Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:37:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JoacilGS_DISSERT.pdf: 4166780 bytes, checksum: d28a491081df0a86a997a1a2664b7535 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-28 / Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a substance found in many tissues of the body, including as a neurotransmitter in the nervous system, in which may exert varied post-synaptic actions. Inside the neuro-axis, the location of 5-HT neurons is almost restricted to the raphe nuclei of the brainstem, such that 5-HT-immunoreactivity can be considered a marker of the raphe nuclei. The raphe nuclei are located in the brainstem, at or near the midline. The serotonergic groups were originally alphanumerically classified as B1 to B9 towards caudorrostral in rats and can be divided into upper and lower groups. In this study the distribution of serotonergic neurons was studied using immunohistochemistry in the brain of the rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris), a species of rodent endemic to Northeastern Brazil. The cytoarchitectonic location of serotonergic neurons was established in series of adjacent coronal and sagittal sections stained by the Nissl method and immunohistochemistry for 5-HT. Thus, we defined the raphe rostral linear, caudal linear, dorsal, median, and paramedian pontine raphe nuclei, and B9 cluster, constituting the rostral group, and the interpositus, magnus, obscure and palidus, constituting the caudal part of the group, comparable to which has been described for other mammalian species / A serotonina ou 5-hidroxitriptamina (5-HT) ? uma subst?ncia encontrada em muitos tecidos do organismo, inclusive no sistema nervoso como neurotransmissor, onde pode exercer a??es p?s-sin?pticas variadas. Dentro do neuro-eixo, a localiza??o dos neur?nios 5-HT ? quase absoluta nos n?cleos da rafe do tronco encef?lico, de tal maneira que 5-HT neuronal pode ser considerada um marcador dos n?cleos da rafe. Os n?cleos da rafe est?o localizados no tronco encef?lico, na linha m?dia ou suas proximidades. Os grupamentos serotonin?rgicos foram originalmente classificados alfanumericamente como B1 a B9 no sentido caudorrostral no rato e podem ser divididos em grupos superior e inferior. Neste trabalho a distribui??o dos neur?nios serotonin?rgicos foi estudada com imunoistoqu?mica no c?rebro do moc? (Kerodon rupestris), uma esp?cie de roedor end?mica da regi?o Nordeste do Brasil. A localiza??o citoarquitet?nica dos neur?nios serotonin?rgicos foi estabelecida em s?ries de sec??es coronais e sagitais adjacentes submetidas a colora??o pelo m?todo de Nissl e imunoistoqu?mica para 5-HT. Assim, foram delimitados os n?cleos da rafe linear rostral, linear caudal, dorsal, mediano, paramediano e pontino da rafe e grupamento B9, compondo o grupo rostral, e os n?cleos interp?sito, magno, obscuro e p?lido, compondo o grupo caudal, compar?vel ao que j? foi descrito para outras esp?cies de mam?feros

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:37:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JoseRLPC_DISSERT.pdf: 5508734 bytes, checksum: 81d9b9240f44158090493b3b76b26129 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-27 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The 3-hydroxytyramine/dopamine (DA) is a monoamine of catecholamineric group and consists in the progenitor substantia of synthesis of noradrenaline and adrenaline, having the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase as a regulator of this process. Nuclei of midbrain expressing DA are the retrorubral field (RRF, A8 group), the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc, A9 group) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA, A10 group). These nuclei are involved in three complex circuitry called mesostriatal, mesocortical and mesolimbic, which are related directly with various behavioral manifestations such as motor control, reward signaling in behavioural learning, motivation and pathological manifestations of Parkinson s disease and schizophrenia. The aim of this study was describe the morphology of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (A8, A9 and A10) of the rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris), a rodent belonging to the family Caviidae typical of the Brazilian Northeast, which is being adopted as a model for neuroanatomical studies in laboratory of neuroanatomy of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Coronal sections of brains of the rock cavies were submitted to staining by Nissl s method and immunohistochemistry against tyrosine hydroxylase. The nuclear organization of the midbrain dopaminergic nuclei of the rock cavy is very similar to that found in other animals of the order Rodentia, except by the presence of the tail of substantia nigra, which was found only in the studied species. We concluded that the midbrain dopaminergic nuclei are phylogenetically stable among species, but