The Moche fineline painting corpus contains hundreds of representations of winged figures, but these have never been analyzed as a group. This thesis is an investigation of these winged figures, focusing on iconographic methodology. I have identified and categorized representations of birds (ducks, the Falconidae family, owls,hummingbirds, vultures and condors, etc.), mammals (bats) and insects (dragonflies) in the fineline paintings. Special attention has been paid to genus and family, including the attributes and behaviors of these animals. This has yielded several important observations about how the Moche represented and linked winged figures. In the second part of this thesis I use semiotic analysis to consider winged figures as symbols rather than naturalistic representations. I also examine anthropomorphic winged figures, and analyze the interpretive possibilities and the implications of these interpretations. / text

Tyrimo medžiaga (žirgelių lervos, išnaros ir suaugėliai) buvo rinkta 2008 – 2009 metais Nemuno ir Dauguvos takoskyroje esančiuose nenuotakiuose ežeriukuose Gražutės regioninio parko bei Smalvų-Smalvykščio kraštovaizdžio draustinio administracinėse teritorijose. Šiame darbe siekiama įvertinti žirgelių rūšių įvairovę ir jų pasiskirstymo ypatumus nenuotakiuose ežeruose. Tyrimams pasirinkta 31 nenuotakus ežeras, kurie pagal dydį, savo apyežerių plotus, hidrologinę būklę buvo suskirstyti į tris atskiras grupes. Juose buvo užregistruotos 35 žirgelių rūšys, iš kurių 6 įrašytos į LRK ir 3 į ES buveinių direktyvos (92/43/EEC) II priedą. Tarp ištirtų ežerų, remiantis rūšinės sudėties stabilumo skaičiuokle (Nestedness temperature calculator (NTC)), patvariausias žirgelių rūšių rinkinys nustatytas tik antros grupės ežeruose T = 31,75° (p = 0,06). Būdingos trijų ežerų grupėse rūšys nesutapo (W > 51%). Nenuotakių nedidelių ežerų kaip žirgelių buveinių svarbą patvirtina indikatorinės rūšys (sutinkamumas nuo 15% iki 40% ežerų), kurios yra skirtingos visoms ežerų grupėms (išskyrus vieną – Leucorrhinia albifrons), kuri sutapo pirmai ir antrai ežerų grupėms). Tarp indikatorinių rūšių patenka net 5 Lietuvos raudonosios knygos rūšys. / Material (dragonfly larvae, exuviae and imagos) for the study were gathered in 2008 - 2009 in closed lakes of Nemunas and Daugava basins watershed, which are located in Gražutė regional park and Smalvas-Smalvykštis landscape reserve. This work aims to evaluate the dragonfly species diversity and distribution characteristics in closed lakes. 31 closed lakes were selected for research, which according to hydrological conditions and shore size were divided into three groups. 35 species of dragonfly were recorded, of which 6 are enrolled in the Red list of Lithuania and 3 to EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) Annex II. According to Nestedness temperature calculator the most durable species complex of dragon-fly among investigated lakes occurred in second group of lakes, only T = 31.75 ° (p = 0.06). Characteristic dragonfly species for all three of groups lakes were differed (W> 51%). The importance of small closed lake as a dragonfly habitat as well confirms the fact that all indicator species (abundant from 15% to 40% of lakes) were different for all groups of lakes(except one Leucorrhinia albifrons which coincided to first and second groups of lakes). Among indicator species there were five species of the Red list of Lithuania.

Libellulidae compreende a maior família de Anisoptera com mais de mil espécies, sendo uma das mais abundantes de Odonata. As investigações do padrão de relacionamento filogenético entre os gêneros dessa família têm sido demonstradas complexas, com hipóteses largamente divergentes, sendo as análises consideradas complicadas. Nesse trabalho é apresentada pela primeira vez uma análise cladística de uma de suas maiores subfamílias \'Sympetrinae\' baseada em 171 caracteres morfológicos de adultos com ênfase no grupo com a armadura femoral especializada (Erythemismorpha) que contém os gêneros Acisoma, Carajathemis, Cyanothemis, Erythemis, Porpax, Rhodopygia, Rhodothemis e Viridithemis. Representantes de quase todas as subfamílias de Libellulidae, assim como de todos os gêneros de \'Sympetrinae\' foram incluídos, totalizando 69 táxons terminais. Essa ampla amostragem objetivou testar de modo robusto o monofiletismo de Erythemismorpha e identificar grupos monofiléticos em \'Sympetrinae\'. Duas análises diferentes foram executadas uma com a parcimônia de Fitch e outra a de Sankoff, ambas com diferentes esquemas de ponderação de caracteres. A parcimônia de Sankoff foi utilizada para minimizar a influência dos \"gaps\" e demonstrou ser inapropriada para cálculos de índices de estabilidade com técnicas de reamostragem devido às exigências computacionais. Erythemismorpha foi demonstrado monofilético e além dos gêneros previamente citados inclui pelo menos Erythrodiplax castanea. Os gêneros Rhodothemis, Rhodopygia e Acisoma também tiveram suas hipóteses de monofiletismo suportas, enquanto Erythemis demonstrou ser parafilético em quase todas as árvores contrariando resultados anteriores. A maior parte dos nós internos de Eyrthemismorpha é inconclusiva, no entanto Cyanothemis + Porpax, assim como Carajathemis + Rhodopygia apresentaram suporte alto. A composição completa de Erythemismorpha permanece em aberto e dados de outras fontes devem ser incorporados. Também são discutidos extensivamente alguns conceitos equivocados sobre homoplasia e suas implicações em relação aos caracteres da venação alar em Anisoptera, advogando em favor da prevalência do padrão sobre o processo no paradigma da cladística. Defende-se homoplasia como um erro, um erro no estabelecimento da homologia primária, portanto, convergência reversão e conceitos similares, ligados ao processo e fortemente dependes de hipótese ad hoc não são concretos e tampouco observados no mudo real / Libellulidae comprises the largest family of Anisoptera with more than a thousand of species and one of the most abundant among dragonflies\' families. The investigations of its phylogenetic pattern of relationships, especially among their genera have been shown complex, with widely divergent hypotheses, and considered tricky. A first cladistic analysis of \'Sympetrinae\' based on 171 characters from adults morphology, with an emphasis on the \'armed leg group\' (Erythemismorpha) including the genera Acisoma, Carajathemis, Cyanothemis, Erythemis, Porpax, Rhodopygia, Rhodothemis and Viridithemis is presented here. Representatives of almost all Libellulidae subfamilies, as well as all genera of \'Sympetrinae\' were also included, summing up a total of 69 terminal taxa. This broad sampling aimed to provide a strong test to hypothesis of monophyly of Erythemismorpha and identify monophyletic groups in \'Sympetrinae\'. Two different analyzes were performed, each Fitch and Sankoff parsimony, both with distinct weighting schemes. The Sankoff parsimony was adopted to minimize the influence of \'gaps\' on the results, but proved be inappropriate for to obtain stability indexes with resampling techniques, due to the high cost of computational requirements. Erythemismorpha was shown be monophyletic and further than to those genera previously cited, also includes, at least Erythrodiplax castanea. The genera Acisoma, Rhodothemis, and Rhodopygia were has each their hypotheses of monophyly also supported by the analyses performed here, however Erythemis showed be paraphyletic in almost all trees contradicting previous results. Almost all of the internal nodes of Erythemismorpha are inconclusive, however Cyanothemis + Porpax, as well as Carajathemis + Rhodopygia presents both high support. The entire composition of Erythemismorpha still open, pending the inclusion of other data sources. Also was discussed the misconceptions about homoplasy and its implications on venational characters of Anisoptera dragonflies. Is advocated the already discussed prevalence of pattern over process in cladistics paradigm. Homoplasy in cladistics is an error, more precisely an error of establishment of homologues (primary homology), thus convergence, reversal and similar terms are process tied ad hoc hypotheses over a pattern of inclusive hierarchy and not is concrete neither observable in real world

<p>Many prey species are able to develop different morphological structures as defence against</p><p>for example predators. Some of these structures are induced only by individuals exposed to a</p><p>predator. This phenomenon is called phenotypic plasticity. In this paper we examine whether</p><p>cuticle thickness in Leucorrhinia dubia (Odonata) larvae differed between specimens caught</p><p>in fish containing lakes and fish-free lakes respectively. We measured the thickness of the</p><p>cuticle from four different parts of the larvae; profemur, pronotum, ninth segment sternite and</p><p>ninth segment tergite. Our results showed a significantly thicker exocuticle on profemur in</p><p>larvae with a head width bigger than 4.5 mm caught in lakes with fish. The smaller larvae</p><p>showed a tendency to have thinner exocuticle on profemur in presence of fish. We discuss the</p><p>probability that the differences in exocuticle thickness on profemur could be some kind of</p><p>trade-off situation. The results also showed a tendency among the large larvae; the large</p><p>individuals from lakes containing fish had a slightly thicker exocuticle on pronotum than the</p><p>bigger individuals from fish-free lakes.</p>

Many prey species are able to develop different morphological structures as defence against for example predators. Some of these structures are induced only by individuals exposed to a predator. This phenomenon is called phenotypic plasticity. In this paper we examine whether cuticle thickness in Leucorrhinia dubia (Odonata) larvae differed between specimens caught in fish containing lakes and fish-free lakes respectively. We measured the thickness of the cuticle from four different parts of the larvae; profemur, pronotum, ninth segment sternite and ninth segment tergite. Our results showed a significantly thicker exocuticle on profemur in larvae with a head width bigger than 4.5 mm caught in lakes with fish. The smaller larvae showed a tendency to have thinner exocuticle on profemur in presence of fish. We discuss the probability that the differences in exocuticle thickness on profemur could be some kind of trade-off situation. The results also showed a tendency among the large larvae; the large individuals from lakes containing fish had a slightly thicker exocuticle on pronotum than the bigger individuals from fish-free lakes.

Libellulidae compreende a maior família de Anisoptera com mais de mil espécies, sendo uma das mais abundantes de Odonata. As investigações do padrão de relacionamento filogenético entre os gêneros dessa família têm sido demonstradas complexas, com hipóteses largamente divergentes, sendo as análises consideradas complicadas. Nesse trabalho é apresentada pela primeira vez uma análise cladística de uma de suas maiores subfamílias \'Sympetrinae\' baseada em 171 caracteres morfológicos de adultos com ênfase no grupo com a armadura femoral especializada (Erythemismorpha) que contém os gêneros Acisoma, Carajathemis, Cyanothemis, Erythemis, Porpax, Rhodopygia, Rhodothemis e Viridithemis. Representantes de quase todas as subfamílias de Libellulidae, assim como de todos os gêneros de \'Sympetrinae\' foram incluídos, totalizando 69 táxons terminais. Essa ampla amostragem objetivou testar de modo robusto o monofiletismo de Erythemismorpha e identificar grupos monofiléticos em \'Sympetrinae\'. Duas análises diferentes foram executadas uma com a parcimônia de Fitch e outra a de Sankoff, ambas com diferentes esquemas de ponderação de caracteres. A parcimônia de Sankoff foi utilizada para minimizar a influência dos \"gaps\" e demonstrou ser inapropriada para cálculos de índices de estabilidade com técnicas de reamostragem devido às exigências computacionais. Erythemismorpha foi demonstrado monofilético e além dos gêneros previamente citados inclui pelo menos Erythrodiplax castanea. Os gêneros Rhodothemis, Rhodopygia e Acisoma também tiveram suas hipóteses de monofiletismo suportas, enquanto Erythemis demonstrou ser parafilético em quase todas as árvores contrariando resultados anteriores. A maior parte dos nós internos de Eyrthemismorpha é inconclusiva, no entanto Cyanothemis + Porpax, assim como Carajathemis + Rhodopygia apresentaram suporte alto. A composição completa de Erythemismorpha permanece em aberto e