Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - A discussion is currently under way in the literature on the sustainable benefits of recycling material, particularly paper, which has high global... 相似文献
In this work we have used fuzzy rule-based systems to elaborate a predator–prey type of model to study the interaction between aphids (preys) and ladybugs (predators) in citriculture, where the aphids are considered as transmitter agents of the Citrus Sudden Death (CSD). Simulations were performed and a graph was drawn to show the prey population, the potentiality of the predators, and a phase-plane. From this phase-plane, a classic model of the Holling–Tanner type is fitted and its parameters were found. Finally, we have studied the stability of the critical points of the Holling–Tanner model. 相似文献
Sympatric species sharing requirements are competitors, but recent evidence suggests that heterospecifics may also be used
as a source of information. The heterospecific habitat copying hypothesis proposes that individuals of one species might use
information inadvertently produced by the breeding performance of individuals of other species to assess habitat quality whenever
the two species share needs. In this study, we provide the first experimental test of this hypothesis by examining whether
the manipulated reproductive success of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) is used as heterospecific inadvertent social information (ISI) in breeding-habitat selection by sympatric great tits (Parus major). The reproductive success of blue tits was manipulated 1year at the scale of patches by transferring nestlings from decreased
to increased patches. No evidence was found of great tits using the reproductive success of blue tits as a source of heterospecific
ISI. However, dispersal decisions by adult great tits correlated with information on con- and heterospecific densities, which
constitute other sources of ISI. As density and breeding performance are tightly intertwined forms of information, the difficulty
in distinguishing between them might lead great tits to use heterospecific ISI more in the form of density than breeding performance
when making dispersal decisions. 相似文献
Diesel engine railway traffic causes atmosphere pollution due to the exhaust emission which may be harmful to the passengers as well as workers. In this study, the air quality and PM10 concentrations were evaluated around a railway station in Northeast India where trains are operated with diesel engines. The gaseous pollutant (e.g. SO2, NO2, and NH3) was collected and measured by using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The advanced level characterizations of the PM10 samples were carried out by using ion chromatography, Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry , X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy techniques to know their possible environmental contaminants. High-performance liquid chromatography technique was used to determine the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to estimate the possible atmospheric pollution level caused by the rail traffic in the enclosure. The average PM10 concentration was found to be 262.11 µg m−3 (maximum 24 hour) which indicates poor air quality (AQI category) around the rail traffic. The statistical and air mass trajectory analysis was also done to know their mutual correlation and source apportionment. This study will modify traditional studies where only models are used to simulate the origins.
Olive ridley sea turtles display two different types of nesting behavior: in arribada (synchronous mass nesting) or solitarily. Contrarily to arribadas, little has been published about solitary nesters. This study aimed to expand the knowledge on internesting interval and
site fidelity of solitary nesting olive ridleys and to test a possible development of arribada nesting behavior. Data were collected in Sergipe (Brazil) over 125 km of beach from 10°30′S/36o23′W to 11°26′S/37o19′W, between
nesting seasons 2004/2005 and 2006/2007. From 962 tagged females, 173 were seen renesting. The average internesting interval
found was longer (22.35 ± 7.01 days) than previously described, which might relate to lower water temperatures during the
internesting period. Olive ridleys at Sergipe showed high nesting site fidelity, with consecutive nesting events occurring
in close proximity, non-randomly and dependently of previous events. Most of the consecutive nests were separated by 4.06–5.59 km.
