Le recours à des épandages d'amendements calco-magnésiens dans les forêts acidifiées peut représenter une alternative intéressante pour corriger l'acidification des sols et la perte d'éléments nutritifs engendrés par des décennies de dépôts atmosphériques acides. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse sont d'évaluer les effets d'amendements calco-magnésiens sur (i) la diversité taxonomique et la structure des communautés des macroinvertébrés de sol forestier et sur (ii) deux processus fonctionnels associés notamment à l'activité des vers de terre, tels que la structuration du sol et l'évolution des humus. Au cours de nos travaux, trois sites localisés dans les Vosges (nord-est, France) ont été étudiés : deux massifs forestiers (sur grès et granite) en moyenne montagne, ayant fait l'objet d'amendements aériens en 2003 et la forêt domaniale de Humont située dans les collines sous-vosgiennes, où des amendements en 1991 et 2008 ont été réalisés. Les résultats montrent que 4 ans après amendement sur les bassins versants en moyenne montagne, l'abondance totale de la communauté de macrofaune a diminué, alors que les richesses spécifiques sont similaires. Cependant, la composition des communautés diffère avec moins de 50 % d'espèces communes aux sites amendés et témoins. Une diminution de l'abondance des prédateurs a également été observée alors que la plupart des détritivores ont été favorisés par l'amendement. Les études in vitro montrent également son effet positif sur les activités de structuration du sol par les vers de terre (production de turricules et construction de galeries). En forêt de Humont, les amendements ont eu un effet majeur à moyen terme (4 ans) et à long terme (20 ans) sur la population d'Aporrectodea velox, espèce endémique des Vosges. De part sa biomasse importante, cette augmentation de densité favorise l'amélioration des caractéristiques physico-chimiques du sol forestier tels que la structuration des sols et la morphologie des humus. / The use of liming (Ca-Mg) on acidified forest can be interesting to counteract soil acidification and loss of nutrients caused by decades of acid atmospheric deposition. In this context, the aims of this work were to assess liming effect on (i) taxonomical diversity and community structure of soil macro-invertebrates and on (ii) two associated functional processes related to earthworms: soil structuration and humus evolution. The PhD project was realised in three sites from the Vosges mountains (North-eastern, France): two forest mountain catchments (one lying on sandstone and the other on granite) limed in 2003 and the public hill forest of Humont at a lower altitude limed in 1991 and 2008. Results showed that 4 years after liming in mountain forest, the total abundance of macro-invertebrates decreased, while the species richness were similar. However, the community structure strongly differed, and less than 50% of the species were common to limed and control sites. Moreover, 43 species appeared to be indicators of liming. Predator taxa abundance decreased whereas the detritivorous were favoured by lime addition. The in vitro experiments showed a positive effect of liming on soil structuration by earthworm activities (cast production and burrowing activities). In the Humont forest, liming at medium-term (4 years) and long term (20 years) have an important effect on the Aporrectodea velox population, an endemic vosgian species. Related to its high biomass, this increase strongly improved soil physicochemical parameters such as soil structure and humus morphology.

Les travaux de recherche de cette thèse s'inscrivent dans le cadre de la caractérisation du cancer du sein dans le but de réaliser une nouvelle approche pour l'extraction et la modélisation de la cinétique du traceur en imagerie TEP. La mesure du taux de comptage d'un traceur dans une région d'intérêt (ROI) estimée au moyen d'une extension d'une Carte de Dissimilarité Locale à Valeurs Réelles (CDLVR) proposée en niveaux de gris et l'utilisation des modèles dynamiques comme la méthode d'Analyse Factorielle des Séquences d'Images Médicales (AFSIM) appliquée sur la ROI permettent la quantification automatique et précoce du métabolisme glucidique. Plus spécifiquement, il s'agit de déterminer un nouveau paramètre empirique KFPQ. Il est calculé à partir des deux compartiments obtenus dans la région d'intérêt tumorale et tel que évalué durant le premier passage du traceur 18F-FDG dans les images TEP précoces. / The research of this thesis proposes in the context of the breast cancer characterization in order to achieve a new approach for the extraction and modeling of the tracer kinetics in PET imaging.The measurement of the counting rate of a tracer in a region of interest (ROI) estimated using an extension of a Real Valued Local Dissimilarity Map (RVLDM) proposed grayscale and the use of dynamic models as the method of factor analysis of medical image sequences (FAMIS) applied on the ROI enable an automatic early quantification of glucose metabolism. More specifically, it is to determine a new KFPQ empirical parameter. It is calculated from the two compartments obtained in the region of interest and tumor as assessed during the first pass of the 18F-FDG tracer in the early PET images.

