xviii, 230 p. : maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / In this thesis, a reconstruction of Proto-Peba-Yagua is attempted using the comparative method. Peba-Yagua had three members in the past: Yagua, Peba and Yameo. Yagua is the only extant member of the family. Information about the sound inventory and the morphology of the proto-system is provided and discussed based on comparisons of all three varieties. Results show that Proto- Peba-Yagua had at least the consonants *p, *t, *k, *m, *n, *tJ, *R, *h, *w, *j and at least the vowels *a, *e, *i, *u. Peba and Yameo show more similarity with regards to the historical development of their sound inventory. With regards to morphology and grammar, because of lack of evidence for all involved linguistic varieties, the only categories that can be reconstructed are parts of the pronominal system, some classifiers and the locative morpheme *-mV. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Doris Payne, Chair; Dr. Spike Gildea

Many industrial processes handling organic solvents produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs not only cause environmental pollution, but also represent an economic loss. VOC removal and recovery have become a big issue that needs to be addressed. Traditional techniques for VOCs removal include carbon adsorption, condensation, and absorption, and none is efficient enough to meet every need. Membrane separation has emerged as an excellent alternative or complementary technology for VOC separation. Separation of VOCs from nitrogen by composite hollow fiber membranes is studied in this thesis. Microporous hollow fiber membranes were spun from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) using the phase inversion method, and the hollow fibers were coated with a thin layer of poly(ether block amide) (PEBA), thereby forming composite membranes. PVDF was chosen as the substrate material because of its excellent thermal and chemical stabilities and good mechanical strength, and PEBA was selected as the active separating layer because of its good permselectivity and film forming properties. In PEBA polymer, the hard polyamide blocks provide high mechanical strength, and the soft polyether blocks provide flexibility and elasticity. This study is focused on the preparation and characterization of PEBA/PVDF composite hollow fiber membranes. The membranes were tested for the removal of representative VOCs including hexane, heptane and cyclohexane, which are the main components of gasoline, and dimethyl carbonate (DMC), ethanol, methanol, and methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) that are the oxygenates and octane number enhancers of gasoline. The separation of gasoline vapor from nitrogen was also investigated. It was found that the PEBA/PVDF composite hollow fiber membranes are effective for the separation of hydrocarbon vapors from nitrogen. The effects of hollow fiber membrane preparation conditions on the membrane performance were studied, and the separation performance of the composite hollow fiber membranes at various operating conditions (e. g. feed concentration, operating temperature) was evaluated.

Many industrial processes handling organic solvents produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs not only cause environmental pollution, but also represent an economic loss. VOC removal and recovery have become a big issue that needs to be addressed. Traditional techniques for VOCs removal include carbon adsorption, condensation, and absorption, and none is efficient enough to meet every need. Membrane separation has emerged as an excellent alternative or complementary technology for VOC separation. Separation of VOCs from nitrogen by composite hollow fiber membranes is studied in this thesis. Microporous hollow fiber membranes were spun from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) using the phase inversion method, and the hollow fibers were coated with a thin layer of poly(ether block amide) (PEBA), thereby forming composite membranes. PVDF was chosen as the substrate material because of its excellent thermal and chemical stabilities and good mechanical strength, and PEBA was selected as the active separating layer because of its good permselectivity and film forming properties. In PEBA polymer, the hard polyamide blocks provide high mechanical strength, and the soft polyether blocks provide flexibility and elasticity. This study is focused on the preparation and characterization of PEBA/PVDF composite hollow fiber membranes. The membranes were tested for the removal of representative VOCs including hexane, heptane and cyclohexane, which are the main components of gasoline, and dimethyl carbonate (DMC), ethanol, methanol, and methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) that are the oxygenates and octane number enhancers of gasoline. The separation of gasoline vapor from nitrogen was also investigated. It was found that the PEBA/PVDF composite hollow fiber membranes are effective for the separation of hydrocarbon vapors from nitrogen. The effects of hollow fiber membrane preparation conditions on the membrane performance were studied, and the separation performance of the composite hollow fiber membranes at various operating conditions (e. g. feed concentration, operating temperature) was evaluated.