Pollinators are believed to have played a key role in the radiation of flowering plants. The Grant-Stebbins model of pollinator-mediated speciation, in which evolutionary shifts between pollinators result in phenotypic diversification and enforce reproductive isolation, is one of the most compelling hypotheses for the rapid diversification of angiosperms. A key principle in this model is that plant pollination systems tend towards specialization, resulting in convergent suites of floral traits (syndromes) associated with particular types of pollinators. However, the expectation of pollination system specialization is not always supported by ecological data and has also been questioned on theoretical grounds. In this thesis, I examine pollination by Hemipepsis spider-hunting wasps (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae, Pepsinae) and use this system to address questions about levels and proximal mechanisms of floral specialization, floral shifts and convergent evolution of floral traits. Specialized pollination by Hemipepsis wasps is a newly described pollination system within the angiosperms. I document pollination by these wasps for the first time in 15 South African grassland plant species, including two species of Eucomis (Hyacinthaceae) and 13 asclepiads (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae). In one of the asclepiads, Xysmalobium undulatum, I describe a bimodal pollination system involving both Hemipepsis wasps and a cetoniine beetle. I also describe an unusual and potentially antagonistic pollination mechanism whereby wasps are systematically dismembered during the insertion of pollinia in the two asclepiads Pachycarpus asperifolius and P. appendiculatus. I have used these and previous case studies to establish the existence of a new pollination guild, consisting of at least 21 plant species (across 10 genera and three families), that are reliant on four functionally similar species of Hemipepsis wasp for pollination. Plants in the guild are distributed throughout the moist grasslands of eastern South Africa and flower from September through until early May, peaking in December/January. The Hemipepsis-wasp pollination guild is characterized by high levels of functional specialization (17 of the 21 known guild members are pollinated exclusively by Hemipepsis wasps), despite the absence of morphological adaptations to prevent non-pollinating insects from accessing nectar. I used field and laboratory based experiments to explore the function of floral traits in enforcing specialization. These showed that Hemipepsis wasps primarily use scent, rather than visual cues, to locate flowers, but I was unable to firmly identify specific compounds responsible for the attraction of these wasps (compounds that elicited antennal responses in preliminary GC-EAD experiments did not attract wasps in bioassays). The chemical composition of the floral scents of guild members was examined for 71 individuals representing 14 species in addition to previous studies, and found to comprise complex blends of volatiles (usually containing between 30 and 50 compounds), typically dominated by aliphatics and monoterpenes with small amounts of aromatics. I also showed that the floral colours of guild members are similar to background vegetation, suggesting that floral colours are adapted for crypsis to avoid detection by non-pollinating insects. Palatability choice experiments with honeybees showed that non-pollinating insects find the nectars of at least three of the asclepiad guild members distasteful. Plants in this guild thus appear to achieve specialization through biochemical filters (scent as an attractant and differentially palatable nectar) and cryptic coloration. Pollinator-mediated convergence in floral traits is the fundamental basis for pollination syndromes, but has seldom been rigorously analyzed. Flowers in the Hemipepsis-wasp pollination guild share several qualitative traits, including dull greenish- or brownish-white colour, often with purple blotches, exposed sucrose dominant nectar with a relatively high sugar concentration (typically over 50% sugar by weight) and a sweet/spicy fragrance to the human nose. To test for convergent evolution in guild members, I compared scent, nectar and colour traits of guild members to those of congeners with different pollinators. Although traits often differed between guild members and their congeners, I found little evidence for overall convergence in floral scent profiles and nectar properties, but floral colours in the guild were significantly closer to the colour of background vegetation than those of congeners. At this stage, the lack of knowledge about specific floral volatiles that influence Hemipepsis-wasp behaviour and secondary nectar constituents that limit non-pollinator visits makes it difficult to identify the extent of biochemical convergent evolution within the guild. The directions and functional traits involved in evolutionary transitions between pollination by Hemipepsis wasps and other vectors are currently difficult to ascertain as there is limited phylogenetic data for the plant families concerned. In the genus Eucomis, fly and Hemipepsis-wasp pollinated species are very similar in floral morphology and colour, but differ strongly in floral scent. Using manipulative field experiments in conjunction with detailed analyses of colour, scent and morphology, I was able to show that a shift between wasp and fly pollination could be induced simply by manipulating oligosulphides in the scent emission from inflorescences. When considered in combination with other experiments highlighting the importance of scent as a pollinator attractant for all guild members, this suggests that scent properties