This study investigated long-term (1961-2008) changes in albacore (Thunnus alalunga) abundance and distribution in relation to local environmental and large-scale climate indices in the Northeastern Pacific using time series and spatial analyses. Prior to the time series analysis, a wavelet analysis was conducted to examine nonrandom patterns of cyclical variability which revealed that monthly and annual time scales had the highest non-random variability. Thus, the time series analysis was done at these two scales using non-linear generalized additive models (GAMs) and threshold GAMs. At the monthly scale, sea surface temperature (SST) was found to be the variable with the strongest (positive) association to albacore catch per unit effort (CPUE). This association was likely driven by the seasonal migrations of juvenile albacore into and out of the U.S. coastal waters. At the yearly time scale over large geographical areas, the SST association broke down, and the scalar wind speed cubed (an indicator of mixed layer depth) at a five year lag became the dominant variable. The scalar wind speed cubed index explained 65% of the variability and was highly significant, even after adjusting for multiple tests (Bonferroni corrected P-value<0.001). These results suggest that a deeper mixed layer in the Northeastern Pacific may provide favorable foraging habitat for juvenile (mostly age 3) albacore, resulting in successful growth, spawning, and recruitment into the fishery in later years. This mixed layer depth association could help managers and stock assessment groups in their efforts to integrate environmental factors into the estimate of albacore population size. The spatial/spatio-temporal analyses involved modeling the CPUE with four competing GAM formulations, each representative of a different hypotheses for albacore distribution: 1) spatial, 2) spatial and environmental (SST, PDO, and MEI), 3) spatially variant, and 4) nonstationary, as indicated by the North Pacific regime shift of 1977. Results indicate that SST had a predominantly positive but spatially-variable effect on albacore CPUE, while the PDO had a negative overall effect. Specifically, CPUE was found to increase with increased SST, particularly off of Oregon and Washington. These results imply that if ocean temperatures continue to increase, west coast communities reliant on commercial albacore fisheries are likely to be negatively impacted in the southern areas but positively benefited in the northern areas, where current albacore landings are highest. / Graduation date: 2012

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:49:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WaldirMBF_DISSERT.pdf: 3558667 bytes, checksum: 3035c50ccf49225a3c8264f6c395bf14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-30 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Understanding the historical and ecological relationships which are influent in current biological diversity is one of the most challenging tasks of evolutionary biology. Recent systematics emphasizes the need of integrative approaches to delimit different lineages and species. The northeastern Brazil, mostly placed in Caatinga biome, is characterized by a semi-arid weather, low precipitation and seasonal behavior of rivers. This region is regarded lacking as ichthyological knowledge and one of the most threatened by anthropic activities. Further, will be affected by a massive water diverpsion work that will transfer waters from S?o Francisco basin, to other major four basins: Jaguaribe, Apodi-Mossor?, Piranhas-A?u and Paraiba do Norte. Loss of diversity and richness, hibridizitation, community interactions changes, population homogenization, changes in water quality and flow regime, are examples of environmental impacts already related with similar works. The present study aims to investigate morphological and molecular variation of Cichlasoma orientale Kullander 1983 and Crenicichla menezesi Ploeg 1991, two cichlid species present in northeastern Brazil basins. Further, the study aims to evaluate the influence of geomorphological and climatic processes in this variation, and point some possible impacts of the artificial connectivity which can be brought by S?o Francisco interbasin water transfer to their population dynamics. Geometric morphometrics and phylogeographical analysis were used to investigate the populations from three different hydrological regions. Our results showed a significant morphological variation of populations from basins that are involved in the S?o Franscisco s diversion project, not related to an ancient separation between populations, emphasizing morphological variation which could represent a set of plastic responses to the variable hydrological regime in Northeastern Brazil. The role of plastical responses in naturally variable habitats as well as the potential disturbs that could be brought by the interbasin water transfer works are discussed here. Further, our molecular data allowed us to make inferences about species distribution and their taxonomy, and identification of a potential new species of Crenicichla for S?o Francisco river basin. Our data also allowed to identify some shared haplotypes for both species, which could be related to lineage sorting scenarios or recent gene flow between populations. However a strong structure in most of the pairwise comparisons between populations for both species was revealed. Climatic events such as Atlantic forest regression during the Pleistocene, sea level fluctuations and dispersion by paleorivers in the mouth of Apodi-Mossor? river, and neotectonic events regulating the connection between drainages are likely to have had a contribution for the actual lineages distribution in northeastern Brazil. Further, analysis of molecular variation (AMOVA and SAMOVA) showed that the actual basin s isolation is an important factor to molecular variation, in spite of the signal of recent contact between some basins. Different genetic diversity patterns between species could be related to multiple historic events of colonization, basins landscapes or biological differences. The present study represents the first effort of integrative systematics involving fish species of northeastern Brazil, and showed important morphological and molecular patterns which could be irrecoverably affected by the artificial connection that might be caused by the S?o Francisco interbasin water transfer / O Nordeste brasileiro, majoritariamente imerso no bioma Caatinga, se caracteriza pelo clima semi-?rido, baixa precipita??o e um regime de rios intermitentes. Quanto ao conhecimento ictiofaun?stico, a regi?o ? considerada uma das maiores lacunas mundiais, e uma das mais amea?adas pelas atividades antr?picas. Al?m disso, a regi?o est? passando por obras de transposi??o, que ligar? ?guas do rio S?o Francisco com quatro bacias da regi?o: Jaguaribe, Apodi-Mossor?, Piranhas-A?u e Para?ba do Norte. Perda de diversidade, hibridiza??o de esp?cies, altera??es de comunidade, homogeneiza??o de popula??es, altera??o de qualidade e regime de fluxo de ?gua, s?o impactos ambientais j? atribu?dos a empreendimentos similares. O presente estudo objetiva investigar a varia??o morfol?gica e molecular de Cichlasoma orientale Kullander 1983 e Crenicichla menezesi Ploeg 1991, duas esp?cies com ampla distribui??o ao longo das bacias do Nordeste brasileiro, atrav?s de m?todos de sistem?tica integrativa. Al?m disso, o estudo visa analisar a influ?ncia de fatores clim?ticos e geomorfol?gicos nesta varia??o, e apontar poss?veis impactos da conex?o artificial das bacias envolvidas na transposi??o do rio S?o Francisco. Para estes fins, foram utilizadas an?lises de morfometria geom?trica e filogeogr?ficas com indiv?duos de tr?s ecorregi?es hidrogr?ficas do Nordeste brasileiro. Nossos resultados mostraram que h? uma significativa varia??o morfol?gica nas bacias envolvidas na transposi??o do rio S?o Francisco, que n?o est? ligada ? uma separa??o ancestral das bacias, evidenciando uma varia??o morfol?gica que pode representar um conjunto de respostas pl?sticas ?s constantes transforma??es principalmente relacionadas ao regime h?drico da regi?o. O papel de respostas pl?sticas em ambientes naturalmente vari?veis, assim como o potencial impacto do dist?rbio no regime h?drico a ser trazido pela transposi??o do rio S?o Francisco, s?o discutidos. Al?m disso, nossos dados moleculares permitiram fornecer mais informa??es sobre a distribui??o das esp?cies e sua taxonomia, incluindo a identifica??o de uma potencial nova esp?cie de Crenicichla na bacia do rio S?o Francisco. Os dados tamb?m mostraram alguns hapl?tipos compartilhados para ambas as esp?cies, que podem representar cen?rios incompletos de separa??o de linhagens ou fluxo g?nico recente entre popula??es, por?m forte estrutura??o entre a maior parte das bacias. Eventos clim?ticos como a regress?o da Mata Atl?ntica durante o Pleistoceno, flutua??es do n?vel do mar e a dispers?o por paleorios na por??o estuarina das bacias que desaguam no litoral norte da regi?o nordeste, al?m de eventos neotect?nicos envolvendo captura de cabeceiras, parecem ter contribu?do para a atual distribui??o de linhagens destas esp?cies no Nordeste brasileiro. Al?m disso, an?lises de vari?ncia molecular (AMOVA e SAMOVA) evidenciaram que a atual conjuntura das bacias se mostrou um fator importante para a varia??o molecular, apesar da indica??o de compartilhamento recente entre algumas bacias. Diferen?as de padr?es de diversidade intrapopulacional entre as esp?cies podem estar relacionadas a m?ltiplos eventos hist?ricos de coloniza??o, ou ? diferen?as biol?gicas. O presente estudo representa o primeiro esfor?o de sistem?tica integrativa com esp?cies da ictiofauna continental do Nordeste brasileiro, e revelou varia??es morfol?gicas e moleculares entre drenagens isoladas que podem ser irrecuperavelmente afetadas com a conex?o artificial destas bacias a partir das obras de transposi??o do rio S?o Francisco

No description available.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / A área de vida pode ser definida como o espaço físico necessário para um animal desempenhar as atividades essenciais para sua sobrevivência, desenvolvimento e reprodução. O conhecimento sobre área de vida é essencial para a compreensão dos processos que regem o uso do espaço e a organização social em populações animais. Neste estudo, investigamos aspectos das áreas de vida do lagarto saxícola, endêmico da Caatinga, Tropidurus semitaeniatus, avaliando possíveis variações intersexuais, ontogenéticas e sazonais nos tamanhos das áreas de vida, bem como elementos da organização social da espécie. A área de estudo consistiu em uma área típica de Caatinga stricto sensu, localizada no município de Pentecoste - Ceará. Realizamos coletas em dois afloramentos rochosos, nos quais demarcamos pontos de referência a cada cinco metros. Coletamos os lagartos residentes nestes afloramentos, registrando, para cada indivíduo, o sexo e o tamanho rostro-cloacal (mm), e posteriormente, identificando-o com marcação única. Vistoriamos cada afloramento durante 20 dias em cada estação (chuvosa e seca), respectivamente em junho e dezembro de 2011, realizando recapturas visuais e coletando registros de posições espaciais de cada indivíduo. Estimamos as áreas de vida pelo método do Polígono Convexo Mínimo, para os indivíduos recapturados pelo menos seis vezes. Obtivemos 56 áreas de vida, das quais 10 foram de machos, 20 de fêmeas e 26 de jovens. Não existiu relação entre os tamanhos das áreas de vida e os comprimentos rostro-cloacais dos indivíduos. Não houve diferenças sexuais, ontogenéticas ou sazonais nos tamanhos das áreas de vida. Contudo, o espaçamento entre as áreas de vida foi menor durante a estação chuvosa e a maioria das sobreposições entre áreas de vida também ocorreu neste período. Ao todo, registramos 81 sobreposições de áreas de vida, sendo estas mais frequentes entre fêmeas e jovens e menos frequentes entre pares de machos. A proporção da área de vida total sobreposta com outro indivíduo foi maior entre pares de fêmeas e menor entre pares de machos. Os machos estiveram associados em média com 1,5 fêmeas, possuindo de zero a sete áreas de vida de fêmeas sobrepostas com suas áreas de vida. O número de áreas de vida de fêmeas sobrepostas às áreas de vida de machos esteve positivamente associado ao tamanho dos machos. Por outro lado, não houve associação entre o número de áreas de vida de fêmeas sobrepostas às áreas de vida de machos e os tamanhos das áreas de vida dos machos correspondentes. Em suma, à luz do conhecimento acumulado sobre a história natural do organismo de estudo, acreditamos que sua extrema especificidade por ambientes rochosos e a disponibilidade limitada de habitats adequados à ocupação constituem fatores preponderantes na determinação dos padrões singulares de uso do espaço e organização social em T. semitaeniatus. / The home range may be defined as the physical space required for an animal to perform the essential activities for its survival, development and reproduction. The knowledge on home range is essential to understanding the processes that govern the use of space and the social organization in animal populations. Herein, we investigated home range aspects of the saxicolous lizard, endemic from Caatinga, Tropidurus semitaeniatus, evaluating possible intersexual, ontogenetic and seasonal variations in home range size, as well as elements of the social organization of the species. The study area was a typical Caatinga stricto sensu area, located in Pentecoste municipality - Ceará. We performed sampling at two rocky outcrops, where we defined reference marks each five meters. We collect the lizards living in these outcrops, recording for each individual, the sex and snout-vent length (mm), and subsequently, identifying it with unique marking code. We scanned each outcrop for 20 days in each season (rainy and dry), respectively on June and December 2011, performing visual recaptures and collecting records of spatial positions of each individual. We estimated the home range size by Minimum Polygon Convex method, for individuals recaptured at least six times. We obtained 56 home range areas, of which 10 males, 20 females and 26 juveniles. There was no relationship between home range size and snout-vent length of individuals. There were no sexual, ontogenetic or seasonal differences in home range size. However, the spacing between home range areas was lowest during the rainy season and the most of the home range overlaps also occurred in this period. Overall, we recorded 81 home range overlaps, which were more frequent between females and juveniles and less frequent among pairs of males. The proportion of the total home range overlapped with another individual was highest among pairs of females and lowest among pairs of males. Males were associated on average with 1.5 females, having from zero to seven females home range overlapped with their own home ranges. The number of female home ranges overlapped with male ones was positively associated with the body size of males. Moreover, there was no association between the number of female home ranges overlapped with male ones and the home range size of the corresponding males. In conclusion, in the light of accumulated knowledge about the natural history of the studied organism, we believe that their extreme specificity to the rocky environments and restricted availability of suitable habitats for its occupation are important factors in determining patterns of use of space and social organization in T. semitaeniatus

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:20:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3078.pdf: 3949929 bytes, checksum: 0375aaec7134412a51147cc0d80c7620 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-21 / The State of Maranhão is considered as a transitional area between northeastern semiarid and amazonian rainforest. Various perennial rivers such as the rivers Parnaíba, Itapecuru, Mearim, Pindaré and Gurupi are found in Maranhão. Distribution patterns analysis indicated the region as an endemism area for Neotropical freshwater fishes. However, only few studies have been performed in the region. Therefore the relationships between the hidrographic set and the respective neighbour areas are not fully comprehended. One complication is the insufficient cientific knowledge about the endemism level in the region due to insufficient establishment of taxonomic bounds for several species in the area. This study examines the hypothesis that freshwater fishes from Maranhão rivers are valid taxonomic unities, and whether its hydrographic set can be considered as an endemism area for Neotropical fishes. The study is focused on the analsis of genetic differentiation of Hoplias malabaricus and Prochilodus lacustris. The geographic variation of H. malabaricus was studied using sequences of the DNAmt control region as well by geometric morphometrics. Besides the mitochondrial marker, the variation analyses of P. lacustris employed sequences of the S7 intron 1. Both species exhibited high genetic variability which may be related to its own ecological features. The genetic diversity of H. malabaricus, a sedentary species, is influenced by drainage architeture. On the other hand, the migratory behavior of P. lacustris and the results obtained had suggested that the variability found was influenced by historical factors. Because the most resolution of the P. lacustris data, the molecular clock hypothesis was tested and divergence times between populations sampled were estimated. These estimates matching with geological informations enabled us to identify several putative events that may play an important role in differentiation of the maranhense ichthyofauna. Under the taxonomic point of view, the hypothesis that H. malabaricus is a species complex was reinforced and the analyses suggested that putative criptic species occur in the region. The P. lacustris specimens constitute a taxonomic unit, but did not support the hypothesis that the species is endemic for the Parnaíba and Mearim rivers. Considering these results, we suggest that the most closely indication of endemism areas could be the ecoregions established by Secretaria de Recursos Hídricos from Ministério do Meio Ambiente. / O Estado do Maranhão é geralmente considerado uma área de transição entre o semiárido nordestino e a floresta amazônica, onde está localizado um conjunto de rios perenes, tais como, Parnaíba, Itapecuru, Mearim, Pindaré e Gurupi. Análises baseadas em padrões de distribuição têm indicado que a região constitui uma área de endemismo para peixes neotropicais. No entanto, devido ao reduzido número de estudos, as interrelações desse conjunto hidrográfico com áreas vizinhas são pouco compreendidas. Uma das dificuldades que surge do esquálido conhecimento científico é a identificação do nível de endemismo que a região abriga, uma vez que há problemas na definição dos limites taxonômicos de várias espécies com ocorrência registrada na área. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo testar as hipóteses de que as espécies de peixes dos rios do Maranhão são unidades taxonômicas válidas e, consequentemente, o conjunto hidrográfico pode ser considerado uma área de endemismo. O estudo foi centrado na análise de diversidade genética das espécies Hoplias malabaricus e Prochilodus lacustris. Em H. malabaricus a variação geográfica foi estudada usando sequências da região controle do DNAmt e através de morfometria geométrica. Além do marcador mitocondrial, na análise da variação em P. lacustris foram utilizadas sequências do íntron 1 do gene S7. Ambas as espécies apresentaram alta variabilidade genética que parece estar associada às características ecológicas de cada uma. H. malabaricus, sendo sedentária, teve sua diversidade genética influenciada por arquitetura de drenagem. Por outro lado, dado o comportamento migratório de P. lacustris, os resultados sugeriram que a variabilidade observada foi influenciada por fatores históricos. A maior resolução dos dados em P. lacustris permitiu testar a hipótese de relógio molecular e estimar tempos de divergências entre as populações amostradas. Estas estimativas foram combinadas com informações geológicas disponíveis, possibilitando a identificação de vários eventos que provavelmente exerceram papéis importantes na diferenciação da ictiofauna maranhense. Do ponto de vista taxonômico, as análises reforçaram a hipótese de que H. malabaricus é um complexo de espécie, sugerindo a possibilidade de ocorrência de espécies crípticas na área. As amostras de P. lacustris, por sua vez, constituem uma unidade taxonômica, mas não são consistentes com a hipótese de que a espécie é endêmica para os rios Parnaíba e Mearim. Diante dos resultados obtidos, sugerimos que a indicação mais aproximada de áreas de endemismo seja a de ecorregiões definidas pela Secretaria de Recursos Hídricos do Ministério do Meio Ambiente.