scholarly journals Seasonal records of benthic macroinvertebrates in a stream on the eastern edge of the Iguaçu National Park, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jhenifer Santos ◽  
Luciano Wolff ◽  
Lucíola Baldan ◽  
Ana Guimarães

Background Iguaçu National Park (INP) is known worldwide due to Iguaçu Waterfalls, being considered a World Natural Heritage by UNESCO. The INP is one of the last large forested extensions of inland Brazil that provides protection to the Atlantic Forest, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. However, its Natural Heritage status has been threatened by the construction and operation of the Baixo Iguaçu dam, agricultural and urban impacts on its boundaries and the increasing interest of the Brazilian government in re-opening of the “Colono road”, an old illegal road that crossed the interior of the park. Indeed, since benthic macroinvertebrates have been widely used for the environmental assessment of streams, records and abundance of their taxa under different seasonal periods may provide an additional dataset for biomonitoring of hydrographic systems in the face of current anthropogenic impacts on the INP boundaries and other similar streams on forest edges. New information In this study, we improved the sampling design of benthic macroinvertebrates and provided seasonal records covering distinct precipitation/temperature periods between 2016 and 2017 of a stream on the eastern edge of the Iguaçu National Park, Brazil. The records total 2,840 individuals distributed in 88 different taxa. The most abundant taxa were the Diptera subfamilies, Chironominae (n = 1,487) and Tanypodinae (n = 256), besides the Heterelmis genus (n = 152, Elmidae; Coleoptera). Diptera was the richest order in number of families (n = 8), while Leptophlebiidae (Ephemeroptera) was the richest taxonomic family in number of genera (n = 11). Aegla (Crustacea) and the Insecta genera, Heterelmis, Hexacylloepus, Noelmis, Phylloicus and Thraulodes, were recorded through all samplings. Twenty-five genera of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) and Odonata were recorded during intermediate precipitation/temperature periods. Twenty-one of them were recorded in May 2016, with five genera standing out in abundance (Hydrosmilodon, Anacroneuria, Argia, Coryphaeschna, Americabaetis) and four (Needhamella, Tikuna, Simothraulopsis, Neocordulia) in December 2016. Four general taxa were exclusive of the lower precipitation/temperature period (August 2016), standing out in abundance were the Oxystigma (Odonata) and Corydalus (Megaloptera) genera. In March 2017 (higher precipitation/temperature period), four exclusive taxa were recorded, amongst them, the Chimarra (Trichoptera) genus. Furthermore, seasonal records demonstrated higher occurrences and abundance of macroinvertebrates during the intermediate and lower precipitation/temperature periods, besides a varied taxa composition throughout the year, with the presence of both sensitive and tolerant groups to environmental impacts. Our findings suggest that the number and composition of the local-stream macrobenthic fauna were influenced by the seasonal climatic regime. These changes should be considered in the limnological monitoring developed on the hydrographic systems of INP eastern edges to improve the assessment of environmental quality under different local seasonal conditions.

Author(s):  
Marc J. Stern

Chapter 9 contains five vignettes, each based on real world cases. In each, a character is faced with a problem and uses multiple theories within the book to help him or her develop and execute a plan of action. The vignettes provide concrete examples of how to apply the theories in the book to solving environmental problems and working toward environmental sustainability in a variety of contexts, including managing visitors in a national park, developing persuasive communications, designing more collaborative public involvement processes, starting up an energy savings program within a for-profit corporation, and promoting conservation in the face of rapid development.


Author(s):  
K. L. Savitskaya ◽  
М. A. Dzhus

There is a review of floral studies of the water bodies in Minsk Region and National Park “Belovezhskaya Pushcha”. 75 new locations of 20 rare aquatic and riverside plant species coming at the water and 1 hybrid were found. 7 of these species are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus, 5 species are included into the category of Least Concern and Data Deficient. Potamogeton berchtoldii Fieber, Utricularia minor L., Potamogeton acutifolius Link, P. nodosus Poir., Salvinia natans (L.) All. are reported for the first time from National Park «Belovezhskaya Pushcha». The spreading of Berula erecta (Huds.) Coville on the territory of National Park is considered in detail. New locations of Nuphar pumila (Timm) DC., Ranunculus kauffmannii Clerc., Najas major All., Berula erecta, Glyceria lithuanica (Gorski) Gorski, Conioselinum tatari­ cum Hoffm. in Minsk Region, which were not included in 4th edition of the Red Book, have been described. A brief description of habitat environmental conditions is given for the revealed species of aquatic plants, and their phytocoenotic confinement is also pointed out. New information on the locations of protected aquatic plant species should be used to monitor their populations and prepare the documents of protection.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliott H. Bussell ◽  
Nik J. Cunniffe

AbstractEpidemics can particularly threaten certain sub-populations. For example, for SARS-CoV-2, the elderly are often preferentially protected. For diseases of plants and animals, certain sub-populations can drive mitigation because they are intrinsically more valuable for ecological, economic, socio-cultural or political reasons. Here we use optimal control theory to identify strategies to optimally protect a “high value” sub-population when there is a limited budget and epidemiological uncertainty. We use protection of the Redwood National Park in California in the face of the large ongoing state-wide epidemic of sudden oak death (caused by Phytophthora ramorum) as a case study. We concentrate on whether control should be focused entirely within the National Park itself, or whether treatment of the growing epidemic in the surrounding “buffer region” can instead be more profitable. We find that, depending on rates of infection and the size of the ongoing epidemic, focusing control on the high value region is often optimal. However, priority should sometimes switch from the buffer region to the high value region only as the local outbreak grows. We characterise how the timing of any switch depends on epidemiological and logistic parameters, and test robustness to systematic misspecification of these factors due to imperfect prior knowledge.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (40) ◽  
pp. e2022210118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuo Zheng ◽  
Ting Ma ◽  
Patrick Roberts ◽  
Zhen Li ◽  
Yuanfu Yue ◽  
...  

