Orientador: Maria Jaqueline Mamprim / Resumo: Os animais da espécie Chelonoidis carbonaria (Spix,1824) tem grande importância na questão conservacionista e vêm se tornando cada vez mais comuns como animais de estimação. O diagnóstico das diversas doenças em quelônios é um desafio para o clínico, pois a presença de casco e plastrão impede um exame físico detalhado com ausculta e palpação. A ecocardiografia tem se tornado valiosa no diagnóstico de diferentes afecções cardíacas. Este estudo teve como objetivo realizar a avaliação ecodopplercardiográfica em indivíduos Chelonoidis carbonaria (Spix,1824) a fim de estabelecer referências de normalidade que poderão auxiliar futuros diagnósticos de cardiopatias nestes animais. Ao modo-B observou-se um coração composto por três câmaras e duas válvulas atrioventriculares e em todos os animais observou-se fluído pericárdico. A Dopplerfluxometria revelou um padrão de onda de baixo fluxo na via de saída no ventrículo com velocidade média de pico sistólico de 34,10cm/s. O fluxo de preenchimento ventricular se mostrou bifásico, sendo que a razão entre o pico diastólico inicial e final mostrou-se menor que 1, tendo média de 0,66. A fração de encurtamento foi calculada por dois métodos, um atrial e outro ventricular, apresentando médias de 34,47% para o átrio direito, 46,90% para o esquerdo e 29,46% para o ventrículo, mantendo-se próximo à faixa de normalidade da fração de encurtamento ventricular conhecida para cães. Esta técnica ultrassonográfica se mostra de alta eficácia para avaliaçã... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Mestre

abstract: Biological diversity is threatened by increasing anthropogenic modification of natural environments and increasing demands on natural resources. Sonoran desert tortoises (Gopherus morafkai) currently have Candidate status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) based on health and habitat threats. To ensure this animal persists in the midst of multiple threats requires an understanding of the life history and ecology of each population. I looked at one physiological and one behavioral aspect of a population of tortoises at the Sugarloaf Mountain (SL) study site in central Arizona, USA. I used 21 years of capture-recapture records to estimate growth parameters of the entire population. I investigated habitat selection of juvenile tortoises by selecting 117 locations of 11 tortoises that had been tracked by radio-telemetry one to three times weekly for two years, selecting locations from both summer active season and during winter hibernation. I compared 22 microhabitat variables of tortoise locations to random SL locations to determine habitat use and availability. Male tortoises at SL reach a greater asymptotic length than females, and males and females appear to grow at the same rate. Juvenile tortoises at the SL site use steep rocky hillsides with high proportions of sand and annual vegetation, few succulents, and enclosed shelters in summer. They use enclosed shelters on steep slopes for winter hibernation. An understanding of these features can allow managers to quantify Sonoran desert tortoise habitat needs and life history characteristics and to understand the impact of land use policies. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Applied Biological Sciences 2012

Particle size distribution of diet, feces, and change from diet to feces, as well as apparent digestibility (aDig, %) of selected nutrients, and novel fecal microbiome identification of mature female leopard tortoises (Stigmochelys pardalis, n = 16) fed exclusively one of three, nutritionally complete, pelleted diets were evaluated in a blind, complete randomized design study. Two diets included insoluble fiber (powdered cellulose) consisting of either 2.0 mm or 0.2 mm length. Insoluble fiber provides nutritional and physical benefits to both the animal host and the microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Insoluble fiber length was used as a means of evaluating a physically effective fiber (peNDF) definition for hindgut-fermenting vertebrates. Numerical trends of each diet particle size distribution indicated a greater amount of particle recovery on the 2.0 mm sieve for the 2.0 mm diet, and a greater particle recovery on the 0.125 mm sieve for the 0.2 mm diet, both as expected based on the added fiber lengths. Fecal particle size distributions were not different between diets, however, distributions of the change in particle size from diet to feces were different between diets. Similar fecal particle size distributions across diets suggests both cellulose lengths are below the peNDF threshold of the leopard tortoise. Apparent digestibility (aDig, %) of dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) was not different based on diet, method, or a diet and method interaction; aDig (%) of neutral detergent fiber (aNDF) and sequential acid detergent fiber (sADF) was different based only on diet. These results suggest that while aDig (%) of OM did not change, the source of OM digestibility shifted, as both aNDF and sADF digestibility increased with the cellulose-added diets compared to the control diet. An increase in insoluble fiber digestibility suggests an "effectiveness" of the cellulose lengths. At both bacterial phyla and genera levels, fecal microbiomes were more similar between tortoises fed the cellulose-added diets versus the control diet, suggesting that the hindgut microbial communities adjusted in the hindgut of the tortoises fed the cellulose-added diets by shifting proportions of microbes, based on their role in the hindgut (i.e., cellulose digestion), to accommodate for the addition of cellulose in the two treatment diets. This may explain the similarity among fecal particle size distributions, and suggests that adaptability of the hindgut microbial communities should be considered when defining peNDF for hindgut-fermenting vertebrates.

