Submitted by Gizele Lima (gizele.lima@inpa.gov.br) on 2017-06-21T13:56:24Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Versão Final dissertação - Susana Braz Mota.pdf: 3447031 bytes, checksum: eb792b44de1d144979002deb90716f07 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-21T13:56:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Versão Final dissertação - Susana Braz Mota.pdf: 3447031 bytes, checksum: eb792b44de1d144979002deb90716f07 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Copper oxide nanoparticles (nCuO) are widely used in boat antifouling paints, and are released into the environment, inducing toxicity to aquatic organisms. The present study aimed to understand the effects of nCuO and dissolved copper on two ornamental Amazon fish species: Apistogramma agassizii and Paracheirodon axelrodi. Fish were exposed to 50% nCuO LC50 (A. agassizii 375 µg L-1 and P. axelrodi 460 µg L-1) and 50% Cu LC50 (A. agassizii 20 mg L-1 and P. axelrodi 22.9 µg L-1) for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. Metabolic rate (MO2), gill osmorregulatory processes, gill mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation capacity and ROS generation, oxidative stress defense and morfological damages were evaluated. Our results showed a strong increase in MO2 and a higher impairment in its gill’s morphology in P. axelrodi after the copper exposures. Differently, A. agassizii presented an increased proton leak (i.e. uncoupling between respiration and ATP production) in response to nCuO and Cu exposure, thus decreasing their Respiratory Control Rate (RCR). Interestingly, this uncoupling was directly related to an increase in ROS levels. Our findings reveal that the metabolic responses of these two species in response to nCuO and Cu, which are probably caused by the differences between species natural histories, indicating that different mechanisms of toxic action of the contaminants are associated to differences in the sensibility of these two species. / Nanopartículas de óxido de cobre (nCuO) são amplamente utilizadas como componentes na fabricação de tintas anti-incrustantes para revestimento de barcos, navios e estruturas submersas e, quando liberadas para o ambiente, podem promover toxicidade para organismos aquáticos. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos das nCuO e do cobre dissolvido em duas espécies de peixes da Amazônia: Apistogramma agassizii e Paracheirodon axelrodi. Primeiramente foi determinada a toxicidade dos compostos às duas espécies (CL50-96h), e então os peixes foram expostos a 50% da CL50 nCuO (A. agassizii 375 μg L-1 e P. axelrodi 460 μg L-1) e 50% da CL50 Cu (A. agassizii 20 µg L-1 e P. axelrodi 22,9 μg L-1) por 24, 48, 72 e 96 horas. A taxa metabólica (MO2), respostas osmorregulatórias, capacidade de fosforilação oxidativa e geração de ROS nas mitocôndrias foram avaliadas, além das respostas de defesa antioxidante e danos morfológicos no epitélio branquial das espécies estudadas. Os resultados mostraram um forte aumento do MO2 e um maior efeito histopatológico na morfologia das brânquias em P. axelrodi expostos ao cobre. Embora o consumo oxigênio não tenha sido alterado após a exposição ao cobre em A. agassizii, um aumento evidente foi observado após 48h de exposição ao nCuO. Além disso, estes animais apresentaram aumento no extravasamento de prótons da membrana mitocondrial em resposta à exposição à nCuO e Cu, indicando um desbalanço entre a respiração celular e a produção de ATP, diminuindo assim a Taxa de Controle Respiratório (RCR). Nossos resultados revelam diferentes estratégias metabólicas entre as duas espécies estudadas em resposta ao nCuO e Cu, indicando que diferentes mecanismos de ação tóxica dos contaminantes estão associados à sensibilidade intrínseca dessas duas espécies.

Upper Respiratory Tract Disease (URTD), caused by the pathogens Mycoplasma agassizii and M. testudineum, has been documented in the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Although URTD was identified as a putative agent that led to federal listing of the Mojave population of the desert tortoise, little is known about this disease in the Sonoran population of the desert tortoise. The purpose of this study was to determine: 1) the prevalence of URTD across an urban gradient in Greater Tucson, Arizona, 2) the relationship between URTD and captive and free-ranging tortoises in Mohave, Maricopa, and Pima counties in Arizona, and 3) the effects of URTD on desert tortoise home range size and winter temperature selection.

Effective conservation requires efficient population monitoring, which can be challenging for rare species like the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). We compared two alternative survey methods that can be used to monitor tortoise populations: distance sampling and site occupancy estimation. In 2005 and 2006 combined, we surveyed 120 1-km transects to estimate density and 40 3-ha plots with five presence-“absence” surveys to estimate occupancy of Sonoran desert tortoises in two mountain ranges in southern Arizona. We found that monitoring programs based on an occupancy framework were more efficient and had greater power to detect linear trends. We also found that habitat use by Sonoran desert tortoises was influenced most by slope and aspect, contrasting with patterns observed in the Mojave Desert. Given its efficiency, power, and ability to gauge changes in distribution while accounting for variation in detectability, occupancy offers a promising alternative for long-term monitoring of Sonoran desert tortoise populations.

Understanding worldwide declines in reptiles due to factors such as habitat loss and emerging infectious disease has become an increasingly important focus in conservation biology. Here, I use novel approaches from the field of landscape genetics to combine spatial genetic data with landscape data at both regional and local spatial scales to explore natural and anthropogenic landscape features that shape population structure and gene flow in a federally threatened reptile, Gopherus polyphemus. I also utilize approaches from the field of spatial epidemiology to examine the extent to which environmental variables can be used to predict the seroprevalence of an associated pathogen Mycoplasma agassizzi in gopher tortoise populations. Using mitochondrial data, I find evidence of a historical barrier to gene flow that appears to coincide with the Apalachicola River. I also discover low genetic diversity and evidence of population bottlenecks in the western portion of the range. My evaluation at the regional scale shows that dispersal is limited by geographic distance, areas of low elevation and major roads ways. A finescale study reveals no evidence of spatial genetic structure within a 14 x 35 km area. However, soil type is significantly correlated with pairwise genetic distances between individuals, suggesting that this variable influences fine-scale population structure in the gopher tortoise. In addition to soil, high density canopy cover is an important factor impeding gene flow at the local level for females, while land cover type explains some of the genetic variance between males. Finally, temperature and precipitation appear to be important predictors of the seroprevalence of the pathogen Mycoplasma agassizii in gopher tortoises. The probability of an individual testing seropositive for exposure to this disease increased with high temperature and low precipitation values. The methods presented in this dissertation evaluate novel approaches for assessing the influence of environmental variables on population structure, dispersal and disease occurrence and could be applied in future studies of other threatened and endangered taxa.

With the recent increase in utility-scale wind energy development and current climate variation in the desert southwest US, researchers have become increasingly concerned with the reaction of wildlife and critical habitat. Understanding the relationships among monitoring efforts, climate, industrial landscapes and wildlife is critical to effective management. Given the need for information available on how these potential stressors affect terrestrial wildlife, my objective was to determine how climate variation, wind energy facilities (WEF) and monitoring efforts by researchers influence behavior and survivorship in a population of the federally threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Data were collected via surveys, motion-sensor camera trapping and radio-telemetry during the span of two decades at a WEF in California. Using capture-mark-recapture survivorship analysis and generalized linear mixed-effects models, I acquired long-term estimates of survivorship, activity, and levels of stress response to researchers and climate. From this study I found that researchers as well as abiotic effects influence the probability of voiding, a possible stress induced behavior in desert tortoises. Additionally, we found that tortoise activity and survival is constrained by winter precipitation and habitat types. Further research is needed on proximate mechanisms of wind turbines (noise and vibration) and their effects on desert tortoise behavior.