O espaço moderno produz segundo uma lógica de simultaneidade paisagens contrastantes e com caracteríscas de ocupação distintas. A cidade de Vitória revela uma paisagem de dimensão singular e plural, de natureza fragmentada: a paisagem da região nordeste, correspondente à orla marítima, expressa a riqueza e os signos da cidade global, criando assim, uma condição antagônica à paisagem da região noroeste, cujos ecossistemas naturais e humanos coexistem precariamente. Essas assimetrias espaciais representam um processo dialético de inclusão e exclusão social inerentes à modernidade. A pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar a paisagem da Baía Noroeste no âmbito do município, buscando compreender os processos sociais e espaciais cumulativos que impuseram profundas transformações à sua base natural e sócio-espacial, considerando os seguintes aspectos: os impactos e correspondências que se estabelecem entre as regiões - nordeste e noroeste - a partir da instauração do capital industrial e da solicitação de um espaço compatível com a modernização; a forma como a região da Baía Noroeste se integra à produção e à gestão empresarial do município; os desafios e expectativas que se apresentam para a paisagem e a comunidade da Ilha das Caieiras a partir de sua inserção no Pólo Turístico; e por fim, a discussão da importância da participação da população na preservação do ecossistema manguezal como elemento estruturador da paisagem, da identidade e da cultura urbana capixaba. Desse modo, pretende-se uma nova abordagem sobre a paisagem do lugar, mostrando que a globalização se configura, não pela ausência de referenciais locais, mas por um excesso de representações ideológicas materializadas no cotidiano que redefinem seu conteúdo. E nesse contexto, mostrar que, a articulação do espaço econômico inclui o político, não apenas como externalidade, mas como estruturante na conformação da paisagem. / Modern space simultaneously produces contrasting landscapes with different characteristics in terms of urban ocupation. In this context, the city of Vitória unfolds diversified and fragmentary landscapes of both single and plural dimensions: the coastal northeast area expresses the wealth and signs of the global city as opposed to the northwestern area, whose natural and human ecosystems coexist in a precarious way. Such spatial assimetries represent a dialectical process of social inclusion and exclusion inherent in modern times. The main objective of this research was to analyse the Northwestern Bay landscape within the municipal boundaries. It seeks to understand the social and spatial cumulative processes that deeply altered its natural and social-spatial basis taking into account the following aspects: the impacts and co-relations between the two regions (northeast and northwest) after the industrial establishment which demanded a different urban space compatible with modernization; the ways through which the Northwestern Bay area is integrated with the municipal production and management; the challenges and expectations of the Caieiras Island landscape and community since its insertion in the tourism industry and finally the importance of community participation and empowerment towards the preservation of the mangrove ecosystem as an important landscape structural feature which expresses local capixaba cultural identity. The dissertation offers a new approach to local landscape processes and shows that globalization is expressed not by the lack of local references but by the implementation of an ideological model materialized into ordinary life which ends up reshaping landscape forms. In this context, the research shows that the articulation of economic space includes the political sphere, not merely as an external influence but as a vital infra-structural instance in the configuration of landscape

