Metal bioaccumulation in the greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula, inhabiting an abandoned pyrite mine site

Hepatic and renal concentrations of iron, magnesium, zinc, lead, copper, manganese, mercury, cadmium, molybdenum, chromium, and nickel were quantified in shrews (Crocidura russula) inhabiting a pyrite mine site in Portugal. Several morphological parameters (body weight, residual index, and relative weights) were also examined to clarify the physiological effects of pollution. Shrews from the mine showed increased bioavailability of Fe, Pb, Hg, Cd, Mo, and Ni in comparison with reference specimens. Adult shrews had the highest Cd levels while Cr and Ni concentrations diminished. Intersexual differences were found for Mo and Ni. As a consequence of metal pollution, the relative hepatic weight was higher in shrews from the mine site when compared with reference specimens. These data indicate that C. russula is a good bioindicator of metal pollution. We also evaluated the toxic effects of Pb, Hg, Cd, and Ni, because several shrews from the polluted site showed high concentrations of these metals. To approximate at the real biological impact of abandoned mines, after this first step it is necessary to associate the bioaccumulation levels and morphological effects with other physiological, ecological and genetical biomarkers.     

Optimal Experimental Conditions for Improving the Yield of Poly(limonene) from Photoinduced Polymerization

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Limonene represents a possible candidate for the synthesis of polymers from renewable sources. However, because of some structural characteristics, the...     

Use of environmental DNA in assessment of fish functional and phylogenetic diversity

Assessing the impact of global changes and protection effectiveness is a key step in monitoring marine fishes. Most traditional census methods are demanding or destructive. Nondisturbing and nonlethal approaches based on video and environmental DNA are alternatives to underwater visual census or fishing. However, their ability to detect multiple biodiversity factors beyond traditional taxonomic diversity is still unknown. For bony fishes and elasmobranchs, we compared the performance of eDNA metabarcoding and long-term remote video to assess species’ phylogenetic and functional diversity. We used 10 eDNA samples from 30 L of water each and 25 hr of underwater videos over 4 days on Malpelo Island (pacific coast of Colombia), a remote marine protected area. Metabarcoding of eDNA detected 66% more molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) than species on video. We found 66 and 43 functional entities with a single eDNA marker and videos, respectively, and higher functional richness for eDNA than videos. Despite gaps in genetic reference databases, eDNA also detected a higher fish phylogenetic diversity than videos; accumulation curves showed how 1 eDNA transect detected as much phylogenetic diversity as 25 hr of video. Environmental DNA metabarcoding can be used to affordably, efficiently, and accurately census biodiversity factors in marine systems. Although taxonomic assignments are still limited by species coverage in genetic reference databases, use of MOTUs highlights the potential of eDNA metabarcoding once reference databases have expanded.     

Maximum ecological potential of tropical reservoirs and benthic invertebrate communities

The Reference Condition Approach (RCA) is now widely adopted as a basis for the evaluation of the ecological quality of water bodies. In accordance with the RCA, the integrity of communities found in a given location should be analyzed according to their deviation from the communities that would be expected in the absence of anthropogenic disturbances. The RCA was used here with the aim of defining the Maximum Ecological Potential (MEP) of tropical reservoirs located in the hydrographical basin of the Paraopeba River in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Among the reservoirs, Serra Azul is used as a water supply and is located in a core area of environmental protection where tourism is not allowed and the native vegetation is conserved. The benthic macroinvertebrate communities at 90 sites located in three reservoirs were analyzed and sampled every 3 months over 2 years. The temporal patterns of the communities in the three reservoirs were analyzed (2nd-STAGE MDS and ANOSIM) and were not significantly related to seasonal fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. Twenty-eight sites belonging to the Serra Azul reservoir were selected to define the MEP of these reservoirs because these sites had the lowest human disturbance levels. The macroinvertebrate taxa present in the selected MEP sites are similar to those of natural lakes and different from the communities of disturbed sites. The biological classification of these sites revealed two groups with distinct macroinvertebrate communities. This distinction was related to climatic variables, bottom substrate type, the presence of gravel/boulders, coarse sand, silt, clay or muck, depth, and the shoreline substrate zone. These two subsets of biological communities and respective environmental conditions can serve as a basis for the future implementation of ecological quality monitoring programs for tropical reservoirs in the study area. This approach can also, however, be implemented in other geographic areas with artificial or heavily modified water bodies.     

Packaging waste recycling in Europe: Is the industry paying for it?

This paper describes and examines the schemes established in five EU countries for the recycling of packaging waste. The changes in packaging waste management were mainly implemented since the Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste entered into force. The analysis of the five systems allowed the authors to identify very different approaches to cope with the same problem: meet the recovery and recycling targets imposed by EU law. Packaging waste is a responsibility of the industry. However, local governments are generally in charge of waste management, particularly in countries with Green Dot schemes or similar extended producer responsibility systems. This leads to the need of establishing a system of financial transfers between the industry and the local governments (particularly regarding the extra costs involved with selective collection and sorting). Using the same methodological approach, the authors also compare the costs and benefits of recycling from the perspective of local public authorities for France, Portugal and Romania. Since the purpose of the current paper is to take note of who is paying for the incremental costs of recycling and whether the industry (i.e. the consumer) is paying for the net financial costs of packaging waste management, environmental impacts are not included in the analysis. The work carried out in this paper highlights some aspects that are prone to be improved and raises several questions that will require further research. In the three countries analyzed more closely in this paper the industry is not paying the net financial cost of packaging waste management. In fact, if the savings attained by diverting packaging waste from other treatment (e.g. landfilling) and the public subsidies to the investment on the “recycling system” are not considered, it seems that the industry should increase the financial support to local authorities (by 125% in France, 50% in Portugal and 170% in Romania). However, in France and Portugal the industry is paying local authorities more than just the incremental costs of recycling (full costs of selective collection and sorting minus the avoided costs). To provide a more definitive judgment on the fairness of the systems it will be necessary to assess the cost efficiency of waste management operators (and judge whether operators are claiming costs or eliciting “prices”).     

