The ion, energy, lipid, nitrogen and fat-soluble vitamin contents of freshly ovulated eggs and neonates of the viviparous lizard Niveoscincus metallicus were measured to quantify uptake of nutrients across the placenta. This species is particularly interesting because it has a chorio-allantoic placenta that is intermediate in complexity compared to viviparous species that have been the focus of other studies. Newly ovulated eggs have a wet mass of 79.6±4.6 mg and a dry mass of 41.8±2.8 mg, compared to the neonates that have a wet mass of 224.2±8.2 mg and dry mass of 37.9±1.2 mg. Thus, there is no significant net uptake of dry matter across the placenta. Neonates have significantly less lipid (6.2±0.4 mg) than eggs (12.7±0.5 mg) but no significant difference in nitrogen (4.1±0.3 mg) compared to eggs (4.5±0.2 mg). Energy densities reflect the protein and lipid composition and the relative dry masses of the eggs and neonates. There is significantly more energy (1029.1±80.0 J) in the egg than in the neonate (858.2±36.6 J). The increase in the ash content of the neonates (2.9±0.2 mg) compared to fresh eggs (2.1±0.3 mg) was not significant, even though there was an approximately threefold increase in the amount of sodium (0.11±0.01 mg in neonates, 0.34±0.01 mg in eggs) and potassium (0.12±0.017 in neonates, 0.40±0.01 mg in eggs) in neonates compared to eggs. There was no significant uptake of calcium and magnesium during development. The egg lipids consisted of triacylglycerol (66.7±2.3%), phospholipid (18.9±0.7%), cholesteryl ester (4.9±1.6%) and free cholesterol (5.6±1.5%). The egg phospholipid contained comparatively high proportions of arachidonic and eicosapentanoic acids but low levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), whereas the phospholipid of the neonate was greatly enriched in DHA. In the egg, the predominant vitamin E was α-tocopherol (62.6±3.4 mg g-1), although there was some γ-tocotrienol (3.5±0.3 mg g-1), and vitamin A was present (1.5±0.2 mg g-1). The ratio of neonate dry mass to egg dry mass of N. metallicus (0.91) lies between that of species with type I (0.78) and type III (1.70) chorio-allantoic placentae, confirming our conclusion that the placenta of N. metallicus is functionally intermediate, as well as intermediate in complexity, between these other two types.

Gravity Fails is a collection of four short stories and two memoirs that explore the ways in which characters adjust and fit into to a world that is destructive, fragmented and sometimes alien. Many of these pieces deal not with the moment of crisis, but with the aftermath. In "Gravity Fails," the young Danielle struggles to feel safe after the violent murder of her mother. Eliza Morrison negotiates the disappearance of her husband in "More Colors." "Following Rebecca" chronicles a woman's return to normalcy after her alcoholic husband divorces her. These characters are not happy; they are not healthy. Their lives have, in some way, been fragmented. But they find ways to move on by whatever possible means, and at their core, they are searching not just for a way to survive, but for a way to put themselves back together and find wholeness.

Global climate change is already contributing to the extirpation of numerous species worldwide, and sensitive species will continue to face challenges associated with rising temperatures throughout this century and beyond. It is especially important to evaluate the thermal ecology of endangered ectotherm species now so that mitigation measures can be taken as early as possible. A recent study of the thermal ecology of the federally endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila) suggested that they face major activity restrictions due to thermal constraints in their desert habitat, but that large shade-providing shrubs act as thermal buffers to allow them to maintain surface activity without overheating. We replicated this study but added a population of G. sila with no access to large shrubs to facilitate comparison of the thermal ecology of G. sila in shrubless and shrubbed populations. We found that G. sila without access to shrubs spent more time sheltering inside rodent burrows than lizards with access to shrubs, especially during the hot summer months. Lizards from a shrubbed population had higher midday body temperatures and therefore poorer thermoregulatory accuracy than G. sila from a shrubless population, suggesting that greater surface activity may represent a thermoregulatory tradeoff for G. sila. Lizards at both sites are currently constrained from using open, sunny microhabitats for much of the day during their short active seasons, and our projections suggest that climate change will exacerbate these restrictions and force G. sila to use rodent burrows for shelter even more than they do now, especially at sites without access to shrubs. The continued management of shrubs and of burrowing rodents at G. sila sites is therefore essential to the survival of this endangered species.

