abstract: Natural resource depletion and environmental degradation are the stark realities of the times we live in. As awareness about these issues increases globally, industries and businesses are becoming interested in understanding and minimizing the ecological footprints of their activities. Evaluating the environmental impacts of products and processes has become a key issue, and the first step towards addressing and eventually curbing climate change. Additionally, companies are finding it beneficial and are interested in going beyond compliance using pollution prevention strategies and environmental management systems to improve their environmental performance. Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) is an evaluative method to assess the environmental impacts associated with a products' life-cycle from cradle-to-grave (i.e. from raw material extraction through to material processing, manufacturing, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and finally, disposal or recycling). This study focuses on evaluating building envelopes on the basis of their life-cycle analysis. In order to facilitate this analysis, a small-scale office building, the University Services Building (USB), with a built-up area of 148,101 ft2 situated on ASU campus in Tempe, Arizona was studied. The building's exterior envelope is the highlight of this study. The current exterior envelope is made of tilt-up concrete construction, a type of construction in which the concrete elements are constructed horizontally and tilted up, after they are cured, using cranes and are braced until other structural elements are secured. This building envelope is compared to five other building envelope systems (i.e. concrete block, insulated concrete form, cast-in-place concrete, steel studs and curtain wall constructions) evaluating them on the basis of least environmental impact. The research methodology involved developing energy models, simulating them and generating changes in energy consumption due to the above mentioned envelope types. Energy consumption data, along with various other details, such as building floor area, areas of walls, columns, beams etc. and their material types were imported into Life-Cycle Assessment software called ATHENA impact estimator for buildings. Using this four-stepped LCA methodology, the results showed that the Steel Stud envelope performed the best and less environmental impact compared to other envelope types. This research methodology can be applied to other building typologies. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Architecture 2013

abstract: Natural rubber and rubber products can be produced from the guayule plant (Parthenium argentatum Gray), which is a low input perennial shrub native to Mexico and the American Southwest. Guayule rubber has the potential to replace Hevea (Hevea brasiliensis) rubber, the most common natural rubber, and synthetic rubber, which is derived from petroleum, in a wide variety of products, including automobile tires. Rubbers make up approximately 47% of the analyzed conventional passenger tire's weight, with 31% from synthetic rubber and 16% from natural Hevea rubber. Replacing the current rubber sources used for the tire industry with guayule rubber could help reduce dependency on imported rubber in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, residues from guayule rubber are being researched as a bioenergy feedstock to further improve the environmental footprint of guayule rubber products. This study used life cycle assessment (LCA), a useful tool to determine environmental impacts from a product or process, to quantify and compare environmental impacts of the raw material extraction, transportation and manufacturing of a conventional and a guayule rubber based passenger tire. The impact results of this comparative LCA identified the major environmental impacts and contributing process and informed how the impacts from the tire production can be reduced through utilization of natural rubber co-products as electricity off-sets and reducing guayule rubber's environmental impacts through agricultural and transportation modifications. Results showed that tire raw material extraction contributed the majority of impacts in all categories, where the production of guayule rubber for guayule tires, and the production of synthetic rubber for conventional tires, were the main contributors. Guayule rubber impacts occurred mainly from electricity consumption for agricultural irrigation, while synthetic rubber is a petroleum-based material resulting in high impacts. Transportation impacts had little significance compared to other stages in the life cycle, except for smog impacts, which occurred mainly from truck transport for guayule tires, and transoceanic transport for conventional tires. Tire manufacturing impacts occurred mainly from electricity use in the facilities and were reduced with the use of guayule rubber in guayule tires. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014

Jellyfish (Phylum Cnidaria, Class Scyphozoa) play important roles in pelagic ecosystems as predators and prey. Seasonally they form blooms facilitating reproductive success, but that are at times problematic for human enterprise. Medusa abundance has been correlated with environmental variables in several instances. However, the direct mechanisms for changes in medusa abundance are unclear. As global sea surface temperatures continue to change there is increasing concern that warming may enhance conditions favourable for the generation of jellyfish medusae. It is important to understand the ways in which temperature affects all life history stages of jellyfish if we are to begin to understand factors associated with jellyfish bloom formations, but how temperature and salinity affects life history stages of scyphozoan jellyfish from British waters remains largely unknown. In Chapter 1 I provide a general introduction to some key issues important to the formation of jellyfish blooms. In Chapter 2 I present results for experiments testing the effects of temperature on settlement and metamorphosis of planulae larvae of Cyanea capillata, Cyanea lamarckii, Chyrsaora hysoscella, and Aurelia aurita. Chapter 3 reports on the effects of temperature and salinity on survival, and asexual reproduction of scyphistomae of the same species. Chapter 4 reports on the effects of temperature and salinity on growth of newly released ephyrae of each of the above mentioned species, as well as the effects of starvation on survivorship on ephyrae of A. aurita originating from two distinct populations of scyphistomae. In Chapter 5 I provide a brief summary of significant findings for each life history stage, their theoretical implications when taken together, and next steps for future research. I also offer recommendations for ecosystem managers with an eye toward affecting the numbers of near-shore jellyfish medusae generated each season in the waters surrounding the British Isles.