may have played a key role in the evolutionary transitions between pollination by Hemipepsis wasps and other vectors. This research has established that pollination by Hemipepsis spider-hunting wasps is more geographically and phylogenetically widespread than was previously known, and has confirmed that these wasps are important and consistent pollinators in southern African grassland ecosystems. I have shown that a distinct guild of plants is specialized for pollination by these wasps. The high levels of specialization within this guild highlight the effectiveness of biochemical filters and cryptic coloration in limiting the spectrum of flower visitors. The major challenge ahead will be to identify the floral volatiles that attract Hemipepsis wasps and the non-sugar constituents that make the nectars of some guild members differentially palatable. These would both contribute greatly to our understanding of floral specialization and the mechanisms involved in the radiation of the angiosperms. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The technological and innovational developments in steel and glass industries has enabled designers to create completely transparent fa&ccedil / ades. Building fa&ccedil / ade articulations designed to attain maximum transparency, have thus been executed with the contribution of elegant steel supporting systems, having heavy load bearing capacities, by minimizing the dimensions of structural systems. The aim of this study was to define, analyze and evaluate the accumulated knowledge on structural glass wall systems in general, with particular emphasis on those that may be denoted as &amp / #8218 / spider&amp / #8482 / glass fitting elements for potential applications, to formulate a design guide for professional designers. Hence, the primary elements of the system / the support structure, glass, glass connection joints and the other secondary elements have been evaluated within the architectural context. In the second part of the study, glass connection fitting elements were examined. Additionally the products developed by the manufacturing firms and commonly used in various projects were evaluated. Thereafter, whole document, data, photos of the spider fittings were combined in a spider fitting selection table, prepared and created by the author, which describes the types of spider fittings in detail. Finally, technical adequacy, experience, level of organization and workmanship within the context of Turkey, to evaluate the level of knowledge, were studied. In this regard, the glass wall facade the Akman Condomunium Business Center-Medicorium building, constructed with local materials and local manufacturing companies, was examined and compared with the Boeing Headquarters building in USA, which was constructed with a similair glass wall facade system.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 114-120).

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:30:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 850834 bytes, checksum: bd6553275d3a6a074c8150b38ec44f71 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-28 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The broad mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904) (Acari: Tarsonemidae), the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and the green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are polyphagous and cosmopolitan crop pests which are of great importance for causing serious damage to several crops. In conventional systems, control of such pests has been made by using synthetic acaricides and insecticides. However, using solely agrochemicals may not offer a proper control, and it may sort resistant individuals, besides causing inconveniences to the environment and man health. The use of alternative products instead of agrochemicals for pest control has been increasing, notably due to the increased organic production. Aiming to minimize the effects caused by agrochemicals, plant extracts are being used as an alternative to food production. Vegetable extracts are more compatible with the other management practices, in addition to allow the survivor and better performance of natural enemies. Therefore, here we evaluated the toxicity of chili pepper seeds (Capsicum frutescens L.), corianderseeds (Coriandrum sativum) and marigold extracts (Calendula officinalis L.), chosen among six plant species, after preliminary tests of sub-lethal effects, on the broad mite, on the two-spotted spider mite, on the green peach aphid and on the generalist predator, Chrysoperla externa. Initially, laboratory experiments were performed to assess the lethal and sub-lethal effects of the three extracts on those arthropods. After that, we evaluated, in greenhouse, the efficiency of the vegetable extracts to control the population growth of the herbivorous. The information achieved in these assessments was divided in two chapters. On chapter 1, we evaluated the toxicity of the vegetable extracts on the broad mite and on the two-spotted spider mite. On chapter 2, we assessed the toxicity of the vegetable extracts on the green peach aphid and on its predator, C. externa. In the laboratory, the chili peper and coriander seed hydroalcoholicextracts, in concentration higher than 10 mg/mL, decreased the instantaneous population growth rate of the broad mite, lead to repellency of the adults and caused no-preference for oviposition on substrates treated with the extracts. The marigold extract did not decreased the instantaneous population growth rate of the broad mite, but it caused repellency of the adults and no-preference for oviposition on the substrate treated with the extract, except for the concentration of 50 mg/mL. As for the two-spotted