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Disertaciones |
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1
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ANA ELIZABETH BONATO ASATO
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Controlling factors of litterfall phenology and its effects on ecosystem multifunctionality in a semideciduous tropical forest
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Líder : ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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ALEXANDRE FADIGAS DE SOUZA
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LEONARDO HENRIQUE TEIXEIRA PINTO
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Data: 05-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Plant phenology is modulated by biotic factors, such as interactions between species and the effects of biodiversity, and abiotics, such as factors related to water and thermal regulation. The effect of these factors on phenology generally depends on the intensity of environmental filters. Here, we test the importance of biotic and abiotic factors for the functioning of the tropical forest ecosystem, known as Restinga, under adverse conditions. Seeking to understand the temporal patterns of the forest, we tested the seasonality of leaf, branches and reproductive phenologies of the forest, exploring the relationship between these phenophases and possible abiotic guides (Chapter 1). All phenophases presented seasonality, being the phenology of reproductive materials the most seasonal. Leaf phenology was negatively guided by precipitation and relative humidity, and positively by insolation. The phenology of reproductive material was guided by the relative humidity of the air, while that of branches was affected by the wind speed. Given their important contribution of matter and energy to the ecosystem, as well as the possible biotic effects on phenology, we aimed to understand the importance of plant diversity for leaf phenology seasonality (Chapter 2). Through path analysis, we observed that species richness negatively affects seasonality and niche overlap, but that niche overlap has no effect on seasonality. In addition, soil K content had a positive effect on seasonality. The results indicate that the dominance, possibly maintained by K, guides the phenological pattern of species rich plant assemblages. Because ecosystem valuation is based on its ability to maintain multiple functions simultaneously, we aimed to understand the role of diversity (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) and various abiotic factors in multifunctionality (Chapter 3). We also used weighted diversity metrics, given that dominant species could possibly have higher effects on multifunctionality. Using path analysis, we observed that multifunctionality was mainly determined by abiotic factors such as rainfall, slope and soil K content. In addition, model selection indicated those models with weighted metrics as best. Our results indicate that the environmental filters on the vegetation are intense, leading to seasonality of litter supply. This masks the biotic effects that, when present, occur through dominance, possibly guided by K.
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2
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LOUIZE FREYRE DA COSTA CORREIA
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3-D MONITORING OF CORAL HEALTH: COMPARISONS BETWEEN COASTAL AND OCEANIC REEFS
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Líder : GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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BÁRBARA SEGAL RAMOS
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GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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JULIANA DEO DIAS
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Data: 18-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Due to their proximity to more populated areas, coastal reefs may be potentially more prone to the effects of anthropogenic impacts compared to oceanic reefs. In these environments, corals can respond more quickly to these impacts, with changes in their health status, depending on the species and environmental variables such as depth, temperature and exposure to light. Comparing the health of corals in coastal and oceanic environments, within the same latitudinal range, can provide information on how anthropogenic impacts and the natural dynamics of the environment affect these ecosystems. We monitor colonies of the Siderastrea stellata (~ 5m deep) and Montastraea cavernosa (~ 30m deep) corals on coastal (Rio Grande do Norte; ~ 5 ° S) and oceanic (Fernando de Noronha; ~ 3 ° S) reefs in northeastern Brazil. In these places, the species monitored are among the main coral reef builders. We monitor quarterly for one year (2018-2019), using three-dimensional models generated by photogametry. From the generated models, we evaluated coral health indicators (bleaching, mortality, diseases and algal overgrowth). Both monitored species showed good health in coastal and oceanic reefs throughout the year, with no record of intense bleaching during the monitored period. In one of the oceanic reef environments, we observed periods and greater bleaching related to the natural dynamics of this environment leading to the burial of the colonies. Colonies of S. stellata remained in general healthier in coastal areas than in the oceanics, which may be related to less exposure to light in coastal areas compared to ocean reefs due to greater water turbidity. The health status of M. cavernosa was stable and, despite having differences between coastal and oceanic areas, the corals in all monitored sites had, on average, 80% of their surface in a healthy state. The surface water temperature was also similar and relatively constant in coastal and oceanic reefs. Coral health was more affected by variations in the local ecosystem (e.g. natural burial) than by proximity to human impact, indicating that local temporal dynamics need to be considering when assessing the response of corals to human impacts.
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3
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FERNANDA LAMIN HENRIQUE
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Spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation productivity in Caatinga drylands
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Líder : EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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CARLOS ROBERTO SORENSEN DUTRA DA FONSECA
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EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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THIAGO SANNA FREIRE SILVA
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Data: 18-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Ecosystem patterns of vegetation are well related to climatic factors in seasonal environments. Rainfall is a limiting resource in arid environments, but there is evidence that in the absence of precipitation, geographic aspects such as land and climate factors as water balance, contribute to the stabilization of primary productivity. Using geoprocessed data, we tested the influence of altitude, water deficit and type of vegetation (forest formation, countryside formation and savanna formation) on primary productivity and on the stability of this ecosystem function in the Caatinga domain. We expect that altitude will positively influence both primary productivity and stability, while the water deficit will have a negative effect. We believe that forest regions depend more on the increase in elevation, while the herbaceous-shrub physiognomies are more strongly controlled by the water deficit. We map the Caatinga in greater and lesser productivity and stability, based on the division by the median, and, we modeled the temporal structure of these changes seasonally, through a cross correlation function, to verify how stable the Caatinga is. The influence of altitude and water deficit on primary productivity differ individually according to the type of vegetation. Still, we found a variation between different types of vegetation, the effect on stability, when altitude and water deficit interact with each other. The water deficit negatively affects primary productivity and stability, and appears to have a greater influence than altitude, which acts with a positive effect. The most productive and stable areas, which in the long term, make up 37.5% of the Caatinga, declines to 10% in October, on a seasonal scale. The strongest change happens almost instantly due to the decrease in places with higher productivity due to drought, showing that few areas remain stable in the most critical periods. Understanding which processes influence the patterns described are important in terms of conservation, to predict the places that may suffer the most from the changes that the Caatinga have faced in changing land use and climate
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4
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TALES MARTINS DE ALENCAR PAIVA
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Insect herbivores and outcrossing rate in seed plants
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Líder : CARLOS ROBERTO SORENSEN DUTRA DA FONSECA
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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CARLOS ROBERTO SORENSEN DUTRA DA FONSECA
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GUSTAVO BRANT DE CARVALHO PATERNO
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VANESSA GRAZIELE STAGGEMEIER
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Data: 19-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Evolution of plant mating system, such as selfing and outcrossing ways, is an intriguing question in plant biology, since that can suffer influence of several ecological factors. The Red Queen hypothesis suggests that biotic interactions parasite-host-like is the major factor driving the evolution and persistence of sexual reproduction in nature. Therefore, in light of this hypothesis, is expected that species under high pressures of natural enemies, present high investment in sex, that in plants it can be measurement by the outcrossing rate, a metric based in molecular markers. There are support for Red Queen for several groups of animals, however in plant kingdom this hypothesis remains underexploited, especially using comparative approaches. Here, our main objective was test if the evolutionary pressure of insect herbivores is effective in predict outcrossing rates in seed plants. For that, we fitted phylogenetic regressions using two independent datasets for these two variables, also including some vegetative covariables: life span, growth form, specific leaf area and maximum height. The regressions were performed under two alternative evolutionary models: Brownian Motion and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck. We also tested the Red Queen prediction for natives and exotics species, to analyze the role of the coevolutionary time between plant and herbivores in mating system driving. We found, in both models, that plant species under higher pressure of insect herbivores richness had higher outcrossing rates. The same pattern remains in native species but not in exotics. In the same line, we found that tall and longer-lived plants tend to be higher outcrossing rates than small and short-lived. These results are in accordance with the expected by the Red Queen hypothesis, supporting the still scarce empirical framework of macroevolutionary studies about the role of natural enemies on evolution of mating system in seed plants.
