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The housing stock in Port Harcourt municipality has over the years experienced incremental deterioration from neglect to change of use, paucity of funds and sometimes misappropriation of resources. The study assessed existing housing stock within Port Harcourt municipality with the objective to ascertain the physical condition of the housing stock in some planned and unplanned neighbourhoods in Orije layout-Orominike (D/Line), Port Harcourt Township and Diobu (Mile1 and Mile 2) and some waterfront settlements. Twenty-five (25) communities were identified from the entire study area. Some indicators such as habitable space, physical condition, availability of basic social infrastructure and services and environmental quality of the housing unit were measured. The sample was drawn purposively as 4 distinct neighbourhoods were studied. A multi-stage sampling technique was deployed, Taro Yamane formula was applied to determine the sample size of 156, as the number of questionnaires to be administered and stratified simple random sampling technique was employed to select respondents with household 5 persons per household of which 148 questionnaires were retrieved. Data from the field were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), aimed at comparing the nature of substandard housing found across the neighbourhoods studied. The result indicates that the housing stock in the indigenous enclaves within the Diobu neighbourhood has a high occupancy ratio and lacked basic public utilities and services in addition to houses being constructed with substandard materials. Residents often experience periodic flooding after rainfalls. The study recommends that to further improve the standard of housing conditions in line with the global UN standards, the provision of basic social infrastructural services alongside periodic and consistent urban renewal processes should be constantly carried out to reduce the housing deficit within the municipality.

Port Harcourt municipality as a developing city has over the years been inundated with rapid urbanisation and continuous city expansion. This development has led to an increasing demand for more land to cope with such pace of transformation. Land as a natural resource is finite, yet the demand for more land is unlimited. Based on this increasing demand for land for infrastructural, commercial, residential, institutional and industrial services, government, individuals and communities alike have resort to the reclamation and conversion of available wetlands within the Port Harcourt municipality. This study sets out to identify the boom, the blunder and the brunt of wetlands reclamation and conversion within Port Harcourt Municipality; with specific objectives to ascertain the nature of spatial expansion within the wetland areas in Port Harcourt municipality; identify the extent to which urban growth has affected land use in the wetland areas within Port Harcourt municipality; and to establish the boom, blunder and the brunt of wetland depletion and conversion for urban land uses within the Port Harcourt municipality. The study adopts a quasi-experimental research design, it involves the gathering of retrospective data from various sources without the manipulation of the data sources. Sampling technique was multi-stage; listing of all forty-one wetland settlements; three settlements were purposively selected for ease of access and growing insecurity. Satellite images of the study sites were obtained from Google earth, delineated and gridlines were superimposed on the images. A time series analysis using ERDAS imagine 2014 version, was used to show spatial changes between the years 1986 to 2000, and 2000 to 2016, a time period spanning thirty years. The study indicates that from 1986 to 2000, Port Harcourt municipality lost a total of 1,255,500 m2, this translates to a 5% loss. This loss occurs at an average rate of 89,678.57m2 per annum. From 2000 to 2016, the rate of loss was 108,956.25m2 per annum, and approximately 7.69% of wetlands totalling 1,743,300m2 was lost to urbanisation. Improved urban services, economic prosperity, increased revenue represents some of the boom. Unnecessary incursion into the wetlands by groups, depletion of habitat for flora and fauna species, development of unplanned settlements is some of the blunders and declining urban quality of life, massive urban flooding, pressure on existing urban services, depletion of the already lean state resources are the brunt. Some recommendations include; conduct periodic geospatial mapping of wetlands to enable the listing of identified wetlands and identify existing species of flora and fauna for conservation, tourism development and preservation; there should be a strengthened development control framework to guide and encourage professionally trained and equipped manpower to manage wetlands and ensure acceptable best practices.

This research was to evaluate the quality of life of the urban dwellers in Yenagoa, Amarata and Ekeki cities to ascertain if there is a decline in the quality of life residents in those selected neighbourhoods with a view to highlight such causal factors. The study adopted the Passive-Observational survey design such that the research respondents were observed in-situ without experimental manipulation. The research population was purposively drawn, and data was drawn from primary and secondary sources. Objective and subjective dimensions of quality of life were viewed in the form of physical, social and economic domains were assessed with emphasis on the type of housing, recreational preferences and employment status of respondents. Findings indicate that the quality of life of residents in Yenagoa, Amarata and Ekeki has progressively declined from when Yenagoa was a local government headquarters to becoming a capital city of an oil and gas producing state. As evident, the predominant housing type is rooming housing that does not befit its status, with limited recreational space and a phenomenal 45% unemployment rate. Findings further depict a bleak and rapidly declining quality of life of residents. The study recommends that there should be deliberate government intervention to improve housing conditions, provision of adequate functional recreational facilities that would enhance social interaction and physical wellbeing. There should be deliberate government policy with the requisite framework to stimulate industrial growth to reduce the phenomenal unemployment were recommended.