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With the maturity of conventional industrial robots, there has been increasing interest in designing robots that emulate realistic animal motions. This discipline requires careful and systematic investigation of a wide range of animal motions from biped, to quadruped, and even to serpentine motion of centipedes, millipedes, and snakes. Collecting optical motion capture data of such complex animal motions can be complicated for several reasons. Often there is the need to use many high-quality cameras for detailed subject tracking, and self-occlusion, loss of focus, and contrast variations challenge any imaging experiment. The problem of self-occlusion is especially pronounced for animals. In this thesis, we walk through the process of collecting motion capture data of a running lizard. In our collected raw video footage, it is difficult to make temporal correspondences using interpolation methods because of prolonged blurriness, occlusion, or the limited field of vision of our cameras. To work around this, we first make a model data set by making our best guess of the points' locations through these corruptions. Then, we randomly eclipse the data, use Gappy POD to repair the data and then see how closely it resembles the initial set, culminating in a test case where we simulate the actual corruptions we see in the raw video footage. / Master of Science

A plasticidade fenotípica do intestino está presente em diferentes grupos de vertebrados e permite ajustes de caráter antecipatório ou de curto prazo na capacidade funcional do intestino frente a flutuações previsíveis e não previsíveis na disponibilidade de alimento no ambiente. No presente trabalho, avaliamos as alterações sazonais na morfologia e na capacidade de oxidação de substratos energéticos no intestino médio de lagartos teiú Tupinambis merianae. A resposta ao jejum associado à depressão metabólica na dormência de inverno foi contrastada com as alterações após 20 dias de jejum na fase ativa. Grupos de animais jovens foram mortos em diferentes fases do primeiro ciclo anual e o intestino médio foi removido e pesado. Amostras do terço proximal do órgão foram transferidas para frascos contendo formaldeído tamponado e o restante do tecido foi picotado e amostras aleatórias foram congeladas em N2 líquido e transferidas para freezer -80 oC. Variáveis morfológicas foram analisadas em cortes histológicos de 5 μm de espessura utilizando-se o método estereológico. O teor de água e o de proteína solúvel e total foi medido nas amostras por meio de ensaios padrão; as atividades máximas de enzimas foram medidas por espectrofotometria em condições saturantes de substrato e cofatores. No outono, a massa relativa do intestino é 1,04% e diminui 23% durante a dormência, junto a uma redução na densidade de volume da mucosa e de superfície do epitélio, da altura máxima dos vilos e do conteúdo protéico total. O epitélio altera sua conformação estrutural, passando de colunar simples para pseudo-estratificado, sugerindo intensa atividade proliferativa. Após o despertar na primavera, há um aumento de mais de duas vezes da massa do intestino, com um aumento da densidade de superfície epitelial e, possivelmente, do comprimento e/ou diâmetro do órgão. Em animais submetidos ao jejum, a massa intestinal relativa diminui 49% em relação a animais alimentados, porém, a atrofia da mucosa é menos intensa e o epitélio é mais preservado, além de um aumento da espessura da túnica muscular. O tecido possui elevado potencial para o uso de diferentes substratos energéticos e o tipo preferencial seria regulado em função do estado nutricional e metabólico do animal. As enzimas glicolíticas HK, PK e LDH não variam ao longo do ciclo anual, assim como a transaminase AspAT. Por outro lado, a GDH, enzima da oxidação de aminoácidos, a HOAD, enzima da β- oxidação lipídica e a CS, indicadora da capacidade aeróbia mitocondrial estão fortemente inibidas na dormência, acompanhando a depressão metabólica no animal. Em animais submetidos ao jejum na primavera, todas as enzimas tiveram suas atividades reduzidas e, em consonância com os dados da morfologia do tecido, os ajustes na capacidade funcional do órgão aparentemente se dão de maneira diferente em relação ao jejum associado à dormência sazonal, em função do caráter previsível e da existência de uma fase antecipatória neste fenômeno. / The gut phenotypic plasticity is widely documented in the vertebrates and would allow to either short term or anticipatory adjustments in the organ functional capacity, to cope with unpredictable and periodic changes of food availability in the environment. This study investigates seasonal changes of morphology and in the capacity for substrate oxidation in the midgut of the tegu lizard Tupinambis merianae, associated with prolonged fasting and metabolic depression in winter months. In addition, the pattern of change was compared with the adjustments induced by 20 days of fasting in spring active animals. Groups of young lizards were killed in distinct phases during the first annual cycle and the midgut was quickly excised and weighted. Tissue samples were removed from the organ proximal third and preserved in fixative solution for histology. The remaining tissue was cut in small pieces and aliquots were frozen in liquid N2 and stored at -80oC for the assays. The morphological changes were analyzed in 5μm thick slices using stereological methods. The content of water and of total and soluble proteins were measured using standard assays, and maximum activities of metabolic enzymes were measured by espectrophotometry. The mid-gut mass is 1.04% of body mass in autumn activity and decreases 23% during winter dormancy, combined with a reduction of mucosal volume and surface densities, of villus maximal height and of total protein content. The epithelial cells change conformation from columnar to pseudo-stratified, suggesting intense proliferative activity during dormancy. Later in spring activity, the mid-gut mass increases to 1.64% combined with an increase of epithelial surface density and possibly of midgut lenght and/or diameter. Atrophy during fasting was higher in active lizards, 49% in relation to fed animals, the mucosal density however is more preserved than during dormancy and the muscle layer increases thickness. High levels of enzyme activities suggest a potential to obtain energy from different substrates and the regulatory mechanisms of fuel selection would act as a function of the physiological context. HK, PK and LDH, and AspAT, acting on pathways of glucose and amino-acid oxidation respectively, do not change during the annual cycle, whereas GDH and HOAD (amino-acid and fatty acid oxidation respectively), and CS (indicator of mitochondrial aerobic capacity) are strongly inhibited in dormant and arousing animals. Fasting during spring activity caused all enzymes to be inhibited and this effect, together with large tissue atrophy, suggest that in the short term fasting the regulatory mechanisms allow to save glucose for glucose-dependent tissues, besides contributing to energy spare at the whole body level.