No description available.

Ακολουθώντας μακροικολογική προσέγγιση, στόχος της διατριβής είναι η μελέτη των προτύπων συγκρότησης των νησιωτικών βιοκοινοτήτων. Συγκεκριμένα, στόχος είναι η διερεύνηση των προτύπων συνεμφάνισης ειδών, των προτύπων ανομοιότητας στη σύνθεση ειδών και της επίδρασης περιβαλλοντικών παραγόντων σε αυτά, καθώς και των προτύπων εγκιβωτισμού σε νησιωτικές βιοκοινότητες. Για το σκοπό αυτό, συνέλεξα μεγάλο αριθμό δεδομένων από διάφορα νησιωτικά συστήματα του κόσμου, καταρτίζοντας πίνακες παρουσίας-απουσίας ειδών για κάθε νησιωτικό σύστημα. Στη συνέχεια προσπάθησα να αναδείξω γενικά προτύπα συγκρότησης των νησιωτικών βιοκοινοτήτων. Αρχικά, αξιολόγησα δύο δείκτες («φυσικός» δείκτης και δείκτης CS), οι οποίοι εξετάζουν τα πρότυπα συνεμφάνισης σε επίπεδο ζευγών ειδών, ως προς την καταλληλότητα τους για τη διερεύνηση των προτύπων συνεμφάνισης ειδών. Τα αποτελέσματα καταδεικνύουν ότι και οι δύο δείκτες είναι κατάλληλοι ως δείκτες διερεύνησης των προτύπων συνεμφάνισης των ειδών. Mε τη χρήση αυτών των δύο δεικτών ανιχνεύονται σημαντικά πρότυπα συνεμφάνισης ειδών σε πολύ λιγότερες περιπτώσεις σε σύγκριση με τον δείκτη C-score που εξετάζει τα πρότυπα συνεμφάνισης σε επίπεδο ολόκληρου πίνακα παρουσίας-απουσίας ειδών. Γενικά, τα περισσότερα πρότυπα συνεμφάνισης ανιχνεύονται στις νησιωτικές κοινότητες των σπονδυλωτών και των φυτών. Ακολούθως, διερεύνησα τα προτύπα ανομοιότητας στη σύνθεση ειδών διάφορων ομάδων οργανισμών σε ωκεάνια και ηπειρωτικά νησιωτικά συστήματα, σε μερικές περιπτώσεις υπό το πρίσμα των διαφορετικών ικανοτήτων διασποράς των τάξων. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι η ανομοιότητα στη σύνθεση ειδών μεταξύ νησιών επηρεάζεται από την ομάδα οργανισμών που μελετάται. Τάξα με μεγάλη ικανότητα διασποράς τείνουν να έχουν χαμηλότερο βαθμό ανομοιότητας μεταξύ νησιών σε σύγκριση με άλλα τάξα με μικρότερη ικανότητα διασποράς. Η ανομοιότητα στη σύνθεση ειδών μεταξύ νησιών επηρεάζεται επίσης από τον τύπο νησιωτικού συστήματος. Τα ωκεάνια νησιωτικά συστήματα τείνουν να έχουν υψηλότερο βαθμό ανομοιότητας στη σύνθεση ειδών μεταξύ νησιών από ότι τα ηπειρωτικά νησιωτικά συστήματα (αποδείχθηκε για τις κοινότητες σαυρών). Οι διαφορές στην έκταση και η απόσταση μεταξύ των νησιών επηρεάζουν σημαντικά την ανομοιότητα στη σύνθεση ειδών μεταξύ νησιών. Οι διαφορές στο υψόμετρο επηρεάζουν σε μικρότερο βαθμό την ανομοιότητα στη σύνθεση ειδών και κυρίως φαίνεται να επιδρούν στα ωκεάνια νησιά και στις κοινότητες των τάξων με μεγάλη ικανότητα διασποράς, όπως είναι τα πτηνά και οι νυκτερίδες. Τέλος, διερεύνησα τον βαθμό εγκιβωτισμού των νησιωτικών βιοκοινοτήτων χρησιμοποιώντας τον δείκτη εγκιβωτισμού NODF. Σε συνδυασμό με ένα μηδενικό μοντέλο που διατηρεί σταθερό το άθροισμα των στηλών και των σειρών του πίνακα παρουσίας-απουσίας ειδών, ανιχνεύονται αρκετές «αντι-εγκιβωτισμένες» νησιωτικές βιοκοινότητες. Οι περισσότερες από αυτές επιδεικνύουν σημαντικό πρότυπο συνεμφάνισης ειδών. Αρκετές «αντι-εγκιβωτισμένες» βιοκοινότητες έχουν πολύ υψηλό βαθμό αντι-εγκιβωτισμού δηλαδή έχουν αρκετά νησιά τα οποία δεν έχουν κανένα κοινό είδος. Αυτό μπορεί να οφείλεται είτε στην ύπαρξη διαφορετικών δεξαμενών ειδών για τα νησιά του ίδιου νησιωτικού συστήματος είτε στη μειωμένη ικανότητα διασποράς των ειδών και κατά συνέπεια στη διαμόρφωση ξεχωριστών βιοκοινοτήτων στα νησιά. / Following a macroecological approach the aim of this thesis is the study of the assembly patterns of insular communities. In particular, the aim is to investigate species co-occurrence patterns, compositional dissimilarity patterns as well as the effect of environmental factors on those patterns and also to investigate nestedness patterns of insular communities. I collected a large number of data from various insular systems of the world, compiling species presence-absence matrices for each insular system and Ι attempted to describe general assembly patterns of insular communities. First, I evaluated the statistical properties of two metrics ("natural" and CS), that are used to examine co-occurrence patterns at the species-pair level, to determine if they can be used in the investigation of species co-occurrence patterns. The results show that both metrics can be used in the investigation of these patterns. Using the "natural" and the CS metrics, significant species co-occurrence patterns are identified in very few cases. On the contrary, using the CS metric, significant species co-occurrence patterns are identified in many cases. The majority of the significant species co-occurrence patterns are identified in the communities of vertebrates and plants. Also, I investigated compositional dissimilarity patterns of various taxa in oceanic and continental shelf insular systems, in some cases taking into account the differences in the dispersal ability among taxa. The results showed that compositional dissimilarity patterns are dependent on the taxon. Taxa with good dispersal abilities tend to have level lower levels of between-island compositional dissimilarity than taxa with poor dispersal abilities. Compositional dissimilarity patterns are also dependent on island type. Oceanic insular systems tend