Coastlines are particularly susceptible to the necessary trade-offs which occur between different ecosystem services. Should the areas be managed for biodiversity or for people? Where sandy beaches are found there is usually a management decision to be made between managing for recreation or for biodiversity. Many popular tourist beaches (particularly those with a Beach Award) are often groomed with mechanical equipment to remove any stranded seaweed and associated litter which can get entangled in the wrack. This is likely to be having a negative impact on coastal biodiversity, with wide ranging implications for the entire habitat, including the intertidal zone, sand dunes and shorebirds. Beached wrack should be allowed to naturally decompose providing a habitat for numerous species of macro-invertebrates. These macro-invertebrate communities not only include many endemic species found exclusively along the strandline but they also provide a very rich source of food for shorebirds. The re-mineralised nutrients resulting from the decomposed macrophytes should then become available to provide a rich source of nutrients to dune, strandline and marine ecosystems populations of the strandline. In previous studies grooming has been shown to have a negative impact on the invertebrates of the strandline and this study reveals that tidal range has an effect on the impacts of grooming with a higher tidal range having a more negative impact on the invertebrates. A study to observe the impacts of grooming on both adult plant and seed bank communities of the sand dunes found that grooming is having a negative impact on these populations. Grooming is predominantly driven by beach managers who aspire to gain Beach Awards in order to attract tourists to their beaches. Using non-market valuation in the form of a stated preference choice experiment and a travel cost model, it was observed that Beach Awards are not valued by beach goers but are instead influenced to visit a particular beach by good bathing water quality, high levels of biodiversity and low levels of litter. It was also shown that stranded seaweed on the beach does not deter visitors. Future management suggestions include attempting to reduce the confusion arising from the presence of multiple beach awards by either removing them altogether or by making their criteria more clear and direct with consistency in their design and designation. Bathing water quality should be completely removed from the Beach Award system and real-time information in the form of electronic signage and a publicly available App should replace it.

Dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) (collectively DMSP/O) are produced by marine algae, including symbiotic algae within corals. These sulphur compounds are important not only in sulphur cycle dynamics but also in potentially mediating atmospheric conditions, alleviating the effects of climate change and contributing to reef health. Most research has focused on the production of DMSP and its major degradation product, the climatically active gas, dimethylsulphide (DMS) by Acropora corals in the Great Barrier Reef. However, mechanisms for the production and release of DMSP/O by different reef taxa is poorly understood. Recently the importance of mesophotic reefs as refugia for shallow water corals has been postulated, however their role in the marine sulphur cycle is unknown. This research aimed to improve our understanding of the contemporary and climate change induced seawater and tissue production of DMSP/O in a range of reef environments and taxa. This was achieved through a combination of laboratory and field - based studies, using modern and established techniques. An effect of both elevated temperature and OA on increased tissue and seawater concentrations of DMSP/O production is reported in field and laboratory studies. Contrasting effects of benthic cover on tissue DMSP/O distributions and seawater DMSP are also noted. The importance of the physical and hydrodynamic environment on biogeochemical connectivity both within a reef and between neighbouring reefs is also focussed on. Crucially, however, the novel tissue and seawater data from mesophotic sites suggests that deeper reefs could affect the biogeochemistry of their shallow water counterparts. The key finding from this work is that climate change will result in increased seawater DMSP concentrations via two mechanisms; through the increase of cellular production of DMSP/O in all reef taxa, and by increasing the biomass of prolific DMSP producers as reefs transition to a fleshy/macroalgal assemblage. Whilst this could potentially mediate the effects of climate change, it will probably also worsen overall reef health, lead to a restructuring of reef communities from the microbial level upwards and will have possibly permanent and deleterious effects on overall ecosystem function.

Submitted by (edna.saturno@ufrpe.br) on 2017-02-10T13:02:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Elvidio Landim do Rego Lima.pdf: 1105868 bytes, checksum: 6e2ae1a2b589a8183eb42000f88d5e6a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-10T13:02:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Elvidio Landim do Rego Lima.pdf: 1105868 bytes, checksum: 6e2ae1a2b589a8183eb42000f88d5e6a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-22 / Water and food are the main inputs in semi-intensive and intensive aquaculture. With increasing biomass, increases the food supply, nutrients and other substances that may compromise the water quality and producing effluents that can impact the receiving water body. The Fish Culture Station of Paulo Afonso has the condition of the Operating License to deploy a monitoring plan for its effluents. It also needs to attend to the granting of water availability and sewage discharge. Thus, the present work support the preparation of the Effluent Monitoring Plan of the Fish Culture Station of Paulo Afonso. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the water quality along the growing period and of effluents during draining and harvest in ponds of Astyanax lacustris (Reinhardt, 1874). Three contiguous ponds of 2000 m2 each were fertilized with cattle manure and supplied with water from the Moxotó reservoir. Water quality was evaluated during the supply and fortnightly at different depths. After nursery period (64±1 days), ponds were drained for the harvest of fingerlings, during which the quality of effluents was evaluated at every 25 cm of pond water level lowering. During culture period, pond water quality variables were within acceptable standards for the cultivation of tropical aquatic organisms, and no significant differences among depths were detected. However, significant differences were found among fortnights and ponds. With regard to effluent quality, it differed among ponds, but not among depths during draining. The effluents from the production of A. lacustris in EPPA are unsuitable to environmental standards for release in natural aquatic environments, with regard to phosphate forms, chlorophyll a and pH. / Água e ração são os principais insumos na aquicultura semi-intensiva e intensiva. Com o aumento da biomassa, aumenta o fornecimento de ração, nutrientes e outras substâncias que podem comprometer a qualidade da água gerando efluentes que podem impactar o corpo de água receptor. A Estação de Piscicultura de Paulo Afonso (EPPA) tem como condicionante da Licença de Operação implantar um Plano de Monitoramento de seus efluentes. Também, necessita atender às outorgas de disponibilidade hídrica e de lançamento de efluentes. Desta forma, o presente trabalho visa dar suporte à elaboração do plano de monitoramento dos efluentes da EPPA.Objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade da água de cultivo e o perfil de efluentes durante a drenagem e despesca em viveiros de Astyanax lacustris (Reinhardt, 1874). Selecionaram-se três viveiros contíguos, de 2000m2 cada, que foram adubados com esterco bovino e abastecidos com água do reservatório de Moxotó. Realizaram-se avaliações da qualidade da água no abastecimento e quinzenalmente nos viveiros em diferentes profundidades. Após o período de cultivo (64±1 dias), os viveiros foram drenados para a despesca dos alevinos, sendo a qualidade dos efluentes avaliada a cada 25 cm de rebaixamento da água. Durante o cultivo, as variáveis de qualidade da água estiveram dentro dos padrões aceitáveis para o cultivo de organismos aquáticos tropicais. Não se observou diferenças significativas entre as profundidades, mas foram detectadas diferenças significativas entre os períodos quinzenais e entre os viveiros. Com relação à qualidade dos efluentes, houve diferença entre viveiros, mas não entre as profundidades durante a drenagem e despesca. Os efluentes da produção de A. lacustris na EPPA não se adequam às normas ambientais para serem lançados em ambientes aquáticos naturais, com relação às formas fosfatadas, clorofila a e pH.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Áreas alagadas são importantes devido à grande biodiversidade que sustentam e aos serviços ambientais gerados pela sua conservação. Essas áreas, quando dominadas por macrófitas, tendem a suportar grande biodiversidade e assumir grande valor de conservação. Assim, o monitoramento do estabelecimento deste importante componente do ecossistema durante um projeto de recuperação de ecossistemas é importante para avaliar o sucesso da sua recuperação. Este trabalho teve como objetivo estimar aquantidade de biomassa por área acumulada em um ecossistema ao longo de um gradiente de recuperação. Através da classificação não supervisionada gerada a partir de de imagens de satélite de alta resolução (GeoEye-1) e amostragem destrutiva foram estimadas quantidades de biomassa por área em três alagados em recuperação na Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçú. A classificação não supervisionada se mostrou uma ferramenta acurada e eficiente no mapeamento de classes de vegetação. Os alagados estudados apresentam uma taxa de acúmulo de carbono anual estimada em 1,12 MgC.hec-1 atingindo um máximo de 5.55 MgC.hec-1 no terceiro ano. Adicionalmente, foi observada uma correlação negativa entre biomassa e profundidade. / Wetlands are important due to the substantial biodiversity they maintain and for the ecosystem services they provide. These areas when colonized by macrophytes tend to support great biodiversity and assume great value for conservation. Therefore monitoring the establishment of these important ecosystem features during the recovery of reconstructed wetlands is made necessary to evaluate the success of such projects. Here, the main objective was to estimate the amount of biomass accumulated by the macrophyte growth during the first 6 years of a wetland recovery project. From unsupervised classification generated from high resolution satellite imagery and destructive field sampling the accumulated biomass of macrophyte beds was estimated in 3 reconstructed wetlands at Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçú, Rio de Janeiro. Unsupervised classification was shown to be an effective and accurate tool for mapping vegetation classes. The studied wetlands showed an annual carbon accumulation rate of 1,12 MgC.hec-1 with apparent decrease in rate over time and with the maximum accumulated biomass of 5,55 MgC.hec-1 in the third year. A negative correlation between water depth and biomass was observed.

Les prairies semi-naturelles constituent des espaces multifonctionnels susceptibles de rendre de nombreux services à la société. Ce sont en particulier des agro-écosystèmes favorables à l’expression d’une grande diversité floristique et faunistique permettant de concilier enjeux écologiques et agronomiques. Ce travail de thèse vise à analyser (i) l'influence des facteurs environnementaux sur l'assemblage des communautés in situ et (ii) les relations entre la structure fonctionnelle des assemblages (i.e. valeurs de traits agrégées et diversité fonctionnelle) et leurs performances (i.e. production de biomasse et digestibilité de cette biomasse). Cette étude s'appuie sur des approches expérimentales et de terrain dans les prairies humides pâturées du Marais Poitevin. Nos résultats montrent des réponses très différentes des traits aériens et racinaires étudiés aux gradients de stress et de perturbation rencontrés dans ces prairies. Ils ont également permis de mettre en évidence l'influence prépondérante des valeurs de traits agrégées sur la fourniture de services écosystémiques (i.e. productivité et digestibilité du fourrage), en accord avec la "Biomass ratio hypothesis" énoncée par Grime. L'influence du niveau de diversité fonctionnelle sur les services rendus par les assemblages varie selon le service considéré. Contrairement aux résultats attendus selon la "Diversity hypothesis" énoncée par Tilman, le niveau de diversité fonctionnelle est lié négativement à la productivité des assemblages. En revanche, un effet positif de la diversité fonctionnelle sur la digestibilité a été mis en évidence. Cette étude a par ailleurs permis de montrer un compromis entre la productivité des assemblages et la digestibilité de la biomasse produite dans ces prairies humides. Ce travail suggère que des outils de diagnostics de la valeur fourragère du couvert peuvent être construits sur la base de la structure fonctionnelle des assemblages, et ce avec un haut niveau de fiabilité. Il met également en avant les bénéfices agronomiques associés à l'hétérogénéité des couverts végétaux rencontrés dans ces prairies. / Semi-natural grasslands form multifunctional areas susceptible to serve the society from many aspects. Indeed, they are agro-ecosystems that promote expression of a large floristic and faunistic diversity, which allows conciliating ecologic and agronomic issues. This PhD work aims at analysing (i) influence of environmental factors on natural communities' assembly rules and (ii) the relationships between the functional structure of assemblages (i.e. community weighted mean trait values and functional diversity) and their performances (i.e. biomass production and its digestibility). This study is based on both experimental and field approaches in the Marais Poitevin wet grasslands. Our results show that the studied aerial and root traits display a wide diversity of answers to stress gradients and disturbances encountered in these grasslands. Our results also highlighted the crucial influence of community weighted mean trait values on provision of ecosystem services (i.e. forage productivity and digestibility), in agreement with the Biomass ratio hypothesis set out by Grime. The influence of the functional diversity level on services provided by the assemblages differs depending on the service considered. Contrary to the results expected according to the Diversity hypothesis of Tilman, the functional diversity level is negatively correlated with the productivity of the assemblages. However, our study points to a positive feedback between functional diversity and digestibility. Furthermore, this study demonstrated the existence of trade-off between the productivity of assemblages and the digestibility of biomass produced in these wet grasslands. This work suggests that highly reliable tools can be established, based on the functional structure of assemblages, to evaluate the feeding value of a vegetal cover. This work finally illustrates the agronomic benefits associated with heterogeneous vegetal covers encountered in these grasslands.

