A Day in the Life of the Giant Ant Dinoponera lucida Emery, 1901 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Records of Activities and Intraspecific Interactions

Ants present a wide variety of nesting sites, feeding habits, and trophic interactions, but the biology of most species remains unknown. Dinoponera lucida is a poneromorph ant forest-specialist and solitary forager, endemic to the Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Herein we describe foraging activities, guard and maintenance of the nests, orientation mode, and intraspecific interactions performed by D. lucida. We found three nests distant from each other at least 8.5 m, and the mean reached distance by a worker was 3.8 m. The workers showed colony fidelity and random forage in their territory. We observed two non-agonistic interactions between workers from the same nest, and two agonistic interactions between foraging workers from different nests. The low frequency of agonistic interactions suggests that workers from different nests are unlikely to forage in the same area. Our results expand the knowledge on ants’ natural history through data on foraging activities, guard and maintenance of the nests, orientation mode and intraspecific interactions

Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae), home range in the Lowland Atlantic Forest of Southeastern Brazil

The ocelot is an important Neotropical mesopredator and information on its spatial ecology remains scarce. Here we estimated the ocelot home range in a remnant of Lowland Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil. The data were collected by camera traps installed at eight known ocelot latrines. We estimated the home range both based on the Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and the 95% adaptive Kernel density estimator (95%K) to compare with other published studies. We identified 22 ocelots (adult males = 8; adult females = 12; cubs = 2). Six males were recorded at more than one latrine, while all females were recorded at only one sampling point. In addition to male ocelots being recorded at a large number of points, they showed greater intrasexual spatial overlap as they used the same latrines, suggesting larger home ranges than females. The mean home range size for males was 12.1 ± SE 4.4 km2 (range = 6.2 to 20.8 km2) using MCP, and 19.9 ± SE 9.5 km2 (range = 10.1 to 38.9 km2) applying 95%K. Despite our estimates representing an approximation of the total area used by males, both values are consistent with those reported from other locations. Our data complemented the gradient of vegetation type sampled for ocelots in Atlantic Forest and support the suggestion that this environmental variable and, consequently, its effect on prey availability, influence the home range size of ocelot. Information on population ecology and other spatial ecology data are also presented

Litter Surface Temperature: A Driving Factor Affecting Foraging Activity in Dinoponera lucida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Dinoponera lucida is a poneromorph ant endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. The species is classified as endangered in Brazil’s Red List due to its peculiar reproductive biology and high habitat fragmentation. Herein, we characterize D. lucida foraging activity and response to litter surface temperature in a lowland forest remnant in south-eastern Brazil. The mean flow of workers at nest openings was 3.8 ± 0.6 per hour, mean foraging trip was 14.2 ± 2.2 min, and mean foraging distance was 3.8 ± 0.4 m. The time spent per foraging trip and litter surface temperature were positively correlated. Flow of workers at nest openings was higher with mean temperature of litter surface between 21.0 and 27.0 °C. Our results show that D. lucida has a diurnal foraging activity related to habitat temperature. Our data contribute to the knowledge about the ecology of D. lucida and support the hypothesis of optimal food foraging regulated by habitat temperature. In addition, the better understanding of D. lucida activity patterns can assist on conservation planning of this endangered and endemic ant

Cultura da educação matemática nas tirinhas “Calvin e Haroldo”

 eoi/doi Deposit-Electronic Object Identifier http://eoi.citefactor.org/10.11248/ehum.v2i2.402RESUMO: o artigo discute os elementos da cultura da educação matemática presentes nas tirinhas Calvin e Haroldo, do cartunista americano Bill Watterson, publicadas em jornais de todo o mundo ao longo de dez anos, entre 1985 e 1995, e compiladas em dez livros próprios e em coletâneas. As histórias das tirinhas transpassam temas como: educação matemática, convivência social, relação entre pais e filhos e outros.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: etnomatemática, educação matemática, cultura da aprendizagem, calvin e haroldo.ABSTRACT: Article discusses the elements of mathematics education culture present in strips Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson American cartoonist, published in newspapers around the world over ten years between 1985 and 1995 and compiled in ten own books and collections . The stories of strips trespass topics such as mathematics education, social life, relationship between parents and children and others. KEYWORDS: ethnomathematical, mathematics education, learning culture, Calvin and Hobbes.Recebido: 03/11/2009     Aceito: 17/12/200

