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. 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. 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. 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.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The lack of long-term data on communities of mollusks which today occupy impacted rivers and streams may hinder the determination of the degree to that the same are altered. In this sense, quantitative studies on the paleodiversity and spatial distribution of their communities are an important contribution to the knowledge of the biodiversity of freshwater mollusks and preserving the integrity of rivers in southern Brazil. The additive partitioning of species diversity is an efficient method to analyze the species diversity at several spatial scales and identify the most important source and target of efforts to conservation diversity. Another type of study is the quantitative fidelity. This type of analysis aims to assess the degree to which dead assemblages reflect the communities living, and enables answering questions about productivity, biomass and community structure of ancient as well as anthropogenic changes. This study aimed to identify and understand the spatial distribution of communities living mollusks and quantitative fidelity of live and dead assemblages in the Ibicuí River basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In chapter one, aimed to assess the distribution of mollusks communities in the Toropi River and partition of community diversity at different spatial scales. The results showed that all species mollusks found, as well as the community overall, exhibited clumped distribution, influencing the partition of beta diversity of communities of freshwater mollusks studied. Chapter two aimed to evaluate the degree of quantitative fidelity of dead and live assemblages mollusks of the Ibicuí River basin, southern Brazil, under the influence of three environmental factors at large and local spatial scale: relief (plain x slope), order of the rivers (small x medium-large) and grain size (gravelly x sandy). The results showed a difference in fidelity between the live and assemblages in the Ibicuí River basin in relation to species composition, dominance and richness. The live assemblages were related to these factors. The species composition of dead assemblages can be used to infer the order of rivers, can be used to reconstruct the order of hydrological environments where they are accumulated. However, the dead assemblies can not be used to provide information about relief because the accumulation of shells are not influenced by such environmental variable. / A inexistência de dados de longo prazo sobre as comunidades de moluscos que hoje ocupam rios e riachos, atualmente, pode dificultar a determinação do grau em que as mesmas encontram-se alteradas. Nesse sentido, estudos quantitativos sobre a paleodiversidade e a distribuição espacial de suas comunidades representam importante contribuição ao conhecimento da biodiversidade dos moluscos límnicos e preservação da integridade dos rios do sul do Brasil. A partição aditiva da diversidade de espécies é uma forma eficiente para analisar a diversidade de espécies em várias escalas espaciais e identificar a fonte mais importante e o destino dos esforços para a conservação da diversidade. Outro método, a fidelidade quantitativa, permite responder questões sobre produtividade, biomassa e estrutura de comunidades, assim como alterações antropogênicas, analisando o grau com que associações mortas refletem as comunidades vivas, O presente estudo teve como objetivos conhecer e compreender a distribuição espacial das comunidades vivas de moluscos e a fidelidade quantitativa das assembléias vivas e mortas na bacia do rio Ibicuí, extremo sul do Brasil. No capítulo um, objetivou-se avaliar a distribuição das comunidades de moluscos no rio Toropi e a partição da diversidade da comunidade em diferentes escalas espaciais. Os resultados mostraram que todas as espécies de moluscos encontrados, bem como, a comunidade no total, exibiram distribuição agregada, influenciando a partição da diversidade beta das comunidades de moluscos límnicos estudadas. O capítulo dois teve como objetivo avaliar o grau da fidelidade quantitativa das associações vivas e mortas de moluscos da bacia do Rio Ibicuí, sul do Brasil, sob a influência de três fatores ambientais, em escala espacial ampla e local: relevo (planície x encosta), ordem dos rios (pequena x média-grande) e granulometria (substrato arenoso x cascalhoso). Os resultados demonstraram uma diferença na fidelidade entre as assembleias vivas e mortas na bacia do Rio Ibicuí, em relação a composição de espécies, dominância e riqueza. As assembleias vivas estiveram relacionadas a estes fatores. A composição de espécies das assembleias mortas pode ser usada para inferir a ordem dos rios, podendo ser utilizadas para reconstituir a ordem hidrológica dos ambientes onde estão acumuladas. No entanto, as assembleias mortas não podem ser utilizadas para fornecer informações sobre relevo, pois as acumulações de conchas não foram influenciadas por essa variável ambiental.

Microclimatic gradients may have large influence on individual vital rates and population growth rates of species, and limit their distributions. Therefore, I focused on the influence of microclimate on individual performance and distribution of species. Further, I examined differences in how microclimate affect species with contrasting distributions or different ecophysiological traits, and populations within species. More specifically, I investigated the performance of northern and southern distributed forest bryophytes that were transplanted across microclimatic gradients, and the timing of vegetative and reproductive development among northern, marginal and more southern populations of a forest herb in a common garden. Also, I compared the landscape and continental distributions across forest bryophytes and vascular plants and, thus, their distribution limiting factors at different spatial scales. Lastly, I examined the population dynamics across microclimatic gradients of transplants from northern and southern populations of a forest moss. The effects of microclimatic conditions on performance differed among bryophytes with contrasting distributions. There were no clear differences between northern and southern populations in the timing of development of a forest herb or in the population dynamics of a moss. However, within each region there was a differentiation of the forest herb populations, related to variation in local climatic conditions and in the south also to proportion of deciduous trees. The continental distributions of species were reflected in their landscape distributions and vice versa, in terms of their occurrence optima for climatic variables. The variation in landscape climatic optima was, however, larger than predicted, which limit the precision for predictions of microrefugia. Probably, the distributions of vascular plants were more affected by temperature than the distributions of bryophytes. Bryophytes are sensitive to moisture conditions, which was demonstrated by a correlation between evaporation and the population growth rate of a forest moss. We might be able to predict species’ landscape scale distributions by linking microclimatic conditions to their population growth rates, via their vital rates, and infer larger scale distribution patterns. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p> / EkoKlim

Fauna conservation outside protected areas can make an important complementary contribution to conservation within reserves. This thesis aimed to contribute new information and analytical frameworks to the science of fauna conservation in human-modified landscapes. Two approaches were used: (1) empirical data collection and analysis, and (2) the discussion and development of conceptual landscape models. ¶ Empirical work focused on lizard distribution patterns in two production landscapes in southeastern Australia. Lizards were targeted because ectotherms are frequently neglected by conservation biologists. The “Nanangroe grazing landscape” was used for sheep and cattle grazing. In this landscape, approximately 85% of pre-European woodland cover had been cleared, and understorey vegetation was sparse. Lizards were surveyed at 16 landscape units, which were stratified by aspect, topographic position and amount of tree cover. Each landscape unit contained three sites, and each site contained three plots. Regression modelling showed that different species responded differently to their environment. For example, the four-fingered skink (Carlia tetradactyla) and Boulenger’s skink (Morethia boulengeri) were more likely to occur at woodland sites with northerly aspects, whereas the striped skink (Ctenotus robustus) and olive legless lizard (Delma inornata) were more likely to inhabit sites with a simple microhabitat structure. Statistical analysis further showed that the habitat attributes that lizards were related to varied continuously through space, and over different spatial scales. For example, invertebrate abundance (a proxy for food availability) varied most strongly over tens of metres, whereas the amount of grass cover varied most strongly over hundreds to thousands of metres. Thus, work at Nanangroe revealed spatially complex patterns of lizard occurrence and habitat variables. ¶ The “Tumut plantation landscape” was a spatial mosaic of native eucalypt (Eucalyptus) forest patches embedded within a plantation of the introduced radiata pine (Pinus radiata). In this landscape, thirty sites were surveyed for lizards. Sites were stratified by forest type and patch size, and included eucalypt patches, pine sites, and extensive areas of eucalypt forest adjacent