we think to be it necessary to expand the studies about the particularity found the rock cavy, investigating its occurrence in other species of rodents or investigating its functional relevance / A 3-hidroxitiramina/dopamina (DA) ? uma monoamina do grupo das catecolaminas e consiste na subst?ncia precursora da s?ntese de noradrenalina e adrenalina, tendo a enzima tirosinahidroxilase (TH) como reguladora deste processo. Os n?cleos do mesenc?falo que expressam DA s?o a zona retrorubral (RRF, grupo A8), a subst?ncia negra pars compacta (SNc, grupo A9) e a ?rea tegmental ventral (VTA, grupo A10). Tais n?cleos est?o envolvidos em tr?s complexas circuitarias, chamadas mesostriatal, mesol?mbica e mesocortical, as quais est?o relacionadas diretamente com diversas manifesta??es comportamentais como controle da motricidade, sinaliza??o de recompensa na aprendizagem comportamental, motiva??o e nas manifesta??es patol?gicas da Doen?a de Parkinson e esquizofrenia. O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a morfologia dos n?cleos dopamin?rgicos do mesenc?falo (A8, A9 e A10) do moc? (Kerodon rupestris), um roedor pertencente ? fam?lia Caviidae t?pico da regi?o Nordeste do Brasil, que est? sendo adotado como modelo para estudos neuroanat?micos no Laborat?rio de Neuroanatomia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Sec??es coronais do enc?falo do moc? foram submetidas ? colora??o pelo m?todo de Nissl e imunoistoqu?mica contra tirosina-hidroxilase. A organiza??o nuclear do sistema dopamin?rgico do mesenc?falo do moc? ? muito semelhante ao que foi encontrado em outros animais da ordem Rodentia, exceto na presen?a da cauda da subst?ncia negra, que foi encontrada apenas na esp?cie em quest?o. Conclu?mos que os n?cleos dopamin?rgicos do mesenc?falo s?o filogeneticamente est?veis entre as esp?cies, por?m percebemos a necessidade de se ampliar os estudos acerca da particularidade encontrada no moc?, seja investigando a sua ocorr?ncia em outras esp?cies de roedores, seja investigando a sua relev?ncia funcional

It appears to be unanimous that alien species in island environments tend to cause considerably more negative than positive impacts. To assess the potential level of threat aliens may pose to the native environment, understanding a species’ population structure and dynamics is of ultimate importance. Assessing both impacts and consequences of management interventions to alien species is likewise only possible through the comprehension of its population structure and dynamics. This can be achieved by estimating the number of individuals in the study site, as well as other population parameters through time, applying population models such as capture-recapture to the collected datasets. Nonetheless, alien species that have low capture rates, such as small mammals, might present a considerable obstacle for conservation, as available capturerecapture models need a relatively large dataset to precisely and accurately estimate population parameters. To improve accuracy and precision of estimates that use sparse datasets, the present study developed an integrated concurrent marking-observation capture-recapture model (C-MOM). The model proposed here, contrary to the commonly available mark-recapture and mark-resight models, allows for two different datasets (i.e. a capture-recapture and a population count) to be integrated, as well as for marking and observation (recapture) data to be collected simultaneously. While few models can integrate different datasets, no model is known to allow for concomitant capture-markobservation activities. To assess the performance of the C-MOM when estimating population parameters for sparse datasets, a virtual ecology study was carried out. The population dynamics of a small rodent, the rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris), as well as capture-recapture and population count datasets, were simulated under different scenarios. The sampled datasets were then analyzed by the C-MOM, and by two other established statistical models: a classical mark recapture (CMR) (based on the Jolly-Seber model), and a zero-truncated Poisson log-normal mixed effects (ZPNE), the only integrated mark-resight model that allows for recapture sampling with replacement. Estimates of population parameters provided by the three models were then compared in terms of bias, precision and accuracy. C-MOM and ZPNE models were afterwards applied to real data collected on a rock cavy colony in the island of Fernando de Noronha. The estimated parameters were used to extrapolate the number of individuals in the rock cavy colony to the whole population in the island. Subsequently, these results were used to develop a risk assessment for the species by modelling historical and management scenarios, simulating both the establishment of the species in the island, and the consequences of different management interventions applied to it. The virtual ecology study showed that, in comparison