpo d’água mais próximo influenciou positivamente a riqueza de anuros escaladores e a vegetação ao redor do corpo d’água influenciou negativamente a riqueza de anuros associados a formações abertas. A composição da fauna de anuros nos corpos d’água pode ser explicada principalmente pelas variáveis ambientais (26,2%) e pela localização espacial dos corpos d’água (19,3%). A combinação entre variáveis ambientais e espaciais explica 7,3% da variação na composição da fauna. As variáveis ambientais que mais influenciaram a variação na composição de espécies foram a velocidade da água e a cobertura vegetal no interior do corpo d’água. A composição de espécies é influenciada por substituição de espécies entre corpos d’água lóticos e lênticos e perda de espécies, que pode ser causada pela redução da quantidade de vegetação no interior dos ambientes lênticos. Além disso, a distância entre os corpos d’água amostrados também foi importante na variação da composição de espécies, refletindo a distribuição geográfica das espécies. Esse resultado evidencia...
Our aim in this study was to establish the key factors structuring anuran communities along water bodies and forest fragments in the northwestern Sao Paulo state. We sampled 51 water bodies using search at breeding sites method, furthermore we used pitfall traps to survey the anuran fauna in eight forest fragments. First we analyzed how water bodies attributes influence species richness and composition at local and landscape scales. Species richness was influenced by local attributes: vegetation cover and water depth (positive relation) and number of vegetation types (negative relation). However, landscape attributes influenced the richness of guilds: distance to the near water body positively influenced the richness of climber anurans and vegetation around the water body influenced negatively the richness of anurans associated with open formations. The composition of the anuran fauna in the water bodies can be explained mainly by the environmental variables (26.2%) and the spatial position of water bodies (19.3%). The combination of spatial and environmental variables explains 7.3% of the variation in the faunal composition. The environmental variables that most influenced the variation in species composition were the water velocity and vegetation cover within the water body. The species composition is regulated by species turnover between lentic and lotic water bodies, and species loss caused by the reduction in the amount of vegetation within lentic environments. Moreover, the distance between the sampled water bodies was also important to explain the variation in species composition, reflecting the geographic distribution of species. This result demonstrates that the conservation of anuran species richness in the water bodies of the studied region, demand the conservation of many types of water bodies at several localities, rather than just protect a large patch of habitat... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Lilian Madi Ravazzi
Coorientador: Denise de Cerqueira Rossa Feres
Banca: Efraim Rodrigues
Banca: Hermione Elly Melara de Campos Bicudo
Resumo: Moscas do gênero Drosophila são adequadas para o estudo de flutuações populacionais por serem altamente sensíveis a pequenas modificações do ambiente e isto reflete no tamanho das populações naturais e também na diversidade de espécies ocupando um determinado habitat. Dados obtidos da literatura indicam que espécies deste gênero são candidatas potenciais para monitorar o nível de perturbação ambiental de uma determinada área. No presente trabalho foram estabelecidos três objetivos: (1) avaliar a eficiência de dois tipos de armadilhas, aberta e fechada, para a coleta de drosofilídeos; (2) comparar a fauna de drosofilídeos da borda e do interior do fragmento considerando as variações sazonais das espécies; (3) avaliar o gradiente de ação dos efeitos de borda na distribuição de drosofilídeos e estabelecer a extensão da borda para essa comunidade. O estudo foi realizado na Estação Ecológica de Paulo de Faria, um dos últimos fragmentos de floresta estacional semidecidual do Estado. Para cada objetivo foi estabelecida uma metodologia de coleta. Para a comparação entre os tipos de armadilhas foram utilizadas 20 armadilhas abertas e 20 fechadas em cada coleta. A comunidade de drosofilídeos, bem como a sazonalidade das espécies da borda e do interior do fragmento foram amostradas por coletas nessas duas áreas, utilizando armadilhas fechadas. Para avaliar a extensão e o gradiente de ação dos efeitos de borda foram utilizadas armadilhas fechadas em um transecto, o qual foi estabelecido a partir da borda em direção ao interior do fragmento. Em todas as metodologias foi utilizada nas armadilhas isca de banana nanica macerada com fermento biológico (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) e foram realizadas coletas Resumo 3 mensais, durante 12 meses. A identificação dos drosofilídeos...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Mestre

Phylum Porifera (Grant, 1836) are sessile metazoans with a differentiated inhalant and exhalant aquiferous system with external pores. Lacking a tissue grade of construction, sponges can reach two well-differentiated regions, the ectosome (external layer free of choanocytes) and the choanosome (internal region with choanocytes). As the most likely primitive metazoans, their challenging structural organization, physiology for biocalcification and trophic requirements allowed sponges to rapidly colonize distinct environments and built important sponge reefs during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, making them an ecologically relevant group principally in marine benthic communities. To date, sponges are still ecologically important among benthic fauna although the role as reef builders in modern coral reefs has changed in favor of scleractinian corals. Nonetheless, sponges have demonstrated a huge capacity to adapt and spread in many habitats contributing to organization and functioning at both community and ecosystem levels. One of the keys of the evolutionary success of this group lies in the close association between sponges and microbes that dates back to the Precambrian era. The need to be defended may have arisen from the lack of motility of sponges and several mechanisms emerged to fulfill their demand including a chemical protection. Many sponges would have taken advantage of associated microbes to use their metabolites as a defense barrier against predators, competitors or foulers. This particular symbiosis has consequently become a key factor in biotic interactions within the sponge research. To date, chemical ecology and microbial ecology are two independent areas of the sponge research with ecological implications that occasionally converge at the same point. We want to analyze the evolution of the sponge chemical and microbial ecology from the very beginning, to quantify their impact on the scientific community, and to compare both research areas. This PhD dissertation has been conceived to study the chemical and microbial ecology of sponges using the demosponge Aplysina aerophoba (Nardo, 1833) as a model species because its secondary chemistry and its associated microbial community are well studied and it is quite abundant in our study area (Northwestern Mediterranean and Canary Islands). Beyond the knowledge achieved about the major chemistry and bacterial assemblages in A. aerophoba, we have been able to explore the variation sources of the natural products and the sponge microbial consortium. Additionally, we have assessed the putative relationships between the host bacterial community and the production of secondary metabolites in this species. We explored changes in the abundance of secondary metabolites and the relative composition of bacterial assemblages in A. aerophoba at multiple spatial (from few centimeters to thousand kilometers) and temporal (months and years) scales. The approach used allowed us to investigate which is the magnitude of the variance attributable to the distinct spatial and temporal scales and the most relevant scale at which the abundance of secondary metabolites and bacterial symbionts varied. We also investigated the relationship between natural products and microbial community structure by assessing whether both parameters covary at multiple scales. Finally, we experimentally addressed whether different light exposures can modify chemical and microbial profiles in the external and internal regions of A. aerophoba. In summary, the production of natural products in sponges and the abundance and phylogenetic composition of the host-associated microbial community mainly depend to a large extent on the sponge-species and the ecological factors with spatial and temporal variations (e.g., light, predation, competition, fouling). The host state (i.e., stress) is also a key factor that may be the main driver of symbiotic shifts causing a breakdown in the sponge health and making the symbiont communities unstable and likely the sponge chemical defense. The combination between abiotic and biotic factors may finally determine the concentration of bioactive compounds and associated microbial diversity as the abiotic environmental context can control the outcomes of biotic interactions, and biotic interactions often moderate the effect of abiotic factors. For that reason, it is not an easy task to actually figure out the factors that limit or enhance chemical and microbial variability. Further experiments and time-series observations are needed to reveal the underlying processes hidden.
El filo Porifera (Grant, 1836) está compuesto por metazoos sésiles con un sistema acuífero diferenciado del que forman parte los coanocitos que generan un flujo de agua unidireccional. A pesar de no presentar auténticos tejidos, las esponjas pueden llegar a desarrollar dos regiones bien definidas, el ectosoma (capa externa) y el coanosoma (región interna). Estos organismos representan un grupo ecológicamente importante del bentos marino con gran capacidad de adaptación y dispersión en muchos hábitats, contribuyendo así en la organización y funcionamiento a nivel de comunidad y ecosistema. Una de las claves del éxito evolutivo de las esponjas yace en la relación estrecha que presentan desde el Precámbrico con microorganismos a través de la cual desarrollaron una protección química. Muchas esponjas habrían utilizado los metabolitos secundarios de origen microbiano como defensa química. A día de hoy se han desarrollado dos áreas de investigación, la ecología química y la microbiana de esponjas, de las que realmente desconocemos su origen o su impacto. Dado el vacío existente de estudios que evalúen la comunidad bacteriana de esponjas como fuente de compuestos bioactivos, teníamos la oportunidad de integrar estos dos campos de la ecología de esponjas investigando la relación entre productos naturales y microorganismos simbiontes, con el fin de entender la funcionalidad de la comunidad bacteriana en el huésped. Esta tesis fue concebida para estudiar la ecología química y microbiana de la esponja Aplysina aerophoba (Nardo, 1833), cuya química y comunidad bacteriana asociada han sido objeto de muchos estudios previos. El principal objetivo fue explorar las fuentes de variación tanto de los productos naturales adscritos a Aplysina como de su estructura microbiana e inferir una posible relación entre comunidad de microorganismos y la producción de metabolitos secundarios. La aproximación que utilizamos consistía en explorar la variabilidad natural de los compuestos bioactivos y de la estructura microbiana de la esponja Aplysina aerophoba a distintas escalas espaciales (desde pocos centímetros hasta miles de kilómetros) y temporales (meses, años), y evaluar el efecto de factores ambientales, como la luz, en los perfiles químicos y microbianos. Posteriormente, correlacionar ambos patrones de variación e inferir alguna asociación potencial entre productos naturales y simbiontes microbianos. Resumiendo, la producción de metabolitos secundarios en esponjas y la composición filogenética de la microbiota asociada depende esencialmente de la especie de esponja, de los factores ecológicos con variación espacial y temporal, como también del estado del huésped (si presenta o no estrés). La combinación entre factores abióticos y bióticos determinará en última instancia la abundancia de defensas químicas y la diversidad microbiana debido a una autorregulación entre ambos tipos de factores.

Os estudos em microbacias hidrográficas têm mostrado que as características físicas, químicas e biológicas das águas dos córregos e riachos possuem uma estreita relação com a composição do ambiente terrestre adjacente, refletindo as condições de uso e ocupação dos solos da bacia hidrográfica por eles drenada. A microbacia do Córrego do Cancã, localizada perpendicularmente ao Rio Monjolinho, situa-se em uma maior parte no município de São Carlos (SP), e foi estudada sob uma abordagem ecossistêmica. As coletas e análises de campo foram realizadas em sete transectos do córrego, em dois períodos hidrológicos distintos: seca e chuva. A caracterização física e química da água foi realizada através da análise do pH, da condutividade elétrica, da concentração de oxigênio, da temperatura, da concentração e da carga de nutrientes. Alguns dos parâmetros analisados foram comparados aos limites estabelecidos pela CONAMA segundo a resolução nº 20/1986. O córrego do Cancã, segundo a classificação proposta pela CONAMA, é um rio de classe-2. A água do córrego é levemente ácida tendendo à neutralidade em um gradiente da nascente à foz e caracteriza-se pela baixa condutividade elétrica. A temperatura variou entre os períodos avaliados e espacialmente foi influenciada pelos horários de coleta. As concentrações de nutrientes não foram elevadas, e das formas nitrogenadas as mais abundantes foram o nitrato (na estação mais impactada) e o amônio (após o represamento), com valores mais elevados no período de seca. A maior variabilidade foi observada para o nitrogênio total, sendo as maiores concentrações registradas na estação seca. Com base no índice de estado trófico, as águas do córrego do Cancã foram classificadas como mesotróficas. A forma da microbacia é irregular e ligeiramente alongada e pouco sujeita a enchentes. A área da microbacia foi determinada como sendo de 3,075 Km2. Na análise das comunidades planctônicas foram encontrados poucos representantes, distribuídos principalmente nas estações localizadas nos trechos inicial e médio do córrego, sendo, entretanto mais abundantes na nascente. Ocorreu predominância das clorofíceas e diatomáceas entre os organismos fitoplanctônicos e de rotíferos e cladóceros no zooplâncton. A microbacia está sujeita à práticas agrícolas e atividade pecuária semi-intensiva que alteram o balanço de massa dos principais nutrientes, contribuindo para o aumento da carga de nutrientes que são carreados do sistema terrestre para o aquático particularmente no período chuvoso.
The studies peformed in small hydrographic basins have shown that the physical chemical and biological characteristics of the water in springs and streams have a close relation with the composition of adjacent terrestrial ecosystems, reflecting the uses and activities in the soils in the basin drained by them. The microbasin of Cancã stream belongs to the Monjolinho river basin and is mainly located inside the district of São Carlos (SP). In this study It has been evaluated under the ecosystemic approach. Field sampling and analysis were carried out in seven transects of the stream at two distinct hydrological periods: dry and rainy seasons. Physical and chemical analyses of water were performed by mesuring the pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and the nutrient concentrations and loads. The parameters obtained were compared to the CONAMA limits, act nº 20/1986. The Cancã stream according to CONAMA proposed system, is classified as a class 2 water. The pH of Cancã water is slightly acid and there a tendency to the neutral from the source to the mouse. It is also characterized by low electrical conductivity. Water temperature has changed between dry and rainy periods and spatially it was influenced by the sampling timing. Nutrient concentrations are low and the main nitrogen compounds present were nitrate and ammonium, at the most impacted site, with highest values in the dry season. The highest variability was obtained for the total nitrogenvariability with higher concentrations at the dry season. Based on the trophic state index. The water of Cancã stream was classified as mesotrophic. The hydrographic microbasin has a non-regular shape, being slightly elongated and it has low vulnerability to floodings. The area of the catchment was found to be 3,071 Km2. Planktonic communities were composed by few organisms mainly occuring at the upper and middle stream streches, being most abundant at the first stretch. Clorophyceans and diatoms were the dominant groups among phytoplankton and the rotifers and cladocerans among the zooplankton. Cancã microbasin is subjected to a variety of agriculture and semi-intensive cattle enterprises that have changed major nutrient mass balances, contributing to the increase in nutrient loadings mainly via surface terrestrial runoff.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-13T14:50:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-09-20Bitstream added on 2014-08-13T18:01:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000740694_20150919.pdf: 502507 bytes, checksum: 13d03ad110a8c44926876dd38ccc1386 (MD5) Bitstreams deleted on 2015-09-21T13:18:39Z: 000740694_20150919.pdf,. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-09-21T13:19:46Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000740694.pdf: 4020021 bytes, checksum: fa481944b0f1becc1a1f966e89cdc9db (MD5)