spider mite, all the extracts caused decrease in the instantaneous population growth rate, without, however, achieving the population stability. In greenhouse, the chili pepper and coriander hydroalcoholic extracts, in a concentration of 100 mg/mL and marigold extract in a concentration of 50 mg/mL did not extinguish the populations of broad mite and two-spotted spider mites. Nevertheless, population growth of the broad mite was lower in plants sprayed with marigold extract; for the two spotted spider mite population, growth was lower in plants sprayed with coriander seed extract. All extracts, in all tested concentrations, showed repellency for the green peach aphid. In the evaluation of instantaneous population growth rate of the green peach aphid, only the chili pepper extract induced population decrease. In the greenhouse, none extract reduced the green peach aphid population, nevertheless, the coriander extract retarded its growth. Hydroalcoholic extracts of chili pepper seeds, coriander seed and marigold in the concentration of 10 mg/mL were selective for the predator C. externa. In general, the chili pepper, coriander and marigold hydroalcoholic extracts are promising for the control of the arthropods studied here, however, it is necessary to test higher concentrations to reduce broad mite, two-spotted spider mite and green peach aphid populations. New essays testing the concentrations that stops population growth need to be carried out, as well as the assessment of the selectivity of such concentrations for the predator C. externa. / O ácaro-branco, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904) (Acari: Tarsonemidae), o ácaro‑rajado, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), e o pulgão-verde, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), são pragas polífagas, cosmopolitas e de grande importância por causarem sérios prejuízos à produção agrícola. Nos cultivos convencionais, o controle destas pragas tem sido feito com o uso de acaricidas e inseticidas sintéticos. No entanto, o uso exclusivo de agrotóxicos pode não oferecer um controle satisfatório, selecionando indivíduos resistentes e causando inconvenientes ambientais e ao homem. O uso de produtos alternativos em substituição aos agrotóxicos para o controle de pragas tem se acentuado especialmente em decorrência do crescimento da produção orgânica no país. Visando à minimização dos efeitos provocados pelos agrotóxicos, o uso de extratos de plantas se apresenta como alternativa na produção de alimentos. Extratos vegetais são mais compatíveis com as demais práticas de manejo, além de permitirem a sobrevivência e o maior desempenho dos inimigos naturais. Diante disso, neste trabalho, avaliou-se a toxicidade dos extratos de pimenta malagueta (Capsicum frutescens L.), coentro (Coriandrum sativum) e calêndula (Calendula officinalis L.), escolhidos entre seis plantas, após testes preliminares de efeitos sub-letais, sobre o ácaro-branco, ácarorajado, pulgão-verde e o predador generalista Chrysoperla externa. Inicialmente, realizaram-se experimentos em laboratório para verificar os efeitos letais e sub-letais dos extratos acima citados sobre os artrópodes. Posteriormente, avaliou-se, em casa de vegetação, a eficiência de cada extrato vegetal no controle do crescimento populacional do ácaro-branco, ácaro-rajado e pulgão-verde. As informações obtidas foram divididas em dois capítulos. No capítulo 1, avaliou-se a toxicidade dos extratos vegetais sobre o ácaro-branco e o ácaro-rajado. No capítulo 2, avaliou-se a toxicidade dos extratos vegetais sobre o pulgão-verde e seu predador C. externa. Em laboratório, verificou-se que os extratos hidroalcoólicos de sementes de pimenta malagueta e de coentro, em concentração maior que 10 mg/mL, reduziram a taxa instantânea de crescimento populacional do ácaro-branco, provocaram a repelência dos adultos e causaram a não preferência de oviposição em substratos tratados com os extratos. O extrato de calêndula não reduziu a taxa instantânea de crescimento populacional do ácaro-branco, mas causou repelência aos adultos e não preferência de oviposição nos substratos tratados com o extrato, exceto na concentração de 50 mg/mL. Já, para o ácaro-rajado, todos os extratos causaram repelência e decréscimo da taxa instantânea de crescimento sem, no entanto, atingir a estabilidade populacional. Em casa de vegetação, os extratos hidroalcoólicos de pimenta malagueta e coentro na concentração de 100 mg/mL e calêndula, a uma concentração de 50 mg/mL, não extinguiram a população do ácaro-rajado e do ácaro-branco. Contudo, o crescimento populacional do ácaro-branco foi menor nas plantas pulverizadas com o extrato de calêndula e do ácaro-rajado, nas plantas pulverizadas com extrato de coentro. Todos os extratos, em todas as concentrações, mostraram repelência ao pulgão-verde. Na avaliação da taxa instantânea de crescimento populacional do pulgão, o único extrato que causou declínio da população foi o de pimenta malagueta. Em casa de vegetação, nenhum extrato reduziu a população do pulgão, porém o extrato de coentro retardou o crescimento do pulgão-verde. Extratos hidroalcoólicos de pimenta, coentro e calêndula na concentração de 10 mg/mL foram seletivos ao predador C. externa. Em geral, os extratos hidroalcoólicos de pimenta malagueta, coentro e calêndula são promissores no controle dos artrópodes estudados, no entanto é necessário testar concentrações maiores para reduzir a população do ácaro-branco, ácaro-rajado e pulgão. Novos experimentos com concentrações que cause a paralização do crescimento populacional desses artrópodes devem ser conduzidos com possibilidade de obter redução populacional dos ácaros, do afídeo e para a avaliação da seletividade ao predador C. externa.