to the CMR and the ZPNE, the C-MOM presented improved accuracy without overestimating the precision of population parameter’s estimates. The last also presented reduced amplitude of the calculated credible interval at 95% when applied to real data in comparison to the ZPNE. While the extrapolation of C-MOM estimates suggests that the rock cavy population in Fernando de Noronha is 6,652 ± 1,587, ZPNE estimates are of 5,854 ± 3,269 individuals. In the risk assessment, historical simulation models demonstrated that even though different combinations of uncertainty in reproductive parameters of the rock cavy might be possible for the species, these did not interfere significantly in either establishment or spread of the rock cavy population in the island. Moreover, historical yearly mortality has most likely been under 30%. Regarding the species’ management simulations, the most effective management interventions to achieve population extinction were spaying and neutering of both sexes, although harvest effort presented the highest influence on this populations’ extirpation. Nonetheless, the relative influence of female and both sexes’ based interventions did not differ significantly regarding the frequency of extinction of stochastic replicates’. Moreover, none of the management interventions guaranteed the population extinction within the time span and harvest effort proposed for the management program. Neutering of both sexes was most inversely influential on time to extinction of this population, followed by removal of both sexes. Briefly, the C-MOM has proven to be a resourceful and precise model to estimate population parameters when low capture rates result in sparse datasets. Moreover, the rock cavy is well established in the island and likely at carrying capacity. In general, the risk assessment showed that the management interventions in the time span and harvest effort simulated in the present study were ineffective to extinguish the rock cavy population in Fernando de Noronha. Considering this, as well as the importance of investigating other vital factors to decide in favour of or contrary to the management of this species, it is recommended that both an impact assessment of the rock cavy and a cost-effectiveness analysis of the management interventions should be performed to complement the current study.:Acknowledgement III Abstract IV Zusammenfassung VI Resumen IX Table of Contents XII List of Tables and Figures XIV List of Abbreviations XIX 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Invasive alien species and their consequences 1 1.2. Population dynamics analysis 2 Capture-recapture models 3 Observation models 4 Integrated population models 5 Software 7 Model analysis 8 1.3. Fernando de Noronha and the rock cavy 10 1.4. Objectives 12 Overall Objectives 12 Specific Objectives 13 2. Study Framework 15 3. Methods 19 3.1. Study area 19 3.2. Study case species 21 3.3. Research Steps 24 RESEARCH STEP I: Comparing the C-MOM to established models – does this concurrent marking-observation model produces accurate estimates of population parameters for sparse datasets? 24 RESEARCH STEP II: C-MOM application to a real case study 40 RESEARCH STEP III: The rock cavy population in Fernando de Noronha 45 RESEARCH STEP IV: The colonization and eradication of the rock cavy in Fernando de Noronha 47 4. Results 63 4.1. RESEARCH STEP I: Comparing the C-MOM to established models – does this concurrent marking-observation model produces accurate estimates of population parameters for sparse datasets? 63 4.2. RESEARCH STEP II: C-MOM application to a real case study 72 4.3. RESEARCH STEP III: The rock cavy population in Fernando de Noronha 73 4.4. RESEARCH STEP IV: The colonization and eradication of the rock cavy in Fernando de Noronha 74 Sensitivity analysis 74 Simulation experiments 80 5. Discussion 83 5.1. Bias, precision and accuracy of population dynamic models for sparse datasets 85 Simulated data 85 Study case 90 5.2. Advantages and disadvantages of the C-MOM approach 93 5.3. Development and applications of the integrated models and the C-MOM 96 5.4. The reversed use of the PVA software Vortex to simulate AS and IAS populations’ extinction 97 5.5. Status of the rock cavy population in the island of Fernando de Noronha 100 The colonization of the rock cavy in Fernando de Noronha 101 Management of the rock cavy in Fernando de Noronha 104 Study case limitations and future researches 112 6. Conclusion 116 References 118 Appendices 124 APPENDIX I – Assessment of biological invasions 124 APPENDIX II – Population dynamics simulation and dataset sampling 125 APPENDIX III – CMR and C-MOM model codes in R 134 APPENDIX IV – ZPNE model code in R 138 APPENDIX V – C-MOM model used for real datasets 143 APPENDIX VI – Rock cavy colony sizes and number of individuals in Fernando de Noronha 145 APPENDIX VII – Parameter’s ranking of C-MOM, CMR and ZPNE models 148 APPENDIX VIII – Bias, precision and accuracy table 149