Automatic extraction of mobility activities in microblogs

Tese de Mestrado Integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ATLANTIC-PRIMATES: a dataset of communities and occurrences of primates in the Atlantic Forests of South America

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1–6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co-occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data. © 2018 by the The Authors. Ecology © 2018 The Ecological Society of Americ

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Substituição de milho grão inteiro por aveia preta grão no desempenho de cordeiros confinados recebendo dietas com alto grão

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different levels of replacement of whole corn grain by oats grain (0, 15 and 30% natural base), in rations based in concentrates on dry matter and nutrients intake, performance and economic viability of fedlot lambs. Twenty-four Texel lambs were used, being 12 non castrated males and 12 females; with average weight of 24.0 ± 2.8 kg. Lambs were housed in 12 pens, being two lambs per pen, and distributed in a completely randomized design into three experimental treatments. The animals received the experimental diets twice a day to allow 15% surplus. The treatments did not differ significantly for dry matter intake, feed conversion, hot and cold carcass weight, carcass yield, cooling losses, conformation and finishing scores. The increasing inclusion of oats as a replacement for corn grain showed linear increases in crude protein, crude fiber and neutral detergent fiber consumptions, and quadratic effect on intake of ether extract. The replacement of corn grain by oats grain in diets without roughage, up to 30%, can be used without interfering with the results of growth performance. The inclusion of 30% of oats is the most suitable, because it provided the highest gross margin.Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos de diferentes níveis de substituição do milho grão inteiro por aveia preta grão (0, 15 e 30% base natural), em rações a base de concentrados sobre o consumo de matéria seca e de nutrientes, o desempenho e a viabilidade econômica de ovinos confinados. Foram utilizados 24 ovinos da raça Texel, sendo 12 machos inteiros e 12 fêmeas da mesma idade, com peso médio inicial de 24,0 ± 2,8 kg, distribuídos em 12 baias, sendo alojados dois animais de gêneros distintos por baia, e distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado em três tratamentos experimentais. Os animais receberam as rações experimentais duas vezes ao dia, de modo a permitir sobras de 15%. Os tratamentos não apresentaram diferença estatística para consumo de matéria seca, conversão alimentar, pesos de carcaça quente e fria, rendimentos de carcaça quente e fria, perdas no resfriamento, conformação e acabamento. A crescente inclusão de aveia preta em substituição ao milho inteiro apresentou efeito linear crescente sobre o consumo de proteína bruta, fibra bruta e fibra em detergente neutro e efeito quadrático sobre o consumo de extrato etéreo. A substituição do milho inteiro por aveia em rações sem forragem, em até 30%, pode ser utilizada sem interferir nos resultados de desempenho. A inclusão de 30% de aveia é a mais indicada, pois proporcionou a maior margem bruta

Desempenho, características de carcaça e avaliação econômica da substituição do milho grão inteiro por casca de soja peletizada na alimentação de cordeiros em confinamento

This work was carried out with the objective of evaluating the effects of different levels of replacement of whole grain corn by pelleted soybean hulls in high concentrated diet, without long fiber use, on intake, productive performance and economical viability of feedlot lambs production. Twenty four Texel lambs, 12 males and 12 females of the same age, with average weight of 23 kg, distributed in 12 stalls, in a completely randomized design, were used. The treatments consisted of replacement of whole grain corn by pelleted soybean hulls, at levels of 0% (SH0), 15% (SH15) and 30% (SH30). Dry matter (DM) (kg day-1), crude protein (CP) (kg day-1, %AW, g AW0,75), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (kg day-1, %AW, g AW0,75) intake showed linear increasing behavior (P<0.05) according to increasing levels of soybean hulls replacing the corn grain in the diet, however, the ether extract (EE) intake (g day-1) presented quadratic effect. There were no differences in DM intake in relation to weight and metabolic body size, as well as, to mineral material (MM) (g day-1) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) intake (kg day-1, %AW, g AW0,75). In average daily gain (ADG), a quadratic effect of different levels of soybean hulls in the diet was observed (P<0.05), with weight gain of 0.267; 0.327 and 0.224 kg day-1, in levels of 0, 15 and 30%, respectively. The feed conversion was affected in a increasing linear way (P<0.05) with the soybean hulls inclusion in the diet. It was not observed differences in the carcass traits. When increasing levels of soybean hulls were added to the diet, it was observed decreasing in cost/kg ration (R$), however, there was increasing cost of meat produced (kg). In a general way, it can be concluded that replacement of whole corn by pelleted soybean hulls in high concentrated diet, in a proportion of 15$), porém houve aumento no custo do quilograma de carne produzida. De maneira geral, pode-se concluir que a substituição do milho inteiro por casca de soja peletizada em rações completas com alto teor de concentrados, na proporção de 15%, aumenta o ganho de peso de cordeiros em confinamento e na proporção de 30% afeta negativamente o desempenho animal, contudo não influencia as características de carcaça. Rações sem inclusão de casca de soja produz carne com menor custo

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved