Citizens, social media and science: Citizen Science as a tool for public engagement in cetacean research

Citizen Science brings together the interest of researchers in obtaining data and the public's availability to produce it, favoring a reciprocal relationship between academia and society. This partnership between experts and the lay public allows for the increase of data that is incorporated in the production of knowledge. This study highlights the effectiveness of collaborative research, through a network of volunteers who play an important role in obtaining data on the occurrence of cetaceans in coastal waters of the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. The information was collected from data compiled through a group of the social network, Facebook, called “Where are the Whales and Dolphins?” between the years 2015 and 2019. A good analysis for Citizen Science programs should include a survey of demographic indicators on the characteristics of their volunteers. A greater adhesion of the group members was identified in January, a period of school recess in Brazil and in the summer, when there is increased coastal recreation and leisure activities. Membership in the social media group is mainly Brazilians (96.4%), natives of the state of Rio de Janeiro (49.3%), most often females (65.0%) with a professional profile related to Environmental Sciences (34.9%). From the information posted in the group, 315 sightings of eight species of cetaceans were recorded. The popularity of these animals, as a charismatic marine fauna, seems to facilitate the availability of the public to contribute to the acquisition and improvement of species’ knowledge. The volunteers' information can either complement the records made by researchers or corroborate results already obtained.A Ciência Cidadã reúne o interesse dos pesquisadores em obter dados e a disponibilidade do público em produzi-los, favorecendo uma relação recíproca entre academia e sociedade. Essa parceria entre especialistas e público leigo permite o incremento de dados que são incorporados na produção de conhecimento. Este estudo destaca a eficácia da pesquisa colaborativa, por meio de uma rede de voluntários que tem um papel importante na obtenção de dados sobre a ocorrência de cetáceos em águas costeiras do estado do Rio de Janeiro, sudeste do Brasil. As informações foram coletadas a partir de dados inseridos em um grupo da rede social, Facebook, denominado por “Onde estão as Baleias e os Golfinhos?” entre os anos de 2015 e 2019. Um bom diagnóstico para programas de Ciência Cidadã deve contemplar o levantamento de indicadores demográficos sobre as características de seus voluntários. Foi identificada uma maior adesão dos membros do grupo em janeiro, durante o recesso estudantil no Brasil, e no verão, quando a costa é mais frequentada para atividades de recreação e lazer. Os seguidores do grupo são principalmente brasileiros (96,4%), naturais do estado do Rio de Janeiro (49,3%), com maior frequência do gênero feminino (65,0%) e com perfil profissional relacionado às Ciências Ambientais (34,9%). Das informações postadas no grupo, foram registradas 315 avistagens de oito espécies de cetáceos. A popularidade desses animais, como fauna marinha carismática, parece facilitar a disponibilidade das pessoas em contribuir para a aquisição e aperfeiçoamento do conhecimento das espécies. As informações dos voluntários tanto podem complementar os registros feitos por pesquisadores quanto corroborar resultados já obtidos

Assessment of the aerial behaviors of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781), in coastal areas in Northeastern Brazil

The aim of this study was to analyze the aerial behaviors of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Northeastern Brazil. From July to October 2013, 113 groups, totaling 272 individuals (x̄ = 2.41; ± 1.52), were observed, including possible double counts. Groups consisting of more than three individuals showed a significantly higher level of aerial behaviors (χ² = 0.03) and a more varied aerial behavioral repertoire (χ² = 0.00) compared to smaller groups. No significant differences in aerial behaviors were found in relation to month (χ² = 0.74), the presence of calves in groups (χ² = 0.14) or depth (χ² = 0.54). Long-term studies can provide valuable information about sociality in humpback whales since their communication system is not limited to sound and can differ according to the environment

Assessment of Body Condition in a Threatened Dolphin Population in an Anthropized Area in Southeastern Brazil

