Os gargalos da exportação brasileira

Nada garante que o patamar de US$ 80 bilhões em exportações esperados para 2004 seja significativamente ampliado nos próximos anos. O país vem perdendo competitividade por conta do custo Brasil, da ineficiente infra-estrutura, das barreiras protecionistas e da pouca diversificação. Resultado: de 12º maior exportador mundial, em 1990, caímos para a 17ª posição, em 2002. Também há forte concentração: as 250 maiores exportadoras responderam por 70% de toda a pauta

Surge uma nova cultura exportadora

Para o ministro Miguel Jorge, do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior, estaria emergindo no país uma nova cultura exportadora. Ou seja: para uma parcela significativa das empresas, exportar passou a ser uma atividade perene, e o mercado internacional já faz parte da estratégia competitiva dessas empresas. Além das exportações se tornarem menos vulneráveis ao câmbio, o Brasil também resiste melhor a mudanças conjunturais em alguns mercados, pois diversificou seus parceiros comerciais

Seasonality in reproduction and reproductive physiology of Caviomorphs

1. Animals experience seasonal fluctuations of photoperiod, food availability, temperature and precipitation. This affects their energy budget, often leading to seasonal reproduction.2. We review available literature and (re)-analyse existing datasets on seasonal reproduction of South American caviomorph rodents that are characterised by long pregnancies, typically precocial young and short lactation.3. While births occur nearly year-round in many species, reproductive investment and reproductive output (litter size, offspring mass and growth) vary seasonally, with largest litters often occurring in spring/summer. Male, as well as female, reproductive physiology varies across seasons in most of the investigated species. Experimental studies manipulating environmental aspects that usually change seasonally (photoperiod, nutrition, density) indicate a slightly different mechanistic basis driving seasonal reproduction in caviomorphs than in rodents of the Northern Hemisphere.4. Caviomorphs are a key component of various ecosystems and knowledge of their reproduction and how it might be influenced by climate change (i.e., mean and variance of temperature and rainfall) is urgently needed to predict future population trends

Primer registro de coloración melánica en Ctenomys famosus (Rodentia: Ctenomydae) en la provincia de La Rioja, Argentina

Ctenomys famosus Thomas, 1920 is an endemic rodent species of the province of La Rioja.In this work we report the first record of a melanism in this species. Color variations are frequent in the species of the “mendocinus” lineage of Ctenomys. However, throughout 15 years of research with this species in the surroundings of the town of Anillaco, this is the first time a specimen with melanic coloration was registered.Ctenomys famosus Thomas, 1920 es una especie endémica de roedor subterráneo de la provincia de La Rioja. En el presente trabajo reportamos el primer registro de melanismo en esta especie. Las variaciones de coloración son frecuentes en las especies del linaje “mendocinus” de Ctenomys. Sin embargo, a lo largo de 15 años de investigaciones con esta especie en los alrededores de la localidad de Anillaco, este es el primer ejemplar en el cual se registró una coloración melánica

Brasil e EUA reduzem ambição da ALCA

Contém:Agenda das negociações regionai

Maximising survival by shifting the daily timing of activity

Maximising survival requires animals to balance the competing demands of maintaining energy balance and avoiding predation. Here, quantitative modelling shows that optimising the daily timing of activity and rest based on the encountered environmental conditions enables small mammals to maximise survival. Our model shows that nocturnality is typically beneficial when predation risk is higher during the day than during the night, but this is reversed by the energetic benefit of diurnality when food becomes scarce. Empirical testing under semi-natural conditions revealed that the daily timing of activity and rest in mice exposed to manipulations in energy availability and perceived predation risk is in line with the model's predictions. Low food availability and decreased perceived daytime predation risk promote diurnal activity patterns. Overall, our results identify temporal niche switching in small mammals as a strategy to maximise survival in response to environmental changes in food availability and perceived predation risk