Development of regional sustainability indicators and the role of academia in this process: the Portuguese practice

There are several different approaches to evaluate regional environmental and sustainability performance, where regional indicators are an emerging issue. Academia could play an important role in many sustainable initiatives, giving credibility, scientific and technical support and contribute to increasing public participation. This paper intends to trace the Portuguese profile on regional Sustainable Development Indicators (SDI) initiatives and contribute to an understanding of the key factors related to the role of academia in those processes. A national survey was conducted to obtain data on SDI initiatives on a regional scale and the Portuguese profile was defined. Overall results show that SDI implementations are concluded in one region and are being implemented in three of the total of seven regions, despite a significant lack of institutional guidelines and policy guidance from national authorities. The particular approach conducted in the Algarve, the most southerly region of Portugal, was analysed. The indicators developed for this region are a practical example of how academia and regional public authorities can cooperate efficiently, involving multi-stakeholders, to obtain the desired outcomes.     

Petroleum Hydrocarbons Rhizodegradation by Sebastiania commersoniana (Baill.) L. B. SM. & Downs

Petroliferous activities in Brazil have an accelerated development in the last years. As a consequence, the incidence of environmental accidents such as oil spills and contamination of soils has increased significantly. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to develop remediation techniques with lower costs, decontamination efficiency and impact minimisation. The aim of this work was to evaluate Sebastiania commersoniana phytoremediation potential in soil contaminated by petroleum. This species, which is a native tree, was selected due to its proven capacity for surviving in areas contaminated by petroleum. Experiments were carried out with soils that were vegetated but non-contaminated, soils that were freshly contaminated (25, 50 and 75 g kg^?1) but non-vegetated, and soils that were vegetated and contaminated, samples were collected 60 and 424 days after contamination with the purpose of evaluating the percentage of petroleum degradation in relation to the time. The results obtained in the present study allow us to state that S. commersoniana proves to be tolerant to petroleum contamination with respect to plant’s growth. The degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons was evaluated by gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) equipped with a capillary column HP-5 (5% phenyl-methylpolysiloxane, 30 m; 0.25 mm; 0.25 μm). According to chromatographic analysis, samples in contact with S. commersoniana showed a significant area reduction of the hydrocarbon peaks. Analysis of the 60-day samples showed a reduction of petroleum hydrocarbons area higher than 60% and the 424-day samples showed a reduction higher than 94%, which demonstrates that a petroleum degradation process is occurring.     

Population structure and connectivity of the European conger eel (Conger conger) across the north-eastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean: integrating molecular and otolith elemental approaches

Genetic variation (mtDNA) of the European conger eel, Conger conger, was compared across five locations in the north-eastern Atlantic (Madeira, Azores, South Portugal, North Portugal and Ireland) and one location in the western Mediterranean (Mallorca). Genetic diversity of conger eel was high, and differentiation among regions was not significant. Additionally, comparisons of element:Ca ratios (Sr:Ca, Ba:Ca, Mn:Ca and Mg:Ca) in otolith cores (larval phase) and edges (3?months prior to capture) among the Azores, North Portugal, Madeira and Mallorca regions for 2?years indicated that variation among regions were greater for edges than cores. Therefore, while benthic conger may display residency at regional scales, recruitment may not necessarily be derived from local spawning and larval retention. Furthermore, data from otoliths suggest a separated replenishment source for western Mediterranean and NE Atlantic stocks. The combination of genetics and otolith chemistry suggests?a population model for conger eel involving a broad-scale dispersal of larvae, with limited connectivity for benthic juvenile life stages at large spatial scales, although the existence of one or multiple spawning grounds for the species remains uncertain.     

Satellite Rainfall Estimates Over South America – Possible Applicability to the Water Management of Large Watersheds1

Pereira Filho, Augusto J., Richard E. Carbone, John E. Janowiak, Phillip Arkin, Robert Joyce, Ricardo Hallak, and Camila G.M. Ramos, 2010. Satellite Rainfall Estimates Over South America – Possible Applicability to the Water Management of Large Watersheds. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):344-360. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00406.x Abstract: This work analyzes high-resolution precipitation data from satellite-derived rainfall estimates over South America, especially over the Amazon Basin. The goal is to examine whether satellite-derived precipitation estimates can be used in hydrology and in the management of larger watersheds of South America. High spatial-temporal resolution precipitation estimates obtained with the CMORPH method serve this purpose while providing an additional hydrometeorological perspective on the convective regime over South America and its predictability. CMORPH rainfall estimates at 8-km spatial resolution for 2003 and 2004 were compared with available rain gauge measurements at daily, monthly, and yearly accumulation time scales. The results show the correlation between satellite-derived and gauge-measured precipitation increases with accumulation period from daily to monthly, especially during the rainy season. Time-longitude diagrams of CMORPH hourly rainfall show the genesis, strength, longevity, and phase speed of convective systems. Hourly rainfall analyses indicate that convection over the Amazon region is often more organized than previously thought, thus inferring that basin scale predictions of rainfall for hydrological and water management purposes have the potential to become more skillful. Flow estimates based on CMORPH and the rain gauge network are compared to long-term observed average flow. The results suggest this satellite-based rainfall estimation technique has considerable utility. Other statistics for monthly accumulations also suggest CMORPH can be an important source of rainfall information at smaller spatial scales where in situ observations are lacking.     

