Soil–parent material is a critical controlling factor of soil properties in the Antarctic region due to a limited degree of soil development. However, the degree to which soil–parent material can be ...considered the major controlling factor in pedogenesis and subsequent soil physical and chemical properties in Antarctica should be better understood to improve soil mapping and interpretations. The present study aims to analyze the soil properties of different lithological groups on the President Head Peninsula on Snow Island, Maritime Antarctica. Thirty soil profiles across the major lithological groupings on Snow Island (beach deposits, andesites, basalts/andesites, conglomerate, sandstones, siltstones, and mudstones) were described, and the morphological, physical, and chemical properties of samples from sampled genetic horizons were characterized. Beach deposits were most clearly differentiated from other lithological groups, whereas most other groups overlapped strongly in observed properties. Whereas some lithological groups (e.g., sedimentary rock groups) were characterized largely by immature soils with little degree of pedogenesis, other sampled soils exhibited more development. The soil–parent material relationships of Snow Island revealed a unique setting of a complex heterogeneous landscape and show that the area has a great pedological complexity induced by phosphatization, melanization, and cryoturbation processes that preclude placing primary importance on parent material and lithology as the major controlling factor in Antarctic soils.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This article shares the results of a systematic review of the literature on internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on bibliometric techniques. This review resulted ...in the identification of the main themes that have been the focus of researchers over 20 years, the emerging literature in the last 5 years, and a research agenda for future studies. It was also possible to propose a theoretical framework with the main influential factors in the various stages of the internationalization of SMEs. The analysis of 669 articles from 1998 to 2017 was carried out in two stages involving quantitative methods (bibliometric analysis and bibliographic coupling). The first analysis helped identify the main authors, journals, and countries that conducted research on internationalization of SMEs within these 20 years. In the second analysis, we divided the total period of 20 years into four sub-periods of 5 years, and the bibliographic coupling grouped similar articles in each period into research themes. The thematic clusters that emerged in the four sub-periods indicated that the more relevant themes of the cutting-edge literature were as follows: antecedents, patterns, and outcomes of the internationalization of SMEs. These themes were consistent with De Clercq et al.’s (
2012
) framework, making evident, by way of an exploratory method, the convergence of international business (IB) literature on the internationalization of SMEs, but with specific influential factors concerning SMEs.
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CEKLJ, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We evaluated the diversity and distribution of viable fungi present in permafrost and active layers obtained from three islands of Maritime Antarctica. A total of 213 fungal isolates were recovered ...from the permafrost, and 351 from the active layer, which were identified in 58 taxa; 27 from permafrost and 31 from the active layer.
Oidiodendron
,
Penicillium
, and
Pseudogymnoascus
taxa were the most abundant in permafrost.
Bionectriaceae
,
Helotiales
,
Mortierellaceae
, and
Pseudeurotium
were the most abundant in the active layer. Only five shared both substrates. The yeast
Mrakia blollopis
represented is the first reported on Antarctic permafrost. The fungal diversity detected was moderate to high, and composed of cosmopolitan, cold-adapted, and endemic taxa, reported as saprobic, mutualistic, and parasitic species. Our results demonstrate that permafrost shelters viable fungi across the Maritime Antarctica, and that they are contrasting to the overlying active layer. We detected important fungal taxa represented by potential new species, particularly, those genetically close to
Pseudogymnoascus destructans
, which can cause extinction of bats in North America and Eurasia. The detection of viable fungi trapped in permafrost deserves further studies on the extension of its fungal diversity and its capability to expand from permafrost to other habitats in Antarctica, and elsewhere.