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Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:56:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo3093_1.pdf: 6869100 bytes, checksum: 84babf04dc9aa424f94c497c190576d6 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Nós apresentamos um método eficiente para síntese de padrões definidos como uma coleção de elementos vetoriais bidimensionais, a partir de uma amostra do padrão. Soluções recentes para este problema fazem uso de triangulação da entrada ou de medidas estatísticas da amostra para controlar o estágio de síntese. Nós propomos um método aplicável a texturas coloridas, desde regular até estocásticas, e que provê controle local sobre a densidade dos elementos. A amostra é segmentada em grupos de elementos similares e definimos uma nova métrica, que não ignora elementos isolados, para cálculo de distância entre vizinhanças de elementos, para comparar vizinhanças diferentes e incompletas. O laço principal de síntese consiste em um crescimento procedural, onde sementes são substituídas por referências a elementos da amostra, gerando novas sementes até que o espaço de síntese seja preenchido. Os resultados mostram a mesma qualidade visual de trabalhos anteriores, e resolvem padrões não abordados em trabalhos anteriores. Nós também mostramos que este método pode ser estendido para sintetizar padrões vetoriais sobre malhas poligonais

This thesis aims to explore distributional patterns of tree species in the neotropical lowland rain forest biome based on diversity analyses, dated phylogenies and species distribution models, using the family Sapotaceae as a case study. Sapotaceae is an abundant and diverse group in the neotropical lowland rain forest and its distributional patterns are representative of other tree clades in this biome. These characteristics make this family a good model to test ecological and biogeographic hypothesis in neotropical rain forests. An analysis of beta-diversity measured by the number of shared species was used as a test of biotic homogeneity of Morrone's (2001) widely used system of neotropical biogeographic units. Biotic homogeneity was generally low, and Morrone's (2001) biogeographic regionalisation was found not to coincide with the distributional patterns of Sapotaceae species. Divergence times of Sapotaceae species were estimated using a dated phylogeny based on DNA sequences of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) to explore the effects of Andean uplift, closure of the Isthmus of Panama and Pleistocene climatic changes on the evolutionary history of lowland rain forests in northern South America. The Andean uplift was found to have affected patterns of distribution by creating new habitats and altering hydrologic systems in northern South America, and in some cases by isolating lineages to the east and west of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes. The closure of the Panama Isthmus and Pleistocene climatic changes do not seem to have strongly affected patterns of distribution or diversification in Sapotaceae. In general, the lack of congruent dates for many repeated biogeographic splits in the phylogeny (e.g., Amazon-Choco) suggests that idiosyncratic dispersal events have had a substantial effects on Sapotaceae's biogeography. Finally, species distribution models generated for Sapotaceae in the Neotropics were used to identify areas of high predicted species richness in Colombia. The highest diversity of Sapotaceae species was predicted for the inter-Andean valleys and northern Amazon. These results were compared to the current system of Protected Areas in this country, demonstrating that areas of high conservation value based on predicted species richness have a low coverage of Protected Areas. Such gaps highlight the potential need for new systems for the delimitation of basic units for conservation at national levels in Colombia.

The distribution, behaviours, and composition of dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) nursery groups off Kaikoura, New Zealand, were examined. Data were collected during January–May 2005 and December 2005–April 2006 by systematic boat based surveys, group focal follows and photo-identification techniques. A total of 99 nursery groups were encountered on survey. Nursery groups were encountered in shallow water (<20 m) significantly more often than in deeper water (>20 m). Other group types (large groups, mating groups, adult non-mating groups) were not found in shallow water significantly more often than in deeper water. By staying in the shallower water, nursery groups may be protected from aggressive conspecifics and predators. More boats, especially private recreational boats, were found in the shallower waters, indicating that nursery groups are at greater risk from encounters with boat motors or recreational fishing gear in such areas. Group focal follows of at least 30- minutes were conducted on 56 nursery groups. Calves engaged in significantly more high energy behaviours (displays and head first re-entries) than non-calves in nursery groups. These groups were predominantly resting and compactly organized (interanimal distance less than 1 adult body length). Nursery groups showed a high level of synchrony, with 44% of groups synchronizing their submergence and surfacings for most of the focal follow. Median group size was 14, with a minimum of 2 mother-calf pairs to a maximum of 50 mother-calf pairs. A total of 260 individuals were catalogued as members of nursery groups during the two field seasons. Of these, 112 individuals were seen in nursery groups on at least two different days. Some individuals photographed with young calves in nursery groups off Kaikoura were later photographed in Admiralty Bay, 275 km northwest of Kaikoura. Other individuals photographed together in nursery groups in 2005 were also together in nursery groups in 2006.