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5
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JESSICA BLEUEL
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CORALS IN MARGINAL REEFS FACING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: FUTURE PROJECTIONS AND VULNERABILITY HOTSPOTS
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Líder : GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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MIGUEL MIES
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GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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MIRIAM PLAZA PINTO
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Data: 20-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Global climate change is a major threat to coral reefs around the world, increasing the annual frequency and severity of bleaching events, causing loss of living coral cover, complexity and diversity of coral reefs. Repeated and intense bleaching events can reduce the thermal tolerance and recovery capacity of coral species, so corals will likely depend on refuges in areas that will become more suitable as ocean warms (e.g. extratropical reefs), that are less impacted by increasing temperatures (e.g. deeper reefs) and where local human impacts are minimized, potentially enabling acclimation and adaptation. Therefore, identifying potential refugia and the most vulnerable areas to coral bleaching is critical to minimize local impacts and enhance coral´s ability to cope with climate change. We used Bayesian Hierarchical Spatial Model to project coral occurrence, cover and bleaching probabilities along the Brazilian coast that harbors the largest and richest marginal reefs in Southwestern Atlantic, and predicted how these probabilities are likely to change by 2050 and 2100, based on the RCP8.5 scenario forecasted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). By overlapping these predictive models, we identified the most vulnerable areas to coral bleaching (hotspots) under current and future scenarios. We identified higher coral occurrence and cover probabilities in tropical than subtropical regions of the Southwestern Atlantic. By 2050 and 2100, the projections indicate an increase in coral occurrence and cover probabilities toward extratropical and deeper offshore reefs, which could act as refugia. However, the role of these areas as refugia also depend on the bleaching probability, which tend to increase in future projections, and on the synergic effects of other anthropogenic impacts. The vulnerability hotspots were concentrated around the Abrolhos Bank, the largest and richest coral reef area in South Atlantic, both in current and future projections. This area comprises a network of marine protected areas that should be reinforced to mitigate local impacts and enhance the ability of corals to cope with increasing temperatures. The combination of these modelling approaches can be a powerful tool to inform conservation actions to face global climate changes accounting for future range expansion and increase in bleaching probabilities.
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6
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KELLY YUMI INAGAKI
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Trophic interactions will expand their distribution and decrease in intensity under climate change
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Líder : GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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EURICO MESQUITA NOLETO FILHO
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MARIANA BENDER GOMES
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Data: 20-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Tropical ecosystems harbor higher biodiversity, more intense and diverse ecological interactions than extratropical ecosystems. These latitudinal patterns result from long-term evolutionary processes, but the fast expansion of tropical species polewards due to climate change is altering biodiversity and interaction patterns. Tropicalization events have been identified for many marine organisms, including reef fishes, but the effects of climate change on large-scale patterns of species interactions are still poorly understood. Reef fishes area a good model to investigate these changes because they are critical consumers in reef ecosystems throughout latitudes, whose large-scale patterns of diversity and interactions are well understood. Because temperature affect the physiology of organisms, particularly ecthoterms, we hypothesized that (i) future warming of extratropical zones may intensify trophic interactions and enable tropical species to establish new interactions in these areas; and that (ii) increasing temperatures predicted for the near future would intensify trophic interactions in the tropics, up to the physiological limits when interactions would be no longer viable. This is the first study to evaluate how trophic interactions of different trophic groups (herbivores, invertivores and omnivores) will respond to increasing temperature scenarios. We used data on reef fish occurrence, biomass and patterns of fish trophic interaction on the benthos across 61° of latitude in the Western Atlantic, and applied Bayesian models to predict the intensity of interactions in 2050 and 2100 based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios. Trophic interactions will decline between 50-100% in the tropics, likely indicating that increased temperatures will exceed the physiological thermal tolerance of fishes. In the Northern hemisphere, from 20°N to 40°N, interactions will increase about 100%, likely due to tropicalization of herbivorous fishes and marine currents northward. This phenomenon was not observed in the Southern hemisphere. Interactions by invertivores will decline between 5-100% along Western Atlantic, indicating they may have a narrower thermal tolerance. Interactions by omnivores will decline about 100% at northern and about 30% at southern extratropics, but are likely to increase about 5-20% in the tropics, which could result from their feeding plasticity adaptations to different temperatures. Alternatively, fish can adapt and acclimate to changes in environmental conditions, but if there will be enough time for that to happen is still unclear. Predicting how climate change will affect trophic interactions may help understanding the future of ecosystems and the services they provide.
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7
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MERY INGRID GUIMARÃES DE ALENCAR
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Generalities of priming effect: evaluating the effects of interactions between flowers and leaves
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Líder : ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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ANDRÉ TAVARES CORRÊA DIAS
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ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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ANDROS TAROUCO GIANUCA
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Data: 20-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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The interaction between litter with different qualities generate non-additive effects on the decomposition, a phenomenon called priming effect (PE). Despite the global relevance of PE in decomposition, generalizations are still poorly understood, especially in tropical environments. The PE studies are concentrated on leaf litter and rhizosphere, but litter with higher chemical quality, such as flowers, can affect the dynamics of nutrient cycling at local and regional scales, producing mineralization hotspots. The PE relevance could be greater in tropical environments, as leaf litter is nutritionally poor and the interaction with higher quality litter can increases the magnitude of the phenomenon. Thus, this dissertation addresses, in two chapters, the relative importance of effects of floral and leaf detritus on the occurrence, magnitude and direction of the priming effect. In the first chapter we seek to understand the effects of the priming effect at the intraspecific level. For this, we conducted experimental tests with mixtures between floral and leaf litter, for 30 species with wide phylogenetic distribution. The interaction between litter resulted in non-additive effects for most treatments, with synergistic and reciprocal interactions for 53% of the species. The second chapter we aim the relative effect of intra and interspecific variation and their interactions on the magnitude of the priming effect. For this we use an experimental approach with floral and leaf litter of three species decomposing individual and mixture in all pairs of possible combinations, both intra and interspecific. Floral litter showed higher concentrations of important attributes for decomposition, which resulted in higher decomposition rates compared to leaf litter (F=197.4, p<0.0001). Functional differences between types of litter bring synergistic effects on decomposition, for most treatments with interaction between flowers and leaves. The greater magnitude occurring in interspecific interactions than intraspecific interactions. Despite the widespread occurrence of non-additive effects, we found no relationship between the magnitude of PE and functional dissimilarity in either chapter. Possibly the absence of a relationship between magnitude and functional dissimilarity is a result of the non-quantification of structural attributes (i.e. lignin) important for the decomposition. Thus, the results show that the intra and interspecific interaction between floral and leaf litter is an important pathway for the priming effect, further increasing the ecological relevance and universality of the phenomenon.
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8
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THAYNÁ LARISSA DA SILVA RABÊLO COSTA
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PRIORITY AREAS FOR RESTORATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN CAATINGA BIOME
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Líder : ADRIANA ROSA CARVALHO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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ADRIANA MONTEIRO DE ALMEIDA
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ADRIANA ROSA CARVALHO
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EURICO MESQUITA NOLETO FILHO
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Data: 28-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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In the Brazilian semiarid, the Caatinga is susceptible by several chronic disorders that threaten the living conditions of the human population. Ecological restoration is important to achieve biodiversity recovery and ensure the provision of ecosystem services (ES) relevant to the well-being of local communities. However, there is a lack of studies that focus on the mismatches between the ES supply and demand. In this sense, we seek to identify priority areas that address the ES supply and demand. To aim this goal, we use two ES provision (wood and food and / or medicinal use) and an ES regulation (pollination). We developed two scenarios for each service: (i) ES offer which we used the maps of the potential geographic distribution of native tree species and (ii) ES demand, which we included, areas ES supply and demand. We conducted the prioritization in Software Zonation, a responsible spatial tool for prioritizing areas that have the highest potential to increase biodiversity and provide ES. We found a percentage increase in representation in demand scenarios in all SEs, following in increasing order, the provision of food and / or medicinal species (1.5%), provision of wood (1.8%) and the most significant pollination (69.1%). These results indicated that for some ES the supply corresponds to the demand while for others there is a mismatch between them. This ES – provision of food/medicine and wood supply - showed larger overlap between supply and demand, signaling that active restoration actions in these areas can directly contribute to improving the welfare of people dependent on the extraction of forest resources.