Development of arribada nesting behavior was not confirmed. 相似文献
The diet of 50 juvenile green turtles Chelonia mydas live-captured incidentally by fixed fishing traps between January and June 2009 in Cananéia Estuarine–Lagoon complex, Brazil,
was studied through analysis of esophageal lavage samples. Green turtles consumed an omnivorous diet, with 18 food components
identified and grouped into 4 categories as follows: terrestrial plants, algae, invertebrates, and seagrass. Black mangrove
leaves were of the greatest importance to diet. Turtles incidentally get into fixed traps probably because these devices are
located on mangrove margins, where they forage. The additional foods suggest that green turtles also feed opportunistically
on material adhered to the trap structure and/or on items that cross into its interior. Green turtle diet in estuarine environments
appears to be determined by the availability of food components, with some selectivity toward items of apparently greater
nutritional value. 相似文献
In July 2003, duplicated samples of roots, stems and leaves of sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) were collected in 25 points of an area under direct influence of the municipal landfill site (MLS) and medical waste treatment system (MWTS) of Ribeirao Preto, S?o Paulo, Brazil. Cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The following concentrations (mg/kg) were found in roots: Cd, 0.22+/-0.12; Cr, 64.3+/-48.7; Cu, 140.6+/-27.7; Hg, 0.04+/-0.02; Mn, 561.6+/-283.3; Pb, 7.9+/-2.1 and Zn, 177.4+/-64.9. For some metals, these levels are higher than the concentrations previously reported for different plants, reaching, in some cases, values that might be considered toxic for vegetables. Metal levels in stems were 80-90% of those found in roots, while the concentrations detected in leaves were significantly lower than those in roots. The present results suggest that MLS and MWTS activities might have been increasing metal concentrations in edible tissues of sugar cane grown in the area under their influence. Moreover, the traditional agricultural practices in the production of sugar cane could be also another determinant factor to reach the current metal levels. The results of this study indicate that sugar cane is a crop that is able to grow in areas where metals in soils are accumulated. 相似文献
Fluorescence excitation–emission matrices (EEM) of aqueous solutions of Laurentian soil fulvic acid (LFA) at three concentrations (50, 75 and 100 mg/l) were obtained at two pH values (pH = 4.0 and 6.0) and as function of the Cu(II) ion concentration. The presence of Cu(II) ion provokes quenching of the intrinsic LFA fluorescence due to complex formation. Multivariate curve resolution (MCR-ALS) was used to successfully decompose single EEM into excitation and emission spectra for the detected components. Moreover, multidimensional (up to six dimensions) data matrices were generated by adding EEM collected as function of the LFA and Cu(II) concentrations and pH. MCR-ALS was able to resolve the excitation and emission spectra from these multidimensional data matrices given further information about the spectral variation profiles induced by the experimental factors. Conditional stability constants (log KLFACu) were calculated from the quenching profiles observed as function of the Cu(II) concentration, as well as, their trends as function of pH and LFA concentration were obtained – average (and standard deviation) of log KLFACu = 4.6 ± 0.2. This EEM/MCR-ALS methodology constitutes a new tool for the study of natural organic matter under varying experimental conditions that characterize natural environmental systems. 相似文献
The scan statistic is widely used in spatial cluster detection applications of inhomogeneous Poisson processes. However, real data may present substantial departure from the underlying Poisson process. One of the possible departures has to do with zero excess. Some studies point out that when applied to data with excess zeros, the spatial scan statistic may produce biased inferences. In this work, we develop a closed-form scan statistic for cluster detection of spatial zero-inflated count data. We apply our methodology to simulated and real data. Our simulations revealed that the Scan-Poisson statistic steadily deteriorates as the number of zeros increases, producing biased inferences. On the other hand, our proposed Scan-ZIP and Scan-ZIP+EM statistics are, most of the time, either superior or comparable to the Scan-Poisson statistic. 相似文献
In diving seabirds, sexual dimorphism in size often results in sex-related differences of foraging patterns. Previous research on Magellanic penguins, conducted during the breeding season, failed to reveal consistent differences between the sexes on foraging behavior, despite sexual dimorphism. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that male and female Magellanic penguins differ in diet and foraging patterns during the non-breeding period when the constraints imposed by chick rearing activities vanish. We used stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in feather and bone to characterize the diet and foraging patterns of male and female penguins in the South Atlantic at the beginning of the 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 post-breeding seasons (feathers) and over several consecutive breeding and migratory seasons (bone). The mean δ13C and δ15N values of feathers showed no differences between the sexes in any of the three regions considered or in the diet composition between the sexes from identical breeding regions; however, Bayesian ellipses showed a higher isotopic niche width in males at the beginning of the post-breeding season. Stable isotope ratios in bone revealed the enrichment of males with δ13C compared with females across the three regions considered. Furthermore, the Bayesian ellipses were larger for males and encompassed those of females in two of the three regions analyzed. These results suggest a differential use of winter resources between the sexes, with males typically showing a larger diversity of foraging/migratory strategies. The results also show that dietary differences between male and female Magellanic penguins may occur once the constraints imposed by chick rearing activities cease at the beginning of the post-breeding season. 相似文献