O desenvolvimento da Física tem possibilitado sua atuação em vários campos, e mais recentemente, na Medicina, onde estudos da Freqüência Cardíaca e do Ritmo Respiratório fornecem informações importantes acerca de processos fisiológicos e podem ser um útil instrumento diagnóstico e terapêutico. Nestes estudos, em muitos casos, necessita-se que as variáveis sejam monitoradas telemétricamente, como a observação de atletas e pacientes pré e pós-enfartados durante a prática desportiva, e estudos de animais em seu habitat natural. Desenvolvemos, portanto, um protótipo capaz de medí-las por métodos não invasivos (métodos que dispensam urna exposição cirúrgica), baseando-se na aplicação do Efeito Doppler Ultrasônico e no Movimento Mecânico do Tórax. Este protótipo consta de um conjunto de transmissores e receptores que captam e Freqüência Cardíaca e o Ritmo Respiratório, registrando de forma audível, gráfica e numérica, conforme tempos pré-estabelecidos. / The development of physics made action in various fields possible, and more recently, in Medicine, studies of heart frequency and breathing rhythm give important information about physiological status and are useful for diagnostics and therapeutics. In these studies, in many cases, it is necessary that variables could be monitored by telemetry, as p.e. observation of athletes and also before and post-glutted patients during sport practices, and studies of animals in their own habitat. We are developing, therefore, a telemetric prototype which is capable of measuring them by non-invasive methods (methods that exempt a surgical exposure), based upon application of the Ultrasonic Doppler effect and of the Mechanical Movement of thorax. This prototype consist of a group of transmitters and receivers which are getting heart beat frequency and breathing rhythm recorded by such forms: audible, graphic and numerical, in before established periods.

Semi-aquatic mammals have evolved to forage in both aquatic and terrestrial environments, and they generally lack locomotor specialisation for either. Having relatively unspecialised adaptations, some semi-aquatic species are generalist foragers, and their activity and diving patterns provide insight into constraints on their foraging behaviour. The recent miniaturisation and improved accuracy of logging devices allow remote data collection from small (<1kg), shallow-diving species. The development of analytical methods has lagged behind technological advances (and techniques developed for fully aquatic animals do not account for the variability of behaviour typical of semi-aquatic animals and their switching between terrestrial and aquatic environments). I applied and developed novel analytical techniques to identify activities and diving patterns of a semi-aquatic mustelid, the American mink (Neovison vison), fitted with Time-Depth Recorders (TDRs). Using a hidden Markov model (HMM) algorithm allowed me to classify dives into three states to identify clustering, and describe sequential diving patterns by mink. TDRs were used to determine active/inactive periods on the basis of rapid TDR temperature changes, and this method was validated empirically. Having developed this methodology, I applied it to 18 datasets collected from 14 mink in lowland England. Terrestrial activity of mink was positively related to ambient temperature (across both sexes), however aquatic activity, especially diving, appeared to be more influenced by daylight than by temperature. Mink showed intersexual differences, with males being more nocturnal and more active on land, and females more diurnal, and more persistent in diving. There was considerable variability between sexes and individuals. This is the first study to use HMM to classify the dives of a semi-aquatic animal, and the first to use TDR temperature records to identify mammalian activity patterns. These methods will be generally applicable to animals that make rapid transitions between environments and have thus far been difficult to study.

