Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Dispersal, habitat use, and the invasion dynamics of introduced populations: a case study on the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Invasive populations are a major driver of biodiversity loss. Most invasions are discovered after the population is established, spreading, and often adapting to the new ecological conditions, hampering effective eradication. Understanding the spatial dynamics of introduced populations, and how these change throughout the invasion, is crucial to predicting their spread and restricting their harm. In this thesis, I studied density-dependent dispersal, habitat use, and changes in population spread after the introduction of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in montane streams. This was done by combining the analyses of long-term individual-based data with short-term manipulations in the field, and with the mathematical modelling of spread. Introduced populations were shown to grow rapidly after translocation, and attain densities beyond those of natural populations if the habitat is disturbed. The study highlighted that the effect of density on habitat use is scale-dependent: at the landscape scale, guppies occupy habitat patches according to the ideal free distribution; at the local scale, size-dependent responses to density suggest that large individuals displace smaller ones from good quality microhabitats, implying an ideal despotic distribution. Moreover, density at both the local (within habitat patch) and landscape (whole stream) scales was shown to affect dispersal. Finally, guppies were found to be successful invaders upon introduction, but to rapidly lose their invasive potential as they adapt to limiting resources in the environment. In the later phases of the invasion, individual dispersal distance negatively affects the speed of spread of the population. This counterintuitive result can be explained when considering how population growth and individual dispersal interact in determining population spread. I conclude that 1) disturbance can favour invasions; 2) studies of spatial dynamics should be explicit about the scale examined and; 3) integrative approaches are crucial to understanding the spread of introduced populations.Vieraslajit ovat merkittävä uhkatekijä luonnon monimuotoisuudelle. Useimmat invaasiot havaitaan vasta, kun vieraslajien kannat ovat jo vakiintuneet ja sopeutuneet uusiin ympäristöoloihin, mikä hankaloittaa niiden tehokasta torjuntaa. Vieraslajien tilankäytön ja tilankäytön muutosten ymmärtäminen on elintärkeää leviämisen ennustamiseksi ja haitan rajoittamiseksi. Väitöskirjassani tutkin miljoonakalojen elinympäristön käyttöä ja populaation leviämiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä, erityisesti tiheydestä riippuvaa dispersaalia. Tutkimusta varten yhdistettiin pitkän aikavälin tiedot yksilöiden käyttäytymisestä, maastossa tehdyt kokeet sekä matemaattinen mallinnus. Miljoonakalapopulaatioiden havaittiin kasvavan nopeasti uudelle alueelle siirtämisen jälkeen. Häirityissä ympäristöissä ne saavuttavat jopa suuremman populaatiotiheyden kuin alkuperäisissä elinympäristöissä. Kun tarkastellaan miljoonakalojen elinympäristön käyttöä laajassa mittakaavassa, ne hakeutuvat habitaattilaikuille vapaasti (ideal free distribution). Tarkempi tarkastelu kuitenkin paljastaa, että suuremmat yksilöt syrjäyttävät pienempiä yksilöitä laikkujen sisällä (ideal despotic distribution). Tutkimuksissa osoitettiin lisäksi, että populaatiotiheys sekä pienessä että suuressa mittakaavassa vaikuttaa dispersaaliin. Invaasion alussa miljoonakalat ovat tehokkaita levittäytyjiä, mutta ne menettävät nopeasti levittäytymiskykynsä sopeuduttuaan resursseiltaan rajoittuneempaan ympäristöön. Invaasion myöhemmissä vaiheissa yksilön dispersaalietäisyys korreloi negatiivisesti populaation leviämisnopeuteen. Tulos on ymmärrettävissä, kun tarkastellaan populaation kasvun ja yksilön dispersaalikyvyn vuorovaikutusta populaation leviämistä säätelevinä tekijöinä. Yhteenvetona totean, että 1) ympäristön häiriöt voivat lisätä invaasioiden onnistumista, 2) spatiaalidynamiikan tutkimuksissa pitäisi ottaa huomioon tutkitun alueen laajuus ja 3) vieraslajien tutkimuksessa integroitu lähestymistapa on välttämätön, jotta ymmärtäisimme vieraslajien leviämistä

Increasing intensity of deimatic behaviour in response to repeated simulated attacks : a case study on the mountain katydid (Acripeza reticulata)

How and when deimatic behaviours are performed can change during encounters between predators and prey. Some predators attack repeatedly, investigating and manipulating prey, and in response, an individual’s deimatic behaviour may intensify or may diminish in favour of escaping. The presence of a resource can further force a trade-off between displaying and escaping. Here, we examined the intensity of the katydid’s deimatic behaviour, a visual display, the propensity of their escape response under repeated simulated attacks, and how these responses change in the presence of foraging resources. We found that display intensity increased with repeated simulated attacks and that females displayed at a greater intensity than males. The presence of their preferred food plant had no significant effect on display intensity, but reduced escape probability in both sexes. Some katydids were predictable in their display intensity and at the population level we found that strong display intensity is moderately repeatable. Overall, our results suggest that 1) display intensity increases with repeated attacks and might indicate a cost in performing at maximum intensity upon first attack, 2) deploying a deimatic display while feeding can reduce the need to flee a rich foraging patch and 3) some individuals are consistent in their display intensities. Future experiments that aim to determine causal mechanisms such as limitations to perception of predators, sensitisation to stimuli and physiological constraints to display intensity will provide necessary insight into how deimatic displays function.peerReviewe

