The thesis focuses on segmentation of images with leaves of woody species. The main aim was to investigate existing image segmentation methods, choose suitable method for given data and implement it. Inputs are scanned leaves and photographs of various quality. The thesis summarizes the general methods of image segmentation and describes algorithm that gives us the best results. Based on the histogram, the algorithm decides whether the input is of sufficient quality and can be segmented by Otsu algorithm or is not and should be segmented using GrowCut algorithm. Next, the image is improved by morphological closing and holes filling. Finally, only the largest object is left. Results are illustrated using generated output images. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The thesis focuses on segmentation of images with leaves of woody species. The aim was to investigate existing image segmentation methods, choose suitable method for given data and implement it. The chosen method should segment existing datasets, photographs from cameras as well as photographs from lower-quality mobile phones. Inputs are scanned leaves and photographs of various quality. The thesis summarizes the general methods of image segmentation and describes own algorithm that gives us the best results. Based on the histogram, the algorithm decides whether the input is of sufficient quality and can be segmented by Otsu algorithm or is not and should be segmented using GrowCut algorithm. Next, the image is improved by morphological closing and holes filling. Finally, only the largest object is left. Results are illustrated using generated output images. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This monograph describes the global records of marine water bears (Phylum Tardigrada). We provide a comprehensive list of marine tardigrades recorded from around the world, providing an up-to-date taxonomy and a complete bibliography accompanied by geographic co-ordinates, habitat, substrate and biogeographic comments. A link is provided to an on-line interactive map where all occurrences for each species are shown. In total we list 197 taxa and their 2240 records from 39 oceans and seas and 18 Major Fishing Areas (FAO). It is hoped this work will serve as a reference point and background for further zoogeographic and taxonomic studies on marine tardigrades.

Conserving rare species and protecting biodiversity depends on sound information on the nature of rarity. Rarity is multidimensional, presenting the need for a quantitative classification scheme by which to label species as rare or common. I defined rarity for freshwater fishes based on the range extents, habitat breadths, and site abundance and examined the relationship between these dimensions of rarity and imperilment. Imperiled fishes were most often rare by all three dimensions, whereas undesignated species were most often common by all three dimensions. Next, I examined the effect of sampling intensity on observed rarity of stream fish using different numerical and proportional rarity criteria and found that increasing sampling intensity increased the number of species labelled as rare with proportional criteria but did not affect the number of species labelled as rare with numerical criteria. Additional electrofishing passes within a fixed reach increases the likelihood of detecting rare and endemic species. A tradeoff between information collected and sampling resources should be carefully considered in the context of objectives when sampling for rare species. Finally, I examined the effect of regional and watershed habitat variables, biotic interaction variables, and instream habitat variables, on the rare or common status on 23 North American freshwater fishes. I also compared biological and reproductive traits among species classified into the rarity framework. Rarity was successfully explained in 19 of the 23 species and I found that regional and watershed habitat variables were the most important predictors of rarity. I also found that species large body size, high fecundity, and long age at maturity were generally more common by range extent and site abundance while those species that did not guard nests were more frequently rare by site abundance. These results indicate that large-scale variables can be used to successfully predict species rarity and rare fishes differ in their biology and reproduction from common fishes. / Master of Science

O presente estudo listou e analisou a composição e a estrutura da comunidade de saturnídeos atraídos por luz da Estação Biológica de Boraceia (EBB), Salesóplis, São Paulo, Brasil. A EBB pertence ao Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP) e compreende uma área de 96 ha, por sua vez localizada dentro do maior remanescente brasileiro de Mata Atlântica da atualidade. A fauna de Saturniidae foi levantada através de exemplares da coleção de Lepidoptera do MZUSP, sendo estes dados complementados com 13 meses de coletas recentes, entre 2012 e 2013, quando foram realizadas coletas noturnas de 12 horas, por quatro noites em cada mês. Adicionalmente, foi produzida uma lista de 114 espécies de Saturniidae coletados no bioma Mata Atlântica, para muitas das quais foram gerados registros fotográficos