Uses of Fish and Game by Inhabitants of an Extractive Reserve (Upper Juruá, Acre, Brazil)

The fishing and hunting performed by inhabitants of the Extractive Reserve of the Upper Juruá, Acre, Brazil was studied, and an ecological analysis on the use of fish and game, including preferences, taboos and medicinal uses, and of fish abundance was made. Research was carried out at the Upper Juruá Extractive Reserve in three visits (1993 and 1994). A total of 143 individuals (101 families) living along the banks of the rivers Juruá, Tejo, Bagé, S. João and Breu were interviewed, and 115 species of fish with set gillnets were collected. Local economic activities included rubber-tapping and small-scale agriculture. Fishing was especially important in the dry season, when cast net and hook and line were used. Hunting and game consumption were intensive in the wet season. Some local rules may be useful as starting points for local management, such as the use of fish diversity through lake management, the use of water level seasonality, hunting periods or quotas, and food taboos. The integration of academic research with indigenous knowledge and demands is important to develop management plans which protect both biological and cultural diversity.     

Management of sludge from fish ponds at the edge of the Itaparica Reservoir (Brazil): an alternative to improve agricultural production

Sludge generated in intensively managed tilapia fingerling breeding ponds near the Itaparica Dam in the semi-arid Brazilian northeastern region was tested as a soil conditioner to produce lettuce in an effort to mitigate the present environmental impact of the deposition of this sludge, thereby giving it a productive destiny. A greenhouse experiment was performed by mixing the sludge with a Haplic Planosol topsoil, a characteristic soil of the region, so that the sludge corresponded to 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of the mixture (substrate). The experiment was set up as a randomized block design with five blocks, each with three pots (5-kg substrate per pot) of the five sludge proportion treatments. One lettuce plant was transplanted into each pot, maintained under greenhouse conditions, and harvested 35 days after transplanting. Sludge, soil, and the substrates were evaluated for nutrient concentration and physical characteristics. Green and dry weights, stem diameter, and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentrations in the aboveground parts of the lettuce plants were determined. Sludge incorporation into the substrate improved its chemical and physical characteristics. The lettuce plants grew best in the substrate with 75% sludge, increasing its biomass production by 50% and more than doubling its nitrogen uptake.     

Assessment of the hunting of mammals using local ecological knowledge: an example from the Brazilian semiarid region

The hunting of wild animals remains a common activity in various parts of the world, especially in rural communities with poor socioeconomic conditions. To investigate patterns of mammal hunting, this study adopted a rural community located in semiarid Brazil as a model to test whether variables such as perceived abundance, activity period (day or night) and animal biomass could influence the consumption potential of mammal taxa. For this study, a checklist/interview technique using 32 photographs of mammals recorded in the region and two photographs of species that did not occur in the region, which acted as “control” species, was used, in addition to other visual stimuli and free lists. All species presented in the photographs, with the exception of the “control” species, were recognized as occurring in the region. Fourteen species were cited as being those most hunted locally. The species cited as most hunted had an average perceived abundance higher than the group of the least-hunted species. However, there was no significant relationship between hunting of a species and its locally perceived abundance. No significant difference in hunting pressure between diurnal and nocturnal species was found, nor was a relationship between animal biomass and hunting pressure observed. Our findings suggest that perceived abundance is an important factor for choosing a resource fauna, but other factors such as intended use, meat flavor and vulnerability to hunting, among others, may influence the potential use of a species.     

Heterogeneous alternative catalysts: A bibliometric and systematic evaluation of their application in solar photocatalytic processes

The present study sought to objectively demonstrate how a researcher can, in a structured way, select relevant articles about alternative heterogeneous catalysts in photocatalytic processes. Therefore, the ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist) method was used to systematize the results found, with the application bibliometric and systematic analysis techniques for the evaluation of the results. The search string adopted as criteria was: solar photocatalysis AND heterogeneous catalysts OR alternative catalysts AND effluents. The databases were Web of Science, Science Direct and Scopus. The final bibliographic portfolio obtained for the research theme was made up of 19 articles. It was possible to verify advances in the number of publications on the theme over the evaluated period, with the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry standing out in the final portfolio. Evaluating each article in the portfolio individually, it was possible to verify that most studies use combinations of catalysts already reported to create an alternative material to those already investigated in the literature. Those that use waste as catalysts chose to source this material from treatment plants and the steel industry. Around 58% of the papers used hydrogen peroxide in their processes, while 42% chose not to use it. Finally, approximately 63% of the papers in the portfolio used synthetic effluent in their processes, while the rest (37% of the research) chose to use real effluent. The results obtained in this research by applying the method can contribute to studies related to heterogeneous photocatalysis by alternative means over the years.     

