Bats are generalist predators of night flying insects, including many crop pests. Pecan nut casebearer (Acrobasis nuxvorella), hickory shuckworm (Cydia caryana), and several stink bug species are some of the most damaging crop pests in pecan orchards. Attracting bats to agricultural areas using bats houses may reduce the numbers of these pests and, consequently, their economic impact. This study uses quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) of mitochondrial DNA found in the guano of bats living in bat houses on organic pecan orchards to document the consumption of pecan nut casebearer, hickory shuckworm, and corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea), which is one of the most destructive pests of many crops throughout the world. This study also uses direct sequencing of insect remains in bat fecal pellets to identify species of stink bugs consumed by bats in bat houses. Evidence that bats prey upon crop pests supports the hypothesis that bats are both economically and ecologically beneficial to pecan farmers and provides incentives for bat conservation.

Bats are generalist predators of night flying insects, including many crop pests. Pecan nut casebearer (Acrobasis nuxvorella), hickory shuckworm (Cydia caryana), and several stink bug species are some of the most damaging crop pests in pecan orchards. Attracting bats to agricultural areas using bats houses may reduce the numbers of these pests and, consequently, their economic impact. This study uses quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) of mitochondrial DNA found in the guano of bats living in bat houses on organic pecan orchards to document the consumption of pecan nut casebearer, hickory shuckworm, and corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea), which is one of the most destructive pests of many crops throughout the world. This study also uses direct sequencing of insect remains in bat fecal pellets to identify species of stink bugs consumed by bats in bat houses. Evidence that bats prey upon crop pests supports the hypothesis that bats are both economically and ecologically beneficial to pecan farmers and provides incentives for bat conservation.

No description available.

The elusive jaguar (Panthera onca) is extremely difficult to study due to its wide-ranging behavior, crepuscular activity peaks and its occurrence in low population densities in often dense forest habitats. Jaguars are also a species of concern, but our ability to provide for their survival is hampered by our inability to obtain reliable information on the status of their wild populations. This study combines innovative noninvasive research techniques such as scat detector dogs and molecular scatology to conduct the first genetic study on wild populations of Neotropical felids coexisting across fragmented forest habitats in Belize, Central America. Specifically, we analyzed multi-locus data in jaguars (Panthera onca), pumas (Puma concolor) and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) collected from 1053 scat samples across their range in the country. First, we optimized 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci for jaguars (Panthera onca), pumas (Puma concolor), and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), and assessed their utility for cross-species amplification. Additionally, we tested their reliability for species and individual identification using fecal DNA as he primary DNA source. All microsatellite loci examined successfully cross-amplified in the three target species, and were polymorphic. Second, to maximize PCR amplification success and genotyping accuracy rates, and to minimize genotyping error rates for fecal DNA samples, we evaluated the performance of two fecal DNA storage techniques (dimethyl sulfoxide saline solution/DET buffer, 95% EtOH) suitable for long-term preservation at remote tropical sites. Additionally, we tested fecal DNA samples collected from four different scat locations (top, side, bottom, inside). DET buffer was the superior fecal DNA preservation method and collecting fecal DNA from side and top locations of the scat resulted in the highest PCR success rates. For the main genetic study, we assessed the genetic conservation status of all three target species across the country of Belize. We examined levels of genetic diversity within different sites, (2) defined potential genetic clusters/populations, (3) and examined levels of gene flow and population structure for all three target species on a countrywide scale. Furthermore, we compared genetic diversity and gene flow levels among the three target species. Wild felids in Belize showed moderate levels of heterozygosity (HE = 0.60 - 0.70) with jaguars having the lowest genetic diversity with average expected heterozygosities of HE = 0.60 ± 0.05 and allelic richness (AR) of 4.94 ± 0.44 followed by pumas with HE = 0.65 ± 0.06 and AR of 7.52 ± 0.86 and ocelots with HE = 0.70 ± 0.05 and AR of 3.89 ± 0.23. We observed low to moderate levels of differentiation (FST = 0.00 - 0.15) and weak population structure using spatial Bayesian clustering techniques for all