Ativo essencial na composição de produtos de nutrição, o fosfato bicálcico é aplicado como fonte de fósforo e cálcio em rações animais, sais minerais, e outros bens regularmente consumidos no segmento pecuário. Mesmo com uma contribuição importante para o sector agrícola nacional, a obtenção de fosfato bicálcico proporciona impactos significativos ao meio ambiente. Isso ocorre não apenas pelo consumo inexorável de rocha fosfática recursos naturais considerados como reserva estratégica de uma nação , mas também, por causa das demandas de água , de aditivos e de outros agentes de processo. Além disso, destacam-se nesse mesmo recorte a geração de resíduos sólidos e emissões para a água e para o ar, geradas em virtude da abordagem tecnológica praticado neste processamento. Este estudo faz uma avaliação do desempenho ambiental da produção de fosfato bicálcico como esta é praticada no Complexo Mineroquímico de Cajati -SP, sob a perspectiva de propor ações de melhoria ao mesmo processamento. A fim de levar a cabo a conte o presente desenvolvimento a técnica de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (LCA) a técnica foi utilizada para determina em termos quantitativos, a magnitude das interações entre os sistemas antrópicos e o ambiente. Os resultados da primeira etapa do projeto mostraram que a importação de enxofre, a produção de ácido fosfórico e o consumo de energia elétrica foram os estágios com o maior potencial de impactos ambientais. O diagnóstico fornecido por esta iniciativa permitiu que arranjos tecnológicos concebidas sob o enfoque ambiental fossem então modelados. Nesses termos, foram propostas melhorias quanto a logística do transporte de enxofre, o consumo de água no complexo industrial, e a aquisição de energia elétrica junto à concessionária. O estudo conclui que, se a importação de enxofre fosse realizada a partir de diferentes fornecedores, mas desconsiderando a Rússia o mais importante destes na condição atual o desempenho ambiental do processo seria afetado positivamente. Quanto ao consumo de água, a implementação de ações de reciclagem trouxe ganhos em termos de esgotamento do recurso, de eutrofização e de toxicidades em água doce e terrestre. Ainda que estes resultados fossem previsíveis, as magnitudes das reduções foram expressivas. No entanto, o uso de cal virgem para neutralização do efluente na nova estação de tratamento (ETEL) aumentou significativamente os impactos como mudanças climáticas. Por fim, a alternativa de fornecimento de energia eletricidade por cogeração de biomassa será ambientalmente eficaz se acaso esta puder proporcionar de maneira simultânea uma redução da demanda de energia térmica decorrente de combustíveis fósseis. / Essential asset in the composition of nutrition products, the dicalcium phosphate is applied as a source of phosphorus and calcium in animal rations, minerals salts and other regularity consumed goods in the livestock sector. Even with an important contribution to the national agricultural sector, the obtaining of dicalcium phosphate provides significant impacts to the environment. This occurs not only by the inexorable consumption of phosphate rock natural resources considered as strategic reserve of a nation but also, because of the demand for water, additives and other agents used in the process. Moreover, still regarding environmental effects, must be highlighted the solid waste generation and the emissions for water and to the air released by virtue of the technological approach usually practiced in this processing. This study makes an evaluation of the environmental performance of dicalcium phosphate production as it is practiced in the Complexo Mineroquímico of Cajati-SP, under the perspective to propose improvement actions. In order to carry out the development Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) technique was employed in order to determine, in a quantitative way, the magnitude of the interactions between the anthropic systems and its surroundings. The results of the first step of the project showed that sulfur import, phosphoric acid production and consumption of electric energy were the stages with the most significant environmental impacts. The diagnosis allowed that technological arrangements conceived under the environmental perspective were modeled. Therefore there were proposed improvements concerning the logistic of Sulphur transportation, water consumption in the industrial complex, and to the electricity acquired from the concessionaire. The study concludes that if the sulphur importation were shared among different suppliers, without considering Russia the most important of them nowadays , the environmental performance of the process would be positively affected. Regarding water consumption, the implementation of recycling actions brought gains in terms of water depletion, Eutrophication and both Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecotoxicity. Event that these results could be previously predicted the magnitudes of the decreases were expressive. However, the use of quicklime to neutralize the effluent in the wastewater treatment increased significantly the impacts as Climate Changes. The alternative of energy supplying electricity by cogeneration of biomass will be environmentally effective if it can provide, simultaneously reduction of thermal energy demand from fossil fuels.

A condição para o ser humano continuar usufruindo dos recursos naturais de forma sustentável para o planeta passa, obrigatoriamente, por uma revisão do seu modo de vida atual. Além disso, ao se repensar este novo estilo de convivência com o resto do planeta, o homem deve avaliar os prováveis efeitos que tais mudanças poderão gerar.Assim, torna-se importante analisar quais externalidades (positivas ou negativas) acabam resultando neste processo de mudança. Entre as formas de análise existentes para os impactos gerados por um novo produto, processo ou serviço,encontra-se a Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV). Este método tem como objetivo compreender e lidar com tais impactos gerados tanto de forma qualitativa, como também de forma quantitativa. A ACV busca verificar tais impactos em todas as suas fases do ciclo de vida, ou seja, desde a extração das matérias-primas, passando pelo processo de fabricação e uso até o descarte ou descaracterização final de um determinado produto. Porém, tais impactos não se restringem apenas ao campo ambiental. Ao se questionar a sustentabilidade do modo de vida do ser humano, tal escopo acaba se ampliando, incluindo também as questões social e econômica. Desta forma, avaliações que atualmente analisam somente os impactos ambientais num processo de fabricação, por exemplo, terão que se auxiliar de mensurações econômicas e sociais a fim de poder compreender e lidar com a futura sustentabilidade deste processo. O mesmo acaba valendo para a metodologia adotada, pois a análise dos impactos ambientais terá que englobar os resultados econômicos e sociais. É neste caminhar que a Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida busca se adequar a esta visão de avaliação baseada nestas três dimensões (ambiental, econômica e social) tornando-seuma Avaliação da Sustentabilidade do Ciclo de Vida (ASCV). Este novo método buscou agregar os impactos sociais e econômicos com os ambientais já medidos durante o ciclo de vida de um determinado produto ou serviço. O Rio Grande do Sul (RS), assim como todo o Brasil vem enfrentando este mesmo desafio, a partir da homologação da Lei no 11.097, que determina a adição de biodiesel ao óleo Diesel. Desta forma, a matriz energética brasileira começou a se modificar incorporando fontes de energia alternativas através da biomassa, entre elas a soja. Portanto, torna-se prudente avaliar de que forma os impactos ambientais, sociais e econômicos se comportam ao se substituir o Diesel pelo biodiesel. Assim, este trabalho buscou verificar dentro do estado do Rio Grande do Sul o nível de sustentabilidade do biodiesel de sojabaseando-se no ciclo de vida deste. Para isso,foi utilizada uma forma de ASCV a fim de qualificar e quantificar estes impactos. Tais resultados têm o intuito de auxiliar nesta nova escolha para a matriz energética, para que os futuros tomadores de decisão possam lidar melhor com este processo de transição. Desta maneira trabalhou-se o ciclo de vida do biodiesel gaúcho em três fases: agrícola, industrial e uso e transporte. Foram mensuradas 6 categorias de impacto ambiental, 3 categorias de custo e 3 partes interessadas: acidificação, eutrofização, aquecimento global, recursos abióticos, uso do solo, uso da água, custos de insumos, custos de infraestrutura e manutenção, despesas financeiras, trabalhadores, comunidade local e sociedade, e atores da cadeia de valor. A coleta de dados ocorreu tanto por questionários como por coleta de dados secundários (específicos e genéricos). De uma forma geral verificou-se que enquanto a fase agrícola do biodiesel gaúcho destaca-se na dimensão ambiental, a fase industrial apresenta potencialidades na dimensão econômica. Verificou-se que os impactos mais críticos em cada dimensão do ciclo de vida do biodiesel acabaram sendo a acidificação (ambiental), custos de insumos (econômica) e a parte interessada comunidade local/sociedade (social). Por fim,verificou-se que o biodiesel gaúcho possui uma boa sustentabilidade onde se percebe a dimensão social com maior potencialidade de melhoria. / The condition of human being using natural resources in a way to become sustainable to the planet necessitates revision in our current way of life. Besides that, when human beings think about a new coexistence with the rest of the planet, they must evaluate the probable effects (that) their actions can generate. Hence, it is important to analyze which externalities (positive or negative) may result from this process. Among the methods which already exist to evaluate the impacts generated by a new product, process or service; there is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This method aims to understand and deal with the impacts generated, in both quantitative and qualitative ways. LCA seeks to verify the impacts in all phases, i.e., from the raw material extraction through the manufacturing process and use, until disposal as waste. However, these impacts are not restricted only to the environmental field. When the humans way of life is questioned, in terms of sustainability, it is necessary to widen the scope, aggregating also the social and economic dimensions. Therefore, current evaluations which analyze only environmental impacts in the manufacturing process, for instance, are being expanded for economical and social measurements in order to understand and deal with the sustainability of these processes. The same happens with methods, because the environmental impact analysis will have to encompass social and economic results. These include the LCA method which we should try to fit in this kind of evaluation based on three dimensions (environmental, social and economical), offering a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). This innovative method seeks to aggregate the social and economical impacts into the environmental impacts already measured during the LCA related to a specific product or service. Rio Grande do Sul State (RS), like the rest of Brazil, has this same challenge, since the approval of the Brazilian Law number 11.097 which has established biodiesel addition to Diesel. In this way, Brazilian energy matrix began to change; encompassing alternative energy sources from biomass, among them soybean. Therefore, with a cautious approach it becomes necessary to evaluate in which way environmental, social and economical impacts behave when Diesel is replaced by soybean biodiesel. Thus, this work seeks to verify, the level of sustainability of soybean biodiesel in produced in Rio Grande do Sul, based on their LCA. For this, it will be used an LCSA analysis with the aim to qualify and quantify these impacts. The results obtained will help in a better understanding of this energy matrix, assisting decision-makers to better deal with this transition process. In this way, the life cycle of Rio Grande do Sul biodiesel was assessed in three stages: agricultural, industrial, and use and transport. It was measured 12 impact categories and/or stakeholders: acidification, eutrophication, global warming, abiotic depletion, land use, water depletion, supply costs, infrastructure and maintenance costs, financial expenses, workers, local communities and society, and value chain actors. The data collection was made both, by questionnaires and by secondary data collect (specific and generics). In general, it was verified that while the agricultural stage of the biodiesel stand out in environmental dimension, the industrial stage presents potential in economical dimension. Besides that, the stage of use and transport presented like the weakest link in this biofuel chain. In relation to social dimension was perceived a lack of maturity in all stages of life cycle which brought problemsto a better data collection and homogeneity of these results in relation to environmental and economical dimension results. It was found that the most critical impacts in each dimension were acidification (environmental), supply costs (economical) and the stakeholder local communities/society (social). Lastly, it was checked that the Rio Grande do Sul biodiesel has a good level of sustainability which it is possible to perceive a social dimension with higher potential of improvement.

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Este trabalho teve como objetivo ampliar o entendimento de como a Contabilidade Gerencial se desenvolve ao longo do tempo em uma organização, tomando como base um modelo de estágios de ciclo de vida. Pressupõe-se que, em cada estágio de ciclo de vida, a organização assume características particulares e tem necessidades de informações específicas, o que impacta em suas práticas contábeis gerenciais. O modelo de ciclo de vida de Miller e Friesen (1984), para organizações em geral, e o trabalho de Moores e Yuen (2001), que o aplicou ao estudo da Contabilidade Gerencial, ambos baseados na Teoria da Configuração, formam o principal referencial teórico deste trabalho. A estratégia de pesquisa utilizada foi a de um estudo de caso único, que se justifica pela complexidade do tema e pela abordagem longitudinal retrospectiva. A empresa objeto deste estudo foi uma indústria de transformação com mais de 40 anos de idade. O horizonte de análise compreendeu o intervalo da história da empresa que iniciava de 1994 e findava em 2006, o momento presente, conforme os relatos dos profissionais da empresa selecionados como participantes da pesquisa. De um modo geral, as características observadas nos períodos identificados foram compatíveis com a descrição dos estágios correspondentes no referencial teórico. Foi possível constatar como a evolução dos estágios de ciclo de vida afeta o desenvolvimento da Contabilidade Gerencial dentro do mesmo estágio e na transição entre estágios distintos. Observou-se que o processo de transição não é necessariamente linear, em que o novo estágio se estabelece e daí os atributos de Contabilidade Gerencial são alterados. As evidências coletadas permitiram suportar as proposições nos estudos de Miller e Friesen (1984), mas apenas parcialmente aquelas derivadas do trabalho de Moores e Yuen (2001), já que nem todos os estágios de ciclo de vida puderam ser observados, neste caso. O trabalho conclui com sugestões para estudos futuros, na expectativa de que se continue ampliando o entendimento do tema do desenvolvimento da Contabilidade Gerencial. / The objective of this work was to expand the understanding of how Management Accounting develops through time in an organization, taking a life cycle stage model as reference. It is assumed that, in each life-cycle stage, the organization takes in particular characteristics and has specific information needs, which impacts its management accounting practices. Miller and Friesen (1984) life cycle model, for organizations in general, and Moores and Yuen (2001) work, that applied it to the study of Management Accounting, both based on Configuration Theory, are the main theoretical references of this work. A single case study research strategy was utilized, justified by the complexity of the theme and by a retrospective longitudinal approach. The subject of this study was a manufacturing company of over 40 years of age. The analyzed time horizon comprised a span of company history that started in 1994 and ended in 2006, the current period, in accordance to the interviews with the company professionals that were selected as participants of this research. In general terms, the observed characteristics in the identified periods were compatible with the corresponding life cycle stages descriptions as found in the referenced theory. It was possible to verify how life cycle stage evolution affects Management Accounting development within the same stage and in the transition between distinct stages. It was observed that the transition process is not necessarily linear, where a new stage establishes itself and then Management Accounting attributes are changed. The gathered evidences allowed the support of the propositions based on the Miller and Friesen (1984) studies, but only partially of those derived from the Moores and Yuen (2001) work, since not every life cycle stage was observed in this case. This work concludes with suggestions for future studies, hoping that the understanding of the Management Accounting development subject continues to grow.

A obtenção de etanol a partir de rotas alcoolquímicas consagradas gera resíduos com potencial de aproveitamento, tanto em outros setores produtivos como no ciclo produtivo do próprio combustível. Este é o caso de torta de filtro e vinhaça. A vinhaça em particular costuma ser devolvida ao campo com o intuito de ajustar teores nutricionais do solo no cultivo da cana. No entanto, estudos ambientais destacam que esta alternativa traz efeitos negativos sobre os meios receptores (água e solo), condição que abre a perspectiva para exploração de usos alternativos dessas substâncias. Este estudo se propôs a contribuir para o tema ao avaliar de forma sistêmica o desempenho ambiental de duas alternativas de reaproveitamento de vinhaça: (i) reuso no campo em processos de fertirrigação, alternativa consolidada no Brasil, e (ii) reuso da fração líquida da vinhaça em etapas diversas do processo industrial de obtenção de etanol. Em qualquer das situações fez-se uso da técnica de Avaliação de Ciclo de Vida - ACV para proceder tal verificação. A análise ambiental da prática de reuso de vinhaça e torta para fertirrigação foi conduzida a partir da comparação de cenários que consideraram a forma de suprimento de nutrientes para a cana e o método de colheita. A avaliação de impactos ocorreu em dois níveis: quanto ao consumo de recursos, a partir de Primary Energy Demand (PED); e em termos de emissões para o ambiente por meio da elaboração do Perfil Ambiental. Uma Análise de Sensibilidade foi também realizada para verificar o efeito de oscilações dos teores de Nitrogênio (N), Fósforo (P) e Potássio (K) na composição da vinhaça sobre os resultados obtidos, caso da primeira alternativa. Concluiu-se para esse caso que a substituição parcial de fertilizantes químicos por vinhaça traz aumento da Demanda de Energia Primária global para ambos os métodos de colheita. Em termos de Perfil Ambiental, a comparação entre cenários das mesmas práticas de manejo mostrou que a troca de adubos por vinhaça e torta é positiva para o desempenho ambiental do etanol por reduzir impactos quanto a Mudanças Climáticas (CC), Acidificação Terrestre (TA) e Toxicidade Humana (HT). Por outro lado, o tratamento de vinhaça para reposição de água na etapa industrial resultou em aumento global das contribuições para as categorias acima mencionadas além de incrementos para Eutrofização de água doce (FEut) e Ecotoxicidade de água doce (FEC), a despeito de ser constatada a redução de 45% quanto a Depleção de água (WD). Os aumentos no impacto se deveram principalmente aos efeitos negativos causados durante a produção do CaO usado no processo de tratamento da vinhaça. No entanto, a substituição deste insumo por NaOH só representou melhora em termos de CC. Pode-se concluir que a reutilização de vinhaça e de torta de filtro como complemento nutricional para o cultivo de cana-de-açúcar resultou em uma alternativa mais adequada de reaproveitamento do que o se este fluído fosse reutilizado para suprir parte da demanda hídrica de processo, mesmo quando o consumo de água na etapa industrial tenha inexoravelmente se reduzido a partir da implantação dessa medida. / The production of ethanol from consecrated alcohol chemistry routes generates waste materials with reuse potential in other productive sectors as in the alcohol production cycle. This is the case of filter cake and vinasse. Vinasse, in particular, is often returned to the field in order to adjust soil nutrient levels in the cultivation of sugarcane. However, environmental studies highlight that this alternative brings negative effects on the receiving bodies (water and soil), condition that opens the prospect for the exploration of alternative uses of these substances. This study aimed to contribute to the topic by evaluating systemically the environmental performance of two vinasse recycling alternatives: (i) reuse in the sugarcane fields in fertigation processes, consolidated alternative in Brazil, and (ii) reuse of the vinasse liquid fraction in various stages of the ethanol production process. In either situation the Life Cycle Assessment Technique - LCA was used to carry out such verification. The environmental analysis of vinasse and filter cake reuse for fertigation was conducted based on the comparison of scenarios that considered the form of nutrient supply for sugarcane crops, and the harvesting methods. Impact Assessment took place on two levels: as for resource consumption from Primary Energy Demand (PED); and in terms of emissions into the environment through the elaboration of the Environmental Profile. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to evaluate the effects of fluctuations of N, P and K contents in the composition of vinasse on the results obtained, case of the first alternative. It was concluded in this case that the partial substitution of chemical fertilizers by vinasse, led to an increase in the global Primary Energy Demand for both harvesting methods. In terms of the Environmental Profile, the comparison between scenarios with the same management practices showed that replacing chemical fertilizers with vinasse and filter cake is positive for the environmental performance of ethanol since it reduces Climate Change (CC), Terrestrial Acidification (TA) and Human Toxicity (HT) impacts. Moreover, treatment of vinasse for water replacement in the industrial stage resulted in global increases for the mentioned categories as well as increments for Freshwater Eutrophication (FEut) and Freshwater Ecotoxicity (FEC), despite being detected a reduction of 45% for WD. Impact increases were due primarily to the negative effects caused during the production of CaO used during the vinasse treatment process. However, the replacement of this input by NaOH represented improvement only in terms of CC. It can be concluded that the use of vinasse and filter cake as a nutritional supplement for sugarcane cultivation resulted in a more adequate alternative for reuse than if the fluid were reused to supply part of the water process demand, even when the water consumption in the industrial stage has inexorably been reduced since the implementation of this measure.

A recente proposta de uma nova classe de Cnidaria, Staurozoa, contribuiu para um melhor conhecimento sobre o grupo. Entretanto, os dados e hipóteses sobre a evolução, taxonomia, biologia e ecologia de Staurozoa ainda são limitados, especialmente com relação às espécies do hemisfério Sul. O objetivo deste estudo é: (1) rever caracteres tradicionalmente utilizados na taxonomia do gênero Haliclystus (alguns deles amplamente utilizados na taxonomia de Staurozoa em geral), (2) abordar questões relacionadas à ontogenia e ao ciclo de vida desses animais e (3) discutir e revisar homologias de Staurozoa e de outras classes de Medusozoa, subsidiando inferências evolutivas para o grupo. A espécie Haliclystus antarcticus foi utilizada como um modelo para Staurozoa em geral a fim de atingir os objetivos propostos. Contribuições para o conhecimento sobre a biologia e taxonomia do grupo provieram de estudos histomorfológicos e da redescrição de H. antarcticus. Dados moleculares, morfológicos e ecológicos foram utilizados em inferências sobre a ontogenia e o ciclo de vida de H. antarcticus. Discussões sobre homologias e ciclo de vida de outros Medusozoa provieram de dados histomorfológicos. As principais consequências do nosso estudo são: (a) os espécimes provenientes do Chile foram identificados erroneamente como H. auricula, e devem ser classificados como H. antarcticus; (b) muitos caracteres tradicionalmente utilizados na taxonomia do grupo são variáveis (intraespecificamente e ontogeneticamente) ou são interpretados incorretamente; (c) dados moleculares suportam a identificação da espécie Microhydrula limopsicola (Limnomedusae, Hydrozoa) como um estágio da vida de H. antarcticus, o que esclarece o ciclo de vida e a morfologia do grupo; (d) o significado evolutivo de alguns caracteres morfológicos e do ciclo de vida da classe Staurozoa foram revisados e discutidos em uma perspectiva mais ampla entre os Medusozoa. / The recent proposal of a new class of Cnidaria, Staurozoa, has contributed to a better knowledge on the group. However, data and hypotheses on evolution, taxonomy, biology, and ecology of Staurozoa are still limited, especially concerning species of the Southern Hemisphere. The aim of this study is: (1) to review characters traditionally adopted in the taxonomy of the genus Haliclystus (some of them widely used for Staurozoa taxonomy in general), (2) to address issues concerning the ontogeny and life history of these animals, and (3) to discuss and review homologies of Staurozoa and other classes of Medusozoa, subsidizing evolutionary inferences for the group. The species Haliclystus antarcticus was used as a model for Staurozoa in general in order to achieve the proposed goals. Contributions to the knowledge on the biology and taxonomy of the group came from histomorphological studies and the redescription of H. antarcticus. Molecular, morphological, and ecological data were used in inferences concerning the ontogeny and life cycle of H. antarcticus. Discussions on homologies and life cycle of other Medusozoa also came from histomorphological data. The main consequences of our studies are: (a) specimens from Chile were misidentified as H. auricula, and they should be assigned to H. antarcticus; (b) many characters traditionally adopted in the taxonomy of the group were demonstrated to be either variable or incorrectly interpreted; (c) molecular data have supported the assignment of the Hydrozoa Limnomedusae species Microhydrula limopsicola as a phase of the life cycle of H. antarcticus, what shed light on the understanding of the life cycle of the group and its morphology; (d) the evolutionary meaning of some morphological and life cycle characters in the class Staurozoa were reviewed and discussed in a broader perspective among the Medusozoa.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The plasticity of single-stranded viral genomes permits the formation of secondary structures through complementary base-pairing of their component nucleotides. Such structures have been shown to regulate a number of biological processes during the viral life-cycle including, replication, translation, transcription, post-transcriptional editing and genome packaging. However, even randomly generated single-stranded nucleotide sequences have the capacity to form stable secondary structures and therefore, amongst the numerous secondary structures formed in large viral genomes only a few of these elements will likely be biologically relevant. While it is possible to identify functional elements through series of laboratory experiments, this is both excessively resource- and time-intensive, and therefore not always feasible. A more efficient approach involves the use of computational comparative analyses methods to study the signals of molecular evolution that are consistent with selection acting to preserve particular structural elements. In this study, I systematically deploy a collection of computationally-based molecular evolution detection methods to analyse the genomes of viruses belonging to a number of ssRNA viral families (Alphaflexiviridae, Arteriviridae, Caliciviridae, Closteroviridae, Coronavirinae, Flaviviridae, Luteoviridae, Picornaviridae, Potyviridae, Togaviridae and Virgaviridae), for evidence of selectively stabilised secondary structures. To identify potentially important structural elements the approach incorporates structure prediction data with signals of natural selection, sequence co-evolution and genetic recombination. In addition, auxiliary computational tools were used to; 1) quantitatively rank the identified structures in order of their likely biological importance, 2) plot co-ordinates of structures onto viral genome maps, and 3) visualise individual structures, overlaid with estimates from the molecular evolution analyses. I show that in many of these viruses purifying selection tends to be stronger at sites that are predicted to be base-paired within secondary structures, in addition to strong associations between base-paired sites and those that are complementarily co-evolving. Lastly, I show that in recombinant genomes breakpoint locations are weakly associated with co-ordinates of secondary structures. Collectively, these findings suggest that natural selection acting to maintain potentially functional secondary structures has been a major theme during the evolution of these ssRNA viruses.