Cross-curricular themes are important formative elements of education. A forest ecosystem is an environment with great importance and potential, and knowledge of forest ecosystem, processes taking place in it and human activities associated with it can be included in many educational areas. By combining these two phenomena we gain cross- curricular theme "Forest". A possible instrument for realization this theme is the forest pedagogy. In the theoretical part of the work is the term cross-curricular theme delineated and defined in general and also specifically on the example of cross-curricular theme "Forest". About the forest ecosystem are given knowledge that contribute to spreading the results of forestry research and to modernization of teaching about the forest ecosystem at elementary and secondary schools. The forest pedagogy is introduced as an instrument that can significantly contributes to deepen the learning points about "Forest" and its presentation as cross-curricular theme. In the practical part of this work are the results of a survey that contributed to the findings of the current state of implementation of cross-curricular theme "Forest" in teaching in elementary and secondary schools. They turned out, what is the awareness of forest pedagogy among teachers nowadays, and what...

Submitted by Jean Medeiros (jeanletras@uepb.edu.br) on 2016-08-19T14:06:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Rayssa Soares da Silva.pdf: 6993577 bytes, checksum: 4b28a1b3bf1dccef7a141f2729ec2180 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-19T14:06:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Rayssa Soares da Silva.pdf: 6993577 bytes, checksum: 4b28a1b3bf1dccef7a141f2729ec2180 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Seagrass beds are essential habitats for the high biodiversity in coastal environments. They provide nursery, feeding and shelter areas for many organisms. Despite its importance, the seagrass beds are among the most threatened coastal ecosystems on the planet and its influence on fish populations has been little studied in Brazil. The understanding of its influence on the dynamics of fish assemblages associated with these environments and the study of the feeding habits of the species that use them supports the development of new conservation policies of these habitats. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the composition, structure and feeding ecology of fish assemblages found in vegetated and unvegetated areas on the estuary of the Mamanguape River, Paraiba - Brazil, observing the variations in hydrological conditions between the dry and rainy periods. The values of abundance and biomass were higher in non-vegetated areas, although there was no significant difference in species diversity between study areas. Thus, the environmental stability of unvegetated areas proved to be an important factor in determining the biomass and richness patterns. In addition, it was observed that these areas are used by the species at different stages of their ontogenetic development according to the ratio of optimal foraging and the possibility of refuge from predation. Among the species captured in vegetated and unvegetated áreas on the estuary, the four most representative were selected for analysis of stomach contentes, according to their abundance. Of these, three were considered generalists and showed a high degree of individual specialization, supporting the hypothesis of niche variation proposed by Van Valen. Also, we observed the importance of intraspecific competition and the availability of food items in the intraindividual variation in the diet of the species. / Os bancos de fanerógamas marinhas são habitats essenciais para a elevada biodiversidade em ambientes costeiros, pois constituem áreas de berçário, alimentação e refúgio para diversos organismos. Apesar de sua importância, os bancos de fanerógamas estão entre os ecossistemas costeiros mais ameaçados do planeta e sua influência sobre a ictiofauna foi pouco estudada no Brasil. O entendimento da sua influência sobre a dinâmica das assembleias de peixes associados a estes ambientes e o estudo dos hábitos alimentares das espécies que os utilizam auxilia no desenvolvimento de novas políticas de conservação destes habitats. Deste modo, o objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a composição, estrutura e ecologia alimentar de assembleias de peixes encontradas em áreas vegetadas e não vegetadas do estuário do Rio Mamanguape, Paraíba – Brasil, observando as variações do regime hidrológico entre os períodos seco e chuvoso. Os valores de abundância e de biomassa foram maiores nas áreas não vegetadas, apesar de não haver diferença significativa da diversidade de espécies entre áreas estudadas. Deste modo, a estabilidade ambiental das áreas não vegetadas mostrou -se como fator importante na determinação dos padrões de biomassa e riqueza de espécies. Além disso, foi observado que essas áreas são utilizadas pelas espécies em diferentes fases do seu desenvolvimento ontogenético de acordo com a razão entre o forrageamento ótimo e a possibilidade de refúgio contra a predação. Dentre as espécies capturadas nas áreas vegetadas e não vegetadas do estuário do rio Mamanguape as mais representativas foram selecionadas, de acordo com sua abundância, para análise do conteúdo estomacal. Das quatro espécies, três delas foram consideradas generalistas e apresentaram um alto grau de especialização individual, corroborando com a hipótese da variação de nicho proposta por Van Valen. Além disso, observou-se a importância da competição intraespecífica e da disponibilidade de itens alimentares na variação intraindividual da dieta das espécies.

Resulting from the technological revolution over the last few decades, many software startup ecosystems have emerged around the globe. Boosted by the Internet, the omnipresence of mobile devices, and the abundance of cloud-based services, software companies with scalable business models, known as startups, became all the hype. With tech entrepreneurs as their main agents, some of these ecosystems have existed for over 50 years, while others are newly born. This difference in evolution and maturity makes comparing tech hubs a challenge. Moreover, if they are to evolve towards fruitful and sustainable environments, nascent ecosystems need a clear vision of how to develop their community. This thesis presents a multiple-case study research in three different ecosystems, and it was divided in three phases. During the first phase, we analyzed the Israeli entrepreneurship ecosystem and, using grounded theory, created a conceptual generalized framework to map ecosystems. We also developed a methodology and a systematic interview protocol to be used to analyze any ecosystem. The second phase was performed in São Paulo, with the objective of refining and validating both the methodology and the conceptual framework. The second phase resulted in the discovery of how important it is to analyze ecosystem dynamics and evolution process, leading us to create a maturity model for software startup ecosystems. The maturity model was based on the conceptual model we created, mapping the most important factors that define an ecosystem. To validate and refine the Maturity Model created in the second phase, we ran a third case-study iteration in New York City. Based on the feedback from over a dozen experts, we generated the final model and a practical guide to determine an ecosystems maturity level. With this model, it is possible not only to compare different ecosystems, but also to identify gaps and propose customized practical actions that can yield meaningful improvements and lead ecosystems to the next level of development. / Resultado da revolução tecnológica das últimas décadas, vários ecossistemas de startups de software surgiram ao redor do globo. Acelerados pela Internet, pela onipresença dos dispositivos móveis e pela abundância de serviços de nuvem, empresas de software com modelos de negócio escalável, conhecidas como startups, se tornaram o assunto da moda. Com empreendedores de tecnologia como seus principais agentes, alguns desses ecossistemas já existem há mais de 50 anos, enquanto outros são apenas recém-nascidos. Essa diferença no grau de evolução e maturidade torna a comparação de aglomerados de tecnologia um desafio. Mais ainda, se alguns ecossistemas querem evoluir para um estágio próspero e sustentável, ecossitemas nascentes precisam de uma visão clara de como desenvolver suas comunidades. Esta tese apresenta nossa pesquisa baseada em um estudo de caso múltiplo em três diferentes ecossistemas, e foi dividade em três fases. Durante a primeira fase, nós analisamos o ecossistema empreendedor de Israel e, utilizando teoria fundamentada em dados, criamos um arcabouço conceitual que provê uma versão generalizada para mapear ecossistemas. Desenvolvemos, também, uma metodologia e um protocolo sistemático para entrevistas a serem usadas na análise de ecossistemas específicos. A segunda fase da pesquisa foi realizada em São Paulo, com o objetivo de refinar e validar a metodologia e o arcabouço conceitual. Esta fase resultou na descoberta de como é importante analisar a dinâmica e o processo de evolução dos ecossistemas, nos levando a criar um modelo de maturidade para ecossistemas de startups de software. O modelo de maturidade foi baseado no modelo conceitual que criamos, mapeando os fatores mais importantes que definem as características de um ecossistema. Para validar e refinar o modelo de maturidade criado na segunda fase, realizamos um terceiro estudo de caso em Nova Iorque que contou com o feedback de mais de uma dezena de especialistas. Geramos um modelo de maturidade final, um guia prático para determinar o nível de maturidade de cada ecossistema. Com esse modelo, é possível não somente comparar diferentes ecossistemas, como também identificar lacunas e propor ações práticas e personalizadas que podem resultar em melhorias significativas e levar ecossistemas ao próximo nível de desenvolvimento.

O conhecimento a respeito de mecanismos de reprodução e geração de diversidade genética de organismos do gênero Leishmania vem sendo alterado com o advento de novas tecnologias. Estudos de laboratório demonstraram ocorrência de reprodução sexuada experimentalmente em organismos do gênero Leishmania. Relatos na literatura mostram a ocorrência de híbridos no ambiente natural, associada a casos de leishmaniose tegumentar americana (LTA). A partir da caracterização fenotípica realizada utilizando anticorpos monoclonais e eletroforese de isoenzimas em linhagens isoladas de pacientes com LTA na região Amazônica do Brasil, sete isolados (M15983, M15984, M15987, M15988, M19672, M19676 e M19697) apresentaram um padrão intermediário entre as espécies L. (V.) shawi shawi e L. (V.) guyanensis. O presente estudo visou realizar a confirmação da identidade híbrida desses parasitas através da clonagem dos isolados, seguida da análise do polimorfismo pela clivagem do produto da reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR RFLP) tendo como alvo a enzima de choque térmico de 70 quilodaltons (hsp70). O hsp70 PCR RFLP também foi utilizado para análise comparativa da intensidade dos produtos de digestão, para estimar a ploidia dos híbridos e a proporção da herança dos alelos de hsp70. Foi realizada ainda, avaliação do comportamento biológico in vitro e experimental in vivo desses parasitas. A curva de crescimento foi realizada na 4° e 12° passagem após isolamento do parasita. Infecções experimentais de BALB/c foram realizadas para avaliação da evolução da infecção causada pelo isolado híbrido selvagem M19672 e sua comparação com as cepas parentais L. (V.) guyanensis e L. (V.) s. shawi. Foi determinada a carga parasitaria em pele, linfonodo e baço dos animais infectados e análise histopatológica das lesões. Os resultados obtidos a partir da clonagem dos isolados demonstraram que se tratavam de populações homogêneas de parasitas. Três isolados apresentaram padrão heterozigoto de L. (V.) guyanensis/L. (V.) s. shawi e quatro isolados apresentaram padrão homozigoto, apresentando somente os alelos de L. (V.) s. shawi. O ensaio de clivagem de sequências polimórficas amplificadas (SNP-CAPS) mostrou que os homozigotos apresentaram o mesmo número de cópias de hsp70 de L. (V.) s. shawi, enquanto que nos heterozigotos os alelos de L. (V.) guyanensis são mais representativos. Os parasitas híbridos apresentaram uma maior plasticidade fenotípica no crescimento in vitro. A infeção de BALB/c pelos parasitas híbridos apresentou uma evolução rápida tendo seu maior pico entre 14 e 28 dias pós-infecção, com regressão posterior da lesão. Esse período foi acompanhado