An intermediate level model for tropical climatology including atmosphere-land-ocean interaction is developed. The model contains basically linearized steady state primitive equations with simplified thermodynamics. A simple hydrological cycle is also included. Special attention has been paid to land surface processes in attempting to study climate change caused by Amazon deforestation. In comparison with previous simple modeling work on tropical climatology or anomaly, the present model is more sophisticated in the sense that it predicts all the important meteorological variables with little input, while being computationally simple. The modeled tropical climatology appears to be realistic. The model generally better simulates the ENSO anomaly compared to many previous simple model simulations. We provide analysis of model results and discuss model deficiencies and possible improvements of the model. The climatic impact of Amazon deforestation is studied in the context of this model. Model results show a much weakened Atlantic Walker/Hadley circulation as a result of the existence of a strong positive feedback loop in the atmospheric circulation system and the hydrological cycle. The regional climate is very sensitive to albedo change and sensitive to evapotranspiration change. The pure dynamical effect of surface roughness on convergence is small, but the surface flow anomaly displays intriguing features. Analysis of the thermodynamic equation reveals the balance among convective heating, adiabatic cooling and radiation largely determines the deforestation response. The model provides a plausible mechanism for the common results of many GCM simulations. Studies of the consequences of hypothetical continuous deforestation suggest that the replacement of forest by desert may be able to sustain a desert-like climate. When a simple mixed layer ocean model is coupled with the atmospheric model, the results suggest a 1 °C decrease in SST gradient across the equatorial Atlantic ocean in response to Amazon deforestation. The magnitude of the decrease depends on the coupling strength.

The non-random selection of medicinal plants theory, which states that phylogeny affects the selection of medicinal plants, was proposed by Daniel Moerman to indirectly prove that traditional medicinal systems are rational and based in part by the therapeutic efficacy of plants. The logic of this theory is that because members of a taxonomical group share similar characteristics, some groups will be more medicinal and will be over-used in pharmacopoeias, while other groups bereft of secondary metabolites and therapeutic potential will be under-used medicinally. To test this theory, Moerman linearly regressed the total number of medicinal plants per family against the total number of plants per family present in an area and examined residual values to find over-used and under-used medicinal plant families. The method has been praised for its simplicity. Nonetheless, shortcomings have been noted and criticized, inspiring researchers to propose new procedures to test for phylogenetic biases in pharmacopoeias. Negative Binomial regression and examination of studentized residuals, the method used in this investigation, ameliorates the original one with a few corrections, conserving the simplicity and solving for all the criticized flaws. Also, this study incorporated different sociodemographic factors to determine if the intracultural homogeneity of traditional knowledge affects the results of the non-random selection of medicinal plants theory analysis. By testing Moerman’s theory, which is one of Ethnobotany’s major theories, this investigation is in agreement with the call to have more hypothesis-driven research within a theoretical framework to continue to advance the Ethnobotany field. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. Directed by Rong Fu. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-131).

Access to markets is increasingly regarded in development circles as a critical factor in determining livelihood choices in peasant economies. In the northeastern Peruvian Amazon, a multitude of river transporters and market intermediaries based in the central city of Iquitos provide essential services and market opportunities for remote peasant producers across the region. Using a multi-scalar, multi-method approach involving extensive fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon, this research (re)assesses the meanings and implications of "remoteness" and "connectedness" for rural peasants. At the regional scale, I examine the functional heterogeneity of river trading networks and marketing agents. Given the high-risk/high-transaction-cost environment, river trading is found to be expensive for producers and traders alike. High costs are exacerbated by the low gross returns of rural production (mainly food and natural building materials). Thin or missing markets for credit, labour, land and insurance increase the hardships associated with limited access to product markets. Regional findings are complemented with a comparative livelihoods analysis in two remote communities of the Alto Tigre River that benefit from differential access to oil-labour. My study reveals that differential access to labour has significant impacts on the livelihood strategies of working households. However, given limited access to external markets, cash-income from oil-labour is found to offer limited opportunities for growth. In sum, the research proposes insights for advancing the debate on livelihoods and poverty in the Peruvian Amazon.

