Esta tesis parte de la concepción de la playa como un sistema integral en el que se desarrollan procesos interrelacionados. El análisis de estos procesos y del marco físico y administrativo donde se producen, es el hilo conductor del proyecto. Para realizar el estudio, se han analizado los procesos de las playas de la Selva Marítima, en el Sur de la Costa Brava (al Nordeste del Mediterráneo). La zona constituye un buen ejemplo de un área litoral altamente afectada por el turismo. El análisis del marco legal y administrativo ha revelado algunas carencias importantes. No existe una política específica de playas que contemple la gestión de los aspectos básicos de gestión. La consecuencia de ello es que la información que se dispone sobre las playas españolas es bastante parcial. Actualmente, en el marco de la Gestión Integrada de Zonas Costeras (GIZC), se están desarrollando estrategias (nacional/regional) que incluyen indicadores de procesos que hasta la fecha actual no han sido objeto de programas de monitoreo y que pueden corregir esta tendencia.La revisión de las herramientas de gestión de playas utilizadas o potencialmente utilizadas en la gestión de la zona de estudio (Bandera Azul, Índice del CEDEX, Índice de CANTABRIA, Índices del ACA) ha revelado algunas deficiencias que son importantes para la gestión de estas playas: el uso, la seguridad y el socorrismo, el paisaje, la comunidad natural o algunos servicios, son los más importantes. Además, dichas herramientas no integran el análisis de las funciones que debe asumir una playa de acuerdo con sus características. Por otro lado, desde hace unos años se están utilizando los Sistemas de Gestión Medioambiental (SGMA) para la gestión de playas. Los SGMA son una buena herramienta de gestión de playas porque permiten una gestión proactiva y ordenada, pero necesitan ser complementados con herramientas de monitoreo adecuadas. En este trabajo también se han analizado el enfoque y los problemas que tienen los gestores locales. El conocimiento de la información disponible y las características de la zona de estudio ha llevado a analizar los procesos más importantes en la gestión de playas: la frecuentación y la producción de residuos. La información obtenida en el desarrollo de este proyecto ha permitido elaborar un índice de calidad de playas para la zona de estudio. Este Índice incorpora los aspectos importantes, ausentes en otras herramientas de gestión. En la asignación de importancias, para la agregación de índices parciales se ha tenido en cuenta la opinión de los usuarios y expertos. El Índice ha sido diseñado para ser incluido en el marco de los SGMA e incluye el análisis de las Funciones. Puede ser usado en distintas fases del SGMA. Las más importantes son el Diagnóstico Medioambiental Inicial, la definición de los Aspectos Medioambientales Significativos, el Control Operacional y la evaluación de la Mejora Continua. Los resultados del Indicador, de los sub-indices y los índices parciales obtenidos para la zona de estudio, indican distintas situaciones. Los valores agregados son altos: para el BQI (0,63-0,85) y para los indicadores de las funciones, RF (0,53-0,73), NF (0,80-0,92) y PF (0,50-1). En el caso de los valores de los indicadores parciales, mientras algunos procesos como la calidad del agua, la calidad ambiental, las instalaciones y los servicios, las actividades, la confortabilidad, la ausencia de contaminación en el agua y en la arena, y la calidad física, se encuentran en buen estado, otros como el uso de la playa, la calidad del entorno, la seguridad y la componente natural, tienen valores bastante bajos. La futura gestión de las playas debe dirigirse al control del uso, de la transformación del entorno de la playa y a la preservación de la comunidad natural de las playas. Además, la dotación de recursos que garanticen la seguridad y asistencia de los usuarios, la protección de las infraestructuras y la limpieza de las playas debe ser también prioritaria. / This thesis stemmed from the idea that the beach is an integrated system where different and interconnected processes occur. The analyses of these processes and of the physical and administrative framework in which they occur, was the thread of the project. In the development of the study, the processes for the beaches of La Selva Marítima, located in the south of the Costa Brava (northwestern Mediterranean) were analysed. This area is a good example of a coastal area highly affected by tourism dynamics. The analysis of the legal and administrative framework uncovered some important shortcomings. No specific beach policy exists that accounts for the management of all basic aspects. As a consequence, the information available is partial. Strategies (national/regional) are currently being developed in the framework of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) strategy, including indicators of processes that, until now, have been excluded from monitoring programs. This may change the current situation of a lack of information. A review of beach assessment measurements (Blue Flag and CEDEX, ACA and CANTABRIA Index) used or potentially used for management of the studied area, revealed important deficiencies in the management of beaches, of which the most important were use, safety and rescue services, landscape, the natural community and certain services. Furthermore, these tools do not take analyses of beach functions into account. In recent years, Environmental Management Systems for Beaches (EMSBs) have begun to be used for beach management. EMSBs allow for the application of proactive and clear management practices, although they need to be complemented with adequate monitoring tools. This research also analysed the work, focus and problems of local managers. Varied management goals are not usual (many processes remain unmanaged) and management is sometimes exclusively service-oriented. Tools that evaluate beach quality do not cover problematic aspects for local managers, such as sediment management, coordination between responsible authorities, or emergency situations. The information available and the characteristics of the studied area demonstrated the need to analyse two particularly important beach management processes: beach use and waste/litter production. Information obtained in the development of this project led to the creation of a Beach Quality Index (BQI) for the studied beaches. This index took into account important issues not represented in other management tools. In the process of allocating weights for the purpose of aggregating partial indexes, user and expert opinions were taken into account. The BQI, which also took account of function analysis, was designed to be used with EMSBs, and can be included at different EMSB stages. The most important index factors are initial environmental diagnosis, the definition of environmentally significant aspects, operational control, and the assessment of steady improvement. Results obtained for beaches for the BQI, its subindices and partial indices, indicated arrange of situations. Aggregated values were high for the BQI (0.63-0.85), and also for the subindices (RF (0.53-0.73), NF (0.80-0.92) and PF (0.50-1)). High scores were typically obtained for partial indices such as water quality, environmental quality, services and facilities, activities, comfort, absence of water and sand pollution, and physical quality. Scores for beach use, surrounding quality, safety, and naturality were low. Future management of studied beaches should focus on the weakest aspects, such as controls over use, transformation of beach environs, and preservation of natural beach communities. Other priorities should be the allocation of resources that guarantee user safety, protection of human facilities, and beach cleaning.

