Lulas da família Loliginidae são recursos pesqueiros em crescente importância no ecossistema marinho da Plataforma Continental Sudeste (PCSE) do Brasil. No entanto, informações sobre a distribuição dos estágios iniciais do seu ciclo de vida são bastante escassas. Com base em amostras de plâncton coletadas por 11 cruzeiros oceanográficos pretéritos do Instituto Oceanográfico da USP entre 1991 e 2005, o presente estudo teve como objetivo a identificação da ocorrência de paralarvas de Loliginidae na região entre o Cabo de São Tomé (RJ) e Cananéia (SP). Das 644 amostras analisadas, foram encontradas 246 paralarvas, sendo 121 identificadas em nível de espécie (Doryteuthis sanpaulensis n=75, Doryteuthis plei n=39, Lolliguncula brevis n=6 e Pickfordiateuthis pulchella, n=1). Os padrões de distribuição da Família em relação aos processos oceanográficos foram identificados a partir de mapas de distribuição horizontal e vertical de abundância, temperatura e salinidade. Modelos Lineares Generalizados (GLMs) foram utilizados para detectar os fatores que explicariam a ocorrência e a abundância de Loliginidae, os quais indicaram que a profundidade e a temperatura superficial do mar são as principais variáveis explanatórias. Uma Análise de Redundância (RDA) evidenciou os principais padrões de distribuição observados das três principais espécies de Loliginidae em relação às variáveis oceanográficas. D. sanpaulensis predominou na região norte da área de estudo, associada a águas frias e a eventos de ressurgência. D. plei ocorreu principalmente na região sul da área e em águas mais quentes. L. brevis foi encontrada apenas na região estuarina de Santos, em águas rasas e menos salinas. Os resultados obtidos representam uma contribuição relevante ao conhecimento sobre a Oceanografia Pesqueira das lulas no ecossistema marinho regional. / Loliginid squids are fisheries resources of increasing importance in the shelf ecosystem of Southeastern Brazil. Therefore, information about distribution of the early stages of their life cycle is scarce. Based on plankton samples collected by eleven historical oceanographic surveys cruises of the University of São Paulo\'s Oceanographic Institute between 1991 and 2005, the present study aimed identification of the occurrence of Loliginidae paralarvae in the region between Cabo de São Tomé (22ºS) and Cananéia (25ºS). From 664 samples analyzed, 246 paralarvae were found, being 121 identified to the species level, (Doryteuthis sanpaulensis n=75, Doryteuthis plei n=39,, Lolliguncula brevis n=6 and Pickfordiateuthis pulchella, n=1). The distributional patterns of Loliginidae in relation to oceanographic processes were identified by using horizontal and vertical maps of abundance, temperature and salinity. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were used to detect the factors that explain Loliginidae occurrence and abundance, which indicated that depth and sea surface temperature, were major explanatory variables. A Redundancy Analyses (RDA) showed the main observed distribution patterns of the three species of Loliginidae in relation to oceanographic variables. D. sanpaulensis occurred in the northern region associated to cold waters and upwelling events. D. plei occurred mainly in the southern region of the study area and in warmer waters.L. brevis was found in the estuarine region of Santos, in shallow and low salinity waters. The obtained results represent a relevant contribution to squids Fisheries Oceanography in the regional marine ecosystem.

