Resumo

The present work reviews the epidemiologic situation of Anaplasma marginale and Babesia spp. infections and the occurrence of cattle tick fever outbreaks in Brazil. In areas of tick fever enzootic instability, environmental conditions interfere with the development of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus: chilly winter in the southern region, floods in the Pantanal, and low humidity in the Caatinga. In contrast, the climatic conditions of stable zones (Cerrado, Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes) favor tick development. In enzootic areas, tick fever is uncommon because the animals are in frequent contact with the parasite, acquiring immunity naturally during the period of innate resistance; however, outbreaks may occur when calves become infested by considerable numbers of infected ticks during this period or in adults raised in tick-free environments that become infested for the first time when transporting to stable areas. It is necessary to better understand the disease's risk factors under stable conditions and the implications of the mechanical and other vector transmission of A. marginale. To prevent tick fever outbreaks in Brazil, it is important to develop and use anaplasmosis and babesiosis vaccines in cattle from enzootic unstable regions, especially when animals are moved to stable areas.(AU)

O presente trabalho revisa a situação epidemiológica das infecções por Anaplasma marginale e Babesia spp. e a ocorrência de surtos de Tristeza parasitária bovina (TPB) no Brasil. Em áreas de instabilidade enzoótica, as condições ambientais interferem no desenvolvimento do Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus: o frio do inverno na região Sul; as inundações no Pantanal; e a baixa umidade na Caatinga. Por outra parte, as condições climáticas das zonas de estabilidade (os biomas Cerrado, Amazônia e Mata Atlântica) favorecem o desenvolvimento do carrapato. A TPB não é comum nas áreas estáveis, porque os animais estão em contato frequente com os parasitas, adquirindo imunidade naturalmente. Podem, porém, ocorrer surtos quando um número considerável de carrapatos infectados infesta bezerros, durante o período de resistência inata, ou quando adultos que foram criados em ambientes livres de carrapatos infestam-se, pela primeira vez, ao serem transportados para áreas estáveis. É necessário entender melhor os fatores de risco da doença em condições de estabilidade e a implicação da transmissão de A. marginale de forma mecânica, ou por meio de vetores diferentes do carrapato. Para prevenir surtos de TPB, no Brasil, é necessário desenvolver e usar vacinas em bovinos de regiões de instabilidade, especialmente antes de transportá-los para áreas estáveis.(AU)

Resumo

Capybaras have found favorable conditions for survival and reproduction in green urban environments. In recent years, the population of these large rodents has been increasingly abundant in several brazilian cities such as Uberlândia, a municipality of the southeastern region with a Cerrado biome. Capybaras are important in the Brazilian Spotted Fever epidemiological chain, by amplifying infection rates of the vector population. However, knowledge of this host's physiology is scarce. Thus, the aim of this work was to describe hematological and biochemical parameters of free-living capybaras groups in urbanized areas in the city of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Capybaras were captured in 4 different locations of Uberlândia city, Minas Gerais state, including 1 Condominium (P1), 1 Private Market Garden (P2), 1 Private Club (P3) and 1 Municipal Park (P4). The animals were baited into an octagonal iron corral and chemically contained with anesthetic darts. After sedated, blood was collected from the femoral vein in tubes with and without EDTA. Biochemical evaluation, hematological analysis with differential leukocyte counts and search for Dirofilaria sp. were done. The blood count and biochemistry values obtained from animals of different ages, sex and sectors (P1, P2, P3 and P4) were submitted to the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, considering 95% significance. Values that had a normal distribution were subjected to ANOVA tests followed by Student's t-test. Values that did not follow normality were submitted to the Kruskal-Wallis test, to obtain a P-value, with a significance level of 95%. A total of 19 capybaras were captured: 4 in P1, 6 in P2, 4 in P3 and 5 in P4. From the 19 animals, 13 were females (68.42%) and 6 were males (31.57%), 12 adults (63.15%) and 7 juveniles (36.84%). Apart from occasional skin scars and moderate to intense Ambyomma spp. tick infestations, all captured animals were healthy on a broad examination. From 5 animals captured in P4, despite the use of anticoagulant, blood from 4 animals clotted fast. No microfilariae were found in the thick drop test in any of the 19 animals sampled, and in 2 adult female capybaras captured in P1, Kurloff cells were observed. Hematological and biochemical values presented no major differences when comparing sex and age. Nevertheless, differences in liver and kidney profile were observed between the capybara groups, including ALT, alkaline phosphorus, BUN and creatinine. Blood from 4 animals clotted fast, despite the use of EDTA tubes. Blood clotting of samples with anticoagulant in this work could be associated with some physiological features inherent to capybaras. Many attempts were required to obtain enough blood from each individual due to the rapid hemostasis, what come in accordance with reports in literature. Kurloff cells were observed in 2 adult female capybaras captured in P1, which can be found in peripheral blood of female rodents during follicular phase of estrous cycle. Hematological and biochemical values differences in liver enzymes such as ALT and alkaline phosphorus, and kidney profile enzymes including BUN and creatinine could be associated to capture stress or dietetic variation between groups. Despite statistical relevant, the values were still in accordance with other works, although comparisons should be done with caution since various environments exert a diverse array of stimulus upon the animals such as parasitic, infective, stress, nutritional, social and undoubtedly blood parameters mirror them. In conclusion, this work contributes to the standardization of free-living capybaras' physiological parameters in urban areas.(AU)