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9
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JEAN PATRICK DA SILVA JORGE
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INDIVIDUAL AND INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF PREDATION RISK, RESOURCE AVAILABILITY AND HABITAT SIZE ON THE BEHAVOIR OF OVIPOSITION HABITAT SELECTION OF THE MOSQUITO AEDES AEGYPTI (LINNAEUS; CULICIDAE)
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Líder : LUCIANA SILVA CARNEIRO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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LUCIANA SILVA CARNEIRO
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ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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RAFAEL DETTOGNI GUARIENTO
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Data: 06-mar-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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ABSTRACT. Oviposition habitat selection is a crucial process for species with complex life cycle, such as the dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The choice of gravid female searching for oviposition site depends on the quality of available habitat. Quality assessment made by the female is based on the physical and chemical habitat caracteristics, wich lately indicate the expected fitness. Based on the assessment of the habitats emanating cues females must respond in order to select the most suitable habitats for survival, growth and development of offspring. Natural selection tends to favor oviposition strategies that maximize parental fitness. In an environment with quality habitats varying in multiple factors, female mosquitoes must perform complex integration of cues and respond to this variation through trade-off. However, there is still little knowledge of how multiple interacting factors affect the assessment of the habitat quality and the females laying eggs response. In order to assess the individual and interactive effects of predation risk, habitat size and resource availability on oviposition habitat selection behavior for Aedes aegypti mosquito, a laboratory experiment with a 2 × 2 × 2 design was carried out. Using artificial containers, the absence or presence of cues from the predator Poecilia vivípara, greater or lesser habitat size (depth) and high or low availability of resources were crossed. Females oviposited more frequently and in greater quantity in habitats considered to be of higher quality (without risk, larger and with high resource). The qualitative decision, denoted by the proportion of oviposited replicas per female, was affected by the risk × resource interaction. Only resource and habitat size had a significant individual effect on this variable. The quantitative decision, denoted by the proportion of the total number of eggs laid per female, was significantly affected by the interactions between risk × resource and resource × habitat size. Again, only resource and habitat size had a significant individual effect. These results confirm that females of Aedes aegypti in search of oviposition sites prefer habitats considered of better quality for oviposit, depositing eggs more frequently and in greater quantity. Such a response proves to be quite complex and seems to be influenced by a trade-off between the predation risk and resource availability and, also, between resource availability and habitat size. This demonstrates that there is an interdependence between the factors that indicate habitat quality in conducting oviposition habitat selection.ion. These findings are relevant for the development of more effective population control strategies for mosquitoes that carry disease and for understanding the patterns of distribution and abundance of species that use temporary aquatic habitats.
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10
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VIRGÍNIA HELEN FIGUEIREDO PAIXÃO
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Interactions between cacti and vertebrates in a northeastern Brazilian dry forest
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Líder : EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MAURO PICHORIM
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VANESSA GABRIELLE NÓBREGA GOMES
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Data: 17-mar-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Cacti species play a major role in frugivory networks in arid and semiarid ecosystems. In such environments, where water and food resources are in short supply most part of the year, cacti stand out for their fruit rich in water and sugar, and its mucilaginous pulp. Several studies reinforced the role of birds, bats, and lizards as effective cacti seed dispersers, although little is known about how these interactions are distributed in a network. Network structure provides information about the system stability in the face of disturbances and how tight or weak are interactions between species. Our objective was to describe network structure of mutualistic network of cacti-seed dispersal by vertebrates in SDTF (Caatinga), Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. We also identified the main cacti fruits consumers and their ecological role as seed dispersers. For that, we monitored frugivory in six cacti species using camera-traps during a year. We found 23 vertebrate species feeding on fruits of four cacti species, in a way that these interactions were not nested or modular, which is a common pattern found in mutualistic networks in tropical and temperate regions. Our data show that cacti have a generalist strategy of attracting a wide variety of animals that provide different dispersal services, such as birds, reptiles, and mammals. During our study, we found new interactions between lizards Salvator merianae to P. gounellei fruits and Tropidurus hispidus feeding on T. inamoena flowers. These records were described in a second chapter. For natural regeneration, it is crucial to maintain ecological services provided by functionally diverse of animal seed dispersers and this should be taken in account in conservation actions that aim to restore Caatinga areas dominated by cacti species.
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11
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BRUNO CHARNAUX LONZETTI
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Can ocean warming help zoanthids outcompete branching hydrocorals?
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Líder : GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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BÁRBARA SEGAL RAMOS
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GUILHERME ORTIGARA LONGO
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IGOR CRISTINO SILVA CRUZ
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Data: 31-mar-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Given the spatial limitation in reefs, competitive interactions among sessile organisms often occur through physical contact, such as coral-seaweed competition. Ocean warming and acidification may affect the outcomes of these interactions, by changing the competitive ability and recovery potential of the interacting organisms. In the Southwestern Atlantic, one of the most important competitors to corals is the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum, which under warming scenarios may expand its distribution and likely dominate reefs, particularly in Northeast Brazil. If this occurs, it would likely outcompete the hydrocoral Millepora alcicornis, one of the most important species that adds structural complexity to Brazilian reefs. We studied the competitive interaction between the zoanthid (P. caribaeorum) and the hydrocoral (M. alcicornis) through field and laboratory experiments, particularly addressing: the effect of physical contact on the hydrocoral´s health (field and laboratory); the recovery potential of hydrocorals, once the contact is ceased (field and laboratory); and how ocean warming potentially affect these processes (laboratory only; 27°C vs. 30°C predicted for 2100). Additionally, as the competitive interaction may be potentially mediated by chemical compounds of the zoanthid, we extracted surface compounds and tested their effects on the hydrocoral in the field and in the laboratory under different temperature scenarios. We found that contact with the zoanthid caused more damage than with the mimetic control in the field and under 27°C after 24h of contact in the lab. Hydrocorals in the field did not recover over a short time span (10 days), but in the laboratory they partially recovered the damaged area in the same period, when under current temperatures (27°C). When under future temperatures (30°C), filamentous algae colonized the area of hydrocorals previously contacted by the zoanthid. Although hydrocorals presented similar symptoms when comparing the current and future temperature scenarios, the recovery potential decreased with warming as it favored colonization by filamentous algae. The greater damage observed in the field and on the first day at lab’s 27°C were signs of P. caribaeorum’s chemical activity favoring competition, which were confirmed with the chemical tests. Those tests indicated a chemical influence on the interaction and revealed that a 3°C raise in temperature makes any contact a damaging one. As ocean warms, the competitive interaction we studied will become more frequent and zoanthids more likely to overgrow the branching hydrocorals, and possibly other branching corals in areas where zoanthids are abundant, as in the Caribbean reefs, causing reef flattening and potentially loss of diversity. This highlights the importance of understanding how ecological interactions will be affected by global changes, as it allows us to predict future dominance scenarios.
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12
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GABRIEL HENRIQUE SANTOS SILVA
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Importance of abiotic and biotic predictors of the plant community on litter decomposition in a seasonal tropical forest: A long-term approach via mass balance
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Líder : ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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GISLENE MARIA DA SILVA GANADE
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ALAN MOSELE TONIN
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Data: 22-jun-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Vegetal detritus decomposition is a key process in nutrient cycling and can be affected by both biotic and abiotic factors. Although many studies have evaluated the effects of litter diversity on its decomposition rate, most works use experimental and short-term approaches. Our aim were, using an observational approach based on estimates of the mass balance between the input and the debris stock during 3 years. For that, we assess, in 41 plots in a restinga forest fragment, the litterfall, soil litter, taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic litter diversity, C:P and C:K ratios and water-holding capacity of litter, in addition to the soil moisture and N, P and K concentrations. After building 54 models of path analysis, our significant models showed that soil moisture was the only variable to affect the decomposition rate of litter in our communities. The results suggest that the decomposition of the litter is not driven by any of the possible effects of diversity: neither by mechanisms of selection nor of complementarity. In fact, at our study site, the results indicate that the decomposition of plant debris is affected by physical attributes of the environment, i.e. soil moisture, probably because it affects the activity of the decomposing microorganisms.