to have a higher level of compositional dissimilarity than continental shelf insular systems (clearly demonstrated for lizards). Inter-island distance, as well as area differences between islands, have an important effect on compositional dissimilarity between islands. Elevation differences between islands have a weaker effect on compositional dissimilarity. Significant effects of elevation differences between islands are only observed in oceanic insular systems and in the communities of taxa with good dispersal abilities such as birds and bats. Finally, I investigated the nestedness degree of insular communities. Using the NODF metric in combination with a null model that preserves the column and row sums of the species presence-absence matrix, we can detect several "anti-nested" insular communities. The majority of these communities also exhibit a significant species co-occurrence pattern. Several "anti-nested" communities have high values of the anti-nestedness index, indicating that they have many island pairs that have no species in common. A possible explanation for this is that for a given insular system there may be more than one species source pool. Poor dispersal abilities of various species can also lead to the assembly of distinct communities on different islands.

The flood of 2000 caused extensive changes within the riparian landscape of the Sabie River, Kruger National Park (KNP). Changes within the riparian landscape and the removal of vegetation resulted in considerable changes in riparian vegetation characteristics. Open patches created by the flood served as a template for the establishment of new species and the regeneration of existing species, which consequently resulted in a patch mosaic. This memorable event encouraged an investigation into the response of the Sabie River ecosystem to the memorable Large Infrequent Disturbance (LID). Riparian ecosystems are driven by varying combinations of environmental factors, such as water availability, disturbance, herbivory, fire and river morphology. This complexity depicts unique vegetation structure and assemblages of associated plant species. The lack of sufficient knowledge on the role of riparian vegetation in the health assessment of surrounding ecosystems along semi-arid rivers prompted the establishment of the Kruger Rivers Post Flood Research Program (KRPFRP). Research conducted through this monitoring program four years after the 2000 flood, revealed no significant changes in the species composition, although the location and density of many common riparian species have been changed. There was a decrease in species density across the macro channel floor (MCF) and an increase in species density across the macro channel bank (MCB). Furthermore, it was reported that the flood altered the distribution of height classes across the macro channel. In general the riparian vegetation was shorter and bushier four years post-flood. These studies furthermore illustrated that the tree to shrub ratio did not change drastically from pre-flood conditions, although a decrease in the number of shrub individuals was reported. The research presented in this dissertation was designed to further explore changes in woody species composition and structure along the Sabie River, KNP at a post flood temporal interval, i.e. between the last survey in 2004 (by the KRPFRP) and 2010. For data compatibility, the sampling and analytical approach of this study conforms to the approach followed by the KRPFRP. Data were sampled within four preselected belt-transects that form part of the larger KRPFRP. All established woody individuals were counted and measured within each contiguous 10 m x 30 m plot within each of the four belt-transects. Log transformed species composition data were analysed through the application of the Bray Curtis dissimilarity index in combination with Ward’s method of clustering. Statistical significant differences between clusters were tested through the application of the Fisher’s exact relationship test. The MIXED Procedure or PROC MIXED model was used to investigate change within the vegetation structural data. Results obtained through the various analytical methods broadly support the findings of the KRPFRP. No significant change in woody species composition could be detected between 2004 and 2010. However, a change in the density (increase and decrease) of certain species across the MCB and MCF was revealed. Species richness and density increased significantly on the MCF oppose to small changes on the MCB. A significant increase in the total number of shrubs on the MCF contributed to an overall increase in woody density for the entire study area between 2004 and 2010. Shrubs therefore remained the most dominant growth form in both sampling years. Trees decreased across the MCB although the total number of established trees remained unchanged between 2004 and 2010. Riparian vegetation structure is directly linked to species assemblages, hence the continued dominance of shrub species along the Sabie River in the KNP The Sabie River riparian landscape is therefore still characterised by short and multi-stemmed woody individuals ten years after the LID. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The flood of 2000 caused extensive changes within the riparian landscape of the Sabie River, Kruger National Park (KNP). Changes within the riparian landscape and the removal of vegetation resulted in considerable changes in riparian vegetation characteristics. Open patches created by the flood served as a template for the establishment of new species and the regeneration of existing species, which consequently resulted in a patch mosaic. This memorable event encouraged an investigation into the response of the Sabie River ecosystem to the memorable Large Infrequent Disturbance (LID). Riparian ecosystems are driven by varying combinations of environmental factors, such as water availability, disturbance, herbivory, fire and river morphology. This complexity depicts unique vegetation structure and assemblages of associated plant species. The lack of sufficient knowledge on the role of riparian vegetation in the health assessment of surrounding ecosystems along semi-arid rivers prompted the establishment of the Kruger Rivers Post Flood Research Program (KRPFRP). Research conducted through this monitoring program four years after the 2000 flood, revealed no significant changes in the species composition, although the location and density of many common riparian species have been changed. There was a decrease in species density across the macro channel floor (MCF) and an increase in species density across the macro channel bank (MCB). Furthermore, it was reported that the flood altered the distribution of height classes across the macro channel. In general the riparian vegetation was shorter and bushier four years post-flood. These studies furthermore illustrated that the tree to shrub ratio did not change drastically from pre-flood conditions, although a decrease in the number of shrub individuals was reported. The research presented in this dissertation was designed to further explore changes in woody species composition and structure along the Sabie River, KNP at a post flood temporal interval, i.e. between the last survey in 2004 (by the KRPFRP) and 2010. For data compatibility, the sampling and analytical approach of this study conforms to the approach followed by the KRPFRP. Data were sampled within four preselected belt-transects that form part of the larger KRPFRP. All established woody individuals were counted and measured within each contiguous 10 m x 30 m plot within each of the four belt-transects. Log transformed species composition data were analysed through the application of the Bray Curtis dissimilarity index in combination with Ward’s method of clustering. Statistical significant differences between clusters were tested through the application of the Fisher’s exact relationship test. The MIXED Procedure or PROC MIXED model was used to investigate change within the vegetation structural data. Results obtained through the various analytical methods broadly support the findings of the KRPFRP. No significant change in woody species composition could be detected between 2004 and 2010. However, a change in the density (increase and decrease) of certain species across the MCB and MCF was revealed. Species richness and density increased significantly on the MCF oppose to small changes on the MCB. A significant increase in the total number of shrubs on the MCF contributed to an overall increase in woody density for the entire study area between 2004 and 2010. Shrubs therefore remained the most dominant growth form in both sampling years. Trees decreased across the MCB although the total number of established trees remained unchanged between 2004 and 2010. Riparian vegetation structure is directly linked to species assemblages, hence the continued dominance of shrub species along the Sabie River in the KNP The Sabie River riparian landscape is therefore still characterised by short and multi-stemmed woody individuals ten years after the LID. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-15T20:31:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LauraAPP_DISSERT.pdf: 738763 bytes, checksum: ebeaf280b69690d2824f0efa4d627ebb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The Santa Cruz reservoir suffered interferences in the reduction of the rain level between 2010 and 2014, where the precipitation values were under the expected level in that region, decreasing from 473 mm to 0 mm and resulting in the progressive reduction of the reservoir volume from 94% until 41.9%. So the objective of this study was: (1) test the effect of the reduction level of the water in the reservoir caused by the decreasing of the pluviosity above the beta diversity; (2) investigate spacial and temporal patterns of the beta diversity of the group using dissimilarity indexes based in incidences (β-sor) and abundance (β-bray); (3) investigate the importance of the turnover (β-sim) and nestedness (β-sne) components in the dissimilarities of Sorensen; (4) investigate the importance of the gradiente (β-gra) and balance (β-bal) components in the dissimilarity of