A região compreendida entre os trechos alto do rio Paranapanema, médio do rio Tietê e o rio Sorocaba possui longo histórico de influência humana na paisagem. Esta influência intensificouse nos dois últimos séculos com a passagem de estradas de ferro e a construção de hidroelétricas, entre outras modificações que implicaram em alterações do uso da terra. Uma das mudanças significativas foi a chegada e expansão rápida da silvicultura de eucalipto. A estrutura desta vegetação cultivada e seu ciclo produtivo têm influência sobre as comunidades vegetais e animais nativas. Neste estudo foi avaliada a influência da conformação geométrica da paisagem e da idade de plantio de áreas de silvicultura de eucalipto sobre padrões de distribuição e abundância de mamíferos de médio e grande porte. Foi possível demonstrar que herbívoros são favorecidos por áreas extensas de vegetação nativa com geometria simples, enquanto onívoros se beneficiam da ausência de grandes predadores e da geometria convoluta da vegetação nativa em áreas onde a matriz de eucalipto domina a paisagem. Onde o eucalipto é a feição dominante da paisagem agrícola, estas espécies utilizam o interior dos talhões em fase intermediária de cultivo, quando existe sub-bosque que ofereça abrigo e recursos alimentares. Tais observações reforçam a importância da manutenção de Áreas de Preservação Permanente e de Reserva Legal em paisagens agrícolas, assim como questionam o conservadorismo na aplicação da legislação que leva ao embargo do corte de eucaliptais com sub-bosque, diminuindo o valor de conservação desta cultura sobre a fauna de médios e grandes mamíferos nativos. Palavras-chaves: mamíferos de médio e grande porte, padrões de distribuição e abundância, paisagem agrícola, eucalipto. / The region comprehended amid the high portion of river Paranapanema, mid portion of river Tietê and the river Sorocaba, has a long history of human influence on landscape. This influence was intensified during the past two centuries through the passage of railroads and hydroelectric dam constructions along with other modifications that had implications on land use changes. One of the significant modifications was the arrival and rapid expansion of eucalypt silviculture. The structure and cycle of production of this cultivated vegetation have influence on plant and animal native communities. In this study, geometric conformity and age of planted stands in eucalypt silviculture areas were evaluated on patterns of distribution and abundance of medium to large size mammals. It was possible to demonstrate that herbivores are favored by extensive areas of native vegetation, while omnivores benefit from the absence of large predators and complex geometry of native vegetation in landscapes with dominant eucalypt matrix. Where eucalypt plantations are the commonest landscape features, these species use central areas of silviculture stands in intermediate stages of cultivation, when there is undergrowth that offers shelter and food resources. These observations reinforce the importance of Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves in agricultural landscapes, as well as they question the conservatism on application of environmental laws that leads to the legal impediment of harvest on eucalypt stands with undergrowth, decreasing conservation value of this culture for medium to large size mammals fauna.

Bactérias quitinolíticas desenvolvem papel fundamental no ciclo de nutrientes através da degradação da quitina no ecossistema marinho. A hidrólise da quitina é realizada por quitinases, as quais podem ser utilizadas em processos biotecnológicos. O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar as condições ótimas de cultivo de bactérias quitinolíticas selecionadas do gênero Aeromonas e a degradação de quitina durante 96 horas de cultivo. Além disso, caracterizá-las pelo sequenciamento total do gene 16S rRNA e por MLSA. O estudo mostrou que os isolados representam duas espécies do gênero Aeromonas. Os isolados comportaram-se de diferentes maneiras em relação às condições de cultivo pré-determindas. Os halos de hidrólise de quitina não estão relacionados à atividade enzimática ou aos produtos de hidrólise de quitina quantificados. As maiores atividades de quitobiosidases e endoquitinases foram observadas em 24 horas e de N-acetil-glicosaminidases em 96 horas. Os perfis enzimáticos diferem entre os isolados e ao longo das 96 horas de cultivo mostrando diversidade enzimática. / Chitinolytic bacteria have key role in nutrient cycling through the chitin degradation in the marine ecosystem. The hydrolysis of chitin is performed by chitinases, which can be used in biotechnological processes. The study aimed to evaluate the optimal conditions for cultivation of selected chitinolytic bacteria of the Aeromonas genus and the degradation of chitin during 96 hours of culture. Moreover, characterize them by 16S rRNA gene full sequencing and MLSA. The study showed that the isolates represent two species of the Aeromonas genus. The isolates had different behavior in relation under conditions pre-determined. The halos of chitin hydrolysis were not related to enzymatic activity or to their products of chitin hydrolysis quantified. The hightest activities of chitobiosidases and endochitinases were observed in 24 hours and the N-acetyl-glicosaminidases in 96 hours. The enzyme profiles differ between isolates and during 96 hours of cultivation showing diversity enzyme.