O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a distribuição ecológica dos Brachyura que habitam o sublitoral rochoso de ilhas continentais no litoral norte do Estado de São Paulo. Desse modo, quatro objetivos específicos foram selecionados: avaliar a distribuição dos braquiuros em micro e macroescala; avaliar a relevância ecológica dos microhabitats selecionados a priori para caranguejos, além de descrever e comparar a dinâmica temporal das comunidades registradas em cada localidade amostral. O programa amostral foi realizado em duas localidades, a Ilha da Rapada (23º25'27''S-44º54'15''W) e o Ilhote de Couves (23º25'15''S-44º51'39''W). As amostragens ocorreram mensalmente, desde agosto de 2008 até julho de 2010 no sublitoral rochoso, durante sessões de mergulho autônomo. Para cada caranguejo registrou-se o “microhabitat” em que foi capturado, como segue: entre rochas (R), interface rocha/areia (RA), cascalho (C), ou em associação com outros invertebrados, (AI). Os fatores ambientais, temperatura e salinidade da água foram tomados durante as coletas. Foram registradas 40 espécies de Brachyura, sendo 32 e 34 registradas para o Ilhote das Couves e Ilha da Rapada, respectivamente, em que M. forceps representou o caranguejo mais abundante. Em cada localidade, a comunidade de Brachyura apresentou uma composição e organização hierárquica distinta. A composição, organização hierárquica e o número de espécies acumuladas também diferiram entre os distintos microhabitats analisados. As espécies mais abundantes ao longo de todo o período de estudo foram registradas nos quatro tipos de microhabitats, entretanto, apenas M. forceps foi abundante e frequente em todos eles. Dinâmicas temporais similares foram registradas para as comunidades estabelecidas em ambas as localidades, mas com distinções em relação aos resultados de diversidade, equidade e dominância. As diferenças registradas entre as ...
The aim of this study is to evaluate the ecological distribution of brachyurans that inhabit the rocky subtidal of continental islands of the north coast of São Paulo State. Within this aim, four specific objectives were set: to evaluate the distribution of brachyurans in macroscale among sampling locations; to assess the ecological relevance of microhabitats selected a priori for crabs; to evaluate the distribution of Brachyura in microscale among microhabitats considered relevant; and to describe and compare the temporal dynamics of the communities recorded in each collection site. Samplings were carried out in two localities, Rapada Island (23º25'27''S-44º54'15''W) and Couves Islet (23º25'15''S-44º51'39''W), both in the north coast of São Paulo. The samples were collected monthly, between August/2008 and July/2010 in the rocky subtidal, by SCUBA diving. The “microhabitat” was noted for each sampled crab, as rocks (R), rock/sand interface (R/S), gravel (G), or in association with other invertebrates, (AI). Temperature and salinity were also recorded during sampling. A total of 40 species of Brachyura were found, with 32 species for Couves Islet and 34 species for Rapada Island, highlighting that in both islands M. forceps was recorded as the most abundant and frequent crab. In each site, the brachyuran community showed a distinct composition and hierarchic organization. Differences regarding composition and number of species accumulated among the four microhabitats selected a priori. For each microhabitat a distinct hierarchic composition and organization was recorded, which also differed between localities. The set of most abundant species, verified during the whole sampling period, were recorded at the four microhabitat types, however, only M. forceps was abundant and frequent for all of them. The communities established in both islands revealed similar temporal dynamics, but with remarkable ...

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-03T11:52:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-08-29Bitstream added on 2015-03-03T12:07:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000814296.pdf: 5372087 bytes, checksum: 24867b0ab53b315554784175f47f5f40 (MD5)
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
A restauração da vegetação de cerrado é um desafio aos cientistas e restauradores, familiarizados com os obstáculos e processos peculiares da restauração florestal, mas que não se adequam ao ecossistema savânico. A técnica mais utilizada tem sido o plantio de mudas, que pode apresentar elevados custos, principalmente para restauração em larga escala. A semeadura direta de espécies lenhosas e técnicas de indução da regeneração natural têm sido recomendadas como alternativas ao plantio de mudas visando à restauração do Cerrado. Implantamos experimento em blocos ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos (técnicas de restauração) e quatro repetições, em uma pastagem abandonada, em área de cerradão, na região do Alto Xingu, Mato Grosso, Brasil. As técnicas envolveram a semeadura direta mecanizada em linhas e a lanço, plantio de mudas, regeneração natural assistida (aplicação de herbicida para controle de gramíneas invasoras) e controle (área sem intervenção). Amostramos a vegetação da área aos 22 meses após a implantação do experimento. Contabilizamos e identificamos todos os indivíduos de espécies lenhosas que ocorreram nas parcelas de amostragem, com 50 cm de altura mínima. Posteriormente, calculamos a densidade e a riqueza da comunidade, como indicadores do sucesso da restauração. Registramos 14892 indivíduos por hectare, pertencentes a 112 espécies. Dentre estas espécies, 16 foram plantadas e 96 regeneraram-se naturalmente por chuva de sementes ou rebrota. A semeadura direta em linhas foi superior às outras técnicas na recuperação da densidade. Este atributo da comunidade também foi influenciado pelo tipo de solo e, de forma secundária, pelo histórico de uso da terra. Por outro lado, a semeadura direta, em geral, resultou em comunidades com baixa diversidade, com forte dominância de uma única espécie ...
