Assessment of a large watershed in Brazil using Emergy Evaluation and Geographical Information System

Humanity's future depends on the preservation of natural ecosystems that supply resources and absorb pollutants. Rural and urban productions are currently based on chemical products made from petroleum, which are responsible for high negative impacts on the Biosphere. In order to prevent those impacts, efficient public policies seeking for sustainable development are necessary. Aiming to assess the load on the environment (considering the gratuitous contributions of natural systems—a donor's perspective) due to human-dominated process, a scientific tool called Emergy Evaluation has been applied in different production systems, including crops and farms. However, there is still a lack of emergy studies in the context of watersheds, probably due to the difficulty of collecting raw data. The present work aims to carry out an assessment of Mogi-Guaçu and Pardo watershed, through the combined use of Emergy Evaluation and Geographical Information System. The agricultural and natural land uses were considered, while urban areas were excluded. Emergy flows (expressed in seJ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) obtained for all agricultural and natural land uses were expanded for the whole watershed and the emergy indices were calculated. The results show that the watershed has: low renewability (%R = 32%); low capture of natural resources through high external economic investment (EYR = 1.86); low dependence on natural resources (EIR = 1.16); and moderate load on the environment (ELR = 2.08). Considering a scenario where sugar-cane crops, orchards and pasture areas are converted from conventional to organic management, watershed's emergy performance improved, reaching a new renewability of 38%, but it is still not enough to be considered sustainable.     

Age effect on the antioxidant activity of Daphnia magna (Anomopoda: Daphniidae): does younger mean more sensitivity?

It has been accepted that for most species newborns and senescent organisms are more sensitive than other ages to environmental stressors. Nevertheless, it must be considered that there are several biochemical and physiological compensatory processes which are not expressed with the same magnitude during the whole life cycle. With this aim, Daphnia magna individuals of different age were exposed to hexavalent chromium, Cr (VI), at two different sublethal concentrations (0.032 and 0.0064 mg l(-1)), and the activity of some antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were evaluated during most of the life cycle of this cladoceran. The antioxidant enzymatic activity showed an inverse relationship with respect to age. The activity of CAT, GR and GPx were increased in the two treated groups, at all life stages tested. On the other hand, the activity of SOD decreased in the same groups. Both, increase and decrease in the antioxidant enzymatic activities, showed significant differences with respect to the control group, being higher for the 0.032 mg l(-1) group. The Cr (VI) LC50 was also estimated for these age groups, finding statistical differences among them. Even though adults exhibited higher responses, these enzymatic activity changes should not be interpreted as higher sensitivity, since the daphnids acute chromium toxicity followed a different pattern, with increasing LC50 values according to age.     

Biliverdin-based egg coloration is enhanced by carotenoid supplementation

Avian eggshell color is remarkably variable among and within species and its possible function has long been controversial. Female birds use biliverdin pigment to color their eggs blue and green. Although evidence is accumulating that blue-green eggshell coloration is costly to produce, the exact mechanisms underlying its expression are little studied. Biliverdin pigment is involved in important maintenance functions such as immune and antioxidant defenses and shows similar properties to carotenoid pigments. Carotenoids play a role as immunoenhancers and have the potential to ameliorate the impact of oxidative processes, although their antioxidant function could be minor for some bird species. Important life-history components can be limited by carotenoid availability, including sexual displays and fecundity. Here we explored if biliverdin-based eggshell pigmentation was affected by carotenoid availability in a seabird, by performing a carotenoid supplementation experiment in female blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) after laying their first egg. In this species, blue eggshell color is associated with incubation patterns, and carotenoid availability affects the crucial trade-off between female foot ornamentation and fecundity. We found that under natural conditions, there was a decline in eggshell color with laying order, suggesting pigment limitation for females. However, carotenoid-supplemented females had enhanced second egg coloration compared to controls, and the color increase was independent of their previous pigment allocation to the first egg. Our results suggest that biliverdin-based eggshell coloration is costly to produce and can be alleviated by current carotenoid availability.     

Life-history and demographic spatial variation in Mediterranean populations of the opportunistic polychaete <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ophryotrocha labronica</Emphasis> (Polychaeta,Dorvilleidae)

The spatial scale of life-history and demographic variation was investigated in the opportunistic polychaete Ophryotrocha labronica La Greca and Bacci. Individuals were collected along the Italian coasts from three thermally different biogeographical regions of the Mediterranean Sea. For each region, populations from four harbours were considered, and for each harbour, two sites were examined. Life-history and demographic traits were investigated after one generation under a common garden experiment, and their variation at the three spatial scales was assessed. All the traits showed high variability with regard to site. A number of life-history and all demographic traits also varied according to the biogeographical region. Conversely, no differences were found between harbours, suggesting that geographical isolation did not contribute to phenotypic variation. Results confirmed the central role of local conditions for the evolution of life history in species colonizing heterogeneous environments, but they also pointed to the importance of large-scale factors in shaping the phenotypic responses of O. labronica, demonstrating the need for a multi-scale approach for obtaining a good measure of natural variation in widespread opportunistic species.     