Selected quarries and adjacent areas of xerophilous grassland in Bohemian karst were examined for the presence of velvet spider burrows. Selected microhabitat valuables were collected and their significance for ladybird spider analyzed.

The subject of this Thesis is the financial analyses of the Housing Association Rozvoj Sokolov. The Thesis describes in the detail the general concept of financial analyses preparation, different types of financial statements and its content and various analytical tools. The Thesis includes a Methodical part and a Housing Association financial analyses part. The Methodical part describes various methods of analytical indicator calculations, its comparison and evaluation. The financial analyses of the Housing association is using the methodology described in the first part of the Thesis. The Industry Benchmark includes the comparison of key indicators to samples of another three housing associations from different cities Cheb, Olomouc and Prague. The Analyses includes also some accounting methods of the Company and its changes during the years and various operational issues of the housing industry. The result of the financial Analyses of the Housing Association Rozvoj Sokolov is the conclusion that the Association is in a good economical shape and does not face any fatal issues. However, current finacial market with low deposits and bond rates can result to reduction of the key revenue stream and management should focus on this issue. Also, the increasing value of short term receivables might result to a reduction of the Companies working Capital.

A intenção deste estudo foi conhecer a composição e a diversidade da araneofauna relacionada a matas ciliares no Rio Grande do Sul, em diferentes localidades: rio Piratini no município de Arroio Grande; rio Camaquã em Cristal; rio dos Sinos em Parobé e rio Maquiné em Maquiné. Foi comparada a riqueza de espécies, abundância e similaridade da fauna de aranhas e a sazonalidade, avaliando se fatores ambientais bióticos e abióticos influenciam na assembleia de aranhas das matas ciliares. Também foram avaliadas as guildas de aranhas, tanto aspectos espaciais, quanto temporais, e a influência de fatores abióticos e de complexidade ambiental sobre as mesmas. As aranhas foram separadas e classificadas em quatro guildas: construtoras de teias orbiculares, construtores de teias irregulares, caçadoras cursoriais e caçadoras emboscadoras/espreitadoras. Para a amostragem da araneofauna foram efetuadas duas coletas por estação durante dois anos em cada mata ciliar. As coletas foram realizadas em transecções, por um período de 45 minutos, utilizando como método o guarda-chuva entomológico (GCE) para amostrar a araneofauna do estrato arbóreo-arbustivo. Em cada mata ciliar foram delineadas seis transecções, duas em cada microambiente: borda com o campo, interior da mata e borda com o rio. O esforço amostral foi de 288 horas de coletas. No total foram coletadas 42057 aranhas: 8851 adultas (21%) e 33206 jovens (79%). A família predominante foi Theridiidae, com mais de 50% das aranhas amostradas em cada mata, a única exceção foi a mata ciliar do rio Maquiné que dominou Linyphiidae. A abundância de aranhas adultas foi diferente entre as matas ciliares, com maior abundância no rio Maquiné (34,58% das aranhas) e menor no rio dos Sinos (18,43%). Dos microambientes, as maiores abundâncias foram no interior da mata, seguido pelas bordas, muito próximas entre si. Foram determinadas 440 espécies/morfoespécies de aranhas, entre 168 gêneros. No total 232 espécies foram nominais (53%) com 14 novos registros para o Rio Grande do Sul e três para o Brasil. No rio Maquiné foi registrada a maior riqueza de espécies (S=218) e menor no rio dos Sinos (S=179). Entre os microambientes, as maiores riquezas de espécies de aranhas foram observadas nas bordas (campo: S=298 e rio: S=279) e após o interior da mata (S=246). A riqueza de espécies foi diferente entre os rios, já as riquezas entre os microambientes não diferiram. As espécies raras foram representadas por 130 singletons (32,5% das espécies do inventário). Para a sazonalidade, as aranhas adultas foram mais abundantes no verão e menos no outono; as aranhas jovens predominaram no outono e menos na primavera. A riqueza não diferiu entre os dois anos de amostragem. Já entre as estações a diferença foi significativa, maior na primavera e menor no outono. Não foi encontrada uma relação entre os fatores abióticos (temperatura e precipitação) com a araneofauna, tanto para abundância, quanto para a riqueza. As variáveis bióticas da vegetação não foram suficientes para explicar as variações na comunidade de aranhas, não influenciando nas mesmas. A análise multivariada de similaridade (ANOSIM), pelo índice quantitativo de Morisita e qualitativo de Simpson, mostra que as composições de espécies das araneofaunas diferem entre as matas ciliares. Para os diferentes microambientes não foram encontradas diferenças na composição. Prevaleceu a guilda das construtoras de teias irregulares e uma menor quantidade das caçadoras cursoriais. A MANOVA indicou diferença significativa na proporção das guildas entre todas as matas ciliares e entre os microambientes. A partir da análise de correspondência canônica (CCA), as guildas não estão correlacionadas com as variáveis de complexidade ambiental avaliadas. As curvas de rarefação e os estimadores analíticos de riqueza de espécies indicam que a fauna de aranhas ainda não foi suficientemente amostrada para as matas ciliares, revelando a urgência de estudos futuros, principalmente, abrangendo outros métodos, para diferentes estratos das florestas. / The aim of this study was to characterise the spider fauna associated to riparian forests in Rio Grande do Sul. Four different sites were sampled: Piratini River in Arroio Grande; Camaquã River in Cristal; Sinos River in Parobé and Maquiné River in Maquiné. Diversity components such as species richness, abundance and faunal similarity were compared among rivers, among microhabitats (forest edges and forest interior) and yearly seasons, and also against biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Spider foraging guilds were also evaluated, again for spatial and temporal scales, and again against biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Spiders were separated in four guilds: orbicular web builders, sheet web builders, running hunters and ambush hunters. Two samples per season were taken during two years for all forest sites. Sampling consisted of using beating tray on the tree-shrub strata across linear transections (50 X 2 m) for 45 min. On each site six transects were used, two per microhabitat: grassland edge, forest interior and river edge. Sampling effort totalled 288 h of sampling. Overall we obtained 42,057 spiders: 8,851 adults (21%) and 33,206 juveniles (79%). The predominant family was Theridiidae, with more than 50% of all spiders for all sites except Maquiné River, in which Linyphiidae dominated. Adult spider abundance differed among sites, with more spiders in Maquiné River (34.58% of the spiders) and less in Sinos River (18.43%). Among microhabitats, largest abundances occurred in the forest interior, with the edges having less spiders. A total of 440 spider species/morphospecies were recognised within 168 genera. Only 232 of those species were nominal (53%) with 14 new records for Rio Grande do Sul state and three for Brazil. In Maquiné River we found the largest richness (S=218) and in dos Sinos River the lowest (S=179). Comparing microhabitats, the largest species richness were observed for the edges (grassland edge: S=298; river edge: S=279) with the forest interior below (S=246), but not significantly. Rare species were represented by 130 singletons (32.5% of inventoried species). Adult spiders were more abundant during Summer and less during Autumn; while young spiders occurred more during Autumn and less during Spring. Species richness also differed among seasons with more species during Spring and less during Autumn. A multivariate analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), either using Morisita quantitative index or Simpson qualitative index, shows spider species composition to differ among sites, but not among microhabitats within a site. There were no significant relationships between spider diversity components and abiotic (temperature and precipitation) factors, either for abundance or species richness. Biotic factors related to vegetation complexity (vegetation density, vegetation height, vegetation structure, canopy cover) were insufficient to explain variation in spider assemblages. Sheet web builders was the prevailing guild and running hunters were relatively rare. A MANOVA indicated significant differences in guild proportions among sites and among microhabitats. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed the guilds not to be correlated with the vegetation complexity variables evaluated. Analytical species richness estimators indicate that the spider fauna is still not sufficiently sampled, revealing the urgency of continuing studies, especially involving other sampling methods so as to evaluate other forest strata.