För att undersöka misstänkt tillklämningsneuropati i peroneus communis (PC) används elektroneurografi, där elektrisk stimulering möjliggör undersökning av nervledningshastigheter, svarsamplitud och överledningstid. Vid opålitlig registrering på extensor digitorium brevis (EDB), görs registreringen på tibialis anterior (TA). I dagsläget finns dock inga normalvärden eller standardiserad metod för registrering på TA. Syftet med studien var därför att ta fram dessa normalvärden och utveckla en metod för TA-registrering, och samtidigt jämföra de båda registreringspunkterna gällande nervledningshastighet, undersöka sidoskillnaderna vid registrering på TA och undersöka hur kroppslängden påverkade överledningstiden. Det undersöktes om s.k. F-waves kunde påvisas vid registrering på TA och i så fall hur hög svarsandelen och svarslatensen var. 22 deltagare mellan 23-59 år gamla och 154-190 cm i kroppslängd undersöktes. TA undersöktes med den aktiva registreringselektroden på muskeln där den var som störst och med referenselektroden på fotleden. Stimuleringar gjordes på laterala poplitea fossa och 110 mm ned distalt om caput fibula. EDB undersöktes enligt metodbeskrivning. Normalvärdena för TA var 2,2-5,4 mV gällande amplitud, 55-73 m/s gällande nervledningshastighet och 3,8-5,9 ms gällande överledningstid. Sidoskillnaderna var 0-1,4 mV gällande amplitud, 0-8 m/s gällande hastighet och 0-0,8 ms gällande överledningstid. De beräknade gränsvärdena visar på de små sidoskillnaderna som krävs för en klinisk betydelse. Överledningstiden kunde till 23 % förklaras av kroppslängden. Resultaten var likvärdiga med tidigare studier. Jämförelsen av nervledningshastigheten mellan registrering på TA och EDB visade en statistiskt, men inte nödvändigtvis kliniskt signifikant skillnad, med bias + 5 m/s. F-waves återfanns hos samtliga deltagare, med svarsandelen 94-100 %. F-wave svarslatensen kunde till 41 % förklaras av kroppslängden. / Electroneurography is used to examine a suspected entrapmentneuropathy in peroneus communis (PC), where an electric stimulus enables the evaluation of nerve conduction velocity, muscle response amplitude and latency. If registration from the extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) provides unreliable results, the registration can be made from tibialis anterior (TA). Currently there are no normal values available in our laboratory and no standard method regarding the registration on TA. The purpose of this study was therefore to retrieve normal values for this registration and to develop and establish a method, and also compare the different registration sites, to examine the side differences from the registrations on TA, and how the height affected the latency. It was also examined if so called F-waves could be recorded from TA, and if so, determine the response rate and latency. 22 participants between 23-59 years an 154-190 cm were examined. TA was examined with the active registration electrode on the site where the muscle was the largest and the reference electrode on the ankle. Stimulations were made on lateral poplitea fossa and 110 mm lower on distal caput fibula. EDB were examined according to established methods. Normal values for the registration on TA were 2,2-5,4 mV regarding amplitude, 55-73 m/s regarding nerve conduction velocity and 3,8-5,9 ms regarding latency. Side differences were 0-1,4 mV regarding amplitude, 0-8 m/s regarding nerve conduction velocity and 0-0,8 ms regarding latency. The calculated limits show that it only takes small side differences to have a clinical significance. The method gave equivalent results to previous studies. 23 % of the latency could be explained by height. The comparing of the nerve conduction velocity from the different registrations showed a significant statistical, but not necessarily clinical, difference, with the bias 5 m/s. F-waves were retrieved from all participants with a response rate of 94-100 %. 41 % of the F-wave latency could be explained by height.