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Vegetation stability, resilience and regeneration can be achieved by various ecological processes, the most important of which is seed dispersion. Among animal groups, birds have the largest number of frugivorous species in the Neotropics. The aim of this study was to conduct a bibliometric analysis to detect general patterns and discover knowledge gaps in order to identify future directions for research into bird frugivory in Brazil. A gap analysis was carried out by obtaining 77 articles published online and evaluating their data in different ways. The results revealed that research on bird frugivory in Brazil was published in 33 scientific journals and financed by 18 national and international funding agencies. The number of publications increased over time, with the majority of them reporting research carried out in biomes of Central-West and South regions of Brazil. The most important bird species in frugivorous interactions in the most studied biomes were identified, including some non-native species. Our results corroborate several other studies, which together demonstrate a lack research on frugivorous interactions in the North and Northeast of Brazil, where there are very important biomes for conservation, such as the Amazon and Caatinga, for which knowledge of seed dispersal processes is needed.

Resumo

The analysis of animal movement patterns may help identify farm premises with a potentially high risk of infectious disease introduction. Farm herd sizes and bovine movement data from 2007 in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, were analyzed. There are three different biomes in Mato Grosso: the Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal. The analysis of the animal trade between and within biomes would enable characterization of the connections between the biomes and the intensity of the internal trade within each biome. We conducted the following analyses: 1) the concentration of cattle on farm premises in the state and in each biome, 2) the number and relative frequency of cattle moved between biomes, and 3) the most frequent purposes for cattle movements. Twenty percent (20%) of the farm premises had 81.15% of the herd population. Those premises may be important not only for the spread of infectious diseases, but also for the implementation of surveillance and control strategies. Most of the cattle movement was intrastate (97.1%), and internal movements within each biome were predominant (88.6%). A high percentage of movement from the Pantanal was to the Cerrado (48.6%), the biome that received the most cattle for slaughter, fattening and reproduction (62.4%, 56.8%, and 49.1% of all movements for slaughter, fattening, and reproduction, respectively). The primary purposes for cattle trade were fattening (43.5%), slaughter (31.5%), and reproduction (22.7%). Presumably, movements for slaughter has a low risk of disease spread. In contrast, movements for fattening and reproduction purposes (66.2% of all movements) may contribute to an increased risk of the spread of infectious diseases.(AU)

