RCAAP Repository

O antigo Egipto foi sendo apreciado pelos Europeus desde a Antiguidade clássica. Este fascínio, sentido especialmente pela sua arte e costumes religiosos, proporcionou o aparecimento de uma arte com reminiscências egípcias e de tratados que se propunham decifrar a escrita hieroglífica. A expedição militar organizada por Napoleão Bonaparte ao Egipto, entre os anos de 1798 e 1802, possibilitou ao Ocidente uma nova redescoberta desse país misterioso. A publicação da obra Description de l'Egypte terá motivado um crescente interesse pelo antigo Egipto, patenteado no desejo, cada vez maior, em obter antiguidades egípcias e no aparecimento da ciência egiptológica, fundada por Jean-François Champollion. A par da restante Europa, o nosso país também se interessou pela egiptomania e pela egiptologia, embora mais modestamente. No século XIX, a introdução em Portugal de um certo gosto pelo Egipto faraónico poderá ser observada tanto em alguns motivos artísticos como em algumas colecções particulares. No âmbito literário, a imagem do Egipto parece ter sido formada principalmente através da leitura de publicações estrangeiras, algumas pertencentes a pessoas directamente relacionadas com a egiptologia da época, mas também através das experiências vividas durante as visitas que alguns fizeram ao país do Nilo. Assim, apesar dos intelectuais portugueses estarem menos envolvidos nas temáticas egiptológicas, o Egipto por eles divulgado não seria muito dissemelhante da realidade imaginativa e cultural da Europa oitocentista.

The need to predict the weather accurantely is one of the oldest dreams of mankind. In recent decades there has been significant progress in weather forecasting models. However, the models have systematic errors that may be corrected with the application of linear statistical models, from the accumulated statistics of a particular model prediction. These corrective models have the generic name of MOS (Model Output Statistics). The linear version of the MOS is based on the use of multilinear regressions. In this study, there were made predictions MOS within 24 hours, for the variables of temperature and horizontal components of the wind, using the 61 stations of the network of Portuguese Institute of Meteorology. The model equations were obtained with a stepwise regression or step-by-step, up to five predictors and assessed by cross-validation. The pre-selected predictors were forecasts of MM5 model (The Fifth-Generation NCAR / Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5)) and observations available at the release of the forecast. The results show an improvement in the mean square error of 60% in the temperature forecasting and 80% in the horizontal components of the wind forecasting, related to the results of the forecast, in 24 hours, by the numerical model MM5. In terms of forecasts of 48 and 72 hours, the application of the model improves MOS of 70% of the MM5 forecasts for the three variables. These results motivate the operational use of this method and its development for other predictive variables.

Seasonality exerts strong pressures on biodiversity patterns. Yet, temporal beta-diversity is poorly studied in tropical systems, and the drivers of variability in amphibian activity and seasonality remain largely unknown. We quantified intra- and interannual variation in temporal beta-diversity relying on a nine-year, year-round survey (51 species, n > 23,000) performed in a protected area (Betampona, Madagascar). We assessed the dependence on climate of beta-diversity and abundance using a distance-based redundancy analysis and generalised linear mixed models, respectively. Despite the majority of species being preferentially active during one specific period, beta-diversity and abundance were more variable between years than within years. Temporal variation in beta-diversity was best explained by temperature (but climate accounted for only 2% of variation). Species abundance was best explained by temperature (for 32% of the tested species), monthly humidity (30%) and monthly rainfall (24%). We found no climatic dependence for 24% of the species. Our results suggest that studies focusing on species phenology can be misleading when based on single-year surveys even in seasonal systems. The high interannual variability in diversity may be due to an adaptive responses to an important regime of stochastic events. Given the direction of the relationships between weather and abundances, we predict that a large proportion of amphibians would suffer from climate change in Madagascar. We emphasise the need to account for multiple temporal scales in studies of tropical species composition and abundance to better understand species phenology and their response to climate change, and make targeted conservation actions more effective.

Range expansion results from complex eco-evolutionary processes where range dynamics and niche shifts interact in a novel physical space and/or environment, with scale playing a major role. Obligate symbionts (i.e. organisms permanently living on hosts) differ from free-living organisms in that they depend on strong biotic interactions with their hosts which alter their niche and spatial dynamics. A symbiotic lifestyle modifies organism–environment relationships across levels of organisation, from individuals to geographical ranges. These changes influence how symbionts experience colonisation and, by extension, range expansion. Here, we investigate the potential implications of a symbiotic lifestyle on range expansion capacity. We present a unified conceptual overview on range expansion of symbionts that integrates concepts grounded in niche and metapopulation theories. Overall, we explain how niche-driven and dispersal-driven processes govern symbiont range dynamics through their interaction across scales, from host switching to geographical range shifts. First, we describe a background framework for range dynamics based on metapopulation concepts applied to symbiont organisation levels. Then, we integrate metapopulation processes operating in the physical space with niche dynamics grounded in the environmental arena. For this purpose, we provide a definition of the biotope (i.e. living place) specific to symbionts as a hinge concept to link the physical and environmental spaces, wherein the biotope unit is a metapopulation patch (either a host individual or a land fragment). Further, we highlight the dual nature of the symbionts' niche, which is characterised by both host traits and the external environment, and define proper conceptual variants to provide a meaningful unification of niche, biotope and symbiont organisation levels. We also explore variation across systems in the relative relevance of both external environment and host traits to the symbiont's niche and their potential implications on range expansion. We describe in detail the potential mechanisms by which hosts, through their function as biotopes, could influence how some symbionts expand their range – depending on the life history and traits of both associates. From the spatial point of view, hosts can extend symbiont dispersal range via host-mediated dispersal, although the requirement for among-host dispersal can challenge symbiont range expansion. From the niche point of view, homeostatic properties of host bodies may allow symbiont populations to become insensitive to off-host environmental gradients during host-mediated dispersal. These two potential benefits of the symbiont–host interaction can enhance symbiont range expansion capacity. On the other hand, the central role of hosts governing the symbiont niche makes symbionts strongly dependent on the availability of suitable hosts. Thus, environmental, dispersal and biotic barriers faced by suitable hosts apply also to the symbiont, unless eventual opportunities for host switching allow the symbiont to expand its repertoire of suitable hosts (thus expanding its fundamental niche). Finally, symbionts can also improve their range expansion capacity through their impacts on hosts, via protecting their affiliated hosts from environmental harshness through biotic facilitation.

The drivers of intraspecific niche variation and its effects on species interactions are still unclear, especially in species-rich Neotropical environments. Here, we investigated how ecological opportunity and interspecific competition affect the degree of individual trophic specialization and the population niche breadth in tetra fish. We studied the four ecologically similar species (Psalidodon aff. gymnodontus, P. aff. paranae, P. bifasciatus, and Bryconamericus ikaa) in subtropical headwater streams (three sites with two co-occurring species and three sites with only one species). We sampled fish in two contrasting seasons (winter/dry and summer/wet) and quantified their trophic niches using gut content analysis. Psalidodon bifasciatus was the only species distributed over all the sampled streams. We observed seasonal differences in population trophic niche breadth of P. bifasciatus just when this species co-occurred with P. aff. gymnodontus. These findings confirm the complex nature of the effects of interspecific competition, depending, for instance, on the identity of the competitor. The degree of individual specialization of P. bifasciatus was higher in the winter, and it was not influenced by the presence of another species. Conversely, the other two Psalidodon species studied presented greater individual specialization in the summer, when fish consumed a higher proportion of allochthonous items (terrestrial insects and seeds), and there were no effects only for B. ikaa. Herein, our results suggest that seasonality in food-resource availability is a major driver of niche variation and it has the potential to play an important role in how these similar tetra species interact and coexist.

1. Conservation efforts in South Africa play out across multi-use landscapes where formal protected areas coexist with private wildlife business (ecotourism and/or hunting) in a human-dominated matrix. Despite the persistence of highly diverse carnivore guilds, management idiosyncrasies are often orientated towards charismatic large predators and assemblage-level patterns remain largely unexplored. 2. We conducted an extensive camera-trap survey in a natural quasi-experimental setting in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We sampled across a protection gradient characterized by a provincial protected area (highest and formal protection status), a private ecotourism reserve, game ranches and traditional communal areas (lowest protected status). We evaluated assemblage-level and species-specific responses of free-ranging carnivores to the varying management contexts and associated environmental gradients. 3. Despite similar assemblage composition between management contexts, sitescale carnivore richness and occupancy rates were greater in the formal protected area than adjacent private reserve and game ranches. Carnivore occupancy was more similar between these private wildlife areas, although putative problem species were more common in the private reserve, and contrasted with depauperate assemblages in least protected communal lands. Variation in carnivore occupancy probabilities was largely driven by land use contexts, that is, the level and nature of protection, relative to underlying fine-scale landscape attributes (e.g. distance to conservation fences) or apex predator populations. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our findings provide convincing empirical support for the added value of multi-tenure conservation estates augmenting and connecting South Africa's protected areas. However, our emphasis on free-ranging carnivores exemplifies the importance of maintaining areas under long-term formal protection and the risks with viewing lucrative wildlife business as a conservation panacea. We suggest that unmanaged carnivore species be the formal components of carnivore reintroduction and recovery programmes to better gauge the complementary conservation role of South Africa's private land.

The aim of this study was the mycorrhizae inoculation effect on production and mineral nutrition of snap bean variety under low phosphorus intake. The experiment was a randomized block design with four treatments: a non-mycorrhizal control, two mycorrhizal strains: Piriformospora indica (Piri), Glomus intraradice (Glomus), and their combined inoculation Piri + Glomus; using ten replicates per treatment. A comparative trial of different treatments on plant growth, yield parameters, mineral absorption and mycorrhizae colonization frequency was conducted in the greenhouse under controlled conditions using autoclaved soil-sand-vermiculite substrate. The inoculation with Piri and co-inoculation with Piri + Glomus significantly increased aerial dry biomass (p ≤ 0.01) and highly increased root dry biomass (p ≤ 0.001). Mycorrhizal snap bean plants showed a significantly higher number of pods, pods dry weight, dry weight of seeds per plant, and percentage of mycorrhizal colonization than non-mycorrhizal plants. Mycorrhizae inoculation increased significantly nitrogen and phosphorus uptake that the inoculation with Piri increased N uptake in roots by 187% and P uptake by 200% compared to the non-inoculated plants. For cations leave incorporation, Piri significantly enhanced Ca2+ by 100%, Mg2+ by 110% and NH4+ by 175% relative to the non-mycorrhizal plants. While mycorrhizal inoculation doesn’t have a significant effect on K+ nutrition. In conclusion, snap bean Contender variety seedling inoculated with Piri proved to be most effective by improving plant growth, mineral nutrition and yield production under low phosphorus uptake.

Soil biocrusts (communities of cyanobacteria, algae, mosses, lichens, and heterotrophs living at the soil surface) are fundamental components of dryland ecosystems worldwide. There is increasing concern over the potential for increasing nitrogen (N) inputs to affect biocrusts. This is of special concern in Mediterranean Basin drylands that face the threat of increased N inputs however, the effect on biocrusts remains poorly studied. We evaluated the potential effects of increased N inputs on biocrust structure and functioning in surrounding Mediterranean shrublands in the seventh year of a N-manipulation field experiment. We tracked the N-driven changes in biotope (changes in bare soil and in the non-legume and the legume occupation areas, and the percentage of radiation intercepted by plant canopies), evaluated biocrust functional traits (based on pigments) and measured biocrust functioning in terms of C and N cycling, soil fertility (macro and micronutrients) and biodiversity, and integrated these multiple soil functions simultaneously (i.e. soil multifunctionality) Biocrust pigment concentration was significantly influenced by both plant legacy and N input. Biocrust pigments revealed a clear functional shift from: i) biocrusts dominated by photosynthetically inactive cyanobacteria that fix N2 and are mostly committed to photoprotection at the expense of N-containing pigments under low N inputs; into ii) biocrusts more evenly composed of prokaryotes and eukaryotes, which are more photosynthetically active, but less committed to photoprotection and N2 fixation under exposure to increased N inputs. The N-driven functional and structural changes in biocrusts resulted in trade-offs in biocrust functioning and processes (only N2 fixation was affected) and an overall improvement in biocrust multifunctionality. By itself, biocrust pigment evenness accounted for ~50% of the observed variation in biocrust multifunctionality. The biocrust pigment functional approach we adopted to study the effects of increased N inputs from patchy developed anthropogenic landscapes provides novel and critical knowledge of biocrusts community and functioning, which may be used as a tool in biodiversity conservation strategies, ecosystem functions and ecological modelling.

Drought and salinity are the most serious environmental factors affecting crop productivity worldwide; hence, it is important to select and develop both salt- and drought-tolerant crops. The perennial smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora Loisel is unusual in that it is highly salt-tolerant and seems to prefer ammonium (NH4+) over nitrate (NO3−) as an inorganic N source. In this study, we determined whether Spartina's unique preference for NH4+ enhances performance under salt and drought stress. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to compare the interactive effects of N source, salinity, and low water availability on plant performance (growth and antioxidant metabolism). Drought significantly reduced growth and photosynthetic activity in S. alterniflora, more so with NH4+ than NO3−; in contrast, NH4+ enhanced growth under high salinity. The increased tolerance of S. alterniflora to salt stress in the presence of NH4+ was linked to a high level of antioxidant enzyme activity, combined with low MDA content, EL, and H2O2 production. In contrast, drought stress negated the growth advantages for S. alterniflora exposed to salt stress in the presence of NH4+. The susceptibility of S. alterniflora to drought was partly due to reduced antioxidant enzyme activities, thereby reducing the defense against the oxidative damages induced by osmotic stress. In conclusion, in contrast to salt stress, drought stress negates the beneficial effects of ammonium as an N source in the C4 plant Spartina alterniflora.

Questions: Despite the increasing scientific interest in distance decay of compositional similarity in ecology, the scale dependence of geographical versus environmental control on distance decay of biological communities has not been properly addressed so far. The present work highlights the relative importance of niche-based processes versus dispersal limitations on distance decay patterns of epilithic bryophyte assemblages at different spatial scales. Location: Serra de Sintra, central Portugal. Methods: We adopted a nested sampling design with 32 selected sampling sites in each of which two clusters, each with five rocks, were surveyed. Each cluster was characterized by a set of 15 macroscale variables, which were divided into environmental and anthropogenic. For each rock eight microscale variables were recorded. Partial Mantel tests were used to assess the relative importance of geographical and environmental distance on community dissimilarity for each grain size (site, cluster, rock). Quantile regressions were used to describe the decay patterns of community similarity with respect to geographical and environmental distances. Ordination analyses and variation partitioning techniques were applied to assess the pure and shared effects of measured variables on bryophyte community composition. Results: Environmental distance based upon macroscale predictors was significantly correlated to community similarity, while no significant correlation was found for ecological distance calculated for microscale predictors, except at the largest grain size. The decrease of community similarity with geographical and environmental distance was thus consistently strengthened with increasing sample grain. Compositional variation was best explained by anthropogenic variables. Conclusions: The relative importance of environmental versus geographical distance on compositional similarity in epilithic bryophyte communities varies with the spatial scale of the predictors and with the sample grain. The decrease of similarity with increasing distance is related to changes in habitat features, especially those driven by human disturbance, while it is weakly affected by variations in substrate features.

Aim: Historical climate variations, current climate and human impacts are known to influence current species richness, but their effects on phylogenetic and trait diversity have been seldom studied. We investigated the relationship of these three factors with the independent variations of species, phylogenetic and trait diversity of European mammals. Considering the position of the 0 ºC isotherm in the Last Glacial Maximum as a tipping point, we tested the following hypotheses: northern European assemblages host fewer species than southern European ones; northern areas harbour trait and phylogenetically clustered assemblages, while the more stable southern areas host random or overdispersed assemblages; and species richness correlates positively with human influence, while phylogenetic and trait diversity show clustered patterns in areas with stronger human influence. Location: Western Palaearctic. Time period: Current and Late Pleistocene effects on present-day diversity. Major taxa studied: Terrestrial mammals. Methods: We used a novel analytical approach based on distance matrices to separate the independent variations of species, phylogenetic and trait diversity, and assessed their relationships with current climate, climate stability and human influence through structural equation models. Results: The species-poor assemblages from northern Europe show higher phylogenetic and trait clustering than the more stable richer southern areas. However, no assemblage presented trait or phylogenetic overdispersion. Current climate is the primary driver of phylogenetic and trait diversity, while species richness is affected similarly by both current and past climates. Higher human influence correlates positively with species richness and trait diversity, both directly and by mediating indirect effects of present climate. Main conclusions: Current climate, climate stability and human influence affect the studied aspects of diversity, although the form and magnitude of their effects vary through space. Importantly, higher levels of human disturbances correlate with more species rich and trait diverse assemblages, an apparently counterintuitive result that deserves further study.

After decades of decline, Classical Philology is now thriving in the universities of Lisbon and Coimbra. However, with 40 new students, at most, every year, this is still a niche under graduation. How can we explain, then, that in February 2019 a new Latin grammar became a best seller in Portugal? How is it possible that two social media pages about Latin and Ancient Greek have reached more than 12 000 followers, during the lockdown period? Have the Classics finally become mainstream? These will be some of the questions we will try to answer in our paper, focusing mainly on outreach activities to adults.