three target species. Although levels of genetic diversity and gene flow across the country are still fairly high, we did detect evidence of fragmentation indicating the risk of further habitat loss and fragmentation for wild felids. Felids were simultaneously monitored across all study sites by remote sensing camera traps, which allows for a comparison of density estimates obtained from two different noninvasive survey approaches. Furthermore, analytical methods for density estimation are advancing rapidly, making it difficult to choose the optimal technique. Thus, we compared a variety of density estimators including the conventional approach of estimating abundance ( ) in programs CAPTURE and MARK and dividing abundance by the effective trapping area (ETA), the recently developed spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) models, both the likelihood-based approach (ML-SECR) in program DENSITY and the Bayesian approach (B-SECR) in program SPACECAP, and finally the genetic-based mark-recapture one sampling occasion estimator in program CAPWIRE. Although different survey methods using various density estimators produced similar density estimates, confidence levels and coefficients of variation varied, with SECR methods resulting in the least precise estimates. Detection probabilities were generally higher for noninvasive genetic sampling than for camera trapping. Both techniques were shown to be reliable and highly efficient survey methods for density estimation of low-density Neotropical felids living in challenging environments such as the tropics. While less precise, SECR CMR models are probably a more realistic reflection of our uncertainty. They hold great promise for density estimation studies for wide-ranging and territorial carnivore species, especially if precision can be improved through study design or analysis advancements in the future. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that noninvasive sampling techniques such as molecular scatology and remote camera trapping are efficient research approaches to study multiple Neotropical felids in a multifaceted way and on a countrywide scale. We believe that the techniques and analyses developed in this study are widely applicable and relevant to the conservation and management of other elusive and difficult to study wild felids worldwide. / Ph. D.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-01-31Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:03:02Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 parmegiani_rf_dr_assis.pdf: 992382 bytes, checksum: a8ff67e55c119956db2ce173b81b3796 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Nosso trabalho procura investigar como o universo simbólico ligado à literatura apocalíptica cristã – mais especificamente as idéias de Juízo Final e Salvação – foi apropriado pelo Beato de Liébana na Alta Idade Média hispânica para compor seu Comentário ao Apocalipse e como, a partir desta obra, ele foi utilizado no processo de construção e divulgação de um referencial – representação – cristão de visão de mundo. Nossa pesquisa volta-se, portanto, para a relação entre o “mundo dos leitores” e o “mundo do livro”, ou seja, para as práticas da leitura e da escrita que permearam a produção, a circulação e a leitura do C Ap. Coube a nos pensarmos como uma cultura que privilegiava a oralidade, como aquela da Alta Idade Média, apoiou-se neste texto escrito para, em face dele, produzir um sentido e construir uma normatização cristã do universo sócio-religioso. Por conseguinte, nosso intuito esteve em buscar os vestígios das práticas de leitura que acompanharam os destinatários do C Ap e dos indícios que eles podem nos dar da atuação deste texto enquanto discurso (processo), revelando-nos pontos de sua coerência (interação com o leitor) e sua intenção (efeito de sentido). / Our research applies on an investigation about how the universe linked to the apocalyptic Christian – more specifically the concepts the concepts on Revelations and the Gospel of Salvation – were appropriated by the Beatus of Liébana in the Hispanic High Middle Ages to write his Commentary of Revelations and how, from this masterpiece, the ideas were used in the process of creation e dissemination of a Christian referent – representation – concerned to point of view. So, we focuses the relation between “the world of readers” and “the word of the book”, that is, we highlight the reading and writing practices that permeated the production, distribution and reading of the Beatus Apocalypse. It was our duty to think how a culture that used to privilege oral records, like that one in the High Middle Ages, was supported by that written text to, before it, produce a meaning and build a Christian standardization of the social-religious universe. Consequently, our objective was regarded in looking for the traces of the reading habit that accompanied the destinations of Beatus Apocalypse and in the evidences that the revelations may give us in order to comprehend such manuscripts as speech (process), showing points of its coherence (interaction with the reader) and its intention (meaning effect).

Orientador: Ruy de Oliveira Andrade Filho / Banca: Ivan Esperança Rocha / Banca: Giulia Crippa / Banca: Ana Paula Tavares Magalhães / Banca: Leila Rodrigues da Silva / Resumo: Nosso trabalho procura investigar como o universo simbólico ligado à literatura apocalíptica cristã - mais especificamente as idéias de Juízo Final e Salvação - foi apropriado pelo Beato de Liébana na Alta Idade Média hispânica para compor seu Comentário ao Apocalipse e como, a partir desta obra, ele foi utilizado no processo de construção e divulgação de um referencial - representação - cristão de visão de mundo. Nossa pesquisa volta-se, portanto, para a relação entre o "mundo dos leitores" e o "mundo do livro", ou seja, para as práticas da leitura e da escrita que permearam a produção, a circulação e a leitura do C Ap. Coube a nos pensarmos como uma cultura que privilegiava a oralidade, como aquela da Alta Idade Média, apoiou-se neste texto escrito para, em face dele, produzir um sentido e construir uma normatização cristã do universo sócio-religioso. Por conseguinte, nosso intuito esteve em buscar os vestígios das práticas de leitura que acompanharam os destinatários do C Ap e dos indícios que eles podem nos dar da atuação deste texto enquanto discurso (processo), revelando-nos pontos de sua coerência (interação com o leitor) e sua intenção (efeito de sentido) / Abstract: Our research applies on an investigation about how the universe linked to the apocalyptic Christian - more specifically the concepts the concepts on Revelations and the Gospel of Salvation - were appropriated by the Beatus of Liébana in the Hispanic High Middle Ages to write his Commentary of Revelations and how, from this masterpiece, the ideas were used in the process of creation e dissemination of a Christian referent - representation - concerned to point of view. So, we focuses the relation between "the world of readers" and "the word of the book", that is, we highlight the reading and writing practices that permeated the production, distribution and reading of the Beatus Apocalypse. It was our duty to think how a culture that used to privilege oral records, like that one in the High Middle Ages, was supported by that written text to, before it, produce a meaning and build a Christian standardization of the social-religious universe. Consequently, our objective was regarded in looking for the traces of the reading habit that accompanied the destinations of Beatus Apocalypse and in the evidences that the revelations may give us in order to comprehend such manuscripts as speech (process), showing points of its coherence (interaction with the reader) and its intention (meaning effect) / Doutor

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T14:42:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kevin Willian Kossar Furtado.pdf: 8131726 bytes, checksum: 62873b05b5803a70ebcb90944271c234 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-19 / A pesquisa compreende as representações sociais do adventismo para integrantes jovens da Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia (IASD) por meio das contraposições e anuências de crenças e práticas dos fiéis no que tange ao pensamento escatológico-sabático-dietético oficial da denominação. A investigação apresenta que práticas e valores são observados e alterados,adaptados, acrescentados ou suprimidos pelos fiéis em relação ao conjunto de crenças que historiciza o adventismo, e apreende as razões e demandas desse processo. O estudo situa-se na abordagem da teoria das Representações Sociais do psicólogo social Serge Moscovici. A pesquisa se concretiza com membros participantes da Classe de Jovens da Escola Sabatina da Igreja Adventista localizada em Uvaranas, Ponta Grossa, Paraná. O trabalho problematiza a história adventista, da Reforma Radical até o movimento milerita, e apresenta as tensões e reconfigurações do adventismo desde sua organização formal em 1863 até o momento. A pesquisa tem por objetivos apreender as representações sociais do adventismo para os jovens adventistas de Uvaranas; demonstrar como eles ancoram e objetivam as crenças aprendidas na Igreja; verificar a influência dos ensinamentos da denominação sobre as práticas e valores dos membros; levantar a produção científica sobre a IASD no âmbito da pós-graduação stricto sensu no Brasil; explicitar as características peculiares da Igreja Adventista; e identificar as práticas inerentes ao adventismo em sua expressão particular na comunidade investigada. Se executaram entrevistas semiestruturadas, mediante três categorias empíricas – escatologia, sábado e dieta alimentar –, gravadas em áudio, com dez indivíduos da IASD. Os dados obtidos nas entrevistas foram reunidos em unidades de registro e agrupados em um significado comum de primeira ordem; após, em torno de categorias