A análise dos padrões de trânsito animal pode ajudar a identificar estabelecimentos sob um risco potencialmente maior de introdução de doença infecciosa. Foram analisadas a rede de trânsito de bovinos no estado do Mato Grosso, Brasil, e uma base de dados com tamanho de rebanho, ambas de 2007. Há três biomas diferentes em Mato Grosso: Amazônia, Cerrado e Pantanal. A análise do trânsito animal entre e dentro dos biomas nos permitiu caracterizar quão conectados são os biomas e quão intenso é o trânsito interno dentro de cada bioma. Conduzimos as seguintes análises: 1) se o rebanho bovino está concentrado em alguns estabelecimentos no estado todo e em cada bioma; 2) sobre o número absoluto e a frequência relativa de bovinos movimentados entre os biomas; e 3) quais são os propósitos mais frequentes para o trânsito animal. Encontramos que 20% dos estabelecimentos possuíam 81,15% do rebanho total do estado. Estes estabelecimentos podem ser importantes para o espalhamento de doenças infecciosas, mas também para a implementação de estratégias de vigilância e controle. A maior parte do trânsito foi dentro do estado (97,1%), e o trânsito interno dentro de cada bioma foi predominante (88,6%). Um percentual alto de movimentos do Pantanal (48,6%) foi para o Cerrado, o bioma que recebeu mais bovinos para abate, engorda e reprodução (62,4%, 56,8% e 49,1% de todos os movimentos para abate, engorda e reprodução, respectivemente). Os principais propósitos para o comércio de bovinos foram engorda (43,5%), abate (31,5%) e reprodução (22,7%). Movimentos para abate presumivelmente oferecem um baixo risco para espalhamento de doença. Em contraste, movimentos para engorda e reprodução (66,2% de todos os movimentos) podem contribuir para o aumento do risco de espalhamento de doenças infecciosas.(AU)

Resumo

Essa Tese é composta por três Capítulos, no qual cada capítulo corresponde a um artigo científico. No Capítulo I foram determinados à soroprevalência, sorogrupos mais frequentes e os fatores associados à infecção por Leptospira sp. em rebanhos ovinos pertencentes a dois biomas do Nordeste brasileiro. A frequência de ovinos sororeatores (título 50) para Leptospira sp. foi de 23,3%. O estado de Alagoas apresentou maior frequência 31,7%, o Maranhão (13,3%) a menor. Os sorogrupos mais frequentes para o estado de Alagoas foram Autumnalis (54,2%) e Icterohaemorrhagiae (18,3%), enquanto para o Maranhão foram Pomona (37,2%) e Icterohaemorrhagiae (23,3%). Conclui-se que a leptospirose está presente em ovinos deslanados nos biomas Caatinga e Cerrado, com vários sorogrupos circulantes, que representa um risco para a saúde pública e um problema na produção animal. No Capítulo II foram determinados os fatores associados à soroprevalência da leptospirose em ovinos no Nordeste brasileiro. Em 76,3% dos rebanhos havia pelo menos um animal soropositivo para um dos sorogrupos de Leptospira sp. utilizados, e 14,94% dos animais eram soropositivos (IC 95% = 0,138 - 0,1618). O estado da Paraíba apresentou maior prevalência em nível de rebanho 95,7% e 26,6% em nível animal, seguido pelo Ceará 93,9% e 23,7%. Os fatores associados à soroprevalência obtidos foram idade adulto (razão de prevalência - RP = 2,03; P < 0,001), ausência de esterqueira (RP = 2,14; P = 0,026), não recolher o rebanho ovino para abrigo (RP = 1,54; P = 0,021), alta mortalidade ao desmame (RP = 1,39; P = 0,013), fornecer água de poço aos animais (RP = 1,25; P = 0,034) e não fornecer água de cisterna aos animais (RP = 2,15; P = 0,002). Fatores associados à soropositividade demonstram a necessidade de implementação de medidas de controle e prevenção, visando reduzir a infecção por leptospira em ovinos, como a instalação de esterqueiras, objetivando diminuir a contaminação ambiental; recolher o rebanho para abrigo devidamente higienizado; fornecer água de melhor qualidade para os animais, a exemplo da água de cisternas e instalação de uma área para acompanhar os animais no puerpério, visando reduzir a mortalidade ao desmame. No Capítulo III foram determinadas soroprevalência e distribuição espacial dos sorogrupos mais frequentes para infecção por Leptospira sp. em rebanhos ovinos do Nordeste brasileiro. Das 4.197 amostras de soros sanguíneos de ovinos analisadas, 590 foram soropositivas (título 100) para Leptospira spp., resultando em uma frequência de 14,06% (IC95% = 0,1304 0,1514). Os estados de Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte e Sergipe, pertencentes ao bioma Caatinga, apresentaram maiores frequências de ovinos sororreagentes, o Maranhão apresentou menor. As maiores frequências de animais soropositivos foram obtidas nos municípios de União (50%), Passagem (49,06%), Canindé (48,89%), Igaci (28,95%), Gararu (31,2%), Pirapemas (17,5%) e Angicos (16%) localizados, nos estados do Piauí, Paraíba, Ceará, Alagoas, Sergipe e Rio Grande do Norte, respectivamente. Os resultados deste estudo demonstram a amplitude e distribuição da infecção por Leptospira spp. em ovinos da região Nordeste do Brasil. A transmissão intraespécie parece ser a principal via de disseminação da doença em ovinos, embora outras espécies de animais domésticos e silvestres sejam importantes fontes de infecção.

This thesis consists of three articles. In Chapter I, seroprevalence, most frequent serogroups and factors associated with infection by Leptospira sp. in sheep flocks belonging to two biomes in northeastern Brazil. The frequency of seroreactive sheep (titer 50) for Leptospira sp. was e 23.3%. The state of Alagoas presented the highest frequency 31.7%, Maranhão 13.3%. The most frequent serogroups for the state of Alagoas were Autumnalis (54.2%) and Icterohaemorrhagiae (18.3%), while for Maranhão they were Pomona (37.2%) and Icterohaemorrhagiae (23.3%). It is concluded that leptospirosis is present in sheep in the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes, with several circulating serogroups, which represents a risk to public health and a problem in animal production. In Chapter II, the factors associated with the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in sheep in Northeast Brazil were determined. In 76.3% of the herds there was at least one animal seropositive for one of the serogroups of Leptospira sp. used, and 14.94% of the animals were seropositive (95% CI = 0.138 - 0.1618). The state of Paraíba had the highest prevalence at the 95.7% flock level and 26.6% at the animal level, followed by Ceará. The factors associated with seroprevalence obtained were adult age (prevalence ratio - PR = 2.03; P < 0.001), absence of dung (PR = 2.14; P = 0.026), not collecting the sheep herd for shelter (PR = 1.54; P = 0.021), high mortality at weaning (RP = 1.39; P = 0.013), provide well water for animals (RP = 1.25; P = 0.034) and do not supply cistern water to animals animals (PR = 2.15; P = 0.002). Factors associated with seropositivity demonstrate the need for the implementation of control and prevention measures, aiming to reduce leptospira infection in sheep, such as the installation of dung warehouses, aiming to reduce environmental contamination; the herd for shelter properly sanitized, provide better quality water for the animals, such as cistern water and the installation of an area to accompany the animals in the puerperium, in order to reduce mortality at weaning. In Chapter III, seroprevalence and spatial distribution were determined of the most frequent serogroups hot for infection by Leptospira sp. in sheep flocks from Northeastern Brazil. Of the 4,197 sheep blood serum samples analyzed, 590 were seropositive (titer 100) for Leptospira spp., Resulting in a frequency of 14.06% (95% CI = 0.1304 - 0.1514). The states of Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe belonging to the Caatinga biome, presented higher frequencies of seroreagent sheep, Maranhão presented a lower frequency. The highest frequencies of seropositive animals were obtained in the municipalities of União (50%), Passagem (49.06%), Canindé (48.89%), Igaci (28.95%), Gararu (31.2%), Pirapemas (17.5%) and Angicos (16%) located in the states of Piauí, Paraíba, Ceará, Alagoas, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate the extent and distribution of Leptospira spp. in sheep in the Northeast of Brazil. Intraspecies transmission seems to be the main route of spread of the disease in sheep, although other species of domestic and wild animals are important sources of infection.