The ability of biological and organic synthetic materials to accumulate atmospheric particulates containing copper, lead, nickel and strontium

This work was aimed at finding materials that could be used as alternatives to lichens as air quality monitors since the high natural variability and the large amount of lichen collected are two drawbacks of the use of these organisms. Lichen Flavoparmelia caperata(L.) Hale was exposed in three different forms (transplant, detached from the substratum and as a biomass-ground and homogeneized) and compared to the planetree bark (Platanus hybrida Brot.), exposed as a biomass, and two organic synthetic materials (Chelex(R) 100 resin and cellulose acetate). Materials were exposed for two months in the winter, spring and summer, at three Portuguese coastal cities. The results showed that the airborne accumulations of Cu, Ni, Pb and Sr were partially dependent on the meteorological conditions but mainly dependent on the nature of the exposed material. The standard deviations of the synthetic materials or homogenized biomass were the same or greater than lichen transplants or detached. The accumulation by biological materials, of the four studied elements, was comparable to the lichen transplant accumulation. The replacement of the traditional transplants by the biomass was not considered advantageous, since their preparation is time-consuming. Therefore lichens remain the most suitable in biomonitoring studies. The exposure of detached lichen allows the accurate measurement of the exposed area/volume so it can be useful to relate atmospheric deposition rates with the lichen metal content. The synthetic materials accumulated Cu and Ni and should only be used as an alternative to traditional transplants when these are the elements of interest.     

Artisanal fisheries of the Itaparica reservoir,São Francisco River,Brazil: socioeconomic profile,environmental dynamics,and management recommendations

Currently, artisanal fisheries in fresh water reservoirs have been losing ground to commercial fish farming and a great deal of fishery resources are being threatened by human interventions, such as reservoir management and increasing net-cage aquaculture. This study aims to understand the impacts of environmental changes on fishery resources and analyse the migratory fish breeding season as a missing link for fishery management in the semi-arid area of the São Francisco River Basin. Among the 870 fishermen operating in the Pernambuco part of the Itaparica Reservoir, 10% were interviewed and affirmed that fish stocks have been compromised due to the closed fishing period’s incoherence, exotic species insertion, and changes to the river flow caused by reservoir construction and operation. A significant correlation was observed between the Reproductive Activity Index (RAI) and precipitation (p?=?0.745) as well as between the RAI and the river’s flow (p?=??0.909). This shows how important it is to consider both the semi-arid climate setting and reservoir operation in determining the closed period which should safeguard fish reproduction. Monitoring the fish reproduction period and research on the reproductive biology of native fish species is needed in the São Francisco River Basin’s different stretches in order to guarantee valuable fish stocks and fisheries maintenance. Integrated action between the fish resource users, civil society, and federal bodies/agencies is essential in order to mitigate impacts and improve fish production systems, not only in Brazil, but in other regions experiencing a similar scenario.     

Arsenic removal from water employing heterogeneous photocatalysis with TiO2 immobilized in PET bottles

Arsenic oxidation (As(III) to As(V)) and As(V) removal from water were assessed by using TiO₂ immobilized in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles in the presence of natural sunlight and iron salts. The effect of many parameters was sequentially studied: TiO₂ concentration of the coating solution, Fe(II) concentration, pH, solar irradiation time; dissolved organic carbon concentration. The final conditions (TiO₂ concentration of the coating solution: 10%; Fe(II): 7.0 mg l⁻¹; solar exposure time: 120 min) were applied to natural water samples spiked with 500 μg l⁻¹ As(III) in order to verify the influence of natural water matrix. After treatment, As(III) and total As concentrations were lower than the limit of quantitation (2 μg l⁻¹) of the voltammetric method used, showing a removal over 99%, and giving evidence that As(III) was effectively oxidized to As(V). The results obtained demonstrated that TiO₂ can be easily immobilized on a PET surface in order to perform As(III) oxidation in water and that this TiO₂ immobilization, combined with coprecipitation of arsenic on Fe(III) hydroxides(oxides) could be an efficient way for inorganic arsenic removal from groundwaters.     

Virological Characterization of Roof-Harvested Rainwater of Densely Urbanized Low-Income Region

Food and Environmental Virology - Roof-harvested rainwater (RHRW) is considered relatively clean water, even though the possible presence of pathogens in the water may pose human health risks. In...