Abstract The results of the comparison of various dissolution methods for sulphur showed, that HNO3 together with H2O2 gave more complete decomposition of organic components than HNO3 alone. The acid procedure with a mixture of HNO3+H2O2 slightly underestimated the S concentrations of plant material. The losses of sulphur were the highest in the dry ashing digestion procedure (HF(DAC)). The Leco combustion technique with infrared (IR) detection gave good precision and accuracy for sulphur. For the determination of heavy metals in plant materials, both the HNO3 and HNO3+H2O2 procedures were especially effective for determining Cr. However, the HNO3+HClO4 procedure gave lower results, and HF and HF(DAC) procedures greater values for Cr. Sulphur accumulation in pine needles around the pulp and paper mills was clearly higher than other points in the Kemi area. For example, within a radius of about 1-1.5 km around the mills of Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab Kemi Mills, the sulphur concentrations for (C) and (C+1) needles were 28 % and 26 % higher than those in the corresponding background samples collected in Kuivaniemi at a distance about 25 km from Kemi. Pine needles do not appeared to be appropriate a method for monitoring the accumulation of Fe, Zn, V and Pb emitted from pulp and paper mills. However, the Ca concentrations in (C+1) needles in the vicinity of the Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab Kemi Mills was 48 % higher than the average Ca concentration calculated from all (C+1) needles; thus it is likely that part of the Ca in the needles is derived from the mills. The regional distribution pattern of Cr and Ni in mosses in the Kemi-Tornio area in 2000 showed clearly that the most polluted area (Cr > 200 μg/g and Ni > 20 μg/g) appeared to lie within a few kilometres of the ferrochrome and stainless steel works of AvestaPolarit Stainless Oy. Within this area, the Cr concentrations in mosses were 4-13 times higher than those outside the urban area of Tornio. The area most polluted by the opencast chromium mining complex (Cr > 200 μg/g and Ni < 20 μg/g) appeared to be in the immediate vicinity of complex. All the 95th percentile values for TSP (total suspended particles) in the mine area of AvestaPolarit Chrome Oy Kemi Mine were below the current Finnish air quality limit value of 300 μg/m3. However, the 98th percentile value exceeded the Finnish air quality guideline value of 120 μg/m3 at one monitoring site. According to leaching studies, the sum of calculated annual airborne pollution impact of water-soluble fraction (H2O) and environmentally mobile (CH3COONH4) fraction from the AvestaPolarit Chrome Oy Kemi Mine was Cr 1.2 kg, Fe 29 kg, Cu 63 kg, Ni 2.5 kg and Cd < 100 mg. According to the homogeneity studies of heavy metal deposition on TSP filters, Cr, Ni, Cu and Fe were non-uniformly distributed over the glass fibre filters. The rsd values varied between 5.4-33.9 % for Cr, between 7.5-35.0 % for Ni, between 3.6-25.9 % for Cu, and between 6.6-19.9 % for Fe.

The biological diversity of the planet is at great risk as a direct result of an ever-expanding human population and its associated activities. Landscape transformation to accommodate such activities leads to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, often creating patches of relatively undisturbed habitat within a matrix of transformed areas that are often too small too support most species previously occupying the area and as a result loses its ecological integrity. A century ago the escarpment region of Mpumalanga consisted of large open plains covered with montane grassland dissected by montane forests and riparian vegetation alongside mountain streams. Today the grasslands and forests have almost disappeared from the area, the remaining patches mostly small fragments within a matrix of exotic tree plantations which have also dried up many of the rivers and streams in the area. The natural grassland areas persisting in the region are unique in habitat characteristics and floral species composition. It is also high in plant species richness, diversity and endemicity. The high degree of isolation experienced by these floral communities poses serious threats to both the floral and faunal species that currently exits within these isolated ‘islands’, many of which are endemic to the area and at great risk of extinction. These risks call for serious collaboration between the land owners (mostly forestry companies) and conservationists to assure the practical and necessary preservation and management of this unique and crucially valuable natural resource. This study aims to provide the first step into understanding the ecological principles associated with habitat fragmentation related specifically to the mountain grassland fragments within the afforestation matrix of the escarpment region of Mpumalanga, and to create a platform for the process of collaboration between land owners and conservation agencies to assess and manage these grassland patches. The aims of Chapter 2 included: 1 To determine if any marked human-induced disturbance to the plant communities in the grassland fragments has occurred. I do this in three ways: a) To compare the plant community composition of eighteen fragments with those of six control plots outside of the plantations where no marked disturbance to the grassland can be observed. b) To determine whether the plant assemblages in the fragments can be assigned to any of the natural and intact plant communities that Matthews (1993) described from a large-scale survey of undisturbed mountain areas. c) To determine the presence of any known intruder plant species within the fragments. 2 To assign conservation priorities to the remaining grassland fragments. The results obtained from the TWINSPAN analysis revealed six alliances of plant communities grouped hierarchically into four orders and two major classes of montane grassland. The DECORANA supported these results, indicating clear differences between communities 1.1 (Eriosema salignum – Loudetia simplex grassland of the wetter North region), 1.2 (Lobelia erinus – Panicum natalense grassland of the Transitional region), 2.1 (Parinari capensis – Eragrostis racemosa grassland) and 2.2 (Helichrysum rugulosum – Eragrostis racemosa grassland). Different plant communities revealed different combinations of geological characteristics, slope, aspect and elevation. The sample plots of isolated grassland fragments and those of large unfragmented areas compare well with each other - the species richness of experimental and control plots do not differ significantly. Also, the species composition of plots from the Wetter North, Transitional and Drier South regions show more variation than is evident between experimental and control plots. There was also good qualitative comparisons (quantitative comparisons were not possible as a results of sampling and analytic discrepancies) between the sample plots used in this study and the plant communities described by Graham Deall and Wayne Matthews. Some evidence of exotic invader plants was found within the sample plots, notably Pteridium aquilinum. Fortunately such species were localized in their distribution and restricted to community 1.1.2.2. The aims of Chapter 3 included the following: 1. To compare the faunal biodiversity in grassland fragments within afforested areas to that of control plots in large, relatively undisturbed grassland areas. 2. To determine to which degree the Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera and bird communities reflect recognized plant communities, and are restricted to specific plant communities. 