Sepetiba Bay, located in southwestern Rio de Janeiro state, in southeastern Brazil, is a region of extreme anthropogenic impact, and is home to a large population of Guiana dolphins, which face increasing and cumulative pressures on their physical health. Cetacean body condition provides a useful indicator for the evaluation of the conservation status of marine mammals. Given this, the present study quantified the proportion of dolphins with different body condition scores and assessed temporal variation in these scores between 2017 and 2022 through the analysis of photographic records. We analyzed the photographs and identified the individuals using FinFindR and classified each individual based on its apparent body condition. A total of 29,737 photographs were taken during the study, and 79 individuals were identified, of which 68.35% were in poor condition. The evidence suggests that the Guiana dolphins are in relatively poor condition overall, possibly reflecting the cumulative impact of human activities in Sepetiba Bay

Aspectos físicos e estrutura da vegetação lenhosa em três campos de murundus no sudoeste goiano

Esse estudo teve como objetivo comparar a riqueza, a diversidade e a estrutura da vegetação lenhosa entre três áreas (A1, A2 e A3) de campos de murundus no Estado de Goiás, além de avaliar características abióticas dessa fisionomia. Foram amostrados dois hectares em cada área (seis hectares no total), adotando 20 parcelas de 20×50m. Todos os indivíduos lenhosos sobre os monchões, com diâmetro da base (db) ≥ 3 cm foram amostrados. A densidade de indivíduos não diferiu entre as áreas, entretanto a área basal foi maior em A1. No total, foram registradas 90 espécies e a riqueza estimada através Jackknife foi semelhante nas três áreas, embora a diversidade de Shannon tenha diferido significativamente entre as áreas. Miconia albicans foi a espécie mais importante em todo o levantamento, e Byrsonima foi o gênero mais rico, com sete espécies no total. Avaliando os monchões em três microambientes, os setores topo e base apresentaram abundâncias significativamente maior e menor de indivíduos, respectivamente, e algumas espécies apresentaram distribuição diferencial entre esses microambientes. As diferenças estruturais e a baixa similaridade florística registrada entre as áreas indicam a importância da conservação dos campos de murundus visando manter a diversidade e o funcionamento desses ecossistemas no sudoeste goiano

HIV-1 Tropism Determines Different Mutation Profiles in Proviral DNA

<div><p>In order to establish new infections HIV-1 particles need to attach to receptors expressed on the cellular surface. HIV-1 particles interact with a cell membrane receptor known as CD4 and subsequently with another cell membrane molecule known as a co-receptor. Two major different co-receptors have been identified: C-C chemokine Receptor type 5 (CCR5) and C-X-C chemokine Receptor type 4 (CXCR4) Previous reports have demonstrated cellular modifications upon HIV-1 binding to its co-receptors including gene expression modulations. Here we investigated the effect of viral binding to either CCR5 or CXCR4 co-receptors on viral diversity after a single round of reverse transcription. CCR5 and CXCR4 pseudotyped viruses were used to infect non-stimulated and stimulated PBMCs and purified CD4 positive cells. We adopted the SOLiD methodology to sequence virtually the entire proviral DNA from all experimental infections. Infections with CCR5 and CXCR4 pseudotyped virus resulted in different patterns of genetic diversification. CCR5 virus infections produced extensive proviral diversity while in CXCR4 infections a more localized substitution process was observed. In addition, we present pioneering results of a recently developed method for the analysis of SOLiD generated sequencing data applicable to the study of viral quasi-species. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of viral quasi-species evaluation by NGS methodologies. We presented for the first time strong evidence for a host cell driving mechanism acting on the HIV-1 genetic variability under the control of co-receptor stimulation. Additional investigations are needed to further clarify this question, which is relevant to viral diversification process and consequent disease progression.</p></div

Influence of envelope tropism, cell type, and stimulation status over proviral nucleotide probabilities after one round of reverse transcription.

<p><b>A)</b> Quantitative and qualitative changes occurring along gag-pol and env regions from X4 versus R5 pseudotyped virus infections. <b>B)</b> Quantitative and qualitative changes occurring along gag-pol and env regions from infected T CD4 + positive cells versus PBMCs. <b>C)</b> Quantitative and qualitative changes occurring along gag-pol and env regions from non-stimulated and stimulated. Asterisks indicate statistical difference at 5% of significance level between compared numbers. Probabilities are presented as percentage (%).</p