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The Caminho da Caiçara II archaeological site is located in the village of Cadoz Velho, a rural area in the municipality of Piripiri, Piauí, Brazil. It consists of a large vertical wall and a small sandstone block containing 101 rock paintings in red and yellow colors. There are abstract figures and human handprints, as well as a bird's footprint and a spear-thrower. There are rock engravings in the shape of cupules. This paper reports the results of in situ monitoring of environmental parameters such as ambient air temperature and relative humidity, rock temperature in areas with and without rock paintings, as well as the speed of the winds that reach the archaeological site under investigation. The experimental data obtained indicate that the thermal action on the pictorial films of the rock paintings from the Caminho da Caiçara II site is clearly more intense than in other nearby archaeological sites. Direct sunlight on the rock paintings for most of the day and year is the main agent responsible for the high heating of the pictorial films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the influence of climate on hospitalizations of sickle cell anemia (SCA) adults and children, we analyzed the health and meteorological parameters from a metropolis (1999-2018). 1462 hospitalizations were coded for SCA patients in crisis (M:F = 715:747) and 1354 hospitalizations for SCA patients without crisis (M:F = 698:656) [age = 22.9 vs 15.2 years and duration of hospitalization (DoH) = 5.7 vs 4.4 days, respectively,]. More hospitalizations were for adults than children in crisis, and for children than adults without crisis. More children and adults were hospitalized in winter andspring than in summer and autumn Hospitalizations correlated positively with humidity (lag −5), maximum pressure (lag −2), mean pressure (lag −2), and thermal amplitude (lag −2), and negatively with maximum temperature (lag −3). DoH positively correlated with minimum temperature (lag −4). Understanding these complex associations would induce attitudinal/behavioral modifications among patients and their caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Water is the most important nutrient in animal nutrition; however, water intake is rarely measured. The objective of this study was to determine whether previously published water intake (WI) equations for beef cattle would accurately predict WI from four experiments conducted under tropical conditions. The experiments were conducted from 2013 to 2015. Nellore (Bos indicus) growing bulls (Exps. 1, 2, and 3) and heifers (Exp. 4) were used in the feedlot trials. In all experiments, animals were fed for ad libitum DMI. The WI, animal performance, diet composition, and environmental data were collected. The prediction of WI using the current published WI equations was evaluated by regressing predicted and measured WI values. The regression was evaluated using the two-hypothesis test: H0: β0 = 0 and H0: β1 = 1 and Ha: not H0. If both null hypotheses were not rejected, it was concluded that the tested equation accurately estimated WI. To develop a WI prediction equation based on the input variables, a leave-one-out cross-validation method was proposed. The proposed equation was evaluated using similar methodology described above. All previously published eight equations overestimated WI of cattle used in the four experiments conducted in southeast Brazil. A possible explanation for the overestimate of WI is that previously published WI equations were generated from data collected from predominantly Bos taurus cattle raised under temperate climates. From the data collected from experiments conducted with Nellore cattle in southeast Brazil, the proposed equation (WI = 9.449 + 0.190 × MBW + 0.271 × T MAX −0.259 × HU + 0.489 × DMI, where the MBW is the metabolic BW (kg0.75), T MAX is the maximum temperature (°C), HU is the humidity (%) and DMI in kg/d), more accurately to predicts WI of cattle raised under tropical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food availability and oceanographic conditions drive the distribution and movement of marine vertebrates. Tracking efforts towards seabirds usually focus on their breeding period, tagging adults in colonies. In this study, we tracked four juvenile and one adult Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) with satellite transmitters. These individuals were caught incidentally in gillnets and were tagged at sea, with the exception of the adult that was rehabilitated and released on the beach. The penguins were tracked in their wintering grounds, where behavior and oceanographic characteristics of the area used were determined. All five birds remained along the coast of southern Brazil and Uruguay in neritic waters up to 10 km offshore and 50 m in depth. The four juveniles used a mean area of 1,426 km2, travelling on average at 7.4 km/h. The high turning angles observed and mean sinuosity of 2.46 indicated that the penguins were foraging. The adult penguin covered an area of 1,033 km2, at a mean speed of 4.6 km/h, and with low sinuosity (0.43), which is suggestive of either travelling movements or an experienced hunter who needs a few