Harpy Eagle sightings, traces and nesting records at the "Reserva Natural Vale", a Brazilian Atlantic Forest remnant in Espírito Santo, Brazil

We present 25 records of sightings, feathers and nests of the Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja in the last 27 years and also the first detailed description of a nest of a Harpy Eagle in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, found at the "Reserva Natural Vale" (RNV), Linhares, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Most Harpy Eagle records were obtained along the RNV roads by researchers and the RNV staff. Two nests have been mapped at the RNV until now. An especially relevant record occurred in 1997 when a juvenile Harpy Eagle was found dead, 4 km distant from the nest mapped and measured in 2010. The nest was 1.8 m × 1.6 m in diameter, and was built 28 m above ground, on the main fork of an Astronium concinnum tree measuring 37 m height and 1 m in diameter at breast height (DBH). This nest was the second of the species to be reported at RNV, being 5 km away from the first one, found in 1992, and built 30 m above the ground on the main fork of a Cariniana legalis tree 36 m high and 1.1 m in DBH. All Harpy Eagle records at RNV indicate that this protected area offers enough resources and has carrying capacity to maintain at least two Harpy Eagle pairs. However, because of the fragmentation around RNV, the local Harpy Eagle population cannot expand due to reduced habitat availability. The data gathered in this study confirm the importance of the RNV for the conservation of the critically endangered Harpy Eagle population of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We recommend the establishment of a reforestation program to increase the size and the connections of fragments around the RNV. We suggest that the creation and effective implementation of protected areas may contribute to Harpy Eagle protection in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, but the long-term conservation of remaining populations is an essential step to allow for the occupation and re-colonization of other areas

An Assessment of the Effectiveness of High Definition Cameras as Remote Monitoring Tools for Dolphin Ecology Studies.

Research involving marine mammals often requires costly field programs. This paper assessed whether the benefits of using cameras outweighs the implications of having personnel performing marine mammal detection in the field. The efficacy of video and still cameras to detect Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the Fremantle Harbour (Western Australia) was evaluated, with consideration on how environmental conditions affect detectability. The cameras were set on a tower in the Fremantle Port channel and videos were perused at 1.75 times the normal speed. Images from the cameras were used to estimate position of dolphins at the water’s surface. Dolphin detections ranged from 5.6 m to 463.3 m for the video camera, and from 10.8 m to 347.8 m for the still camera. Detection range showed to be satisfactory when compared to distances at which dolphins would be detected by field observers. The relative effect of environmental conditions on detectability was considered by fitting a Generalised Estimation Equations (GEEs) model with Beaufort, level of glare and their interactions as predictors and a temporal auto-correlation structure. The best fit model indicated level of glare had an effect, with more intense periods of glare corresponding to lower occurrences of observed dolphins. However this effect was not large (-0.264) and the parameter estimate was associated with a large standard error (0.113).The limited field of view was the main restraint in that cameras can be only applied to detections of animals observed rather than counts of individuals. However, the use of cameras was effective for long term monitoring of occurrence of dolphins, outweighing the costs and reducing the health and safety risks to field personal. This study showed that cameras could be effectively implemented onshore for research such as studying changes in habitat use in response to development and construction activities

Advances in Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies

Advances in molecular biology are enabling rapid and efficient analyses for effective intervention in domains such as biology research, infectious disease management, food safety, and biodefense. The emergence of microfluidics and nanotechnologies has enabled both new capabilities and instrument sizes practical for point-of-care. It has also introduced new functionality, enhanced sensitivity, and reduced the time and cost involved in conventional molecular diagnostic techniques. This chapter reviews the application of microfluidics for molecular diagnostics methods such as nucleic acid amplification, next-generation sequencing, high resolution melting analysis, cytogenetics, protein detection and analysis, and cell sorting. We also review microfluidic sample preparation platforms applied to molecular diagnostics and targeted to sample-in, answer-out capabilities