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13
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ELLEN CRISTINA MÕES OLIVEIRA
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PATTERNS OF HABITAT USE OF TATUS IN BRAZILIAN CENTRAL AMAZON FLOOD PLAINS
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Líder : EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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MAÍRA BENCHIMOL DE SOUZA
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EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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GUILHERME SANTOS TOLEDO DE LIMA
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Data: 27-jul-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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The distribution of mammals in the environment is modulated by habitat complexity and changes in resource availability. They respond to landscape components which direct how they will use the habitat. Far from being a homogeneous forest, the Amazon is formed by different types of vegetation due to the flood pulse that occurs throughout the hydrological cycle. This phenomenon dictates habitat use patterns for many species and explains the great diversity of mammals found in the biome. Tatus (Dasypodidae: Cingulata) are the main group of excavating mammals of the Amazon rainforests. In this study, our objective was to identify which areas tatus are occupying related to the hydrological cycle and which environmental characteristics are influencing the patterns in habitat use. Data were collected from the Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve and Abufari Biological Reserve, located in the central-western portion of the Brazilian Amazon through photographic trapping. 72 cameras were installed in non-flooded areas (solid ground), adjacent to wetlands (floodplains), with a total sampling effort of 23080 days, where three tatus species were detected.From this, we used occupation models, taking imperfect detection into account, to estimate the detection and occupation for each species between the phases of the hydrological cycle (flood and drought), and the influence of environmental variables (relief roughness, Altitude in relation to river level, Predator Density, Wetland boundary distance and Forest Biomass) and anthropogenic (Distance from human communities) at each sampling point. We obtained 700 records independently of the three tatus species. The main results of the occupation models was that Dasypus Novemcinctus and Priodontes Maximus showed a higher occupancy in the solid ground areas during the drought when flooded areas became available (Ѱ = 0.69 ± 0.02 and Ѱ = 0.95 ± 0.12 ), than during the Flood (When flooded areas are full, therefore unavailable for terrestrial species to occupy). For Dasypus Kappleri, the occupation was higher during the Flood phase of the river (Ѱ = 0.98 ± 0.10). Relief roughness and altitude in relation to the river level were the most important variables for Dasypus Novemcinctus occupation when the weight of all models was added. For Priodontes Maximus the distance from the limit of the flooded area was more important for its occupation. For Dasypus Kappleri, the most important variables were the distance from the human community and the roughness of the relief.
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14
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MARIA IOHARA QUIRINO AMADOR
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Memory of active stakeholders can be used to identify recent and historical changes in reef environments
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Líder : PRISCILA FABIANA MACEDO LOPES
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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VINICIUS JOSÉ GIGLIO FERNANDES
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MARIANA BENDER GOMES
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PRISCILA FABIANA MACEDO LOPES
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Data: 29-jul-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Reefs are sensitive ecosystems affected by global changes (e.g., warming and acidification of the oceans) and local impacts (e.g., fishing and eutrophication). Recent records show that these ecosystems are changing rapidly, although the magnitude and timing of these changes are still unclear. We assessed changes in the seascape of Brazilian reefs, interviewing key stakeholders that make different uses of these ecosystems, such as fishermen, divers, and researchers. For most stakeholders, the health of Brazilian reef environments has been declining since the 1970s, evidenced by the decline of herbivorous fish within the Labridae: Scarinae (parrotfish) group and reef builders (massive corals). On the other hand, these authors also detected an increase in algae and smaller fish of the family Pomacentridae (damselfishes), in addition to pointing out the recovery of sea turtle populations. Assessing the memory of reef users allows determining the timing of these changes, to identify regional idiosyncrasies and groups of organisms that are most vulnerable to changes. This information is important to inform protection and conservation efforts, especially in developing countries, where marine research is relatively new or insufficient.
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15
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PAULO IVO SILVA DE MEDEIROS
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Effects of water level reduction on the dynamics of zooplankton and their predators in two shallow lakes semi-arid tropical
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Líder : JOSE LUIZ DE ATTAYDE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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JOSE LUIZ DE ATTAYDE
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ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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ROSEMBERG FERNANDES DE MENEZES
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Data: 07-ago-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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The reduction in the volume of lakes and reservoirs due to the increase in water deficit during periods of drought, should affect the structure and trophic dynamics of these ecosystems, increasing the concentration of organisms, the rates of encounter between predators and prey and, consequently, pressure of predation. The objective of this work was to investigate the effects of water level reduction caused by extreme drought events on the densities of zooplanktonic organisms and their predators in two reservoirs in the Brazilian semi-arid tropical region. The tested hypothesis is that the densities of zooplankton predators increase with the reduction of the volume of water caused by drought, favoring zooplankton prey less vulnerable to predation over the most vulnerable. To test this hypothesis, the densities of zooplanktonic organisms (rotifers, cladocerans and copepods) and their main predators (fish larvae and juveniles, shrimp larvae, hydracarina mite and chaoboridae larvae) were monitored for 24 months in two shallow artificial lakes of the Brazilian semi-arid region during a drought period (2012-2014). In one of the lakes, about 5.8 tons of adult fish were to remove to prevent massive fish mortality when the volume of water and oxygen reached a critical level. Zooplanktonic organisms were collected monthly by means of vertical trawls with a plankton net with a 68 µm opening and their predators were collected monthly by means of horizontal trawls with an ichthyoplankton mesh with a 500 µm mesh opening and a flow meter to measure the filtered volume. The organism densities were to analyze over the study period and Spearman correlations were to perform to evaluate the possible interactions between zooplanktonic organisms and their predators and the effects of reduced water volume on the studied organisms. In both lakes, rotifers dominated zooplankton and chaoboridae larvae were the most abundant predators. In the lake where there was no removal of adult fish, the densities of fish larvae to increase, the densities of chaoboridae larvae decreased and those of copepods increased with the reduction of the water level. On the other hand, in the lake where adult fish were remove, the densities of fish larvae, shrimp and rotifers decreased while the densities of chaoboridae larvae increased with the reduction of the water level. These results indicate that the water level reduction caused by drought tends to vary the abundance of predators, changing the relative importance of predation by vertebrates and invertebrates and causing changes in the structure of zooplankton communities depending on local conditions.
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Tesis |
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1
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LUDMILA DE MELO ALVES DAMASIO
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USE OF ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS TO ASSESS CHANGES IN FISHERIES
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Líder : PRISCILA FABIANA MACEDO LOPES
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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PRISCILA FABIANA MACEDO LOPES
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JOSE LUIZ DE ATTAYDE
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CARLOS SEBASTIAN VILLASANTE LARRAMENDI
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JOÃO VITOR CAMPOS E SILVA
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RODRIGO SILVA DA COSTA
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Data: 22-ene-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Providing fish and seafood from fishery catches is one of the most important ecosystem services that humans derive from the ocean, and as such, commercial fisheries regulation should be a priority. In order for the assessment of multi-specific fisheries to be broader and more sensitive to change, it is advisable to investigate various types of indicators, portraying the broadest possible scenario. Using reconstruct landing data and data provided by fishermen, this project proposes, through the Marine Trophic Index, Species Distribution Models and socioeconomic indicators to evaluate changes in fishing in the Brazilian equatorial region and how these changes impact fishermen, using communities from Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará as case studies. The results are expected to help better understand the changes and dynamics of fisheries and fish stocks in this region, helping to subsidize fisheries management decisions
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2
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MARINA VERGARA FAGUNDES
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FUNCTIONAL TRAITS OF CAATINGA SEASONALLY DRY TROPICAL FOREST: FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION, PLANT INTERACTIONS AND RESTORATION PRACTICES.