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Research related to geodiversity aim at valuing abiotic aspects as inseparable components of natural heritage and, thus, as well as biodiversity, must be understood and valued through the ordering of ...their use and geoconservation. Geodiversity studies are developed based on several approaches, from the broadest ones, which contemplate the measurement of abiotic elements fully, to those that assess geoheritage through geodiversity values. The present research follows the broader approach of evaluating and analysing the entire geodiversity, applying the measurement of abiotic elements without their valuation, and spatialising areas with a greater and lesser density of the selected elements related in this research lithology, relief, and soil. For this purpose, bases produced by systematic surveys of Brazilian research institutions were used. As a result, the mapping of the subindexes obtained pointing from the division into 5 classes, the areas which present greater and lesser diversity of each element, as well as the synthesis map for the indexes of geodiversity elements in Brazil, considering the three elements selected for this mapping. The analysis of the indexes’ spatialisation was carried out from a descriptive and genetic perspective, aiming to explain the causes of the distribution of the abiotic elements in the Brazilian territory, providing subindexes for studies in the scope of environmental services, nature, and territory conservation planning. A spatial analysis was also carried out between the Geodiversity Index Map and the Brazilian conservation units and the areas where geopark projects are being developed.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) can use a vast number of different habitats and food sources throughout their life cycle. This species is one such organism that changes both the ...environment and diet during different life stages. Based on stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of the components of fresh eggs (yolk, albumen, and shell) and unhatched eggs (contents and shell), the habitat use of females nesting in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, was elucidated. As the yolk is formed months before migration to the nesting areas, it was possible to infer that they originated from both high- and low-latitude feeding areas. For albumen and shell, both carbon and nitrogen isotopic values indicated either the neritic environment at the latitude of the breeding area, tissues of turtles catabolized due to fasting during breeding, or differences in tissue-specific metabolic routing. The contribution of potential prey such as jellyfish for yolk and demersal prey for both albumen and shell demonstrated the plasticity of habitat use of this population and the use of both pelagic and neritic waters. High individual variability further reinforces the need for preservation of the habitats utilized by olive ridley turtles in both neritic and oceanic environments over a vast area of the tropical ocean up within 20 degrees south and north of Equator.
•Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in eggs of olive ridley turtles were analysed.•Olive ridleys synthesized eggs in feeding areas at high and low latitudes.•Neritic and offshore areas used are places of incidental capture in fisheries.•Non-viable eggs had results similar to fresh eggs, thus a non-destructive sampling.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The occurrence of iron‐rich rocks in some areas makes possible the formation of duricrusts in positions from the relief tops to the slopes and valley bottoms, as is the case of the Quadrilátero ...Ferrífero (QF—‘Iron Quadrangle’) in the Brazilian Atlantic Plateau. This study aimed to analyse these materials in the Late Pleistocene fluvial archives of the QF to contribute to the understanding of the complex processes involved in the evolution of surface coverage in tropical regions. The results showed an essential external iron source for the Fe‐cemented alluvium, that is, they are ferricretes. Two ferricrete facies were identified: plate‐shaped and conglomeratic. They are characterised by the infilling of a primary porous system with crystalline and amorphous ferruginous phases or grain coatings by ferruginous materials. In plate‐shaped ferricretes, the size of the cemented grains differentiates the identified subtypes. Conglomeratic ferricretes can be subdivided into ferruginous and aluminous, and feature two types of cementing microstructures: septary and microlaminar. The results of the X‐ray diffraction analysis of the conglomeratic ferricretes highlight the strong presence of goethite (more common) and hematite. The chemical composition corroborated the mineralogical analysis, with the septa having an average iron‐rich composition. Aluminous conglomeratic ferricretes also occur and are the oldest in the area; their cement is composed mainly of gibbsite. Thus, it can be considered (i) a possible past source area of aluminous sediments or (ii) the in situ deferruginisation of a first level of ferricretes. A certain granulometric control in both ferricrete facies reinforces the importance of transport and deposition during ferricrete genesis. However, the cementing of sediments under supergene conditions and their microstructural variety suggest that their formation and evolution also occurred as a result of lateritic processes. Furthermore, the ferricretes revealed integration with the regional relief evolution, and the conglomeratic ones may be associated with lower rates of drainage incisions in some valleys.
Conglomeratic ferricretes (CF) present the infilling of a primary porous system by crystalline and amorphous ferruginous phases or grain coatings by ferruginous materials. Aluminous CF in older fluvial levels. Ferruginous CF occurs in younger fluvial levels. Changes in source areas of sediments or deferruginisation process must be considered.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Little is known about the geochemical baseline of Antarctic soils in different environments. We investigated the soil geochemistry of the two main landscape units of Harmony Point (Nelson Island, ...Maritime Antarctica): the coastal domain and the upper platform. Fourteen soil samples (seven in each landscape unit) were divided according to depth (hA for surface and hC for subsurface horizons) and characterized by their major, trace elements and REE concentrations. The concentration of major elements (SiO
2
, TiO
2
, Al
2
O3, Fe
2
O
3
, MgO, CaO, MnO, and K
2
O) were determined by X-ray fluorescence, whereas trace elements were quantified by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (Co, Ni, As, Cd, Pb, Ba, Cr, Cu, V, Zn, and Zr) and REE by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results showed geochemical variation with depth, either related to pedological processes (phosphatization, humification, podzolization, and cryoturbation), and parent material constitution (andesitic basalt in upper platform and mixed volcanic sediments in coastal domain). The main chemical aspects distinguishing Harmony Point soils from other Maritime Antarctic soils from the vicinity are: (i) higher CIA index; (ii) P
2
O
5
enrichment due to bird guano and enhanced pedogenesis; (iii) REE retention; (iv) enrichment in Fe
2
O
3
and S concentrations. The REE concentration was influenced by weathering processes combined with allochthonous inputs, such as volcanic ashes and iceberg-transported granitic boulders at the coastal domain. The Harmony Point soils are little subjected to anthropic impacts, so they can be used as a basis for environmental monitoring programs in the Maritime Antarctica region.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Exploring factors related to species distribution is important to better understand their natural histories and provide their effective conservation. However, the ecology of some threatened species ...remains poorly understood. Here, we conducted the first quantitative investigation of species-habitat relationships for the Brazilian three-banded armadillo,
Tolypeutes tricinctus
, a threatened species endemic to Brazil. We combined camera traps and active searches to explore the influence of ecological and methodological factors, including human-related habitat features, on
T. tricinctus
occupancy and detection probabilities in a human-modified landscape in northeastern Brazil. The
T. tricinctus
occupancy probability was high throughout the study area, whereas its detection probability was eight times higher by active searches than camera trapping, which should be considered when designing studies on
T. tricinctus
ecology in the future. Our results suggest that
T. tricinctus
can be widely distributed in human-modified landscapes under moderate levels of hunting and habitat loss and highlight the importance of the engagement of local people into research and conservation projects for better outcomes, as we found by counting on their local ecological knowledge for the conduction of active searches.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We recovered 85 fungal isolates from the acid sulphate soils in chronosequence under para-periglacial conditions in King George Island, Antarctica. Thirty-two taxa belonging to the phylum
Ascomycota
...,
Basidiomycota
and
Mortierellomycota
were identified.
Mortierella amoeboidea
,
Mortierella
sp. 2,
Mortierella
sp. 3,
Penicillium
sp. 2 and
Penicillium
sp. 3 dominated the sulphite soils. Despite the multi-extreme physic-chemical conditions of the sulphate soils (low pH, variable content of macro and micronutrients and organic matter), the fungal assemblages exhibited moderate diversity indices, which ranged according to the degree of soil development. Soils with more weathered and, consequently, with highest values of organic carbon shelter the most diverse fungal assemblages, which can be associated with the occurrence of sulphurisation and sulphide oxidation. Different taxa of
Mortierella
and
Penicillium
displayed broad pH (3–9) and temperature (5–35 °C) plasticity. The multi-extreme sulphite soils of Antarctica revealed the presence of moderate fungal diversity comprising cold cosmopolitan and psychrophilic endemic taxa. Among these,
Mortierella
and
Penicillium
, known to survive in extreme conditions such as low temperature and available organic matter, low pH and high concentrations of metals, might represent interesting techniques to be used in biotechnological processes such as bioleaching in metallurgy and phosphate solubilisation in agriculture.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