da maior carga parasitária na pele e linfonodo. A infecção causada pelas cepas parentais mostrou aumento progressivo da lesão a partir do 21° dia de infecção para L. (V.) guyanensis e 35° dia para L. (V.) s.shawi. As alterações histopatológicas da lesão causada pelo híbrido apresentaram um padrão intermediário entre as de L. (V.) s. shawi e L. (V.) guyanensis, guardando, no entanto, mais características desta última. Nossos achados confirmam que as cepas analisadas são híbridas entre L. (V.) guyanensis e L. (V.) s. shawi da região do Baixo Amazonas, estado do Pará, área com alta ocorrência de casos de LTA na Brasil e grande diversidade de espécies do parasita, vetores e reservatórios / Knowledge about the mechanisms of reproduction and generation of genetic diversity of the genus Leishmania organisms has been changed with the advent of new technologies for it studies. Laboratory researches have shown the occurrence of experimentally sexual reproduction in the genus Leishmania. Reports in the literature shows the occurrence of hybrids in the natural environment, associated with cases of american cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). From the phenotypic characterization performed using monoclonal antibodies and isozymes in strains isolated from patients with ACL in the Amazon region of Brazil, seven isolates (M15983, M15984, M15987, M15988, M19672, M19676 and M19697) showed an intermediate pattern between species L. (V.) shawi shawi and L. (V.) guyanensis. This study aimed to perform the confirmation of the hybrid identity of these parasites by performing cloning of the isolated, followed by analysis of polymorphism by cleavage of the polymerase chain reaction product (PCR RFLP) targeting heat shock enzyme 70 kilodaltons (hsp70). The hsp70 PCR RFLP was also used for comparative analysis of the intensity of the digestion products to estimate the ploidy of the hybrids and the proportion of the inheritance of hsp70 alleles. It was also observed in this study the biological in vitro behavior of these parasites. The growth curve in vitro was held at 4° and 12° passage after the isolation of mammalian host. Experimental infections of BALB /c mice were carried out to evaluate the evolution of the infection caused by the hybrid wild strain M19672 compared to the parental strains L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (V.) s. shawi. The parasitic load was determined on the skin, lymph nodes and spleen of infected animals and histopathology of the lesions. The results from the cloning of the isolates showed that these are homogeneous populations of parasites. Three isolates presented heterozygous L.(V.) guyanensis/ L.(V.) s. shawi pattern and four presented homozygous pattern with only the L.(V.) s. shawi alleles. The cleavage amplified polymorphic sequences assay (SNP-CAPS) showed that the homozygous had the same number of copies of hsp70 L. (V.) s. shawi, whereas in the heterozygous alleles L. (V.) guyanensis are more representative. Hybrid parasites demonstrated a higher phenotypic plasticity growth in vitro. BALB /c infection by M19762 hybrids showed a rapid evolution with a peak between 14 and 28 days post-infection, with subsequent lesion regression. The period of greatest development of the lesion was accompanied by higher parasite burden in the skin and lymph nodes. The infection caused by parental strains showed a progressive increase in the lesion from the 21th day of infection for L. (V.) guyanensis, and day 35 PI for L. (V.) s. shawi The alteration in the histopathological lesions caused by the hybrid strain showed an intermediate pattern between those of L. (V.) s. shawi and L. (V.) guyanensis, keeping, however, more characteristics of the latter. Our findings confirm that the strains analyzed are true hybrids between L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (V.) s. shawi from Amazon region, Pará state, an area with high occurrence of ACL in Brazil and diversity of parasite species, vectors and reservoirs