CAPES e CNPq / A Biotelemetria apresenta-se como uma importante técnica que possui várias aplicações na área de Engenharia Biomédica e outras. A miniaturização da unidade sensora é um grande desafio dentro desta área, sendo que na maioria dos casos, deseja-se uma unidade menor possível. Desta maneira, sensores passivos são interessantes, pois possibilitam uma menor dimensão do dispositivo e não necessitam de uma fonte própria de energia, ou bateria, que pode causar danos ao indivíduo monitorado caso ocorra vazamento do seu conteúdo químico. Deste modo, o sensor indutivo autorressonante apresenta-se como uma promissora solução, uma vez que este pode ser construído com apenas um componente, um indutor, que utiliza a sua própria capacitância parasita no lugar de um capacitor externo. Por apresentar pequenas dimensões, este tipo de sensor possui uma baixa capacitância parasita, o que torna a sua frequência de ressonância bastante alta. Isso pode resultar em alguns problemas e até mesmo inviabilizar o projeto. Neste caso, a bobina bifilar idealizada por Nikola Tesla pode ser uma solução, uma vez que o objetivo de Tesla foi aumentar a capacitância intrínseca de suas bobinas. Portanto, um entendimento físico e devido equacionamento da bobina bifilar se faz necessário, uma vez que, até onde se sabe, este tipo de abordagem não existe na literatura. A partir de uma análise física em função das tensões entre espiras adjacentes da bobina bifilar de Tesla, foi desenvolvido um equacionamento que possibilita a determinação do aumento da capacitância interna e, consequente, redução na frequência de ressonância da bobina bifilar. Um modelo elétrico equivalente da bobina também foi elaborado através desta análise. Testes foram realizados para validar a análise física, e comparar a frequência de autorressonância calculada e medida para diversos números de espiras, de modo a comprovar a validade do modelo e das equações desenvolvidas. Um sensor biotelemétrico indutivo autorressonante, para medição de deslocamentos, utilizando a bobina bifilar de Tesla, foi desenvolvido para caracterizar a sua utilização como um sensor biomédico. / Biotelemetry is an important technique with many applications in biomedical engineering and other areas. The size of the remote unit or sensor is a major challenge in this area, and, in most cases, a sensor is desired to be as small as possible. Thus, passive sensors are interesting because they allow a smaller dimensions and do not require a power source or battery, which can harm the patient in the event of leakage of its chemical content. Thus, the self-ressonant inductive sensor is a good solution since it can be built with only one component. Due to its small size, this type of sensor has a low stray capacitance, which makes its self-resonance frequency very high. In this case, the bifilar coil, devised by Nikola Tesla, can be a solution, since Tesla's idea was to increase the intrinsic capacitance of his coils. Therefore a physical understanding of the bifilar coil is necessary, since as far as is known, this approach does not exist in the literature. From an analysis of the voltage between adjacent turns, equations of the Tesla's bifilar coil were developed, allowing the prediction of the increase on the internal capacitance and consequent reduction of the resonance frequency. An equivalent electric model was also developed from this analysis. This allowed the project of bifilar coils and the calculation of the internal capacitances and self-resonance frequencies of these coils. Tests were realized in order to compare the calculated and measured self-resonance for various numbers of turns, showing the validity of the presented method. A passive self-resonant biotelemetric sensor for displacement measurement using the Tesla's bifilar coil, was also developed.

CAPES e CNPq / A Biotelemetria apresenta-se como uma importante técnica que possui várias aplicações na área de Engenharia Biomédica e outras. A miniaturização da unidade sensora é um grande desafio dentro desta área, sendo que na maioria dos casos, deseja-se uma unidade menor possível. Desta maneira, sensores passivos são interessantes, pois possibilitam uma menor dimensão do dispositivo e não necessitam de uma fonte própria de energia, ou bateria, que pode causar danos ao indivíduo monitorado caso ocorra vazamento do seu conteúdo químico. Deste modo, o sensor indutivo autorressonante apresenta-se como uma promissora solução, uma vez que este pode ser construído com apenas um componente, um indutor, que utiliza a sua própria capacitância parasita no lugar de um capacitor externo. Por apresentar pequenas dimensões, este tipo de sensor possui uma baixa capacitância parasita, o que torna a sua frequência de ressonância bastante alta. Isso pode resultar em alguns problemas e até mesmo inviabilizar o projeto. Neste caso, a bobina bifilar idealizada por Nikola Tesla pode ser uma solução, uma vez que o objetivo de Tesla foi aumentar a capacitância intrínseca de suas bobinas. Portanto, um entendimento físico e devido equacionamento da bobina bifilar se faz necessário, uma vez que, até onde se sabe, este tipo de abordagem não existe na literatura. A partir de uma análise física em função das tensões entre espiras adjacentes da bobina bifilar de Tesla, foi desenvolvido um equacionamento que possibilita a determinação do aumento da capacitância interna e, consequente, redução na frequência de ressonância da bobina bifilar. Um modelo elétrico equivalente da bobina também foi elaborado através desta análise. Testes foram realizados para validar a análise física, e comparar a frequência de autorressonância calculada e medida para diversos números de espiras, de modo a comprovar a validade do modelo e das equações desenvolvidas. Um sensor biotelemétrico indutivo autorressonante, para medição de deslocamentos, utilizando a bobina bifilar de Tesla, foi desenvolvido para caracterizar a sua utilização como um sensor biomédico. / Biotelemetry is an important technique with many applications in biomedical engineering and other areas. The size of the remote unit or sensor is a major challenge in this area, and, in most cases, a sensor is desired to be as small as possible. Thus, passive sensors are interesting because they allow a smaller dimensions and do not require a power source or battery, which can harm the patient in the event of leakage of its chemical content. Thus, the self-ressonant inductive sensor is a good solution since it can be built with only one component. Due to its small size, this type of sensor has a low stray capacitance, which makes its self-resonance frequency very high. In this case, the bifilar coil, devised by Nikola Tesla, can be a solution, since Tesla's idea was to increase the intrinsic capacitance of his coils. Therefore a physical understanding of the bifilar coil is necessary, since as far as is known, this approach does not exist in the literature. From an analysis of the voltage between adjacent turns, equations of the Tesla's bifilar coil were developed, allowing the prediction of the increase on the internal capacitance and consequent reduction of the resonance frequency. An equivalent electric model was also developed from this analysis. This allowed the project of bifilar coils and the calculation of the internal capacitances and self-resonance frequencies of these coils. Tests were realized in order to compare the calculated and measured self-resonance for various numbers of turns, showing the validity of the presented method. A passive self-resonant biotelemetric sensor for displacement measurement using the Tesla's bifilar coil, was also developed.