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Líder : GISLENE MARIA DA SILVA GANADE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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LUCY ROWLAND
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FLÁVIA REGINA CAPELLOTTO COSTA
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GISLENE MARIA DA SILVA GANADE
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INARA ROBERTA LEAL
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VANESSA GRAZIELE STAGGEMEIER
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Data: 13-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Functional traits are all physiological, morphological anatomical and biochemical features of an organism that allow it to survive and reproduce in its environment. The functional traits of organisms, here limited to tree species, in a given region, are primary selected by environmental filters. The understanding of how the environment modulates vegetation community is a worldwide question in Ecology. Once limited by environmental conditions, the functional traits will also exert effects on its environment, by changing abiotic resources and condition, affecting the surrounding organisms. Such effect can also modulate community structures. Understand both processes its fundamental to the understanding not only general ecological patterns, but to generate information in order to apply ecological theories to rebuild communities as in restoration programs. Mentioned that, this work is made by 3 independent chapters all focused in Seasonal dry Forest Caatinga. The first chapter aim to analyzed tree species coordinated trade-offs of one of the most biodiverse Seasonal tropical dry forest, determined its functional groups gathering above-below ground and biochemical traits, test if these groups are spatially associated over the biome and if the distribution is limited to a aridity gradient. We sampled several anatomical, physiological, structural and biochemical functional traits of 20 adult tree species in situ, and young plants of 2 and 6 months old cultivated in a greenhouse. We performed PCA test, K-means. Ripleys K analysys and gls to respond the aforesaid questions, respectively. We found distinct coordinated trade-offs representing the slow-fast growth strategies continuum. This continuum were collapsed in two main groups of acquisitive and conservative strategies, and the majority of species were selected to conservative group. Species of both groups are independently distributed over the biome, and fast-strategy species occurrence is more related to arid regions than slow-strategies. The second chapter aim to test which functional traits are important to explain facilitation capabilities of nurse plants, and if specific combinations of nurse-target functional traits explain the outcome of species-specific interaction. We performed a in-situ experiment with 60 adult plant-target tree species combination replicated 5 times. Using the already sampled functional traits as predictive variable and plant neighbour performance as response variable, we performed a GLMM followed by variable simplification. We found that both conservative and acquisitive species can exert positive effects and the outcome is highly dependent on the pair of species match. The positive outcome however, happened when the species exerting the effect, had functional traits which effect on environment, fulfill the ecological above- or below-ground requirements of its plants neighbour. At least, the third chapter, aim to disentangle the facilitation from functional complementarity effects, and test the importance of this components on biomass production and community function. We produced 4704 seedlings of 16 semiarid tree species using a new growing method. All individuals were planted in 147 experimental build communities of 13 m X 18 m, with 32 individuals each. The experimental communities were build at five levels of diversity and with distinct composition at each level replicated three times. The biomass production and the Net biodiversity Effect (NBE) were calculated and used as response variables. As a predictive variables we used facilitation community potential, community weighted mean and functional diversity based on above and below-ground traits. For both response variables, we performed a generalized linear mixed models to understand how they drive the productivity and function of communities. We showed that facilitation is a key process for restoration acting since the community biomass productivity until its net biodiversity effects. Both parts of complementarity effect, functional diversity and facilitation, are fundamental for a higher community function at the initial years of rebuilt communities.Additionally, we showed how to manipulate the three components of the Net biodiversity Effect, facilitation, functional diversity and community functional identity, in order to guide future restoration programs.
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3
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REGINA LÚCIA GUIMARÃES NOBRE
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EVALUATING THE INFLUENCE OF LAND USE, LANDSCAPE PROPERTIES, PRECIPITATION AND FISH ON AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING AND BIODIVERSITY THROUGH LARGE TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALE ASSESSMENTS ACROSS LAKES AND RESERVOIRS
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Líder : LUCIANA SILVA CARNEIRO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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JULIANA DEO DIAS
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LUCIANA SILVA CARNEIRO
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RAFAEL DETTOGNI GUARIENTO
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ROSEMBERG FERNANDES DE MENEZES
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VANESSA BECKER
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Data: 14-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Nutrient cycling is a fundamental ecosystem service as it provides an adequate balance of elements that are necessary for life. In freshwaters, the balance of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are of special interest as they often limit or control primary production and biomass formation. While the availability of these nutrients is fundamental for the maintenance of biodiversity and productivity of freshwaters, their excess can lead to eutrophic conditions that are associated with impaired water quality and biodiversity loss. The nutrient balance in freshwaters can potentially be affected by a variety of biotic and abiotic, external and internal pathways. In this thesis, two frameworks were explored. First, a spatial framework focused on external processes, where we investigated the direct and indirect effects that land use (i.e. type, extent), precipitation and landscape properties (i.e. lake origin, lake and catchment absolute and relative size and geomorphology) have on biotic and abiotic properties of freshwater systems. More specifically, in chapter one we evaluated, across 98 tropical lakes and reservoirs, the individual and interactive effects of land use, precipitation and landscape properties on patterns of water quality parameters (N, P and chlorophyll-a). In chapter two, we characterized the 98 lakes as natural or artificial and compared them regarding the landscape properties of their surroundings, their morphometry, and their physico/chemical characteristics to verify whether those factors can be associated with average patterns of phytoplankton community structure at both local and regional scales. The second approach, presented in Chapter 3, was a long-term temporal framework focused on internal processes related to nutrient cycling where we assessed whether an omnivorous fish with high biomass and growth rate is a source or sink of N and P to the pelagic zone of a temperate eutrophic lake, at various time scales ranging from days to 20 years.
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4
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ELIZIANE GARCIA DE OLIVEIRA
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Soundscapes and the use of acoustic monitoring in Brazilian biomes
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Líder : RENATA SANTORO DE SOUSA LIMA
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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FLÁVIO HENRIQUE GUIMARÃES RODRIGUES
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GILBERTO CORSO
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GUILHERME SANTOS TOLEDO DE LIMA
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JULIO ERNESTO BAUMGARTEN
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RENATA SANTORO DE SOUSA LIMA
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Data: 28-feb-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Soundscape studies has becoming more popular nowadays as an important tool with the potential to evaluate environmental health, changes in land use, climate change, in several temporal and spatial scales. In tropical environments, the high biodiversity associated with a restricted taxonomic knowledge for many taxa and the lack of financial resources make the acoustic ecology studies more challenging than in other regions. At the same time, tropical areas are the most important in terms of biodiversity conservation, and the use of acoustic monitoring is even more relevant once it can facilitate long-term studies at a lower cost than traditional ecological surveys. Facing a reality of rapid technological innovations and data analysis methods in the acoustic ecology field, this thesis has the main goal of evaluate the use of passive acoustic monitoring in Brazilian biomes, providing analysis protocols and contributing to advance of acoustic ecology in tropical regions. The thesis is divided in three chapters and an appendix with other production non-related to the thesis. In the first chapter we describe patterns in use of acoustic space in a Caatinga area by clustering multiple acoustic indices. During dry season, wind was predominant in the recordings, while in rainy season, was biophony. Daily variations included the birds and wind occupying the acoustic space during the day, while insects predominated at night. In the second chapter, also in a Caatinga area, we aimed to understand how a windfarm facility modifies the soundscape around it. We’ve found that biophonic activity increases as we move closer to the turbines, suggesting that both birds and insects have their acoustic activity patterns modified in response to wind turbines presence. In the third chapter, we used data from Caatinga, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, to teste whether single indices are able to predict bird species richness and if a composition of several indices allow discrimination of different species’ composition. We’ve found that single indices performance is variable among habitats, and features of birds’ communities as predominance of species and frequency bands used may be affecting the indices results. Even so, a combination of indices was able to distinguish among biomes.
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5
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EUGENIA DE JESUS CORDERO SCHMIDT
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Interactions, Persistence and Coexistence Mechanisms of Nectarivorous Bats and the Plants they Feed on, in a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in Northeastern Brazil
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Líder : EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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VALERIA DA CUNHA TAVARES
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PATRICIO ADRIANO DA ROCHA
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EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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ERICH ARNOLD FISCHER
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VANESSA GRAZIELE STAGGEMEIER
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Data: 02-mar-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Seasonal Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF), such as the Caatinga, are considered adverse environments due to their high temperature, scarce and variable rainfall and seasonal restrictions on the availability of water and food resources. These characteristics can affect the assemblies of mammals and plants and, therefore, their life histories. Several mechanisms of persistence in neotropical SDTFs have been described for bats (migration, dietary plasticity, morphological differences, foraging strategies) and for plants (deciduity, spines, seasonal phenology), all influenced by precipitation and temperature. In this doctorate we delve into the lives of four species of nectar-feeding bats: Glossophaga soricina (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae), Lonchophylla inexpectata, Lonchophylla mordax and Xeronycteris vieirai (Phyllostomidae: Lonchophyllinae). We describe their interaction networks with plants (Chapter 1), explore their mechanisms of persistence and coexistence over time (Chapter 2) and, finally, tested the influence of precipitation and the availability of Cactaceae resources on the reproduction patterns of the nectar-feeding bats (Chapter 3). The field work was carried out in seven locations in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, between May 2015 and February 2019. Using mist nets to capture the bats, we noted the capture hour, species, reproductive status, sex and eco-morphological measures. To characterize the species' diet, we collected bat hair pollen samples (glycerin gelatin cubes) and fecal samples. To determine the availability of resources, we collected phenological flowering data of nine plant species.