to the plantation. Regression modelling showed that lizard species responded to various habitat attributes, including elevation, the amount of eucalypt forest within 1 km of a site, invertebrate abundance and ground cover. Variables related to habitat fragmentation often were significant predictors of lizard occurrence. However, work at Tumut suggested that important additional insights into lizard distribution patterns could be obtained by considering variables related to food and shelter resources, and climatic conditions. ¶ The Nanangroe and Tumut landscapes were in close proximity, but together spanned an altitudinal gradient of 900 m. An investigation of changes in lizard community composition with altitude showed that (1) only one species was common to Nanangroe and Tumut, (2) different species had different altitudinal preferences, and (3) ecologically similar species replaced one another with increasing altitude. These results highlighted that even in highly modified landscapes, natural gradients (such as climate) can play an important role in shaping animal assemblage composition and species distribution patterns. ¶ Empirical work suggested that, in some landscapes, the frequently used “fragmentation model” is a relatively weak conceptual basis for the study of animal distribution patterns. The fragmentation model implicitly assumes that “habitat patches” can be defined unequivocally across many species, and that patches are located within a relatively inhospitable matrix. Where these assumptions are breached, conservation guidelines arising from the fragmentation model may be too simplified. In spatially complex production landscapes, it may be more appropriate to maintain habitat heterogeneity at multiple spatial scales than to focus solely on the management of large, pre-defined patches. ¶ Given the potential limitations of the fragmentation model, a new, more holistic landscape model was developed. The “continuum model” was derived from continuum theory as developed for plant ecology. The continuum model recognises (1) spatial continua of environmental variables, and (2) species’ individualistic responses to these variables. For animals, key environmental variables may be related to the availability of food, shelter, sufficient space, and suitable climatic conditions. Unlike the fragmentation model, the continuum model is inherently process-based and thus may help to link the perceived gap between patterns and processes in landscape ecology. ¶ Three general conclusions arise from this thesis: 1. Some heterogeneous production landscapes support many native species, and therefore represent important conservation opportunities. 2. In some modified landscapes, the fragmentation model does not capture the complexity of animal distribution patterns. In those landscapes, conservation recommendations derived from the fragmentation model may be overly simplistic. 3. The continuum model may be a useful extension of the fragmentation model. It provides a process-based conceptual basis for empirical work on animal distribution patterns.

From the Proceedings of the 1972 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - May 5-6, 1972, Prescott, Arizona / A raingage reading is a sample from the point rainfall population of an area. The actual average rainfall on the area (watershed) is a conditional probability distribution. For the case of thunderstorm rainfall this distribution is simulated by looking at all storms that could have produced the raingage reading. The likelihood of each storm is a function of its center depth. The amount of rain dumped on the watershed by each storm is weighted by the likelihood of its occurence and the totality of such calculations is used to produce a probability distribution of rainfall on the watershed. Examples are given to illustrate the versatility of the program and its possible use in decision analysis.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-04-04T17:26:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 guilhermerossigorni.pdf: 1287469 bytes, checksum: 646f7d2690ba7bbe109e210c664f269b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-04-06T10:42:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 guilhermerossigorni.pdf: 1287469 bytes, checksum: 646f7d2690ba7bbe109e210c664f269b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-06T10:42:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 guilhermerossigorni.pdf: 1287469 bytes, checksum: 646f7d2690ba7bbe109e210c664f269b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-23 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este estudo visa ao levantamento de