3. To compare the habitat specificity (degree of stenotopy) of the different taxonomic groups and trophic levels of animals. 4. To make recommendations for the conservation of the Afromontane grassland fauna in the remaining grassland fragments in afforested areas. The sampling of 15602 beetles, grasshoppers and crickets were collected, with an average of 3900 per sampling period, revealed unique combinations of animal species linked to the different plant communities mentioned above. Significant differences were evident from the one-way analyses of similarity (ANOSIM) used to compare the faunal community structures of sample plots of the Wetter North, Transitional and Dryer South regions. The faunal community structures of the experimental and control plots of the Wetter North and Transitional regions did not differ significantly. The indexes of habitat specificity (fractions of species constricted to certain plant communities) indicated that the plants and butterflies were more habitat-specific than the Coleoptera, Orthoptera and Birds. The carnivorous insects showed a surprisingly high level of habitat specificity compared to the relatively low level of the phytophagous insects. This surprising trend was also evident in various insect families – Acrididae, Scarabaeidae and Nymphalidae had relatively high levels of habitat specificity compared to that of the Curculionidae and the Chrysomelidae. Chapter 4 has the following aims: 1. To quantify the effect of several environmental characteristics (slope, rainfall, geology, etc) on the faunal community structure of the grassland fragments. 2. To quantify the effects of degree of isolation on species richness, species diversity and assemblage structure of plants, insects and birds in grassland remnants. 3. To test for the effects of edges on the extant insect biodiversity in the grassland fragments inside plantations. 4. To quantify the effects of fragment size on species richness, species diversity and assemblage structure of plants, insects and birds. 5. To rank the grassland fragments in an order of conservation importance using factors such as biodiversity and uniqueness of the floral community. No clear relationship between fragment size and area sampled and species richness and/or – diversity was evident from the results. Indeed, the smallest area sampled had the fourth highest species richness and the largest area sampled had the fourth lowest species richness and species diversity. Regressions results did not show any significant effects of the geographical area sampled on the biodiversity estimates of the fragments. Therefore I assume that the estimates arrived at for the area sampled within each fragment is representative of that of the complete fragment. The Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA - using square root transformed abundance data) used, indicated the need to perform a gradient analysis using a redundancy analysis (RDA). The permutation test resulting from this analysis revealed a non-significant value for the first canonical axis, but a significant value for the first four canonical axes together. The ten species contributing the most to above-mentioned result include two Scarabs (Scarabaeidae – Aphodius sp 1 and Melolonthinae sp 2), two weevils (Curculionidae – Eudraces sp 1 and Curculionidae sp 42), one leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae – Asbecesta near capensis), one darkling beetle (Tenebrionidae – Lagria sp 1), one longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae – Anubis scalaris), one jewel beetle (Buprestidae – Buprestidae sp 1), one ladybird (Coccinellidae – Coccinellidae sp 4) and one Dor beetle (Bolboceratidae – Mimobolbus maculicollis). Of these ten beetles only three are not restricted to the Drier South Region (Anubis scalaris – Wetter North and Drier South, Lagria sp 1 – throughout and Eudraces sp 1 – throughout). The associated stepwise multivariate regression showed distance to the nearest grassland to be the only environmental characteristic to significantly influence the faunal community structure of the fragments. Slope was the environmental characteristic with the smallest effect. In contrast with the results from redundancy analysis, the analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and t-tests did not reveal significant differences in the faunal community structure of fragments closer to – and further than one kilometre from the nearest grassland neighbour. This trend was the most evident for fragments of the Transitional region and the least obvious for the fragments of the study area as a whole. The SIMPER analysis showed that of the ten species contributing most to the dissimilarity between insect communities of fragments closer/further than one kilometre from the nearest grassland neighbour, eight were also in the group of ten species characterizing the faunal communities of either/both groups (contributing towards similarity). The insect communities found at 10, 20 and 50 metres from the edge of the grassland fragments did not differ significantly, nor did an ANOSIM performed separately for each of the three major plant communities reveal any significant edge-related differences. The ANOVA results for the individual species revealed only one (of 57 - in the Transitional region) having a distribution that differs significantly with respect to distance from the habitat edge:Eremnus sp. 2 was only found at 10 metres from the edge of the fragment, close to the plantations. Of all the groups, only bird diversity, bird richness and general faunal diversity showed significant relationships with fragment size. There was a non-significant trend for insects to biodiversity to be reduced in very small fragments. Most of the botanical data exhibited no significant relationship with fragment size. The species composition of control sites were not found to be significantly different from that of experimental fragments for all the faunal groups pooled together or for the fragments of the Transitional Region and the Wetter North Region. Using the four separate scores for birds, butterflies, beetles and grasshoppers, each fragment was assigned a total conservation score. The twenty-four fragments were then ranked in order of conservation importance. Fragments of the Wetter North had an average score of 65.3, fragments of The Transitional Region 66.6 and fragments of the Drier South 52.3. The results relating to this study has lead to the following conclusions: o It is concluded that afforestation and habitat fragmentation have not significantly impacted on the flora of the montane grassland of the study area since many of the grassland fragments surrounded by plantations are still easily identifiable as natural communities, described by Matthews and Deall in broader-scale surveys in the past. Also, no obvious invader – or disturbed plant communities are discernible even though some of them have been isolated for as long as 40 years. o The plant communities of conservation importance described by Matthews coincide with the important communities recognized in this study. Rare and endangered plant species, as well as species endemic to the region, are more often than not found on the scarce Black Reef quartzite of the region, which is more evident to the Northern part of the study area. Communities 1.1 and 1.2.2 are therefore of particular conservation importance, not only as a result of their scare geological base, but also because