de análise explicativas relacionadas com a problemática do estudo, organizaram-se as informações transmitidas para indicar as representações do adventismo para membros jovens da IASD. Usou-se, de maneira adaptada, a abordagem do núcleo central para verificar a centralidade das representações, em que foram indicados os elementos identificados como os mais expressivos, aqueles que, se retirados, fariam com que as representações perdessem significado. As razões de ser adventista dos indivíduos investigados estão centralizadas na apropriação bíblica realizada pela denominação. A centralidade da representação sobre a IASD está na imagem da mesma como mensageira divina. As profecias bíblicas do tempo do fim se expressam no núcleo representacional de indicadores do fim do mundo; a importância dos anúncios proféticos para o fim do mundo, em sua representação central, indica, ao mesmo tempo, uma explicação de certos acontecimentos atuais e a prova de veracidade da Bíblia; para os escritos de Ellen G.White a respeito do tempo do fim e do sábado, o núcleo central encontra-se na função das obras da autora como suplemento bíblico. O núcleo da representação sobre o sábado o qualifica como benefício espiritual; as motivações para a observância do dia sétimo focam-se na ordenança bíblica. Para a dieta alimentar, uma vida saudável constitui o cerne da representação; e, para as obras de Ellen G. White que abordam a reforma dietética, o âmago da representação localiza-se na dimensão de um manual alimentar. / The research comprises the social representations of adventism for young members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDAC) through contrapositions and consents of beliefs and practices of the faithful regarding the denomination's official eschatological-sabbatic-dietetic thought. The research shows that practices and values are observed and modified, adapted, added or deleted by the faithful in relation to the set of beliefs that historicizes the adventism,and seizes the reasons and demands of this process. The study is based in the social psychologist Serge Moscovici's approach of the Social Representations theory. The research materializes with participating members of the Youth Class Sabbath School Adventist Church located in Uvaranas, Ponta Grossa, Paraná. The paper problematizes the adventist history, from the Radical Reformation to the millerite movement, and presents tensions and reconfigurations of adventism since its formal organization in 1863 until now. The research has as objectives to grasp the social representations of adventism for young adventists of Uvaranas; demonstrate how they anchor and objectify beliefs learned in the Church; verify the influence of the teachings of the denomination on the practices and values of members; to raise the scientific literature on the SDAC in the scope of post-graduate studies stricto sensu in Brazil; to explicit the peculiar characteristics of the Adventist Church; and identify practices inherent to adventism in its particular expression in the community investigated. It was performed semi-structured interviews, by three empirical categories – eschatology, Saturday and diet –, recorded on áudio, with ten individuals of SDAC. The data obtained from the interviews were gathered in record units and grouped in a common meaning of the first order; than, around categories of explanatory analysis related to the problematic of the study, organized the information transmitted to indicate the representations of adventism for young members of the SDAC. It was used, in a adapted way, the central core’s approach to verify the centrality of representations, in which were indicated the elements identified as the most expressives, those which, if removed, would make representations to lose meaning. The reasons of being adventist of the investigated individuals are centralized in biblical appropriation realized by the denomination. The centrality of representation on the SDAC is in the image of the same as divine messenger. The biblical prophecies of the end time are expressed in representational core of the indicators of the end of the world; the importante of the prophetic announcements for the end of the world, in their central representation, indicates, at the same time, an explanation of certain current events and the proof of the veracity of the Bible; to the writings of Ellen G. White about the end time and the Sabbath, the central core is in the role of the author’s work as biblical supplement. The core of the Sabbath’s representation qualifies it as a spiritual benefit; the motivations for the observance of the seventh day are focused on biblical ordinance. For diet, a healthy lifestyle is the representation’s heart; and, to Ellen G. White’s works that address the dietetic reform, the core of the representation located in the dimension of a manual feed.