Desequilíbrios ambientais provocados pela combinação de queimadas, desmatamentos e os fenômenos de ENSO (Oscilação Sul de El Nino) podem ser os responsáveis pelo aumento de períodos de seca na região Amazônica. Com o propósito de compreender as conseqüências que longos períodos de seca podem causar na Floresta Nacional de Tapajós, foi desenvolvido um modelo numérico que simula a dinâmica da água no solo e o Balanço Hídrico para um latossolo (Haplustox, na taxonomia Americana), muito comum na região Amazônica. As simulações foram realizadas para o período de 1999 a 2003, utilizando dados de precipitação, evapotranspiração, umidade do solo, curvas de retenção, propriedades físicas do solo coletadas no local de estudo. Este estudo integra o Projeto Seca-Floresta do grupo de pesquisa do LBA (Experimento de Grande Escala da Biosfera-Atmosfera na Amazônia) para o experimento de exclusão parcial da chuva no projeto na Floresta Nacional Tapajós no que diz respeito a componente de modelagem hidrológica. Os resultados mostraram que, mesmo com a diminuição da quantidade de água disponível para a Floresta, não houve mudanças significativas em relação ao balanço hídrico da floresta, mostrando que a floresta provavelmente se adaptou, para sobreviver a longos períodos de seca / Environmental instability caused by the combination of fire, deforestation and the ENSO phenomena (El Nino South Oscillation) can be the responsible for increases of dry periods in the Amazonian region. With the purpose of understanding the consequences that long dry periods can cause on the National Forest of Tapajós, a mathematical model that determines the water dynamics in soil and the hydrological balance was developed for a typical soil of the Amazonian region the Amazonianlatossol (Haplustox). The simulation were performed for the period from 1999 to 2003, using precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, retention curves and soil physical properties data obtained in the study area. The present study integrates the Dry-Forest Project of the LBA (Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere experiment in the Amazon) research group for the experiment of rainfall exclusion in the National Forest of Tapajos and concerns the hydrological modeling component of the project. The results showed that even with a decrease in the amount of water available to the Forest, significant changes in the hydrological balance of the forest did not occur, showing that the forest had probably adapted itself to survive to longer periods of drought

Neste trabalho investigamos as propriedade estatísticas de um modelo de coevolução de N espécies, sob a perspectiva da dinâmica de replicadores. As interações entre pares de espécies são dadas por variáveis aleatórias independentes, fixas no tempo. As interações são também simétricas, de modo que a dinâmica maximiza uma função de Lyapunov (o funcional adaptabilidade). Isto permite usar as técnicas da mecânica estatística de sistemas desordenados para determinar analiticamente as propriedades estatísticas dos estados estacionários, particularmente a diversidade de espécies (total de espécies coexistindo em um sistema ecológico). As auto-interações são iguais a um parâmetro de controle que mede a competição entre indivíduos de uma mesma espécie (competição intraespecífica). A cada espécie associamos um conjunto de p traços ou características, representados por variáveis binárias aleatórias distribuídas com igual probabilidade. As forças de interação são dadas por funções não lineares da regra de Hebb. Estas são funções moduladoras do número de elementos complementares entre os conjuntos de traços de um dado par de espécies. Estudamos analítica e numericamente o caso em que p é proporcional ao total de espécies na comunidade, via método de réplicas. A análise é possível devido ao resultado de Sompolinsky: funções não lineares da regra de Hebb são equivalentes, no limite de p extensivo, a regra de Hebb somada a um ruído gaussiano estático, cuja variância depende da forma da função moduladora. A competição intraespecífica, o total de traços, a presença de espécies altamente complementares e finalmente o peso dos termos de competição interespecífica (elementos não diagonais da matriz de acoplamentos) são as principais influências sobre o comportamento das grandezas termodinâmicas no equilíbrio, principalmente a diversidade. Os resultados analíticos concordam com a solução numérica da equação de replicadores, no regime em que as soluções de réplicas simétricas são estáveis. / We investigate the statistical properties of a coevolution model of N species using the replicator dynamics framework. The pairwise species interactions are given by independent quenched random variables. They are also symmetric, so that the dynamics maximizes a quadratic Lyapunov function (the fitness functional). This allows the use of tools of statistical mechanics of disordered systems to analyze the statistical properties of the equilibrium states, especially the ecosystem diversity (total number of coexisting species in an ecological system). The self-interactions are equal to a control parameter measuring the intraspecies competition. We associate to each species a set of p traits and represent them by independent random variables, equally distributed. The strength of the pairwise interactions is given by nonlinear functions of the Hebb rule. These are modulating functions of the number of complementary elements in the sets of traits of a given species pair. We study analytically and numerically the limit of extensive p, using the replica trick. The analytical approach is possible due to a result derived by Sompolinsky: in the limit of extensive p, nonlinear functions of the Hebb rule are equivalent to the Hebb rule plus a Gaussian static noise, whose variance is dependent on the form of the modulating function. The intraspecies competition, the total number of traits, the presence of highly complementary species pairs and the contribution of the nondiagonal elements of the interaction matrix are the main influences over the behavior of the equilibrium properties, principally the diversity. Our analytical results agree with the numerical solutions of the replicator equation in the regime of stable replica symmetric solutions.

