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O inquérito do infinito: a atuação do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) no contexto da crise democrática brasileira contemporânea
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Oliveira, Alecilda Aparecida Alves; Sanchez, Fábio José Bechara; https://lattes.cnpq.br/6423443695464907; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8492073902159841; Cepêda, Vera Alves; Sinhoretto, Jacqueline; Freitas Junior, Moacir de; Simões Severo, Mirlene Fátima; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4917331423373631; https://lattes.cnpq.br/7743699562476490; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8928822261626675; https://lattes.cnpq.br/5696296892389040
This research analyzes the prominent role of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) in the political arena in the face of far-right actions during the contemporary democratic crisis, focusing on the period between 2019 and 2023. The research begins from the premise that the STF is an intrinsically political institution, whose actions cannot be understood through the lens of supposed neutrality. The central question investigates whether the Court’s prominent role in inquiries into attacks on democratic institutions—specifically the Fake News Inquiry (No. 4781/2019), the Inquiry into Anti-Democratic Acts (No. 4828/2020), and the Inquiry into Digital Militias (No. 4874/2021) results from the politicization of justice or represents a legitimate defense of democracy. The theoretical framework draws on the literature on the crisis of liberal democracies in the 21st century, the global expansion of judicial power, and the analytical frameworks of the judicialization of politics, judicial activism, and the politicization of justice. It also incorporates an understanding of the rise of the “new right,” or contemporary far-right, with Bolsonarism as its Brazilian expression, characterized by the fusion of economic neoliberalism, moral conservatism, and anti-establishment rhetoric. For the empirical analysis, the research adopts a qualitative approach combining Content Analysis, Framing Analysis, and Discourse Analysis to examine the media framing of the Court’s actions in editorials from O Estado de S. Paulo and CartaCapital. The thesis advanced is that the STF is an institution whose political character is constitutive. In this sense, the research demonstrates that the Supreme Federal Court was not a passive actor, but a political-institutional agent that, in exercising its counter-majoritarian role, became enmeshed at the epicenter of the conflict—whether internally or in its interactions with other democratic branches and institutions. The Court, in this context, embodied the profound contradictions of a state of exception within the legal order.
Indicadores visuais da qualidade do solo: subsídios para um guia prático ao agricultor familiar
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Oliveira, Jessica Gomes Siqueira de ; Melloni, Rogério; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4576573849504887; Silva, Reginaldo Barboza da ; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1040231842718937; https://lattes.cnpq.br/7542779599867867; Bianchini, Flávio Gabriel ; Godoy, Leandro José Grava de ; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4178478588502700; https://lattes.cnpq.br/9831205224076878
Soil quality is essential for the sustainability of ecosystems and the maintenance of productive systems, and is directly influenced by use and management. Visual indicators have emerged as practical, accessible, and low-cost tools, providing rapid diagnoses of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the soil. This study aimed to select and evaluate the sensitivity of these indicators under different types of use or management in the Sorocaba and Middle Tietê River Basin and organize the information into a practical guide for family farming. Three environments with different use pressures were examined—native forest (MT), agroecological agroforestry system (SAF), and degraded pasture (PAST)—located in the municipality of Araçoiaba da Serra (SP). The visual analysis considered indicators such as color and odor, compaction, infiltration, root development, susceptibility to erosion, presence of macrofauna and litter, stoniness, soil cover, and effervescence in hydrogen peroxide. These indicators were complemented by laboratory parameters, enabling greater precision in interpreting sensitivity to management practices. The results demonstrated that the visual indicators clearly respond to the differences between the evaluated systems, showing strong complementarity with the laboratory analyses, especially those related to organic matter and soil structure. Visual and analytical indicators showed sensitivity to usage pressures, clearly distinguishing between environments: native forest showed better quality, SAF indicated consistent recovery under agroecological management, and pasture showed marked physical and biological degradation. Visual methods proved to be efficient, fast, and low-cost, establishing themselves as effective tools for monitoring soil quality and expanding diagnostic capacity in contexts with limited resources. Based on these results, the illustrated guide “Visual Diagnosis of Soil Quality: A Practical Guide for Family Farmers” was developed, which systematizes field procedures, facilitates their application by producers, and encourages the adoption of conservation practices.
E2Easy-PC: adaptação e implementação em Rust do protocolo E2Easy com compromissos de Pedersen
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Nadalin, Gabriel Kusumota; Kimura, Leonardo Toshinobu; https://lattes.cnpq.br/5060929117466462; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7152-6910; Matias, Paulo; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3792055796261017; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6504-5141; https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4294-8577
This work presents E2Easy-PC, an adaptation of the E2Easy voting protocol using Pedersen Commitments and secure implementation in Rust. While the original protocol proposes the use of lattices for full post-quantum security, this variant adopts a pragmatic approach focused on Everlasting Privacy and memory safety. We replaced Lattice-based commitments with Pedersen Commitments, which offer Perfect Hiding, ensuring that vote secrecy is never broken, even by future quantum computers. The Rust implementation mitigates critical memory vulnerabilities, complying with modern software security recommendations (NSA). Experimental results demonstrate that the elliptic curve approach outperforms the original by orders of magnitude in the voting and shuffling phases, while data parallelism reduced tallying time by over 50%. The work consolidates a modular architecture that combines operational efficiency, software security, and perpetual privacy.
A alfabetização de crianças no espectro autista: desafios e possibilidades à luz da literatura
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Santos, Natália Amaro dos; Dainez, Débora; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4671868444231806; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8223-098X
This research aims to identify and analyze scientific publications on the literacy of students with autism spectrum disorder in journals in the field of Special Education, in order to understand the possibilities and challenges involved in this process. To this end, a bibliographic survey was conducted in 6 Special Education journals published between 2002 and 2025. The analysis of the results showed that most of the studies found focus on alphabetic systems; that is, the methodological focus on the code predominates in the literacy of students with autism spectrum disorder. It is considered that there is still a long way to go regarding the production of scientific knowledge on the literacy of students with autism spectrum disorder and methodologies that are inclusive, critical, and effective. This requires putting into perspective the pedagogical conception that underpins the teaching and learning process in the school context, as well as the concrete working conditions of the literacy teacher.
Otimização do processo de obtenção de uma desintegrina RGD recombinante (DISBA-01) inibidora da integrina ∝vβ3
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Salvador, Sarah Sousa; Selistre-de-Araujo, Heloisa Sobreiro; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4065824911933203; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2372-7814; ttp://lattes.cnpq.br/4601047286112080
Heterologous expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli generally occurs under denaturing conditions, which can prevent natural protein folding and favor the formation of inclusion bodies, requiring the use of agents such as urea during purification. However, this process ultimately leads to the need to remove the urea at the end, which can result in a loss in the recovery of the biological activity of the protein of interest. Therefore, this work aimed to optimize the production of the recombinant protein DisBa-01, which belongs to the class of disintegrins and exhibits high affinity for the αvβ3 integrin due to its RGD domain, using non-denaturing conditions. With this approach, the idea was to adapt expression and purification steps to maintain the protein in its native form, seeking strategies to reduce the temperature and increase the expression time of microbial culture, avoiding the use of high amounts of urea and thus reducing losses throughout the process and decreasing the cost of its production. The results obtained were promising, as the recombinant protein DisBa-01 was obtained in soluble form, and its biological activity was significant, confirmed by in vitro assays. Overall, the study presents an alternative for the more efficient production of DisBa-01, aiming to facilitate future functional analyses of this disintegrin.
Investigando os mecanismos de síntese de ácidos graxos insaturados em Aspergillus fumigatus: insights funcionais sobre a delta 9 desaturase SdeA
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Yanes-Filho, Gilberto; Campanella, Jonatas Erick Maimoni; Malavazi, Iran; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1569614985704317
Invasive fungal infections caused by Aspergillus fumigatus pose a significant clinical challenge, particularly due to the limited antifungal therapies available and the central role of essential metabolic pathways in pathogen survival. Among these pathways, unsaturated fatty acid metabolism is especially importante and the gene encoding a delta 9 fatty acid desaturase (sdeA) is responsible for the production of unsaturated fatty acids oleic acid (C18:1) and palmitoleic acid (C16:1). The absence or reduced expression of sdeA renders the fungus dependent on an exogenous supply of these fatty acids, highlighting its potential as an antifungal target. In this study, the functional and structural importance of SdeA was investigated through the generation of conditional mutants, deletions of the Cytb5 and hinge domains, site-directed mutations in catalytic residues, and complemented strains integrated at a safe-harbor locus using CRISPR–Cas9. The analyses included genotypic validation, subcellular localization studies, phenotypic assays under different nutritional conditions, and virulence testing in an invertebrate model. The results demonstrated that sdeA is essential in A. fumigatus and that the encoded protein functions as a dimeric desaturase with a structural organization that optimizes electron transfer, differing from the mechanism observed in mammalian desaturases. Deletion of the Cytb5 domain did not alter the perinuclear and reticular subcellular localization of the protein; however, multiple lines of evidence indicate that its modification compromises fungal viability, with partial growth recovery observed in the presence of oleic acid. In silico structural modeling was instrumental in guiding the understanding of SdeA role in lipid metabolism, environmental stress adaptation, and A. fumigatus virulence.