The restoration of the Cerrado vegetation is a challenge to scientists and practitioners, familiar with the obstacles and peculiar processes of forest restoration, which do not fit to the savanna ecosystem. The most widely used technique has been the planting of nursery raised seedlings, which may have high costs, especially for large-scale restoration. The direct seeding of woody plants and techniques for induction of natural regeneration have been recommended as alternatives to planting nursery raised seedlings, aiming to restore the Cerrado. We implemented an experiment in randomized blocks with five treatments (restoration techniques) and four replications, in an abandoned pasture previously occupied by cerradão (the forest-type of cerrado vegetation) in the Upper Xingu region, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The techniques involved direct mechanized seeding – broadcast and in rows, planting nursery raised seedlings, assisted natural regeneration (application of herbicide to control invasive grasses) and a control (area with no intervention). We sampled the vegetation of the area at 22 months after the restoration interventions. We recorded and identified all woody plants with a minimum height of 50 cm occurring in the sample plots. Subsequently, we calculated the density and richness of the community, as indicators of restoration success. We recorded 14892 individuals per hectare, belonging to 112 species. Among these species, 16 were planted and 96 regenerated naturally by seed rain or resprout. The direct sowing in rows was superior to other techniques in the recovery of the density. This attribute of the community was also influenced by soil type and, secondarily, by historical land use. On the other hand, direct seeding usually results in communities with low diversity and with high dominance of a single species. No restoration technique resulted in higher richness than the other ...

Orientador: Gisele Durigan
Coorientador: Ingo Isernhagen
Banca: Daniel Luis Mascia Vieira
Banca: Vera Lex Engel
Resumo: A restauração da vegetação de cerrado é um desafio aos cientistas e restauradores, familiarizados com os obstáculos e processos peculiares da restauração florestal, mas que não se adequam ao ecossistema savânico. A técnica mais utilizada tem sido o plantio de mudas, que pode apresentar elevados custos, principalmente para restauração em larga escala. A semeadura direta de espécies lenhosas e técnicas de indução da regeneração natural têm sido recomendadas como alternativas ao plantio de mudas visando à restauração do Cerrado. Implantamos experimento em blocos ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos (técnicas de restauração) e quatro repetições, em uma pastagem abandonada, em área de cerradão, na região do Alto Xingu, Mato Grosso, Brasil. As técnicas envolveram a semeadura direta mecanizada em linhas e a lanço, plantio de mudas, regeneração natural assistida (aplicação de herbicida para controle de gramíneas invasoras) e controle (área sem intervenção). Amostramos a vegetação da área aos 22 meses após a implantação do experimento. Contabilizamos e identificamos todos os indivíduos de espécies lenhosas que ocorreram nas parcelas de amostragem, com 50 cm de altura mínima. Posteriormente, calculamos a densidade e a riqueza da comunidade, como indicadores do sucesso da restauração. Registramos 14892 indivíduos por hectare, pertencentes a 112 espécies. Dentre estas espécies, 16 foram plantadas e 96 regeneraram-se naturalmente por chuva de sementes ou rebrota. A semeadura direta em linhas foi superior às outras técnicas na recuperação da densidade. Este atributo da comunidade também foi influenciado pelo tipo de solo e, de forma secundária, pelo histórico de uso da terra. Por outro lado, a semeadura direta, em geral, resultou em comunidades com baixa diversidade, com forte dominância de uma única espécie ...
Abstract: The restoration of the Cerrado vegetation is a challenge to scientists and practitioners, familiar with the obstacles and peculiar processes of forest restoration, which do not fit to the savanna ecosystem. The most widely used technique has been the planting of nursery raised seedlings, which may have high costs, especially for large-scale restoration. The direct seeding of woody plants and techniques for induction of natural regeneration have been recommended as alternatives to planting nursery raised seedlings, aiming to restore the Cerrado. We implemented an experiment in randomized blocks with five treatments (restoration techniques) and four replications, in an abandoned pasture previously occupied by cerradão (the forest-type of cerrado vegetation) in the Upper Xingu region, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The techniques involved direct mechanized seeding - broadcast and in rows, planting nursery raised seedlings, assisted natural regeneration (application of herbicide to control invasive grasses) and a control (area with no intervention). We sampled the vegetation of the area at 22 months after the restoration interventions. We recorded and identified all woody plants with a minimum height of 50 cm occurring in the sample plots. Subsequently, we calculated the density and richness of the community, as indicators of restoration success. We recorded 14892 individuals per hectare, belonging to 112 species. Among these species, 16 were planted and 96 regenerated naturally by seed rain or resprout. The direct sowing in rows was superior to other techniques in the recovery of the density. This attribute of the community was also influenced by soil type and, secondarily, by historical land use. On the other hand, direct seeding usually results in communities with low diversity and with high dominance of a single species. No restoration technique resulted in higher richness than the other ...