in situ e de exemplares montados. Os dados oriundos deste levantamento foram comparados com outros estudos sobre Saturniidae realizados no Brasil e demonstraram número elevado de espécies para EBB (119 espécies) quando comparado aos dados disponíveis de outros levantamentos, como os de Saturniidae do Rio Grande do Sul, do Paraná e do bioma (ou ecótono) Cerrado. Os dados das coletas recentes (2012-2013) foram comparados com a assembleia destes lepidópteros amostrada em 25 meses consecutivos durante os anos de 1948 a 1950. Esta comparação demonstrou que a riqueza e a uniformidade das espécies registradas recentemente (2012-2013) é significativamente próxima daquela registrada no período histórico (1948-1950). Alguns exemplares representaram novos registros de espécies para EBB, e algumas espécies foram coletadas exclusivamente em algum momento de todo o período histórico. A área de coleta demonstrou grande densidade de espécies do gênero Hylesia Hübner, 1920 com pelo menos 15 espécies (sendo destas 3 morfoespécies) coletadas em 1.158 exemplares. Estes resultados asseguram a importância do remanescente de Mata Atlântica da Serra do Mar para manutenção de espécies de Saturniidae e ainda, demonstram a significância da EBB para estudos faunísticos de insetos da Mata Atlântica. Algumas avaliações sobre as distribuições sazonal e circadiana dos exemplares coletados em 2012-2013 apontaram padrões que poderão ser utilizados para testar hipóteses de comportamento e biologia das espécies. As espécies apresentaram tanto distribuição restrita ao longo do ano, quanto foram mais amplamente distribuídas. Da mesma forma algumas espécies apresentaram altos picos de abundâncias em períodos restritos da noite, enquanto outras ocorreram em distintos horários. A avaliação da alternância de espécies ao longo do ano e ao longo da noite indicou que há alta alternância de espécies para ambos os ciclos, ressaltando a importância de um levantamento que se ocupe com coletas durante todos os meses do ano e durante todo o período noturno. Demonstrou ainda, que a flutuação de abundância das espécies agrupadas em cada uma das cinco subfamílias representadas nas amostras, seguem padrões tanto semelhantes, quanto contrastantes. / This study evaluated and summarized the composition and structure of the saturniid community attracted to light trapping in a remnant of Atlantic Rainforest of the Boraceia Biological Station (EBB), Salesópolis, São Paulo, Brazil. The EBB belongs to Zoological Museum of University of São Paulo (MZUSP) and comprises a 96 ha area located inside the largest Brazilina remananent of the Atlantica Rain Forest. The Saturniidae fauna of this reserve was inventoried based on the specimens deposited at the MZUSP, and it was complemented with 13 months of recently field samplings between 2012 and 2013. Complementary field sampling was based on nocturnal collections of 12 hours along four nights on each of the 13 months. As a result we listed 114 species of the family Saturniidae. Many species were photographed in situ, for illustration of the dorsal and ventral habitus of each species we used the pinned specimens of the collection. Comparisons with other inventories of Saturniidae conducted in different Brazilian localities were performed and demonstrated an elevated number of species in EBB when compared to the data available from other inverntories, from Rio Grande do Sul state, Paraná state and the Savana bioma. Recent field samplings (2012-2013) were compared with the assemblage of saturniids from 25 consecutive months between 1948 and 1950. This comparison demonstrated that the richness and the uniformity of the species recentelly registered (2012-2013) is similar to that from the historical period (1948-1950). Few specimens constituted new record for EBB and other few were sampled exclusively on the whole range of the historical period. The studied area indicated high density of species of Hyleisa Hübner, 1920 with at least 15 species (with three morphospecies) collected, distributed in 1.158 specimens. The results stress the importance of the Serra do Mar Atlatic forest remanent to the conservation of the species of Saturniidae and yet, demonstrate the importance of EBB for the study of insects from the Atlantic Rain Forest. The analysis related to the seasonality and circadian pattern of the recently collected specimens (2012-2013) can be further used to test hypothesis of behavior and biology of the species. The abundance of species showed distinct fluctuation along the year, while some had concentrated distribution, others were broadly sampled along several months. Similarly, some species presented high pics of abundance on restricted periods during the night, while other speces were sampled in several distinct periods. The evaluation of the interchange of species during the year and during the night indicated hight interchanging of species for both cicles, sazonal and cyrcadina, stressing the importance of inventories of Saturniidae with effort along the entire year and along the hole night period. The same evaluation also demonstrated that the fluctuation of the abundance of species grouped by subfamilies follow similar and contrasting patters depending on the subfamilies that are being compaired.