Building resilience capacities to survive flood disasters in vulnerable communities in the global south encompasses techniques that are unique to such communities. These strands of unique techniques are embedded in their indigenous knowledge as a people and revealed through the actions they display during such times of disaster. Data was obtained from four communities in the Orashi region in the aftermath of the 2012 floods in Nigeria, to investigate the techniques and actions adopted to help build local resilience capacity amongst vulnerable communities there. Interviews and focus groups were the primary means of data collection and analysis was done qualitatively. The findings revealed five key attributes the communities possessed that enabled them build their resilience capacity to cope with the flood disaster.

Port Harcourt municipality has a variety of wetlands that contribute valuable ecosystem services to people, the natural species habitat, and tourist attraction. Wetlands are nourishing and important breeding zones for wildlife and provide protection and safe spaces for sea creatures. Typical of any natural habitat, wetlands are significant in supporting species diversity in addition to providing some climate restraining component. This study aimed at highlighting the price residents and government alike pay for the reclamation and conversion of wetlands. Achieving this was to ascertain the physical environmental challenges experienced by wetland dwellers within Port Harcourt municipality and proffer appropriate mitigation measures associated with the challenges of urbanization and wetland conversion. Three (3) settlements were purposively chosen out of the 41 identified wetland settlements in Port Harcourt municipality. A total of 293 questionnaires were distributed and SPSS was used to analyze the data. Also, satellite imageries of the study areas were obtained from Google earth, delineated. ERDAS imagine 2014 version was used to show spatial changes between the years 1986 to 2000, and 2000 to 2016. The study shows that from 1986 to 2000, Port Harcourt municipality lost a total of 1,255,500m2. This translates to a 5% loss with an average rate of 89,678.57m2 per annum. Between 2000 and 2016, the rate of loss was 108,956.25m2 per annum, and approximately 7.69% of wetlands totaling 1,743,300m2 were lost to urbanization. The result indicates that some of the prices associated with physical environmental challenges include flooding, poor sanitary condition; poor refuse disposal system, and unplanned settlements leading to a decline in the urban quality of life. Also, some mitigation measures include the provision of affordable land, rehabilitation of failed drainage system. The study recommends periodic mapping of all wetlands and an effective development control framework to monitor incursions into existing wetlands.

Community participation has been identified as effective driver of rural development in emerging economies while community development committees (CDCs) are key players in implementing rural development programmes in communities. The study aims at assessing the level of participation of communities and community development committees in the provision of public infrastructure in selected communities of Abua/Odual Local Government Area in Rivers. The objectives are to: identify existing mechanism for public participation in rural development process; ascertain the nature and extent of participation in rural development, ascertain the participation level of Community Development Committee (CDC) in implementation of development projects. A cross-sectional study that engaged multistage sampling technique was adopted. Primary and secondary data were collected, analysed and represented with charts, percentages and tables. One hundred (100) respondents were purposively drawn from Otari, Odaga and Omalem communities and stratified sampling was applied to administer questionnaire, only heads of households and members of community development committees formed the respondents. The study found out among other things; that the community development committees (CDCs) in the respective communities were effective in the dissemination of information with respect to projects embarked upon by the government to encourage community participation; there is a dearth of information and lack of synergy between the government agencies charged with the responsibility of planning and implementing rural development policies and the beneficiaries of such development; no Local Planning Authorities at the local government areas. The study recommended that members of the CDCs should form part members of planning and implementation committees in their respective communities, immediate establishment of local planning authorities.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:59:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-01-01 Since the Miocene profound climatic changes have influenced the biology and ecology of species worldwide, such as their connectivity, genetic population structure, and biogeography. The goal herein is to evaluate the phylogeography of sailfish Istiophorus platypterus between the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. Our results evidenced a high genetic diversity and three distinct populations among the ocean basins with limited gene flow among them. In addition, the species is characterized by two deep evolutionary lineages that diverged during the Miocene/Pliocene transition, one of them is circumtropical while the other is restricted to the Atlantic Ocean. These lineages evolved along the successive glacial-interglacial cycles from the Pleistocene and remained isolated from each other in glacial refugium until deglaciation. Assessments of sailfish suggest it may be subject to overfishing and the results herein imply the need to re-evaluate the current stock delimitations and management measures adopted by the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, especially in the Atlantic and the Indo-Western Pacific oceans to effectively manage the species. In addition, this work highlights that both lineages should at least be treated as two distinct management units in the Atlantic Ocean until their taxonomic status is fully resolved, given their high genetic divergence. Conservation Genetics Laboratory Universidade Santa Cecília (UNISANTA), 8, Cesário Mota St. Laboratório de Genética Pesqueira e Conservação (GenPesC) Instituto do Mar (IMar) Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Campus Baixada Santista, 144, Dr. Carvalho de Mendonça St. Laboratório de Ciências da Pesca (LABPESCA) Instituto do Mar (IMar) Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Campus Baixada Santista, 144, Dr. Carvalho de Mendonça St. Laboratório de Oceanografia Pesqueira Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE) Instituto Oceanográfico de Venezuela Universidad de Oriente (UDO) School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) Laboratório de Genética de Peixes (LAGENPE) Faculdade de Ciências Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP) Centro de Pesquisa do Pescado Marinho Instituto de Pesca/APTA/SAA/SP Acervo Zoológico Universidade Santa Cecília (UNISANTA), Oswaldo Cruz St. 266 Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), Av. 5 de Outubro s/n° Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR) Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science University of Miami Centre de Recherches Océanographiques de Dakar‐Thiaroye (CRODT) Institut Sénégalais de Recherches agricoles (ISRA) Centre de Recherches Océanologiques (CRO) Centre Technique de Recherche et de Valorisation des Milieux Aquatiques (CAP RUN – CITEB), Magasin 10, Port Ouest Laboratório de Biologia e Genética de Peixes (LBGP) Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu (IBB) Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP) Laboratório de Genética de Peixes (LAGENPE) Faculdade de Ciências Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP) Laboratório de Biologia e Genética de Peixes (LBGP) Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu (IBB) Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP)

Made available in DSpace on 2021-12-07T14:00:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pantanal-fire-stainable-agenda2022.pdf: 1111479 bytes, checksum: ac251b8aed279e93c8a0c151101a9b0e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2022

An Amazonian savanna in northern Brazil known as the Cerrado of Amapá is under imminent threat from poor land-use planning, the expansion of large-scale agriculture and other anthropogenic pressures. These savannas house a rich and unique flora and fauna, including endemic plants and animals. However, the area remains under-sampled for most taxa, and better sampling may uncover new species. We estimate that only ~9.16% of these habitats have any kind of protection, and legislative changes threaten to further weaken or remove this protection. Here we present the status of knowledge concerning the biodiversity of the Cerrado of Amapá, its conservation status, and the main threats to the conservation of this Amazonian savanna. To secure the future of these unique and imperilled habitats, we suggest urgent expansion of protected areas, as well as measures that would promote less-damaging land uses to support the local population. Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-17T23:15:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CPAFAP2017Biodiversitythreatsandconservation.pdf: 2128567 bytes, checksum: 5cb4b5c05db3b0c07fc15084b072beb1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-26

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-28T20:14:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-12-01 Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are cleaned and followed by reef fishes at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, off northeast Brazil. During foraging, turtles are cleaned by damselfishes (Abudefduf saxatilis and Stegastes rocasensis), and followed by juvenile wrasses (Thalassoma noronhanum and Halichoeres radiatus). © 2006 Chelonian Research Foundation. Projeto Tamar/IBAMA, Alameda Boldró s/no, Pernambuco Departamento de Zoologia Universidade Estadual Paulista, Caixa Postal 199, 13506-900 Rio Claro, SP Departamento de Zoologia e Museu de História Natural Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Caixa Postal 6109, 13083-970 Campinas, São Paulo Departamento de Zoologia Universidade Estadual Paulista, Caixa Postal 199, 13506-900 Rio Claro, SP

Made available in DSpace on 2021-07-14T10:29:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2004. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2021-07-14T11:31:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S1676-06032004000100011.pdf: 454298 bytes, checksum: e4d367b47106a7f768de716a80b3aed6 (MD5) Nas ilhas oceânicas de Fernando de Noronha, ao largo da costa Nordeste do Brasil, registramos tartarugas-de-pente (Eretmochelys imbricata) visitando estações de limpeza mantidas pelo camarão-palhaço (Stenopus hispidus). Este parece ser o primeiro registro de simbiose de limpeza entre tartarugas marinhas e camarões. Durante o seu forrageamento na planície recifal, as tartarugas visitavam e posavam nas estações regularmente. As mesmas estações eram visitadas por algumas espécies de peixes recifais, que aí posavam e eram limpas pelos camarões. Sugerimos aqui que a simbiose de limpeza entre tartarugas marinhas e camarões seja comum e difundida, porém passa despercebida devido à semelhança superficial entre uma tartaruga que esteja descansando e aquela posando e sendo limpa. Além disso, apresentamos uma origem putativa para a simbiose de limpeza entre tartarugas marinhas e camarões-limpadores, que segue etapas comportamentais relativamente simples. This seems to be the first record of cleaning symbiosis between marine turtles and shrimps. During their foraging on the reef flat, the turtles regularly visited and posed at the stations. The same stations were visited by a few species of reef fishes, which posed and were cleaned by the shrimps. We suggest that cleaning symbiosis between turtles and shrimps is widespread and went unrecognised due to the superficial resemblance between a resting turtle and a posing and cleaned one. Additionally, we submit a putative origin for the cleaning symbiosis between marine turtles and cleaner shrimps following a few simple behavioural steps. Ibama, Projeto Tamar Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Museu de História Natural Universidade Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Zoologia Universidade Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Zoologia