Gopherus polyphemus, commonly known as the Gopher Tortoise, is a dryland reptile native to the southeastern United States. It is commonly a resident of longleaf pine and dry oak sand hill habitats. It is considered a keystone species because they dig deep burrows that provide shelter to them as well as many other animals. Habitat loss, fragmentation, and disease are major threats and have caused this species to be federally listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Disease is a major threat to the gopher tortoise’s survival, and with declining populations, the need to investigate pathogens is crucial. Herpesvirus, is known to contribute to upper respiratory tract diseases (URTD) in G. polyphemus and is the primary focus of this project. Due to high mutation rates in the virus, a modified version of PCR, nested PCR, was conducted on eye and nose swabs and blood samples obtained from G. polyphemus to detect the presence of the alpha herpesvirus pathogen. The positive samples were then sent for genetic sequencing to confirm the occurrence of the pathogen. The detectability of Herpesvirus in eye and nose swabs was compared to blood and lymph samples and statistical tests concluded that both sample types had the same detectability.

Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus; hereinafter, tortoise) is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in the western portion of its range. Across the species’ range, approximately 70 % of potential habitat is privately owned, and these properties are often managed primarily for timber production. However, tortoise ecology on private, working forest landscapes remains poorly understood. To provide a better understanding of tortoise response to active forest management, I evaluated population demographics, movement ecology, and habitat selection of two tortoise populations: former Ben’s Creek Wildlife Management Area (BC) in Washington Parish, Louisiana and Perry County Gopher Tortoise Management Unit (PCGTMU) in Perry County, Mississippi. At BC, tortoises were generally clustered along utility rights-of- way and roadways. At PCGTMU, tortoises were clustered within forest stands with high quality soils. Low recruitment has been documented at BC for the last 25 years. However, PCGTMU appears to have a stable population with active recruitment.

This thesis evaluates the interaction between four habitat factors vital to the gopher tortoise in Florida. Federally and state listed as threatened throughout its entire range, the gopher tortoise is vital to protect, not only for itself individually but its burrows provide an essential habitat to over 300 species making it a key stone species within its environment. Historic habitat modeling methods are reviewed for the gopher tortoise to highlight the gap on this topic. This research expanded on the methods utilized by Baskaran et al. (2006) evaluating the soil, landcover, percentage of canopy cover and the depth to water table habitat factors key to the gopher tortoise. Statistical analysis was used to establish the interactions using a regression type analysis of the presence/absence data relative to the four factors. A probability map for the study site was then computed from the results. The Analysis of Deviance results for the statistical model with land cover type as an independent variable and a 3-way interaction term for the other factors found that the land cover term was significant as an independent variable and the 3-way interaction of the other 3 habitat factors was significant. This result demonstrates that there is in fact an interaction between the habitat factors influencing the location of gopher tortoises. This finding is significant in future gopher tortoise research as it indicates that habitat factors evaluated individually may not be as important as the interactions between the factors. By understanding the interactions between the habitat factors, the FWC can work alongside other agencies to ‘increase and improve’ these key habitat areas preventing them from destruction. The map results also help pinpoint those fragmented potential habitat sites which are most at risk from full destruction and loss allowing agencies the work on protecting and expanding the suitable habitat landscape in order to ‘enhance and restore’ the gopher tortoise populations residing there, helping them to ‘maintain the gopher tortoise’s function as a keystone species’

In this thesis I discuss the problems associated with the epistemological task of arriving at basic logical knowledge. This is knowledge that the primitive rules of inference we use in deductive reasoning are correct. Knowledge of correctness, like all knowledge, is available to us either as the product of inference, or it is available non-inferentially. Success in the campaign to justify the correctness of these rules is mired by opposing views on how to do this properly. Inferential justifications of rules of inference, which are based on reasons, lead to regressive or circular results. Non-inferential justifications, based on something other than reasons, at first do not seem to fare any better: without a basis for these justifications, they appear arbitrary and unfounded. The works of Boghossian and Dummett who argue for an inferentialist approach, and Hale who supports non-inferentialism are carefully examined in this thesis. I conclude by finding superiority in Hale's suggestion that a particular set of basic logical constants are indispensable to deductive reasoning. I suggest that we endorse a principle which states that rules are not premises, and are therefore to be excluded from expression as statements in a deductive argument. I argue that the quality of being indispensable is sufficient for a basic rule of deduction to be countenanced as default-justified, and therefore need not be expressed in argument. By a rule's evading expression in argument, it avoids circular reasoning in deductive arguments about its own correctness. Another important outcome that emerges from my research is the finding that non-inferential knowledge is ontologically prior to the inferential sort. This is because plausible inferential knowledge of basic logical constants shall always be justified by circular reasoning that already assumes the correctness of the rule to be vindicated. This initial assumption is tantamount to non-inferential knowledge, and therefore this latter is more primitive-in fact the only primitive-species of basic logical knowledge.