espécies e um melhor entendimento da distribuição espacial da Classe Oligochaeta em córregos de baixa ordem do Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão (PECJ) (SP - Brasil). Para isto, foi elaborado um trabalho abordando três aspectos apresentados nesta dissertação em forma de capítulos: 1) levantamento da riqueza de espécies de Oligochaeta; 2) distribuição espacial e temporal das espécies de Oligochaeta; 3) distribuição em meso-escala (mesohabitats) das espécies de Oligochaeta. As amostras da fauna, utilizando-se um amostrador tipo “Surber”, foram realizadas em trechos dos córregos Galharada, Campo do meio e Serrote durante o período de maio de 2005 a maio de 2006. De maneira geral, nossos resultados indicam que: 1) apesar das características peculiares dos córregos de baixa ordem do PECJ, a fauna Oligochaeta apresentou-se bastante rica; 2) a utilização de técnicas refinadas no processamento das amostras resultou em uma cobertura amostral satisfatória, fazendo-se necessária em trabalhos que visam ao levantamento de espécies de Oligochaeta em áreas de preservação ambiental; 3) Os processos hidrológicos dos córregos, juntamente ao aporte alimentar parecem ser os principais fatores de influência na composição da comunidade de Oligochaeta; 4) As espécies de Tubificidae demonstraram maior afinidade por habitats livres de correnteza contendo certa quantidade de detritos orgânicos, enquanto que as espécies de Naididae preferem habitats com certa correnteza onde há retenção de detritos vegetais. Nossos achados remontam à importância da manutenção de áreas preservadas para a conservação da biodiversidade, visto que qualquer tipo de alteração nesses ambientes pode acarretar drásticas perdas na composição das comunidades. / This study aims to survey species and to better understand the spatial distribution of the Class Oligochaeta in low order streams at Campos do Jordão State Park (PECJ) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. For this purpose, three aspects were examined and presented as chapters in this dissertation: 1) a survey of the variety of Oligochaeta; 2) spatial and temporal distribution of Oligochaeta species; 3) mesoscale distribution (mesohabitats) of Oligochaeta species. Samples of the fauna were collected between May 2005 and May 2006 in stretches of Galharada, Campo do Meio and Serrote streams using a Surber sampler. In general, our results indicate that: 1) despite the peculiar characteristics of PECJ’s low order streams, the Oligochaeta fauna was considered quite rich; 2) the use of fine techniques in sample processing resulted in satisfactory sample coverage, making this use necessary for surveys of Oligochaeta species in environmental conservation areas; 3) apparently, the main factors influencing the Oligochaeta community composition are hydrological processes in the streams and food intake; 4) Tubificidae species showed greater affinity for non-flowing habitats with organic debris, while Naididae species showed greater affinity for flowing habitats where vegetable debris are retained. Our findings point to the importance of maintaining preserved areas for the conservation of biodiversity, as any alteration to these environments may cause drastic losses in the communities’ composition.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T15:01:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006-Marcio de Araujo Silva.pdf: 1021649 bytes, checksum: 0b981908af67bec8e46455a6b9a080ca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-04-25 / Morphological variation for the anchovy Lycengraulis grossidens (Agassiz, 1829) in 14 sites along the Brazilian coast (Par? to Rio Grande do Sul) were described to quantify the intraspecific heterogeneity, and to test the hypothesis that seeking for adaptability to different areas results in differentiated patterns that characterize isolated populations. A total of 210 individuals from collection from Museums plus donations, were examined, from which 18 morphometric and 5 meristic characters were taken. Three groups (populations) were formed based on morphometrics and one additional group (4 groups) by meristic characters, indicating the presence of 4 populations along the Brazilian coast. Population I, from the Par? coast, inhabit an area of major influence of the Amazon river, showing waters of low salinity and high temperature. Population II, from Cear? to Esp?rito Santo State, has a wider distribution, showing overall similar mophological characters to population I, indicating gene flow between these two populations. Population III comprises fishes between Rio de Janeiro and S?o Paulo States, and show a