Organic-Rich facies in the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian of the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal : Total organic carbon distribution and relation to transgressive-regressive facies cycles

The upper Sinemurian to Pliensbachian series of the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal) correspond to marly limestone sediments rich in benthic and nektonic macrofauna. This sedimentary record includes several intervals of organicrich facies, which are particularly well developed in the western sectors of the basin. They correspond to grey and dark marls locally showing strong lamination (black shale type) and are recognized as one of the most important potential oil source rocks. This study shows the vertical and lateral distribution of these organic-rich intervals, supported by over 550 total organic carbon (TOC) determinations. The results presented reveal two important intervals, with several black shale occurrences, in the Oxynotum(?)-Raricostatum (Polvoeira Member of Água de Madeiros Formation) and at the top of the Ibex-upper part of Margaritatus zones (top of the Vale das Fontes Formation), showing in the distal (western) sectors up to 22% and 15% TOC, respectively. TOC values decrease progressively towards the proximal sectors, the youngest organic-rich interval being the most expressive at the basin scale. This lateral TOC distribution, the facies stacking patterns and the decrease observed in benthic macrofauna confirm that these intervals are related to 2nd-order transgressive phases. 2nd-order regressive phases, developed during the uppermost Raricostatum and Spinatum zones respectively, show lower TOC values. TOC distribution combined with other stratigraphic and sedimentological parameters enabled seven facies maps to be created for the time interval studied. At the regional scale, this study shows for the first time the good similarity between the upper Sinemurian-Pliensbachian sedimentary successions of the Lusitanian and Basque- Cantabrian basins

Prediction of body weight of Brown Alpine goats by measuring body volume

ABSTRACT The objective was to estimate the body weight (BW) of Brown Alpine goats by means of body volume (BV) measurements. We used 132 pieces of information with measurements of BW, body length (BL) and thoracic perimeter (TP) from 22 goats evaluated fortnightly, between March and May 2023. Based on this information, the BV of the animals was calculated. Three mathematical models were evaluated - a linear model, a quadratic model, and an exponential model - with the measurement of BV. The goodness of fit of the equations was evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R2), mean square error (MSE) and root of the MSE (RMSE). The predictive ability of the models was evaluated by k-fold cross-validation (k = 10). A high positive correlation between BW and TP (r = 0.95) and BL (r = 0.94) was observed. The correlation between BW and BV was higher than the other correlations (r = 0.98). The linear model showed the lowest values of MSE (9.49) and RMSE (3.08). In the cross-validation, the linear and quadratic models presented estimates of the mean BW and the standard deviation of this weight similar to the real data, and high R2 values (0.95) of the data predicted by the observed ones. The analysis of the coefficient of correlation and concordance (CCC) also showed that these models have accuracy and precision (CCC > 0.95). Thus, the linear and quadratic models estimate the body weight of Brown Alpine goats with precision and accuracy