of the high risk associated with the few grassland examples left of these communities. o The high levels of habitat specificity of many of the taxonomic and trophic faunal groups indicate that many of the invertebrate taxa are probably endemic to the region, and that the plant endemicity encountered in the Afromontane grasslands is reflected by a similar degree of animal endemicity. o The similarity in faunal assemblages and diversity between isolated fragments and large areas of grassland emphasizes the conservation importance of the fragments, even when smaller than 5 Ha in extent. o Appropriate management of the grassland fragments within the plantations is therefore important for the conservation of the plant and animal taxa encountered there. Experimental management involving grazing, mechanical cutting, grazing and burning is needed to decide on an efficient management regime, so that the grassland biodiversity can be conserved in a planned way. Such work will also allow empirical testing the efficiency of the indicator species suggested above. o Isolated grassland fragments in this study represent largely unaffected natural plant and insect communities, differing little from large unfragmented grasslands in the study area. o Fragments found within afforested areas therefore have a high conservation importance, since they represent ‘natural’ grassland areas and are often the only representative of a particular plant community left in the area. o No significant edge effects on the faunal communities 10, 20 and 50 metres from the fragments’ edges exist as a result of afforestation in the area. o Birds (and probably other vertebrates in these grasslands) are affected by fragment size, while invertebrates are much less affected and plants do not show any measurable effect of fragment size. o Fragments in the wetter northern part of the study area, characterized by high levels of plant endemicity, have a higher conservation importance as judged by faunal biodiversity. / Dissertation (MSc (Zoology and Entomology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Submitted by Jakeline Ortega (jakortega@unoeste.br) on 2018-11-14T20:36:32Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Lucilene de Brito_ Dissertação.pdf: 1913070 bytes, checksum: ff16d51cf6a8cb8c7f48b908fc19c38d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-14T20:36:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Lucilene de Brito_ Dissertação.pdf: 1913070 bytes, checksum: ff16d51cf6a8cb8c7f48b908fc19c38d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research had as general objective, to study the impacts of air pollution originating from vehicle traffic on the flora in an urbanized environmental gradient. The data were obtained in areas of high and low traffic flow of vehicles, in urban areas. In situ plants were selected according to the environments. A third environment was stipulated, for the control plants in rural area, free of vehicular traffic. The circulation of vehicles in each environment was evaluated in order to verify the effects under the plants. Leaf symmetry indexes were calculated, as were the size of flower buds, fruits and seeds. The micronucleus test was performed in the tetrad stage in a very standardized way. We also performed systematic observations of the best floral button spot for pollen viability, and the best pH value for germination of pollen grains under different environmental conditions. The data of the evaluated parameters (or variables) were grouped by plant species and environments, and tested when normal using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Analysis of factorial variance (ANOVA), followed by the Tukey test, were used to verify differences in the variables (Systat 10.2). The leaf symmetry presented variation between the environments (p <0.05), indicating effect of air pollution. In the analysis of floral morphometry, the plants decreased parts of the reproductive structures (p <0.05) in an environment with greater circulation of vehicles. On the other hand, parts of flower buds were also increased in a polluted environment (p> 0.05). Such effect extends to pollen grain mother cells, with a higher frequency of micronuclei (p <0.05) in a high intensity environment of vehicular traffic. The effects of air pollution were even greater on the physiological processes of pollen viability and germination of pollen grains, as well as the length of the pollen tube (p <0.05). Likewise, fruits, seeds and root length had reduced sizes in environments with greater vehicular traffic circulation (p <0.05). However, one of the species presents fruits and number of seeds larger in urban area (p <0.05). Therefore, in the results, the three plants of the family Myrtaceae, can be considered bioindicating plants or biosensors because they present alterations in the morphological structures, potentially physiological, and genetic when exposed to different levels of pollution, from vehicular traffic in urbanized areas. / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral, estudar os impactos, da poluição do ar oriunda de tráfego de veículos na flora em um gradiente ambiental urbanizado. Os dados foram obtidos em áreas de fluxo de alta e baixa intensidade de tráfegos de veículos, em áreas urbanas. Foram selecionadas plantas “in situ” de acordo com os ambientes. Um terceiro ambiente foi estipulado, para as plantas controle em área rural, livre de tráfego de veículos. Avaliou-se a circulação de veículos em cada ambiente, na forma de verificar os efeitos sob as plantas. Foram calculados índices da simetria das folhas, bem como os tamanhos dos botões florais, frutos e sementes. Foi realizado teste de ocorrência de micronúcleos na fase tétrades de uma forma bem padronizada. Também foram realizadas observações sistemática do melhor ponto do botão floral para viabilidade polínica, e o melhor valor de pH para germinação dos grãos de pólen em diferentes condições ambientais. Os dados dos parâmetros avaliados (ou variáveis) foram agrupados por espécies vegetais e ambientes, e testados quando a normalidade usando o teste de Kolmogorov-Smirnov. Foram usadas análises de variância fatorial (ANOVA), seguido do teste Tukey, para verificar diferenças nas variáveis (Systat 10.2). A simetria foliar apresentou variação entre os ambientes (p < 0,05), indicando efeito da poluição do ar. Na análise da morfometria floral, as plantas diminuíram partes das estruturas reprodutivas (p < 0,05) em ambiente com maior circulação de veículos. Por outro lado, também aumentaram partes das estruturas dos botões florais, em ambientes poluídos (p > 0,05). Tal efeito se estende para células mãe do grão de pólen, apresentando maiores frequências de micronúcleos (p < 0,05) em ambiente de alta intensidade de tráfego veicular. Os efeitos da poluição do ar foram maiores ainda nos processos fisiológicos da viabilidade polínica e na germinação dos grãos de pólen, bem como o comprimento do tubo polínico (p < 0,05). Do mesmo modo, frutos, sementes e comprimento de raízes, tiveram tamanhos reduzidos em ambientes com maior circulação de tráfego de veículos (p < 0,05). No entanto, uma das espécies apresentou frutos e números de sementes maiores em área urbana (p < 0,05). Portanto, nos resultados, as três plantas da família Myrtaceae, podem ser consideradas plantas bioindicadoras ou biosensores por apresentarem alterações nas estruturas morfológicas, potencialmente fisiológicas, e genéticas quando expostas a diferentes níveis de poluição, provenientes do tráfego de veículos em áreas urbanizadas.