Mestre

Orientador: Maria Lucia Negreiros Fransozo
Coorientador: Valter José Cobo
Banca: Roberto Minehisa Shimizu
Banca: Marcos Domingos Siqueira Tavares
Banca: Gustavo Monteiro Teixeira
Banca: Antonio Leão Castilho
Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a distribuição ecológica dos Brachyura que habitam o sublitoral rochoso de ilhas continentais no litoral norte do Estado de São Paulo. Desse modo, quatro objetivos específicos foram selecionados: avaliar a distribuição dos braquiuros em micro e macroescala; avaliar a relevância ecológica dos microhabitats selecionados a priori para caranguejos, além de descrever e comparar a dinâmica temporal das comunidades registradas em cada localidade amostral. O programa amostral foi realizado em duas localidades, a Ilha da Rapada (23º25'27''S-44º54'15''W) e o Ilhote de Couves (23º25'15''S-44º51'39''W). As amostragens ocorreram mensalmente, desde agosto de 2008 até julho de 2010 no sublitoral rochoso, durante sessões de mergulho autônomo. Para cada caranguejo registrou-se o "microhabitat" em que foi capturado, como segue: entre rochas (R), interface rocha/areia (RA), cascalho (C), ou em associação com outros invertebrados, (AI). Os fatores ambientais, temperatura e salinidade da água foram tomados durante as coletas. Foram registradas 40 espécies de Brachyura, sendo 32 e 34 registradas para o Ilhote das Couves e Ilha da Rapada, respectivamente, em que M. forceps representou o caranguejo mais abundante. Em cada localidade, a comunidade de Brachyura apresentou uma composição e organização hierárquica distinta. A composição, organização hierárquica e o número de espécies acumuladas também diferiram entre os distintos microhabitats analisados. As espécies mais abundantes ao longo de todo o período de estudo foram registradas nos quatro tipos de microhabitats, entretanto, apenas M. forceps foi abundante e frequente em todos eles. Dinâmicas temporais similares foram registradas para as comunidades estabelecidas em ambas as localidades, mas com distinções em relação aos resultados de diversidade, equidade e dominância. As diferenças registradas entre as ...
Abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate the ecological distribution of brachyurans that inhabit the rocky subtidal of continental islands of the north coast of São Paulo State. Within this aim, four specific objectives were set: to evaluate the distribution of brachyurans in macroscale among sampling locations; to assess the ecological relevance of microhabitats selected a priori for crabs; to evaluate the distribution of Brachyura in microscale among microhabitats considered relevant; and to describe and compare the temporal dynamics of the communities recorded in each collection site. Samplings were carried out in two localities, Rapada Island (23º25'27''S-44º54'15''W) and Couves Islet (23º25'15''S-44º51'39''W), both in the north coast of São Paulo. The samples were collected monthly, between August/2008 and July/2010 in the rocky subtidal, by SCUBA diving. The "microhabitat" was noted for each sampled crab, as rocks (R), rock/sand interface (R/S), gravel (G), or in association with other invertebrates, (AI). Temperature and salinity were also recorded during sampling. A total of 40 species of Brachyura were found, with 32 species for Couves Islet and 34 species for Rapada Island, highlighting that in both islands M. forceps was recorded as the most abundant and frequent crab. In each site, the brachyuran community showed a distinct composition and hierarchic organization. Differences regarding composition and number of species accumulated among the four microhabitats selected a priori. For each microhabitat a distinct hierarchic composition and organization was recorded, which also differed between localities. The set of most abundant species, verified during the whole sampling period, were recorded at the four microhabitat types, however, only M. forceps was abundant and frequent for all of them. The communities established in both islands revealed similar temporal dynamics, but with remarkable ...