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-15T20:31:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WeronaOBF_DISSERT.pdf: 1240251 bytes, checksum: 813cde782f7585af1038e48b12491444 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-30 / The increasing contact between humans and domestic animals with wild animals has contributed to spread infectious agents, thus increasing the risk of transmission of zoonosis. Therefore, this present study aimed to detect, using different serological techniques, the presence of anti-Leptospira spp., anti-Toxoplasma gondii and anti-Leishmania infantum in six-banded armadillos. For this, was used 33 species of wildlife armadillos Euphractus sexcinctus of both sexes and various ages from the city of Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Of the 33 animals subjected to serological analysis, 2/33 (6.06%) were positive for leptospirosis, where serovars reagents were Canicola and Andamana, and both with titration of 200. For the toxoplasmosis research it was noted that 2/33 (6.06%) had antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii, and all of them having the title equal to 400. In relation to leishmaniasis, 3/33 (9.09%) animals were reactive to Leishmania infantum antigen, which had the title of 320. This was the first evidence of Leishmania infantum in six-banded armadillo already described. From the present study, we can confirm the real possibility of these animals act as carriers agent with zoonotic potential / O aumento do contato entre a população humana e doméstica com os animais silvestres tem contribuído para disseminar agentes infeciosos na vida selvagem, aumentando assim, os riscos de transmissão das zoonoses. O número de enfermidades já relatadas nas diferentes espécies de tatus é muito alta. Acredita-se, portanto, que o E. sexcinctus possa atuar como reservatório de uma série de doenças, muitas delas ainda não confirmadas para espécie. Isso ocorre por esta espécie apresentar diversas características compatíveis com a manutenção dos agentes na natureza, tais como, suas características fisiológicas, ampla distribuição, partilhar suas tocas com outras espécies e manter contato direto com o homem e animais domésticos. Com isso, este estudo objetivou detectar, a partir de diferentes técnicas sorológicas, a presença de anticorpos anti-Leptospira spp., anti-Toxoplasma gondii e anti-Leishmania infantum nos tatus-peba, de vida livre. Para tanto, foram utilizados 33 tatus da espécie Euphractus sexcinctus, de ambos os sexos e variadas idades provenientes da cidade de Mossoró-RN. Dos 33 animais submetidos as análises sorológicas, 2/33 (6,06%) foram positivos para leptospirose. Um deles reagiu para o sorovar Canicola (200) e outro para o sorovar Andamana (200). Para a pesquisa de toxoplasmose, 2/33 (6,06%) apresentaram anticorpos anti-Toxoplasma gondii, todas apresentando título igual a 400. Em relação a leishmaniose, 3/33 (9,09%) animais foram reativos para o antígeno L. infantum, todos apresentando título de 320. Esta foi a primeira evidência de anticorpos anti-Leishmania infantum em Euphractus sexcinctus já descrita. A partir do presente estudo, foi possível confirmar a real possibilidade destes aninais atuarem como portadores de agentes com potencial zoonótico

This study was concerned with the recovery of aroma compounds from aqueous solutions by pervaporation using poly(ether-block-amide) (PEBA) membranes. Three model aroma compounds (i.e., propyl propionate, C6-aldehyde and benzaldehyde) were used in the study to represent ester, aldehyde and aromatic aroma compounds, respectively. The effects of process conditions (i.e., feed concentration and operating temperature) on the pervaporation performance (in terms of permeation flux and selectivity) for aroma-water separations were investigated. It was found that both the aroma permeation flux and the selectivity were affected significantly by the feed aroma concentration. The aroma permeability was in the order of propyl propionate > C6-aldehyde > benzaldehyde, and the membrane selectivity for aroma/water separation followed the order of C6-aldehyde > propyl propionate > benzaldehyde. In general, the aroma flux was found to be proportional to the aroma compound concentration in the solution. In the concentration range (390-3,200 ppm) tested, the effect of temperature on the permeation flux followed an Arrhenius type of relation. The solubility and diffusivity of the aroma compounds in PEBA membrane, which determine their permeabilities through the membrane, were determined from the pervaporation and sorption/desorption data. It was shown that the solubility of the aroma compounds in the PEBA membrane generally followed the Henry’s law where the sorption uptake was proportional to the feed aroma concentration. Among the three aroma compounds studied, benzaldehyde was found to have the highest solubility selectivity in the PEBA membrane, followed by C6-aldehyde and propyl propionate. The solubilities of pure propyl propionate and water in PEBA membrane were also estimated; the solubility of pure propyl propionate was around 130 times higher than that of pure water. This confirmed that PEBA was an excellent organophilic membrane. The diffusivity of the aroma compounds through PEBA membrane was affected by the feed aroma concentration. From steady state pervaporation and equilibrium sorption data, the diffusivity was calculated on the basis of solution-diffusion model, and the diffusivity was shown to be linearly dependent on the feed aroma concentration. On the other hand, from the sorption kinetics data obtained from the time-dependent sorption experiments, the diffusivity was shown to be affected by the feed aroma concentration exponentially. The main reason may be that the simple form of the solution-diffusion model is unable to precisely describe the mass transport through the membrane during pervaporation. As an alternative to pervaporation where the liquid feed is in contact with the membrane and the mass transport involves permeation and evaporation (thus the word “pervaporation”), evaporation-permeation (or evapermeation, where the feed liquid is not in direct contact with the membrane and the mass transfer involves evaporation and then permeation) was also studied for aroma compound separation from water. It was shown that evapermeation was no better than pervaporation in terms of permeation flux and selectivity. This again demonstrated that the state of the membrane and the location for liquid-vapor phase change were important to the mass transport through the membrane. For aroma recovery from dilute aqueous solutions, batch pervaporation is often preferred. Batch pervaporation coupled with permeate decantation and water phase recycle was studied parametrically. It was demonstrated that compared to the conventional pervaporation, the aroma recovery can be enhanced by recycling the water phase from the permeate decanter to the feed for further recovery. In addition, unlike the conventional batch operation where the product concentration starts to decrease beyond certain time, the modified batch pervaporation allows a longer period of operation without compromising the product purity.

This study deals with poly(ether block amide) (PEBA) (type 2533) membranes for gas separation. A new method was developed to prepare flat thin film PEBA membranes by spontaneous spreading of a solution of the block copolymer on water surface. The membrane formation is featured with simultaneous solvent evaporation and solvent exchange with the support liquid, i.e. water. The formation of a uniform and defect-free membrane was affected by the solvent system, polymer concentration in the casting solution and temperature. Propylene separation from nitrogen, which is relevant to the recovery of propylene from the de-gassing off-gas during polypropylene manufacturing, was carried out using flat PEBA composite membranes formed by laminating the aforementioned PEBA on a microporous substrate. The propylene permeance was affected by the presence of nitrogen, and vice versa, due to interactions between the permeating components. Semi-empirical correlations were developed to relate the permeance of a component in the mixture to the pressures and compositions of the gas on both sides of the membrane, and the separation performance at different operating conditions was analyzed in terms of product purity, recovery and productivity on the basis of a cross flow model. To further understand gas permeation behavior and transport mechanism in the membranes, sorption, diffusion, and permeation of three olefins (i.e., C2H4, C3H6, and C4H8) in dense PEBA membranes were investigated. The relative contribution of solubility and diffusivity to the preferential permeability of olefins over nitrogen was elucidated. It was revealed that the favorable olefin/nitrogen permselectivity was primarily attributed to the solubility selectivity, whereas the diffusivity selectivity may affect the permselectivity negatively or positively, depending on the operating temperature and pressure. At a given temperature, the pressure dependence of solubility and permeability could be described empirically by an exponential function. The limiting solubility at infinite dilution was correlated with the reduced temperature of the permeant. The separation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are more condensable than olefin gases, from nitrogen stream by the thin film PEBA composite membranes for potential use in gasoline or other organic vapour emission control was also studied. The membranes exhibited good separation performance for both binary VOC/N2 and multi-component VOCs/N2 gas mixtures. The permeance of N2 in the VOC/N2 mixtures was shown to be higher than pure N2 permeance due to membrane swelling induced by the VOCs dissolved in the membrane. The effects of feed VOC concentration, temperature, stage cut, and permeate pressure on the separation performance were investigated. Additionally, hollow fiber PEBA/polysulfone composite membranes were prepared by the dip coating technique. The effects of parameters involved in the procedure of polysulfone hollow fiber spinning and PEBA layer deposition on the permselectivity of the resulting composite membranes were investigated. Lab scale PEBA hollow fiber membrane modules were assembled and tested for CO2/N2 separation with various flow configurations using a simulated flue gas (15.3% carbon dioxide, balance N2) as the feed. The shell side feed with counter-current flow was shown to perform better than other configurations over a wide range of stage cuts in terms of product purity, recovery and productivity.