La Tesi aporta un sistema d'indicadors d'avaluació per a les polítiques socioculturals municipals. Una eina per a detectar mancances, interpretar els resultats, orientar línies d'acció i millorar les polítiques socioculturals municipals. S'adreça fonamentalment a l'avaluació de les polítiques socioculturals de municipis petits i mitjans i parteix del paradigma de l'empoderament. Emmarcant-nos en aquest paradigma plantegem que les polítiques socioculturals municipals haurien d'apostar per la democratització de la cultura, estimular la creació d'identitat comunitària i l'autovaloració dels grups i les comunitats, i potenciar l'educació com a procés permanent i de desenvolupament comunitari.El sistema d'indicadors s'estructura en dues dimensions; la sociocultural, formada per 7 objectius d'avaluació amb 58 indicadors amb la intenció d' identificar i analitzar la política sociocultural que es fa al municipi, i la contextual, sistematitzada entorn 5 objectius d'avaluació amb 20 indicadors que han de permetre emmarcar les polítiques socioculturals. El nombre total d'indicadors de la proposta és 78. / This Tesis provides a system of indicators to evaluate sociocultural policies in the local government level. We provide a tool to detect needs, to understand outcomes, to point action guidelines, and to improve sociocultural local policies. It's fundamentally oriented to small and medium municipalities. To create it our starting point has been a rational in which sociocultural local policies have to be as aims: promote cultural democratization, stimulate community identity, support self-valuation of groups and communities, and encourage education as a permanent process.The work out indicators system it's structured in two dimensions: the sociocultural one should help us to recognize and analyse the sociocultural policies and it's composed of seven evaluation goals with 58 indicators, and the contextual dimension, with 5 evaluation goals and 20 indicators that should give us the framework to understand the sociocultural policies. The whole indicators number of our proposal is 78.

Submitted by Angela Maria de Oliveira (amolivei@uepg.br) on 2019-03-08T13:35:23Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dulcina Queiroz.pdf: 14271612 bytes, checksum: 8d640dde043a5f602b9c933e73ce1367 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2019-03-08T13:35:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dulcina Queiroz.pdf: 14271612 bytes, checksum: 8d640dde043a5f602b9c933e73ce1367 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Nos cenários urbanos atuais, um dos problemas mais preocupantes é a escassez de elementos naturais. Embora as áreas verdes valorizem o espaço urbano elevando a qualidade de vida dos seus habitantes e usuários, sua expansão pode enfrentar obstáculos como, a especulação imobiliária associada ao crescimento urbano. Uma maneira de combater esse problema consiste em considerar as áreas verdes como elemento integrante do processo de planejamento das cidades identificando as suas diferentes funções a fim de avaliar de forma equitativa e integrada a qualidade desse elemento em ambientes urbanos. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho propôe o Índice da Qualidade das Áreas Verdes Urbanas (IQAVU), que emprega a média geométrica entre indicadores das funções social, ambiental e estética, onde as funções das áreas verdes tornaram-se subíndices, caracterizadas por um conjunto de indicadores a elas associadas, que variam de 0 (baixo) 1 (muito elevado). A forma equitativa como o IQAVU integra as diferentes funções traduz-se no fato de que uma área verde urbana completamente falha em ao menos uma de suas funções, não pode ser considerada uma área verde funcional. Diante dessa proposta, pretende-se que a sua aplicação seja possível a qualquer área urbana, independente da realidade demográfica, geográfica ou política. Dessa forma, optou-se por testar a sua aplicação através de um estudo de caso nas áreas urbanas de Coimbra, em Portugal, e Ponta Grossa, no Brasil. Recorreu-se às geotecnologias para mapeamento, localização e cálculo de área. Foi realizado o levantamento in loco do mobiliário urbano, pavimentos, elementos com água que caracterizam a função estética e social. Para apresentação dos resultados criaram-se dois cenários: o cenário real e o cenário otimista. No primeiro são considerados os dados levantados durante a pesquisa e no segundo, melhorou-se os indicadores com resultados mais baixos em cada função, a fim de perceber o seu impacto na contribuição da respectiva função. No cenário realista, a cidade de Coimbra obteve IQAVU de 0.34 e a maior contribuição para este resultado foi da função estética e a menor foi a da função ambiental. Para Ponta Grossa, o valor de IQAVU alcançado foi de 0.32, neste caso o valor que mais contribuiu pertence à função social e que menos contribuiu à função ambiental. A metodologia apresentada mostrou-se eficaz como uma ferramenta de auxílio ao planejamento urbano porque permite a comparação entre cidades e simultaneamente, priorizar indicadores a se investir. / The lack of natural elements is a relevant concern for nowadays urban environments. Green areas can improve urban spaces by increasing the quality of life of their habitants and users. However, they may face obstacles such as the real estate speculation resulted from urban growth. A way to handle that problem consists in integrating green areas as an element of the urban planning process by means of its different functions to enable a joint and equitable assessment of their quality in urban