In the assessment of the environment pollution level, bio indicators of vegetable or animal origin are often used. Bio indicators include also needles and moss. The samples of moss and needles taken in different locations in the Czech Republic were examined to find out the presence of xenobiotics of polychlorine biphenyls and polybromide diphenylethers types. Selected analytes have been extracted from the matrix by hexan. Extracts have been refined using column chromatography on mixed florisil/silicagel sorbent. To analysis of selected compounds, GC/ECD method has been chosen. Based on our results a comparison of the contamination level in individual locations was enabled.

<p>&nbsp;Zagađenje vode i sedimenta, organskim jedinjenjima, te&scaron;kim metalima i agrohemikalijama, poslednjih decenija predstavlja problem koji je prisutan u svim regionima sveta. Kako bi se umanjile negativne posledice primene zagađene vode i sedimenta u poljoprivredi, neophodan je kontinuirani monitoring njihovog kvaliteta, odreĎivanje prisustva i kvantifikacija polutanata i procena njihove biodostupnosti. Kvalitet vode i sedimenta može se oceniti pomoću fizičko-hemijskih i biolo&scaron;kih metoda (bioindikatora). Poslednja grupa je od značaja u detekciji zagaĎenja i proceni kvaliteta vode i sedimenta koji se koriste u poljoprivredi. Otuda gajene biljke kao bioindikatori imaju važnu ulogu. Rezultati ovakvih ispitivanja su direktan pokazatelj mogućnosti upotrebe vode za navodnjavanje, a sedimenta za razastiranje po obradivim povr&scaron;inama. Imajući u vidu izneto, u radu je preko fiziolo&scaron;kih (energija klijanja i klijavost semena) i morfolo&scaron;kih (dužina, sveža i suva masa korena i nadzemngo dela ponika) promena na deset vrsta gajenih biljaka (kukuruz, ječam, krmni sirak, bela slačica, kupus, rotkvica, krastavac, pasulj, suncokreta i heljda), procenjen biolo&scaron;ki potencijal istih u detekciji zagaĎenja vode i sedimenta te&scaron;kim metalima, pesticidima i drugim polutantima. Kvalitet vode i sedimenta, odnosno detekcija zagaĎenja, odreĎeni su prvo hemijskim analizama, a zatim pomoću biolo&scaron;kih testova, tokom 2011-2015. godine. Ukupno je analizirano 37 uzoraka vode i osam uzoraka sedimenta sa teritorije AP Vojvodine (Srbija), od kojih su 29 iz kanala (Veliki Bački kanal /VBK/, Aleksandrovački kanal /AK/, Nadela, Feketić i Čelarevo), pet iz reka (Krivaja, Begej i Dunav) i tri iz zatvorenih vodenih povr&scaron;ina koje se nalaze u okviru rezervata prirode i za&scaron;tićenih prirodnih dobara (Jegrička, Stari Begej /&ldquo;Carska bara&rdquo;/ i Stara Tisa). U radu su primenjene metode naklijavanja semena na filter hartiji propisane Pravilnikom o kvalitetu semena poljoprivrednog bilja (Sl. list 34/2013) i pravilnikom ISTA (2011). Tokom 2013. godine, praćene su i sezonske promene u sadržaju metala: nutrijenti (Na, Mg, Ca i K) i prioritetni polutanti u vodi (Cd, Ni, Pb, Cr, As) prema Direktivi 2008/105EC, te&scaron;ki metali (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu), zatim pesticidi (herbicidi iz grupe triazina i urea) u kanalu u Čelarevu i VBK III. U radu je ispitan uticaj najznačajnijih polutanata u vodi (te&scaron;ki metali: Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr i insekticid hlorpirifos) prema Direktivi 2008/105EC, Uredbi 50/12 i ICPDR klasifikaciji (2004). Za obradu podataka kori&scaron;ćeni su statistički softveri SPSS 19 i ARO 3.2, a primenjene su ANOVA (Dankanov test vi&scaron;estrukih poreĎenja, Kruskal-Valisov test i t test) i vi&scaron;estruka regresiono-korelaciona analiza. Hemijske analize ukazuju na organsko i neorgansko zagaĎenje vode iz VBK (I, II, III) AK, Krivaje, Nadele, Begeja, Dunava kod izliva komunalnih voda i kanala u Čelarevu. ZagaĎenje te&scaron;kim metalima je registrovano u vodi iz VBK I (Cd), AK (Cr), VBK II (Cr), kanala u Feketiću (As) i u pojedinim mesecima u kanalu u Čelarevu (Cr i Mn i Fe) i VBK III (Cr, Mn, Fe, Pb i As). Pojedini uzorci sedimenta su zagaĎeni te&scaron;kim metalima i PAH-ovima i to: VBK I sa Cu (II klasa) i PAH-ovima (III klasa); AK sa Ni i Cu (III klasa) i Cr (IV klasa); VBK II sa Cu i PAH-ovi (II klasa); Krivaja sa Ni i Cu (II klasa); Nadela sa Ni (III klasa) i Cd (IV klasa); Begej sa Ni (III klasa). Uticaj kvaliteta vode i sedimenta na test biljke je varirao u zavisnosti od sadržaja polutanata, nutrijenata, ali i od biljne vrste i ispitivanog parametra. Dobri indikatori naru&scaron;enog kvaliteta, odnosno zagaĎenja vode i sedimenta su: bela slačica, kupus, rotkvica i heljda, jer su na prisustvo jedinjenja i elemenata u</p><p>količinama preko maksimalno dozvoljenik (MDK), reagovali inhibicijom većine parametara. Kukuruz, ječam, krmni sirak, pasulj i suncokret ispoljili su slabiji potencijal kao indikatori, s obzirom na mali broj parametara koji su pod uticajem kvaliteta vode i sedimenta. Fiziolo&scaron;ki parametri (energija klijanja i klijavost) se nisu pokazali kao pouzdani u detekciji naru&scaron;enog kvaliteta vode i sedimenta, osim u slučaju bele slačice, kupusa, rotkvice i heljde za zagaĎenja sa N, NH3, P i Cr. Morfolo&scaron;ke promene na test biljkama su bolji pokazatelji zagaĎenja Cr, Pb, Mn, N, NO3, NH3 