Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities

PubMed Central

Rodrigues, Jorge L. M.; Pellizari, Vivian H.; Mueller, Rebecca; Baek, Kyunghwa; Jesus, Ederson da C.; Paula, Fabiana S.; Mirza, Babur; Hamaoui, George S.; Tsai, Siu Mui; Feigl, Brigitte; Tiedje, James M.; Bohannan, Brendan J. M.; Nüsslein, Klaus

2013-01-01

The Amazon rainforest is the Earth’s largest reservoir of plant and animal diversity, and it has been subjected to especially high rates of land use change, primarily to cattle pasture. This conversion has had a strongly negative effect on biological diversity, reducing the number of plant and animal species and homogenizing communities. We report here that microbial biodiversity also responds strongly to conversion of the Amazon rainforest, but in a manner different from plants and animals. Local taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of soil bacteria increases after conversion, but communities become more similar across space. This homogenization is driven by the loss of forest soil bacteria with restricted ranges (endemics) and results in a net loss of diversity. This study shows homogenization of microbial communities in response to human activities. Given that soil microbes represent the majority of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and are intimately involved in ecosystem functions, we argue that microbial biodiversity loss should be taken into account when assessing the impact of land use change in tropical forests. PMID:23271810

Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Jorge L M; Pellizari, Vivian H; Mueller, Rebecca; Baek, Kyunghwa; Jesus, Ederson da C; Paula, Fabiana S; Mirza, Babur; Hamaoui, George S; Tsai, Siu Mui; Feigl, Brigitte; Tiedje, James M; Bohannan, Brendan J M; Nüsslein, Klaus

2013-01-15

The Amazon rainforest is the Earth's largest reservoir of plant and animal diversity, and it has been subjected to especially high rates of land use change, primarily to cattle pasture. This conversion has had a strongly negative effect on biological diversity, reducing the number of plant and animal species and homogenizing communities. We report here that microbial biodiversity also responds strongly to conversion of the Amazon rainforest, but in a manner different from plants and animals. Local taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of soil bacteria increases after conversion, but communities become more similar across space. This homogenization is driven by the loss of forest soil bacteria with restricted ranges (endemics) and results in a net loss of diversity. This study shows homogenization of microbial communities in response to human activities. Given that soil microbes represent the majority of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and are intimately involved in ecosystem functions, we argue that microbial biodiversity loss should be taken into account when assessing the impact of land use change in tropical forests.

Trocara virus: a newly recognized Alphavirus (Togaviridae) isolated from mosquitoes in the Amazon Basin.

PubMed

Travassos da Rosa, A P; Turell, M J; Watts, D M; Powers, A M; Vasconcelos, P F; Jones, J W; Klein, T A; Dohm, D J; Shope, R E; Degallier, N; Popov, V L; Russell, K L; Weaver, S C; Guzman, H; Calampa, C; Brault, A C; Lemon, A P; Tesh, R B

2001-01-01

This report describes Trocara virus, a newly recognized member of the genus Alphavirus, that has been isolated from Aedes serratus mosquitoes collected at two widely separated sites in the Amazon Basin. Biological, antigenic and genetic characteristics of the new virus are given. Results of these studies indicate that Trocara virus is the first member of a newly discovered antigenic complex within the family Togaviridae genus Alphavirus. The public health and veterinary importance of Trocara virus is still unknown.

Aquatic Biodiversity in the Amazon: Habitat Specialization and Geographic Isolation Promote Species Richness.

PubMed

Albert, James S; Carvalho, Tiago P; Petry, Paulo; Holder, Meghan A; Maxime, Emmanuel L; Espino, Jessica; Corahua, Isabel; Quispe, Roberto; Rengifo, Blanca; Ortega, Hernan; Reis, Roberto E

2011-04-29

The Neotropical freshwater ichthyofauna has among the highest species richness and density of any vertebrate fauna on Earth, with more than 5,600 species compressed into less than 12% of the world's land surface area, and less than 0.002% of the world's total liquid water supply. How have so many species come to co-exist in such a small amount of total habitat space? Here we report results of an aquatic faunal survey of the Fitzcarrald region in southeastern Peru, an area of low-elevation upland (200-500 m above sea level) rainforest in the Western Amazon, that straddles the headwaters of four large Amazonian tributaries; the Juruá (Yurúa), Ucayali, Purús, and Madre de Dios rivers. All measures of fish species diversity in this region are high; there is high alpha diversity with many species coexisting in the same locality, high beta diversity with high turnover between habitats, and high gamma diversity with high turnover between adjacent tributary basins. Current data show little species endemism, and no known examples of sympatric sister species, within the Fitzcarrald region, suggesting a lack of localized or recent adaptive divergences. These results support the hypothesis that the fish species of the Fitzcarrald region are relatively ancient, predating the Late Miocene-Pliocene (c. 4 Ma) uplift that isolated its several headwater basins. The results also suggest that habitat specialization (phylogenetic niche conservatism) and geographic isolation (dispersal limitation) have contributed to the maintenance of high species richness in this region of the Amazon Basin.

Conversion of Amazon rainforest to agriculture alters community traits of methane-cycling organisms.

PubMed

Meyer, Kyle M; Klein, Ann M; Rodrigues, Jorge L M; Nüsslein, Klaus; Tringe, Susannah G; Mirza, Babur S; Tiedje, James M; Bohannan, Brendan J M

2017-03-01

Land use change is one of the greatest environmental impacts worldwide, especially to tropical forests. The Amazon rainforest has been subject to particularly high rates of land use change, primarily to cattle pasture. A commonly observed response to cattle pasture establishment in the Amazon is the conversion of soil from a methane sink in rainforest, to a methane source in pasture. However, it is not known how the microorganisms that mediate methane flux are altered by land use change. Here, we use the deepest metagenomic sequencing of Amazonian soil to date to investigate differences in methane-cycling microorganisms and their traits across rainforest and cattle pasture soils. We found that methane-cycling microorganisms responded to land use change, with the strongest responses exhibited by methane-consuming, rather than methane-producing, microorganisms. These responses included a reduction in the relative abundance of methanotrophs and a significant decrease in the abundance of genes encoding particulate methane monooxygenase. We also observed compositional changes to methanotroph and methanogen communities as well as changes to methanotroph life history strategies. Our observations suggest that methane-cycling microorganisms are vulnerable to land use change, and this vulnerability may underlie the response of methane flux to land use change in Amazon soils. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Classification and Use of Natural and Anthropogenic Soils by Indigenous Communities of the Upper Amazon Region of Colombia.

PubMed

Peña-Venegas, C P; Stomph, T J; Verschoor, G; Echeverri, J A; Struik, P C

Outsiders often oversimplify Amazon soil use by assuming that abundantly available natural soils are poorly suited to agriculture and that sporadic anthropogenic soils are agriculturally productive. Local perceptions about the potentials and limitations of soils probably differ, but information on these perceptions is scarce. We therefore examined how four indigenous communities in the Middle Caquetá River region in the Colombian Amazon classify and use natural and anthropogenic soils. The study was framed in ethnopedology: local classifications, preferences, rankings, and soil uses were recorded through interviews and field observations. These communities recognized nine soils varying in suitability for agriculture. They identified anthropogenic soils as most suitable for agriculture, but only one group used them predominantly for their swiddens. As these communities did not perceive soil nutrient status as limiting, they did not base crop-site selection on soil fertility or on the interplay between soil quality and performance of manioc genetic resources.

The dilemma of contact: voluntary isolation and the impacts of gas exploitation on health and rights in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve, Peruvian Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Napolitano, Dora A.; Ryan, Aliya S. S.

2007-10-01

Many small groups of indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin avoid and resist direct encounters with outsiders. As far as we know, they do so because of appalling experiences in earlier encounters with national society. When contacted today, they are extremely vulnerable to introduced diseases and exploitation. In this paper we draw on our experience in the Kugapakori Nahua Reserve for isolated peoples in SE Peru to discuss some of the current debates about whether isolated peoples should be contacted and how best to respect their right to life, health, autonomy and territory. The remote headwater regions where isolated peoples sought refuge during the last century are increasingly sought after for resource extraction. In particular, the extraction of oil and gas is increasing throughout the Peruvian Amazon. In the second part of the paper we give some examples of how oil/gas companies and the energy sector in Peru have affected the well-being of the peoples in this reserve in the 21st century. If this trend is not reversed the impacts for isolated peoples will be irreparable.

Lead exposure in indigenous communities of the Amazon basin, Peru.

PubMed

Anticona, Cynthia; Bergdahl, Ingvar A; Lundh, Thomas; Alegre, Yuri; Sebastian, Miguel San

2011-12-01

Since 2006, three studies have reported elevated levels of lead (Pb) among the indigenous population of the Corrientes river, in the Amazon basin of Peru. Due to the large evidence of environmental pollution related to oil exploitation in the area, this activity has been suggested as the source of exposure. This study aimed to evaluate Pb levels in the population and environment of two communities exposed and one community non-exposed to the oil exploitation activity. Blood lead levels (BLL) were determined by the instrument Leadcare. A comparison with the graphite furnace atomic absorption technique was performed in order to validate the Leadcare results. Environmental samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Among 361 capillary samples, the mean BLL was 9.4 μg/dl. Mean BLL of the communities exposed (n=171, x¯=9.5 μg/dl) and non-exposed (n=190, x¯=9.2 μg/dl) to the oil activity were not significantly different. Pb levels in environmental samples were below the maximum permissible levels. The sources of exposure could not be identified. Elevated levels of Pb in the oil-non-exposed community pointed out at other sources not yet clarified. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Micro-epidemiology and spatial heterogeneity of P. vivax parasitaemia in riverine communities of the Peruvian Amazon: A multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Carrasco-Escobar, Gabriel; Gamboa, Dionicia; Castro, Marcia C; Bangdiwala, Shrikant I; Rodriguez, Hugo; Contreras-Mancilla, Juan; Alava, Freddy; Speybroeck, Niko; Lescano, Andres G; Vinetz, Joseph M; Rosas-Aguirre, Angel; Llanos-Cuentas, Alejandro

2017-08-14

Malaria has steadily increased in the Peruvian Amazon over the last five years. This study aimed to determine the parasite prevalence and micro-geographical heterogeneity of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia in communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Four cross-sectional active case detection surveys were conducted between May and July 2015 in four riverine communities in Mazan district. Analysis of 2785 samples of 820 individuals nested within 154 households for Plasmodium parasitaemia was carried out using light microscopy and qPCR. The spatio-temporal distribution of Plasmodium parasitaemia, dominated by P. vivax, was shown to cluster at both household and community levels. Of enrolled individuals, 47% had at least one P. vivax parasitaemia and 10% P. falciparum, by qPCR, both of which were predominantly sub-microscopic and asymptomatic. Spatial analysis detected significant clustering in three communities. Our findings showed that communities at small-to-moderate spatial scales differed in P. vivax parasite prevalence, and multilevel Poisson regression models showed that such differences were influenced by factors such as age, education, and location of households within high-risk clusters, as well as factors linked to a local micro-geographic context, such as travel and occupation. Complex transmission patterns were found to be related to human mobility among communities in the same micro-basin.

Characterization of active and total fungal communities in the atmosphere over the Amazon rainforest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Womack, A. M.; Artaxo, P. E.; Ishida, F. Y.; Mueller, R. C.; Saleska, S. R.; Wiedemann, K. T.; Bohannan, B. J. M.; Green, J. L.

2015-11-01

Fungi are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and may play an important role in atmospheric processes. We investigated the composition and diversity of fungal communities over the Amazon rainforest canopy and compared these communities to fungal communities found in terrestrial environments. We characterized the total fungal community and the metabolically active portion of the community using high-throughput DNA and RNA sequencing and compared these data to predictions generated by a mass-balance model. We found that the total community was primarily comprised of fungi from the phylum Basidiomycota. In contrast, the active community was primarily composed of members of the phylum Ascomycota and included a high relative abundance of lichen fungi, which were not detected in the total community. The relative abundance of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota in the total and active communities was consistent with our model predictions, suggesting that this result was driven by the relative size and number of spores produced by these groups. When compared to other environments, fungal communities in the atmosphere were most similar to communities found in tropical soils and leaf surfaces. Our results demonstrate that there are significant differences in the composition of the total and active fungal communities in the atmosphere, and that lichen fungi, which have been shown to be efficient ice nucleators, may be abundant members of active atmospheric fungal communities over the forest canopy.

Meanings of 'Tuberculosis' in Rural Indigenous Communities from a Municipality in the Colombian Amazon.

PubMed

Muñoz Sánchez, Alba Idaly; Rubiano Mesa, Yurian Lida

2017-05-01

The purpose herein was to describe the meanings on tuberculosis (TB) in rural indigenous communities from a municipality in the Colombian Amazon. This was an ethnographic study with theoretical reference of dialectical hermeneutics, which created focus groups, one for each rural community of Puerto Nariño, for a total of 15 focus groups. The participants were community leaders and health referents. Seventy-nine subjects participated, mostly midwives, kurakas, traditional physicians, and shamans. The analysis yielded four categories: knowledge of TB, attitudes regarding TB, community practices of TB, and the intervention proposal on TB by the participants. It was found that community leaders recognize TB as a disease that can cause death, but which can be cured if timely care is secured. The study also identified the need to conjugate western medicine with traditional medicine. It is recognized that meanings may impact upon knowledge, attitudes, and practices that affect early detection and treatment of the disease. In addition, this work corroborates the need to strengthen and develop educational programs on tuberculosis supported by the real needs of the communities to enhance their knowledge, attitudes, and practices on the disease. Copyright© by the Universidad de Antioquia.

Expansion of HIV and syphilis into the Peruvian Amazon: a survey of four communities of an indigenous Amazonian ethnic group

PubMed Central

Bartlett, Ellika C.; Zavaleta, Carol; Fernández, Connie; Razuri, Hugo; Vilcarromero, Stalin; Vermund, Sten H.; Gotuzzo, Eduardo

2008-01-01

Summary Background In 2004, cases of HIV and syphilis were reported in an indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon. This study sought to determine the prevalence of HIV and syphilis in four remote communities of the same indigenous ethnic group located further from an urban center than the original community, and to identify risk factors for HIV and syphilis transmission. Methods Rapid and confirmatory tests for HIV and syphilis were performed. A questionnaire elicited demographic information, risk factors for sexually transmitted infections, and knowledge/beliefs about HIV/AIDS. Results We collected 282 blood samples and conducted interviews with 281 (99.6%) participants. The confirmed syphilis prevalence rate was 3.2% (9/282; 3.7% (5/135) for men and 2.7% (4/147) for women). The confirmed HIV prevalence rate was 0.7% (2/282), with both infections in men who had sex with men (MSM). Self-reported MSM activity was 39.7%. There was poor knowledge about HIV infection, transmission, and prevention, and low acceptance of known prevention methods. Conclusions HIV and syphilis are now prevalent in remote Amazonian communities of an indigenous group in Peru. Expansion of the HIV epidemic into the Amazon requires an urgent public health response. PMID:18760648

Patterns of Geographic Expansion of Aedes aegypti in the Peruvian Amazon

PubMed Central

Guagliardo, Sarah Anne; Barboza, José Luis; Morrison, Amy C.; Astete, Helvio; Vazquez-Prokopec, Gonzalo; Kitron, Uriel

2014-01-01

Background and Objectives In the Peruvian Amazon, the dengue vector Aedes aegypti is abundant in large urban centers such as Iquitos. In recent years, it has also been found in a number of neighboring rural communities with similar climatic and socioeconomic conditions. To better understand Ae. aegypti spread, we compared characteristics of communities, houses, and containers in infested and uninfested communities. Methods We conducted pupal-demographic surveys and deployed ovitraps in 34 communities surrounding the city of Iquitos. Communities surveyed were located along two transects: the Amazon River and a 95km highway. We calculated entomological indices, mapped Ae. aegypti presence, and developed univariable and multivariable logistic regression models to predict Ae. aegypti presence at the community, household, or container level. Results Large communities closer to Iquitos were more likely to be infested with Ae. aegypti. Within infested communities, houses with Ae. aegypti had more passively-filled containers and were more often infested with other mosquito genera than houses without Ae. aegypti. For containers, large water tanks/drums and containers with solar exposure were more likely to be infested with Ae. aegypti. Maps of Ae. aegypti presence revealed a linear pattern of infestation along the highway, and a scattered pattern along the Amazon River. We also identified the geographical limit of Ae. aegypti expansion along the highway at 19.3 km south of Iquitos. Conclusion In the Peruvian Amazon, Ae. aegypti geographic spread is driven by human transportation networks along rivers and highways. Our results suggest that urban development and oviposition site availability drive Ae. aegypti colonization along roads. Along rivers, boat traffic is likely to drive long-distance dispersal via unintentional transport of mosquitoes on boats. PMID:25101786

Patterns of geographic expansion of Aedes aegypti in the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Guagliardo, Sarah Anne; Barboza, José Luis; Morrison, Amy C; Astete, Helvio; Vazquez-Prokopec, Gonzalo; Kitron, Uriel

2014-08-01

In the Peruvian Amazon, the dengue vector Aedes aegypti is abundant in large urban centers such as Iquitos. In recent years, it has also been found in a number of neighboring rural communities with similar climatic and socioeconomic conditions. To better understand Ae. aegypti spread, we compared characteristics of communities, houses, and containers in infested and uninfested communities. We conducted pupal-demographic surveys and deployed ovitraps in 34 communities surrounding the city of Iquitos. Communities surveyed were located along two transects: the Amazon River and a 95 km highway. We calculated entomological indices, mapped Ae. aegypti presence, and developed univariable and multivariable logistic regression models to predict Ae. aegypti presence at the community, household, or container level. Large communities closer to Iquitos were more likely to be infested with Ae. aegypti. Within infested communities, houses with Ae. aegypti had more passively-filled containers and were more often infested with other mosquito genera than houses without Ae. aegypti. For containers, large water tanks/drums and containers with solar exposure were more likely to be infested with Ae. aegypti. Maps of Ae. aegypti presence revealed a linear pattern of infestation along the highway, and a scattered pattern along the Amazon River. We also identified the geographical limit of Ae. aegypti expansion along the highway at 19.3 km south of Iquitos. In the Peruvian Amazon, Ae. aegypti geographic spread is driven by human transportation networks along rivers and highways. Our results suggest that urban development and oviposition site availability drive Ae. aegypti colonization along roads. Along rivers, boat traffic is likely to drive long-distance dispersal via unintentional transport of mosquitoes on boats.

Social Isolation in Community-Dwelling Seniors

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

Executive Summary In early August 2007, the Medical Advisory Secretariat began work on the Aging in the Community project, an evidence-based review of the literature surrounding healthy aging in the community. The Health System Strategy Division at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care subsequently asked the secretariat to provide an evidentiary platform for the ministry’s newly released Aging at Home Strategy. After a broad literature review and consultation with experts, the secretariat identified 4 key areas that strongly predict an elderly person’s transition from independent community living to a long-term care home. Evidence-based analyses have been prepared for each of these 4 areas: falls and fall-related injuries, urinary incontinence, dementia, and social isolation. For the first area, falls and fall-related injuries, an economic model is described in a separate report. Please visit the Medical Advisory Secretariat Web site, http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/program/mas/mas_about.html, to review these titles within the Aging in the Community series. Aging in the Community: Summary of Evidence-Based Analyses Prevention of Falls and Fall-Related Injuries in Community-Dwelling Seniors: An Evidence-Based Analysis Behavioural Interventions for Urinary Incontinence in Community-Dwelling Seniors: An Evidence-Based Analysis Caregiver- and Patient-Directed Interventions for Dementia: An Evidence-Based Analysis Social Isolation in Community-Dwelling Seniors: An Evidence-Based Analysis The Falls/Fractures Economic Model in Ontario Residents Aged 65 Years and Over (FEMOR) Objective of the Evidence-Based Analysis The objective was to systematically review interventions aimed at preventing or reducing social isolation and loneliness in community-dwelling seniors, that is, persons ≥ 65 years of age who are not living in long-term care institutions. The analyses focused on the following questions: Are interventions to reduce social isolation and

Needs, Acceptability, and Value of Humanitarian Medical Assistance in Remote Peruvian Amazon Riverine Communities

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Juan F.; Halsey, Eric S.; Bayer, Angela M.; Beltran, Martin; Razuri, Hugo R.; Velasquez, Daniel E.; Cama, Vitaliano A.; Graf, Paul C. F.; Quispe, Antonio M.; Maves, Ryan C.; Montgomery, Joel M.; Sanders, John W.; Lescano, Andres G.

2015-01-01

Much debate exists regarding the need, acceptability, and value of humanitarian medical assistance. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 457 children under 5 years from four remote riverine communities in the Peruvian Amazon and collected anthropometric measures, blood samples (1–4 years), and stool samples. Focus groups and key informant interviews assessed perspectives regarding medical aid delivered by foreigners. The prevalence of stunting, anemia, and intestinal parasites was 20%, 37%, and 62%, respectively. Infection with multiple parasites, usually geohelminths, was detected in 41% of children. The prevalence of intestinal parasites both individual and polyparasitism increased with age. Participants from smaller communities less exposed to foreigners expressed lack of trust and fear of them. However, participants from all communities were positive about foreigners visiting to provide health support. Prevalent health needs such as parasitic infections and anemia may be addressed by short-term medical interventions. There is a perceived openness to and acceptability of medical assistance delivered by foreign personnel. PMID:25846293

Alu polymorphisms in the Waorani tribe from the Ecuadorian Amazon reflect the effects of isolation and genetic drift.

PubMed

Gómez-Pérez, Luis; Alfonso-Sánchez, Miguel A; Sánchez, Dora; García-Obregón, Susana; Espinosa, Ibone; Martínez-Jarreta, Begoña; De Pancorbo, Marian M; Peña, José A

2011-01-01

The Amazon basin is inhabited by some of the most isolated human groups worldwide. Among them, the Waorani tribe is one of the most interesting Native American populations from the anthropological perspective. This study reports a genetic characterization of the Waorani based on autosomal genetic loci. We analyzed 12 polymorphic Alu insertions in 36 Waorani individuals from different communal longhouses settled in the Yasuní National Park. The most notable finding was the strikingly reduced genetic diversity detected in the Waorani, corroborated by the existence of four monomorphic loci (ACE, APO, FXIIIB, and HS4.65), and of other four Alu markers that were very close to the fixation for the presence (PV92 and D1) or the absence (A25 and HS4.32) of the insertion. Furthermore, results of the centroid analysis supported the notion of the Waorani being one of the Amerindian groups less impacted by gene flow processes. The prolonged isolation of the Waorani community, in conjunction with a historically low effective population size and high inbreeding levels, have resulted in the drastic reduction of their genetic diversity, because of the effects of severe genetic drift. Recurrent population bottlenecks most likely determined by certain deep-rooted sociocultural practices of the Waorani (characterized by violence, internal quarrels, and revenge killings until recent times) are likely responsible for this pattern of diversity. The findings of this study illustrate how sociocultural factors can shape the gene pool of human populations. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Vulnerability of Amazon forests to storm-driven tree mortality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negrón-Juárez, Robinson I.; Holm, Jennifer A.; Magnabosco Marra, Daniel; Rifai, Sami W.; Riley, William J.; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.; Koven, Charles D.; Knox, Ryan G.; McGroddy, Megan E.; Di Vittorio, Alan V.; Urquiza-Muñoz, Jose; Tello-Espinoza, Rodil; Alegria Muñoz, Waldemar; Ribeiro, Gabriel H. P. M.; Higuchi, Niro

2018-05-01

Tree mortality is a key driver of forest community composition and carbon dynamics. Strong winds associated with severe convective storms are dominant natural drivers of tree mortality in the Amazon. Why forests vary with respect to their vulnerability to wind events and how the predicted increase in storm events might affect forest ecosystems within the Amazon are not well understood. We found that windthrows are common in the Amazon region extending from northwest (Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and west Brazil) to central Brazil, with the highest occurrence of windthrows in the northwest Amazon. More frequent winds, produced by more frequent severe convective systems, in combination with well-known processes that limit the anchoring of trees in the soil, help to explain the higher vulnerability of the northwest Amazon forests to winds. Projected increases in the frequency and intensity of convective storms in the Amazon have the potential to increase wind-related tree mortality. A forest demographic model calibrated for the northwestern and the central Amazon showed that northwestern forests are more resilient to increased wind-related tree mortality than forests in the central Amazon. Our study emphasizes the importance of including wind-related tree mortality in model simulations for reliable predictions of the future of tropical forests and their effects on the Earth’ system.

Developmental delay in the Amazon: The social determinants and prevalence among rural communities in Peru

PubMed Central

Alnasser, Yossef

2017-01-01

The consequences of poor child development are becoming increasingly recognized. Programs are being put in place around the world to improve child development by providing healthy and stimulating environments for children. However, these programs often have limited reach and little is known about the prevalence of developmental delay in under-developed communities. The current study set-out to better understand the prevalence of developmental delay in rural communities in the Amazon region of Peru. Also, it explores social determinants that are associated with any delay. Cross-sectional study by evaluating developmental delay in children under 4 years utilizing Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3). Additionally, conducting a social determinants questionnaire answered by caretakers to identify social drivers for developmental delay. The data was analyzed with multi-variant analysis to measure association. The prevalence of developmental delay in the Amazonian communities was 26.7% (19.3% in communication, 11.4% in gross motor skills, 8% in both) (N = 596). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations between developmental delay and; level of education (OR 0.64, p = 0.009), age of mother during child’s birth (OR 0.96, p = 0.002), visits by community health agents (OR 0.73, p = 0.013), and river as primary water source (OR 2.39, p = 0.001). The social determinants questionnaire revealed that 39% of the mothers had their first child before the age of 17, nearly half stopped going to school before the age of 12 (52%), 29% gave birth at home, 13% breast fed for less than 7 months, and 50% of the children had diarrhea in the last month. There is still a great need to improve the conditions for child development in the Amazon region of Peru. One-fourth of the children suffer from developmental delay, which will likely impede their potentials for life unless something is done. The impact of education, age of mother at birth of the child

Developmental delay in the Amazon: The social determinants and prevalence among rural communities in Peru.

PubMed

Westgard, Christopher; Alnasser, Yossef

2017-01-01

The consequences of poor child development are becoming increasingly recognized. Programs are being put in place around the world to improve child development by providing healthy and stimulating environments for children. However, these programs often have limited reach and little is known about the prevalence of developmental delay in under-developed communities. The current study set-out to better understand the prevalence of developmental delay in rural communities in the Amazon region of Peru. Also, it explores social determinants that are associated with any delay. Cross-sectional study by evaluating developmental delay in children under 4 years utilizing Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3). Additionally, conducting a social determinants questionnaire answered by caretakers to identify social drivers for developmental delay. The data was analyzed with multi-variant analysis to measure association. The prevalence of developmental delay in the Amazonian communities was 26.7% (19.3% in communication, 11.4% in gross motor skills, 8% in both) (N = 596). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations between developmental delay and; level of education (OR 0.64, p = 0.009), age of mother during child's birth (OR 0.96, p = 0.002), visits by community health agents (OR 0.73, p = 0.013), and river as primary water source (OR 2.39, p = 0.001). The social determinants questionnaire revealed that 39% of the mothers had their first child before the age of 17, nearly half stopped going to school before the age of 12 (52%), 29% gave birth at home, 13% breast fed for less than 7 months, and 50% of the children had diarrhea in the last month. There is still a great need to improve the conditions for child development in the Amazon region of Peru. One-fourth of the children suffer from developmental delay, which will likely impede their potentials for life unless something is done. The impact of education, age of mother at birth of the child

Aquatic Biodiversity in the Amazon: Habitat Specialization and Geographic Isolation Promote Species Richness

PubMed Central

Albert, James S.; Carvalho, Tiago P.; Petry, Paulo; Holder, Meghan A.; Maxime, Emmanuel L.; Espino, Jessica; Corahua, Isabel; Quispe, Roberto; Rengifo, Blanca; Ortega, Hernan; Reis, Roberto E.

2011-01-01

, predating the Late Miocene-Pliocene (c. 4 Ma) uplift that isolated its several headwater basins. The results also suggest that habitat specialization (phylogenetic niche conservatism) and geographic isolation (dispersal limitation) have contributed to the maintenance of high species richness in this region of the Amazon Basin. PMID:26486313

Effect of artesunate-mefloquine fixed-dose combination in malaria transmission in amazon basin communities

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Studies in South-East Asia have suggested that early diagnosis and treatment with artesunate (AS) and mefloquine (MQ) combination therapy may reduce the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and the progression of MQ resistance. Methods The effectiveness of a fixed-dose combination of AS and MQ (ASMQ) in reducing malaria transmission was tested in isolated communities of the Juruá valley in the Amazon region. Priority municipalities within the Brazilian Legal Amazon area were selected according to pre-specified criteria. Routine national malaria control programmatic procedures were followed. Existing health structures were reinforced and health care workers were trained to treat with ASMQ all confirmed falciparum malaria cases that match inclusion criteria. A local pharmacovigilance structure was implemented. Incidence of malaria and hospitalizations were recorded two years before, during, and after the fixed-dose ASMQ intervention. In total, between July 2006 and December 2008, 23,845 patients received ASMQ. Two statistical modelling approaches were applied to monthly time series of P. falciparum malaria incidence rates, P. falciparum/Plasmodium vivax infection ratio, and malaria hospital admissions rates. All the time series ranged from January 2004 to December 2008, whilst the intervention period span from July 2006 to December 2008. Results The ASMQ intervention had a highly significant impact on the mean level of each time series, adjusted for trend and season, of 0.34 (95%CI 0.20 – 0.58) for the P. falciparum malaria incidence rates, 0.67 (95%CI 0.50 – 0.89) for the P. falciparum/P. vivax infection ratio, and 0.53 (95%CI 0.41 – 0.69) for the hospital admission rates. There was also a significant change in the seasonal (or monthly) pattern of the time series before and after intervention, with the elimination of the malaria seasonal peak in the rainy months of the years following the introduction of ASMQ. No serious adverse events

Isolated starches from yams (Dioscorea sp) grown at the Venezuelan Amazons: structure and functional properties.

PubMed

Pérez, Elevina; Rolland-Sabaté, Agnès; Dufour, Dominique; Guzmán, Romel; Tapia, María; Raymundez, Marìa; Ricci, Julien; Guilois, Sophie; Pontoire, Bruno; Reynes, Max; Gibert, Olivier

2013-10-15

This work aimed to characterize the molecular structure and functional properties of starches isolated from wild Dioscorea yams grown at the Amazons, using conventional and up-to-date methodologies. Among the high purity starches isolated (≥99%), the chain lengths were similar, whereas variations in gelatinization profile were observed. Starches have shown varied-shaped granules with monomodal distribution, and B-type crystallinity. Variations in amylose contents found by three analyses were hypothesized being related to intermediate material. Linear chain lengths were similar, and their amylopectins showed a dense, spherical conformation and similar molecular characteristics. The average molar mass and the radius of gyration of the chromatograms of the yam amylopectin, M¯W and R¯G were ranging between 174×10(6) g mol(-1) and 237×10(6) g mol(-1), and 201 nm and 233 nm, respectively. The white yams starches were more sensible to enzymes than the other two. All starches have shown a wide range of functional and nutritional properties. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bacterial Biogeography across the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doherty, Mary; Yager, Patricia L.; Moran, Mary Ann

Spatial and temporal patterns in microbial biodiversity across the Amazon river-ocean continuum were investigated along ~675 km of the lower Amazon River mainstem, in the Tapajos River tributary, and in the plume and coastal ocean during low and high river discharge using amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes in whole water and size-fractionated samples (0.2-2.0 μm and >2.0 μm). River communities varied among tributaries, but mainstem communities were spatially homogeneous and tracked seasonal changes in river discharge and co-varying factors. Co-occurrence network analysis identified strongly interconnected river assemblages during high (May) and low (December) discharge periods, and weakly interconnected transitionalmore » assemblages in September, suggesting that this system supports two seasonal microbial communities linked to river discharge. In contrast, plume communities showed little seasonal differences and instead varied spatially tracking salinity. However, salinity explained only a small fraction of community variability, and plume communities in blooms of diatom-diazotroph assemblages were strikingly different than those in other high salinity plume samples. This suggests that while salinity physically structures plumes through buoyancy and mixing, the composition of plume-specific communities is controlled by other factors including nutrients, phytoplankton community composition, and dissolved organic matter chemistry. Co-occurrence networks identified interconnected assemblages associated with the highly productive low salinity nearshore region, diatom-diazotroph blooms, and the plume edge region, and weakly interconnected assemblages in high salinity regions. This suggests that the plume supports a transitional community influenced by immigration of ocean bacteria from the plume edge, and by species sorting as these communities adapt to local environmental conditions. Few studies have explored patterns of microbial diversity in tropical rivers

Bacterial Biogeography across the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum.

PubMed

Doherty, Mary; Yager, Patricia L; Moran, Mary Ann; Coles, Victoria J; Fortunato, Caroline S; Krusche, Alex V; Medeiros, Patricia M; Payet, Jérôme P; Richey, Jeffrey E; Satinsky, Brandon M; Sawakuchi, Henrique O; Ward, Nicholas D; Crump, Byron C

2017-01-01

Spatial and temporal patterns in microbial biodiversity across the Amazon river-ocean continuum were investigated along ∼675 km of the lower Amazon River mainstem, in the Tapajós River tributary, and in the plume and coastal ocean during low and high river discharge using amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes in whole water and size-fractionated samples (0.2-2.0 μm and >2.0 μm). River communities varied among tributaries, but mainstem communities were spatially homogeneous and tracked seasonal changes in river discharge and co-varying factors. Co-occurrence network analysis identified strongly interconnected river assemblages during high (May) and low (December) discharge periods, and weakly interconnected transitional assemblages in September, suggesting that this system supports two seasonal microbial communities linked to river discharge. In contrast, plume communities showed little seasonal differences and instead varied spatially tracking salinity. However, salinity explained only a small fraction of community variability, and plume communities in blooms of diatom-diazotroph assemblages were strikingly different than those in other high salinity plume samples. This suggests that while salinity physically structures plumes through buoyancy and mixing, the composition of plume-specific communities is controlled by other factors including nutrients, phytoplankton community composition, and dissolved organic matter chemistry. Co-occurrence networks identified interconnected assemblages associated with the highly productive low salinity near-shore region, diatom-diazotroph blooms, and the plume edge region, and weakly interconnected assemblages in high salinity regions. This suggests that the plume supports a transitional community influenced by immigration of ocean bacteria from the plume edge, and by species sorting as these communities adapt to local environmental conditions. Few studies have explored patterns of microbial diversity in tropical rivers and

Bacterial Biogeography across the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum

DOE PAGES

Doherty, Mary; Yager, Patricia L.; Moran, Mary Ann; ...

2017-05-23

Spatial and temporal patterns in microbial biodiversity across the Amazon river-ocean continuum were investigated along ~675 km of the lower Amazon River mainstem, in the Tapajos River tributary, and in the plume and coastal ocean during low and high river discharge using amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes in whole water and size-fractionated samples (0.2-2.0 μm and >2.0 μm). River communities varied among tributaries, but mainstem communities were spatially homogeneous and tracked seasonal changes in river discharge and co-varying factors. Co-occurrence network analysis identified strongly interconnected river assemblages during high (May) and low (December) discharge periods, and weakly interconnected transitionalmore » assemblages in September, suggesting that this system supports two seasonal microbial communities linked to river discharge. In contrast, plume communities showed little seasonal differences and instead varied spatially tracking salinity. However, salinity explained only a small fraction of community variability, and plume communities in blooms of diatom-diazotroph assemblages were strikingly different than those in other high salinity plume samples. This suggests that while salinity physically structures plumes through buoyancy and mixing, the composition of plume-specific communities is controlled by other factors including nutrients, phytoplankton community composition, and dissolved organic matter chemistry. Co-occurrence networks identified interconnected assemblages associated with the highly productive low salinity nearshore region, diatom-diazotroph blooms, and the plume edge region, and weakly interconnected assemblages in high salinity regions. This suggests that the plume supports a transitional community influenced by immigration of ocean bacteria from the plume edge, and by species sorting as these communities adapt to local environmental conditions. Few studies have explored patterns of microbial diversity in tropical rivers

Bacterial Biogeography across the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum

PubMed Central

Doherty, Mary; Yager, Patricia L.; Moran, Mary Ann; Coles, Victoria J.; Fortunato, Caroline S.; Krusche, Alex V.; Medeiros, Patricia M.; Payet, Jérôme P.; Richey, Jeffrey E.; Satinsky, Brandon M.; Sawakuchi, Henrique O.; Ward, Nicholas D.; Crump, Byron C.

2017-01-01

Spatial and temporal patterns in microbial biodiversity across the Amazon river-ocean continuum were investigated along ∼675 km of the lower Amazon River mainstem, in the Tapajós River tributary, and in the plume and coastal ocean during low and high river discharge using amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes in whole water and size-fractionated samples (0.2–2.0 μm and >2.0 μm). River communities varied among tributaries, but mainstem communities were spatially homogeneous and tracked seasonal changes in river discharge and co-varying factors. Co-occurrence network analysis identified strongly interconnected river assemblages during high (May) and low (December) discharge periods, and weakly interconnected transitional assemblages in September, suggesting that this system supports two seasonal microbial communities linked to river discharge. In contrast, plume communities showed little seasonal differences and instead varied spatially tracking salinity. However, salinity explained only a small fraction of community variability, and plume communities in blooms of diatom-diazotroph assemblages were strikingly different than those in other high salinity plume samples. This suggests that while salinity physically structures plumes through buoyancy and mixing, the composition of plume-specific communities is controlled by other factors including nutrients, phytoplankton community composition, and dissolved organic matter chemistry. Co-occurrence networks identified interconnected assemblages associated with the highly productive low salinity near-shore region, diatom-diazotroph blooms, and the plume edge region, and weakly interconnected assemblages in high salinity regions. This suggests that the plume supports a transitional community influenced by immigration of ocean bacteria from the plume edge, and by species sorting as these communities adapt to local environmental conditions. Few studies have explored patterns of microbial diversity in tropical rivers and

Health, healthcare access, and use of traditional versus modern medicine in remote Peruvian Amazon communities: a descriptive study of knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

PubMed

Williamson, Jonathan; Ramirez, Ronald; Wingfield, Tom

2015-04-01

There is an urgent need for healthcare research, funding, and infrastructure in the Peruvian Amazon. We performed a descriptive study of health, health knowledge and practice, and healthcare access of 13 remote communities of the Manatí and Amazon Rivers in northeastern Peru. Eighty-five adults attending a medical boat service were interviewed to collect data on socioeconomic position, health, diagnosed illnesses, pain, healthcare access, and traditional versus modern medicine use. In this setting, poverty and gender inequality were prevalent, and healthcare access was limited by long distances to the health post and long waiting times. There was a high burden of reported pain (mainly head and musculoskeletal) and chronic non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension (19%). Nearly all participants felt that they did not completely understand their diagnosed illnesses and wanted to know more. Participants preferred modern over traditional medicine, predominantly because of mistrust or lack of belief in traditional medicine. Our findings provide novel evidence concerning transitional health beliefs, hidden pain, and chronic non-communicable disease prevalence in marginalized communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Healthcare provision was limited by a breach between health education, knowledge, and access. Additional participatory research with similar rural populations is required to inform regional healthcare policy and decision-making. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Influence of the Amazon River discharge on the biogeography of phytoplankton communities in the western tropical north Atlantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goes, Joaquim I.; Gomes, Helga do Rosario; Chekalyuk, Alexander M.; Carpenter, Edward J.; Montoya, Joseph P.; Coles, Victoria J.; Yager, Patricia L.; Berelson, William M.; Capone, Douglas G.; Foster, Rachel A.; Steinberg, Deborah K.; Subramaniam, Ajit; Hafez, Mark A.

2014-01-01

An Advanced Laser Fluorometer (ALF) capable of discriminating several phytoplankton pigment types was utilized in conjunction with microscopic data to map the distribution of phytoplankton communities in the Amazon River plume in May-June-2010, when discharge from the river was at its peak. Cluster analysis and Non-metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (NMDS) helped distinguish three distinct biological communities that separated largely on the basis of salinity gradients across the plume. These three communities included an "estuarine type" comprised of a high biomass mixed population of diatoms, cryptophytes and green-water Synechococcus spp. located upstream of the plume, a "mesohaline type" made up largely of communities of Diatom-Diazotroph Associations (DDAs) and located in the northwestern region of the plume and an "oceanic type" in the oligotrophic waters outside of the plume made up of Trichodesmium and Synechococcus spp. Although salinity appeared to have a substantial influence on the distribution of different phytoplankton groups, ALF and microscopic measurements examined in the context of the hydro-chemical environment of the river plume, helped establish that the phytoplankton community structure and distribution were strongly controlled by inorganic nitrate plus nitrite (NO3 + NO2) availability whose concentrations were low throughout the plume. Towards the southern, low-salinity region of the plume, NO3 + NO2 supplied by the onshore flow of subsurface (∼80 m depth) water, ensured the continuous sustenance of the mixed phytoplankton bloom. The large drawdown of SiO3 and PO4 associated with this "estuarine type" mixed bloom at a magnitude comparable to that observed for DDAs in the mesohaline waters, leads us to contend that, diatoms, cryptophytes and Synechococcus spp., fueled by the offshore influx of nutrients also play an important role in the cycling of nutrients in the Amazon River plume.

Promoting health and happiness in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Scannavino, Caetano; Anastácio, Rui

2007-01-01

With the motto "Health, happiness of the body. Happiness, health of the soul", the Health & Happiness Project (PSA) works to promote integrated and sustainable community development in parts of the Brazilian Amazon. PSA grew out of local workers' personal experience in collaborating with communities and the need for sustainable actions for their future development. PSA was established as a not-for-profit organization in 1987 It started off by implementing strategies that would increase the health status of the population, which was identified as the biggest challenge, to then extend to other areas of development. Education, training and community participation were key elements of the project's actions, which included basic sanitation, reproductive health and child health, technical assistance in agricultural practices and youth empowerment through communications, among others. Once the health structure was established, the work moved on to new priorities related to education, economic production, protection of the environment and community management in the medium and long terms. The project's success has helped to institutionalize the practices and today it reaches a total of approximately 5,000 families distributed across 150 rural communities in the mid- and low-Amazon region.

Extratropical Respones to Amazon Deforestation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badger, A.; Dirmeyer, P.

2014-12-01

Land-use change (LUC) is known to impact local climate conditions through modifications of land-atmosphere interactions. Large-scale LUC, such as Amazon deforestation, could have a significant effect on the local and regional climates. The question remains as to what the global impact of large-scale LUC could be, as previous modeling studies have shown non-local responses due to Amazon deforestation. A common shortcoming in many previous modeling studies is the use of prescribed ocean conditions, which can act as a boundary condition to dampen the global response with respect to changes in the mean and variability. Using fully coupled modeling simulations with the Community Earth System Model version 1.2.0, the Amazon rainforest has been replaced with a distribution of representative tropical crops. Through the modifications of local land-atmosphere interactions, a significant change in the region, both at the surface and throughout the atmosphere, can be quantified. Accompanying these local changes are significant changes to the atmospheric circulation across all scales, thus modifying regional climates in other locales. Notable impacts include significant changes in precipitation, surface fluxes, basin-wide sea surface temperatures and ENSO behavior.

Effects of selective logging on bat communities in the southeastern Amazon.

PubMed

Peters, Sandra L; Malcolm, Jay R; Zimmerman, Barbara L

2006-10-01

Although extensive areas of tropical forest are selectively logged each year, the responses of bat communities to this form of disturbance have rarely been examined. Our objectives were to (1) compare bat abundance, species composition, and feeding guild structure between unlogged and low-intensity selectively logged (1-4 logged stems/ha) sampling grids in the southeastern Amazon and (2) examine correlations between logging-induced changes in bat communities and forest structure. We captured bats in understory and canopy mist nets set in five 1-ha study grids in both logged and unlogged forest. We captured 996 individuals, representing 5 families, 32 genera, and 49 species. Abundances of nectarivorous and frugivorous taxa (Glossophaginae, Lonchophyllinae, Stenodermatinae, and Carolliinae) were higher at logged sites, where canopy openness and understory foliage density were greatest. In contrast, insectivorous and omnivorous species (Emballonuridae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostominae, and Vespertilionidae) were more abundant in unlogged sites, where canopy foliage density and variability in the understory stratum were greatest. Multivariate analyses indicated that understory bat species composition differed strongly between logged and unlogged sites but provided little evidence of logging effects for the canopy fauna. Different responses among feeding guilds and taxonomic groups appeared to be related to foraging and echolocation strategies and to changes in canopy cover and understory foliage densities. Our results suggest that even low-intensity logging modifies habitat structure, leading to changes in bat species composition.

Chain of commercialization of Podocnemis spp. turtles (Testudines: Podocnemididae) in the Purus River, Amazon basin, Brazil: current status and perspectives.

PubMed

Pantoja-Lima, Jackson; Aride, Paulo H R; de Oliveira, Adriano T; Félix-Silva, Daniely; Pezzuti, Juarez C B; Rebêlo, George H

2014-01-27

Consumption of turtles by natives and settlers in the Amazon and Orinoco has been widely studied in scientific communities. Accepted cultural customs and the local dietary and monetary needs need to be taken into account in conservation programs, and when implementing federal laws related to consumption and fishing methods. This study was conducted around the Purus River, a region known for the consumption and illegal trade of turtles. The objective of this study was to quantify the illegal turtle trade in Tapauá and to understand its effect on the local economy. This study was conducted in the municipality of Tapauá in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. To estimate turtle consumption, interviews were conducted over 2 consecutive years (2006 and 2007) in urban areas and isolated communities. The experimental design was randomized with respect to type of household. To study the turtle fishery and trade chain, we used snowball sampling methodology. During our study period, 100% of respondents reported consuming at least three species of turtles (Podocnemis spp.). Our estimates indicate that about 34 tons of animals are consumed annually in Tapauá along the margins of a major fishing river in the Amazon. At least five components related to the chain of commercialization of turtles on the Purus River are identified: Indigenous Apurinã and (2) residents of bordering villages (communities); (3) of local smugglers buy and sell turtles to the community in exchange for manufactured goods, and (4) regional smugglers buy in Tapauá, Lábrea, and Beruri to sell in Manaus and Manacapuru; Finally, (5) there are professional fishermen. We quantify the full impact of turtle consumption and advocate the conservation of the region's turtle populations. The Brazilian government should initiate a new turtle consumption management program which involves the opinions of consumers. With these measures the conservation of freshwater turtles in the Brazilian Amazon, is possible.

Oil and gas projects in the Western Amazon: threats to wilderness, biodiversity, and indigenous peoples.

PubMed

Finer, Matt; Jenkins, Clinton N; Pimm, Stuart L; Keane, Brian; Ross, Carl

2008-08-13

The western Amazon is the most biologically rich part of the Amazon basin and is home to a great diversity of indigenous ethnic groups, including some of the world's last uncontacted peoples living in voluntary isolation. Unlike the eastern Brazilian Amazon, it is still a largely intact ecosystem. Underlying this landscape are large reserves of oil and gas, many yet untapped. The growing global demand is leading to unprecedented exploration and development in the region. We synthesized information from government sources to quantify the status of oil development in the western Amazon. National governments delimit specific geographic areas or "blocks" that are zoned for hydrocarbon activities, which they may lease to state and multinational energy companies for exploration and production. About 180 oil and gas blocks now cover approximately 688,000 km(2) of the western Amazon. These blocks overlap the most species-rich part of the Amazon. We also found that many of the blocks overlap indigenous territories, both titled lands and areas utilized by peoples in voluntary isolation. In Ecuador and Peru, oil and gas blocks now cover more than two-thirds of the Amazon. In Bolivia and western Brazil, major exploration activities are set to increase rapidly. Without improved policies, the increasing scope and magnitude of planned extraction means that environmental and social impacts are likely to intensify. We review the most pressing oil- and gas-related conservation policy issues confronting the region. These include the need for regional Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments and the adoption of roadless extraction techniques. We also consider the conflicts where the blocks overlap indigenous peoples' territories.

Oil and Gas Projects in the Western Amazon: Threats to Wilderness, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples

PubMed Central

Finer, Matt; Jenkins, Clinton N.; Pimm, Stuart L.; Keane, Brian; Ross, Carl

2008-01-01

Background The western Amazon is the most biologically rich part of the Amazon basin and is home to a great diversity of indigenous ethnic groups, including some of the world's last uncontacted peoples living in voluntary isolation. Unlike the eastern Brazilian Amazon, it is still a largely intact ecosystem. Underlying this landscape are large reserves of oil and gas, many yet untapped. The growing global demand is leading to unprecedented exploration and development in the region. Methodology/Principal Findings We synthesized information from government sources to quantify the status of oil development in the western Amazon. National governments delimit specific geographic areas or “blocks” that are zoned for hydrocarbon activities, which they may lease to state and multinational energy companies for exploration and production. About 180 oil and gas blocks now cover ∼688,000 km2 of the western Amazon. These blocks overlap the most species-rich part of the Amazon. We also found that many of the blocks overlap indigenous territories, both titled lands and areas utilized by peoples in voluntary isolation. In Ecuador and Peru, oil and gas blocks now cover more than two-thirds of the Amazon. In Bolivia and western Brazil, major exploration activities are set to increase rapidly. Conclusions/Significance Without improved policies, the increasing scope and magnitude of planned extraction means that environmental and social impacts are likely to intensify. We review the most pressing oil- and gas-related conservation policy issues confronting the region. These include the need for regional Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments and the adoption of roadless extraction techniques. We also consider the conflicts where the blocks overlap indigenous peoples' territories. PMID:18716679

Performance Evaluation of Community Health Workers: Case Study in the Amazon of Peru.

PubMed

Westgard, Christopher; Naraine, Renuka; Paucar Villacorta, Diego Mauricio

2018-03-26

A shortage in human resources for health is a growing crisis that has led to an inability to provide adequate health services to impoverished populations. By "task-shifting", health systems can delegate certain activities, such as health promotion and referral, to trained community members to help fill the human resource gap. An effective community health agent program can improve maternal and child health and overall effectiveness of rural health systems. Such a program is most effective when the community health agents receive supervision and evaluation of their performance. There is a shortage of literature that provides instruction and example on how to conduct a performance evaluation in the developing world to improve maternal and child health outcomes. The current study provides a case study of a performance evaluation in the Amazon region of Peru and how the findings can be used to make program adjustments. A set of instruments to measure the performance of CHWs was adapted from the literature and then implemented in the field. The instruments were used to measure the quality of home visits by the CHWs, their knowledge of the health topics, and structural activities. Three communities with an active CHW program in Loreto, Peru were chosen to receive the evaluation. All CHWs in the communities were evaluated. The scores from the evaluation were compared internally to identify strengths and weaknesses of the program and within the population of CHWs. The evaluation was completed on 52 home visits and 27 CHWs in three communities. The CHWs were found to be most effective at creating good relationships with caregivers and delivering health messages, and least effective at interacting with the child during the home visit and using material to deliver health messages. The evaluation instruments were well suited for the CHW program that utilizes home visits to teach about child health and development.

A Synoptic Assessment of the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum during Boreal Autumn: From Physics to Plankton Communities and Carbon Flux.

PubMed

Araujo, Moacyr; Noriega, Carlos; Hounsou-Gbo, Gbekpo Aubains; Veleda, Doris; Araujo, Julia; Bruto, Leonardo; Feitosa, Fernando; Flores-Montes, Manuel; Lefèvre, Nathalie; Melo, Pedro; Otsuka, Amanda; Travassos, Keyla; Schwamborn, Ralf; Neumann-Leitão, Sigrid

2017-01-01

The Amazon generates the world's largest offshore river plume, which covers extensive areas of the tropical Atlantic. The data and samples in this study were obtained during the oceanographic cruise Camadas Finas III in October 2012 along the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum (AROC). The cruise occurred during boreal autumn, when the river plume reaches its maximum eastward extent. In this study, we examine the links between physics, biogeochemistry and plankton community structure along the AROC. Hydrographic results showed very different conditions, ranging from shallow well-mixed coastal waters to offshore areas, where low salinity Amazonian waters mix with open ocean waters. Nutrients, mainly [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], were highly depleted in coastal regions, and the magnitude of primary production was greater than that of respiration (negative apparent oxygen utilization). In terms of phytoplankton groups, diatoms dominated the region from the river mouth to the edge of the area affected by the North Brazil Current (NBC) retroflection (with chlorophyll a concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 0.94 mg m -3 ). The North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) region, east of retroflection, is fully oligotrophic and the most representative groups are Cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. Additionally, in this region, blooms of cyanophyte species were associated with diatoms and Mesozooplankton (copepods). A total of 178 zooplankton taxa were observed in this area, with Copepoda being the most diverse and abundant group. Two different zooplankton communities were identified: a low-diversity, high-abundance coastal community and a high-diversity, low-abundance oceanic community offshore. The CO 2 fugacity (fCO 2 sw), calculated from total alkalinity (1,450 < TA < 2,394 μmol kg -1 ) and dissolved inorganic carbon (1,303 < DIC < 2,062 μmol kg -1 ) measurements, confirms that the Amazon River plume is a sink of atmospheric CO 2 in areas with salinities <35 psu

A Synoptic Assessment of the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum during Boreal Autumn: From Physics to Plankton Communities and Carbon Flux

PubMed Central

Araujo, Moacyr; Noriega, Carlos; Hounsou-gbo, Gbekpo Aubains; Veleda, Doris; Araujo, Julia; Bruto, Leonardo; Feitosa, Fernando; Flores-Montes, Manuel; Lefèvre, Nathalie; Melo, Pedro; Otsuka, Amanda; Travassos, Keyla; Schwamborn, Ralf; Neumann-Leitão, Sigrid

2017-01-01

The Amazon generates the world's largest offshore river plume, which covers extensive areas of the tropical Atlantic. The data and samples in this study were obtained during the oceanographic cruise Camadas Finas III in October 2012 along the Amazon River-Ocean Continuum (AROC). The cruise occurred during boreal autumn, when the river plume reaches its maximum eastward extent. In this study, we examine the links between physics, biogeochemistry and plankton community structure along the AROC. Hydrographic results showed very different conditions, ranging from shallow well-mixed coastal waters to offshore areas, where low salinity Amazonian waters mix with open ocean waters. Nutrients, mainly NO3− and SiO2−, were highly depleted in coastal regions, and the magnitude of primary production was greater than that of respiration (negative apparent oxygen utilization). In terms of phytoplankton groups, diatoms dominated the region from the river mouth to the edge of the area affected by the North Brazil Current (NBC) retroflection (with chlorophyll a concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 0.94 mg m−3). The North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) region, east of retroflection, is fully oligotrophic and the most representative groups are Cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. Additionally, in this region, blooms of cyanophyte species were associated with diatoms and Mesozooplankton (copepods). A total of 178 zooplankton taxa were observed in this area, with Copepoda being the most diverse and abundant group. Two different zooplankton communities were identified: a low-diversity, high-abundance coastal community and a high-diversity, low-abundance oceanic community offshore. The CO2 fugacity (fCO2sw), calculated from total alkalinity (1,450 < TA < 2,394 μmol kg−1) and dissolved inorganic carbon (1,303 < DIC < 2,062 μmol kg−1) measurements, confirms that the Amazon River plume is a sink of atmospheric CO2 in areas with salinities <35 psu, whereas, in regions with

Epidemiologic confirmation that fruit consumption influences mercury exposure in riparian communities in the Brazilian Amazon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sousa Passos, Carlos Jose; Mergler, Donna; Fillion, Myriam

2007-10-15

Since deforestation has recently been associated with increased mercury load in the Amazon, the problem of mercury exposure is now much more widespread than initially thought. A previous exploratory study suggested that fruit consumption may reduce mercury exposure. The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of fruit consumption on the relation between fish consumption and bioindicators of mercury (Hg) exposure in Amazonian fish-eating communities. A cross-sectional dietary survey based on a 7-day recall of fish and fruit consumption frequency was conducted within 13 riparian communities from the Tapajos River, Brazilian Amazon. Hair samples were collected from 449more » persons, and blood samples were collected from a subset of 225, for total and inorganic mercury determination by atomic absorption spectrometry. On average, participants consumed 6.6 fish meals/week and ate 11 fruits/week. The average blood Hg (BHg) was 57.1{+-}36.3 {mu}g/L (median: 55.1 {mu}g/L), and the average hair-Hg (HHg) was 16.8{+-}10.3 {mu}g/g (median: 15.7 {mu}g/g). There was a positive relation between fish consumption and BHg (r=0.48; P<0.0001), as well as HHg (r=0.34; P<0.0001). Both fish and fruit consumption entered significantly in multivariate models explaining BHg (fish: {beta}=5.6, P<0.0001; fruit: {beta}=-0.5, P=0.0011; adjusted model R{sup 2}=36.0%) and HHg levels (fish: {beta}=1.2, P<0.0001; fruit: {beta}=-0.2, P=0.0002; adjusted model R{sup 2}=21.0%). ANCOVA models showed that for the same number of fish meals, persons consuming fruits more frequently had significantly lower blood and HHg concentrations. For low fruit consumers, each fish meal contributed 9.8 {mu}g/L Hg increase in blood compared to only 3.3 {mu}g/L Hg increase for the high fruit consumers. In conclusion, fruit consumption may provide a protective effect for Hg exposure in Amazonian riparians. Prevention strategies that seek to maintain fish consumption while reducing Hg exposure in fish

A Slippery Slope: Children's Perceptions of Their Role in Environmental Preservation in the Peruvian Amazon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galeano, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Despite international attention and attempts to preserve the environmental diversity of the Amazon, it is an accepted fact that those who inhabit the forest must be the ones who preserve it. This article presents an analysis of how children in small rural riverine communities along the Amazon understand the importance of environmental preservation…

Investigating smoke's influence on primary production throughout the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flanner, M. G.; Mahowald, N. M.; Zender, C. S.; Randerson, J. T.; Tosca, M. G.

2007-12-01

Smoke from annual burning in the Amazon causes large reduction in surface insolation and increases the diffuse fraction of photosynthetically-active radiation (PAR). These effects have competing influence on gross primary production (GPP). Recent studies indicate that the sign of net influence depends on aerosol optical depth, but the magnitude of smoke's effect on continental-scale carbon cycling is very poorly constrained and may constitute an important term of fire's net impact on carbon storage. To investigate widespread effects of Amazon smoke on surface radiation properties, we apply a version of the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model with prognostic aerosol transport, driven with re-analysis winds. Carbon aerosol emissions are derived from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED). We use AERONET observations to identify model biases in aerosol optical depth, single-scatter albedo, and surface radiative forcing, and prescribe new aerosol optical properties based on field observations to improve model agreement with AERONET data. Finally, we quantify a potential range of smoke-induced change in large-scale GPP based on: 1) ground measurements of GPP in the Amazon as a function of aerosol optical depth and diffuse fraction of PAR, and 2) empirical functions of ecosystem-scale photosynthesis rates currently employed in models such as the Community Land Model (CLM).

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community Composition in Carludovica palmata, Costus scaber and Euterpe precatoria from Weathered Oil Ponds in the Ecuadorian Amazon

PubMed Central

Garcés-Ruiz, Mónica; Senés-Guerrero, Carolina; Declerck, Stéphane; Cranenbrouck, Sylvie

2017-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous to most natural and anthropized ecosystems, and are often found in polluted environments. However, their occurrence and community composition in highly weathered petroleum-polluted soils has been infrequently reported. In the present study, two ponds of weathered crude oil and their surrounding soil from the Charapa field in the Amazon region of Ecuador were selected and root colonization by AMF of their native plants investigated. The AMF community was further analyzed in three selected plant species (i.e., Carludovica palmata, Costus scaber and Euterpe precatoria) present in the two ponds and the surrounding soil. A fragment covering partial SSU, the whole ITS and partial LSU rDNA region was amplified (i.e., 1.5 kb), cloned and sequenced from the roots of each host species. AMF root colonization exceeded 56% in all plant species examined and no significant difference was observed between sites or plants. For AMF community analysis, a total of 138 AMF sequences were obtained and sorted into 32 OTUs based on clustering (threshold ≥97%) by OPTSIL. The found OTUs belonged to the genera Rhizophagus (22%), Glomus (31%), Acaulospora (25%) and Archaeospora (22%). Glomus and Archaeospora were always present regardless of the plant species or the site. Acaulospora was found in the three plant species and in the two ponds while Rhizophagus was revealed only in the surrounding soil in one plant species (Euterpe precatoria). Our study contributed to the molecular community composition of AMF and revealed an unexpected high presence of four AMF genera which have established a symbiosis with roots of native plants from the Amazon forest under high polluted soil conditions. PMID:29163421

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community Composition in Carludovica palmata, Costus scaber and Euterpe precatoria from Weathered Oil Ponds in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

PubMed

Garcés-Ruiz, Mónica; Senés-Guerrero, Carolina; Declerck, Stéphane; Cranenbrouck, Sylvie

2017-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous to most natural and anthropized ecosystems, and are often found in polluted environments. However, their occurrence and community composition in highly weathered petroleum-polluted soils has been infrequently reported. In the present study, two ponds of weathered crude oil and their surrounding soil from the Charapa field in the Amazon region of Ecuador were selected and root colonization by AMF of their native plants investigated. The AMF community was further analyzed in three selected plant species (i.e., Carludovica palmata, Costus scaber and Euterpe precatoria ) present in the two ponds and the surrounding soil. A fragment covering partial SSU, the whole ITS and partial LSU rDNA region was amplified (i.e., 1.5 kb), cloned and sequenced from the roots of each host species. AMF root colonization exceeded 56% in all plant species examined and no significant difference was observed between sites or plants. For AMF community analysis, a total of 138 AMF sequences were obtained and sorted into 32 OTUs based on clustering (threshold ≥97%) by OPTSIL. The found OTUs belonged to the genera Rhizophagus (22%), Glomus (31%), Acaulospora (25%) and Archaeospora (22%). Glomus and Archaeospora were always present regardless of the plant species or the site. Acaulospora was found in the three plant species and in the two ponds while Rhizophagus was revealed only in the surrounding soil in one plant species ( Euterpe precatoria ). Our study contributed to the molecular community composition of AMF and revealed an unexpected high presence of four AMF genera which have established a symbiosis with roots of native plants from the Amazon forest under high polluted soil conditions.

AmazonFACE: Assessing the Effects of Increasing Atmospheric CO2 on the Resilience of the Amazon Forest through Integrative Model-Experiment Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapola, D. M.

2015-12-01

The existence, magnitude and duration of a supposed "CO2 fertilization" effect in tropical forests remains largely undetermined, despite being suggested for nearly 20 years as a key knowledge gap for understanding the future resilience of Amazonian forests and its impact on the global carbon cycle. Reducing this uncertainty is critical for assessing the future of the Amazon region as well as its vulnerability to climate change. The AmazonFACE (Free-Air CO2 Enrichment) research program is an integrated model-experiment initiative of unprecedented scope in an old-growth Amazon forest near Manaus, Brazil - the first of its kind in tropical forest. The experimental treatment will simulate an atmospheric CO2 concentration [CO2] of the future in order to address the question: "How will rising atmospheric CO2 affect the resilience of the Amazon forest, the biodiversity it harbors, and the ecosystem services it provides, in light of projected climatic changes?" AmazonFACE is divided into three phases: (I) pre-experimental ecological characterization of the research site; (II) pilot experiment comprised of two 30-m diameter plots, with one treatment plot maintained at elevated [CO2] (ambient +200 ppmv), and the other control plot at ambient [CO2]; and (III) a fully-replicated long-term experiment comprised of four pairs of control/treatment FACE plots maintained for 10 years. A team of scientists from Brazil, USA, Australia and Europe will employ state-of-the-art methods to study the forest inside these plots in terms of carbon metabolism and cycling, water use, nutrient cycling, forest community composition, and interactions with environmental stressors. All project phases also encompass ecosystem-modeling activities in a way such that models provide hypothesis to be verified in the experiment, which in turn will feed models to ultimately produce more accurate projections of the environment. Resulting datasets and analyses will be a valuable resource for a broad community

The AmazonFACE research program: assessing the effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 on the ecology and resilience of the Amazon forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapola, David; Quesada, Carlos; Norby, Richard; Araújo, Alessandro; Domingues, Tomas; Hartley, Iain; Kruijt, Bart; Lewin, Keith; Meir, Patrick; Ometto, Jean; Rammig, Anja

2016-04-01

The existence, magnitude and duration of a supposed "CO2 fertilization" effect in tropical forests remains largely undetermined, despite being suggested for nearly 20 years as a key knowledge gap for understanding the future resilience of Amazonian forests and its impact on the global carbon cycle. Reducing this uncertainty is critical for assessing the future of the Amazon region as well as its vulnerability to climate change. The AmazonFACE (Free-Air CO2 Enrichment) research program is an integrated model-experiment initiative of unprecedented scope in an old-growth Amazon forest near Manaus, Brazil - the first of its kind in tropical forest. The experimental treatment will simulate an atmospheric CO2 concentration [CO2] of the future in order to address the question: "How will rising atmospheric CO2 affect the resilience of the Amazon forest, the biodiversity it harbors, and the ecosystem services it provides, in light of projected climatic changes?" AmazonFACE is divided into three phases: (I) pre-experimental ecological characterization of the research site; (II) pilot experiment comprised of two 30-m diameter plots, with one treatment plot maintained at elevated [CO2] (ambient +200 ppmv), and the other control plot at ambient [CO2]; and (III) a fully-replicated long-term experiment comprised of four pairs of control/treatment FACE plots maintained for 10 years. A team of scientists from Brazil, USA, Australia and Europe will employ state-of-the-art methods to study the forest inside these plots in terms of carbon metabolism and cycling, water use, nutrient cycling, forest community composition, and interactions with environmental stressors. All project phases also encompass ecosystem-modeling activities in a way such that models provide hypothesis to be verified in the experiment, which in turn will feed models to ultimately produce more accurate projections of the environment. Resulting datasets and analyses will be a valuable resource for a broad community

Selenium Levels in the Whole Blood of Children and Teenagers from Two Riparian Communities at the Madeira River Basin in the Western Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Vega, Claudia M; Godoy, José M; Barrocas, Paulo R G; Gonçalves, Rodrigo A; De Oliveira, Beatriz F A; Jacobson, Ludmilla V; Mourão, Dennys S; Hacon, Sandra S

2017-01-01

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient that exerts multiple functions in the organism, and both its deficiency and excess can cause health impairments. Thus, it is important to monitor its levels in the population, especially in vulnerable groups, such as children from the Brazilian Amazon region, where there is a lack of information in this regard. The aim of this research was to study Se levels in the whole blood of children and teenagers (5-16 years old) from two riparian communities at the Madeira River (Cuniã RESEX and Belmont). Se level variations related to the communities' location, seasonality, diet, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed. Blood samples were collected in both communities for Se determinations, using ICP-MS and hemogram analyses, during May and September of 2011. Food frequency questionnaires were applied to assess consumption rates of specific food items. Non-parametric tests and linear multiple regressions were applied in the data analyses. Median Se levels were significantly higher during May (Cuniã RESEX 149 μg L -1 ; Belmont 85 μg L -1 ) compared to September (Cuniã RESEX 79 μg L -1 ; Belmont 53 μg L -1 ). No significant differences were found between the communities regarding BMI measurements and anemia prevalence. However, Se blood levels were significantly higher at the Cuniã RESEX compared to Belmont. In addition, the former showed higher fish and Brazil nut intakes, which may be the main Se sources for this community. These results contribute to a better understanding of Se reference levels for children and teenagers of Western Amazon riparian communities.

The first isolations of eastern encephalitis, group C, and Guama group arboviruses from the Peruvian Amazon region of western South America.

PubMed

Scherer, W F; Madalengoitia, J; Flores, W; Acosta, M

1975-01-01

Two strains of eastern encephalitis (EE) virus were isolated in the Amazon region of Peru near Pucallpa, Loreto Department, using sentinel hamsters. EE virus antibodies were found in healthy horses at both Pucallpa and Iquitos in the same Department. Fourteen group C and four Guama group arboviruses were recovered from sentenel hamsters and mosquitoes near Iquitos. The group C agents were Caraparu-Ossa, Marituba, and Oriboca-Itaqui viruses, and the Guama group agents were Bimiti virus. Besides providing a detailed account of these investigations, this article includes a current list of known arboviruses of the American tropics that can be detected with sentinel hamsters.

Chain of commercialization of Podocnemis spp. turtles (Testudines: Podocnemididae) in the Purus River, Amazon basin, Brazil: current status and perspectives

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Consumption of turtles by natives and settlers in the Amazon and Orinoco has been widely studied in scientific communities. Accepted cultural customs and the local dietary and monetary needs need to be taken into account in conservation programs, and when implementing federal laws related to consumption and fishing methods. This study was conducted around the Purus River, a region known for the consumption and illegal trade of turtles. The objective of this study was to quantify the illegal turtle trade in Tapauá and to understand its effect on the local economy. Methods This study was conducted in the municipality of Tapauá in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. To estimate turtle consumption, interviews were conducted over 2 consecutive years (2006 and 2007) in urban areas and isolated communities. The experimental design was randomized with respect to type of household. To study the turtle fishery and trade chain, we used snowball sampling methodology. Results During our study period, 100% of respondents reported consuming at least three species of turtles (Podocnemis spp.). Our estimates indicate that about 34 tons of animals are consumed annually in Tapauá along the margins of a major fishing river in the Amazon. At least five components related to the chain of commercialization of turtles on the Purus River are identified: Indigenous Apurinã and (2) residents of bordering villages (communities); (3) of local smugglers buy and sell turtles to the community in exchange for manufactured goods, and (4) regional smugglers buy in Tapauá, Lábrea, and Beruri to sell in Manaus and Manacapuru; Finally, (5) there are professional fishermen. Conclusions We quantify the full impact of turtle consumption and advocate the conservation of the region’s turtle populations. The Brazilian government should initiate a new turtle consumption management program which involves the opinions of consumers. With these measures the conservation of freshwater turtles in the

Prevalence of myopia in an adult population of two different ethnic groups in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

PubMed

Jiménez, José Ramón; Bermúdez, Javier; Rubiño, Manuel; Gómez, Luis; Anera, Rosario González

2004-01-01

To determine the prevalence of myopia in the adult populations of two different ethnic communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Refraction with retinoscopy after cycloplegia was performed for 507 Naporuna (an ethnic group indigenous to the jungles of the Ecuadorian Amazon) and for 776 settlers (white-mestizos from the Andes, now living in the Amazon and working for the petroleum industry). Ages ranged from 18 to 45 years. All subjects had little or no formal education. The prevalence of myopia was 4.7% among the Naporuna and 5.5% among the settlers; the prevalence of hyperopia was higher, at 17.8% and 36.0%, respectively. The prevalence of myopia in the two communities studied agrees with the results of other studies showing a low prevalence of myopia among groups with low levels of formal education or groups living a nonurban lifestyle.

The effects of CO2 on phytoplankton community structure in the Amazon River Plume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, T. L.; Goes, J. I.; Gomes, H. R.; McKee, K. T.

2013-12-01

The Amazon River Plume results from an enormous discharge of freshwater and organic matter into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a unique environment with a natural pCO2 gradient in the surface waters of the plume that range from 130-950 μatm. The response of coastal marine phytoplankton to increased anthropogenic CO2 emission is still unknown, hence the Amazon River Plume gradient can serve as a natural laboratory to examine the potential influence of atmospheric CO2 increases and ocean acidification on phytoplankton community composition. A two pronged study was undertaken: the first in which shipboard samples from a 2010 cruise to the Amazon River Plume were analyzed to examine the distribution of 3 major phytoplankton groups (diatoms, diatom-diazotroph associations [DDAs], and the diazotroph Trichodesmium spp.) with respect to the natural pCO2 gradient; the second in which the growth response of Thalassiosira weisflogii, a representative diatom species, was examined under experimentally manipulated CO2 conditions. Cruise data analysis showed that diatoms were found with higher cell counts around 150 μatm; DDAs seemed to dominate waters within the narrow range of 350-400 μatm CO2; and the diazotroph Trichodesmium spp. grew in a wide range of pCO2 conditions, but with higher cell counts at upwards of 500 μatm. Phytoplankton group distributions along the CO2 gradient may be due to differences in their carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCMs) efficiencies. The CO2 manipulation apparatus was assembled such that the cells were grown under three different CO2 environments. Differential growth of T. weisflogii was observed at 150, 400, and 800 ppm CO2 treatment. T. weisflogii grew at all three CO2 concentrations, reflecting diatoms' physiological flexibility and efficient CCMs. Absorption spectra analysis of pigments and Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometer analysis indicate potential changes in photosynthetic machinery with different CO2 treatments. Future CO2 manipulation

Social isolation in community-dwelling seniors: an evidence-based analysis.

PubMed

2008-01-01

In early August 2007, the Medical Advisory Secretariat began work on the Aging in the Community project, an evidence-based review of the literature surrounding healthy aging in the community. The Health System Strategy Division at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care subsequently asked the secretariat to provide an evidentiary platform for the ministry's newly released Aging at Home Strategy.After a broad literature review and consultation with experts, the secretariat identified 4 key areas that strongly predict an elderly person's transition from independent community living to a long-term care home. Evidence-based analyses have been prepared for each of these 4 areas: falls and fall-related injuries, urinary incontinence, dementia, and social isolation. For the first area, falls and fall-related injuries, an economic model is described in a separate report.Please visit the Medical Advisory Secretariat Web site, http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/program/mas/mas_about.html, to review these titles within the Aging in the Community series.AGING IN THE COMMUNITY: Summary of Evidence-Based AnalysesPrevention of Falls and Fall-Related Injuries in Community-Dwelling Seniors: An Evidence-Based AnalysisBehavioural Interventions for Urinary Incontinence in Community-Dwelling Seniors: An Evidence-Based AnalysisCaregiver- and Patient-Directed Interventions for Dementia: An Evidence-Based AnalysisSocial Isolation in Community-Dwelling Seniors: An Evidence-Based AnalysisThe Falls/Fractures Economic Model in Ontario Residents Aged 65 Years and Over (FEMOR) OBJECTIVE OF THE EVIDENCE-BASED ANALYSIS: The objective was to systematically review interventions aimed at preventing or reducing social isolation and loneliness in community-dwelling seniors, that is, persons ≥ 65 years of age who are not living in long-term care institutions. The analyses focused on the following questions: Are interventions to reduce social isolation and/or loneliness effective?Do these

The Impacts of Amazon Deforestation on Pacific Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindsey, Leah

Variability in eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) associated with the El Nino Southern Oscillation are known to affect Amazonian precipitation, but to what extent do changing Amazonian vegetation and rainfall impact eastern Pacific SST? The Amazon rainforest is threatened by many factors including climate change and clearing for agricultural reasons. Forest fires and dieback are more likely due to increased frequency and intensity of droughts in the region. It is possible that extensive Amazon deforestation can enhance El Nino conditions by weakening the Walker circulation. Correlations between annual rainfall rates over the Amazon and other atmospheric parameters (global precipitation, surface air temperature, low cloud amount, 500 hPa vertical velocity, surface winds, and 200 hPa winds) over the eastern Pacific indicate strong relationships among these fields. Maps of these correlations (teleconnection maps) reveal that when the Amazon is rainy SSTs in the central and eastern Pacific are cold, rainfall is suppressed over the central and eastern Pacific, low clouds are prominent over the eastern and southeastern Pacific, and subsidence over the central and eastern Pacific is enhanced. Precipitation in the Amazon is also consistent with a strong Walker circulation (La Nina conditions), manifest as strong correlations with the easterly surface and westerly 200 hPa zonal winds. Coupling between Amazon rainfall and these fields are seen in observations and model data. Correlations were calculated using data from observations, reanalysis data, two models under the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project/Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5/AMIP), and an AMIP run with the model used in this study, the Community Earth System Model (CESM1.1.1). Although the correlations between Amazon precipitation and the aforementioned fields are strong, they do not show causality. In order to investigate the impact of tropical South American deforestation on the

Amazon Forests Maintain Consistent Canopy Structure and Greenness During the Dry Season

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morton, Douglas C.; Nagol, Jyoteshwar; Carabajal, Claudia C.; Rosette, Jacqueline; Palace, Michael; Cook, Bruce D.; Vermote, Eric F.; Harding, David J.; North, Peter R. J.

2014-01-01

The seasonality of sunlight and rainfall regulates net primary production in tropical forests. Previous studies have suggested that light is more limiting than water for tropical forest productivity, consistent with greening of Amazon forests during the dry season in satellite data.We evaluated four potential mechanisms for the seasonal green-up phenomenon, including increases in leaf area or leaf reflectance, using a sophisticated radiative transfer model and independent satellite observations from lidar and optical sensors. Here we show that the apparent green up of Amazon forests in optical remote sensing data resulted from seasonal changes in near-infrared reflectance, an artefact of variations in sun-sensor geometry. Correcting this bidirectional reflectance effect eliminated seasonal changes in surface reflectance, consistent with independent lidar observations and model simulations with unchanging canopy properties. The stability of Amazon forest structure and reflectance over seasonal timescales challenges the paradigm of light-limited net primary production in Amazon forests and enhanced forest growth during drought conditions. Correcting optical remote sensing data for artefacts of sun-sensor geometry is essential to isolate the response of global vegetation to seasonal and interannual climate variability.

Amazon forests maintain consistent canopy structure and greenness during the dry season.

PubMed

Morton, Douglas C; Nagol, Jyoteshwar; Carabajal, Claudia C; Rosette, Jacqueline; Palace, Michael; Cook, Bruce D; Vermote, Eric F; Harding, David J; North, Peter R J

2014-02-13

The seasonality of sunlight and rainfall regulates net primary production in tropical forests. Previous studies have suggested that light is more limiting than water for tropical forest productivity, consistent with greening of Amazon forests during the dry season in satellite data. We evaluated four potential mechanisms for the seasonal green-up phenomenon, including increases in leaf area or leaf reflectance, using a sophisticated radiative transfer model and independent satellite observations from lidar and optical sensors. Here we show that the apparent green up of Amazon forests in optical remote sensing data resulted from seasonal changes in near-infrared reflectance, an artefact of variations in sun-sensor geometry. Correcting this bidirectional reflectance effect eliminated seasonal changes in surface reflectance, consistent with independent lidar observations and model simulations with unchanging canopy properties. The stability of Amazon forest structure and reflectance over seasonal timescales challenges the paradigm of light-limited net primary production in Amazon forests and enhanced forest growth during drought conditions. Correcting optical remote sensing data for artefacts of sun-sensor geometry is essential to isolate the response of global vegetation to seasonal and interannual climate variability.

Contrasting the microbiomes from forest rhizosphere and deeper bulk soil from an Amazon rainforest reserve.

PubMed

Fonseca, Jose Pedro; Hoffmann, Luisa; Cabral, Bianca Catarina Azeredo; Dias, Victor Hugo Giordano; Miranda, Marcio Rodrigues; de Azevedo Martins, Allan Cezar; Boschiero, Clarissa; Bastos, Wanderley Rodrigues; Silva, Rosane

2018-02-05

Pristine forest ecosystems provide a unique perspective for the study of plant-associated microbiota since they host a great microbial diversity. Although the Amazon forest is one of the hotspots of biodiversity around the world, few metagenomic studies described its microbial community diversity thus far. Understanding the environmental factors that can cause shifts in microbial profiles is key to improving soil health and biogeochemical cycles. Here we report a taxonomic and functional characterization of the microbiome from the rhizosphere of Brosimum guianense (Snakewood), a native tree, and bulk soil samples from a pristine Brazilian Amazon forest reserve (Cuniã), for the first time by the shotgun approach. We identified several fungi and bacteria taxon significantly enriched in forest rhizosphere compared to bulk soil samples. For archaea, the trend was the opposite, with many archaeal phylum and families being considerably more enriched in bulk soil compared to forest rhizosphere. Several fungal and bacterial decomposers like Postia placenta and Catenulispora acidiphila which help maintain healthy forest ecosystems were found enriched in our samples. Other bacterial species involved in nitrogen (Nitrobacter hamburgensis and Rhodopseudomonas palustris) and carbon cycling (Oligotropha carboxidovorans) were overrepresented in our samples indicating the importance of these metabolic pathways for the Amazon rainforest reserve soil health. Hierarchical clustering based on taxonomic similar microbial profiles grouped the forest rhizosphere samples in a distinct clade separated from bulk soil samples. Principal coordinate analysis of our samples with publicly available metagenomes from the Amazon region showed grouping into specific rhizosphere and bulk soil clusters, further indicating distinct microbial community profiles. In this work, we reported significant shifts in microbial community structure between forest rhizosphere and bulk soil samples from an Amazon

Road building, land use and climate change: prospects for environmental governance in the Amazon.

PubMed

Perz, Stephen; Brilhante, Silvia; Brown, Foster; Caldas, Marcellus; Ikeda, Santos; Mendoza, Elsa; Overdevest, Christine; Reis, Vera; Reyes, Juan Fernando; Rojas, Daniel; Schmink, Marianne; Souza, Carlos; Walker, Robert

2008-05-27

Some coupled land-climate models predict a dieback of Amazon forest during the twenty-first century due to climate change, but human land use in the region has already reduced the forest cover. The causation behind land use is complex, and includes economic, institutional, political and demographic factors. Pre-eminent among these factors is road building, which facilitates human access to natural resources that beget forest fragmentation. While official government road projects have received considerable attention, unofficial road building by interest groups is expanding more rapidly, especially where official roads are being paved, yielding highly fragmented forest mosaics. Effective governance of natural resources in the Amazon requires a combination of state oversight and community participation in a 'hybrid' model of governance. The MAP Initiative in the southwestern Amazon provides an example of an innovative hybrid approach to environmental governance. It embodies a polycentric structure that includes government agencies, NGOs, universities and communities in a planning process that links scientific data to public deliberations in order to mitigate the effects of new infrastructure and climate change.

Migration Within the Frontier: The Second Generation Colonization in the Ecuadorian Amazon

PubMed Central

Carr, David L.; Bilsborrow, Richard E.

2009-01-01

Since the 1970s, migration to the Amazon has led to a growing human presence and resulting dramatic changes in the physical landscape of the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon frontier, including considerable deforestation. Over time, a second demographic phenomenon has emerged with the children of the original migrants leaving settler farms to set out on their own. The vast majority have remained in the Amazon region, some contributing to further changes in land use via rural-rural migration to establish new farms and others to incipient urbanization. This paper uses longitudinal, multi-scale data on settler colonists between 1990 and 1999 to analyze rural-rural and rural-urban migration among second-generation colonists within the region. Following a description of migrants and settlers in terms of their individual, household and community characteristics, a multinomial discrete-time hazard model is used to estimate the determinants of out-migration of the second generation settlers to both urban and rural areas. We find significant differences in the determinants of migration to the two types of destinations in personal characteristics, human capital endowments, stage of farm and household lifecycles, migration networks, and access to community resources and infrastructure. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications of migrants' choice of rural versus urban destinations. PMID:19657471

Vulnerability associated with "symptoms similar to those of mercury poisoning" in communities from Xingu River, Amazon basin.

PubMed

Da Silva-Junior, Flávio Mnaoel Rodrigues; Oleinski, Ritta M; Azevedo, Antonia E S; Monroe, Kátia C M C; Dos Santos, Marina; Da Silveira, Tatiane Britto; De Oliveira, Adrianne Maria Netto; Soares, Maria Cristina Flores; Pereira, Tatiana Da Silva

2018-06-01

The Brazilian Amazon is known to be a region with high levels of mercury (Hg) in the environment and studies point to an association between high levels of natural mercury in the mother rock and the vast number of clandestine gold mines. Other studies already report the contamination of fish in this region, as well as high levels of Hg in biological material from environmentally exposed populations. On the other hand, this is one of the least developed regions of the planet and it is necessary to understand the vulnerability factors in these populations that may be intoxicated by this element. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the vulnerability factors in communities from Xingu River-Amazon basin probably exposed to Hg. A cross-selection study in two cities localized in Xingu River was conducted, and the sample contained was 268 individuals. sociodemographic questions, lifestyle, diet habits and health conditions were collated. The majority of the sample was female, between 30 and 59 years old, had less than 3 years of educational level and lived in the local of study more than 240 months. There was regular fish consumption (95.9%), principally carnivorous species (80.5%). The visual problem has a highest prevalence (43.3%) between the health problems and about the symptoms of Hg intoxication, memory loss (42.9%), weakness (35.1%), fatigue (34.3%), mood changes (28.7%) and difficulties in concentration (27.2%) was most reported. The female sex, age over 60, educational level below 3 years of study, did not had flush toilet, smoke and least one chronic non-communicable disease represent higher probability to had symptoms of Hg intoxication. Lack of access to health services, low education level and income evidence the susceptibility of this community to diseases and injuries. The vulnerable groups identified in this study should be a priority in public health and environmental health policies.

Revisiting the hierarchy of urban areas in the Brazilian Amazon: a multilevel approach

PubMed Central

Costa, Sandra; Brondízio, Eduardo

2012-01-01

The Legal Brazilian Amazon, while the largest rainforest in the world, is also a region where most residents are urban. Despite close linkages between rural and urban processes in the region, rural areas have been the predominant focus of Amazon-based population-environment scholarship. Offering a focus on urban areas within the Brazilian Amazon, this paper examines the emergence of urban hierarchies within the region. Using a combination of nationally representative data and community based surveys, applied to a multivariate cluster methodology (Grade of Membership), we observe the emergence of sub-regional urban networks characterized by economic and political inter-dependency, population movement, and provision of services. These networks link rural areas, small towns, and medium and large cities. We also identify the emergence of medium-size cities as important nodes at a sub-regional level. In all, the work provides insight on the proposed model of ‘disarticulated urbanization’ within the Amazon by calling attention to the increasing role of regional and sub-regional urban networks in shaping the future expansion of land use and population distribution in the Amazon. We conclude with a discussion of implications for increasing intra-regional connectivity and fragmentation of conservation areas and ecosystems in the region. PMID:23129877

Amazon plant diversity revealed by a taxonomically verified species list.

PubMed

Cardoso, Domingos; Särkinen, Tiina; Alexander, Sara; Amorim, André M; Bittrich, Volker; Celis, Marcela; Daly, Douglas C; Fiaschi, Pedro; Funk, Vicki A; Giacomin, Leandro L; Goldenberg, Renato; Heiden, Gustavo; Iganci, João; Kelloff, Carol L; Knapp, Sandra; Cavalcante de Lima, Haroldo; Machado, Anderson F P; Dos Santos, Rubens Manoel; Mello-Silva, Renato; Michelangeli, Fabián A; Mitchell, John; Moonlight, Peter; de Moraes, Pedro Luís Rodrigues; Mori, Scott A; Nunes, Teonildes Sacramento; Pennington, Terry D; Pirani, José Rubens; Prance, Ghillean T; de Queiroz, Luciano Paganucci; Rapini, Alessandro; Riina, Ricarda; Rincon, Carlos Alberto Vargas; Roque, Nádia; Shimizu, Gustavo; Sobral, Marcos; Stehmann, João Renato; Stevens, Warren D; Taylor, Charlotte M; Trovó, Marcelo; van den Berg, Cássio; van der Werff, Henk; Viana, Pedro Lage; Zartman, Charles E; Forzza, Rafaela Campostrini

2017-10-03

Recent debates on the number of plant species in the vast lowland rain forests of the Amazon have been based largely on model estimates, neglecting published checklists based on verified voucher data. Here we collate taxonomically verified checklists to present a list of seed plant species from lowland Amazon rain forests. Our list comprises 14,003 species, of which 6,727 are trees. These figures are similar to estimates derived from nonparametric ecological models, but they contrast strongly with predictions of much higher tree diversity derived from parametric models. Based on the known proportion of tree species in neotropical lowland rain forest communities as measured in complete plot censuses, and on overall estimates of seed plant diversity in Brazil and in the neotropics in general, it is more likely that tree diversity in the Amazon is closer to the lower estimates derived from nonparametric models. Much remains unknown about Amazonian plant diversity, but this taxonomically verified dataset provides a valid starting point for macroecological and evolutionary studies aimed at understanding the origin, evolution, and ecology of the exceptional biodiversity of Amazonian forests.

Acceptability of a herd immunity-focused, transmission-blocking malaria vaccine in malaria-endemic communities in the Peruvian Amazon: an exploratory study.

PubMed

White, Sara E; Harvey, Steven A; Meza, Graciela; Llanos, Alejandro; Guzman, Mitchel; Gamboa, Dionicia; Vinetz, Joseph M

2018-04-27

A transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV) to prevent malaria-infected humans from infecting mosquitoes has been increasingly considered as a tool for malaria control and elimination. This study tested the hypothesis that a malaria TBV would be acceptable among residents of a malaria-hypoendemic region. The study was carried out in six Spanish-speaking rural villages in the Department of Loreto in the Peruvian Amazon. These villages comprise a cohort of 430 households associated with the Peru-Brazil International Centre for Excellence in Malaria Research. Individuals from one-third (143) of enrolled households in an ongoing longitudinal, prospective cohort study in 6 communities in Loreto, Peru, were randomly selected to participate by answering a pre-validated questionnaire. All 143 participants expressed desire for a malaria vaccine in general; only 1 (0.7%) expressed unwillingness to receive a transmission-blocking malaria vaccine. Injection was considered most acceptable for adults (97.2%); for children drops in the mouth were preferred (96.8%). Acceptability waned marginally with the prospect of multiple injections (83.8%) and different projected efficacies at 70 and 50% (90.1 and 71.8%, respectively). Respondents demonstrated clear understanding that the vaccine was for community, rather than personal, protection against malaria infection. In this setting of the Peruvian Amazon, a transmission-blocking malaria vaccine was found to be almost universally acceptable. This study is the first to report that residents of a malaria-endemic region have been queried regarding a malaria vaccine strategy that policy-makers in the industrialized world often dismiss as altruistic.

Genetic differentiation and trade among populations of peach palm ( Bactris gasipaes Kunth) in the Peruvian Amazon-implications for genetic resource management.

PubMed

Adin, A; Weber, J C; Sotelo Montes, C; Vidaurre, H; Vosman, B; Smulders, M J M

2004-05-01

Peach palm ( Bactris gasipaes Kunth) is cultivated for fruit and 'heart of palm', and is an important component of agroforestry systems in the Peruvian Amazon. In this study, AFLP was used to compare genetic diversity among domesticated populations along the Paranapura and Cuiparillo rivers, which are managed by indigenous and colonist farming communities, respectively. Gene diversity was 0.2629 for the populations in indigenous communities and 0.2534 in colonist communities. Genetic differentiation among populations ( G(st)) was 0.0377-0.0416 ( P<0.01) among populations along both rivers. There was no relation between genetic differentiation and the geographical location of populations along the rivers. Since natural seed dispersal by birds and rodents is thought to occur only across relatively short distances (100-200 m), it is likely that exchange of material by farmers and commercial traders is responsible for most of the 'long-distance' (over more than 20 km) gene flow among populations along the two rivers studied. This exchange of material may be important to counteract the effects of selection as well as genetic drift in small groups of trees in farmers' fields, much as in a metapopulation, and may account for the weak genetic differentiation between the two rivers ( G(st)=0.0249, P<0.01). A comparison with samples from other landraces in Peru and Brazil showed the existence of an isolation-by-distance structure up to 3,000 km, consistent with gene flow on a regional scale, likely mediated by trade in the Amazon Basin. Results are discussed with regard to practical implications for the management of genetic resources with farming communities.

Patterns of the parasite communities in a fish assemblage of a river in the Brazilian Amazon region.

PubMed

Baia, Raimundo Rosemiro Jesus; Florentino, Alexandro Cezar; Silva, Luís Maurício Abdon; Tavares-Dias, Marcos

2018-06-26

This paper characterizes the pattern of ectoparasite and endoparasite communities in an assemblage of 35 sympatric fish from different trophic levels in a tributary from the Amazon River system, northern Brazil. In detritivorous, carnivorous, omnivorous and piscivorous hosts, the species richness consisted of 82 ectoparasites and endoparasites, but protozoan ectoparasites such as Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Piscinoodinium pillulare and Tripartiella sp. were dominant species predominated, such that they were present in 80% of the hosts. The taxon richness was in the following order: Monogenea > Nematoda > Digenea > Crustacea > Protozoa > Acanthocephala = Cestoda > Hirudinea. Among the hosts, the highest number of parasitic associations occurred in Satanoperca jurupari, Aequidens tetramerus, Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus, Hoplosternum littorale, Cichlasoma amazonarum, Chaetobranchus flavescens, Squaliforma emarginata, Chaetobranchopsis orbicularis and Hoplias malabaricus. A weak positive correlation between ectoparasite abundance and length of the hosts was observed. Ectoparasite communities of detritivorous, carnivorous and omnivorous hosts were similar, but these differed from the communities of piscivorous hosts. Larval endoparasite species with low host specificity were the main determinants of the parasite infracommunity structure of the fish assemblage. Fish assemblage had few species of helminth that were specialist endoparasites, while many were parasites at the larval stage, infecting intermediate and paratenic hosts. Finally, carnivorous and omnivorous hosts harbored endoparasite communities that were more heterogeneous than those of detritivorous and piscivorous hosts. This result lends supports to the notion that the feeding habits of the host species are a significant factor in determining the endoparasites fauna.

Development of a community's self-efficacy scale for preventing social isolation among community-dwelling older people (Mimamori Scale).

PubMed

Tadaka, Etsuko; Kono, Ayumi; Ito, Eriko; Kanaya, Yukiko; Dai, Yuka; Imamatsu, Yuki; Itoi, Waka

2016-11-28

Among older people in developed countries, social isolation leading to solitary death has become a public health issue of vital importance. Such isolation could be prevented by monitoring at-risk individuals at the neighborhood level and by implementing supportive networks at the community level. However, a means of measuring community confidence in these measures has not been established. This study is aimed at developing the Community's Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES; Mimamori scale in Japanese) for community members preventing social isolation among older people. The CSES is a self-administered questionnaire developed on the basis of Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The survey was given to a general population (GEN) sample (n = 6,000) and community volunteer (CVOL) sample (n = 1,297). Construct validity was determined using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's alpha. The Generative Concern Scale (GCS-R) and Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) were also administered to assess criterion-related validity of the CSES. In total, 3,484 and 859 valid responses were received in the GEN and CVOL groups, respectively. The confirmatory factor analysis identified eight items from two domains-community network and neighborhood watch-with goodness of fit index = 0.984, adjusted goodness of fit index = 0.970, comparative fit index = 0.988, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.047. Cronbach's alpha for the entire CSES was 0.87 and for the subscales was 0.80 and higher. The score of the entire CSES was positively correlated with the GCS-R in both the GEN (r = 0.80, p < 0.001) and CVOL (r = 0.86, p < 0.001) samples. The CSES demonstrated adequate reliability and validity for assessing a community's self-efficacy to aid in its preventing social isolation among older people. The scale is potentially useful for promoting health policies, practices, and interventions within communities. This

Introduction: Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L. A. T.; Manzi, A. O.; Souza, R. A. F.; Schumacher, C.; Wang, J.; Andreae, M. O.; Barbosa, H. M. J.; Fan, J.; Fisch, G.; Goldstein, A. H.; Guenther, A.; Jimenez, J. L.; Pöschl, U.; Silva Dias, M. A.; Smith, J. N.; Wendisch, M.

2015-11-01

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) Experiment was carried out in the environs of Manaus, Brazil, in the central region of the Amazon basin during two years from 1 January 2014 through 31 December 2015. The experiment focused on the complex interactions among vegetation, atmospheric chemistry, and aerosol production on the one hand and their connections to aerosols, clouds, and precipitation on the other. The objective was to understand and quantify these linked processes, first under natural conditions to obtain a baseline and second when altered by the effects of human activities. To this end, the pollution plume from the Manaus metropolis, superimposed on the background conditions of the central Amazon basin, served as a natural laboratory. The present paper, as the Introduction to the GoAmazon2014/5 Special Issue, presents the context and motivation of the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. The nine research sites, including the characteristics and instrumentation of each site, are presented. The sites range from time point zero (T0) upwind of the pollution, to T1 in the midst of the pollution, to T2 just downwind of the pollution, to T3 furthest downwind of the pollution (70 km). In addition to the ground sites, a low-altitude G-159 Gulfstream I (G1) observed the atmospheric boundary layer and low clouds, and a high-altitude Gulfstream G550 (HALO) operated in the free troposphere. During the two-year experiment, two Intensive Operating Periods (IOP1 and IOP2) also took place that included additional specialized research instrumentation at the ground sites as well as flights of the two aircraft. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP1 was carried out from 1 February to 31 March 2014 in the wet season. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP2 was conducted from 15 August to 15 October 2014 in the dry season. The G1 aircraft flew during both IOP1 and IOP2, and the HALO aircraft flew during IOP2. In the context of the Amazon basin, the two IOPs also correspond to the clean

Introduction: Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L. A. T.; Manzi, A. O.; Souza, R. A. F.; Schumacher, C.; Wang, J.; Andreae, M. O.; Barbosa, H. M. J.; Fan, J.; Fisch, G.; Goldstein, A. H.; Guenther, A.; Jimenez, J. L.; Pöschl, U.; Silva Dias, M. A.; Smith, J. N.; Wendisch, M.

2016-04-01

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) Experiment was carried out in the environs of Manaus, Brazil, in the central region of the Amazon basin for 2 years from 1 January 2014 through 31 December 2015. The experiment focused on the complex interactions among vegetation, atmospheric chemistry, and aerosol production on the one hand and their connections to aerosols, clouds, and precipitation on the other. The objective was to understand and quantify these linked processes, first under natural conditions to obtain a baseline and second when altered by the effects of human activities. To this end, the pollution plume from the Manaus metropolis, superimposed on the background conditions of the central Amazon basin, served as a natural laboratory. The present paper, as the introduction to the special issue of GoAmazon2014/5, presents the context and motivation of the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. The nine research sites, including the characteristics and instrumentation of each site, are presented. The sites range from time point zero (T0) upwind of the pollution, to T1 in the midst of the pollution, to T2 just downwind of the pollution, to T3 furthest downwind of the pollution (70 km). In addition to the ground sites, a low-altitude G-159 Gulfstream I (G-1) observed the atmospheric boundary layer and low clouds, and a high-altitude Gulfstream G550 (HALO) operated in the free troposphere. During the 2-year experiment, two Intensive Operating Periods (IOP1 and IOP2) also took place that included additional specialized research instrumentation at the ground sites as well as flights of the two aircraft. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP1 was carried out from 1 February to 31 March 2014 in the wet season. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP2 was conducted from 15 August to 15 October 2014 in the dry season. The G-1 aircraft flew during both IOP1 and IOP2, and the HALO aircraft flew during IOP2. In the context of the Amazon basin, the two IOPs also correspond to the clean and

New hosts and genetic diversity of Flavobacterium columnare isolated from Brazilian native species and Nile tilapia.

PubMed

Barony, G M; Tavares, G C; Assis, G B N; Luz, R K; Figueiredo, H C P; Leal, C A G

2015-11-17

Flavobacterium columnare is responsible for disease outbreaks in freshwater fish farms. Several Brazilian native fish have been commercially exploited or studied for aquaculture purposes, including Amazon catfish Leiarius marmoratus × Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum and pacamã Lophiosilurus alexandri. This study aimed to identify the aetiology of disease outbreaks in Amazon catfish and pacamã hatcheries and to address the genetic diversity of F. columnare isolates obtained from diseased fish. Two outbreaks in Amazon catfish and pacamã hatcheries took place in 2010 and 2011. Four F. columnare strains were isolated from these fish and identified by PCR. The disease was successfully reproduced under experimental conditions for both fish species, fulfilling Koch's postulates. The genomovar of these 4 isolates and of an additional 11 isolates from Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus was determined by 16S rRNA restriction fragment length polymorphism PCR. The genetic diversity was evaluated by phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR (REP-PCR). Most isolates (n = 13) belonged to genomovar II; the remaining 2 isolates (both from Nile tilapia) were assigned to genomovar I. Phylogenetic analysis and REP-PCR were able to demonstrate intragenomovar diversity. This is the first report of columnaris in Brazilian native Amazon catfish and pacamã. The Brazilian F. columnare isolates showed moderate diversity, and REP-PCR was demonstrated to be a feasible method to evaluate genetic variability in this bacterium.

Neisseria meningitidis: a neglected cause of infectious haemorrhagic fever in the amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Barroso, David E; Silva, Luciete A

2007-12-01

Neisseria meningitidis has not been seen as a significant cause of infectious haemorrhagic fever in the Amazon inlands; most reported cases are from the city of Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas. This picture is sustained by the lack of reliable microbiology laboratories, the perception of the health care workers, and the difficult to reach medical assistance; thus the number of confirmed cases is even lower with no reference of the strains phenotype. We report here the investigation of a case of suspected meningococcemia and his close contacts in a rural community in the Coari Lake, up the Amazon River.

Isolation and molecular identification of lactic acid bacteria and Bifidobacterium spp. from faeces of the blue-fronted Amazon parrot in Brazil.

PubMed

Allegretti, L; Revolledo, L; Astolfi-Ferreira, C S; Chacón, J L; Martins, L M; Seixas, G H F; Ferreira, A J P

2014-12-01

In Brazil, the blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva) is a common pet. The faecal microbiota of these birds include a wide variety of bacterial species, the majority of which belong to the Gram-positive lactic acid bacteria (LAB) clade. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in the diversity and abundance of LAB and Bifidobacterium spp. in the cloacae between wild and captive birds and to select, identify and characterise LAB for consideration as a parrot probiotic. Cloacal swabs were collected from 26 wild and 26 captive birds. Bacterial DNA was extracted, and the 16S rRNA genes were amplified. The numbers of PCR-positive Enterococcus, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus species isolated from wild and captive birds were significantly different (P<0.05). Enterococcus was the most frequently isolated genus, followed by Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus and Bifidobacterium. Enterococcus faecium, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus coryniformis, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis and Bifidobacterium bifidum were the most frequently isolated species from all birds. This study increases our understanding of the faecal microbiota, and may help to improve the nutrition and habitat management of captive and wild parrots. The bacterial population identified in the faecal microbiota of clinically healthy wild and captive parrots can serve as a database to analyse variations in the gut microbiota of pathogen-infected parrots and to develop probiotics specific to these genera.

Increasing seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) with age confirms HHV-8 endemicity in Amazon Amerindians from Brazil.

PubMed

Cunha, A M G; Caterino-de-Araujo, A; Costa, S C B; Santos-Fortuna, E; Boa-Sorte, N C A; Gonçalves, M S; Costa, F F; Galvão-Castro, B

2005-09-01

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) seroprevalences were determined in two isolated Amazon Amerindian tribes, according to age, gender and familial aggregation. Plasma and serum samples obtained from 982 Amazon Amerindians (664 Tiriyó and 318 Waiampi) were tested for antibodies against lytic and latent HHV-8 antigens by using 'in-house' immunofluorescence assays. Overall, HHV-8 seroprevalence was 56.8 % (57.4 % in the Tiriyó tribe and 55.7 % in the Waiampi tribe). Seroprevalence was independent of gender and increased linearly with age: it was 35.0 % among children aged 2-9 years, 51.4 % in adolescents (10-19 years), 72.9 % in adults and 82.3 % in adults aged >50 years. Interestingly, 44.4 % of children under 2 years of age were HHV-8-seropositive. No significant differences in seroprevalence between tribes and age groups were detected. It is concluded that HHV-8 is hyperendemic in Brazilian Amazon Amerindians, with vertical and horizontal transmission during childhood, familial transmission and sexual contact in adulthood contributing to this high prevalence in these isolated populations.

Analysis of Chromobacterium sp. natural isolates from different Brazilian ecosystems

PubMed Central

Lima-Bittencourt, Cláudia I; Astolfi-Filho, Spartaco; Chartone-Souza, Edmar; Santos, Fabrício R; Nascimento, Andréa MA

2007-01-01

Background Chromobacterium violaceum is a free-living bacterium able to survive under diverse environmental conditions. In this study we evaluate the genetic and physiological diversity of Chromobacterium sp. isolates from three Brazilian ecosystems: Brazilian Savannah (Cerrado), Atlantic Rain Forest and Amazon Rain Forest. We have analyzed the diversity with molecular approaches (16S rRNA gene sequences and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis) and phenotypic surveys of antibiotic resistance and biochemistry profiles. Results In general, the clusters based on physiological profiles included isolates from two or more geographical locations indicating that they are not restricted to a single ecosystem. The isolates from Brazilian Savannah presented greater physiologic diversity and their biochemical profile was the most variable of all groupings. The isolates recovered from Amazon and Atlantic Rain Forests presented the most similar biochemical characteristics to the Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472 strain. Clusters based on biochemical profiles were congruent with clusters obtained by the 16S rRNA gene tree. According to the phylogenetic analyses, isolates from the Amazon Rain Forest and Savannah displayed a closer relationship to the Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene tree revealed a good correlation between phylogenetic clustering and geographic origin. Conclusion The physiological analyses clearly demonstrate the high biochemical versatility found in the C. violaceum genome and molecular methods allowed to detect the intra and inter-population diversity of isolates from three Brazilian ecosystems. PMID:17584942

Impacts of extreme events of drought and flood on local communities of Amazon basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borma, L. D.; Roballo, S.; Zauner, M.; Nascimento, V. F.

2013-05-01

The analysis of drought events of 1997/98, 2005 and 2010 in terms of discharge anomalies in the Amazon region confirmed previous findings, such as: a) the influence of the El Niño in more than one hydrological year; b) the increase of the influence of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation of 1998, 2005 and 2010 drought events; c) the low levels of discharge observed in the 2010 drought are attributed to the association of discharge anomalies of the northern and southern tributaries of the Amazon river, and d) the 2010 drought lasted around 1 month (August to November) more than the other drought events analized here. The riverine communities located along the river banks of Solimões/Amazonas suit their economic activities to the oscillation of the water level. In general, low water periods favor the access to important sources of food such as fish and livestock, still allowing crop cultivation on fertile agricultural areas of the floodplain. Conversely, periods of drought increases the difficulties of transport and drinking water supply. During the high water, access to the main food supply (described above) are greatly hampered. However, the floods are recognized as an importance process of natural fertilization. Thus, despite the political, social and economic shortcomings, the local community has, since the pre-colonial period, learned to get the best of each season, providing local, regional and national markets with varzea products. During periods of extreme weather, however, the advantages of each season appear to be reduced, and the drawbacks increased. In fact, during flooding extremes, the access to primary sources of food is hampered by a long period of time and families find themselves forced to leave their homes, eventually losing them. Analysis of flow data to the extreme flooding of 2009, indicate a period of about 6 months of positive anomalies discharge (occurring mainly during high water). At the same time, Civil Defense data points to a

Introduction: Observations and modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L. A. T.

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) Experiment was carried out in the environs of Manaus, Brazil, in the central region of the Amazon basin for 2 years from 1 January 2014 through 31 December 2015. The experiment focused on the complex interactions among vegetation, atmospheric chemistry, and aerosol production on the one hand and their connections to aerosols, clouds, and precipitation on the other. The objective was to understand and quantify these linked processes, first under natural conditions to obtain a baseline and second when altered by the effects of human activities. To this end, the pollution plume from themore » Manaus metropolis, superimposed on the background conditions of the central Amazon basin, served as a natural laboratory. The present paper, as the introduction to the special issue of GoAmazon2014/5, presents the context and motivation of the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. The nine research sites, including the characteristics and instrumentation of each site, are presented. The sites range from time point zero (T0) upwind of the pollution, to T1 in the midst of the pollution, to T2 just downwind of the pollution, to T3 furthest downwind of the pollution (70 km). In addition to the ground sites, a low-altitude G-159 Gulfstream I (G-1) observed the atmospheric boundary layer and low clouds, and a high-altitude Gulfstream G550 (HALO) operated in the free troposphere. During the 2-year experiment, two Intensive Operating Periods (IOP1 and IOP2) also took place that included additional specialized research instrumentation at the ground sites as well as flights of the two aircraft. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP1 was carried out from 1 February to 31 March 2014 in the wet season. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP2 was conducted from 15 August to 15 October 2014 in the dry season. In addition, the G-1 aircraft flew during both IOP1 and IOP2, and the HALO aircraft flew during IOP2. In the context of the Amazon basin, the two IOPs

Introduction: Observations and modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5)

DOE PAGES

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L. A. T.; ...

2016-04-19

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) Experiment was carried out in the environs of Manaus, Brazil, in the central region of the Amazon basin for 2 years from 1 January 2014 through 31 December 2015. The experiment focused on the complex interactions among vegetation, atmospheric chemistry, and aerosol production on the one hand and their connections to aerosols, clouds, and precipitation on the other. The objective was to understand and quantify these linked processes, first under natural conditions to obtain a baseline and second when altered by the effects of human activities. To this end, the pollution plume from themore » Manaus metropolis, superimposed on the background conditions of the central Amazon basin, served as a natural laboratory. The present paper, as the introduction to the special issue of GoAmazon2014/5, presents the context and motivation of the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. The nine research sites, including the characteristics and instrumentation of each site, are presented. The sites range from time point zero (T0) upwind of the pollution, to T1 in the midst of the pollution, to T2 just downwind of the pollution, to T3 furthest downwind of the pollution (70 km). In addition to the ground sites, a low-altitude G-159 Gulfstream I (G-1) observed the atmospheric boundary layer and low clouds, and a high-altitude Gulfstream G550 (HALO) operated in the free troposphere. During the 2-year experiment, two Intensive Operating Periods (IOP1 and IOP2) also took place that included additional specialized research instrumentation at the ground sites as well as flights of the two aircraft. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP1 was carried out from 1 February to 31 March 2014 in the wet season. GoAmazon2014/5 IOP2 was conducted from 15 August to 15 October 2014 in the dry season. In addition, the G-1 aircraft flew during both IOP1 and IOP2, and the HALO aircraft flew during IOP2. In the context of the Amazon basin, the two IOPs

Communication between hospitals and isolated aboriginal community health clinics.

PubMed

Mackenzie, G; Currie, B J

1999-04-01

This study described the communication dynamics, identified problems and recommended changes to improve patient follow-up and communication between Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) and isolated Aboriginal community health clinics (CHC) in the Northern Territory (NT). In 1995, staff interviews were conducted and an audit of isolated Aboriginal patients' RDH discharge summaries (DS). Eighteen per cent of RDH DSs never arrived in CHCs. DSs were often prepared late and more likely to be in CHC records if written on time and if the referral source was specified. Interviews revealed discontent between CHCs and RDH regarding: communication, DS documentation, the supply of discharge medication, as well as different hospital and community perceptions of Aboriginies' reliability to carry a DS and CHC desire for patients to be given DSs at discharge. Aboriginal patients should be given a DS at discharge and resident medical officers should be educated as to the function and importance of the DS. In 18 months following this study, RDH appointed unit-based Aboriginal health workers and a policy was produced for written communication between hospital and CHCs, as well as a discharge planning manual for Aboriginal communities. Projects investigating communication between hospitals and isolated Aboriginal clinics and patient follow-up may result in significant policy changes concerning these processes.

Amazon plant diversity revealed by a taxonomically verified species list

PubMed Central

Cardoso, Domingos; Särkinen, Tiina; Alexander, Sara; Amorim, André M.; Bittrich, Volker; Celis, Marcela; Daly, Douglas C.; Fiaschi, Pedro; Funk, Vicki A.; Giacomin, Leandro L.; Heiden, Gustavo; Iganci, João; Kelloff, Carol L.; Knapp, Sandra; Cavalcante de Lima, Haroldo; Machado, Anderson F. P.; dos Santos, Rubens Manoel; Mello-Silva, Renato; Michelangeli, Fabián A.; Mitchell, John; Moonlight, Peter; de Moraes, Pedro Luís Rodrigues; Mori, Scott A.; Nunes, Teonildes Sacramento; Pennington, Terry D.; Pirani, José Rubens; Prance, Ghillean T.; de Queiroz, Luciano Paganucci; Rapini, Alessandro; Rincon, Carlos Alberto Vargas; Roque, Nádia; Shimizu, Gustavo; Sobral, Marcos; Stehmann, João Renato; Stevens, Warren D.; Taylor, Charlotte M.; Trovó, Marcelo; van den Berg, Cássio; van der Werff, Henk; Viana, Pedro Lage; Zartman, Charles E.; Forzza, Rafaela Campostrini

2017-01-01

Recent debates on the number of plant species in the vast lowland rain forests of the Amazon have been based largely on model estimates, neglecting published checklists based on verified voucher data. Here we collate taxonomically verified checklists to present a list of seed plant species from lowland Amazon rain forests. Our list comprises 14,003 species, of which 6,727 are trees. These figures are similar to estimates derived from nonparametric ecological models, but they contrast strongly with predictions of much higher tree diversity derived from parametric models. Based on the known proportion of tree species in neotropical lowland rain forest communities as measured in complete plot censuses, and on overall estimates of seed plant diversity in Brazil and in the neotropics in general, it is more likely that tree diversity in the Amazon is closer to the lower estimates derived from nonparametric models. Much remains unknown about Amazonian plant diversity, but this taxonomically verified dataset provides a valid starting point for macroecological and evolutionary studies aimed at understanding the origin, evolution, and ecology of the exceptional biodiversity of Amazonian forests. PMID:28923966

[Globalization, inequality, and transmission of tropical diseases in the Venezuelan Amazon].

PubMed

Botto-Abella, Carlos; Graterol-Mendoza, Beatriz

2007-01-01

Economic globalization appears to be causing greater inequalities and increased vulnerability to tropical diseases around the world. The Venezuelan Amazon population, especially the rural indigenous population, displays among the worst health indicators in the Americas. High infant mortality rates in remote indigenous populations indicate that such communities have been affected by the globalization of disease, rather than favored by globalization of health. Globalization has also influenced public policies in the country, affecting the efficiency of control programs targeting tropical diseases. A new global pact for the sustainable development of the planet is needed, supported by the globalization of human values and rights. In Venezuela, new policies for the indigenous health sector, more resources, and greater autonomy could help reduce the inequities described here in the Venezuelan Amazon.

Repeat-Pass Multi-Temporal Interferometric SAR Coherence Variations with Amazon Floodplain and Lake Habitats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, H.; Alsdorf, D.

2006-12-01

Monitoring discharge in the main channels of rivers and upland tributaries as well as storage changes in floodplain lakes is necessary for understanding flooding hazards, methane production, sediment transport, and nutrient exchange. Interferometric processing of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data may enable hydrologists to detect environmental and ecological changes in hydrological systems over space and time. An aim of our experiments is to characterize interferometric SAR coherence variations that occur in Amazon aquatic habitats. We analyze coherence variations in JERS-1 data at three central Amazon sites; Lake Balbina, the Cabaliana floodplain, and the confluence of the Purus and Amazon rivers. Because radar pulse interactions with inundated vegetation typically follow a double-bounce travel path which returns energy to the antenna, coherence will vary with vegetation type, physical baseline, and temporal baseline. Balbina's vegetation consists mostly of forest and inundated trunks of dead, leafless trees as opposed to Cabaliana and Amazon- Purus (dominated by flooded forests), thus it serves to isolate the vegetation signal. Coherence variations with baselines were determined from 253 interferograms at Balbina, 210 at Calbaliana, and 153 at Purus. The average temporal and perpendicular baselines (mean std.) are 574 394 days and 1708 1159 m at Balbina, 637 435 days and 1381 981 m at Cabaliana, and 587 425 days and 1430 964 m at Purus. Balbina has a stronger coherence than either Cabaliana or Amazon-Purus. With results of Mann-Whitney statistical tests, Balbina has a difference between terre-firme and flooded coherence values plotted with perpendicular baseline but Cabaliana and Amazon-Purus do not show this difference. Balbina has a linearly decreasing trend in coherence plotted with temporal baseline whereas Cabaliana and Amazon-Purus have a steep drop-off, non- linear change. A strong annual periodicity is evident on power spectrums of the coherence values

Archaeal Community Changes Associated with Cultivation of Amazon Forest Soil with Oil Palm

PubMed Central

Tupinambá, Daiva Domenech; Cantão, Maurício Egídio; Costa, Ohana Yonara Assis; Bergmann, Jessica Carvalho; Kruger, Ricardo Henrique; Kyaw, Cynthia Maria; Barreto, Cristine Chaves; Quirino, Betania Ferraz

2016-01-01

This study compared soil archaeal communities of the Amazon forest with that of an adjacent area under oil palm cultivation by 16S ribosomal RNA gene pyrosequencing. Species richness and diversity were greater in native forest soil than in the oil palm-cultivated area, and 130 OTUs (13.7%) were shared between these areas. Among the classified sequences, Thaumarchaeota were predominant in the native forest, whereas Euryarchaeota were predominant in the oil palm-cultivated area. Archaeal species diversity was 1.7 times higher in the native forest soil, according to the Simpson diversity index, and the Chao1 index showed that richness was five times higher in the native forest soil. A phylogenetic tree of unclassified Thaumarchaeota sequences showed that most of the OTUs belong to Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group. Several archaeal genera involved in nutrient cycling (e.g., methanogens and ammonia oxidizers) were identified in both areas, but significant differences were found in the relative abundances of Candidatus Nitrososphaera and unclassified Soil Crenarchaeotic Group (prevalent in the native forest) and Candidatus Nitrosotalea and unclassified Terrestrial Group (prevalent in the oil palm-cultivated area). More studies are needed to culture some of these Archaea in the laboratory so that their metabolism and physiology can be studied. PMID:27006640

Deforestation effects on Amazon forest resilience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zemp, D. C.; Schleussner, C.-F.; Barbosa, H. M. J.; Rammig, A.

2017-06-01

Through vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks, rainfall reductions as a result of Amazon deforestation could reduce the resilience on the remaining forest to perturbations and potentially lead to large-scale Amazon forest loss. We track observation-based water fluxes from sources (evapotranspiration) to sinks (rainfall) to assess the effect of deforestation on continental rainfall. By studying 21st century deforestation scenarios, we show that deforestation can reduce dry season rainfall by up to 20% far from the deforested area, namely, over the western Amazon basin and the La Plata basin. As a consequence, forest resilience is systematically eroded in the southwestern region covering a quarter of the current Amazon forest. Our findings suggest that the climatological effects of deforestation can lead to permanent forest loss in this region. We identify hot spot regions where forest loss should be avoided to maintain the ecological integrity of the Amazon forest.

Hydrologic resilience and Amazon productivity.

PubMed

Ahlström, Anders; Canadell, Josep G; Schurgers, Guy; Wu, Minchao; Berry, Joseph A; Guan, Kaiyu; Jackson, Robert B

2017-08-30

The Amazon rainforest is disproportionately important for global carbon storage and biodiversity. The system couples the atmosphere and land, with moist forest that depends on convection to sustain gross primary productivity and growth. Earth system models that estimate future climate and vegetation show little agreement in Amazon simulations. Here we show that biases in internally generated climate, primarily precipitation, explain most of the uncertainty in Earth system model results; models, empirical data and theory converge when precipitation biases are accounted for. Gross primary productivity, above-ground biomass and tree cover align on a hydrological relationship with a breakpoint at ~2000 mm annual precipitation, where the system transitions between water and radiation limitation of evapotranspiration. The breakpoint appears to be fairly stable in the future, suggesting resilience of the Amazon to climate change. Changes in precipitation and land use are therefore more likely to govern biomass and vegetation structure in Amazonia.Earth system model simulations of future climate in the Amazon show little agreement. Here, the authors show that biases in internally generated climate explain most of this uncertainty and that the balance between water-saturated and water-limited evapotranspiration controls the Amazon resilience to climate change.

Carbon uptake by mature Amazon forests has mitigated Amazon nations' carbon emissions.

PubMed

Phillips, Oliver L; Brienen, Roel J W

2017-12-01

Several independent lines of evidence suggest that Amazon forests have provided a significant carbon sink service, and also that the Amazon carbon sink in intact, mature forests may now be threatened as a result of different processes. There has however been no work done to quantify non-land-use-change forest carbon fluxes on a national basis within Amazonia, or to place these national fluxes and their possible changes in the context of the major anthropogenic carbon fluxes in the region. Here we present a first attempt to interpret results from ground-based monitoring of mature forest carbon fluxes in a biogeographically, politically, and temporally differentiated way. Specifically, using results from a large long-term network of forest plots, we estimate the Amazon biomass carbon balance over the last three decades for the different regions and nine nations of Amazonia, and evaluate the magnitude and trajectory of these differentiated balances in relation to major national anthropogenic carbon emissions. The sink of carbon into mature forests has been remarkably geographically ubiquitous across Amazonia, being substantial and persistent in each of the five biogeographic regions within Amazonia. Between 1980 and 2010, it has more than mitigated the fossil fuel emissions of every single national economy, except that of Venezuela. For most nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname) the sink has probably additionally mitigated all anthropogenic carbon emissions due to Amazon deforestation and other land use change. While the sink has weakened in some regions since 2000, our analysis suggests that Amazon nations which are able to conserve large areas of natural and semi-natural landscape still contribute globally-significant carbon sequestration. Mature forests across all of Amazonia have contributed significantly to mitigating climate change for decades. Yet Amazon nations have not directly benefited from providing this global scale

Mycotoxins and cyanogenic glycosides in staple foods of three indigenous people of the Colombian Amazon.

PubMed

Diaz, Gonzalo J; Krska, Rudolf; Sulyok, Michael

2015-01-01

A study was conducted to determine the incidence and levels of mycotoxins in the main staple foods of three indigenous people of the Colombian Amazon. A total of 20 corn, 24 rice and 59 cassava samples were analysed by a multi-analyte liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method covering the major classes of mycotoxins. In addition, cassava samples were also analysed for cyanogenic glycosides. The indigenous Amazon communities tested are exposed to potentially carcinogenic mycotoxins (particularly aflatoxins), as well as other mycotoxins, mainly through the intake of locally grown corn. Citrinin content in this corn was unusually high and has not been reported elsewhere. Two cassava samples contained high levels of cyanogenic glycosides. It is strongly recommended not to grow corn in the Amazon but instead purchase it from vendors capable of guaranteeing mycotoxin levels below the maximum allowable concentration in Colombia.

Response of free-living nitrogen-fixing microorganisms to land use change in the Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Mirza, Babur S; Potisap, Chotima; Nüsslein, Klaus; Bohannan, Brendan J M; Rodrigues, Jorge L M

2014-01-01

The Amazon rainforest, the largest equatorial forest in the world, is being cleared for pasture and agricultural use at alarming rates. Tropical deforestation is known to cause alterations in microbial communities at taxonomic and phylogenetic levels, but it is unclear whether microbial functional groups are altered. We asked whether free-living nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) respond to deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, using analysis of the marker gene nifH. Clone libraries were generated from soil samples collected from a primary forest, a 5-year-old pasture originally converted from primary forest, and a secondary forest established after pasture abandonment. Although diazotroph richness did not significantly change among the three plots, diazotroph community composition was altered with forest-to-pasture conversion, and phylogenetic similarity was higher among pasture communities than among those in forests. There was also 10-fold increase in nifH gene abundance following conversion from primary forest to pasture. Three environmental factors were associated with the observed changes: soil acidity, total N concentration, and C/N ratio. Our results suggest a partial restoration to initial levels of abundance and community structure of diazotrophs following pasture abandonment, with primary and secondary forests sharing similar communities. We postulate that the response of diazotrophs to land use change is a direct consequence of changes in plant communities, particularly the higher N demand of pasture plant communities for supporting aboveground plant growth.

Metagenome Sequencing of Prokaryotic Microbiota Collected from Rivers in the Upper Amazon Basin.

PubMed

Santos-Júnior, Célio Dias; Kishi, Luciano Takeshi; Toyama, Danyelle; Soares-Costa, Andrea; Oliveira, Tereza Cristina Souza; de Miranda, Fernando Pellon; Henrique-Silva, Flávio

2017-01-12

Tropical freshwater environments, like rivers, are important reservoirs of microbial life. This study employed metagenomic sequencing to survey prokaryotic microbiota in the Solimões, Purus, and Urucu Rivers of the Amazon Basin in Brazil. We report a rich and diverse microbial community. Copyright © 2017 Santos-Júnior et al.

Social Isolation in Chinese Older Adults: Scoping Review for Age-Friendly Community Planning.

PubMed

Syed, M Anum; McDonald, Lynn; Smirle, Corinne; Lau, Karen; Mirza, Raza M; Hitzig, Sander L

2017-06-01

Chinese older adults may be at increased risk of social isolation and loneliness, and a fragmented understanding exists about the challenges they face for social participation in their neighbourhoods and communities. A scoping review was undertaken to describe the current knowledge on social isolation and loneliness in urban-dwelling Chinese older adults living in Western societies to inform future research, practice, and policy in Canada. Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The World Health Organization's age-friendly community framework contextualized the study findings. Studies identified issues related to (1) social participation; (2) community support and health services; (3) housing; (4) community and information; (5) respect and social inclusion; (6) outdoor spaces and public buildings; (7) civic participation and employment; and (8) transportation. Social isolation and loneliness is a growing concern in this population in Canada, and additional research is needed to identify its scope and effective interventions.

Oil pollution in soils and sediments from the Northern Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Rosell-Melé, Antoni; Moraleda-Cibrián, Núria; Cartró-Sabaté, Mar; Colomer-Ventura, Ferran; Mayor, Pedro; Orta-Martínez, Martí

2018-01-01

Oil has been extracted from the Northern Peruvian Amazon for over four decades. However, few scientific studies have assessed the impacts of such activities in the environment and health of indigenous communities in the region. We have investigated the occurrence of petrogenic hydrocarbon pollution in soils and sediments from areas favoured as hunting or fishing grounds by local indigenous inhabitants. The study was conducted in one of the most productive oil blocks in Peru, located in the headwaters of the Amazon river. Soils and river sediments, in the vicinity of oil extraction and processing infrastructure, contained an oil pollution signature as attested by the occurrence of hopanes and steranes. Given the lack of any other significant source of oil pollution in the region, the sources of hydrocarbons are likely to be the activities of the oil industry in the oil block, from voluntary discharges or accidental spills. Spillage of produced water was commonplace until 2009. Moreover, petrogenic compounds were absent in control samples in sites far removed from any oil infrastructure in the oil block. Our findings suggest that wildlife and indigenous populations in this region of the Amazon are exposed to the ingestion of oil polluted soils and sediments. The data obtained supports previous claims that the local spillage of oil and produced waters in the water courses in the Corrientes and Pastaza basins could have eventually reached the main water course of the Amazon. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Progress in Remote Sensing of Photosynthetic Activity over the Amazon Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Resende de Sousa, Celio Helder; Hilker, Thomas; Waring, Richard; Mendes De Moura, Yhasmin; Lyapustin, Alexei

2017-01-01

Although quantifying the massive exchange of carbon that takes place over the Amazon Basin remains a challenge, progress is being made as the remote sensing community moves from using traditional, reflectance-based vegetation indices, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), to the more functional Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI). This new index, together with satellite-derived estimates of canopy light interception and Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), provide improved estimates of Gross Primary Production (GPP). This paper traces the development of these new approaches, compares the results of their analyses from multiple years of data acquired across the Amazon Basin and suggests further improvements in instrument design, data acquisition and processing. We demonstrated that our estimates of PRI are in generally good agreement with eddy-flux tower measurements of photosynthetic light use efficiency (epsilon) at four sites in the Amazon Basin: r(exp 2) values ranged from 0.37 to 0.51 for northern flux sites and to 0.78for southern flux sites. This is a significant advance over previous approaches seeking to establish a link between global-scale photosynthetic activity and remotely-sensed data. When combined with measurements of Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), PRI provides realistic estimates of seasonal variation in photosynthesis over the Amazon that relate well to the wet and dry seasons. We anticipate that our findings will steer the development of improved approaches to estimate photosynthetic activity over the tropics.

Progress in Remote Sensing of Photosynthetic Activity over the Amazon Basin

PubMed Central

de Sousa, Celio Helder Resende; Hilker, Thomas; Waring, Richard; de Moura, Yhasmin Mendes; Lyapustin, Alexei

2017-01-01

Although quantifying the massive exchange of carbon that takes place over the Amazon Basin remains a challenge, progress is being made as the remote sensing community moves from using traditional, reflectance-based vegetation indices, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), to the more functional Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI). This new index, together with satellite-derived estimates of canopy light interception and Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), provide improved estimates of Gross Primary Production (GPP). This paper traces the development of these new approaches, compares the results of their analyses from multiple years of data acquired across the Amazon Basin and suggests further improvements in instrument design, data acquisition and processing. We demonstrated that our estimates of PRI are in generally good agreement with eddy-flux tower measurements of photosynthetic light use efficiency (ε) at four sites in the Amazon Basin: r2 values ranged from 0.37 to 0.51 for northern flux sites and to 0.78 for southern flux sites. This is a significant advance over previous approaches seeking to establish a link between global-scale photosynthetic activity and remotely-sensed data. When combined with measurements of Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), PRI provides realistic estimates of seasonal variation in photosynthesis over the Amazon that relate well to the wet and dry seasons. We anticipate that our findings will steer the development of improved approaches to estimate photosynthetic activity over the tropics. PMID:29375895

Progress in Remote Sensing of Photosynthetic Activity over the Amazon Basin.

PubMed

de Sousa, Celio Helder Resende; Hilker, Thomas; Waring, Richard; de Moura, Yhasmin Mendes; Lyapustin, Alexei

2017-01-01

Although quantifying the massive exchange of carbon that takes place over the Amazon Basin remains a challenge, progress is being made as the remote sensing community moves from using traditional, reflectance-based vegetation indices, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), to the more functional Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI). This new index, together with satellite-derived estimates of canopy light interception and Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), provide improved estimates of Gross Primary Production (GPP). This paper traces the development of these new approaches, compares the results of their analyses from multiple years of data acquired across the Amazon Basin and suggests further improvements in instrument design, data acquisition and processing. We demonstrated that our estimates of PRI are in generally good agreement with eddy-flux tower measurements of photosynthetic light use efficiency (ε) at four sites in the Amazon Basin: r 2 values ranged from 0.37 to 0.51 for northern flux sites and to 0.78 for southern flux sites. This is a significant advance over previous approaches seeking to establish a link between global-scale photosynthetic activity and remotely-sensed data. When combined with measurements of Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), PRI provides realistic estimates of seasonal variation in photosynthesis over the Amazon that relate well to the wet and dry seasons. We anticipate that our findings will steer the development of improved approaches to estimate photosynthetic activity over the tropics.

Bilingual Education and Language Use among the Shipibo of the Peruvian Amazon.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tacelosky, Kathleen

2001-01-01

Investigates how language choice for education contributes to changes in the way a society views and uses language in the context of the Peruvian Amazon. Oral surveys were administered to Shipibo people in 13 communities along the Ucayali River of eastern Peru where a transition type bilingual education program was introduced several decades ago.…

How Do Tropical Sea Surface Temperatures Influence the Seasonal Distribution of Precipitation in the Equatorial Amazon?.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Rong; Dickinson, Robert E.; Chen, Mingxuan; Wang, Hui

2001-10-01

Although the correlation between precipitation over tropical South America and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) over the Pacific and Atlantic has been documented since the early twentieth century, the impact of each ocean on the timing and intensity of the wet season over tropical South America and the underlying mechanisms have remained unclear. Numerical experiments have been conducted using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model Version 3 to explore these impacts. The results suggest the following.1)Seasonality of SSTs in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic has an important influence on precipitation in the eastern Amazon during the equinox seasons. The eastern side of the Amazon is influenced both by the direct thermal circulation of the Atlantic intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and by Rossby waves. These processes are enhanced by the seasonal cycles of SSTs in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific. SSTs affect Amazon precipitation much less during the solstice seasons and in the western Amazon.2)The seasonality of SSTs in the Atlantic more strongly affects Amazon rainfall than does that of the Pacific. Without the former, austral spring in the eastern equatorial Amazon would be a wet season, rather than the observed dry season. As a consequence of the lag at that time of the southward seasonal migration of the Atlantic SSTs behind that of the insolation, the Atlantic ITCZ centers itself near 10°N, instead of at the equator, imposing subsidence and low-level anticyclonic flow over the eastern equatorial Amazon, thus drying the air above the planetary boundary layer and reducing the low-level moisture convergence. Consequently, convection in the eastern Amazon is suppressed despite strong surface heating.3)Seasonality of the SSTs in the tropical Pacific also tends to reduce precipitation in the eastern Amazon during both spring and fall. In spring, subsidence is enhanced not only through a zonal direct circulation, but also through

Security of the Brazilian Amazon Area

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-04-01

effect in Amazonia". Brazil’s Institute for Space Research. Sio Paulo, April 1991: 5-6. Thompson, Dick. "A Global Agenda for the Amazon." Time, 18...to be overcome as Brazil pursues settlement and development of the Amazon. The natural ecologic systems of the Amazon must be defended with...agricultural techniques appropriate to the region and developed within the context of a comprehensive, responsible program that meets Brazil’s needs for

Antigenic and biologic characteristics of Venezuelan encephalitis virus strains including a possible new subtype, isolated from the Amazon region of Peru in 1971.

PubMed

Scherer, W F; Anderson, K

1975-04-01

Nine strains of Venezuelan encephalitis (VE) virus isolated from the Amazon region of Peru in 1971 were identified as antigenic subtype I based on plaque-reduction neutralization tests with four and 20 units of antibody. A tenth strain, 71D1252, was possibly a new subtype, but was related to subtypes I and III. Hemagglutinins of each strain made from infected mouse brains had optimals pHs of 6.2 and 6.4. Nine strains were pathogenic for adult hamsters and adult mice, but strain 71D1252 inapparently infected some adult hamsters and mice inoculated peripherally. Plaques of nine strains in Vero African green monkey kidney cell cultures were intermediate in size between representative epizootic and enzootic strains, but plaques of strain 71D1252 were small like epizootic strains.

Violence against Amazon women.

PubMed

Lima, Vera Lúcia de Azevedo; Souza, Maria de Lourdes de; Monticelli, Marisa; Oliveira, Marília de Fátima Vieira de; Souza, Carlos Benedito Marinho de; Costa, Carlos Alberto Leal da; Brüggemann, Odaléa Maria

2009-01-01

This quantitative and exploratory study analyzed violence against Amazon women presented in print media according to type and severity, and whether aggressors fell under the Maria da Penha law. A total of 181 issues of a regional newspaper were consulted. Based on content analysis, 164 items addressing violence against women were selected and 46 were included in the corpus of analysis. Results were gathered in three thematic groups: women killed with cruelty, sexual violence against women regardless of age, and violence against women and the limitations of the Maria da Penha law. Violence against these women varied in terms of form and severity, including up to homicide. Women are submitted to sexual violence from childhood through adulthood. The enforcement of this law shows the community it has a means to cope with this social phenomenon.

Novel diesel-oil-degrading bacteria and fungi from the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Maddela, N R; Masabanda, M; Leiva-Mora, M

2015-01-01

Isolating new diesel-oil-degrading microorganisms from crude-oil contaminated sites and evaluating their degradation capacities are vitally important in the remediation of oil-polluted environments and crude-oil exploitation. In this research, new hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and fungi were isolated from the crude-oil contaminated soil of the oil-fields in the Amazon rainforest of north-east Ecuador by using a soil enrichment technique. Degradation analysis was tracked by gas chromatography and a flame ionization detector. Under laboratory conditions, maximum degradability of the total n-alkanes reached up to 77.34 and 62.62 removal ratios after 30 days of incubation for the evaporated diesel oil by fungi (isolate-1) and bacteria (isolate-1), respectively. The 16S/18S rDNA sequence analysis indicated that the microorganisms were most closely (99-100%) related to Bacillus cereus (isolate-1), Bacillus thuringiensis (isolate-2), Geomyces pannorum (isolate-1), and Geomyces sp. (isolate-2). Therefore, these strains enable the degradation of hydrocarbons as the sole carbon source, and these findings will benefit these strains in the remediation of oil-polluted environments and oil exploitation.

Crop damage of Eriotheca gracilipes (Bombacaceae) by the Blue-Fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva, Psittacidae), in the Brazilian Cerrado.

PubMed

Ragusa-Netto, J

2014-11-01

Seed predation has major effects on the reproductive success of individuals, spatial patterns of populations, genetic variability, interspecific interactions and ultimately in the diversity of tree communities. At a Brazilian savanna, I evaluated the proportional crop loss of Eriotheca gracilipes due the Blue-Fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) during a fruiting period. Also, I analyzed the relationship between proportional crop loss to Amazons and both fruit crop size and the distance from the nearest damaged conspecific. Trees produced from 1 to 109 fruits, so that Amazons foraged more often on trees bearing larger fruit crop size, while seldom visited less productive trees. Moreover, the relationship between fruit crop sizes and the number of depredated fruits was significant. However, when only damaged trees were assessed, I found a negative and significant relation between fruit crop size and proportional crop loss to Blue-Fronted Amazons. Taking into account this as a measure more directly related to the probability of seed survival, a negative density dependent effect emerged. Also, Amazons similarly damaged the fruit crops of either close or distant neighboring damaged trees. Hence, in spite of Blue-Fronted Amazons searched for E. gracilipes bearing large fruit crops, they were swamped due to the presence of more fruits than they could eat. Moderate seed predation by Blue-Fronted Amazons either at trees with large fruit crops or in areas where fruiting trees were aggregated implies in an enhanced probability of E. gracilipes seed survival and consequent regeneration success.

Amazon Forest Responses to Drought and Fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morton, D. C.

2015-12-01

Deforestation and agricultural land uses provide a consistent source of ignitions along the Amazon frontier during the dry season. The risk of understory fires in Amazon forests is amplified by drought conditions, when fires at the forest edge may spread for weeks before rains begin. Fire activity also impacts the regional response of intact forests to drought through diffuse light effects and nutrient redistribution, highlighting the complexity of feedbacks in this coupled human and natural system. This talk will focus on recent advances in our understanding of fire-climate feedbacks in the Amazon, building on research themes initiated under NASA's Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA). NASA's LBA program began in the wake of the 1997-1998 El Niño, a strong event that exposed the vulnerability of Amazon forests to drought and fire under current climate and projections of climate change. With forecasts of another strong El Niño event in 2015-2016, this talk will provide a multi-scale synthesis of Amazon forest responses to drought and fire based on field measurements, airborne lidar data, and satellite observations of fires, rainfall, and terrestrial water storage. These studies offer new insights into the mechanisms governing fire season severity in the southern Amazon and regional variability in carbon losses from understory fires. The contributions from remote sensing to our understanding of drought and fire in Amazon forests reflect the legacy of NASA's LBA program and the sustained commitment to interdisciplinary research across the Amazon region.

Boverhof's App Earns Honorable Mention in Amazon's Web Services

Science.gov Websites

» Boverhof's App Earns Honorable Mention in Amazon's Web Services Competition News & Publications News Publications Facebook Google+ Twitter Boverhof's App Earns Honorable Mention in Amazon's Web Services by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Amazon officially announced the winners of its EC2 Spotathon on Monday

Tasmania's Rural and Isolated Young People: Issues, Solutions and Strategies. Report of a Community Consultation with Young People, Government, Youth and Organisations, in Rural and Isolated Communities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tasmanian Office of Youth Affairs, Hobart (Australia).

The Tasmanian (Australia) Office of Youth Affairs and Family conducted consultations concerning issues impacting young people living in rural and isolated areas. Eight workshops specifically for youth were attended by 123 young people. Five community forums were attended by 25-30 participants each. The difficulties of living in isolated situations…

Delayed fertility transition among indigenous women in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

PubMed

Davis, Jason; Bilsborrow, Richard; Gray, Clark

2015-03-01

Communities indigenous to the Amazon are among the few remaining worldwide still practicing near-natural fertility, without the use of modern contraceptives. Given the large proportion of women desiring no more births, information on the challenges women there face in limiting fertility would be useful. Samples of women of reproductive age from five indigenous ethnic groups in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon were surveyed in 2001 and 2012. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses examined married women's desire for another child at both times and modern contraceptive use in 2012, as well as determinants of a change in women's desire to have more children and of the number of children born during the study period. In 2001, 48% of married women desired another child, 2% used a modern contraceptive and 50% had an unmet need for limiting; in 2012, the proportions were 40%, 19% and 47%, respectively. The total fertility rate was 7.9 births per woman in 2001 and 7.0 births per woman in 2012. Characteristics associated with wanting another child in 2001 and 2012 included parity (odds ratios, 0.6 and 0.4, respectively) and experience of a child death (2.0 each); characteristics associated with contraceptive use in 2012 included desire for another child, experience of a child death and presence of a community health worker (0.3-0.5). Number of children born was positively associated, and the square of the term negatively associated, with no longer wanting more children in 2012 among women who wanted more in 2001 (2.1 and 0.9, respectively). Indigenous women in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon appear to be making the transition to lower fertility. Insufficient access to credible information about the safety and efficacy of modern contraceptives, however, may slow the transition.

The Amazon Region; A Vision of Sovereignty

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-04-06

and SPOT remote sensing satellites images, about 90% of the Amazon jungle remains almost untouched9. This 280 million hectares of vegetation hold...increasing energy needs, remain unanswered. Indian rights Has the Indian population been jeopardized by the development of the Amazon Region...or government agency. STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT THE AMAZON REGION; A VISION OF SOVEREIGNTY BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDUARDO JOSE BARBOSA

Response of Free-Living Nitrogen-Fixing Microorganisms to Land Use Change in the Amazon Rainforest

PubMed Central

Mirza, Babur S.; Potisap, Chotima; Nüsslein, Klaus; Bohannan, Brendan J. M.

2014-01-01

The Amazon rainforest, the largest equatorial forest in the world, is being cleared for pasture and agricultural use at alarming rates. Tropical deforestation is known to cause alterations in microbial communities at taxonomic and phylogenetic levels, but it is unclear whether microbial functional groups are altered. We asked whether free-living nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (diazotrophs) respond to deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, using analysis of the marker gene nifH. Clone libraries were generated from soil samples collected from a primary forest, a 5-year-old pasture originally converted from primary forest, and a secondary forest established after pasture abandonment. Although diazotroph richness did not significantly change among the three plots, diazotroph community composition was altered with forest-to-pasture conversion, and phylogenetic similarity was higher among pasture communities than among those in forests. There was also 10-fold increase in nifH gene abundance following conversion from primary forest to pasture. Three environmental factors were associated with the observed changes: soil acidity, total N concentration, and C/N ratio. Our results suggest a partial restoration to initial levels of abundance and community structure of diazotrophs following pasture abandonment, with primary and secondary forests sharing similar communities. We postulate that the response of diazotrophs to land use change is a direct consequence of changes in plant communities, particularly the higher N demand of pasture plant communities for supporting aboveground plant growth. PMID:24162570

Community-randomized trial of lambdacyhalothrin-treated hammock nets for malaria control in Yanomami communities in the Amazon region of Venezuela.

PubMed

Magris, M; Rubio-Palis, Y; Alexander, N; Ruiz, B; Galván, N; Frias, D; Blanco, M; Lines, J

2007-03-01

We conducted a community-randomized controlled trial in an area of moderate malaria transmission in the Amazon region, southern Venezuela, home of the Yanomami indigenous ethnic group. The aim was to compare the malaria incidence rate in villages with lambdacyhalothrin-treated hammock nets (ITHN) or with placebo-treated hammock nets (PTHN). In both arms of the study, intensive surveillance for early case detection was maintained and prompt malaria treatment was administered. Baseline data were collected before the intervention and a population of around 924 Yanomami was followed for 2 years. Despite the recent introduction of nets in the Yanomami villages and the adverse natural conditions in the area, the nets were accepted enthusiastically by the study population, used conscientiously and looked after carefully. The malaria incidence rate per thousand person-years at risk was 114.6 in the IHTN group and 186.8 in the PTHN group. The adjusted rate ratios indicated that ITHN prevent 56% [IRR: 0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): 52-59%] of new malaria cases. ITHN reduced the prevalence of parasitaemia by 83% [relative risks (RR): 0.17, 95% CI: 47-100%], according to a cross-sectional survey carried out during the high transmission season. The prevalence of splenomegaly and anaemia was too low to detect any possible reduction as a result of ITHN. The main conclusion of the present study is that ITHN can reduce malaria incidence in the area and it is the most feasible method for malaria control in a forested area where indigenous villages are scattered over a large territory. This is the first community-level epidemiological trial to show that ITHN are highly effective against malaria transmitted by Anopheles darlingi.

The DURAMAZ indicator system: a cross-disciplinary comparative tool for assessing ecological and social changes in the Amazon.

PubMed

Le Tourneau, François-Michel; Marchand, Guillaume; Greissing, Anna; Nasuti, Stéphanie; Droulers, Martine; Bursztyn, Marcel; Léna, Philippe; Dubreuil, Vincent

2013-06-05

During the last 20 years, the Amazon region has been at the same time a place of massive ecological and social change and a laboratory of experiments aimed at promoting sustainable development. Policies and project initiatives involving diverse social groups and environmental contexts have been implemented across the region. They have resulted in mixed outcomes and trade-offs between social and environmental dimensions, making their impact at the local level difficult to assess and their successes difficult to generalize. The objective of the DURAMAZ research project was to provide a better understanding of these impacts. It produced a multi-dimensional indicator system designed to allow a holistic view of sustainable development at local and subregional levels and a comparative perspective across 12 research sites, from an isolated indigenous village to smallholders and agribusiness areas in Mato Grosso. The results of the first observation campaign (2007-2009) show that despite the claim of promoting sustainable development, no project was able to untie the 'Gordian knot' of development in the Amazon. Communities continue to face the old dilemma of either enjoying a preserved ecosystem but enduring adverse life conditions, or enjoying better living at the expense of forest cover. Another finding is that the subregional context is very important in shaping the impacts of regional policies. Thus, the same policy will not always have the same effect, depending on in which context it is applied. Finally, we found that cultural factors and a sense of place play a more important role than economic factors when it comes to the way people evaluate their own situation. This research provides the basis for a second phase of the project (2012-2016) in which we will continue to expand our sample and to refine our methodologies with the goal of transforming the initiative into a network of observatories of sustainable development in the Amazon.

Geochemistry of the Amazon Estuary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smoak, Joseph M.; Krest, James M.; Swarzenski, Peter W

2006-01-01

The Amazon River supplies more freshwater to the ocean than any other river in the world. This enormous volume of freshwater forces the estuarine mixing out of the river channel and onto the continental shelf. On the continental shelf, the estuarine mixing occurs in a very dynamic environment unlike that of a typical estuary. The tides, the wind, and the boundary current that sweeps the continental shelf have a pronounced influence on the chemical and biological processes occurring within the estuary. The dynamic environment, along with the enormous supply of water, solutes and particles makes the Amazon estuary unique. This chapter describes the unique features of the Amazon estuary and how these features influence the processes occurring within the estuary. Examined are the supply and cycling of major and minor elements, and the use of naturally occurring radionuclides to trace processes including water movement, scavenging, sediment-water interaction, and sediment accumulation rates. The biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and the significances of the Amazon estuary in the global mass balance of these elements are examined.

Measuring Water Storage in the Amazon

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-07

This image is from data taken by NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment showing the Amazon basin in South America. The amount of water stored in the Amazon basin varies from month to month. Animations are available at the Photojournal.

Environmental Controls on Space-Time Biodiversity Patterns in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porporato, A. M.; Bonetti, S.; Feng, X.

2014-12-01

The Amazon/Andes territory is characterized by the highest biodiversity on Earth and understanding how all these ecological niches and different species originated and developed is an open challenge. The niche perspective assumes that species have evolved and occupy deterministically different roles within its environment. This view differs from that of the neutral theories, which assume ecological equivalence between all species but incorporates stochastic demographic processes along with long-term migration and speciation rates. Both approaches have demonstrated tremendous power in predicting aspects species biodiversity. By combining tools from both approaches, we use modified birth and death processes to simulate plant species diversification in the Amazon/Andes and their space-time ecohydrological controls. By defining parameters related to births and deaths as functions of available resources, we incorporate the role of space-time resource variability on niche formation and community composition. We also explicitly include the role of a heterogeneous landscape and topography. The results are discussed in relation to transect datasets from neotropical forests.