The goal of this work is a design and implementation of an on-board driver’s assistance and assessment system. The system overcomes the problem that typical evaluation of skills is performed by experts who may be subjective and are able to consider only a limited number of factors and indicators. The proposed solution is based on eight indicators, which are associated with the vehicle’s speed, acceleration, jerk, engine rotational speed and driving time. These indicators are used to estimate three driving style criteria: safety, economy and comfort. The comprehensive evaluation is done by merging all indicators into one final score. The system is designed according to User-Centred Design method and follows Internet of Things concept. Raspberry Pi minicomputer is used as a central unit to acquire and store the data during the ride and sending them to a server using GSM network. OBD-II interface is used to obtain the data from the vehicle’s network and GPS and accelerometer modules to acquire additional information. MATLAB environment on a local PC is used to process collected data. An outline of the measurements available from ODB-II interface depending on a car model is made. The proposed system has been implemented and evaluated. The evaluation, conducted by collecting readings for specific road actions at different speeds and with different dynamics, confirms that the chosen indicators reliably represent driver’s behaviour. The system was experimentally validated on a group of drivers. The obtained results prove the system’s ability to quantitatively distinguish different driving styles. The system's stability and usability were verified on long-route test. Moreover, the used spider diagram approach established a convenient visualization platform for multidimensional comparison of the result and comprehensive assessment in an intelligible manner. Overall conclusion is that the developed system is a reliable method of the drivers’ behaviour evaluation.

A intenção deste estudo foi conhecer a composição e a diversidade da araneofauna relacionada a matas ciliares no Rio Grande do Sul, em diferentes localidades: rio Piratini no município de Arroio Grande; rio Camaquã em Cristal; rio dos Sinos em Parobé e rio Maquiné em Maquiné. Foi comparada a riqueza de espécies, abundância e similaridade da fauna de aranhas e a sazonalidade, avaliando se fatores ambientais bióticos e abióticos influenciam na assembleia de aranhas das matas ciliares. Também foram avaliadas as guildas de aranhas, tanto aspectos espaciais, quanto temporais, e a influência de fatores abióticos e de complexidade ambiental sobre as mesmas. As aranhas foram separadas e classificadas em quatro guildas: construtoras de teias orbiculares, construtores de teias irregulares, caçadoras cursoriais e caçadoras emboscadoras/espreitadoras. Para a amostragem da araneofauna foram efetuadas duas coletas por estação durante dois anos em cada mata ciliar. As coletas foram realizadas em transecções, por um período de 45 minutos, utilizando como método o guarda-chuva entomológico (GCE) para amostrar a araneofauna do estrato arbóreo-arbustivo. Em cada mata ciliar foram delineadas seis transecções, duas em cada microambiente: borda com o campo, interior da mata e borda com o rio. O esforço amostral foi de 288 horas de coletas. No total foram coletadas 42057 aranhas: 8851 adultas (21%) e 33206 jovens (79%). A família predominante foi Theridiidae, com mais de 50% das aranhas amostradas em cada mata, a única exceção foi a mata ciliar do rio Maquiné que dominou Linyphiidae. A abundância de aranhas adultas foi diferente entre as matas ciliares, com maior abundância no rio Maquiné (34,58% das aranhas) e menor no rio dos Sinos (18,43%). Dos microambientes, as maiores abundâncias foram no interior da mata, seguido pelas bordas, muito próximas entre si. Foram determinadas 440 espécies/morfoespécies de aranhas, entre 168 gêneros. No total 232 espécies foram nominais (53%) com 14 novos registros para o Rio Grande do Sul e três para o Brasil. No rio Maquiné foi registrada a maior riqueza de espécies (S=218) e menor no rio dos Sinos (S=179). Entre os microambientes, as maiores riquezas de espécies de aranhas foram observadas nas bordas (campo: S=298 e rio: S=279) e após o interior da mata (S=246). A riqueza de espécies foi diferente entre os rios, já as riquezas entre os microambientes não diferiram. As espécies raras foram representadas por 130 singletons (32,5% das espécies do inventário). Para a sazonalidade, as aranhas adultas foram mais abundantes no verão e menos no outono; as aranhas jovens predominaram no outono e menos na primavera. A riqueza não diferiu entre os dois anos de amostragem. Já entre as estações