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:36:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarcosRRS_TESE_2red.pdf: 2914202 bytes, checksum: 607aa226333ce661d0e57d380f43b9e9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-07 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / The acoustic ecology concept involve the relation between the live organisms and their sound environment and is applied in the present work to study the context in which the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) singing behavior, known as the most complex display in the nature, occurred in the northeastern Brazilian coast, outside the core area of Abrolhos Bank, between 2005 and 2010.I analyze the singer male occurrence , their spatial distribution and probable relations with oceanographic features, such as depth, tide regimen and moon phases. I also describe the acoustic structure and temporal variation of the singing behavior, based on song frequency and time measurements outside the Abrolhos Bank, and further compare the song complexity, registered in the same period, between Abrolhos Bank (16?- 19? S, 37?- 39? W) and the adjacent North Coast, herein considered from Itacar? (14? S, 38? W) to Aracaju (11? S, 37? W). Additionally, I look for describe and analyze anthropogenic noise sources in the marine environment of the study area, produced by the oil industry as well as by the whale watching operation, relating their frequencies to the acoustic niche utilized by the humpbacks. The results indicated a great plasticity in the singing behavior, evidenced by the occurrence of singer males in diverse social structures, from solitary individuals to other groups, even containing females and calves, as well as by the diversity which compound the song, when compared between two regions inside the same breeding area, which present distinct oceanographic characteristics. The singer male distribution may be related with the continental shelf extent along the study area. The anthropogenic noise presented frequency range, amplitude and sound intensity in potential to interfere acoustically in the singing behavior of the species, may resulting in disturbance during the breeding season in the Brazilian coast. Implications about the obtained results in the humpback whale mating system are discussed. In this way, I pretend to contribute with the acoustic ecology subject and provide information to subsidize humpback whale conservation / O conceito de ecologia ac?stica envolve a rela??o entre os organismos vivos e o seu ambiente sonoro e ? aplicado no presente trabalho para estudar o contexto no qual ocorreu o comportamento de canto da baleia jubarte (Megaptera novaeangliae), considerado o mais complexo comportamento reprodutivo (display) da natureza, na costa nordeste do Brasil, fora da concentra??o reprodutiva do Banco de Abrolhos, entre os anos de 2005 e 2010. Analiso a ocorr?ncia de machos cantores em diferentes estruturas de grupo, sua distribui??o espacial e prov?veis rela??es com fatores oceanogr?ficos, como profundidade, regime de mar?s e fases da lua. Tamb?m descrevo a estrutura ac?stica e a varia??o temporal do comportamento de canto, baseado em medi??es de frequ?ncia e tempo dos cantos, fora do Banco de Abrolhos, al?m de comparar a complexidade do canto, registrada no mesmo per?odo de estudo, entre o Banco de Abrolhos (16?- 19? S, 37?- 39? W), e a Costa Norte adjacente, aqui considerada desde Itacar? (14? S, 38? W) a Aracaj? (11? S, 37? W). Ainda busco descrever e analisar as fontes de ru?dos antropog?nicos no ambiente marinho da ?rea de estudo, produzidos pela atividade de explora??o de petroleo e g?s e tamb?m pelo turismo de observa??o de baleias, relacionando-os com o nicho ac?stico utilizado pela jubarte. Os resultados indicaram uma grande plasticidade no comportamento de canto, evidenciado pela ocorr?ncia dos cantores em diversas estruturas sociais, de indiv?duos solit?rios a grupos contendo outros animais, inclusive f?meas com filhotes, bem como pela diversidade que comp?e o canto da esp?cie, quando comparado entre duas regi?es dentro da mesma ?rea de reprodu??o, como o Banco de Abrolhos e a Costa Norte, que apresenta caracter?sticas oceanogr?ficas distintas. A distribui??o dos machos cantores parece estar relacionada com a extens?o da plataforma continental na ?rea de estudo. Os ru?dos antropog?nicos produzidos demonstraram uma faixa de frequ?ncias, amplitude sonora e intensidade capazes de interferir acusticamente no comportamento de canto da esp?cie, podendo resultar em dist?rbios durante o per?odo de reprodu??o da esp?cie na costa brasileira. Implica??es sobre os resultados obtidos na teoria do sistema de acasamento da esp?cie s?o discutidas. Dessa forma, pretendo contribuir com o tema da ecologia acustica e gerar informa??es que subsidiem a conserva??o da baleia jubarte

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / A área de vida pode ser definida como o espaço físico necessário para um animal desempenhar as atividades essenciais para sua sobrevivência, desenvolvimento e reprodução. O conhecimento sobre área de vida é essencial para a compreensão dos processos que regem o uso do espaço e a organização social em populações animais. Neste estudo, investigamos aspectos das áreas de vida do lagarto saxícola, endêmico da Caatinga, Tropidurus semitaeniatus, avaliando possíveis variações intersexuais, ontogenéticas e sazonais nos tamanhos das áreas de vida, bem como elementos da organização social da espécie. A área de estudo consistiu em uma área típica de Caatinga stricto sensu, localizada no município de Pentecoste - Ceará. Realizamos coletas em dois afloramentos rochosos, nos quais demarcamos pontos de referência a cada cinco metros. Coletamos os lagartos residentes nestes afloramentos, registrando, para cada indivíduo, o sexo e o tamanho rostro-cloacal (mm), e posteriormente, identificando-o com marcação única. Vistoriamos cada afloramento durante 20 dias em cada estação (chuvosa e seca), respectivamente em junho e dezembro de 2011, realizando recapturas visuais e coletando registros de posições espaciais de cada indivíduo. Estimamos as áreas de vida pelo método do Polígono Convexo Mínimo, para os indivíduos recapturados pelo menos seis vezes. Obtivemos 56 áreas de vida, das quais 10 foram de machos, 20 de fêmeas e 26 de jovens. Não existiu relação entre os tamanhos das áreas de vida e os comprimentos rostro-cloacais dos indivíduos. Não houve diferenças sexuais, ontogenéticas ou sazonais nos tamanhos das áreas de vida. Contudo, o espaçamento entre as áreas de vida foi menor durante a estação chuvosa e a maioria das sobreposições entre áreas de vida também ocorreu neste período. Ao todo, registramos 81 sobreposições de áreas de vida, sendo estas mais frequentes entre fêmeas e jovens e menos frequentes entre pares de machos. A proporção da área de vida total sobreposta com outro indivíduo foi maior entre pares de fêmeas e menor entre pares de machos. Os machos estiveram associados em média com 1,5 fêmeas, possuindo de zero a sete áreas de vida de fêmeas sobrepostas com suas áreas de vida. O número de áreas de vida de fêmeas sobrepostas às áreas de vida de machos esteve positivamente associado ao tamanho dos machos. Por outro lado, não houve associação entre o número de áreas de vida de fêmeas sobrepostas às áreas de vida de machos e os tamanhos das áreas de vida dos machos correspondentes. Em suma, à luz do conhecimento acumulado sobre a história natural do organismo de estudo, acreditamos que sua extrema especificidade por ambientes rochosos e a disponibilidade limitada de habitats adequados à ocupação constituem fatores preponderantes na determinação dos padrões singulares de uso do espaço e organização social em T. semitaeniatus. / The home range may be defined as the physical space required for an animal to perform the essential activities for its survival, development and reproduction. The knowledge on home range is essential to understanding the processes that govern the use of space and the social organization in animal populations. Herein, we investigated home range aspects of the saxicolous lizard, endemic from Caatinga, Tropidurus semitaeniatus, evaluating possible intersexual, ontogenetic and seasonal variations in home range size, as well as elements of the social organization of the species. The study area was a typical Caatinga stricto sensu area, located in Pentecoste municipality - Ceará. We performed sampling at two rocky outcrops, where we defined reference marks each five meters. We collect the lizards living in these outcrops, recording for each individual, the sex and snout-vent length (mm), and subsequently, identifying it with unique marking code. We scanned each outcrop for 20 days in each season (rainy and dry), respectively on June and December 2011, performing visual recaptures and collecting records of spatial positions of each individual. We estimated the home range size by Minimum Polygon Convex method, for individuals recaptured at least six times. We obtained 56 home range areas, of which 10 males, 20 females and 26 juveniles. There was no relationship between home range size and snout-vent length of individuals. There were no sexual, ontogenetic or seasonal differences in home range size. However, the spacing between home range areas was lowest during the rainy season and the most of the home range overlaps also occurred in this period. Overall, we recorded 81 home range overlaps, which were more frequent between females and juveniles and less frequent among pairs of males. The proportion of the total home range overlapped with another individual was highest among pairs of females and lowest among pairs of males. Males were associated on average with 1.5 females, having from zero to seven females home range overlapped with their own home ranges. The number of female home ranges overlapped with male ones was positively associated with the body size of males. Moreover, there was no association between the number of female home ranges overlapped with male ones and the home range size of the corresponding males. In conclusion, in the light of accumulated knowledge about the natural history of the studied organism, we believe that their extreme specificity to the rocky environments and restricted availability of suitable habitats for its occupation are important factors in determining patterns of use of space and social organization in T. semitaeniatus