The association between physical activity and social isolation in community-dwelling older adults.

PubMed

Robins, Lauren M; Hill, Keith D; Finch, Caroline F; Clemson, Lindy; Haines, Terry

2018-02-01

Social isolation is an increasing concern in older community-dwelling adults. There is growing need to determine effective interventions addressing social isolation. This study aimed to determine whether a relationship exists between physical activity (recreational and/or household-based) and social isolation. An examination was conducted for whether group- or home-based falls prevention exercise was associated with social isolation. Cross-sectional analysis of telephone survey data was used to investigate relationships between physical activity, health, age, gender, living arrangements, ethnicity and participation in group- or home-based falls prevention exercise on social isolation. Univariable and multivariable ordered logistic regression analyses were conducted. Factors found to be significantly associated with reduced social isolation in multivariable analysis included living with a partner/spouse, reporting better general health, higher levels of household-based physical activity (OR = 1.03, CI = 1.01-1.05) and feeling less downhearted/depressed. Being more socially isolated was associated with symptoms of depression and a diagnosis of congestive heart failure (pseudo R 2 = 0.104). Findings suggest that household-based physical activity is related to social isolation in community-dwelling older adults. Further research is required to determine the nature of this relationship and to investigate the impact of group physical activity interventions on social isolation.

Genetic uniqueness of the Waorani tribe from the Ecuadorian Amazon

PubMed Central

Cardoso, S; Alfonso-Sánchez, M A; Valverde, L; Sánchez, D; Zarrabeitia, M T; Odriozola, A; Martínez-Jarreta, B; de Pancorbo, M M

2012-01-01

South America and especially the Amazon basin is known to be home to some of the most isolated human groups in the world. Here, we report on a study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the Waorani from Ecuador, probably the most warlike human population known to date. Seeking to look in more depth at the characterization of the genetic diversity of this Native American tribe, molecular markers from the X and Y chromosomes were also analyzed. Only three different mtDNA haplotypes were detected among the Waorani sample. One of them, assigned to Native American haplogroup A2, accounted for more than 94% of the total diversity of the maternal gene pool. Our results for sex chromosome molecular markers failed to find close genetic kinship between individuals, further emphasizing the low genetic diversity of the mtDNA. Bearing in mind the results obtained for both the analysis of the mtDNA control region and complete mitochondrial genomes, we suggest the existence of a ‘Waorani-specific' mtDNA lineage. According to current knowledge on the phylogeny of haplogroup A2, we propose that this lineage could be designated as subhaplogroup A2s. Its wide predominance among the Waorani people might have been conditioned by severe genetic drift episodes resulting from founding events, long-term isolation and a traditionally small population size most likely associated with the striking ethnography of this Amazonian community. In all, the Waorani constitute a fine example of how genetic imprint may mirror ethnopsychology and sociocultural features in human populations. PMID:22234246

Genetic uniqueness of the Waorani tribe from the Ecuadorian Amazon.

PubMed

Cardoso, S; Alfonso-Sánchez, M A; Valverde, L; Sánchez, D; Zarrabeitia, M T; Odriozola, A; Martínez-Jarreta, B; de Pancorbo, M M

2012-06-01

South America and especially the Amazon basin is known to be home to some of the most isolated human groups in the world. Here, we report on a study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the Waorani from Ecuador, probably the most warlike human population known to date. Seeking to look in more depth at the characterization of the genetic diversity of this Native American tribe, molecular markers from the X and Y chromosomes were also analyzed. Only three different mtDNA haplotypes were detected among the Waorani sample. One of them, assigned to Native American haplogroup A2, accounted for more than 94% of the total diversity of the maternal gene pool. Our results for sex chromosome molecular markers failed to find close genetic kinship between individuals, further emphasizing the low genetic diversity of the mtDNA. Bearing in mind the results obtained for both the analysis of the mtDNA control region and complete mitochondrial genomes, we suggest the existence of a 'Waorani-specific' mtDNA lineage. According to current knowledge on the phylogeny of haplogroup A2, we propose that this lineage could be designated as subhaplogroup A2s. Its wide predominance among the Waorani people might have been conditioned by severe genetic drift episodes resulting from founding events, long-term isolation and a traditionally small population size most likely associated with the striking ethnography of this Amazonian community. In all, the Waorani constitute a fine example of how genetic imprint may mirror ethnopsychology and sociocultural features in human populations.

Running climate model on a commercial cloud computing environment: A case study using Community Earth System Model (CESM) on Amazon AWS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiuhong; Huang, Xianglei; Jiao, Chaoyi; Flanner, Mark G.; Raeker, Todd; Palen, Brock

2017-01-01

The suites of numerical models used for simulating climate of our planet are usually run on dedicated high-performance computing (HPC) resources. This study investigates an alternative to the usual approach, i.e. carrying out climate model simulations on commercially available cloud computing environment. We test the performance and reliability of running the CESM (Community Earth System Model), a flagship climate model in the United States developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), on Amazon Web Service (AWS) EC2, the cloud computing environment by Amazon.com, Inc. StarCluster is used to create virtual computing cluster on the AWS EC2 for the CESM simulations. The wall-clock time for one year of CESM simulation on the AWS EC2 virtual cluster is comparable to the time spent for the same simulation on a local dedicated high-performance computing cluster with InfiniBand connections. The CESM simulation can be efficiently scaled with the number of CPU cores on the AWS EC2 virtual cluster environment up to 64 cores. For the standard configuration of the CESM at a spatial resolution of 1.9° latitude by 2.5° longitude, increasing the number of cores from 16 to 64 reduces the wall-clock running time by more than 50% and the scaling is nearly linear. Beyond 64 cores, the communication latency starts to outweigh the benefit of distributed computing and the parallel speedup becomes nearly unchanged.

Modelling conservation in the Amazon basin.

PubMed

Soares-Filho, Britaldo Silveira; Nepstad, Daniel Curtis; Curran, Lisa M; Cerqueira, Gustavo Coutinho; Garcia, Ricardo Alexandrino; Ramos, Claudia Azevedo; Voll, Eliane; McDonald, Alice; Lefebvre, Paul; Schlesinger, Peter

2006-03-23

Expansion of the cattle and soy industries in the Amazon basin has increased deforestation rates and will soon push all-weather highways into the region's core. In the face of this growing pressure, a comprehensive conservation strategy for the Amazon basin should protect its watersheds, the full range of species and ecosystem diversity, and the stability of regional climates. Here we report that protected areas in the Amazon basin--the central feature of prevailing conservation approaches--are an important but insufficient component of this strategy, based on policy-sensitive simulations of future deforestation. By 2050, current trends in agricultural expansion will eliminate a total of 40% of Amazon forests, including at least two-thirds of the forest cover of six major watersheds and 12 ecoregions, releasing 32 +/- 8 Pg of carbon to the atmosphere. One-quarter of the 382 mammalian species examined will lose more than 40% of the forest within their Amazon ranges. Although an expanded and enforced network of protected areas could avoid as much as one-third of this projected forest loss, conservation on private lands is also essential. Expanding market pressures for sound land management and prevention of forest clearing on lands unsuitable for agriculture are critical ingredients of a strategy for comprehensive conservation.

A Large Proportion of P. falciparum Isolates in the Amazon Region of Peru Lack pfhrp2 and pfhrp3: Implications for Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests

PubMed Central

Gamboa, Dionicia; Ho, Mei-Fong; Bendezu, Jorge; Torres, Katherine; Chiodini, Peter L.; Barnwell, John W.; Incardona, Sandra; Perkins, Mark; Bell, David; McCarthy, James; Cheng, Qin

2010-01-01

Background Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) offer significant potential to improve the diagnosis of malaria, and are playing an increasing role in malaria case management, control and elimination. Peru, along with other South American countries, is moving to introduce malaria RDTs as components of malaria control programmes supported by the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and malaria. The selection of the most suitable malaria RDTs is critical to the success of the programmes. Methods Eight of nine microscopy positive P. falciparum samples collected in Iquitos, Peru tested negative or weak positive using HRP2-detecting RDTs. These samples were tested for the presence of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 and their flanking genes by PCR, as well as the presence of HRP proteins by ELISA. To investigate for geographic extent of HRP-deleted parasites and their temporal occurrence a retrospective study was undertaken on 148 microscopy positive P. falciparum samples collected in different areas of the Amazon region of Peru. Findings Eight of the nine isolates lacked the pfhrp2 and/or pfhrp3 genes and one or both flanking genes, and the absence of HRP was confirmed by ELISA. The retrospective study showed that 61 (41%) and 103 (70%) of the 148 samples lacked the pfhrp2 or pfhrp3 genes respectively, with 32 (21.6%) samples lacking both hrp genes. Conclusions This is the first documentation of P. falciparum field isolates lacking pfhrp2 and/or pfhrp3. The high frequency and wide distribution of different parasites lacking pfhrp2 and/or pfhrp3 in widely dispersed areas in the Peruvian Amazon implies that malaria RDTs targeting HRP2 will fail to detect a high proportion of P. falciparum in malaria-endemic areas of Peru and should not be used. RDTs detecting parasite LDH or aldolase and quality microscopy should be use for malaria diagnosis in this region. There is an urgent need for investigation of the abundance and geographic distribution of these parasites in Peru and neighbouring countries

Taxonomical and functional microbial responses to agriculture management of Amazon forest soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuramae, Eiko; Navarrete, Acácio; Mendes, Lucas; de Hollander, Mattias; van Veen, Johannes; Tsai, Siu

2013-04-01

Land-use change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide, and one of the most devastating changes in the use of land, especially in the tropics, is the conversion of forest to crop lands. Southeast Amazon region is considered the largest agricultural frontier in the world, where native forests are converted into soybean crop fields, a fact that highlights the social and economic importance of this system to Brazil. This study firstly, focused on the impact of land-use changes and agriculture management of Amazon forest soils on the size and composition of the acidobacterial community. Taxon-specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene were applied to study the acidobacterial community in bulk soil samples from croplands, adjacent native forests and rhizosphere of soybean. Based on qPCR measurements, Acidobacteria accounted for 23%, 18% and 14% of the total bacterial signal in forest soils, cropland soils and soybean rhizosphere samples, respectively. From the sequences of Bacteria domain, the phylum Acidobacteria represented 28%, 16% and 17% of the sequences from forest soils, cropland soils and soybean rhizosphere samples, respectively. Acidobacteria subgroups 2-8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 22 and 25 were detected with subgroup 1 as dominant among them. Subgroups 4, 6 and 7 were significantly higher in cropland soils than in forest soils, which subgroups respond to decrease of soil Aluminium. Subgroups 6 and 7 respond to high content of soil Ca, Mg, Zn, P, Fe, Mn and B. The results showed differential response of the Acidobacteria subgroups to abiotic soil factors, and indicated acidobacterial subgroups as potential early-warning bio-indicators of agricultural soil management effects in the Amazon area. Secondly, using 454 pyrosequencing, we investigated the metabolic diversity of microbial communities colonizing the rhizosphere and the bulk soil associated to soybean. The rhizosphere presented an overrepresentation of

Impact of Amazon deforestation on climate simulations using the NCAR CCM2/BATS model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hahmann, A.N.; Dickinson, R.E.

Model validation and results are briefly presented for a simulation of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. This initial study is made using assumptions regarding deforestation similar to those in earlier studies with several versions of the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM) couples to the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS). The model used is a revised version of the NCAR CCM Version 2 coupled to BATS Version 1e. This paper discusses the portion of validation dealing with the distribution of precipitation; the simulation displays very good agreement with observed rainfall rates for the austral summer. Preliminary results from an 8-year simulation ofmore » deforestation are similar to that of previous studies. Annual precipitation and evaporation are reduced, while surface air temperatures show a slight increase. A substantial bimodal pattern appears in the results, with the Amazon decrease of precipitation and temperature increase accompanied by changes in the opposite sign to the southeast of the Amazon. Similar patterns have occurred in other studies, but not always in exactly the same locations. Evidently, how much of the region of rainfall increase occurs in the deforested area over the Amazon strongly affects the inferred statistics. It is likely that this pattern depends on the model control climatology and possibly other features. 16 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.« less

Confluence of the Amazon and Topajos Rivers, Brazil, South America

NASA Image and Video Library

1991-08-11

This view shows the confluence of the Amazon and the Topajos Rivers at Santarem, Brazil (2.0S, 55.0W). The Am,azon flows from lower left to upper right of the photo. Below the river juncture of the Amazon and Tapajos, there is considerable deforestation activity along the Trans-Amazon Highway.

Mycobacterium marinum infection in a blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva).

PubMed

Hannon, David E; Bemis, David A; Garner, Michael M

2012-12-01

A blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva) was presented with a granuloma involving the proximal rhinotheca and extending into the rostral sinuses. Mycobacterium marinum was diagnosed based on results of biopsy and culture. Treatment was initiated with clarithromycin, rifampin, and ethambutol, but the bird died 4 months after the onset of antimicrobial therapy. Additional granulomas were found in the left lung and liver on postmortem examination. Mycobacterial isolation on postmortem samples was unsuccessful. This is the first report of Mycobacterium marinum in a bird.

Applying NASA Imaging Radar Datasets to Investigate the Geomorphology of the Amazon's Planalto

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald, K. C.; Campbell, K.; Islam, R.; Alexander, P. M.; Cracraft, J.

2016-12-01

The Amazon basin is a biodiversity rich biome and plays a significant role into shaping Earth's climate, ocean and atmospheric gases. Understanding the history of the formation of this basin is essential to our understanding of the region's biodiversity and its response to climate change. During March 2013, the NASA/JPL L-band polarimetric airborne imaging radar, UAVSAR, conducted airborne studies over regions of South America including portions of the western Amazon basin. We utilize UAVSAR imagery acquired during that time over the Planalto, in the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru in an assessment of the underlying geomorphology, its relationship to the current distribution of vegetation, and its relationship to geologic processes through deep time. We employ UAVSAR data collections to assess the utility of these high quality imaging radar data for use in identifying geomorphologic features and vegetation communities within the context of improving the understanding of evolutionary processes, and their utility in aiding interpretation of datasets from Earth-orbiting satellites to support a basin-wide characterization across the Amazon. We derive maps of landcover and river branching structure from UAVSAR imagery. We compare these maps to those derived using imaging radar datasets from the Japanese Space Agency's ALOS PALSAR and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Results provide an understanding of the underlying geomorphology of the Amazon planalto as well as its relationship to geologic processes and will support interpretation of the evolutionary history of the Amazon Basin. Portions of this work have been carried out within the framework of the ALOS Kyoto & Carbon Initiative. PALSAR data were provided by JAXA/EORC and the Alaska Satellite Facility.This work is carried out with support from the NASA Biodiversity Program and the NSF DIMENSIONS of Biodiversity Program.

Outbreaks of cholera-like diarrhoea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.

PubMed

Vicente, Ana C P; Teixeira, Luiz F M; Iniguez-Rojas, L; Luna, M G; Silva, L; Andrade, J R C; Guth, B E C

2005-09-01

The relationship between enteropathogens and severe diarrhoea in the Brazilian Amazon is poorly understood. In 1998, outbreaks of acute diarrhoea clinically diagnosed as cholera occurred in two small villages localized far from the main cholera route in the Brazilian rainforest. PCR was performed on some enteropathogens and heat-labile (LT) and/or heat-stable (STh) toxin genes, the virulence determinants of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), were detected. Further characterization of ETEC isolates revealed the presence of two clones, one from each outbreak. One presenting serotype O167:H5 harboured LT-I and STh toxin genes and expressed the CS5CS6 colonization factor. The other, a non-typeable serotype, was positive for the LT-I gene and expressed the CS7 colonization factor. The current study demonstrates the importance of molecular diagnosis in regions such as the Amazon basin, where the enormous distances and local support conditions make standard laboratory diagnosis difficult. Here we also show that the mis-identified cholera cases were in fact associated with ETEC strains. This is the first report of ETEC, molecularly characterized as the aetiological agent of severe diarrhoea in children and adults in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.

Amazon Forests Response to Droughts: A Perspective from the MAIAC Product

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bi, Jian; Myneni, Ranga; Lyapustin, Alexei; Wang, Yujie; Park, Taejin; Chi, Chen; Yan, Kai; Knyazikhin, Yuri

2016-01-01

Amazon forests experienced two severe droughts at the beginning of the 21st century: one in 2005 and the other in 2010. How Amazon forests responded to these droughts is critical for the future of the Earth's climate system. It is only possible to assess Amazon forests' response to the droughts in large areal extent through satellite remote sensing. Here, we used the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation index (VI) data to assess Amazon forests' response to droughts, and compared the results with those from the standard (Collection 5 and Collection 6) MODIS VI data. Overall, the MAIAC data reveal more realistic Amazon forests inter-annual greenness dynamics than the standard MODIS data. Our results from the MAIAC data suggest that: (1) the droughts decreased the greenness (i.e., photosynthetic activity) of Amazon forests; (2) the Amazon wet season precipitation reduction induced by El Niño events could also lead to reduced photosynthetic activity of Amazon forests; and (3) in the subsequent year after the water stresses, the greenness of Amazon forests recovered from the preceding decreases. However, as previous research shows droughts cause Amazon forests to reduce investment in tissue maintenance and defense, it is not clear whether the photosynthesis of Amazon forests will continue to recover after future water stresses, because of the accumulated damages caused by the droughts.

Fragmentation of Andes-to-Amazon connectivity by hydropower dams

PubMed Central

Anderson, Elizabeth P.; Jenkins, Clinton N.; Heilpern, Sebastian; Maldonado-Ocampo, Javier A.; Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando M.; Encalada, Andrea C.; Rivadeneira, Juan Francisco; Hidalgo, Max; Cañas, Carlos M.; Ortega, Hernan; Salcedo, Norma; Maldonado, Mabel; Tedesco, Pablo A.

2018-01-01

Andes-to-Amazon river connectivity controls numerous natural and human systems in the greater Amazon. However, it is being rapidly altered by a wave of new hydropower development, the impacts of which have been previously underestimated. We document 142 dams existing or under construction and 160 proposed dams for rivers draining the Andean headwaters of the Amazon. Existing dams have fragmented the tributary networks of six of eight major Andean Amazon river basins. Proposed dams could result in significant losses in river connectivity in river mainstems of five of eight major systems—the Napo, Marañón, Ucayali, Beni, and Mamoré. With a newly reported 671 freshwater fish species inhabiting the Andean headwaters of the Amazon (>500 m), dams threaten previously unrecognized biodiversity, particularly among endemic and migratory species. Because Andean rivers contribute most of the sediment in the mainstem Amazon, losses in river connectivity translate to drastic alteration of river channel and floodplain geomorphology and associated ecosystem services. PMID:29399629

Fragmentation of Andes-to-Amazon connectivity by hydropower dams.

PubMed

Anderson, Elizabeth P; Jenkins, Clinton N; Heilpern, Sebastian; Maldonado-Ocampo, Javier A; Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando M; Encalada, Andrea C; Rivadeneira, Juan Francisco; Hidalgo, Max; Cañas, Carlos M; Ortega, Hernan; Salcedo, Norma; Maldonado, Mabel; Tedesco, Pablo A

2018-01-01

Andes-to-Amazon river connectivity controls numerous natural and human systems in the greater Amazon. However, it is being rapidly altered by a wave of new hydropower development, the impacts of which have been previously underestimated. We document 142 dams existing or under construction and 160 proposed dams for rivers draining the Andean headwaters of the Amazon. Existing dams have fragmented the tributary networks of six of eight major Andean Amazon river basins. Proposed dams could result in significant losses in river connectivity in river mainstems of five of eight major systems-the Napo, Marañón, Ucayali, Beni, and Mamoré. With a newly reported 671 freshwater fish species inhabiting the Andean headwaters of the Amazon (>500 m), dams threaten previously unrecognized biodiversity, particularly among endemic and migratory species. Because Andean rivers contribute most of the sediment in the mainstem Amazon, losses in river connectivity translate to drastic alteration of river channel and floodplain geomorphology and associated ecosystem services.

Proliferation of Hydroelectric Dams in the Andean Amazon and Implications for Andes-Amazon Connectivity

PubMed Central

Finer, Matt; Jenkins, Clinton N.

2012-01-01

Due to rising energy demands and abundant untapped potential, hydropower projects are rapidly increasing in the Neotropics. This is especially true in the wet and rugged Andean Amazon, where regional governments are prioritizing new hydroelectric dams as the centerpiece of long-term energy plans. However, the current planning for hydropower lacks adequate regional and basin-scale assessment of potential ecological impacts. This lack of strategic planning is particularly problematic given the intimate link between the Andes and Amazonian flood plain, together one of the most species rich zones on Earth. We examined the potential ecological impacts, in terms of river connectivity and forest loss, of the planned proliferation of hydroelectric dams across all Andean tributaries of the Amazon River. Considering data on the full portfolios of existing and planned dams, along with data on roads and transmission line systems, we developed a new conceptual framework to estimate the relative impacts of all planned dams. There are plans for 151 new dams greater than 2 MW over the next 20 years, more than a 300% increase. These dams would include five of the six major Andean tributaries of the Amazon. Our ecological impact analysis classified 47% of the potential new dams as high impact and just 19% as low impact. Sixty percent of the dams would cause the first major break in connectivity between protected Andean headwaters and the lowland Amazon. More than 80% would drive deforestation due to new roads, transmission lines, or inundation. We conclude with a discussion of three major policy implications of these findings. 1) There is a critical need for further strategic regional and basin scale evaluation of dams. 2) There is an urgent need for a strategic plan to maintain Andes-Amazon connectivity. 3) Reconsideration of hydropower as a low-impact energy source in the Neotropics. PMID:22529979

Proliferation of hydroelectric dams in the Andean Amazon and implications for Andes-Amazon connectivity.

PubMed

Finer, Matt; Jenkins, Clinton N

2012-01-01

Due to rising energy demands and abundant untapped potential, hydropower projects are rapidly increasing in the Neotropics. This is especially true in the wet and rugged Andean Amazon, where regional governments are prioritizing new hydroelectric dams as the centerpiece of long-term energy plans. However, the current planning for hydropower lacks adequate regional and basin-scale assessment of potential ecological impacts. This lack of strategic planning is particularly problematic given the intimate link between the Andes and Amazonian flood plain, together one of the most species rich zones on Earth. We examined the potential ecological impacts, in terms of river connectivity and forest loss, of the planned proliferation of hydroelectric dams across all Andean tributaries of the Amazon River. Considering data on the full portfolios of existing and planned dams, along with data on roads and transmission line systems, we developed a new conceptual framework to estimate the relative impacts of all planned dams. There are plans for 151 new dams greater than 2 MW over the next 20 years, more than a 300% increase. These dams would include five of the six major Andean tributaries of the Amazon. Our ecological impact analysis classified 47% of the potential new dams as high impact and just 19% as low impact. Sixty percent of the dams would cause the first major break in connectivity between protected Andean headwaters and the lowland Amazon. More than 80% would drive deforestation due to new roads, transmission lines, or inundation. We conclude with a discussion of three major policy implications of these findings. 1) There is a critical need for further strategic regional and basin scale evaluation of dams. 2) There is an urgent need for a strategic plan to maintain Andes-Amazon connectivity. 3) Reconsideration of hydropower as a low-impact energy source in the Neotropics.

Business as Usual: Amazon.com and the Academic Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Ullen, Mary K.; Germain, Carol Anne

2002-01-01

In 1999, Steve Coffman proposed that libraries form a single interlibrary loan based entity patterned after Amazon.com. This study examined the suitability of Amazon.com's Web interface and record enhancements for academic libraries. Amazon.com could not deliver circulating monographs in the University at Albany Libraries' collection quickly…

Evapotranspiration seasonality across the Amazon Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eiji Maeda, Eduardo; Ma, Xuanlong; Wagner, Fabien Hubert; Kim, Hyungjun; Oki, Taikan; Eamus, Derek; Huete, Alfredo

2017-06-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) of Amazon forests is a main driver of regional climate patterns and an important indicator of ecosystem functioning. Despite its importance, the seasonal variability of ET over Amazon forests, and its relationship with environmental drivers, is still poorly understood. In this study, we carry out a water balance approach to analyse seasonal patterns in ET and their relationships with water and energy drivers over five sub-basins across the Amazon Basin. We used in situ measurements of river discharge, and remotely sensed estimates of terrestrial water storage, rainfall, and solar radiation. We show that the characteristics of ET seasonality in all sub-basins differ in timing and magnitude. The highest mean annual ET was found in the northern Rio Negro basin (˜ 1497 mm year-1) and the lowest values in the Solimões River basin (˜ 986 mm year-1). For the first time in a basin-scale study, using observational data, we show that factors limiting ET vary across climatic gradients in the Amazon, confirming local-scale eddy covariance studies. Both annual mean and seasonality in ET are driven by a combination of energy and water availability, as neither rainfall nor radiation alone could explain patterns in ET. In southern basins, despite seasonal rainfall deficits, deep root water uptake allows increasing rates of ET during the dry season, when radiation is usually higher than in the wet season. We demonstrate contrasting ET seasonality with satellite greenness across Amazon forests, with strong asynchronous relationships in ever-wet watersheds, and positive correlations observed in seasonally dry watersheds. Finally, we compared our results with estimates obtained by two ET models, and we conclude that neither of the two tested models could provide a consistent representation of ET seasonal patterns across the Amazon.

Psittacine pox virus: virus isolation and identification, transmission, and cross-challenge studies in parrots and chickens.

PubMed

Boosinger, T R; Winterfield, R W; Feldman, D S; Dhillon, A S

1982-01-01

An avian pox virus was isolated from Amazon parrots dying with severe diphtheritic oral, esophageal, and crop lesions. The virus was propagated on chorioallantoic membranes (CAM) of 10-day-old chicken embryos, and a homogenate of the infected CAM was rubbed vigorously onto the conjunctiva, oral mucosa, and defeathered follicles of two healthy Amazon parrots and three conures. All experimental birds developed cutaneous and ocular pox lesions, and one parrot developed oral pox lesions. Specific-pathogen-free chicks inoculated with the virus isolate developed skin lesions identical to those of the parrots. Chickens vaccinated with fowl and pigeon pox vaccines and inoculated with the psittacine isolate developed lesions typical of avian pox. Chickens vaccinated with the psittacine virus were susceptible to fowl and pigeon pox virus infection. This pox virus isolate may thus be regarded as a potential pathogen for chickens.

[Cost-effectiveness ratio of using rapid tests for malaria diagnosis in the Peruvian Amazon].

PubMed

Rosas Aguirre, Angel Martín; Llanos Zavalaga, Luis Fernando; Trelles de Belaunde, Miguel

2009-05-01

To determine the cost-effectiveness ratios of three options for diagnosing malaria at the local health provider in 50 communities near the Peruvian Amazon. Calculation of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of three options for diagnosing malaria-not using rapid tests, using rapid tests, and accessing microscopy-in patients presenting with fever in 50 communities near Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon, communities with limited access to microscopy that depend on a network of local health providers. The incremental costs and effects of the two latter options were calculated and compared with the first option (currently in use). By dividing the incremental costs among the incremental effects, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated. Using rapid tests would save the Ministry of Health of Peru: US$191 for each new case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria treated promptly and appropriately; US$31 per new case of P. vivax malaria treated promptly and appropriately; US$1,051 per case of acute malaria averted; and US$17,655 for each death avoided. Access to microscopy by all the communities would generate an additional cost of: US$198 per new case of P. falciparum malaria treated promptly and appropriately; US$31 per new case of P. vivax malaria treated promptly and appropriately; US$1,086 per case of acute malaria averted; and US$18,255 for each death avoided. The use of rapid tests by local health providers can improve the effectiveness of malaria diagnosis in patients with fever in the 50 communities studied, at a cost lower than the current method. The recommendation is to expand the use of rapid tests among the health providers in communities similar to those studied.

Histidine-rich protein 2 (pfhrp2) and pfhrp3 gene deletions in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from select sites in Brazil and Bolivia.

PubMed

Rachid Viana, Giselle Maria; Akinyi Okoth, Sheila; Silva-Flannery, Luciana; Lima Barbosa, Danielle Regina; Macedo de Oliveira, Alexandre; Goldman, Ira F; Morton, Lindsay C; Huber, Curtis; Anez, Arletta; Dantas Machado, Ricardo Luiz; Aranha Camargo, Luís Marcelo; Costa Negreiros do Valle, Suiane; Marins Póvoa, Marinete; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam; Barnwell, John W

2017-01-01

More than 80% of available malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are based on the detection of histidine-rich protein-2 (PfHRP2) for diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Recent studies have shown the genes that code for this protein and its paralog, histidine-rich protein-3 (PfHRP3), are absent in parasites from the Peruvian Amazon Basin. Lack of PfHRP2 protein through deletion of the pfhrp2 gene leads to false-negative RDT results for P. falciparum. We have evaluated the extent of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 gene deletions in a convenience sample of 198 isolates from six sites in three states across the Brazilian Amazon Basin (Acre, Rondonia and Para) and 25 isolates from two sites in Bolivia collected at different times between 2010 and 2012. Pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 gene and their flanking genes on chromosomes 7 and 13, respectively, were amplified from 198 blood specimens collected in Brazil. In Brazil, the isolates collected in Acre state, located in the western part of the Brazilian Amazon, had the highest percentage of deletions for pfhrp2 25 (31.2%) of 79, while among those collected in Rondonia, the prevalence of pfhrp2 gene deletion was only 3.3% (2 out of 60 patients). In isolates from Para state, all parasites were pfhrp2-positive. In contrast, we detected high proportions of isolates from all 3 states that were pfhrp3-negative ranging from 18.3% (11 out of 60 samples) to 50.9% (30 out of 59 samples). In Bolivia, only one of 25 samples (4%) tested had deleted pfhrp2 gene, while 68% (17 out of 25 samples) were pfhrp3-negative. Among the isolates tested, P. falciparum pfhrp2 gene deletions were present mainly in those from Acre State in the Brazilian Amazon. These results indicate it is important to reconsider the use of PfHRP2-based RDTs in the western region of the Brazilian Amazon and to implement appropriate surveillance systems to monitor pfhrp2 gene deletions in this and other parts of the Amazon region.

Histidine-rich protein 2 (pfhrp2) and pfhrp3 gene deletions in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from select sites in Brazil and Bolivia

PubMed Central

Rachid Viana, Giselle Maria; Akinyi Okoth, Sheila; Silva-Flannery, Luciana; Lima Barbosa, Danielle Regina; Macedo de Oliveira, Alexandre; Goldman, Ira F.; Morton, Lindsay C.; Huber, Curtis; Anez, Arletta; Dantas Machado, Ricardo Luiz; Aranha Camargo, Luís Marcelo; Costa Negreiros do Valle, Suiane; Marins Póvoa, Marinete; Barnwell, John W.

2017-01-01

More than 80% of available malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are based on the detection of histidine-rich protein-2 (PfHRP2) for diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Recent studies have shown the genes that code for this protein and its paralog, histidine-rich protein-3 (PfHRP3), are absent in parasites from the Peruvian Amazon Basin. Lack of PfHRP2 protein through deletion of the pfhrp2 gene leads to false-negative RDT results for P. falciparum. We have evaluated the extent of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 gene deletions in a convenience sample of 198 isolates from six sites in three states across the Brazilian Amazon Basin (Acre, Rondonia and Para) and 25 isolates from two sites in Bolivia collected at different times between 2010 and 2012. Pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 gene and their flanking genes on chromosomes 7 and 13, respectively, were amplified from 198 blood specimens collected in Brazil. In Brazil, the isolates collected in Acre state, located in the western part of the Brazilian Amazon, had the highest percentage of deletions for pfhrp2 25 (31.2%) of 79, while among those collected in Rondonia, the prevalence of pfhrp2 gene deletion was only 3.3% (2 out of 60 patients). In isolates from Para state, all parasites were pfhrp2-positive. In contrast, we detected high proportions of isolates from all 3 states that were pfhrp3-negative ranging from 18.3% (11 out of 60 samples) to 50.9% (30 out of 59 samples). In Bolivia, only one of 25 samples (4%) tested had deleted pfhrp2 gene, while 68% (17 out of 25 samples) were pfhrp3-negative. Among the isolates tested, P. falciparum pfhrp2 gene deletions were present mainly in those from Acre State in the Brazilian Amazon. These results indicate it is important to reconsider the use of PfHRP2-based RDTs in the western region of the Brazilian Amazon and to implement appropriate surveillance systems to monitor pfhrp2 gene deletions in this and other parts of the Amazon region. PMID:28301474

Selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon.

Treesearch

G. P. Asner; D. E. Knapp; E. N. Broadbent; P. J. C. Oliveira; M Keller; J. N. Silva

2005-01-01

Amazon deforestation has been measured by remote sensing for three decades. In comparison, selective logging has been mostly invisible to satellites. We developed a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon. Logged areas ranged from 12,075 to 19,823 square...

Modelling basin-wide variations in Amazon forest photosynthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercado, Lina; Lloyd, Jon; Domingues, Tomas; Fyllas, Nikolaos; Patino, Sandra; Dolman, Han; Sitch, Stephen

2010-05-01

type parameter values are assigned and assumed invariant with environmental condition but also ii) these models use leaf N as a factor that limit photosynthesis. Instead, since leaf P may also limit photosynthesis of the tropical forest (Reich et al. 2009), we use a more specific description of photosynthetic capacity across the basin based on the model evaluation done in Mercado et al. (2009) in which canopy photosynthetic capacity is related to foliar P but also using the relationships derived between canopy photosynthesis and leaf nutrients (N and P) from measurements in tropical trees (Domingues et al.In review). A study of this kind can inform the global vegetation/climate community as to the need for variability in key model parameters in order to accurately simulate carbon fluxes across the Amazon basin. Baker, T. R., et al. 2004. Increasing biomass in Amazonian forest plots. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 359 (1443):353-365. Phillips, O. L. et al. 2004. Pattern and process in Amazon tree turnover, 1976-2001. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 359 (1443):381-407. Malhi, Y. et al. 2004. The above-ground coarse wood productivity of 104 Neotropical forest plots. Global Change Biology 10 (5):563-591. Mercado, L.M. et al. 2009. Impact of changes in diffuse radiation on the global land carbon sink. Nature 458 (7241), 1014. Cox, P. M. et al. 1998. A canopy conductance and photosynthesis model for use in a GCM land surface scheme. Journal of Hydrology 213 (1-4):79-9 Sitch, S. et al. 2003. Evaluation of ecosystem dynamics, plant geography and terrestrial carbon cycling in the LPJ dynamic global vegetation model. Global Change Biology 9 (2):161-185. Reich B. R. et al. 2009. Leaf phosphorus influences the photosynhtesis-nitrogen relation: a cross-biome analysis of 314 species. Oecologia, doi 10.1007/s00442-009-1291-3. Domingues, T. et al. In review. Co-limitation of

[Economic evaluation of social technologies applied to health promotion: water supply by the SODIS System in riverside communities of the Brazilian Amazon].

PubMed

Lobo, Marco Aurélio Arbage; Lima, Dula Maria Bento de; Souza, Cezarina Maria Nobre; Nascimento, Waddle Almeida; Araújo, Leiliane Cristina Cardoso; Santos, Neucy Barreto dos

2013-07-01

The so-called social technologies have been widely used in many places around the world as a viable alternative for low-income populations to gain access to opportunities for employment and income and other aspects related to quality of life, including basic sanitation. This paper conducts a cost-benefit analysis of using a low cost technology for drinking water used in several countries, namely the SODIS system. The study was conducted in riverside communities living in the island area of Belem municipality, located in the Brazilian Amazon. Data were collected through questionnaires answered by families living on three islands: Jutuba, Nova and Urubuoca. The results were positive, considering the cost-benefit analysis of the project, which demonstrates the economic viability of using the SODIS system in the situation investigated.

Integrating Language Documentation, Language Preservation, and Linguistic Research: Working with the Kokamas from the Amazon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallejos, Rosa

2014-01-01

This paper highlights the role of speech community members on a series of interconnected projects to document, study and maintain Kokama, a deeply endangered language from the Peruvian Amazon. The remaining fluent speakers of the language are mostly older than 60 years of age, are spread out across various small villages, and speak the language in…

Unofficial Road Building in the Brazilian Amazon: Dilemmas and Models for Road Governance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perz, Stephen G.; Overdevest, Christine; Caldas, Marcellus M.; Walker, Robert T.; Arima, Eugenio Y.

2007-01-01

Unofficial roads form dense networks in landscapes, generating a litany of negative ecological outcomes, but unofficial roads in frontier areas are also instrumental in local livelihoods and community development. This trade-off poses dilemmas for the governance of unofficial roads. Unofficial road building in frontier areas of the Brazilian Amazon illustrates the challenges of 'road governance.' Both state-based and community based governance models exhibit important liabilities for governing unofficial roads. Whereas state-based governance has experienced difficulties in adapting to specific local contexts and interacting effectively with local interest groups, community-based governance has a mixed record owing to social inequalities and conflicts among local interest groups. A state-community hybrid model may offer more effective governance of unofficial road building by combining the oversight capacity of the state with locally grounded community management via participatory decision-making.

Medicinal plants at Rio Jauaperi, Brazilian Amazon: Ethnobotanical survey and environmental conservation.

PubMed

Pedrollo, Camilo Tomazini; Kinupp, Valdely Ferreira; Shepard, Glenn; Heinrich, Michael

2016-06-20

The Amazon basin is a mosaic of different environments. Flooded riparian and upland forests play a significant role for the establishment of human settlements. Riparian communities in the Amazon have evolved depending on the use of plants applied for therapeutic purposes, thus developing important knowledge about their management and preparation. This paper describes and analyzes the use and management of medicinal plants in order to establish links to environmental conservation. The categorization of habitats of occurrence and categories of diseases were held in five riparian communities at Rio Jauaperi, in the border between Roraima and Amazonas states in Brazil. The study sight is poorly investigated in terms of scientific research. Quantitative and qualitative ethnobotanical field inquiries and analytical methods including observations, individual and focus group discussions, individual interviews, preference ranking by free listing tasks, guided tours and community mapping were applied. Sutrop's cognitive salience index was applied in order to check the most important ethnospecies and diseases. The survey was conducted from February to December 2012. A total of 62 informants were interviewed, resulting in 119 botanical species documented. The most salient medicinal species are usually wide distributed and recognized transculturally. Arboreal habit was the most important corresponding to 47% of total species used. The most frequent accessed environments were terra-firme (upland forest), vargeado (flooded forest), poultry (regenerating forest) and restinga (seasonally flooded forest) which together provides 59% of the total medicinal plant species. Exotic species played a secondary role with only 20% of the total. Thirty seven percent of the species were cultivated. Plants at homegardens are usually associated with children's or women's disease. Xixuaú is the community with improved ability to environmental preservation using more forestry species. The most

Vector Competence of Peruvian Mosquitoes (Diptera:Culicidae) for a Subtype IIIC Strain in the Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis Complex Isolated from Mosquitoes Captured in Peru

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

Amazon Basin, near Iquitos, Peru , for their suscep- tibility to a subtype IIIC strain of the Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis complex. This virus...As part of a field ecology study of mosquitoes in the Amazon Basin region of Peru (Jones et al. 2004), over 160 virus isolations were made from...distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT We evaluated mosquitoes collected in the Amazon Basin, near Iquitos, Peru , for their

Impacts of Adjacent Land Use and Isolation on Marsh Bird Communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Lyndsay A.; Chow-Fraser, Patricia

2010-05-01

Over the next half century the human population is expected to grow rapidly, resulting in the conversion of rural areas into cities. Wetlands in these regions are therefore under threat, even though they have important ecosystem services and functions. Many obligate marsh-nesting birds in North America have shown declines over the past 40 years, and it is important to evaluate marsh bird community response to increased urbanization. We surveyed 20 coastal marshes in southern Ontario, Canada, and found that obligate marsh-nesting birds preferred rural over urban wetlands, generalist marsh-nesting birds showed no preference, while synanthropic species showed a trend towards increased richness and abundance in urban marshes. The Index of Marsh Bird Community Integrity (IMBCI) was calculated for each wetland and we found significantly higher scores in rural compared to urban wetlands. The presence of a forested buffer surrounding the marsh was not an important factor in predicting the distribution of generalists, obligates, synanthropic species, or the IMBCI. More isolated marshes had a lower species richness of obligate marsh-nesters and a lower IMBCI than less isolated marshes. Based on our results, we recommend that urban land use is not the dominant land use within 1000 m from any wetland, as it negatively affects the abundance and richness of obligate marsh-nesters, and the overall integrity of the avian community. We also recommend that all existing wetlands be conserved to mitigate against isolation effects and to preserve biodiversity.

Impacts of adjacent land use and isolation on marsh bird communities.

PubMed

Smith, Lyndsay A; Chow-Fraser, Patricia

2010-05-01

Over the next half century the human population is expected to grow rapidly, resulting in the conversion of rural areas into cities. Wetlands in these regions are therefore under threat, even though they have important ecosystem services and functions. Many obligate marsh-nesting birds in North America have shown declines over the past 40 years, and it is important to evaluate marsh bird community response to increased urbanization. We surveyed 20 coastal marshes in southern Ontario, Canada, and found that obligate marsh-nesting birds preferred rural over urban wetlands, generalist marsh-nesting birds showed no preference, while synanthropic species showed a trend towards increased richness and abundance in urban marshes. The Index of Marsh Bird Community Integrity (IMBCI) was calculated for each wetland and we found significantly higher scores in rural compared to urban wetlands. The presence of a forested buffer surrounding the marsh was not an important factor in predicting the distribution of generalists, obligates, synanthropic species, or the IMBCI. More isolated marshes had a lower species richness of obligate marsh-nesters and a lower IMBCI than less isolated marshes. Based on our results, we recommend that urban land use is not the dominant land use within 1000 m from any wetland, as it negatively affects the abundance and richness of obligate marsh-nesters, and the overall integrity of the avian community. We also recommend that all existing wetlands be conserved to mitigate against isolation effects and to preserve biodiversity.

Mouths of the Amazon River, Brazil, South America

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

In this view of the Amazon River Mouth (0.0, 51.0W), a large sediment plume can be seen expanding outward into the Atlantic Ocean. The sediment plume can be seen hugging the coast north of the delta as a result of the northwest flowing coastal Guyana Current. In recent years, the flow of the Amazon has become heavily laden with sediment as soil runoff from the denuded landscape of the interior enters the Amazon River (and other rivers) drainage system.

The DURAMAZ indicator system: a cross-disciplinary comparative tool for assessing ecological and social changes in the Amazon

PubMed Central

Le Tourneau, François-Michel; Marchand, Guillaume; Greissing, Anna; Nasuti, Stéphanie; Droulers, Martine; Bursztyn, Marcel; Léna, Philippe; Dubreuil, Vincent

2013-01-01

During the last 20 years, the Amazon region has been at the same time a place of massive ecological and social change and a laboratory of experiments aimed at promoting sustainable development. Policies and project initiatives involving diverse social groups and environmental contexts have been implemented across the region. They have resulted in mixed outcomes and trade-offs between social and environmental dimensions, making their impact at the local level difficult to assess and their successes difficult to generalize. The objective of the DURAMAZ research project was to provide a better understanding of these impacts. It produced a multi-dimensional indicator system designed to allow a holistic view of sustainable development at local and subregional levels and a comparative perspective across 12 research sites, from an isolated indigenous village to smallholders and agribusiness areas in Mato Grosso. The results of the first observation campaign (2007–2009) show that despite the claim of promoting sustainable development, no project was able to untie the ‘Gordian knot’ of development in the Amazon. Communities continue to face the old dilemma of either enjoying a preserved ecosystem but enduring adverse life conditions, or enjoying better living at the expense of forest cover. Another finding is that the subregional context is very important in shaping the impacts of regional policies. Thus, the same policy will not always have the same effect, depending on in which context it is applied. Finally, we found that cultural factors and a sense of place play a more important role than economic factors when it comes to the way people evaluate their own situation. This research provides the basis for a second phase of the project (2012–2016) in which we will continue to expand our sample and to refine our methodologies with the goal of transforming the initiative into a network of observatories of sustainable development in the Amazon. PMID:23610180

The dispersal of the Amazon's water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muller-Karger, Frank E.; Mcclain, Charles R.; Richardson, Philip L.

1988-01-01

New information obtained with NASA's Coastal Zone Color Scanner and with drifting buoys reveals that the discharge of the Amazon is carried offshore around a retroflection of the North Brazil Current and into the North Equatorial Countercurrent towards Africa between June and January each year. From about February to May, the countercurrent and the retroflection weaken or vanish, and Amazon water flows northwestward toward the Caribbean Sea.

Evidence for isolated evolution of deep-sea ciliate communities through geological separation and environmental selection.

PubMed

Stock, Alexandra; Edgcomb, Virginia; Orsi, William; Filker, Sabine; Breiner, Hans-Werner; Yakimov, Michail M; Stoeck, Thorsten

2013-07-08

Deep hypersaline anoxic basins (DHABs) are isolated habitats at the bottom of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, which originate from the ancient dissolution of Messinian evaporites. The different basins have recruited their original biota from the same source, but their geological evolution eventually constituted sharp environmental barriers, restricting genetic exchange between the individual basins. Therefore, DHABs are unique model systems to assess the effect of geological events and environmental conditions on the evolution and diversification of protistan plankton. Here, we examine evidence for isolated evolution of unicellular eukaryote protistan plankton communities driven by geological separation and environmental selection. We specifically focused on ciliated protists as a major component of protistan DHAB plankton by pyrosequencing the hypervariable V4 fragment of the small subunit ribosomal RNA. Geospatial distributions and responses of marine ciliates to differential hydrochemistries suggest strong physical and chemical barriers to dispersal that influence the evolution of this plankton group. Ciliate communities in the brines of four investigated DHABs are distinctively different from ciliate communities in the interfaces (haloclines) immediately above the brines. While the interface ciliate communities from different sites are relatively similar to each other, the brine ciliate communities are significantly different between sites. We found no distance-decay relationship, and canonical correspondence analyses identified oxygen and sodium as most important hydrochemical parameters explaining the partitioning of diversity between interface and brine ciliate communities. However, none of the analyzed hydrochemical parameters explained the significant differences between brine ciliate communities in different basins. Our data indicate a frequent genetic exchange in the deep-sea water above the brines. The "isolated island character" of the different brines

Early recruitment responses to interactions between frequent fires, nutrients, and herbivory in the southern Amazon.

PubMed

Massad, Tara Joy; Balch, Jennifer K; Mews, Cândida Lahís; Porto, Pábio; Marimon Junior, Ben Hur; Quintino, Raimundo Mota; Brando, P M; Vieira, Simone A; Trumbore, Susan E

2015-07-01

Understanding tropical forest diversity is a long-standing challenge in ecology. With global change, it has become increasingly important to understand how anthropogenic and natural factors interact to determine diversity. Anthropogenic increases in fire frequency are among the global change variables affecting forest diversity and functioning, and seasonally dry forest of the southern Amazon is among the ecosystems most affected by such pressures. Studying how fire will impact forests in this region is therefore important for understanding ecosystem functioning and for designing effective conservation action. We report the results of an experiment in which we manipulated fire, nutrient availability, and herbivory. We measured the effects of these interacting factors on the regenerative capacity of the ecotone between humid Amazon forest and Brazilian savanna. Regeneration density, diversity, and community composition were severely altered by fire. Additions of P and N + P reduced losses of density and richness in the first year post-fire. Herbivory was most important just after germination. Diversity was positively correlated with herbivory in unburned forest, likely because fire reduced the number of reproductive individuals. This contrasts with earlier results from the same study system in which herbivory was related to increased diversity after fire. We documented a significant effect of fire frequency; diversity in triennially burned forest was more similar to that in unburned than in annually burned forest, and the community composition of triennially burned forest was intermediate between unburned and annually burned areas. Preventing frequent fires will therefore help reduce losses in diversity in the southern Amazon's matrix of human-altered landscapes.

The Amazon and climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nobre, C. A.

1984-01-01

The climatologies of cloudiness and precipitation for the Amazon, are reviewed and the physical causes of some of the observed features and those which are not well known are explained. The atmospheric circulation over the Amazon is discussed on the large scale tropical circulations forced by deep diabatic heating sources. Weather deforestation which leads to a reduction in evapotranspiration into the atmosphere, and a reduction in precipitation and its implicated for the gobal climate is discussed. It is indicated that a large scale clearing of tropical rainforests there would be a reduction in rainfall which would have global effects on climate and weather both in the tropical and extratropical regions.

The Influence of Ecological Isolation on the Structural and Functional Stability of Complex Microbial Communities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Franklin, R. B.; Garland, J. L.; Mills, A. L.

2005-01-01

To help understand how the behavior of microorganisms and microbial communities in insular space habitats may differ from the behavior of these groups on Earth, long-term incubations (100+ days) were conducting using wastewater bioreactors (batch fed) designed to mimic "closed" and "open" ecological systems. The issue of immigration was considered, and the goal of the research was to determine whether the stability of microbial communities in space is reduced due to their prolonged isolation. Bioreactors were established by inoculating flasks of sterile synthetic wastewater with the microbial community obtained from a local treatment facility; each day, one-third of the medium in the flask was replaced with an equal volume of sterile artificial wastewater. Flasks were divided into two treatments: "closed" and "open" to recruitment of additional microorganisms. "Closed" flasks were maintained as described above, while the medium used to feed the "open" flasks was supplemented daily with a small amount of raw sewage (which provided a continuous source of new potential community members). Significant differences in microbial community structure and function developed in the two sets of communities, and the results suggest that the open community was more stable and better able to adjust to changing environmental conditions. Each community's resistance to environmental (temperature fluctuations) and biological stresses (starvation and invasion by an opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa) was monitored. Experiments were also conducted to determine whether the effect of isolation changes depending on the microbial communities' initial diversity or composition; communities with a low(er) initial diversity were less stable. Overall, the results indicate that isolation will be an important factor influencing the activity of microbial communities on board spacecraft. A possible way of mitigating these effects would be to include communities with high initial

Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latrubesse, Edgardo M.; Arima, Eugenio Y.; Dunne, Thomas; Park, Edward; Baker, Victor R.; D'Horta, Fernando M.; Wight, Charles; Wittmann, Florian; Zuanon, Jansen; Baker, Paul A.; Ribas, Camila C.; Norgaard, Richard B.; Filizola, Naziano; Ansar, Atif; Flyvbjerg, Bent; Stevaux, Jose C.

2017-06-01

More than a hundred hydropower dams have already been built in the Amazon basin and numerous proposals for further dam constructions are under consideration. The accumulated negative environmental effects of existing dams and proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydrophysical and biotic disturbances that will affect the Amazon basin’s floodplains, estuary and sediment plume. We introduce a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index to quantify the current and potential impacts of dams in the basin. The scale of foreseeable environmental degradation indicates the need for collective action among nations and states to avoid cumulative, far-reaching impacts. We suggest institutional innovations to assess and avoid the likely impoverishment of Amazon rivers.

Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin.

PubMed

Latrubesse, Edgardo M; Arima, Eugenio Y; Dunne, Thomas; Park, Edward; Baker, Victor R; d'Horta, Fernando M; Wight, Charles; Wittmann, Florian; Zuanon, Jansen; Baker, Paul A; Ribas, Camila C; Norgaard, Richard B; Filizola, Naziano; Ansar, Atif; Flyvbjerg, Bent; Stevaux, Jose C

2017-06-14

More than a hundred hydropower dams have already been built in the Amazon basin and numerous proposals for further dam constructions are under consideration. The accumulated negative environmental effects of existing dams and proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydrophysical and biotic disturbances that will affect the Amazon basin's floodplains, estuary and sediment plume. We introduce a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index to quantify the current and potential impacts of dams in the basin. The scale of foreseeable environmental degradation indicates the need for collective action among nations and states to avoid cumulative, far-reaching impacts. We suggest institutional innovations to assess and avoid the likely impoverishment of Amazon rivers.

Prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi and Other Trypanosomatids in Frequently-Hunted Wild Mammals from the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Morales, E Angelo; Mayor, Pedro; Bowler, Mark; Aysanoa, Esar; Pérez-Velez, Erika S; Pérez, Jocelyn; Ventocilla, Julio A; Baldeviano, G Christian; Lescano, Andrés G

2017-11-01

To better understand the ecology of Trypanosoma cruzi in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon, we evaluated the prevalence of T. cruzi and other trypanosomatids in four orders of wild mammals hunted and consumed by inhabitants of three remote indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Of 300 wild mammals sampled, 115 (38.3%) were infected with trypanosomatids and 15 (5.0%) with T. cruzi. The prevalence of T. cruzi within each species was as follows: large rodents ( Cuniculus paca , 5.5%; Dasyprocta spp., 2.6%), edentates ( Dasypus novemcinctus , 4.2%), and carnivores with higher prevalence ( Nasua nasua , 18.8%). The high prevalence of T. cruzi and other trypanosomatids in frequently hunted wild mammals suggests a sizeable T. cruzi sylvatic reservoir in remote Amazonian locations.

Use of a new Trichoderma harzianum strain isolated from the Amazon rainforest with pretreated sugar cane bagasse for on-site cellulase production.

PubMed

Delabona, Priscila da Silva; Farinas, Cristiane Sanchez; da Silva, Mateus Ribeiro; Azzoni, Sindelia Freitas; Pradella, José Geraldo da Cruz

2012-03-01

The on-site production of cellulases is an important strategy for the development of sustainable second-generation ethanol production processes. This study concerns the use of a specific cellulolytic enzyme complex for hydrolysis of pretreated sugar cane bagasse. Glycosyl hydrolases (FPase, xylanase, and β-glucosidase) were produced using a new strain of Trichoderma harzianum, isolated from the Amazon rainforest and cultivated under different conditions. The influence of the carbon source was first investigated using shake-flask cultures. Selected carbon sources were then further studied under different pH conditions using a stirred tank bioreactor. Enzymatic activities up to 121 FPU/g, 8000 IU/g, and 1730 IU/g of delignified steam-exploded bagasse+sucrose were achieved for cellulase, xylanase and β-glucosidase, respectively. This enzymatic complex was used to hydrolyze pretreated sugar cane bagasse. A comparative evaluation, using an enzymatic extract from Trichoderma reesei RUTC30, indicated similar performance of the T. harzianum enzyme complex, being a potential candidate for on-site production of enzymes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-model analysis of the Atlantic influence on Southern Amazon rainfall

DOE PAGES

Yoon, Jin -Ho

2015-12-07

Amazon rainfall is subject to year-to-year fluctuation resulting in drought and flood in various intensities. A major climatic driver of the interannual variation of the Amazon rainfall is El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Also, the Sea Surface Temperature over the Atlantic Ocean is identified as an important climatic driver on the Amazon water cycle. Previously, observational datasets were used to support the Atlantic influence on Amazon rainfall. Furthermore, it is found that multiple global climate models do reproduce the Atlantic-Amazon link robustly. However, there exist differences in rainfall response, which primarily depends on the climatological rainfall amount.

Delayed Fertility Transition among Indigenous Women: A Case Study in the Ecuadoran Amazon

PubMed Central

Davis, Jason; Gray, Clark; Bilsborrow, Richard

2015-01-01

CONTEXT Communities indigenous to the Amazon are among the few remaining worldwide still practicing near natural fertility, without the use of modern contraceptives. Given the large proportion of women desiring no more births, information on the challenges women there face in limiting fertility would be useful. METHODS Samples of women of reproductive age from five indigenous ethnic groups in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon were surveyed in 2001 and 2012. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses examined married women’s desire for another child at both times and modern contraceptive use in 2012, as well as determinants of a change in women’s desire to have more children and of the number of children born during the study period. RESULTS In 2001, 48% of married women desired another child, 2% used a modern contraceptive and 50% had an unmet need for limiting; in 2012, the proportions were 40%, 19% and 47%, respectively. The total fertility rate was 7.9 in 2001 and 7.0 in 2012. Characteristics associated with wanting another child in 2001 and 2012 included parity (odds ratios, 0.6 and 0.4, respectively) and experience of a child death (2.0 each); characteristics associated with contraceptive use in 2012 included desire for another child, experience of a child death and presence of a community health worker (0.3–0.5). Number of children born was positively associated, and the square of the term negatively associated, with no longer wanting more children in 2012 among women who wanted more in 2001 (odds ratios, 2.1 and 0.9, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Indigenous women in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon appear to be transitioning to lower fertility. Insufficient access to credible information about the safety and efficacy of modern contraceptives, however, may slow the transition. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2015, 41(1):TK. PMID:25856232

[Study on dilemma and strategy of community support network by community organization for prevention of isolated death in an urban area].

PubMed

Masuda, Yuzuri; Tadaka, Etsuko; Dai, Yuka; Itoi, Waka; Taguchi, Rie; Kawahara, Chie

2011-12-01

Isolated death of elderly is recognized as a severe social problem in public health and it is an urgent requirement that a supportive community network be organized so that its occurrence is minimized. The purpose of this research was to analyze actual issues of a supportive community network for elderly within the community and to obtain clues for useful actions to prevent isolated death of elderly individuals in the future. The subjects were 14 representatives of a supportive community network for elderly in A City, B Ward and C District (as a junior high school segment). The research was conducted with a qualitative inductively approach using the Focus Group Interview (FGI). Interviews were focused on difficulties and perspectives within their daily support activities in the community, and were held three times during October 2009 to March 2010. The FGI records were then analyzed with meaningful minimal words and sentences, categorized codes, and then those codes were classified into subcategories or categories. Three categories, Individual, Neighborhood and Community network for elderly resulted from the analysis. Regarding difficulties, "Refusing supports or indifference", "Isolation or Tojikomori in the youth generation", "Lack of family support", "Relationships among their residents weakening gradually", "Unfamiliar newcomers and residents", "Residence feels burden on association with neighborhood", "Limitation of support activities under personal security", "Lack of resources for persons and places of gathering" were identified. On the other hand, perspectives in the community network for elderly were "Building relationships personally", "Invitation to community meetings as companions", "Development of safety confirmation", "Helping each other in the neighborhood", "Stimulate enforcement of bonding in daily life", "Making arrangements for regional administration and residents for supportive activites", "Fostering the trust and connection of residence". To

Spatial Variability of the Background Diurnal Cycle of Deep Convection around the GoAmazon2014/5 Field Campaign Sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burleyson, Casey D.; Feng, Zhe; Hagos, Samson M.

The Amazon rainforest is one of a few regions of the world where continental tropical deep convection occurs. The Amazon’s isolation makes it challenging to observe, but also creates a unique natural laboratory to study anthropogenic impacts on clouds and precipitation in an otherwise pristine environment. Extensive measurements were made upwind and downwind of the large city of Manaus, Brazil during the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon 2014-2015 (GoAmazon2014/5) field campaign. In this study, 15 years of high-resolution satellite data are analyzed to examine the spatial and diurnal variability of convection occurring around the GoAmazon2014/5 sites. Interpretationmore » of anthropogenic differences between the upwind (T0) and downwind (T1-T3) sites is complicated by naturally-occurring spatial variability between the sites. During the rainy season, the inland propagation of the previous day’s sea-breeze front happens to be in phase with the background diurnal cycle near Manaus, but is out of phase elsewhere. Enhanced convergence between the river-breezes and the easterly trade winds generates up to 10% more frequent deep convection at the GoAmazon2014/5 sites east of the river (T0a, T0t/k, and T1) compared to the T3 site which was located near the western bank. In general, the annual and diurnal cycles during 2014 were representative of the 2000-2013 distributions. The only exceptions were in March when the monthly mean rainrate was above the 95th percentile and September when both rain frequency and intensity were suppressed. The natural spatial variability must be accounted for before interpreting anthropogenically-induced differences among the GoAmazon2014/5 sites.« less

Oil Extraction and Indigenous Livelihoods in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon

PubMed Central

Bozigar, Matthew; Gray, Clark L.; Bilsborrow, Richard E.

2015-01-01

Globally, the extraction of minerals and fossil fuels is increasingly penetrating into isolated regions inhabited by indigenous peoples, potentially undermining their livelihoods and well-being. To provide new insight to this issue, we draw on a unique longitudinal dataset collected in the Ecuadorian Amazon over an 11-year period from 484 indigenous households with varying degrees of exposure to oil extraction. Fixed and random effects regression models of the consequences of oil activities for livelihood outcomes reveal mixed and multidimensional effects. These results challenge common assumptions about these processes and are only partly consistent with hypotheses drawn from the Dutch disease literature. PMID:26543302

Differential Response of Acidobacteria Subgroups to Forest-to-Pasture Conversion and Their Biogeographic Patterns in the Western Brazilian Amazon

PubMed Central

Navarrete, Acacio A.; Venturini, Andressa M.; Meyer, Kyle M.; Klein, Ann M.; Tiedje, James M.; Bohannan, Brendan J. M.; Nüsslein, Klaus; Tsai, Siu M.; Rodrigues, Jorge L. M.

2015-01-01

Members of the phylum Acidobacteria are among the most abundant soil bacteria on Earth, but little is known about their response to environmental changes. We asked how the relative abundance and biogeographic patterning of this phylum and its subgroups responded to forest-to-pasture conversion in soils of the western Brazilian Amazon. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes was employed to assess the abundance and composition of the Acidobacteria community across 54 soil samples taken using a spatially nested sampling scheme at the landscape level. Numerically, Acidobacteria represented 20% of the total bacterial community in forest soils and 11% in pasture soils. Overall, 15 different Acidobacteria subgroups of the current 26 subgroups were detected, with Acidobacteria subgroups 1, 3, 5, and 6 accounting together for 87% of the total Acidobacteria community in forest soils and 75% in pasture soils. Concomitant with changes in soil chemistry after forest-to-pasture conversion—particularly an increase in properties linked to soil acidity and nutrient availability—we observed an increase in the relative abundances of Acidobacteria subgroups 4, 10, 17, and 18, and a decrease in the relative abundances of other Acidobacteria subgroups in pasture relative to forest soils. The composition of the total Acidobacteria community as well as the most abundant Acidobacteria subgroups (1, 3, 5, and 6) was significantly more similar in composition across space in pasture soils than in forest soils. These results suggest that preponderant responses of Acidobacteria subgroups, especially subgroups 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, to forest-to-pasture conversion effects in soils could be used to define management-indicators of agricultural practices in the Amazon Basin. These acidobacterial responses are at least in part through alterations on acidity- and nutrient-related properties of the Amazon soils. PMID:26733981

Amazon River investigations, reconnaissance measurements of July 1963

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oltman, Roy Edwin; Sternberg, H. O'R.; Ames, F.C.; Davis, L.C.

1964-01-01

The first measurements of the flow of the Amazon River were made in July 1963 as a joint project of the University of Brazil, the Brazilian Navy, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The discharge of the Amazon River at Obidos was 7,640,000 cfs at an annual flood stage somewhat lower than the average. For comparison the maximum known discharge of the Mississippi River at Vicksburg is about 2,300,000 cfs. Dissolved-solids concentrations and sediment loads of the Amazon River and of several major tributaries were found to be low.

Amazon river flow regime and flood recessional agriculture: Flood stage reversals and risk of annual crop loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coomes, Oliver T.; Lapointe, Michel; Templeton, Michael; List, Geneva

2016-08-01

The annual flood cycle is an important driver of ecosystem structure and function in large tropical rivers such as the Amazon. Riparian peasant communities rely on river fishing and annual floodplain agriculture, closely adapted to the recession phase of the flood pulse. This article reports on a poorly documented but important challenge facing farmers practicing flood recessional agriculture along the Amazon river: frequent, unpredictable stage reversals (repiquetes) which threaten to ruin crops growing on channel bars. We assess the severity of stage reversals for rice production on exposed river mud bars (barreales) near Iquitos, Peru. Crop loss risk is estimated based on a quantitative analysis of 45 years of daily Amazon stage data and field data from floodplain communities nearby in the Muyuy archipelago, upstream of Iquitos. Rice varieties selected, elevations of silt rich bars where rice is sown, as well as planting and harvest dates are analyzed in the light of the timing, frequencies and amplitudes of observed stage reversals that have the potential to destroy growing rice. We find that unpredictable stage reversals can produce substantial crop losses and shorten significantly the length of average growing seasons on lower elevation river bars. The data reveal that local famers extend planting down to lower bar elevations where the mean probabilities of re-submergence before rice maturity (due to reversals) approach 50%, below which they implicitly consider that the risk of crop loss outweighs the potential reward of planting.

Surveillance, health promotion and control of Chagas disease in the Amazon Region - Medical attention in the Brazilian Amazon Region: a proposal

PubMed Central

Coura, José Rodrigues; Junqueira, Angela CV

2015-01-01

We refer to Oswaldo Cruz's reports dating from 1913 about the necessities of a healthcare system for the Brazilian Amazon Region and about the journey of Carlos Chagas to 27 locations in this region and the measures that would need to be adopted. We discuss the risks of endemicity of Chagas disease in the Amazon Region. We recommend that epidemiological surveillance of Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon Region and Pan-Amazon region should be implemented through continuous monitoring of the human population that lives in the area, their housing, the environment and the presence of triatomines. The monitoring should be performed with periodic seroepidemiological surveys, semi-annual visits to homes by health agents and the training of malaria microscopists and healthcare technicians to identify Trypanosoma cruzi from patients' samples and T. cruzi infection rates among the triatomines caught. We recommend health promotion and control of Chagas disease through public health policies, especially through sanitary education regarding the risk factors for Chagas disease. Finally, we propose a healthcare system through base hospitals, intermediate-level units in the areas of the Brazilian Amazon Region and air transportation, considering the distances to be covered for medical care. PMID:26560976

The influence of changes in lifestyle and mercury exposure in riverine populations of the Madeira River (Amazon Basin) near a hydroelectric project.

PubMed

Hacon, Sandra S; Dórea, José G; Fonseca, Márlon de F; Oliveira, Beatriz A; Mourão, Dennys S; Ruiz, Claudia M V; Gonçalves, Rodrigo A; Mariani, Carolina F; Bastos, Wanderley R

2014-02-26

In the Amazon Basin, naturally occurring methylmercury bioaccumulates in fish, which is a key source of protein consumed by riverine populations. The hydroelectric power-plant project at Santo Antônio Falls allows us to compare the Hg exposure of riverine populations sparsely distributed on both sides of the Madeira river before the area is to be flooded. From 2009 to 2011, we concluded a population survey of the area (N = 2,008; representing circa 80% of community residents) that estimated fish consumption and mercury exposure of riverine populations with different degrees of lifestyle related to fish consumption. Fish samples from the Madeira river (N = 1,615) and 110 species were analyzed for Hg. Hair-Hg was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in less isolated communities near to the capital of Porto Velho (median 2.32 ppm) than in subsistence communities in the Cuniã Lake, 180 km from Porto Velho city (median 6.3 ppm). Fish Hg concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 6.06 µg/g, depending on fish size and feeding behavior. Currently available fish in the Madeira river show a wide variability in Hg concentrations. Despite cultural similarities, riparians showed hair-Hg distribution patterns that reflect changes in fish-eating habits driven by subsistence characteristics.

The Influence of Changes in Lifestyle and Mercury Exposure in Riverine Populations of the Madeira River (Amazon Basin) near a Hydroelectric Project

PubMed Central

Hacon, Sandra S.; Dórea, José G.; Fonseca, Márlon de F.; Oliveira, Beatriz A.; Mourão, Dennys S.; Ruiz, Claudia M. V.; Gonçalves, Rodrigo A.; Mariani, Carolina F.; Bastos, Wanderley R.

2014-01-01

In the Amazon Basin, naturally occurring methylmercury bioaccumulates in fish, which is a key source of protein consumed by riverine populations. The hydroelectric power-plant project at Santo Antônio Falls allows us to compare the Hg exposure of riverine populations sparsely distributed on both sides of the Madeira river before the area is to be flooded. From 2009 to 2011, we concluded a population survey of the area (N = 2,008; representing circa 80% of community residents) that estimated fish consumption and mercury exposure of riverine populations with different degrees of lifestyle related to fish consumption. Fish samples from the Madeira river (N = 1,615) and 110 species were analyzed for Hg. Hair-Hg was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in less isolated communities near to the capital of Porto Velho (median 2.32 ppm) than in subsistence communities in the Cuniã Lake, 180 km from Porto Velho city (median 6.3 ppm). Fish Hg concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 6.06 µg/g, depending on fish size and feeding behavior. Currently available fish in the Madeira river show a wide variability in Hg concentrations. Despite cultural similarities, riparians showed hair-Hg distribution patterns that reflect changes in fish-eating habits driven by subsistence characteristics. PMID:24577285

Self-amplified Amazon forest loss due to vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks.

PubMed

Zemp, Delphine Clara; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Barbosa, Henrique M J; Hirota, Marina; Montade, Vincent; Sampaio, Gilvan; Staal, Arie; Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; Rammig, Anja

2017-03-13

Reduced rainfall increases the risk of forest dieback, while in return forest loss might intensify regional droughts. The consequences of this vegetation-atmosphere feedback for the stability of the Amazon forest are still unclear. Here we show that the risk of self-amplified Amazon forest loss increases nonlinearly with dry-season intensification. We apply a novel complex-network approach, in which Amazon forest patches are linked by observation-based atmospheric water fluxes. Our results suggest that the risk of self-amplified forest loss is reduced with increasing heterogeneity in the response of forest patches to reduced rainfall. Under dry-season Amazonian rainfall reductions, comparable to Last Glacial Maximum conditions, additional forest loss due to self-amplified effects occurs in 10-13% of the Amazon basin. Although our findings do not indicate that the projected rainfall changes for the end of the twenty-first century will lead to complete Amazon dieback, they suggest that frequent extreme drought events have the potential to destabilize large parts of the Amazon forest.

Self-amplified Amazon forest loss due to vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zemp, Delphine Clara; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Hirota, Marina; Montade, Vincent; Sampaio, Gilvan; Staal, Arie; Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; Rammig, Anja

2017-03-01

Reduced rainfall increases the risk of forest dieback, while in return forest loss might intensify regional droughts. The consequences of this vegetation-atmosphere feedback for the stability of the Amazon forest are still unclear. Here we show that the risk of self-amplified Amazon forest loss increases nonlinearly with dry-season intensification. We apply a novel complex-network approach, in which Amazon forest patches are linked by observation-based atmospheric water fluxes. Our results suggest that the risk of self-amplified forest loss is reduced with increasing heterogeneity in the response of forest patches to reduced rainfall. Under dry-season Amazonian rainfall reductions, comparable to Last Glacial Maximum conditions, additional forest loss due to self-amplified effects occurs in 10-13% of the Amazon basin. Although our findings do not indicate that the projected rainfall changes for the end of the twenty-first century will lead to complete Amazon dieback, they suggest that frequent extreme drought events have the potential to destabilize large parts of the Amazon forest.

Self-amplified Amazon forest loss due to vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks

PubMed Central

Zemp, Delphine Clara; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Hirota, Marina; Montade, Vincent; Sampaio, Gilvan; Staal, Arie; Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; Rammig, Anja

2017-01-01

Reduced rainfall increases the risk of forest dieback, while in return forest loss might intensify regional droughts. The consequences of this vegetation–atmosphere feedback for the stability of the Amazon forest are still unclear. Here we show that the risk of self-amplified Amazon forest loss increases nonlinearly with dry-season intensification. We apply a novel complex-network approach, in which Amazon forest patches are linked by observation-based atmospheric water fluxes. Our results suggest that the risk of self-amplified forest loss is reduced with increasing heterogeneity in the response of forest patches to reduced rainfall. Under dry-season Amazonian rainfall reductions, comparable to Last Glacial Maximum conditions, additional forest loss due to self-amplified effects occurs in 10–13% of the Amazon basin. Although our findings do not indicate that the projected rainfall changes for the end of the twenty-first century will lead to complete Amazon dieback, they suggest that frequent extreme drought events have the potential to destabilize large parts of the Amazon forest. PMID:28287104

Guarana: revisiting a highly caffeinated plant from the Amazon.

PubMed

Schimpl, Flávia Camila; da Silva, José Ferreira; Gonçalves, José Francisco de Carvalho; Mazzafera, Paulo

2013-10-28

Guarana (Paullinia cupana Kunth var. sorbilis (Mart.) Ducke) has been traditionally consumed by indigenous communities of the Amazon region. It is valued mainly for its stimulant property because of its high content of caffeine, which can be up to 6% in the seeds. The purpose of this review is to revisit this typically Brazilian plant, addressing economic considerations, the chemical makeup of the seeds and pharmacological properties so far investigated. Guarana is primarily produced in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Bahia, and approximately 70% of the production is used by the industry of soft and energy drinks. The other 30% becomes guarana powder for direct consumption in capsules or dilution in water, or it serves as a raw material for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. In addition to its stimulant property, guarana has other therapeutic properties, which have aroused the interest of the scientific community. This review shows that other guarana properties may be explored and how scarce are the studies regarding agronomic, plant pathology, physiology and breeding. So far, caffeine has been the main reason to study guarana and still will lead the researches because the demand for this alkaloid by food and pharmaceutical industry, and a strongly growing market related with beauty products. However, guarana has other components and there is great interest in studies designed to elucidate the effects of guarana's bioactive components and their potential pharmacological applications. Significant part of the guarana production in Brazil still comes from Indians tribes in the Amazon State, and any improvement in this plant, in any aspect, may propitiate a positive economic impact in their lives. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flooding dynamics on the lower Amazon floodplain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudorff, C.; Melack, J. M.; Bates, P. D.

2013-05-01

We analyzed flooding dynamics of a large floodplain lake in the lower reach of the Amazon River for the period between 1995 through 2010. Floodplain inundation was simulated using the LISFLOOD-FP model, which combines one-dimensional river routing with two-dimensional overland flow, and a local hydrological model. Accurate representation of floodplain flows and inundation extent depends on the quality of the digital elevation model (DEM). We combined digital topography (derived from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) with extensive floodplain echo-sounding data to generate a hydraulically sound DEM. Analysis of daily water balances revealed that the dominant source of inflow alternated seasonally among direct rain and local runoff (October through January), Amazon River (March through August), and seepage (September). As inflows from the Amazon River increase during the rising limb of the hydrograph, regional floodwaters encounter the floodplain partially inundated from local hydrological inputs. At peak flow the floodplain routes, on average, 2.5% of the total discharge for this reach. The falling limb of the hydrograph coincides with the locally dry period, allowing seepage of water stored in sediments to become a dominant source. The average annual inflow from the Amazon River was 58.8 km3 (SD = 33.5), representing more than three thirds (80%) of inputs from all sources, with substantial inter-annual variability. The average annual net export of water from the floodplain to the Amazon River was 7.9 km3 (SD = 2.7).