The present dissertation focuses on the topic The public bench - significance and importance of these equipment in public space. To better understand and study the public bench is necessary to consider the evolution of the seat as part of the life of humans, to found the comfort and commodity. The seat is perhaps one of the most emblematic creations of man. So and through the history of seating furniture, we can relate this with the development of society. It was from nineteenth century with the process of industrialization and the changes in society that appeared the wide implementation of public bench, a kind of equipment that up to the date wasn´t very common. This shared equipment allowed a new abidance on the public space and a new experience in the city. Initially sought inspiration in domestic furniture and maintained the same designation attributed to any collective seat, but the bench lost prestige as interior furniture. However the public bench has become an essential piece of urban furniture that provides the rest and socialization place in the city

The Personal View by Bloem and colleagues1 on integrated and patient-centred management of Parkinson's disease proposes a health system organisation to address complex care in chronic neurological disorders, using Parkinson's disease as an example. The proposed hub-and-spoke model envisions the integration of health professionals based on a Parkinson's disease centre of excellence integrated with community hospitals. We share the values put forward as pillars for a framework change in the care of Parkinson's disease and other chronic neurological diseases but would like to offer additional insights for their wider dissemination and implementation.

Physical activity is an important health determinant for people’s quality of life and wellbeing. This study intends to (1) identify how the practice of physical activity fits into families’ daily lives; and (2) verify to what extent the practice of physical activity is influenced by the urban model, family composition, and family perceptions. A survey was applied to 410 families (corresponding to 1006 individuals) in Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), Portugal, focusing on different physical activities—gym, swimming, walking/trekking/hiking, and cycling. Results are based on descriptive and bivariate data analysis and show the existence of asymmetries in the practice of physical activity in LMA. The urban context impacts the choice and frequency of physical activity practices. The typology of family and age proved to be more differentiating factors than income, being reinforced by daily lives (e.g., daily movements, transport modes, etc.). Positive self-perceptions of quality of life and health levels are also conducive to more active practices, contrary to negative perceptions of the neighborhood that are related to practices in peripheral destinations. Conclusions highlight the need for differentiated measures of physical activity promotion according to the territories and communities’ characteristics in a multilevel approach.

Antimicrobial peptides are small molecules that display antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogens. In a previous work, by using model membranes we studied P6, a peptide that shows no antimicrobial activity, and P6.2, which exhibits antibacterial activity. In the present work we aimed to unravel the mode of action of these peptides by studying their interaction in vivo with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In this sense, to study the interactions with bacterial cells and their effect on the bacterial surface, zeta potential, spectroscopic, and microscopic methodologies were applied. P6.2 exhibits a higher affinity toward both bacterial envelopes. The ability of both peptides to disrupt afterwards the bacterial membrane was also studied. Both peptides were able to induce bacterial membrane damage, but higher concentrations of P6 were needed to obtain results comparable to those obtained for P6.2. Additionally, P6.2 exhibited faster damage kinetics. Altogether, these data allow postulating, in a physiologic model, that the lower affinity of P6 for bacterial envelope results in a minor final concentration of the peptide in the bacterial membrane unable to trigger the antimicrobial activity. Finally, the fact that the active P6.2 has the same MIC value for the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria tested, but not the same profile in the permeabilization assays, reinforces the question of whether cell wall components act as electrostatic barriers preventing or minimizing membrane-active AMPs lethal action at the membrane level.

Even though this pandemic is far from over, we decided that now is a good time to draw an initial conclusion: How has one year of Covid-19 changed democracy? The idea behind this book is very simple. We have asked democracy researchers from a wide range of disciplines and countries what the implications are for democracy after one year with Covid-19. What challenges and opportunities does Covid-19 pose for democratic representation, participation, and decision-making? What weaknesses and strengths of individual countries have been exposed by the pandemic? To address a broad audience, this retrospective assembles 26 brief contributions, written in German, French, Italian, and English. The book focuses on three main areas and is accordingly divided into three parts: social implications, political implications, and country-specific reports. We hope to stimulate reflections and joint discussions!

Assessing carbon storage and sequestration is key for defining effective conservation actions to mitigate climate change. Forest species changes have direct impacts on carbon stocks and may lead to undesirable climate trade-offs. In this paper, we measure aboveground biomass (AGB) and the impact of forest changes on climate regulation through three land policy scenarios by 2030 in continental Portugal. We found that a High intervention scenario, supported by an important increase in "Other coniferous trees" class, will provide 29.5% more of carbon sequestration, whereas a Low intervention scenario, in which there is a moderate increase in all forest classes, will result in an increase of 5.7%. A business as usual (BAU) scenario, supported by an increase in eucalyptus forests and a decrease in autochthonous species, will decrease carbon sequestration (-2.7%), particularly Lisboa, Algarve and North regions. Economic valuation shows that the High intervention scenario will generate the highest economic outcome for climate regulation by 2030. This study provides a spatial-based methodology for monitoring carbon sequestration and new insights about the impact of policies for Green House Gas (GHG) mitigation, supporting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals achievement.

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