Method for monitoring intertidal communities in a steep rocky shore: a combination of digital image technology and field operational strategy

Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia para estudos temporais de comunidades entre-marés de costões rochosos com acentuada inclinação, associando tecnologia de captura de imagens digitais com uma estrutura operacional de campo, permitindo a amostragem de ampla faixa da comunidade, em pouco tempo. Dois métodos tradicionais de estimativa de porcentagem de cobertura (estimativa visual e pontos de interseção) foram usados para comparar a aplicabilidade do método proposto a um estudo de sucessão, quanto às vantagens econômicas, operacionais e qualidade dos dados obtidos. O método permite a amostragem temporal de múltiplos transectos verticais específicos, por meio de fotos seqüenciais. As mesmas são fundamentais para a posterior montagem da imagem do transecto num programa de edição de imagem através da compilação das fotos e sobreposição temporal dos transectos. Este método obteve resultados similares ao método de pontos de interseção quanto às leituras de porcentagem de cobertura, além de reduzido tempo em campo, vantagens econômicas e vantagens do uso das fotografias digitais. A análise das transições temporais permitiu a obtenção de parâmetros como recrutamento, mortalidade e crescimento populacional, além da montagem de uma animação com a sucessão. Consideramos esta metodologia a mais indicada para estudos de sucessão ecológica, especialmente no monitoramento de comunidades de invertebrados bentônicos do médiolitoral, em costões de inclinação acentuada.This paper introduces a method for temporal studies of steep rocky intertidal communities. It combines the use of digital image technology with field methodology, so that a wide area of the community can be sampled in a short time. Two current nondestructive percent cover estimation methods (visual estimation and point intersection) were compared in terms of cost, operational advantages and data quality, with a proposed method for a sucessional study . The proposed method used sequential photos to sample multiple fixed vertical transects over time. Reproduction of the mid-intertidal transect over time was possible by overlaying temporal transects in an image editing program. This method was similar to the point intersection quadrat method used to estimate percent cover. Benefits included reduced time on field work, economic advantages and other advantages of using digital photography, such as recording. Temporal photography of transects provided measurements of recruitment, mortality and population growth, and made it possible to manufacture an animation of sucessional stages. We suggest that this is the best method for providing information and understanding on the process of succession and for monitoring benthic invertebrate intertidal communities on steep rocky shores

2 nd Brazilian Consensus on Chagas Disease, 2015

Abstract Chagas disease is a neglected chronic condition with a high burden of morbidity and mortality. It has considerable psychological, social, and economic impacts. The disease represents a significant public health issue in Brazil, with different regional patterns. This document presents the evidence that resulted in the Brazilian Consensus on Chagas Disease. The objective was to review and standardize strategies for diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of Chagas disease in the country, based on the available scientific evidence. The consensus is based on the articulation and strategic contribution of renowned Brazilian experts with knowledge and experience on various aspects of the disease. It is the result of a close collaboration between the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine and the Ministry of Health. It is hoped that this document will strengthen the development of integrated actions against Chagas disease in the country, focusing on epidemiology, management, comprehensive care (including families and communities), communication, information, education, and research

AMAZONIA CAMTRAP: A data set of mammal, bird, and reptile species recorded with camera traps in the Amazon forest

The Amazon forest has the highest biodiversity on Earth. However, information on Amazonian vertebrate diversity is still deficient and scattered across the published, peer-reviewed, and gray literature and in unpublished raw data. Camera traps are an effective non-invasive method of surveying vertebrates, applicable to different scales of time and space. In this study, we organized and standardized camera trap records from different Amazon regions to compile the most extensive data set of inventories of mammal, bird, and reptile species ever assembled for the area. The complete data set comprises 154,123 records of 317 species (185 birds, 119 mammals, and 13 reptiles) gathered from surveys from the Amazonian portion of eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela). The most frequently recorded species per taxa were: mammals: Cuniculus paca (11,907 records); birds: Pauxi tuberosa (3713 records); and reptiles: Tupinambis teguixin (716 records). The information detailed in this data paper opens up opportunities for new ecological studies at different spatial and temporal scales, allowing for a more accurate evaluation of the effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, climate change, and other human-mediated defaunation processes in one of the most important and threatened tropical environments in the world. The data set is not copyright restricted; please cite this data paper when using its data in publications and we also request that researchers and educators inform us of how they are using these data