Soil beetles' communities are responsible for many ecosystem services, and are very sensitive to environmental changes. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the abundance and diversity of the soil coleoptera fauna under uses and management and also to identify relationships of the beetle community with soil's physical and chemical properties. The experiment had six experimental plots set up an Oxisol (Latossolo): corn (CO), soybean (SO), 7-year-old eucalyptus (EI), 4-year-old eucalyptus (EII), preserved Cerrado (PC), and disturbed Cerrado (DC). Soil beetles were sampled at 128 points for each experimental plot, where the soil physical and chemical properties were analyzed. The Coleoptera fauna organisms were identified at the family, subfamily, and gender level, and then, the number of individuals per day, richness, Shannon diversity indexes, and Pielou evenness were determined. The data were analyzed using multivariate techniques (hierarchical grouping and factor analysis). On total, 750 specimens of beetles were collected, distributed into 9 families, 14 subfamilies, and 27 genera. The most abundant family was Scarabaeidae (11 genera) with the highest occurrence in the PC (143 specimens) and DC (81 specimens). Cultivation with SO presented the greatest number of trap day individuals (ind trap -1 day -1 = 0.548); however, the highest diversity was found in the PC. (20 taxonomic groups) and CO (16 taxonomic groups). Shannon diversity was higher for the CO (H' = 3.107), followed by the PC (H' = 2.699), and the lowest value was found for the SO (H' = 1.530). The similarity dendrogram grouped the plots into two extracts, demonstrating how the intensity of land use influences the abundance and diversity of beetle fauna. The factor analysis grouped the Coleoptera and the physical and chemical soil properties in two factors: elements related to the state of aggregation and porous system's elements. The Coleoptera community was influenced by the intensity of land use and the portion with anthropized natural vegetation showed the highest richness, demonstrating that the Coleoptera fauna responds to environmental changes. Edaphic beetles in the different use and management systems were primarily related to soil physical properties, which explain the state of aggregation (pH, altitude, Ca 2+ , BD, clay, macroporosity, silt, K + , and microporosity) and the porous soil system (sand and total porosity).

The objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial variability of soybean yield, carbon stock, and soil physical attributes using multivariate and geostatistical techniques. The attributes were determined in Oxisols samples with clayey and cohesive textures collected from the municipality of Mata Roma, Maranhão state, Brazil. In the study area, 70 sampling points were demarcated, and soybean yield and soil attributes were evaluated at soil depths of 0-0.20 and 0.20-0.40 m. Data were analysed using multivariate analyses (principal component analysis, PCA) and geostatistical tools. The mean soybean yield was 3,370 kg ha-1. The semivariogram of productivity, organic carbon (OC), and carbon stock (Cst) at the 0-0.20 m layer were adjusted to the spherical model. The PCA explained 73.21% of the variance and covariance structure between productivity and soil attributes at the 0-0.20 m layer [(PCA 1 (26.89%), PCA 2 (24.10%), and PCA 3 (22.22%)] and 68.64% at the 0.20-0.40 m layer [PCA 1 (31.95%), PCA 2 (22.83%), and PCA 3 (13.85%)]. The spatial variability maps of the PCA eigenvalue scores showed that it is possible to determine management zones using PCA 1 in the two studied depths; however, with different management strategies for each of the layers in this study.

Many amphibian species are vulnerable to environmental changes, especially in the tropics where presumably a large number of species have evolved narrow niches. Rapid environmental changes, such as deforestation, may promote stress responses in anurans that could affect population viability. The stress response in vertebrates is highly conserved, often involving the liberation of glucocorticoids hormones and the recruitment of immune competent cells. The objective of this work was to evaluate leukocyte profiles among individuals of two neotropical anuran species affected by anthropogenic habitat alteration. We took blood samples from adult individuals of Physalaemus cuvieri and Scinax x-signatus in natural and converted habitats in NE Brazil. We analyzed differential leukocyte counts, where increases in neutrophils and decreases in lymphocytes are indicative of a stress response. Specimens of S. x-signatus captured in highly altered habitats presented a higher neutrophil:lymphocyte (N: L) ratios than individuals from natural habitats. In contrast, P. cuvieri individuals exhibited no difference in N:L ratios between habitat types. These results suggest that the immune response depends on the species and the level of habitat alteration. Although S. x-signatus can be considered a generalist species, individuals from this species exhibited increased stress response associated with habitat alteration. The lack of a strong stress response of P. cuvieri, may suggest that this species is more tolerant of habitat alteration or that those individuals have acclimated to anthropogenic stressors more rapidly than S. x-signatus. These variable responses of immune function in highly altered habitats suggest avenues for future experimental work that examines responses to multiple stressors, including disease, which could scale to population trends in altered habitats.

Identificar situações com as quais a comunidade acadêmica se defronta quanto à geração de resíduos é imprescindível para que haja uma elaboração de programas e políticas de gestão sustentável em universidades. Este trabalho visou compreender como se dá a sensibilização da comunidade acadêmica da Cidade Universitária/ UFMA, acerca da produção de resíduos sólidos e seus devidos impactos ambientais. A metodologia baseou-se na aplicação de 509 questionários, com perguntas acerca de políticas de reciclagem e coleta seletiva, abrangendo 33 cursos de graduação e pós-graduação de diversas áreas e seis instâncias administrativas. De acordo com os resultados, 67,97% dos entrevistados conhecem as políticas de reaproveitamento, reutilização e reciclagem de resíduos e 92,32% afirmou que participaria de um programa interno caso houvesse incentivo para tal. Assim, é importante ressaltar que ainda que incentivado pelas instâncias administrativas, uma campanha efetiva deve incluir a sensibilização dos integrantes da comunidade acadêmica em questão.