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo verificar o papel das Sagradas Escrituras na conformação dos romances Nenhum olhar (2005) e Cemitério de pianos (2008), do escritor português José Luís Peixoto. A premissa é de que, em ambas as obras, o diálogo com o texto bíblico é determinante para o processo interpretativo. Após um levantamento da fortuna crítica do romancista e da proposição de um diálogo entre Bíblia e Literatura no âmbito acadêmico, introduzem-se elementos básicos da organização das narrativas, de acordo com os conceitos de fábula e trama, de Boris Tomachevski. A partir da teoria de Gérard Genette, os romances de Peixoto são tomados como hipertextos das Escrituras, numa perspectiva transposicional e paródica. Tendo em vista a aproximação entre os romances e a Bíblia, os principais aspectos da hermenêutica agostiniana são apresentados, a fim de subsidiar a análise das obras. A imagética explorada por José Luís Peixoto em suas narrativas é igualmente analisada sob essa perspectiva, reconhecendo nos romances a bipolaridade bíblica entre mundo apocalíptico e demoníaco e a atualização questionadora de uma série de imagens icônicas do paradigma judaico-cristão, com destaque para a imagem da família. A estrutura reiterativa dos romances é igualmente analisada, num diálogo com a concepção tipológica e escatológica do tempo na Bíblia e com a noção de repetição, de Søren Kierkegaard. O resgate de elementos do hipotexto bíblico, transpondo-os por meio da paródia a novos contextos, problematiza a visão de mundo cristã e as respostas que esta dá aos questionamentos da pós-modernidade. / This paper aims to evaluate the role of Sacred Scripture in the framing of the novels Nenhum olhar (2005) and Cemitério de pianos (2008), by Portuguese writer José Luís Peixoto. The starting point is that, in both works, the dialog with biblical text is determinant to the interpretation process. After a review of the novelist’s critical fortune and of the proposition of a dialog between the Bible and Literature in the academical scope, basic elements of narrative framing are introduced, according to the concepts of fable e plot, by Boris Tomashevski. Starting from the theory by Gérard Genette, Peixoto’s novels are taken as hypertexts of the Scripture, in a transpositional and parodic perspective. In view of the approximation between the novels and the Bible, the main aspects of Augustinian hermeneutics are presented, with the goal of subsidizing the works’ analysis. The imagery explored by José Luís Peixoto in his narratives is also analysed under this perspective, acknowledging in the novels the biblical bipolarity between apocalyptic and demonic world and the questioningly updating of a series of iconic images of the Judeo-Christian paradigm, with highlight on the image of family. The novels’ reiterative structure is also analysed, in dialog with the typological and scatological conception of time in the Bible and with the notion of repetition, by Søren Kierkegaard. The retrieval of elements from biblical hypotext, transposing them through parody to new contexts, problematizes the Christian worldview and its answers to postmodern questionings.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo verificar o papel das Sagradas Escrituras na conformação dos romances Nenhum olhar (2005) e Cemitério de pianos (2008), do escritor português José Luís Peixoto. A premissa é de que, em ambas as obras, o diálogo com o texto bíblico é determinante para o processo interpretativo. Após um levantamento da fortuna crítica do romancista e da proposição de um diálogo entre Bíblia e Literatura no âmbito acadêmico, introduzem-se elementos básicos da organização das narrativas, de acordo com os conceitos de fábula e trama, de Boris Tomachevski. A partir da teoria de Gérard Genette, os romances de Peixoto são tomados como hipertextos das Escrituras, numa perspectiva transposicional e paródica. Tendo em vista a aproximação entre os romances e a Bíblia, os principais aspectos da hermenêutica agostiniana são apresentados, a fim de subsidiar a análise das obras. A imagética explorada por José Luís Peixoto em suas narrativas é igualmente analisada sob essa perspectiva, reconhecendo nos romances a bipolaridade bíblica entre mundo apocalíptico e demoníaco e a atualização questionadora de uma série de imagens icônicas do paradigma judaico-cristão, com destaque para a imagem da família. A estrutura reiterativa dos romances é igualmente analisada, num diálogo com a concepção tipológica e escatológica do tempo na Bíblia e com a noção de repetição, de Søren Kierkegaard. O resgate de elementos do hipotexto bíblico, transpondo-os por meio da paródia a novos contextos, problematiza a visão de mundo cristã e as respostas que esta dá aos questionamentos da pós-modernidade. / This paper aims to evaluate the role of Sacred Scripture in the framing of the novels Nenhum olhar (2005) and Cemitério de pianos (2008), by Portuguese writer José Luís Peixoto. The starting point is that, in both works, the dialog with biblical text is determinant to the interpretation process. After a review of the novelist’s critical fortune and of the proposition of a dialog between the Bible and Literature in the academical scope, basic elements of narrative framing are introduced, according to the concepts of fable e plot, by Boris Tomashevski. Starting from the theory by Gérard Genette, Peixoto’s novels are taken as hypertexts of the Scripture, in a transpositional and parodic perspective. In view of the approximation between the novels and the Bible, the main aspects of Augustinian hermeneutics are presented, with the goal of subsidizing the works’ analysis. The imagery explored by José Luís Peixoto in his narratives is also analysed under this perspective, acknowledging in the novels the biblical bipolarity between apocalyptic and demonic world and the questioningly updating of a series of iconic images of the Judeo-Christian paradigm, with highlight on the image of family. The novels’ reiterative structure is also analysed, in dialog with the typological and scatological conception of time in the Bible and with the notion of repetition, by Søren Kierkegaard. The retrieval of elements from biblical hypotext, transposing them through parody to new contexts, problematizes the Christian worldview and its answers to postmodern questionings.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo verificar o papel das Sagradas Escrituras na conformação dos romances Nenhum olhar (2005) e Cemitério de pianos (2008), do escritor português José Luís Peixoto. A premissa é de que, em ambas as obras, o diálogo com o texto bíblico é determinante para o processo interpretativo. Após um levantamento da fortuna crítica do romancista e da proposição de um diálogo entre Bíblia e Literatura no âmbito acadêmico, introduzem-se elementos básicos da organização das narrativas, de acordo com os conceitos de fábula e trama, de Boris Tomachevski. A partir da teoria de Gérard Genette, os romances de Peixoto são tomados como hipertextos das Escrituras, numa perspectiva transposicional e paródica. Tendo em vista a aproximação entre os romances e a Bíblia, os principais aspectos da hermenêutica agostiniana são apresentados, a fim de subsidiar a análise das obras. A imagética explorada por José Luís Peixoto em suas narrativas é igualmente analisada sob essa perspectiva, reconhecendo nos romances a bipolaridade bíblica entre mundo apocalíptico e demoníaco e a atualização questionadora de uma série de imagens icônicas do paradigma judaico-cristão, com destaque para a imagem da família. A estrutura reiterativa dos romances é igualmente analisada, num diálogo com a concepção tipológica e escatológica do tempo na Bíblia e com a noção de repetição, de Søren Kierkegaard. O resgate de elementos do hipotexto bíblico, transpondo-os por meio da paródia a novos contextos, problematiza a visão de mundo cristã e as respostas que esta dá aos questionamentos da pós-modernidade. / This paper aims to evaluate the role of Sacred Scripture in the framing of the novels Nenhum olhar (2005) and Cemitério de pianos (2008), by Portuguese writer José Luís Peixoto. The starting point is that, in both works, the dialog with biblical text is determinant to the interpretation process. After a review of the novelist’s critical fortune and of the proposition of a dialog between the Bible and Literature in the academical scope, basic elements of narrative framing are introduced, according to the concepts of fable e plot, by Boris Tomashevski. Starting from the theory by Gérard Genette, Peixoto’s novels are taken as hypertexts of the Scripture, in a transpositional and parodic perspective. In view of the approximation between the novels and the Bible, the main aspects of Augustinian hermeneutics are presented, with the goal of subsidizing the works’ analysis. The imagery explored by José Luís Peixoto in his narratives is also analysed under this perspective, acknowledging in the novels the biblical bipolarity between apocalyptic and demonic world and the questioningly updating of a series of iconic images of the Judeo-Christian paradigm, with highlight on the image of family. The novels’ reiterative structure is also analysed, in dialog with the typological and scatological conception of time in the Bible and with the notion of repetition, by Søren Kierkegaard. The retrieval of elements from biblical hypotext, transposing them through parody to new contexts, problematizes the Christian worldview and its answers to postmodern questionings.