At Huntington Beach, SC meiofauna distribution was investigated. The purpose of the study was to determine tardigrade species present and any significant differences in the distribution pattern. Meiofauna were analyzed to determine if there were significant differences in their distribution patterns in relation to abiotic variables. Cores were taken in the intertidal zone along three elevations. Each core was divided into depth samples and was processed to remove meiofauna. Each taxon (>1500 specimens) and tardigrades was statistically analyzed using three-way ANOVA to compare distribution patterns. There were eighteen taxa identified and an estimated 330,338 specimens. The seven dominant taxa were Nematoda, Copepoda, Oligochaeta, Mystacocarida, Sarcomastigophora, Halacaroidea, and Turbellaria. The community and each taxon demonstrated one or more significant differences in their distribution pattern. Tardigrada had 326 specimens collected and 300 identified to species in five genera. Elevation was a source of significant variation for tardigrades.

No Brasil, Eriocaulaceae compreende 631 espécies, sendo Paepalanthus o maior gênero entre as monocotiledôneas da flora brasileira.A Serra do Cipó é o local que concentra a maior riqueza em inventários da família. Os estudos com Eriocaulaceae nessa região, iniciados desde o final do século 19, consideraram a delimitação da Serra do Cipó com diferentes contornos. Neste trabalho, propomos uma delimitação da Serra do Cipó, compreendendo 10 municípios, em cotas de altitude acima de 900 m, com predomínio de Campos Rupestres, delimitada a norte pelo rio Paraúna e a sul pela interrupção entre o Espinhaço Meridional e o Quadrilátero Ferrífero. Nessa proposta, a Serra do Cipó (2.735,4 km²) é dividida em cinco unidades: Cipó-Núcleo (572,40 km²), Cipó Sul (760,94 km²), Conceição do Mato Dentro (180,16 km²), Congonhas do Norte (935,37 km²) e Santana do Pirapama(276,57 km²).A partir de revisões na bibliografia e em herbários, o número total de espécies de Eriocaulaceae da Serra do Cipó foi atualizado de 136 para 160, com 55 espécies endêmicas, consideradas ameaçadas de extinção pelos critérios B1ab(iii) da IUCN. Paepalanthus conta com 85 espécies, sendo 41 endêmicas. Foi contabilizado o número de táxons de Eriocaulaceae para cada unidade terriorial: Cipó Central (145), Itambé do Mato Dentro (21), Santana do Pirapama (89) e Congonhas do Norte (46). 33 espécies são endêmicas de apenas uma dessas Unidades. Para o Parque Estadual da Serra do Intendente, localizado em Conceição do Mato Dentro, foram levantadas as espécies de Eriocaulaceae, com a elaboração de checklist, mapas para análise de padrão de distribuição, avaliação do status de ameaça, enquadramento em tipos de raridade. Além disso, foi testado o índice de similaridade Jaccard para as unidades da Região da Serra do Cipó, bem como UPGMA. No Parque, são encontrados 64 táxons, com destaque para Paepalanthus (45% das espécies). Há duas espécies novas de Actinocephalus. Constatamos que 31 táxons tiveram seus tipos nomenclaturais coletados na região do Parque e entorno. As espécies assumem cinco padrões de distribuição básicos: restritas à região, com ocorrência ampliada no Espinhaço, disjuntas para outras serras (Mantiqueira ou serras do Brasil Central) ou amplas em extensões continentais. O Parque teve maior similaridade com Santana do Pirapama (0,3960), seguido de Cipó Central (0,3497). 22 espécies são indicadas como Em Perigo, duas como Criticamente em Perigo e 23 espécies como Deficiente de Dados. Dentre os tipos de raridades, 15,5% são espécies raras constantemente esparsas, distribuição restrita e habitat específico, consideradas extremamente ameaçadas de extinção / Eriocaulaceae comprises 631 species in Brazil, with Paepalanthus as the biggest monocotyledon genus. The Serra do Cipó is the place where the the greatest species richness in inventories is concentrated. The Eriocaulaceae\'s studies in this region, which begun in the late 19th century, considered the delimitations of the Serra do Cipó with different contours. In this study, we adopted a delimitation of the Serra do Cipó, comprising 10 municipalities, in altitudes above 900 meters, where the \"Campos Rupestres\" (rocky grasslands) predominate, delimited to the north by the Paraúna River and to the south by the interruption between the Southern Espinhaço and the Quadrilátero Ferrífero. In this proposal, Serra do Cipó (2,735.4 km²) is divided into five units: Core Cipó (572,40 km²), South Cipó (760.94 km²), Conceição do MatoDentro (180.16 km²), Congonhas do Norte (935.37 km²) and Santana do Pirapama (276.57 km²). With reference in bibliographical and herbarium reviews, the total number of species of Eriocaulaceae of Serra do Cipó was updated from 136 to 160, with 55 endemic species, considered endangered by the IUCN\'s criteria B1ab (iii). Paepalanthus has 85 species, of which 41 are endemic. The number of Eriocaulaceae taxa was recorded for each territorial units: Cipó Central (145), Itambé do Mato Dentro (21), Santana do Pirapama (89) and Congonhas do Norte (46). 33 species are endemic to only one of these units. In the Serra do Intendente State Park, located in Conceição do Mato Dentro, inventory of the Eriocaulaceae species was carried out, with the elaboration of checklist, maps for analysis of distribution pattern and evaluation of threat status, classification in rarity types. Furthermore, we tested Jaccard similarity index with the units of the Region of Serra do Cipó, as well as UPGMA. In the Park, 64 taxa are found, highlighting Paepalanthus (45% of the species). There are two new species of Actinocephalus. We realized that 31 taxa have the materials of their nomenclatural types collected in the region of the Park and surroundings. The species assume five basic distribution patterns: restricted to the region, with increased occurrence in Espinhaço, disjunct distribution between Espinhaço and other ridges (Mantiqueira or Central Brazilian mountains) or broad in continental extensions. The Park had greater similarity with Santana do Pirapama (0.3960), followed by Central Cipó (0,3497). 22 species are listed as Endangered, two as Critically Endangered and 23 species as Data Deficient. Among rarity types, 15.5% are rare sparse species, with restricted distribution and specific habitat, considered to be extremely endangered