Bray-Curtis; (5) evaluate the relations between the measures and components of dissimilarity and the dried gradients (reduction of the water volume and the monthly rains) and longitudinal (gradient dam-river) where the dissimilarities of Sorensen were calculated and so partitioned in components of turnover and nestedness, and also the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity partitioned in components of ballance and gradiente. To evaluate the correlation between the dissimilarity matrix and the dam-river gradient with the dry gradients, it was made multiples regressions in the distance matrix. The average value of the β-sor dissimilarity was from 0.44± 0.15 varying from 0 to 1. The β-sim values shows 56% of β-sor (p=0.001) while the β-sne was 1.4% (p=0.01). The average value of the Bray Curtis dissimilarities was from 0.70± 0.17 varying from 0.09 to 1. The β-bal value shows 12% (p=0.01), where the β-gra value shows 14% (p=0.01). The β-sor matrix was negatively correlated with the pluviosity, however the same was positively correlated with the reservoir volume. The β-sim matrix was negatively correlated with the pluviosity and with the volume of the reservoir while the same was positively correlated with the points distance. The β-sne matrix was positively correlated only with the distance matrix of the points. The β-bray matrix was positively correlated with the distance of the points and the reservoir s volume. The β-bal matrix was negatively correlated with the distances of the points and the pluviosity, while the same was positively correlated with the reservoir s volume. The β-gra matrix was positively correlated with the distance. This research revealed that the dry gradient changes the ecosystem of a tropical reservoir, principally by the turnover of the species and the abundance gradient. / O reservatório de Santa Cruz sofreu a interferência na redução do nível de chuvas de 2010 a 2014, onde os valores de precipitação foram inferiores ao nível médio da região, variando de 473 mm a 0 mm, resultando na redução progressiva do volume do reservatório reduzindo assim de 94% em até 41,9%, com isso, o objetivo da pesquisa foi: (1) Testar o efeito da redução do nível de água do reservatório, ocasionado pela diminuição da pluviosidade, sobre a diversidade beta (2) Investigar padrões espaciais e temporais de diversidade beta das assembleias usando índices de dissimilaridade baseados em incidência (β-sor) e abundancia (β-bray) (3) Investigar a importância dos componentes de turnover (β-sim) e aninhamento (β-sne) nas dissimilaridades de Sorensen (4) Investigar a importância dos componentes de gradiente (β-gra) e balanço (β-bal) na dissimilaridade de Bray-Curtis (5) Avaliar as relações entre as medidas e componentes de dissimilaridade e os gradientes de seca (redução do volume da água e da chuva mensal) e longitudinal (gradiente barragem-rio), onde foram foram calculadas as dissimilaridade de Sorensen e assim particionada em componentes de turnorver e aninhamento, e também a dissimilaridade de Bray-Curtis particionada em componentes de balanço e gradiente. Para avaliar as correlações entre as matrizes de dissimilaridade e o gradiente barragem rio com os gradientes de seca, foi feitas regressões múltiplas em matrizes de distâncias. O valor médio da dissimilaridade de β-sor foi de 0,44± 0,15 variando de 0 à 1 .Os valores de β-sim explicou 56% de β-sor (p=0,001) enquanto o de β-sne 1,4% (p=0,01). O valor médio da dissimilaridade de Bray Curtis foi de 0,70± 0,17, variando de 0,09 à 1, O valor de β-bal explicou 12% (p=0,01), enquanto o valor de B-gra explicou 14% (p=0,01). A matriz β-sor foi correlacionada negativamente com a pluviosidade, no entanto a mesma foi correlacionada positivamente com o volume do reservatório. A matriz β-sim foi correlacionada negativamente com a pluviosidade e com o volume do reservatório, enquanto a mesma foi correlacionada positivamente com a distância dos pontos. A matriz β-sne foi correlacionada positivamente apenas com a matriz de distância dos pontos. A matriz β-bray foi correlacionada positivamente com a distância dos pontos e volume do reservatório. A matriz β-bal foi correlacionada negativamente com a distância dos pontos e com a pluviosidade, enquanto a mesma foi positivamente correlacionada com o volume do reservatório A matriz β-gra foi correlacionada positivamente com a distância. A presente pesquisa evidenciou que gradiente de seca altera o ecossistema de um reservatório tropical, principalmente por turnorver de espécies e gradiente de abundancia