A força dos músculos Abdutor curto do polegar (ACP) e Abdutor do quinto dedo (AQD) serve como parâmetro para a avaliação da função dos nervos mediano e ulnar, respectivamente. Um aparelho foi desenvolvido para realizar a medida da força daqueles músculos em mãos de diferentes tamanhos, com a mesma eficiência. Este aparelho foi construído inteiramente com materiais de fácil obtenção e baixo custo, incluindo o aço, o latão, o alumínio e o duralumínio, e consiste de uma base dotada de uma coluna rígida para a fixação de um transdutor de força do tipo resistivo (célula de carga) e de um apoio para a mão para mantê-la firme durante os testes. Acessórios foram construídos segundo medidas antropométricas previamente obtidas nos polegares e quintos dedos voluntários, de modo que pudessem ser acoplados à célula de carga e permitir a avaliação de mãos direitas e esquerdas de diferentes tamanhos. A célula de carga foi calibrada. Quando pronto, o protótipo final foi utilizado para medir a força dos músculos ACP e AQD de 42 voluntários, sendo 20 mulheres e 22 homens, cujo critério de inclusão era a total ausência de qualquer patologia nos membros superiores. Dois pontos de aplicação da carga foram selecionados, sendo um proximal, no nível da falange proximal, e outro distal, no nível da falange distal. Três medidas eram tomadas para cada ponto de aplicação da carga, para cada um dos músculos, e uma média foi obtida para uso na análise estatística dos resultados, que mostraram que a força de ambos os músculos era consistentemente maior nos homens e na mão direita. Quanto aos dois pontos de aplicação da carga, a força foi sempre maior no ponto proximal, tanto para o polegar, como para o quinto dedo. A avaliação geral do desempenho do aparelho mostrou que ele é versátil, fornecendo informações confiáveis para as mãos direitas e esquerdas de todos os tamanhos. / The strength of the Abductor pollicis brevis and Abductor digiti quinti muscles may serve as a parameter to the evaluation of the median and ulnar nerve function, respectively. A device was developed especially for carrying out measurements of the strength of those muscles in hands of different sizes with the same efficiency. The device was built entirely with easily obtained low cost materials, including steel, solid brass, aluminium and duralumin, and consists of a metal base provided with a rigid colunm for fixation of a resistive type strength transducer (load cell) and a hand stand to keep the hand still while in test. Accessories were built according to a previous anthropometric measurement of both thumb and fifth fingers of volunteers, so as to be coupled onto the load cell and allow for the evaluation of the strength of different size hands. The load cell was calibrated. Once ready, the final prototype was used to measure the strength of the APB and AbDQ muscles in 42 volunteers, being 20 women and 22 men, whose inclusion criterion was the total absence of any pathology in the upper limbs. Two points of load application were selected, being one proximal, at the level of the proximal phalanx, and another one distal, at the level of the distal phalanx. Three measurements were taken for each point of load application for both muscles, an average value being obtained for use in the statistical analysis of the results, which showed that the strength was consistantly greater in men and in the right hand. As refers to the different points of load application, the strength was always greater at the proximal point, both for the thumb and the fifth finger. The overall evaluation of performance of the prototype showed that it is versatile, supplying reliable information for all size hands.

Red tides pose a significant economic and environmental threat in the Gulf of Mexico. Detecting red tide is important for understanding this phenomenon. In this thesis, machine learning approaches based on Random Forests, Support Vector Machines and K-Nearest Neighbors have been evaluated for red tide detection from MODIS satellite images. Detection results using machine learning algorithms were compared to ship collected ground truth red tide data. This work has three major contributions. First, machine learning approaches outperformed two of the latest thresholding red tide detection algorithms based on bio-optical characterization by more than 10% in terms of F measure and more than 4% in terms of area under the ROC curve. Machine Learning approaches are effective in more locations on the West Florida Shelf. Second, the thresholds developed in recent thresholding methods were introduced as input attributes to the machine learning approaches and this strategy improved Random Forests and KNearest Neighbors approaches' F-measures. Third, voting the machine learning and thresholding methods could achieve the better performance compared with using machine learning alone, which implied a combination between machine learning models and biocharacterization thresholding methods can be used to obtain effective red tide detection results.