The studied nectarivorous bats interacted with 31 plant species forming a network with a highly generalized pattern of interactions, consistent over the seasons and years. The observed generalization may be a necessary condition for the persistence of nectarivorous bats and their specialized plants in variable and challenging environments such as the Caatinga. In chapter two, we were able to prove that the four species of nectarivores coexist and persist over time (years and seasons) mediated by a mixture of mechanisms (temporal partitioning, eco-morphological differences and resource partitioning). Finally in chapter three, we found that precipitation positively affected the probability of ocurrence of pregnancy in L. mordax and X. vieirai. None of the tested variables (precipitation nor Cactaceae resources availability) influence the pregnancy of G. soricina. On the other hand, the availability of floral resources of Cactaceae from the previous month, positively affected the probability of occurrence of lactation for all nectarivorous bats. With this research, we were able to emphasize the importance of interactions between cacti and bats. The Cactaceae family is a key resource for the persistence, coexistence and reproduction of nectarivorous bats in the Caatinga, therefore conservation initiatives should consider areas with high abundance and diversity of Cactaceae as a priority.
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6
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JUAN CARLOS VARGAS MENA
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The spatial and temporal structure of bat (Chiroptera) assemblages in Caatinga dry forests in northeastern Brazil
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Líder : EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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MARLON ZORTÉA
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EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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ENRICO BERNARD
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MAURO PICHORIM
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VALERIA DA CUNHA TAVARES
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Data: 05-mar-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Seasonal Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF), such as the Caatinga, are considered adverse In the Caatinga dry forest, key factors that controls the structure and dynamics of the bat assemblages have been attributed to the spatial heterogeneity of different ecoregions and phytofisiognomies,and to seasonality of rain and pulses of food resource. Almost 95% of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) state correspond to Caatinga where it harbors abundant subterranean cavities (~1000 caves). Because patterns of spatial and temporal diversity of the bat fauna are virtually unknown in the Caatinga, the main objective of this thesis was to explore the spatial and temporal patterns of richness and species composition of bat assemblages in different landscapes, phytofisiognomies and cave roosts. In Chapter 1, I explored the richness and spatial and temporal diversity in trophic and species composition of bat assemblages through mist-net captures in 5 different Caatinga habitats in six regions throughout RN. In 100 sampling nights, I captured 1575 individuals of 31 species with a net capture effort of 239 824 m2h. Differences in the structure was found at the species- and ensemble-level (trophic guilds) between the assemblages both in the different studied areas and in the different habitats. This is likely related to species specific preferences to favor specific landscape characteristics and foraging habitats. Richness and species composition presented no evident seasonal variation between season. Food resource found along the year may be the key factor that sustain a similar structure of the bat assemblage year-round. In Chapter 2, I monitored nine caves in four regions in RN to examine the effects of the seasons and cave size on the richness and species composition at a roost level. Using two methods we recorded 17 bat species of 2045 captured and 4181 observed individuals in 61 sampling days. Richness and species composition did not change seasonally and no temporal turnover of species was found as well. Yet, increase in overall bat abundance and for some species (insectivores and piscivores) was found mostly in the rainy season. High bat abundance in the rainy season did not coincided with precipitation peaks but an evident abundance decrease coincided with the driest months. A synergy between seasons and cave size was found where in the rainy season large caves tended to vary more in abundance than small caves. As well, differences in species composition was found between large and small caves. Seasonally abundance increase is likely attributed to reproductive purposes. Most of the species were reproductively active during the rainy season where their preferred food was more abundant (frugivores, insectivores and animalivores), while others that rely on year-round available food resources were active during both season (sanguinivores, omnivores and unexpectedly nectarivores). In Chapter 3, I did a taxonomic revision in collections and bibliographic review to determine the gamma diversity of RN and present the first official list of bats of the state, including new records and discussion on conservation and priority research areas. Overall, the data obtained from 44 bat species of 3630 captured individuals and more than 4000 observed bats in 161 sampling days indicates that in general, bat assemblages are adapted to stay year-round in the studied areas but are strongly affected by spatial and by the vegetational structure of their preferred foraging areas. While inside roosts, temporal factors such as food availability strongly affect the reproduction activity of bat assemblages and reinforces the importance of caves of all sizes for the reproduction and protection of Caatingas’ bat populations, including of endemic and vulnerable species. The effort of this thesis, with the key collaboration of many valuable people, is a way to describe and have a deeper insight into the natural history and ecology of the poorly known bat fauna of the seasonal Caatinga dry forest in Brazil
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7
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PAULO HENRIQUE DANTAS MARINHO
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Occurrence and coexistence’s patterns of medium to large-sized mammals in Caatinga
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Líder : EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE
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MAURO PICHORIM
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CLAUDIA BUENO DE CAMPOS
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FABIANA LOPES ROCHA
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RODRIGO LIMA MASSARA
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Data: 28-abr-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Dry tropical forests are threatened and little-known ecosystems where the association between the semiarid climate and the generally high environmental degradation imposes challenges for the persistence of wild fauna. In this context, medium to large-sized mammals (MLSM) are especially affected by anthropogenic disturbances, among which, carnivores are intensely persecuted, impairing their role in structuring biological communities through predation and intraguild competition. In this thesis, we investigated the occurrence and coexistence patterns of MLSM in different landscapes of the Caatinga, the Brazilian dry tropical forest, using camera trapping data. Specifically, we 1) carried out the first systematic survey of MLSM in the Rio Grande do Norte state (RN), sampling 10 priority areas for conservation; 2) we described the daily and seasonal activity patterns and estimated the temporal overlap among mesocarnivores using circular statistics and non-parametric analyzes of activity overlap; 3) we investigated the patterns of spatial co-occurrence between a dominant mesopredator (Leopardus pardalis) and sympatric mesocarnivores, considering seasonality and using conditional co-occurrence models; and finally, 4) we tested the relative effects of environmental and anthropogenic predictors on MLSM’s occupancy in a landscape disturbed by high cattle density and during a period of extreme drought, using Bayesian occupancy models in a multi-species approach. As main results, we found 1) a wealth of 14 MLSM’s species in the Caatinga of RN, which represents 50% of the MLSM registered at north of the São Francisco River, including threatened species as a top predator (Puma concolor). 2) Mesocarnivores were mainly nocturnal throughout the dry and rainy seasons, overlapping most of their daily activity, but segregating the peaks of greater activity, which may represent a coexistence mechanism. Meanwhile, Herpailurus yagouaroundi was diurnal, avoiding encounters with competitors and synchronizing its activity with potential prey. 3) Spatially, the other mesocarnivores used the habitat regardless L. pardalis’ presence, with the exception again of H. yagouaroundi, which seems to prefer the same locations as this dominant mesopredator, probably because they have better conditions and resources, while temporal segregation decreases risk of aggressive encounters. 4) MLSM occurred mainly in patches of forest vegetation, which represent a key habitat for the persistence of this group in a degraded landscape under prolonged drought, and where many species showed an extremely low abundance. Therefore, these environments must be protected to guarantee MLSM’s persistence in Caatinga. Our results reinforce the relevance of priority areas and habitats for mammals’ conservation in the Brazilian dry tropical forest, in addition to elucidating the intraguild coexistence strategies that maintain the mesocarnivores diversity in this semiarid environment.