transition zone with population II well evidenced in the north of Rio de Janeiro, suggesting to be an hybridizing area. Population IV, from Santa Catarina to Rio Grande do Sul, showed the highest number and largest sized gillrakers, being the most morphologically differentiated group. Fishes from low latitudes showed higher body width, head length, cheek length, maxilla length, mouth length and peduncle width compared with fishes from high latitude. Additionally, specimens from Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul showed anal and dorsal fins located in more posterior body position, while anal fin base was larger for specimens form Rio de Janeiro and S?o Paulo, indicating that fishes from this former areas (SC and RS) have higher capacity to move in higher speed when compared with fishes from this latter area (RJ e SP). Concerning to meristics characters, there is an increased number of gillrakers from lower to higher latitudes, coinciding with the expectation of somites addition to occur faster in acceleration condition than under retarding condition, but finish abruptly, resulting in lower number of meristics element in higher temperatures. Several zoogeographic pattern has been described for the Brazilian coast, with the Antillean Province situated at north of Cabo Frio (23oS), a transition area between Cabo Frio (23oS) and the surrounds of Cabo de Santa Marta Grande (28?-30?S), and the Argentine Province up to 35?S, with this division closely coinciding with L.grossidens populations distribution in this study, except for the Para coast, where we recognize a differentiated group. / Varia??es morfo-meristicas da manjuba Lycengraulis grossidens (Agassiz, 1829) em 14 localidades da costa brasileira (Par? ao Rio Grande do Sul) foram descritas com o objetivo de quantificar a heterogeneidade intra-espec?fica, visando testar a hip?tese de que a adaptabilidade em ?reas diferentes resulta em padr?es diferenciados que caracterizem diferentes popula??es. Foram examinados 210 indiv?duos oriundos de cole??es depositadas em Museus e complementadas com doa??es, dos quais foram tomados 18 caracteres morfom?tricos e 5 mer?sticos. Tr?s grupos (popula??es) foram formados com base nos caracteres morfom?tricos e um grupo adicional (4 grupos) por caracteres mer?sticos, indicando a presen?a de 4 popula??es ao longo da costa brasileira. A popula??o I, do litoral do Par?, habita uma ?rea sob grande influ?ncia do rio Amazonas, com ?guas de baixa salinidade e alta temperatura. A popula??o II, que se estende do Cear? ao Esp?rito Santo, ? a de distribui??o mais ampla, apresentando em geral caracteres morfol?gicos semelhantes aos da popula??o I, o que poderia indicar a exist?ncia de fluxo g?nico entre as mesmas. A popula??o III compreende os peixes distribu?dos entre Rio de Janeiro e S?o Paulo, e apresenta uma zona de transi??o com a popula??o II bastante evidenciada no norte do Rio de Janeiro, aparentando ser esta ?ltima uma ?rea de hibridiza??o. A popula??o IV, de Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul, apresenta como caracter?sticas mais marcantes o n?mero e o comprimento dos rastros branquiais, sendo o grupo morfologicamente mais diferenciado. Peixes de baixas latitudes apresentaram maior altura do corpo, comprimento da cabe?a, comprimento da face, comprimento da maxila, comprimento da boca e altura do ped?nculo caudal, comparados aos peixes de altas latitudes. Adicionalmente, os esp?cimes da popula??o IV apresentaram nadadeira anal e dorsal localizadas em posi??o mais posterior do corpo, enquanto a base da nadadeira anal foi maior em esp?cimes do Rio de Janeiro e S?o Paulo, indicando que peixes da popula??o IV possuem maior capacidade de se deslocar em velocidade quando comparados com peixes do Rio de Janeiro e S?o Paulo. Em rela??o aos caracteres mer?sticos verificou-se um aumento do n?mero de rastros branquiais das menores para as maiores latitudes, coincidindo com a expectativa de que a adi??o de somitos ocorre mais rapidamente sob condi??es de acelera??o do que sob condi??es retardantes, mas termina mais abruptamente, resultando em menor n?mero de elementos mer?sticos em temperaturas mais altas. V?rios padr?es zoogeogr?ficos t?m sido sugeridos para a costa brasileira, com a Prov?ncia Antilhana situada ao norte de Cabo Frio (23oS), uma ?rea de transi??o entre Cabo Frio (23oS) e o os arredores Cabo de Santa Marta Grande (28?-30?S), e a Prov?ncia Argentina at? 35?S, com esta divis?o da costa de certo modo, coincidindo com as distribui??es das popula??es de L.grossidens encontradas no presente trabalho, com exce??o da ?rea costeira do Par?, onde reconhecemos um grupo diferenciado.

