Size-dependent differences between individuals in size-structured organisms have fundamental effect on population and community dynamics. Intraguild predation (IGP) is one specifically interesting constellation that often arises when two size-structured populations interact. Ontogenetic bottlenecks that determine population size-structure are affected by both population intrinsic as well as population extrinsic factors, and are therefore context-dependent. Surprisingly, size-structured IGP systems have mainly been investigated theoretically and especially long-term empirical studies are widely lacking. In this thesis I investigate empirically how habitat complexity, interaction strength, and stage-specific resource availabilities affect population processes and their effects on the dynamics of a size-structured IGP system. I conducted multi-generation experiments in a size-structured IGP system, with the Least Killifish (Heterandria formosa) as IG prey and the Common Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) as IG predator. With no alternative resource next to the shared resource, IG predator and IG prey could not coexist. Weak interactions only increased IG prey and IG predator persistence times and observed exclusion patterns depended on habitat complexity. An alternative resource for either the juvenile IG predator or the juvenile IG prey on the other hand promoted coexistence. However, this coexistence was context-dependent. Ontogenetic bottlenecks played a central role in the dynamics of the size-structured IGP system in general. In the final study I show that an ontogenetic bottleneck can, through changes in stage-specific resource availabilities, be affected in a way that leads to increased trophic transfer efficiency with potential effects on higher trophic levels. Overall, the results emphasize importance of the broader context in which size-structured communities are embedded. Especially, when managing natural communities it is important to account for the combined effects of size-structure, stage-specific resource availabilities, and habitat structure. Specifically, when managing species that connect habitats or ecosystems all life-stages’ environmental conditions must be consider in order to ensure strong predictive power of tools used for ecosystem management planning.

In some species with uniparental care, when the parental individual deserts the offspring or dies, its mate may adopt the parental responsibilities, a behaviour known as flexible compensation of uniparental care. However, for most of the species in which this behavioural response has been reported in the literature, there was no thorough investigation of its effects upon offspring fitness to support it. In the Neotropical harvestman Serracutisoma proximum, a species with female uniparental care, harem-owning males stand on unattended clutches when the egg-tending females desert or die. Here, we investigate if this species constitutes an actual example of flexible compensation of uniparental care by evaluating the effects of ecological (namely climatic conditions and mate availability) and life-history factors (namely male attractiveness, clutch size and filial cannibalism) on males\' behaviour and, ultimately, on offspring survival. We expect unfavourable climatic conditions, as well as low mate availability and male attractiveness, to negatively affect the exhibition of compensatory behaviours, but a positive effect of clutch size. Moreover, we expect an increase in the extent of filial cannibalism to be a strategy that alleviates the costs of compensation. However, males\' behaviour towards unattended offspring has no effect on offspring survival, and other results were inconsistent with our predictions except for climatic conditions affecting the extent of both the presumed behaviour of standing on unattended clutches and filial cannibalism. Our results, therefore, do not support the existence of flexible compensation of uniparental care in S. proximum. Rather than a parental activity, we argue that males’ behaviour corresponds to a mating tactic that increases fertilization and mating success with the returning egg-tending females or newcomer mates foraging on the unattended offspring. This study demonstrates that for presumed cases of flexible compensation of uniparental care it is necessary to evaluate the effects on offspring fitness since not always an apparent parental behaviour is what it seems to be / Em algumas espécies com cuidado uniparental, quando o individuo parental deserta a prole ou morre, seu parceiro pode adotar as responsabilidades parentais, um comportamento conhecido como compensação flexível do cuidado uniparental. No entanto, para a maioria das espécies em que esta resposta comportamental tem sido relatada na literatura, não houve uma investigação completa de seus efeitos sobre a aptidão da prole para apoiá-lo. No opilião Neotropical Serracutisoma proximum, uma espécie com cuidado uniparental da fêmea, os machos donos de harem ficam sobre desovas desatendidas quando as fêmeas que deveriam cuidar dos ovos desertam ou morrem. Aqui, investigamos se esta espécie constitui um exemplo real de compensação flexível do cuidado uniparental, avaliando os efeitos de fatores ecológicos (condições climáticas e disponibilidade de parceiras) e de história de vida (atratividade do macho, tamanho da desova e canibalismo filial) sobre o comportamento dos machos e, em última instância, sobre a sobrevivência da prole. Esperamos que condições climáticas desfavoráveis, assim como baixa disponibilidade de parceiras e atratividade do macho, afetem negativamente a exibição de comportamentos compensatórios, mas que o tamanho da desova tenha um efeito positivo. Além disso, esperamos que um aumento na intensidade do canibalismo filial seja uma estratégia que alivie os custos da compensação. Entretanto, o comportamento dos machos em relação à prole desatendida não tem efeito sobre a sobrevivência da prole, e os outros resultados foram inconsistentes com nossas previsões, exceto pelas condições climáticas que afetam tanto a intensidade do comportamento dos machos sobre as desovas quanto o canibalismo filial. Nossos resultados, portanto, não apoiam a existência de compensação flexível do cuidado uniparental em S. proximum. Ao invés de uma atividade parental, argumentamos que o comportamento dos machos corresponde a uma tática de acasalamento que aumenta o sucesso de fertilização e de acasalamento com as fêmeas que retornam às suas desovas ou com novas fêmeas que se alimentam dos ovos desprotegidos. Este estudo demonstra que, para os casos em que se pressupõe compensação flexível de cuidado uniparental, é necessário avaliar os efeitos sobre a aptidão prole, uma vez que nem sempre um aparente comportamento parental é o que parece ser