i P. U okviru sezonskog monitoringa, potvrĎena je promena sadržaja nutrijenata, te&scaron;kih metala i pesticida, zavisno od meseca uzorkovanja, a koji su u vezi sa intenzivnim poljoprivrednim aktivnostima. Najveće količine herbicida iz grupe triazina i urea, preko MDK, detektovane su tokom proleća i leta, &scaron;to se dovodi u vezu za poljoprivrednom praksom suzbijanja korova. U biotestu, voda uzorkovana tokom proleća i leta, ispoljila je izrazit negativan uticaj uglavnom na morfolo&scaron;ke parametre test biljaka u vidu inhibicije porasta korena i nadzemnog dela, dok energija klijanja i klijavost kod većine vrsta uglavnom nisu pod uticajem prisustva herbicida. Test biljke su ispoljile različit potencijal kao indikatori u detekciji zagaĎenja vode pojedinačnim polutantima. Kukuruz je preko sledećih parametara dobar pokazatelj prisustva polutanata u MDK (0,1 &mu;g/l): energija klijanja i klijavost su dobri pokazatelji zagaĎenja Cr i Zn, a energija klijanja samo Pb, dužina korena za Zn i hlorpirifos, sveža masa korena za Zn, Pb i hlorpirifos, suva masa korena za hlorpirifos, dužina nadzemnog dela za Zn i hlorpirifos, sveža masa nadzemnog dela za Zn, Ni i hlorpirifos, a suva masa nadzemnog dela samo za hlorprifos. Ječam je dobar indikator prisustva sledećih polutanata u MDK preko dužine korena za Cd, dužine nadzemnog dela za Ni, a sveže i suve mase istog za Zn, dok svi fiziolo&scaron;ki i morfolo&scaron;kih pamaretri ukazuju na zagaĎenje hlorpirifosom. Krmni sirak je dobar indikator prisustva Zn u količinama preko MDK preko energije klijanja i klijavosti, preko dužine, sveže i suve mase korena i dužine nadzemnog dela za Pb, a preko dužine i sveže mase nadzemnog dela za Cd. Bela slačica je preko energije klijanja, klijavosti i svih parametara korena dobar indikator prisustva Zn u MDK, preko dužine sveže i suve mase korena i mase nadzemnog dela za Ni, preko sveže mase nadzemnog dela za Cd, dok su svi fiziolo&scaron;ki i morfolo&scaron;ki parametri dobri indikatori zagaĎenja vode hlorpirifosom. Kupus je dobar indikator prisustva Cd u vodi u MDK preko sveže mase korena i svih parametara nadzemnog dela ponika. Rotkvica je dobar pokazatelj prisustva različitih polutanata u MDK: energija klijanja za Zn, sveža masa korena za Cd, Pb, Zn, suva masa korena Cd i Pb, a svi parametri nadzemnog dela za Cd, Zn i Pb. Krastavac je dobar pokazatelj prisustva različitih polutanata u MDK količinama preko sledećih parametara: dužine korena za Ni, Pb i hlorpirifos, sveže mase za Ni, Zn, Pb i hlorpirifos, suve mase za Cd, Ni, Zn i hlorpirifos, dužine nadzemnog dela za Cu, Zn, Pb i hlorpirifos, sveže mase istog za Cd i Pb i hloripirifos, a suve masa samo za hlorpirifos. Pasulj je dobar indikator prisustva različitih polutanata u MDK, preko sledećih parametara: energija klijanja i klijavost za Zn, dužina korena za Cd, Zn i Pb, sveža masa korena za Zn, suva masa korena za Cd, Pb i Zn, sveža i suva masa nadzemnog dela za Cd. Suncokret je dobar pokazatelj prisustva različitih polutanata u MDK i to preko dužine i sveže mase korena za Cd, Cu i Pb, suve mase korena za Cd i Cu, a dužine nadzemnog dela za Zn i Pb. Heljda je dobar pokazatelj prisustva Zn u MDK preko energije klijanja, klijavosti, preko dužine, sveže i suve mase korena ponika i sveže i suve mase nadzemnog dela za Cd, a preko sveže i suve mase korena za Pb. Na osnovu ostvarenih rezultata hemijskih analiza i biotesta, voda iz Dunava, sa plaže Bećarac i iz Sr. Karlovaca, može se koristiti za navodnjavanje. MeĎutim, preporuka je da se vode iz VBK I, II, III, AK, Krvaje, Nadele, Begeja, Dunava kod izliva konunalnih voda, Starog Begeja (&bdquo;Carska bara&ldquo;), kanala u Fektiću, Stare Tise i kanala u Čelarevu, isključe iz poljoprivredne proizvodnje, zbog mogućih fitotoksičnih efekata. TakoĎe, i svi uzorci sedimenta su ispoljili fitotksične efekte na test biljke, te se ne preporučuje njhovo odlaganje po poljoptivrednim povr&scaron;inama, bez predhodne procene rizika.</p>

Although protected areas have been used as principal conservation tools, most of them are suffering from human-induced threats. Consequently, a good understanding of such human-driven threats on biodiversity and identifying early warning systems for habitat change in protected areas is necessary for effective conservation of natural resources. To examine the impact of human disturbance on avifaunal assemblages and to assess the potential application of birds as bioindicators of forest health monitoring in the Afromontane forest of the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, I recorded birds and habitat variables in three protected and three unprotected forests using a point transect method in 2009 and 2012. The two land use types differ in disturbance levels (higher in the unprotected areas), vegetation structure and bird assemblages. Species richness of entire bird guild, open woodland and open land habitat guilds, granivore and insectivore feeding guilds, and shrub layer and ground layer foraging substrate guilds of birds were significantly higher in the unprotected areas than the protected areas. Abundances of guilds of birds mostly followed a similar trend with species richness. However, densities of overall and forest-specialist bird guilds were higher in the protected area and vice versa for the other guilds. In general, the protected area assemblages were dominated by forest-specialist species, while those of the unprotected areas were dominated by openland and shrubland species. The implication is that disturbance had caused encroachment of non-native species (openland, open woodland and shrub land species) while negatively affecting native species (forest species, particularly tree canopy foragers). These assemblage differences are linked to changes in vegetation structure caused by disturbance. Thus, further forest degradation in the protected area should be avoided in order to maintain native/forest-specialist species. Given the differences in bird assemblages between the two land use types, there is a high likelihood that bioindicator species (i.e. indicator species - those 'characteristic' of a particular habitat - and detector species - those occurring in the different habitats considered but with moderate indication value) can be identified, therefore providing a useful tool to monitor ecosystem health of the forests. Four and nine species were identified as appropriate indicator species (i.e. species with indicator values > 60% and fulfilling biological and niche history criteria used in selection) in the protected and unprotected areas, respectively. In addition, nine species were identified as detectors of habitat change in the protected areas. These bioindicators provide a useful tool for managers of Afromontane forest in the Bale Mountains, as well as similar habitats elsewhere, for long term monitoring of ecosystem health of the forests. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / DST/NRF Centre of Excellence / Zoology and Entomology / MSc / Unrestricted

Les milieux aquatiques en zone urbaine sont reconnus comme des îlots de biodiversité qui offrent de nombreux services écologiques. Dans cette étude, nous avons utilisé les macroinvertébrés comme bioindicateurs de la qualité écologique des étangs, petits lacs et marais de l’Île de Montréal. Les macroinvertébrés ont été récoltés durant l’été 2011 dans la zone littorale de 20 sites variant par leur urbanisation et leurs caractéristiques limnologiques. Nous avons évalué la variation dans la richesse en taxa, les indices de diversité et plusieurs métriques basées sur la composition taxonomique ou les traits fonctionnels. Nous avons déterminé la réponse des métriques aux changements dans l’urbanisation, l’aménagement et les conditions des plans d’eau. Notre étude montre que les étangs, marécages et petits lacs constituent des réserves importantes de biodiversité en zone urbaine. Les marécages naturels et les étangs et lacs permaments avaient une meilleure qualité écologique et supportaient des communautés de macroinvertébrés plus diverses et abondantes que les petits étangs temporaires aménagés. Le couvert de végétation aquatique, l’enrichissement en nutriments et en matière organique ainsi que la biomasse des algues expliquaient le plus de variation dans les macroinvertébrés. Les aménagements, la densité urbaine et la permanence de l’eau avaient aussi une bonne influence. Les métriques univariées avaient moins de potentiel que les métriques multivariées. Nous avons discuté les implications de notre étude pour le suivi environnemental de la biodiversité et la qualité écologique des milieux aquatiques en zone urbaine. / Aquatic ecosystems in urban landscapes are now recognized as good islets of biodiversity and valuable environments providing ecological services. However, more knowledge is needed to assess their ecological quality. Benthic macroinvertebrates are widely used as bioindicators, but rarely for urban ecosystems. In this study, we used macroinvertebrates to evaluate the ecological quality of urban ponds and lakes in the island of Montreal. We collected macroinvertebrates during summer 2011 in the littoral zone of 20 waterbodies varying in urban and limnological characteristics. We evaluated spatio-temporal variation in several diversity and biotic indices and multiple metrics based on taxonomic composition and functional traits. We investigated if macroinvertebrate metrics responded to variation in urban land-use, pond management and limnological conditions. Our study showed that small waterbodies, as ponds, lakes and marshes are important resources for sustaining aquatic biodiversity in urban landscapes. Natural wetlands and artifical permanent ponds had higher ecological quality and supported more diverse and abundant macroinvertebrates than artificial managed temporary ponds in municipal parks. Vegetation cover, nutrient and organic contents, and algal biomass were the most important factors explaining spatial variation in macroinvertebrate metrics. Pond management, urban density, and water permanence were also influencial factors. Univariate metrics had less potential than multivariable metrics to assess the responses of macroinvertebrates to environmental features. We discussed the implications of our study for management and quality assessment of urban ponds.

Os recursos hídricos urbanos são de grande importância para os municípios que têm desenvolvimento econômico crescente e aumento demográfico, sendo que a manutenção da qualidade da água dos mananciais de abastecimento para a população é imprescindível para a saúde e para diminuir o custo econômico. A bacia do Alto Jacaré-Guaçu, em cuja área está inserido o município de São Carlos/SP, tem como principais sub bacias a do Rio do Monjolinho e a do Ribeirão do Feijão, sendo este a principal fonte de abastecimento de água para a cidade. O trabalho foi proposto para avaliar a qualidade da água dos recursos hídricos da bacia do Alto Jacaré-Guaçu, através da análise das características limnológicas, das substâncias tóxicas e da comunidade de macroinvertebrados que permitem a indicação da qualidade da água. Foram efetuadas duas campanhas de amostragem em 1999: a) no período chuvoso (em março) e b) no período de estiagem (em agosto). Em março foram realizadas amostragens em 8 pontos e, em agosto, foram acrescidos mais 6 pontos, totalizando 14. Paralelamente, com o intuito de visualizar espacialmente os resultados e desta forma identificar as áreas com maior ou menor grau de impacto, foi elaborado um mapa com as sub-bacias correspondentes às áreas cuja água drena para cada um dos pontos de coleta. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que a qualidade da água no período da estiagem se torna mais critica devido à diminuição do fluxo da água. Com relação à poluição orgânica, a sub bacia do Monjolinho pode ser classificada em 3 grupos: a) trecho sem influência urbana, portanto não poluída ou ligeiramente poluída; b) trecho com influência da área urbana da cidade de São Carlos, sendo assim, fortemente poluída e c) trecho final do Rio Monjolinho, com uma poluição moderada ou em processo de recuperação. Quanto à presença de substâncias tóxicas analisadas as concentrações dos metais, em geral, apresentaram-se dentro dos limites da Resolução CONAMA 20/86, exceto o cobre, ferro, manganês e zinco. Já para os organoclorados, a maior parte da área da bacia não atende a Resolução Brasileira, detectando-se concentrações acima dos limites permitidos. Quanto à identificação dos diferentes impactos no uso da terra e da água na bacia do Alto Jacaré-Guaçu, pode-se citar, entre as atividades antrópicas que vem acelerando o processo de degradação ambiental, principalmente a qualidade da água :1- Falta de tratamento do esgoto doméstico, principalmente na área urbana; 2- Desmatamento contínuo levando a substituição da vegetação natural por monoculturas e pastagens; 3- Uso irregular do solo, causando erosão e assoreamento nos corpos de água; 4- Expansão sem controle da área urbana próximo às margens e principalmente nas nascentes dos corpos de água e 5-Falta de controle na comercialização e uso de defensivos agrícolas. / The water resources in urban areas are important for the municipalities in stage of economical development and demographic increase. The maintenance of quality of the water sources is indispensable for the human health and to reduce the economic costs. The Alto Jacaré-Guaçu basin, situated in São Carlos municipality, has as a principal sub-basins the Monjolinho River and Ribeirão do Feijão basins. Both are the main souce of water supply for the city. This study was proposed to analyze the water quality of the Alto Jacaré-Guaçu basin, according to the limnological conditions, toxic substances and utilization of macroinvertebrates as indicative of the water quality. Sampling was carried out in two periods: a) in the rainy season (March 1999) and b) in the dry season (August 1999). In March 8 stations were sampled, while in August 6 more stations were sampled, totalizing 14 stations. In Parallel, a map was elaborated with the sub-basins corresponding to the drainage area for each station in order to show spatially the results and to identify the areas with bigger or minor degree of impact. The results demonstrated that the water quality in the dry period became critical due to decreasing of the water flow. Concerning to the organic pollution, the sub-basin of Monjolinho can be classified under 3 groups: a) section without urban influence, with no or few pollution; b) section with no or few pollution; b) section with influence of the urban area of São Carlos city, being strongly contaminated and c) final section the Monjolinho River, with a moderate pollution or in process of recovery. In relation to the presence of toxic substances analyzed, the concentrations of metals generally appeared inside the limits of the Resolution CONAMA 20/86, except for copper, iron, manganese and zinc. For the organochlorine pesticides, the concentrations oberseved do not attend to the Brazilian Resolution, because the values were higler than the acceptable limits. Concerning to the identification of different impacts of the land and water uses in the Alto Jacaré-Guaçu basin, it is possible to identify the human activities that accelerate the process of environmental degration, specially for the water quality: 1- The lack of teatment of the domestic residues, specially in the urban area; 2- Continous deforestation and changing of natural vegetation to monocultures and pastures; 3-Irregular uses of the soil causing erosion and collapsing the water bodies; 4- Expansion without control of the urban area next to the margins and specially in the headwaters, and 5- Lack of control in the selling and uses of agricultural pesticides.