Fight or flight trade-offs and the defensive behaviour of the mountain katydid, Acripeza reticulata

The defensive repertoires of prey are shaped by diverse ecological and evolutionary demands. This can generate trade-offs between the components of defences, as in the classic ‘fight or flight’ dichotomy, or dedicated investment in a singular end, allowing individuals in better condition to mount a more effective defence all round. Further, sexual dimorphism may drive sex differences in such responses, although our understanding of the interaction between sexual selection and defensive behaviour is in its infancy. Deimatic, or ‘startle’, defences typically combine multiple protective strategies, such as camouflage and aposematism, with a rapid transition between them, and thus offer unique opportunities for studying the dynamics of suites of defensive behaviours. Here we examined the display of the sexually dimorphic mountain katydid, with the goal of identifying the factors influencing individuals' escape response and display intensity. In experimental assays designed to simulate encounters with predators, we found that sex and repeated exposure to predation attempts affected components of the defensive behaviour of individuals in diverse ways. Both short-distance (sprint) and longer-distance (endurance) speeds differed between the sexes, primarily via an interaction between the intensity of displays and exposure to repeated predation attempts. Display intensity was best explained by an interaction between experience and sex: males maintained their intensity across 3 days of repeated attacks, while females decreased it. These results reveal complex influences on the expression of antipredator behaviour, and identify potential trade-offs mediating individual responses which differ between the sexes. Our findings also highlight the need to consider sexual dimorphism and the effect of individual condition when studying complex behavioural defences

Data from: Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

Large conspicuous eyespots on butterfly wings have been shown to deter predators. This has been traditionally explained by mimicry of vertebrate eyes, but recently the classic eye-mimicry hypothesis has been challenged. It is proposed that the conspicuousness of the eyespot, not mimicry, is what causes aversion due to sensory biases, neophobia or sensory overloads. We conducted an experiment to directly test whether the eye-mimicry or the conspicuousness hypothesis better explain eyespot efficacy. We used great tits (Parus major) as model predator, and tested their reaction towards animated images on a computer display. Birds were tested against images of butterflies without eyespots, with natural-looking eyespots, and manipulated spots with the same contrast but reduced resemblance to an eye, as well as images of predators (owls) with and without eyes. We found that mimetic eyespots were as effective as true eyes of owls and more efficient in eliciting an aversive response than modified, less mimetic but equally contrasting eyespots. We conclude that the eye-mimicry hypothesis explains our results better than the conspicuousness hypothesis and is thus likely to be an important mechanism behind the evolution of butterfly eyespots

guppy dispersal data

data file created in R, subset of a larger dataset containing individual based data throughout 10 years of monitoring of four guppy population

Dataset_escapewindow

dataset used to analyse the escape window, ie the time lapsed between the first attack (which coincide with the image display) and the catching of the bait pre

Dataset_reaction

dataset used to analyse great tits behavioural reaction to the displayed image. the reaction is split into binary outputs at the four nodes of the reaction tre

density-dependent-dispersal analyses

Compressed folder containing a documented R package (DDDEvo) with the necessary scripts and instructions to reproduce the analyses contained in the paper

lydemapr: an R package to track the spread of the invasive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula, White 1845) (Hemiptera, Fulgoridae) in the United States

A crucial asset in the management of invasive species is the open-access sharing of data on the range of invaders and the progression of their spread. Such data should be current, comprehensive, consistent and standardised, to support reproducible and comparable forecasting efforts amongst multiple researchers and managers. Here, we present the lydemapr R package containing spatiotemporal data and mapping functions to visualise the current spread of the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula, White 1841) in the Western Hemisphere. The spotted lanternfly is a forest and agricultural pest in the eastern Mid-Atlantic Region of the U.S., where it was first discovered in 2014. As of 2023, it has been found in 14 states according to State and Federal Departments of Agriculture. However, the lack of easily accessible, fine-scale data on its spread hampers research and management efforts. We obtained multiple memoranda-of-understanding from several agencies and citizen-science projects, gaining access to their internal data on spotted lanternfly point observations. We then cleaned, harmonised, anonymised and combined the individual data sources into a single comprehensive dataset. The resulting dataset contains spatial data gridded at the 1 km2 resolution, with yearly information on the presence/absence of spotted lanternflies, establishment status and population density across 658,390 observations. The lydemapr package will aid researchers, managers and the public in their understanding, modelling and managing of the spread of this invasive pest