environments. Towards this goal this work proposes the Urban Green Areas Quality Index (IQAVU) which applies the geometric mean on the environmental, social and aesthetic functions of green areas. In IQAVU, each function is characterized by a set of corresponding indicators that vary from 0 to 1. With IQAVU, the equitable relevance of each function accounts for the fact that an urban green area can not be considered functional at all if it completely fails in at least one of its functions. Also, IQAVU is aimed to assess urban green areas regardless of their demographic, geographic or political particularities. In this sense this work also presents a case study to test IQAVU in two cities abroad namely Coimbra, in Portugal, and Ponta Grossa in Brazil. To enable the case study, this work relied on geotechnology tools to mapping, localizing and dimensioning urban green areas. Moreover, some indicators of the aesthetic and social functions (e.g. elements with water, urban furniture and flooring) required gathering data on the field. The results are presented with respect to two scenarios, the realist and the optimistic. The former case is based on the data collected in the study. In the latter case the worst indicators of each city were improved to the highest value to check how much they could impact the overall index of the corresponding function. In the realist scenario, Coimbra scored an IQAVU of 0.34. In that case, the functions with highest and lowest scores were the aesthetic and environmental, respectively. For Ponta Grossa, the IQAVU reached was 0.32 and the functions with highest and lowest scores were the social and the environmental, respectively. The presented methodology was shown as an an effective urban planning tool to assist comparison among cities and to identify which indicators need priotization for investment.

El gènere Bifidobacterium adquireix una gran importància com a microorganisme indicador de contaminació fecal. És un dels gèneres predominants en la microbiota intestinal humana i d'alguns animals de sang calenta arribant a unes concentracions entre 109 i 1010 cèl·lules/g de femta. La fisiologia anaeròbia, els requeriments nutricionals complexes i la seva incapacitat de multiplicar-se per sota dels 30ºC, fan que Bifidobacterium no pugi replicar-se a nivell extraentèric.L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi ha estat la optimització de les tècniques presents per a la detecció de Bifidobacterium spp. en mostres d'aigua residual per a la possible utilització de certes espècies d'aquest gènere bacterià com a indicadores de la contaminació fecal i determinar l'origen d'aquesta:1. Avaluar l'enumeració de Bifidobacterium spp. en tres medis selectius diferents, i comparar les diferents poblacions bacterianes de Bifidobacterium analitzades amb altres indicadors microbians en aigües.2. Definir proporcions entre les diferents poblacions d'indicadors i les bifidobactèries que permetin diferenciar l'origen humà o animal de la contaminació fecal en aigües.3. Determinar quines espècies de Bifidobacterium que s'han associat prèviament com exclusives dels humans, es troben només en aigües residuals urbanes. 4. Desenvolupar una tècnica molecular per a la detecció de les espècies de Bifidobacterium associades exclusivament a aigües residuals d'origen humà.5. Analitzar l'ús combinat d'aquest nou mètode molecular amb la proporció de les bifidobactèries fermentadores de sorbitol i de les bifidobactèries totals en el medi selectiu HBSA.6. Desenvolupar una PCR quantitativa en temps real per a la detecció de les espècies B. adolescentis i B. dentium. 7. Comparar les dues tècniques moleculars desenvolupades, PCR múltiple ADO-DEN i PCR quantitativa en temps real en aigües residuals d'origen humà.8. Comparar la persistència de les poblacions indicadores de la contaminació fecal en aigües juntament amb el gènere Bifidobacterium en aigua de riu.Els medis selectius analitzats per a Bifidobacterium, Beerens, HBSA i BFM, van presentar unes enumeracions molt similars en aigües residuals, proporcionant una elevada especificitat per a les bifidobactèries. No obstant, el medi Beerens i HBSA van recuperar un nombre significativament igual i més elevat de bifidobactèries cultivables. La hibridació colonial amb la sonda Bif permet una confirmació pràctica de les enumeracions, donant una correcció de la fracció de creixement no específic que donen el medis utilitzats.La proporció de les colònies de Bifidobacterium fermentadores de sorbitol respecte el nombre de colònies totals crescudes en el medi HBSA és una eina eficaç per a la determinació de l'origen de la contaminació fecal. Les espècies B. adolescentis i B. dentium van presentar una elevada especificitat per a les aigües d'origen humà, tot i que no es pot descartar la presència de B. adolescentis en alguna espècie d'aviram.El desenvolupament de la PCR múltiple ADO-DEN per a les espècies B. adolescentis i B. dentium és una eina molecular complementària per a caracteritzar l'origen de la contaminació fecal en aigües. Presenta un llindar de detecció 103 UCF/100mL.Les PCRs quantitatives específiques desenvolupades permeten la quantificació de les espècies B. adolescentis i B. dentium proposades com a indicadores de la contaminació fecal humana en aigües residuals d'origen humà. Aquesta tècnica presenta un llindar de detecció més alt que la de la PCR múltiple ADO-DEN essent de 104 UCF/100mL. Hi ha una diferencia significativa (P<0,05) en les inactivacions de totes les poblacions bacterianes a l'estiu respecte les inactivacions a l'hivern on són més baixes. El gènere Bifidobacterium