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8
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CAROLINA TEIXEIRA PUPPIN GONÇALVES
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MACROALGAE BLOOMS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON FISHERY AND MACROFAUNA IN A NEOTROPICAL REGION
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Líder : FULVIO AURELIO DE MORAIS FREIRE
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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CARLOS EDUARDO ROCHA DUARTE ALENCAR
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ELIANE MARINHO SORIANO
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FULVIO AURELIO DE MORAIS FREIRE
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TIEGO LUIZ DE ARAÚJO COSTA
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VINICIUS PERUZZI DE OLIVEIRA
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Data: 30-jun-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Macroalgae play important ecosystem functions in aquatic ecosystems: they contribute to primary production and nutrient cycling, generate complex environments, act as shelter and provide food and nesting surfaces for many species. However, environmental changes related to anthropic activities have been causing the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems due high nutrient inputs in the water bodies. Eutrophic environments favor the massive algae proliferation, commonly known as blooms. Blooms can cause drastic impacts on ecosystems by oxygen depletion and toxins releases, consequently generating social and economic issues. In this thesis, we aim to verify the impacts caused by macroalgae blooms encompassing the environmental, social, and economic effects. In the first chapter, we evaluate the Ulva lactuca blooms in a hypersaline estuary on the semiarid coast. We analyzed macroalgae abundance in relation to physical-chemical factors during dry and rainy seasons. Our results support greater abundance during dry season, mainly concentrated in the upstream region of the estuary. During dry seasons, the river exhibits slower currents and less turbid waters while nutrients are accumulated, providing the ideal scenario for U. lactuca development. In the second chapter, we intend to provide possibilities for macroalgae biomass uses. As a bioaccumulator species, we also verified the metal concentration on its tissues. Macroalgae exhibited high levels of metal concentration, limiting its use for biomanipulation, biofuels and biofilters agents. In the third chapter, we aimed to better understand the impacts of U. lactuca blooms on fishery using the local ecological knowledge provided by fishermen. Fishermen information’s indicated that blooms mainly occur during the dry period in the estuarine region. Net gears were heavily impacted by macroalgae blooms and fishes were the mainly impacted resource. Finally, in the fourth chapter, we evaluate the impacts of macroalgae on comercial shrimps and other benthic macroinvertebrates of bottom trawling fishery in two distinct climatic zones: tropical zone and dry zone. The dry zone showed greater algae biomass than in tropical zone. On the other hand, shrimp productivity was higher in the tropical zone. Shrimp diversity indexes were negatively related to algae richness, indicating that algal banks are usually avoided by the species. The benthic macrofauna density, on the other hand, exhibited a positive relationship with macroalgae biomass. However, when evaluating the relations for each species, the influences were positive and negative dependending on the species diet and preferential habitat.
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9
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ANDRESSA BÁRBARA SCABIN
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Cascading effects of hunting on vertebrates and plant communities in Amazonian forest landscapes
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Líder : CARLOS AUGUSTO DA SILVA PERES
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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ALEXANDRE FADIGAS DE SOUZA
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CARINE EMER
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JOÃO VITOR CAMPOS E SILVA
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MAÍRA BENCHIMOL DE SOUZA
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RICARDO SIQUEIRA BOVENDORP
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Data: 30-jul-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Overhunting is one of the greatest threats to wildlife worldwide and has caused a sharp decline in the abundance of large-bodied vertebrate populations in tropical forests. The implications are far-reaching since the most intensely hunted species are often involved in key ecological processes related to forest dynamics, including seed dispersal and predation. Defaunation disrupts these plant-animal interactions, which are essential for forest regeneration, and can compromise the maintenance of plant diversity and ecosystem services. This thesis explores the cascading effects of defaunation on vertebrate and plant communities using a hunting pressure gradient in the Médio Juruá region of western Brazilian Amazonia. In the first chapter, we analysed the direct and indirect effects of hunting on mammal and bird communities. For this, we estimated vertebrate biomass using camera trapping in both the understory and forest canopy at 30 sites distributed along the hunting gradient. Overhunted forests showed changes in the size structure of the animal community with a decline in the biomass of hunting-sensitive species and an increase in the abundance of nocturnal rodents, possibly related to a density compensation mechanism. The second chapter explores the cascading effects of defaunation on future forest composition and functionality. We compared functional traits of trees and saplings, inventoried in 30 plots of 0.25 ha (=7.5 ha) established along the hunting gradient, to test for an expected decrease in traits associated to seed dispersal by large vertebrates. Our results indicated a modest decrease in the abundance of large vertebrate dispersed saplings compared to conspecific trees, and an increase in the prevalence of saplings from abiotically dispersed species. However, this effect did not reflect the community-wide pattern for the continuous traits of wood density, leaf mass/area (LMA) and seed mas. In the third chapter, we used dendrometric data from our forest inventory and comprehensive wood density sampling to estimate current and future carbon stocks, and thereby assess the potential impact on carbon stocks in intensively hunted forests. Of the 30 plots sampled, 22 could lose forest carbon in the future and the mean projected loss was 2.2 MgC ha-¹. For two protected areas (PAs) in the study landscape, the projected loss was approximately 1,560 MgC. Considering the currently predicted monetary values in the international carbon market, the projected decrease in the PAs future carbon stock was valued at US$15,600 to US$120,000.
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10
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NADIA SELENE ZAMBONI
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VALUATION OF COASTAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS
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Líder : ADRIANA ROSA CARVALHO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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ADRIANA ROSA CARVALHO
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FULVIO AURELIO DE MORAIS FREIRE
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EURICO MESQUITA NOLETO FILHO
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CARLOS HENRIQUE FIGUEIREDO LACERDA
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JORGE LUIZ RODRIGUES FILHO
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Data: 30-jul-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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The current scenario of climate change and population growth in coastal areas has led to loss of habitat and ecosystem services (ES) for coastal populations. Currently, there is little understanding about the effect of these drivers on the distribution and value of ES in coastal environments over time. In order to understand the dynamics of loss in the supplying of coastal ES and their corresponding loss in economic values, in this thesis we proposed to address these issues over three chapters. The main objectives were (1) to map the bias of the most valued coastal environments and ecosystem services in the world, as well as the distribution of economic benefits generated by them in relation to some indicators of human and socioeconomic development (CH 1 - Global Distribution and Value of Coastal-Marine Ecosystem Services); (2) to assess the effects of land conversions in a future period of 33 years, on the dynamics of Coastal Blue Carbon services provision by mangroves in Northeast Brazil (CH 2– Effects of Land Use Changes on Blue Carbon Services in Northeast Brazilian Mangrove Areas); and (3) evaluate the vulnerability and the temporal changes in coastal landscape by measuring the erosion/accretion rates in the shoreline and the economic losses and costs from long-term retreats in the coastline and mangroves loss in Northeast Brazil (CAP 3- Coastal Protection Service Delivery in Northeast Brazil in Face of Sea Level Rise). The results obtained in Chapter 1 indicate that a) the most quantified and valued coastal ecosystems worldwide are wetlands and mangroves; b) the most valued ES are recreation, commercial fishing and coastal protection; c) the most widely used valuation methods are willingness to pay and market values; d) The total annual average economic benefits of ES observed worldwide ranged from US$1,100 to US$77 billion; and (e) there is a positive relationship between the ES economic values and the human and socioeconomic development indicators (Gross Domestic Product and Human Development Index). The results obtained in Chapter 2 indicate that the forest area in northeastern Brazil can decrease by almost 35% and the total carbon stored by 22.2% by 2050, driven in large part by the expansion of salt and shrimp farming activities. The total Net Carbon Sequestration (NCS) could reach about 17.3 tCO2e/ha/year, and the Net Present Value (2017) is US $ 2,044.3/ha. Although there are apparently no major variations in the NCS values between periods over 33 years, high values of carbon emissions (1,351.2 tCO2e/ha) could be observed during 2017-2035. The results obtained in Chapter 2 indicate that one third of coastline is under erosion process and the prediction is of losing 630,000 m2 of shoreline until 2026. Mangroves reduce in 20% the moderate-high vulnerability levels of coastal areas from sea-level rise effects, while protecting a fourth part of the total exposed population. Probably this proportion could increase to half the population if total mangrove area were lost, causing costs of more than USD6.1billions (BRL32.4 billions).