Technical and institutional innovation in agroforestry for protected areas management in the Brazilian Amazon: opportunities and limitations.

PubMed

Schroth, Götz; da Mota, Maria do Socorro S

2013-08-01

Tropical forest countries are struggling with the partially conflicting policy objectives of socioeconomic development, forest conservation, and safeguarding the livelihoods of local forest-dependent people. We worked with communities in the lower Tapajós region of the central Brazilian Amazon for over 10 years to understand their traditional and present land use practices, the constraints, and decision making processes imposed by their biophysical, socioeconomic, and political environment, and to facilitate development trajectories to improve the livelihoods of forest communities while conserving the forest on the farms and in the larger landscape. The work focused on riverine communities initially in the Tapajós National Forest and then in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve. These communities have a century-old tradition of planting rubber agroforests which despite their abandonment during the 1990s still widely characterize the vegetation of the river banks, especially in the two protected areas where they are safe from the recent expansion of mechanized rice and soybean agriculture. The project evolved from the capacity-building of communities in techniques to increase the productivity of the rubber agroforests without breaking their low-input and low-risk logic, to the establishment of a community enterprise that allowed reserve inhabitants to reforest their own land with tree species of their choice and sell reforestation (not carbon) credits to local timber companies while retaining the ownership of the trees. By making land use practices economically more viable and ecologically more appropriate for protected areas, the project shows ways to strengthen the system of extractive and sustainable development reserves that protects millions of hectares of Amazon forest with the consent of the communities that inhabit them.

Technical and Institutional Innovation in Agroforestry for Protected Areas Management in the Brazilian Amazon: Opportunities and Limitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroth, Götz; da Mota, Maria do Socorro S.

2013-08-01

Tropical forest countries are struggling with the partially conflicting policy objectives of socioeconomic development, forest conservation, and safeguarding the livelihoods of local forest-dependent people. We worked with communities in the lower Tapajós region of the central Brazilian Amazon for over 10 years to understand their traditional and present land use practices, the constraints, and decision making processes imposed by their biophysical, socioeconomic, and political environment, and to facilitate development trajectories to improve the livelihoods of forest communities while conserving the forest on the farms and in the larger landscape. The work focused on riverine communities initially in the Tapajós National Forest and then in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve. These communities have a century-old tradition of planting rubber agroforests which despite their abandonment during the 1990s still widely characterize the vegetation of the river banks, especially in the two protected areas where they are safe from the recent expansion of mechanized rice and soybean agriculture. The project evolved from the capacity-building of communities in techniques to increase the productivity of the rubber agroforests without breaking their low-input and low-risk logic, to the establishment of a community enterprise that allowed reserve inhabitants to reforest their own land with tree species of their choice and sell reforestation (not carbon) credits to local timber companies while retaining the ownership of the trees. By making land use practices economically more viable and ecologically more appropriate for protected areas, the project shows ways to strengthen the system of extractive and sustainable development reserves that protects millions of hectares of Amazon forest with the consent of the communities that inhabit them.

Patents on periphery of the Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

de Moura, Emanoel G; Araújo, José R G; Monroe, Paulo H M; de O Nascimento, Ivaneide; Aguiar, Alana C F

2009-06-01

In the humid tropics, on the edges of the Amazon forest, the technological challenges to establishing and maintaining productive and sustainable agricultural systems have yet to be overcome. The groups involved in agriculture in the north of Brazil still engage in the practice of slash and burn in order to prepare and fertilize the soil. This produces negative effects for the local and global environment, without the counter-effect of providing social benefits to rural communities. Whether this process continues is of fundamental importance to many countries because it means that slash and burn agriculture is advancing on the Amazon rainforest, with a negative effect on every dimension of national policy. Beyond social political problems the biggest challenge for researchers in the field of tropical agriculture is to offer technological alternatives that can sustain agriculture in soils derived from sedimentary rocks that have been subjected to a high degree of weathering. In this article patented information is also discussed. Experiments undertaken in this region recommend taking advantage of the rapid growth of plants in the tropics. We aimed at proposing a suitable alternative system for a sustainable soil management in the particular conditions of humid tropics, named as "no-till in alley cropping using tree leguminous mulch." This system offers the advantages of: bringing together, in the same space and at the same time, the processes of cultivation and the regeneration of soil fertility.

What We Can Learn from Amazon for Clinical Decision Support Systems.

PubMed

Abid, Sidra; Keshavjee, Karim; Karim, Arsalan; Guergachi, Aziz

2017-01-01

Health care continue to lag behind other industries, such as retail and financial services, in the use of decision-support-like tools. Amazon is particularly prolific in the use of advanced predictive and prescriptive analytics to assist its customers to purchase more, while increasing satisfaction, retention, repeat-purchases and loyalty. How can we do the same in health care? In this paper, we explore various elements of the Amazon website and Amazon's data science and big data practices to gather inspiration for re-designing clinical decision support in the health care sector. For each Amazon element we identified, we present one or more clinical applications to help us better understand where Amazon's.

Endophytic bacterial diversity in the phyllosphere of Amazon Paullinia cupana associated with asymptomatic and symptomatic anthracnose.

PubMed

Bogas, Andréa Cristina; Ferreira, Almir José; Araújo, Welington Luiz; Astolfi-Filho, Spartaco; Kitajima, Elliot Watanabe; Lacava, Paulo Teixeira; Azevedo, João Lúcio

2015-01-01

Endophytes colonize an ecological niche similar to that of phytopathogens, which make them candidate for disease suppression. Anthracnose is a disease caused by Colletotrichum spp., a phytopathogen that can infect guarana (Paullinia cupana), an important commercial crop in the Brazilian Amazon. We investigated the diversity of endophytic bacteria inhabiting the phyllosphere of asymptomatic and symptomatic anthracnose guarana plants. The PCR-denaturation gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) fingerprints revealed differences in the structure of the evaluated communities. Detailed analysis of endophytic bacteria composition using culture-dependent and 16S rRNA clone libraries revealed the presence of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Acidobacteria phyla. Firmicutes comprised the majority of isolates in asymptomatic plants (2.40E(-4)). However, cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA revealed differences at the genus level for Neisseria (1.4E(-4)), Haemophilus (2.1E(-3)) and Arsenophonus (3.6E(-5)) in asymptomatic plants, Aquicella (3.5E(-3)) in symptomatic anthracnose plants, and Pseudomonas (1.1E(-3)), which was mainly identified in asymptomatic plants. In cross-comparisons of the endophytic bacterial communities as a whole, symptomatic anthracnose plants contained higher diversity, as reflected in the Shannon-Weaver and Simpson indices estimation (P < 0.05). Similarly, comparisons using LIBSHUFF and heatmap analysis for the relative abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) showed differences between endophytic bacterial communities. These data are in agreement with the NMSD and ANOSIM analysis of DGGE profiles. Our results suggest that anthracnose can restructure endophytic bacterial communities by selecting certain strains in the phyllosphere of P. cupana. The understanding of these interactions is important for the development of strategies of biocontrol for Colletotrichum.

Ozone measurements in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirchhoff, V. W. J. H.

Several scientists of the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (Instituto de Pesquisas Espacias, or INPE; headquarters at Sāo Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo) went to Manaus (3°S, 60°W), in the central region of the Amazon forest during July-August 1985 to study the atmosphere of the equatorial rainforest. The expedition to the Amazon was part of a large binational atmospheric chemistry field campaign that was organized to measure several atmospheric gases of the forest environment. This was definitely the largest scientific field expedition in this field ever performed on Brazilian territory.

Mapping the geographic distribution of canopy species communities in lowland Amazon rainforest with CAO-AToMS (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feret, J.; Asner, G. P.

2013-12-01

Mapping regional canopy diversity will greatly advance our understanding as well as the conservation of tropical rainforests. Changes in species composition across space and time are particularly important to understand the influence of climate, human activity and environmental factors on these ecosystems, but to date such monitoring is extremely challenging and is facing a scale gap between small-scale, highly detailed field studies and large-scale, low-resolution satellite observations. Advances were recently made in the field of spectroscopic imagery for the estimation of canopy alpha-diversity, and an original approach based on the segmentation of the spectral space proved its ability to estimate Shannon diversity index with unprecedented accuracy. We adapted this method in order to estimate spectral dissimilarity across landscape as a proxy for changes in species composition. We applied this approach and mapped species composition over four sites located in lowland rainforest of Peruvian Amazon. This study was based on spectroscopic imagery acquired using the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) Airborne Taxonomic Mapping System (AToMS), operating a unique sensor combining the fine spectral and spatial resolution required for such task. We obtained accurate estimation of Bray-Curtis distance between pairs of plots, which is the most commonly used metric to estimate dissimilarity in species composition (n=497 pairs, r=0.63). The maps of species composition were then compared to topo-hydrographic properties. Our results indicated a strong shift in species composition and community diversity between floodplain and terra firme terrain conditions as well as a significantly higher diversity of species communities within Amazonian floodplains. These results pave the way for global mapping of tropical canopy diversity at fine geographic resolution.

Remote SST Forcing and Local Land-Atmosphere Moisture Coupling as Drivers of Amazon Temperature and Carbon Cycle Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, P. A.; Xu, M.; Chen, Y.; Randerson, J. T.; Hoffman, F. M.

2017-12-01

Interannual variability of climatic conditions in the Amazon rainforest is associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and ocean-atmosphere interactions in the North Atlantic. Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in these remote ocean regions drive teleconnections with Amazonian surface air temperature (T), precipitation (P), and net ecosystem production (NEP). While SST-driven NEP anomalies have been primarily linked to T anomalies, it is unclear how much the T anomalies result directly from SST forcing of atmospheric circulation, and how much result indirectly from decreases in precipitation that, in turn, influence surface energy fluxes. Interannual variability of P associated with SST anomalies lead to variability in soil moisture (SM), which would indirectly affect T via partitioning of turbulent heat fluxes between the land surface and the atmosphere. To separate the direct and indirect influence of the SST signal on T and NEP, we performed a mechanism-denial experiment to decouple SST and SM anomalies. We used the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACMEv0.3), with version 5 of the Community Atmosphere Model and version 4.5 of the Community Land Model. We forced the model with observed SSTs from 1982-2016. We found that SST and SM variability both contribute to T and NEP anomalies in the Amazon, with relative contributions depending on lag time and location within the Amazon basin. SST anomalies associated with ENSO drive most of the T variability at shorter lag times, while the ENSO-driven SM anomalies contribute more to T variability at longer lag times. SM variability and the resulting influence on T anomalies are much stronger in the eastern Amazon than in the west. Comparing modeled T with observations demonstrate that SST alone is sufficient for simulating the correct timing of T variability, but SM anomalies are necessary for simulating the correct magnitude of the T variability. Modeled NEP indicated that variability in carbon fluxes

Cloud characteristics, thermodynamic controls and radiative impacts during the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giangrande, Scott E.; Feng, Zhe; Jensen, Michael P.

Routine cloud, precipitation and thermodynamic observations collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) and Aerial Facility (AAF) during the 2-year US Department of Energy (DOE) ARM Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign are summarized. These observations quantify the diurnal to large-scale thermodynamic regime controls on the clouds and precipitation over the undersampled, climatically important Amazon basin region. The extended ground deployment of cloud-profiling instrumentation enabled a unique look at multiple cloud regimes at high temporal and vertical resolution. This longer-term ground deployment, coupled with two short-term aircraft intensive observing periods, allowed new opportunitiesmore » to better characterize cloud and thermodynamic observational constraints as well as cloud radiative impacts for modeling efforts within typical Amazon wet and dry seasons.« less

Cloud characteristics, thermodynamic controls and radiative impacts during the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment

DOE PAGES

Giangrande, Scott E.; Feng, Zhe; Jensen, Michael P.; ...

2017-12-06

Routine cloud, precipitation and thermodynamic observations collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) and Aerial Facility (AAF) during the 2-year US Department of Energy (DOE) ARM Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign are summarized. These observations quantify the diurnal to large-scale thermodynamic regime controls on the clouds and precipitation over the undersampled, climatically important Amazon basin region. The extended ground deployment of cloud-profiling instrumentation enabled a unique look at multiple cloud regimes at high temporal and vertical resolution. This longer-term ground deployment, coupled with two short-term aircraft intensive observing periods, allowed new opportunitiesmore » to better characterize cloud and thermodynamic observational constraints as well as cloud radiative impacts for modeling efforts within typical Amazon wet and dry seasons.« less

Natural and drought scenarios in an east central Amazon forest: Fidelity of the Community Land Model 3.5 with three biogeochemical models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakaguchi, Koichi; Zeng, Xubin; Christoffersen, Bradley J.; Restrepo-Coupe, Natalia; Saleska, Scott R.; Brando, Paulo M.

2011-03-01

Recent development of general circulation models involves biogeochemical cycles: flows of carbon and other chemical species that circulate through the Earth system. Such models are valuable tools for future projections of climate, but still bear large uncertainties in the model simulations. One of the regions with especially high uncertainty is the Amazon forest where large-scale dieback associated with the changing climate is predicted by several models. In order to better understand the capability and weakness of global-scale land-biogeochemical models in simulating a tropical ecosystem under the present day as well as significantly drier climates, we analyzed the off-line simulations for an east central Amazon forest by the Community Land Model version 3.5 of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and its three independent biogeochemical submodels (CASA', CN, and DGVM). Intense field measurements carried out under Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia, including forest response to drought from a throughfall exclusion experiment, are utilized to evaluate the whole spectrum of biogeophysical and biogeochemical aspects of the models. Our analysis shows reasonable correspondence in momentum and energy turbulent fluxes, but it highlights three processes that are not in agreement with observations: (1) inconsistent seasonality in carbon fluxes, (2) biased biomass size and allocation, and (3) overestimation of vegetation stress to short-term drought but underestimation of biomass loss from long-term drought. Without resolving these issues the modeled feedbacks from the biosphere in future climate projections would be questionable. We suggest possible directions for model improvements and also emphasize the necessity of more studies using a variety of in situ data for both driving and evaluating land-biogeochemical models.

Forest-rainfall cascades buffer against drought across the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staal, Arie; Tuinenburg, Obbe A.; Bosmans, Joyce H. C.; Holmgren, Milena; van Nes, Egbert H.; Scheffer, Marten; Zemp, Delphine Clara; Dekker, Stefan C.

2018-06-01

Tree transpiration in the Amazon may enhance rainfall for downwind forests. Until now it has been unclear how this cascading effect plays out across the basin. Here, we calculate local forest transpiration and the subsequent trajectories of transpired water through the atmosphere in high spatial and temporal detail. We estimate that one-third of Amazon rainfall originates within its own basin, of which two-thirds has been transpired. Forests in the southern half of the basin contribute most to the stability of other forests in this way, whereas forests in the south-western Amazon are particularly dependent on transpired-water subsidies. These forest-rainfall cascades buffer the effects of drought and reveal a mechanism by which deforestation can compromise the resilience of the Amazon forest system in the face of future climatic extremes.

Bayesian inferences suggest that Amazon Yunga Natives diverged from Andeans less than 5000 ybp: implications for South American prehistory.

PubMed

Scliar, Marilia O; Gouveia, Mateus H; Benazzo, Andrea; Ghirotto, Silvia; Fagundes, Nelson J R; Leal, Thiago P; Magalhães, Wagner C S; Pereira, Latife; Rodrigues, Maira R; Soares-Souza, Giordano B; Cabrera, Lilia; Berg, Douglas E; Gilman, Robert H; Bertorelle, Giorgio; Tarazona-Santos, Eduardo

2014-09-30

Archaeology reports millenary cultural contacts between Peruvian Coast-Andes and the Amazon Yunga, a rainforest transitional region between Andes and Lower Amazonia. To clarify the relationships between cultural and biological evolution of these populations, in particular between Amazon Yungas and Andeans, we used DNA-sequence data, a model-based Bayesian approach and several statistical validations to infer a set of demographic parameters. We found that the genetic diversity of the Shimaa (an Amazon Yunga population) is a subset of that of Quechuas from Central-Andes. Using the Isolation-with-Migration population genetics model, we inferred that the Shimaa ancestors were a small subgroup that split less than 5300 years ago (after the development of complex societies) from an ancestral Andean population. After the split, the most plausible scenario compatible with our results is that the ancestors of Shimaas moved toward the Peruvian Amazon Yunga and incorporated the culture and language of some of their neighbors, but not a substantial amount of their genes. We validated our results using Approximate Bayesian Computations, posterior predictive tests and the analysis of pseudo-observed datasets. We presented a case study in which model-based Bayesian approaches, combined with necessary statistical validations, shed light into the prehistoric demographic relationship between Andeans and a population from the Amazon Yunga. Our results offer a testable model for the peopling of this large transitional environmental region between the Andes and the Lower Amazonia. However, studies on larger samples and involving more populations of these regions are necessary to confirm if the predominant Andean biological origin of the Shimaas is the rule, and not the exception.

Constancy in the vegetation of the Amazon Basin during the late Pleistocene: Evidence from the organic matter composition of Amazon deep sea fan sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kastner, Thomas P.; Goñi, Miguel A.

2003-04-01

Analyses of more than 60 sediment samples from the Amazon deep sea fan show remarkably constant terrigenous biomarkers (lignin phenols and cutin acids) and stable carbon isotopic compositions of organic matter (δ13COM) deposited from 10 to 70 ka. Sediments from the nine Amazon deep sea fan channel-levee systems investigated in this study yielded relatively narrow ranges for diagnostic parameters such as organic carbon (OC) normalized total lignin yields (Λ = 3.1 ± 1.1 mg/100 mg OC), syringyl:vanillyl phenol ratios (S/V = 0.84 ± 0.06), cinnamyl:vanillyl phenol ratios (C/V = 0.08 ± 0.02), isomeric abundances of cutin-derived dihydroxyhexadecanoic acid (f10,16-OH = 0.65 ± 0.02), and δ13COM (-27.6% ± 0.6 ‰). Our measurements support the hypothesis that the vegetation of the Amazon Basin did not change significantly during the late Pleistocene, even during the Last Glacial Maximum. Moreover, the compositions obtained from the Amazon deep sea fan are similar to those of modern Amazon River suspended sediments. Such results strongly indicate that the current tropical rainforest vegetation has been a permanent and dominant feature of the Amazon River watershed over the past 70 k.y. Specifically, we found no evidence for the development of large savannas that had been previously postulated as indicators of increased glacial aridity in Amazonia. Climate models need to be modified to account for the uninterrupted input of moisture to the tropical Amazon region over the late Pleistocene Holocene period.

Global Economic Integration and Local Community Resilience: Road Paving and Rural Demographic Change in the Southwestern Amazon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perz, Stephen G.; Cabrera, Liliana; Carvalho, Lucas Araujo; Castillo, Jorge; Barnes, Grenville

2010-01-01

Recent years have witnessed an expansion in international investment in large-scale infrastructure projects with the goal of achieving global economic integration. We focus on one such project, the Inter-Oceanic Highway in the "MAP" region, a trinational frontier where Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru meet in the southwestern Amazon. We adopt a…

Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, C.; Klooster, S.; Genovese, V.

2009-01-01

A simulation model based on satellite observations of monthly vegetation greenness from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was used to estimate monthly carbon fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems of Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado regions over the period 2000-2002. The NASA-CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) model estimates of annual forest production were used for the first time as the basis to generate a prediction for the standing pool of carbon in above-ground biomass (AGB; gC/sq m) for forested areas of the Brazilian Amazon region. Plot-level measurements of the residence time of carbon in wood in Amazon forest from Malhi et al. (2006) were interpolated by inverse distance weighting algorithms and used with CASA to generate a new regional map of AGB. Data from the Brazilian PRODES (Estimativa do Desflorestamento da Amazonia) project were used to map deforested areas. Results show that net primary production (NPP) sinks for carbon varied between 4.25 Pg C/yr (1 Pg=10(exp 15)g) and 4.34 Pg C for the region and were highest across the eastern and northern Amazon areas, whereas deforestation sources of CO2 flux from decomposition of residual woody debris were higher and less seasonal in the central Amazon than in the eastern and southern areas. Increased woody debris from past deforestation events was predicted to alter the net ecosystem carbon balance of the Amazon region to generate annual CO2 source fluxes at least two times higher than previously predicted by CASA modeling studies. Variations in climate, land cover, and forest burning were predicted to release carbon at rates of 0.5 to 1 Pg C/yr from the Brazilian Amazon. When direct deforestation emissions of CO2 from forest burning of between 0.2 and 0.6 Pg C/yr in the Legal Amazon are overlooked in regional budgets, the year-to-year variations in this net biome flux may appear to be large, whereas our model results implies net biome fluxes had actually been relatively consistent from

The Amazon, measuring a mighty river

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1967-01-01

The Amazon, the world's largest river, discharges enough water into the sea each day to provide fresh water to the City of New York for over 9 years. Its flow accounts for about 15 percent of all the fresh water discharged into the oceans by all the rivers of the world. By comparison, the Amazon's flow is over 4 times that of the Congo River, the world's second largest river. And it is 10 times that of the Mississippi, the largest river on the North American Continent.

Oil extraction in the Amazon basin and exposure to metals in indigenous populations.

PubMed

O'Callaghan-Gordo, Cristina; Flores, Juan A; Lizárraga, Pilar; Okamoto, Tami; Papoulias, Diana M; Barclay, Federica; Orta-Martínez, Martí; Kogevinas, Manolis; Astete, John

2018-04-01

Most oil extraction areas in the Peruvian Amazon are within indigenous territories. Poor environmental practices have exposed the indigenous population to metals. We conducted a survey in two indigenous Kukama communities to assess body burdens of metals after the occurrence of two major oil spills in 2014. Urine levels above those recommended by the Peruvian Ministry of Health were observed in 50% and 17% of the study population for mercury and cadmium, respectively. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Factors in Adults of the Amazon Region

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Metabolic syndrome (MS) plays a key role in the origin of cardiovascular diseases. Studies on the MS in Brazil are recent, and its epidemiology in more isolated regions such as the Amazon is still unknown. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of MS and associated factors in adults of the Brazilian Amazon. This study was conducted in 2012–2013. It is a cross-sectional population-based study, involving 787 adults randomly selected from the urban area of four cities in the state of Pará, in the Brazilian Eastern Amazon. The participants underwent anthropometric measurements, laboratory examination, and were questioned about their lifestyle. MS was defined by the Joint Interim Statement criteria, using the multiple logistic regression to investigate the potential association of risk factors with the presence of MS. The overall prevalence of MS was 34.1% (95% CI = 30.8–37.4), increasing linearly with the increasing body mass index and age. From 40–49 years of age, MS was observed in about half of the women (46.0%), while men only experienced a high prevalence in the fifth decade of life (43.3%). The low HDL-c (64.4%) and abdominal obesity (58.9%) were higher in women (p < 0.001), while for men, high blood pressure was significantly higher (p < 0.001). Individuals aged 40–59 years old (odds ratio [OR] = 3.35 [95% CI = 2.30–4.90]), ≥ 60 years old (OR = 5.80 [3.63–9.27]), overweight (OR = 4.17 [2.77–6.29]), and obese (OR = 8.82 [5.56–13.98]) were more likely to have MS. The study population experienced high cardiometabolic risk, requiring government efforts to control MS and related risk factors, especially obesity. PMID:27936021

Future drying of the southern Amazon and central Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, J.; Zeng, N.; Cook, B.

2008-12-01

Recent climate modeling suggests that the Amazon rainforest could exhibit considerable dieback under future climate change, a prediction that has raised considerable interest as well as controversy. To determine the likelihood and causes of such changes, we analyzed the output of 15 models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC/AR4) and a dynamic vegetation model VEGAS driven by these climate output. Our results suggest that the core of the Amazon rainforest should remain largely stable. However, the periphery, notably the southern edge, is in danger of drying out, driven by two main processes. First, a decline in precipitation of 24% in the southern Amazon lengthens the dry season and reduces soil moisture, despite of an increase in precipitation during the wet season, due to the nonlinear response in hydrology and ecosystem dynamics. Two dynamical mechanisms may explain the lower dry season precipitation: (1) a stronger north-south tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature gradient; (2) a general subtropical drying under global warming when the dry season southern Amazon is under the control of the subtropical high pressure. Secondly, evaporation will increase due to the general warming, thus also reducing soil moisture. As a consequence, the median of the models projects a reduction of vegetation by 20%, and enhanced fire carbon flux by 10-15% in the southern Amazon, central Brazil, and parts of the Andean Mountains. Because the southern Amazon is also under intense human influence, the double pressure of deforestation and climate change may subject the region to dramatic changes in the 21st century.

Characterization of the microbial community structure and nitrosamine-reducing isolates in drinking water biofilters.

PubMed

Wang, Wanfeng; Guo, Yanling; Yang, Qingxiang; Huang, Yao; Zhu, Chunyou; Fan, Jing; Pan, Feng

2015-07-15

Two biofilters were constructed using biological activated carbon (BAC) and nitrosamine-containing water from two drinking water treatment plants. The microbiome of each biofilter was characterized by 454 high-throughput pyrosequencing, and one nitrosamine-reducing bacterium was isolated. The results showed that nitrosamines changed the relative abundance at both the phylum and class levels, and the new genera were observed in the microbial communities of the two BAC filters after cultivation. As such, the genus Rhodococcus, which includes many nitrosamine-reducing strains reported in previous studies, was only detected in the BAC2 filter after cultivation. These findings indicate that nitrosamines can significantly affect the genus level in the microbial communities. Furthermore, the isolated bacterial culture Rhodococcus cercidiphylli A41 AS-1 exhibited the ability to reduce five nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine, and N-nitrosodi-n-butylamine) with removal ratios that ranged from 38.1% to 85.4%. The isolate exhibited a better biodegradation ability with nitrosamine as the carbon source when compared with nitrosamine as the nitrogen source. This study increases our understanding of the microbial community in drinking water biofilters with trace quantities of nitrosamines, and provides information on the metabolism of nitrosamine-reducing bacteria. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Understanding the Amazon Hydrology for Sustainable Hydropower Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pokhrel, Y. N.; Chaudhari, S. N.

2017-12-01

Construction of 147 new hydropower dams, many of which are large, has been proposed in the Amazon river basin, despite the continuous stacking of negative impacts from the existing ones. These dams are continued to be built in a way that disrupts river ecology, causes large-scale deforestation, and negatively affects both the food systems nearby and downstream communities. In this study, we explore the impacts of the existing and proposed hydropower dams on the hydrological fluxes across the Amazonian Basin by incorporating human impact modules in an extensively validated regional hydrological model called LEAF-Hydro-Flood (LHF). We conduct two simulations, one in offline mode, forced by observed meteorological data for the historical period of 2000-2016 and the other in a coupled mode using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model. We mainly analyze terrestrial water storage and streamflow changes during the period of dam operations with and without human impacts. It is certain that the Amazon will undergo some major hydrological changes such as decrease in streamflow downstream in the coming decades caused due to these proposed dams. This study helps us understand and represent processes in a predictable manner, and provides the ability to evaluate future scenarios with dams and other major human influences while considering climate change in the basin. It also provides important insights on how to redesign the hydropower systems to make them truly renewable in terms of energy production, hydrology and ecology.

The symbolic representation of community in social isolation and loneliness among older people: Insights for intervention from a rural Irish case study.

PubMed

Bantry-White, Eleanor; O'Sullivan, Siobhán; Kenny, Lorna; O'Connell, Cathal

2018-07-01

Social isolation and loneliness are common experiences of ageing in rural communities. Policy responses and interventions for social isolation and loneliness in later life are shaped by sociocultural understandings of place, relationships and social interaction. This study examined how representations of rural community in Ireland influenced the focus, relationships and activities within a befriending intervention designed to tackle social isolation and loneliness. Through a qualitative case study conducted in 2014, the symbolic meaning of the intervention was explored using interviews and focus groups with participants (8 befriended, 11 befrienders and 3 community workers) from one befriending programme in rural Ireland. Reflected in the programme was a representation of a rural community in decline with concern for the impact on older people. There was a valuing of the traditional community defined by geographical place, perceptions of similarity among its members, and values of solidarity and mutual support. The befriending intervention represented a commitment to intra-community solidarity and a desire by many for authentic befriending relationships that mirrored understandings of relationships within the traditional community. Identifying and alleviating social isolation and loneliness imply a set of normative values about community and the optimal social relationships within community. This paper proposes that there is a need to consider the role played by understandings of community in shaping context-sensitive interventions to counter social isolation and loneliness in later life. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Performing Transformation in the Community University of the Rivers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Dan Baron

2015-01-01

Dan Baron Cohen is a community-based art educator and cultural activist of Welsh-Quebecois origin, who lives and works in the Brazilian Amazon city of Maraba. After completing undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Oxford University, he developed collaborations with young people and their post-industrial communities at risk in northern England…

Mouth of the Amazon

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-02-07

Flowing over 6450 kilometers eastward across Brazil, the Amazon River originates in the Peruvian Andes as tiny mountain streams that eventually combine to form one of the world mightiest rivers as shown in this image from NASA Terra satellite.

YERSINIA PSEUDOTUBERCULOSIS, SEROGROUP O:1A, INFECTION IN TWO AMAZON PARROTS (AMAZONA AESTIVA AND AMAZONA ORATRIX) WITH HEPATIC HEMOSIDEROSIS.

PubMed

Galosi, Livio; Farneti, Silvana; Rossi, Giacomo; Cork, Susan Catherine; Ferraro, Stefano; Magi, Gian Enrico; Petrini, Stefano; Valiani, Andrea; Cuteri, Vincenzo; Attili, Anna-Rita

2015-09-01

Necropsies were conducted on a female blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) and a female yellow-headed Amazon (Amazona oratrix) that died after depression, ruffled feathers, diarrhea, and biliverdin in the urine. Gross and microscopic examinations revealed multifocal necrosis in the liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, intestines, and heart caused by acute bacteremia. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, serogroup O:1a, was isolated by culturing from the visceral lesions in the liver, intestines, and spleen. Virulence gene analysis showed the presence of the inv gene and the complete pathogenicity island: IS100, psn, yptE, irp1, irp2 ybtP-ybtQ, ybtX-ybtS, and int asnT-Int. Histopathologic findings and chemical analysis also demonstrated hepatic hemosiderosis. As has been demonstrated in other species, hemosiderosis may predispose Amazona spp. to systemic infection with Y. pseudotuberculosis after enteric disease.

Lipid Panel Reference Intervals for Amazon Parrots (Amazona species).

PubMed

Ravich, Michelle; Cray, Carolyn; Hess, Laurie; Arheart, Kristopher L

2014-09-01

The lipoprotein panel is a useful diagnostic tool that allows clinicians to evaluate blood lipoprotein fractions. It is a standard diagnostic test in human medicine but is poorly understood in avian medicine. Amazon parrots (Amazona species) are popular pets that frequently lead a sedentary lifestyle and are customarily fed high-fat diets. Similar to people with comparable diets and lifestyles, Amazon parrots are prone to obesity and atherosclerosis. In human medicine, these conditions are typically correlated with abnormalities in the lipoprotein panel. To establish reference intervals for the lipoprotein panel in Amazon parrots, plasma samples from 31 captive Amazon parrots were analyzed for concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). The data were also grouped according to sex, diet, body condition score, and age. Aside from HDL levels, which were significantly different between male and female parrots, no intergroup differences were found for any of the lipoprotein fractions.

Population and genetic study of Vibrio cholerae from the amazon environment confirms that the WASA-1 prophage is the main marker of the epidemic strain that circulated in the region.

PubMed

Morais, Lena Líllian Canto de Sá; Garza, Daniel Rios; Loureiro, Edvaldo Carlos Brito; Vale, Elivam Rodrigues; Santos, Denise Suéllem Amorim de Sousa; Corrêa, Vanessa Cavaleiro; Sousa, Nayara Rufino; Gurjão, Tereza Cristina Monteiro; Santos, Elisabeth Conceição de Oliveira; Vieira, Verônica Viana; da Fonseca, Erica Lourenço; Vicente, Ana Carolina Paulo

2013-01-01

Vibrio cholerae is a natural inhabitant of many aquatic environments in the world. Biotypes harboring similar virulence-related gene clusters are the causative agents of epidemic cholera, but the majority of strains are harmless to humans. Since 1971, environmental surveillance for potentially pathogenic V. cholerae has resulted in the isolation of many strains from the Brazilian Amazon aquatic ecosystem. Most of these strains are from the non-O1/non-O139 serogroups (NAGs), but toxigenic O1 strains were isolated during the Latin America cholera epidemic in the region (1991-1996). A collection of environmental V. cholerae strains from the Brazilian Amazon belonging to pre-epidemic (1977-1990), epidemic (1991-1996), and post-epidemic (1996-2007) periods in the region, was analyzed. The presence of genes related to virulence within the species and the genetic relationship among the strains were studied. These variables and the information available concerning the strains were used to build a Bayesian multivariate dependency model to distinguish the importance of each variable in determining the others. Some genes related to the epidemic strains were found in environmental NAGs during and after the epidemic. Significant diversity among the virulence-related gene content was observed among O1 strains isolated from the environment during the epidemic period, but not from clinical isolates, which were analyzed as controls. Despite this diversity, these strains exhibited similar PFGE profiles. PFGE profiles were significant while separating potentially epidemic clones from indigenous strains. No significant correlation with isolation source, place or period was observed. The presence of the WASA-1 prophage significantly correlated with serogroups, PFGE profiles, and the presence of virulence-related genes. This study provides a broad characterization of the environmental V. cholerae population from the Amazon, and also highlights the importance of identifying precisely

Population and Genetic Study of Vibrio cholerae from the Amazon Environment Confirms that the WASA-1 Prophage Is the Main Marker of the Epidemic Strain that Circulated in the Region

PubMed Central

Morais, Lena Líllian Canto de Sá; Garza, Daniel Rios; Loureiro, Edvaldo Carlos Brito; Vale, Elivam Rodrigues; Santos, Denise Suéllem Amorim de Sousa; Corrêa, Vanessa Cavaleiro; Sousa, Nayara Rufino; Gurjão, Tereza Cristina Monteiro; Santos, Elisabeth Conceição de Oliveira; Vieira, Verônica Viana; da Fonseca, Erica Lourenço; Vicente, Ana Carolina Paulo

2013-01-01

Vibrio cholerae is a natural inhabitant of many aquatic environments in the world. Biotypes harboring similar virulence-related gene clusters are the causative agents of epidemic cholera, but the majority of strains are harmless to humans. Since 1971, environmental surveillance for potentially pathogenic V. cholerae has resulted in the isolation of many strains from the Brazilian Amazon aquatic ecosystem. Most of these strains are from the non-O1/non-O139 serogroups (NAGs), but toxigenic O1 strains were isolated during the Latin America cholera epidemic in the region (1991-1996). A collection of environmental V. cholerae strains from the Brazilian Amazon belonging to pre-epidemic (1977-1990), epidemic (1991-1996), and post-epidemic (1996-2007) periods in the region, was analyzed. The presence of genes related to virulence within the species and the genetic relationship among the strains were studied. These variables and the information available concerning the strains were used to build a Bayesian multivariate dependency model to distinguish the importance of each variable in determining the others. Some genes related to the epidemic strains were found in environmental NAGs during and after the epidemic. Significant diversity among the virulence-related gene content was observed among O1 strains isolated from the environment during the epidemic period, but not from clinical isolates, which were analyzed as controls. Despite this diversity, these strains exhibited similar PFGE profiles. PFGE profiles were significant while separating potentially epidemic clones from indigenous strains. No significant correlation with isolation source, place or period was observed. The presence of the WASA-1 prophage significantly correlated with serogroups, PFGE profiles, and the presence of virulence-related genes. This study provides a broad characterization of the environmental V. cholerae population from the Amazon, and also highlights the importance of identifying precisely

Samba virus: a novel mimivirus from a giant rain forest, the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Campos, Rafael K; Boratto, Paulo V; Assis, Felipe L; Aguiar, Eric R G R; Silva, Lorena C F; Albarnaz, Jonas D; Dornas, Fabio P; Trindade, Giliane S; Ferreira, Paulo P; Marques, João T; Robert, Catherine; Raoult, Didier; Kroon, Erna G; La Scola, Bernard; Abrahão, Jônatas S

2014-05-14

The identification of novel giant viruses from the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses group and their virophages has increased in the last decade and has helped to shed light on viral evolution. This study describe the discovery, isolation and characterization of Samba virus (SMBV), a novel giant virus belonging to the Mimivirus genus, which was isolated from the Negro River in the Brazilian Amazon. We also report the isolation of an SMBV-associated virophage named Rio Negro (RNV), which is the first Mimivirus virophage to be isolated in the Americas. Based on a phylogenetic analysis, SMBV belongs to group A of the putative Megavirales order, possibly a new virus related to Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (APMV). SMBV is the largest virus isolated in Brazil, with an average particle diameter about 574 nm. The SMBV genome contains 938 ORFs, of which nine are ORFans. The 1,213.6 kb SMBV genome is one of the largest genome of any group A Mimivirus described to date. Electron microscopy showed RNV particle accumulation near SMBV and APMV factories resulting in the production of defective SMBV and APMV particles and decreasing the infectivity of these two viruses by several logs. This discovery expands our knowledge of Mimiviridae evolution and ecology.

A novel β-glucosidase isolated from the microbial metagenome of Lake Poraquê (Amazon, Brazil).

PubMed

Toyama, Danyelle; de Morais, Mariana Abrahão Bueno; Ramos, Felipe Cardoso; Zanphorlin, Letícia Maria; Tonoli, Celisa Caldana Costa; Balula, Augusto Furio; de Miranda, Fernando Pellon; Almeida, Vitor Medeiros; Marana, Sandro Roberto; Ruller, Roberto; Murakami, Mario Tyago; Henrique-Silva, Flavio

2018-04-01

The Amazon region holds most of the biological richness of Brazil. Despite their ecological and biotechnological importance, studies related to microorganisms from this region are limited. Metagenomics leads to exciting discoveries, mainly regarding non-cultivable microorganisms. Herein, we report the discovery of a novel β-glucosidase (glycoside hydrolase family 1) gene from a metagenome from Lake Poraquê in the Amazon region. The gene encodes a protein of 52.9 kDa, named AmBgl-LP, which was recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli and biochemically and structurally characterized. Although AmBgl-LP hydrolyzed the synthetic substrate p-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (pNPβG) and the natural substrate cellobiose, it showed higher specificity for pNPβG (k cat /K m  = 6 s -1 ·mM -1 ) than cellobiose (k cat /K m  = 0.6 s -1 ·mM -1 ). AmBgl-LP showed maximum activity at 40 °C and pH 6.0 when pNPβG was used as the substrate. Glucose is a competitive inhibitor of AmBgl-LP, presenting a K i of 14 mM. X-ray crystallography and Small Angle X-ray Scattering were used to determine the AmBgl-LP three-dimensional structure and its oligomeric state. Interestingly, despite sharing similar active site architecture with other structurally characterized GH1 family members which are monomeric, AmBgl-LP forms stable dimers in solution. The identification of new GH1 members by metagenomics might extend our understanding of the molecular mechanisms and diversity of these enzymes, besides enabling us to survey their industrial applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Human leptospirosis caused by a new, antigenically unique Leptospira associated with a Rattus species reservoir in the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Matthias, Michael A; Ricaldi, Jessica N; Cespedes, Manuel; Diaz, M Monica; Galloway, Renee L; Saito, Mayuko; Steigerwalt, Arnold G; Patra, Kailash P; Ore, Carlos Vidal; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Gilman, Robert H; Levett, Paul N; Vinetz, Joseph M

2008-04-02

As part of a prospective study of leptospirosis and biodiversity of Leptospira in the Peruvian Amazon, a new Leptospira species was isolated from humans with acute febrile illness. Field trapping identified this leptospire in peridomestic rats (Rattus norvegicus, six isolates; R. rattus, two isolates) obtained in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of the Iquitos region. Novelty of this species was proven by serological typing, 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and DNA-DNA hybridization analysis. We have named this species "Leptospira licerasiae" serovar Varillal, and have determined that it is phylogenetically related to, but genetically distinct from, other intermediate Leptospira such as L. fainei and L. inadai. The type strain is serovar Varillal strain VAR 010(T), which has been deposited into internationally accessible culture collections. By microscopic agglutination test, "Leptospira licerasiae" serovar Varillal was antigenically distinct from all known serogroups of Leptospira except for low level cross-reaction with rabbit anti-L. fainei serovar Hurstbridge at a titer of 1:100. LipL32, although not detectable by PCR, was detectable in "Leptospira licerasiae" serovar Varillal by both Southern blot hybridization and Western immunoblot, although on immunoblot, the predicted protein was significantly smaller (27 kDa) than that of L. interrogans and L. kirschneri (32 kDa). Isolation was rare from humans (2/45 Leptospira isolates from 881 febrile patients sampled), but high titers of MAT antibodies against "Leptospira licerasiae" serovar Varillal were common (30%) among patients fulfilling serological criteria for acute leptospirosis in the Iquitos region, and uncommon (7%) elsewhere in Peru. This new leptospiral species reflects Amazonian biodiversity and has evolved to become an important cause of leptospirosis in the Peruvian Amazon.

Human Leptospirosis Caused by a New, Antigenically Unique Leptospira Associated with a Rattus Species Reservoir in the Peruvian Amazon

PubMed Central

Cespedes, Manuel; Diaz, M. Monica; Galloway, Renee L.; Saito, Mayuko; Steigerwalt, Arnold G.; Patra, Kailash P.; Ore, Carlos Vidal; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Gilman, Robert H.; Levett, Paul N.; Vinetz, Joseph M.

2008-01-01

As part of a prospective study of leptospirosis and biodiversity of Leptospira in the Peruvian Amazon, a new Leptospira species was isolated from humans with acute febrile illness. Field trapping identified this leptospire in peridomestic rats (Rattus norvegicus, six isolates; R. rattus, two isolates) obtained in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of the Iquitos region. Novelty of this species was proven by serological typing, 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and DNA-DNA hybridization analysis. We have named this species “Leptospira licerasiae” serovar Varillal, and have determined that it is phylogenetically related to, but genetically distinct from, other intermediate Leptospira such as L. fainei and L. inadai. The type strain is serovar Varillal strain VAR 010T, which has been deposited into internationally accessible culture collections. By microscopic agglutination test, “Leptospira licerasiae” serovar Varillal was antigenically distinct from all known serogroups of Leptospira except for low level cross-reaction with rabbit anti–L. fainei serovar Hurstbridge at a titer of 1∶100. LipL32, although not detectable by PCR, was detectable in “Leptospira licerasiae” serovar Varillal by both Southern blot hybridization and Western immunoblot, although on immunoblot, the predicted protein was significantly smaller (27 kDa) than that of L. interrogans and L. kirschneri (32 kDa). Isolation was rare from humans (2/45 Leptospira isolates from 881 febrile patients sampled), but high titers of MAT antibodies against “Leptospira licerasiae” serovar Varillal were common (30%) among patients fulfilling serological criteria for acute leptospirosis in the Iquitos region, and uncommon (7%) elsewhere in Peru. This new leptospiral species reflects Amazonian biodiversity and has evolved to become an important cause of leptospirosis in the Peruvian Amazon. PMID:18382606

Investigation of microbial community isolated from indoor artworks and air environment: identification, biodegradative abilities, and DNA typing.

PubMed

Pangallo, Domenico; Chovanová, Katarina; Simonovicová, Alexandra; Ferianc, Peter

2009-03-01

This study deals with establishing the characteristics of a microbial community isolated from indoor artworks and the surrounding air environment. It is one of the few studies on microbial degradation of indoor artworks. It shows the potential biodegradative risk that can occur if artworks are not exhibited and conserved in an appropriate environment. The microbial community isolated from the indoor artworks and air environment was examined by cultural and molecular methods. Different plate assays were used to screen the biodegradative activity of the isolated microflora: Remazol Brilliant Blue R, phenol red, and Azure B for the ligninolytic properties; Ostazin brilliant red H-3B for cellulose degradation; CaCO3 glucose agar for solubilization activity; and B4 agar for biomineralization. To type the bacterial and fungal isolates, 2 PCR methods, repetitive extragenic palindromes (REP) and random amplified microsatellite polymorphisms (RAMP) were used. The art objects were principally colonized by fungi. The most commonly isolated strains were represented by hyphomycetes of the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Chaetomium. Members of these genera showed intensive biodegradation activity, both on wood and on stone. Bacteria were predominant in the air, exhibiting complex communities, both in the air and on the artworks. The most frequently isolated genera were Bacillus and Staphylococcus with extensive biodegradation abilities. REP-PCR revealed high variability within strains belonging to the same genus. RAMP is a new PCR-based method, used in this research for the first time to cluster the microfilamentous fungi and to characterize and select especially Penicillium and Aspergillus strains, which were isolated in a large number.

Spectrometry of Pasture Condition and Biogeochemistry in the Central Amazon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asner, Gregory P.; Townsend, Alan R.; Bustamante, Mercedes M. C.

1999-01-01

Regional analyses of Amazon cattle pasture biogeochemistry are difficult due to the complexity of human, edaphic, biotic and climatic factors and persistent cloud cover in satellite observations. We developed a method to estimate key biophysical properties of Amazon pastures using hyperspectral reflectance data and photon transport inverse modeling. Remote estimates of live and senescent biomass were strongly correlated with plant-available forms of soil phosphorus and calcium. These results provide a basis for monitoring pasture condition and biogeochemistry in the Amazon Basin using spaceborne hyperspectral sensors.

Lessons from forest FACE experiments provide guidance for Amazon-FACE science plan (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norby, R. J.; Lapola, D. M.

2013-12-01

Free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments have provided novel insights into the ecological mechanisms controlling the cycling and storage of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, and they provide a strong foundation for next-generation experiments in unexplored biomes. Specific lessons from FACE experiments include: (1) Carbon cycle responses are time-dependent because component processes have different rate constants: for example, net primary productivity is increased by elevated CO2, but the response may diminish with time as N cycling feedbacks become important. (2) Carbon partitioning patterns determine the fate of the extra C taken up by CO2-enriched plants, but partitioning responses remain an important challenge for ecosystem models. (3) The influence of N cycling on plant and ecosystem C cycling continues to be a critical uncertainty, and new experiments, especially in the tropics, must also consider P cycling. (4) Plant community structure can influence the ecosystem response to elevated CO2, but dynamic vegetation effects have not been adequately addressed. These experiences from FACE experiments in temperate forests are now guiding the development of a science plan for a FACE experiment in Amazonia. Models and small-scale experimental results agree that elevated CO2 will affect the metabolism of tropical ecosystems, but the qualitative and quantitative expression of the effects are largely unknown, representing a major source of uncertainty that limits our capacity to assess the vulnerability of the Amazon forest to climate change. Recognizing the high importance of the forests of the Amazon basin on global carbon, water, and energy cycles, biodiversity conservation, and the provision of essential services in Latin America, a consortium of Brazilian researchers and international collaborators have developed a science plan for Amazon-FACE. While the challenges presented both by infrastructure needs (roads, electricity, and provision of CO2) and biology (the

Case Report: Molecular Confirmation of Lobomycosis in an Italian Traveler Acquired in the Amazon Region of Venezuela.

PubMed

Beltrame, Anna; Danesi, Patrizia; Farina, Claudio; Orza, Pierantonio; Perandin, Francesca; Zanardello, Claudia; Rodari, Paola; Staffolani, Silvia; Bisoffi, Zeno

2017-12-01

Lobomycosis is a chronic skin mycosis endemic in Amazon regions characterized by chronic nodular or keloidal lesions caused by Lacazia loboi , an uncultivable fungus. Imported cases in nonendemic countries are rare and diagnosed after years. We describe a case of lobomycosis in a healthy 55-year-old Italian traveler who had acquired the infection during 5-day-honeymoon in the Amazon region of Venezuela in 1999. Several weeks after return, he recalled pruritus and papular skin lesions on the left lower limb, subsequently evolving to a plaque-like lesion. Blastomycosis and cryptococcosis were hypothesized based on microscopic morphology of yeast-like bodies found in three consecutive biopsies, although fungal cultures were always negative. In 2016, exfoliative cytology and a biopsy specimen examination showed round yeast-like organisms (6-12 μm), isolated or in a chain, connected by short tubular projections fulfilling the morphologic diagnostic criteria of Lacazia spp. The microscopic diagnosis was confirmed by molecular identification.

Mouths of the Amazon River, Brazil, South America

NASA Image and Video Library

1992-08-08

STS046-80-009 (31 July-8 Aug. 1992) --- A view of the mouth of the Amazon River and the Amazon Delta shows a large sediment plume expanding outward into the Atlantic Ocean. The sediment plume can be seen hugging the coast north of the Delta. This is caused by the west-northwest flowing Guyana Current. The large island of Marajo is partially visible through the clouds.

Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758): food and medicine for people in the Amazon.

PubMed

Barros, Flávio Bezerra; de Aguiar Azevedo, Pierre

2014-09-10

In the Amazon rainforest, biodiversity is a significant resource for traditional communities, as it can be used as a relevant source of protein and it has a promising zootherapeutic potential. Studies on knowledge and ways how local peoples use the fauna are still incipient. This paper presents both the knowledge on and food and medicinal uses of common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) by riverine communities in an Amazon floodplain region. The study was conducted with riverine communities in the municipality of Abaetetuba, Pará, Brazil. The main methods used were structured and semi-structured interviews, the "snowball" technique, and participant observation. The study showed that D. marsupialis has an undeniable cultural significance for the local community, both in terms of food and medicine. Its meat is prized by inhabitants as it is classified as tasty, soft and, in some cases, it is designated as the best bushmeat in the region. The interviewees have demonstrated a thorough knowledge on various aspects of the animal's biology, such as its diet, behavior, and places of occurrence. The hunting activity is practiced by men, but the preparation of meat and medicinal oil are tasks mainly performed by women. In medical terms, common opossum is used in the treatment of various diseases, such as rheumatism, asthma, sore throat, and inflammation. Given the importance of this species, its meat or live individuals are often sold in the city fair at prices that can reach R$ 40.00 (U$D 18,00) per individual. D. marsupialis is an important source of protein for riverine communities in the region studied. Its fat is used as a traditional medicine and it is indicated for many types of diseases. Although the species concerned is treated with hostility in various Brazilian regions, in the case of Abaetetuba this animal is strongly prized due to the good quality of its meat. However, despite the value assigned to the species, its consumption should be the subject of further

The changing hydrology of a dammed Amazon

PubMed Central

Timpe, Kelsie; Kaplan, David

2017-01-01

Developing countries around the world are expanding hydropower to meet growing energy demand. In the Brazilian Amazon, >200 dams are planned over the next 30 years, and questions about the impacts of current and future hydropower in this globally important watershed remain unanswered. In this context, we applied a hydrologic indicator method to quantify how existing Amazon dams have altered the natural flow regime and to identify predictors of alteration. The type and magnitude of hydrologic alteration varied widely by dam, but the largest changes were to critical characteristics of the flood pulse. Impacts were largest for low-elevation, large-reservoir dams; however, small dams had enormous impacts relative to electricity production. Finally, the “cumulative” effect of multiple dams was significant but only for some aspects of the flow regime. This analysis is a first step toward the development of environmental flows plans and policies relevant to the Amazon and other megadiverse river basins. PMID:29109972

Trypanosoma evansi isolated from capybara (Hidrochaeris hidrochaeris).

PubMed

Muñoz, K; Chávez, A

2001-10-01

A study was conducted to determine the morphological and biometric characteristics of Trypanosoma isolated from 50 capybaras animals, raised in captivity in the Peruvian Amazon. Trypanosoma was found in 14 blood samples using the microhaematocrit, wide drop, and Giemsa-stain methods and T. evansi was identified through morphological details in all 14 positive samples (the subterminal kinetoplast, the developed undulating membrane, and a long free flagellum were used for the identification of the agent).

A century of Amazon burning driven by Atlantic climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makou, M.; Thompson, L. G.; Davis, M. E.; Eglinton, T. I.

2011-12-01

Very little is known about annual burning trends in the Amazon Basin prior to remote sensing of fires beginning in the late 1970's. Fires reduce Amazon forest biomass and species richness, release pollutant aerosols, and impact the carbon cycle, compelling further investigation of fire-climate dynamics. We measured organic compounds derived from vegetation burning in ice core samples from the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru at better than annual resolution to reconstruct wet and dry season burning throughout the Twentieth Century. Variations in the abundance of methyl hexadecanoate, which is produced by thermal alteration of vascular plant alkanoic acids, were used as a proxy for past fire activity. Concentrations of this compound in Quelccaya ice varied strongly on seasonal, interannual, and decadal time scales over the last 100 years, with high-amplitude dry season variability and muted, decadal-scale changes in wet season fire activity. Decade-long periods of repeatedly enhanced burning occurred during the 1930's and 1960's when dry season precipitation was perpetually reduced, as evidenced by low stages of the Rio Negro. These decadal trends suggest that changes in dry season precipitation drive fire activity in the western Amazon and highlight the potential of Amazon forests to undergo repeated strong burning. Fires occurred during years when sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the north tropical Atlantic were elevated and the north-south tropical Atlantic SST gradient was enhanced; this SST pattern likely displaced the intertropical convergence zone northward, driving subsidence and drought in the western and southern Amazon basin. Thus, our novel ice core record suggests that Amazon forest fire activity during the Twentieth Century was driven primarily by Atlantic climate processes, and future forest health will depend heavily on the evolution of tropical climate.

Backwater effects in the Amazon River basin of Brazil

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meade, R.H.; Rayol, J.M.; Da Conceicao, S.C.; Natividade, J.R.G.

1991-01-01

The Amazon River mainstem of Brazil is so regulated by differences in the timing of tributary inputs and by seasonal storage of water on floodplains that maximum discharges exceed minimum discharges by a factor of only 3. Large tributaries that drain the southern Amazon River basin reach their peak discharges two months earlier than does the mainstem. The resulting backwater in the lowermost 800 km of two large southern tributaries, the Madeira and Puru??s rivers, causes falling river stages to be as much as 2-3 m higher than rising stages at any given discharge. Large tributaries that drain the northernmost Amazon River basin reach their annual minimum discharges three to four months later than does the mainstem. In the lowermost 300-400 km of the Negro River, the largest northern tributary and the fifth largest river in the world, the lowest stages of the year correspond to those of the Amazon River mainstem rather than to those in the upstream reaches of the Negro River. ?? 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Multiangular Contributions for Discriminate Seasonal Structural Changes in the Amazon Rainforest Using MODIS MAIAC Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moura, Y. M.; Hilker, T.; Galvão, L. S.; Santos, J. R.; Lyapustin, A.; Sousa, C. H. R. D.; McAdam, E.

2014-12-01

The sensitivity of the Amazon rainforests to climate change has received great attention by the scientific community due to the important role that this vegetation plays in the global carbon, water and energy cycle. The spatial and temporal variability of tropical forests across Amazonia, and their phenological, ecological and edaphic cycles are still poorly understood. The objective of this work was to infer seasonal and spatial variability of forest structure in the Brazilian Amazon based on anisotropy of multi-angle satellite observations. We used observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS/Terra and Aqua) processed by a new Multi-Angle Implementation Atmospheric Correction Algorithm (MAIAC) to investigate how multi-angular spectral response from satellite imagery can be used to analyze structural variability of Amazon rainforests. We calculated differences acquired from forward and backscatter reflectance by modeling the bi-directional reflectance distribution function to infer seasonal and spatial changes in vegetation structure. Changes in anisotropy were larger during the dry season than during the wet season, suggesting intra-annual changes in vegetation structure and density. However, there were marked differences in timing and amplitude depending on forest type. For instance differences between reflectance hotspot and darkspot showed more anisotropy in the open Ombrophilous forest than in the dense Ombrophilous forest. Our results show that multi-angle data can be useful for analyzing structural differences in various forest types and for discriminating different seasonal effects within the Amazon basin. Also, multi-angle data could help solve uncertainties about sensitivity of different tropical forest types to light versus rainfall. In conclusion, multi-angular information, as expressed by the anisotropy of spectral reflectance, may complement conventional studies and provide significant improvements over approaches that

Patterns of diversification in the discus fishes (Symphysodon spp. Cichlidae) of the Amazon basin.

PubMed

Farias, Izeni Pires; Hrbek, Tomas

2008-10-01

We carried out a phylogeograhic and population genetic analysis of fishes of the taxonomically contentious genus Symphysodon from the Amazon basin in order to test hypotheses of relationships among taxonomic units, and potential processes driving diversification within this genus. We sampled 334 individuals of the genus Symphysodon from 24 localities that span the complete geographic distribution of this genus. The sampling scheme included all known phenotypic groups, species and subspecies. Analyses were based on 474 bp of the mitochondrial control region and 1443 bp of the exon 3 of RAG1 gene. We observed 102 mtDNA haplotypes defined by 89 segregating sites, and 5 nuDNA alleles defined by three segregating sites. Maximum-likelihood, Bayesian-inference and statistical parsimony analyses revealed three well defined monophyletic groups. These clades corresponded to the 'green' and 'blue' groups of Symphysodon aequifasciatus, and to a previously morphologically unrecognized clade from the Xingu River drainage. These three clades were nested within a paraphyletic assemblage consisting of the 'brown' group of S. aequifasciatus and of both described subspecies of S. discus, the 'Heckel' and the 'abacaxi' discus. Nuclear allele sharing was observed among groups, but there were significant differences in frequencies. We inferred several processes including past fragmentation among groups, and restricted gene flow with isolation by distance within the paraphyletic 'brown+Heckel+abacaxi' groups, and suggest that differences among the 'blue', 'Heckel' and 'brown' groups are potentially maintained by differences in water chemistry preferences. We further inferred colonization of the western Amazon basin by an ancestor of the 'green' clade. The 'green' group was the only group with a pattern of haplotype distribution consistent of a demographic expansion, and the divergence of this clade from other groups of discus was consistent with recent geologic evidence on the breach of

Penicillium excelsum sp. nov from the Brazil Nut Tree Ecosystem in the Amazon Basin'.

PubMed

Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi; Pitt, John I; Iamanaka, Beatriz T; Massi, Fernanda P; Fungaro, Maria Helena P; Frisvad, Jens C

2015-01-01

A new Penicillium species, P. excelsum, is described here using morphological characters, extrolite and partial sequence data from the ITS, β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. It was isolated repeatedly using samples of nut shells and flowers from the brazil nut tree, Bertolletia excelsa, as well as bees and ants from the tree ecosystem in the Amazon rainforest. The species produces andrastin A, curvulic acid, penicillic acid and xanthoepocin, and has unique partial β-tubulin and calmodulin gene sequences. The holotype of P. excelsum is CCT 7772, while ITAL 7572 and IBT 31516 are cultures derived from the holotype.

Penicillium excelsum sp. nov from the Brazil Nut Tree Ecosystem in the Amazon Basin’

PubMed Central

Taniwaki, Marta Hiromi; Pitt, John I.; Iamanaka, Beatriz T.; Massi, Fernanda P.; Fungaro, Maria Helena P.; Frisvad, Jens C.

2015-01-01

A new Penicillium species, P. excelsum, is described here using morphological characters, extrolite and partial sequence data from the ITS, β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. It was isolated repeatedly using samples of nut shells and flowers from the brazil nut tree, Bertolletia excelsa, as well as bees and ants from the tree ecosystem in the Amazon rainforest. The species produces andrastin A, curvulic acid, penicillic acid and xanthoepocin, and has unique partial β-tubulin and calmodulin gene sequences. The holotype of P. excelsum is CCT 7772, while ITAL 7572 and IBT 31516 are cultures derived from the holotype. PMID:26717519

Following Saharan Dust Outbreak Toward The Amazon Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Ami, Y.; Koren, I.; Rudich, Y.; Flores, M.

2008-12-01

The role of the Amazon rainforest on earth climatic system is well recognized. To keep forest wellbeing and the fragile balance between the rainforest and the atmosphere, the Amazon must contain a satisfactory amount of nutrients to support the plants. The extensive rain and floods wash most of the soluble nutrients from the rainforest soil, leaving behind acidic kaolinite clay or sandy soil, with limited minerals for plant growth. It was suggested that lack of mineral in the soil may be replenished by deposition of Saharan mineral dust. Using remote sensing data (from the A-train satellites constellation) following with in-situ measurements (as part of the AMazonian Aerosol CharacteriZation Experiment (AMZE) campaign), ground-based data (from AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET)) and back trajectory calculations, we analyzed Saharan dust transport toward the Amazon basin during the AMZE period (Feb 7 to Mar 14, 2008). Dust mass, sink, vertical distribution and surface wind speeds were analyzed over the Bodele depression (located in Chad), where most of the dust is emitted, along the Atlantic Ocean and near the Brazilian coastline. Using an integrated data analysis approach we followed dust packages from their emission in the Sahara to their sink in the Amazon forest.

Tree rings and rainfall in the equatorial Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Granato-Souza, Daniela; Stahle, David W.; Barbosa, Ana Carolina; Feng, Song; Torbenson, Max C. A.; de Assis Pereira, Gabriel; Schöngart, Jochen; Barbosa, Joao Paulo; Griffin, Daniel

2018-05-01

The Amazon basin is a global center of hydroclimatic variability and biodiversity, but there are only eight instrumental rainfall stations with continuous records longer than 80 years in the entire basin, an area nearly the size of the coterminous US. The first long moisture-sensitive tree-ring chronology has been developed in the eastern equatorial Amazon of Brazil based on dendrochronological analysis of Cedrela cross sections cut during sustainable logging operations near the Rio Paru. The Rio Paru chronology dates from 1786 to 2016 and is significantly correlated with instrumental precipitation observations from 1939 to 2016. The strength and spatial scale of the precipitation signal vary during the instrumental period, but the Rio Paru chronology has been used to develop a preliminary reconstruction of February to November rainfall totals from 1786 to 2016. The reconstruction is related to SSTs in the Atlantic and especially the tropical Pacific, similar to the stronger pattern of association computed for the instrumental rainfall data from the eastern Amazon. The tree-ring data estimate extended drought and wet episodes in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, providing a valuable, long-term perspective on the moisture changes expected to emerge over the Amazon in the coming century due to deforestation and anthropogenic climate change.

Long-term decline of the Amazon carbon sink.

PubMed

Brienen, R J W; Phillips, O L; Feldpausch, T R; Gloor, E; Baker, T R; Lloyd, J; Lopez-Gonzalez, G; Monteagudo-Mendoza, A; Malhi, Y; Lewis, S L; Vásquez Martinez, R; Alexiades, M; Álvarez Dávila, E; Alvarez-Loayza, P; Andrade, A; Aragão, L E O C; Araujo-Murakami, A; Arets, E J M M; Arroyo, L; Aymard C, G A; Bánki, O S; Baraloto, C; Barroso, J; Bonal, D; Boot, R G A; Camargo, J L C; Castilho, C V; Chama, V; Chao, K J; Chave, J; Comiskey, J A; Cornejo Valverde, F; da Costa, L; de Oliveira, E A; Di Fiore, A; Erwin, T L; Fauset, S; Forsthofer, M; Galbraith, D R; Grahame, E S; Groot, N; Hérault, B; Higuchi, N; Honorio Coronado, E N; Keeling, H; Killeen, T J; Laurance, W F; Laurance, S; Licona, J; Magnussen, W E; Marimon, B S; Marimon-Junior, B H; Mendoza, C; Neill, D A; Nogueira, E M; Núñez, P; Pallqui Camacho, N C; Parada, A; Pardo-Molina, G; Peacock, J; Peña-Claros, M; Pickavance, G C; Pitman, N C A; Poorter, L; Prieto, A; Quesada, C A; Ramírez, F; Ramírez-Angulo, H; Restrepo, Z; Roopsind, A; Rudas, A; Salomão, R P; Schwarz, M; Silva, N; Silva-Espejo, J E; Silveira, M; Stropp, J; Talbot, J; ter Steege, H; Teran-Aguilar, J; Terborgh, J; Thomas-Caesar, R; Toledo, M; Torello-Raventos, M; Umetsu, R K; van der Heijden, G M F; van der Hout, P; Guimarães Vieira, I C; Vieira, S A; Vilanova, E; Vos, V A; Zagt, R J

2015-03-19

Atmospheric carbon dioxide records indicate that the land surface has acted as a strong global carbon sink over recent decades, with a substantial fraction of this sink probably located in the tropics, particularly in the Amazon. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the terrestrial carbon sink will evolve as climate and atmospheric composition continue to change. Here we analyse the historical evolution of the biomass dynamics of the Amazon rainforest over three decades using a distributed network of 321 plots. While this analysis confirms that Amazon forests have acted as a long-term net biomass sink, we find a long-term decreasing trend of carbon accumulation. Rates of net increase in above-ground biomass declined by one-third during the past decade compared to the 1990s. This is a consequence of growth rate increases levelling off recently, while biomass mortality persistently increased throughout, leading to a shortening of carbon residence times. Potential drivers for the mortality increase include greater climate variability, and feedbacks of faster growth on mortality, resulting in shortened tree longevity. The observed decline of the Amazon sink diverges markedly from the recent increase in terrestrial carbon uptake at the global scale, and is contrary to expectations based on models.

Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis B and hepatitis delta viruses circulating in the Western Amazon region, North Brazil

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) represent important public health problems in the Western Amazon region with reported cases of fulminant hepatitis. This cross sectional study describes HBV and HDV genotypes circulating in the Brazilian Amazon region. Methods HBsAg positive individuals (n = 224) were recruited in Manaus/Amazonas State (130 blood donors from the Hematology and Hemotherapy Foundation from Amazonas/HEMOAM; 60 subjects from outpatient clinic) and in Eirunepe city (n = 34) from 2003–2009. Most participants (n = 153) lived in Manaus, 63 were from 20 remote isolated municipalities, 8 lived outside Amazonas State. Genotyping was based on PCR products: HBV genotype A-F specific primers, restricted length polymorphism for HDV. HDV isolates were directly sequenced (delta antigen 405 nucleotide fragment) and phylogenetic analysis performed (MEGA; neighbor-joining, Kimura’s two parameter). Results Most participants were young adult males and HBV mono-infection predominated (70.5%, 158/224). Among blood donors, outpatient subjects and individuals from Eirunepe, HBV/A prevailed followed by HBV/D and F (p > 0.05). HBV/A was more frequent in blood donors (p < 0.05). HBV-HDV coinfection rate was 8.5% in blood donors (11/130), 65.0% (39/60) in outpatient subjects and 47.0% (16/34) in individuals from Eirunepe. Compared to blood donors, coinfection was higher in outpatient subjects (65.0% versus 8.5%; RR = 5.0; CI 3.4-7.9; p < 0.0001) and in subjects from Eirunepe (47.0% versus 8.5%; RR = 5.5; CI 3.0-9.9; p < 0.0001). HBV-HDV coinfection rates were higher in patients from highly endemic remote cities. Only HDV genotype 3 was detected, HBV/F-HDV/3 predominated (20/38; 52.7%), followed by HBV/A-HDV/3 (31.6%; 12/38) and HBV/D-HDV/3 (15.8%; 6/38). Conclusions The description of HBV and HDV genotypes circulating in the western Amazon can contribute to a better understanding of their relevance on the

Living Rivers: Importance of Andes-Amazon Connectivity and Consequences of Hydropower Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, E.

2016-12-01

The inherent dynamism of rivers along elevational and longitudinal gradients underpins freshwater biodiversity, ecosystem function, and ecosystem services in the Andean-Amazon. While this region covers only a small part of the entire Amazon Basin, its influences on downstream ecology, biogeochemistry, and human wellbeing are disproportionate with its relative small size. Seasonal flow pulses from Andean rivers maintain habitat, signal migratory fishes, and export sediment, nutrients, and organic matter to distant ecosystems—like lowland Amazonia and the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Rivers are key transportation routes, and freshwater fisheries are a primary protein source for the >30 million people that inhabit the Amazon Basin. Numerous cultural traditions depend on free-flowing Andean rivers; examples include Kukama beliefs in the underwater cities of the Marañon River, where people who have drowned in rivers whose bodies are not recovered go to live, or the pre-dawn bathing rituals of the Peruvian Shawi, who gain energy and connect with ancestors in cold, fast-flowing Andean waters. Transformations in the Andean-Amazon landscape—in particular from dams—threaten to compromise flows critical for human and ecosystem wellbeing. Presently, at least 250 hydropower dams are in operation, under construction, or proposed for Andean-Amazon rivers. This presentation will discuss regional trends in hydropower development, quantify effects of existing and proposed dams on Andean-Amazon connectivity, and examine the social and cultural importance of free-flowing Andean-Amazon rivers.

Genetic structure and historical diversification of catfish Brachyplatystoma platynemum (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) in the Amazon basin with implications for its conservation.

PubMed

Ochoa, Luz Eneida; Pereira, Luiz Henrique G; Costa-Silva, Guilherme Jose; Roxo, Fábio F; Batista, Jacqueline S; Formiga, Kyara; Foresti, Fausto; Oliveira, Claudio

2015-05-01

Brachyplatystoma platynemum is a catfish species widely distributed in the Amazon basin. Despite being considered of little commercial interest, the decline in other fish populations has contributed to the increase in the catches of this species. The structure, population genetic variability, and evolutionary process that have driven the diversification of this species are presently unknown. Considering that, in order to better understand the genetic structure of this species, we analyzed individuals from seven locations of the Amazon basin using eight molecular markers: control region and cytochrome b mtDNA sequences, and a set of six nuclear microsatellite loci. The results show high levels of haplotype diversity and point to the occurrence of two structured populations (Amazon River and the Madeira River) with high values for F ST. Divergence time estimates based on mtDNA indicated that these populations diverged about 1.0 Mya (0.2-2.5 Mya 95% HPD) using cytochrome b and 1.4 Mya (0.2-2.7 Mya 95% HPD) using control region. During that time, the influence of climate changes and hydrological events such as sea level oscillations and drainage isolation as a result of geological processes in the Pleistocene may have contributed to the current structure of B. platynemum populations, as well as of differences in water chemistry in Madeira River. The strong genetic structure and the time of genetic divergence estimated for the groups may indicate the existence of strong structure populations of B. platynemum in the Amazon basin.

Genetic structure and historical diversification of catfish Brachyplatystoma platynemum (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) in the Amazon basin with implications for its conservation

PubMed Central

Ochoa, Luz Eneida; Pereira, Luiz Henrique G; Costa-Silva, Guilherme Jose; Roxo, Fábio F; Batista, Jacqueline S; Formiga, Kyara; Foresti, Fausto; Oliveira, Claudio

2015-01-01

Brachyplatystoma platynemum is a catfish species widely distributed in the Amazon basin. Despite being considered of little commercial interest, the decline in other fish populations has contributed to the increase in the catches of this species. The structure, population genetic variability, and evolutionary process that have driven the diversification of this species are presently unknown. Considering that, in order to better understand the genetic structure of this species, we analyzed individuals from seven locations of the Amazon basin using eight molecular markers: control region and cytochrome b mtDNA sequences, and a set of six nuclear microsatellite loci. The results show high levels of haplotype diversity and point to the occurrence of two structured populations (Amazon River and the Madeira River) with high values for FST. Divergence time estimates based on mtDNA indicated that these populations diverged about 1.0 Mya (0.2–2.5 Mya 95% HPD) using cytochrome b and 1.4 Mya (0.2–2.7 Mya 95% HPD) using control region. During that time, the influence of climate changes and hydrological events such as sea level oscillations and drainage isolation as a result of geological processes in the Pleistocene may have contributed to the current structure of B. platynemum populations, as well as of differences in water chemistry in Madeira River. The strong genetic structure and the time of genetic divergence estimated for the groups may indicate the existence of strong structure populations of B. platynemum in the Amazon basin. PMID:26045952

Amazon Surveillance System (SIVAM): U.S. and Brazilian Cooperation

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-01

Controle de Träfe go Aereo) Clutter Effects Model Parliamentary Investigation Commission (Comissäo Parlamentär de Inqutrito) Weather Forecasting...de Pesquisas Espaciais) INPA National Institute of Amazon Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia ) IR Infrared KW Kilowatt (a...VSAT System for Surveillance of the Amazon (Sistema de Vigiläncia da Amazonia ) Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Subsecretaria de Inteligencia

Avian Influenza Virus (H11N9) in Migratory Shorebirds Wintering in the Amazon Region, Brazil

PubMed Central

de Araujo, Jansen; de Azevedo Júnior, Severino M.; Gaidet, Nicolas; Hurtado, Renata F.; Walker, David; Thomazelli, Luciano M.; Ometto, Tatiana; Seixas, Marina M. M.; Rodrigues, Roberta; Galindo, Daniele B.; da Silva, Adriana C. S.; Rodrigues, Arlinéa M. M.; Bomfim, Leonardo L.; Mota, Marcelo A.; Larrazábal, Maria E.; Branco, Joaquim O.; Serafini, Patricia; Neto, Isaac S.; Franks, John; Webby, Richard J.; Webster, Robert G.; Durigon, Edison L.

2014-01-01

Aquatic birds are the natural reservoir for avian influenza viruses (AIV). Habitats in Brazil provide stopover and wintering sites for water birds that migrate between North and South America. The current study was conducted to elucidate the possibility of the transport of influenza A viruses by birds that migrate annually between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In total, 556 orotracheal/cloacal swab samples were collected for influenza A virus screening using real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR). The influenza A virus-positive samples were subjected to viral isolation. Four samples were positive for the influenza A matrix gene by rRT-PCR. From these samples, three viruses were isolated, sequenced and characterized. All positive samples originated from a single bird species, the ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres), that was caught in the Amazon region at Caeté Bay, Northeast Pará, at Ilha de Canelas. To our knowledge, this is the first isolation of H11N9 in the ruddy turnstone in South America. PMID:25329399

Petrobras eyes LNG project in Amazon region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-08-07

The Brazilian state oil company has proved gas reserves in the Rio Urucu area of the Amazon jungle totaling 1.84 tcf. That compares with 3.08 tcf contained in the offshore Campos basin, source of most of Brazil`s oil and gas production. The environmentally sensitive Urucu region is one of the most dense, remote jungles in the world. Because of environmental concerns about pipelines in the rain forest and a government emphasis on boosting the natural gas share of Brazil`s energy mix, a small liquefied natural gas project is shaping up as the best option for developing and marketing Urucu gas.more » The amazon campaign underscores a government initiative to boost Brazilian consumption of natural gas. In Brazil natural gas accounts for only 4% of primary energy consumption. Some years ago, the government set an official goal of boosting the gas share of the primary energy mix to 10% by 2000. The paper discusses current drilling activities, gas production and processing, the logistics of the upper Amazon, and gas markets.« less

Social isolation and loneliness among older people: issues and future challenges in community and residential settings.

PubMed

Grenade, Linda; Boldy, Duncan

2008-08-01

Although often associated with older age, loneliness and social isolation are not well understood in terms of their prevalence, risk and protective factors. Evidence suggests that only a minority of community-dwelling older people are "severely" lonely or isolated, however a number of factors need to be considered to fully understand the extent and significance of the problem. Community-based studies have identified a variety of risk factors for loneliness/isolation including widowhood, no (surviving) children, living alone, deteriorating health, and life events (eg, loss and bereavement). Having a confidant has been identified as a protective factor for loneliness. However, evidence is often unclear or inconclusive, especially within residential settings. We identified the need to conduct more residential care-focused research; the importance of addressing a variety of methodological concerns; and the need for practitioners to develop intervention programs that are appropriately targeted, evidence-based and evaluated.

Reconstruction of the Amazon Basin effective moisture availability over the past 14,000 years.

PubMed

Maslin, M A; Burns, S J

2000-12-22

Quantifying the moisture history of the Amazon Basin is essential for understanding the cause of rain forest diversity and its potential as a methane source. We reconstructed the Amazon River outflow history for the past 14,000 years to provide a moisture budget for the river drainage basin. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera recovered from a marine sediment core in a region of Amazon River discharge shows that the Amazon Basin was extremely dry during the Younger Dryas, with the discharge reduced by at least 40% as compared with that of today. After the Younger Dryas, a meltwater-driven discharge event was followed by a steady increase in the Amazon Basin effective moisture throughout the Holocene.

Structure of parasites community in Chaetobranchopsis orbicularis (Cichlidae), a host from the Amazon River system in northern Brazil.

PubMed

Tavares-Dias, Marcos; Oliveira, Marcos Sidney Brito

2017-08-01

The aim of this paper was to investigate the component communities of parasites in Chaetobranchopsis orbicularis from a tributary of the Amazon River system, in Northern Brazil. In 32 fish examined, 902,551 parasites were collected, including Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Piscinoodinium pillulare, Sciadicleithrum geophagi, Posthodiplostomum sp., Clinostomum marginatum, Echinorhynchus paranensis, Neoechinorhynchus pterodoridis, and Dolops longicauda. I. multifiliis was the dominant and abundant parasite species. The ectoparasites presented aggregate dispersion, but the endoparasites showed random dispersion pattern. Mean species richness was 4.0 ± 1.5 parasites, mean Brillouin diversity (HB) was 0.33 ± 0.28, mean evenness was 0.15 ± 0.13, and Berger-Parker dominance (d) was 0.85 ± 0.17. The species richness of parasites and HB were positively correlated with the length of hosts. There was positive correlation between the abundance of P. pillulare and length and weight, between the abundance of I. multifiliis and weight, as well as between the abundance of E. paranensis and N. pterodoridis and the length of hosts. Body condition of the hosts was not affected by moderate parasitism. The low diversity of endoparasites indicates that C. orbicularis is a host with low position in the food web. This is the first record of all these parasites for C. orbicularis.

Environmental aspects related to tuberculosis and intestinal parasites in a low-income community of the Brazilian Amazon

PubMed Central

Cardoso, Biatriz Araújo; Fonseca, Fabio de Oliveira; de Moraes, Antonio Henrique Almeida; Martins, Ana Caroline Guedes Souza; Oliveira, Nissa Vilhena da Silva; Lima, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa; Dias, George Alberto da Silva; Saad, Maria Helena Féres

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT We carried out a cross-sectional study from January to December 2015 on 1,425 inhabitants from a floating population in the Brazilian Amazon (Murinin district, Pará State) to describe the population-based prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) from 2011 to 2014, recent TB contacts (rCts) latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI) , the coverage of the local health network, socio-environmental factors, and frequency of intestinal parasitic infection (IPI). We found that the sanitary structure was inadequate, with latrines being shared with other rooms within the same accommodation; well water was the main source of water, and 48% of families had low incomes. The average rate of TB was 105/100, 000 inhabitants per year; one third of TB patients had been household contacts of infected individuals in the past, and 23% of rCts were LTBI. More than half (65%) of 44% of the stools examined (representing 76% of the housing) had IPIs; the highest prevalence was of fecal-oral transmitted protozoa (40%, Giardia intestinalis ), followed by soil-transmitted helminths (23%). TB transmission may be related to insufficient disease control of rCts, frequent relocation, and underreporting. Education, adopting hygienic habits, improving sanitation, provision of a treated water supply and efficient sewage system, further comprehensive epidemiological surveillance of those who enter and leave the community and resources for basic treatment of IPIs are crucial in combating the transmission of these neglected diseases. PMID:28793025

Environmental aspects related to tuberculosis and intestinal parasites in a low-income community of the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Cardoso, Biatriz Araújo; Fonseca, Fabio de Oliveira; Moraes, Antonio Henrique Almeida de; Martins, Ana Caroline Guedes Souza; Oliveira, Nissa Vilhena da Silva; Lima, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa; Dias, George Alberto da Silva; Saad, Maria Helena Féres

2017-08-07

We carried out a cross-sectional study from January to December 2015 on 1,425 inhabitants from a floating population in the Brazilian Amazon (Murinin district, Pará State) to describe the population-based prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) from 2011 to 2014, recent TB contacts (rCts) latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI) , the coverage of the local health network, socio-environmental factors, and frequency of intestinal parasitic infection (IPI). We found that the sanitary structure was inadequate, with latrines being shared with other rooms within the same accommodation; well water was the main source of water, and 48% of families had low incomes. The average rate of TB was 105/100, 000 inhabitants per year; one third of TB patients had been household contacts of infected individuals in the past, and 23% of rCts were LTBI. More than half (65%) of 44% of the stools examined (representing 76% of the housing) had IPIs; the highest prevalence was of fecal-oral transmitted protozoa (40%, Giardia intestinalis ), followed by soil-transmitted helminths (23%). TB transmission may be related to insufficient disease control of rCts, frequent relocation, and underreporting. Education, adopting hygienic habits, improving sanitation, provision of a treated water supply and efficient sewage system, further comprehensive epidemiological surveillance of those who enter and leave the community and resources for basic treatment of IPIs are crucial in combating the transmission of these neglected diseases.

Loop-mediated isothermal DNA amplification for asymptomatic malaria detection in challenging field settings: Technical performance and pilot implementation in the Peruvian Amazon

PubMed Central

Serra-Casas, Elisa; Manrique, Paulo; Ding, Xavier C.; Carrasco-Escobar, Gabriel; Alava, Freddy; Gave, Anthony; Rodriguez, Hugo; Contreras-Mancilla, Juan; Rosas-Aguirre, Angel; Speybroeck, Niko; González, Iveth J.

2017-01-01

Background Loop-mediated isothermal DNA amplification (LAMP) methodology offers an opportunity for point-of-care (POC) molecular detection of asymptomatic malaria infections. However, there is still little evidence on the feasibility of implementing this technique for population screenings in isolated field settings. Methods Overall, we recruited 1167 individuals from terrestrial (‘road’) and hydric (‘riverine’) communities of the Peruvian Amazon for a cross-sectional survey to detect asymptomatic malaria infections. The technical performance of LAMP was evaluated in a subgroup of 503 samples, using real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) as reference standard. The operational feasibility of introducing LAMP testing in the mobile screening campaigns was assessed based on field-suitability parameters, along with a pilot POC-LAMP assay in a riverine community without laboratory infrastructure. Results LAMP had a sensitivity of 91.8% (87.7–94.9) and specificity of 91.9% (87.8–95.0), and the overall accuracy was significantly better among samples collected during road screenings than riverine communities (p≤0.004). LAMP-based diagnostic strategy was successfully implemented within the field-team logistics and the POC-LAMP pilot in the riverine community allowed for a reduction in the turnaround time for case management, from 12–24 hours to less than 5 hours. Specimens with haemolytic appearance were regularly observed in riverine screenings and could help explaining the hindered performance/interpretation of the LAMP reaction in these communities. Conclusions LAMP-based molecular malaria diagnosis can be deployed outside of reference laboratories, providing similar performance as qPCR. However, scale-up in remote field settings such as riverine communities needs to consider a number of logistical challenges (e.g. environmental conditions, labour-intensiveness in large population screenings) that can influence its optimal implementation. PMID:28982155

From where does the Amazon forest gets its water?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miguez-Macho, G.; Fan, Y.

2016-12-01

The Amazon receives abundant annual rainfall but parts of it experience a multi-month dry season. Here we ask: what is the water source that sustains the dry-season ET? Where over the Amazon it is largely local and recent rain (hence ET shutting down in dry season), or past rain that is stored in the deep soils and the groundwater (deep roots tapping deep reservoirs sustaining ET), or is it rain that fell on higher grounds (through topography-driven lateral convergence)? Using synthesis of isotope and other tracer observations and basin-wide inverse modeling (shallow soil, deep soil, with and without groundwater, with and without dynamic rooting depth), we attempt to tease out these components. The results shed light on likely ET sources and how future global change may preferentially impact Amazon ecosystem functioning.

Yeast succession in the Amazon fruit Parahancornia amapa as resource partitioning among Drosophila spp.

PubMed Central

Morais, P B; Martins, M B; Klaczko, L B; Mendonça-Hagler, L C; Hagler, A N

1995-01-01

The succession of yeasts colonizing the fallen ripe amapa fruit, from Parahancornia amapa, was examined. The occupation of the substrate depended on both the competitive interactions of yeast species, such as the production of killer toxins, and the selective dispersion by the drosophilid guild of the amapa fruit. The yeast community associated with this Amazon fruit differed from those isolated from other fruits in the same forest. The physiological profile of these yeasts was mostly restricted to the assimilation of a few simple carbon sources, mainly L-sorbose, D-glycerol, DL-lactate, cellobiose, and salicin. Common fruit-associated yeasts of the genera Kloeckera and Hanseniaspora, Candida guilliermondii, and Candida krusei colonized fruits during the first three days after the fruit fell. These yeasts were dispersed and served as food for the invader Drosophila malerkotliana. The resident flies of the Drosophila willistoni group fed selectively on patches of yeasts colonizing fruits 3 to 10 days after the fruit fell. The killer toxin-producing yeasts Pichia kluyveri var. kluyveri and Candida fructus were probably involved in the exclusion of some species during the intermediate stages of fruit deterioration. An increase in pH, inhibiting toxin activity and the depletion of simple sugars, may have promoted an increase in yeast diversity in the later stages of decomposition. The yeast succession provided a patchy environment for the drosophilids sharing this ephemeral substrate. PMID:8534092

Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Sonter, Laura J; Herrera, Diego; Barrett, Damian J; Galford, Gillian L; Moran, Chris J; Soares-Filho, Britaldo S

2017-10-18

Mining poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to tropical forests worldwide. In Brazil's Amazon, mining drives deforestation far beyond operational lease boundaries, yet the full extent of these impacts is unknown and thus neglected in environmental licensing. Here we quantify mining-induced deforestation and investigate the aspects of mining operations, which most likely contribute. We find mining significantly increased Amazon forest loss up to 70 km beyond mining lease boundaries, causing 11,670 km 2 of deforestation between 2005 and 2015. This extent represents 9% of all Amazon forest loss during this time and 12 times more deforestation than occurred within mining leases alone. Pathways leading to such impacts include mining infrastructure establishment, urban expansion to support a growing workforce, and development of mineral commodity supply chains. Mining-induced deforestation is not unique to Brazil; to mitigate adverse impacts of mining and conserve tropical forests globally, environmental assessments and licensing must considered both on- and off-lease sources of deforestation.

[Community structure and diversity of culturable moderate halophilic bacteria isolated from Qrhan salt lake on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau].

PubMed

Shen, Shuo

2017-04-04

I studied the community structure and diversity of culturable moderate halophilic bacteria isolated from Qrhan Salt Lake. I isolated and cultured the moderate halophilic bacteria on different selective media. After the 16S rRNA gene sequences was amplified and measured, I constructed the phylogenic tree, analyzed the community structure and calculated the diversity indexes according to the 16S rRNA gene information. A total of 421 moderate halophilic bacteria were isolated from water and mud samples in Qrhan Salt Lake. The 16S rRNA gene information showed that 4 potential novel species belonged to the family Bacillaceae. Eighty-three model strains belonged to 3 phylurms 6 families 16 genus. Among them, Bacillus sp., Oceanobacillus sp. and Halomonas sp. were dominant species. Diversity analysis showed that the diversity of strains isolated from water sample was higher than that from mud sample, but the dominance degree of strains isolated from mud sample was higher than that from water sample. The genetic diversity of moderate halophilic bacteria isolated from Qrhan Salt Lake was abundant. Also, there were dominant and novel species of culturable moderate halophilic bacteria in this lake.

Use of filter papers to determine seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among hunted ungulates in remote Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Aston, Emily J; Mayor, Pedro; Bowman, Dwight D; Mohammed, Hussni O; Liotta, Janice L; Kwok, Oliver; Dubey, J P

2014-04-01

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, and it is found worldwide. To determine whether ungulates are reservoirs of T. gondii in an isolated and remote region of the northeastern Peruvian Amazon, antibodies to T. gondii were determined in 5 species of ungulates by the modified agglutination test (MAT). These animals were hunted by subsistence hunters along the Yavarí-Mirín River, in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon. Blood samples were collected by hunters on filter papers. For determination of T. gondii antibodies, blood was eluted from filter papers, and a titer of 1:25 was considered indicative of exposure to T. gondii. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 26 (31.0%) peccaries (Pecari tajacu, Tayassu pecari), six (17.1%) brocket deer (Mazama americana, Mazama gouazoubira), and four (40.0%) lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris). We also introduced a modification to the MAT protocol that allows the extraction of fluid samples from several types of laboratory-grade filter paper, thus enabling researchers to easily adapt their approaches to the materials presented to them.

Social isolation, vital exhaustion, and incident heart failure: findings from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

PubMed

Cené, Crystal W; Loehr, Laura; Lin, Feng-Chang; Hammond, Wizdom Powell; Foraker, Randi E; Rose, Kathryn; Mosley, Thomas; Corbie-Smith, Giselle

2012-07-01

Prospective studies have shown that social isolation (i.e. lack of social contacts) predicts incident coronary heart disease (CHD), but it is unclear whether it predicts incident heart failure (HF) and what factors might mediate this association. HF patients may be more susceptible to social isolation as they tend to be older and may have disrupted social relationships due to life course factors (e.g. retirement or bereavement). We prospectively examined whether individuals with higher vs. low social isolation have a higher incidence of HF and determined whether this association is mediated by vital exhaustion. We estimated incident HF hospitalization or death among 14 348 participants from Visit 2 (1990-1992) in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study using Cox proportional hazard models which were sequentially adjusted for age, race/study community, gender, current smoking, alcohol use, and co-morbidities. We conducted mediation analyses according to the Baron and Kenny method. After a median follow-up of 16.9 person-years, 1727 (13.0%) incident HF events occurred. The adjusted hazard of incident HF was greater for those in the higher vs. low social isolation risk group (hazard ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.08-1.35). Our data suggest that vital exhaustion strongly mediates the association between higher social isolation and incident HF (the percentage change in beta coefficient for higher vs. low social isolation groups after adjusting for vital exhaustion was 36%). These data suggest that greater social isolation is an independent risk factor for incident HF, and this association appears to be strongly mediated by vital exhaustion.

Chemical constituents of Aspergillus sp EJC08 isolated as endophyte from Bauhinia guianensis and their antimicrobial activity.

PubMed

Pinheiro, Eduardo A A; Carvalho, Josiwander M; Santos, Diellem C P dos; Feitosa, André O; Marinho, Patrícia S B; Guilhon, Giselle Maria S P; Santos, Lourivaldo S; Souza, Afonso L D de; Marinho, Andrey M R

2013-01-01

The present work reports the isolation of five compounds from Aspergillus sp EJC08 isolated as endophytic from Bauhinia guianensis, a tipical plant of the Amazon. The compounds ergosterol (1), ergosterol peroxide (2), mevalolactone (3), monomethylsulochrin (4) and trypacidin A (5) were isolated by chromatographic procedures and identified by spectral methods of 1D and 2D NMR and MS. Compounds 3, 4 and 5 were tested against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus and showed good activity.

Methods for in situ Mesocosm Water Table Manipulation in Amazon Peatlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarno, B. G.; Guardia, J. R.; Torres, M. G.; Lopez, J. G.; Rios, M. L.; Saquiray, L. M.; Rodriguez, T. C.; Rivera, P. V.; Van Haren, J. L. M.; Cadillo-Quiroz, H.

2016-12-01

Rainfall manipulation in tropical Amazon rainforests has previously been used to analyze the effects of rapidly changing drought and flood seasons on canopy dynamics, above-ground ecological function and greenhouse gas cycles. We chose to focus on variance below the rootline due to the greater carbon mass and impact of this region and the variables affecting it. We designed and implemented a system that manipulates above and below ground water exposure to control soil saturation. Isolation of soil sample was collected using a PVC pipe submerged 50 cm into the ground with an overhead watershed and an underground water filter. Similarly, a control sample of the above ground water was collected. Above ground water control was performed, not unlike previous systems, using overhead cover, drainage and rerouting, constructed using 1 inch PVC sections configured to allow 25% shed, 50% shed, and 75% increase. Underground filters were designed using variable clay concentrations to achieve desired permeability and flow rate. We selected kiln-fire pure clay discs, instead of poly-acrylamide discs, to enable a steady flow of 0.83 mL/hr. In addition, we adjusted the concentration of the clay disc with sand buffering and carbon lacing at different mass concentrations to allow direct controls of the flow rate, as high as 12.45 mL/hr. Using pure clay concentrations of 100%, 75%, and 50% by mass, and lacing the filters with carbon fill of 10%, 20%, and 30% by volume, before kiln firing, allows much more desirable flow rates. These significant increases in flow rate allow for better control of both above and below ground water exposure. Such a system will enable a more complete geochemical and microbiological analysis of soil and water within this highly variable region of the rain forest. Construction and installation of the submerged towers has been performed at numerous sites along the Peruvian Amazon River basin. Monitoring soil respiration will be performed on the current

Determinants of Caregivers' Use and Adoption of Household Water Chlorination: A Qualitative Study with Peri-Urban Communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Rothstein, Jessica D; Leontsini, Elli; Olortegui, Maribel Paredes; Yori, Pablo Peñataro; Surkan, Pamela J; Kosek, Margaret

2015-09-01

The gap between the efficacy and the effectiveness of household water treatment in reducing diarrhea-related morbidity indicates the need for a better understanding of the determinants of long-term behavior change. To explore the barriers to drinking water chlorination in the Peruvian Amazon, where diarrhea is endemic among under-5 children, we conducted qualitative research with 23 caregivers from peri-urban communities of Iquitos, Peru. Our inquiry drew on the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change and the Integrated Behavioral Model for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene to identify the most relevant contextual, psychosocial, and technological determinants of initial action and long-term adoption of chlorination. Our findings suggest that the decision to try out this practice resulted from the combined effect of knowledge of chlorination benefits and product availability and affordability. Progress from action to adoption was influenced by caretakers' understanding of dosage, the packaging of chlorine products, knowledge and skills for multipurpose laundry bleach, the taste of treated water, and reinforcement. This analysis suggests that a focus on these determinants and the household domain may help to improve the sustainability of future intervention efforts. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Determinants of Caregivers' Use and Adoption of Household Water Chlorination: A Qualitative Study with Peri-urban Communities in the Peruvian Amazon

PubMed Central

Rothstein, Jessica D.; Leontsini, Elli; Olortegui, Maribel Paredes; Yori, Pablo Peñataro; Surkan, Pamela J.; Kosek, Margaret

2015-01-01

The gap between the efficacy and the effectiveness of household water treatment in reducing diarrhea-related morbidity indicates the need for a better understanding of the determinants of long-term behavior change. To explore the barriers to drinking water chlorination in the Peruvian Amazon, where diarrhea is endemic among under-5 children, we conducted qualitative research with 23 caregivers from peri-urban communities of Iquitos, Peru. Our inquiry drew on the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change and the Integrated Behavioral Model for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene to identify the most relevant contextual, psychosocial, and technological determinants of initial action and long-term adoption of chlorination. Our findings suggest that the decision to try out this practice resulted from the combined effect of knowledge of chlorination benefits and product availability and affordability. Progress from action to adoption was influenced by caretakers' understanding of dosage, the packaging of chlorine products, knowledge and skills for multipurpose laundry bleach, the taste of treated water, and reinforcement. This analysis suggests that a focus on these determinants and the household domain may help to improve the sustainability of future intervention efforts. PMID:26175028

Boundary layer ozone - An airborne survey above the Amazon Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregory, Gerald L.; Browell, Edward V.; Warren, Linda S.

1988-01-01

Ozone data obtained over the forest canopy of the Amazon Basin during July and August 1985 in the course of NASA's Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment 2A are discussed, and ozone profiles obtained during flights from Belem to Tabatinga, Brazil, are analyzed to determine any cross-basin effects. The analyses of ozone data indicate that the mixed layer of the Amazon Basin, for the conditions of undisturbed meteorology and in the absence of biomass burning, is a significant sink for tropospheric ozone. As the coast is approached, marine influences are noted at about 300 km inland, and a transition from a forest-controlled mixed layer to a marine-controlled mixed layer is noted.

Projections of future meteorological drought and wet periods in the Amazon

PubMed Central

Duffy, Philip B.; Brando, Paulo; Asner, Gregory P.; Field, Christopher B.

2015-01-01

Future intensification of Amazon drought resulting from climate change may cause increased fire activity, tree mortality, and emissions of carbon to the atmosphere across large areas of Amazonia. To provide a basis for addressing these issues, we examine properties of recent and future meteorological droughts in the Amazon in 35 climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). We find that the CMIP5 climate models, as a group, simulate important properties of historical meteorological droughts in the Amazon. In addition, this group of models reproduces observed relationships between Amazon precipitation and regional sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans. Assuming the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 scenario for future drivers of climate change, the models project increases in the frequency and geographic extent of meteorological drought in the eastern Amazon, and the opposite in the West. For the region as a whole, the CMIP5 models suggest that the area affected by mild and severe meteorological drought will nearly double and triple, respectively, by 2100. Extremes of wetness are also projected to increase after 2040. Specifically, the frequency of periods of unusual wetness and the area affected by unusual wetness are projected to increase after 2040 in the Amazon as a whole, including in locations where annual mean precipitation is projected to decrease. Our analyses suggest that continued emissions of greenhouse gases will increase the likelihood of extreme events that have been shown to alter and degrade Amazonian forests. PMID:26460046

Communities of Putative Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi Isolated from Alpine Dwarf Shrubs in Japan: Effects of Host Identity and Microhabitat.

PubMed

Koizumi, Takahiko; Nara, Kazuhide

2017-06-24

Dwarf shrubs of the family Ericaceae are common in arctic and alpine regions. Many of these plants are associated with ericoid mycorrhizal (ERM) fungi, which allow them to take nutrients and water from the soil under harsh environmental conditions and, thus, affect host plant survival. Despite the importance of ERM fungi to alpine plant communities, limited information is available on the effects of microhabitat and host identity on ERM fungal communities. We investigated the communities of putative ERM fungi isolated from five dwarf shrub species (Arcterica nana, Diapensia lapponica, Empetrum nigrum, Loiseleuria procumbens, and Vaccinium vitis-idaea) that co-occur in an alpine region of Japan, with reference to distinct microhabitats provided by large stone pine (Pinus pumila) shrubs (i.e. bare ground, the edge of stone pine shrubs, and the inside of stone pine shrubs). We obtained 703 fungal isolates from 222 individual plants. These isolates were classified into 55 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on the sequencing of internal transcribed spacer regions in ribosomal DNA. These putative ERM fungal communities were dominated by Helotiales fungi for all host species. Cistella and Trimmatostroma species, which have rarely been detected in ERM roots in previous studies, were abundant. ERM fungal communities were significantly different among microhabitats (R 2 =0.28), while the host effect explained less variance in the fungal communities after excluding the microhabitat effect (R 2 =0.17). Our results suggest that the host effect on ERM fungal communities is minor and the distributions of hosts and fungal communities may be assessed based on microhabitat conditions.

Communities of Putative Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi Isolated from Alpine Dwarf Shrubs in Japan: Effects of Host Identity and Microhabitat

PubMed Central

Koizumi, Takahiko; Nara, Kazuhide

2017-01-01

Dwarf shrubs of the family Ericaceae are common in arctic and alpine regions. Many of these plants are associated with ericoid mycorrhizal (ERM) fungi, which allow them to take nutrients and water from the soil under harsh environmental conditions and, thus, affect host plant survival. Despite the importance of ERM fungi to alpine plant communities, limited information is available on the effects of microhabitat and host identity on ERM fungal communities. We investigated the communities of putative ERM fungi isolated from five dwarf shrub species (Arcterica nana, Diapensia lapponica, Empetrum nigrum, Loiseleuria procumbens, and Vaccinium vitis-idaea) that co-occur in an alpine region of Japan, with reference to distinct microhabitats provided by large stone pine (Pinus pumila) shrubs (i.e. bare ground, the edge of stone pine shrubs, and the inside of stone pine shrubs). We obtained 703 fungal isolates from 222 individual plants. These isolates were classified into 55 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on the sequencing of internal transcribed spacer regions in ribosomal DNA. These putative ERM fungal communities were dominated by Helotiales fungi for all host species. Cistella and Trimmatostroma species, which have rarely been detected in ERM roots in previous studies, were abundant. ERM fungal communities were significantly different among microhabitats (R2=0.28), while the host effect explained less variance in the fungal communities after excluding the microhabitat effect (R2=0.17). Our results suggest that the host effect on ERM fungal communities is minor and the distributions of hosts and fungal communities may be assessed based on microhabitat conditions. PMID:28529264

Relationship of tooth wear to chronological age among indigenous Amazon populations.

PubMed

Vieira, Elma Pinto; Barbosa, Mayara Silva; Quintão, Cátia Cardoso Abdo; Normando, David

2015-01-01

In indigenous populations, age can be estimated based on family structure and physical examination. However, the accuracy of such methods is questionable. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate occlusal tooth wear related to estimated age in the remote indigenous populations of the Xingu River, Amazon. Two hundred and twenty three semi-isolated indigenous subjects with permanent dentition from the Arara (n = 117), Xicrin-Kayapó (n = 60) and Assurini (n = 46) villages were examined. The control group consisted of 40 non-indigenous individuals living in an urban area in the Amazon basin (Belem). A modified tooth wear index was applied and then associated with chronological age by linear regression analysis. A strong association was found between tooth wear and chronological age in the indigenous populations (p <0.001). Tooth wear measurements were able to explain 86% of the variation in the ages of the Arara sample, 70% of the Xicrin-Kaiapó sample and 65% of the Assurini sample. In the urban control sample, only 12% of ages could be determined by tooth wear. These findings suggest that tooth wear is a poor estimator of chronological age in the urban population; however, it has a strong association with age for the more remote indigenous populations. Consequently, these findings suggest that a simple tooth wear evaluation method, as described and applied in this study, can be used to provide a straightforward and efficient means to assist in age determination of newly contacted indigenous groups.

Selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Asner, Gregory P; Knapp, David E; Broadbent, Eben N; Oliveira, Paulo J C; Keller, Michael; Silva, Jose N

2005-10-21

Amazon deforestation has been measured by remote sensing for three decades. In comparison, selective logging has been mostly invisible to satellites. We developed a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon. Logged areas ranged from 12,075 to 19,823 square kilometers per year (+/-14%) between 1999 and 2002, equivalent to 60 to 123% of previously reported deforestation area. Up to 1200 square kilometers per year of logging were observed on conservation lands. Each year, 27 million to 50 million cubic meters of wood were extracted, and a gross flux of approximately 0.1 billion metric tons of carbon was destined for release to the atmosphere by logging.

Antiplasmodial and Cytotoxic Activity of Raw Plant Extracts as Reported by Knowledgeable Indigenous People of the Amazon Region (Vaupés Medio in Colombia).

PubMed

Pabón, Adriana; Ramirez, Otoniel; Ríos, Alexandra; López, Ena; de Las Salas, Briegel; Cardona, Felipe; Blair, Silvia

2016-05-01

The in vitro antiplasmodial activity of 122 raw extracts prepared in ethanol and water from 35 medicinal plants reported by the Cubeo indigenous village of the Amazon region (Vaupés Medio in Colombia) was evaluated for efficacy against 3D7 (sensitive to chloroquine) and FCR-3 (resistant to chloroquine) Plasmodium falciparum strains. Five percent of these extracts presented a significant antiplasmodial activity (< 5 µg/mL) and 83 % of them were not cytotoxic. These findings highlight the importance of investigating traditional medicinal plants implemented by these ancestral communities of the Amazon region as well as their potential to become a source of new drugs against malaria. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Small Traditional Human Communities Sustain Genomic Diversity over Microgeographic Scales despite Linguistic Isolation

PubMed Central

Cox, Murray P.; Hudjashov, Georgi; Sim, Andre; Savina, Olga; Karafet, Tatiana M.; Sudoyo, Herawati; Lansing, J. Stephen

2016-01-01

At least since the Neolithic, humans have largely lived in networks of small, traditional communities. Often socially isolated, these groups evolved distinct languages and cultures over microgeographic scales of just tens of kilometers. Population genetic theory tells us that genetic drift should act quickly in such isolated groups, thus raising the question: do networks of small human communities maintain levels of genetic diversity over microgeographic scales? This question can no longer be asked in most parts of the world, which have been heavily impacted by historical events that make traditional society structures the exception. However, such studies remain possible in parts of Island Southeast Asia and Oceania, where traditional ways of life are still practiced. We captured genome-wide genetic data, together with linguistic records, for a case–study system—eight villages distributed across Sumba, a small, remote island in eastern Indonesia. More than 4,000 years after these communities were established during the Neolithic period, most speak different languages and can be distinguished genetically. Yet their nuclear diversity is not reduced, instead being comparable to other, even much larger, regional groups. Modeling reveals a separation of time scales: while languages and culture can evolve quickly, creating social barriers, sporadic migration averaged over many generations is sufficient to keep villages linked genetically. This loosely-connected network structure, once the global norm and still extant on Sumba today, provides a living proxy to explore fine-scale genome dynamics in the sort of small traditional communities within which the most recent episodes of human evolution occurred. PMID:27274003

Impact of Atmospheric Albedo on Amazon Evapotranspiration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, A. V.; Thompson, S. E.; Dracup, J. A.

2013-12-01

The vulnerability of the Amazon region to climate and anthropogenic driven disturbances has been the subject of extensive research efforts, given its importance in the global and regional climate and ecologic systems. The evaluation of such vulnerabilities requires the proper understanding of physical mechanisms controlling water and energy balances and how the disturbances change them. Among those mechanisms, the effects of atmospheric albedo on evapotranspiration have not been fully explored yet and are explored in this study. Evapotranspiration in the Amazon is sustained at high levels across all seasons and represents a large fraction of water and energy surface budgets. In this study, statistical analysis of data from four flux towers installed at Amazon primary forest sites was employed to quantify the impact of atmospheric albedo, mostly resulted from cloudiness, on evapotranspiration and to compare it to the effect of water limitation. Firstly, the difference in eddy-flux derived evapotranspiration at the flux towers under rainy and non-rainy antecedent conditions was tested for significance. Secondly, the same statistical comparison was performed under cloudy and clear sky conditions at hourly and daily time scales, using the reduction in incoming solar radiation as an indicator of cloudiness. Finally, the sensitivity of seasonal evapotranspiration totals to atmospheric albedo resulted from rainfall patterns is evaluated. That was done by sampling daily evapotranspiration estimates from empirical probability distribution functions conditioned to rainfall occurrence and then varying the number of dry days in each season. It was found that light limitation is much more important than water limitation in the Amazon, resulting in up to 43% reduction in daily evapotranspiration. Also, this effect varies by location and by season, the largest impact being in wet season, from December do January. Moreover, seasonal evapotranspiration totals were found to be

Chagas disease and globalization of the Amazon.

PubMed

Briceño-León, Roberto

2007-01-01

The increasing number of autochthonous cases of Chagas disease in the Amazon since the 1970s has led to fear that the disease may become a new public health problem in the region. This transformation in the disease's epidemiological pattern in the Amazon can be explained by environmental and social changes in the last 30 years. The current article draws on the sociological theory of perverse effects to explain these changes as the unwanted result of the shift from the "inward" development model prevailing until the 1970s to the "outward" model that we know as globalization, oriented by industrial forces and international trade. The current article highlights the implementation of five new patterns in agriculture, cattle-raising, mining, lumbering, and urban occupation that have generated changes in the environment and the traditional indigenous habitat and have led to migratory flows, deforestation, sedentary living, the presence of domestic animals, and changes in the habitat that facilitate colonization of human dwellings by vectors and the domestic and work-related transmission of the disease. The expansion of Chagas disease is thus a perverse effect of the globalization process in the Amazon.

Antiprotozoal activity of medicinal plants used by Iquitos-Nauta road communities in Loreto (Peru).

PubMed

Vásquez-Ocmín, Pedro; Cojean, Sandrine; Rengifo, Elsa; Suyyagh-Albouz, Soulaf; Amasifuen Guerra, Carlos A; Pomel, Sébastien; Cabanillas, Billy; Mejía, Kember; Loiseau, Philippe M; Figadère, Bruno; Maciuk, Alexandre

2018-01-10

In the Peruvian Amazon, the use of medicinal plants is a common practice. However, there is few documented information about the practical aspects of their use and few scientific validation. The starting point for this work was a set of interviews of people living in rural communities from the Peruvian Amazon about their uses of plants. Protozoan diseases are a public health issue in the Amazonian communities, who partly cope with it by using traditional remedies. Validation of these traditional practices contributes to public health care efficiency and may help identify new antiprotozoal compounds. to inventory and validate the use of medicinal plants by rural people of Loreto region. Rural mestizos were interviewed about traditional medication of parasite infections with medicinal plants. Ethnopharmacological surveys were undertaken in two villages along Iquitos-Nauta road (Loreto region, Peru), namely 13 de Febrero and El Dorado communities. Forty-six plants were collected according to their traditional use for the treatment of parasitic diseases, 50 ethanolic extracts (different parts for some of the plants) were tested in vitro on Plasmodium falciparum (3D7 sensitive strain and W2 chloroquine resistant strain), Leishmania donovani LV9 strain and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. Cytotoxic assessment (HUVEC cells) of the active extracts was performed. Two of the most active plants were submitted to preliminary bioguided fractionation to ascertain and explore their activities. From the initial plants list, 10 were found to be active on P. falciparum, 15 on L. donovani and 2 on the three parasites. The ethanolic extract from Costus curvibracteatus (Costaceae) leaves and Grias neuberthii (Lecythidaceae) bark showed strong in vitro activity on P. falciparum (sensitive and resistant strain) and L. donovani and moderate activity on T. brucei gambiense. The Amazonian forest communities in Peru represents a source of knowledge on the use of medicinal plants. In this work

Potential groundwater contribution to Amazon evapotranspiration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Y.; Miguez-Macho, G.

2010-07-01

Climate and land ecosystem models simulate a dry-season vegetation stress in the Amazon forest, but observations show enhanced growth in response to higher radiation under less cloudy skies, indicating an adequate water supply. Proposed mechanisms include larger soil water store and deeper roots in nature and the ability of roots to move water up and down (hydraulic redistribution). Here we assess the importance of the upward soil water flux from the groundwater driven by capillarity. We present a map of water table depth from observations and groundwater modeling, and a map of potential capillary flux these water table depths can sustain. The maps show that the water table beneath the Amazon can be quite shallow in lowlands and river valleys (<5 m in 36% and <10 m in 60% of Amazonia). The water table can potentially sustain a capillary flux of >2.1 mm day-1 to the land surface averaged over Amazonia, but varies from 0.6 to 3.7 mm day-1 across nine study sites. Current models simulate a large-scale reduction in dry-season photosynthesis under today's climate and a possible dieback under projected future climate with a longer dry season, converting the Amazon from a net carbon sink to a source and accelerating warming. The inclusion of groundwater and capillary flux may modify the model results.

Sustainable settlement in the Brazilian Amazon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Almeida, A.L.O.; Campari, J.S.

1996-02-01

Presents and analyzes the largest and most complete data set ever produced on the economic variables that influence deforestation by small farmers in the Amazon. This landmark study presents the largest and most analytically complete data set ever produced on the economic variables that influence deforestation by small farmers in the Amazon. The authors examine the changing character of the Amazon frontier based on field surveys conducted during twenty years of settlement experience. By observing the economic behavior of small farmers from colonization during the 1970s until the chaotic aftermath of the early 1990s, the authors are able to pinpointmore » a central paradox: unsuccessful farmers tend to be unstable, moving on to new frontiers where they will again destroy forests. Successful farmers tend to increase deforestation in the places where they remain. The findings reveal that much of the Amazonian frontier land cleared by pioneers in the 1970s is becoming agriculturally unproductive. Small farmers should be rewarded for staying where they are and for pursuing sustainable farming. Good farming methods must be promoted, and deforestation must be penalized. The authors recommend the implementation of innovative economic policies and new forms of cooperation between environmental and economic agencies, including the World Bank, at both local and international levels. The aim of these policies should be to raise agricultural incomes and reduce environmental aggression.« less

Soluble iron nutrients in Saharan dust over the central Amazon rainforest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzolo, Joana A.; Barbosa, Cybelli G. G.; Borillo, Guilherme C.; Godoi, Ana F. L.; Souza, Rodrigo A. F.; Andreoli, Rita V.; Manzi, Antônio O.; Sá, Marta O.; Alves, Eliane G.; Pöhlker, Christopher; Angelis, Isabella H.; Ditas, Florian; Saturno, Jorge; Moran-Zuloaga, Daniel; Rizzo, Luciana V.; Rosário, Nilton E.; Pauliquevis, Theotonio; Santos, Rosa M. N.; Yamamoto, Carlos I.; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Artaxo, Paulo; Taylor, Philip E.; Godoi, Ricardo H. M.

2017-02-01

The intercontinental transport of aerosols from the Sahara desert plays a significant role in nutrient cycles in the Amazon rainforest, since it carries many types of minerals to these otherwise low-fertility lands. Iron is one of the micronutrients essential for plant growth, and its long-range transport might be an important source for the iron-limited Amazon rainforest. This study assesses the bioavailability of iron Fe(II) and Fe(III) in the particulate matter over the Amazon forest, which was transported from the Sahara desert (for the sake of our discussion, this term also includes the Sahel region). The sampling campaign was carried out above and below the forest canopy at the ATTO site (Amazon Tall Tower Observatory), a near-pristine area in the central Amazon Basin, from March to April 2015. Measurements reached peak concentrations for soluble Fe(III) (48 ng m-3), Fe(II) (16 ng m-3), Na (470 ng m-3), Ca (194 ng m-3), K (65 ng m-3), and Mg (89 ng m-3) during a time period of dust transport from the Sahara, as confirmed by ground-based and satellite remote sensing data and air mass backward trajectories. Dust sampled above the Amazon canopy included primary biological aerosols and other coarse particles up to 12 µm in diameter. Atmospheric transport of weathered Saharan dust, followed by surface deposition, resulted in substantial iron bioavailability across the rainforest canopy. The seasonal deposition of dust, rich in soluble iron, and other minerals is likely to assist both bacteria and fungi within the topsoil and on canopy surfaces, and especially benefit highly bioabsorbent species. In this scenario, Saharan dust can provide essential macronutrients and micronutrients to plant roots, and also directly to plant leaves. The influence of this input on the ecology of the forest canopy and topsoil is discussed, and we argue that this influence would likely be different from that of nutrients from the weathered Amazon bedrock, which otherwise provides the

The Amazon forest-rainfall feedback: the roles of transpiration and interception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekker, Stefan; Staal, Arie; Tuinenburg, Obbe

2017-04-01

In the Amazon, deep-rooted trees increase local transpiration and high tree cover increase local interception evaporation. These increased local evapotranspiration fluxes to the atmosphere have both positive effects on forests down-wind, as they stimulate rainfall. Although important for the functioning of the Amazon, we have an inadequate assessment on the strength and the timing of these forest-rainfall feedbacks. In this study we (i) estimate local forest transpiration and local interception evaporation, (ii) simulate the trajectories of these moisture flows through the atmosphere and (iii) quantify their contributions to the forest-rainfall feedback for the whole Amazon basin. To determine the atmospheric moisture flows in tropical South America we use a Lagrangian moisture tracking algorithm on 0.25° (c. 25 km) resolution with eight atmospheric layers on a monthly basis for the period 2003-2015. With our approach we account for multiple re-evaporation cycles of this moisture. We also calculate for each month the potential effects of forest loss on evapotranspiration. Combined, these calculations allow us to simulate the effects of land-cover changes on rainfall in downwind areas and estimate the effect on the forest. We found large regional and temporal differences in the importance how forest contribute to rainfall. The transpiration-rainfall feedback is highly important during the dry season. Between September-November, when large parts of the Amazon are at the end of the dry season, more than 50% of the rainfall is caused by the forests upstream. This means that droughts in the Amazon are alleviated by the forest. Furthermore, we found that much moisture cycles several times during its trajectory over the Amazon. After one evapotranspiration-rainfall cycle, more than 40% of the moisture is re-evaporated again. The interception-evaporation feedback is less important during droughts. Finally from our analysis, we show that the forest-rainfall feedback is

PAH Baselines for Amazonic Surficial Sediments: A Case of Study in Guajará Bay and Guamá River (Northern Brazil).

PubMed

Rodrigues, Camila Carneiro Dos Santos; Santos, Ewerton; Ramos, Brunalisa Silva; Damasceno, Flaviana Cardoso; Correa, José Augusto Martins

2018-06-01

The 16 priority PAH were determined in sediment samples from the insular zone of Guajará Bay and Guamá River (Southern Amazon River mouth). Low hydrocarbon levels were observed and naphthalene was the most representative PAH. The low molecular weight PAH represented 51% of the total PAH. Statistical analysis showed that the sampling sites are not significantly different. Source analysis by PAH ratios and principal component analysis revealed that PAH are primary from a few rate of fossil fuel combustion, mainly related to the local small community activity. All samples presented no biological stress or damage potencial according to the sediment quality guidelines. This study discuss baselines for PAH in surface sediments from Amazonic aquatic systems based on source determination by PAH ratios and principal component analysis, sediment quality guidelines and through comparison with previous studies data.

Molecular characterization of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli isolates from hospital- and community-acquired infections in NW Mexico.

PubMed

Miranda-Romero, Ana Laura; Silva-Sanchez, Jesus; Garza-Ramos, Ulises; Barrios, Humberto; Sánchez-Pérez, Alejandro; Reyna-Flores, Fernando

2017-01-01

We investigated the molecular characteristics of ESBL-producing E. coli (ESBL-PEc) isolates from two hospitals and community settings in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. Between 2011 and 2014, thirty-seven ESBL-PEc isolates were collected. The major encoded ESBL was the bla CTX-M-15 gene (97%); followed by 13.5% of the bla SHV-12 gene, and 5.5% encoded the bla TLA-1 gene. The PMQR gene aac(6´)-Ib-cr was detected in 97% of the isolates and the qnrB gene, in one isolate. The ESBL-PEc isolates corresponded to phylogenetic group B2, ST131. Our results highlight the dissemination of ESBL-PEc isolates in northwest Mexico (Ciudad Obregon, Sonora). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Green Ocean: Precipitation Insights from the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment

DOE PAGES

Wang, Die; Giangrande, Scott E.; Bartholomew, Mary Jane; ...

2018-02-07

This study summarizes the precipitation properties collected during the GoAmazon2014/5 campaign near Manaus in central Amazonia, Brazil. Precipitation breakdowns, summary radar rainfall relationships and self-consistency concepts from a coupled disdrometer and radar wind profiler measurements are presented. The properties of Amazon cumulus and associated stratiform precipitation are discussed, including segregations according to seasonal (Wet/Dry regime) variability, cloud echo-top height and possible aerosol influences on the apparent oceanic characteristics of the precipitation drop size distributions. Overall, we observe that the Amazon precipitation straddles behaviors found during previous U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurements program (ARM) tropical deployments, with distributions favoringmore » higher concentrations of smaller drops than ARM continental examples. Oceanic type precipitation characteristics are predominantly observed during the Amazon Wet seasons. Finally, an exploration of the controls on Wet season precipitation properties reveals that wind direction, as compared with other standard radiosonde thermodynamic parameters or aerosol count/regime classifications performed at the ARM site, provides a good indicator for those Wet season Amazon events having an oceanic character for their precipitation drop size distributions.« less

The Green Ocean: Precipitation Insights from the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Die; Giangrande, Scott E.; Bartholomew, Mary Jane

This study summarizes the precipitation properties collected during the GoAmazon2014/5 campaign near Manaus in central Amazonia, Brazil. Precipitation breakdowns, summary radar rainfall relationships and self-consistency concepts from a coupled disdrometer and radar wind profiler measurements are presented. The properties of Amazon cumulus and associated stratiform precipitation are discussed, including segregations according to seasonal (Wet/Dry regime) variability, cloud echo-top height and possible aerosol influences on the apparent oceanic characteristics of the precipitation drop size distributions. Overall, we observe that the Amazon precipitation straddles behaviors found during previous U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurements program (ARM) tropical deployments, with distributions favoringmore » higher concentrations of smaller drops than ARM continental examples. Oceanic type precipitation characteristics are predominantly observed during the Amazon Wet seasons. Finally, an exploration of the controls on Wet season precipitation properties reveals that wind direction, as compared with other standard radiosonde thermodynamic parameters or aerosol count/regime classifications performed at the ARM site, provides a good indicator for those Wet season Amazon events having an oceanic character for their precipitation drop size distributions.« less

A database for the monitoring of thermal anomalies over the Amazon forest and adjacent intertropical oceans

PubMed Central

Jiménez-Muñoz, Juan C.; Mattar, Cristian; Sobrino, José A.; Malhi, Yadvinder

2015-01-01

Advances in information technologies and accessibility to climate and satellite data in recent years have favored the development of web-based tools with user-friendly interfaces in order to facilitate the dissemination of geo/biophysical products. These products are useful for the analysis of the impact of global warming over different biomes. In particular, the study of the Amazon forest responses to drought have recently received attention by the scientific community due to the occurrence of two extreme droughts and sustained warming over the last decade. Thermal Amazoni@ is a web-based platform for the visualization and download of surface thermal anomalies products over the Amazon forest and adjacent intertropical oceans using Google Earth as a baseline graphical interface (http://ipl.uv.es/thamazon/web). This platform is currently operational at the servers of the University of Valencia (Spain), and it includes both satellite (MODIS) and climatic (ERA-Interim) datasets. Thermal Amazoni@ is composed of the viewer system and the web and ftp sites with ancillary information and access to product download. PMID:26029379

A database for the monitoring of thermal anomalies over the Amazon forest and adjacent intertropical oceans.

PubMed

Jiménez-Muñoz, Juan C; Mattar, Cristian; Sobrino, José A; Malhi, Yadvinder

2015-01-01

Advances in information technologies and accessibility to climate and satellite data in recent years have favored the development of web-based tools with user-friendly interfaces in order to facilitate the dissemination of geo/biophysical products. These products are useful for the analysis of the impact of global warming over different biomes. In particular, the study of the Amazon forest responses to drought have recently received attention by the scientific community due to the occurrence of two extreme droughts and sustained warming over the last decade. Thermal Amazoni@ is a web-based platform for the visualization and download of surface thermal anomalies products over the Amazon forest and adjacent intertropical oceans using Google Earth as a baseline graphical interface (http://ipl.uv.es/thamazon/web). This platform is currently operational at the servers of the University of Valencia (Spain), and it includes both satellite (MODIS) and climatic (ERA-Interim) datasets. Thermal Amazoni@ is composed of the viewer system and the web and ftp sites with ancillary information and access to product download.

Spatial Pattern of Standing Timber Value across the Brazilian Amazon

PubMed Central

Ahmed, Sadia E.; Ewers, Robert M.

2012-01-01

The Amazon is a globally important system, providing a host of ecosystem services from climate regulation to food sources. It is also home to a quarter of all global diversity. Large swathes of forest are removed each year, and many models have attempted to predict the spatial patterns of this forest loss. The spatial patterns of deforestation are determined largely by the patterns of roads that open access to frontier areas and expansion of the road network in the Amazon is largely determined by profit seeking logging activities. Here we present predictions for the spatial distribution of standing value of timber across the Amazon. We show that the patterns of timber value reflect large-scale ecological gradients, determining the spatial distribution of functional traits of trees which are, in turn, correlated with timber values. We expect that understanding the spatial patterns of timber value across the Amazon will aid predictions of logging movements and thus predictions of potential future road developments. These predictions in turn will be of great use in estimating the spatial patterns of deforestation in this globally important biome. PMID:22590520

Zooplankton From a Reef System Under the Influence of the Amazon River Plume

PubMed Central

Neumann-Leitão, Sigrid; Melo, Pedro A. M. C.; Schwamborn, Ralf; Diaz, Xiomara F. G.; Figueiredo, Lucas G. P.; Silva, Andrea P.; Campelo, Renata P. S.; de Melo Júnior, Mauro; Melo, Nuno F. A. C.; Costa, Alejandro E. S. F.; Araújo, Moacyr; Veleda, Dóris R. A.; Moura, Rodrigo L.; Thompson, Fabiano

2018-01-01

At the mouth of the Amazon River, a widespread carbonate ecosystem exists below the river plume, generating a hard-bottom reef (∼9500 km2) that includes mainly large sponges but also rhodolith beds. The mesozooplankton associated with the pelagic realm over the reef formation was characterized, considering the estuarine plume and oceanic influence. Vertical hauls were carried out using a standard plankton net with 200 μm mesh size during September 2014. An indicator index was applied to express species importance as ecological indicators in community. Information on functional traits was gathered for the most abundant copepod species. Overall, 179 zooplankton taxa were recorded. Copepods were the richest (92 species), most diverse and most abundant group, whereas meroplankton were rare and less abundant. Species diversity (>3.0 bits.ind-1) and evenness (>0.6) were high, indicating a complex community. Small holoplanktonic species dominated the zooplankton, and the total density varied from 107.98 ind. m-3 over the reef area to 2,609.24 ind. m-3 in the estuarine plume, with a significant difference between coastal and oceanic areas. The most abundant copepods were the coastal species ithona plumifera and Clausocalanus furcatus and early stages copepodites of Paracalanidae. The holoplanktonic Oikopleura, an important producer of mucous houses, was very abundant on the reefs. The indicator species index revealed three groups: (1) indicative of coastal waters under the influence of the estuarine plume [Euterpina acutifrons, Parvocalanus crassirostris, Oikopleura (Vexillaria) dioica and Hydromedusae]; (2) characterized coastal and oceanic conditions (Clausocalanus); (3) characterized the reef system (O. plumifera). Two major copepods functional groups were identified and sorted according to their trophic strategy and coastal-oceanic distribution. The species that dominated the coastal area and the area over the rhodolith beds are indicators of the estuarine plume and

Zooplankton From a Reef System Under the Influence of the Amazon River Plume.

PubMed

Neumann-Leitão, Sigrid; Melo, Pedro A M C; Schwamborn, Ralf; Diaz, Xiomara F G; Figueiredo, Lucas G P; Silva, Andrea P; Campelo, Renata P S; de Melo Júnior, Mauro; Melo, Nuno F A C; Costa, Alejandro E S F; Araújo, Moacyr; Veleda, Dóris R A; Moura, Rodrigo L; Thompson, Fabiano

2018-01-01

At the mouth of the Amazon River, a widespread carbonate ecosystem exists below the river plume, generating a hard-bottom reef (∼9500 km 2 ) that includes mainly large sponges but also rhodolith beds. The mesozooplankton associated with the pelagic realm over the reef formation was characterized, considering the estuarine plume and oceanic influence. Vertical hauls were carried out using a standard plankton net with 200 μm mesh size during September 2014. An indicator index was applied to express species importance as ecological indicators in community. Information on functional traits was gathered for the most abundant copepod species. Overall, 179 zooplankton taxa were recorded. Copepods were the richest (92 species), most diverse and most abundant group, whereas meroplankton were rare and less abundant. Species diversity (>3.0 bits.ind -1 ) and evenness (>0.6) were high, indicating a complex community. Small holoplanktonic species dominated the zooplankton, and the total density varied from 107.98 ind. m -3 over the reef area to 2,609.24 ind. m -3 in the estuarine plume, with a significant difference between coastal and oceanic areas. The most abundant copepods were the coastal species ithona plumifera and Clausocalanus furcatus and early stages copepodites of Paracalanidae. The holoplanktonic Oikopleura , an important producer of mucous houses, was very abundant on the reefs. The indicator species index revealed three groups: (1) indicative of coastal waters under the influence of the estuarine plume [ Euterpina acutifrons, Parvocalanus crassirostris, Oikopleura (Vexillaria) dioica and Hydromedusae]; (2) characterized coastal and oceanic conditions ( Clausocalanus ); (3) characterized the reef system ( O. plumifera ). Two major copepods functional groups were identified and sorted according to their trophic strategy and coastal-oceanic distribution. The species that dominated the coastal area and the area over the rhodolith beds are indicators of the

Early child health in an informal settlement in the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Lee, Gwenyth O; Paredes Olortegui, Maribel; Salmón-Mulanovich, Gabriela; Peñataro Yori, Pablo; Kosek, Margaret

2016-10-12

Informal settlements are common throughout the developing world. In Peru, land occupations, commonly "invasions" in Spanish, are a means by which the extremely poor attempt to obtain access to land. Here, we examine difference in child health between two communities in the Peruvian Amazon, one well-established and one newly formed by 'invasion', as captured incidentally by a prospective epidemiological cohort study. Between 2002 and 2006 a study designed to describe the epidemiology of pediatric enteric infections and child growth in a community-based setting enrolled 442 children in Santa Clara de Nanay, a community adjacent to the city of Iquitos, in Loreto, Peru. In early 2003, a land occupation, commonly called an "invasion" in Spanish, was organized by members of the Santa Clara community, and approximately 20 % of participating study families began occupying privately owned agricultural land adjacent to Santa Clara, thus forming the new community of La Union. Parents in families that chose to invade reported less education than parents in families that chose not to. Children in the new community experienced a higher incidence of diarrheal disease and non-specific fevers, although fewer helminth infections, than children who remained in the established community. At the time of the invasion, there were no differences in anthropometric status between the two groups; however children in the new community experienced greater progressive growth faltering over the course of the longitudinal study. Growth faltering in early childhood represents an enduring loss of human potential. Therefore, our data suggests the human cost of land invasion may be disproportionately borne by the youngest individuals. Innovative policy strategies may be needed to protect this vulnerable group.

Groundwater Isolation Governs Chemistry and Microbial Community Structure along Hydrologic Flowpaths

PubMed Central

Ben Maamar, Sarah; Aquilina, Luc; Quaiser, Achim; Pauwels, Hélène; Michon-Coudouel, Sophie; Vergnaud-Ayraud, Virginie; Labasque, Thierry; Roques, Clément; Abbott, Benjamin W.; Dufresne, Alexis

2015-01-01

This study deals with the effects of hydrodynamic functioning of hard-rock aquifers on microbial communities. In hard-rock aquifers, the heterogeneous hydrologic circulation strongly constrains groundwater residence time, hydrochemistry, and nutrient supply. Here, residence time and a wide range of environmental factors were used to test the influence of groundwater circulation on active microbial community composition, assessed by high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA. Groundwater of different ages was sampled along hydrogeologic paths or loops, in three contrasting hard-rock aquifers in Brittany (France). Microbial community composition was driven by groundwater residence time and hydrogeologic loop position. In recent groundwater, in the upper section of the aquifers or in their recharge zone, surface water inputs caused high nitrate concentration and the predominance of putative denitrifiers. Although denitrification does not seem to fully decrease nitrate concentrations due to low dissolved organic carbon concentrations, nitrate input has a major effect on microbial communities. The occurrence of taxa possibly associated with the application of organic fertilizers was also noticed. In ancient isolated groundwater, an ecosystem based on Fe(II)/Fe(III) and S/SO4 redox cycling was observed down to several 100 of meters below the surface. In this depth section, microbial communities were dominated by iron oxidizing bacteria belonging to Gallionellaceae. The latter were associated to old groundwater with high Fe concentrations mixed to a small but not null percentage of recent groundwater inducing oxygen concentrations below 2.5 mg/L. These two types of microbial community were observed in the three sites, independently of site geology and aquifer geometry, indicating hydrogeologic circulation exercises a major control on microbial communities. PMID:26733990

An explicit GIS-based river basin framework for aquatic ecosystem conservation in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venticinque, Eduardo; Forsberg, Bruce; Barthem, Ronaldo; Petry, Paulo; Hess, Laura; Mercado, Armando; Cañas, Carlos; Montoya, Mariana; Durigan, Carlos; Goulding, Michael

2016-11-01

Despite large-scale infrastructure development, deforestation, mining and petroleum exploration in the Amazon Basin, relatively little attention has been paid to the management scale required for the protection of wetlands, fisheries and other aspects of aquatic ecosystems. This is due, in part, to the enormous size, multinational composition and interconnected nature of the Amazon River system, as well as to the absence of an adequate spatial model for integrating data across the entire Amazon Basin. In this data article we present a spatially uniform multi-scale GIS framework that was developed especially for the analysis, management and monitoring of various aspects of aquatic systems in the Amazon Basin. The Amazon GIS-Based River Basin Framework is accessible as an ESRI geodatabase at doi:10.5063/F1BG2KX8.

Draft genome sequence of Bradyrhizobium manausense strain BR 3351T, an effective symbiont isolated from Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Simões-Araújo, Jean Luiz; Rumjanek, Norma Gouvêa; Xavier, Gustavo Ribeiro; Zilli, Jerri Édson

The strain BR 3351 T (Bradyrhizobium manausense) was obtained from nodules of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) growing in soil collected from Amazon rainforest. Furthermore, it was observed that the strain has high capacity to fix nitrogen symbiotically in symbioses with cowpea. We report here the draft genome sequence of strain BR 3351 T . The information presented will be important for comparative analysis of nodulation and nitrogen fixation for diazotrophic bacteria. A draft genome with 9,145,311bp and 62.9% of GC content was assembled in 127 scaffolds using 100bp pair-end Illumina MiSeq system. The RAST annotation identified 8603 coding sequences, 51 RNAs genes, classified in 504 subsystems. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

Emergence and localized circulation of a vaccine-derived poliovirus in an isolated mountain community in Guangxi, China.

PubMed

Yan, Dongmei; Li, Li; Zhu, Shuangli; Zhang, Yong; An, Junjing; Wang, Dongyan; Wen, Ning; Jorba, Jaume; Liu, Wei; Zhong, Ge; Huang, Lin; Kew, Olen; Liang, Xiaofeng; Xu, Wenbo

2010-09-01

From March to May 2006, type 1 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) was isolated from one case patient with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and six unimmunized healthy contacts in isolated mountain villages in Guangxi, China. We conducted epidemiological investigations in the affected communities and nucleotide sequence analyses of the cVDPV isolates. The results of the investigations showed that the AFP patient, an unimmunized 10-year-old boy, and five laboratory-confirmed contacts lived in the same village; one contact lived in a neighboring village. Only approximately 27% of children 5 to 10 years of age in the affected villages had received three or more doses of the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Nucleotide sequence analyses revealed that the cVDPV isolates differed from the Sabin 1 (S1) isolate at 1.4 to 2.2% of VP1 nucleotide positions and shared 12 nucleotide substitutions within VP1. All isolates were S1/S2/S1/S3 recombinants sharing common recombination junctions. Key determinants of attenuation were replaced. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the cVDPV circulated locally for approximately 12 months following the initiating OPV dose. No VDPVs were found after mass OPV immunizations, conducted from May to June 2006, that targeted all children <12 years of age. Our findings reinforce the point that VDPVs can emerge and spread in isolated communities with immunity gaps. Maintenance of sensitive AFP and poliovirus surveillance is essential to permit early detection and a rapid response to VDPV circulation.

The Climate Effects of Deforestation the Amazon Rainforest under Global Warming Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werth, D.; Avissar, R.

2006-12-01

Replacement of tropical rainforests has been observed to have a strong drying effect in Amazon simulations, with effects reaching high into the atmospheric column and into the midlatitudes. The drying effects of deforestation, however, can be moderated by the effects of global warming, which should accelerate the hydrologic cycle of the Amazon. The effects of a prescribed, time-varying Amazon deforestation done in conjunction with a steady, moderate increase in CO2 concentrations are determined using a climate model. The model agrees with previous studies when each forcing is applied individually - compared to a control run, Amazon deforestation decreases the local precipitation and global warming increases it. When both are applied, however, the precipitation and other hydrologic variables decrease, but to a lesser extent than when deforestation alone was applied. In effect, the two effects act opposite to one another and bring the simulated climate closer to that of the control.

Insights from the genome of a high alkaline cellulase producing Aspergillus fumigatus strain obtained from Peruvian Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Paul, Sujay; Zhang, Angel; Ludeña, Yvette; Villena, Gretty K; Yu, Fengan; Sherman, David H; Gutiérrez-Correa, Marcel

2017-06-10

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of a high alkaline cellulase producing Aspergillus fumigatus strain LMB-35Aa isolated from soil of Peruvian Amazon rainforest. The genome is ∼27.5mb in size, comprises of 228 scaffolds with an average GC content of 50%, and is predicted to contain a total of 8660 protein-coding genes. Of which, 6156 are with known function; it codes for 607 putative CAZymes families potentially involved in carbohydrate metabolism. Several important cellulose degrading genes, such as endoglucanase A, endoglucanase B, endoglucanase D and beta-glucosidase, are also identified. The genome of A. fumigatus strain LMB-35Aa represents the first whole sequenced genome of non-clinical, high cellulase producing A. fumigatus strain isolated from forest soil. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tree-Ring Reconstruction of Wet Season Rainfall Totals in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stahle, D. W.; Lopez, L.; Granato-Souza, D.; Barbosa, A. C. M. C.; Torbenson, M.; Villalba, R.; Pereira, G. D. A.; Feng, S.; Schongart, J.; Cook, E. R.

2017-12-01

The Amazon Basin is a globally important center of deep atmospheric convection, energy balance, and biodiversity, but only a handful of weather stations in this vast Basin have recorded rainfall measurements for at least 50 years. The available rainfall and river level observations suggest that the hydrologic cycle in the Amazon may have become amplified in the last 40-years, with more extreme rainfall and streamflow seasonality, deeper droughts, and more severe flooding. These changes in the largest hydrological system on earth may be early evidence of the expected consequences of anthropogenic climate change and deforestation in the coming century. Placing these observed and simulated changes in the context of natural climate variability during the late Holocene is a significant challenge for high-resolution paleoclimatology. We have developed exactly dated and well-replicated annual tree-ring chronologies from two native Amazonian tree species (Cedrela sp and Centrolobium microchaete). These moisture sensitive chronologies have been used to compute two reconstructions of wet season rainfall totals, one in the southern Amazon based on Centrolobium and another in the eastern equatorial Amazon using Cedrela. Both reconstructions are over 200-years long and extend the available instrumental observations in each region by over 150-years. These reconstructions are well correlated with the same regional and large-scale climate dynamics that govern the inter-annual variability of the instrumental wet season rainfall totals. Increased multi-decadal variability is reconstructed after 1950 with the Centrolobium chronologies in the southern Amazon. The Cedrela reconstruction from the eastern Amazon exhibits changes in the spatial pattern of correlation with regional rainfall stations and the large-scale sea surface temperature field after 1990 that may be consistent with recent changes in the mean position of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone in March over the western

Basin-Wide Amazon Forest Tree Mortality From a Large 2005 Storm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negron Juarez, R. I.; Chambers, J. Q.; Guimaraes, G.; Zeng, H.; Raupp, C.; Marra, D. M.; Ribeiro, G.; Saatchi, S. S.; Higuchi, N.

2010-12-01

Blowdowns are a recurrent characteristic of Amazon forests and are produced, among others, by squall lines. Squall lines are aligned clusters (typical length of 1000 km, width of 200 km) of deep convective cells that produce heavy rainfall during the dry season and significant rainfall during the wet season. These squall lines (accompanied by intense downbursts from convective cells) have been associated with large blowdowns characterized by uprooted, snapped trees, and trees being dragged down by other falling trees. Most squall lines in Amazonia form along the northeastern coast of South America as sea breeze-induced instability lines and propagate inside the continent. They occur frequently (~4 times per month), and can reach the central and even extreme western parts of Amazonia. Squall lines can also be generated inside the Amazon and propagate toward the equator. In January 2005 a squall line propagated from south to north across the entire Amazon basin producing widespread forest tree mortality and contributed to the elevated mortality observed that year. Over the Manaus region (3.4 x104 km2), disturbed forest patches generated by the squall produced a mortality of 0.3-0.5 million trees, equivalent to 30% of the observed annual deforestation reported in 2005 over the same area. The elevated mortality observed in the Central Amazon in 2005 is unlikely to be related to the 2005 Amazon drought since drought did not affect Central or Eastern Amazonia. Assuming a similar rate of forest mortality across the basin, the squall line could have potentially produced tree mortality estimated at 542 ± 121 million trees, equivalent to 23% of the mean annual biomass accumulation estimated for these forests. Our results highlight the vulnerability of Amazon trees to wind-driven mortality associated with convective storms. This vulnerability is likely to increase in a warming climate with models projecting an increase in storm intensity.

Metagenomics Analysis of Microorganisms in Freshwater Lakes of the Amazon Basin.

PubMed

Toyama, Danyelle; Kishi, Luciano Takeshi; Santos-Júnior, Célio Dias; Soares-Costa, Andrea; de Oliveira, Tereza Cristina Souza; de Miranda, Fernando Pellon; Henrique-Silva, Flávio

2016-12-22

The Amazon Basin is the largest hydrographic basin on the planet, and the dynamics of its aquatic microorganisms strongly impact global biogeochemical cycles. However, it remains poorly studied. This metagenome project was performed to obtain a snapshot of prokaryotic microbiota from four important lakes in the Amazon Basin. Copyright © 2016 Toyama et al.

Epidemiological study of hepatitis A, B and C in the largest Afro-Brazilian isolated community.

PubMed

Matos, Márcia A D; Reis, Nádia Rúbia S; Kozlowski, Aline G; Teles, Sheila A; Motta-Castro, Ana Rita C; Mello, Francisco C A; Gomes, Selma A; Martins, Regina M B

2009-09-01

This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence and molecular epidemiological features of viral hepatitis A, B and C in the Kalunga population, which represents the largest Afro-Brazilian isolated community. Among 878 individuals studied, the overall prevalence of anti-hepatitis A virus antibodies was 80.9%, with a significant rise from 44.8% to near 100% between the first and fourth decade of life. Rates for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) of 1.8% and 35.4%, respectively, were found. Increasing age, male gender, illiteracy and history of multiple sexual partners were associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. An occult HBV infection rate of 1.7% (5/295) was found among anti-HBc-positive individuals. HBV genotype A (subtype Aa) was dominant in this community. Only 5/878 individuals (0.6%) were positive for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV RNA was detected in three of them, who were infected with genotype 1 (subtype 1a). These findings point out high, intermediate and low endemicity for hepatitis A, B and C, respectively, in the Kalunga community in Brazil. Circulation of HBV genotype A (subtype Aa) in this Afro-Brazilian isolated community indicates the introduction of this virus during the slave trade from Africa to Brazil.

Research into mercury exposure and health education in subsistence fish-eating communities of the Amazon basin: potential effects on public health policy.

PubMed

Dórea, José G

2010-09-01

The neurotoxic effects of fish-methylmercury (meHg) consumed regularly are considered hazardous to fetuses and newborn infants; as a result fish consumption advisories are an important asset to control meHg exposure in affluent societies. These concerns are now part of health promotion programs for Amazon subsistence villagers. While urban dwellers in affluent societies can choose an alternative nutritious diet, traditional and subsistence communities are caught up in controversial issues and lifestyle changes with unintended health consequences. Traditional fish-eating populations of industrialized and non-industrialized regions may be exposed to different neurotoxic substances: man-made pollutants and environmentally occurring meHg. Additionally, in non-industrialized countries, pregnant women and infants are still being immunized with thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) which degrade to ethylmercury (etHg). Therefore, the complexity involving fish-meHg associated with wild-fish choices and Hg exposure derived from TCVs is difficult to disentangle and evaluate: are villagers able to distinguish exposure to differently hazardous chemical forms of Hg (inorganic, fish-meHg, and injected etHg)? Is it possible that instead of helping to prevent a plausible (unperceived) fish-meHg associated neurocognitive delay we may inadvertently arouse panic surrounding Hg exposure and disrupt subsistence fish-eating habits (necessary for survival) and life-saving vaccination programs (required by public health authorities)? These questions characterize the incompleteness of information related on the various chemical forms of Hg exposure and the need to convey messages that do not disrupt nutritional balance and disease prevention policies directed at Amazonian subsistence communities.

Submicron aerosol and trace gas composition near Manaus as observed during GoAmazon2014/5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira De Brito, J.; Wurm, F.; Liu, Y.; de Sá, S. S.; Carbone, S.; Rizzo, L. V.; Cirino, G. G.; Barbosa, H. M.; Souza, R. A. F. D.; Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.

2014-12-01

The Amazon Basin, during the wet season, has one of the lowest aerosol concentrations worldwide, with air masses covering thousands of kilometers of pristine forest with negligible human impact. The atmosphere in such regions is strongly coupled with the biosphere through primary biological aerosols, biogenic salts and secondary aerosols from oxidation of biogenic VOCs. The natural environment is strongly modified nearby urbanized areas, in particular Manaus, a city of nearly two million people. The urban pollution plume has high concentrations of oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, carbon monoxide, particle concentrations, and soot, among other pollutants, strongly contrasting with the clean air masses reaching the city. Such unique location provides the ideal laboratory to study the isolated urban emission, as well the pristine environment by perturbing it in a relatively known fashion. The GoAmazon experiment was designed with these questions in mind, combining remote sensing, in situand airborne measurements. This manuscript describes the measurements currently taking place at the T2 site, near Manaus, frequently impacted by relatively fresh emissions from the city. This presentation focuses on aerosol properties and trace gas composition at the T2 site. PM1 mass concentration from March up to July 2014 has been observed to be dominated by organics (1.51 μg m-3), followed by BC (0.83 μg m-3), SO4 (0.17 μg m-3), NO3 (0.08 μg m-3) and NH4 (0.06 μg m-3). Mean aerosol number concentration was 3600 cm-3, with a mean geometric diameter of 70 nm. As for the trace gases, initial estimates of isoprene average ambient concentration is 0.95 ppb, whereas MVK+MACR has been estimated to be 0.76 ppb. Average mixing ratios of toluene, benzene and C8 aromatics were 0.31 ppb, 0.16 ppb and 0.15 ppb, respectively, correlating relatively well with markers of anthropogenic activities, such as BC. Such measurements will carry on throughout GoAmazon 2014/5, providing a unique dataset

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in free-living Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) from central Amazon, Brazil

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Toxoplasma gondii is an important pathogen in aquatic mammals and its presence in these animals may indicate water contamination of aquatic environment by oocysts. Serum samples from 95 dolphins from free-living Amazon River dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) from Sustainable Development Reserve Mamirauá (...

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in free-living amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) from central Amazon, Brazil

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Toxoplasma gondii is an important pathogen in aquatic mammals and its presence in these animals may indicate water contamination of aquatic environment by oocysts. Serum samples from 95 dolphins from free-living Amazon River dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) from Sustainable Development Reserve Mamirauá (...

Sedative Effects of Intranasal Midazolam Administration in Wild Caught Blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) and Orange-winged Amazon (Amazona amazonica) Parrots.

PubMed

Schaffer, Débora P H; de Araújo, Nayone L L C; Raposo, Ana Cláudia S; Filho, Emanoel F Martins; Vieira, João Victor R; Oriá, Arianne P

2017-09-01

Safe and effective sedation protocols are important for chemical restraint of birds in clinical and diagnostic procedures, such as clinical evaluations, radiographic positioning, and blood collection. These protocols may reduce stress and ease the management of wild-caught birds, which are susceptible to injury or death when exposed to stressful situations. We compare the sedative effect of intranasal midazolam in wild-caught blue-fronted (Amazona aestiva) and orange-winged (Amazona amazonica) Amazon parrots. Ten adult parrots of each species (n = 20), of unknown sex, weighing 0.337 ± 0.04 (blue-fronted) and 0.390 ± 0.03 kg (orange-winged), kg were used. Midazolam (2 mg/kg) was administered intranasally and the total volume of the drug was divided equally between the 2 nostrils. Onset time and total sedation time were assessed. Satisfactory sedation for clinical evaluation was induced in all birds. Onset time and total sedation times were similar in both species: 5.36 ± 1.16 and 25.40 ± 5.72 minutes, respectively, for blue-fronted Amazons and 5.09 ± 0.89 and 27.10 ± 3.73 minutes, respectively, for orange-winged Amazons. A total of 15 animals showed absence of vocalization, with moderate muscle relaxation and wing movement upon handling, and 2 animals presented with lateral recumbence, with intense muscle relaxation and no wing movement, requiring no restraint. Three blue-fronted Amazons had no effective sedation. Intranasally administered midazolam at a dose of 2 mg/kg effectively promoted sedative effects with a short latency time and fast recovery in wild-caught parrots.