és potencialment un bon indicador de l'origen de la contaminació fecal recent en aigües. La seva baixa persistència en l'entorn fa però menys operatiu el seu ús quan la contaminació fecal és remota en el temps. / The genus "Bifidobacterium" is proposed as indicators to identify the source of fecal pollution, since certain "Bifidobacterium" spp. are found only in humans, since it is abundant in the intestinal microbiota of humans and other warm-blooded animals. These organisms could be used to distinguish between human and animal pollution. They are found at a concentration of between 109 and 1010 cells/g in feces. Additionally, their anaerobic physiology, complex nutritional requirements and inability to multiply below 30ºC mean that they are unlikely to reproduce in extraenteric environments.The objective of this thesis has been the optimization of the techniques presents for the detection of "Bifidobacterium" spp. in samples of residual water. The selective media analyzed for "Bifidobacterium", Beerens, HBSA and BFM, they presented some very similar enumerations in residual water, provided a high specificity for the detection of bifidobacteria. Nevertheless, the enumeration of bifidobacteria was evaluated using three selective media. Beerens and HBSA media showed similar recoveries, with no statistically significant difference and BFM showed statistically different recovery for Bifidobacterium than the recovery on Beerens and HBSA media.The confirmation by colony hybridization of colonies of "Bifidobacterium" grown on the selective media revealed that some colonies belong to anaerobic bacterial genera other than bifidobacteria. The HBSA medium allows the calculation of the ratio Y/T that showed to distinguish fecal pollution origin. Values of this ratio higher than 0.20 indicate human origin. Values below 0.20 indicate animal origin. These results support previous studies postulating the use of sorbitol-fermenting bifidobacteria as human fecal indicators in sewageIn this study a multiple PCR for "B. adolescentis" and "B. dentium" species was developed to be used as a complementary molecular tool to characterize the origin of the fecal contamination in water. The threshold of this technique is 103 CFU/100mL. In order to quantify both species a quantitative PCR for "B. adolescentis" and "B. dentium" (proposed as indicators for human fecal contamination in residual water of human origin) was developed. This technique presents a threshold higher than the PCR multiple ADO-DEN being of 104 UCF/100mL. The genus "Bifidobacterium" is potentially a good indicator of the origin of the recent fecal contamination in water. But its low persistence in the environmental waters is a handicap when the fecal pollution is not recent.

Avui en dia ningú posa en dubte que l’activitat turística ha de ser una pràctica sostenible que contribueixi al desenvolupament econòmic, l’equitat social, la revalorització cultural i la preservació de l’entorn. Tanmateix, aconseguir un turisme sostenible no és fàcil, sobretot tenint en compte que la imprecisió del concepte dificulta la seva aplicació. La marca de “turisme sostenible” ha passat a adjectivar moltes pràctiques turístiques que difícilment compleixen els principis del desenvolupament sostenible, o bé que ho fan de manera parcial per una de les seves dimensions (normalment l’ambiental). Cal doncs, aclarir el concepte i dotar-lo d’instruments que permetin transformar la idea teòrica en valor pràctic, és a dir, en una sèrie de paràmetres identificables i quantificables. Amb aquest pas el turisme sostenible ha de deixar de ser una estratègia general, amb moltes possibles interpretacions i actuacions, i convertir-se una realitat assolible i adaptada a les circumstàncies específiques de cada lloc. És necessari desenvolupar metodologies d’identificació i quantificació d’impactes del turisme per a facilitar la incorporació de la sostenibilitat en els processos de decisió i gestió. Responent a aquesta necessitat, la tesi aprofundeix en la relació entre la sostenibilitat i el turisme a través de l'elaboració d'una metodologia per estudiar la sostenibilitat turística a escala local. La proposta dóna resposta a una de les principals dificultats en l'aplicació real de la sostenibilitat en el sector: la manca de límits de sostenibilitat turística. I ho fa a través del desenvolupament d’una metodologia basada en indicadors que s'aborda a dos nivells complementaris: el primer amb l'aplicació d'un sistema de 26 indicadors de sostenibilitat social, econòmica i ambiental en diversos casos d'estudi de Catalunya, i el segon amb la construcció d'un Índex de Sostenibilitat Turística (ISOST) elaborat a partir de l'anàlisi empíric realitzat i amb vocació d'ús general. La valoració conjunta d’aquestes dues eines és bàsica per a la correcta interpretació de la sostenibilitat turística municipal i per al disseny d’estratègies de millora. El Sistema d’Indicadors es calcula per 20 municipis representatius de les diferents realitats turístiques i territorials de Catalunya. Precisament l’aplicació del Sistema d’Indicadors en casos d’estudi ha suposat una diferència qualitativa respecte altres propostes, en tant que ha permès garantir-ne la seva mesurabilitat i funcionalitat en l’estudi dels impactes del turisme. També ha permès un tractament analític valuós i profund de la informació indicador a indicador, i la identificació d’aquelles variables clau en la sostenibilitat turística que posteriorment s’agreguen per a crear l’índex ISOST, que en facilita una interpretació global per cada municipi. El càlcul de l’ISOST per