Planning waste cooking oil collection systems

This research has been motivated by a real-life problem of a waste cooking oil collection system characterized by the existence of multiple depots with an outsourced vehicle fleet, where the collection routes have to be plan. The routing problem addressed allows open routes between depots, i.e., all routes start at one depot but can end at the same or at a different one, depending on what minimizes the objective function considered. Such problem is referred as a Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem with Mixed Closed and Open Inter-Depot Routes and is, in this paper, modeled through a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation where capacity and duration constraints are taken into account. The model developed is applied to the real case study providing, as final results, the vehicle routes planning where a decrease of 13% on mileage and 11% on fleet hiring cost are achieved, when comparing with the current company solution.     

Prenatal foetal diagnosis of partial trisomy 3q and monosomy 13p due to a maternal balanced rearrangement

The authors describe a case of a male foetus whose ultrasound at 20 weeks' gestation revealed cystic hygroma, cleft lip and ventricular septal defect. Amniotic fluid cytogenetics using GTG banding showed a 46,XY,der(13)t(3;13)(q12;p11.1) rearrangement, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) delineated the relevant breakpoints. Familial studies identified a maternal balanced translocation involving chromosomes 3 and 13. The post-mortem examination confirmed the prenatal ultrasound findings. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi-criteria assessment of the viability of valorising vegetable by-products from the distribution as secondary raw material for animal feed

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Approximately 33% of food produced around the world is wasted. In the distribution sector, erroneous orders or demand predictions result in products...     

Biotic indexes reveal the impact of harbour enlargement on benthic fauna

Environmental effects of enlargement works in Puerto Calero (Lanzarote, Canary Islands) were analysed in the sediments using abiotic variables (total hydrocarbons, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, organic matter and granulometry) and three biotic indexes (AMBI, M-AMBI and BENTIX). A before–after/control–impact (BACI) design was developed with four sampling campaigns, before (November 2004), during (March and July 2005) and after (July 2006) works. Inner stations were characterised by high concentrations of pollutants (total hydrocarbons and polyaromatic hydrocarbons). A temporal trend (2004–2006) was observed in macrofaunal assemblage structure, and thus in AMBI, M-AMBI and BENTIX indexes. Macrobenthic assemblages also mirrored the pollution gradient, with bioindicator species in inner stations (the polychaete Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata and the mollusc Abra alba), sensitive species (the sipunculid Aspidosiphon muelleri, the crustacean Pariambus typicus and the polychaete Aponuphis bilineata) in outer stations and ubiquitous species (the polychaetes Aricidea assimilis and Armandia polyophthalma) in both stations (inner and outer).     

Parent–offspring dietary segregation of Cory’s shearwaters breeding in contrasting environments

In pelagic seabirds, who often explore distant food resources, information is usually scarce on the level of trophic segregation between parents and their offspring. To investigate this issue, we used GPS tracking, stable isotopes and dietary information of Cory’s shearwaters Calonectris diomedea breeding in contrasting environments. Foraging trips at Selvagem Grande (an oceanic island) mainly targeted the distant African coast, while at Berlenga island (located on the continental shelf), shearwaters foraged mainly over nearby shelf waters. The degree of isotopic segregation between adults and chicks, based on δ¹³C, differed markedly between the two sites, indicating that adult birds at Selvagem fed their chicks with a mixture of shelf and offshore pelagic prey but assimilated more prey captured on coastal shelf waters. Isotopic differences between age classes at Berlenga were much smaller and may have resulted from limited dietary segregation or from age-related metabolic differences. The diet of shearwaters was also very different between the two colonies, with offshore pelagic prey only being detected at Selvagem Grande. Our findings suggest that spatial foraging constraints influence resource partitioning between pelagic seabirds and their offspring and can lead to a parent–offspring dietary segregation.