Doutor

En un planeta cada vegada més urbà, moltes ciutats i els seus habitants s'enfronten a múltiples i urgents amenaces dins de les seves fronteres, incloent l'estrès per excés de calor, la contaminació i la creixent desconnexió amb la biosfera. Millorar la sostenibilitat, la resiliència i l'habitabilitat de les àrees urbanes ha de ser per tant un objectiu de importància primordial en l'agenda política, des de les autoritats locals a les globals. L'aplicació del marc de serveis dels ecosistemes, a partir dels conceptes de 'infraestructura verda' i 'solucions basades en la naturalesa', es considera per un creixent nombre de responsables polítics, professionals i científics com el camí a seguir per fer front a molts d'aquests desafiaments urbans. No obstant això, el grau en què la infraestructura verda urbana pot oferir solucions adequades a aquests reptes és rarament considerat en les avaluacions de serveis dels ecosistemes, i per tant la seva potencial contribució és sovint desconeguda per als prenedors de decisions. Aquesta tesi examina de manera crítica el paper i la contribució de la infraestructura verda per fer front a diversos reptes urbans (amb especial atenció a la contaminació de l'aire, les emissions d'efecte hivernacle, l'estrès per excés de calor i les oportunitats per al lleure a l'aire lliure) a diferents escales territorials. Partint del model de cascada de serveis dels ecosistemes, es proposa i s'aplica un marc operacional a través de quatre capítols d'investigació originals per informar les decisions de planificació i gestió sobre la base de les relacions entre la capacitat de la infraestructura verda per proporcionar serveis dels ecosistemes, la prestació efectiva o l'ús d'aquests serveis (flux), i la quantitat de serveis que demanda la població urbana. La identificació de la demanda insatisfeta, és a dir, el desajust entre el flux de serveis dels ecosistemes i la seva demanda, és un objectiu principal de les avaluacions ja que expressa els límits de la infraestructura verda urbana en relació als reptes considerats. La tesi utilitza i refina una varietat d'enfocaments metodològics per a la modelització i la cartografia de la capacitat, el flux i la demanda de serveis dels ecosistemes urbans (per exemple, les eines ESTIMAP i i-Tree). L'àmbit territorial de la investigació duta a terme dins el marc d'avaluació de la tesi doctoral abasta principalment l'àrea urbana de Barcelona, Espanya, tenint en compte tant l'escala local o de ciutat (municipi de Barcelona) i l'escala metropolitana o regional (regió metropolitana de Barcelona). Els resultats de la investigació indiquen que la contribució dels serveis ambientals proporcionats per la infraestructura verda urbana per fer front als problemes urbans sovint és limitada (per exemple, el seu impacte sobre la qualitat de l'aire o la mitigació del canvi climàtic és inferior al 3% tenint en compte les emissions totals de carboni i la contaminació de l'aire en tots els estudis de cas) i/o incerta a les escales de ciutat o metropolitana. A més, l'impacte positiu de la infraestructura verda en la qualitat ambiental i el benestar humà es troba generalment limitat per 'perjudicis' ambientals (per exemple, les emissions biogèniques), trade-offs (per exemple, la provisió enfront de la regulació dels serveis) o desajustos espacials entre la provisió i la demanda de serveis (per exemple, les capacitats de purificació de l'aire i de recreació a l'aire lliure de grans blocs d'infraestructura verda metropolitanes estan massa lluny dels llocs de demanda). Sobre la base d'aquests resultats, s'identifiquen diverses implicacions per a la planificació i gestió urbana/territorial, incloent: (1) la priorització de les polítiques de reducció de la pressions que generen una demanda per determinats serveis dels ecosistemes (per exemple, la purificació de l'aire i la captura de carboni); (2) la combinació d'estratègies de diversitat d'usos en sòl urbà i agrícola per tal d'augmentar la seva resiliència i multifuncionalitat i, al mateix temps, assegurar la conservació de grans àrees periurbanes forestals multifuncionals; (3) el desenvolupament de nous espais verds en els nuclis urbans compactes utilitzant estratègies innovadores (per exemple, cobertes verdes); i (4) la consideració de perjudicis i trade-offs en la planificació i gestió dels serveis dels ecosistemes. Finalment, sostinc que la planificació i gestió de la infraestructura verda urbana requereix un enfocament holístic, tenint en compte tota la gamma de serveis dels ecosistemes potencialment proporcionats pels diferents tipus d'infraestructura verda i les interaccions entre ells, juntament amb les diferents escales espacials a les quals aquests serveis poden ser rellevants per a la resiliència, la sostenibilitat i l'habitabilitat de les zones urbanes. Això exigeix una important coordinació institucional multi-escala i multidisciplinari entre totes les autoritats amb competències en polítiques urbanes i ambientals, així com l'harmonització dels instruments de planificació i gestió en un enfocament de governança a múltiples nivells.