dados de outras fontes devem ser incorporados. Também são discutidos extensivamente alguns conceitos equivocados sobre homoplasia e suas implicações em relação aos caracteres da venação alar em Anisoptera, advogando em favor da prevalência do padrão sobre o processo no paradigma da cladística. Defende-se homoplasia como um erro, um erro no estabelecimento da homologia primária, portanto, convergência reversão e conceitos similares, ligados ao processo e fortemente dependes de hipótese ad hoc não são concretos e tampouco observados no mudo real / Libellulidae comprises the largest family of Anisoptera with more than a thousand of species and one of the most abundant among dragonflies\' families. The investigations of its phylogenetic pattern of relationships, especially among their genera have been shown complex, with widely divergent hypotheses, and considered tricky. A first cladistic analysis of \'Sympetrinae\' based on 171 characters from adults morphology, with an emphasis on the \'armed leg group\' (Erythemismorpha) including the genera Acisoma, Carajathemis, Cyanothemis, Erythemis, Porpax, Rhodopygia, Rhodothemis and Viridithemis is presented here. Representatives of almost all Libellulidae subfamilies, as well as all genera of \'Sympetrinae\' were also included, summing up a total of 69 terminal taxa. This broad sampling aimed to provide a strong test to hypothesis of monophyly of Erythemismorpha and identify monophyletic groups in \'Sympetrinae\'. Two different analyzes were performed, each Fitch and Sankoff parsimony, both with distinct weighting schemes. The Sankoff parsimony was adopted to minimize the influence of \'gaps\' on the results, but proved be inappropriate for to obtain stability indexes with resampling techniques, due to the high cost of computational requirements. Erythemismorpha was shown be monophyletic and further than to those genera previously cited, also includes, at least Erythrodiplax castanea. The genera Acisoma, Rhodothemis, and Rhodopygia were has each their hypotheses of monophyly also supported by the analyses performed here, however Erythemis showed be paraphyletic in almost all trees contradicting previous results. Almost all of the internal nodes of Erythemismorpha are inconclusive, however Cyanothemis + Porpax, as well as Carajathemis + Rhodopygia presents both high support. The entire composition of Erythemismorpha still open, pending the inclusion of other data sources. Also was discussed the misconceptions about homoplasy and its implications on venational characters of Anisoptera dragonflies. Is advocated the already discussed prevalence of pattern over process in cladistics paradigm. Homoplasy in cladistics is an error, more precisely an error of establishment of homologues (primary homology), thus convergence, reversal and similar terms are process tied ad hoc hypotheses over a pattern of inclusive hierarchy and not is concrete neither observable in real world

Concentrations of herbicides in our aquatic ecosystems increase more and more. Among these, the herbicide glyphosate is the most common one. This ecotoxicological study was performed in order to examine the toxic effect of the herbicide glyphosate on aquatic invertebrates. Odonata were selected as study organisms in order to serve as bio-indicators of environmental contamination. Two populations, each of two species (Erythromma najas and Libellula quadrimaculata) were collected from four different locations, to study inter-specific differences, as well as, differences among populations within a species, in response to herbicide exposure. The experiment was conducted for 15 days in a 2 x 4 factorial design with 4 replicates (n = 32). The most common brand of weed-killer ‘Roundup’ containing 7.2 gL-1 of glyphosate) was used as source of glyphosate. Glyphosate was applied at a concentration of 7.6 mgL-1 in the experiment equalling the high end of environmentally relevant concentrations of glyphosate present in contaminated shallow waters. Response variables measured were larval survival, growth and activity. The results showed that glyphosate exposure reduced the survival of the larvae, but the magnitude of the glyphosate effects depended on species identity of the larvae and varied also with population within species. This study clearly shows that herbicide effects on invertebrate fitness depends on species identity and may even vary within species from different populations, possibly due to evolved resistance of random genetic variations between populations or due to random genetic variation between populations.