Uma análise da cenografia e do ethos de trigger warnings em obras digitais
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Marques, Isabela Herrera; Quenzer, Viviane; https://lattes.cnpq.br/7745877430495073; Araújo, Lígia Mara Boin Menossi de; https://lattes.cnpq.br/7893136450669304
This undergraduate thesis investigates the use of trigger warnings in digital works, specifically in national books published on the Kindle platform. The research analyzes the enunciative scene of these warnings with the aim of understanding how this discourse organizes the relationship between author, text, and reader, influencing expectations and reading practices in the digital environment. Understood as preventive discursive markers, trigger warnings aim to alert readers to sensitive content such as violence, abuse, and self-harm. In independently published Kindle works, these warnings have become more frequent, as national authors use this resource to establish a pact of care and respond to ethical demands related to mental health. In light of French Discourse Analysis, more specifically the notions of Scenes of Enunciation and Ethos proposed by linguist and discourse theorist Dominique Maingueneau, the study shows that the trigger warning functions as a metadiscursive statement that precedes and reorganizes the main discourse, creating a scene marked by caution, care, and the negotiation of meaning. It is inferred that this resource shifts interpretative responsibility, reinforcing contemporary discourses on mental health, narrative responsibility, and inclusion. Thus, in national digital works on Kindle, trigger warnings act not only as protective mechanisms but also as emerging discursive practices supported by linguistic grounding and an ethics of care, ontributing to making readers feel more comfortable and prepared during the reading experience.
Arquiteturas híbridas explicáveis com modelos lineares e LLMs para classificação de peças processuais: estudo de caso no Supremo Tribunal Federal
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Bertho, Gabriel Andreazi; Levada, Alexandre Luis Magalhães; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3341441596395463
The growing volume of cases in Brazil’s higher courts has fostered the use of machine learning to support the triage and organization of legal documents. This work investigates automatic classification of Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) documents into six canonical types (Extraordinary Appeal, Interlocutory Appeal in Extraordinary Appeal, Judgment, Appellate Decision, Admissibility Order, and Others) using the Victor dataset, as well as the generation of natural-language explanations for model decisions. We compare classical baselines based on TF–IDF and linear classifiers (SVM and Naive Bayes) with two Gemma 3 language models fine-tuned for sequence classification (270M parameters with full fine-tuning and a 4B-parameter model trained via QLoRA). Results show that Naive Bayes, despite high accuracy, collapses on minority classes and yields very low macro-F1, whereas a class-weighted SVM achieves robust performance (test macro-F1 around 0.82) and is already competitive for this task; Gemma 3 270M and 4B QLoRA deliver only modest macro-F1 gains, indicating that simple lexical cues capture most of the structure of document type classification. We then propose hybrid architectures in which a decision engine (SVM or Gemma 3 270M) is combined with a Gemma 3 4B chat LLM that generates legal Portuguese explanations conditioned on relevant n-grams extracted by the linear classifier. Explanation quality is assessed through a simple lexical fidelity metric (feature coverage), with average coverage around 0.79 in the SVM + LLM scenario and very similar values (approximately 0.76 vs. 0.77) when comparing SVM and Gemma 3 270M as decision engines. Overall, the results suggest that TF–IDF + SVM provides a lightweight and effective baseline for document type classification on Victor, while hybrid architectures with an LLM explainer offer a pragmatic trade-off between performance, computational cost, and minimal transparency of automatic decisions.