la mostra representativa de casos, que s’han tractat dins un marc d’anàlisi comú per a poder distingir patrons generals i factors contextuals propis de cada cas, ha permès establir a la vegada llindars de sostenibilitat turística extrapolables a partir dels quals definir el grau de sostenibilitat turística de qualsevol municipi turístic. La definició de llindars suposa la traducció de la sostenibilitat turística a valors quantificables a través d’una fórmula definida, de manera que l’ISOST esdevé una eina útil en els processos de decisió, planificació i gestió turística municipal. / Achieving sustainable tourism is not easy, mainly because the vagueness of the concept makes its application difficult. It is therefore necessary to clarify the concept and develop the tools to turn the theoretical idea into practical value, which means identifiable and measurable parameters. Methods for identification and quantification of tourism impacts are necessary to incorporate sustainability into decision-making processes and management. Due to this need, the thesis explores the relationship between sustainability and tourism through the development of a methodology for studying sustainable tourism at the municipal level. The proposal responds to one of the most important difficulties in the current implementation of sustainability in the tourism sector: the lack of limits of sustainable tourism. According to this aim, a methodology is developed in two complementary levels: first by the application of a system of 26 social, economic and environmental indicators on several Catalan municipalities; and secondly by the construction of an Index of Sustainable Tourism (ISOST) drawn from the empirical evidences. The System of Indicators is calculated for 20 municipalities, which are representative of different realities and regional tourism in Catalonia. Indeed this application on case studies is a qualitative difference with respect to other proposals, as it ensures measurability and functionality of the tool in the study of tourism impacts. It has also allowed a thorough analytical treatment of information (indicator to indicator), and identify those key aspects in tourist sustainability which are subsequently added to create the index (ISOST). Calculating the ISOST in a representative sample of cases, dealing within a common analytical framework to distinguish general patterns and contextual factors, has allowed to establish tourist sustainability thresholds and define a method for calculating the degree of sustainability of any tourist municipality. The definition of these thresholds is the translation of tourist sustainability into quantifiable values defined by a formula, so that ISOST becomes a useful tool in the decision processes, planning and management of tourism.

Durant el període 1995-2002 Catalunya va patir una sequera prolongada que va afectar, en diferent grau, als sistemes fluvials de les Conques Internes Catalanes, especialment per la seva durada que va comprendre des d'un mínim de 2 anys en les conques del nord fins a 6 anys en les del sud. Dins aquest marc, aquesta tesi pretén estudiar l'efecte d'aquesta sequera sobre la qualitat físico-química, les comunitats de macroinvertebrats i els índexs biòtics emprats en el seguiment de la qualitat ecològica dels nostres rius, en concret en l'índex BMWPC, l'ASPT, el nombre de tàxons i l'índex EPT. També s'hi ha fet una actualització del BMWPC, i la predicció mitjançant descriptors ambientals del seu valor amb l'objectiu d'avaluar la integritat de les comunitats de macroinvertebrats en els punts de la xarxa de seguiment de les Conques Internes Catalanes (CIC). S'hi inclou també l'estudi de la variació interanual dels principals descriptors físics, químics i biològics analitzats per conques i separant-hi els paràmetres biològics de tots els altres, per la qual cosa s'ha empleat l'anàlisi de PCA i les distàncies de pertorbació obtingudes a partir d'aquestes anàlisis, d'acord amb la metodologia formulada per Sabater et al. (1991). Els resultats obtinguts mostren que els descriptors que s'han utilitzat són els adequats i aquests són, en part, els mateixos que recomana la Directiva Marc de l'Aigua. Es pot dir que l'efecte de sequera és més important especialment per les comunitats menys alterades i que les reduccions de cabal afecten tan a les estructures de les comunitats de macroinvertebrats (efecte parcialment apaivagat als rius regulats) com a la qualitat físico-química dels rius de les CIC. Pel que fa a l'índex BMWPC no ha mostrat cap davallada de seu valor en resposta a la sequera, ja que s'han mesurat durant tot el període uns valors iguals o un xic millors en funció de l'equilibri que s'obté entre els tàxons sensibles que desapareixen i els lenítics que s'incorporen a cada comunitat, la qual cosa fa que sigui un índex robust en front a la sequera. Per avaluar els canvis en l'estructura de les comunitats de macroinvertebrats és precís l'ús de l'índex ASPT, que valora la qualitat relativa de tota la comunitat i s'ha mostrat com a l'òptim per observar l'efecte de la llarga sequera soferta. En relació amb les distàncies de pertorbació s'ha confirmat que augmenten quan minven els cabals i decreixen quan aquests s'incrementen. / During the period between 1995 and 2002 Catalonia suffered a long lasting drought that affected in varying degrees the river system of the Catalan Internal Basins (CIB), especially in which refers to the time length, ranging from a minimum of two years in the north basins to six years in the southern ones. Within this framework, this thesis aims to study the effects of this drought on the physical-chemical quality, the macroinvertebrate communities and the biotic indices used in monitoring the ecological quality of our rivers. Particularly the BMWPC, EPT, ASPT and richness (number of taxa) indexes were used.The update of the BMWPC, and the prediction of the index changes through environmental descriptors of its value in order to evaluate the integrity of the macroinvertebrate communities in the different points of the control network monitoring the CIB have also been made. The interannual variation of the main physical, chemical and biological descriptors by basins was performed, and analysed by separating the biological parameters from all others. For it, the PCA analysis has been used and the disturbance distances in accordance with the methodology formulated by Sabater et al. (1991) were established.The results obtained show that the descriptors used are suitable and are partially the same ones that the Water Framework Directive recommends. The drought effect is important especially for the less altered communities and the flow reductions affect both the structures of the macroinvertebrates communities (effect partially appeased in the regulated rivers) and the physico-chemical quality of the rivers and the CIB.The BMWPC index has not been showing any decrease of its value in relation to the drought. It is to note that it has been measured during periods with equal or slightly better values in terms of the balance achieved between disappearing sensitive taxa and lentic taxa being incorporated into each community, Then the index, proved to be robust in drought conditions. To assess changes in the structure of the macroinvertebrate communities it is necessary to use the ASPT index which establishes the relative quality of the whole community. It has also been proved to be the optimum index to use in order to study the effect of the drought suffered. In relation to the distances from disturbance, it has been confirmed that they have increased when the flows diminished and decreased when flow increased.

Santa Maria é um projeto de exploração mineral conduzido pela empresa Votorantim Metais Ltda, com foco nas comodities zinco e chumbo. Localizado no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, próximo das antigas minas de Camaquã e Uruguay, o projeto se encontra em uma região geologicamente fértil para exploração mineral. O depósito de Santa Maria possui informações suficientes para permitir a avaliação dos recursos minerais e também estudos de viabilidade econômica de projeto, entretanto, sua mineralização ocorre de forma heterogênea e condicionada a feições geológicas estruturais complexas, inserindo dúvidas à respeito da forma e volume dos corpos mineralizados. O objetivo desta pesquisa é a avaliação da incerteza associada à modelagem dos corpos mineralizados. Essa avaliação foi realizada através da comparação entre o modelo tridimensional confeccionado por interpretação de seções e outros dois modelos probabilísticos: um gerado por krigagem de indicadoras e outro gerado por simulação sequencial de indicadoras, que permitiu a interpretação da incerteza associada. Com os resultados obtidos foi possível quantificar os valores de volume máximo, mínimo e médio esperado no depósito, além de avaliar regiões de maior e menor confiança. A utilização conjunta dos métodos de krigagem de indicadoras e simulação sequencial de indicadoras se mostrou uma excelente opção para avaliação do modelo interpretado. Através do tratamento dos resultados foi possível obter informações à respeito da variabilidade local e global do depósito e sobre o comportamento espacial da mineralização. Os resultados e interpretações obtidos podem ser aplicados em trabalhos futuros no depósito, como na classificação do recurso mineral, no refinamento do modelo geológico e no planejamento de futuras malhas de sondagem infill. / Santa Maria is a mineral exploration project conducted by Votorantim Metais Ltda, with focus on zinc and lead extraction. The project is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the vicinities of the old mines of Camaquã and Uruguay, a favorable area for mineral exploration. There is enough information about Santa Maria\'s deposit to allow the estimation of mineral resources and the project\'s economical viability study, however, its mineralization occurs in heterogeneous ways and is conditioned to complex geological structural features, casting doubts about the shape and volume of the ore bodies. The main goal of this research is evaluating the uncertainty associated with the modeling of the orebodies. This evaluation was performed by comparing a three-dimensional model created by section interpretation and other two probabilistic models: one generated by indicator kriging, and the other generated by sequential indicator simulation, which allowed the interpretation of the associated uncertainty. Based on the obtained results, it was possible to quantify the maximum, minimum and average expected volume of the deposit, and also to evaluate the regions of most and least reliability. The joint use of indicator kriging and sequential indicator simulation methods proved to be an excelent tool for evaluating the interpreted model. By processing the results it was possible to obtain information about deposit\'s local and global variability and spatial behavior of mineralization. The obtained results and interpretations can be applied in deposit\'s further sutdies, for instance, to classify the mineral resource, to refine the geological model or to plan future infill drilholes.

Santa Maria é um projeto de exploração mineral conduzido pela empresa Votorantim Metais Ltda, com foco nas comodities zinco e chumbo. Localizado no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, próximo das antigas minas de Camaquã e Uruguay, o projeto se encontra em uma região geologicamente fértil para exploração mineral. O depósito de Santa Maria possui informações suficientes para permitir a avaliação dos recursos minerais e também estudos de viabilidade econômica de projeto, entretanto, sua mineralização ocorre de forma heterogênea e condicionada a feições geológicas estruturais complexas, inserindo dúvidas à respeito da forma e volume dos corpos mineralizados. O objetivo desta pesquisa é a avaliação da incerteza associada à modelagem dos corpos mineralizados. Essa avaliação foi realizada através da comparação entre o modelo tridimensional confeccionado por interpretação de seções e outros dois modelos probabilísticos: um gerado por krigagem de indicadoras e outro gerado por simulação sequencial de indicadoras, que permitiu a interpretação da incerteza associada. Com os resultados obtidos foi possível quantificar os valores de volume máximo, mínimo e médio esperado no depósito, além de avaliar regiões de maior e menor confiança. A utilização conjunta dos métodos de krigagem de indicadoras e simulação sequencial de indicadoras se mostrou uma excelente opção para avaliação do modelo interpretado. Através do tratamento dos resultados foi possível obter informações à respeito da variabilidade local e global do depósito e sobre o comportamento espacial da mineralização. Os resultados e interpretações obtidos podem ser aplicados em trabalhos futuros no depósito, como na classificação do recurso mineral, no refinamento do modelo geológico e no planejamento de futuras malhas de sondagem infill. / Santa Maria is a mineral exploration project conducted by Votorantim Metais Ltda, with focus on zinc and lead extraction. The project is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the vicinities of the old mines of Camaquã and Uruguay, a favorable area for mineral exploration. There is enough information about Santa Maria\'s deposit to allow the estimation of mineral resources and the project\'s economical viability study, however, its mineralization occurs in heterogeneous ways and is conditioned to complex geological structural features, casting doubts about the shape and volume of the ore bodies. The main goal of this research is evaluating the uncertainty associated with the modeling of the orebodies. This evaluation was performed by comparing a three-dimensional model created by section interpretation and other two probabilistic models: one generated by indicator kriging, and the other generated by sequential indicator simulation, which allowed the interpretation of the associated uncertainty. Based on the obtained results, it was possible to quantify the maximum, minimum and average expected volume of the deposit, and also to evaluate the regions of most and least reliability. The joint use of indicator kriging and sequential indicator simulation methods proved to be an excelent tool for evaluating the interpreted model. By processing the results it was possible to obtain information about deposit\'s local and global variability and spatial behavior of mineralization. The obtained results and interpretations can be applied in deposit\'s further sutdies, for instance, to classify the mineral resource, to refine the geological model or to plan future infill drilholes.

Birds have been widely used as bioindicators. In this study we face the use of birds as bioindicators of metal pollution in two different scenarios of contamination: one that takes place in an aquatic environment, the Ebro river basin, and a second that occurs in a terrestrial environment, the Bolivian Andes. In the case of the Ebro river basin, the pollution threat is a factory located at the river bend, close to Flix, that due to its long operational activity and along with the construction of a dam next to the plant around 1960, resulted in the accumulation of 200,000–360,000 tons of industrial wastes in the riverbed, occupying an area of 700 m of length and 60 m of width. In this study case we evaluated whether aquatic birds such as the Purple Heron reflect the potential pollutant exposure from Flix Reservoir among different riverine and deltaic areas, and assess their usefulness as bioindicators. Also we examined if the polluted wastes of Flix reservoir affect the levels of pollution of the habitats where waterbird populations of the Ebro Delta (situated 90 km downstream) forage and feed. As results stable isotopes shown the high nitrification and lower carbon signatures in the river, and together with the niche width metrics, that Common and Sandwich Tern behave as strict specialists at the Ebro Delta, with narrow niche widths, while in the opposite way, Little Tern, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Night Heron and the Moorhen behave like generalists foragers, with broad niche widths. Mercury levels in nestlings of Purple Heron at Flix site and eggs of Audouin’s Gull, Little Tern and Common Tern ‘Banya’ at the Ebro Delta are high enough to be of special concern. Arsenic (specially used in combination with carbon signatures) discriminates outstandingly between marine and freshwater species. Both eggs and nestling feathers of Purple Herons are adequate bioindicators for trace element pollution, but nestling feathers present certain advantages. The six selected blood parameters (TOSC ROO*, TOSC OH*, BhCE, CbE, LDH and MN) provide the first evidence of an association of biological responses with pollutants in heron species. The second study case takes place in Bolivia. Anthropogenic mining has taken place in the Bolivian Andes since at least the fifteenth century. Particularly the East of Oruro Department in the Eastern Andean Cordillera is affected by a long term history of mining. These mining activities were characterized by the deposition of large tailing piles, which accumulated in abandoned and active mines, where trace metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and antimony could reach surface waters and soils, and so the biota. In this case we evaluated the potential of Tinamou species as sentinels of exposure to local trace metal pollution and studied different routes of lead accumulation into the sentinel species, in order to assess the usefulness of feather levels as a measure of the exposure to this pollutant. As results we found that the detected small home ranges detected in Ornate Tinamou (lower than 1 km2) and their sedentary habits make of this species an adequate bioindicator of local pollution. We recommend feathers for future monitoring programs as they are a non invasive sample. Higher rates of histopathological damage were found in kidney at the polluted sites. We detected high levels of trace elements detected at the polluted sites in the two studied species of Tinamou (Ornate and Darwin Tinamou), many of them trespassing hazard levels. The calamus is the most suitable section for assessing the original endogenous lead levels in feather samples. / En este estudio las aves serán utilizadas como bioindicadoras de contaminación por metales pesados en dos escenarios diferentes: el primero en un ambiente acuático, la cuenca del rio Ebro, mientras que el segundo tiene lugar en un ambiente terrestre, los Andes bolivianos. En el primer caso la fuente de contaminación es una fábrica localizada cerca de Flix, que produjo cientos de toneladas de lodos tóxicos. Así evaluamos si aves acuáticas como la Garza imperial reflejan la exposición potencial a los contaminantes de Flix entre zonas fluviales y deltaicas, comprobando su utilidad como bioindicadoras, y también examinamos si dichos residuos afectan a la contaminación de los hábitats donde la avifauna del Delta del Ebro se alimenta. Como resultados los isótopos estables mostraron la alta nitrificación y signaturas más bajas de carbono en el río y observamos que el Charrán común y patinegro actúan como especialistas en el Delta, mientras que Charrancito, Garceta común, Garza Imperial, Martinete y Gallineta de agua son generalistas, presentando amplios nichos tróficos. El mercurio en volantones de Garza Imperial en Flix y huevos de Gaviota de Audouin, Charrancito y Charrán común “Banya” en el Delta presentan valores alarmantes. El arsénico discrimina claramente entre especies marinas y dulceacuícolas. Ambos huevos y plumas son bioindicadores adecuados de contaminación, pero las plumas presentan más ventajas. El segundo estudio tiene lugar en los Andes Bolivianos, donde la actividad minera ha dado lugar a la acumulación de residuos. Evaluamos el potencial de las especies de Tinamúes como bioindicadoras de la exposición a dicha contaminación, incluyendo las diferentes vías de acumulación de plomo en las especies bioindicadoras. Como resultados, los pequeños territorios detectados y hábitos sedentarios hacen del Tinamú Pisacca un bioindicador adecuado de la contaminación local. Se recomienda el uso de plumas al son una muestra no invasiva. El mayor daño histopatológico se encontraron en muestras de riñón de las zonas contaminadas. La contaminación minera ha quedado de manifiesto con los altos niveles detectados en las dos especies estudiadas de Tinamú. El cálamo es la sección más adecuada para la evaluación de los niveles originales endógenos de plomo.

La present tesi doctoral estudiarà la temàtica de la credibilitat del relat que els menors presumptament abusats expressen dels fets, en base a l'anàlisi del contingut del seu relat. Fins al moment, la prova que s'utilitza, anomenada CBCA és fonamentalment d'orientació cognitiva, desconsiderant del seu anàlisi, els possibles criteris psicosocials que els menors expressen.Així, la present tesi, a més d'estudiar la prova CBCA, proposa l'utilització d'indicadors psicosocials que, efectivament, són expressats en el relat dels presumptes fets i que, en base a l'anàlisi mètric pertinent, ens permeten presentar-los com a vàlids per a diferenciar relats creíbles, d'aquells relats inventats o falsejats.La part teòrica de la tesi, presenta un exhaustiu recull de les recerques més significatives sobre les següents temàtiques: la credibilitat, l'instrument CBCA, els factors que influeixen en el testimoni infantil i els indicadors psicosocials de credibilitat. La part empírica, en base a un disseny observacional-correlacional i amb una mostra de casos reals treballats a la seu de l'Equip d'Assesorament del Jutjats de Girona, durant els anys 2000-2001, presenta l'estudi i anàlisi del CBCA, criticant les limitacions importants que presenta aquest instrument i, naturalment, proposant l'incorporació dels indicadors psicosocials com a criteris per la diferenciació dels relats. Es realitza un complert anàlisi mètric i es comprova l'increment de la qualitat psicomètrica (fiabilitat, validesa, discriminació de ítems) del nou instrument proposat amb els indicadors psicosocials presentats: el secret, relació dependent-envolvent, progressió en l'abús, normes de conducta, símptomes psicològics, favors i regals. / The present doctoral thesis is based on the investigation whose thematic basic it is the credibility of the minor abused sexually. The basic instrument for this investigation, the CBCA (Criteria-Based Content Analysis) it comes being used on the part of the teams of forensic psychologists of the Spanish territory as well as of other many European and American countries. This instrument, relatively new (Steller, 1989) it was studied and analyzed in a previous investigation with the purpose of evidencing their limitations and this way, incrementing their options of becoming a really valid instrument in the course of any judicial act. One of the results of this investigation is that of the 19 original items, the discrimant analysis, offers us a final test restricted to only 12 items, finding, consequently, 7 items that should be eliminated of the initial listing. The use of this corrected test, discovers us 2 important observations with regard to the variable age: those children than more age, they really offer bigger volumes of information, but this bigger information is not excellent for the increment of his credibility. The differential age among a significantly richer volumen of information, settles down around the 8-9 years. In this work we can show psicosocials items with a good psichometric quality for change the initials criteria: the secret, depended-involved relation, progressive abuse, behaviour rules, psychological disorders, favors and presents