Au Miocène (-25 à -5Ma) en Europe des changements climatiques entraînent des bouleversements dans les communautés de rongeurs (Mammalia), en particulier les Cricetinae. Une révision systématique des Democricetodon, utilisant une population actuelle d'Oryzomys comme modèle de variabilité morphologique, permet de proposer une phylogénie. L'étude du contour, en analyse de Fourrier, des molaires de trois lignées du genre Megacricetodon dans trois régions d'Europe montre des accélérations évolutives qui ne sont pas synchrones. L'étude de ces deux genres met en évidence l'importance des contextes géographique et climatique sur le dynamique des faunes de rongeurs. La distribution des espèces de rongeurs montre une différenciation biogéographique selon un gradient environnemental nord-sud succédant à un gradient géographique est-ouest. Cette étude démontre également que les changements intervenant à l'échelle des régions régulent la diversité à l'échelle du continental européen.

A conversão do uso do solo é uma das principais ameaçadas à fauna, pois a paisagem torna-se fragmentada e as áreas ocupadas por vegetação nativa são reduzidas, podendo alterar a estrutura das comunidades animais. Neste estudo, a comunidade de mamíferos de médio e grande porte (> 1 kg) foi avaliada em uma paisagem fragmentada com matriz de eucalipto, no sul do Estado de São Paulo, municípios de Buri e Capão Bonito (23°52\'47\" S; 48°23\'24\" O), através de três métodos distintos instalados conjuntamente (parcelas de areia, camera-trap e scent stations - nesta última foram utilizadas iscas atrativas específicas para carnívoros e onívoros, Canine Call® e Pro\'s Choice®). Os objetivos desta dissertação foram: i) avaliar a estrutura dessa comunidade em função da estrutura da paisagem; ii) comparar métodos de amostragem utilizados, discutindo sua aplicação. O levantamento das espécies foi realizado em cinco campanhas de cinco dias cada, entre 2010-2012, com unidades amostrais instaladas na matriz, nos corredores e nos fragmentos florestais, sendo que os elementos da paisagem foram avaliados em buffers de 250, 500, 1000 e 2000 m. Foram registradas 20 espécies de mamíferos de médio e grande porte, sendo a maioria (n=18) encontrada nos ambientes ocupados por vegetação nativa. Embora em menor número, várias espécies foram registradas na matriz. Outras medidas de biodiversidade como riqueza de grupos e diversidade funcional foram avaliados, no entanto, foram redundantes ao número de espécies. As proporções de vegetação nativa, a 250 e 2000 m, foram as mais importantes para explicar a frequência de registros de diversas espécies. Em termos de composição, os conjuntos de espécies obtidos nos remanescentes e corredores florestais foram semelhantes. Dentre os métodos de amostragem, as parcelas de areia demonstraram ser mais eficientes em estudos curtos, porém, seu custo financeiro é significativamente superior para estudos de longo prazo. A utilização de iscas odoríferas é uma inovação na região neotropical, apesar de suas incertezas na atração da fauna. Uma desvantagem desses métodos é que várias espécies não podem ser precisamente identificadas, dada a semelhança dos rastros, o que raramente ocorre com a utilização de cameras-trap, onde os espécimes são visualizados em fotografias, permitindo uma identificação segura. As diferentes metodologias utilizadas apresentaram taxas de registros distintas, ou seja, não foram capazes de identificar a mesma comunidade, entretanto, as estimativas de riqueza, quando avaliadas separadamente, indicam que os três atingiriam o mesmo resultado final. Este estudo sugere que paisagens silviculturais fragmentadas podem ser importantes para a conservação de mamíferos se bem planejadas, como a manutenção de manchas de habitat em bons estados de conservação e corredores que conectem os elementos florestais. Além disso, a utilização dos métodos de amostragem deve ser planejados de acordo com a finalidade do estudo. / The land use conversion is a major threat to wildlife because the landscape becomes fragmented and the areas occupied by native vegetation are reduced, altering the structure of animal communities. In this study, the medium to large-sized mammal community (> 1 kg) was evaluated in a fragmented landscape in eucalyptus matrix, in the southern São Paulo State, Buri and Capão Bonito municipalities (23°52\'47\" S, 48°23\'24\" W), using three different methods installed together (sand plots, camera-trap and scent stations, where were used specific baits to carnivores and omnivores, Canine Call® and Pro\'s Choice®). The objectives of this work were: i) to evaluate the structure of the community as a function of landscape structure, ii) compare sampling methods used, discussing their application. The species sampling was conducted in five campaigns of five days each, between 2010-2012, with sampling units installed in the matrix, corridors and forest fragments. The landscape elements were evaluated in buffers with 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 m around. We recorded 20 medium and large mammals species, the majority (n=18) found in y native vegetation (corridors and habitat patches). Although only several species were recorded in the matrix. Other measures of biodiversity as a functional group richness and functional diversity were evaluated, however, the results were the same obtained to species richness. The proportions of native vegetation, 250 and 2000 m, were most important in explaining the records frequency for many species. In terms of composition, the assemblage obtained in the habitat patches and forest corridors were similar. Among the methods of sampling, the sand plots was more effective in short-term assessment, however, its financial cost is significantly higher for long-term studies. The use of lure in scent stations is an innovation in the Neotropical, despite their uncertainties in attracting the animals. A disadvantage of these methods is that several species cannot be accurately identified because of the similarity of the tracks, which rarely occurs with the use of cameras-trap, where the specimens are shown in photographs, allowing a reliable identification. The different methodologies used showed different rates of records, or were not able to identify the same community, however, the richness estimates, when evaluated separately, indicate that the three would achieve the same result. This study suggests that forestry fragmented landscapes may be important for mammals conservation if well planned, such as the maintenance of habitat patches and corridors that connect the remaining habitat fragments. Furthermore, the use of sampling method must be planned according to the purpose of study.

No / Red deer stags produce an androgen-dependent mane of long hairs only in the breeding season; in the non-breeding season, when circulating androgen levels are low, the neck hair resembles the rest of the coat. This study was designed to determine whether androgen receptors are present in deer follicles throughout the year or only in the mane (neck) follicles when circulating testosterone levels are high in the breeding season. Although androgens regulate much human hair growth the mechanisms are not well understood; they are believed to act on the hair follicle epithelium via the mesenchyme-derived dermal papilla. The location of androgen receptors in the follicle was investigated by immunohistochemistry and androgen binding was measured biochemically in cultured dermal papilla cells derived from mane and flank follicles during the breeding season and from neck follicles during the non-breeding season. Immunohistochemistry of frozen skin sections using a polyclonal antibody to the androgen receptor localised nuclear staining only in the dermal papilla cells of mane follicles. Saturation analysis assays of 14 primary dermal papilla cell lines using [(3)H]-mibolerone demonstrated high-affinity, low-capacity androgen receptors were present only in mane (breeding season neck) cells; competition studies with other steroids confirmed the specificity of the receptors. Androgen receptors were not detectable in cells from either the breeding season flank nor the non-breeding season neck follicles. The unusual biological model offered by red deer of androgen-dependent hair being produced on the neck in the breeding, but not the non-breeding season, has allowed confirmation that androgen receptors are required in follicle dermal papilla cells for an androgen response; this concurs with previous human studies. In addition, the absence of receptors in the non-breeding season follicles demonstrates that receptors are not expressed unless the follicle is responding to androgens. Androgen receptors may be induced in mane follicles by seasonal changes in circulating hormone(s).

No / The excavation at Cnip, Isle of Lewis, Scotland of the largest, and only known family cemetery from the early Norse period in the Hehrides, provided a unique opportunity to use Sr isotope analysis to examine the origins of people who may have been Norwegian Vikings. Sr isotope analysis permits direct investigation of a person's place of origin rather than indirectly through acquired cultural and artefactual affiliations. Sr isotope data suggest that the Norse group at Cnip was of mixed origins. The majority were consistent with indigenous origins but two individuals, of middle-age and different sex. were immigrants. They were, however, not from Norway but were raised separately, most probably on Tertiary volcanic rocks (e.g. the Inner Hebrides or NE Ireland) or, for the female, on marine carbonate rocks.

No / In the November issue (2001) of Neuroscience Letters, Holmin et al. (Neurosci. Lett. 314 (2001) 151) reported that the synthesis of the intermediate filament protein nestin was upregulated by potassium-induced depolarization in the rat cortex. In this letter, we provide supplementary evidence that repeated cortical spreading depression elicited by potassium induces a delayed upregulation of nestin. However, we argue against the authors' conclusion, Nestin expression was N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor dependent since dizocilpine (MK-801) treatment abolished the response because spreading depression itself is very sensitive to NMDA-receptor block, and the drug treatment was initiated prior to potassium application to the cortex in Holmin et al.'s study.

<p>In this thesis, the shape of the distal humerus trochlea is analysed using landmark-based morphometrics and multivariate methods, with the aim of exploring locomotor evolution in carnivorans. Elbow joint morphology is used together with body size and craniodental morphology to characterize past and present carnivorans. Evolutionary implications are studied at the ordinal, familial, and species levels, testing specific hypotheses about scaling, morphological constraints, evolutionary trajectories, and potential for social pack-hunting behaviour. The circumference of the distal humerus trochlea is found to be highly correlated with body mass, and appears to scale similarly throughout the order Carnivora. A general predictive model for carnivoran bodymass is presented (a=0.601; b= 2.552; r2=0.952, SEE=0.136, p<0001, n=92), which removes the need for the investigator to actively choose between the diverging estimates that different predictors and their equations often produce. At the elbow joint, manual manipulation and locomotion appear to be conflicting functions, thus suggesting mutually exclusive lifestyles involving either forelimb grappling or pursuit. At large body sizes, carnivorans are distributed over a strongly dichotomised pattern (grappling or locomotion), a pattern coinciding with the postulated threshold in predator-prey size ratio at 21.5-25 kg. This pattern is compared to that of two carnivoran faunas from the Tertiary. In the Oligocene (33.7-23.8 Myr BP), the overall pattern is remarkably similar to that observed for extant Carnivora. In the Miocene (23.8-11.2 Myr BP) carnivores show a similarly dichotomised pattern as the Oligocene and Recent, although the whole pattern is shifted towards larger body sizes. This difference is suggested to be a reflection of the extraordinary species richness of browsing ungulates in the early Miocene of North America. Such an increase in prey spectrum would create a unique situation, in which large carnivores need not commit to a cursorial habitus in order to fill their nutritional requirements. Finally, the elbow joints and craniodental morphology (14 measurements) of fossil canids were examined with the aim of assessing the potential for pack-hunting in fossil canids. It is clear that small and large members of the Recent Caninae share similar craniodental morphologies. However, this pattern is not present in Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae. In the latter, large representatives are characterized by being short-faced, with reduced anterior premolars and enlarged posterior premolars, thus approaching a “pantherine-like” craniodental configuration. These traits are interpreted as an adaptation for killing prey with canine bites. It is similarly determined that, unlike recent Caninae, all analyzed species of borophagines and hesperocyonines have retained the ability to supinate their forearms. It is therefore likely that manual manipulation was part of their hunting behaviour, thus removing an essential part of the argument for social pack-hunting in these forms, as the benefits of such a strategy become less obvious.</p>

