Correction to: Influence of community-based natural resource management strategies in the resilience of social-ecological systems

Regional Environmental Change - The published online version contains mistake. Author name was incorrectly captured. Instead of Maria del Mar Delgado-Serrano was incorrectly captured as Ma del Mar...     

Metal ion uptake from aqueous solution by olive stones: a carbon-13 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and potentiometric study.

The use of biomasses that result from the agriculture and food industries in removing heavy metals from wastewaters is attracting increasing interest. We present a joined potentiometric and cross polarization magic angle spinning (CP-MAS) carbon-13 (13C) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study on the interaction of olive stones with copper(II), nickel(II), and cadmium(II). The potentiometric measurements allow both to distinguish two kind of basic sites in the olive stones and to postulate the coordination models for the three studied metals. The NMR spectral analysis allows the attribution of the different signals to the components of the olive stone matrix. A comparison of CP-MAS 13C NMR spectra of the samples after metal treatment suggests a specific complexation between metal ions and hydroxyl groups on guaiacyl and syringyl moieties.     

Did the Romans introduce the Egyptian mongoose (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Herpestes ichneumon</Emphasis>) into the Iberian Peninsula?

New finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), one from Portugal and one from Spain, were directly ¹⁴C dated to the first century AD. While the Portuguese specimen was found without connection to the Chalcolithic occupation of the Pedra Furada cave where it was recovered, the Spanish find, collected in the city of Mérida, comes from a ritual pit that also contained three human and 40 dog burials. The finds reported here show that the Egyptian mongoose, contrary to the traditional and predominant view, did not first arrive in the Iberian Peninsula during the Muslim occupation of Iberia. Instead, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the species was first introduced by the Romans, or at least sometime during the Roman occupation of Hispania. Therefore, radiocarbon dating of new archaeological finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula push back the confirmed presence of the species in the region by approximately eight centuries, as the previously oldest dated record is from the ninth century. With these new dates, there are now a total of four ¹⁴C dated specimens of Egyptian mongooses from the Iberian Peninsula, and all of these dates fall within the last 2000 years. This offers support for the hypothesis that the presence of the species in Iberia is due to historical introductions and is at odds with a scenario of natural sweepstake dispersal across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Late Pleistocene (126,000–11,700 years ago), recently proposed based on genetic data.     

Layer-by-Layer Deposition of Antibacterial Polyelectrolytes on Cotton Fibres

The introduction of molecules with biological properties on textile materials is essential for a number of biotechnological applications. With the purpose of testing new processes applied to textiles, in this study, we present the first results on the feasibility of using the Layer-by-Layer (LbL) deposition process in natural fibers such as cotton, with natural polyelectrolytes like chitosan (CH) and alginic acid sodium salt (ALG), the durability of CH/ALG multilayer on cotton were evaluated. The increase of negative charges to the substrate cotton was made with NaBr and TEMPO, to ensure the success of the process of LbL. Three characterization methods to assess electrostatic LbL deposition were performed: the contact angle between a liquid (water) and the sample surface, in order to characterize the wettability of the samples with the different layers of CH and ALG; dyeing of the CH/ALG assembled cotton fabric with cationic methylene blue that shows regular changes in terms of color depth (K/S value), which indicate that the surface were alternately deposited with CH and ALG layers and, finally, the analysis by infrared spectroscopy using Fourier Transform with Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR-FTIR), to assess the changes in the interaction between CH and ALG deposited on cotton samples.     

Measuring the Social Recreation Per-Day Net Benefit of the Wildlife Amenities of a National Park: A Count-Data Travel-Cost Approach

In this article, we apply count-data travel-cost methods to a truncated sample of visitors to estimate the Peneda-Gerês National Park (PGNP) average consumer surplus (CS) for each day of visit. The measurement of recreation demand is highly specific because it is calculated by number of days of stay per visit. We therefore propose the application of altered truncated count-data models or truncated count-data models on grouped data to estimate a single, on-site individual recreation demand function, with the price (cost) of each recreation day per trip equal to out-of-pocket and time travel plus out-of-pocket and on-site time costs. We further check the sensitivity of coefficient estimations to alternative models and analyse the welfare measure precision by using the delta and simulation methods by Creel and Loomis. With simulated limits, CS is estimated to be €194 (range €116 to €448). This information is of use in the quest to improve government policy and PNPG management and conservation as well as promote nature-based tourism. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to measure the average recreation net benefits of each day of stay generated by a national park by using truncated altered and truncated grouped count-data travel-cost models based on observing the individual number of days of stay.     