In this thesis I discuss the problems associated with the epistemological task of arriving at basic logical knowledge. This is knowledge that the primitive rules of inference we use in deductive reasoning are correct. Knowledge of correctness, like all knowledge, is available to us either as the product of inference, or it is available non-inferentially. Success in the campaign to justify the correctness of these rules is mired by opposing views on how to do this properly. Inferential justifications of rules of inference, which are based on reasons, lead to regressive or circular results. Non-inferential justifications, based on something other than reasons, at first do not seem to fare any better: without a basis for these justifications, they appear arbitrary and unfounded. The works of Boghossian and Dummett who argue for an inferentialist approach, and Hale who supports non-inferentialism are carefully examined in this thesis. I conclude by finding superiority in Hale's suggestion that a particular set of basic logical constants are indispensable to deductive reasoning. I suggest that we endorse a principle which states that rules are not premises, and are therefore to be excluded from expression as statements in a deductive argument. I argue that the quality of being indispensable is sufficient for a basic rule of deduction to be countenanced as default-justified, and therefore need not be expressed in argument. By a rule's evading expression in argument, it avoids circular reasoning in deductive arguments about its own correctness. Another important outcome that emerges from my research is the finding that non-inferential knowledge is ontologically prior to the inferential sort. This is because plausible inferential knowledge of basic logical constants shall always be justified by circular reasoning that already assumes the correctness of the rule to be vindicated. This initial assumption is tantamount to non-inferential knowledge, and therefore this latter is more primitive-in fact the only primitive-species of basic logical knowledge.

Submitted by Simone Souza (simonecgsouza@hotmail.com) on 2017-10-18T14:46:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Yara Silva Meireles.pdf: 2036361 bytes, checksum: e2354a551bdb7659a6dce8b6fe10737f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2017-11-08T12:41:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Yara Silva Meireles.pdf: 2036361 bytes, checksum: e2354a551bdb7659a6dce8b6fe10737f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-08T12:41:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Yara Silva Meireles.pdf: 2036361 bytes, checksum: e2354a551bdb7659a6dce8b6fe10737f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-24 / CAPES / Nesse estudo foram descritas a morfologia ultrassonográfica e sintopia das vísceras da cavidade celomática do jabuti-piranga. Trinta e oito animais hígidos, 19 machos e 19 fêmeas, foram anestesiados com cetamina e midazolan e contidos em decúbito ventral para realização de varredura ultrassonográfica da cavidade celomática através dos acessos cervicais e pré-femorais com transdutor setorial multifrequencial. Foram aferidas várias medidas corpóreas e frequência cardíaca e foram avaliadas a morfologia, ecogenicidade e a sintopia do coração, tireóide, fígado, vesícula biliar, estômago, intestinos, ovários, oviduto, testículos, rins e bexiga. O coração mostrou dois átrios e um ventrículo com parede trabecular e espessa. Na base cardíaca pode-se visibilizar a tireóide ovalada e ecogênica, cujas medidas mostraram correlação positiva com o peso do animal. O fígado, a vesícula biliar e o aparelho digestório foram semelhantes ao visto em mamíferos e quelônios, porém, a imagem do fígado dos jabutis apresentou aparência mais hiperecóica em relação aos dos mamíferos. Os rins foram vistos como estruturas triangulares, hipoecóicas, homogêneas e vascularizadas e a bexiga foi observada na maioria das vezes com forma alongada com conteúdo anecóico e sua parede foi vista como uma fina linha hiperecóica quando havia líquido livre. Os testículos foram observados como estruturas alongadas, homogêneas e hiperecóicas em relação aos rins. Os folículos ovarianos foram vistos como esferas ecogênicas a hiperecogênicas de tamanho e quantidade variável, o oviduto como uma estrutura tubular sigmoide. Os eram estruturas com finas linhas hiperecóicas com sombreamento acústico posterior. Em alguns animais, havia quantidade variável de líquido livre ao redor do coração e na cavidade celomática. / In this study we describe the sonographic morphology and sintopy of the coelomic cavity organs of red-footed tortoise. Thirty eight healthy animals, 19 males and 19 females, were anesthetized with ketamine and midazolam and contained in ventral decubitus position for scanning the coelomic cavity through the cervical and pre- femoral access with multifrequency sector transducer. Several body measurements and heart rate were measured and the morphology, echogenicity and sintopy of the heart, thyroid, liver, gallbladder, stomach, intestines, ovaries, oviduct, testis, kidney and bladder were evaluated. The heart showed two atria and one ventricle with trabecular thick wall. In cardiac basis was visualized the oval and echogenic thyroid, which showed a positive correlation with the weight of the animal. The liver, gallbladder and digestive system were similar to those seen in mammals and turtles. However, the tortoise liver was more hyperechoic relative to mammals. The kidneys were seen as triangular structures, hypoechoic, homogeneous and vascularized and the bladder was observed mostly as elongated with anechoic content and its wall was seen as a thin hyperechoic line when there was free fluid. The testes were observed as elongated, homogeneous and hyperechoic in relation to kidney structures. The ovarian follicles were seen as a hyperechoic echogenic balls of variable size and quantity, the oviduct as a sigmoid tubular structure and eggs as thin hyperechoic lines with posterior acoustic shadowing. In some animals, there was a variable amount of anechoic fluid around the heart and in the coelomic cavity.