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-02-06T11:47:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 luciadearaujopiuma.pdf: 4243857 bytes, checksum: 982e72754460af98c6b3bcb93d27cbfb (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-02-06T16:06:53Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 luciadearaujopiuma.pdf: 4243857 bytes, checksum: 982e72754460af98c6b3bcb93d27cbfb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-06T16:06:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 luciadearaujopiuma.pdf: 4243857 bytes, checksum: 982e72754460af98c6b3bcb93d27cbfb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-02 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Fêmeas de camundongos Swiss irradiadas apresentaram comportamento canibalístico inesperado durante um experimento para avaliação de teste de memória operacional e de referência, não mencionado em trabalhos prévios, o que levou ao estudo mais detalhado da incidência e de possíveis causas relacionadas ao comportamento anormal. Um grupo de 31 fêmeas de camundongos Swiss prenhes foram submetidas à irradiação ionizante com raios X de corpo inteiro através de aparelho acelerador linear de elétrons de energia fotônica de 6 MeV com dose total absorvida gerada de 3 Gy (300cGy) e distribuídas aleatoriamente em dois grupos para análise do período pré e pós-natal e foram comparadas com fêmeas controles. Os dados observados indicam que a irradiação não induziu comportamento materno indicativo de estresse ou intoxicação nem de comprometimento do sistema endócrino, mas as fêmeas irradiadas apresentaram uma incidência de 86,67% de canibalismo. O peso corporal fetal do grupo irradiado (1077,1 mg ± 152,6 n=16) foi significativamente menor (p< 0,001) quando comparado com o do grupo controle (1241,2 mg ± 64,2 n=15) e apresentaram , em 28,1, % dos casos, hipoatividade acompanhada de desorganização das camadas laminares corticais e diminuição da população neuronal. Verifica-se que a irradiação não causou alterações morfológicas evidenciáveis nos ovários, hipófise e áreas cerebrais maternas. O distúrbio motor fetal provavelmente induziu para o comportamento canibalístico observado. / Irradiated female Swiss mice presented unexpected cannibalistic behaviors during an experiment involving tests for operational memory and reference assessment. This finding is not mentioned in previous works, which lead us to a more detailed study of the incidence and the possible causes related to that abnormal behavior. One group of 31 pregnant Swiss mice was exposed to whole body ionizing irradiation of X-rays through a linear accelerator apparatus of 6 MeV electron photonic energy, presenting total absorbed dose of 3 Gy (300cGy). Those animals were randomly divided into two groups, one for the analysis of prenatal and another for postnatal periods, and they were compared to mice from control groups. The data indicate that irradiation did not induce stress, intoxication or endocrine changes in mothers, however, irradiated female showed a high incidence (86.67%) of cannibalism. Fetuses from irradiated mothers had a decreased body weight (1077.1 mg ± 152.6 n=16) (p< 0.001) when compared to the control group (1241.2 mg ± 64.2 n=15) and also presented 28.1% of hypo activity, together with desorganization of brain cortical laminar layers and decrease in neuronal population. It was observed that irradiation did not cause morphological changes in maternal ovaries, hypohpysis and brain. The fetal motor disturbance probably induced the observed cannibalistic behavior.