As atividades antrópicas vêm continuamente influenciando as transformações no ordenamento do solo. A mineração, em suas fases de operação e desativação, é um dos maiores agentes de mudança do uso do solo e alteração da paisagem, o que, consequentemente, resulta em modificações na dinâmica das funções ecológicas, interferindo na oferta de serviços ecossistêmicos. Considerando a inclusão da abordagem dos serviços ecossistêmicos na avaliação ambiental de empreendimentos, a partir de um estudo de caso em uma mineração de rocha fosfática (apatita), localizada no município de Cajati - SP, o presente estudo teve como objetivo responder a seguinte questão: a atividade de mineração interfere na oferta local de serviços ecossistêmicos? Para isso, o método de análise utilizado foi fundamentado em um modelo de avaliação não monetária, com base nos padrões da atividade de mineração ao longo do tempo e do espaço, bem como na capacidade das diferentes classes de uso e ocupação do solo dessa atividade em fornecer serviços ecossistêmicos. O estudo concluiu que todos os serviços ecossistêmicos avaliados são afetados pelos impactos ambientais gerados pela atividade minerária, sendo que a alteração na extensão da área ocupada por floresta nativa - tanto redução quanto aumento - é o que mais influenciou no fornecimento de serviços ecossistêmicos potenciais. Além disso, a atividade minerária ao alterar o padrão de uso e ocupação do solo e, consequentemente, alterar as funções ecológicas locais, reduziu progressivamente a oferta de múltiplos serviços ecossistêmicos e, por outro lado, a recuperação das áreas degradadas pela atividade minerária, recobrindo o solo com espécies de gramíneas e promovendo o plantio de espécies arbóreas nativas, resultou no aumento da oferta local dos serviços ecossistêmicos potenciais. A partir destes resultados fica evidente a importância das ações de recuperação de áreas degradadas pela atividade minerária para o aumento da oferta de serviços ecossistêmicos. Dessa forma, recomendou-se inserir a análise de serviços ecossistêmicos na avaliação de impactos ambientais de empreendimentos minerários, visto que a ferramenta de avaliação baseada em serviços ecossistêmicos permite identificar conflitos e sinergias entre as atividades antrópicas e os ecossistemas, fornecendo subsídios para identificar medidas adicionais de mitigação de impactos e de compensação ambiental. / Human activities have continuously influenced changes in land management. Mining in its operational and decommissioning stages, is one of the biggest agents of change in the landscape and land use, which consequently results in changes in the dynamics of the ecological functions, interfering with the supply of ecosystem services. Taking into account the ecosystem services approach in environmental project assessments and based on a case study of a rock phosphate mining operation, located in the town of Cajati - SP, this study aimed to answer the following question: does the mining activity interfere in the local supply of ecosystem services? As such, the method of analysis was based on a framework of non-monetary assessment itself based on the established patterns of the mining activity over time and space, as well as the ability of different land uses to provide ecosystem services. The result of the study was that all the analyzed ecosystem services are affected by the environmental impacts of the mining activity, and that change in the extension of the native forest (as decrease as increase) is what most affects the potential supply of ecosystem services. Moreover, as the mining activity alters the pattern of land use and occupation and consequently alters the local ecological functions, it progressively reduces the provision of multiple ecosystem services. On the other hand, the recovery of degraded areas by mining activities, covering the soil with grass species and promoting the planting of native species, allowed for the growth of the local supply of potential ecosystem services. From these results, the importance of area recovery actions is evident in increasing the supply of ecosystem services. Thus, the inclusion of the analysis of ecosystem services in the environmental impact assessment of projects is recomended, as the assessment tool based on ecosystem services allows us to identify synergies and conflicts between human activities and ecosystems, providing input to identify additional actions for impact mitigation and environmental compensation.