Biodiversity is determined by a myriad of complex processes acting at different scales. Given the current rates of biodiversity loss and change, it is of paramount importance that we improve our understanding of the underlying structure of ecological communities. In this thesis, I focused on Species Abundance Distributions (SAD), as a synthetic measure of biodiversity and community structure, and on Beta (β) diversity patterns, as a description of the spatial variation of species composition. I systematically assessed the effect of scale on both these patterns, analysing a broad range of community data, including different taxa and habitats, from the terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms. Knowledge of the scaling properties of abundance and compositional patterns must be fully integrated in biodiversity research if we are to understand biodiversity and the processes underpinning it, from local to global scales. SADs depict the relative abundance of the species present in a community. Although typically described by unimodal logseries or lognormal distributions, empirical SADs can also exhibit multiple modes. However, the existence of multiple modes in SADs has largely been overlooked, assumed to be due to sampling errors or a rare pattern. Thus, we do not know how prevalent multimodality is, nor do we have an understanding of the factors leading to this pattern. Here, I provided the first global empirical assessment of the prevalence of multimodality across a wide range of taxa, habitats and spatial extents. I employed an improved method combining two model selection tools, and (conservatively) estimated that ~15% of the communities were multimodal with strong support. Furthermore, I showed that the pattern is more common for communities at broader spatial scales and with greater taxonomic diversity (i.e. more phylogenetically diverse communities, since taxonomic diversity was measured as number of families). This suggests a link between multimodality and ecological heterogeneity, broadly defined to incorporate the spatial, environmental, taxonomic and functional variability of ecological systems. Empirical understanding of how spatial scale affects SAD shape is still lacking. Here, I established a gradient in spatial scale spanning several orders of magnitude by decomposing the total extent of several datasets into smaller subsets. I performed an exploratory analysis of how SAD shape is affected by area sampled, species richness, total abundance and taxonomic diversity. Clear shifts in SAD shape can provide information about relevant ecological and spatial mechanisms affecting community structure. There was a clear effect of area, species richness and taxonomic diversity in determining SAD shape, while total abundance did not exhibit any directional effect. The results supported the findings of the previous analysis, with a higher prevalence of multimodal SADs for larger areas and for more taxonomically diverse communities, while also suggesting that species spatial aggregation patterns can be linked to SAD shape. On the other hand, there was a systematic departure from the predictions of two important macroecological theories for SAD across scales, specifically regarding logseries distributions being selected only for smaller scales and when species richness and number of families were proportionally much smaller than the total extent. β diversity quantifies the variation in species composition between sites. Although a fundamental component of biodiversity, its spatial scaling properties are still poorly understood. Here, I tested if two conceptual types of β diversity showed systematic variation with scale, while also explicitly accounting for the two β diversity components, turnover and nestedness (species replacement vs species richness differences). I provided the first empirical analysis of β diversity scaling patterns for different taxa, revealing remarkably consistent scaling curves. Total β diversity and turnover exhibit a power law decay with log area, while nestedness is largely insensitive to scale changes. For the distance decay of similarity analysis, while area sampled affected the overall dissimilarity values, rates of similarity were consistent across large variations in sampled area. Finally, in both these analyses, turnover was the main contributor to compositional change. These results suggest that species are spatially aggregated across spatial scales (from local to regional scales), while also illustrating that substantial change in community structure might occur, despite species richness remaining relatively stable. This systematic and comprehensive analysis of SAD and community similarity patterns highlighted spatial scale, ecological heterogeneity and species spatial aggregation patterns as critical components underlying the results found. This work expanded the range of scales at which both theories deriving SAD and community similarity studies have been developed and tested (from local plots to continents). The results here showed strong departures from two important macroecological theories for SAD at different scales. In addition, the overall findings in this thesis clearly indicate that unified theories of biodiversity (or assuming a set of synthetic minimal assumptions) are unable to accommodate the variability in SADs shape across spatial scales reported here, and cannot fully reproduce community similarity patterns across scales. Incorporating more realistic assumptions, or imposing scale dependent assumptions, may prove to be a fruitful avenue for ecological research regarding the scaling properties of SAD and community similarity patterns. This will allow deriving new predictions and improving the ability of theoretical models to incorporate the variability in abundance and similarity patterns across scales.