O livro didático como apoio à prática alfabetizadora: uma análise do Currículo em Ação
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Cruz, Alice Jorge da; Monteiro, Maria Iolanda; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4189205834370563; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4534-1437
This monograph focuses on the use of the textbook as support for the practice of literacy teachers. The prominent presence of this resource among the basic mediating tools of the teaching–learning process of reading and writing, as well as its role as a constitutive element of school culture, is highlighted in the educational literature. Thus, the main objective was to analyze the structure and the guidelines contained in one of the volumes of the *Currículo em Ação – Literacy Cycle – Portuguese Language* (São Paulo, 2022), aimed at the 1st year of Elementary Education, in its *Teacher’s Book* version, a material specifically developed for the state school system of São Paulo, in order to understand whether it can support effective teaching practice. To this end, a documentary research study was conducted, using techniques from Content Analysis as proposed by Bardin (2016), which enabled the definition of five categories guiding the evaluation of the textbook’s characteristics: (1) Classroom management; (2) Mediation of reading activities; (3) Mediation of writing activities; (4) Suggestions for the use of complementary pedagogical resources; and (5) Guidelines for monitoring learning. The discussion, grounded in the concepts of literacy, literacies, textbooks, and teaching work, was supported by Kleiman (1995; 2005; 2007), Soares (1998; 2012), Monteiro (2010), Lajolo (1996; 2002), and Libâneo (1990). The results indicate that, although it presents some weaknesses, *Currículo em Ação* can contribute to literacy teaching practice; however, this does not mean that it is sufficient for the development of fully literate individuals. It is concluded that, given the different dimensions that make up the curriculum and the various challenges related to literacy, the teacher—although a key agent in the process—has their practice constrained by a range of contextual factors that affect their relationship with the textbook. Nevertheless, it remains necessary for teachers to find ways to make the textbook an ally, rather than a determinant or substitute for their work.
Aprendizado ativo profundo com comitê de modelos
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Guimarães Neto, Sebastião Venâncio; Amorim, Willian Paraguassu; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8746409982228678; Saito, Priscila Tiemi Maeda; https://lattes.cnpq.br/6652293216938994; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4870-4766; https://lattes.cnpq.br/0221451891065905
Manual annotation of large-scale datasets remains one of the main bottlenecks in computer vision tasks for training deep learning models. In this work, we propose and evaluate a committee of active learning strategies that combines uncertainty-based sample selection criteria (Least Confidence, Margin Sampling, and Entropy) with a diversity-based approach (k-means). For experimental validation, we employ three datasets with different levels of complexity, MNIST, FashionMNIST, and Parasitos, and adopt metrics such as accuracy, known-class coverage, and percentage of corrected samples. The results indicate that the committee achieves accuracies comparable to the best individual strategies while identifying all classes more rapidly, thus reducing the overall annotation effort. We conclude that committee-based deep active learning provides an effective balance between exploration and diversity, and further opens avenues for future investigations involving more challenging datasets, heterogeneous architectures, and domain adaptation scenarios.
Etnobotânica Yéba mahsã: glossário das plantas de cultivo tradicional
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Barbosa, Jonas Prado; Martins, Sabrina de Cássia; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1243693254551642; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0890-603X; Almeida, Gladis Maria de Barcellos; https://lattes.cnpq.br/4046789388750478; Yéba mahsã
This study aims to document the terminology of traditional cultivated plants of the Yéba mahsã people through the compilation of a bilingual glossary (Yéba mahsã–Portuguese), with a view to promoting the linguistic and cultural valorization of this Indigenous ethnic group from the Upper Rio Negro region, located in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, Brazil. The research is motivated by the sociolinguistic context, characterized by multilingualism and by the process of weakening of the Yéba mahsã language, which has been increasingly pressured by majority languages such as Tukano and Tuyuka. Grounded in studies of Terminology, Ethnobotany, and Language Policies, the research focuses on the relationship between language, culture, traditional knowledge, and spirituality, demonstrating that plant naming is not limited to botanical classification, but rather expresses cosmological, mythological, and ritual conceptions. The methodology adopted is qualitative, ethnographic, and descriptive, and was developed in successive stages: bibliographic review, field data collection with speakers of the language, and the organization of the data into a terminological work. Species cultivated in agricultural plots were selected, and data were collected on their names in Yéba mahsã, their equivalents in Portuguese, as well as their scientific identification and the elaboration of definitions integrating botanical characteristics and food, medicinal, ritual, and symbolic uses. The study concludes that terminological documentation constitutes an important instrument for linguistic preservation, cultural strengthening, and the safeguarding of the traditional knowledge of the Yéba mahsã people.