Many of Toni Morrison's African-American characters attempt to change their circumstances either by embracing the white dominant culture that surrounds them or by denying it. In this thesis I explore several ways in which the characters do just that-either embrace or deny the white culture's right to dominion over them. This thesis deals primarily with five of Toni Morrison's novels: The Bluest Eye, Beloved, Paradise, Sula, and Tar Baby.

The trope of the queer cannibal recurs throughout fiction as well as film and television. While literature scholars such as David Bergman and Caleb Crain have written about this figure in American literature, the queer cannibal remains unstudied in the realm of media studies. This thesis analyzes six media texts that feature queer cannibals: Hannibal (2013-2015), Ravenous (1999), The Terror (2018), Yellowjackets (2021-), Raw (2016), and Bones and All (2022). Through these analyses, this thesis establishes a genre termed "queer cannibal texts." These texts function on two different levels: they include a cannibal character who is or can be read as queer, and they in some way cannibalize and queer an existing story or societal script. The presence of a queer cannibal character often signals that the work itself is a queer cannibal text. These texts are built on an awareness of existing power structures and narratives. By cannibalizing these narratives—whether they be a fictional narrative that is being adapted, or societal narratives of white supremacy, heteronormativity, and so on—and interrogating them from a queer perspective, queer cannibal texts create reparative narratives that speak from the margins. Queer cannibal characters act as a textual manifestation of this framework, providing a window through which the viewer is invited to examine and engage with these power structures in a new way.

Understanding how temperature affects biological systems is a central question in ecology and evolutionary biology. Anthropogenic climate change adds urgency to this topic, as the demise or success of species under climate change is expected to depend on how temperature affects important aspects of organismal performance, such as growth, development, survival and reproduction. Rates of biological processes generally increase with increasing temperature up to some maximal temperature. Variation in the slope of the initial, rising phase has attracted considerable interest and forms the focus of this thesis. I explore variation in growth rate-temperature relationships over several levels of biological organization, both between and within species, over individuals’ lifetime, depending on the ecological context and in relation to important life history characteristics such as generation length and winter dormancy.       Specifically, I examine how a clade of temperate damselflies have adapted to their thermal environment along a 3,600 km long latitudinal transect spanning from Southern Spain to Northern Sweden. For each of six species, I sampled populations from close to the northern and southern range margin, as well from the center of the latitudinal range. I reared larvae in the laboratory at several temperatures in order to measure indiviudal growth rates. Very few studies of thermal adaptation have employed such an extensive sampling approach, and my finding reveal variation in temperature responses at several levels of organization.       My main finding was that temperature responses became steeper with increasing latitude, both between species but also between latitudinal populations of the same species. Additional genetic studies revealed that this trend was maintained despite strong gene flow. I highlight the need to use more refined characterizations of latitudinal temperature clines in order to explain these findings. I also show that species differ in their ability to acclimate to novel conditions during ontogeny, and propose that this may reflect a cost-benefit trade-off driven by whether seasonal transitions occur rapidly or gradually during ontogeny.       I also carried out a microcosm experiment, where two of the six species were reared either separately or together, to determine the interacting effects of temperature and competition on larval growth rates and population size structure. The results revealed that the effects of competition can be strong enough to completely overcome the rate-depressing effects of low temperatures. I also found that competition had stronger effects on the amount of variation in growth rates than on the average value.       In summary, my thesis offers several novel insights into how temperature affects biological systems, from individuals to populations and across species’ ranges. I also show how it is possible to refine our hypotheses about thermal adaptation by considering the interacting effects of ecology, life history and environmental variation.

This thesis investigates the concept of leadership in four comedies of Aristophanes. In the first chapter (Lysistrata) I focus on the relationship of the female leadership with religious rituals and medical pathology, and I show that the power of women lies in their important biological role and their ability to conceive and (re)produce life in the context of marriage. In chapter two (Knights) I examine the operation of leadership through the alimentary and sacrificial codes of the play. I argue that the Sausage-seller gradually manifests himself as the sacrificial cook Agorakritos who sacrifices Demos. In this way he puts an end to the politics of savage, raw consumption as they were employed by Paphlagon (and, occasionally, by Demos himself), and saves the day by inaugurating a new era of political practice. In chapter three (Birds) I focus on the political competition between the former leader of the Birds, Tereus, and the newcomer Peisetairos. I argue that Peisetairos captivates his audience through the abuse of rhetoric and sophistry, and gradually adopts more brutal ways, by perverting the ritual of hospitality, committing cannibalism, and becoming sexually aggressive. In this respect, Peisetairos is assimilated to the tragic Tereus of the Sophoclean tragedy, but finally emerges as a more successful version of both the comic and the tragic Tereus. In the fourth and last chapter (Ecclesiazusae) I discuss the women’s disruption and overturn of the normal social order by focusing on the practice of cross-dressing and on love-magic rituals: the exchange of costume between the two sexes, as well as the control of magic practices by the women over men, empower women and, by contrast, disempower and ridicule men, who are finally reduced to a state of impotence, infertility and almost death.

La ville préhispanique de Cantona, située dans la vallée d’Oriental dans l’état de Puebla au Mexique, atteignit sa première apogée culturelle entre 150 av. J.C. et 600/650 A.D. Durant cette période, des complexes cérémoniaux comprenant des groupes de pyramides-temples et des terrains de jeu de balle furent construits. Ces installations servirent au déroulement de nombreux rites au cours desquels les victimes de sacrifices étaient décapitées, démembrées, décharnées, écorchées, bouillies, brûlées et, dans certains cas, consommées. D’autres traitements du corps humain comportent l’inhumation d’individus en position assise et repliés sur eux-mêmes. Pour mieux comprendre le traitement mortuaire rituel des corps humains à Cantona, les découvertes faites sur place sont comparées aux données datant de la même époque obtenues dans trois régions voisines : la vallée de Mexico, Puebla-Tlaxcala et le golfe du Mexique. A partir de ces renseignements, on peut en déduire que la majorité des découvertes faites à Cantona sont les restes des dépouilles et offrandes provenant de rites destinés à la communication avec les dieux et à l’obtention de la fertilité, tandis que les dépouilles des individus en position assise appartiennent à des prêtres ou à des personnages religieux. / The prehispanic city of Cantona, located in the Valley of Oriental in the state of Puebla, Mexico, reached its first cultural apogee between 150 B.C. - 600/650 A.D. During this time, ceremonial complexes such as Temple Pyramid Groups and ballcourts were constructed. These served as the location for a number of rituals involving the beheading, dismemberment, defleshing, flaying, boiling, burning, and in some cases, the consumption of sacrifice victims. Other human body treatment included the burial of individuals in flexed seated positions. To better understand the ritual mortuary treatment of human bodies at Cantona, the finds are compared with data from three neighboring areas: the Valley of Mexico, Puebla-Tlaxcala, and the Gulf of Mexico. From this information, it can be deduced that most of discoveries at Cantona are the remains of rites dedicated to deity communication and fertility while those of individuals in flexed, seated positions belong to religious actors. / La ciudad prehispánica de Cantona, ubicada en el valle de Oriental dentro del estado de Puebla, Mexico, tuvo su primer apogeo cultural entre 150 a.ne. y 600/650 d.n.e. Durante ese periodo, se edificaron gran número de complejos ceremoniales tal como Grupos de Templo Pirámide y canchas de juego de pelota. Estas construcciones sirvieron como sitios rituales en donde se llevaron a cabo gran número de ritos, los cuales, en parte, consistían en decapitar, desmembrar, descarnar, desollar, hervir, quemar, y, en algunos casos, comer a las víctimas humanas de los sacrificios. En otros casos, los cuerpos humanos fueron encontrados en posición flexionada y sentada. Para entender mejor el tratamiento ritual de cuerpos humanos en Cantona, estos descubrimientos fueron comparados con información obtenida de tres regiones cercanas: el Valle de México, Puebla-Tlaxcala y la Costa del Golfo. Esto permitió deducir que la mayoría de los hallazgos en Cantona representan los restos de ritos dedicados a la comunicación con divinidades y a la fertilidad, mientras que los individuos encontrados en posición flexionada y sentada corresponden a sacerdotes o actores rituales difuntos.