a diferença foi significativa, maior na primavera e menor no outono. Não foi encontrada uma relação entre os fatores abióticos (temperatura e precipitação) com a araneofauna, tanto para abundância, quanto para a riqueza. As variáveis bióticas da vegetação não foram suficientes para explicar as variações na comunidade de aranhas, não influenciando nas mesmas. A análise multivariada de similaridade (ANOSIM), pelo índice quantitativo de Morisita e qualitativo de Simpson, mostra que as composições de espécies das araneofaunas diferem entre as matas ciliares. Para os diferentes microambientes não foram encontradas diferenças na composição. Prevaleceu a guilda das construtoras de teias irregulares e uma menor quantidade das caçadoras cursoriais. A MANOVA indicou diferença significativa na proporção das guildas entre todas as matas ciliares e entre os microambientes. A partir da análise de correspondência canônica (CCA), as guildas não estão correlacionadas com as variáveis de complexidade ambiental avaliadas. As curvas de rarefação e os estimadores analíticos de riqueza de espécies indicam que a fauna de aranhas ainda não foi suficientemente amostrada para as matas ciliares, revelando a urgência de estudos futuros, principalmente, abrangendo outros métodos, para diferentes estratos das florestas. / The aim of this study was to characterise the spider fauna associated to riparian forests in Rio Grande do Sul. Four different sites were sampled: Piratini River in Arroio Grande; Camaquã River in Cristal; Sinos River in Parobé and Maquiné River in Maquiné. Diversity components such as species richness, abundance and faunal similarity were compared among rivers, among microhabitats (forest edges and forest interior) and yearly seasons, and also against biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Spider foraging guilds were also evaluated, again for spatial and temporal scales, and again against biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Spiders were separated in four guilds: orbicular web builders, sheet web builders, running hunters and ambush hunters. Two samples per season were taken during two years for all forest sites. Sampling consisted of using beating tray on the tree-shrub strata across linear transections (50 X 2 m) for 45 min. On each site six transects were used, two per microhabitat: grassland edge, forest interior and river edge. Sampling effort totalled 288 h of sampling. Overall we obtained 42,057 spiders: 8,851 adults (21%) and 33,206 juveniles (79%). The predominant family was Theridiidae, with more than 50% of all spiders for all sites except Maquiné River, in which Linyphiidae dominated. Adult spider abundance differed among sites, with more spiders in Maquiné River (34.58% of the spiders) and less in Sinos River (18.43%). Among microhabitats, largest abundances occurred in the forest interior, with the edges having less spiders. A total of 440 spider species/morphospecies were recognised within 168 genera. Only 232 of those species were nominal (53%) with 14 new records for Rio Grande do Sul state and three for Brazil. In Maquiné River we found the largest richness (S=218) and in dos Sinos River the lowest (S=179). Comparing microhabitats, the largest species richness were observed for the edges (grassland edge: S=298; river edge: S=279) with the forest interior below (S=246), but not significantly. Rare species were represented by 130 singletons (32.5% of inventoried species). Adult spiders were more abundant during Summer and less during Autumn; while young spiders occurred more during Autumn and less during Spring. Species richness also differed among seasons with more species during Spring and less during Autumn. A multivariate analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), either using Morisita quantitative index or Simpson qualitative index, shows spider species composition to differ among sites, but not among microhabitats within a site. There were no significant relationships between spider diversity components and abiotic (temperature and precipitation) factors, either for abundance or species richness. Biotic factors related to vegetation complexity (vegetation density, vegetation height, vegetation structure, canopy cover) were insufficient to explain variation in spider assemblages. Sheet web builders was the prevailing guild and running hunters were relatively rare. A MANOVA indicated significant differences in guild proportions among sites and among microhabitats. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed the guilds not to be correlated with the vegetation complexity variables evaluated. Analytical species richness estimators indicate that the spider fauna is still not sufficiently sampled, revealing the urgency of continuing studies, especially involving other sampling methods so as to evaluate other forest strata.