Blastodinium, a genus of the phytoplanktonic dinoflagellates, was found to be inhabiting the gut region of the copepod species Labidocera. Copepods are ubiquitous in aquatic environments, being the most numerous multicellular organisms on planet earth. Being primary consumers, they play important ecological roles, passing energy from one trophic level to the next. As zooplankton, estuarine copepods contribute substantially to carbon cycling as they undergo diurnal migration to avoid daylight UV-B damage and surface water predation. Blastodinium are presumed to infect copepods via ingestion of zoospores by juvenile hosts, who function as microhabitats for acquiring nutrients in non-photosynthetic species or in nutrient-limited environments. Blastodinium may hinder reproduction of copepod hosts, thereby influencing local copepod populations and, by extension, food webs up to humanity. Copepod populations may also help contain disease spread, such as malaria and Dengue fever, through their consumption of mosquito larvae in standing water. Further evaluation of copepods for Blastodinium may help shed light on the limited knowledge of this species and the nature of its relationship with copepods, as well as its effects on copepod populations and the higher order consequences of its parasitism.

Esta tese tem como objetivo investigar os limites constitucionais ao emprego de normas tributárias extrafiscais, contribuindo, de maneira original, com o desenvolvimento de métodos que possibilitem que estes instrumentos sejam controlados de modo mais preciso pelo Poder Judiciário. Para a consecução deste objetivo central, trabalhou-se a partir de quatro blocos de investigação. Primeiro, a pesquisa centrou-se em discutir a importância de segregação das normas tributárias entre fiscais e extrafiscais, analisando as diversas propostas de métodos para a separação entre estas. Ao final, a tese sugere que as normas tributárias extrafiscais devem ser identificadas a partir das suas finalidades, conforme venha a ser interpretado pelo aplicador da norma. Superada a questão, passa-se à investigação dos fundamentos constitucionais que legitimam o emprego das normas tributárias extrafiscais, quando se debate em que sentido normativo se pode falar em neutralidade tributária. Em um terceiro módulo de investigação, as normas tributárias extrafiscais são contrapostas às limitações constitucionais ao poder de tributar, ao conflito entre competência regulatória e competência tributária, ao conceito constitucional de tributo, bem como aos limites ínsitos às espécies tributárias previstas pela Constituição Federal. Por fim, apresenta-se um modelo de protocolo decisório que pode ser utilizado para fins de controlabilidade das normas tributárias extrafiscais pelo Poder Judiciário, colocando-se em destaque os princípios da igualdade e da proporcionalidade. / The main goal of this thesis is to investigate the constitutional limits on the use of non-fiscal purpose tax laws, contributing, with originality, to the development of methods that allow a more precise control of these instruments by the Judiciary Branch. To achieve such goal, the thesis was divided into four parts. The first part focuses in discussing the importance of segregation of tax laws in two groups: fiscal and non-fiscal, and analyzes the numerous methods proposed for such classification. The thesis suggests that non-fiscal purpose tax laws must be identified by their purpose, as interpreted by those responsible for applying the law. The second part investigates the constitutional basis that legitimates the use of non-fiscal purpose tax laws and discusses to what normative extent one can speak of tax neutrality. In the third part, the non-fiscal purpose tax laws are compared to the constitutional limits on taxation, to the conflict between regulatory competence and fiscal competence, to the constitutional concept of tax, as well as to the limits involving the tax species provided by the Federal Constitution. Finally, a model of decision making protocol is presented for use a mean of control by the Judiciary Branch of the non-fiscal purpose tax, highlighting the principles of equality and proportionality.