Submitted by Eduarda Figueiredo (eduarda.ffigueiredo@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-12T15:30:43Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Leite_FS-Tese2012-DOCEAN-tt.pdf: 7355705 bytes, checksum: cdd11be57564224083c3a2b8946fb3de (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-12T15:30:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Leite_FS-Tese2012-DOCEAN-tt.pdf: 7355705 bytes, checksum: cdd11be57564224083c3a2b8946fb3de (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-26 / FACEPE / A exploração de óleo e gás vem apresentando um rápido crescimento em regiões de baixa latitude, mesmo assim pouquíssimos experimentos e modelagens envolvendo vazamento de gás têm sido publicados pela comunidade científica. Este estudo foi desenvolvido de modo a aumentar o conhecimento a respeito do comportamento da pluma de gás durante um vazamento acidental em águas rasas. Os métodos usados e os resultados obtidos são apresentados neste estudo, assim como um modelo para simular o transporte e a dispersão de uma pluma de gás liberada em águas rasas. Primeiramente, experimentos de campo foram realizados através da simulação de um vazamento de gás natural a aproximadamente 30 m de profundidade na costa nordeste do Brasil. Quatro cenários distintos, com variadas condições de forçantes geofísicas, foram associados a diferentes fluxos de gás (de 3000 a 9000 L.h-1) e períodos sazonais (verão e inverno). Num segundo estágio, a análise de dispersão da pluma de gás foi realizada com os dados obtidos in situ. O modelo usou um volume de controle lagrangiano para discretização e simulou a evolução da pluma de gás associando a termodinâmica e o impacto desta na hidrodinâmica da pluma de gás. De acordo com os dados coletados, o transporte predominante da corrente ocorreu para sulsudoeste (nordeste) durante o verão (inverno). A diferença no diâmetro da pluma ocorreu principalmente na camada mais próxima à superfície. A pluma de gás deslocou-se para sul-sudoeste no verão e para nordestenorte durante o inverno. Os fluxos de gás liberados no assoalho oceânico pareceram não afetar a hidrodinâmica local. O movimento da pluma foi sempre influenciado pelas forçantes de maré e meteorológica, nesta ordem. Os resultados de modelagem indicaram que, à medida que a pluma sobe na coluna de água, a mesma é deslocada horizontalmente na direção da corrente predominante. A situação extrema estabeleceu um raio crítico (máximo deslocamento horizontal) da fonte de gás de 35,2 m. A comparação entre os dados medidos e os calculados mostrou que o modelo representou satisfatoriamente as principais características da liberação de gás, tais como o deslocamento, o diâmetro e o tempo de ascensão da pluma. Apesar das plumas apresentarem a largura média da mesma ordem de magnitude entre as medições e os cálculos, melhorias podem aumentar o desempenho do modelo durante o desenvolvimento inicial das plumas. Dados importantes e únicos foram coletados durante os vazamentos de gás, os quais contribuíram para a caracterização do comportamento de diferentes fluxos em diferentes períodos. Os experimentos forneceram uma base de dados para um modelo computacional que foi capaz de reproduzir o transporte e a dispersão de uma pluma de gás no ambiente marinho. O modelo foi capaz de prever o transporte e destino do gás liberado no ambiente. O mesmo pode, portanto, ser usado como uma ferramenta para planos de contingência de vazamentos acidentais de gás no oceano. / Underwater oil and gas exploration has been growing fast in low latitude regions, even though very few experimental data acquisition and modeling involving gas release in tropical and shallow waters have been published by the scientific community. This study was developed to increase the knowledge concerning the gas behavior during a subsurface blowout in shallow waters. The methods used and the results obtained from this study are presented, as well as a model to simulate the transport and dispersion of a subsurface gas plume released from shallow waters. At first, field experiments were carried out by simulating a subsurface blowout with natural gas at approximately 30 m depth in the Northeast Brazilian coast. Four distinct scenarios with varied conditions of geophysical forcing were associated with different fluxes (from 3000 to 9000 L.h-1) and seasonal periods (summer and winter). As a second stage, the analysis of the gas plume dispersion was accomplished with the data obtained from the above campaigns. The model used a Lagrangian