Resumo

The Brazilian coastal zone extends from 4º N to 34º S latitude and because of its long extension, the interface zone from continent to ocean includes a high diversity of geomorphologic and oceanographic characteristics. The rivers from the Northeast and East regions are marked by a typical unimodal seasonal flux patterns but with different amplitudes. As the climate indicates, the rivers from the Northeast are subject to an accentuated seasonal variability with an elevated input and flood pulses during the rainy season and low to negligible fluxes during the dry season. Small-scale rivers usually present typical torrential behaviour. In the humid eastern region, the unimodal seasonal cycle is dampened with a more constant input supply. Recently, some studies have shown that the material supply from rivers along the Northeast and Eastern coasts is diluted by surface tropical waters of oceanic currents and that the estuarine plume dispersal is restricted to a narrow coastal belt. However, human impacts of course mask or even override both natural hydrological cycles and CO2 emissions from terrestrial biomes, or depending on the nature of the human impact, can even increase extreme events. Henceforth this contribution addresses the typological, hydrological and biome diversity of the four estuarine systems fed and affected by the respective Amazon, São Francisco, Paraíba do Sul and Plata watersheds.

A zona costeira brasileira se estende de 4º N a 34º S de latitude. Por causa de sua longa faixa de zona de interface do continente com o oceano, é encontrada uma grande diversidade nas características geomorfológicas e oceanográficas. Os rios das regiões nordeste e leste mostram um padrão de fluxo sazonal normalmente unimodal, mas diferentes em amplitude. Conforme o clima indica, os rios do nordeste estão sujeitos a uma acentuada variabilidade sazonal, com elevação da vazão em forma de pulsos de inundação durante a estação chuvosa e fluxos muito baixos ou mesmo negligentes durante a estação seca. Em rios de pequena escala, a vazão costuma apresentar um típico comportamento de eventos torrenciais. Na região leste, com clima tropical úmido, o ciclo unimodal sazonal se apresenta amortecido com uma entrada mais constante. Recentemente, alguns estudos mostram que a exportação de materiais pelos rios ao longo da costa leste e do nordeste é diluída a partir de águas tropicais superficiais de correntes oceânicas e que a dispersão das plumas estuarinas é restrita a uma estreita faixa costeira. No entanto, os impactos humanos mascaram ou mesmo substituem ambos os ciclos hidrológicos naturais e as emissões de CO2 dos biomas terrestres ou, dependendo da natureza, podem até aumentar os eventos extremos. Doravante, esta contribuição aborda a diversidade, a tipologia hidrológica e os biomas dos quatro sistemas estuários.

Resumo

Um levantamento epidemiológico de todos os casos de raiva bovina ocorridos no Estado de Mato Grosso durante os anos de 1996 a 2006 foi realizado pela análise da curva epidêmica, por meio do cálculo do somatório, média, desvio padrão, valores máximos e mínimos da ocorrência de casos de raiva nos três ecossistemas; análise estatística entre o efetivo bovino nos três biomas do estado e o número de casos de raiva bovina; a distribuição sazonal e a situação da doença no estado em relação ao panorama nacional. Para organização dos dados, levou-se em consideração o mês e o ano de ocorrência da raiva e a região geográfica de origem do material. Os diferentes municípios envolvidos foram classificados conforme sua localização nas regiões de Cerrado, Pantanal e Amazônia. Constatou-se que a variação no número de casos positivos da enfermidade tem sido crescente nos últimos anos, sendo que o maior número de casos deu-se no bioma Cerrado, que apresentou uma tendência de aumento anual. A partir do ano de 2004, o ecossistema Cerrado passou da situação de enzootia para epizootia, ficando pois, evidente que o principal problema de raiva em bovinos no Estado de Mato Grosso está situado no bioma Cerrado.