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2018-01-23T14:13:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PhelipeSenaOliveira_TESE.pdf: 2369727 bytes, checksum: 2bb1dad07260b4efd645c7028636e62f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2018-01-24T15:05:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PhelipeSenaOliveira_TESE.pdf: 2369727 bytes, checksum: 2bb1dad07260b4efd645c7028636e62f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-24T15:05:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PhelipeSenaOliveira_TESE.pdf: 2369727 bytes, checksum: 2bb1dad07260b4efd645c7028636e62f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-06 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) / As novas configura??es de dispositivos e circuitos de micro-ondas resulta em aumento de complexidade nos processos de desenvolvimento, particularmente nos casos de s?ntese. Antenas e superf?cies seletivas de frequ?ncia (Frequency Selective Surface - FSS) s?o estruturas muito importantes nos sistemas de comunica??es, que podem ser otimizadas pela atua??o dos algoritmos bioinspirados. Geralmente, para que os algoritmos bioinspirados auxiliem na otimiza??o dessas estruturas ? necess?ria a implementa??o de t?cnicas de an?lise num?rica como o M?todo dos Momentos ou Elementos Finitos. Diante da dificuldade de modelagem das t?cnicas descritas, ? comum a utiliza??o de uma fun??o de estima??o, como as Redes Neurais Artificiais, para substituir a an?lise num?rica. Embora encontre solu??es desejadas, as estima??es s?o realizadas ap?s um processo de treinamento efetuado atrav?s de uma base de dados. Cada estrutura de antena ou FSS exige uma base de dados espec?fica. Este trabalho prop?e uma t?cnica de otimiza??o baseado na utiliza??o de um algoritmo bioinspirado e um framework que realiza a integra??o do algoritmo ao software comercial ANSYS HFSS. O prop?sito ? realizar as simula??es das poss?veis solu??es durante a execu??o do algoritmo bioinspirado, e com isso, evitar o uso de uma base de dados, e assim, tornar a t?cnica eficiente e flex?vel com rela??o ?s altera??es nas estruturas de antenas ou FSS. Outro objetivo original deste trabalho ? a utiliza??o do algoritmo Social Spider Optimization ? SSO para a solu??o de problemas na ?rea de eletromagnetismo aplicado. Para comprovar a efic?cia da t?cnica proposta alguns projetos de antena e FSS s?o otimizados atrav?s de varia??es em seus par?metros estruturais. Os resultados obtidos na otimiza??o dos projetos dos circuitos s?o comparados com outras t?cnicas, tendo sido observado uma boa concord?ncia. / The new settings for devices and microwaves circuits result in an increase of complexity in the processes of development, specially in regards to the process of synthesis. Antennas and Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS) are primordial in communication systems. Alternatively, these structures may be optimized through the usage of bio-inspired algorithms. Generally, in order for the bio-inspired algorithms to assist in the optimization of FSS structures, it is necessary to implement several numerical analysis techniques, such as the method of moments or finite elements. Because of the difficulty to model such methods, it has been turned common the usage of a point estimation function, such as artificial neural networks, to substitute the numerical analysis. Although these procedures end up encountering desirable solutions, the estimations are done after a training process conducted through a database. Additionally, every FSS antenna demands a specific database. This work proposes an optimization technique that relies on the usage of a bio-inspired algorithm and a framework (that provides the integration between the algorithm and the commercial software ANSS HFSS). The purpose of the work is to do simulations of possible solutions during the execution of the bio-inspired algorithm; therefore, avoiding the usage of the database; and so, make the technique flexible and efficient in relation to altering the antennas? structures or FSS. Furthermore, another objective of this work is the usage of the algorithm, namely Social Spider Optimization - SSO in the search for solutions in the field of applied electromagnetism. In order to prove the efficiency of the proposed techniques, some FSS? and antennas? projects are optimized through the variation of their structural parameters. In conclusion, the results that were obtained through the procedures previously shown, are compared to other techniques, resulting in a satisfying agreement rate.