In this thesis, the shape of the distal humerus trochlea is analysed using landmark-based morphometrics and multivariate methods, with the aim of exploring locomotor evolution in carnivorans. Elbow joint morphology is used together with body size and craniodental morphology to characterize past and present carnivorans. Evolutionary implications are studied at the ordinal, familial, and species levels, testing specific hypotheses about scaling, morphological constraints, evolutionary trajectories, and potential for social pack-hunting behaviour. The circumference of the distal humerus trochlea is found to be highly correlated with body mass, and appears to scale similarly throughout the order Carnivora. A general predictive model for carnivoran bodymass is presented (a=0.601; b= 2.552; r2=0.952, SEE=0.136, p&lt;0001, n=92), which removes the need for the investigator to actively choose between the diverging estimates that different predictors and their equations often produce. At the elbow joint, manual manipulation and locomotion appear to be conflicting functions, thus suggesting mutually exclusive lifestyles involving either forelimb grappling or pursuit. At large body sizes, carnivorans are distributed over a strongly dichotomised pattern (grappling or locomotion), a pattern coinciding with the postulated threshold in predator-prey size ratio at 21.5-25 kg. This pattern is compared to that of two carnivoran faunas from the Tertiary. In the Oligocene (33.7-23.8 Myr BP), the overall pattern is remarkably similar to that observed for extant Carnivora. In the Miocene (23.8-11.2 Myr BP) carnivores show a similarly dichotomised pattern as the Oligocene and Recent, although the whole pattern is shifted towards larger body sizes. This difference is suggested to be a reflection of the extraordinary species richness of browsing ungulates in the early Miocene of North America. Such an increase in prey spectrum would create a unique situation, in which large carnivores need not commit to a cursorial habitus in order to fill their nutritional requirements. Finally, the elbow joints and craniodental morphology (14 measurements) of fossil canids were examined with the aim of assessing the potential for pack-hunting in fossil canids. It is clear that small and large members of the Recent Caninae share similar craniodental morphologies. However, this pattern is not present in Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae. In the latter, large representatives are characterized by being short-faced, with reduced anterior premolars and enlarged posterior premolars, thus approaching a “pantherine-like” craniodental configuration. These traits are interpreted as an adaptation for killing prey with canine bites. It is similarly determined that, unlike recent Caninae, all analyzed species of borophagines and hesperocyonines have retained the ability to supinate their forearms. It is therefore likely that manual manipulation was part of their hunting behaviour, thus removing an essential part of the argument for social pack-hunting in these forms, as the benefits of such a strategy become less obvious.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The Caatinga is the only endemic Brazilian biome, and covers part of eight Brazilian states, mainly in the Northeast, with a total area of 735,000 km2. Its principal characteristics include a high mean annual temperatures and evapotranspiration, and a low annual precipitation, between approximately 240 mm and 1500 mm, with low relative humidity. The vegetation is composed mainly of dense, spiny shrubs adapted to the region s semi-arid conditions. The difficulties of conducting research under these conditions led to the traditional view of the Caatinga as a biome of low species diversity and endemism. However, a number of recent studies have demonstrated a relatively rich fauna and flora, including 143 species of mammals, more than half of them bats. While these animals represent three-quarters of the mammalian fauna of the Caatinga, only one species is considered to be endemic. While there have been considerable advances in the scientific knowledge on the bats of Caatinga, only 7% of its area can be considered minimally surveyed, with many data gapsfor thatregion. Data on the reproduction, systematic, diet, and distribution of bats are available for a small number of localities. In Sergipe, a total of 37 species are known to occur, although few sites have been surveyed up to now. The present study aimed to provide data on a bat community of the Caatinga in Sergipe, analyzing aspects of the ecology of this group in a relatively well-preserved habitat, with unique characteristics that have a major potential for the conservation of the region s flora and fauna. / A Caatinga é o único bioma exclusivamente brasileiro e estende-se por oito estados do nordeste e um do sudeste, cobrindo 735.000 km2. Apresenta como uma de suas principais características a alta temperatura média anual e evapotranspiração, baixa precipitação, em torno de 240 e 1500 mm, e baixa umidade relativa. A vegetação desse bioma é composta por plantas arbustivas, ramificadas e espinhosas, sendo adaptadas às condições adversas presentes nessa região. Devido a essas características estudos pretéritos apontavam a Caatinga como sendo uma área de baixa diversidade de espécies e endemismo. Entretanto, diversos estudos foram realizados e demonstraram uma alta diversidade em relação a fauna e flora. Estudos recentes reportam 143 espécies de mamíferos na Caatinga, onde mais da metade dessa riqueza é composta por morcegos. Esses animais representam 65% da mastofauna presente na Caatinga, e apenas uma espécie é considerada endêmica. Apesar do crescente avanço nos estudos com quirópteros nesse bioma, apenas 7% dessas áreas podem ser consideradas como minimamente inventariadas, havendo diversas lacunas no conhecimento desse grupo nessa área. Alguns dados relativos à reprodução, sistemática, dieta e distribuição dos morcegos foram fornecidos para poucas localidades. Em Sergipe são conhecidas 37 espécies de morcegos, onde poucas áreas foram estudadas. O presente trabalho visa contribuir com conhecimento da comunidade de morcegos na Caatinga de Sergipe, analisando aspectos ecológicos desse grupo em uma região relativamente pouco alterada, com características únicas e que apresenta um grande potencial para a conservação.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T16:21:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mary Joyce Ribeiro.pdf: 665396 bytes, checksum: f1e4d38b059e9f7c743bb957bf13c73f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-06-22 / The questions around species niche have sought to unveil why a species is where it is and it is not where it is not, so it is well known that a lot of factors can be determinant in this discussion. Thus, in this study we examined the relationship between niche and geographical distance, life history and phylogenetic components to the New World carnivores. The data used in our analyses were obtained from datasets available online and from literature sources. We used Mantel s test to evaluate the correlation among the data matrices in NTSys software. Significant correlations were found between niche and geographical distance (r =-0,4068 e P <0,0001) and between life history and geographical distance (r = -0,1136 e P= 0,0024). These results suggest that species that are spatially close are more similar in terms of niche and life history. We also observed that, among others factors, interespecific interactions has an important effect in structuring ecological communities. New tests are still necessary in future to generate new information about carnivore s niche and their components. / As questões acerca do nicho das espécies procuram entender por que uma espécie está onde está e não está onde não está, e é certo que vários fatores poderiam ser determinantes nessa discussão. Nesse sentido, esse estudo analisou a relação do nicho com os componentes geográficos, filogenéticos e de história de vida das espécies de carnívoros do Novo Mundo. Dados da história de vida, filogenia, distribuição geográfica (co-ocorrência) e nicho dos carnívoros foram obtidos em fontes informatizadas e na literatura e a partir de então correlações foram estabelecidas. Com a utilização do software NTSys realizou-se o teste de Mantel entre os dados coletados, esse mostrou que as únicas relações significativas foram encontradas entre nicho e co-ocorrência geográfica (r =-0,4068 e P <0,0001) e entre história de vida e co-ocorrência geográfica (r = -0,1136 e P= 0,0024). Os resultados sugerem que quanto mais similares sejam os nichos ou histórias de vida dos carnívoros, mais próximos geograficamente eles se encontram, o que surpreende devido entre outros fatores, ao papel das interações interespecíficas na estruturação das comunidades. Novos estudos e uso de outras técnicas estatísticas se mostram necessários em estudos futuros no intuito de prover novas informações acerca do nicho dos carnívoros, seus componentes e a maneira como os mesmos interagem.

Conversion object ex-foundry pavilion of mammalia and birds with live exposition. Exhibition pavilion is oriented at fauna and flora of asia.