The Amazon Basin in transition

Treesearch

Eric A. Davidson; Alessandro C. de Araujo; Paulo Artaxo; Jennifer K. Balch; I. Foster Brown; Mercedes M.C. Bustamente; Michael T. Coe; Ruth S. DeFriess; Michael Keller; Marcos Longo; J. William Munger; Wilfrid Schroeder; Britaldo Soares-Filho; Carlos M. Souza, Jr.; Steven C. Wofsy

2012-01-01

Agricultural expansion and climate variability have become important agents of disturbance in the Amazon basin. Recent studies have demonstrated considerable resilience of Amazonian forests to moderate annual drought, but they also show that interactions between deforestation, fire and drought potentially lead to losses of carbon storage and changes in regional...

A silica sands-based method for faithful analysis of microbial communities and DNA isolation from a wide range of species.

PubMed

Liu, Xia; Xu, Yongdong; Li, Zhi; Jiang, Shengwei; Yao, Shuo; Wu, Rina; An, Yingfeng

2018-04-21

A silica sands-based method has been developed to isolate high quality genomic DNAs from cells of animals, plants and microorganisms, such as Hemisalanx prognathus, Spinacia oleracea, Pichia pastoris, Bacillus licheniformis and Escherichia coli. To the best of our knowledge, no DNA isolation method has so wide application until now. In addition, this method and a commercially available kit were compared in analysis of microbial communities using high-throughput 16s rDNA sequencing. As a result, the silica sands-based method was found to be even more efficient in isolating genomic DNA from gram-positive bacteria than the kit, indicating that it would become a very valuable choice to faithfully reflect the composition of microbial communities.

Relationship of Tooth Wear to Chronological Age among Indigenous Amazon Populations

PubMed Central

Vieira, Elma Pinto; Barbosa, Mayara Silva; Quintão, Cátia Cardoso Abdo; Normando, David

2015-01-01

In indigenous populations, age can be estimated based on family structure and physical examination. However, the accuracy of such methods is questionable. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate occlusal tooth wear related to estimated age in the remote indigenous populations of the Xingu River, Amazon. Two hundred and twenty three semi-isolated indigenous subjects with permanent dentition from the Arara (n = 117), Xicrin-Kayapó (n = 60) and Assurini (n = 46) villages were examined. The control group consisted of 40 non-indigenous individuals living in an urban area in the Amazon basin (Belem). A modified tooth wear index was applied and then associated with chronological age by linear regression analysis. A strong association was found between tooth wear and chronological age in the indigenous populations (p <0.001). Tooth wear measurements were able to explain 86% of the variation in the ages of the Arara sample, 70% of the Xicrin-Kaiapó sample and 65% of the Assurini sample. In the urban control sample, only 12% of ages could be determined by tooth wear. These findings suggest that tooth wear is a poor estimator of chronological age in the urban population; however, it has a strong association with age for the more remote indigenous populations. Consequently, these findings suggest that a simple tooth wear evaluation method, as described and applied in this study, can be used to provide a straightforward and efficient means to assist in age determination of newly contacted indigenous groups. PMID:25602501

Stroke in the rain forest: prevalence in a ribeirinha community and an urban population in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Fernandes, Tiótrefis Gomes; Benseñor, Isabela Martins; Goulart, Alessandra Carvalho; Tavares, Bruno Mendes; Alencar, Airlane Pereira; Santos, Itamar Souza; Lotufo, Paulo Andrade

2014-01-01

Our objective was to determine the cerebrovascular prevalence in a town in the Brazilian Amazon basin and compare the ribeirinhos (riparians) to the urban population in the same municipality. From May to October 2011, 6,216 residents over 35 years of age in the town of Coari were interviewed using a screening questionnaire, the Stroke Symptom Questionnaire. Cerebrovascular prevalence rates (PRs) from the door-to-door surveillance were calculated according to the location of the home. Respondent totals were 4,897 in the urban area and 1,028 in the rural area. The crude prevalence of stroke was 6.3% in rural and 3.7% in urban areas with differences maintained after sex and age adjustment. Among stroke cases, the ribeirinhos were those with less access to medical care in comparison to the urban area (32.1 vs. 52.5%, p = 0.01), and a positive association between rural area and no medical care for stroke remained (PR, 1.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.71), independently of age, sex, education and functional impairment. This study provides the first population-based cerebrovascular prevalence comparison between an urban and a rural population in the Amazon rain forest. The PRs were higher in the ribeirinha compared to the urban population in the same municipality. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Regional Impacts of Climate Change on the Amazon Rainforest: 2080-2100

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, K. H.; Vizy, E. K.

2006-12-01

A regional climate model with resolution of 60 km is coupled with a potential vegetation model to simulate future climate over South America. The following steps are taken to effectively communicate the results across disciplines and to make them useful to the policy and impacts communities: the simulation is aimed at a particular time period (2081-2100), the climate change results are translated into changes in vegetation distribution, and the results are reported on regional space scales relative to political boundaries. In addition, the model validation in clearly presented to provide perspective on uncertainty for the prognosis. The model reproduces today's climate and vegetation over tropical and subtropical South America accurately. In simulations of the future, the model is forced by the IPCC's A2 scenario of future emissions, which assumes that CO2 emissions continue to grow at essentially today's rate throughout the 21st century, reaching 757 ppmv averaged over 2081-2100. The model is constrained on its lateral boundaries by atmospheric conditions simulated by a global climate model, applied as anomalies to present day conditions, and predicted changes in sea surface temperatures. The extent of the Amazon rainforest is reduced by about 70 per cent in the simulation, and the shrubland (caatinga) vegetation of Brazil's Nordeste region spreads westward and southward well into the continental interior. Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina lose all of their rainforest vegetation, and Brazil and Peru lose most of it. The surviving rain forest is concentrated near the equator. Columbia's rainforest survives largely intact and, along the northern coast, Venezuela and French Guiana suffer relatively small reductions. The loss in Guyana and Surinam is 30-50 per cent. Much of the rainforest in the central Amazon north of about 15S is replaced by savanna vegetation, but in southern Bolivia, northern Paraguay, and southern Brazil, grasslands take the place of the

Amazon Deforestation Fires Increase Plant Productivity through Changes in Diffuse Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rap, A.; Reddington, C.; Spracklen, D. V.; Mercado, L.; Haywood, J. M.; Bonal, D.; Butt, N.; Phillips, O.

2013-12-01

Over the past few decades a large increase in carbon storage has been observed in undisturbed forests across Amazonia. The reason for such a sink is unclear, although many possible mechanisms have been suggested, including changes in temperature, carbon dioxide, precipitation, clouds, and solar radiation. In this work we focus on one such mechanism, namely the increase in plant photosynthesis due to changes in diffuse radiation caused by atmospheric aerosols from large-scale deforestation fires that now occur throughout the Amazon region. We estimate that this mechanism has increased dry season (August-September) net primary productivity (NPP) by up to 30% across wide regions of the Amazon. We conclude that aerosol from deforestation fires may be responsible for a substantial fraction of the Amazon carbon sink that has been observed. Our approach is based on the combined use of three models: (i) the Global Model of Aerosol Processes (GLOMAP), (ii) the Edwards-Slingo radiation model, and (iii) the UK Met Office JULES land-surface scheme, constrained against in-situ aerosol and radiation observation datasets from several Amazonian sites. A 10 year (1999-2008) GLOMAP simulation using GFED3 biomass burning emissions is first evaluated against aerosol observations, indicating that the model is able to capture the Amazon aerosol seasonality, with enhanced concentrations during the dry season driven by biomass burning. The radiation scheme is then shown to be in good agreement with total and diffuse radiation in-situ observations, the model being able to capture the high total and low diffuse radiation flux in the dry season, as well as the low total and high diffuse radiation flux in the wet season. We then use our modelling framework to quantify the contribution of deforestation fires to diffuse/direct radiation fraction and forest productivity. We calculate that deforestation fires increase dry season diffuse radiation by up to 60% or 30 Wm-2. Finally, we use the JULES

Multidisciplinary and participatory workshops with stakeholders in a community of extreme poverty in the Peruvian Amazon: Development of priority concerns and potential health, nutrition and education interventions

PubMed Central

Casapia, Martin; Joseph, Serene A; Gyorkos, Theresa W

2007-01-01

Background Communities of extreme poverty suffer disproportionately from a wide range of adverse outcomes, but are often neglected or underserved by organized services and research attention. In order to target the first Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty, thereby reducing health inequalities, participatory research in these communities is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the priority problems and respective potential cost-effective interventions in Belen, a community of extreme poverty in the Peruvian Amazon, using a multidisciplinary and participatory focus. Methods Two multidisciplinary and participatory workshops were conducted with important stakeholders from government, non-government and community organizations, national institutes and academic institutions. In Workshop 1, participants prioritized the main health and health-related problems in the community of Belen. Problem trees were developed to show perceived causes and effects for the top six problems. In Workshop 2, following presentations describing data from recently completed field research in school and household populations of Belen, participants listed potential interventions for the priority problems, including associated barriers, enabling factors, costs and benefits. Results The top ten priority problems in Belen were identified as: 1) infant malnutrition; 2) adolescent pregnancy; 3) diarrhoea; 4) anaemia; 5) parasites; 6) lack of basic sanitation; 7) low level of education; 8) sexually transmitted diseases; 9) domestic violence; and 10) delayed school entry. Causes and effects for the top six problems, proposed interventions, and factors relating to the implementation of interventions were multidisciplinary in nature and included health, nutrition, education, social and environmental issues. Conclusion The two workshops provided valuable insight into the main health and health-related problems facing the community of Belen. The

Condition and fate of logged forests in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Asner, Gregory P; Broadbent, Eben N; Oliveira, Paulo J C; Keller, Michael; Knapp, David E; Silva, José N M

2006-08-22

The long-term viability of a forest industry in the Amazon region of Brazil depends on the maintenance of adequate timber volume and growth in healthy forests. Using extensive high-resolution satellite analyses, we studied the forest damage caused by recent logging operations and the likelihood that logged forests would be cleared within 4 years after timber harvest. Across 2,030,637 km2 of the Brazilian Amazon from 1999 to 2004, at least 76% of all harvest practices resulted in high levels of canopy damage sufficient to leave forests susceptible to drought and fire. We found that 16+/-1% of selectively logged areas were deforested within 1 year of logging, with a subsequent annual deforestation rate of 5.4% for 4 years after timber harvests. Nearly all logging occurred within 25 km of main roads, and within that area, the probability of deforestation for a logged forest was up to four times greater than for unlogged forests. In combination, our results show that logging in the Brazilian Amazon is dominated by highly damaging operations, often followed rapidly by deforestation decades before forests can recover sufficiently to produce timber for a second harvest. Under the management regimes in effect at the time of our study in the Brazilian Amazon, selective logging would not be sustained.

Social and health dimensions of climate change in the Amazon.

PubMed

Brondízio, Eduardo S; de Lima, Ana C B; Schramski, Sam; Adams, Cristina

2016-07-01

The Amazon region has been part of climate change debates for decades, yet attention to its social and health dimensions has been limited. This paper assesses literature on the social and health dimensions of climate change in the Amazon. A conceptual framework underscores multiple stresses and exposures created by interactions between climate change and local social-environmental conditions. Using the Thomson-Reuter Web of Science, this study bibliometrically assessed the overall literature on climate change in the Amazon, including Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, Anthropology, Environmental Science/Ecology and Public, Environmental/Occupational Health. From this assessment, a relevant sub-sample was selected and complemented with literature from the Brazilian database SciELO. This sample discusses three dimensions of climate change impacts in the region: livelihood changes, vector-borne diseases and microbial proliferation, and respiratory diseases. This analysis elucidates imbalance and disconnect between ecological, physical and social and health dimensions of climate change and between continental and regional climate analysis, and sub-regional and local levels. Work on the social and health implications of climate change in the Amazon falls significantly behind other research areas, limiting reliable information for analytical models and for Amazonian policy-makers and society at large. Collaborative research is called for.

Sediment supply as a driver of river evolution in the Amazon Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Joshua; Constantine, José Antonio; Dunne, Thomas; Legleiter, Carl; Lazarus, Eli D.

2015-04-01

The Amazon represents the only large river basin in the world where there is a sufficient range of sediment supplies and a lack of engineering controls to assess how sediment supply drives the evolution of meandering rivers. Despite recent analytical advances (Asahi et al., 2013; Pittaluga and Seminara, 2011), modern theory does not yet identify or explain the effects of externally imposed sediment supplies, a fundamental river characteristic, on meandering river evolution. These sediment supplies would be radically reduced by the construction of large dams proposed for the Amazon Basin (Finer and Jenkins, 2012). Here, we demonstrate that the sediment loads imposed by their respective drainage basins determine planform changes in lowland rivers across the Amazon. Our analysis, based on Landsat image sequences, indicates that rivers with high sediment loads draining the Andes and associated foreland basin experience annual migration rates that are on average four times faster than rivers with lower sediment loads draining the Central Amazon Trough and shields. Incidents of meander cutoff also occur more frequently along the rivers of the Andes and foreland basin, where the number of oxbows in the floodplains is more than twice that observed in the floodplains of the Central Amazon Trough and shields. Our results, which cannot be explained by differences in channel slope or hydrology, highlight the importance of sediment supply in modulating the ability of meandering alluvial rivers to reshape the floodplain environment through river migration. Asahi, K., Shimizu, Y., Nelson, J., Parker, G., 2013. Numerical simulation of river meandering with self-evolving banks. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 118(4), 2013JF002752. Finer, M., Jenkins, C.N., 2012. Proliferation of hydroelectric dams in the Andean Amazon and implications for Andes-Amazon connectivity. PLOS One, 7(4), e35126. Pittaluga, M.B., Seminara, G., 2011. Nonlinearity and unsteadiness in river

Quantifying the contribution of root systems to community and individual drought resilience in the Amazon rainforest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agee, E.; Ivanov, V. Y.; Oliveira, R. S.; Brum, M., Jr.; Saleska, S. R.; Bisht, G.; Prohaska, N.; Taylor, T.; Oliveira Junior, R. C.; Restrepo-Coupe, N.

2017-12-01

The increased intensity and severity of droughts within the Amazon Basin region has emphasized the question of vulnerability and resilience of tropical forests to water limitation. During the recent 2015-2016 drought caused by the anomalous El Nino episode, we monitored a large, diverse sample of trees within the Tapajos National Forest, Brazil, in the footprint of the K67 eddy covariance tower. The observed trees exhibited differential responses in terms of stem water potential and sap flow among species: their regulation of ecophysiological strategies varied from very conservative (`isohydric') behavior, to much less restrained, atmosphere-controlled (`anisohydric') type of response. While much attention has been paid to forest canopies, it remains unclear how the regulation of individual tree root system and root spatial interactions contribute to the emergent individual behavior and the ecosystem-scale characterization of drought resilience. Given the inherent difficulty in monitoring below-ground phenomena, physically-based models are valuable for examining different strategies and properties to reduce the uncertainty of characterization. We use a modified version of the highly parallel DOE PFLOTRAN model to simulate the three-dimensional variably saturated flows and root water uptake for over one thousand individuals within a two-hectare area. Root morphology and intrinsic hydraulic properties are assigned based on statistical distributions developed for tropical trees, which account for the broad spectrum of hydraulic strategies in biodiverse environments. The results demonstrate the dynamic nature of active zone of root water uptake based on local soil water potential gradients. The degree of the corresponding shifts in uptake and root collar potential depend not only on assigned hydraulic properties but also on spatial orientation and size relative to community members. This response highlights the importance of not only tree individual hydraulic traits

Testing Wallace's intuition: water type, reproductive isolation and divergence in an Amazonian fish.

PubMed

Pires, Tiago H S; Borghezan, Elio A; Machado, Valeria N; Powell, Daniel L; Röpke, Cristhiana P; Oliveira, Claudio; Zuanon, Jansen; Farias, Izeni P

2018-06-01

Alfred Russel Wallace proposed classifying Amazon rivers based on their colour and clarity: white, black and clear water. Wallace also proposed that black waters could mediate diversification and yield distinct fish species. Here, we bring evidence of speciation mediated by water type in the sailfin tetra (Crenuchus spilurus), a fish whose range encompasses rivers of very distinct hydrochemical conditions. Distribution of the two main lineages concords with Wallace's water types: one restricted to the acidic and nutrient-poor waters of the Negro River (herein Rio Negro lineage) and a second widespread throughout the remaining of the species' distribution (herein Amazonas lineage). These lineages occur over a very broad geographical range, suggesting that despite occurring in regions separated by thousands of kilometres, individuals of the distinct lineages fail to occupy each other's habitats, hundreds of metres apart and not separated by physical barrier. Reproductive isolation was assessed in isolated pairs exposed to black-water conditions. All pairs with at least one individual of the lineage not native to black waters showed significantly lower spawning success, suggesting that the water type affected the fitness and contributed to reproductive isolation. Our results endorse Wallace's intuition and highlight the importance of ecological factors in shaping diversity of the Amazon fish fauna. © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Differentiation in the fertility of Inceptisols as related to land use in the upper Solimões river region, western Amazon.

PubMed

Moreira, Fatima Maria de Souza; Nóbrega, Rafaela Simão Abrahão; Jesus, Ederson da Conceição; Ferreira, Daniel Furtado; Pérez, Daniel Vidal

2009-12-20

The Upper Solimões river region, western Amazon, is the homeland of indigenous populations and contains small-scale agricultural systems that are important for biodiversity conservation. Although traditional slash-and-burn agriculture is being practiced over many years, deforestation there is relatively small compared to other Amazon regions. Pastures are restricted to the vicinity of cities and do not spread to the small communities along the river. Inceptisols are the main soil order (>90%) in the area and have unique attributes including high Al content and high cation exchange capacity (CEC) due to the enrichment of the clay fraction with 2:1 secondary aluminosilicates. Despite its importance, few studies have focussed on this soil order when considering land use effects on the fertility of Amazon soils. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate changes in soil fertility of representative land use systems (LUSs) in the Upper Solimões region, namely: primary rainforest, old secondary forest, young secondary forest, agroforestry, pasture and agriculture. LUSs were significantly differentiated by the chemical attributes of their topsoil (0-20 cm). Secondary forests presented soil chemical attributes more similar to primary rainforest areas, while pastures exhibited the highest dissimilarity from all the other LUSs. As a whole, soil chemical changes among Inceptisols dominated LUSs showed patterns that were distinct from those reported from other Amazon soils like Oxisols and Ultisols. This is probably related to the presence of high-activity clays enriched in exchangeable aluminum that heavily influenced the soil chemical reactions over the expected importance of organic matter found in most studies conducted over Oxisol and Ultisol.

Extreme Drought Events Revealed in Amazon Tree Ring Records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, H. S.; Baker, P. A.; Guilderson, T. P.

2010-12-01

The Amazon basin is a center of deep atmospheric convection and thus acts as a major engine for global hydrologic circulation. Yet despite its significance, a full understanding of Amazon rainfall variability remains elusive due to a poor historical record of climate. Temperate tree rings have been used extensively to reconstruct climate over the last thousand years, however less attention has been given to the application of dendrochronology in tropical regions, in large part due to a lower frequency of tree species known to produce annual rings. Here we present a tree ring record of drought extremes from the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru over the last 190 years. We confirm that tree ring growth in species Cedrela odorata is annual and show it to be well correlated with wet season precipitation. This correlation is used to identify extreme dry (and wet) events that have occurred in the past. We focus on drought events identified in the record as drought frequency is expected to increase over the Amazon in a warming climate. The Cedrela chronology records historic Amazon droughts of the 20th century previously identified in the literature and extends the record of drought for this region to the year 1816. Our analysis shows that there has been an increase in the frequency of extreme drought (mean recurrence interval = 5-6 years) since the turn of the 20th century and both Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) forcing mechanisms are implicated.

Osteoma in a blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva).

PubMed

Cardoso, João Felipe Rito; Levy, Marcelo Guilherme Bezerra; Liparisi, Flavia; Romão, Mario Antonio Pinto

2013-09-01

Osteoma is an uncommon bone formation documented in avian species and other animals. A blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva) with clinical respiratory symptoms was examined because of a hard mass present on the left nostril. Radiographs suggested a bone tumor, and the mass was surgically excised. Histopathologic examination revealed features of an osteoma. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an osteoma in a blue-fronted Amazon parrot. Osteoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis in birds with respiratory distress and swelling of the nostril.

The Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5) Observes Pollution Affecting Gases, Aerosols, Clouds, and Rainfall over the Rain Forest

DOE PAGES

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L.; ...

2017-05-15

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon 2014–2015 (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment took place around the urban region of Manaus in central Amazonia across 2 years. The urban pollution plume was used to study the susceptibility of gases, aerosols, clouds, and rainfall to human activities in a tropical environment. Many aspects of air quality, weather, terrestrial ecosystems, and climate work differently in the tropics than in the more thoroughly studied temperate regions of Earth. GoAmazon2014/5, a cooperative project of Brazil, Germany, and the United States, employed an unparalleled suite of measurements at nine ground sites and on board two aircraftmore » to investigate the flow of background air into Manaus, the emissions into the air over the city, and the advection of the pollution downwind of the city. Here in this paper, to visualize this train of processes and its effects, observations aboard a low-flying aircraft are presented. Comparative measurements within and adjacent to the plume followed the emissions of biogenic volatile organic carbon compounds (BVOCs) from the tropical forest, their transformations by the atmospheric oxidant cycle, alterations of this cycle by the influence of the pollutants, transformations of the chemical products into aerosol particles, the relationship of these particles to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and the differences in cloud properties and rainfall for background compared to polluted conditions. The observations of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment illustrate how the hydrologic cycle, radiation balance, and carbon recycling may be affected by present-day as well as future economic development and pollution over the Amazonian tropical forest.« less

The Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5) Observes Pollution Affecting Gases, Aerosols, Clouds, and Rainfall over the Rain Forest

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L.

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon 2014–2015 (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment took place around the urban region of Manaus in central Amazonia across 2 years. The urban pollution plume was used to study the susceptibility of gases, aerosols, clouds, and rainfall to human activities in a tropical environment. Many aspects of air quality, weather, terrestrial ecosystems, and climate work differently in the tropics than in the more thoroughly studied temperate regions of Earth. GoAmazon2014/5, a cooperative project of Brazil, Germany, and the United States, employed an unparalleled suite of measurements at nine ground sites and on board two aircraftmore » to investigate the flow of background air into Manaus, the emissions into the air over the city, and the advection of the pollution downwind of the city. Here in this paper, to visualize this train of processes and its effects, observations aboard a low-flying aircraft are presented. Comparative measurements within and adjacent to the plume followed the emissions of biogenic volatile organic carbon compounds (BVOCs) from the tropical forest, their transformations by the atmospheric oxidant cycle, alterations of this cycle by the influence of the pollutants, transformations of the chemical products into aerosol particles, the relationship of these particles to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and the differences in cloud properties and rainfall for background compared to polluted conditions. The observations of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment illustrate how the hydrologic cycle, radiation balance, and carbon recycling may be affected by present-day as well as future economic development and pollution over the Amazonian tropical forest.« less

Health Promotion Efforts in an Isolated Hispanic Community: The Mora Substance Abuse Prevention Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duryea, Elias J.; And Others

An alcohol and drug use education program was developed by teachers and administrators in Mora, a small, isolated Hispanic community in northern New Mexico, in cooperation with the town's public health nurses and a University of New Mexico research team. Pre- and posttests were given to 150 students in grades 7-9 in the Mora Public Schools to…

Ecosystem heterogeneity and diversity mitigate Amazon forest resilience to frequent extreme droughts.

PubMed

Longo, Marcos; Knox, Ryan G; Levine, Naomi M; Alves, Luciana F; Bonal, Damien; Camargo, Plinio B; Fitzjarrald, David R; Hayek, Matthew N; Restrepo-Coupe, Natalia; Saleska, Scott R; da Silva, Rodrigo; Stark, Scott C; Tapajós, Raphael P; Wiedemann, Kenia T; Zhang, Ke; Wofsy, Steven C; Moorcroft, Paul R

2018-05-22

The impact of increases in drought frequency on the Amazon forest's composition, structure and functioning remain uncertain. We used a process- and individual-based ecosystem model (ED2) to quantify the forest's vulnerability to increased drought recurrence. We generated meteorologically realistic, drier-than-observed rainfall scenarios for two Amazon forest sites, Paracou (wetter) and Tapajós (drier), to evaluate the impacts of more frequent droughts on forest biomass, structure and composition. The wet site was insensitive to the tested scenarios, whereas at the dry site biomass declined when average rainfall reduction exceeded 15%, due to high mortality of large-sized evergreen trees. Biomass losses persisted when year-long drought recurrence was shorter than 2-7 yr, depending upon soil texture and leaf phenology. From the site-level scenario results, we developed regionally applicable metrics to quantify the Amazon forest's climatological proximity to rainfall regimes likely to cause biomass loss > 20% in 50 yr according to ED2 predictions. Nearly 25% (1.8 million km 2 ) of the Amazon forests could experience frequent droughts and biomass loss if mean annual rainfall or interannual variability changed by 2σ. At least 10% of the high-emission climate projections (CMIP5/RCP8.5 models) predict critically dry regimes over 25% of the Amazon forest area by 2100. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

Amazon boundary layer aerosol concentration sustained by vertical transport during rainfall

DOE PAGES

Wang, Jian; Krejci, Radovan; Giangrande, Scott; ...

2016-10-24

The nucleation of atmospheric vapours is an important source of new aerosol particles that can subsequently grow to form cloud condensation nuclei in the atmosphere. Most field studies of atmospheric aerosols over continents are influenced by atmospheric vapours of anthropogenic origin and, in consequence, aerosol processes in pristine, terrestrial environments remain poorly understood. The Amazon rainforest is one of the few continental regions where aerosol particles and their precursors can be studied under near-natural conditions, but the origin of small aerosol particles that grow into cloud condensation nuclei in the Amazon boundary layer remains unclear. Here we present aircraft- andmore » ground-based measurements under clean conditions during the wet season in the central Amazon basin. We find that high concentrations of small aerosol particles (with diameters of less than 50 nanometres) in the lower free troposphere are transported from the free troposphere into the boundary layer during precipitation events by strong convective downdrafts and weaker downward motions in the trailing stratiform region. Lastly, this rapid vertical transport can help to maintain the population of particles in the pristine Amazon boundary layer, and may therefore influence cloud properties and climate under natural conditions.« less

Amazon boundary layer aerosol concentration sustained by vertical transport during rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jian; Krejci, Radovan; Giangrande, Scott; Kuang, Chongai; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Brito, Joel; Carbone, Samara; Chi, Xuguang; Comstock, Jennifer; Ditas, Florian; Lavric, Jost; Manninen, Hanna E.; Mei, Fan; Moran-Zuloaga, Daniel; Pöhlker, Christopher; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Saturno, Jorge; Schmid, Beat; Souza, Rodrigo A. F.; Springston, Stephen R.; Tomlinson, Jason M.; Toto, Tami; Walter, David; Wimmer, Daniela; Smith, James N.; Kulmala, Markku; Machado, Luiz A. T.; Artaxo, Paulo; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Petäjä, Tuukka; Martin, Scot T.

2016-11-01

The nucleation of atmospheric vapours is an important source of new aerosol particles that can subsequently grow to form cloud condensation nuclei in the atmosphere. Most field studies of atmospheric aerosols over continents are influenced by atmospheric vapours of anthropogenic origin (for example, ref. 2) and, in consequence, aerosol processes in pristine, terrestrial environments remain poorly understood. The Amazon rainforest is one of the few continental regions where aerosol particles and their precursors can be studied under near-natural conditions, but the origin of small aerosol particles that grow into cloud condensation nuclei in the Amazon boundary layer remains unclear. Here we present aircraft- and ground-based measurements under clean conditions during the wet season in the central Amazon basin. We find that high concentrations of small aerosol particles (with diameters of less than 50 nanometres) in the lower free troposphere are transported from the free troposphere into the boundary layer during precipitation events by strong convective downdrafts and weaker downward motions in the trailing stratiform region. This rapid vertical transport can help to maintain the population of particles in the pristine Amazon boundary layer, and may therefore influence cloud properties and climate under natural conditions.

Amazon boundary layer aerosol concentration sustained by vertical transport during rainfall.

PubMed

Wang, Jian; Krejci, Radovan; Giangrande, Scott; Kuang, Chongai; Barbosa, Henrique M J; Brito, Joel; Carbone, Samara; Chi, Xuguang; Comstock, Jennifer; Ditas, Florian; Lavric, Jost; Manninen, Hanna E; Mei, Fan; Moran-Zuloaga, Daniel; Pöhlker, Christopher; Pöhlker, Mira L; Saturno, Jorge; Schmid, Beat; Souza, Rodrigo A F; Springston, Stephen R; Tomlinson, Jason M; Toto, Tami; Walter, David; Wimmer, Daniela; Smith, James N; Kulmala, Markku; Machado, Luiz A T; Artaxo, Paulo; Andreae, Meinrat O; Petäjä, Tuukka; Martin, Scot T

2016-11-17

The nucleation of atmospheric vapours is an important source of new aerosol particles that can subsequently grow to form cloud condensation nuclei in the atmosphere. Most field studies of atmospheric aerosols over continents are influenced by atmospheric vapours of anthropogenic origin (for example, ref. 2) and, in consequence, aerosol processes in pristine, terrestrial environments remain poorly understood. The Amazon rainforest is one of the few continental regions where aerosol particles and their precursors can be studied under near-natural conditions, but the origin of small aerosol particles that grow into cloud condensation nuclei in the Amazon boundary layer remains unclear. Here we present aircraft- and ground-based measurements under clean conditions during the wet season in the central Amazon basin. We find that high concentrations of small aerosol particles (with diameters of less than 50 nanometres) in the lower free troposphere are transported from the free troposphere into the boundary layer during precipitation events by strong convective downdrafts and weaker downward motions in the trailing stratiform region. This rapid vertical transport can help to maintain the population of particles in the pristine Amazon boundary layer, and may therefore influence cloud properties and climate under natural conditions.

Large emissions from floodplain trees close the Amazon methane budget.

PubMed

Pangala, Sunitha R; Enrich-Prast, Alex; Basso, Luana S; Peixoto, Roberta Bittencourt; Bastviken, David; Hornibrook, Edward R C; Gatti, Luciana V; Marotta, Humberto; Calazans, Luana Silva Braucks; Sakuragui, Cassia Mônica; Bastos, Wanderley Rodrigues; Malm, Olaf; Gloor, Emanuel; Miller, John Bharat; Gauci, Vincent

2017-12-14

Wetlands are the largest global source of atmospheric methane (CH 4 ), a potent greenhouse gas. However, methane emission inventories from the Amazon floodplain, the largest natural geographic source of CH 4 in the tropics, consistently underestimate the atmospheric burden of CH 4 determined via remote sensing and inversion modelling, pointing to a major gap in our understanding of the contribution of these ecosystems to CH 4 emissions. Here we report CH 4 fluxes from the stems of 2,357 individual Amazonian floodplain trees from 13 locations across the central Amazon basin. We find that escape of soil gas through wetland trees is the dominant source of regional CH 4 emissions. Methane fluxes from Amazon tree stems were up to 200 times larger than emissions reported for temperate wet forests and tropical peat swamp forests, representing the largest non-ebullitive wetland fluxes observed. Emissions from trees had an average stable carbon isotope value (δ 13 C) of -66.2 ± 6.4 per mil, consistent with a soil biogenic origin. We estimate that floodplain trees emit 15.1 ± 1.8 to 21.2 ± 2.5 teragrams of CH 4 a year, in addition to the 20.5 ± 5.3 teragrams a year emitted regionally from other sources. Furthermore, we provide a 'top-down' regional estimate of CH 4 emissions of 42.7 ± 5.6 teragrams of CH 4 a year for the Amazon basin, based on regular vertical lower-troposphere CH 4 profiles covering the period 2010-2013. We find close agreement between our 'top-down' and combined 'bottom-up' estimates, indicating that large CH 4 emissions from trees adapted to permanent or seasonal inundation can account for the emission source that is required to close the Amazon CH 4 budget. Our findings demonstrate the importance of tree stem surfaces in mediating approximately half of all wetland CH 4 emissions in the Amazon floodplain, a region that represents up to one-third of the global wetland CH 4 source when trees are combined with other emission sources.

Large emissions from floodplain trees close the Amazon methane budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pangala, Sunitha R.; Enrich-Prast, Alex; Basso, Luana S.; Peixoto, Roberta Bittencourt; Bastviken, David; Hornibrook, Edward R. C.; Gatti, Luciana V.; Marotta, Humberto; Calazans, Luana Silva Braucks; Sakuragui, Cassia Mônica; Bastos, Wanderley Rodrigues; Malm, Olaf; Gloor, Emanuel; Miller, John Bharat; Gauci, Vincent

2017-12-01

Wetlands are the largest global source of atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. However, methane emission inventories from the Amazon floodplain, the largest natural geographic source of CH4 in the tropics, consistently underestimate the atmospheric burden of CH4 determined via remote sensing and inversion modelling, pointing to a major gap in our understanding of the contribution of these ecosystems to CH4 emissions. Here we report CH4 fluxes from the stems of 2,357 individual Amazonian floodplain trees from 13 locations across the central Amazon basin. We find that escape of soil gas through wetland trees is the dominant source of regional CH4 emissions. Methane fluxes from Amazon tree stems were up to 200 times larger than emissions reported for temperate wet forests and tropical peat swamp forests, representing the largest non-ebullitive wetland fluxes observed. Emissions from trees had an average stable carbon isotope value (δ13C) of -66.2 ± 6.4 per mil, consistent with a soil biogenic origin. We estimate that floodplain trees emit 15.1 ± 1.8 to 21.2 ± 2.5 teragrams of CH4 a year, in addition to the 20.5 ± 5.3 teragrams a year emitted regionally from other sources. Furthermore, we provide a ‘top-down’ regional estimate of CH4 emissions of 42.7 ± 5.6 teragrams of CH4 a year for the Amazon basin, based on regular vertical lower-troposphere CH4 profiles covering the period 2010-2013. We find close agreement between our ‘top-down’ and combined ‘bottom-up’ estimates, indicating that large CH4 emissions from trees adapted to permanent or seasonal inundation can account for the emission source that is required to close the Amazon CH4 budget. Our findings demonstrate the importance of tree stem surfaces in mediating approximately half of all wetland CH4 emissions in the Amazon floodplain, a region that represents up to one-third of the global wetland CH4 source when trees are combined with other emission sources.

Biomarkers of Mercury Exposure in the Amazon

PubMed Central

de Castro, Nathália Santos Serrão; Lima, Marcelo de Oliveira

2014-01-01

Mercury exposure in the Amazon has been studied since the 1980s decade and the assessment of human mercury exposure in the Amazon is difficult given that the natural occurrence of this metal is high and the concentration of mercury in biological samples of this population exceeds the standardized value of normality established by WHO. Few studies have focused on the discovery of mercury biomarkers in the region's population. In this way, some studies have used genetics as well as immunological and cytogenetic tools in order to find a molecular biomarker for assessing the toxicological effect of mercury in the Amazonian population. Most of those studies focused attention on the relation between mercury exposure and autoimmunity and, because of that, they will be discussed in more detail. Here we introduce the general aspects involved with each biomarker that was studied in the region in order to contextualize the reader and add information about the Amazonian life style and health that may be considered for future studies. We hope that, in the future, the toxicological studies in this field use high technological tools, such as the next generation sequencing and proteomics skills, in order to comprehend basic questions regarding the metabolic route of mercury in populations that are under constant exposure, such as in the Amazon. PMID:24895619

Isoprene photochemistry over the Amazon rainforest

PubMed Central

Liu, Yingjun; Brito, Joel; Dorris, Matthew R.; Rivera-Rios, Jean C.; Seco, Roger; Bates, Kelvin H.; Artaxo, Paulo; Duvoisin, Sergio; Keutsch, Frank N.; Kim, Saewung; Goldstein, Allen H.; Guenther, Alex B.; Manzi, Antonio O.; Souza, Rodrigo A. F.; Springston, Stephen R.; Watson, Thomas B.; McKinney, Karena A.

2016-01-01

Isoprene photooxidation is a major driver of atmospheric chemistry over forested regions. Isoprene reacts with hydroxyl radicals (OH) and molecular oxygen to produce isoprene peroxy radicals (ISOPOO). These radicals can react with hydroperoxyl radicals (HO2) to dominantly produce hydroxyhydroperoxides (ISOPOOH). They can also react with nitric oxide (NO) to largely produce methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR). Unimolecular isomerization and bimolecular reactions with organic peroxy radicals are also possible. There is uncertainty about the relative importance of each of these pathways in the atmosphere and possible changes because of anthropogenic pollution. Herein, measurements of ISOPOOH and MVK + MACR concentrations are reported over the central region of the Amazon basin during the wet season. The research site, downwind of an urban region, intercepted both background and polluted air masses during the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. Under background conditions, the confidence interval for the ratio of the ISOPOOH concentration to that of MVK + MACR spanned 0.4–0.6. This result implies a ratio of the reaction rate of ISOPOO with HO2 to that with NO of approximately unity. A value of unity is significantly smaller than simulated at present by global chemical transport models for this important, nominally low-NO, forested region of Earth. Under polluted conditions, when the concentrations of reactive nitrogen compounds were high (>1 ppb), ISOPOOH concentrations dropped below the instrumental detection limit (<60 ppt). This abrupt shift in isoprene photooxidation, sparked by human activities, speaks to ongoing and possible future changes in the photochemistry active over the Amazon rainforest. PMID:27185928

Isoprene photochemistry over the Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Liu, Yingjun; Brito, Joel; Dorris, Matthew R; Rivera-Rios, Jean C; Seco, Roger; Bates, Kelvin H; Artaxo, Paulo; Duvoisin, Sergio; Keutsch, Frank N; Kim, Saewung; Goldstein, Allen H; Guenther, Alex B; Manzi, Antonio O; Souza, Rodrigo A F; Springston, Stephen R; Watson, Thomas B; McKinney, Karena A; Martin, Scot T

2016-05-31

Isoprene photooxidation is a major driver of atmospheric chemistry over forested regions. Isoprene reacts with hydroxyl radicals (OH) and molecular oxygen to produce isoprene peroxy radicals (ISOPOO). These radicals can react with hydroperoxyl radicals (HO2) to dominantly produce hydroxyhydroperoxides (ISOPOOH). They can also react with nitric oxide (NO) to largely produce methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR). Unimolecular isomerization and bimolecular reactions with organic peroxy radicals are also possible. There is uncertainty about the relative importance of each of these pathways in the atmosphere and possible changes because of anthropogenic pollution. Herein, measurements of ISOPOOH and MVK + MACR concentrations are reported over the central region of the Amazon basin during the wet season. The research site, downwind of an urban region, intercepted both background and polluted air masses during the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. Under background conditions, the confidence interval for the ratio of the ISOPOOH concentration to that of MVK + MACR spanned 0.4-0.6. This result implies a ratio of the reaction rate of ISOPOO with HO2 to that with NO of approximately unity. A value of unity is significantly smaller than simulated at present by global chemical transport models for this important, nominally low-NO, forested region of Earth. Under polluted conditions, when the concentrations of reactive nitrogen compounds were high (>1 ppb), ISOPOOH concentrations dropped below the instrumental detection limit (<60 ppt). This abrupt shift in isoprene photooxidation, sparked by human activities, speaks to ongoing and possible future changes in the photochemistry active over the Amazon rainforest.

Isoprene photochemistry over the Amazon rainforest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yingjun; Brito, Joel; Dorris, Matthew R.; Rivera-Rios, Jean C.; Seco, Roger; Bates, Kelvin H.; Artaxo, Paulo; Duvoisin, Sergio; Keutsch, Frank N.; Kim, Saewung; Goldstein, Allen H.; Guenther, Alex B.; Manzi, Antonio O.; Souza, Rodrigo A. F.; Springston, Stephen R.; Watson, Thomas B.; McKinney, Karena A.; Martin, Scot T.

2016-05-01

Isoprene photooxidation is a major driver of atmospheric chemistry over forested regions. Isoprene reacts with hydroxyl radicals (OH) and molecular oxygen to produce isoprene peroxy radicals (ISOPOO). These radicals can react with hydroperoxyl radicals (HO2) to dominantly produce hydroxyhydroperoxides (ISOPOOH). They can also react with nitric oxide (NO) to largely produce methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR). Unimolecular isomerization and bimolecular reactions with organic peroxy radicals are also possible. There is uncertainty about the relative importance of each of these pathways in the atmosphere and possible changes because of anthropogenic pollution. Herein, measurements of ISOPOOH and MVK + MACR concentrations are reported over the central region of the Amazon basin during the wet season. The research site, downwind of an urban region, intercepted both background and polluted air masses during the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. Under background conditions, the confidence interval for the ratio of the ISOPOOH concentration to that of MVK + MACR spanned 0.4-0.6. This result implies a ratio of the reaction rate of ISOPOO with HO2 to that with NO of approximately unity. A value of unity is significantly smaller than simulated at present by global chemical transport models for this important, nominally low-NO, forested region of Earth. Under polluted conditions, when the concentrations of reactive nitrogen compounds were high (>1 ppb), ISOPOOH concentrations dropped below the instrumental detection limit (<60 ppt). This abrupt shift in isoprene photooxidation, sparked by human activities, speaks to ongoing and possible future changes in the photochemistry active over the Amazon rainforest.

Effects of habitat isolation on pollinator communities and seed set.

PubMed

Steffan-Dewenter, I; Tscharntke, Teja

1999-11-01

Destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats is the major reason for the decreasing biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. Loss of populations may negatively affect biotic interactions and ecosystem stability. Here we tested the hypothesis that habitat fragmentation affects bee populations and thereby disrupts plant-pollinator interactions. We experimentally established small "habitat islands" of two self-incompatible, annual crucifers on eight calcareous grasslands and in the intensively managed agricultural landscape at increasing distances (up to 1000 m) from these species-rich grasslands to measure effects of isolation on both pollinator guilds and seed set, independently from patch size and density, resource availability and genetic erosion of plant populations. Each habitat island consisted of four pots each with one plant of mustard (Sinapis arvensis) and radish (Raphanus sativus). Increasing isolation of the small habitat islands resulted in both decreased abundance and species richness of flower-visiting bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Mean body size of flower-visiting wild bees was larger on isolated than on nonisolated habitat islands emphasizing the positive correlation of body size and foraging distance. Abundance of flower-visiting honeybees depended on the distance from the nearest apiary. Abundance of other flower visitors such as hover flies did not change with increasing isolation. Number of seeds per fruit and per plant decreased significantly with increasing distance from the nearest grassland for both mustard and radish. Mean seed set per plant was halved at a distance of approximately 1000 m for mustard and at 250 m for radish. In accordance with expectations, seed set per plant was positively correlated with the number of flower-visiting bees. We found no evidence for resource limitation in the case of mustard and only marginal effects for radish. We conclude that habitat connectivity is essential to maintain not only abundant and

The economic value of the climate regulation ecosystem service provided by the Amazon rainforest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heil Costa, Marcos; Pires, Gabrielle; Fontes, Vitor; Brumatti, Livia

2017-04-01

The rainy Amazon climate allowed important activities to develop in the region as large rainfed agricultural lands and hydropower plants. The Amazon rainforest is an important source of moisture to the regional atmosphere and helps regulate the local climate. The replacement of forest by agricultural lands decreases the flux of water vapor into the atmosphere and changes the precipitation patterns, which may severely affect such economic activities. Assign an economic value to this ecosystem service may emphasize the significance to preserve the Amazon rainforest. In this work, we provide a first approximation of the quantification of the climate regulation ecosystem service provided by the Amazon rainforest using the marginal production method. We use climate scenarios derived from Amazon deforestation scenarios as input to crop and runoff models to assess how land use change would affect agriculture and hydropower generation. The effects of forest removal on soybean production and on cattle beef production can both be as high as US 16 per year per ha deforested, and the effects on hydropower generation can be as high as US 8 per year per ha deforested. We consider this as a conservative estimate of a permanent service provided by the rainforest. Policy makers and other Amazon agriculture and energy businesses must be aware of these numbers, and consider them while planning their activities.

Inbreeding avoidance in an isolated indigenous Zapotec community in the valley of Oaxaca, southern Mexico.

PubMed

Little, Bertis B; Malina, Robert M

2005-06-01

We analyzed inbreeding using surname isonymy in an indigenous genetic isolate. The subjects were residents of a rural Zapotec-speaking community in the valley of Oaxaca, southern Mexico. The community can be classified as a genetic isolate with an average gene flow of < or = 3% per generation. Surnames were collected for individuals in each household in pedigree form using the culturally traditional patronym-matronym naming. Estimation of inbreeding from surname isonymy is facilitated by the traditional patronym-matronym name assignment among indigenous Mexican populations. A total of 2,149 individuals had valid surname patronym-matronym pairings, including 484 deceased ancestors. Surname isonymy analysis methods were used to estimate total inbreeding and to segregate it into random and nonrandom components. The surname isonymy coefficient computed from 119 isonymous surname pairings (119/2,149) was 0.0554. The estimated inbreeding coefficient from surname isonymy was 0.0138 (0.0554/4). The random and nonrandom components of inbreeding were F(r) = 0.0221 and F(n) = -0.0091, respectively. The results suggest that consanguinity is culturally avoided. Nonrandom inbreeding decreased total inbreeding by about 41%. Total estimated inbreeding by surname isonymy was 0.0138, which is similar to inbreeding estimated from a sample of pedigrees, 0.01. Socially prescribed inbreeding avoidance substantially lowered total F through negative nonrandom inbreeding. Even in the situation of genetic isolation and small effective population size (N(e)), estimated inbreeding is lower than may have otherwise occurred if inbreeding were only random. However, among the poorest individuals, socially prescribed jural rules for inbreeding avoidance failed to operate. Thus the preponderance of inbreeding appears to occur among the poor, economically disadvantaged in the community.

[Ground-clearing fires in the amazon and respiratory disease].

PubMed

Gonçalves, Karen dos Santos; de Castro, Hermano Albuquerque; Hacon, Sandra de Souza

2012-06-01

The intentional burning of forest biomass commonly known as "ground-clearing fires" is an age-old and widespread practice in the country and is seen as a major contributor to global emissions of greenhouse gases. However, global awareness of their potential impact is relatively recent. The occurrence of large ground-clearing fires in the Brazilian and international scenarios drew attention to the problem, but the measures taken to prevent and/or control the fires are still insufficient. In the Amazon region, with distinct geographical and environmental features from the rest of the country, with its historic process of land occupation, every year the ground-clearing fires expose larger portions of the population making them vulnerable to its effects. In this context, this non-systematic review presents the papers written over the past five years about the fires in the Brazilian Amazon and respiratory illness. The main objective is to provide information for managers and leaders on environmental issues about the problems related to biomass burning in the Amazon region.

Tropical North Atlantic ocean-atmosphere interactions synchronize forest carbon losses from hurricanes and Amazon fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yang; Randerson, James T.; Morton, Douglas C.

2015-08-01

We describe a climate mode synchronizing forest carbon losses from North and South America by analyzing time series of tropical North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), landfall hurricanes and tropical storms, and Amazon fires during 1995-2013. Years with anomalously high tropical North Atlantic SSTs during March-June were often followed by a more active hurricane season and a larger number of satellite-detected fires in the southern Amazon during June-November. The relationship between North Atlantic tropical cyclones and southern Amazon fires (r = 0.61, p < 0.003) was stronger than links between SSTs and either cyclones or fires alone, suggesting that fires and tropical cyclones were directly coupled to the same underlying atmospheric dynamics governing tropical moisture redistribution. These relationships help explain why seasonal outlook forecasts for hurricanes and Amazon fires both failed in 2013 and may enable the design of improved early warning systems for drought and fire in Amazon forests.

Neogene origins and implied warmth tolerance of Amazon tree species

PubMed Central

Dick, Christopher W; Lewis, Simon L; Maslin, Mark; Bermingham, Eldredge

2013-01-01

Tropical rain forest has been a persistent feature in South America for at least 55 million years. The future of the contemporary Amazon forest is uncertain, however, as the region is entering conditions with no past analogue, combining rapidly increasing air temperatures, high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, possible extreme droughts, and extensive removal and modification by humans. Given the long-term Cenozoic cooling trend, it is unknown whether Amazon forests can tolerate air temperature increases, with suggestions that lowland forests lack warm-adapted taxa, leading to inevitable species losses. In response to this uncertainty, we posit a simple hypothesis: the older the age of a species prior to the Pleistocene, the warmer the climate it has previously survived, with Pliocene (2.6–5 Ma) and late-Miocene (8–10 Ma) air temperature across Amazonia being similar to 2100 temperature projections under low and high carbon emission scenarios, respectively. Using comparative phylogeographic analyses, we show that 9 of 12 widespread Amazon tree species have Pliocene or earlier lineages (>2.6 Ma), with seven dating from the Miocene (>5.6 Ma) and three >8 Ma. The remarkably old age of these species suggest that Amazon forests passed through warmth similar to 2100 levels and that, in the absence of other major environmental changes, near-term high temperature-induced mass species extinction is unlikely. PMID:23404439

Condition and fate of logged forests in the Brazilian Amazon

PubMed Central

Asner, Gregory P.; Broadbent, Eben N.; Oliveira, Paulo J. C.; Keller, Michael; Knapp, David E.; Silva, José N. M.

2006-01-01

The long-term viability of a forest industry in the Amazon region of Brazil depends on the maintenance of adequate timber volume and growth in healthy forests. Using extensive high-resolution satellite analyses, we studied the forest damage caused by recent logging operations and the likelihood that logged forests would be cleared within 4 years after timber harvest. Across 2,030,637 km2 of the Brazilian Amazon from 1999 to 2004, at least 76% of all harvest practices resulted in high levels of canopy damage sufficient to leave forests susceptible to drought and fire. We found that 16 ± 1% of selectively logged areas were deforested within 1 year of logging, with a subsequent annual deforestation rate of 5.4% for 4 years after timber harvests. Nearly all logging occurred within 25 km of main roads, and within that area, the probability of deforestation for a logged forest was up to four times greater than for unlogged forests. In combination, our results show that logging in the Brazilian Amazon is dominated by highly damaging operations, often followed rapidly by deforestation decades before forests can recover sufficiently to produce timber for a second harvest. Under the management regimes in effect at the time of our study in the Brazilian Amazon, selective logging would not be sustained. PMID:16901980

Molecular characterization of an earliest cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) collection from Peruvian Amazon using microsatllite DNA markers

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is indigenous to the Amazon region of South America. The Peruvian Amazon harbors a large number of diverse cacao populations. Since the 1930s, several numbers of populations have been collected from the Peruvian Amazon and maintained as ex situ germplasm repositories in ...

The Late Miocene paleogeography of the Amazon Basin and the evolution of the Amazon River system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latrubesse, Edgardo M.; Cozzuol, Mario; da Silva-Caminha, Silane A. F.; Rigsby, Catherine A.; Absy, Maria Lucia; Jaramillo, Carlos

2010-05-01

basin, and became instead an erosional area that contributed sediments to the Amazon fluvial system. At that time, the lowland fluvial systems of southwestern Amazonia (the Purus, Jurua and Javarí basins) become isolated from the Andes by the newly formed north-flowing Ucayali system and south-east flowing Madre de Dios System. It was during the early Pliocene that the Amazon fluvial system integrated regionally and acquired its present appearance, and also when it started to drain water and sediments on a large scale to the Atlantic Ocean.

Satellite Observation of El Nino Effects on Amazon Forest Phenology and Productivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asner, Gregory P.; Townsend, Alan R.; Braswell, Bobby H.

2000-01-01

Climate variability may affect the functioning of Amazon moist tropical forests, and recent modeling analyses suggest that the carbon dynamics of the region vary interannually in response to precipitation and temperature anomalies. However, due to persistent orbital and atmospheric artifacts in the satellite record, remote sensing observations have not provided quantitative evidence that climate variation affects Amazon forest phenology or productivity, We developed a method to minimize and quantify non-biological artifacts in NOAA AVHRR satellite data, providing a record of estimated forest phenological variation from 1982-1993. The seasonal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) amplitude (a proxy for phenology) increased throughout much of the basin during El Nino periods when rainfall was anomalously low. Wetter La Nina episodes brought consistently smaller NDVI amplitudes. Using radiative transfer and terrestrial biogeochemical models driven by these satellite data, we estimate that canopy-energy absorption and net primary production of Amazon forests varied interannually by as much as 21% and 18%, respectively. These results provide large-scale observational evidence for interannual sensitivity to El Nino of plant phenology and carbon flux in Amazon forests.

Reserves Protect against Deforestation Fires in the Amazon

PubMed Central

Adeney, J. Marion; Christensen, Norman L.; Pimm, Stuart L.

2009-01-01

Background Reserves are the principal means to conserve forests and biodiversity, but the question of whether reserves work is still debated. In the Amazon, fires are closely linked to deforestation, and thus can be used as a proxy for reserve effectiveness in protecting forest cover. We ask whether reserves in the Brazilian Amazon provide effective protection against deforestation and consequently fires, whether that protection is because of their location or their legal status, and whether some reserve types are more effective than others. Methodology/Principal Findings Previous work has shown that most Amazonian fires occur close to roads and are more frequent in El Niño years. We quantified these relationships for reserves and unprotected areas by examining satellite-detected hot pixels regressed against road distance across the entire Brazilian Amazon and for a decade with 2 El Niño-related droughts. Deforestation fires, as measured by hot pixels, declined exponentially with increasing distance from roads in all areas. Fewer deforestation fires occurred within protected areas than outside and the difference between protected and unprotected areas was greatest near roads. Thus, reserves were especially effective at preventing these fires where they are known to be most likely to burn; but they did not provide absolute protection. Even within reserves, at a given distance from roads, there were more deforestation fires in regions with high human impact than in those with low impact. The effect of El Niño on deforestation fires was greatest outside of reserves and near roads. Indigenous reserves, limited-use reserves, and fully protected reserves all had fewer fires than outside areas and did not appear to differ in their effectiveness. Conclusions/Significance Taking time, regional factors, and climate into account, our results show that reserves are an effective tool for curbing destructive burning in the Amazon. PMID:19352423

Natural infection of Plasmodium brasilianum in humans: Man and monkey share quartan malaria parasites in the Venezuelan Amazon.

PubMed

Lalremruata, Albert; Magris, Magda; Vivas-Martínez, Sarai; Koehler, Maike; Esen, Meral; Kempaiah, Prakasha; Jeyaraj, Sankarganesh; Perkins, Douglas Jay; Mordmüller, Benjamin; Metzger, Wolfram G

2015-09-01

The quartan malaria parasite Plasmodium malariae is the widest spread and best adapted human malaria parasite. The simian Plasmodium brasilianum causes quartan fever in New World monkeys and resembles P. malariae morphologically. Since the genetics of the two parasites are nearly identical, differing only in a range of mutations expected within a species, it has long been speculated that the two are the same. However, no naturally acquired infection with parasites termed as P. brasilianum has been found in humans until now. We investigated malaria cases from remote Yanomami indigenous communities of the Venezuelan Amazon and analyzed the genes coding for the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and the small subunit of ribosomes (18S) by species-specific PCR and capillary based-DNA sequencing. Based on 18S rRNA gene sequencing, we identified 12 patients harboring malaria parasites which were 100% identical with P. brasilianum isolated from the monkey, Alouatta seniculus. Translated amino acid sequences of the CS protein gene showed identical immunodominant repeat units between quartan malaria parasites isolated from both humans and monkeys. This study reports, for the first time, naturally acquired infections in humans with parasites termed as P. brasilianum. We conclude that quartan malaria parasites are easily exchanged between humans and monkeys in Latin America. We hypothesize a lack of host specificity in mammalian hosts and consider quartan malaria to be a true anthropozoonosis. Since the name P. brasilianum suggests a malaria species distinct from P. malariae, we propose that P. brasilianum should have a nomenclatorial revision in case further research confirms our findings. The expansive reservoir of mammalian hosts discriminates quartan malaria from other Plasmodium spp. and requires particular research efforts.

Morphological and genetic diversity of camu-camu [Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) McVaugh] in the Peruvian Amazon

PubMed Central

Šmíd, Jan; Kalousová, Marie; Mandák, Bohumil; Houška, Jakub; Chládová, Anna; Pinedo, Mario

2017-01-01

Camu-camu [Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) McVaugh] is currently an important and promising fruit species grown in the Peruvian Amazon, as well as in Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. The species is valued for its high content of fruit-based vitamin C. Large plantations have been established only in the last two decades, and a substantial part of the production is still obtained by collecting fruits from the wild. Domestication of the species is at an early stage; most farmers cultivate the plants without any breeding, or only through a simple mass selection process. The main objective of the study was to characterize morphological and genetic variation within and among cultivated and natural populations of camu-camu in the Peruvian Amazon. In total, we sampled 13 populations: ten wild in the Iquitos region, and three cultivated in the Pucallpa region in the Peruvian Amazon. To assess the genetic diversity using seven microsatellite loci, we analyzed samples from ten individual trees per each population (n = 126). Morphological data was collected from five trees from each population (n = 65). The analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences for most of the morphological descriptors. For wild and cultivated populations, the observed heterozygosity was 0.347 and 0.404 (expected 0.516 and 0.506), and the fixation index was 0.328 and 0.200, respectively. Wild populations could be divided into two groups according to the UPGMA and STRUCTURE analysis. In cultivated populations, their approximate origin was determined. Our findings indicate a high genetic diversity among the populations, but also a high degree of inbreeding within the populations. This can be explained by either the isolation of these populations from each other or the low number of individuals in some populations. This high level of genetic diversity can be explored for the selection of superior individuals for further breeding. PMID:28658316

Morphological and genetic diversity of camu-camu [Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) McVaugh] in the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Šmíd, Jan; Kalousová, Marie; Mandák, Bohumil; Houška, Jakub; Chládová, Anna; Pinedo, Mario; Lojka, Bohdan

2017-01-01

Camu-camu [Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) McVaugh] is currently an important and promising fruit species grown in the Peruvian Amazon, as well as in Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia. The species is valued for its high content of fruit-based vitamin C. Large plantations have been established only in the last two decades, and a substantial part of the production is still obtained by collecting fruits from the wild. Domestication of the species is at an early stage; most farmers cultivate the plants without any breeding, or only through a simple mass selection process. The main objective of the study was to characterize morphological and genetic variation within and among cultivated and natural populations of camu-camu in the Peruvian Amazon. In total, we sampled 13 populations: ten wild in the Iquitos region, and three cultivated in the Pucallpa region in the Peruvian Amazon. To assess the genetic diversity using seven microsatellite loci, we analyzed samples from ten individual trees per each population (n = 126). Morphological data was collected from five trees from each population (n = 65). The analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences for most of the morphological descriptors. For wild and cultivated populations, the observed heterozygosity was 0.347 and 0.404 (expected 0.516 and 0.506), and the fixation index was 0.328 and 0.200, respectively. Wild populations could be divided into two groups according to the UPGMA and STRUCTURE analysis. In cultivated populations, their approximate origin was determined. Our findings indicate a high genetic diversity among the populations, but also a high degree of inbreeding within the populations. This can be explained by either the isolation of these populations from each other or the low number of individuals in some populations. This high level of genetic diversity can be explored for the selection of superior individuals for further breeding.

The role of immigrants in the assembly of the South American rainforest tree flora.

PubMed Central

Pennington, R Toby; Dick, Christopher W

2004-01-01

The Amazon lowland rainforest flora is conventionally viewed as comprising lineages that evolved in biogeographic isolation after the split of west Gondwana (ca. 100 Myr ago). Recent molecular phylogenies, however, identify immigrant lineages that arrived in South America during its period of oceanic isolation (ca. 100-3 Myr ago). Long-distance sweepstakes dispersal across oceans played an important and possibly predominant role. Stepping-stone migration from Africa and North America through hypothesized Late Cretaceous and Tertiary island chains may have facilitated immigration. An analysis of inventory plot data suggests that immigrant lineages comprise ca. 20% of both the species and individuals of an Amazon tree community in Ecuador. This is more than an order of magnitude higher than previous estimates. We also present data on the community-level similarity between South American and palaeotropical rainforests, and suggest that most taxonomic similarity derives from trans-oceanic dispersal, rather than a shared Gondwanan history. PMID:15519976

Protecting the Amazon with protected areas

PubMed Central

Walker, Robert; Moore, Nathan J.; Arima, Eugenio; Perz, Stephen; Simmons, Cynthia; Caldas, Marcellus; Vergara, Dante; Bohrer, Claudio

2009-01-01

This article addresses climate-tipping points in the Amazon Basin resulting from deforestation. It applies a regional climate model to assess whether the system of protected areas in Brazil is able to avoid such tipping points, with massive conversion to semiarid vegetation, particularly along the south and southeastern margins of the basin. The regional climate model produces spatially distributed annual rainfall under a variety of external forcing conditions, assuming that all land outside protected areas is deforested. It translates these results into dry season impacts on resident ecosystems and shows that Amazonian dry ecosystems in the southern and southeastern basin do not desiccate appreciably and that extensive areas experience an increase in precipitation. Nor do the moist forests dry out to an excessive amount. Evidently, Brazilian environmental policy has created a sustainable core of protected areas in the Amazon that buffers against potential climate-tipping points and protects the drier ecosystems of the basin. Thus, all efforts should be made to manage them effectively. PMID:19549819

Drought sensitivity of the Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Phillips, Oliver L; Aragão, Luiz E O C; Lewis, Simon L; Fisher, Joshua B; Lloyd, Jon; López-González, Gabriela; Malhi, Yadvinder; Monteagudo, Abel; Peacock, Julie; Quesada, Carlos A; van der Heijden, Geertje; Almeida, Samuel; Amaral, Iêda; Arroyo, Luzmila; Aymard, Gerardo; Baker, Tim R; Bánki, Olaf; Blanc, Lilian; Bonal, Damien; Brando, Paulo; Chave, Jerome; de Oliveira, Atila Cristina Alves; Cardozo, Nallaret Dávila; Czimczik, Claudia I; Feldpausch, Ted R; Freitas, Maria Aparecida; Gloor, Emanuel; Higuchi, Niro; Jiménez, Eliana; Lloyd, Gareth; Meir, Patrick; Mendoza, Casimiro; Morel, Alexandra; Neill, David A; Nepstad, Daniel; Patiño, Sandra; Peñuela, Maria Cristina; Prieto, Adriana; Ramírez, Fredy; Schwarz, Michael; Silva, Javier; Silveira, Marcos; Thomas, Anne Sota; Steege, Hans Ter; Stropp, Juliana; Vásquez, Rodolfo; Zelazowski, Przemyslaw; Alvarez Dávila, Esteban; Andelman, Sandy; Andrade, Ana; Chao, Kuo-Jung; Erwin, Terry; Di Fiore, Anthony; Honorio C, Eurídice; Keeling, Helen; Killeen, Tim J; Laurance, William F; Peña Cruz, Antonio; Pitman, Nigel C A; Núñez Vargas, Percy; Ramírez-Angulo, Hirma; Rudas, Agustín; Salamão, Rafael; Silva, Natalino; Terborgh, John; Torres-Lezama, Armando

2009-03-06

Amazon forests are a key but poorly understood component of the global carbon cycle. If, as anticipated, they dry this century, they might accelerate climate change through carbon losses and changed surface energy balances. We used records from multiple long-term monitoring plots across Amazonia to assess forest responses to the intense 2005 drought, a possible analog of future events. Affected forest lost biomass, reversing a large long-term carbon sink, with the greatest impacts observed where the dry season was unusually intense. Relative to pre-2005 conditions, forest subjected to a 100-millimeter increase in water deficit lost 5.3 megagrams of aboveground biomass of carbon per hectare. The drought had a total biomass carbon impact of 1.2 to 1.6 petagrams (1.2 x 10(15) to 1.6 x 10(15) grams). Amazon forests therefore appear vulnerable to increasing moisture stress, with the potential for large carbon losses to exert feedback on climate change.

Protecting the Amazon with protected areas.

PubMed

Walker, Robert; Moore, Nathan J; Arima, Eugenio; Perz, Stephen; Simmons, Cynthia; Caldas, Marcellus; Vergara, Dante; Bohrer, Claudio

2009-06-30

This article addresses climate-tipping points in the Amazon Basin resulting from deforestation. It applies a regional climate model to assess whether the system of protected areas in Brazil is able to avoid such tipping points, with massive conversion to semiarid vegetation, particularly along the south and southeastern margins of the basin. The regional climate model produces spatially distributed annual rainfall under a variety of external forcing conditions, assuming that all land outside protected areas is deforested. It translates these results into dry season impacts on resident ecosystems and shows that Amazonian dry ecosystems in the southern and southeastern basin do not desiccate appreciably and that extensive areas experience an increase in precipitation. Nor do the moist forests dry out to an excessive amount. Evidently, Brazilian environmental policy has created a sustainable core of protected areas in the Amazon that buffers against potential climate-tipping points and protects the drier ecosystems of the basin. Thus, all efforts should be made to manage them effectively.

Climatic and ecological future of the Amazon: likelihood and causes of change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, B.; Zeng, N.; Yoon, J.-H.

2010-05-01

Some recent climate modeling results suggested a possible dieback of the Amazon rainforest under future climate change, a prediction that raised considerable interest as well as controversy. To determine the likelihood and causes of such changes, we analyzed the output of 15 models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC/AR4) and a dynamic vegetation model VEGAS driven by these climate output. Our results suggest that the core of the Amazon rainforest should remain largely stable as rainfall is projected to increase in nearly all models. However, the periphery, notably the southern edge of the Amazon and further south in central Brazil, are in danger of drying out, driven by two main processes. Firstly, a decline in precipitation of 22% in the southern Amazon's dry season (May-September) reduces soil moisture, despite an increase in precipitation during the wet season, due to nonlinear responses in hydrology and ecosystem dynamics. Two dynamical mechanisms may explain the lower dry season rainfall: (1) a general subtropical drying under global warming when the dry season southern Amazon is under the control of the subtropical high pressure; (2) a stronger north-south tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature gradient, and to lesser degree a warmer eastern equatorial Pacific. Secondly, evaporation demand will increase due to the general warming, further reducing soil moisture. In terms of ecosystem response, higher maintenance cost and reduced productivity under warming may also have additional adverse impact. The drying corresponds to a lengthening of the dry season by 11 days. As a consequence, the median of the models projects a reduction of 20% in vegetation carbon stock in the southern Amazon, central Brazil, and parts of the Andean Mountains. Further, VEGAS predicts enhancement of fire risk by 10-15%. The increase in fire is primarily due to the reduction in soil moisture, and the decrease in dry season rainfall, which

Deforestation, floodplain dynamics, and carbon biogeochemistry in the Amazon Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryan, M. L.; Dunne, T.; Richey, J.; Melack, J.; Simonett, D. S.; Woodwell, G.

1984-01-01

Three aspects of the physical geographic environment of the Amazon Basin are considered: (1) deforestation and reforestation, (2) floodplain dynamics, and (3) fluvial geomorphology. Three independent projects are coupled in this experiment to improve the in-place research and to ensure that the Shuttle Imaging Radar-B (SIR-B) experiment stands on a secure base of ongoing work. Major benefits to be obtained center on: (1) areal and locational information, (2) data from various depression angles, and (3) digital radar signatures. Analysis will be conducted for selected sites to define how well SIR-B data can be used for: (1) definition of extent and location of deforestation in a tropical moist forest, (2) definition and quantification of the nature of the vegetation and edaphic conditions on the (floodplain) of the Amazon River, and (3) quantification of the accuracy with which the geometry and channel shifting of the Amazon River may be mapped using SIR-B imagery in conjunction with other remote sensing data.

Low sensitivity of malaria rapid diagnostic tests stored at room temperature in the Brazilian Amazon Region.

PubMed

Gomes, Luciano T; Tada, Mauro S; Katsuragawa, Tony H; Povoa, Marinete M; Viana, Giselle Mr; Alecrim, Maria das Gracas C; De Santana-Filho, Frankllin S; Arcanjo, Ana Ruth L; Couto, Alvaro A R A; Calvosa, Vanja S P; Nery, Andreia F; Fontes, Cor J F

2013-03-14

In remote areas of the Amazon Region, diagnosis of malaria by microscopy is practically impossible. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) targeting different malaria antigens stored at room temperature in the Brazilian Amazon Region. Performance of the OptiMal Pf/Pan test and ICT-Now Pf/Pan test was analyzed retrospectively in 1,627 and 1,602 blood samples, respectively. Tests were performed over a 15-month period. Kits were stored at room temperature in five community health centres located in the Brazilian Amazon Region. RDT results were compared with thick blood smear (TBS) results to determine sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the RDT. The sensitivities of the OptiMal Pf/Pan test were 79.7% for Plasmodium falciparum malaria diagnosis and 85.7% for non-P. falciparum infections. The results showed a crude agreement of 88.5% for P. falciparum, and 88.3% for non-P. falciparum infections (Kappa index = 0.74 and 0.75, respectively). For the ICT-Now Pf/Pan test (CI 95%), the sensitivities were 87.9% for P. falciparum malaria diagnosis and 72.5% for non-P. falciparum infection. Crude agreement between the ICT-Now Pf/Pan test and TBS was 91.4% for P. falciparum and 79.7% for non-P. falciparum infection. The Kappa index was 0.81 and 0.59 for the final diagnosis of P. falciparum and non-P. falciparum, respectively. Higher levels of parasitaemia were associated with higher crude agreement between RDT and TBS. The sensitivities of RDTs stored at room temperature over a 15-month period and performed in field conditions were lower than those previously reported.

Amazon rain-forest fires.

PubMed

Sanford, R L; Saldarriaga, J; Clark, K E; Uhl, C; Herrera, R

1985-01-04

Charcoal is common in the soils of mature rain forests within 75 kilometers of San Carlos de Rio Negro in the north central Amazon Basin. Carbon-14 dates of soil charcoal from this region indicate that numerous fires have occurred since the mid-Holocene epoch. Charcoal is most common in tierra firme forest Oxisols and Ultisols and less common in caatinga and igapo forest soils. Climatic changes or human activities, or both, have caused rain-forest fires.

Separating the Effects of Tropical Atlantic and Pacific SST-driven Climate Variability on Amazon Carbon Exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liptak, J.; Keppel-Aleks, G.

2016-12-01

Amazon forests store an estimated 25% percent of global terrestrial carbon per year1, 2, but the responses of Amazon carbon uptake to climate change is highly uncertain. One source of this uncertainty is tropical sea surface temperature variability driven by teleconnections. El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a key driver of year-to-year Amazon carbon exchange, with associated temperature and precipitation changes favoring net carbon storage in La Nina years, and net carbon release during El Nino years3. To determine how Amazon climate and terrestrial carbon fluxes react to ENSO alone and in concert with other SST-driven teleconnections such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), we force the atmosphere (CAM5) and land (CLM4) components of the CESM(BGC) with prescribed monthly SSTs over the period 1950—2014 in a Historical control simulation. We then run an experiment (PAC) with time-varying SSTs applied only to the tropical equatorial Pacific Ocean, and repeating SST seasonal cycle climatologies elsewhere. Limiting SST variability to the equatorial Pacific indicates that other processes enhance ENSO-driven Amazon climate anomalies. Compared to the Historical control simulation, warming, drying and terrestrial carbon loss over the Amazon during El Nino periods are lower in the PAC simulation, especially prior to 1990 during the cool phase of the AMO. Cooling, moistening, and net carbon uptake during La Nina periods are also reduced in the PAC simulation, but differences are greater after 1990 during the warm phase of the AMO. By quantifying the relationships among climate drivers and carbon fluxes in the Historical and PAC simulations, we both assess the sensitivity of these relationships to the magnitude of ENSO forcing and quantify how other teleconnections affect ENSO-driven Amazon climate feedbacks. We expect that these results will help us improve hypotheses for how Atlantic and Pacific climate trends will affect future Amazon carbon carbon

Isoprene photochemistry over the Amazon rainforest

DOE PAGES

Liu, Yingjun; Brito, Joel; Dorris, Matthew R.; ...

2016-05-31

Isoprene photooxidation is a major driver of atmospheric chemistry over forested regions. Isoprene reacts with hydroxyl radicals (OH) and molecular oxygen to produce isoprene peroxy radicals (ISOPOO). These radicals can react with hydroperoxyl radicals (HO 2) to dominantly produce hydroxyhydroperoxides (ISOPOOH). They can also react with nitric oxide (NO) to largely produce methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR). Unimolecular isomerization and bimolecular reactions with organic peroxy radicals are also possible. There is uncertainty about the relative importance of each of these pathways in the atmosphere and possible changes because of anthropogenic pollution. Herein, measurements of ISOPOOH and MVK +more » MACR concentrations are reported over the central region of the Amazon basin during the wet season. The research site, downwind of an urban region, intercepted both background and polluted air masses during the GoAmazon2014/5 Experiment. Under background conditions, the confidence interval for the ratio of the ISOPOOH concentration to that of MVK + MACR spanned 0.4–0.6. This result implies a ratio of the reaction rate of ISOPOO with HO2 to that with NO of approximately unity. Also, a value of unity is significantly smaller than simulated at present by global chemical transport models for this important, nominally low-NO, forested region of Earth. Under polluted conditions, when the concentrations of reactive nitrogen compounds were high (>1 ppb), ISOPOOH concentrations dropped below the instrumental detection limit (<60 ppt). In conclusion, this abrupt shift in isoprene photooxidation, sparked by human activities, speaks to ongoing and possible future changes in the photochemistry active over the Amazon rainforest.« less

The Amazon hydrometeorology: Climatology, variability and links to changes in weather patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandes, Katia De Avila

My thesis focuses on improving the quantification of the hydrological cycle and understanding the atmospheric processes that link weather to climate in the Amazon River basin. By using ERA40 and independent observations, I assess how well we can estimate the surface water budget in the Amazon River basin. I find that ERA40 basin wide annual precipitation (P) overall agrees with observations showing a slight underestimation of 10% in average, whereas runoff (R) is underestimated by a larger margin (˜25%). Observed residual of precipitation and runoff (denoted as P-R) is better estimated by ERA40 P-R than actual ET which includes soil moisture nudging. The causes for said discrepancies were found to partly relate to soil moisture nudging that needs to be applied during the dry season to produce realistic ET and compensate for the low soil moisture recharge during the previous wet season. Insufficient recharge may in part be caused by underestimation of rainfall amount and intensity; moreover the shallow root layer in the model does not represent the deep soil water reservoir characteristic of the Amazonian forest. Whether the hydrological cycle and weather patterns in the Amazon have changed during the past few decades is a highly debatable but central question for detecting climate change in the region. The second part of my thesis focus on the physical links between rainfall changes detected in observations, and changes of synoptic scale systems as represented by ERA40. My results suggest that an observed delayed wet season onset is consistent with a decreasing number of cold air incursion (CAI) days in southern Amazon for the period 1979--2001. The variability of CAI into southern Amazon is related to the variability of SST upstream of South America in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans. A Singular Value Decomposition Analysis (SVD) between CAI days and global SST reveal three main modes of co-variability. The first mode describes the effect of the El Nino

Atmospheric correction analysis on LANDSAT data over the Amazon region. [Manaus, Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parada, N. D. J. (Principal Investigator); Dias, L. A. V.; Dossantos, J. R.; Formaggio, A. R.

1983-01-01

The Amazon Region natural resources were studied in two ways and compared. A LANDSAT scene and its attributes were selected, and a maximum likelihood classification was made. The scene was atmospherically corrected, taking into account Amazonic peculiarities revealed by (ground truth) of the same area, and the subsequent classification. Comparison shows that the classification improves with the atmospherically corrected images.

Multispecies Fisheries in the Lower Amazon River and Its Relationship with the Regional and Global Climate Variability

PubMed Central

Buss de Souza, Ronald; Freire, Juan; Isaac, Victoria Judith

2016-01-01

This paper aims to describe the spatial-temporal variability in catch of the main fishery resources of the Amazon River and floodplain lakes of the Lower Amazon, as well as relating the Catch per Unit of Effort with anomalies of some of the Amazon River, atmosphere and Atlantic Ocean system variables, determining the influence of the environment on the Amazonian fishery resources. Finfish landings data from the towns and villages of the Lower Amazon for the fisheries of three sites (Óbidos, Santarém and Monte Alegre), were obtained for the period between January 1993 and December 2004. Analysis of variance, detrended correspondence analysis, redundancy analysis and multiple regression techniques were used for the statistical analysis of the distinct time series. Fisheries production in the Lower Amazon presents differences between the Amazon River and the floodplain lakes. Production in the Amazon River is approximately half of the one of the floodplain lakes. This variability occurs both along the Lower Amazon River region (longitudinal gradient) and laterally (latitudinal gradient) for every fishing ground studied here. The distinct environmental variables alone or in association act differently on the fishery stocks and the success of catches in each fishery group studied here. Important variables are the flooding events; the soil the sea surface temperatures; the humidity; the wind and the occurence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation events. Fishery productivity presents a large difference in quantity and distribution patterns between the river and floodplain lakes. This variability occurs in the region of the Lower Amazon as well as laterally for each fishery group studied, being dependent on the ecological characteristics and life strategies of each fish group considered here. PMID:27314951

The density and biomass of mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton in the Negro and the Amazon Rivers during the rainy season: the ecological importance of the confluence boundary

PubMed Central

Rimachi, Elvis V.; Santos-Silva, Edinaldo N.; Calixto, Laura S.F.; Leite, Rosseval G.; Khen, Adi; Yamane, Tetsuo; Mazeroll, Anthony I.; Inuma, Jomber C.; Utumi, Erika Y.K.; Tanaka, Akira

2017-01-01

The boundary zone between two different hydrological regimes is often a biologically enriched environment with distinct planktonic communities. In the center of the Amazon River basin, muddy white water of the Amazon River meets with black water of the Negro River, creating a conspicuous visible boundary spanning over 10 km along the Amazon River. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the confluence boundary between the white and black water rivers concentrates prey and is used as a feeding habitat for consumers by investigating the density, biomass and distribution of mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton communities across the two rivers during the rainy season. Our results show that mean mesozooplankton density (2,730 inds. m−3) and biomass (4.8 mg m−3) were higher in the black-water river compared to the white-water river (959 inds. m−3; 2.4 mg m−3); however an exceptionally high mesozooplankton density was not observed in the confluence boundary. Nonetheless we found the highest density of ichthyoplankton in the confluence boundary (9.7 inds. m−3), being up to 9-fold higher than in adjacent rivers. The confluence between white and black waters is sandwiched by both environments with low (white water) and high (black water) zooplankton concentrations and by both environments with low (white water) and high (black water) predation pressures for fish larvae, and may function as a boundary layer that offers benefits of both high prey concentrations and low predation risk. This forms a plausible explanation for the high density of ichthyoplankton in the confluence zone of black and white water rivers. PMID:28507821

The density and biomass of mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton in the Negro and the Amazon Rivers during the rainy season: the ecological importance of the confluence boundary.

PubMed

Nakajima, Ryota; Rimachi, Elvis V; Santos-Silva, Edinaldo N; Calixto, Laura S F; Leite, Rosseval G; Khen, Adi; Yamane, Tetsuo; Mazeroll, Anthony I; Inuma, Jomber C; Utumi, Erika Y K; Tanaka, Akira

2017-01-01

The boundary zone between two different hydrological regimes is often a biologically enriched environment with distinct planktonic communities. In the center of the Amazon River basin, muddy white water of the Amazon River meets with black water of the Negro River, creating a conspicuous visible boundary spanning over 10 km along the Amazon River. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the confluence boundary between the white and black water rivers concentrates prey and is used as a feeding habitat for consumers by investigating the density, biomass and distribution of mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton communities across the two rivers during the rainy season. Our results show that mean mesozooplankton density (2,730 inds. m -3 ) and biomass (4.8 mg m -3 ) were higher in the black-water river compared to the white-water river (959 inds. m -3 ; 2.4 mg m -3 ); however an exceptionally high mesozooplankton density was not observed in the confluence boundary. Nonetheless we found the highest density of ichthyoplankton in the confluence boundary (9.7 inds. m -3 ), being up to 9-fold higher than in adjacent rivers. The confluence between white and black waters is sandwiched by both environments with low (white water) and high (black water) zooplankton concentrations and by both environments with low (white water) and high (black water) predation pressures for fish larvae, and may function as a boundary layer that offers benefits of both high prey concentrations and low predation risk. This forms a plausible explanation for the high density of ichthyoplankton in the confluence zone of black and white water rivers.

Foraminifera and Thecamoebians as hydrodynamic indicators for Amazon estuarine system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laut, L. L.; Figueiredo, A. G.; Santos, V. F.; Souza-Vieira, S.

2007-05-01

The Amazon mangrove forest in Brazilian territory is one of the most extended in the world. It goes from Ponta do Tubarao (4S e 43W) to Cape Orange (5N e 51W) along 2,250 km of coast line. Because the Amazon River System influence, it can be divided into two regions; one with river influence toward north and the other without river influence. In order to characterize the mangrove environment hydrodynamic on both sides of the Amazon River System, foraminifera and thecamoebians assemblages were investigated in the sediment of two estuaries; Araguari to the North (1 15S - 50 30W) and Caete to the South (0 50S - 46 30W). For both estuaries forams and thecamoebians species distribution are atypical relative to other world regions. In both, there are only few calcareous forams and almost all are small and possible of being transported in suspension. Typical estuarine species were not identified. The typical mangrove forams which are agglutinated species were dominant in both estuaries. However, the Caete estuary has a large number of forams species (29), indicating better efficiency in mixing fresh and salt water in comparison to the Araguari. On the other hand, the Araguari has big richness of thecamoebians species (15) indicating fresh water prevalence. The fresh water predominance is due to the Amazon water plume being diverted to the Amapa coast where the Araguari estuary is located. The foraminifera species was also used to determine the salt water penetration in the estuary. In the Caete estuary, salt water penetrates to about 40 km while in the Araguari it does coincide with the limit of the bore tide wave "pororoca" penetration, 45 km. Based on the species succession (forams to thecamoebians species) the Araguary estuary can be divided into three regions controlled by turbidity: the outer, middle and inner estuary. The Caete species succession is not that clear and only could be divided based on salinity into outer and inner estuary. In both estuaries forams and

Pattern of Antibiotic Resistance Among Community Derived Isolates of Enterobacteriaceae Using Urine Sample: A Study From Northern India

PubMed Central

Lohiya, Ayush; Kapil, Arti; Gupta, Sanjeev Kumar; Misra, Puneet; Rai, Sanjay K.

2015-01-01

Background Despite world-wide evidence of increased antibiotic resistance, there is scarce data on antibiotic resistance in community settings. One of the reason being difficulty in collection of biological specimen (traditionally stool) in community from apparently healthy individuals. Hence, finding an alternative specimen that is easier to obtain in a community setting or in large scale surveys for the purpose, is crucial. We conducted this study to explore the feasibility of using urine samples for deriving community based estimates of antibiotic resistance and to estimate the magnitude of resistance among urinary isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia against multiple antibiotics in apparently healthy individuals residing in a rural community of Haryana, North India. Materials and Methods Eligible individuals were apparently healthy, aged 18 years or older. Using the health management information system (HMIS) of Ballabgarh Health Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), sampling frame was prepared. Potential individuals were identified using simple random sampling. Random urine sample was collected in a sterile container and transported to laboratory under ambient condition. Species identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing for Enterobacteriaceae was done using Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute (CLSI) 2012 guidelines. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Enterobacteriaceae, Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae, and Carbapenem producing Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) were identified from the urine samples. Results A total of 433 individuals participated in the study (non-response rate – 13.4%), out of which 58 (13.4%) were positive for Enterobacteriaceae, 8.1% for E. coli and 5.3% for K. pneumoniae. Resistance against penicillin (amoxicillin/ampicillin) for E. coli and K. pneumoniae was 62.8% and 100.0% respectively. Isolates resistant to co-trimoxazole were 5.7% and 0.0% respectively. None of the isolates

Global evolutionary isolation measures can capture key local conservation species in Nearctic and Neotropical bird communities

PubMed Central

Redding, David W.; Mooers, Arne O.; Şekercioğlu, Çağan H.; Collen, Ben

2015-01-01

Understanding how to prioritize among the most deserving imperilled species has been a focus of biodiversity science for the past three decades. Though global metrics that integrate evolutionary history and likelihood of loss have been successfully implemented, conservation is typically carried out at sub-global scales on communities of species rather than among members of complete taxonomic assemblages. Whether and how global measures map to a local scale has received little scrutiny. At a local scale, conservation-relevant assemblages of species are likely to be made up of relatively few species spread across a large phylogenetic tree, and as a consequence there are potentially relatively large amounts of evolutionary history at stake. We ask to what extent global metrics of evolutionary history are useful for conservation priority setting at the community level by evaluating the extent to which three global measures of evolutionary isolation (evolutionary distinctiveness (ED), average pairwise distance (APD) and the pendant edge or unique phylogenetic diversity (PD) contribution) capture community-level phylogenetic and trait diversity for a large sample of Neotropical and Nearctic bird communities. We find that prioritizing the most ED species globally safeguards more than twice the total PD of local communities on average, but that this does not translate into increased local trait diversity. By contrast, global APD is strongly related to the APD of those same species at the community level, and prioritizing these species also safeguards local PD and trait diversity. The next step for biologists is to understand the variation in the concordance of global and local level scores and what this means for conservation priorities: we need more directed research on the use of different measures of evolutionary isolation to determine which might best capture desirable aspects of biodiversity. PMID:25561674

Quantifying How Climate Affects Vegetation in the Amazon Rainforest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, K.; Kodali, A.; Szubert, M.; Ganguly, S.; Bongard, J.

2016-12-01

Amazon droughts in 2005 and 2010 have raised serious concern about the future of the rainforest. Amazon forests are crucial because of their role as the largest carbon sink in the world which would effect the global warming phenomena with decreased photosynthesis activity. Especially, after a decline in plant growth in 1.68 million km2 forest area during the once-in-a-century severe drought in 2010, it is of primary importance to understand the relationship between different climatic variables and vegetation. In an earlier study, we have shown that non-linear models are better at capturing the relation dynamics of vegetation and climate variables such as temperature and precipitation, compared to linear models. In this research, we learn precise models between vegetation and climatic variables (temperature, precipitation) for normal conditions in the Amazon region using genetic programming based symbolic regression. This is done by removing high elevation and drought affected areas and also considering the slope of the region as one of the important factors while building the model. The model learned reveals new and interesting ways historical and current climate variables affect the vegetation at any location. MAIAC data has been used as a vegetation surrogate in our study. For temperature and precipitation, we have used TRMM and MODIS Land Surface Temperature data sets while learning the non-linear regression model. However, to generalize the model to make it independent of the data source, we perform transfer learning where we regress a regularized least squares to learn the parameters of the non-linear model using other data sources such as the precipitation and temperature from the Climatic Research Center (CRU). This new model is very similar in structure and performance compared to the original learned model and verifies the same claims about the nature of dependency between these climate variables and the vegetation in the Amazon region. As a result of this

Rainfall trends in the Brazilian Amazon Basin in the past eight decades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satyamurty, Prakki; de Castro, Aline Anderson; Tota, Julio; da Silva Gularte, Lucia Eliane; Manzi, Antonio Ocimar

2010-01-01

Rainfall series at 18 stations along the major rivers of the Brazilian Amazon Basin, having data since 1920s or 1930s, are analyzed to verify if there are appreciable long-term trends. Annual, rainy-season, and dry-season rainfalls are individually analyzed for each station and for the region as a whole. Some stations showed positive trends and some negative trends. The trends in the annual rainfall are significant at only six stations, five of which reporting increasing trends (Barcelos, Belem, Manaus, Rio Branco, and Soure stations) and just one (Itaituba station) reporting decreasing trend. The climatological values of rainfall before and after 1970 show significant differences at six stations (Barcelos, Belem, Benjamin Constant, Iaurete, Itaituba, and Soure). The region as a whole shows an insignificant and weak downward trend; therefore, we cannot affirm that the rainfall in the Brazilian Amazon basin is experiencing a significant change, except at a few individual stations. Subregions with upward and downward trends are interspersed in space from the far eastern Amazon to western Amazon. Most of the seasonal trends follow the annual trends, thus, indicating a certain consistency in the datasets and analysis.

[Globalization and environmentalism: polyphonic ethnicities in the Amazon].

PubMed

Garnelo, Luiza; Sampaio, Sully

2005-01-01

The article examines the issue of globalization, along with its contradictions and the ways in which it guides and shapes specific situations within the Amazon's present-day reality, while simultaneously engendering the uniformization of economic production and the valorization of cultural differences. The discussion explores the nuances of implementing a massified, standardized productive base that paradoxically fosters the valorization of cultural differences and favors alliances between, on the one hand, ethno-political leaders from indigenous Amazon groups and, on the other, environmentalists and other transworld actors who wield strong decision-making power. The article analyzes the indigenous movement's network of alliances and highlights the polyphony of the different political agents that come to clash with each other within this post-modern geopolitical setting.

SEROEPIDEMIOLOGY OF STRONGYLOIDIASIS IN THE PERUVIAN AMAZON

PubMed Central

YORI, PABLO P.; KOSEK, MARGARET; GILMAN, ROBERT H.; CORDOVA, JULIANNA; BERN, CARYN; CHAVEZ, CESAR BANDA; OLORTEGUI, MARIBEL PAREDES; MONTALVAN, CARMEN; SANCHEZ, GRACIELA MEZA; WORTHEN, BEVELLE; WORTHEN, JAMES; LEUNG, FAY; ORÉ, CARLOS VIDAL

2006-01-01

A stool and serosurvey for Strongyloides stercoralis was conducted in a community in the Peruvian Amazon region. Strongyloidiasis stercoralis was identified in the stool of 69 (8.7%) of 792 participants. Six hundred nine sera were tested using by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which had a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 94%; 442 (72%) were positive. In multivariable logistic regression models, having S. stercoralis in stool was associated with hookworm in the same specimen (odds ratio [OR] = 4.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.02-9.79), occasionally or never wearing shoes (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.10-3.27), and increasing age (OR = 1.012 for each one-year increase, 95% CI = 1.00-1.03). Similarly, occasionally or never wearing shoes (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.01-2.37) and increasing age (OR = 1.04 for each one-year increase, 95% CI = 1.02-1.06) were associated with an increased risk of a positive S. stercoralis ELISA result. The ELISA had a negative predictive value of 98% and is an excellent screening test for strongyloidiasis. PMID:16407351

Genetic diversity of polysporic isolates of Moniliophthora perniciosa (Tricholomataceae).

PubMed

Ferreira, L F R; Duarte, K M R; Gomes, L H; Carvalho, R S; Leal Junior, G A; Aguiar, M M; Armas, R D; Tavares, F C A

2012-08-16

The causal agent of witches' broom disease, Moniliophthora perniciosa is a hemibiotrophic and endemic fungus of the Amazon basin and the most important cocoa disease in Brazil. The purpose of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity of polysporic isolates of M. perniciosa to evaluate the adaptation of the pathogen from different Brazilian regions and its association with different hosts. Polysporic isolates obtained previously in potato dextrose agar cultures of M. perniciosa from different Brazilian states and different hosts (Theobroma cacao, Solanum cernuum, S. paniculatum, S. lycocarpum, Solanum sp, and others) were analyzed by somatic compatibility grouping where the mycelium interactions were distinguished after 4-8 weeks of confrontation between the different isolates of M. perniciosa based on the precipitation line in the transition zone and by protein electrophoresis through SDS-PAGE. The diversity of polysporic isolates of M. perniciosa was grouped according to geographic proximity and respective hosts. The great genetic diversity of M. perniciosa strains from different Brazilian states and hosts favored adaptation in unusual environments and dissemination at long distances generating new biotypes.

Hydrological Retrospective of floods and droughts: Case study in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wongchuig Correa, Sly; Cauduro Dias de Paiva, Rodrigo; Carlo Espinoza Villar, Jhan; Collischonn, Walter

2017-04-01

Recent studies have reported an increase in intensity and frequency of hydrological extreme events in many regions of the Amazon basin over last decades, these events such as seasonal floods and droughts have originated a significant impact in human and natural systems. Recently, methodologies such as climatic reanalysis are being developed in order to create a coherent register of climatic systems, thus taking this notion, this research efforts to produce a methodology called Hydrological Retrospective (HR), that essentially simulate large rainfall datasets over hydrological models in order to develop a record over past hydrology, enabling the analysis of past floods and droughts. We developed our methodology on the Amazon basin, thus we used eight large precipitation datasets (more than 30 years) through a large scale hydrological and hydrodynamic model (MGB-IPH), after that HR products were validated against several in situ discharge gauges dispersed throughout Amazon basin, given focus in maximum and minimum events. For better HR results according performance metrics, we performed a forecast skill of HR to detect floods and droughts considering in-situ observations. Furthermore, statistical temporal series trend was performed for intensity of seasonal floods and drought in the whole Amazon basin. Results indicate that better HR represented well most past extreme events registered by in-situ observed data and also showed coherent with many events cited by literature, thus we consider viable to use some large precipitation datasets as climatic reanalysis mainly based on land surface component and datasets based in merged products for represent past regional hydrology and seasonal hydrological extreme events. On the other hand, an increase trend of intensity was realized for maximum annual discharges (related to floods) in north-western regions and for minimum annual discharges (related to drought) in central-south regions of the Amazon basin, these features were

Assessing the Amazon Cloud Suitability for CLARREO's Computational Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldin, Daniel; Vakhnin, Andrei A.; Currey, Jon C.

2015-01-01

In this document we compare the performance of the Amazon Web Services (AWS), also known as Amazon Cloud, with the CLARREO (Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory) cluster and assess its suitability for computational needs of the CLARREO mission. A benchmark executable to process one month and one year of PARASOL (Polarization and Anistropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar) data was used. With the optimal AWS configuration, adequate data-processing times, comparable to the CLARREO cluster, were found. The assessment of alternatives to the CLARREO cluster continues and several options, such as a NASA-based cluster, are being considered.

Amazon Flooded Forest. Teacher Resource Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duvall, Todd

This teacher's resource guide was created to accompany the Amazon Flooded Forest exhibit at the Oregon Zoo. The enclosed lessons and activities are designed to extend into several aspects of daily curriculum including science, math, reading, writing, speaking, and geography. The materials are intended for use in grades 3-6 although most activities…

In Vitro Antibacterial Activities of AF 3013, the Active Metabolite of Prulifloxacin, against Nosocomial and Community Italian Isolates

PubMed Central

Montanari, Maria Pia; Mingoia, Marina; Varaldo, Pietro Emanuele

2001-01-01

AF 3013, the active metabolite of prulifloxacin, was tested to determine its inhibitory and bactericidal activities against 396 nosocomial and 258 community Italian isolates. Compared with that of ciprofloxacin, its activity (assessed in MIC and minimal bactericidal concentration tests) was generally similar or greater against gram-positive bacteria and greater against gram-negative bacteria. In time-kill assays using selected isolates, its bactericidal activity was comparable to that of ciprofloxacin. PMID:11709353

Antibody to HTLV‐I in Indigenous Inhabitants of the Andes and Amazon Regions in Colombia

PubMed Central

Zamora, Tomas; Zaninovic, Vladimir; Kajiwara, Masaharu; Komoda, Haruko; Hayami, Masanori

1990-01-01

To explore the HTLV‐I‐carrying groups among the indigenous inhabitants in South America, a sero‐epidemiological study on HTLV‐I focusing on hinterland villages isolated from others in the Andes and Amazon regions was conducted. Five (2.9%) out of 171 subjects showed positive for HTLV‐I antibody in the gelatin particle agglutination (PA) test. Two out of 5 positives with high antibody titer (≫× 1024) in the PA test also showed a positive immunofluorescence (IF) test and anti‐HTLV‐I‐specific protein products, p19, p24, p28, gp46, and p53 in sera by the Western blotting (WB) test. One of three negatives in the IF test showed positive antibodies to p19 and p24 by the WB test. Finally, two were confirmed as HTLV‐I carriers and one was suspected of being a carrier. All three are Paez Indians from the central Andes; 53‐ and 34‐year‐old women and a 35‐year‐old man. The results show that HTLV‐1 carriers exist among isolated indigenous people in South America. PMID:1975804

The Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment (ABLE 2A) - Dry season 1985

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harriss, R. C.; Browell, E. V.; Hoell, J. M., Jr.; Bendura, R. J.; Beck, S. M.; Wofsy, S. C.; Mcneal, R. J.; Navarro, R. L.; Riley, J. T.; Snell, R. L.

1988-01-01

The Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment (ABLE 2A) used data from aircraft, ground-based, and satellite platforms to characterize the chemistry and dynamics of the lower atmosphere over the Amazon Basin during the early-to-middle dry season, July and August 1985. This paper reports the conceptual framework and experimental approach used in ABLE 2A and serves as an introduction to the detailed papers which follow in this issue. The results of ABLE 2A demonstrate that isoprene, methane, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, dimethylsulfide, and organic aerosol emissions from soils and vegetation play a major role in determining the chemical composition of the atmospheric mixed layer over undisturbed forest and wetland environments. As the dry season progresses, emissions from both local and distant biomass burning become an important source of carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and ozone in the atmosphere over the central Amazon Basin.

El Niño Could Drive Intense Season for Amazon Fires

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

El Niño conditions in 2015 and early 2016 altered rainfall patterns around the world. In the Amazon, El Niño reduced rainfall during the wet season, leaving the region drier at the start of the 2016 dry season than any year since 2002, according to NASA satellite data. Wildfire risk for the dry season months of July to October this year now exceeds fire risk in 2005 and 2010, drought years when wildfires burned large areas of Amazon rainforest, said Doug Morton, an Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center who helped create the fire forecast. "Severe drought conditions at the start of the dry season set the stage for extreme fire risk in 2016 across the southern Amazon," Morton said. The Amazon fire forecast uses the relationship between climate and active fire detections from NASA satellites to predict fire season severity during the region’s dry season. Developed in 2011 by scientists at University of California, Irvine and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the forecast model is focused particularly on the link between sea surface temperatures and fire activity. Warmer sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific (El Niño) and Atlantic oceans shift rainfall away from the Amazon region, increasing the risk of fires during dry season months. Read more: go.nasa.gov/2937ADt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Strong coupling of plant and fungal community structure across western Amazonian rainforests

PubMed Central

Peay, Kabir G; Baraloto, Christopher; Fine, Paul VA

2013-01-01

The Amazon basin harbors a diverse ecological community that has a critical role in the maintenance of the biosphere. Although plant and animal communities have received much attention, basic information is lacking for fungal or prokaryotic communities. This is despite the fact that recent ecological studies have suggested a prominent role for interactions with soil fungi in structuring the diversity and abundance of tropical rainforest trees. In this study, we characterize soil fungal communities across three major tropical forest types in the western Amazon basin (terra firme, seasonally flooded and white sand) using 454 pyrosequencing. Using these data, we examine the relationship between fungal diversity and tree species richness, and between fungal community composition and tree species composition, soil environment and spatial proximity. We find that the fungal community in these ecosystems is diverse, with high degrees of spatial variability related to forest type. We also find strong correlations between α- and β-diversity of soil fungi and trees. Both fungal and plant community β-diversity were also correlated with differences in environmental conditions. The correlation between plant and fungal richness was stronger in fungal lineages known for biotrophic strategies (for example, pathogens, mycorrhizas) compared with a lineage known primarily for saprotrophy (yeasts), suggesting that this coupling is, at least in part, due to direct plant–fungal interactions. These data provide a much-needed look at an understudied dimension of the biota in an important ecosystem and supports the hypothesis that fungal communities are involved in the regulation of tropical tree diversity. PMID:23598789

Granular cell tumor in an endangered Puerto Rican Amazon parrot (Amazon vittata)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Quist, C.F.; Latimer, K.S.; Goldade, S.L.; Rivera, A.; Dein, F.J.

1999-01-01

A 3 cm diameter mass from the metacarpus of a Puerto Rican Amazon parrot was diagnosed as a granular cell tumour based on light microscopy. The cytoplasmic granules were periodic-acid Schiff positive and diastase resistant. Ultrastructural characteristics of the cells included convoluted nuclei and the presence of numerous cytoplasmic tertiary lysosomes. This is only the second granular cell tumour reported in a bird. We speculate that most granular cell tumours are derived from cells that are engaged in some type of cellular degradative process, creating a similar morphologic appearance, but lacking a uniform histogenesis.

Isolation of Monoterpene Dihydrochalcones from Piper montealegreanum Yuncker (Piperaceae).

PubMed

Alves, Harley da Silva; Rocha, Wilma Raianny Vieira da; Braz-Filho, Raimundo; Chaves, Maria Célia de Oliveira

2017-06-09

Four new compounds were isolated from the branches of Piper montealegreanum Yuncker, a shrub found in the Amazon rainforest, including two new dihydrochalcones named claricine ( 1 ) and maisine ( 2 ), a cinnamic acid derivative 3 and a phenylalkanoid 4 , along with a porphyrin identified as the known compound phaeophytin a ( 5 ). The structures were established using spectroscopic experiments, including 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS experiments, performed on the two monoterpene dihydrochalcones and their monoacetyl derivatives. The structural diversity of these substances is very important for the Piper genus chemotaxonomy.

Annual Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in the Amazon Basin between 2000 and 2010.

PubMed

Song, Xiao-Peng; Huang, Chengquan; Saatchi, Sassan S; Hansen, Matthew C; Townshend, John R

2015-01-01

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is considered one of the most cost-effective strategies for mitigating climate change. However, historical deforestation and emission rates-critical inputs for setting reference emission levels for REDD+-are poorly understood. Here we use multi-source, time-series satellite data to quantify carbon emissions from deforestation in the Amazon basin on a year-to-year basis between 2000 and 2010. We first derive annual deforestation indicators by using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Vegetation Continuous Fields (MODIS VCF) product. MODIS indicators are calibrated by using a large sample of Landsat data to generate accurate deforestation rates, which are subsequently combined with a spatially explicit biomass dataset to calculate committed annual carbon emissions. Across the study area, the average deforestation and associated carbon emissions were estimated to be 1.59 ± 0.25 M ha•yr(-1) and 0.18 ± 0.07 Pg C•yr(-1) respectively, with substantially different trends and inter-annual variability in different regions. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased between 2001 and 2004 and declined substantially afterwards, whereas deforestation in the Bolivian Amazon, the Colombian Amazon, and the Peruvian Amazon increased over the study period. The average carbon density of lost forests after 2005 was 130 Mg C•ha(-1), ~11% lower than the average carbon density of remaining forests in year 2010 (144 Mg C•ha(-1)). Moreover, the average carbon density of cleared forests increased at a rate of 7 Mg C•ha(-1)•yr(-1) from 2005 to 2010, suggesting that deforestation has been progressively encroaching into high-biomass lands in the Amazon basin. Spatially explicit, annual deforestation and emission estimates like the ones derived in this study are useful for setting baselines for REDD+ and other emission mitigation programs, and for evaluating the performance of such efforts.

Annual Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in the Amazon Basin between 2000 and 2010

PubMed Central

Song, Xiao-Peng; Huang, Chengquan; Saatchi, Sassan S.; Hansen, Matthew C.; Townshend, John R.

2015-01-01

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is considered one of the most cost-effective strategies for mitigating climate change. However, historical deforestation and emission rates―critical inputs for setting reference emission levels for REDD+―are poorly understood. Here we use multi-source, time-series satellite data to quantify carbon emissions from deforestation in the Amazon basin on a year-to-year basis between 2000 and 2010. We first derive annual deforestation indicators by using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Vegetation Continuous Fields (MODIS VCF) product. MODIS indicators are calibrated by using a large sample of Landsat data to generate accurate deforestation rates, which are subsequently combined with a spatially explicit biomass dataset to calculate committed annual carbon emissions. Across the study area, the average deforestation and associated carbon emissions were estimated to be 1.59 ± 0.25 M ha•yr−1 and 0.18 ± 0.07 Pg C•yr−1 respectively, with substantially different trends and inter-annual variability in different regions. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased between 2001 and 2004 and declined substantially afterwards, whereas deforestation in the Bolivian Amazon, the Colombian Amazon, and the Peruvian Amazon increased over the study period. The average carbon density of lost forests after 2005 was 130 Mg C•ha−1, ~11% lower than the average carbon density of remaining forests in year 2010 (144 Mg C•ha−1). Moreover, the average carbon density of cleared forests increased at a rate of 7 Mg C•ha−1•yr−1 from 2005 to 2010, suggesting that deforestation has been progressively encroaching into high-biomass lands in the Amazon basin. Spatially explicit, annual deforestation and emission estimates like the ones derived in this study are useful for setting baselines for REDD+ and other emission mitigation programs, and for evaluating the performance of such efforts

Cancer mortality and oil production in the Amazon Region of Ecuador, 1990-2005.

PubMed

Kelsh, Michael A; Morimoto, Libby; Lau, Edmund

2009-02-01

To compare cancer mortality rates in Amazon cantons (counties) with and without long-term oil exploration and extraction activities. Mortality (1990 through 2005) and population census (1990 and 2001) data for cantons in the provinces of the northern Amazon Region (Napo, Orellana, Sucumbios, and Pastaza), as well as the province with the capital city of Quito (Pichincha province) were obtained from the National Statistical Office of Ecuador, Instituto Nacional del Estadistica y Censos (INEC). Age- and sex-adjusted mortality rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated to evaluate total and cause-specific mortality in the study regions. Among Amazon cantons with long-term oil extraction, activities there was no evidence of increased rates of death from all causes (RR = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.95-1.01) or from overall cancer (RR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.73-0.92), and relative risk estimates were also lower for most individual site-specific cancer deaths. Mortality rates in the Amazon provinces overall were significantly lower than those observed in Pichincha for all causes (RR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.81-0.83), overall cancer (RR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.43-0.49), and for all site-specific cancers. In regions with incomplete cancer registration, mortality data are one of the few sources of information for epidemiologic assessments. However, epidemiologic assessments in this region of Ecuador are limited by underreporting, exposure and disease misclassification, and study design limitations. Recognizing these limitations, our analyses of national mortality data of the Amazon Region in Ecuador does not provide evidence for an excess cancer risk in regions of the Amazon with long-term oil production. These findings were not consistent or supportive of earlier studies in this region that suggested increased cancer risks.

Watching the Evolution of the American Family? Amazon's Transparent, Ecological Systems Theory, and the Changing Dynamics of Public Opinion.

PubMed

Becker, Amy B; Todd, Maureen E

2018-01-01

Using Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory as an organizing framework, the research closely examines the text of the Amazon Studios hit show Transparent and, by extension, the evolution of public opinion toward transgender individuals. By examining the Pfefferman family in detail and their related microsystem and macrosystem, we are able to closely unpack the transition of Jeffrey Tambor's character from Mort to Maura and the show's connections with broader developments in the Los Angeles LGBT community and the Jewish diaspora in postwar and contemporary Los Angeles. In addition, by focusing on the influence of the chronosystem, we are able to examine how both opinions toward Maura and public opinion toward transgender issues more generally have evolved within the family system and the larger American community over time.

Spectral tuning of Amazon parrot feather coloration by psittacofulvin pigments and spongy structures.

PubMed

Tinbergen, Jan; Wilts, Bodo D; Stavenga, Doekele G

2013-12-01

The feathers of Amazon parrots are brightly coloured. They contain a unique class of pigments, the psittacofulvins, deposited in both barbs and barbules, causing yellow or red coloured feathers. In specific feather areas, spongy nanostructured barb cells exist, reflecting either in the blue or blue-green wavelength range. The blue-green spongy structures are partly enveloped by a blue-absorbing, yellow-colouring pigment acting as a spectral filter, thus yielding a green coloured barb. Applying reflection and transmission spectroscopy, we characterized the Amazons' pigments and spongy structures, and investigated how they contribute to the feather coloration. The reflectance spectra of Amazon feathers are presumably tuned to the sensitivity spectra of the visual photoreceptors.

Bacterial community composition in Brazilian Anthrosols and adjacent soils characterized using culturing and molecular identification.

PubMed

O'Neill, B; Grossman, J; Tsai, M T; Gomes, J E; Lehmann, J; Peterson, J; Neves, E; Thies, J E

2009-07-01

Microbial community composition was examined in two soil types, Anthrosols and adjacent soils, sampled from three locations in the Brazilian Amazon. The Anthrosols, also known as Amazonian dark earths, are highly fertile soils that are a legacy of pre-Columbian settlement. Both Anthrosols and adjacent soils are derived from the same parent material and subject to the same environmental conditions, including rainfall and temperature; however, the Anthrosols contain high levels of charcoal-like black carbon from which they derive their dark color. The Anthrosols typically have higher cation exchange capacity, higher pH, and higher phosphorus and calcium contents. We used culture media prepared from soil extracts to isolate bacteria unique to the two soil types and then sequenced their 16S rRNA genes to determine their phylogenetic placement. Higher numbers of culturable bacteria, by over two orders of magnitude at the deepest sampling depths, were counted in the Anthrosols. Sequences of bacteria isolated on soil extract media yielded five possible new bacterial families. Also, a higher number of families in the bacteria were represented by isolates from the deeper soil depths in the Anthrosols. Higher bacterial populations and a greater diversity of isolates were found in all of the Anthrosols, to a depth of up to 1 m, compared to adjacent soils located within 50-500 m of their associated Anthrosols. Compared to standard culture media, soil extract media revealed diverse soil microbial populations adapted to the unique biochemistry and physiological ecology of these Anthrosols.

Forecasting Malaria in the Western Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, W. K.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Pizzitutti, F.; Berky, A.; Feingold, B.; Mena, C.; Janko, M.

2017-12-01

Reported cases of malaria in the western Amazon regions of Peru, Colombia and Ecuador have more than tripled since 2011. Responding to this epidemic has been challenging given large-scale environmental impacts and demographic changes combined with changing financial and political priorities. In Peru alone, malaria cases increased 5-fold since 2011. Reasons include changes in the Global Malaria Fund, massive flooding in 2012, the "mega" El Nino in 2016, and continued natural resource extraction via logging and mining. These challenges prompted the recent creation of the Malaria Cero program in 2017 with the goal to eradicate malaria by 2021. To assist in malaria eradiation, a team of investigators supported by NASA have been developing an Early Warning System for Malaria. The system leverages demographic, epidemiological, meteorological and land use/cover data to develop a four-component system that will improve detection of malaria across the western Amazon Basin. System components include a land data assimilation system (LDAS) to estimate past and future hydrological states and flux, a seasonal human population model to estimate population at risk and spatial connectivity to high risk transmission areas, a sub-regional statistical model to identify when and where observed malaria cases have exceeded those expected, and an Agent Based Model (ABM) to integrate human, environmental, and entomological transmission dynamics with potential strategies for control. Data include: daily case detection reports between 2000 and 2017 from all health posts in the region of Loreto in the northern Peruvian Amazon; LDAS outputs (precipitation, temperature, humidity, solar radiation) at a 1km and weekly scale; satellite-derived estimates of land cover; and human population size from census and health data. This presentation will provide an overview of components, focusing on how the system identifies an outbreak and plans for technology transfer.

Origin and processing of terrestrial organic carbon in the Amazon system: lignin phenols in river, shelf, and fan sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Shuwen; Schefuß, Enno; Mulitza, Stefan; Chiessi, Cristiano M.; Sawakuchi, André O.; Zabel, Matthias; Baker, Paul A.; Hefter, Jens; Mollenhauer, Gesine

2017-05-01

The Amazon River transports large amounts of terrestrial organic carbon (OCterr) from the Andean and Amazon neotropical forests to the Atlantic Ocean. In order to compare the biogeochemical characteristics of OCterr in the fluvial sediments from the Amazon drainage basin and in the adjacent marine sediments, we analysed riverbed sediments from the Amazon mainstream and its main tributaries as well as marine surface sediments from the Amazon shelf and fan for total organic carbon (TOC) content, organic carbon isotopic composition (δ13CTOC), and lignin phenol compositions. TOC and lignin content exhibit positive correlations with Al / Si ratios (indicative of the sediment grain size) implying that the grain size of sediment discharged by the Amazon River plays an important role in the preservation of TOC and leads to preferential preservation of lignin phenols in fine particles. Depleted δ13CTOC values (-26.1 to -29.9 ‰) in the main tributaries consistently correspond with the dominance of C3 vegetation. Ratios of syringyl to vanillyl (S / V) and cinnamyl to vanillyl (C / V) lignin phenols suggest that non-woody angiosperm tissues are the dominant source of lignin in the Amazon basin. Although the Amazon basin hosts a rich diversity of vascular plant types, distinct regional lignin compositions are not observed. In the marine sediments, the distribution of δ13CTOC and Λ8 (sum of eight lignin phenols in organic carbon (OC), expressed as mg/100 mg OC) values implies that OCterr discharged by the Amazon River is transported north-westward by the North Brazil Current and mostly deposited on the inner shelf. The lignin compositions in offshore sediments under the influence of the Amazon plume are consistent with the riverbed samples suggesting that processing of OCterr during offshore transport does not change the encoded source information. Therefore, the lignin compositions preserved in these offshore sediments can reliably reflect the vegetation in the Amazon

Predictive modelling of contagious deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Rosa, Isabel M D; Purves, Drew; Souza, Carlos; Ewers, Robert M

2013-01-01

Tropical forests are diminishing in extent due primarily to the rapid expansion of agriculture, but the future magnitude and geographical distribution of future tropical deforestation is uncertain. Here, we introduce a dynamic and spatially-explicit model of deforestation that predicts the potential magnitude and spatial pattern of Amazon deforestation. Our model differs from previous models in three ways: (1) it is probabilistic and quantifies uncertainty around predictions and parameters; (2) the overall deforestation rate emerges "bottom up", as the sum of local-scale deforestation driven by local processes; and (3) deforestation is contagious, such that local deforestation rate increases through time if adjacent locations are deforested. For the scenarios evaluated-pre- and post-PPCDAM ("Plano de Ação para Proteção e Controle do Desmatamento na Amazônia")-the parameter estimates confirmed that forests near roads and already deforested areas are significantly more likely to be deforested in the near future and less likely in protected areas. Validation tests showed that our model correctly predicted the magnitude and spatial pattern of deforestation that accumulates over time, but that there is very high uncertainty surrounding the exact sequence in which pixels are deforested. The model predicts that under pre-PPCDAM (assuming no change in parameter values due to, for example, changes in government policy), annual deforestation rates would halve between 2050 compared to 2002, although this partly reflects reliance on a static map of the road network. Consistent with other models, under the pre-PPCDAM scenario, states in the south and east of the Brazilian Amazon have a high predicted probability of losing nearly all forest outside of protected areas by 2050. This pattern is less strong in the post-PPCDAM scenario. Contagious spread along roads and through areas lacking formal protection could allow deforestation to reach the core, which is currently

Predictive Modelling of Contagious Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

PubMed Central

Rosa, Isabel M. D.; Purves, Drew; Souza, Carlos; Ewers, Robert M.

2013-01-01

Tropical forests are diminishing in extent due primarily to the rapid expansion of agriculture, but the future magnitude and geographical distribution of future tropical deforestation is uncertain. Here, we introduce a dynamic and spatially-explicit model of deforestation that predicts the potential magnitude and spatial pattern of Amazon deforestation. Our model differs from previous models in three ways: (1) it is probabilistic and quantifies uncertainty around predictions and parameters; (2) the overall deforestation rate emerges “bottom up”, as the sum of local-scale deforestation driven by local processes; and (3) deforestation is contagious, such that local deforestation rate increases through time if adjacent locations are deforested. For the scenarios evaluated–pre- and post-PPCDAM (“Plano de Ação para Proteção e Controle do Desmatamento na Amazônia”)–the parameter estimates confirmed that forests near roads and already deforested areas are significantly more likely to be deforested in the near future and less likely in protected areas. Validation tests showed that our model correctly predicted the magnitude and spatial pattern of deforestation that accumulates over time, but that there is very high uncertainty surrounding the exact sequence in which pixels are deforested. The model predicts that under pre-PPCDAM (assuming no change in parameter values due to, for example, changes in government policy), annual deforestation rates would halve between 2050 compared to 2002, although this partly reflects reliance on a static map of the road network. Consistent with other models, under the pre-PPCDAM scenario, states in the south and east of the Brazilian Amazon have a high predicted probability of losing nearly all forest outside of protected areas by 2050. This pattern is less strong in the post-PPCDAM scenario. Contagious spread along roads and through areas lacking formal protection could allow deforestation to reach the core, which is

Semiconductor Sequencing Reveals the Diversity of Bacterial Communities in an Amazon Reservoir Considered as a Methane Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graças, D. A.; Ramos, R. T.; Sá, P. G.; Baraúna, R. A.; Schneider, M. C.; Silva, A.

2013-05-01

The Amazon region has enormous hydro potential which is used for power generation. In fact, there are several hydroelectric power stations (HPS) already installed and many under construction or designed. It's in the Amazon which the HPS of Tucuruí, fifth largest in the world, is located. The construction of this hydroelectric dam flooded an area of 2,400 km2 of forest that decomposing, releasing greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4). Methane is the most abundant organic gas in the atmosphere and the second most important greenhouse gas. In this study, we use semicondutor sequencing to assess the bacterial diversity along a water column of 70 meters deep in the Tucuruí reservoir. One liter of water was collected every 10 meters along the water column for total DNA extraction. A fragment of approximately 150 base pairs of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction using universal primers. These fragments were then paralleled sequenced in Ion Torrent® platform using barcodes on the 316 chip. After the quality filters, about 237 thousands reads were obtained, representing more than 300 Mbp. For bacterial diversity analysis, we used only reads longer than 100 base pairs. The taxonomic diversity was obtained from the Ribosomal Database Project Classifier and alpha diversity analysis (diversity indices and rarefaction) was performed using the RDP pyrosequencing pipeline. Although it is recommended for data pyrosequencing, that pipeline is able to process data obtained from semiconductor sequencing once all of them are fasta files. Over 75% of the sequences were not classified in any phylum, which leads us to believe that there is a huge diversity in the bacterial environment whose function is still unclear. Among the sequences that could be classified, there is a predominance of proteobacteria in all layers, but in higher concentrations at the lower layers. Cyanobacteria accounted for about 3% in the layers of 0m and 10m, leading us to conclude that

Radionuclide tracers of sediment-water interactions on the Amazon shelf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Willard S.; DeMaster, David J.; Smoak, Joseph M.; McKee, Brent A.; Swarzenski, Peter W.

1996-04-01

A comprehensive study of a variety of radionuclide tracers has been coupled with other geochemical investigations and with sedimentary and physical oceanographic measurements to elucidate processes and their characteristic time scales at the mouth of the Amazon River. This two-year field study on the Amazon continental shelf involved four cruises designed to provide information during different stages of the river hydrograph. Although the cruises were coordinated with river stage, other physical variables including spring-neap tidal stages, the flow of the North Brazil Current and trade-wind stress caused important effects on the shelf environment. Partitioning of uranium among dissolved, colloidal and particulate phases was investigated during AmasSeds. A detailed examination of uranium water-column behavior during low river discharge found that most (89%) of the uranium near the Amazon River mouth was associated with the particulate phase and that most (92%) of the riverine dissolved-phase uranium was in the colloidal size fraction (0.001-0.4 μm). A non-conservative uranium/salinity distribution was observed for dissolved uranium, indicating large-scale uranium removal from surface waters with salinities less than 20 ppt. Colloidal uranium was non-conservative across the entire salinity regime, exhibiting removal of colloidal uranium from waters with salinities less than 12 ppt and a significant input at higher salinities. A short-lived particle-reactive tracer, 234Th, was used to evaluate the rates of particle scavenging on the shelf. Suspended-sediment concentrations respond to each turn of the tide, thus limiting the time available for equilibrium to be established between the particles and the tracers. Experiments demonstrated that on the Amazon shelf the partitioning and distribution of trace elements are governed by particle dynamics (particle residence times < sorption times). The high suspended load, including fluid muds, retards the incorporation of

Implications of Scientific Collaboration Networks on Studies of Aquatic Vertebrates in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Salinero, María Celeste; Michalski, Fernanda

2016-01-01

The quantity of wildlife extracted from the Amazon has increased in the past decades as a consequence of an increase in human population density and income growth. To evaluate the spatial distribution of studies on subsistence and/or commercial hunting conducted in the Brazilian Amazon, we selected eight mid-sized and large-bodied aquatic vertebrate species with a history of human exploitation in the region. We used a combination of searches in the gray and scientific literature from the past 24 years to provide an updated distributional map of studies on the target species. We calculated the distances between the study sites and the locations of the research institutes/universities that the first and last authors of the same study were affiliated to. For the period of 1990 to 2014, we found 105 studies on the subsistence and/or commercial hunting of aquatic vertebrates in the Brazilian Amazon in 271 locations that involved 43 institutions (37 Brazilian and 6 international). The spatial distribution of the studies across the Brazilian Amazon varied, but over 80% took place in the northeast and central Amazon, encompassing three States of the Legal Brazilian Amazon (Amazonas, 51.42%; Pará, 19.05%; and Amapá, 16.19%). Over half of the research study sites (52.91%) were within 500 km of the research institute/university of the first or last authors. Some research institutes/universities did not have any inter-institutional collaborations, while others collaborated with eight or more institutes. Some research institutes/universities conducted many studies, had an extensive collaboration network, and contributed greatly to the network of studies on Amazonian aquatic vertebrates. Our research contributes to the knowledge of studies on the subsistence and/or commercial hunting of the most exploited aquatic vertebrates of the Brazilian Amazon, illustrates the impact that collaboration networks have on research, and highlights potential areas for improvement and the

Implications of Scientific Collaboration Networks on Studies of Aquatic Vertebrates in the Brazilian Amazon

PubMed Central

Salinero, María Celeste; Michalski, Fernanda

2016-01-01

The quantity of wildlife extracted from the Amazon has increased in the past decades as a consequence of an increase in human population density and income growth. To evaluate the spatial distribution of studies on subsistence and/or commercial hunting conducted in the Brazilian Amazon, we selected eight mid-sized and large-bodied aquatic vertebrate species with a history of human exploitation in the region. We used a combination of searches in the gray and scientific literature from the past 24 years to provide an updated distributional map of studies on the target species. We calculated the distances between the study sites and the locations of the research institutes/universities that the first and last authors of the same study were affiliated to. For the period of 1990 to 2014, we found 105 studies on the subsistence and/or commercial hunting of aquatic vertebrates in the Brazilian Amazon in 271 locations that involved 43 institutions (37 Brazilian and 6 international). The spatial distribution of the studies across the Brazilian Amazon varied, but over 80% took place in the northeast and central Amazon, encompassing three States of the Legal Brazilian Amazon (Amazonas, 51.42%; Pará, 19.05%; and Amapá, 16.19%). Over half of the research study sites (52.91%) were within 500 km of the research institute/university of the first or last authors. Some research institutes/universities did not have any inter-institutional collaborations, while others collaborated with eight or more institutes. Some research institutes/universities conducted many studies, had an extensive collaboration network, and contributed greatly to the network of studies on Amazonian aquatic vertebrates. Our research contributes to the knowledge of studies on the subsistence and/or commercial hunting of the most exploited aquatic vertebrates of the Brazilian Amazon, illustrates the impact that collaboration networks have on research, and highlights potential areas for improvement and the

Hallux amputation after a freshwater stingray injury in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Monteiro, Wuelton Marcelo; Oliveira, Sâmella Silva de; Sachett, Jacqueline de Almeida Gonçalves; Silva, Iran Mendonça da; Ferreira, Luiz Carlos de Lima; Lacerda, Marcus Vinícius Guimarães

2016-01-01

Freshwater stingray injuries are a common problem in the Brazilian Amazon, affecting mostly riverine and indigenous populations. These injuries cause severe local and regional pain, swelling and erythema, as well as complications, such as local necrosis and bacterial infection. Herein, we report a case of bacterial infection and hallux necrosis, after a freshwater stingray injury in the Brazilian Amazon, which eventually required amputation. Different antimicrobial regimens were administered at different stages of the disease; however, avoiding amputation through effective treatment was not achieved.

The Amazons and an analysis of breast mutilation from a plastic surgeon's perspective.

PubMed

Karacalar, Ahmet

2007-03-01

The Amazon philosophy has been increasing in popularity because of the evolving status of women in society. Many references point to Themiscrya on the southern coast of the Black Sea in Anatolia as the Amazon homeland. The primary objective of this article is to discuss the different femininity of the Amazons and their breast mutilation from the perspective of a plastic surgeon who has been living in this region that the Amazons inhabited. Findings from archaeology, linguistics, anthropology, medicine, history, psychology, and the fine arts were integrated. The hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the method of breast mutilation include amputation, cauterization, breast searing, and breast pinching. It is generally believed that the primary purpose was to facilitate the efficient use of a bow. Another explanation would be that breast mutilation was performed for medical reasons, including the prevention of breast pain, the development of a tender lump, or cancer. There is another school of thought on this involving religious and sociological reasons that breast mutilation was a badge of honor for warrior women and a sign that a woman had become a real warrior and a sacrifice to Artemis as a sign of service. Much indirect proof and archaeological evidence point to their historical existence. The Amazons, who lived in an autonomous and original social model, changed their image and function to suit the needs of the society and the times.

Virioplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower River and Ocean Continuum of the Amazon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Silva, Bruno S. de O.; Coutinho, Felipe H.; Gregoracci, Gustavo B.

ABSTRACT The Amazon River watershed and its associated plume comprise a vast continental and oceanic area. The microbial activities along this continuum contribute substantially to global carbon and nutrient cycling, and yet there is a dearth of information on the diversity, abundance, and possible roles of viruses in this globally important river. The aim of this study was to elucidate the diversity and structure of virus assemblages of the Amazon River-ocean continuum. Environmental viral DNA sequences were obtained for 12 locations along the river’s lower reach (n= 5) and plume (n= 7). Sequence assembly yielded 29,358 scaffolds, encoding 82,546 viralmore » proteins, with 15 new complete viral genomes. Despite the spatial connectivity mediated by the river, virome analyses and physical-chemical water parameters clearly distinguished river and plume ecosystems. Bacteriophages were ubiquitous in the continuum and were more abundant in the transition region. Eukaryotic viruses occurred mostly in the river, while the plume had more viruses of autotrophic organisms (Prochlorococcus,Synechococcus) and heterotrophic bacteria (Pelagibacter). The viral familiesMicroviridaeandMyoviridaewere the most abundant and occurred throughout the continuum. The major functions of the genes in the continuum involved viral structures and life cycles, and viruses from plume locations and Tapajós River showed the highest levels of functional diversity. The distribution patterns of the viral assemblages were defined not only by the occurrence of possible hosts but also by water physical and chemical parameters, especially salinity. The findings presented here help to improve understanding of the possible roles of viruses in the organic matter cycle along the river-ocean continuum. IMPORTANCEThe Amazon River forms a vast plume in the Atlantic Ocean that can extend for more than 1,000 km. Microbial communities promote a globally relevant carbon sink system in the plume. Despite the

Virioplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower River and Ocean Continuum of the Amazon.

PubMed

Silva, Bruno S de O; Coutinho, Felipe H; Gregoracci, Gustavo B; Leomil, Luciana; de Oliveira, Louisi S; Fróes, Adriana; Tschoeke, Diogo; Soares, Ana Carolina; Cabral, Anderson S; Ward, Nicholas D; Richey, Jeffrey E; Krusche, Alex V; Yager, Patricia L; de Rezende, Carlos Eduardo; Thompson, Cristiane C; Thompson, Fabiano L

2017-01-01

The Amazon River watershed and its associated plume comprise a vast continental and oceanic area. The microbial activities along this continuum contribute substantially to global carbon and nutrient cycling, and yet there is a dearth of information on the diversity, abundance, and possible roles of viruses in this globally important river. The aim of this study was to elucidate the diversity and structure of virus assemblages of the Amazon River-ocean continuum. Environmental viral DNA sequences were obtained for 12 locations along the river's lower reach ( n = 5) and plume ( n = 7). Sequence assembly yielded 29,358 scaffolds, encoding 82,546 viral proteins, with 15 new complete viral genomes. Despite the spatial connectivity mediated by the river, virome analyses and physical-chemical water parameters clearly distinguished river and plume ecosystems. Bacteriophages were ubiquitous in the continuum and were more abundant in the transition region. Eukaryotic viruses occurred mostly in the river, while the plume had more viruses of autotrophic organisms ( Prochlorococcus , Synechococcus ) and heterotrophic bacteria ( Pelagibacter ). The viral families Microviridae and Myoviridae were the most abundant and occurred throughout the continuum. The major functions of the genes in the continuum involved viral structures and life cycles, and viruses from plume locations and Tapajós River showed the highest levels of functional diversity. The distribution patterns of the viral assemblages were defined not only by the occurrence of possible hosts but also by water physical and chemical parameters, especially salinity. The findings presented here help to improve understanding of the possible roles of viruses in the organic matter cycle along the river-ocean continuum. IMPORTANCE The Amazon River forms a vast plume in the Atlantic Ocean that can extend for more than 1,000 km. Microbial communities promote a globally relevant carbon sink system in the plume. Despite the

Virioplankton Assemblage Structure in the Lower River and Ocean Continuum of the Amazon

PubMed Central

Silva, Bruno S. de O.; Coutinho, Felipe H.; Gregoracci, Gustavo B.; Leomil, Luciana; de Oliveira, Louisi S.; Fróes, Adriana; Tschoeke, Diogo; Soares, Ana Carolina; Cabral, Anderson S.; Ward, Nicholas D.; Richey, Jeffrey E.; Krusche, Alex V.; Yager, Patricia L.; de Rezende, Carlos Eduardo; Thompson, Cristiane C.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The Amazon River watershed and its associated plume comprise a vast continental and oceanic area. The microbial activities along this continuum contribute substantially to global carbon and nutrient cycling, and yet there is a dearth of information on the diversity, abundance, and possible roles of viruses in this globally important river. The aim of this study was to elucidate the diversity and structure of virus assemblages of the Amazon River-ocean continuum. Environmental viral DNA sequences were obtained for 12 locations along the river’s lower reach (n = 5) and plume (n = 7). Sequence assembly yielded 29,358 scaffolds, encoding 82,546 viral proteins, with 15 new complete viral genomes. Despite the spatial connectivity mediated by the river, virome analyses and physical-chemical water parameters clearly distinguished river and plume ecosystems. Bacteriophages were ubiquitous in the continuum and were more abundant in the transition region. Eukaryotic viruses occurred mostly in the river, while the plume had more viruses of autotrophic organisms (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus) and heterotrophic bacteria (Pelagibacter). The viral families Microviridae and Myoviridae were the most abundant and occurred throughout the continuum. The major functions of the genes in the continuum involved viral structures and life cycles, and viruses from plume locations and Tapajós River showed the highest levels of functional diversity. The distribution patterns of the viral assemblages were defined not only by the occurrence of possible hosts but also by water physical and chemical parameters, especially salinity. The findings presented here help to improve understanding of the possible roles of viruses in the organic matter cycle along the river-ocean continuum. IMPORTANCE The Amazon River forms a vast plume in the Atlantic Ocean that can extend for more than 1,000 km. Microbial communities promote a globally relevant carbon sink system in the plume. Despite the

Epidemiology of Spotted Fever Group and Typhus Group Rickettsial Infection in the Amazon Basin of Peru

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

MediCine and Hyg1cne Epidemiology of Spotted Fever Group and Typhus Group Rickettsial Infection in the Amazon Basin of Peru Brett M. Forshey, Allison...approximately 4% of acute febrile episodes detected in Iquitos, a city located in the Amazon region of northeast- ern Peru , could be attributed to SFGR...2010 to 00-00-2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Epidemiology Of Spotted Fever Group And Typhus Group Rickettsial Infection In The Amazon Basin Of Peru 5a

A Mouse Click Away: Internet Resources for Students in Crisis in Geographically Isolated or Self-Sequestered Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gary, Juneau Mahan

2010-01-01

The impact, incidence, prevalence, and severity of violence and trauma adversely affect students academically, behaviorally, emotionally, and socially. For students residing in geographically isolated or self-sequestered communities, trauma may be exacerbated when school counselors may be unprepared to respond effectively and timely because…

Understanding moisture recycling for atmospheric river management in Amazonian communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Wei; Luedeke, Matthias; Zemp, Delphine-Clara; Lakes, Tobia; Pradhan, Prajal; Kropp, Juergen

2017-04-01

The invisible atmospheric transports of moisture have recently attracted more research efforts into understanding their structures, processes involved and their function as an ecosystem service. Current attention has been focused on larger scale analysis such as studying global or continental level moisture recycling. Here we applied a water balance model to backtrack the flying river that sustains two local communities in the Colombian and Peruvian Amazon where vulnerable communities rely highly on the rainfall for agricultural practices. By utilising global precipitation (TRMM Multisatillite Precipitation Analysis; TMPA) and evapotranspiration products (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MODIS, MOD16ET) as input data in the present modelling experiments to compensate the sparse ground observation data in these regions, the moisture recycling process targeting the two amazonian communities which has not yet been explored quantitatively has been shown. The TMPA was selected because of its proved comparativeness with observation data in its precipitation estimations over Amazon regions while the MOD16ET data was chosen for being validated by previous studies in the Amazon basin and for reported good performance. In average, 45.5 % of the precipitation occurring to Caquetá region in Colombia is of terrestrial origin from the South American continent while 48.2% of the total rainfall received by Peruvian Yurimaguas is also from the South American land sources. The spatial distribution of the precipitationsheds (defined previously as the upwind contribution of evapotranspiration to a specific location's precipitation) shows transboundary and transnational shares in the moisture contributors of the precipitation for both regions. An interesting reversed upstream-downstream roles can be observed when the upstream regions in traditional watershed thinking become downstream areas considering precipitationsheds and flying rivers. Strong seasonal variations are

Holocene provenance shift of suspended particulate matter in the Amazon River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Höppner, Natalie; Lucassen, Friedrich; Chiessi, Cristiano M.; Sawakuchi, André O.; Kasemann, Simone A.

2018-06-01

The strontium (Sr), neodymium (Nd) and lead (Pb) isotope signatures of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in rivers reflect the radiogenic isotope signatures of the rivers' drainage basin. These signatures are not significantly affected by weathering, transport or depositional cycles, but document the sedimentary contributions of the respective sources. We report new Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios and element concentrations of modern SPM from the Brazilian Amazon River basin and document the past evolution of the basin by analyzing radiogenic isotopes of a marine sediment core from the slope off French Guiana archiving the last 40 kyr of Amazon River SPM, and the Holocene section of sediment cores raised between the Amazon River mouth and the slope off French Guiana. The composition of modern SPM confirms two main source areas, the Andes and the cratonic Shield. In the marine sediment core notable changes occurred during the second phase of Heinrich Stadial 1 (i.e. increased proportion of Shield rivers SPM) and during the last deglaciation (i.e. increased proportion of Madeira River SPM) together with elsewhere constant source contributions. Furthermore, we report a prominent offset in Sr and Nd isotopic composition between the average core value (εNd: -11.7 ± 0.9 (2SD), 87Sr/86Sr: 0.7229 ± 0.0016 (2SD)) and the average modern Amazon River SPM signal (εNd: -10.5 ± 0.5 (2SD), 87Sr/86Sr: 0.7213 ± 0.0036 (2SD)). We suggest that a permanent change in the Amazon River basin sediment supply during the late Holocene to a more Andean dominated SPM was responsible for the offset.

Natural infection of Plasmodium brasilianum in humans: Man and monkey share quartan malaria parasites in the Venezuelan Amazon

PubMed Central

Lalremruata, Albert; Magris, Magda; Vivas-Martínez, Sarai; Koehler, Maike; Esen, Meral; Kempaiah, Prakasha; Jeyaraj, Sankarganesh; Perkins, Douglas Jay; Mordmüller, Benjamin; Metzger, Wolfram G.

2015-01-01

Background The quartan malaria parasite Plasmodium malariae is the widest spread and best adapted human malaria parasite. The simian Plasmodium brasilianum causes quartan fever in New World monkeys and resembles P. malariae morphologically. Since the genetics of the two parasites are nearly identical, differing only in a range of mutations expected within a species, it has long been speculated that the two are the same. However, no naturally acquired infection with parasites termed as P. brasilianum has been found in humans until now. Methods We investigated malaria cases from remote Yanomami indigenous communities of the Venezuelan Amazon and analyzed the genes coding for the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and the small subunit of ribosomes (18S) by species-specific PCR and capillary based-DNA sequencing. Findings Based on 18S rRNA gene sequencing, we identified 12 patients harboring malaria parasites which were 100% identical with P. brasilianum isolated from the monkey, Alouatta seniculus. Translated amino acid sequences of the CS protein gene showed identical immunodominant repeat units between quartan malaria parasites isolated from both humans and monkeys. Interpretation This study reports, for the first time, naturally acquired infections in humans with parasites termed as P. brasilianum. We conclude that quartan malaria parasites are easily exchanged between humans and monkeys in Latin America. We hypothesize a lack of host specificity in mammalian hosts and consider quartan malaria to be a true anthropozoonosis. Since the name P. brasilianum suggests a malaria species distinct from P. malariae, we propose that P. brasilianum should have a nomenclatorial revision in case further research confirms our findings. The expansive reservoir of mammalian hosts discriminates quartan malaria from other Plasmodium spp. and requires particular research efforts. PMID:26501116

Gender-specific out-migration, deforestation and urbanization in the Ecuadorian Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbieri, Alisson F.; Carr, David L.

2005-07-01

The Ecuadorian Amazon, one of the richest reserves of biodiversity in the world, has faced one of the highest rates of deforestation of any Amazonian nation. Most of this forest elimination has been caused by agricultural colonization that followed the discovery of oil fields in 1967. Since the 1990s, an increasing process of urbanization has also engendered new patterns of population mobility within the Amazon, along with traditional ways by which rural settlers make their living. However, while very significant in its effects on deforestation, urbanization and regional development, population mobility within the Amazon has hardly been studied at all, as well as the distinct migration patterns between men and women. This paper uses a longitudinal dataset of 250 farm households in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon to understand differentials between men and women migrants to urban and rural destinations and between men and women non-migrants. First, we use hazard analysis based on the Kaplan-Meier (KM) estimator to obtain the cumulative probability that an individual living in the study area in 1990 or at time t, will out-migrated at some time, t+ n, before 1999. Results indicate that out-migration to other rural areas in the Amazon, especially pristine areas is considerably greater than out-migration to the growing, but still incipient, Amazonian urban areas. Furthermore, men are more likely to out-migrate to rural areas than women, while the reverse occurs for urban areas. Difference-of-means tests were employed to examine potential factors accounting for differentials between male and female out-migration to urban and rural areas. Among the key results, relative to men younger women are more likely to out-migrate to urban areas; more difficult access from farms to towns and roads constrains women's migration; and access to new lands in the Amazon-an important cause of further deforestation-is more associated with male out-migration. Economic factors such as

Highways and outposts: economic development and health threats in the central Brazilian Amazon region

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Economic development is often evoked as a driving force that has the capacity to improve the social and health conditions of remote areas. However, development projects produce uneven impacts on local communities, according to their different positions within society. This study examines the spatial distribution of three major health threats in the Brazilian Amazon region that may undergo changes through highway construction. Homicide mortality, AIDS incidence and malaria prevalence rates were calculated for 70 municipalities located within the areas of influence of the Cuiabá-Santarém highway (BR-163), i.e. in the western part of the state of Pará state and the northern part of Mato Grosso. Results The municipalities were characterized using social and economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), urban and indigenous populations, and recent migration. The municipalities' connections to the region's main transportation routes (BR-163 and Trans-Amazonian highways, along with the Amazon and Tapajós rivers) were identified by tagging the municipalities that have boundaries crossing these routes, using GIS overlay operations. Multiple regression was used to identify the major driving forces and constraints relating to the distribution of health threats. The main explanatory variables for higher malaria prevalence were: proximity to the Trans-Amazonian highway, high proportion of indigenous population and low proportion of migrants. High homicide rates were associated with high proportions of migrants, while connection to the Amazon River played a protective role. AIDS incidence was higher in municipalities with recent increases in GDP and high proportions of urban population. Conclusions Highways induce social and environmental changes and play different roles in spreading and maintaining diseases and health threats. The most remote areas are still protected against violence but are vulnerable to malaria. Rapid economic and demographic

Characterization of Plasmid-Mediated Quinolone Resistance Determinants in High-Level Quinolone-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Isolates from the Community: First Report of qnrD Gene in Algeria.

PubMed

Yanat, Betitera; Machuca, Jesús; Díaz-De-Alba, Paula; Mezhoud, Halima; Touati, Abdelaziz; Pascual, Álvaro; Rodríguez-Martínez, José-Manuel

2017-01-01

The objective was to assess the prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR)-producing isolates in a collection of quinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae of community origin isolated in Bejaia, Algeria. A total of 141 nalidixic acid-resistant Enterobacteriaceae community isolates were collected in Bejaia (Northern Algeria) and screened for PMQR genes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). For PMQR-positive strains, antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution and disk diffusion. Mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of the target genes, gyrA and parC, were detected with a PCR-based method and sequencing. Southern blotting, conjugation and transformation assays and molecular typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and multilocus sequence typing were also performed. The prevalence of PMQR-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates was 13.5% (19/141); 11 of these isolates produced Aac(6')-Ib-cr and 8 were qnr-positive (4 qnrB1-like, 2 qnrS1-like, and 2 qnrD1-like), including the association with aac(6')-Ib-cr gene in three cases. PMQR gene transfer by conjugation was successful in 6 of 19 isolates tested. PFGE revealed that most of the PMQR-positive Escherichia coli isolates were unrelated, except for two groups comprising two and four isolates, respectively, including the virulent multidrug-resistant clone E. coli ST131 that were clonally related. Our findings indicate that PMQR determinants are prevalent in Enterobacteriaceae isolates from the community studied. We describe the first report of the qnrD gene in Algeria.

Amazon peatlands: quantifying ecosytem's stocks, GHG fluxes and their microbial connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadillo-Quiroz, Hinsby; Lähteenoja, Outi; Buessecker, Steffen; van Haren, Joost

2017-04-01

Reports of hundreds of peatlands across basins in the West and Central Amazon suggest they play an important, previously not considered regional role in organic carbon (OC) and GHG dynamics. Amazon peatlands store ˜3-6 Gt of OC in their waterlogged soils with strong potential for conversion and release of GHG, in fact our recent, and others', efforts have confirmed variable levels of GHG emissions (CO2, N2O, CH4), as well as variable microbial communities across rich to poor soil peatlands. Here, we report early results of quantification of different components making up the aboveground C stocks, the rates and paths for GHG release, and microbial organisms occurring in three ecologically distinct peatland types in the Pastaza-Marañon region of the Peruvian Amazon. Evaluations were done in duplicated continuous monitoring plots established since 2015 at a "palm swamp" (PS), poor "pole forest" (pPF) and a rich "forested" (rF) peatlands. Although overall vegetation "structure" with a few dominant plus several low frequency species was common across the three sites, their botanical composition and tree density was highly contrasting. Aboveground C stocks content showed the following order among sites: rF>PS>pPF, and hence we tested whether this differences can have a direct effect on CH4 emissions rates. CH4 emissions rates from soils were observed in average at 11, 6, and 0.8 mg-C m-2 h-1for rF, PS, and pPF respectively. However, these estimated fluxes needed to be revised when we develop quantifications of CH4 emissions from tree stems. Tree stem fluxes were detected showing a broad variation with nearly nill emissions in some species all the way to maximum fluxes near to ˜90 mg-C m-2 h-1 in other species. Mauritia flexuosa, a highly dominant palm species in PS and ubiquitous to the region, showed the highest ranges of CH4 flux. In the PS site, overall CH4 flux estimate increased by ˜50% when including stem emission weighted by trees' species, density and heights

Suspended sediments of the modern Amazon and Orinoco rivers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meade, R.H.

1994-01-01

The Amazon and Orinoco Rivers are massive transcontinental conveyance systems for suspended sediment. They derive about 90% of their sediment from the Andes that support their western headwaters, transport it for thousands of kilometers across the breadth of the continent and deposit it in the coastal zones of the Atlantic. At their points of maximum suspended-sediment discharge, the Amazon transports an average of 1100-1300 ?? 106 tons per year and the Orinoco transports about 150 ?? 106 tons per year. Relations of sediment discharge to water discharge are complicated by unusual patterns of seasonal storage and remobilization, increased storage and reduced transport of sediment in the middle Orinoco during periods of peak water discharge, and storage of suspended sediment in the lower Amazon during rising discharge and resuspension during falling discharge. Spatial distributions of suspended sediment in cross-sections of both rivers are typically heterogeneous, not only in the vertical sense but also in the lateral. The cross-channel mixing of tributary inputs into the mainstem waters is a slow process that requires several hundred kilometers of downriver transport to complete. Considerable fine-grained sediment is exchanged between rivers and floodplains by the combination of overbank deposition and bank erosion. ?? 1994.

Serological and molecular typing of HIV type 1 infection in the Tiriyo tribe, a native Indian community of the Amazon region of Brazil.

PubMed

Machado, Luiz F A; Vallinoto, Antonio C R; Souza, Maria I M; Azevedo, Vania N; Ishak, Marluisa O G; Ishak, Ricardo

2006-12-01

The seroprevalence and the occurrence of an HIV-1 subtype was assessed in blood samples of the Tiriyo tribe. Antibody was found in 0.6% and the molecular analysis of the pro region detected the emergence of a subtype B for the first time in a native Indian tribe of the Amazon region of Brazil.

The Awá-Guajá Indians of the Brazilian Amazon. Demographic data, serum protein markers and blood groups.

PubMed

de Oliveira, S F; Lopes, D E; Santos, S E; Guerreiro, J F

1998-01-01

The South-American Indian group Awá-Guajá, currently living in the State of Maranhão (Northeastern Brazil), is one of the most recently contacted Indian groups of the Brazilian Amazon. This group is made up by three partially isolated villages named Awá, Guajá and Juriti, and is characterized by having a young population, in which 47.6% of the individuals range from 0 to 14 years old. The sex ratios (male/female) for people of reproductive age are 1.13 for Awá village, 2.00 for Guajá, 3.33 for Juriti and 1.61 for the tribe as a whole. Fst and heterogeneity analysis show that, despite the small differences observed among villages for the eight genetic systems analyzed, the Awá-Guajá tribe is constituted of only one population. Furthermore, comparisons between Awá-Guajá and Urubú-Kaapor tribes indicate that they are still isolated genetically, in spite of the fact that they share territories.

Size distribution of Amazon River bed sediment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nordin, C.F.; Meade, R.H.; Curtis, W.F.; Bosio, N.J.; Landim, P.M.B.

1980-01-01

The first recorded observations of bed material of the Amazon River were made in 1843 by Lt William Lewis Herndon of the US Navy, when he travelled the river from its headwaters to its mouth, sounding its depths, and noting the nature of particles caught in a heavy grease smeared to the bottom of his sounding weight1. He reported the bed material of the river to be mostly sand and fine gravel. Oltman and Ames took samples at a few locations in 1963 and 1964, and reported the bed material at O??bidos, Brazil, to be fine sands, with median diameters ranging from 0.15 to 0.25 mm (ref. 2). We present here a summary of particle-size analyses of samples of streambed material collected from the Amazon River and its major tributaries along a reach of the river from Iquitos in Peru, ???3,500 km above Macapa?? Brazil, to a point 220 km above Macapa??3. ?? 1980 Nature Publishing Group.

[Distribution of potentially nitrogen-fixing bacteria and its relationship with physicochemical parameters in soils with three vegetation types in the southern Colombian Amazon region].