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11
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EMERSON SILVA DIAS
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Biodiversity effects on aquatic ecosystem functioning on multiple trophic levels – an observational study.
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Líder : ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
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CAMILA RODRIGUES CABRAL
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JOSE LUIZ DE ATTAYDE
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RAFAEL DETTOGNI GUARIENTO
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REGINA LÚCIA GUIMARÃES NOBRE
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Data: 28-ago-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Lakes and reservoirs are essential components for human development and carry out important ecosystem processes. Understanding the mechanisms that determine these processes is necessary in a scenario of climate change and consequent increase in the interdependence between society and natural resources. In lentic ecosystems, the production and transfer of matter and energy are largely carried out by the phyto-zooplankton communities. Diversity effects on ecosystem functioning of (BFE), driven by niche partitioning and selection effects in the community can affect these processes positively or negatively. However, it is necessary to elucidate which components of diversity are most important and what is the shape of the relationship between each function and its predictors, in addition to studies that observe these effects in natural environments. Testing the effects of biodiversity in conjunction with abiotic variables over a wide spatial range provides the necessary support to advance knowledge about BFE to predictive and applied models. The aim of this work was to analyze the relationship between different aspects of phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity on the functioning of aquatic ecosystems in 98 lagoons and reservoirs in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. To measure functional diversity, metrics were calculated based on the distance of the functional traits of the communities, generating a functional trait space from which the richness, equitability and functional divergence were analyzed. In the first chapter, the effects of the taxonomic and functional diversity of phyto and zooplankton and the intraspecific functional diversity of phytoplankton over biomass and resource use efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus were assessed. In the second chapter, the relationship between biomass and resource use efficiency of zooplankton and its relationship with the taxonomic and functional diversity of zooplankton and phytoplankton were analyzed. The effects of diversity were analyzed in regressions in Random Forest models, with selection of variables for the measure of importance, analyzing the partial dependence and the magnitude of the effect (ME) between the diversity and the focal ecosystem function. Significant diversity effects of high magnitude of zooplankton functional divergence for zooplankton biomass (ME = 1.09) and negative effects of taxonomic (ME = -0.4) and functional phytoplankton (ME = -0.77) on the rate of resource use of zooplankton. Phytoplankton functional divergence had a strong positive effect (ME = 0.82) on phytoplankton biomass, as well as phytoplankton functional richness (ME = 0.43) and negative effects of phytoplankton functional equitability (ME = -0.56 ). The nitrogen use efficiency of the phytoplankton community was positively affected by its functional divergence (ME = 0.65). The efficiency of phosphorus use has not been shown to be affected by diversity or environmental variables. The inclusion of intraspecific functional richness did not present good predictive abilities for phytoplankton. Dominance effects on ecosystem functions were observed, indicating selection effects of super-dominant cyanobacteria species and strong effects of functional divergence pointing to niche differentiation in highly productive communities at both trophic levels. Non-linear, positive and negative, effects, were observed between diversity and the functioning of ecosystems on a large spatial scale. Observing these effects in real ecosystems in conjunction with environmental variables confirms predictions made in experimental studies and expands the application of BFE in freshwater environments.
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12
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LARISSA NASCIMENTO DOS SANTOS SILVA
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Ecological patterns and butterfly diversity in dry tropical forests
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Líder : MARCIO ZIKAN CARDOSO
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MIEMBROS DE LA BANCA :
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MARCIO ZIKAN CARDOSO
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MIRIAM PLAZA PINTO
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MARINA ANTONGIOVANNI DA FONSECA
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MARILIA BRUZZI LION
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Solange Maria Kerpel
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Data: 31-ago-2020
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Resumen Espectáculo
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Dry ecosystems are biodiverse and are distributed across the globe, with climatic seasonality being a strong environmental characteristic, which imposes adaptive challenges on the seasons and physiognomic variations on organisms. However, the distribution of dry tropical forests and species has historically been altered by global environmental changes and the intense conversion of habitat into agricultural and logging areas. Currently, the importance of these ecosystems for the maintenance of species is known, including in those areas of the ecotone with humid forests and other biomes. Moreover, studies of taxonomic and ecological comparisons on large scales are scarce, and the patterns of influence of habitat loss are unclear. To investigate how butterfly species are distributed in dry tropical forests and how environmental elements influence communities in fragmented landscapes, the thesis is divided into three main thematic axes: distribution of research effort and wealth patterns, gradient effects impacts on community structure, and the influence of changes in the landscape on species diversity. The objective of chapter 1 was to survey the research effort on butterflies (Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) to identify the main thematic and geographical research gaps, and to characterize the profile of studies aimed at knowledge and preservation of the biodiversity of these forests. For this, we use scientometric methodology, using keywords in English encompassing dry forests and savannas (Pennington et al. 2018) and the taxon butterflies, on the ISI Web of Knowledge platform. We collected information from 167 screened and mapped studies, published between 1981 and 2019. Most articles are from Brazil (24.6%), Mexico, Malawi and Australia, carried out at different spatial scales and research approaches. Ecological interactions (18.6%) and life history (13.8%) were the main themes, and Nymphalidae (36.5%), the most studied family. We find, mainly in the Americas, inventories, studies of communities and interactions, such as myrmecophilia and host plants associated with Lycaenidae and Pieridae. While several phenological and evolutionary studies have been tested with Satyrinae species in the African region, and seasonal and biogeographic studies in the Australian region, including comparisons with other taxa, such as birds and mammals. Some of the richest areas for butterfly species (Papilionoidea) are in Mexico and Australia. Dry Forests are richer in butterfly species (average 138.2) than Savanas (115.3), corroborating our hypothesis of greater wealth in more heterogeneous and less unstable environments. Considering the less addressed topics, fragmentation (2.4%) and anthropic impacts (1.8%), we warn of the need for research on environmental changes at different scales, as well as the effects of forest fragmentation on biological communities and conservation. In chapter 2, we estimate the effects of habitat structure and the seasonality of resources on the abundance, richness and composition of fruit-feeding butterflies in gradients of productivity and fragmentation, in a dry Brazilian forest. We collected data on the fauna of frugivorous butterflies, in the Seridó region, and on habitat variables in 9 landscapes (6x6 km) of different habitat coverings, during three periods (low, medium and high productivity), between 2017 and 2018. We recorded 16 species and 5,997 individuals, whose greatest abundance occurred in high productivity and in landscapes with high habitat coverage. We identified that communities have their dynamics related to productivity and habitat structure in spatial and temporal gradients. In addition, the butterfly species will respond to changes in the environment according to their functional characteristics, making it possible to observe the most pronounced effects on species-specific characteristics, with alternation of species along the time gradient, mainly. In chapter 3, our objective was to estimate the effects of habitat structure and anthropogenic impacts on the abundance, richness and composition of fruit-feeding butterflies in fragmented landscapes. Our hypotheses are related to theories of niche partition and environmental filters, where the diversity and dynamics of communities are determined mainly by the biota's response to environmental change. In the same 9 landscapes of Seridó, we investigated the elements of the habitat structure and characteristics of anthropic impact, locally and on a landscape scale, using classified images of MapBiomas coverage and land use and local collections. We tested the effects of landscape variables on the wealth and abundance of butterflies and on species composition. We recorded greater wealth and most species had more individuals registered in high and medium forest cover. The species composition differed between the landscapes, as well as the proportion of species of different niche ranges, with a higher proportion of tree forest species (83%) in high coverage landscapes (56-60% of habitat), these species being also those most affected by anthropic changes. We use niche partition tools and identification of bioindicator species to understand the dynamics of communities and rank landscapes in terms of environmental quality. Finally, we present some of these results in products for scientific dissemination, which have been developed with the help of undergraduate students and in partnership with other institutions (UFCG, UFPE, ICMBio and Fund. Boticário): the Seridó Butterfly Guide and the dissemination page for the monitoring project in UCs in Caatinga and Mata Atlântica, @borboletasnonordeste.
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