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jorge Ramon DAcosta Rivera.pdf: 1159002 bytes, checksum: dfbdda65087f0c04b7a1cd38ef698021 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-14 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / Several studies relate organizational outcomes to the performance of top management teams (TMT), who are accountable for formulating environment-adaptive responses. Defining such responses involves strategic choices in the face of unstructured problems. Studies often suggest that the process of strategic choice is influenced by the cognitive background and values of the executives in those teams. Many of the studies on top management teams have focused on their composition, using demographic variables as proxies for deep-level characteristics to understand team behavior and outcomes. The present investigation aims to verify the influence of deep-level characteristics the dissimilarities in TMT members individual values on the team s outcomes. Individual values, in the context of this study, are desirable, transituational goals with various degrees of importance that function as principles in a person s life, referring both to life in general, as to specific contexts such as work. The research was carried out within a simulated Business Games environment. A group of 186 Business and Accounting undergraduate students filled out Schwartz s QPV and Porto and Tamayo´s EVT value inventories, both validated in Brazil. The students, gathered in 44 management teams, played the role of executives and made strategic choices that determined the outcomes for the simulated organizations they managed. The quantitative descriptiveexploratory research revealed relationships between team members values dissimilarities the independent variables and the teams outcomes - the dependent variables - using bi- and multivariate statistical treatments. Two statistically significant regression models were found, relating, respectively, team outcomes to the dissimilarities in second order general values Openness to Change and Conservation and to the work values Fulfillment at Work and Prestige . The findings suggest that management teams strategic choice in the face of unstructured problems is influenced by the dissimilarities in some types of their members values and not by others. The regression models also point out that this influence on outcomes can be either positive or negative, depending on the motivational type of the value under consideration. / Numerosos estudos atribuem os resultados organizacionais à atuação de times de alta gerência (TAG), aos quais compete formular respostas adaptativas ao ambiente. A definição dessas respostas envolve escolhas estratégicas, diante de problemas não estruturados. Com freqüência, esses estudos sugerem que o processo de escolha estratégica é influenciado pela base cognitiva e pelos valores dos executivos que compõem esses times. Muitas pesquisas sobre times de alta gerência têm centrado a atenção sobre a composição desses times, utilizando variáveis demográficas como proxies de características em nível profundo para entender o comportamento do time e seus resultados. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a influência de características em nível profundo - as dissimilaridades de valores individuais de membros de TAG - nos resultados desses times. Valores individuais são metas desejáveis e transituacionais que variam em importância e servem como princípios na vida de uma pessoa, podendo dizer respeito tanto à vida em geral quanto a contextos específicos como o trabalho. Este estudo foi realizado em um ambiente simulado de Jogos de Empresas, onde 186 graduandos de administração e contabilidade responderam os inventários de valores QPV de Schwartz e EVT de Porto e Tamayo, validados no Brasil. Os estudantes desempenharam o papel de executivos agrupados em 44 times gerenciais, fazendo escolhas estratégicas que determinaram o resultado das organizações simuladas, administradas por esses times. Mediante uma pesquisa de natureza descritivo-exploratória, utilizando o método quantitativo, foram determinadas as relações entre a dissimilaridade de valores dos membros de times, como variáveis independentes, e o resultado desses times, como variável dependente, por meio de tratamento estatístico bi e multivariado. Foram encontrados dois modelos de regressão estatisticamente significativos que relacionam, respectivamente, o resultado dos times às dissimilaridades dos valores gerais de segunda ordem Abertura à mudança e Conservação e aos valores relativos ao trabalho Realização no trabalho e Prestígio, mostrando que a escolha estratégica de times gerenciais, diante de problemas não estruturados, é influenciada pelas dissimilaridades de alguns tipos de valores individuais e não de outros. Os modelos de regressão encontrados apontam, ainda, que essa influência sobre os resultados pode ser positiva ou negativa, dependendo do tipo motivacional do valor considerado.

