Gill parasites of fish from two estuaries in northeastern Brazil: new hosts and geographical records.

Parasites are important components of communities and constitute great part of the biological diversity found in ecosystems, providing valuable information about their hosts and the environment in which they live. However, despite its importance, parasitic diversity is still not well known in some regions of Brazil, especially with respect to fish parasites in the Northeast Region. The present study aims to perform the survey of gill parasites of fish from two tropical estuaries located in northeastern Brazil: Paraíba and Mamanguape rivers. Two collections were made in each estuary, one during the dry period (November / 2013) and the other during the rainy season (July / 2014). The fish were caught using a beach seine net, dragged along the main channel margin. After the identification, biometry and necropsy of the fish, their parasites were collected, stored and identified. For each species of parasite, the values ​​of prevalence, mean intensity and mean abundance were calculated. Of the 882 examined fish, belonging to four species, 145 were parasitized by at least one species of parasite. In total, 18 taxa of parasites of the groups Monogenea, Digenea, Nematoda, Copepoda and Isopoda were recorded, being the copepod Acusicola brasiliensis the most abundant species of parasite.

Functional diversity of zooplankton communities in two tropical estuaries (NE Brazil) with different degrees of human-induced disturbance.

This study assessed the functional diversity (FD) of copepod communities along the environmental gradient of two tropical estuaries with different intensities of human impact - the environmentally protected "Mamanguape" and the urbanised "Paraiba". Different trait-based approaches were used: functional groups identification and description, and FD indices estimation. The results showed similar functional groups and functional indices between the two estuaries with some variability attributed to seasonality. Copepods in each estuary seemed to perform similar functions. Overall, biomass was more evenly distributed among groups, and mean total biomass and FD indices were slightly higher in the Mamanguape. Nevertheless, both estuaries presented comparable FD, indicating that environmental filters may be the main driver of species coexistence within systems. Results also pointed towards anthropogenic disturbance, despite the protection status of the Mamanguape.

Imagens sociais de famílias com filhos em acolhimento e em contexto familiar: um estudo entre Brasil e Portugal / Social images of families with children in sheltered care and in family context: a study between Brazil and Portugal / Imágenes sociales de familias con hijos en acogimiento residencial y en contexto familiar: un estudio entre Brasil y Portugal

A literatura indica que as famílias de crianças e jovens em acolhimento institucional podem ser estigmatizadas socialmente, gerando um impacto negativo no seu bem-estar, na construção da sua identidade e no sucesso da intervenção familiar. No entanto, poucos estudos investigam empiricamente esta imagem social. Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar a imagem social das famílias de crianças e jovens em diferentes contextos em Portugal e no Brasil. Uma amostra de 378 participantes (176 portugueses e 202 brasileiros) foi solicitada a indicar cinco atributos de famílias de crianças e jovens em acolhimento institucional e outros cinco atributos de famílias de crianças e jovens em contexto familiar, de estatutos socioeconômicos baixo e médio. Os dados indicam que em ambos os países existe um predomínio de atributos negativos associados às famílias de crianças e jovens em acolhimento institucional e de estatuto socioeconômico baixo, e um predomínio de atributos positivos associados às famílias em contexto familiar de estatuto socioeconômico médio. Destaca-se a necessidade de intervenções, especialmente com profissionais que atuam junto a essa população, para conscientização sobre essas imagens sociais. (AU)

The literature indicates that families of children and adolescents in sheltered care may be socially stigmatized and this has a negative impact on their well-being, the construction of their identity, and the success of family interventions. However, only a few studies have empirically investigated this social image. This study aimed to analyse the social image of the families of children and adolescents in different contexts in Portugal and Brazil. A sample of 378 participants (176 Portuguese and 202 Brazilian) was asked to indicate five attributes of families of children and adolescents in shelter care, and other five attributes of families of children and adolescents in the family context, varying from low to middle socioeconomic status. The data indicate that in both countries there is a predominance of negative attributes associated with families of children and adolescents in shelter care and low socioeconomic status, whereas a predominance of positive attributes was associated with families of children and adolescents in family context and middle socioeconomic status. It is highlighted the need of interventions, especially with professionals who work with this population, to bring out awareness of these social images. (AU)