Submitted by Izabel Franco (izabel-franco@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-21T14:14:45Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLSP.pdf: 1291370 bytes, checksum: d185faef0f9947e612f0cf0e2a7da722 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T19:54:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLSP.pdf: 1291370 bytes, checksum: d185faef0f9947e612f0cf0e2a7da722 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T19:54:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLSP.pdf: 1291370 bytes, checksum: d185faef0f9947e612f0cf0e2a7da722 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-27T20:00:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLSP.pdf: 1291370 bytes, checksum: d185faef0f9947e612f0cf0e2a7da722 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Several studies have demonstrated the environment's influence on the ecology and physiology of organisms and that environmental variations can promote behavioral and physiological adaptations of an individual, thus tracing its life's story. Ambient temperature, in particular, is a factor that has large influence on the physiological processes, which can cause changes in breathing patterns and metabolism in some species. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the ventilatory, metabolic and thermal preference responses of two populations of lizards of the Tropidurus torquatus specie, coming from different regions of Brazil: one collected in the Pampa biome and the other one collected in areas of sandbanks in the Mata Atlântica biome. To assess the ventilatory and metabolic responses of both populations, individuals were acclimated at different temperatures (20, 25 and 30°C) and exposed to three experimental temperatures (20, 25 and 30°C). The thermal preference was also obtained after a period of acclimatization of the animals to the above temperatures. Our data on the thermal preference showed no significant difference among the studied populations, which leads us to suggest that the preferred body temperature of these animals is a phylogenetically conserved trait. Regarding ventilation and metabolism data, our studies showed that both the population from the south of Brazil, as the population of the Northeast, showed the same metabolic rate, however, the population of the Pampas showed a greater ventilation, reflecting a hyperventilation of these lizards. Thus, we suggested that the lizards collected in South and Northeast may have different strategies to maintain the same metabolic rates. Finally, we found that the acclimation temperature did not affect the studied variables, except for tidal volume, which was significantly lower in animals acclimated to 20°C, and that oxygen consumption that was significantly less to the experimental temperature of 20ºC. / Muitos estudos têm demonstrado a influência do ambiente sobre a ecologia e a fisiologia dos organismos e que variações ambientais podem promover adaptações comportamentais e fisiológicas de um indivíduo, traçando assim sua história de vida. A temperatura ambiente, em particular, é um fator que tem ampla influência nos processos fisiológicos, podendo ocasionar mudanças nos padrões respiratórios e no metabolismo de algumas espécies. Em vista disso, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar as respostas ventilatórias, metabólicas e de preferência térmica, de duas populações da espécie de lagarto Tropidurus torquatus, provenientes de regiões distintas do Brasil, sendo uma coletada no bioma Pampa e outra em áreas de restinga no bioma Mata Atlântica. Para avaliar as respostas ventilatórias e metabólicas de ambas populações, os indivíduos foram aclimatados em diferentes temperaturas (20º, 25º e 30ºC) e expostos também a três temperaturas experimentais (20º, 25º e 30ºC). A preferência térmica também foi obtida após um período de aclimatação dos animais às temperaturas acima citadas. Nossos dados acerca da preferência térmica não mostraram diferenças significativas entre as populações estudadas e nem entre os grupos de aclimatação, o que nos leva a sugerir que a temperatura corporal preferida desses animais é um traço filogeneticamente conservado. Quanto aos dados de ventilação e metabolismo, nossos estudos mostraram que tanto a população proveniente do Sul do Brasil, quanto a população do Nordeste, apresentaram uma mesma taxa metabólica, porém, a população dos Pampas exibiu uma maior ventilação, o que reflete em uma hiperventilação desses lagartos. Desta forma, sugerimos que os lagartos coletados no Sul e no Nordeste possam apresentar diferentes estratégias de para manter as mesmas taxas metabólicas. Por fim, constatamos que as temperaturas de aclimatação não afetaram as variáveis estudadas, com exceção do volume corrente, o qual foi significativamente menor nos animais aclimatados à 20ºC, e que o consumo de oxigênio é significativamente menor à temperatura experimental de 20ºC. / FAPESP: 2013/20421-0

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:10:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CarolinaMCAL.pdf: 705892 bytes, checksum: 2a31e2f6fe2a3d439e931aaeb7c530eb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-26 / Coleodactylus natalensis Freire, 1999, an endemic species of Atlantic Forest fragments around the Natal municipality, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil, has as type locality the Parque Estadual Dunas de Natal (05?48 S to 05?53 S and 35?09 W to 35?12 W), one of the largest restinga (herb and shrub association on sand dunes along the Brazilian coastline) associate fragment, surrounded by urban zone, placed on setentrional Atlantic Forest limits. We made estimates on populational density, spatial distribution, habitat and microhabitat preferences and feeding ecological aspects like sazonal and sexual variations on diet, prey electivities and niche breadth. We randomly sampled ninety-six 50m2 quadrants in each of the four habitats identified in the study area. Were collected 49 specimens and their stomach contents were analyzed; prey items found were correlated with leaf-litter invertebrates from habitat samples. We found a 98,5 ? 75,5 individuals/ha density, in grouped distribution pattern on densest habitats and random distribution on others habitats. This species lives mostly on leaf-litter in forest habitats, in higher humidity points, with lower temperatures, deeper leaf litter and lower sea level elevations than the randomly chosen points in the study area. Isopoda and Aranae were the most important prey categories in numeric, frequency and volumetric terms. Niche breadth has an intermediate value and was variable in sexual and in habitat terms. There was no correlation between morfometric measures and prey size on diet. The C. natalensis population studied seems to be diet opportunist, although selects larger prey items. The Parque Estadual das Dunas do Natal has several indications of anthropic pressure from the surrounding urban area that may affects the local C. natalensis population. Thus, the fragility of this species calls for urgent conservation efforts / Coleodactylus natalensis Freire, 1999, esp?cie end?mica de remanescentes de Mata Atl?ntica do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil, tem como localidade-tipo o Parque Estadual Dunas de Natal (05?48 S a 05?53 S e 35?09 W a 35?12 W), um dos maiores remanescentes associados a restingas, cercado por zona urbana, situado no limite setentrional da Mata Atl?ntica. Foram realizadas estimativas de densidade populacional, distribui??o espacial, prefer?ncias de h?bitat e microh?bitat e aspectos da ecologia alimentar, tais como varia??es sazonais e entre sexos de dieta, eletividade de presas e largura de nicho. Amostramos aleatoriamente 96 quadrantes de 50m2 em cada um dos quatro h?bitats identificados na ?rea. Foram coletados 49 exemplares, que tiveram seus conte?dos estomacais analisados; os itens de presa encontrados foram correlacionados com amostras de invertebrados ed?ficos obtidas no ambiente. Encontramos uma densidade m?dia de 98,5 ? 75,5 indiv?duos/ha, com distribui??o agrupada nos h?bitats de maior densidade e rand?mica nos demais. A esp?cie habita preferencialmente o folhi?o de h?bitats de mata, em pontos mais ?midos, temperaturas mais amenas, folhi?o mais denso e menores eleva??es em rela??o ao n?vel do mar do que a m?dia da ?rea de estudo. As categorias de presa mais importantes na dieta foram Isopoda e Aranae. A largura de nicho foi m?dia e variou sexualmente e entre os h?bitats. N?o houve correla??o entre medidas morfom?tricas e tamanho das presas consumidas. A popula??o de C. natalensis estudada parece ser oportunista em termos de dieta, embora selecione presas relativamente maiores. O Parque das Dunas ? uma ?rea que sofre diversos tipos de press?o antr?pica que podem afetar a popula??o de C. natalensis. Deste modo, a fragilidade desta esp?cie na ?rea denota urg?ncia por medidas conservacionistas