La théorie des matrices s'est développée rapidement au cours des dernières décennies en raison de son large éventail d'applications et de ses nombreux liens avec différents domaines des mathématiques, de l'économie, de l'apprentissage automatique et du traitement du signal. Cette thèse concerne trois axes principaux liés à deux objets d'étude fondamentaux de la théorie des matrices et apparaissant naturellement dans de nombreuses applications, à savoir les matrices semi-définies positives et les matrices doublement stochastiques.Un concept qui découle naturellement du domaine de l'apprentissage automatique et qui est lié à la propriété semi-définie positive est celui des matrices de similarité. En fait, les matrices de similarité qui sont semi-définies positives revêtent une importance particulière en raison de leur capacité à définir des distances métriques. Cette thèse explorera la propriété semi-définie positive pour une liste de matrices de similarité trouvées dans la littérature. De plus, nous présentons de nouveaux résultats concernant les propriétés définie positive et semi-définie trois-positive de certains matrices de similarité. Une discussion détaillée des nombreuses applications de tous ces propriétés dans divers domaines est également établie.D'autre part, un problème récent de l'analyse matricielle implique l'étude des racines des matrices stochastiques, ce qui s'avère important dans les modèles de chaîne de Markov en finance. Nous étendons l'analyse de ce problème aux matrices doublement stochastiques semi-définies positives. Nous montrons d'abord certaines propriétés géométriques de l'ensemble de toutes les matrices semi-définies positives doublement stochastiques d'ordre n ayant la p-ième racine doublement stochastique pour un entier donné p . En utilisant la théorie des M-matrices et le problème inverse des valeurs propres des matrices symétriques doublement stochastiques (SDIEP), nous présentons également quelques méthodes pour trouver des classes de matrices semi-définies positives doublement stochastiques ayant des p-ièmes racines doublement stochastiques pour tout entier p.Dans le contexte du SDIEP, qui est le problème de caractériser ces listes de nombres réels qui puissent constituer le spectre d’une matrice symétrique doublement stochastique, nous présentons quelques nouveaux résultats le long de cette ligne. En particulier, nous proposons d’utiliser une méthode récursive de construction de matrices doublement stochastiques afin d'obtenir de nouvelles conditions suffisantes indépendantes pour SDIEP. Enfin, nous concentrons notre attention sur les spectres normalisés de Suleimanova, qui constituent un cas particulier des spectres introduits par Suleimanova. En particulier, nous prouvons que de tels spectres ne sont pas toujours réalisables et nous construisons trois familles de conditions suffisantes qui affinent les conditions suffisantes précédemment connues pour SDIEP dans le cas particulier des spectres normalisés de Suleimanova. / Matrix theory has shown its importance by its wide range of applications in different fields such as statistics, machine learning, economics and signal processing. This thesis concerns three main axis related to two fundamental objects of study in matrix theory and that arise naturally in many applications, that are positive semi-definite matrices and doubly stochastic matrices.One concept which stems naturally from machine learning area and is related to the positive semi-definite property, is the one of similarity matrices. In fact, similarity matrices that are positive semi-definite are of particular importance because of their ability to define metric distances. This thesis will explore the latter desirable structure for a list of similarity matrices found in the literature. Moreover, we present new results concerning the strictly positive definite and the three positive semi-definite properties of particular similarity matrices. A detailed discussion of the many applications of all these properties in various fields is also established.On the other hand, an interesting research field in matrix analysis involves the study of roots of stochastic matrices which is important in Markov chain models in finance and healthcare. We extend the analysis of this problem to positive semi-definite doubly stochastic matrices.Our contributions include some geometrical properties of the set of all positive semi-definite doubly stochastic matrices of order n with nonnegative pth roots for a given integer p. We also present methods for finding classes of positive semi-definite doubly stochastic matrices that have doubly stochastic pth roots for all p, by making use of the theory of M-Matrices and the symmetric doubly stochastic inverse eigenvalue problem (SDIEP), which is also of independent interest.In the context of the SDIEP, which is the problem of characterising those lists of real numbers which are realisable as the spectrum of some symmetric doubly stochastic matrix, we present some new results along this line. In particular, we propose to use a recursive method on constructing doubly stochastic matrices from smaller size matrices with known spectra to obtain new independent sufficient conditions for SDIEP. Finally, we focus our attention on the realizability by a symmetric doubly stochastic matrix of normalised Suleimanova spectra which is a normalized variant of the spectra introduced by Suleimanova. In particular, we prove that such spectra is not always realizable for odd orders and we construct three families of sufficient conditions that make a refinement for previously known sufficient conditions for SDIEP in the particular case of normalized Suleimanova spectra.