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are natural phenomena that can have negative impacts on marine ecosystems on which human health and the economy of some Gulf States depends. Many of the HABs in the GOM are dominated by the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Non-toxic phytoplankton taxa such as Scrippsiella sp. also form intense blooms off the Mexican coast that result in massive fish mortality and economic losses, particularly as they may lead to anoxia. The main objectives of this dissertation were to (1) evaluate and improve the techniques developed for detection of Karenia spp. blooms on the West Florida Shelf (WFS) using satellite remote sensing methods, (2) test the use of these methods for waters in the GOM, and (3) use the output of these techniques to better understand the dynamics and evolution of Karenia spp. blooms in the WFS and off Mexico. The first chapter of this dissertation examines the performance of several Karenia HABs detection techniques using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images and historical ground truth observations collected on the WFS from August 2002 to December 2011. A total of 2323 in situ samples collected by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute to test for Karenia spp. matched pixels with valid ocean color satellite observations over this period. This dataset was used to systematically optimize variables and coefficients used in five published HAB detection methods. Each technique was tested using a set of metrics that included the F-Measure (FM). Before optimization, the average FM for all techniques was 0.47. After optimization, the average FM increased to 0.59, and false positives decreased ~50%. The addition of a Fluorescence Line Height (FLH) criterion improved the performance of every method. A new practical method was developed using a combination of FLH and Remote Sensing Reflectance at 555 nm (Rrs555-FLH). The new method resulted in an FM of 0.62 and 3% false negatives, similar to those from more complex techniques. The first chapter concludes with a series of recommendations on how to improve the detection techniques and how to take these results a step further into a Gulf wide observing systems for HABs. In chapter two, ocean color techniques were used to examine the extension, evolution and displacement of four Karenia spp. events that occurred in the WFS between 2004 and 2011. Blooms were identified in the imagery using the new Rrs-FLH method and validated using in situ phytoplankton cell counts. The spatial extension of each event was followed in time by delineating the blooms. In 2004 and 2005, the WFS was affected by a series of hurricanes that led to high river discharge and intense sediment resuspension events. Both processes had an impact on HAB occurrence. For example, I tracked a Karenia spp. bloom found in late December 2004 approximately 40-80 km offshore Saint Petersburg, which then expanded reaching an extension of >8000 km2 in February 2005. The bloom weakened in spring 2005 and intensified again in summer reaching >42,000 km2 after the passage of hurricane Katrina in August 2005. This bloom covered the WFS from Charlotte Harbor to the Florida Panhandle. Two other cases were studied in the WFS. The results of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model from the U.S. Navy aid understanding the dispersal of the blooms. During fall 2011, three field campaigns to study HABs in Mexico were conducted to do an analysis of optical properties and explore the possibility of using ocean color techniques to distinguish between the main phytoplankton blooms in that region. Three main bloom scenarios were observed in the Campeche Bank region: massive diatom blooms, blooms dominated by Scrippsiella spp., and Karenia spp. blooms. The normalized specific phytoplankton absorption spectra were found to be different for Karenia spp. and Scrippsiella sp. blooms. A new technique that combines phytoplankton absorption derived from MODIS data and the new technique developed in Chapter One showed potential for a detection technique that can distinguish between Karenia and Scrippsiella blooms. Additional work is needed to improve the new technique developed for Mexican waters, but results show potential for detection techniques that can be used Gulf-wide. This will help better understand the dynamic and possible connectivity of phytoplankton blooms in the GOM.

Pachycephalosaur diversity and systematics is poorly resolved, mainly due to the incomplete nature of their remains. The largest sample of pachycephalosaurs is from the Belly River Group of Alberta, but this sample is also the most problematic in terms of alpha taxonomic diversity. Material from this assemblage has been proposed to represent from a single species to up to four distinct genera. Each of these views depends on different interpretations of morphology, ornamentation, ontogeny, and sexual dimorphism, but none have been adequately tested. Here I analyze the diversity of pachycephalosaurs with particular emphasis on Stegoceras validum and 'Prenocephale' brevis. The ontogeny of these species is described using comparative morphology, histology, and morphometrics. New specimens are described and the first detailed pachycephalosaur growth series supported by multiple, independent lines of evidence is presented. Phylogenetic analysis utilizing results from this study provides a new hypothesis for the evolutionary relationships of pachycephalosaurs.