PubMed

Mantilla-Paredes, Andrea J; Cardona, Gladys I; Peña-Venegas, Clara P; Murcia, Uriel; Rodríguez, Mariana; Zambrano, Maria M

2009-12-01

Potentially nitrogen-fixing microaerobic and aerobic bacteria were isolated from several Colombian Amazon soils (forest, pastures and chagras) and two landscapes (floodable and non floodable areas). The abundance and distribution of bacteria were evaluated, as well as their relationship with soil physical and chemical characteristics. Landscape had a direct influence on the abundance of the microaerobic bacteria, with higher numbers in forest and pasture soils in non-floodable zones. The aerobic isolates (N=51) were grouped into 19 morphologies, with the highest numbers found in forest soil in floodable zones. A higher number of aerobic morphologies was shared among forest sites (Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling and Analysis of Similarity p<0.05), and 40% of the distribution was explained by lime percentage and Al concentration.

Methylmercury Modulation in Amazon Rivers Linked to Basin Characteristics and Seasonal Flood-Pulse.

PubMed

Kasper, Daniele; Forsberg, Bruce R; Amaral, João H F; Py-Daniel, Sarah S; Bastos, Wanderley R; Malm, Olaf

2017-12-19

We investigated the impact of the seasonal inundation of wetlands on methylmercury (MeHg) concentration dynamics in the Amazon river system. We sampled 38 sites along the Solimões/Amazon and Negro rivers and their tributaries during distinct phases of the annual flood-pulse. MeHg dynamics in both basins was contrasted to provide insight into the factors controlling export of MeHg to the Amazon system. The export of MeHg by rivers was substantially higher during high-water in both basins since elevated MeHg concentrations and discharge occurred during this time. MeHg concentration was positively correlated to %flooded area upstream of the sampling site in the Solimões/Amazon Basin with the best correlation obtained using 100 km buffers instead of whole basin areas. The lower correlations obtained with the whole basin apparently reflected variable losses of MeHg exported from upstream wetlands due to demethylation, absorption, deposition, and degradation before reaching the sampling site. A similar correlation between %flooded area and MeHg concentrations was not observed in the Negro Basin probably due to the variable export of MeHg from poorly drained soils that are abundant in this basin but not consistently flooded.

African Dust Fertilizing the Amazon Rainforest: An Assessment with Seven-year Record of CALIOP Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, H.; Chin, M.; Yuan, T.; Bian, H.; Prospero, J. M.; Omar, A. H.; Remer, L. A.; Winker, D. M.; Yang, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Z.

2014-12-01

The productivity of Amazon rainforest is constrained by the availability of nutrients, in particular phosphorus (P). Deposition of transported African dust in boreal winter and spring is considered an important nutrient input for the Amazon Basin, though its magnitude is not well qunatified. This study provides a remote sensing observation-based estimate of dust deposition in the Amazon Basin using a 7-year (2007-2013) record of three dimensional (3D) distributions of aerosol in both cloud-free and above-cloud conditions from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). It is estimated that the 7-year average of dust deposition into the Amazon Basin amounts to 15.1 ~ 32.1 Tg a-1 (Tg = 1012 g). This imported dust could provide 0.012 ~ 0.025 Tg P a-1 or equivalent to 12 ~ 26 g P ha-1 a-1 to fertilize the Amazon rainforest, which largely compensates the hydrological loss of P. The CLAIOP-based estimate agrees better with estimates from in-situ measurements and model simulations than what has been reported in literature. The closer agreement benefits from a more realistic geographic definition of the Amazon Basin and inclusion of meridional dust transport calculation in addition to the 3D nature of CALIOP aerosol measurements. The trans-Atlantic transport and deposition of dust shows strong interannual variations that are found to correlate with the North Atlantic Oscillation index in the winter season and anticorrelate with the prior-year Sahel Precipitation Index on an annual basis. Uncertainties associated with the estimate will also be discussed.

Projected increases in the annual flood pulse of the Western Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulkafli, Zed; Buytaert, Wouter; Manz, Bastian; Véliz Rosas, Claudia; Willems, Patrick; Lavado-Casimiro, Waldo; Guyot, Jean-Loup; Santini, William

2016-01-01

The impact of a changing climate on the Amazon basin is a subject of intensive research because of its rich biodiversity and the significant role of rainforests in carbon cycling. Climate change has also a direct hydrological impact, and increasing efforts have focused on understanding the hydrological dynamics at continental and subregional scales, such as the Western Amazon. New projections from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 ensemble indicate consistent climatic warming and increasing seasonality of precipitation in the Peruvian Amazon basin. Here we use a distributed land surface model to quantify the potential impact of this change in the climate on the hydrological regime of the upper Amazon river. Using extreme value analysis, historical and future projections of the annual minimum, mean, and maximum river flows are produced for a range of return periods between 1 and 100 yr. We show that the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios of climate change project an increased severity of the wet season flood pulse (7.5% and 12% increases respectively for the 100 yr return floods). These findings agree with previously projected increases in high extremes under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios climate projections, and are important to highlight due to the potential consequences on reproductive processes of in-stream species, swamp forest ecology, and socio-economy in the floodplain, amidst a growing literature that more strongly emphasises future droughts and their impact on the viability of the rainforest system over greater Amazonia.

Oropouche fever epidemic in Northern Brazil: epidemiology and molecular characterization of isolates.

PubMed

Vasconcelos, Helena B; Azevedo, Raimunda S S; Casseb, Samir M; Nunes-Neto, Joaquim P; Chiang, Jannifer O; Cantuária, Patrick C; Segura, Maria N O; Martins, Lívia C; Monteiro, Hamilton A O; Rodrigues, Sueli G; Nunes, Márcio R T; Vasconcelos, Pedro F C

2009-02-01

Oropouche fever virus is an important arbovirus associated with febrile disease that re-emerged in 2006 in several municipalities of Pará State, Bragantina region, Amazon, Brazil, 26 years after the last epidemic. To investigate an Oropouche fever outbreak in this region. A serologic survey and prospective study of acute febrile cases were performed in Magalhães Barata (urban and rural areas) and Maracanã (rural area) municipalities. Serology (IgM-ELISA and hemagglutination-inhibition [HI]), virus isolation, RT-PCR and real-time-PCR were used to confirm Oropouche virus (OROV) as responsible for the febrile outbreaks. Real-time-PCR showed high titers of OROV in acute-phase serum samples from febrile patients. From 113 of 119 acutely febrile patients with paired serum samples, OROV infections was confirmed by serologic conversion (n=76) or high titers (n=37) for both HI and IgM-ELISA. Patients had a febrile disease characterized by headache, chills, dizziness, photophobia, myalgia, nausea, and vomiting. Females and children under 15 years of age were most affected. Nucleotide sequencing of six OROV isolates identified that genotype II was associated with the human disease epidemic. Oropouche fever, which has re-emerged in the Bragantina region in eastern Amazon 26 years after the last epidemic, is caused by genotype II, a lineage previously found only in Peru and western Brazil.

Amazon rainforest responses to elevated CO2: Deriving model-based hypotheses for the AmazonFACE experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rammig, A.; Fleischer, K.; Lapola, D.; Holm, J.; Hoosbeek, M.

2017-12-01

Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is assumed to have a stimulating effect ("CO2 fertilization effect") on forest growth and resilience. Empirical evidence, however, for the existence and strength of such a tropical CO2 fertilization effect is scarce and thus a major impediment for constraining the uncertainties in Earth System Model projections. The implications of the tropical CO2 effect are far-reaching, as it strongly influences the global carbon and water cycle, and hence future global climate. In the scope of the Amazon Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiment, we addressed these uncertainties by assessing the CO2 fertilization effect at ecosystem scale. AmazonFACE is the first FACE experiment in an old-growth, highly diverse tropical rainforest. Here, we present a priori model-based hypotheses for the experiment derived from a set of 12 ecosystem models. Model simulations identified key uncertainties in our understanding of limiting processes and derived model-based hypotheses of expected ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 that can directly be tested during the experiment. Ambient model simulations compared satisfactorily with in-situ measurements of ecosystem carbon fluxes, as well as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stocks. Models consistently predicted an increase in photosynthesis with elevated CO2, which declined over time due to developing limitations. The conversion of enhanced photosynthesis into biomass, and hence ecosystem carbon sequestration, varied strongly among the models due to different assumptions on nutrient limitation. Models with flexible allocation schemes consistently predicted an increased investment in belowground structures to alleviate nutrient limitation, in turn accelerating turnover rates of soil organic matter. The models diverged on the prediction for carbon accumulation after 10 years of elevated CO2, mainly due to contrasting assumptions in their phosphorus cycle representation. These differences define the expected

The ambiguity of drought events, a bottleneck for Amazon forest drought response modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Deurwaerder, Hannes; Verbeeck, Hans; Baker, Timothy; Christoffersen, Bradley; Ciais, Philippe; Galbraith, David; Guimberteau, Matthieu; Kruijt, Bart; Langerwisch, Fanny; Meir, Patrick; Rammig, Anja; Thonicke, Kirsten; Von Randow, Celso; Zhang, Ke

2016-04-01

Considering the important role of the Amazon forest in the global water and carbon cycle, the prognosis of altered hydrological patterns resulting from climate change provides strong incentive for apprehending the direct implications of drought on the vegetation of this ecosystem. Dynamic global vegetation models have the potential of providing a useful tool to study drought impacts on various spatial and temporal scales. This however assumes the models being able to properly represent drought impact mechanisms. But how well do the models succeed in meeting this assumption? Within this study meteorological driver data and model output data of 4 different DGVMs, i.e. ORCHIDEE, JULES, INLAND and LPGmL, are studied. Using the palmer drought severity index (PDSI) and the mean cumulative water deficit (MWD), temporal and spatial representation of drought events are studied in the driver data and are referenced to historical extreme drought events in the Amazon. Subsequently, within the resulting temporal and spatial frame, we studied the drought impact on the above ground biomass (AGB) and gross primary production (GPP) fluxes. Flux tower data, field inventory data and the JUNG data-driven GPP product for the Amazon region are used for validation. Our findings not only suggest that the current state of the studied DGVMs is inadequate in representing Amazon droughts in general, but also highlights strong inter-model differences in drought responses. Using scatterplot-studies and input-output correlations, we provide insight in the origin of these encountered inter-model differences. In addition, we present directives of model development and improvement in scope of Amazon forest drought response modelling.

Amazon Basin climate under global warming: the role of the sea surface temperature.

PubMed

Harris, Phil P; Huntingford, Chris; Cox, Peter M

2008-05-27

The Hadley Centre coupled climate-carbon cycle model (HadCM3LC) predicts loss of the Amazon rainforest in response to future anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, the atmospheric component of HadCM3LC is used to assess the role of simulated changes in mid-twenty-first century sea surface temperature (SST) in Amazon Basin climate change. When the full HadCM3LC SST anomalies (SSTAs) are used, the atmosphere model reproduces the Amazon Basin climate change exhibited by HadCM3LC, including much of the reduction in Amazon Basin rainfall. This rainfall change is shown to be the combined effect of SSTAs in both the tropical Atlantic and the Pacific, with roughly equal contributions from each basin. The greatest rainfall reduction occurs from May to October, outside of the mature South American monsoon (SAM) season. This dry season response is the combined effect of a more rapid warming of the tropical North Atlantic relative to the south, and warm SSTAs in the tropical east Pacific. Conversely, a weak enhancement of mature SAM season rainfall in response to Atlantic SST change is suppressed by the atmospheric response to Pacific SST. This net wet season response is sufficient to prevent dry season soil moisture deficits from being recharged through the SAM season, leading to a perennial soil moisture reduction and an associated 30% reduction in annual Amazon Basin net primary productivity (NPP). A further 23% NPP reduction occurs in response to a 3.5 degrees C warmer air temperature associated with a global mean SST warming.

Phylogeography of the dark fruit-eating bat Artibeus obscurus in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Ferreira, Wallax Augusto Silva; Borges, Bárbara do Nascimento; Rodrigues-Antunes, Symara; de Andrade, Fernanda Atanaena Gonçalves; Aguiar, Gilberto Ferreira de Souza; de Sousa e Silva-Junior, José; Marques-Aguiar, Suely Aparecida; Harada, Maria Lúcia

2014-01-01

Artibeus obscurus (Mammalia: Chiroptera) is endemic to South America, being found in at least 18 Brazilian states. Recent studies revealed that different populations of this genus present distinct phylogeographic patterns; however, very little is known on the population genetics structure of A. obscurus in the Amazon rainforest. Here, using a fragment (1010bp) of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b from 87 samples, we investigated patterns of genetic divergence among populations of A. obscurus from different locations in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and compared them with other Brazilian and South American regions. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), fixation index (Fst) analysis, and phylogeographic patterns showed divergence between two major monophyletic groups, each one corresponding to a geographic region associated with the Atlantic and Amazon forest biomes. The Atlantic forest clusters formed a monophyletic group with a high bootstrap support and a fragmented distribution that follows the pattern predicted by the Refuge Theory. On the other hand, a different scenario was observed for the Amazon forest, where no fragmentation was identified. The AMOVA results revealed a significant geographic heterogeneity in the distribution of genetic variation, with 70% found within populations across the studied populations (Fst values ranging from 0.05864 to 0.09673; φST = 0.55). The intrapopulational analysis revealed that one population (Bragança) showed significant evidence of population expansion, with the formation of 2 distinct phylogroups, suggesting the occurrence of a subspecies or at least a different population in this region. These results also suggest considerable heterogeneity for A. obscurus in the Amazon region.

Deforestation, fire susceptibility, and potential tree responses to fire in the eastern Amazon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Uhl, C.; Kauffman, J.B.

1990-04-01

In the state of Para, Brazil, in the eastern Amazon, the authors studied the potential for sustained fire events within four dominant vegetation cover types (undisturbed rain forest, selectively logged forest, second-growth forest, and open pasture), by measuring fuel availability, microclimate, and rates of fuel moisture loss. They also estimated the potential tree mortality that might result from a wide-scale Amazon forest fire by measuring the thermal properties of bark for all trees in a 5-ha stand of mature forest, followed by measurements of heat flux through bark during simulated fires. In pastures the average midday temperature was almost 10{degree}Cmore » greater and the average midday relative humidity was 30% lower than in primary forest. The most five-prone ecosystem was the open pasture followed by selectively logged forest, second growth forest, and undisturbed rain forest in which sustained combustion was not possible even after prolonged rainless periods. Even though the autogenic factors in primary forest of the eastern Amazon create a microclimate that virtually eliminates the probability of fire, they are currently a common event in disturbed areas of Amazonia. As many as 8 {times} 10{sup 6} ha burned in the Amazon Basin of Brazil in 1987 alone. In terms of current land-use patterns, altered microclimates, and fuel mass, there are also striking similarities between the eastern Amazon and East Kalimantan, Indonesia (the site of recent rain forest wildfires that burned 3.5 {times} 10{sup 6} ha).« less

Recovery of Methane Consumption by Secondary Forests in the Amazon River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, K. D.; Meredith, L. K.; Piccini, W.; Pedrinho, A.; Nüsslein, K.; Van Haren, J. L. M.; Camargo, P. B. D.; Mui, T. S.; Saleska, S. R.

2017-12-01

Methane (CH4) is a major greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere and its atmospheric global mole fraction has roughly doubled since the start of the industrial revolution. The tropics are thought to be a major CH4 emitter, with the Amazon River Basin estimated to contribute 7 % of the annual flux to the atmosphere. The Amazon has experienced extensive land use change during the past 30 years, but we lack an understanding of the qualitative and quantitative effects of land use change on CH4 flux from the Amazon and the associated reasons. To illuminate the factors controlling CH4 flux across land use gradients in the Amazon we measured the CH4 fluxes and will measure the associated stable isotopic composition from pastures, primary forests, and secondary forests, at Ariquemes (Western Amazon, more deforested), and Santarem (Eastern Amazon, less deforested), Brazil. The sites near Santarem were sampled in June of 2016 and the sites near Ariquemes were sampled in March and April of 2017, both at the end of the wet season. Little difference was observed between land use types in Santarem with each land use type slightly consuming atmospheric CH4. However, pasture fluxes at Ariquemes were higher (+520 μg-C m-2 hr-1) than in primary (0 μg-C m-2 hr-1) and secondary forests (-20 μg-C m-2 hr-1; p = 6*10-4). CH4 flux from individual Santarem sites was not correlated with environmental variables. CH4 flux from Airquemes was correlated with several parameters across all samples including soil temperature (p = 7*10-4), and soil humidity (p = 0.02). Despite the fact that pastures experienced higher soil temperatures than forest soils this appears to be a low predictor of CH4 flux from these environments as it was seen at both Santarem and Ariquemes. The analysis of the stable isotopic composition of CH4 from these chambers will aid in understanding the competing processes of microbial CH4 consumption and production in these soils and why pastures may become CH4 sources and

Complex Socio-Ecological Dynamics driven by extreme events in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinho, P. F.

2015-12-01

Several years with extreme floods or droughts in the past decade have caused human suffering in remote communities of the Brazilian Amazon. Despite documented local knowledge and practices for coping with the high seasonal variability characteristic of the region's hydrology (e.g. 10m change in river levels between dry and flood seasons), and despite 'civil Defense' interventions by various levels of government, the more extreme years seem to have exceeded the coping capacity of the community. In this paper, we explore whether there is a real increase in variability, whether the community perceives that recent extreme events are outside the experience which shapes their responses to 'normal' levels of variability, and what science-based policy could contribute to greater local resilience. Hydrological analyses suggest that variability is indeed increasing, in line with expectations from future climate change. However, current measures of hydrological regimes do not predict years with social hardship very well. Interviewees in two regions are able to express their strategies for dealing with 'normal' variability very well, but also identify ways in which abnormal years exceed their ability to cope. Current Civil Defense arrangements struggle to deliver emergency assistance in a sufficiently timely and locally appropriate fashion. Combining these insights in the context of social-ecological change, we suggest how better integration of science, policy and local knowledge could improve resilience to future trends, and identify some contributions science could make into such an arrangement.

A geomorphological assessments of the distribution of sediment sinks along the lower Amazon River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, E.; Latrubesse, E. M.

2017-12-01

Floodplain sediment storage budget is examined along the 1,000 km reach of the lower Amazon River based on extensive sets of remote sensing data and field measurements. Incorporating the washload discharges at gauge stations at the main channel and major tributaries, we analyzed the roles of vast floodplain on the Amazon River seasonal variability in sediment discharges. Annual washload accumulation rate on floodplain along the reach in between Manacapuru and Obidos of is estimated to be 79 Mt over inter-annual average. Period that the net loss over to the floodplain of washload coincide with discharge rising phase of the Amazon River at Obidos, when the river water level rises to make hydrologic connections to floodplain. Only during the early falling phase (July-August), 3.6 Mt of washload net gain occurred in a year, which was less than 5% of the annual net loss to the floodplain. To assess the spatial distribution of sediment sinks along the lower Amazon, we incorporated various hydro-geomorphic factors regarding floodplain geomorphic styles and morphometric parameters, such floodplain width, levee heights, water-saturated area, suspended sediment distribution over floodplain and distribution of impeded floodplain. Impeded floodplain that contains numerous large rounded lakes is the definition of active sediment sinks along the lower Amazon, which seasonally stores most of the water and traps sediment from the river. The results of these hydro-geomorphic factors collectively indicate that the extent and magnitudes of sediment sinks becomes larger downstream (from Manacapuru to Monte Alegre), which is proportionally related to the development of the water-saturated floodplain. This indicates the nonlinear geomorphic evolution of the Amazon floodplain through its longitudinal profile since the late Holocene that downstream reaches are still to be infilled with sediments (incomplete floodplain) thus acting as sediment sinks.

The spatial extent of change in tropical forest ecosystem services in the Amazon delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Araujo Barbosa, C. C.; Atkinson, P.; Dearing, J.

2014-12-01

Deltas hold major economic potential due their strategic location, close to seas and inland waterways, thereby supporting intense economic activity. The increasing pace of human development activities in coastal deltas over the past five decades has also strained environmental resources and produced extensive economic and sociocultural impacts. The Amazon delta is located in the Amazon Basin, North Brazil, the largest river basin on Earth and also one of the least understood. A considerable segment of the population living in the Amazon delta is directly dependent on the local extraction of natural resources for their livelihood. Areas sparsely inhabited may be exploited with few negative consequences for the environment. However, increasing pressure on ecosystem services is amplified by large fluxes of immigrants from other parts of the country, especially from the semi-arid zone in Northeast Brazil to the lowland forests of the Amazon delta. Here we present partial results from a bigger research project. Therefore, the focus will be on presenting an overview of the current state, and the extent of changes on forest related ecosystem services in the Amazon delta over the last three decades. We aggregated a multitude of datasets, from a variety of sources, for example, from satellite imagery such as the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), the Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and climate datasets at meteorological station level from the Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) and social and economic statistics data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and from the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA). Through analysis of socioeconomic and satellite earth observation data we were able to produce and present spatially-explicit information with the current state and transition in forest cover and its impacts to forest

Role of Brazilian Amazon protected areas in climate change mitigation

PubMed Central

Soares-Filho, Britaldo; Moutinho, Paulo; Nepstad, Daniel; Anderson, Anthony; Rodrigues, Hermann; Garcia, Ricardo; Dietzsch, Laura; Merry, Frank; Bowman, Maria; Hissa, Letícia; Silvestrini, Rafaella; Maretti, Cláudio

2010-01-01

Protected areas (PAs) now shelter 54% of the remaining forests of the Brazilian Amazon and contain 56% of its forest carbon. However, the role of these PAs in reducing carbon fluxes to the atmosphere from deforestation and their associated costs are still uncertain. To fill this gap, we analyzed the effect of each of 595 Brazilian Amazon PAs on deforestation using a metric that accounts for differences in probability of deforestation in areas of pairwise comparison. We found that the three major categories of PA (indigenous land, strictly protected, and sustainable use) showed an inhibitory effect, on average, between 1997 and 2008. Of 206 PAs created after the year 1999, 115 showed increased effectiveness after their designation as protected. The recent expansion of PAs in the Brazilian Amazon was responsible for 37% of the region's total reduction in deforestation between 2004 and 2006 without provoking leakage. All PAs, if fully implemented, have the potential to avoid 8.0 ± 2.8 Pg of carbon emissions by 2050. Effectively implementing PAs in zones under high current or future anthropogenic threat offers high payoffs for reducing carbon emissions, and as a result should receive special attention in planning investments for regional conservation. Nevertheless, this strategy demands prompt and predictable resource streams. The Amazon PA network represents a cost of US$147 ± 53 billion (net present value) for Brazil in terms of forgone profits and investments needed for their consolidation. These costs could be partially compensated by an international climate accord that includes economic incentives for tropical countries that reduce their carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. PMID:20505122

Response of the Amazon rainforest to late Pleistocene climate variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Häggi, Christoph; Chiessi, Cristiano M.; Merkel, Ute; Mulitza, Stefan; Prange, Matthias; Schulz, Michael; Schefuß, Enno

2017-12-01

Variations in Amazonian hydrology and forest cover have major consequences for the global carbon and hydrological cycles as well as for biodiversity. Yet, the climate and vegetation history of the lowland Amazon basin and its effect on biogeography remain debated due to the scarcity of suitable high-resolution paleoclimate records. Here, we use the isotopic composition (δD and δ13C) of plant-waxes from a high-resolution marine sediment core collected offshore the Amazon River to reconstruct the climate and vegetation history of the integrated lowland Amazon basin for the period from 50,000 to 12,800 yr before present. Our results show that δD values from the Last Glacial Maximum were more enriched than those from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and the present-day. We interpret this trend to reflect long-term changes in precipitation and atmospheric circulation, with overall drier conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum. Our results thus suggest a dominant glacial forcing of the climate in lowland Amazonia. In addition to previously suggested thermodynamic mechanisms of precipitation change, which are directly related to temperature, we conclude that changes in atmospheric circulation are crucial to explain the temporal evolution of Amazonian rainfall variations, as demonstrated in climate model experiments. Our vegetation reconstruction based on δ13C values shows that the Amazon rainforest was affected by intrusions of savannah or more open vegetation types in its northern sector during Heinrich Stadials, while it was resilient to glacial drying. This suggests that biogeographic patterns in tropical South America were affected by Heinrich Stadials in addition to glacial-interglacial climate variability.

Amazon forests did not green up during the 2005 drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, A.; Ganguly, S.; Hashimoto, H.; Devadiga, S.; Vermote, E. F.; Knyazikhin, Y.; Nemani, R. R.; Myneni, R. B.

2009-12-01

The sensitivity of Amazon rainforests to dry-season droughts remains unresolved with reports of enhanced tree mortality and forest fires, on one hand, and, excessive forest green-up, on the other. Here using the latest and improved version of satellite-derived vegetation greenness data - Collection 5 (C5) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) - we report that the there is no evidence of large-scale greening of the Amazon during the 2005 drought - approximately 11%-12% of these forests display greening, while, 28%-29% show browning or no-change, and for the rest the data are not of sufficient quality to characterize any changes. In addition, independent satellite-derived data on precipitation, surface radiation and aerosols do not substantiate underlying assumptions of the hypothesis of enhanced photosynthetic capacity of intact Amazon forests stimulated by increased light availability during a drought. First, interannual changes in dry-season greenness are unrelated to concurrent changes in light availability. Second, the 2005 drought cannot be used as a surrogate for light availability to these rainforests owing to persistently high aerosol loads in the atmosphere. Third, the spatial extent and magnitude of greening do not change systematically with drought severity. Finally, the changes in vegetation activity of these forests during the drought-stricken dry season of 2005 are not unique in comparison to that observed during dry seasons of non-drought years. Our analysis also demonstrates the critical role of biomass burning aerosols in limiting light availability to water stressed Amazon forests during the dry season of 2005. This will have important implications for the sensitivity of these forests to similar droughts in future.

Role of Brazilian Amazon protected areas in climate change mitigation.

PubMed

Soares-Filho, Britaldo; Moutinho, Paulo; Nepstad, Daniel; Anderson, Anthony; Rodrigues, Hermann; Garcia, Ricardo; Dietzsch, Laura; Merry, Frank; Bowman, Maria; Hissa, Letícia; Silvestrini, Rafaella; Maretti, Cláudio

2010-06-15

Protected areas (PAs) now shelter 54% of the remaining forests of the Brazilian Amazon and contain 56% of its forest carbon. However, the role of these PAs in reducing carbon fluxes to the atmosphere from deforestation and their associated costs are still uncertain. To fill this gap, we analyzed the effect of each of 595 Brazilian Amazon PAs on deforestation using a metric that accounts for differences in probability of deforestation in areas of pairwise comparison. We found that the three major categories of PA (indigenous land, strictly protected, and sustainable use) showed an inhibitory effect, on average, between 1997 and 2008. Of 206 PAs created after the year 1999, 115 showed increased effectiveness after their designation as protected. The recent expansion of PAs in the Brazilian Amazon was responsible for 37% of the region's total reduction in deforestation between 2004 and 2006 without provoking leakage. All PAs, if fully implemented, have the potential to avoid 8.0 +/- 2.8 Pg of carbon emissions by 2050. Effectively implementing PAs in zones under high current or future anthropogenic threat offers high payoffs for reducing carbon emissions, and as a result should receive special attention in planning investments for regional conservation. Nevertheless, this strategy demands prompt and predictable resource streams. The Amazon PA network represents a cost of US$147 +/- 53 billion (net present value) for Brazil in terms of forgone profits and investments needed for their consolidation. These costs could be partially compensated by an international climate accord that includes economic incentives for tropical countries that reduce their carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Changes in the Carbon Cycle of Amazon Ecosystems During the 2010 Drought

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, Christophera; Klooster, Steven; Hiatt, Cyrus; Genovese, Vanessa; Castilla-Rubino, Juan Carlos

2011-01-01

Satellite remote sensing was combined with the NASA-CASA carbon cycle simulation model to evaluate the impact of the 2010 drought (July through September) throughout tropical South America. Results indicated that net primary production (NPP) in Amazon forest areas declined by an average of 7% in 2010 compared to 2008. This represented a loss of vegetation CO2 uptake and potential Amazon rainforest growth of nearly 0.5 Pg C in 2010. The largest overall decline in ecosystem carbon gains by land cover type was predicted for closed broadleaf forest areas of the Amazon River basin, including a large fraction of regularly flooded forest areas. Model results support the hypothesis that soil and dead wood carbon decomposition fluxes of CO2 to the atmosphere were elevated during the drought period of 2010 in periodically flooded forest areas, compared to forests outside the main river floodplains.

Remote sensing in forestry: Application to the Amazon region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Tardin, A. T.; Dossantos, A.; Filho, P. H.; Shimabukuro, Y. E.

1981-01-01

The utilization of satellite remote sensing in forestry is reviewed with emphasis on studies performed for the Brazilian Amazon Region. Timber identification, deforestation, and pasture degradation after deforestation are discussed.

Measurement of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon using satellite remote sensing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skole, D.L.

1992-01-01

Understanding of the role of the biota in the global carbon cycle is limited by an absence of accurate measurements of deforestation rates in the tropics. This study measures the rate and extent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the largest extant tropical forest biome in the world. The study uses remote sensing measurements of deforestation rates, the area of secondary vegetation, and tabular data to document deforestation. The analysis concludes: (1) AVHRR will greatly overestimate deforestation and be highly variable; the use of a brightness temperature threshold is highly sensitive and unreliable. The upward bias of AVHRR is amore » function of the density of deforestation. (2) Accurate measurement of deforestation requires Landsat TM data, and can be accomplished using low cost visual interpretation of photographic products at 1:250,000 scales. (3) Secondary growth in the Brazilian Amazon represents a large fraction of the total deforested area, and the abandonment of agricultural land is an important land cover transition. Abandonment rates were 70--83% of clearing rates from primary forests. At any one point in time, approximately 30% of the deforested area is in some stage of abandonment, and quite likely nearly all deforested land becomes abandoned after approximately 5 years. (4) Previous estimates of the total area deforested in the Amazon, as well as deforestation rates, have been too high by as much as 4-fold. A complete assessment of the entire Legal Amazon using over 200 Landsat images measures 251 [times] 10[sup 3] km[sup 2] deforestation as of 1988, or approximately 6% of the closed forests of the region. The average annual rate of deforestation between 1978 and 1988 was 18 [times] 10[sup 3] km[sup 2] yr[sup [minus]1]. These findings suggest the estimates of carbon emissions from the Amazon for the late 1980s have been too high, since the area of regrowth is large and rates of deforestation are lower than previously believed.« less

The Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5) Observes Pollution Affecting Gases, Aerosols, Clouds, and Rainfall over the Rain Forest

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L.

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment took place around the urban region of Manaus in central Amazonia across two years. The urban pollution plume was used to study the susceptibility of gases, aerosols, clouds, and rainfall to human activities in a tropical environment. Many aspects of air quality, weather, terrestrial ecosystems, and climate work differently in the tropics than in the more thoroughly studied USA, employed an unparalleled suite of measurements at nine ground sites and onboard two aircraft to investigate the flow of background air into Manaus, the emissions into the air over themore » city, and the advection of the pollution downwind of the city. Herein, to visualize this train of processes and its effects, observations aboard a low-flying aircraft are presented. Comparative measurements within and adjacent to the plume followed the emissions of biogenic volatile organic carbon compounds (BVOCs) from the tropical forest, their transformations by the atmospheric oxidant cycle, alterations of this cycle by the influence of the pollutants, transformations of the chemical products into aerosol particles, the relationship of these particles to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and the differences in cloud properties and rainfall for background compared to polluted conditions. The observations of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment illustrate how the hydrologic cycle, radiation balance, and carbon recycling may be affected by present-day as well as future economic development and pollution over the Amazonian tropical forest.« less

An ethnobotanical study of anti-malarial plants among indigenous people on the upper Negro River in the Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Frausin, Gina; Hidalgo, Ari de Freitas; Lima, Renata Braga Souza; Kinupp, Valdely Ferreira; Ming, Lin Chau; Pohlit, Adrian Martin; Milliken, William

2015-11-04

In this article we present the plants used for the treatment of malaria and associated symptoms in Santa Isabel do Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon. The region has important biological and cultural diversities including more than twenty indigenous ethnic groups and a strong history in traditional medicine. The aims of this study are to survey information in the Baniwa, Baré, Desana, Piratapuia, Tariana, Tukano, Tuyuca and Yanomami ethnic communities and among caboclos (mixed-ethnicity) on (a) plant species used for the treatment of malaria and associated symptoms, (b) dosage forms and (c) distribution of these anti-malarial plants in the Amazon. Information was obtained through classical ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological methods from interviews with 146 informants in Santa Isabel municipality on the upper Negro River, Brazil. Fifty-five mainly native neotropical plant species from 34 families were in use. The detailed uses of these plants were documented. The result was 187 records (64.5%) of plants for the specific treatment of malaria, 51 records (17.6%) of plants used in the treatment of liver problems and 29 records (10.0%) of plants used in the control of fevers associated with malaria. Other uses described were blood fortification ('dar sangue'), headache and prophylaxis. Most of the therapeutic preparations were decoctions and infusions based on stem bark, root bark and leaves. These were administered by mouth. In some cases, remedies were prepared with up to three different plant species. Also, plants were used together with other ingredients such as insects, mammals, gunpowder and milk. This is the first study on the anti-malarial plants from this region of the Amazon. Aspidosperma spp. and Ampelozizyphus amazonicus Ducke were the most cited species in the communities surveyed. These species have experimental proof supporting their anti-malarial efficacy. The dosage of the therapeutic preparations depends on the kind of plant, quantity of plant

Demographic and health attributes of the Nahua, initial contact population of the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Culqui, Dante R; Ayuso-Alvarez, Ana; Munayco, Cesar V; Quispe-Huaman, Carlos; Mayta-Tristán, Percy; Campos, Juan de Mata Donado

2016-01-01

We present the case of the Nahua population of Santa Rosa de Serjali, Peruvian Amazon's population, considered of initial contact. This population consists of human groups that for a long time decided to live in isolation, but lately have begun living a more sedentary lifestyle and in contact with Western populations. There are two fully identified initial contact groups in Peru: the Nahua and the Nanti. The health statistics of the Nahua are scarce. This study offers an interpretation of demographic and epidemiological indicators of the Nahua people, trying to identify if a certain degree of health vulnerability exists. We performed a cross sectional study, and after analyzing their health indicators, as well as the supplemental qualitative analysis of the population, brought us to conclude that in 2006, the Nahua, remained in a state of health vulnerability.

A seroprevalence and descriptive epidemiological study of malaria among Indian tribes of the Amazon basin of Brazil.

PubMed

de Arruda, M E; Aragaki, C; Gagliardi, F; Haile, R W

1996-04-01

Data on the seroprevalences of Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, and P. malariae in four isolated Indian tribes of the Amazon basin in Brazil, as determined by IFAT, were re-analysed. Age-, sex- and tribe-specific geometric mean antibody titres and externally standardized prevalence ratios were calculated for each parasite species. Correlation coefficients and prevalence odds ratios were also calculated for multiple infections with different combinations of the three Plasmodium species. Titres of all but one of the antibodies studied were similar in males and females; titres of antibodies to the blood stages of P. malariae were slightly higher in females than in males. Titres of antibodies to all three Plasmodium species increased with subject age, and this age effect was not confounded by sex or tribal differences. There were striking differences between tribes, with the Parakana tribe having relatively low titres of antibodies against P. falciparum and P. malariae; these tribal effects were not confounded by sex or age differences between tribes. The results indicate that conditions conductive to the transmission of P. malariae exist in this region of the Amazon. The potential for zoonotic transmission of P. brasilianum, a parasite of monkeys which is morphologically similar to P. malarie, and the generally high rates of seropositivity to all three species of Plasmodium indicate that control measures which are adequate and applicable to the region studied need to be developed.

Dimethyl sulfide in the Amazon rain forest: DMS in the Amazon

DOE PAGES

Jardine, K.; Yañez-Serrano, A. M.; Williams, J.; ...

2015-01-08

Surface-to-atmosphere emissions of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) may impact global climate 44 through the formation of gaseous sulfuric acid, which can yield secondary sulfate 45 aerosols and contribute to new particle formation. While oceans are generally 46 considered the dominant source of DMS, a shortage of ecosystem observations prevents 47 an accurate analysis of terrestrial DMS sources. Using mass spectrometry, we quantified 48 ambient DMS mixing ratios within and above a primary rainforest ecosystem in the 49 central Amazon Basin in real-time (2010-2011) and at high vertical resolution (2013-50 2014). Elevated but highly variable DMS mixing ratios were observed within themore » 51 canopy, showing clear evidence of a net ecosystem source to the atmosphere during 52 both day and night in both the dry and wet seasons. Periods of high DMS mixing ratios 53 lasting up to 8 hours (up to 160 ppt) often occurred within the canopy and near the 54 surface during many evenings and nights. Daytime gradients showed mixing ratios (up 55 to 80 ppt) peaking near the top of the canopy as well as near the ground following a rain 56 event. The spatial and temporal distribution of DMS suggests that ambient levels and 57 their potential climatic impacts are dominated by local soil and plant emissions. A soil 58 source was confirmed by measurements of DMS emission fluxes from Amazon soils as 59 a function of temperature and soil moisture. Furthermore, light and temperature 60 dependent DMS emissions were measured from seven tropical tree species. Our study 61 has important implications for understanding terrestrial DMS sources and their role in 62 coupled land-atmosphere climate feedbacks. 63« less

Mechanisms for the formation and growth of nanometer-sized particles in the Amazon: New insights from GoAmazon2014 and the Tapajos Upwind Forest Flux Study (TUFFS).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, J. N.; Park, J. H.; Kuang, C.; Bustillos, J. O. V.; Souza, R. A. F. D.; Wiedemann, K. T.; Munger, J. W.; Wofsy, S. C.; Rizzo, L. V.; Artaxo, P.; Martin, S. T.; Seco, R.; Kim, S.; Guenther, A. B.; Batalha, S. S. A.; Alves, E. G.; Tota, J.

2014-12-01

The Amazon rainforest is a unique and important place for studying aerosol formation and its impacts on atmospheric chemistry and climate. In remote areas, the atmosphere is characterized by low particle number concentrations and high humidity; perturbations in the particle number concentrations and climate-relevant physical and chemical properties could therefore have a great impact on cloud formation and thus on regional climate and precipitation. While it was previously believed that new particle formation occurs rarely in the Amazon, observations in the Amazon of a sustained steady-state particle number concentration, along with an abundance of dry and wet surfaces upon which particles may deposit, imply that sources of new particles must exist in this region. We present observations from two studies, GOAmazon2014 and Tapajos Upwind Forest Flux Study (TUFFS), which seek to identify and quantify the sources of aerosol particles in the Amazon. Measurements of the chemical composition of 20 - 100 nm diameter aerosol particles at the T3 measurement site during the wet and dry season campaigns of GOAmazon2014 show the presence of inorganic ions such as potassium ion and sulfate, as well as organic ion such as oxalate, in ambient nanoparticles. These observations, combined with 1.5 - 300 nm diameter particle number size distributions and trace gas measurements of organic compounds and sulfuric acid, are used to determine the relative importance of sulfuric acid, organic compounds, and primary biological particle emissions to nanoparticle formation and growth. Observations of 3 - 100 nm diameter particle number size distributions at the KM67 tower site during TUFFS show frequent new particle formation events during the wet season in April, transitioning to a scenario of less frequent events in July at the onset of the dry season. These observations highlight the regional nature of new particle formation in the Amazon, and suggest that additional observations at a

Community-onset extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli sequence type 131 at two Korean community hospitals: The spread of multidrug-resistant E. coli to the community via healthcare facilities.

PubMed

Kim, Young Ah; Kim, Jin Ju; Kim, Heejung; Lee, Kyungwon

2017-01-01

The recent molecular epidemiology of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli infection in two Korean community hospitals was evaluated in this prospective observational study. We collected non-duplicated E. coli isolates from consecutive, sequentially encountered patients with community-onset episodes between March and April 2016 in two community hospitals in Gyeonggi-do province, Korea. We studied the prevalence, clinical characteristics and molecular epidemiology of E. coli sequence type 131 (ST131) isolated from the community. From a total of 213 E. coli isolates collected from the community, 94 (44.1%) were community-onset healthcare-associated isolates and 119 (55.9%) were community-associated isolates, of which urinary tract infection was the majority. A total of 55 (25.8%) of the 213 E. coli isolates were confirmed to have ESBL genes, which were mainly CTX-M types such as CTX-M-14 and CTX-M-15. There was no difference in the proportion of globally epidemic ST131 clones or that of O25, O16, H30, or H30Rx subclones between community-associated and community-onset healthcare-associated isolates. In this study, considerable ST131 E. coli isolations in the community were observed and about half of them were related to the history of a visit to the healthcare facilities, indicating the spread of multidrug-resistant E. coli to the community via healthcare facilities. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Occurrence and analysis of irp2 virulence gene in isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. from microbiota and hospital and community-acquired infections.

PubMed

Souza Lopes, Ana Catarina; Rodrigues, Juliana Falcão; Cabral, Adriane Borges; da Silva, Maíra Espíndola; Leal, Nilma Cintra; da Silveira, Vera Magalhães; de Morais Júnior, Marcos Antônio

2016-07-01

Eighty-five isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp., originating from hospital- and community-acquired infections and from oropharyngeal and faecal microbiota from patients in Recife-PE, Brazil, were analyzed regarding the presence of irp2 gene. This is a Yersinia typical gene involved in the synthesis of siderophore yersiniabactin. DNA sequencing confirmed the identity of irp2 gene in five K. pneumoniae, five Enterobacter aerogenes and one Enterobacter amnigenus isolates. To our knowledge in the current literature, this is the first report of the irp2 gene in E. amnigenus, a species considered an unusual human pathogen, and in K. pneumoniae and E. aerogenes isolates from the normal microbiota and from community infections, respectively. Additionally, the analyses of nucleotide and amino acid sequences suggest the irp2 genes derived from isolates used in this study are more closely related to that of Yersinia pestis P.CE882 than to that of Yersinia enterocolitica 8081. These data demonstrated that K. pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. from normal microbiota and from community- and hospital-acquired infections possess virulence factors important for the establishment of extra-intestinal infections. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brazil-USA Collaborative Research: Modifications by Anthropogenic Pollution of the Natural Atmospheric Chemistry and Particle Microphysics of the Tropical Rain Forest During the GoAmazon Intensive Operating Periods (IOPs)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Saewung

Manaus, a city of nearly two million people, represents an isolated urban area having a distinct urban pollution plume within the otherwise pristine Amazon Basin. The plume has high concentrations of oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, carbon monoxide, particle concentrations, and soot, among other pollutants. Critically, the distinct plume in the setting of the surrounding tropical rain forest serves as a natural laboratory to allow direct comparisons between periods of pollution influence to those of pristine conditions. The funded activity of this report is related to the Brazil-USA collaborative project during the two Intensive Operating Periods (wet season, 1 Febmore » - 31 Mar 2014; dry season, 15 Aug - 15 Oct 2014) of GoAmazon2014/5. The project addresses key science questions regarding the modification of the natural atmospheric chemistry and particle microphysics of the forest by present and future anthropogenic pollution.« less

Act No. 24994 of 19 January 1989. Basic Law on the Rural Development of the Peruvian Amazon Region.

PubMed

1989-01-01

This Act sets forth the government's policy on rural development of the Peruvian Amazon region. Major objectives of the Act include the promotion of new rural settlements in the Amazon region, the promotion of migration from the Andes to the Amazon region, and the stimulation of agriculture, livestock, and forestry activities in the Amazon region. The following are the means that the government will use, among others, to attain these goals: 1) the development of Population Displacement Programmes, which will give individual persons and families economic and logistic support in moving; 2) the establishment of Civic Colonizing Services, temporary mobile units, which will offer settlers health services, education services, technical assistance with respect to agriculture and livestock, and promotional credits; 3) the creation of the Council for Amazon River Transport to coordinate and recommend activities to improve river transport; 4) the granting to settlers of land, free education for their children, medical care, technical training and assistance with respect to agriculture, and a supply of seeds; 5) the exemption of certain investors from payment of income taxes; and 6) the granting of a wide range of incentives for agricultural production. The Act also creates a Council for Planning and Development in the Amazon Region to draw up and approve a Plan for the Development of the Amazon Region. It calls for the rational use of the natural resources of the Amazon Region in the framework of preserving the ecosystem and preventing its ruin and delegates to the regional governments the authority to enter into contracts on the use of forest materials and to undertake reforestation programs. Finally, the Act provides various guarantees for the native population, including guarantees with respect to land and preservation of ethnic and social identity.

Polycystic echinococcosis in Pacas, Amazon region, Peru.

PubMed

Mayor, Pedro; Baquedano, Laura E; Sanchez, Elisabeth; Aramburu, Javier; Gomez-Puerta, Luis A; Mamani, Victor J; Gavidia, Cesar M

2015-03-01

In the Peruvian Amazon, paca meat is consumed by humans. To determine human risk for polycystic echinococcosis, we examined wild pacas from 2 villages; 15 (11.7%) of 128 were infected with Echinococcus vogeli tapeworms. High E. vogeli prevalence among pacas indicates potential risk for humans living in E. vogeli-contaminated areas.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing bacteria isolated from hematologic patients in Manaus, State of Amazonas, Brazil

PubMed Central

Ferreira, Cristina Motta; Ferreira, William Antunes; Almeida, Nayanne Cristina Oliveira da Silva; Naveca, Felipe Gomes; Barbosa, Maria das Graças Vale

2011-01-01

Antibiotic therapy in hematologic patients, often weak and susceptible to a wide range of infections, particularly nosocomial infections derived from long hospitalization periods, is a challenging issue. This paper presents ESBL-producing strains isolated from such hematologic patients treated at the Amazon Hematology and Hemotherapy Foundation (HEMOAM) in the Brazilian Amazon Region to identify the ESBL genes carried by them as well as the susceptibility to 11 antimicrobial agents using the E-test method. A total of 146 clinical samples were obtained from July 2007 to August 2008, when 17 gram-negative strains were isolated in our institution. The most frequent isolates confirmed by biochemical tests and 16S rRNA sequencing were E. coli (8/17), Serratia spp. (3/17) and B.cepacia (2/17). All gram-negative strains were tested for extended-spectrum-beta-lactamases (ESBLs), where: (12/17) strains carried ESBL; among these, (8/12) isolates carried blaTEM, blaCTX-M, blaOXA , blaSHV genes, (1/12) blaTEM gene and (3/12) blaTEM, blaCTX-M, blaOXA genes. Antibiotic resistance was found in (15/17) of the isolates for tetracycline, (12/17) for ciprofloxacin, (1/17) resistance for cefoxitin and chloramphenicol, (1/17) for amikacin and (3/17) cefepime. This research showed the presence of gram-negative ESBL-producing bacteria infecting hematologic patients in HEMOAM. These strains carried the blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCTX-M and blaOXA genes and were resistant to different antibiotics used in the treatment. This finding was based on a period of 13 months, during which clinical samples from specific populations were obtained. Therefore, caution is required when generalizing the results that must be based on posological orientations and new breakpoints for disk diffusion and microdilution published by CLSI 2010. PMID:24031725

Potential contribution of groundwater to dry-season ET in the Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miguez-Macho, Gonzalo; Fan, Ying

2010-05-01

Climate and land ecosystem models simulate vegetation stress in the Amazon forest in the dry season, but observations show enhanced growth in response to higher radiation under less cloudy skies indicating an adequate water supply. The question is: how does the vegetation obtain sufficient water, and what is missing in the models? Shallow model soil and rooting depth is a factor; the ability of roots to move water up and down (hydraulic redistribution) may be another, but another cause may lie in the buffering effect of the groundwater found in nature but absent in models. We present observational and modeling evidence that the vast groundwater store, consequence of high annual rainfall combined with poor drainage in the Amazon, may provide a stable source for dry-season photosynthesis. The water table beneath the Amazon is sufficiently shallow (38% area <5m and 63% area <10m deep) as to contribute >2mm/day to dry-season evapotranspiration, a non-negligible portion of tower-observed flux of 3-4mm/day, the latter including canopy-interception loss and open-water evaporation. This may have important implications to our understanding of Amazonia ecosystem response and feedback to climate change. Current models, lacking groundwater, predict a significant reduction in dry-season photosynthesis under current climate and large-scale dieback under projected future climate converting the Amazon from a net carbon sink to a net source and accelerating warming. If groundwater is considered in the models, the magnitude of the responses and feedbacks may be reduced.

Insight on the Peruvian Amazon River: A Planform Metric Characterization of its Morphodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, A. M. P.; Ortals, C.; Frias, C. E.; Abad, J. D.; Vizcarra, J.

2014-12-01

Starting in Peru, the Amazon River flows through Colombia and Brazil; additionally, tributaries from Bolivia, Venezuela, and Ecuador contribute to the massive river and its unique geomorphic features. Accordingly, the Amazon Basin has become an important aspect of South America; it is an area of extraordinary biodiversity, rich resources, and unique cultures. However, due to the sheer magnitude and exceptionality of the Amazon River, research regarding the morphodynamic processes that shape and define the river has been difficult. Consequently, current research has not completely understood the planform dynamics of some portions of this river that present a main channel and secondary channels known as "anabranching structures". The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the geomorphology of the upper Amazon, the Peruvian section, by obtaining migration rates and planform metrics, including channel count, length, width, and sinuosity, as well as island count, area, and shape. With this data, the morphodynamics of the Peruvian Amazon, especially the relationship between the main channel and its secondary channels in each "anabranching structure" along the river, could be analyzed according to correlations found between various metrics. This analysis was carried out for 5-year time spans over a period of 25 years. Preliminary results showed that the average migration rate versus channel bend radius envelope peak is lower for the secondary channels than for the main channel. However, the maximum migration rate was not always found in the main channel; for several structures, the most dynamic channels were the secondary ones. This implies a certain periodicity to the river's migratory patterns that could be related to the valley boundaries, the local channel sinuosity or geological formations in the study area.

Lidar observed seasonal variation of vertical canopy structure in the Amazon evergreen forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, H.; Dubayah, R.

2017-12-01

Both light and water are important environmental factors governing tree growth. Responses of tropical forests to their changes are complicated and can vary substantially across different spatial and temporal scales. Of particular interest is the dry-season greening-up of Amazon forests, a phenomenon undergoing considerable debates whether it is real or a "light illusion" caused by artifacts of passive optical remote sensing techniques. Here we analyze seasonal dynamic patterns of vertical canopy structure in the Amazon forests using lidar observations from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). We found that the net greening of canopy layer coincides with the wet-to-dry transition period, and its net browning occurs mostly at the late dry season. The understory also shows a seasonal cycle, but with an opposite variation to canopy and minimal correlation to seasonal variations in rainfall or radiation. Our results further suggest a potential interaction between canopy layers in the light regime that can optimize the growth of Amazon forests during the dry season. This light regime variability that exists in both spatial and temporal domains can better reveal the dry-season greening-up phenomenon, which appears less obvious when treating the Amazon forests as a whole.

Quality Assurance Framework Implementation Guide for Isolated Community Power Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Esterly, Sean R.; Baring-Gould, Edward I.; Burman, Kari A.

This implementation guide is a companion document to the 'Quality Assurance Framework for Mini-Grids' technical report. This document is intended to be used by one of the many stakeholder groups that take part in the implementation of isolated power systems. Although the QAF could be applied to a single system, it was designed primarily to be used within the context of a larger national or regional rural electrification program in which many individual systems are being installed. This guide includes a detailed overview of the Quality Assurance Framework and provides guidance focused on the implementation of the Framework from themore » perspective of the different stakeholders that are commonly involved in expanding energy development within specific communities or regions. For the successful long-term implementation of a specific rural electrification program using mini-grid systems, six key stakeholders have been identified that are typically engaged, each with a different set of priorities 1. Regulatory agency 2. Governmental ministry 3. System developers 4. Mini-utility 5. Investors 6. Customers/consumers. This document is broken into two distinct sections. The first focuses on the administrative processes in the development and operation of community-based mini-grid programs, while the second focuses on the process around the installation of the mini-grid project itself.« less

Metalloproteomics Approach to Analyze Mercury in Breast Milk and Hair Samples of Lactating Women in Communities of the Amazon Basin, Brazil.

PubMed

Cerbino, M R; Vieira, José Cavalcante Souza; Braga, C P; Oliveira, G; Padilha, I F; Silva, T M; Zara, L F; Silva, N J; Padilha, P M

2018-02-01

Mercury is a potentially toxic element that is present in the environment of the Brazilian Amazon and is responsible for adverse health effects in humans. This study sought to assess possible protein biomarkers of mercury exposure in breast milk samples from lactating women in the Madeira and Negro Rivers in the Brazilian Amazon. The mercury content of hair samples of lactating women was determined, and the proteome of breast milk samples was obtained using two-dimensional electrophoresis after protein precipitation with acetone. Mercury measurements of protein spots obtained via protein fractionation were performed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), and it was observed that mercury is linked to proteins with molecular masses in the range of 14-26 kDa. The total mercury concentration was also determined by GFAAS in unprocessed milk, lyophilized milk, and protein pellets, with the purpose of determining the mercury mass balance in relation to the concentration of this element in milk and pellets. Approximately 85 to 97% of mercury present in the lyophilized milk from samples of lactating women of the Madeira River is bound in the protein fraction. From lactating women of the Negro River, approximately 49% of the total mercury is bound in the protein fraction, and a difference of 51% is bound in the lipid fraction.

Amazon Rain Forest Classification Using J-ERS-1 SAR Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freeman, A.; Kramer, C.; Alves, M.; Chapman, B.

1994-01-01

The Amazon rain forest is a region of the earth that is undergoing rapid change. Man-made disturbance, such as clear cutting for agriculture or mining, is altering the rain forest ecosystem. For many parts of the rain forest, seasonal changes from the wet to the dry season are also significant. Changes in the seasonal cycle of flooding and draining can cause significant alterations in the forest ecosystem.Because much of the Amazon basin is regularly covered by thick clouds, optical and infrared coverage from the LANDSAT and SPOT satellites is sporadic. Imaging radar offers a much better potential for regular monitoring of changes in this region. In particular, the J-ERS-1 satellite carries an L-band HH SAR system, which via an on-board tape recorder, can collect data from almost anywhere on the globe at any time of year.In this paper, we show how J-ERS-1 radar images can be used to accurately classify different forest types (i.e., forest, hill forest, flooded forest), disturbed areas such as clear cuts and urban areas, and river courses in the Amazon basin. J-ERS-1 data has also shown significant differences between the dry and wet season, indicating a strong potential for monitoring seasonal change. The algorithm used to classify J-ERS-1 data is a standard maximum-likelihood classifier, using the radar image local mean and standard deviation of texture as input. Rivers and clear cuts are detected using edge detection and region-growing algorithms. Since this classifier is intended to operate successfully on data taken over the entire Amazon, several options are available to enable the user to modify the algorithm to suit a particular image.

Ongoing River Capture in the Amazon via Secondary Channel Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberg, S. L.; Stokes, M.; Perron, J. T.

2017-12-01

The Rio Casiquiare in South America is a secondary channel that originates as a distributary of the Rio Orinoco and flows into the Rio Negro as a tributary to form a perennial connection between the Amazon and Orinoco basins, the largest and fourth-largest rivers on Earth by discharge. This unusual configuration is the result of an incomplete and ongoing river capture in which the Rio Negro is actively capturing the upper Rio Orinoco. This rarely observed intermediate stage of capture illuminates important mechanisms that drive river capture in lowland settings, both in the Amazon basin and elsewhere. In particular, we show that the capture of the Rio Orinoco by the Rio Casiquiare is driven by a combination of headward incision of a rapidly eroding tributary of the Rio Negro, sedimentation in the Rio Orinoco downstream of the bifurcation, and seasonal inundation of a low-relief divide. The initiation of the bifurcation by headward erosion caused an increase in discharge to the Rio Casiquiare while the corresponding loss of discharge to the downstream Rio Orinoco has led to observable sedimentation within the main channel. Unlike most ephemeral secondary channels, the Rio Casiquiare appears to be growing, suggesting that the present bifurcation is an unstable feature that will eventually lead to the complete capture of the upper Rio Orinoco by the Rio Casiquiare. This capture is the latest major event in the late Cenozoic drainage evolution of South America in response to Andean tectonism, and is an example of the lateral expansion of the Amazon basin through river capture following integration and entrenchment of the transcontinental Amazon River. The Rio Casiquiare provides a snapshot of an intermediate, transient state of bifurcation and inter-basin flow via a secondary channel during lowland river capture.

Accelerating to Zero: Strategies to Eliminate Malaria in the Peruvian Amazon

PubMed Central

Quispe, Antonio M.; Llanos-Cuentas, Alejandro; Rodriguez, Hugo; Clendenes, Martin; Cabezas, Cesar; Leon, Luis M.; Chuquiyauri, Raul; Moreno, Marta; Kaslow, David C.; Grogl, Max; Herrera, Sócrates; Magill, Alan J.; Kosek, Margaret; Vinetz, Joseph M.; Lescano, Andres G.; Gotuzzo, Eduardo

2016-01-01

In February 2014, the Malaria Elimination Working Group, in partnership with the Peruvian Ministry of Health (MoH), hosted its first international conference on malaria elimination in Iquitos, Peru. The 2-day meeting gathered 85 malaria experts, including 18 international panelists, 23 stakeholders from different malaria-endemic regions of Peru, and 11 MoH authorities. The main outcome was consensus that implementing a malaria elimination project in the Amazon region is achievable, but would require: 1) a comprehensive strategic plan, 2) the altering of current programmatic guidelines from control toward elimination by including symptomatic as well as asymptomatic individuals for antimalarial therapy and transmission-blocking interventions, and 3) the prioritization of community-based active case detection with proper rapid diagnostic tests to interrupt transmission. Elimination efforts must involve key stakeholders and experts at every level of government and include integrated research activities to evaluate, implement, and tailor sustainable interventions appropriate to the region.

Principal Connection / Amazon and the Whole Teacher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoerr, Thomas R.

2015-01-01

A recent controversy over Amazon's culture has strong implications for the whole child approach, and it offers powerful lessons for principals. A significant difference between the culture of so many businesses today and the culture at good schools is that in good schools, the welfare of the employees is very important. Student success is the…

Polycystic Echinococcosis in Pacas, Amazon Region, Peru

PubMed Central

Mayor, Pedro; Baquedano, Laura E.; Sanchez, Elisabeth; Aramburu, Javier; Gomez-Puerta, Luis A.; Mamani, Victor J.

2015-01-01

In the Peruvian Amazon, paca meat is consumed by humans. To determine human risk for polycystic echinococcosis, we examined wild pacas from 2 villages; 15 (11.7%) of 128 were infected with Echinococcus vogeli tapeworms. High E. vogeli prevalence among pacas indicates potential risk for humans living in E. vogeli–contaminated areas. PMID:25695937

New species of Microcentrum Scudder, 1862 (Orthoptera: Tettigonioidea: Phaneropteridae) from Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Da Silva Sovano, Rafael S; Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J

2015-03-26

A regional study is performed for the Amazonian species of the genus Microcentrum Scudder, 1862, its proposed Microcentrum punctifrons Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1891 as nomen dubium n. stat. and two new species are described: Microcentrum amacayacu Cadena-Casteñada, Sovano n. sp. and Microcentrum xavieri Sovano, Cadena-Casteñada n. sp. the Colombian and Brazilian Amazon, respectively. A list and a key to the Amazonian species are also provided, along with a discussion on their distribution, according to endemism areas established to Amazon rainforest.

Land-use and climate change risks in the Amazon and the need of a novel sustainable development paradigm.

PubMed

Nobre, Carlos A; Sampaio, Gilvan; Borma, Laura S; Castilla-Rubio, Juan Carlos; Silva, José S; Cardoso, Manoel

2016-09-27

For half a century, the process of economic integration of the Amazon has been based on intensive use of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources, which has brought significant basin-wide environmental alterations. The rural development in the Amazonia pushed the agricultural frontier swiftly, resulting in widespread land-cover change, but agriculture in the Amazon has been of low productivity and unsustainable. The loss of biodiversity and continued deforestation will lead to high risks of irreversible change of its tropical forests. It has been established by modeling studies that the Amazon may have two "tipping points," namely, temperature increase of 4 °C or deforestation exceeding 40% of the forest area. If transgressed, large-scale "savannization" of mostly southern and eastern Amazon may take place. The region has warmed about 1 °C over the last 60 y, and total deforestation is reaching 20% of the forested area. The recent significant reductions in deforestation-80% reduction in the Brazilian Amazon in the last decade-opens up opportunities for a novel sustainable development paradigm for the future of the Amazon. We argue for a new development paradigm-away from only attempting to reconcile maximizing conservation versus intensification of traditional agriculture and expansion of hydropower capacity-in which we research, develop, and scale a high-tech innovation approach that sees the Amazon as a global public good of biological assets that can enable the creation of innovative high-value products, services, and platforms through combining advanced digital, biological, and material technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in progress.

Land-use and climate change risks in the Amazon and the need of a novel sustainable development paradigm

PubMed Central

Nobre, Carlos A.; Sampaio, Gilvan; Borma, Laura S.; Castilla-Rubio, Juan Carlos; Silva, José S.; Cardoso, Manoel

2016-01-01

For half a century, the process of economic integration of the Amazon has been based on intensive use of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources, which has brought significant basin-wide environmental alterations. The rural development in the Amazonia pushed the agricultural frontier swiftly, resulting in widespread land-cover change, but agriculture in the Amazon has been of low productivity and unsustainable. The loss of biodiversity and continued deforestation will lead to high risks of irreversible change of its tropical forests. It has been established by modeling studies that the Amazon may have two “tipping points,” namely, temperature increase of 4 °C or deforestation exceeding 40% of the forest area. If transgressed, large-scale “savannization” of mostly southern and eastern Amazon may take place. The region has warmed about 1 °C over the last 60 y, and total deforestation is reaching 20% of the forested area. The recent significant reductions in deforestation—80% reduction in the Brazilian Amazon in the last decade—opens up opportunities for a novel sustainable development paradigm for the future of the Amazon. We argue for a new development paradigm—away from only attempting to reconcile maximizing conservation versus intensification of traditional agriculture and expansion of hydropower capacity—in which we research, develop, and scale a high-tech innovation approach that sees the Amazon as a global public good of biological assets that can enable the creation of innovative high-value products, services, and platforms through combining advanced digital, biological, and material technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in progress. PMID:27638214

Land-use and climate change risks in the Amazon and the need of a novel sustainable development paradigm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nobre, Carlos A.; Sampaio, Gilvan; Borma, Laura S.; Castilla-Rubio, Juan Carlos; Silva, José S.; Cardoso, Manoel

2016-09-01

For half a century, the process of economic integration of the Amazon has been based on intensive use of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources, which has brought significant basin-wide environmental alterations. The rural development in the Amazonia pushed the agricultural frontier swiftly, resulting in widespread land-cover change, but agriculture in the Amazon has been of low productivity and unsustainable. The loss of biodiversity and continued deforestation will lead to high risks of irreversible change of its tropical forests. It has been established by modeling studies that the Amazon may have two “tipping points,” namely, temperature increase of 4 °C or deforestation exceeding 40% of the forest area. If transgressed, large-scale “savannization” of mostly southern and eastern Amazon may take place. The region has warmed about 1 °C over the last 60 y, and total deforestation is reaching 20% of the forested area. The recent significant reductions in deforestation—80% reduction in the Brazilian Amazon in the last decade—opens up opportunities for a novel sustainable development paradigm for the future of the Amazon. We argue for a new development paradigm—away from only attempting to reconcile maximizing conservation versus intensification of traditional agriculture and expansion of hydropower capacity—in which we research, develop, and scale a high-tech innovation approach that sees the Amazon as a global public good of biological assets that can enable the creation of innovative high-value products, services, and platforms through combining advanced digital, biological, and material technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in progress.

Helicobacter pylori from Peruvian Amerindians: Traces of Human Migrations in Strains from Remote Amazon, and Genome Sequence of an Amerind Strain

PubMed Central

Kersulyte, Dangeruta; Kalia, Awdhesh; Gilman, Robert H.; Mendez, Melissa; Herrera, Phabiola; Cabrera, Lilia; Velapatiño, Billie; Balqui, Jacqueline; Paredes Puente de la Vega, Freddy; Rodriguez Ulloa, Carlos A.; Cok, Jaime; Hooper, Catherine C.; Dailide, Giedrius; Tamma, Sravya; Berg, Douglas E.

2010-01-01

Background The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is extraordinary in its genetic diversity, the differences between strains from well-separated human populations, and the range of diseases that infection promotes. Principal Findings Housekeeping gene sequences from H. pylori from residents of an Amerindian village in the Peruvian Amazon, Shimaa, were related to, but not intermingled with, those from Asia. This suggests descent of Shimaa strains from H. pylori that had infected the people who migrated from Asia into The Americas some 15,000+ years ago. In contrast, European type sequences predominated in strains from Amerindian Lima shantytown residents, but with some 12% Amerindian or East Asian-like admixture, which indicates displacement of ancestral purely Amerindian strains by those of hybrid or European ancestry. The genome of one Shimaa village strain, Shi470, was sequenced completely. Its SNP pattern was more Asian- than European-like genome-wide, indicating a purely Amerind ancestry. Among its unusual features were two cagA virulence genes, each distinct from those known from elsewhere; and a novel allele of gene hp0519, whose encoded protein is postulated to interact with host tissue. More generally, however, the Shi470 genome is similar in gene content and organization to those of strains from industrialized countries. Conclusions Our data indicate that Shimaa village H. pylori descend from Asian strains brought to The Americas many millennia ago; and that Amerind strains are less fit than, and were substantially displaced by, hybrid or European strains in less isolated communities. Genome comparisons of H. pylori from Amerindian and other communities should help elucidate evolutionary forces that have shaped pathogen populations in The Americas and worldwide. PMID:21124785

Variance in water chemistry parameters in isolated wetlands of Florida, USA, and relationships with macroinvertebrate and diatom community structure

EPA Science Inventory

Eighty small isolated wetlands throughout Florida were sampled in 2005 to explore within-site variability of water chemistry parameters and relate water chemistry to macroinvertebrate and diatom community structure. Three samples or measures of water were collected within each si...

Seroepidemiological Study of Chagas Disease in the Southern Amazon Region of Ecuador

PubMed Central

Guevara, Angel G.; Atherton, Richard D.; Wauters, Michael A.; Vicuña, Yosselin; Nelson, Marcos; Prado, Jose; Kato, Hirotomo; Calvopiña, Manuel H.; Hashiguchi, Yoshihisa

2013-01-01

To determine the extent of Trypanosoma cruzi infection and/or transmission in the southern Amazon region of Ecuador, three indigenous communities in the provinces of Pastaza and Morona Santiago were serosurveyed. ChagatestTM, Immunocomb®II and immunofluorescent (IF) assays were used. Among the 385 inhabitants examined, nine (2.34%) were seropositive for T. cruzi infection. Of the nine positive sera, four (44.4%) fall in the 10–19, one each in the 20–29, 30–39 and 40–49, and two in the 50–59 age groups. These results suggested the possible existence of an autochthonous active T. cruzi transmission in the region and provide the first serological evidence for T. cruzi infection in the southern province of Morona Santiago bordering Peru. Further studies are needed in these Amazonian provinces to ascertain the spread of T. cruzi infection in the area. PMID:23532947

Understory bird communities in Amazonian rainforest fragments: species turnover through 25 years post-isolation in recovering landscapes.

PubMed

Stouffer, Philip C; Johnson, Erik I; Bierregaard, Richard O; Lovejoy, Thomas E

2011-01-01

Inferences about species loss following habitat conversion are typically drawn from short-term surveys, which cannot reconstruct long-term temporal dynamics of extinction and colonization. A long-term view can be critical, however, to determine the stability of communities within fragments. Likewise, landscape dynamics must be considered, as second growth structure and overall forest cover contribute to processes in fragments. Here we examine bird communities in 11 Amazonian rainforest fragments of 1-100 ha, beginning before the fragments were isolated in the 1980s, and continuing through 2007. Using a method that accounts for imperfect detection, we estimated extinction and colonization based on standardized mist-net surveys within discreet time intervals (1-2 preisolation samples and 4-5 post-isolation samples). Between preisolation and 2007, all fragments lost species in an area-dependent fashion, with loss of as few as <10% of preisolation species from 100-ha fragments, but up to 70% in 1-ha fragments. Analysis of individual time intervals revealed that the 2007 result was not due to gradual species loss beginning at isolation; both extinction and colonization occurred in every time interval. In the last two samples, 2000 and 2007, extinction and colonization were approximately balanced. Further, 97 of 101 species netted before isolation were detected in at least one fragment in 2007. Although a small subset of species is extremely vulnerable to fragmentation, and predictably goes extinct in fragments, developing second growth in the matrix around fragments encourages recolonization in our landscapes. Species richness in these fragments now reflects local turnover, not long-term attrition of species. We expect that similar processes could be operating in other fragmented systems that show unexpectedly low extinction.

Population genetic structure and vocal dialects in an amazon parrot.

PubMed Central

Wright, T F; Wilkinson, G S

2001-01-01

The relationship between cultural and genetic evolution was examined in the yellow-naped amazon Amazona auropalliata. This species has previously been shown to have regional dialects defined by large shifts in the acoustic structure of its learned contact call. Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation from a 680 base pair segment of the first domain of the control region was assayed in 41 samples collected from two neighbouring dialects in Costa Rica. The relationship of genetic variation to vocal variation was examined using haplotype analysis, genetic distance analysis, a maximum-likelihood estimator of migration rates and phylogenetic reconstructions. All analyses indicated a high degree of gene flow and, thus, individual dispersal across dialect boundaries. Calls sampled from sound libraries suggested that temporally stable contact call dialects occur throughout the range of the yellow-naped amazon, while the presence of similar dialects in the sister species Amazona ochrocephala suggests that the propensity to form dialects is ancestral in this clade. These results indicate that genes and culture are not closely associated in the yellow-naped amazon. Rather, they suggest that regional diversity in vocalizations is maintained by selective pressures that promote social learning and allow individual repertoires to conform to local call types. PMID:11297178

Atmospheric mercury concentrations in the basin of the amazon, Brazil.

PubMed

Hachiya, N; Takizawa, Y; Hisamatsu, S; Abe, T; Abe, Y; Motohashi, Y

1998-01-01

A wide regional mercury pollution in Amazon, Brazil is closely associated with goldmining that has been carried out in the basin of tributaries of the Amazon since the eighteenth century. Possible involvement has been discussed on atmospheric circulation in distributing the volatile pollutant. We developed a portable air sampler for the collection of mercury compounds and determined atmospheric mercury concentrations at several sites in Brazil including the basin of the Amazon tributaries. The mean concentration of total mercury was between 9.1 and 14.0 ng/m(3) in the basin of the Uatumã River located in the tropical rain forest far from goldmining sites and from urbanized area. These mercury levels exceeded the background level previously reported in rural area and, furthermore, were higher than concentrations observed in Rio de Janeiro and in Manaus that were compatible with the reference values for urban area. Mercury concentrations were also determined in gold refineries in the basin of the Tapajos River, and detected at a significant but not a health deteriorating level. Although only preliminary data were available, the present observations were in favor of the hypothesis that mercury is distributed widely by long distant transport by the atmospheric circulation after released at gold mining sites.

Land Use Dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon

Treesearch

Robert Walker

1996-01-01

The articles presented in this special issue of Ecological Economics address the important theme of land use dynamics as it pertains to the Brazilian Amazon. Much environmental change is an ecological artifact of human agency, and such agency is often manifested in land use impacts, particularly in tropical areas. The critical problem of tropical deforestation is but...

Antibacterial activity of alkaloids produced by endophytic fungus Aspergillus sp. EJC08 isolated from medical plant Bauhinia guianensis.

PubMed

Pinheiro, Eduardo Antonio A; Carvalho, Josiwander Miranda; dos Santos, Diellem Cristina P; Feitosa, André de Oliveira; Marinho, Patrícia Santana B; Guilhon, Giselle Maria Skelding Pinheiro; de Souza, Afonso Duarte L; da Silva, Felipe Moura A; Marinho, Andrey Moacir do R

2013-01-01

Bauhinia guianensis is a typical plant in the Amazon region belonging to the family Leguminosea, used by local populations for the treatment of infectious and renal diseases. Previous work on the plant B. guianensis led to the isolation of substances with anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Thus, compounds isolated from B. guianensis with antimicrobial activities had not been identified. Given that there is a possibility of biological activity reported for a given plant being found in the endophytic fungi, we decided to isolate endophytic fungi from B. guianensis and test their antimicrobial activities. The alkaloids known as fumigaclavine C and pseurotin A were isolated by column chromatography and identified by 1D and 2D NMR techniques and mass spectrometry. The alkaloids are first reported as broad-spectrum antibacterial agents with good activity.

Forest clearing in the Ecuadorian Amazon: A study of patterns over space and time

PubMed Central

Pan, William; Carr, David; Barbieri, Alisson; Bilsborrow, Richard; Suchindran, Chirayath

2010-01-01

This study tests four hypotheses related to forest clearing over time in Ecuador’s northern Amazon: (1) a larger increase in population over time on a farm (finca) leads to more deforestation; (2) rates of forest clearing surrounding four primary reference communities differ (spatial heterogeneity); (3) fincas farther from towns/communities experience lower rates of forest clearing over time; and (4) forest clearing differs by finca settlement cohort, viz., by year of establishment of the finca. In this paper, we examine the relationship between forest clearing and key variables over time, and compare three statistical models—OLS, random effects, and spatial regression—to test hypotheses. Descriptive analyses indicate that 7–15% of forest area was cleared on fincas between 1990 and 1999; that more recently established fincas experienced more rapid forest clearing; and that population size and forest clearing are both related to distance from a major community. Controlling for key variables, model results indicate that an increase in population size is significantly related to more forest clearing; rates of forest clearing around the four major communities are not significantly different; distances separating fincas and communities are not significantly related to deforestation; and deforestation rates are higher among more recently established fincas. Key policy implications include the importance of reducing population growth and momentum through measures such as improving information about and provision of family planning services; increasing the low level of girls education to delay and reduce fertility; and expanding credit and agricultural extension services to increase agricultural intensification. PMID:20703367

Effects of isolation on ant assemblages depend on microhabitat