Climate change and the accompanying increase in global surface temperatures pose a major threat to freshwater ecosystems, especially at high latitudes where warming is predicted to be particularly rapid. To date many aspects of how rising temperatures can impact fresh waters remain unknown. Information about temperature effects on the level of communities, food webs, ecosystems is especially scarce. The few studies focusing on higher levels of organisation have used either laboratory microcosm experiments, which can lack realism or space-for-time substitution across large ranges of latitude, which can be confounded by bio-geographical effects. This study aimed to overcome these shortcomings by using a “natural experiment” in a set of 16 geothermally heated streams in the Hengill area, South-West Iceland, with water temperatures ranging from 4ºC to 49ºC (mean temperature). Data were analysed for two seasons, August 2008 and April 2009. The principal goal of this study was to assess the effects of temperature on the structure and functioning of food webs. Additionally the persistence of the community structures along the temperature gradient was examined through time (comparison of previously collected data in August 2004 and August 2008). Abundances of cold-stenotherm species decreased whereas those of eurythermal species increased with increasing temperatures leading to knock-on effects on abundances of other species. Species community overlap between streams declined as temperature difference between streams increased. The persistence of species composition through time was weakened at the extremes of the temperature gradient. Food webs showed a clear size structuring in analyses of trivariate food webs, abundance and biomass size spectra. Analysis of connectance, complexity, mean link length, mean 2-span, mean community span and slopes and intercepts of linear regressions fitted to the trivariate foods or size spectra revealed the impact of temperature change on freshwater ecosystems.

Climate change can have potentially catastrophic effects upon biodiversity and food web structure and according to the fourth IPCC report, ambient temperatures will rise by between 3.0-5.0 °C over the next century, with already an average increase in global surface temperature of ~0.74°C in the past 100 years. This has known implications in ecology from individuals to ecosystems. The microbial loop consists of small organisms ranging in body size from bacteria (1-15 μm), single-celled eukaryotes (10-1000 μm) and multicellular organisms (250 – 1000 μm) that assimilate dissolved organic carbon into the “classical food web”. ! The principal goal of this thesis was to assess how rising global temperatures might impact the natural microbial assemblages in 20 mesocosms under 2 treatments – 10 warmed (in line with IPCC predictions) and 10 ambient. The abundance and body mass of 4 major microbial loop taxa (desmids, flagellates, heterotrophic protists and meiofauna) were quantified at monthly intervals over a 2-year period. Secondly, in a microcosm experiment, the population dynamics of three pure cultures of ciliates were monitored across a temperature gradient; the rate of population decline under starvation and changes in body size were quantified.! Results showed that (1) rising global temperatures alters the size spectrum in the autotrophic protists, (2) temperature interacts with temporal and spatial gradients, resulting in changes in phenology (3) these changes in phenology are observable at both the community level and the population level within the microbial assemblage of the mesocosms and (4) extinction rates and body mass reduction in experimental microcosms were faster at warmer temperatures and partially support predictions of the metabolic theory of ecology.! The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of (1) continued research into the role that small organisms play in community and ecosystem ecologyand (2) the use of these small organisms in experiments as models to inform ecological theory by scaling up from microcosms and finally, (3) I discuss future directions in freshwater microbial ecology, focusing on the increased use of molecular techniques.

La dégradation de la mangrove de la Casamance a fortement été influencée par des contraintes physiques. Mais c’est l’étalement des villes du fait de la croissance démographique, les importants prélèvements de ses ressources par les populations et la mise en œuvre de techniques d’aménagements inadaptées qui ont accentué sa destruction. L’analyse de l’histoire des usages de cet écosystème, sa perception par les populations de diverses origines, les changements de législation foncière et le contexte politique propre à la région expliquent aussi cette situation. On remarque ainsi qu’au fil des années la mangrove péri-urbaine de Ziguinchor ne cesse de perdre des surfaces. Pourtant depuis les années 1990 l’amorce de la prise de conscience croissante de son importance écosystémique a conduit à la multiplication de projets de la part des organismes de développement et de protection de l’environnement pour endiguer ce phénomène. Il ressort en revanche à la suite d’enquêtes réalisées sur le terrain auprès des populations et des opérateurs du développement que ces initiatives et notamment les reboisements de la mangrove n’ont pas toujours eu les résultats escomptés, et cela en raison de leur faible acceptabilité sociale, de l’existence de grandes disparités dans l’exécution des travaux et dans la répartition des moyens de travail.Au regard de ces difficultés, des pistes de travail sont alors proposées et notamment un Système d’Information Géographique (SIG) qui permet de faire un état actualisé des changements de l’occupation du sol.Ce travail de thèse permet de mieux comprendre les changements survenus dans l’occupation du sol et notamment la mangrove avec l’évolution des pratiques des populations et de l’augmentation de leurs besoins. Il permet aussi de disposer d’une base de données sur l’évolution des unités du sol de la région péri-urbaine de Ziguinchor. / Degradation of mangroves in Casamance has been strongly influenced by physical constraints. But it is urban sprawl due to population growth, the sharp drawdown of its resources by the population and the implementation of inadequate technical facilities to which accentuated its destruction.The analysis of the history of the uses of this ecosystem, its perception by people of diverse origins, changes in land laws and the specific political context in the region explainalso this situation. It is thus noted that over the years the peri-urban mangrove Ziguinchor keeps losing surfaces. Yet since the 1990s, the beginning of the growing awareness of its importance ecosystem led to the multiplication of projects from development and environmental protection agencies to curb this phenomenon. It appears however as a result of investigations carried out on the ground with the population and operators of these development initiatives including reforestation of mangroves have not always had the desired results, and that because of their low acceptability social, the existence of large disparities in the performance of work and in the allocation of labor resources.Given these difficulties, work tracks are proposed including a Geographic Information System (GIS) which allows for an update on changes in land use.This work provides insight into the changes in land use, including mangrove populations with changing practices and increasing needs. It also helps to have a database onthe development of ground units in the area peri-urban Ziguinchor.

Desequilíbrios ambientais provocados pela combinação de queimadas, desmatamentos e os fenômenos de ENSO (Oscilação Sul de El Nino) podem ser os responsáveis pelo aumento de períodos de seca na região Amazônica. Com o propósito de compreender as conseqüências que longos períodos de seca podem causar na Floresta Nacional de Tapajós, foi desenvolvido um modelo numérico que simula a dinâmica da água no solo e o Balanço Hídrico para um latossolo (Haplustox, na taxonomia Americana), muito comum na região Amazônica. As simulações foram realizadas para o período de 1999 a 2003, utilizando dados de precipitação, evapotranspiração, umidade do solo, curvas de retenção, propriedades físicas do solo coletadas no local de estudo. Este estudo integra o Projeto Seca-Floresta do grupo de pesquisa do LBA (Experimento de Grande Escala da Biosfera-Atmosfera na Amazônia) para o experimento de exclusão parcial da chuva no projeto na Floresta Nacional Tapajós no que diz respeito a componente de modelagem hidrológica. Os resultados mostraram que, mesmo com a diminuição da quantidade de água disponível para a Floresta, não houve mudanças significativas em relação ao balanço hídrico da floresta, mostrando que a floresta provavelmente se adaptou, para sobreviver a longos períodos de seca / Environmental instability caused by the combination of fire, deforestation and the ENSO phenomena (El Nino South Oscillation) can be the responsible for increases of dry periods in the Amazonian region. With the purpose of understanding the consequences that long dry periods can cause on the National Forest of Tapajós, a mathematical model that determines the water dynamics in soil and the hydrological balance was developed for a typical soil of the Amazonian region the Amazonianlatossol (Haplustox). The simulation were performed for the period from 1999 to 2003, using precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, retention curves and soil physical properties data obtained in the study area. The present study integrates the Dry-Forest Project of the LBA (Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere experiment in the Amazon) research group for the experiment of rainfall exclusion in the National Forest of Tapajos and concerns the hydrological modeling component of the project. The results showed that even with a decrease in the amount of water available to the Forest, significant changes in the hydrological balance of the forest did not occur, showing that the forest had probably adapted itself to survive to longer periods of drought

This discussion paper looks at the connections between economies and ecosystems, or more generally biophysical reality. The term "economies" is used, rather than "the economy", because of the prevalent false claim that there is only one type of economic system that is possible. We outline how the ecological crises is linked to the dominant drive for economic growth and the tendency to equate growth with progress and development; common even amongst those apparently critical of the need for continued growth in the materially rich countries. The unreality of mainstream economics is epitomised by the accolades given to those justifying mild reformist policy in response to human induced climate change in order to continue the pursuit of economic growth. We emphasise the structural aspects of economies as emergent from and dependent upon the structure and functioning of both society and ecology (energy and material flows). Finally, that the structure of the global economy must change to avoid social ecological collapse, poses the questions of how that can be achieved and what sort of economics is necessary? We explain the need for: (i) a structural change that addresses the currently dysfunctional relationships between economic, social and ecological systems, and (ii) an economics that is interdisciplinary and realist about its social and natural science relations. / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers