Ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in the Canadian Arctic are subject to a variety of environmental and anthropogenic stressors that stand to potentially compromise population health and survival. Typically, animals exposed to chronic stressors initiate a stress response resulting in cortisol production, which results in physiological and behavioural changes designed to maintain homeostasis under the influence of the stressor. Cortisol extraction techniques were developed for Ringed seal blubber and fur samples. Blubber cortisol was found to be a reliable indicator of the condition factor ratio of blubber depth to core diameter. Ringed seal blubber cortisol concentration and condition was shown to alter depending on season and age class. The findings of this study are an important first step in developing an understanding of how this ice obligate species has and may respond to environmental stressors and will assist with developing conservation strategies. / October 2016

Pastures established using buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) have shown heterogeneous responses in terms of forage production and permanence. A good alternative for determining establishment sites and predict trends in buffelgrass conditions is the use of simulation models. The objectives of this research were to determine the factors that regulate successfulness in buffelgrass pastures and to develop a model to determine suitability in areas managed for buffelgrass pastures, based on environmental, ecological, and management variables. Above ground biomass production was considered to determine suitability in sites with buffelgrass. Eight ranches with different geographic locations, environmental situations, and management conditions were sampled as preliminary study sites to measure and model plant production. The resulting model was used to estimate plant production in the 37 sampling sites of the study areas. Results of the study indicate that basal area is a good modeling parameter to estimate production in buffelgrass plants. I also found that plant production in buffelgrass is negatively affected by population density. I concluded that there exist a positive correlation between pasture management and buffelgrass plant production. Correlation analyses demonstrate that there exist significant correlations between Pasture Condition Index (PCI) and mean annual temperatures, aspect, pasture age, nitrogen and sodium content. However, after performing stepwise regressions, only three variables were significant: pasture age (PA), nitrogen content (N2), and mean annual temperature (MAT); the last two, produce a negative response on PCI.

Condition indices are widely used to generate biological insight. However, purported relationships to indices are imprecise or inconsistent in the wild. I investigated factors influencing relative weight (Wr), a condition index commonly applied to fish. I first examined the relationship of Wr to physiology in two bluegill Lepomis macrochirus populations over a year. I regressed tissue composition (percentages of lipid, protein and water) and organ indices (liver-, gonad-, and viscerosomatic indices) on Wr. The regression model had little explanatory power (adjusted R2 = 0.14). Lipid was most influential (partial R2 = 0.11), but correlation strength fluctuated by season and population. To test the generality of these results, I performed a similar regression on a bluegill population with higher average Wr. Again, variables were not well correlated to Wr (adjusted R2 = 0.13). Combining comparable data sets increased Wr range 64% but explanatory power was low (adjusted R2 = 0.41) Both studies showed that expected correlations of physiological variables to Wr can be confounded in natural environments. To examine differences between natural and laboratory environments, I manipulated initial Wr and ration of juvenile bluegills. Although organ indices and tissue composition of all groups changed in time ((Wilks' Δ > 0.387, P > 0.03), no temporal pattern matched to Wr. At termination, all variables showed high correlations to Wr (r2 > 0.64). Correlation strength increased with time in the laboratory. Both ration and environment influenced correlations. Lastly, I examined differences in interpretation of Wr for chain pickerels Esox niger, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, and black crappies Pomoxis nigromaculatus. Regression models were compared to concurrent bluegill models. Piscivore models fit well (adjusted R2 > 0.50), whereas bluegill models had the lowest explanatory power (adjusted R2 = 0.13 and 0.14). Ecological specialization affected correlations to Wr. Theoretically, condition index values are determined by resource acquisition versus expenditure. Exact physiological expression is determined by life history and performance. Condition indices are imprecise predictors but track net somatic investment with great generality. Ancillary data, such as growth or length-at-maturity, may clarify interpretation. Condition indices should be used as qualitative monitoring tools, not omnibus physiological predictors. / Ph. D.

O Índice de Condição do Pavimento (ICP), também apresentado como um índice de defeitos combinados, é, em muitos Sistemas de Gerência de Pavimentos Urbanos (SGPU), o único indicador da qualidade do pavimento dos segmentos que compõem a malha viária. Este trabalho é baseado em conceitos gerais, utilizando os tipos de defeito de pavimentos flexíveis do Programa SHRP (Strategic Highway Research Program), bem como a forma de quantificação da severidade e extensão com que se manifestam na superfície dos pavimentos, mas propõe um novo método para determinação de um Índice de Condição de Pavimentos Urbanos (ICPU), que considera as condições particulares de projeto, materiais, técnicas construtivas, controle de qualidade e políticas de manutenção e reabilitação da cidade em que está sendo implantado. O cálculo do ICPU é desenvolvido em três etapas, em que primeira calcula o peso por tipo de defeito, a partir de questionários preenchidos por profissionais da área de infraestrutura de transportes. A segunda etapa define fatores de ponderação para os pesos, por tipo de defeito e em função da severidade. A terceira e última etapa do método consiste na análise de correlação entre segmentos representativos da malha viária urbana em análise, o que, no estudo de caso desenvolvido neste trabalho, utilizou 10.402 de um total de 111.497 segmentos do Distrito Federal do Brasil, distribuídos entre as trinta regiões administrativas, incluindo Brasília, que foram avaliadas, subjetiva e objetivamente, nos anos de 2010 a 2012, pela Companhia Urbanizadora da Nova Capital do Brasil (NOVACAP), e que permite a determinação dos fatores de ponderação em função da extensão, por tipo de defeito. / The Pavement Condition Index (PCI), also presented as an index of combined defects, is, in many Urban Pavement Management Systems (UPMS), the only indicator of pavement condition for the segments of the urban roadway network. This work is based on general concepts, using the flexible pavement distress types of the SHRP Program (Strategic Highway Research Program), as well as the way to evaluate the severity and extent to which they manifest on the pavement surface, but proposing a new method for determining an Urban Pavement Condition Index (UPCI), which considers the particular conditions of design, materials, construction techniques, quality control and policies of maintenance rehabilitation of the city in which it is being implemented. The calculation of the UPCI is developed in three stages, in which the first calculates the weight by defect type, from questionnaires completed by professionals in the transport infrastructure area. The second stage sets weighting factors for the weights by distress type depending on the severity. The third and final step of the method consists in the analysis of correlation between representative segments of the urban roadway network in question, which, in the case study developed in this study, used a total of 10,402 among 111,497 segments of the Federal District of Brazil, distributed among the thirty administrative regions, including Brasilia, which were evaluated subjectively and objectively, in the years 2010-2012, by the Urbanization Company of the New Capital of Brazil (NOVACAP), which allows the determination of the weighting factors depending on of the distress type as a function of the extension.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo pesquisar a tipologia e as possíveis causas da ocorrência das patologias em pavimentos de concreto armado, bem como verificar a aplicabilidade e analisar criticamente os métodos de avaliação do estado funcional destes pavimentos. São apresentados os tipos e os graus de severidade das patologias descritas no método do United States Corps of Engineers (USACE), bem como os métodos de avaliação da superfície dos pavimentos de concreto, dentre eles, o índice internacional de irregularidade (International Roughness Index - IRI), o quociente de irregularidade (QI), o valor da serventia atual (VSA) e a avaliação subjetiva e objetiva do índice de condição do pavimento (ICP). A aplicação prática se concentrou nos estudos de caso de quatro pavimentos de concreto armado, sendo um pavimento urbano e três pavimentos industriais, realizando a avaliação detalhada das patologias existentes nos pavimentos em serviço, com posterior cálculo do valor do ICP. Foi avaliada também a irregularidade longitudinal (IRI), com um perfilômetro inercial, no estudo de caso do pavimento urbano, com o intuito de verificar se este método apresenta correlação com o critério do ICP para o caso dos pavimentos de concreto armado como indicador de desempenho. Os levantamentos permitiram verificar valores intermediários de ICP para os pavimentos analisados e que tal situação é decorrente principalmente de falhas construtivas. Os defeitos catalogados no manual do ICP são suficientes para descrição das patologias encontradas durante os levantamentos. Com o auxílio de uma maior quantidade de levantamentos seria possível estabelecer relações entre ICP e IRI sendo que a relação encontrada com base no universo estudado foi fraca, embora aponte uma tendência. O trabalho enfatiza o estudo e a aplicabilidade do método de avaliação objetiva do USACE que é amplamente empregado nos E.U.A. Por fim discute possível relação entre os valores do ICP e do IRI no caso estudado. / This research aimed to verify types and possible causes for the occurrence of distresses in reinforced concrete pavements as well as to verify the applicability and critically examine the methods for assessment of the functional condition for such pavements. It is presented the distresses types and its severity levels described by the method of the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE), as well as the methods for surface evaluation of concrete pavements, including the international roughness index (IRI), the quarter of car index (QI), the present serviceability ratio (PSR) and subjective and objective evaluation of the pavement condition index (PCI). The practice study focused in four cases of reinforced concrete pavements, an urban pavement and three industrials floors, consisting on detailed field evaluation of distresses with subsequent determination of PCI for several pavement sections. It was carried out a field measurement of IRI using an inertial profiler for the case of urban pavement, in order to verify whether this method could reflect the actual the performance of reinforced pavement concrete. The performed surveys allowed understanding that most of cases with low PCI values are due to constructive fails. The list of distresses suggested by PCI manual is suffice to identify the distresses found out during the surveys. However it shall be required a large amount of field surveys in order to define better correlation between PCI and IRI in view of the current results.

Human-caused destruction of xeric habitats in Florida that support gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus Daudin) is occurring at a rapid rate. One conservation strategy that has been used for numerous taxa is translocation. The effects of translocation on the health, reproductive activity, and movements of translocated and resident telemetered individuals was evaluated for a population of gopher tortoises in central-Florida from 2001 to 2004. Only one of the 13 individuals released left the site during the study. The home range estimates of resident individuals were not significantly different before and after the release of the translocated individuals on the site, and all mean home ranges fit within the range of estimates reported in the literature for natural populations of gopher tortoises. Habitat use of several individual resident gopher tortoises was significantly different after the translocation events. The degree that the home ranges of the residents were overlapped by other individuals in the study was not significantly different. The spatial locations of the home ranges of resident and translocated individuals were significantly different. There was evidence of reproduction for both resident and translocated females a year after the release of the translocates. The body condition of the resident individuals was higher at the end of the study relative to the start, although this may be explained by other factors. This study illustrates some of the problems associated with studies designed to assess translocation success, namely the lack adequate baseline data for the population and the challenge of balancing the sample sizes necessary for acceptable statistical power with the mechanics of translocation. The results of this study suggest that translocation is a potentially useful conservation strategy, although there are other potential consequences of translocation that need to be considered prior to its implementation.

From January 2012 to December 2012 I collected adult oysters from two intertidal populations on a monthly basis in the Coos Bay estuary, Oregon for histological analysis of their gonads. Gametogenesis and spawning occur seasonally from May through September, when water temperatures exceed 14.5&deg C, with brooding oysters found from July through September. Oocyte diameters increased significantly from May to June, and from June to July within oyster populations at Haynes Inlet and Coalbank Slough, respectively. Male gametogenesis initiated in May at Haynes Inlet and in June at Coalbank Slough. Dry meat condition values increased significantly during periods of reproduction and decreased following the reproductive season's end. Condition index values for Coalbank Slough were consistently lower than those at Haynes Inlet, suggesting poor nutrition or physiological stress. Salinities below recorded physiological thresholds are believed to be the primary environmental factor influencing the discrepancy in reproductive activity at Coalbank Slough.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo pesquisar a tipologia e as possíveis causas da ocorrência das patologias em pavimentos de concreto armado, bem como verificar a aplicabilidade e analisar criticamente os métodos de avaliação do estado funcional destes pavimentos. São apresentados os tipos e os graus de severidade das patologias descritas no método do United States Corps of Engineers (USACE), bem como os métodos de avaliação da superfície dos pavimentos de concreto, dentre eles, o índice internacional de irregularidade (International Roughness Index - IRI), o quociente de irregularidade (QI), o valor da serventia atual (VSA) e a avaliação subjetiva e objetiva do índice de condição do pavimento (ICP). A aplicação prática se concentrou nos estudos de caso de quatro pavimentos de concreto armado, sendo um pavimento urbano e três pavimentos industriais, realizando a avaliação detalhada das patologias existentes nos pavimentos em serviço, com posterior cálculo do valor do ICP. Foi avaliada também a irregularidade longitudinal (IRI), com um perfilômetro inercial, no estudo de caso do pavimento urbano, com o intuito de verificar se este método apresenta correlação com o critério do ICP para o caso dos pavimentos de concreto armado como indicador de desempenho. Os levantamentos permitiram verificar valores intermediários de ICP para os pavimentos analisados e que tal situação é decorrente principalmente de falhas construtivas. Os defeitos catalogados no manual do ICP são suficientes para descrição das patologias encontradas durante os levantamentos. Com o auxílio de uma maior quantidade de levantamentos seria possível estabelecer relações entre ICP e IRI sendo que a relação encontrada com base no universo estudado foi fraca, embora aponte uma tendência. O trabalho enfatiza o estudo e a aplicabilidade do método de avaliação objetiva do USACE que é amplamente empregado nos E.U.A. Por fim discute possível relação entre os valores do ICP e do IRI no caso estudado. / This research aimed to verify types and possible causes for the occurrence of distresses in reinforced concrete pavements as well as to verify the applicability and critically examine the methods for assessment of the functional condition for such pavements. It is presented the distresses types and its severity levels described by the method of the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE), as well as the methods for surface evaluation of concrete pavements, including the international roughness index (IRI), the quarter of car index (QI), the present serviceability ratio (PSR) and subjective and objective evaluation of the pavement condition index (PCI). The practice study focused in four cases of reinforced concrete pavements, an urban pavement and three industrials floors, consisting on detailed field evaluation of distresses with subsequent determination of PCI for several pavement sections. It was carried out a field measurement of IRI using an inertial profiler for the case of urban pavement, in order to verify whether this method could reflect the actual the performance of reinforced pavement concrete. The performed surveys allowed understanding that most of cases with low PCI values are due to constructive fails. The list of distresses suggested by PCI manual is suffice to identify the distresses found out during the surveys. However it shall be required a large amount of field surveys in order to define better correlation between PCI and IRI in view of the current results.

O Índice de Condição do Pavimento (ICP), também apresentado como um índice de defeitos combinados, é, em muitos Sistemas de Gerência de Pavimentos Urbanos (SGPU), o único indicador da qualidade do pavimento dos segmentos que compõem a malha viária. Este trabalho é baseado em conceitos gerais, utilizando os tipos de defeito de pavimentos flexíveis do Programa SHRP (Strategic Highway Research Program), bem como a forma de quantificação da severidade e extensão com que se manifestam na superfície dos pavimentos, mas propõe um novo método para determinação de um Índice de Condição de Pavimentos Urbanos (ICPU), que considera as condições particulares de projeto, materiais, técnicas construtivas, controle de qualidade e políticas de manutenção e reabilitação da cidade em que está sendo implantado. O cálculo do ICPU é desenvolvido em três etapas, em que primeira calcula o peso por tipo de defeito, a partir de questionários preenchidos por profissionais da área de infraestrutura de transportes. A segunda etapa define fatores de ponderação para os pesos, por tipo de defeito e em função da severidade. A terceira e última etapa do método consiste na análise de correlação entre segmentos representativos da malha viária urbana em análise, o que, no estudo de caso desenvolvido neste trabalho, utilizou 10.402 de um total de 111.497 segmentos do Distrito Federal do Brasil, distribuídos entre as trinta regiões administrativas, incluindo Brasília, que foram avaliadas, subjetiva e objetivamente, nos anos de 2010 a 2012, pela Companhia Urbanizadora da Nova Capital do Brasil (NOVACAP), e que permite a determinação dos fatores de ponderação em função da extensão, por tipo de defeito. / The Pavement Condition Index (PCI), also presented as an index of combined defects, is, in many Urban Pavement Management Systems (UPMS), the only indicator of pavement condition for the segments of the urban roadway network. This work is based on general concepts, using the flexible pavement distress types of the SHRP Program (Strategic Highway Research Program), as well as the way to evaluate the severity and extent to which they manifest on the pavement surface, but proposing a new method for determining an Urban Pavement Condition Index (UPCI), which considers the particular conditions of design, materials, construction techniques, quality control and policies of maintenance rehabilitation of the city in which it is being implemented. The calculation of the UPCI is developed in three stages, in which the first calculates the weight by defect type, from questionnaires completed by professionals in the transport infrastructure area. The second stage sets weighting factors for the weights by distress type depending on the severity. The third and final step of the method consists in the analysis of correlation between representative segments of the urban roadway network in question, which, in the case study developed in this study, used a total of 10,402 among 111,497 segments of the Federal District of Brazil, distributed among the thirty administrative regions, including Brasilia, which were evaluated subjectively and objectively, in the years 2010-2012, by the Urbanization Company of the New Capital of Brazil (NOVACAP), which allows the determination of the weighting factors depending on of the distress type as a function of the extension.

No description available.