Ecological literacy and beyond: Problem-based learning for future professionals

Ecological science contributes to solving a broad range of environmental problems. However, lack of ecological literacy in practice often limits application of this knowledge. In this paper, we highlight a critical but often overlooked demand on ecological literacy: to enable professionals of various careers to apply scientific knowledge when faced with environmental problems. Current university courses on ecology often fail to persuade students that ecological science provides important tools for environmental problem solving. We propose problem-based learning to improve the understanding of ecological science and its usefulness for real-world environmental issues that professionals in careers as diverse as engineering, public health, architecture, social sciences, or management will address. Courses should set clear learning objectives for cognitive skills they expect students to acquire. Thus, professionals in different fields will be enabled to improve environmental decision-making processes and to participate effectively in multidisciplinary work groups charged with tackling environmental issues.     

Use of genetic,climatic, and microbiological data to inform reintroduction of a regionally extinct butterfly

Species reintroductions are increasingly used as means of mitigating biodiversity loss. Besides habitat quality at the site targeted for reintroduction, the choice of source population can be critical for success. The butterfly Melanargia russiae (Esper´s marbled white) was extirpated from Hungary over 100 years ago, and a reintroduction program has recently been approved. We used museum specimens of this butterfly, mitochondrial DNA data (mtDNA), endosymbiont screening, and climatic‐similarity analyses to determine which extant populations should be used for its reintroduction. The species displayed 2 main mtDNA lineages across its range: 1 restricted to Iberia and southern France (Iberian lineage) and another found throughout the rest of its range (Eurasian lineage). These 2 lineages possessed highly divergent wsp alleles of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia. The century‐old Hungarian specimens represented an endemic haplotype belonging to the Eurasian lineage, differing by one mutation from the Balkan and eastern European populations. The Hungarian populations of M. russiae occurred in areas with a colder and drier climate relative to most sites with extant known populations. Our results suggest the populations used for reintroduction to Hungary should belong to the Eurasian lineage, preferably from eastern Ukraine (genetically close and living in areas with the highest climatic similarity). Materials stored in museum collections can provide unique opportunities to document historical genetic diversity and help direct conservation.     

Diel and seasonal changes in the distribution of fish on a southeast Brazil sandy beach

The effect of diel and seasonal changes in the distribution of fishes on a subtropical sandy beach on the southeastern coast of Brazil were studied. Seine netting was carried out on both seasonal and diel scales between July 1998 and June 1999. A total of 46 fish species was recorded, six being numerically dominant: Anchoa tricolor, Gerres aprion, Harengula clupeola, Atherinella brasiliensis, Mugil liza and Diapterus rhombeus. Seasonal changes in abundance of dominant species were detected. Species dominant in winter were Anchoa tricolor, H. clupeola and Atherinella brasiliensis; in spring, Anchoa tricolor and G. aprion; in summer G. aprion and D. rhombeus; and in autumn M. liza and H. clupeola. Overall, diel patterns did not reveal any significant trends; however, if we consider each season separately, an increase in A. tricolor abundance was recorded during the day in winter/spring, being replaced at night by H. clupeola in winter, and by G. aprion in spring. Increases in number of individuals and biomass at sunset, and decreases during the night were recorded. The winter/spring inshore/offshore movements at diel scale performed by the three most abundant species demonstrate that diel fluctuation acts more at a species-specific level than at a structural one; in summer there was no evidence of diel movements due to a heavy influx of G. aprion and D. rhombeus, which use the area throughout day and night, increasing overall abundance. Seasonal movements seems to be related to ontogenetic change in species, while diel movements in the fish assemblage seem to be more related to physiological requirements, such feeding activity of each particular species, than to physico-chemical conditions.Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe     

Evolutionary relationships of deep-sea mussels inferred by mitochondrial DNA sequences

In order to elucidate the evolutionary process of deep-sea Bathymodiolus mussels, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships of 16 species worldwide by analyzing nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial COI and ND4 genes. Deep-sea mussels were clustered into three groups by basal trichotomous divergence. The first was composed of four species found in Japanese waters and one species from the Gulf of Mexico, which contain methanotrophic endosymbiotic bacteria. The second included nine species distributed in the West and East Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. Members of the second group were trichotomously divided into the Indo-West Pacific, Atlantic, and East Pacific subclusters. The Indo-West Pacific subcluster was composed of three very closely related species with mutual genetic distances at the intraspecific level (av. 0.019 in COI and 0.009 in ND4 relative to av. 0.156 in COI and 0.265 in ND4 among Bathymodiolus species other than Cluster A species), suggesting some gene flow among these species. The third consisted of two West Pacific species. Species in the second and third groups contain mainly thioautotrophic endosymbionts, including some species harboring both methanotrophs and thioautotrophs.     

Influence of air pollution on the incidence of respiratory tract neoplasm

To evaluate the possible influence of air pollutants on the incidence of respiratory tract neoplasm we studied 12 S?o Paulo City districts where air pollution is observed. We collected data on pollutants from 1981-1990 and correlated it with the incidence of larynx and lung neoplasms in 1997. Ozone was the pollutant that best correlated with the incidence of neoplasm. The correlation coefficients were 0.7234 (p=0.277) and 0.9929 (p=0.007) for lung and larynx cancer, respectively. There may be a relationship between air pollution and the incidence of respiratory tract neoplasm. This study, however, does not allow us to conclude that there is a causal relationship.     