Pachycephalosaur diversity and systematics is poorly resolved, mainly due to the incomplete nature of their remains. The largest sample of pachycephalosaurs is from the Belly River Group of Alberta, but this sample is also the most problematic in terms of alpha taxonomic diversity. Material from this assemblage has been proposed to represent from a single species to up to four distinct genera. Each of these views depends on different interpretations of morphology, ornamentation, ontogeny, and sexual dimorphism, but none have been adequately tested. Here I analyze the diversity of pachycephalosaurs with particular emphasis on Stegoceras validum and 'Prenocephale' brevis. The ontogeny of these species is described using comparative morphology, histology, and morphometrics. New specimens are described and the first detailed pachycephalosaur growth series supported by multiple, independent lines of evidence is presented. Phylogenetic analysis utilizing results from this study provides a new hypothesis for the evolutionary relationships of pachycephalosaurs.

The species composition of planktonic communities is determined not only by abiotic factors, such as nutrient availability, temperature, and water column stratification but also by biotic interactions between hosts and parasites, predators and prey, and among competitors. Blooms of the red tide dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, can dramatically alter the planktonic community, reaching densities of millions of cells per liter and occurring nearly monospecifically. I investigated whether K. brevis uses chemical compounds to defend against grazing or to inhibit the growth of competitors. Because K. brevis is known to produce brevetoxins which act as potent neurotoxins in mammals, I also investigated whether brevetoxins played a role in competition or predator resistance. Experiments revealed that copepods fed diets rich in Karenia brevis experienced lowered fitness, however, nutritional inadequacy, rather than toxicity, was responsible for the decrease in grazer fitness. Compounds exuded from natural samples of K. brevis blooms did, however, inhibit the growth of four of five model competitors. Compounds exuded from K. brevis cultures were similarly allelopathic to competitors. Exposure to these allelopathic compounds resulted in lowered photosynthetic efficiency of all competitors, and decreased cell membrane integrity of three competitors. The allelopathic potency of K. brevis blooms was variable between collections and years, but allelopathy did not correlate with bloom density or concentration of brevetoxins. However, the variability of allelopathy could partially be explained by the presence of specific competitors. The diatom Skeletonema costatum reduced the growth-inhibiting effects of K. brevis bloom exudates, suggesting that S. costatum has a mechanism for undermining K. brevis allelopathy. Allelopathic compounds exuded by K. brevis that inhibited the growth of the diatom Asterionellopsis glacialis were partially characterized. K. brevis produced multiple, polar, organic compounds that inhibited A. glacialis growth. Exuded brevetoxins, on the other hand, had no effect on A.glacialis growth. Taken together, these results indicate that K. brevis is not chemically defended against grazing, but does produce yet-unidentified allelopathic compounds that inhibit the growth of competing phytoplankton. Blooms of K. brevis may be facilitated by the exudation of potent allelopathic compounds, but the specific phytoplankton assemblage has the potential to alter bloom dynamics.

A força dos músculos Abdutor curto do polegar (ACP) e Abdutor do quinto dedo (AQD) serve como parâmetro para a avaliação da função dos nervos mediano e ulnar, respectivamente. Um aparelho foi desenvolvido para realizar a medida da força daqueles músculos em mãos de diferentes tamanhos, com a mesma eficiência. Este aparelho foi construído inteiramente com materiais de fácil obtenção e baixo custo, incluindo o aço, o latão, o alumínio e o duralumínio, e consiste de uma base dotada de uma coluna rígida para a fixação de um transdutor de força do tipo resistivo (célula de carga) e de um apoio para a mão para mantê-la firme durante os testes. Acessórios foram construídos segundo medidas antropométricas previamente obtidas nos polegares e quintos dedos voluntários, de modo que pudessem ser acoplados à célula de carga e permitir a avaliação de mãos direitas e esquerdas de diferentes tamanhos. A célula de carga foi calibrada. Quando pronto, o protótipo final foi utilizado para medir a força dos músculos ACP e AQD de 42 voluntários, sendo 20 mulheres e 22 homens, cujo critério de inclusão era a total ausência de qualquer patologia nos membros superiores. Dois pontos de aplicação da carga foram selecionados, sendo um proximal, no nível da falange proximal, e outro distal, no nível da falange distal. Três medidas eram tomadas para cada ponto de aplicação da carga, para cada um dos músculos, e uma média foi obtida para uso na análise estatística dos resultados, que mostraram que a força de ambos os músculos era consistentemente maior nos homens e na mão direita. Quanto aos dois pontos de aplicação da carga, a força foi sempre maior no ponto proximal, tanto para o polegar, como para o quinto dedo. A avaliação geral do desempenho do aparelho mostrou que ele é versátil, fornecendo informações confiáveis para as mãos direitas e esquerdas de todos os tamanhos. / The strength of the Abductor pollicis brevis and Abductor digiti quinti muscles may serve as a parameter to the evaluation of the median and ulnar nerve function, respectively. A device was developed especially for carrying out measurements of the strength of those muscles in hands of different sizes with the same efficiency. The device was built entirely with easily obtained low cost materials, including steel, solid brass, aluminium and duralumin, and consists of a metal base provided with a rigid colunm for fixation of a resistive type strength transducer (load cell) and a hand stand to keep the hand still while in test. Accessories were built according to a previous anthropometric measurement of both thumb and fifth fingers of volunteers, so as to be coupled onto the load cell and allow for the evaluation of the strength of different size hands. The load cell was calibrated. Once ready, the final prototype was used to measure the strength of the APB and AbDQ muscles in 42 volunteers, being 20 women and 22 men, whose inclusion criterion was the total absence of any pathology in the upper limbs. Two points of load application were selected, being one proximal, at the level of the proximal phalanx, and another one distal, at the level of the distal phalanx. Three measurements were taken for each point of load application for both muscles, an average value being obtained for use in the statistical analysis of the results, which showed that the strength was consistantly greater in men and in the right hand. As refers to the different points of load application, the strength was always greater at the proximal point, both for the thumb and the fifth finger. The overall evaluation of performance of the prototype showed that it is versatile, supplying reliable information for all size hands.

<p>The capacity of marine organisms to adapt to natural and anthropogenic stressors is an integral component of ocean health. Harmful algal blooms (HABs), which are one of many growing threats in coastal marine ecosystems, represent a historically present natural stressor that has recently intensified and expanded in geographic distribution partially due to anthropogenic activities. In the Gulf of Mexico, HABs of <italic>Karenia brevis</italic> occur almost annually and produce neurotoxic brevetoxins that have been associated with large-scale mortality events of many marine species, including the common bottlenose dolphin (<italic>Tursiops truncatus</italic>). The factors resulting in large-scale dolphin mortality associated with HABs are not well understood, particularly in regards to the seemingly different impacts of HABs in geographically disjunct dolphin populations. My dissertation investigates a genetic basis for resistance to HABs in bottlenose dolphins in central-west Florida and the Florida Panhandle. I used both genome-wide and candidate gene approaches to analyze genetic variation in dolphins that died putatively due to brevetoxicosis and live dolphins from the same geographic areas that survived HAB events. Using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, I identified genetic variation that suggested both a common genetic basis for resistance to HABs in bottlenose dolphins across the Gulf coast of Florida and regionally specific resistance. Many candidate genes involved in the immune, nervous, and detoxification systems were found in close genomic proximity to survival-associated polymorphisms throughout the bottlenose dolphin genome. I further investigated two groups of candidate genes, nine voltage-gated sodium channel genes selected because of their putative role in brevetoxin binding and four major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci selected because of their genomic proximity to a polymorphism exhibiting a strong association with survival. I found little variation in the sodium channel genes and conclude that bottlenose dolphins have not evolved resistance to HABs via mutations in the toxin binding site. The immunologically relevant MHC loci were highly variable and exhibited patterns of genetic differentiation among geographic regions that differed from neutral loci; however, genetic variation at the MHC also could not fully explain variation in survival of bottlenose dolphins exposed to HABs. In my final chapter, I consider the advantages and drawbacks of the genome-wide approach in comparison to a candidate gene approach and, as laid out in my dissertation, I recommend using both complementary approaches in future investigations of adaptation in genome-enabled non-model organisms.</p> / Dissertation