La literatura indica que las familias de los niños y jóvenes en acogimiento residencial son estigmatizadas socialmente y esto tiene un impacto negativo en su bienestar, en la construcción de su identidad y en el éxito de la intervención familiar. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han investigado empíricamente esta imagen social. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la imagen social de las familias de los niños y jóvenes en diferentes contextos en Portugal y Brasil. Se le pidió a una muestra de 378 participantes (176 portugueses y 202 brasileños) para indicar cinco atributos de las familias de niños y jóvenes en acogimiento residencial y otros cinco atributos de las familias de niños y jóvenes en el contexto familiar, nivel socioeconómico bajo y medio. Los datos indican que en ambos países hay un predominio de los atributos negativos asociados a las familias de niños y jóvenes en acogimiento residencial y el estatus socioeconómico bajo, y un predominio de los atributos positivos asociados al nivel socioeconómico promedio de las familias. Se destaca la necesidad de la intervención, sobre todo con los profesionales que trabajan con esta población, a la concientización con respecto a estas imágenes sociales. (AU)

Gill parasites of fish from two estuaries in northeastern Brazil: new hosts and geographical records

ABSTRACT Parasites are important components of communities and constitute great part of the biological diversity found in ecosystems, providing valuable information about their hosts and the environment in which they live. However, despite its importance, parasitic diversity is still not well known in some regions of Brazil, especially with respect to fish parasites in the Northeast Region. The present study aims to perform the survey of gill parasites of fish from two tropical estuaries located in northeastern Brazil: Paraíba and Mamanguape rivers. Two collections were made in each estuary, one during the dry period (November / 2013) and the other during the rainy season (July / 2014). The fish were caught using a beach seine net, dragged along the main channel margin. After the identification, biometry and necropsy of the fish, their parasites were collected, stored and identified. For each species of parasite, the values ​​of prevalence, mean intensity and mean abundance were calculated. Of the 882 examined fish, belonging to four species, 145 were parasitized by at least one species of parasite. In total, 18 taxa of parasites of the groups Monogenea, Digenea, Nematoda, Copepoda and Isopoda were recorded, being the copepod Acusicola brasiliensis the most abundant species of parasite.

Tropical Estuarine Macrobenthic Communities Are Structured by Turnover Rather than Nestedness.

Turnover (i.e., species substitution) and nestedness (i.e., subsets of species from more diverse locations), the two main mechanisms used to explain the beta diversity of biological communities, have different implications for biodiversity conservation. To better understand how these mechanisms contribute to beta diversity, we tested the following hypotheses: (i) greater dissimilarity in community composition occurs between estuarine zones than other hierarchical level studied; (ii) beta diversity in these communities develops by turnover in estuaries with a lower degree of anthropogenic impact, but by nestedness in estuaries with a greater degree of anthropogenic impact; and (iii) the structuring mechanism is independent of season. We studied two tropical estuaries (dry and wet seasons) that vary in terms of land-use of the drainage basins. Subtidal benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled along the estuarine gradient in each of the two estuaries. The additive partitioning approach to species diversity was used to determine the hierarchical scale with the greatest dissimilarity in community composition. General beta diversity was measured using the Sorensen dissimilarity index, partitioning the turnover and nestedness components. The greatest dissimilarity in the composition of the communities occurred between the zones along the estuarine gradient in both seasons (dry = 58.6%; wet = 46.3%). In the estuary with a lower degree of anthropogenic influence, benthic macroinvertebrate diversity was generated by turnover regardless of the season. In the estuary with a greater degree of anthropogenic impact, beta diversity was structured by turnover during the dry season and a combination of both mechanisms during the wet season. We conclude that turnover is the principal mechanism responsible for beta diversity in benthic macroinvertebrate communities in tropical estuaries.