RESEARCH LABORATORIES
RESEARCH LABORATORIES ASSOCIATED WITH PPG Students' projects are mainly developed in the following research laboratories:
Laboratory of Theoretical Ecology and Synthesis – LETS (ICB 5). It includes an approximate area of 55 m2 and has about 6 bench computers, 3 workstations (workstations; see Computer Resource item below), 1 multifunctional (printer and scanner) and 1 large magnification Leica magnifying glass (model MZ12.5) . In 2015, 16 work spaces were built and 2 benches planned for all students, which could simultaneously house around 24 people. Includes a cabinet with several books of the professors linked to the laboratory. Coordinators: José Alexandre, Luis Mauricio Bini, Thiago Rangel and Adriano Melo;
Herpetology and Animal Behavior Laboratory (ICB 5). The laboratory has approximately 39 m2, with three computers connected to the internet, printers, amphibian sound recording equipment (TASCAM DAP1, Marantz PMD 222 and SONY TCD-D100 recorders), portable recorders, directional microphones (Sennheiser ME66 and Sony ECM), digital scales, Garmin GPS, calipers (digital and manual), decibilimeters, glassware and fixing and conservation reagents for frogs and reptiles, thermohygrometers, field equipment (lanterns, batteries, tweezers and labels). In addition, some specific journals are available to students (Amphibia-Reptilia, Copeia, Journal of Herpetology, Herpetologica, Herpetological Review, Herpetological Monographs, Revista Brasileira de Zoologia and Applied Herpetology). Coordinators: Rogério P. Bastos and Natan M. Maciel.
Laboratory Landscape theory, metacommunities and ecology (ICB 5). It has an area of approximately 55 m2. In this laboratory, landscape ecology analyzes based on remote sensing are developed from satellite images, related statistical analyzes and multi-scale theoretical models, in addition to serving as a basis for field studies in a wide variety of organisms. There is a part of the activities related to the functioning of aquatic ecosystems including field studies with aquatic insects, Odonata adults, zooplankton, phytoplankton, macrophytes and algae, from both lotic and lentic environments. Likewise, field studies related to this laboratory also include studies in terrestrial systems focused on communities of Birds, Amphibians, Bees. The infrastructure for these works includes three microcomputers and five laptops connected to the Internet and two printers, five stereoscopic magnifying glasses, tables and cabinets for collecting insect fauna. In addition, a cluster of computers for high-performance processing aimed at mathematical modeling has just been implemented. This equipment will also serve as support for classes related to quantitative ecology in graduate school. In this laboratory, there is an intense integration between students supervised by different supervisors, and a group of students who provide statistical assistance in undergraduate work and within the program are located there. Coordinator: Paulo De Marco Júnior.
Conservation Biogeography Laboratory – CB-Lab (ICB 5). The laboratory has sufficient infrastructure to carry out research work in the area of global change, ecological niche modelling, conservation planning and ecosystem service modeling. The laboratory has several computers, 1 laser printer, four workstations, three cabinets and 5 tables. The laboratory has 55 m2 and is shared with the Applied Ecology and Conservation Laboratory. Coordinator: Rafael Loyola.
The Laboratory of Applied Ecology and Conservation (ICB 5). It houses several computers, 1 laser printer, 1 workstation (MacPro), two cabinets and several tables. The lab is used for computer work only. The laboratory has 55 m2 and is shared with the Conservation Biogeography Laboratory. Coordinator: Daniel Brito.
Ecology and Community Functioning Laboratory (ICB 5). It includes, in an area of approximately 55 m2, computer equipment, including 4 desktop computers, 1 MacPro workstation, 1 printer and 1 scanner, two drying ovens, two analytical scales, three digital dynamometers, two trimmers and material for climbing trees . Coordinators: Marcus Vinícius Cianciaruso and Fausto Nomura.
Laboratory of Ecological Interactions and Biodiversity – LIEB (ICB 1). The laboratory has an area of 30m2, 2 workbenches, 1 sink, 1 refrigerator, 2 tables, 2 PCs, 3 notebooks, 1 laser printer, 5 steel cabinets, 1 Nikon stereoscope model SMZ1500, 3 magnifying glasses. Coordinator: Mário Almeida Neto.