Seabirds are wide-ranging apex-predators and useful bio-indicators of marine systems. Nevertheless, changes are occurring in the marine environment, and seabirds require protection from the deleterious effects of climate change, fisheries, pollution, offshore development, introduced predators and invasive species. The UK supports internationally important populations of seabirds but also has vast wind and wave resources, therefore understanding how seabirds use the marine environment is vital in order to quantify the potential consequences of further exploiting these resources. In this thesis I first describe the range of wave energy converting devices operational or in development in the UK, and review the potential threats and benefits these developments may have for marine birds. I then synthesise data from colony-based surveys with detailed information on population dynamics, foraging ecology and near-colony behaviour, to develop a projection model that identifies important at-sea areas for breeding seabirds. These models show a positive spatial correlation with one of the most intensive at-sea seabird survey datasets, and provide qualitatively similar findings to existing tracking data. This approach has the potential to identify overlap with offshore energy developments, and could be developed to suit a range of species or whole communities and provide a theoretical framework for the study of factors such as colony size regulation. The non-breeding period is a key element of the annual cycle of seabirds and conditions experienced during one season may carry-over to influence the next. Understanding behaviour throughout the annual cycle has implications for both ecological theory and conservation. Bio-logging can provide detailed information on movements away from breeding colonies, and the analysis of stable isotope ratios in body tissues can provide information on foraging during the non-breeding period. I combine these two approaches to describe the migration strategies of northern gannets Morus bassanus breeding at two colonies in the north-west Atlantic, revealing a high degree of both winter site fidelity and dietary consistency between years. These migratory strategies also have carry-over effects with consequences for both body condition and timing of arrival on the breeding grounds. Finally, I investigate the threats posed to seabirds and other marine predators during the non-breeding period by collating information on the distributions of five different species of apex predator wintering in the Northwest African upwelling region. I describe the threat of over-fishing and fisheries bycatch to marine vertebrates in this region, and highlight the need for pelagic marine protected areas to adequately protect migratory animals throughout the annual cycle. In summary, the combination of colony-based studies, bio-logging, stable isotope analysis and modelling techniques can provide a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between individuals and the marine environment over multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, May 2007.

No description available.

Management and conservation of populations of animals requires information on where they are, why they are there, and where else they could be. These objectives are typically approached by collecting data on the animals’ use of space, relating these to prevailing environmental conditions and employing these relations to predict usage at other geographical regions. Technical advances in wildlife telemetry have accomplished manifold increases in the amount and quality of available data, creating the need for a statistical framework that can use them to make population-level inferences for habitat preference and space-use. This has been slow-in-coming because wildlife telemetry data are, by definition, spatio-temporally autocorrelated, unbalanced, presence-only observations of behaviorally complex animals, responding to a multitude of cross-correlated environmental variables. I review the evolution of techniques for the analysis of space-use and habitat preference, from simple hypothesis tests to modern modeling techniques and outline the essential features of a framework that emerges naturally from these foundations. Within this framework, I discuss eight challenges, inherent in the spatial analysis of telemetry data and, for each, I propose solutions that can work in tandem. Specifically, I propose a logistic, mixed-effects approach that uses generalized additive transformations of the environmental covariates and is fitted to a response data-set comprising the telemetry and simulated observations, under a case-control design. I apply this framework to non-trivial case-studies using data from satellite-tagged grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) foraging off the east and west coast of Scotland, and northern gannets (Morus Bassanus) from Bass Rock. I find that sea bottom depth and sediment type explain little of the variation in gannet usage, but grey seals from different regions strongly prefer coarse sediment types, the ideal burrowing habitat of sandeels, their preferred prey. The results also suggest that prey aggregation within the water column might be as important as horizontal heterogeneity. More importantly, I conclude that, despite the complex behavior of the study species, flexible empirical models can capture the environmental relationships that shape population distributions.