Wetlands on the extensively afforested Tsitsikamma Plateau are prone to fire and according to foresters, they behave as fire channels that under bergwind conditions rapidly carry fire into plantations. The destruction of plantations causes great economic loss and MTO would therefore prefer to afforest some smaller wetlands to limit the fire hazard. This study was carried out in the middle of a drought period and sought to determine the influence of fire, plantation management and the environment on wetlands and its component species. This study of palustrine wetlands on the Tsitsikamma Plateau identified five wetland vegetation communities, in which plant species richness was relatively low. Plant compositional structure of wetlands is influenced by wetland location, the height of the adjacent plantation and fire frequency. This study found a pronounced plant species turnover from west to east and soil coarseness increased along the same gradient. Re-sprouters dominated the wetland communities in the Tsitsikamma but a few populations of the obligate re-seeding ‘Near threatened’ Leucadendron conicum rely on fire for rejuvenation purposes. Regarding dragonflies in wetlands, abundance was found to be low, while species richness was relatively high considering the absence of surface water. The study found that fire indirectly influenced dragonfly abundance and species composition by altering vegetation structure. Dragonfly abundance and species richness was generally higher in wetlands with older vegetation (≥ 9 years). Further, most dragonflies frequenting the palustrine wetland habitats were females. Seeing that female dragonflies spend most of their time away from prime breeding habitats to escape male harassment, the study indicated these wetlands as important refuge habitats for them. Dragonfly abundance is expected to increase once the drought ends; however, the overall patterns observed are likely to remain unchanged under wetter conditions. Narrow wetlands (< 10 m) are few on the plateau and it is not advisable to sacrifice wider wetlands in the Tsitsikamma. Further, with regards to ecological processes and wetlands’ influence on the surrounding Tsitsikamma matrix, more research is needed before wetlands may be sacrificed. To deal with the fire risk the Tsitsikamma environment poses to plantations, it is strongly recommended to establish and maintain a cleared buffer area between plantations and wetlands. Further, for vegetation rejuvenation purposes, it is important to burn wetlands at irregular intervals but not more frequently than every nine years and not less frequently than every 25-30 years.

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2016-08-10T17:58:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Fernanda Alves Martins - 2016.pdf: 7514352 bytes, checksum: 26ab210eab88a067ec233c173df6ef87 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-08-15T13:35:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Fernanda Alves Martins - 2016.pdf: 7514352 bytes, checksum: 26ab210eab88a067ec233c173df6ef87 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-15T13:35:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Fernanda Alves Martins - 2016.pdf: 7514352 bytes, checksum: 26ab210eab88a067ec233c173df6ef87 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The interactions between the organisms and their physical environment and among the organisms themselves occur at definite spatial scales, and give rise to spatial patterns that may be assessed to a better understanding of these relationships. Thus, in order to understand the variation in species diversity, it is necessary to link the scale in which the variation is measured to the scale in which the processes operate. The main objective of this work is thus to identify the factors that best explain the diversity of dragonflies’ tropical assemblages and determine how they interact across scales. The work is based on the Community Assembly conceptual framework that relies on the idea that community assembly is affected by spatial processes hierarchically arranged. Dragonflies are good models because they comprise two distinct groups of species regarding to body size, thermoregulatory responses and dispersal ability. Due to their ecological differences, they may respond differently to local as well as to regional environmental conditions. Despite of their ecological differences, our results suggest that richness patterns for both groups are affected by the same factors, i.e., they respond in a similar fashion to the analysed factors. In regional scales, environmental filters, such as temperature seasonality, affect species richness. The abundance is the main predictor of local species richness. Nevertheless, the assemblages’ compositional patterns are different. Comparatively, Zygoptera (low-dispersal group) assemblages are more affected by local scale processes than Anisoptera. Our results suggest a better integration of metacommunity theory (focused on the role of dispersal shaping different spatial dynamics in the assemblages) and community assembly theory. The fact that the dispersal processes is more