Influence of sewage sludge,as a substrate,in the plasticity of functional characteristics of plants

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of sewage sludge application as fertilizer on the plasticity of functional characteristics of species commonly found in the Caatinga. The research was developed in the nursery of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará (IFCE), Quixadá campus, located in northeastern Brazil. Three treatments were applied: raw sludge, sanitized sludge, and no manipulation. In each treatment, five species were planted, each with five individuals, totaling 75 individuals, which were tagged, and 4 months after germination, they were destroyed to obtain dry matter content (TMSF) from leaf, stem (TMSC), fine root (TMSRF), and thick root (TMSRG); leaf area; height and diameter of the seedling; and length above and below the ground. The sanitized sludge was responsible for giving higher values for leaf area, height of the seedlings, and diameter and length of stem and root. However, the dry matter content of the fine roots was higher in the treatment without manipulation. At the community level, as TMSRG increased, TMSC also increased, the same occurred between TMSRG and TMSRF, TMSC and TMSRF, and stem length and leaf area. In the treatment without manipulation, there was a positive correlation between leaf area, height and plant diameter, and negative correlation between root length and plant diameter. Thus, it can be concluded that the use of sanitized sludge is a good tool to increase the availability of soil resources, conferring to individuals’ greater dry matter content, greater leaf area, and higher height and diameter above the ground.     

Modeling carcass removal time for avian mortality assessment in wind farms using survival analysis

In monitoring studies at wind farms, the estimation of bird and bat mortality caused by collision must take into account carcass removal by scavengers or decomposition. In this paper we propose the use of survival analysis techniques to model the time of carcass removal. The proposed method is applied to data collected in ten Portuguese wind farms. We present and compare results obtained from semiparametric and parametric models assuming four main competing lifetime distributions (exponential, Weibull, log-logistic and log-normal). Both homogeneous parametric models and accelerated failure time models were used. The fitted models enabled the estimation of the carcass persistence rates and the calculation of a scavenging correction factor for avian mortality estimation. Additionally, we discuss the impact that the distributional assumption can have on parameter estimation. The proposed methodology integrates the survival probability estimation problem with the analysis of covariate effects. Estimation is based on the most suitable model while simultaneously accounting for censored observations, diminishing scavenging rate estimation bias. Additionally, the method establishes a standardized statistical procedure for the analysis of carcass removal time in subsequent studies.     

Emerging technological approaches for controlling the hard core DUI offender in the U.S

Drivers convicted of impaired driving are substantially overrepresented in alcohol-related fatal crashes. Because many such offenders continue to drive with suspended operators' licenses, monitoring their postconviction driving is a significant problem for the criminal justice system. Technology for tracking the location and drinking of such offenders is a rapidly developing field, which promises to provide methods for monitoring offenders on a 24/7 basis. The status of traditional monitoring methods is reviewed and contrasted with the new technologies that are being implemented. Although those technologies offer considerable promise, they have not yet been evaluated in programs for impaired driving offenders. Eight issues related to the probability of rapid implementation of the new technologies are discussed.     

Interlocks for first offenders: effective?

OBJECTIVE: Vehicle interlocks have been shown to effectively reduce the recidivism of multiple driving-while-impaired (DWI) offenders; however, the evidence for their effectiveness with first offenders has been mixed. Two Canadian studies found that the installation of an interlock reduced first DWI recidivism, but U.S. studies in West Virginia and California failed to find a significant reduction in recidivism for first DWI offenders in interlock programs. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which such devices were effective with first offenders in New Mexico. METHODS: This study compared 1,461 first offenders, who installed interlocks in New Mexico between January 1, 2003, and December 1, 2005, with 17,562 first offenders convicted during the same period who did not install the units. Cox multivariate proportional hazards regression (CMVPHR) was used to compare recidivism rates during three periods: while the interlock was on the vehicles of offenders who installed them, after those offenders removed the units until the end of the study period (approximately 2 years), and for the combined period (both while the interlock was installed and after it was removed). RESULTS: While the device was on the vehicles of the interlock group, their recidivism rate, 2.6% per year of exposure, was significantly less than the 7.1% per year rate of the comparison group (CMVPHR hazard ratio = 0.39, p < 0.0001). After the device was removed, the annualized recidivism rate of the interlock group increased to 4.9% per year of exposure, which was less than the 6.7% rate of the comparison group, but the hazard ratio was not statistically significant (CMVPHR hazard ratio = 0.82, p = 0.16). When the combined periods (interlock on and off) were considered, the interlock group had a recidivism rate of 3.9% per year, which again was significantly lower than the 6.8% rate for the comparison group (CMVPHR hazard ratio = 0.61, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The study provides evidence that interlocks are as effective with first offenders (approximately 60% reduction in recidivism when on the vehicle) as they are for multiple offenders. In addition, the benefits of requiring an interlock for first offenders exceed the costs by a factor of three.