Evaluation of soil temperature effect on herbicide leaching potential into groundwater in the Brazilian Cerrado

The effect of annual variations in the daily average soil temperatures, at different depths, on the calculation of pesticide leaching potential indices is presented. This index can be applied to assess the risk of groundwater contamination by a pesticide. It considers the effects of water table depth, daily recharge net rate, pesticide sorption coefficient, and degradation rate of the pesticide in the soil. The leaching potential index is frequently used as a screening indicator in pesticide groundwater contamination studies, and the temperature effect involved in its calculation is usually not considered. It is well known that soil temperature affects pesticide degradation rates, air-water partition coefficient, and water-soil partition coefficient. These three parameters are components of the attenuation and retardation factors, as well as the leaching potential index, and contribute to determine pesticide behavior in the environment. The Arrhenius, van't Hoff, and Clausius-Clapeyron equations were used in this work to estimate the soil temperature effect on pesticide degradation rate, air-water partition coefficient, and water-soil partition coefficient, respectively. The relationship between leaching potential index and soil temperature at different depths is presented and aids in the understanding of how potential pesticide groundwater contamination varies on different climatic conditions. Numerical results will be presented for 31 herbicides known to be used in corn and soybean crops grown on the municipality of S?o Gabriel do Oeste, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil.     

Sustainable watershed management: an international multi-watershed case study

Global freshwater resources are being increasingly polluted and depleted, threatening sustainable development and human and ecosystem health. Utilizing case studies from 4 different watersheds in the United States, Japan, Switzerland, and Brazil, this paper identifies the most relevant sustainability deficits and derives general vectors for more sustainable water management. As a consequence of the demographic and economic developments experienced in the last few decades, each watershed has suffered declines in water quality, streamflow and biotic resources. However, the extent and the cultural perception of these water-related problems vary substantially in the different watersheds, leading to specific water-management strategies. In industrialized countries, exemplified by the US, Switzerland, and Japan, these strategies have primarily consisted of finance- and energy-intensive technologies, allowing these countries to meet water requirements while minimizing human health risks. But, from a sustainability point of view, such strategies, relying on limited natural resources, are not long-term solutions. For newly industrialized countries such as Brazil, expensive technologies for water management are often not economically feasible, thus limiting the extent to which newly industrialized and developing countries can utilize the expertise offered by the industrialized world. Sustainable water management has to be achieved by a common learning process involving industrialized, newly industrialized, and developing countries, following general sustainability guidelines as exemplified in this paper.     

A voltammetric screening method to determine ronidazole in bovine meat

Abstract

An original voltammetric screening method, employing glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with the differential-pulse voltammetry technique (DPV), has been developed to determine residues of the anti-parasitic agent Ronidazole (RNZ) in bovine meat. By using cyclic voltammetry (CV), it has been demonstrated that an irreversible cathodic process occurs at approximately ?0.740?V (vs. Ag|AgCl, KCl 3?mol L^?1) in a 0.100?mol L^?1 phosphate buffer at pH 6.5 as supporting electrolyte. Furthermore, the behavior of RNZ in CV indicates the occurrence of a diffusion mass transfer process to the working electrode surface. The RNZ reduction mechanism was proposed as a 6-electron transfer, similar to Metronidazole under the same pH range. Quantification of RNZ and method validation were then carried out by DPV. The relative standard deviation (RSD) were 3.21% for intraday precision of 10 consecutive repetitions and 6.78% for interday precision after five analysis. Limits of detection and quantification were also obtained, and the values were 0.107 and 0.358?mg kg^?1, respectively. The recovery percentage for three different concentrations of RNZ in the bovine meat matrix ranged between 98.1% and 100.3%. The method proved to be efficient for screening RNZ in bovine meat.     

Investigating missing sources of glyoxal over China using a regional air quality model (RAMS-CMAQ)

Currently, modeling studies tend to significantly underestimate observed space-based glyoxal(CHOCHO) vertical column densities(VCDs), implying the existence of missing sources of glyoxal. Several recent studies suggest that the emissions of aromatic compounds and molar yields of glyoxal in the chemical mechanisms may both be underestimated, which can affect the simulated glyoxal concentrations. In this study, the influences of these two factors on glyoxal amounts over China were investigated using the RAMS-CMAQ modeling system for January and July 2014. Four sensitivity simulations were performed, and the results were compared to satellite observations. These results demonstrated significant impacts on glyoxal concentrations from these two factors.In case 1, where the emissions of aromatic compounds were increased three-fold,improvements to glyoxal VCDs were seen in high anthropogenic emissions regions. In case 2, where molar yields of glyoxal from isoprene were increased five-fold, the resulted concentrations in July were 3–5-fold higher, achieving closer agreement between the modeled and measured glyoxal VCDs. The combined changes from both cases 1 and 2 were applied in case 3, and the model succeeded in further reducing the underestimations of glyoxal VCDs. However, the results over most of the regions with pronounced anthropogenic emissions were still underestimated. So the molar yields of glyoxal from anthropogenic precursors were considered in case 4. With these additional mole yield changes(a two-fold increase), the improved concentrations agreed better with the measurements in regions of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Yellow River in January but not in July.     

Combined effects of human pressures on Europe’s marine ecosystems

Marine ecosystems are under high demand for human use, giving concerns about how pressures from human activities may affect their structure, function, and status. In Europe, recent developments in mapping of marine habitats and human activities now enable a coherent spatial evaluation of potential combined effects of human activities. Results indicate that combined effects from multiple human pressures are spread to 96% of the European marine area, and more specifically that combined effects from physical disturbance are spread to 86% of the coastal area and 46% of the shelf area. We compare our approach with corresponding assessments at other spatial scales and validate our results with European-scale status assessments for coastal waters. Uncertainties and development points are identified. Still, the results suggest that Europe’s seas are widely disturbed, indicating potential discrepancy between ambitions for Blue Growth and the objective of achieving good environmental status within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.Supplementary informationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01482-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.