The thesis comprises a classification and analysis of 64 tales told by Indian inhabitants of the rural communities around the highland town of Canar, Southern Central Ecuador, The informants all had Quichua as their mother tongue and, with the exception of 4 texts, used it in the telling of the tales. These were tape-recorded, transcribed with the help of a Quichua assistant, and are presented in full together with English translations. The classification of texts is based largely upon criteria of contents, although both genre and tale structure are also taken into account, all three considerations being closely interrelated. Classification according to content owes something of theory and method to the Finnish-American school led by Aarne and Thompson (Thompson 1955-58, Aarne and Thompson 1951). The discussion of genre definition takes Bascom's article (1965) as a starting point, and also takes into account more recent statements on the subject. The consideration of structure as a criterion at the classification stage is in accordance with the arguments of Propp (1968) and Dundes (1962b, 1964). The classification scheme resulted in a breakdown of the tales into four sections (A-D), The largest of these is Section A, whose 32 tales will be shown to adhere to a common structural framework, whilst the sub-sections into which they are divided reflect their differences in surface content. Sections B and C are both examples of tale cycles, bound by this definition to be grouped together. Section D comprises humorous tales, largely borrowings from mestizo culture, with little in common on grounds of structure. The analysis seeks to examine the relationship between tales within the sections, at the levels of both structure and content if this is appropriate; where it is not, remarks are confined to content alone. The analysis of both structure and content calls for some comparisons to be drawn with material from elsewhere. Such comparisons are confined to the Ecuadorean highlands, to a lesser extent Peru, and incidental reference is made to other geographical areas, especially where borrowings are concerned, Structural analysis was most applicable to Section A, an apparently heterogeneous group of legends and folktales which, it is argued, are bound together by common underlying features of structure. These features appear to derive from the local legends of the area, and have then encouraged the adoption and development of certain folktales whose structure was compatible with such already existing forms. The theoretical basis for this approach is to be found in Dundes (cit.), Maranda and Kongas Maranda (1971), and Hymes (1971). The breakdown of texts to reveal their structure takes both the 'syntagmatic' and the 'paradigmatic' aspects of the latter into account (see Dundee's intro, to Propp 1968:xi-xii). In order to reveal more clearly the paradigmatic characteristics of the texts, and the structural affinities that exist between tales at this level, use is made of Levi-Straussian terminology and the methods he uses for the schematic cross-comparison of tales have been adapted (Levi-Strauss 1970, 1972), Analysis of content follows two main lines: in the case of the legendary material it is particularly appropriate to examine the relationship that apparently exists between the local belief system and oral narrative. In the case of folktales, it is relevant to consider content on comparative lines, examining the nature and/or distribution of episodes as they occur in Canar and as they are found elsewhere in Andean narrative tradition. The works of Morote Best were particularly useful for this purpose (1950b, 1953b, 1954, 1957, 1958a, 1958b). The main aim of the thesis is therefore to analyse the structure and content of the tales in order to show the underlying relationships that bind them within a coherent system of narrative tradition. Some connections at both these levels are also to be seen between sections as well as within them, and these are pointed out. Material introduced from outside was adopted, it is suggested, for its compatibility with that which was already there. In addition to this, possible social and cultural reasons for the appeal of particular kinds of tale in the area are discussed as relevant.

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Larval development and reproduction of 19 species of Central Amazonian fish (five cichlids, two siluriforms, one osteoglossiform and 11 characiforms) were studied over two years. Most species spawn during the flooding season. The cichlids, the siluriforms and two species of characiform are nest spawners, reproducing in the littoral areas of the floodplain. The osteoglossiform is a mouth-brooder. The remaining characiforms spawn in the river channels and show no parental care. Two main strategies explain 90% of the variability of reproductive traits found among the 19 species. The first strategy is used by riverine spawners (characiforms). They have high fecundity , high to very high reproductive expenditure (calories per spawn per wet weight of female) and spawn once a year during a short season. Their eggs vary in size from 0.06 to 0.3 mg and have intermediate to high calorific value. The second strategy is used by the cichlids and two species of characiforms. They have low fecundity, low reproductive expenditure, long spawning season, multiple spawnings per season and some of them show parental care. Their eggs vary in size from 0.4 to 1.2 mg and have an intermediate calorific content. The other three species show distinct combinations of reproductive traits, but have as common feature a high reproductive expenditure, a short annual spawning season and parental care. Patterns of larval development are correlated with egg size and adult spawning sites. Egg size explained most of variability of larval body size at hatching, pectoral fin bud, eye pigmentation, jaw formation, swim bladder inflation, onset of swimming, first feeding and maximum size attained with exclusively endogenous feeding. The pattern of blood circulation of the larvae was correlated with the spawning sites. Larvae of riverine spawners are small, utilize yolk efficiently and are relatively resistant to starvation. Newly hatched larvae of riverine spawners seem to be very sensitive to physico-chemical conditions of the floodplain lakes, but by the first feeding stage they develop some resistance to the low availability of oxygen. Larvae of littoral spawners are large, utilize yolk less efficiently, and seem to be resistant to low concentrations of oxygen. The resistance of larvae to oxygen deficiency is correlated with the development of the larval respiratory system. It is suggested that egg size of riverine spawners was selected to optimize the distance of the dispersal of the larvae in a range of floodplain lakes. Conversely, egg size of floodplain spawners seemed to be selected to optimize larval survival in the spawning lake. The results are further discussed in relation to life history models.