important at smaller scales indicate the potential importance of occupancy dynamics at this scale, calling for explicitly incorporating dispersal, affecting the spatial dynamics at different spatial scales. Furthermore, our results suggest that rather than being mutually exclusive, neutral and deterministic processes acts jointly on community assembly. / As interações ecológicas entre os organismos e seus ambientes ocorrem em diferentes escalas espaciais, dando origem a padrões espaciais de composição e riqueza das espécies. O objetivo principal desta tese é investigar fatores que operam em diferentes escalas na estruturação das comunidades de libélulas tropicais. O estudo se apoia no marco conceitual de Community Assembly, que se baseia na ideia de que a organização das comunidades ecológicas é afetada por processos hierárquicos espacialmente organizados. Libélulas são bons modelos de estudo porque compreendem dois grupos de espécies que diferem em características ecofisiológica tais como tamanho corporal afetando as relações com seus ambientes locais e regionais, influenciando os padrões de diversidade resultantes. A subordem Zygoptera compreende organismos com menor tamanho corporal e possuem menor habilidade de dispersão enquanto que Anisoptera é composta por espécies com maior tamanho corporal e maior habilidade de dispersão. Apesar das diferenças ecofisiológicas, nossos resultados indicam que a riqueza de espécies nos dois grupos de libélulas responde de maneira similar aos fatores analisados. Em escalas regionais, a riqueza de espécies de ambos os grupos é influenciada de maneira consistente por filtros ambientais, tais como as variações sazonais da temperatura ambiente. Em escalas locais, a riqueza dos dois grupos é determinada primariamente pela abundância total. No entanto, os padrões de composição das comunidades são diferentes para Zygoptera e Anisoptera. As comunidades de Zygoptera são mais afetadas por fatores que ocorrem em escala local do que Anisoptera. Nossos resultados sugerem que a dispersão desempenha um importante papel em escalas espaciais reduzidas, indicando a importância que as dinâmicas de ocupação podem ter na formação das comunidades ecológicas. Nesse sentido, sugerimos uma maior integração da teoria de metacomunidades (que enfatiza a importância do processo de dispersão na formação das dinâmicas espaciais nas comunidades) e com a teoria de Community Asssembly, com a incorporação explícita do processo de dispersão, afetando as dinâmicas espaciais nas diferentes escalas. Além disso, nossos resultados sugerem que processos neutros e processos determinados pelo nicho não são mutuamente exclusivos, mas atuam conjuntamente na formação das comunidades ecológicas.

Thesis (MScConsEcol (Conservation Ecology and Entomology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The great pressures on freshwaters require their conservationists and managers to develop methods to rapidly and accurately assess their condition. Dragonflies are excellent indicators of habitat integrity and are effective organisms for this purpose. However, assessment must be done at the correct spatial scale. My aim here is to optimize the spatial resolution at which species are mapped, using three different concepts and methods in freshwater invertebrate distribution mapping, with special emphasis on IUCN Red Listing. The first is the extent of occurrence (EOO) concept, using the minimum convex polygon, and the second, the area of occupancy (AOO) concept, using IUCN and quaternary catchments. The third approach uses a river layer to compare the suitability of grids as opposed to catchments in mapping. In this study I found that area estimation based on minimum convex polygons should not be encouraged for aquatic organisms. This study also suggests that the IUCN concept of area of occupancy (AOO) should be redefined simply as occurrence, referring to known point-locality presences only and, if future data allow, to known absences. The IUCN extent of occurrence (EOO), for aquatic species, should be defined as ‘the sum of the smallest hydrological units identified of presently known, inferred or projected occurrences of a taxon, excluding cases of vagrancy, that are used to estimate the threat to a taxon’. A single hydrological unit is also the conservation or management unit. Currently, that unit is the quaternary catchment. Dragonflies have excellent potential as indicators of habitat integrity. For this purpose, my aim was to develop the Dragonfly Biotic Index (DBI) for South Africa and compare the DBI to another index, the Average Taxonomic Distinctness Index (AvTD), which was believed to have potential in assessments. The DBI and AvTD are correlated, which suggests that they could be used on a complementary basis to prioritize sites. The DBI is a low-cost, easy-to-use method and is already used for measuring habitat recovery. It has great potential for environmental assessment and monitoring freshwater biodiversity, especially as a complement to freshwater quality assessments that use macroinvertebrate scores. I thus recommend its integration into freshwater management and conservation schemes.