Was aimed at evaluating the effects of lidocaine and bupivacaine via the spine in turtles of the species Podocnemis expansa in promoting motor and sensitive blockages in the tail/cloaca and pelvic members, as well as the existence of significant differences in the effects produced by the two drugs. Was used 20 animals with average weights of 1.15 kg, which were divided into two anesthetic protocols: 4.6 mg/kg of lidocaine 2% and 1.15 mg/kg of bupivacaine 0.5% deposited in the spinal region in the sacro-coccigeal area. Was evaluated the latency period, the reasonable period for anesthesia and the recovery period. For the latency period of the tail/cloaca we obtained (Lca) 54±34.05 seconds (sec) and 54±18.97sec as mean values for lidocaine and bupivacaine respectively. The latency period of the pelvic member (LMp) was in average 264±75.89 seconds for lidocaine and 180±126.49 sec for bupivacaine. Then the reasonable period for anesthesia on the tail/cloaca (Hca) was 36±9.43 minutes (min) and 60.8±32.10 min for the anesthetics in the same sequence. The averages for the reasonable period in pelvic members (HMp) were 24.6±10.83 min and 58.7±33.82 min for the respective drugs. Finally, the recovery period (Rec) was 33.5±16.33 min for lidocaine and 77.5±33.27 min for bupivacaine. The average times found for bupivacaine were significantly higher except during periods of latency of the tail/cloaca and pelvic members. The heart rate remained within the range considered normal for the testudines. Was conclude that the use of lidocaine and bupivacaine via the spine is safe and effective in the promotion of anesthesia in the region of the tail/cloaca and in pelvic limbs, and that the reasonable times for anesthesia are enough to perform simple and ordinary surgical procedures. / Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos da lidocaína e bupivacaína por via espinhal em cágados da espécie Podocnemis expansa na promoção de bloqueios motor e sensitivo nas regiões da cauda/cloaca e membros pelvinos, bem como a existência de diferenças nos efeitos produzidos pelos dois fármacos. Foram utilizados 20 animais com massa corporal média de 1,15 kg de ambos os gêneros, estes foram distribuidos em dois protocolos anestésicos: 4,6 mg/kg de lidocaína 2% e 1,15 mg/kg de bupivacaína 0,5%, depositadas na região espinhal no espaço interarcual sacro-coccígeo. Foram avaliados o período de latência, período hábil de anestesia e o período de recuperação. Foram obtidos, para período de latência da cauda/cloaca (Lca) 54±34,05 segundos (seg) e 54±18,97 seg como valores médios para lidocaína e bupivacaína respectivamente. O período de latência do membro pelvino (LMp) teve como média 264±75,89 seg para lidocaína e 180±126,49 seg para bupivacaína. Já o período hábil de anestesia em cauda/cloaca (Hca) foi de 36±9,43 minutos (min) e 60,8±32,10 min para os anestésicos na mesma sequencia. As médias para o período hábil nos membros pelvinos (HMp) foram de 24,6±10,83 min e 58,7±33,82 min para os respectivos fármacos. Por fim, o período de recuperação (Rec) foi de 33,5±16,33 min para lidocaína e 77,5±33,27 min para bupivacaína. As médias de tempo encontradas para bupivacaína foram significativamente maiores exceto nos períodos de latência de cauda/cloaca e de membros pelvinos. A freqüência cardíaca permaneceu dentro do intervalo considerado normal para os testudines. Conclui-se que a utilização de lidocaína e bupivacaína por via espinhal é segura e eficaz na promoção de anestesia na região de cauda/cloaca e nos membros pelvinos, e que os tempos hábeis de anestesia são suficientes para execução de procedimentos cirúrgicos mais simples e rotineiros. / Mestre em Ciências Veterinárias