control volume for discretization and simulated the gas plume evolution, associating thermodynamics and the impact of the thermodynamics on the hydrodynamics of the gas plume. The predominant transport occurred toward the south-southwest (northeast) during the summer (winter) period. The difference in the plume width occurred mainly in the upper surface layer. The gas plume displaced toward the south-southwest (northeast-north) during the summer (winter) period. The gas flow releases seemed not to affect the local hydrodynamics. The plume movement was always influenced by the tidal and meteorological forcings, in that order. The simulation results indicated that, as the gas plume rose in the water column, the same plume was horizontally displaced toward current predominant direction. The extreme situation provided a critical radius (maximum horizontal displacement) from the gas release source of 35.2 m. The comparison between the measured and the calculated data showed that the model satisfactorily represented the main features of the gas release, such as the displacement, diameter and ascending time of the plume. Although the mean plume widths have the same order of magnitude between the measurements and the calculations, improvements may enhance the model’s performance during the earlier plume development. Important and unique data were collected during these subsurface releases, which contributed to the characterization of the behavior of different blowouts in different seasons. The experiments provided a baseline for a computational model capable of reproducing gas plume transport and dispersion in the marine environment. The model was able to predict the gas release transport and fate in the environment. Thus it can be used as a tool for contingency planning of an accidental underwater gas release.

We used long-term observations of grassland aboveground net plant production (ANPP, 19392016), growing seasonal advanced very-high-resolution radiometer remote sensing normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data (1982-2016), and simulations of actual evapotranspiration (1912-2016) to evaluate the impact of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on a semiarid grassland in northeastern Colorado. Because ANPP was well correlated (R-2 = 0.58) to cumulative April to July actual evapotranspiration (iAET) and cumulative growing season NDVI (iNDVI) was well correlated to iAET and ANPP (R-2 = 0.62 [quadratic model] and 0.59, respectively), we were able to quantify interactions between the long-duration (15-30 yr) PDO temperature cycles and annual-duration ENSO SST phases on ANPP. We found that during cold-phase PDOs, mean ANPP and iNDVI were lower, and the frequency of low ANPP years (drought years) was much higher, compared to warm-phase PDO years. In addition, ANPP, iNDVI, and iAET were highly variable during the cold-phase PDOs. When NINO-3 (ENSO index) values were negative, there was a higher frequency of droughts and lower frequency of wet years regardless of the PDO phase. PDO and NINO-3 anomalies reinforced each other resulting in a high frequency of above-normal iAET (52%) and low frequency of drought (20%) when both PDO and NINO-3 values were positive and the opposite pattern when both PDO and NINO-3 values were negative (24% frequency of above normal and 48% frequency of drought). Precipitation variability and subsequent ANPP dynamics in this grassland were dampened when PDO and NINO-3 SSTs had opposing signs. Thus, primary signatures of these SSTs in this semiarid grassland are (1) increased interannual variability in ANPP during cold-phase PDOs, (2) drought with low ANPP occurring in almost half of those years with negative values of PDO and NINO-3, and (3) high precipitation and ANPP common in years with positive PDO and NINO-3 values.

Between 2007 and 2016, there was a rescue archeological research done by the Institute of Archaeology of the CAS in the locality of Brandýs nad Labem-Vrábí at the site "U Vodojemu", where, above other, a large settlement from the Early Bronze Age was uncovered. Based on the ceramics, it is possible to classify it chronologically as the early period of the Únětice culture, typologically then, it is possible to associate the ceramics found with the post-classical phase of the Únětice culture. The discovery of the U-shaped ditch adjacent to the ground edge of the Hrušovský stream indicates that the settlement was fortified for a certain time, approximately at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Based on the nature of the ditch filling, of the ceramic findings with analogies in the beginning of the tumulus culture, as well as of the carbon dating, it is obvious that the settlement served further on after the downfall of this fortification, too, and thus for another 100 years at least. In the context of another very numerous, contemporaneous findings in the cadaster of Brandýs nad Labem, it is visible that the site "U Vodojemu" used to be a part of a large settlement agglomeration. A detailed mapping of the Early Bronze Age findings from the district of the north-east part of Central Bohemia has...