Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:15:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2007- Camila Silva de Oliveira.pdf: 2674725 bytes, checksum: dfd3ff2b9c6a77353a011a46e2ecb466 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-16 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Snails are invertebrate of great importance for the human and veterinary medicine, therefore they serve as intermediate host of some parasites, being able to acometer animal or human people. The snail Achatina Fulica is an intermediate host of nematodes like Angiostrongylus spp. These snails had been introduced in Brazil as an attempt to substitute traditional escargot, however the great creations had not provided the waited profit and the criation had been abandoned. The Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii is an originary plant of the African continent and is largely used as ornamental plant. This plant, however, is classified as toxic by the SINITOX Sistema Nacional de Informa??es T?xico- Farmacol?gicas. So the present study intended to evaluate the consequences of the use of the latex of Euphorbia splendens var hislopii on the metabolism of carbohydrates of Achatina fulica. For the determination of the subletal Dose groups with thirty animals had been displayed to the latex in the concentrations of 1%, 2,5%, 5%, 7,5%, 12,5%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, being Concentration Dose 50 (CL50) 11,2%. The values observed for the concentration of glycogen in the digestive gland and the cefalopodal mass had demonstrated that the exposition after had extremely significant difference only in the first day after displayed. The analysis of polynomial regression demonstrated to have one strong positive relation (r2=0,95) enters the glycogen concentration in the cefalopodal mass of snail displayed to the CL50 and snails of control group after to long of the time the exposition to the latex. When comparing the glucose levels in hemolinfa of displayed snails to CL50 and snails of control group in function of the time after the exposition in days, the polynomial regression evidenced that these levels increase as the continuation of the days. The exposition of the A. fulica to the CL50 of the latex of Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii make a reduction in the deposits of glycogen in digestive gland of the clam, presented in a delayed effect on the deposits of glycogen of the cefalopodal mass of the snails, did not have significant variations in the glucose content in hemolinfa of A. fulica displayed to the latex. Although in the first dissection day has been found a bigger concentration of free glucose level in hemolinfa. The exposition to the latex of E. splendens var. hislopii make a significant reduction in the concentration of galactogen in albumen gland of the snail. / Os moluscos s?o invertebrados de grande import?ncia para a medicina humana e veterin?ria, pois servem como hospedeiros intermedi?rios de v?rios parasitos, podem acometer animais ou o homem. O molusco Achatina fulica em especial, ? hospedeiro intermedi?rio de nemat?ides do g?nero Angiostrongylus spp. Estes moluscos,foram introduzidos no Brasil como uma tentativa de substituir o tradicional escargot, por?m as grandes cria??es n?o proporcionaram o lucro esperado e os criadouros foram abandonados. A Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii ? uma planta origin?ria do continente africano e ? muito utilizada como planta ornamental, devido ao seu f?cil cultivo. Esta planta, por?m, ? classificada como t?xica pelo SINITOX Sistema Nacional de Informa??es T?xico- Farmacol?gicas. Assim sendo, o presente estudo pretendeu avaliar as conseq??ncias do uso do l?tex de Euphorbia splendens var hislopii sobre o metabolismo de carboidratos de Achatina fulica. Para a determina??o da dose subletal grupos com trinta animais foram expostos ao l?tex nas concentra??es de 1%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 12.5%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 50%, 75% e 100%, sendo a concentra??o letal 50 (CL50) 11,2% . Os valores observados para a concentra??o de glicog?nio na gl?ndula digestiva e na massa cefalopodal demonstraram que houve diferen?a significativa apenas no primeiro dia ap?s a exposi??o a CL50. A an?lise de regress?o polinomial demonstrou haver uma forte rela??o positiva (r2=0,95) entre a concentra??o de glicog?nio na massa cefalopodal de moluscos expostos a CL50 e moluscos do grupo controle ao longo do tempo ap?s a exposi??o ao l?tex. Ao comparar os n?veis de glicose na hemolinfa de moluscos expostos a CL50 e de moluscos controles em fun??o do tempo ap?s a exposi??o em dias, a regress?o polinomial evidenciou que esses n?veis aumentam conforme o prosseguimento dos dias. A exposi??o de A. fulica ? CL50 do l?tex de E. splendens var. hislopii provocou a redu??o nos dep?sitos de glicog?nio na gl?ndula digestiva, e um efeito tardio sobre os dep?sitos de glicog?nio da massa cefalopodal, e n?o apresentou varia??es significativas no conte?do de glicose na hemolinfa de A. fulica exposta ao l?tex. Embora nos primeiros dias de disseca??o tenha sido encontrado um maior n?vel de glicose livre circulante na hemolinfa. A exposi??o ao l?tex de E. splendens var. hislopii provocou uma significativa redu??o na concentra??o de galactog?nio na gl?ndula de alb?men de A. fulica.