An epidemiological survey of all cases of bovine rabies that occurred in Mato Grosso, Brazil, during the years 1996 to 2006 was conducted by way of the analysis of the epidemic curve, by calculating the sum, average, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values of the occurrence of rabies in three ecosystems; statistical analysis between the actual cattle in the three biomes of the state and the number of cases of rabies cattle; and the seasonal distribution and disease situation in the state in relation to the national scene. The data were organized by taking into account the month and year of occurrence of rabies and the geographic region of the origin of the material. The different cities involved were classified according to their location in regions of Cerrado, the Pantanal and the Amazon. It was found that the variation in the number of positive cases of the disease has been increasing in recent years, with the largest number of cases occurring in the Cerrado biome, which showed a trend of annual increase. Beginning in the year 2004 the Cerrado ecosystem passed from the situation of enzootic to epizootic, making it evident that the main bovine rabies problem in the state of Mato Grosso is situated in the Cerrado biome.

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Mammals are among the most charismatic and well-studied organisms, and Brazil harbors the largest mammal diversity of the world. The Brazilian Society of Mammalogy was established in 1985, and since 2001 it organizes the Brazilian Congress of Mammalogy. We used the proceedings of all three editions of this congress together with papers indexed in Web of Science and Scielo to evaluate trends in Brazilian mammalogy. All contributions were categorized according to mammalian order, biome, topic of research and state of authors' affiliation. Our results show that mammalian orders with higher species richness receive more attention, but the ranking is different between abstracts and papers. Higher species richness did not translate into more attention for more speciose biomes, and again the ranking was different between papers and abstracts. There are research topics that receive much higher attention than others, and also other important ones, like Taxonomy, that have been neglected. States with greater human populations produce both more papers and abstracts. We conclude that the higher number of publication in the Atlantic Forest is caused by the concentration of mammalogists in the south and southeastern regions of the country. Contrary to what is normally believed, mammalian orders received attention according to their species richness, and not their charisma, probably because richer orders provide more study models. We suggest that additional funding mechanisms should be set in place in order to encourage more research on mammalian orders, topics, and states which have been neglected so far, in order to improve the knowledge on important Brazilian mammal biodiversity.

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Systematic surveys of the vegetative cover in Brazil include the semi-detailed mappings conducted within the scope of the Radam and Radambrasil projects, between 1971 and 1977, based on side-looking airborne radar images, and more recently, the assessments, based on Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery, of the remnant vegetation cover of the Brazilian biomes (MMA/PROBIO), finished in 2006. In a little more than 30 years, many changes have occurred, both in vegetation cover as well as in orbital remote sensing. In this review article, we discuss, from a conceptual and technological perspective, the evolution and the state of the art of imager sensors, as well as some of the enhancement techniques utilized for decoding (e.g., in biophysical parameters, etc.) and classifying the spectral response of vegetation. Likewise, we present the main current (pioneering) initiatives for land cover monitoring of the Brazilian biomes.

Levantamentos sistemáticos da cobertura vegetal no Brasil, à escala de semidetalhe, incluem aqueles realizados no âmbito dos projetos Radam e Radambrasil, no período de 1971 a 1977, tendo por base imagens de radar aerotransportadas e, mais recentemente, os mapeamentos, com base em imagens Landsat 7 ETM+, dos remanescentes da cobertura vegetal nos biomas brasileiros (projeto MMA/PROBIO), concluídos em 2006. Nestes pouco mais de 30 anos, muitas mudanças ocorreram, tanto na cobertura vegetal do país quanto no sensoriamento remoto orbital. Neste artigo de revisão, apresentamos, do ponto de vista conceitual e tecnológico, a evolução e o estado-da-arte dos sistemas sensores e discutimos algumas das técnicas mais utilizadas para decodificar (ex. em parâmetros biofísicos etc.) e classificar a resposta espectral da vegetação. Da mesma forma, apresentamos as principais iniciativas, históricas ou em curso, voltadas ao monitoramento da cobertura vegetal dos biomas brasileiros.