Actor training, like the theatre in Brazil, has historically been a middle and upper class pursuit that followed European models, namely Stanislavski's system. Yet within Brazil there is a wealth of diverse cultures that are inherently theatrical and well suited for application in actor training. In this study I explore one such culture, the Afro Brazilian religion Umbanda. First, I examine its formation to illuminate how the religion itself performed (or served as a site for cultural interaction) throughout history. Then, I explore the practice of the religion both apart from and in relation to the theatre and Stanislavski's system. Using the archetypes of Umbanda as a base, I formulate a system of actor training that both allows access to a larger demographic of Brazilians, and also encourages cultural dialogue as an explicit part of acting process. I frame this study with two metaphors: anthropophagy, the notion of cannibalizing or consuming one culture by another; and, more specifically, the digestive tract. The anthropophagy movement in Brazil framed the country's thought throughout much of the 20th century; the digestive tract is a closer examination of the consuming process that epitomizes this system of actor training.

Cavidades naturais constituem um recurso reprodutivo monopolizável, cuja disponibilidade determina a intensidade da competição macho-macho que, por sua vez, pode influenciar os custos do cuidado paternal, pois quanto maior o risco de perda do recurso, menor deve ser a freqüência de forrageio dos machos. Fêmeas do opilião Magnispina neptunus utilizam cavidades naturais como sítios de nidificação, que são monopolizados por machos em um sistema de poliginia por defesa de recursos. Após a oviposição, as fêmeas abandonam os ninhos e todo o cuidado parental é exercido pelos machos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da disponibilidade de ninhos sobre a competição intrassexual e os custos do cuidado paternal em M. neptunus. Dois grupos experimentais foram estabelecidos em laboratório: alta (8 ninhos) e baixa (4 ninhos) disponibilidade de sítios reprodutivos. Cada grupo era composto por sete terrários contendo 12 machos e 12 fêmeas. Apesar da redução dos sítios de nidificação ter reduzido o número de machos detentores de ninhos, o tamanho dos indivíduos não exerceu nenhum efeito sobre o sucesso de monopolização de ninhos. Aparentemente, o pequeno diâmetro de entrada dos ninhos experimentais reduz a importância do tamanho dos machos sobre sua probabilidade de monopolizar um sítio de nidificação. Apenas a residência prévia parece determinar o resultado das disputas entre machos e, portanto, os custos de abandonar os ninhos devem ser altos. De fato, machos guardiões permanecem quase todo o tempo dentro dos seus ninhos em ambos os grupos experimentais, o que aumenta os custos do cuidado. Como conseqüência, o canibalismo filial é freqüente, pois os custos em termos de redução no tamanho da desova são menores do que os benefícios de manter a posse do ninho e dos ovos, que sabidamente aumentam a atratividade dos machos e suas chances de obterem novas desovas / Natural cavities are a reproductive resource that can be monopolized, and their availability determines the intensity of male-male competition, which in turn may influence the costs of paternal care since the higher the risk of loosing the resource, the low should be male foraging frequency. Females of the harvestman Magnispina neptunus use natural cavities as nest site, which are monopolized by males in typical resource defense polygyny mating system. After oviposition, females leave the nests and all parental activities are in charge of males. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of nest site availability on the intrasexual competition and the costs of paternal care in M. neptunus. Two experimental groups were established in the laboratory: high (8 nests) and low (4 nests) nest site availability. Each group was composed of seven terraria containing 12 males and 12 females. Although the reduction of in the number of nests sites has indeed reduced the number of males holding nests, male size did not influence the probability of acquiring and maintaining a nest. Apparently, the small diameter of entrance in the experimental nests reduces the importance of male size on their resource holding power. Only previous residence seems to influence the output of agonistic interactions between two males and, therefore, the costs of leaving the nest to forage are likely to be high. In fact, guarding males remain almost all the time inside their nests, which increases the costs of paternal care. As a consequence, filial cannibalism is frequent in both experimental groups because the costs in terms of reduction in clutch size are likely to lower than the benefits of holding a nest containing eggs, which is known to increase male attractiveness and his chance of acquiring additional eggs