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| Author(s): |
Isabel Cristina Pereira
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) |
| Defense date: | 2009-09-18 |
| Examining board members: |
Carlos Arturo Navas Iannini;
Denis Otavio Vieira de Andrade;
Fernando Ribeiro Gomes
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| Advisor: | Carlos Arturo Navas Iannini |
| Abstract | |
Caatinga is a Brazilian semi-arid bioma that is characterized by the dryness and the unpredictable seasonality of rains. In some anurans the survive is associate with aestivation, a set of strategies for survival in arid conditions. Pleurodema diplolistris frogs (Leiuperidae/Anura) are found buried in the Caatinga during the dry time. Evidences indicate that individuals of this group have lower activity during this phase, although some exhibit vertical migration in the substrate following the decrease in the moisture of it. The pattern of changes in concentrations of lipids and glycogen in different samples of tissue supports the hypothesis of a reduction of metabolism during the drought. In the muscle of the hindquarters, the maintenance of protein levels close to those values observed in active animals collected during the rainy season, suggests the preservation of functional capacity of the tissue even in most adverse months. The aerobic capacity was reduced during the drought compared to the period of anaerobic glycolytic activity and the capacity has remained preserved. It was also found a gradient of moisture under the vertical, showing a decrease in moisture from the surface, during the drought, which could corroborate the vertical migration. (AU) | |