En la presente tesis se muestrearon ríos sobre los 2000 msnm (ríos altoandinos tropicales) que se distribuyen en la amplia región de los Andes del Norte (Ecuador) y los Andes Centrales (Perú) en Sudamérica. El muestreo de las 123 localidades se realizó en época seca, las cuales se seleccionaron tomando en cuenta su grado de alteración, que van desde sin o poca alteración (referencia) hasta muy alterados. En una primera instancia se analizaron las carácteristicas fisicoquímicas e hidromorfológicas de los ríos, las cuales mostraron una alta influencia de la altitud. Se registraron reducciones en la temperatura y oxígeno a medida que la altitud se incrementaba, por otra parte las diferencias en la heterogeneidad de los hábitats, así como la calidad del bosque de ribera fueron dos factores con un alta importancia al momento de caracterizar los ríos altoandinos. Se econtraron diferencias en la mineralización en los diferentes dominios morfotectónicos, siendo más elevados los valores de conductividad en las zonas del sur, debido a la geomorfología propia de cada zona. La comunidad bentónica mostro estar altamente influenciada por la altitud y la latitud. La altitud mostró intervenir positiva o negativamente en la abundancia y frecuencia de algunos géneros como Hyalella, Podonomopsis, Claudioperla, Anomalopsyche, Paltostoma, Rheotanytarsus, Camelobaetidius, etc. Por su parte, la latitud reveló la tendencia de algunos taxa a disminuir o aumentar su abundancia y frecuencia, tal es el caso de Anacroneuria, Camelobaetidius, Anchytarsus, Hagenulopsis, Claudioperla, Austrelmis, Smicridea, etc. Por otra parte y como punto novedoso para el conicimiento de la zona de estudio, se analizó a la familia Chironomidae a nivel de género, hecho importante para el conocimiento taxónomico de la familia en ríos tropicales de los Andes sobre los 2000 msnm, ya que no hay trabajos a este nivel taxonómico en la zona altoandina. La familia Chironomidae mostro patrones similares a los de la comunidad bentónica en general, sindo los factores relacionados con la altitud (oxígeno y temperatura) lo que determinan en gran medida su distrbución, sin embargo, al igua que el resto de la comunidad la heterogenidad de hábitats mostraron ser de suma importancia para la familia de los quironómidos. Además, la litografía y la biogeografía fueron dos factores que determinan la composición de esta familia. Con esta visión general, se analizaron los patrones de biodiversidad de estos ríos, donde se determinó que la comunidad bentónica altoandina tiene una amplia variabilidad en la diversidad local mientras que si analizamos la diversidad Gamma hay una tendencia a disminuir tanto a medida que la altitud y la latitud aumentan. Por su parte se evidenció cambios en la composición de la comunidad, la cual fue evidente también en ambos gradientes, sin embargo debido a la amplia heterogeneidad ambiental fue necesario analizar la reposición de especies a diferentes escalas de agrupación ya que sin esta corrección los cambios ambientales locales no permiten visualizar los patrones existentes en la comunidad, indicandonos la importancia de los factores locales en la biodiversidad regional. Finalmente, y con la recopilación de la estructura, composición y distribución de la fauna béntica, así como de la variabilidad ambiental tanto natural como antropogénica, se desarrolló un índice multimétrico que nos permite evaluar la calidad ecológica de los ríos altoandinos aplicable a una zona geográfica amplia. Los análisis previos al desarrollo del índice multimétrico demostraron que la variabilidad de la zona alta (localidades de páramo y puna) y la zona baja (localidades de bosque montano) era diferente. Posteriormente usando a las comunidades de macroinvertebrados acuáticos de las localidades de referencia se determinaron a dichas zonas como tipologías diferentes, las cuales se usaron para desarrollar el IMEERA-B (Bosque) y el IMEERA-P (Páramos y Punas). En nuestro estudio en la zona baja el gradiente de presión está determinado por la contaminación orgánica y la degradación hidromorfológica, y en la zona alta el gradiente está influenciado por la contaminación orgánica y la heterogeneidad del hábitat. Finalmente, se determinaron 6 métricas para IMEERA-B que evalúan la riqueza, el hábito y la tolerancia/intolerancia, y para el IMEERA-P se determinaron 4 métricas que evalúan la riqueza y la tolerancia/intolerancia. / STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES COMMUNITIES IN HIGHLAND ANDEAN RIVERS OF ECUADOR AND PERU. DESIGN OF A MEASURE OF WATER QUALITY WITH MULTIMETRIC INDEXES In this thesis we sampled Highland Andean Rivers above 2000 m a.s.l. (tropical andean highland rivers) which are distributed in a wide geographical region of the North Andes (Ecuador) and Central Andes (Peru) in South America. In total 123 sites were sampled in dry season, which were selected taking into account the anthropogenic influence gradient, ranging from no alteration, little alteration (i.e., reference) to highly altered. The physico-chemical caracteristics of rivers showed a high altitud influence. We recorded a decrease in both temperature and oxygen as altitude increases. Habitat heterogeneity and the riverine forest quality were identified as determinant enviromental characteristics regarding the andean higland rivers studied. The mineralization show differences between the morphotectonics groups, while were the conductivity was higher at the south, depending on the geomorphology of each zone. The sampled macroinvertebrate assemblages were influenced by both latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. In detail, assemblages showed different gradient responses (positive or negative), depending of the organism and its requirements. The patterns of abundance and richness are probably determined by the environmental variability observed, and described by the temperature, oxygen, habitat heterogeneity and the presence, and absence of riverine forest. The family Chironomidae, as we expected, showed different responses depending of the genus, while the composition of the family was determined mainly by temperature, oxygen, lithography. and biogeography. We also studied the biodiversity patterns of Highland Andean Rivers rivers. The benthic community assemblage showed a high variability at local diversity (alpha diversity), while the gamma diversity decreased in both latitude and altitude gradients. Moreover, the community presented some discontinuities in the beta diversity. Regarding latitudinal gradient, the composition of assemblage changed in each morphological group, while altitude changes were described by vegetation types (mountain forest or páramo-puna) or presence or absence of riverine forest. Finally, using the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities of the reference sites, two different zones were identified as distinct from each other: from 2000 to 3500 m a.s.l and those sites at altitudes higher than 3500 m a.sl.. For such reasons two versions of a multi-metric index - the IMEERA index - were developed. The IMEERA B index includes six metrics evaluating richness, habit and tolerance/intolerance. The IMEERA P index was calculated using four metrics evaluating richness and tolerance/intolerance. Results showed that in lower altitudes (Bosque river type, IMEERA-B index), the pressure gradient was driven by the organic pollution and the hydromorphological degradation, while in higher altitudes (Páramo and Puna river types; IMEERA-P river type), the gradient was driven by the organic pollution and the habitat heterogeneity.

From the Proceedings of the 1971 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 22-23, 1971, Tempe, Arizona / The distribution of groundwater having temperature considered to be higher than normal is examined on a regional basis. Much of the work was done by searching the literature and examining USGS records. The geographic distribution of the thermal waters is reviewed; relation to structure, geothermal gradients and water quality are discussed. Current and past utilization of thermal water from both springs and wells of the state has never been very extensive. Conclusions were: (1) the occurrence of thermal water in the state is closely allied to major structural elements, especially major fault zones; (2) geothermal gradients vary widely from place to place; (3) the extent of 'bedrock' influence on thermal water occurrence is difficult to ascertain; (4) most thermal water in southern Arizona is derived from meteoric water.

From the Proceedings of the 1975 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 11-12, 1975, Tempe, Arizona / Current catchment methods of measuring precipitation have several problems which affect their accuracy. The physical presence of the gage disturbs windflow patterns and reduces catch. Other errors of less significance arise from evaporation from the gage, and wetting of the gage. A method is described of measuring precipitation by scattering light from a beam by waterdrops. The sampling medium is a collimated beam from a helium-neon laser. The amount of light scattered is a function of the number and size of drops intercepting the beam.