Fundamental aspects and technological applications of bubbling for non-metallic inclusion removal and slag foaming in steelmaking
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Falsetti, Luís Otávio Zaparoli; Pandolfelli, Victor Carlos; https://lattes.cnpq.br/7369376873984839; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1711-9804; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3442810621380817; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2476-692X; Coury, Francisco Gil; Bonadia Neto, Paschoal; Pagliosa Neto, Carlos; Luchini, Bruno; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8609825406277730; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1071727865900591; https://lattes.cnpq.br/0199360108444339; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0457-2087; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5940-5163
Bubbles are applied in a wide range of industrial processes, such as ore flotation, aluminium foaming and even texture control in foods. In steelmaking, gas bubbles are typically injected into the liquid steel to remove non-metallic inclusions and into the slag to induce its foaming in the electric arc furnace (EAF). Currently, challenges in the steel industry are driven by both the sector's sustainability and the demand for steels with improved properties, particularly in achieving greener and cleaner steels. EAF slag foaming and non-metallic inclusion removal using bubbling through porous ceramic plugs are closely linked to these challenges and can benefit from a better understanding of the fundamentals involved in the use of gas bubbles. Therefore, this doctoral thesis investigates the fundamental mechanisms and technological applications of gas bubbling in steelmaking, specifically targeting the removal of non-metallic inclusions and the control of slag foaming. The study is divided into three main approaches: bubble generation, inclusion flotation kinetics, and slag foam stability. First, the influence of the purging plug's surface wettability on bubble size was modelled, establishing a combined model that delineates pore-dominated and material-dominated bubbling regimes. It was demonstrated that although non-wetting ceramic surfaces prevent liquid steel infiltration, they generate bubbles larger than 10 mm, which are less effective at removing inclusions. Second, physical simulations in a tundish water model evaluated the flotation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic particles. The results identified a trade-off where smaller bubbles (0.6 mm) achieved higher removal efficiencies, but slower removal rates than larger bubbles (1.1 mm). Finally, a framework coupling computational thermodynamics (FactSage) and machine learning (GlassNet) was developed to predict slag foamability. This framework was applied to investigate defoaming agents, identifying a by-product of the continuous casting as a potential alternative to fluorine-based additives for accelerating foam collapse by reducing the slag's effective viscosity.
La constitución histórico social de la terapia ocupacional en Chile (1950-1973)
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Guajardo Córdoba, Alejandro; Malfitano, Ana Paula Serrata; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1462870858750395; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0502-3194; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5723-8501; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5723-8501; Lopes, Roseli Esquerdo; Garcés Durán, Mario Fernando; Galheigo, Sandra Maria; Nabergoi, Mariela; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1507752191797249; https://lattes.cnpq.br/1134695200996111; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9572-4586; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5017-8489; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3295-0188; https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2021-2991
La presente investigación aborda desde una perspectiva crítica y situada, orientada desde la historia social, el tema de las condiciones políticas, económicas y sociales que dan cuenta del surgimiento de la Terapia Ocupacional en Chile. Se asume una posición de ruptura con la historia oficial hegemónica y dominante, de orden anglosajón, cuyo carácter apunta a un registro de hechos objetivos, más bien monumentalista, donde lo político y lo social asoma de manera descriptiva y parcial. El objetivo fue analizar los procesos sociales, económicos y políticos históricos que dan cuenta del devenir histórico de la terapia ocupacional, en el periodo de 1950 a 1973 y pretende generar aperturas a historias otras que han quedado subalternizadas por la historia dominante y aperturas de memoria e identidad desde nuestra región de América del Sur. La metodología es de orden cualitativo que implica la revisión documental de fuentes tanto de Chile como del extranjero, en aspectos políticos, económicos y sociales generales, de política sanitaria y de terapia ocupacional. Se establecen 3 dimensiones de análisis: General, referida a la situación global internacional; Particular, a aspectos regionales y; Específica, a procesos en Chile. El periodo seleccionado es escenario de condiciones globales post Segunda Guerra Mundial que, en el marco de la Guerra Fría, generan estrategias de cooperación internacional a regiones periféricas a fin de adherirlas al proyecto capitalista modernizador y de industrialización promovido por Estados Unidos de América, particularmente por el panamericanismo y la Alianza para el Progreso. Los resultados indican a que la terapia ocupacional en Chile es consecuencia de la necesidad de resolver aspectos sustantivos de la sociedad chilena en temas como salud y rehabilitación. La cooperación internacional para el desarrollo económico asociado al desarrollo social era el camino para la nueva fase del capitalismo modernizador en el país. Se concluye que la terapia ocupacional ocupa desde el Estado una fuerte vinculación con la cuestión social, introduciéndose como tecnología social de intervención, introduciendo epistemologías propias del mundo anglosajón y construyendo una memoria histórica de la disciplina de carácter técnico donde lo político, económico y social queda diluido.