Predator–prey models: an application for the plankton dynamics of lake Geneva

In this paper we present a hierarchical Bayesian analysis for a predator–prey model applied to ecology considering the use of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. We consider the introduction of a random effect in the model and the presence of a covariate vector. An application to ecology is considered using a data set related to the plankton dynamics of lake Geneva for the year 1990. We also discuss some aspects of discrimination of the proposed models.     

Modulation of attention and urgent decisions by affect-laden roadside advertisement in risky driving scenarios

In road safety literature the effects of emotional content and salience of advertising billboards have been scarcely investigated. The main aim of this work was to uncover how affect-laden roadside advertisements can affect attention – eye-movements – and subsequent risky decisions – braking – on the Honda Riding Trainer motorcycle simulator. Results indicated that the number of fixations and total fixation time elicited by the negative and positive emotional advertisements were larger than the neutral ones. At the same time, negative pictures got later gaze disengagement than positive and neutral ones. This attentional capture results in less eye fixation times on the road relevant region, where the important driving events happen. Finally, the negative emotional valence advertisements sped up braking on subsequent risky situations. Overall results demonstrated how advertisements with emotional content modulate attention allocation and driving decisions in risky situations and might be helpful for designing roadside advertisements regulations and risk prevention programs.     

Conservation state of two paintings in the Santa Margherita cliff cave: role of the environment and of the microbial community

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The conservation of ancient paintings sited in humid environments is an actual challenge for restorers, because it needs the knowledge of the...     

Global burned-land estimation in Latin America using MODIS composite data.

This paper presents results of the AQL2004 project, which has been develope within the GOFC-GOLD Latin American network of remote sensing and forest fires (RedLatif). The project intended to obtain monthly burned-land maps of the entire region, from Mexico to Patagonia, using MODIS (moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer) reflectance data. The project has been organized in three different phases: acquisition and preprocessing of satellite data; discrimination of burned pixels; and validation of results. In the first phase, input data consisting of 32-day composites of MODIS 500-m reflectance data generated by the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) of the University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland, U.S.A.) were collected and processed. The discrimination of burned areas was addressed in two steps: searching for "burned core" pixels using postfire spectral indices and multitemporal change detection and mapping of burned scars using contextual techniques. The validation phase was based on visual analysis of Landsat and CBERS (China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite) images. Validation of the burned-land category showed an agreement ranging from 30% to 60%, depending on the ecosystem and vegetation species present. The total burned area for the entire year was estimated to be 153 215 km2. The most affected countries in relation to their territory were Cuba, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Burned areas were found in most land covers; herbaceous vegetation (savannas and grasslands) presented the highest proportions of burned area, while perennial forest had the lowest proportions. The importance of croplands in the total burned area should be taken with reserve, since this cover presented the highest commission errors. The importance of generating systematic products of burned land areas for different ecological processes is emphasized.     

E‐waste in the world today: An overview of problems and a proposal for improvement in Brazil

Environmental issues have been at the center of society's concerns for a long time. Recently, this kind of concern is growing even more due to the damage caused to the environment by electrical and electronic product waste. Based on this same concern, this work aimed to analyze, through a literature review, the production and treatment of electronic waste in today's world, with an emphasis on Brazil and China. The articles reviewed point to an increase in the production of this type of waste, in both Brazil and China, and reveal that the current processes of treatment of electronic waste mostly aim to obtain profit through the recovery of precious metals such as copper. This paper concluded that although Brazil is one of the major producers of e‐waste, more than 90% of its e‐waste has not had a proper final destination. This deficiency in e‐waste treatment in Brazil is mainly due to financial factors and the lack of a robust educational policy focused on the environment. Thus, this work suggests the implementation of an effective educational policy aimed at environmental conservation, as well as investments in research on recycling methods in Brazil, especially on the use of e‐waste as an aggregate in the manufacture of concrete.     

Bioaccumulation of metals and effects of a landfill in small mammals. Part II. The wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus

We assess the bioaccumulation of metals (Pb, Hg, Cd, Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mo, Cr) and effects of landfill leachates on morphological (RI, relative weights), plasma (GPT, GOT, creatinine), and genotoxic (MNT) parameters in wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, inhabiting close the Garraf landfill site (NE Spain). Due to the high age- and sex-dependent variation in wild populations, we also studied the effect of these biotic factors on the parameters studied. Wood mice from the landfill site, sited in a partially protected area, showed more Cd, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mo, and Cr than specimens from the reference site. Moreover, mice near the landfill registered low RI and high relative renal weight, GPT, and MN frequency, which indicate that the landfill affects the health of wild mice. In contrast to sympatric shrews from a previous study, wood mice showed lower bioaccumulation of metals and lower variation caused by biotic factors. Moreover, the morphological and physiological alterations demonstrated that they were also more sensitive at environmental pollution. Given the contribution of small mammals to ecosystem function and the scarce ecotoxicological data on the effects of landfill pollution on wild terrestrial mammals, we consider that our study can be used to improve the management of this protected area.