The stochastic demography of two coexisting male morphs

Abstract. If genetically distinct morphs coexist under a range of natural conditions, they should have equal long-run fitnesses across a wide range of different stochastic environments. In other words, the sequence and frequency of good and bad environments should not substantially impact long-run growth rates. When different morphs have contrasting life histories that vary with environmental conditions, however, it seems improbable that growth rates can be equivalent across a range of stochastic environments without invoking a strong stabilizing mechanism to explain their persistence. As yet, there has been no research characterizing the long-run stochastic growth rate (lambdaS) of different morphs across a wide range of stochastic environments. Assuming density independence, we show that the two genetic male morphs in the bulb mite (Rhizoglyphus robini-fighters, which are able to kill other mites, and benign scramblers-have similar lambdas in different Markovian environments (different simulated random sequences of good and bad habitats). Elasticity analyses revealed that Xs was most sensitive to perturbation of adult survival rate. A slight (biologically and statistically realistic) increase in scrambler adult survival equalized scrambler and fighter X,. The fitness equivalence of the two morphs suggests that stabilizing mechanisms, such as density or frequency dependence, required to maintain their coexistence, are weak. We advocate that stochastic demography can offer a powerful approach to identify and understand the circumstances under which genetic polymorphisms can be maintained in stochastic environments.     

Occupational accidents model based on risk–injury affinity groups

This article sets outs a generalized utility model for the diagnosis and prediction of accidents among the Spanish workforce. Based on observational data classified into a risk–injury contingency table (19 × 19), we have summarized the accident rate of all Spanish companies over an 11-year period (75,19,732 accidents). By using correspondence analysis a structure composed of three axes can be obtained, the combination of which identifies three separate risk and injury groups, which we use as a general Spanish pattern. The relationships of greater affinity or likelihood amongst the risks and injuries identified in the pattern facilitate decision-making at the risk-assessment stage in Spanish companies. Each risk–injury group has its own characteristics, interpretable within the phenomenological framework of the accident.The main advantage of this model is its potential application to any other country and the feasibility of contrasting results from different countries. One limiting factor, however, is that the model currently lacks a common classification frame for risks and injuries which would enhance this contrast. The aim of this model is to automatically manage work-related accidents at a national level.     

Optical fiber based methodology for assessment of thiocyanate in seawater

A new methodology for the assessment of thiocyanate (SCN(-)) is proposed based on optical fiber (OF) detection coupled to a liquid chromatography system (LC). The developed methodology showed an adequate performance for the analysis of SCN(-) comparable to a high performance liquid chromatography with UV detector (HPLC-UV) methodology: a detection limit of 3 μg L(-1), a linear range from 4 to 400 μg L(-1), and an analytical time of less than 6 min. The OF based methodology was of compact design and easy operation. This simple system has the potential to be used as a sensing approach for SCN(-) in seawater.     

Nucella lapillus L. imposex levels after legislation prohibiting TBT antifoulants: temporal trends from 2003 to 2008 along the Portuguese coast

Nucella lapillus (dog whelk) imposex levels were assessed along the mainland Portuguese coast in 2006 and 2008 and were compared with available data from 2003 for the same area. Given that specimen size has been described as a factor inducing variation in some of the imposex assessment indices, and thus resulting in less reliable results, new monitoring and data analysis procedures are described and applied to study change of imposex levels from 2003 to 2008. A significant decline in imposex intensity was observed in the study area during the study period, and the Portuguese coast ecological status (under the terms defined by the OSPAR Commission) notably improved after 2003, confirming the effectiveness of the Regulation (EC) No. 782/2003 in reducing TBT pollution. Nevertheless, N. lapillus populations are still extensively affected by imposex, and fresh TBT inputs were detected in seawater throughout the coast in 2006. These recent inputs are attributed to vessels still carrying TBT antifoulants applied before 2003, as their presence in vessels was only forbidden in 2008. Considering that Regulation (EC) No. 782/2003 is an anticipation of the IMO global ban entered into force in September 2008, a worldwide-scale decrease in TBT pollution can be expected in the near future.     

A landscape-scale framework to identify refugia from multiple stressors

From a conservation perspective, quantifying potential refugial capacity has been predominantly focused on climate refugia, which is critical for maintaining the persistence of species and ecosystems. However, protection from other stressors, such as human-induced changes in fire and hydrology, that cause habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation is also necessary to ensure that conservation efforts focused on climate are not undermined by other threats. Thus, conceptual and methodological advances for quantifying potential refugia from multiple anthropogenic stressors are important to support conservation efforts. We devised a new conceptual approach, the domains of refugia, for assessing refugial capacity that identifies areas where exposure to multiple stressors is low. In our framework, patterns of environmental variability (e.g., increased frequency of warm summers), thresholds of resilience, and extent and intensity of stressors are used to identify areas of potential refugia from a suite of ongoing anthropogenic stressors (e.g., changes in fire regime). To demonstrate its utility, we applied the framework to a Southern California landscape. Sites with high refugial capacity (super-refugia sites) had on average 30% fewer extremely warm summers, 20% fewer fire events, 10% less exposure to altered river channels and riparian areas, and 50% fewer recreational trails than the surrounding landscape. Our results suggest that super-refugia sites (∼8200 km²) for some natural communities are underrepresented in the existing protected area network, a finding that can inform efforts to expand protected areas. Our case study highlights how considering exposure to multiple stressors can inform planning and practice to conserve biodiversity in a changing world.