In an increasingly urban planet, many cities and their inhabitants are facing multiple pressing threats within their borders, including heat stress, pollution and growing disconnection with the biosphere. Improving sustainability, resilience and livability in urban areas should be thus a major goal on the policy agenda, from local to global authorities. The operationalization of the ecosystem services framework, building on the concepts of ‘green infrastructure’ and ‘nature-based solutions’, is claimed by a mounting number of policy-makers, practitioners and scientists as the way forward to address many of these urban challenges. However, the extent to which urban green infrastructure can offer relevant solutions to these challenges is rarely considered in ecosystem service assessments, and therefore unknown to decision-makers. This dissertation critically examines the role and contribution of green infrastructure to cope with diverse urban challenges (with a focus on air pollution, greenhouse emissions, heat stress and opportunities for outdoor recreation) at different spatial scales. Building on the ecosystem services cascade model, an operational framework is proposed and applied across four original research chapters to inform planning and management decisions on the basis of the relationships between the green infrastructure’s capacity to deliver ecosystem services, the actual provision or use of these services (flow), and the amount of services demanded by the urban population. Identification of unsatisfied demand, i.e., the mismatch between ecosystem service flow and demand, is a main focus of the assessments since it expresses the limits of urban green infrastructure in relation to the considered challenges. The dissertation uses and refines a variety of methodological approaches for modeling and mapping the capacity, flow and demand of urban ecosystem services (e.g., i-Tree and ESTIMAP tools). The spatial scope of the research carried out within the assessment framework of this dissertation principally encompasses the urban area of Barcelona, Spain, considering both the local or city scale (Barcelona municipality) and the metropolitan or regional scale (Barcelona metropolitan region). Results from the research indicate that the contribution of ecosystem services provided by urban green infrastructure to cope with urban problems is often limited (e.g., its impact on air quality or carbon offsetting was lower than 3% considering total carbon emissions and air pollution in all case studies) and/or uncertain at the city and metropolitan scales. In addition, the positive impact of green infrastructure on environmental quality and human wellbeing is usually challenged by ecosystem disservices (e.g., biogenic emissions), trade-offs (e.g., provisioning versus regulating services) or spatial mismatches between service supply and demand (e.g., air purification and outdoor recreation capacities of large metropolitan green infrastructure blocks are too far from demand sites). On the basis of these findings, several implications for urban/landscape planning, management and decision-making are drawn, including: (1) the prioritization of abatement policies on the pressures generating a demand for certain ecosystem services (e.g., air purification and carbon sequestration); (2) combining land sharing strategies in urban and agricultural land in order to increase their multifunctionality and resilience and, concurrently, assure the conservation of large patches of multifunctional periurban forest areas; (3) development of new green spaces in compact urban cores using innovative strategies (e.g., rooftop gardens); and (4) consideration of ecosystem services trade-offs and disservices in planning and management. Finally, I contend that urban green infrastructure planning and management requires a holistic approach, considering the whole range of ecosystem services potentially provided by different types of green infrastructure and the interactions between them, together with the different spatial scales at which these ecosystem services can be relevant for the resilience, sustainability and livability of urban areas. This calls for a strong multi-scale and multi-disciplinary institutional coordination between all the authorities dealing with urban and environmental policy and for the harmonization of planning and management instruments in a multi-level governance approach.

Dentre as ameaças causadas pealas mudanças climáticas, é esperado um aumento na frequência e na magnitude de eventos climáticos extremos. Portanto, é de vital importância identificar características da comunidade que confiram estabilidade aos processos ecossistêmicos. Por meio de três experimentos buscamos explorar essas intrincadas relações entre alguns aspectos da biodiversidade e a estabilidade ecológica. No primeiro estudo, comparamos a produtividade primária antes e depois de uma inundação em comunidades sintéticas com diferentes valores de riqueza de espécies, diversidade e composição funcional. No segundo experimento, investigamos como alterações na intensidade de chuvas (simuladas por meio de interceptadores) afetaram os atributos funcionais, diversidade e processos ecossistêmicos de um campo nativo sob diferentes frequências de desfolhação. O terceiro estudo, consistiu em um experimento com manipulação da riqueza de espécies por meio de remoções, onde analisamos o efeito da diversidade de espécies na estabilidade nos níveis de organização de comunidade (colonizações e extinções) e ecossistema (variação na produtividade primária). Atributos funcionais e outras características da comunidade (riqueza e composição) afetaram e foram afetadas pelos distúrbios. A relação diversidade-estabilidade apresentou diferentes tendências dependendo da natureza e intensidade do distúrbio. O aumento dos recursos após a inundação favoreceu comunidades mais ricas e aquelas contendo atributos relacionados à aquisição de recursos. Além disso, a frequência de desfolhação não afetou a resposta da vegetação à manipulação de chuva. Estabilidade apresentou tendências opostas dependendo do nível de organização ecológica considerado. Maior substituição 63 de espécies em comunidades mais ricas correspondeu a uma maior estabilidade em 64 processos ecossistêmicos.
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events. It is therefore of major importance to identify the community attributes that confer stability in ecosystem processes facing such events. By means of three experiment-based studies, we aimed to explore how plant community aspects affect ecological stability. In the first study, we compared data on biomass productivity before and after a major flood in synthetic plant communities with different values of species richness, functional diversity and community weighted means of functional traits on different measures of stability. In the second experiment, we investigate how changes in rainfall (simulated by rainout-shelters) alter functional traits and diversity and ecosystem processes of a natural grassland under different defoliation frequencies. The third study consisted on a biodiversity experiment in which we manipulated species richness by removals for studying the effects of species diversity on the stability at the community (colonization and extinction) and ecosystem levels (variation in primary productivity). Functional traits and other community features (richness, composition) affected and were affected by the disturbances. Diversity-stability relationships presented different trends depending on the disturbance nature and intensity. Resource inputs following the flood favoured rich communities and the ones characterized by traits related to resource acquisition. Also, defoliation frequency did not affect the way vegetation responded to rainfall manipulation. Stability showed opposite trends when evaluated at different levels of ecological organization. Higher turnover in rich communities corresponded to increased stability in ecosystem processes.