O presente estudo listou e analisou a composição e a estrutura da comunidade de saturnídeos atraídos por luz da Estação Biológica de Boraceia (EBB), Salesóplis, São Paulo, Brasil. A EBB pertence ao Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP) e compreende uma área de 96 ha, por sua vez localizada dentro do maior remanescente brasileiro de Mata Atlântica da atualidade. A fauna de Saturniidae foi levantada através de exemplares da coleção de Lepidoptera do MZUSP, sendo estes dados complementados com 13 meses de coletas recentes, entre 2012 e 2013, quando foram realizadas coletas noturnas de 12 horas, por quatro noites em cada mês. Adicionalmente, foi produzida uma lista de 114 espécies de Saturniidae coletados no bioma Mata Atlântica, para muitas das quais foram gerados registros fotográficos in situ e de exemplares montados. Os dados oriundos deste levantamento foram comparados com outros estudos sobre Saturniidae realizados no Brasil e demonstraram número elevado de espécies para EBB (119 espécies) quando comparado aos dados disponíveis de outros levantamentos, como os de Saturniidae do Rio Grande do Sul, do Paraná e do bioma (ou ecótono) Cerrado. Os dados das coletas recentes (2012-2013) foram comparados com a assembleia destes lepidópteros amostrada em 25 meses consecutivos durante os anos de 1948 a 1950. Esta comparação demonstrou que a riqueza e a uniformidade das espécies registradas recentemente (2012-2013) é significativamente próxima daquela registrada no período histórico (1948-1950). Alguns exemplares representaram novos registros de espécies para EBB, e algumas espécies foram coletadas exclusivamente em algum momento de todo o período histórico. A área de coleta demonstrou grande densidade de espécies do gênero Hylesia Hübner, 1920 com pelo menos 15 espécies (sendo destas 3 morfoespécies) coletadas em 1.158 exemplares. Estes resultados asseguram a importância do remanescente de Mata Atlântica da Serra do Mar para manutenção de espécies de Saturniidae e ainda, demonstram a significância da EBB para estudos faunísticos de insetos da Mata Atlântica. Algumas avaliações sobre as distribuições sazonal e circadiana dos exemplares coletados em 2012-2013 apontaram padrões que poderão ser utilizados para testar hipóteses de comportamento e biologia das espécies. As espécies apresentaram tanto distribuição restrita ao longo do ano, quanto foram mais amplamente distribuídas. Da mesma forma algumas espécies apresentaram altos picos de abundâncias em períodos restritos da noite, enquanto outras ocorreram em distintos horários. A avaliação da alternância de espécies ao longo do ano e ao longo da noite indicou que há alta alternância de espécies para ambos os ciclos, ressaltando a importância de um levantamento que se ocupe com coletas durante todos os meses do ano e durante todo o período noturno. Demonstrou ainda, que a flutuação de abundância das espécies agrupadas em cada uma das cinco subfamílias representadas nas amostras, seguem padrões tanto semelhantes, quanto contrastantes. / This study evaluated and summarized the composition and structure of the saturniid community attracted to light trapping in a remnant of Atlantic Rainforest of the Boraceia Biological Station (EBB), Salesópolis, São Paulo, Brazil. The EBB belongs to Zoological Museum of University of São Paulo (MZUSP) and comprises a 96 ha area located inside the largest Brazilina remananent of the Atlantica Rain Forest. The Saturniidae fauna of this reserve was inventoried based on the specimens deposited at the MZUSP, and it was complemented with 13 months of recently field samplings between 2012 and 2013. Complementary field sampling was based on nocturnal collections of 12 hours along four nights on each of the 13 months. As a result we listed 114 species of the family Saturniidae. Many species were photographed in situ, for illustration of the dorsal and ventral habitus of each species we used the pinned specimens of the collection. Comparisons with other inventories of Saturniidae conducted in different Brazilian localities were performed and demonstrated an elevated number of species in EBB when compared to the data available from other inverntories, from Rio Grande do Sul state, Paraná state and the Savana bioma. Recent field samplings (2012-2013) were compared with the assemblage of saturniids from 25 consecutive months between 1948 and 1950. This comparison demonstrated that the richness and the uniformity of the species recentelly registered (2012-2013) is similar to that from the historical period (1948-1950). Few specimens constituted new record for EBB and other few were sampled exclusively on the whole range of the historical period. The studied area indicated high density of species of Hyleisa Hübner, 1920 with at least 15 species (with three morphospecies) collected, distributed in 1.158 specimens. The results stress the importance of the Serra do Mar Atlatic forest remanent to the conservation of the species of Saturniidae and yet, demonstrate the importance of EBB for the study of insects from the Atlantic Rain Forest. The analysis related to the seasonality and circadian pattern of the recently collected specimens (2012-2013) can be further used to test hypothesis of behavior and biology of the species. The abundance of species showed distinct fluctuation along the year, while some had concentrated distribution, others were broadly sampled along several months. Similarly, some species presented high pics of abundance on restricted periods during the night, while other speces were sampled in several distinct periods. The evaluation of the interchange of species during the year and during the night indicated hight interchanging of species for both cicles, sazonal and cyrcadina, stressing the importance of inventories of Saturniidae with effort along the entire year and along the hole night period. The same evaluation also demonstrated that the fluctuation of the abundance of species grouped by subfamilies follow similar and contrasting patters depending on the subfamilies that are being compaired.

The larger pelagic crustacean fauna of the Gully submarine canyon is described for the first time, based on three annual summer surveys. The larger Crustacea are a significant part of the Gully fauna, and are dominated by cold temperate species, in particular the northern krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica and the decapod Sergestes arcticus. In all, at least 69 species were collected from the surface to bathypelagic depths, with seventeen being new Canadian records. With the exception of M. norvegica, inter-annual variation in the dominant species was minor. The species assemblage varied primarily with depth surveyed and diel cycle, and not year. Comparing the larger pelagic crustaceans in the Gully and over the adjacent continental slope showed that overall species number, biomass, and abundance were all greater in the canyon, the biomass of S. arcticus particularly showing a positive “Gully effect”.