Two phylogenies of Phalaenopsis (Orchidaceae) are presented, one from combined chloroplast DNA data and one from a nuclear actin gene. We used these phylogenies to assess and modify the classification of Phalaenopsis and to examine several morphological characters and geographical distribution patterns. Our results support Christenson’s (2001) treatment of Phalaenopsis as a broadly defined genus that includes the species previously placed in the genera Doritis and Kingidium. Some of Christenson’s subgeneric groups needed to be recircumscribed to reflect a natural classification. We recognized four subgenera and six sections, subgenera Aphyllae, Parishianae (with sections Conspicuum, Delisiosae, Esmeralda, and Parishianae), Phalaenopsis, and Polychilos (with sections Fuscatae and Polychilos). In order to find a set of universally amplifiable, phylogenetically informative, single-copy nuclear regions, we conducted a whole genome comparison of the rice (Oryza sativa) and Arabidopsis thaliana genomes. We constructed a database of both genomes and searched for pairs of sequences using criteria we felt would ensure primers that would reliably amplify using standard PCR protocols. We tested the most promising 142 primer pairs in the lab on eighteen taxa and found four potentially informative markers in Phalaenopsis and one in Helianthus. Our results indicated that it will be difficult to find universal nuclear markers, however our database provides an important tool for finding informative nuclear markers within specific groups. The full set of primer combinations is available online at, “The Conserved Primer Pair Project,” http://aug.csres.utexas.edu:8080/cpp/index.html. We used fourteen Phalaenopsis species and seven horticultural hybrids to create a real dataset with which to test phylogenetic network reconstruction methods. We tested the performance of Neighbor-Net, implemented in SplitsTree, under four different categories of complexity: one hybrid, two independent hybrids (hybrids with no parents in common), three independent hybrids, and two non-independent hybrids (one parent was shared between hybrids). Neighbor-Net was able to predict accurately the parents of hybrids in only about half of the datasets we tested, and there were so many false positives that it was impossible to distinguish the hybrids from the species. We plan to use this dataset to test methods, such as RIATA and RGNet, when they become available. / text