turning angles to forage. The adult travelled 538 km in total, reaching a maximal distance of 465 km. Locations were obtained over a period of 7–10 days, and all five penguins remained in waters of the coastal branch of the Malvinas Current, an area characterized by cold sea surface temperatures (SST, mean = 13.4 °C) and high primary productivity. Salinity values (34.06 PSU) were also typical of the Malvinas Current and were influenced by the La Plata River plume, whose waters are low in salinity and nutrient rich. All five penguins remained near the coast probably because these waters are rich in nutrients, and carry the penguins' main prey, the Argentine anchovy (Engraulis anchoita). Regarding conservation concerns involving these penguins, we highlight the current management of the anchovy fisheries and the development of offshore windfarms that could potentially cause major disturbances to the penguins' foraging habitat. The establishment of the Albardão National Park in the nearshore area used by the penguins is highly desirable for the protection of the species and their feeding resources. • Magellanic penguins in wintering areas stay over inner shelf waters, at a <50 m depth. • Hidden Markov models, high turning angles and sinuosity indicate intense foraging. • One released, rehabilitated penguin exhibited abnormal behaviour, likely with no foraging. • Birds stayed over the Malvinas Current under the influence of coastal, nutrient-rich waters. • Characteristics of penguin areas are the same as those of Argentine anchovy areas, its main prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Analyses of living foraminiferal and environmental parameters near an outfall at Mar Grosso Beach (Laguna, SC, Brazil) demonstrate its usefulness as indicators of domestic sewage pollution. The low species diversity may be due to sand accumulation in the central part. Higher diversity was noted closer to the mouth of Laguna estuarine system where reduced salinity and higher temperatures indicate freshwater influence, suggesting a relationship between increased diversity and greater availability of terrestrial food. On the basis of foraminiferal diversity and average coliform count the higher values are closer to the mouth of the estuarine system and under the influence of the outfall. Due to the effect of local hydrodynamics, the particulate organic waste derived from the outfall does not settle down locally, and thus, do not accumulate nearby. Our hypothesis is that the fine material derived from the outfall is accumulating on the southwestern and northwestern parts of the beach. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The research aimed evaluating the physical environment of the watershed of river Vacacaí-Mirim through the elaboration of land use and land occupation, geomorphologic and geologic thematic maps. To get the data we used Topographic Letters: Santa Maria and Camobi both and satellite images TM/Landsat 5, bands 3,4 and 5, october of 2008, and the softwares Cartalinx and Arcview. The land use was one of the environmental parameters of primordial importance, once it represents the information necessary to the studied area's planning, avoiding possible environmental unbalances and occupation conflicts. The studied area was compartmentalized into four geological units: upper Serra Geral, Lower Serra Geral, Botucatu Formation and Caturrita Formation. The geomorphologic map of the studied area was divided into three compartments: Peripheral Depression, South-Brazilian Southern Plateau and Edge Plateau. Therefore, the studies accomplished, as well as the prepared mapping are essential to know the region and analyze the way how the landscape transformation happens and the space occupation in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Habitat selection, which is mainly a consequence of competition and predation, allows species to coexist. The present study was conducted in two reserves in an Atlantic Forest area in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, and provided information on several large mammal species through photographic records. Records were related to certain environmental parameters, such as width of passages (trails and roads), vegetation density and proximity to water, in order to assess the relationship between each mammal species and its microhabitat. Thirty-two camera trap stations were placed during 17 months for 150.8 (±62.2) days on average. Terrestrial mammals tended to use different habitats: Puma concolor used mainly dirt roads and open areas; Leopardus pardalis, Cerdocyon thous and Nasua nasua used more large trails and intermediate-forested sites; and Cuniculus paca, Dasypus novemcinctus, Leopardus tigrinus, Eira barbara and Leopardus wiedii were recorded more often on narrow trails and in densely forested sites. Some of these forest species, such as D. novemcinctus, C. paca and L. pardalis, also showed relationships with watercourses. Information on habitat selection allows more effort to be addressed to the habitat associated with focal species, and indicates the significance of environmental heterogeneity, which makes it possible for species to coexist. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]