This study was concerned with the recovery of aroma compounds from aqueous solutions by pervaporation using poly(ether-block-amide) (PEBA) membranes. Three model aroma compounds (i.e., propyl propionate, C6-aldehyde and benzaldehyde) were used in the study to represent ester, aldehyde and aromatic aroma compounds, respectively. The effects of process conditions (i.e., feed concentration and operating temperature) on the pervaporation performance (in terms of permeation flux and selectivity) for aroma-water separations were investigated. It was found that both the aroma permeation flux and the selectivity were affected significantly by the feed aroma concentration. The aroma permeability was in the order of propyl propionate > C6-aldehyde > benzaldehyde, and the membrane selectivity for aroma/water separation followed the order of C6-aldehyde > propyl propionate > benzaldehyde. In general, the aroma flux was found to be proportional to the aroma compound concentration in the solution. In the concentration range (390-3,200 ppm) tested, the effect of temperature on the permeation flux followed an Arrhenius type of relation. The solubility and diffusivity of the aroma compounds in PEBA membrane, which determine their permeabilities through the membrane, were determined from the pervaporation and sorption/desorption data. It was shown that the solubility of the aroma compounds in the PEBA membrane generally followed the Henry’s law where the sorption uptake was proportional to the feed aroma concentration. Among the three aroma compounds studied, benzaldehyde was found to have the highest solubility selectivity in the PEBA membrane, followed by C6-aldehyde and propyl propionate. The solubilities of pure propyl propionate and water in PEBA membrane were also estimated; the solubility of pure propyl propionate was around 130 times higher than that of pure water. This confirmed that PEBA was an excellent organophilic membrane. The diffusivity of the aroma compounds through PEBA membrane was affected by the feed aroma concentration. From steady state pervaporation and equilibrium sorption data, the diffusivity was calculated on the basis of solution-diffusion model, and the diffusivity was shown to be linearly dependent on the feed aroma concentration. On the other hand, from the sorption kinetics data obtained from the time-dependent sorption experiments, the diffusivity was shown to be affected by the feed aroma concentration exponentially. The main reason may be that the simple form of the solution-diffusion model is unable to precisely describe the mass transport through the membrane during pervaporation. As an alternative to pervaporation where the liquid feed is in contact with the membrane and the mass transport involves permeation and evaporation (thus the word “pervaporation”), evaporation-permeation (or evapermeation, where the feed liquid is not in direct contact with the membrane and the mass transfer involves evaporation and then permeation) was also studied for aroma compound separation from water. It was shown that evapermeation was no better than pervaporation in terms of permeation flux and selectivity. This again demonstrated that the state of the membrane and the location for liquid-vapor phase change were important to the mass transport through the membrane. For aroma recovery from dilute aqueous solutions, batch pervaporation is often preferred. Batch pervaporation coupled with permeate decantation and water phase recycle was studied parametrically. It was demonstrated that compared to the conventional pervaporation, the aroma recovery can be enhanced by recycling the water phase from the permeate decanter to the feed for further recovery. In addition, unlike the conventional batch operation where the product concentration starts to decrease beyond certain time, the modified batch pervaporation allows a longer period of operation without compromising the product purity.

This study deals with poly(ether block amide) (PEBA) (type 2533) membranes for gas separation. A new method was developed to prepare flat thin film PEBA membranes by spontaneous spreading of a solution of the block copolymer on water surface. The membrane formation is featured with simultaneous solvent evaporation and solvent exchange with the support liquid, i.e. water. The formation of a uniform and defect-free membrane was affected by the solvent system, polymer concentration in the casting solution and temperature. Propylene separation from nitrogen, which is relevant to the recovery of propylene from the de-gassing off-gas during polypropylene manufacturing, was carried out using flat PEBA composite membranes formed by laminating the aforementioned PEBA on a microporous substrate. The propylene permeance was affected by the presence of nitrogen, and vice versa, due to interactions between the permeating components. Semi-empirical correlations were developed to relate the permeance of a component in the mixture to the pressures and compositions of the gas on both sides of the membrane, and the separation performance at different operating conditions was analyzed in terms of product purity, recovery and productivity on the basis of a cross flow model. To further understand gas permeation behavior and transport mechanism in the membranes, sorption, diffusion, and permeation of three olefins (i.e., C2H4, C3H6, and C4H8) in dense PEBA membranes were investigated. The relative contribution of solubility and diffusivity to the preferential permeability of olefins over nitrogen was elucidated. It was revealed that the favorable olefin/nitrogen permselectivity was primarily attributed to the solubility selectivity, whereas the diffusivity selectivity may affect the permselectivity negatively or positively, depending on the operating temperature and pressure. At a given temperature, the pressure dependence of solubility and permeability could be described empirically by an exponential function. The limiting solubility at infinite dilution was correlated with the reduced temperature of the permeant. The separation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are more condensable than olefin gases, from nitrogen stream by the thin film PEBA composite membranes for potential use in gasoline or other organic vapour emission control was also studied. The membranes exhibited good separation performance for both binary VOC/N2 and multi-component VOCs/N2 gas mixtures. The permeance of N2 in the VOC/N2 mixtures was shown to be higher than pure N2 permeance due to membrane swelling induced by the VOCs dissolved in the membrane. The effects of feed VOC concentration, temperature, stage cut, and permeate pressure on the separation performance were investigated. Additionally, hollow fiber PEBA/polysulfone composite membranes were prepared by the dip coating technique. The effects of parameters involved in the procedure of polysulfone hollow fiber spinning and PEBA layer deposition on the permselectivity of the resulting composite membranes were investigated. Lab scale PEBA hollow fiber membrane modules were assembled and tested for CO2/N2 separation with various flow configurations using a simulated flue gas (15.3% carbon dioxide, balance N2) as the feed. The shell side feed with counter-current flow was shown to perform better than other configurations over a wide range of stage cuts in terms of product purity, recovery and productivity.

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Ecologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, 2008. / Submitted by Jaqueline Oliveira (jaqueoliveiram@gmail.com) on 2008-12-04T16:57:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE_2008_IsisMeriMedri.pdf: 4728958 bytes, checksum: c3cdd3226e1f6901cedd85a7c9062e6f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Georgia Fernandes(georgia@bce.unb.br) on 2009-02-13T17:34:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE_2008_IsisMeriMedri.pdf: 4728958 bytes, checksum: c3cdd3226e1f6901cedd85a7c9062e6f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2009-02-13T17:34:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE_2008_IsisMeriMedri.pdf: 4728958 bytes, checksum: c3cdd3226e1f6901cedd85a7c9062e6f (MD5) / O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi acrescentar novas informações sobre a ecologia e história natural do tatu-peba, Euphractus sexcinctus (Linnaeus, 1758), na literatura científica. Este estudo foi conduzido na Fazenda Nhumirim, uma estação experimental da Embrapa Pantanal, localizada no Pantanal da Nhecolândia – MS, em diferentes intervalos entre outubro de 2006 e novembro de 2007. Os indivíduos foram capturados manualmente e levados até o laboratório da Fazenda Nhumirim para a anestesia, coleta de amostras biológicas e fixação externa de radiotransmissor na cauda destes animais. Após todos os procedimentos, e recuperação da anestesia, os tatus-peba foram soltos no exato local de captura, e foram monitorados durante o período de estudo. A área de vida foi estimada pelos métodos Mínimo Polígono Convexo 100% e Kernel Fixo 95%. A importância relativa dos tipos de hábitats para os tatus-peba foi avaliada através da comparação do uso de hábitat com a disponibilidade de hábitat, ou seja, a proporção de hábitat presente dentro da área de vida de cada tatu-peba. Foram examinadas as características das entradas das tocas destes indivíduos, como largura, altura e ângulo de entrada. A atividade dos animais também foi avaliada e foi comparada com dados obtidos por armadilhas fotográficas. A fauna comensal encontrada nas tocas dos tatus-peba foi listada. Amostras fecais dos indivíduos capturados foram coletadas e triadas. Os itens presentes na dieta do tatu-peba foram identificados até a menor categoria taxonômica possível. Algumas amostras de fragmentos vegetais presentes nas fezes dos animais foram analisadas pela técnica da microhistologia. Os endoparasitas foram coletados nas fezes frescas dos tatus-peba, e foram constituídos exclusivamente por helmintos, que foram identificados posteriormente. Os ectoparasitas dos tatus-peba consistiram em pulgas e carrapatos que também foram identificados até a menor categoria taxonômica possível. Foram calculados os índices de prevalência, abundância média e intensidade média de infestação destes parasitas sobre os tatus-peba. As medidas morfométricas dos tatuspeba capturados foram aferidas e comparadas com as medidas de animais de outras regiões. Adicionalmente, foram descritas as tentativas de fixação de radiotransmissor nos tatus-peba, as tentativas do uso de aparelhos Global Positioning System e Trackstick acoplados aos radiotransmissores para monitorar intensivamente a espécie por um curto intervalo de tempo, e todas as amostras biológicas coletadas dos tatus-peba. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / The general objective of this work was to increase original knowledge about ecology and natural history of the yellow armadillo, Euphractus sexcinctus (Linnaeus, 1758), in the scientific literature. This study was conducted in Nhumirim ranch, an experimental station of the Embrapa Pantanal, located in the Pantanal da Nhecolândia – MS, at different intervals from October 2006 to November 2007. The individuals were caught by hand and taken to the laboratory on the ranch Nhumirim for the anesthesia, collection of the biological samples and attachment of external radiotransmitter in the tail of these animals. After all procedures, and recovery from anesthesia, the yellow armadillos were released at the exact spot where they had been caught, and were monitored during the study period. The home range was estimated by the methods 100% Minimum Convex Polygon and 95% Fixed Kernel. The relative importance of habitat types to yellow armadillos was assessed by comparing the habitat used to availability that is proportion of habitat present in the home range of each yellow armadillo. Were examined the characteristics of the burrows entrance of these individuals, such as width, height and angle of the entrance. The activity of the animals was also evaluated and was compared with data obtained by camera traps. The commensal fauna found in the burrows entrance was listed. Fecal samples from individuals captured were collected and analyzed. Items found in the diet of the yellow armadillos were identified to the lowest taxonomic category possible. Some samples of vegetable fragments present in the feces of the animals were examined by the microhistology technique. The endoparasites were collected from fresh feces of the yellow armadillos, and were composed exclusively of helminthes, that were subsequently identified. The ectoparasites of the yellow armadillo consisted of the fleas and ticks that also were identified by the lower taxonomic category possible. Were calculated the prevalence, abundance and mean intensity of these parasites on yellow armadillos. The morphometric measures of the yellow armadillos captured were assessed and compared with measures of animals from other regions. Additionally, were described attempts of to fit the radiotransmitter in yellow armadillos, attempts of the use of equipments Global Positioning System and Trackstick fixed in the radiotransmitter to monitor intensively this species in shot time intervals, and all biological samples collected of the yellow armadillos.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-25T12:23:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Raynner Rilke Duarte Barboza.pdf: 1650632 bytes, checksum: 348f5180de4d3fd395120b1b20a6cbc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-09-17 / This study addressed to obtain general information from the residents of five municipalities in the semi-arid region of Paraiba State (Campina Grande, Monteiro, São Mamede, Sousa, Sumé) about their knowledge on the ecological and behavioral (feeding, reproduction, habitat, predation and use) of two specimens of armadillos (Euphractus sexcinctus) and (Dasypus novemcinctus) that occurs in that area, as well as to describe and analyze the cinegetic activities and purposes of game hunting carried on these two species, seeking support conservation and management measures. Data collection was obtained through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Among the qualitative methods: free interviews, semi-structured interviews, snow ball technique and guided tours were used; the quantitative data were done on simple averages and percentages in Microsoft ® Excel software and analyzed using the calculation of Fidelity Level (FL). Data were analyzed by an emic/ethics approach in which traditional knowledge were compared with those involved and/or related to the literature. 177 men and 37 women were contacted, whose ages ranged from 16 to 77 years. The results showed that the information regarding the foraging, ecological niche and reproduction were described in a very elucidating way by most of the interviewees, demonstrating a deep knowledge and perception on the ecology and biology of the two species of armadillos studied. Such levels of perception are directly linked to regional and cultural issues of each locality and the practices of creation of those animals in captivity also. The main hunting techniques and capture of those animals were: firearms, with dogs, the use of wire-dog and bucket with water. The people of the semi-arid of Paraiba use the E. sexcinctus and D. novemcinctus such in the local gastronomy, as for medicinal and magical-religious purposes, which were documented in this work for the treatment of 10 conditions or diseases: asthma, earache, wounds, furunculosis, deafness, blocked nose, insect bites, rheumatism, and varicose veins and warts. The practice of recreational and commercial hunting was documented in this research by the residents of the studied localities. From a conservation perspective, the techniques and methods of game described in this work can bring major impacts on population dynamics of these two species of armadillos. Additional studies on the activities of hunting will be useful to contribute to proposals for rules and laws that may regulate the controlled hunting in each region and for implementation of management plans and sustainable use of these species. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo geral obter informações junto a moradores de cinco municípios do semi-árido do Estado da Paraíba (Campina Grande, Monteiro, São Mamede, Sousa, Sumé) acerca dos conhecimentos ecológicos e comportamentais (alimentação, reprodução, habitat, predação e utilização) que os mesmos possuem sobre os tatus-peba (Euphractus sexcinctus) e tatus verdadeiros (Dasypus novemcinctus), bem como analisar e descrever as atividades cinegéticas e finalidades da caça exercida sobre essas duas espécies de tatus, visando subsidiar medidas de conservação e manejo. Para obtenção dos dados, utilizou-se uma combinação de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos. Dentre os métodos qualitativos, destacam-se: entrevistas livres, semi-estruturadas, bola de neve ou snow Ball em inglês e turnês guiadas já os dados quantitativos foram trabalhados em médias e porcentagens simples no software Microsoft® Excel e analisados por meio do cálculo do Nível de Fidelidade (FL). Os dados obtidos foram analisados por meio de uma abordagem emicista/eticista, na qual os conhecimentos tradicionais foram comparados com aqueles correspondentes e/ou correlacionados na literatura científica. Foram contactados 177 homens e 37 mulheres com atividades relacionadas aos tatus, cujas idades variaram de 16 a 77 anos. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que as informações referentes à alimentação, nicho ecológico e reprodução foram descritas de maneira muito elucidativa pela maioria dos entrevistados, demonstrando um profundo conhecimento e percepção sobre a ecologia e biologia das duas espécies de tatus estudadas. Tais níveis de percepção estão diretamente associados a questões regionais e culturais de cada localidade bem como as práticas de criação desses animais em cativeiro. As principais técnicas de caça e captura desses animais foram: Caça com armas de fogo, com cães e o uso de armadilhas como tatuzeiras ou pebeiras, também conhecidas como cachorro-de-arame; e Balde com água. Os povos do semi-árido paraibano utilizam os E. sexcinctus e D. novemcinctus tanto na gastronomia local como para fins medicinais e mágico-religiosos, onde foram documentados usos para o tratamento de 10 condições ou doenças: asma, dor de ouvido, ferimentos, furunculoses, mouquidão, nariz entupido, picadas de insetos, reumatismo, varizes e verrugas. Destaca-se nessa pesquisa o registro da caça para fins recreacionais e comercial por parte dos moradores das localidades estudadas. Sob uma ótica conservacionista, as técnicas e modalidades de caça descritas nesse trabalho podem trazer grandes impactos na dinâmica populacional dessas duas espécies de tatus. Estudos adicionais relativos a atividades de caça serão úteis de modo a contribuir com propostas de normas e leis que possam regular a caça controlada em cada região bem como para implementação de planos de manejo e uso sustentável dessas espécies.