Composição taxonômica e variações funcionais dos isópodes terrestres (Isopoda: Oniscidea) em habitats epígeos e hipógeos da região Neotropical
(Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2025-12-17) Carpio Díaz, Yesenia Margarita; Gallão, Jonas Eduardo; https://lattes.cnpq.br/2036937156228912; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5268-7946; Bichuette, Maria Elina; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8453043393798516; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9515-4832; https://lattes.cnpq.br/7998706894248171; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5116-9736; Reigada, Carolina; Saito, Victor Satoru; Silva, Fernando Rodrigues da; Araujo, Paula Beatriz de; Terossi, Mariana Rodrigues; https://lattes.cnpq.br/5171685489598372; https://lattes.cnpq.br/3312862423985585; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8543094930527221; https://lattes.cnpq.br/6693864880223173; https://lattes.cnpq.br/8895536429609181; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0680-219X; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6112-7249; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0983-3207; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7587-3936; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6860-7883
Subterranean habitats (caves and smaller spaces) represent unique ecosystems that harbor highly specialized species. Exploring functional variations in these habitats provides fundamental clues to understanding diversity patterns, allowing us to learn about the underlying ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as supporting conservation strategies and/or plans. Among the most frequent and abundant organisms in these environments are invertebrates, especially terrestrial isopods, which play essential roles in carbon flow in soils. By acting in the fragmentation of organic matter, these organisms promote nutrient transfer and stimulate microbial metabolism, contributing to increased decomposition rates. The conservation of subterranean habitats is becoming increasingly urgent, since many troglobitic species have restricted geographic distribution, low dispersal capacity, and high sensitivity to environmental disturbances. These factors make them particularly vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic impacts, such as mining activities, urban expansion, unregulated tourism, and pollution. In this context, research on the characterization of subterranean biodiversity and the assessment of its diversity not only expands scientific knowledge but also strengthens management and conservation actions in tropical karst regions. Given this scenario, the purposes of this project were: (i) to describe the taxonomy of terrestrial isopods associated with subterranean habitats in Colombia; (ii) to describe the taxonomy of these species in epigean and hypogean habitats in southeastern Brazil, with emphasis on the Atlantic Forest biome; and (iii) to evaluate the functional variations of these organisms in epigean and hypogean habitats of the Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR), southeastern Brazil. To achieve these purposes, specimens deposited in scientific collections were analyzed, including the Laboratório de Estudos Subterrâneos of UFSCar (LES-UFSCar), the Museo de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP), and Colección del Laboratorio de Biología de la Universidad de Cartagena (CBUDC). The methodology consisted of a taxonomic review of species from PETAR, SP, and cave systems in Colombia, resulting in the description of new species of terrestrial isopods. For the assessment of taxonomic and functional diversity, specimens from PETAR were used. The analyses included the effective species number structure based on Hill numbers, and functional diversity metrics (FRic, FEve, and FDiv) by habitats, in addition to the estimation of taxonomic and functional dissimilarity by habitats using the Baselga approach. Functional distance was calculated using Gower distance. All analyses were performed using RStudio v. 4.4.1 software. Regarding the first purpose, the examination of specimens from Colombia resulted in the description of new species of terrestrial isopods of the genus Ctenorillo, with a publication in the journal Tropical Zoology. For the second purpose, the study of specimens from southeastern Brazil identified 309 individuals belonging to 29 species, five families, and nine genera, mainly from subterranean habitats in the Atlantic Forest, especially PETAR, in the state of São Paulo. These data formed the basis of an article on the oniscid fauna of the Alto Ribeira region, including PETAR, PEI, PECD, and contiguous areas, with the description of three new species and new records for the karst area of Alto Ribeira. For the third purpose, the results indicated greater functional richness in epigean assemblages, while beta diversity was high in both taxonomic and functional dimensions. This pattern was mainly driven by species turnover, highlighting marked differentiation in the structure of assemblages between habitats. Principal Coordinate Analysis revealed partial segregation of epigean and hypogean assemblages in functional space, as well as grouping of traits by family, highlighting the role of evolutionary history in shaping functional composition. These results contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms that structure biodiversity along environmental gradients in the Atlantic Forest and reinforce the importance of integrating taxonomic and functional perspectives to guide conservation actions. The simultaneous protection of epigean and hypogean habitats in threatened karst systems is essential to preserve biological diversity and the ecological processes that sustain these ecosystems. Finally, the knowledge generated by this work offers tools for decision-making in conservation policies for strategic areas, management of tropical subterranean habitats, and mitigation of the effects of climate change.