Submitted by Ricardo Cedraz Duque Moliterno (ricardo.moliterno@uefs.br) on 2018-07-11T21:45:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 disserta??o-defesa-1.pdf: 1721541 bytes, checksum: 58ddaafa9ef0b17a788f4c20418c261e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-11T21:45:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 disserta??o-defesa-1.pdf: 1721541 bytes, checksum: 58ddaafa9ef0b17a788f4c20418c261e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-17 / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia - FAPEB / This work has aimed to evaluate the size and shape of the wing of individuals of three Euglossini bee species (Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus, 1758), Euglossa ignita Smith, 1874 and Eulaema atleticana Nem?sio, 2009). For that, geometric morphometrics methods, as well as landscape metrics, were used for such evaluation. The analyzed specimens were collected in five areas, being four forest areas and one area of Agroforestry System (SAF). Morphometric analyzis were started with the right wing photograph of the individuals of each species and with the determination of anatomical landmarks and semilandmarks. Subsequently, the Cartesian coordinates obtained were used for analysis of variance of the shape and size of the wing of the populations. The results of the shape analysis were significant for the three species (p<0.05) and demonstrated that the individuals collected within the SAF area have had the greatest divergences in the shape of the wing. On the other hand, size differences were significant only for the populations of E. ignita (ANOVA: F = 5.923 and p = 0.00045). For E. cordata and El. Atleticana, there has been a significant correlation between morphometric data and landscape metrics (r<0.05), which shows a close relationship between these species and the forest cover. Thus, the present work underlines the importance of Euglossini bees in environmental quality monitoring studies, since morphometrics differences may reveal the existence of environmental stress. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o tamanho e a forma da asa de indiv?duos de tr?s esp?cies de abelha Euglossini (Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus, 1758), Euglossa ignita Smith, 1874 e Eulaema atleticana Nem?sio, 2009) em resposta ? estrutura da paisagem. Assim, as abelhas foram coletadas em quatro fragmentos florestais com marcante influ?ncia antr?pica e numa ?rea de sistema agroflorestal(SAF). Para tal avalia??o, utilizou-se m?todos de morfometria geom?trica, bem como m?tricas da paisagem. As an?lises morfom?tricas iniciaram com a fotografia da asa direita dos indiv?duos de cada esp?cie e com a determina??o de marcos e semimarcos anat?micos. Posteriormente, as coordenadas cartesianas obtidas foram utilizadas para an?lise de vari?ncia da forma e do tamanho da asa das popula??es. Os resultados da an?lise de forma foram significativos (p<0.05) para as tr?s esp?cies e demonstraram que os indiv?duos coletados dentro da ?rea de SAF possuem as maiores diverg?ncias na forma da asa. Por sua vez, as diferen?as de tamanho foram significativas apenas para as popula??es de E. ignita (ANOVA: F= 4,557 e p= 0,001801. Para E. cordata e El. atleticana, houve correla??o significativa entre dados morfom?tricos e as m?tricas da paisagem (r<0.05), o que demonstra uma estreita rela??o destas esp?cies com a cobertura florestal. Assim, o presente trabalho salienta a import?ncia das abelhas Euglossini nos estudos de monitoramento de qualidade ambiental, uma vez que diferen?as morfom?tricas podem revelar a exist?ncia de stress ambiental.

A primeira mineração de urânio do Brasil está localizada nas dependências da Unidade de Tratamento de Minérios das Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil. Atualmente, essa área mineradora encontra-se em fase de descomissionamento e a drenagem ácida de mina constitui o principal passivo ambiental, devido ao volume de efluentes radioativos gerados, os quais após tratamento são lançados na represa das Antas (RA). Os resultados indicaram que amostras do efluente in natura e tratado apresentaram maiores concentrações de espécies químicas, sendo consideradas agudamente tóxicas para os dafinídeos, indicando que que o sistema de tratamento realizado pela mineradora foi impróprio e ineficiente. Valores de dureza extremamente elevados indicaram efeito protetor para os dafinídeos, quando maiores concentrações de metais tais como F-, U, Mn e Al foram registradas. O metal Mn apresentou potencial de causar toxicidade para C. silvestrii, CE50 (5,93 mg L-1). Para U, mudanças no pH nos ensaios de D.magna, estiveram associadas a alterações nas concentrações das espécies potencialmente tóxicas UO22+ e UO2OH+. A espécie nativa C. silvestrii mostrou ser muito mais sensível a U, quando comparada a D. magna, de acordo com a CE50 (0,07 e 0,56 mg L-1, respectivamente). / The first uranium mining in Brazil is located on the Ore Treatment Unit of Nuclear Industries of Brazil. Currently, this mining area is in process of decommissioning and the acid mine drainage is the main environmental liability due to the volume of radioactive effluents produced, which after treatment are discharged into the Antas reservoir (AR). The results indicated that samples of the in natura and treated effluent presented higher concentrations of chemical species, being considered acutely toxic to the daphnids, indicating that the treatment carried out by the mining company (UTM/INB) was improper and inefficient. Extremely high hardness values indicated protective effect for the daphnids, when higher concentrations of metals such as F-, U, Mn and Al were recorded. The Mn metal presented potential toxicity for C. silvestrii, EC50 (5.93 mg L-1). For U, changes in pH in the D.magna assays were associated with changes in concentrations of the toxic potentially species UO22+ and UO2OH+. The native species C. silvestrii showed to be much more sensitive to U, than D. magna, according to EC50 (0.07 and 0.56 mg L-1, respectively).