I studied carotenoids in the eggs of American coots (<i>Fulica americana</i>) from 3 study sites in Saskatchewan, Canada. I supplemented two diet types designed to reduce carotenoids in the diet of laying coots to investigate the relationship of carotenoids and the size of eggs and to examine the allocation of carotenoids into eggs.</p><p>In chapter 2, I examined influences of local environment, food quantity and food quality on egg size. Carotenoid content and stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in yolk were measured and used to elucidate whether variation in type of food eaten contributes to egg size. By analyzing isotopes in coot tissues, I confirmed that coots use endogenous lipid reserves for egg formation but not endogenous protein reserves, and the size of eggs is more dependent on exogenous sources of nutrients. My data demonstrate that carotenoids are not causal in egg size, but are components of natural, high quality diets.</p> <p>Carotenoids are obtained through the diet and deposited into egg yolk. It has been hypothesized that concentrations and percentages of individual carotenoids can be labile and dependent on diets or maintained in an optimal balance to meet requirements of embryos. In chapter 3, I investigate deposition of carotenoids in egg yolk among nesting locales, among hens within a site and among treatments in a diet manipulation experiment. My data show maintenance in the percent composition of a suite of 3 important carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin and âcarotene, independent of scale of investigation and in contrast to other individual carotenoids that appear to vary in proportions based on diet. These results suggest that birds can maintain nutritional balances in their eggs despite variation in diets.</p><p>In chapter 4, I tested 3 hypotheses regarding the apportionment of carotenoids into egg yolk over the laying sequence. Without exception, concentrations of these nutrients have previously been shown to decline with egg sequence. In contrast to these findings, coots actually increased the carotenoid concentration in yolks over the laying sequence. My experimental evidence supports the explanation that this pattern of deposition depends on carotenoid availability to the laying female.

I studied carotenoids in the eggs of American coots (<i>Fulica americana</i>) from 3 study sites in Saskatchewan, Canada. I supplemented two diet types designed to reduce carotenoids in the diet of laying coots to investigate the relationship of carotenoids and the size of eggs and to examine the allocation of carotenoids into eggs.</p><p>In chapter 2, I examined influences of local environment, food quantity and food quality on egg size. Carotenoid content and stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in yolk were measured and used to elucidate whether variation in type of food eaten contributes to egg size. By analyzing isotopes in coot tissues, I confirmed that coots use endogenous lipid reserves for egg formation but not endogenous protein reserves, and the size of eggs is more dependent on exogenous sources of nutrients. My data demonstrate that carotenoids are not causal in egg size, but are components of natural, high quality diets.</p> <p>Carotenoids are obtained through the diet and deposited into egg yolk. It has been hypothesized that concentrations and percentages of individual carotenoids can be labile and dependent on diets or maintained in an optimal balance to meet requirements of embryos. In chapter 3, I investigate deposition of carotenoids in egg yolk among nesting locales, among hens within a site and among treatments in a diet manipulation experiment. My data show maintenance in the percent composition of a suite of 3 important carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin and âcarotene, independent of scale of investigation and in contrast to other individual carotenoids that appear to vary in proportions based on diet. These results suggest that birds can maintain nutritional balances in their eggs despite variation in diets.</p><p>In chapter 4, I tested 3 hypotheses regarding the apportionment of carotenoids into egg yolk over the laying sequence. Without exception, concentrations of these nutrients have previously been shown to decline with egg sequence. In contrast to these findings, coots actually increased the carotenoid concentration in yolks over the laying sequence. My experimental evidence supports the explanation that this pattern of deposition depends on carotenoid availability to the laying female.

Reconstruction studies of seasonal rainfall utilizing stable isotope based proxy approach suffer from the limitations of time resolutions. Conventional methods and archives limit the achievable resolution to annual scales. However, high resolution reconstruction (seasonal to sub-weekly scale) can be achieved in proxy records where growth rates are high enough to leave spatial signatures in an organically or inorganically deposited layer such as growth bands. In this study, aragonitic skeleton of the gastropod Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, Giant African Land Snails) is investigated with an aim to achieve sub-weekly scale reconstruction of the Indian monsoon rainfall. These terrestrial gastropods are native of Africa and highly invasive. Their evolution in the geological time period dates back to the Pliocene and is presently distributed across the tropical belt. They exhibit a high growth rate in the presence of water and high relative humidity in the environment. As a result, they are ideally suited for the task of palaeo seasonality reconstruction. The isotopic patterns recorded in their growth bands reveal composition of environmental water at seasonal time scales. In vitro studies were carried out on L. fulica to estimate their growth rates and growth responses to changes in the physical conditions within the culture chamber. The Indian monsoon rainfall exhibits characteristic dry spells that are generally sandwiched between periods of active phases of high rainfall during the South West monsoon season. These dry spells are typically characterized by rainfall with low intensity. Isotope fingerprinting of the rain water at daily time resolution, covering the years of 2007-10 exhibited distinct isotopic ratios for the dry and wet spells. Dry spells were clearly demarcated in the record with isotopically enriched signature. In addition, the study indentified the role of three distinct moisture sources on δ18O of rain water at Bangalore, India. The variability in the oxygen isotopic composition of the Indian monsoon rainfall is predominantly controlled by this source moisture variability at inter annual time scales, while temperature and amount of rainfall tend to dominate the variability in the precipitation isotopes at seasonal and weekly scales. Simultaneous isotopic analyses of both rainwater and shell carbonates growth bands were undertaken to understand their relationship to aid in high resolution reconstruction. Carbonate found in the growth bands of the gastropods, which is precipitated under equilibrium condition from rainwater, preserves the signature of rainfall. This provides an opportunity to reconstruct rainfall parameters (i.e. amount and moisture sources) knowing the variability in shell carbonates. Stable isotopic ratios measured across the growth bands of live shell specimens collected from the southern and eastern Indian regions (Bangalore and Kolkata, respectively) were compared with the rainfall isotope ratios at these two locations; signature of dry spells were clearly identified from the study of isotopic composition in the growth bands of the gastropod specimens. The approach was also extended to older samples from historical archives from eastern Indian region (Kolkata, East India). Individual specimens belonging to the same species of gastropod, which were collected during the monsoon season of the year 1918 were used for reconstructing the seasonal pattern in monsoon rainfall over the region. The record of variation in the isotopic composition seen in the shell was compared with the rainfall data from Indian Metrological Division observatory at Kolkata station. The year 1918 was characterized as a major drought year and the signature of dry period was seen preserved in the specimen. The work under taken in this thesis will widen the scope of seasonality reconstruction using terrestrial shell fossils from palaeo records, which have been rarely investigated in paleoclimate studies from the perspective of understanding the seasonal precipitation variability.

Reconstruction studies of seasonal rainfall utilizing stable isotope based proxy approach suffer from the limitations of time resolutions. Conventional methods and archives limit the achievable resolution to annual scales. However, high resolution reconstruction (seasonal to sub-weekly scale) can be achieved in proxy records where growth rates are high enough to leave spatial signatures in an organically or inorganically deposited layer such as growth bands. In this study, aragonitic skeleton of the gastropod Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, Giant African Land Snails) is investigated with an aim to achieve sub-weekly scale reconstruction of the Indian monsoon rainfall. These terrestrial gastropods are native of Africa and highly invasive. Their evolution in the geological time period dates back to the Pliocene and is presently distributed across the tropical belt. They exhibit a high growth rate in the presence of water and high relative humidity in the environment. As a result, they are ideally suited for the task of palaeo seasonality reconstruction. The isotopic patterns recorded in their growth bands reveal composition of environmental water at seasonal time scales. In vitro studies were carried out on L. fulica to estimate their growth rates and growth responses to changes in the physical conditions within the culture chamber. The Indian monsoon rainfall exhibits characteristic dry spells that are generally sandwiched between periods of active phases of high rainfall during the South West monsoon season. These dry spells are typically characterized by rainfall with low intensity. Isotope fingerprinting of the rain water at daily time resolution, covering the years of 2007-10 exhibited distinct isotopic ratios for the dry and wet spells. Dry spells were clearly demarcated in the record with isotopically enriched signature. In addition, the study indentified the role of three distinct moisture sources on δ18O of rain water at Bangalore, India. The variability in the oxygen isotopic composition of the Indian monsoon rainfall is predominantly controlled by this source moisture variability at inter annual time scales, while temperature and amount of rainfall tend to dominate the variability in the precipitation isotopes at seasonal and weekly scales. Simultaneous isotopic analyses of both rainwater and shell carbonates growth bands were undertaken to understand their relationship to aid in high resolution reconstruction. Carbonate found in the growth bands of the gastropods, which is precipitated under equilibrium condition from rainwater, preserves the signature of rainfall. This provides an opportunity to reconstruct rainfall parameters (i.e. amount and moisture sources) knowing the variability in shell carbonates. Stable isotopic ratios measured across the growth bands of live shell specimens collected from the southern and eastern Indian regions (Bangalore and Kolkata, respectively) were compared with the rainfall isotope ratios at these two locations; signature of dry spells were clearly identified from the study of isotopic composition in the growth bands of the gastropod specimens. The approach was also extended to older samples from historical archives from eastern Indian region (Kolkata, East India). Individual specimens belonging to the same species of gastropod, which were collected during the monsoon season of the year 1918 were used for reconstructing the seasonal pattern in monsoon rainfall over the region. The record of variation in the isotopic composition seen in the shell was compared with the rainfall data from Indian Metrological Division observatory at Kolkata station. The year 1918 was characterized as a major drought year and the signature of dry period was seen preserved in the specimen. The work under taken in this thesis will widen the scope of seasonality reconstruction using terrestrial shell fossils from palaeo records, which have been rarely investigated in paleoclimate studies from the perspective of understanding the seasonal precipitation variability.