The popularity of variable-rate technology (VRT) has grown. However, the limitations and errors ofthis technology are generally unknown. Therefore, a spatial data model was developed to generate "asapplied"surfaces to advance precision agricultural (PA) practices. A test methodology based on ASAEStandard S341.2 was developed to perform uniform-rate (UR) and variable-rate (VR) tests to characterizedistribution patterns testing four VRT granular applicators (two spinner spreaders and two pneumaticapplicators). Single-pass UR patterns exhibited consistent shapes for three of the applicators with patternsshifts observed for the fourth applicator. Simulated overlap analysis showed that three of the applicatorsperformed satisfactorily with most CVs less than 20% while one applicator performed poorly (CVs andgt;25%). The spinner spreaders over-applied at the margins but the pneumatic applicators under-appliedsuggesting a required adjustment to the effective swath spacing. Therefore, it is recommended that CVsaccompany overlap pattern plots to ensure proper calibration of VRT application.Quantification of the rate response characteristics for the various applicators illustrated varying delayand transition times. Only one applicator demonstrated consistent delay and transition times. A sigmoidalfunction was used to model the rate response for applicators. One applicator exhibited a linear responseduring a decreasing rate change. Rate changes were quicker for the two newer VR control systemssignifying advancement in hydraulic control valve technology. This research illustrates the need forstandard testing protocols for VRT systems to help guide VRT software developers, equipmentmanufacturers, and users.The spatial data model uses GIS functionality to merge applicator descriptive patterns with a spatialfield application file (FAF) to generate an 'as-applied' surface representing the actual distribution ofgranular fertilizer. Field data was collected and used to validate the "as-applied" spatial model.Comparisons between the actual and predicted application rates for several fields were madedemonstrating good correlations for one applicator (several R2 andgt; 0.70), moderate success for anotherapplicator (0.60 andlt; R2 andlt; 0.66), and poor relationships for the third applicator (R2 andlt; 0.49). A comparison ofthe actual application rates to the prescription maps generated R2 values between 0.16 and 0.81demonstrating inconsistent VRT applicator performance. Thus, "as-applied" surfaces provide a means toproperly evaluate VRT while enhancing researchers' ability to compare VR management approaches.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model to predict water extraction patterns and therefore salt distribution patterns in a one dimensional homogeneous soil profile for a specified root distribution . Water extraction was simulated as a function of the total potential and the root density at any level of the profile. Salt redistribution caused by irrigation was simulated by assuming a partial and proportional displacement of the water in each soil layer. A computer program was written for the model in Fortran language and implemented on the Vax. To evaluate the performance of the model, test studies were carried out in the laboratory using two lysimeters and wheat as a crop. A neutron probe and the four-probe electrode method were used to follow the change in the soil moisture and the salinity in the profile during the growing season. Comparisons were made between the measured and simulated values of water content and salinity. Application of the model results and recommendations for further research were suggested to improve the performance of the model.

<p>This is a study of martial material culture in the context of the Viking Age warrior of Birka, Sweden. The aim is to establish the role, function and affiliation of the Birka warrior and thereby place Birka on the power-political map of the 10th century. The study is based on the excavations of the fortified structures, particularly the Garrison, at the trading post of Birka as well as the extensive remains of material culture deriving from these investigations. A starting hypothesis is that an analysis of material culture constitutes a way of mapping social structures and that style and iconography reflect cultural groups, contacts and loyalties.</p><p>Based on the case studies of six papers, the synthesis deals with questions of the work and world view of the warriors, as too their relation to their contemporary counterparts in eastern and western Europe. Questions are raised concerning the value and function of symbols in a martial context where material culture reflects rank, status and office. In defining the Birka warrior’s particular stylistic expression, a tool is created and used in the search for contacts and affiliations reflected through the distribution patterns. The results show close contacts with the eastern trading posts located on the rivers Volga and Dnjepr in Ancient Russia.</p><p>It is stated that these Rus’ trading posts, essentially inhabited by Northmen, shared a common cultural expression that was maintained throughout a vast area by exceptionally close contacts. It is suggested that a particular stylistic expression developed in these Rus’ trading places containing elements of mainly Scandinavian, Steppe nomadic and Byzantine origin.</p><p>In conclusion, the results of this thesis show that the warriors from Birka’s Garrison had a share in the martial development of contemporary Europe but with their own particular traits. Close relations with the eastern trade route and contact with the powerful Byzantine Empire were enjoyed. As a pointer for future research, it is wondered what organisational form the close-knit structure of the Rus’ trading posts actually took, keeping the subsequent guilds of medieval Europe in mind. The fall of the Garrison, as of Birka, corresponds with the establishment of Christianity in the region. Such changes were not limited to Central Sweden but part of a greater process where a new political structure was developing, better anchored in local concerns.</p>