The rate of recombination and parasite load of species of anuran from Peruvian Amazonia were examined to test the idea that recombination functions to diversify progeny in order to resist the continual counter-adaptation of parasites. The anurans were found to be hosts to over 32 species of macroparasite, as well as a wide variety of protistan and moneran parasites. It was found that a combination of three variables (diet, habitat, abundance), together with host body size accounted for a substantial proportion of the variation in mean parasite richness and parasite species distribution among host species. The relationship between parasites and ecology was found to be independent of host phylogeny. The demonstration of substantial environmental heterogeneity in parasitization predicates that a positive relationship between parasite richness and recombination should be found in this case. This prediction was supported by the data: highly parasitized species of anuran had higher rates of recombination. This is the first study to demonstrate a direct positive relationship between recombination (rather than sex) and parasites.

Most of the Amazonia is covered by the lowland evergreen rain forest (LERF) formation. A small proportion of the region (5-6% in total) is covered by heath forest, which is particularly common in the Rio Negro basin on Spodosols - white sand soils with a layer of mor humus. The smaller facies of heath forest (SHF) is called 'Camping' in Brazil and often lacks the mor humus; the taller facies (TBF) is called 'Campinarana'. The present study was made in central Amazonia, on a gradient from SHF through THF to well developed LERF. Soil, vegetation, and nutrient dynamics were studied in three 50 m x 50m plots in each type of forest. Litterfall was measured during one year and litter standing crop was measured three times a year. Three decomposition experiments, using bagged leaf litter, were made using leaves of two common species from the heath forests and one from the LERF. Fertiliser addition experiments in the field and in the laboratory were carried out to determine the potential nutrient limitations for plants in the three forest types. Annual litterfall was highest in the dry season and was 3.8 t ha-1 yr-1 in the SHF, 6.3 t ha-1 yr-1 in the THF and 7.8 t ha-1 yr-1 in the LERF. The rates of weight loss of the enclosed leaf litter were most rapid in the LERF and slowest in the SHF. The leaves of the LERF species Clitoria racemosa decomposed faster than those of the heath forest species. Fine roots penetrating litter-bags differed significantly among forest types and leaf species, and increased the decay rates. There were no significant differences in decomposition rates between the wet and dry season experiments. Significant differences in the release of chemical elements were observed: higher immobilization of iron and aluminium in the LERF; higher potassium and copper release in THF; and lower calcium, but higher boron release rates in SHF. Significantly higher immobilization of iron and aluminium (mainly in LERF) was found in bags penetrated by fine roots, while release of magnesium, calcium, manganese and zinc was significantly increased by fine roots, particularly in the TI-IF. Leaf mass loss and nutrient release were mostly controlled by abiotic factors in the SHF, but organisms were more active in the THF and LERF. Diplopoda were the dominant decomposers, particularly in the THF. Fertiliser addition showed an overall positive effect of liming, especially in heath forest soils. Nitrogen and phosphorus additions did not induce higher biomass production, while calcium chloride addition invariably induced a high mortality. 11÷ ion toxicity, together with a higher concentration of soil phenolics are suggested as causes of the poor growth in the heath forests, but in the SHF, where it lacks mor humus, limitation by nutrients, especially basic cations, may occur.