Genetics and Biodiversity (ICB 1). The laboratory currently has sufficient infrastructure to carry out research work that includes techniques for analyzing molecular markers (SSRs) and DNA sequencing. Available equipment includes vats for horizontal and vertical electrophoresis, photodocumenter for digitizing images, eight thermocyclers, three centrifuges, a pH meter, a hood, two precision analytical balances, two tube shakers, a heating blanket, an incubator with shaking, two greenhouses and two autoclaves. The laboratory is located next to the Department of General Biology, but in the same building (ICB1) occupied by the Dep. Ecology. Coordinator: Mariana Telles, Thannya Nasciamento and Rosane G. Collevatti.
Microscopy Laboratory (ICB 5). This laboratory has approximately 66 m2 and has the infrastructure and equipment necessary to carry out the identification and counting of microscopic organisms or small animals, whose identification is done only with the use of some optical equipment. The laboratory has 02 optical microscopes with phase contrast, 1 ordinary light microscope, 11 stereomicroscopes and 01 stereomicroscope with clear camera for scientific illustrations. Although it has two professors in its coordination, it is multiuser and has students from several PPG professors. Coordinators: Rodrigo Damasco Daud and Fausto Nomura.
Macroecology Laboratory (Regional Jataí). It has an area of 25 m2, and has equipment for analyzing macroecological data, including: three workstations for running ecological models, two desktop computers for use by undergraduate and graduate students and a printer laser. Coordinators: Levi Carina Terribile and Matheus de Souza Lima-Ribeiro.
Ecology and Zoology Laboratory (Regional Jataí). Two professors of the Program are located in the Jatai Region, where basic research conditions exist, such as microcomputers, magnifying glasses and equipment for the collection of biological material, sufficient for the development of work in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology (4 notebooks, 4 desktops, 3 Sony DSCHX200 digital cameras, 2 Garmin 60csx GPS, 20 Tigrinus branded camera traps, a magnifying glass, 8 steel cabinets, 160 hook traps, 120 sherman traps, 2 Bushnell 7x50mm range-finders, 4 Nikon Monarch 10x25mm binoculars, 4 walk radios short-range Motorola talk, fog nets, headlamps, electronic scale, Canon EOS 500 camera, Canon Electronic Flash EX 380). Coordinators: Levi Carina Terribile.
COMPUTER FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
In 2010 Prof. Thiago Rangel, with the help of other professors, set up a cluster of computers in the Laboratory of Theoretical Ecology and Synthesis, using resources from different projects (Pro-Equipamentos from CAPES, 2 Universals from CNPq, CT-INFRA from FINEP and Rede Clima from MCTIC) (currently located on the ground floor of the new ICB 5 building). This cluster has been meeting the demands of high-performance scientific computing processing from PPG researchers and several associated institutions. Among these institutions, in addition to UFG, the cluster has processed analyzes by researchers from the following universities: UFS, UFSM, UFRJ, UEG and UFRGS, especially now in the context of the INCT EECBio (which shows the centrality of PPG in Ecology and Evolution in these lines involving high-performance computing). These analyzes have been processed by different services provided by the cluster, such as the portal for script development in R language using RStudio (available at: cluster.eco.br), access from the UNIX environment via SSH and sFTP protocols (for use of specific programs developed for Linux systems) and access to the “Windows via Remote Desktop Connection” environment (for the use of specific programs developed for Windows systems). Since mid-2017, the maintenance of the cluster has been carried out by DTI scholarship holders from EECBio. Currently, 4 professors, 21 students and 5 post-docs from PPG in Ecology and Evolution are registered as users of the cluster. In 2018, there was an expansion of the cluster's computational resources, to 8 cores with 100 nodes. A system of “counteiners” was implemented, which work as lighter virtual machines. This type of system allows for a quick reproduction and implementation of the software currently used by users, in addition to facilitating the incorporation of new machines into the system.
There was also an integration of the computational infrastructure of the LETS cluster with that of the Center for Computational Resources (CERCOMP), which allowed the use of two more computational nodes. They have 80 cores in 2 processing nodes, with more than 70 Gb of RAM memory each. These nodes were standardized according to the configurations of the machines with Linux system already available in the LETS cluster, having, therefore, the services of RStudio and access via SSH/sFTP. The installation of these new features has allowed to better meet the demands of parallel processing, as well as the demands of new users of the cluster, with a total of 10 nodes and 180 processing cores. In addition, a storage with eight HDs of 10 Tb each was installed, which has increased the cluster's storage capacity. In 2019-2020, it is expected to invest around BRL 500,000.00 and acquire, among other equipment, a high-performance computer for storage (NAS) and around 20 new workstations. It is also planned to set up a smaller cluster for two PPG professors allocated on the UFG's campus/regional Jatai, in the Profs. Levi Carina and Matheus Lima Ribeiro.