Southern China and Southeast Asia witnessed some of their most significant economic and social changes relevant to human land use during the Late Holocene, including the intensification and spread of rice agriculture. Despite rice growth being associated with a number of earth systems impacts, how these changes transformed tropical vegetation in this region of immense endemic biodiversity remains poorly understood. Here, we compile a pollen dataset incorporating ∼150,000 identifications and 233 pollen taxa to examine past changes in floral biodiversity, together with a compilation of records of forest decline across the region using 14 pollen records spanning lowland to mountain sites. Our results demonstrate that the rise of intensive rice agriculture from approximately 2,000 y ago led not only to extensive deforestation but also to remarkable changes of vegetation composition and a reduction in arboreal diversity. Focusing specifically on the Tertiary relic tree species, the freshwater wetland conifer Glyptostrobus (Glyptostrobus pensilis), we demonstrate how key species that had survived changing environmental conditions across millions of years shrank in the face of paddy rice farming and human disturbance.


Author(s):  
Loong Wong

New information and communication technologies (ICTs), it is argued is transformative, and governments all over the world have sought to incorporate it into their development desideratum. It is clear that ICTs have transformed social, economic, and political practices and this certainly is true for Southeast Asia. In the context of Southeast Asia, it is particularly salient for it provided avenues for new political movements and expressions in the face of predominantly authoritarian regimes. Via the new ICTs, people were able to communicate freely and oppositional forces could be readily mobilized. This assertion of political rights threatened the status quo and the ruling political elites’ hold on power. This was compounded by a crisis in public confidence as Southeast Asian economies found themselves caught in the maelstrom of a financial crisis precipitated by the loss of investment confidence and crony capitalism. As the crisis intensified and spread, its political fallout became clear. Governments have to accommodate and make way for social, economic, and political changes. In this chapter, the author seeks to examine


Author(s):  
Alessandra Camargo Godoi ◽  
Sandra Zita Silva Tiné

Financial education has gradually been extending its reach, upported through the efforts of the Brazilian government and organized civil society, in the face of the social and economic challenges besetting the world. Like any educational process, financial education requires planning, engagement and mobilization, even considering that the results do not necessarily have a short- or medium-term effect. Considering the trajectory of financial education in Brazil, this text aims to discuss it within an educational context and describe its trajectory up to incorporation into the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), highlighting its recognition in this important and most current curricular document in Brazilian education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla N. M. Polaz ◽  
Fabio C. Ferreira ◽  
Miguel Petrere Júnior

ABSTRACT Considering the need for the Brazilian government to develop tools for environmental monitoring for biodiversity conservancy purposes in the national protected areas system, this paper focuses on determining reference site metrics (or baselines) for adapting the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) based on the fish assemblages in the Pantanal National Park (PNP). The habitats in the PNP were grouped into four categories: main rivers, corixos (channels connecting the floodplain), permanent bays, and temporary bays. Fish samplings were performed at 12 points during the dry season (Oct-Nov 2010 and 2011). 146 fish species were identified from the total 18,954 individuals collected with standardized fishing gear. There was no association between the structure of the fish assemblage and categories, suggesting a theory on homogeneity of habitats. The final IBIPNP consists of nine metrics, most of them were framed in excellent class, some in fair, and none in poor. There was no significant difference in IBIPNP scores between the two sampled years. This approach provides a direct application for wetland management purposes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 6-11
Author(s):  
Catherine Morgan

In a year when financial crisis and EU turmoil have gripped Greece and dominated international press coverage, one might be forgiven for assuming that there would be slow progress in archaeological research and heritage management. It has certainly been a tumultuous year, and heartfelt thanks are due to colleagues, especially those in the Archaeological Service, who have gone the extra mile to deliver their own work and to help others in the face of mounting pressures. In 2014 alone, the Central Archaeological Council dealt with 1,477 cases in 42 sittings, and its 2015 target is set to exceed this. Yet as I take stock of what has been achieved in publication, fieldwork, study and public communication, I am struck by the wealth of new information available and in many forms. Individual finds, continuing research programmes and a number of landmark conferences and exhibitions have contributed to real and significant advances in knowledge. There is much to report, and even more to see on the ground for readers inspired (as we hope) to spend time in Greece.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Daowei Liu ◽  
Yu Yin

This article analyzed the characteristics of Chinese female college students’ English conversation from the perspective of second language acquisition by using some theories of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis. After analysis, it was found that female students used hedges and intensifiers extensively in second language conversations. Additionally, the participants consciously maintained the face of their peers and made the conversation take place in an atmosphere of equality and solidarity. Through the use of deixis, the conversation was well organized and carried out smoothly. The participants changed their roles, gave and took the floors, and offered new information to prolong the conversation. Although female language had many characteristics, it cannot be fully reflected in this sample conducted in a second language.


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