Evidence of reproductive disturbance in Astyanax lacustris (Teleostei: Characiformes) from the Doce River after the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Mariana,Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The Fundão Dam collapsed, on November 5th, 2015, dumping more than 50 million/m3 of iron ore tailings, enriched with metals, into the Doce River...     

Prenatal sex diagnosis: Testosterone and fsh levels in mid-trimester amniotic fluids

We studied the validity of mid-trimester amniotic fluid testosterone and FSH in the diagnosis of fetal sex in abnormal fetuses and in twins. It was found that the testosterone/FSH ratio, but not the level of the individual hormones, was an excellent criterion for fetal sex diagnosis. In a control group of 32 female and 34 male fetuses, the testosterone/FSH ratio was diagnostic. In two cases the values were indeterminate and fetal sex could not be predicted, but there were no false diagnoses. The abnormalities of the fetuses were diagnosed by karyotype analyses or raised levels of α-fetoprotein. It was found that neither autosomal trisomies nor X-chromosome aneuploidy or neural tube defect interfered with the diagnostic value of the hormonal approach. The twin study included 14 pairs, three of whom were discordant for sex. In all twins the fetal sex diagnosis was appropriate. In co-twins of the same sex the hormone levels were very close to each other.     

The potential for combining indigenous and western knowledge in reducing vulnerability to environmental hazards in small island developing states

The benefits of indigenous knowledge within disaster risk reduction are gradually being acknowledged and identified. However, despite this acknowledgement there continues to be a gap in reaching the right people with the correct strategies for disaster risk reduction.This paper identifies the need for a specific framework identifying how indigenous and western knowledge may be combined to mitigate against the intrinsic effects of environmental processes and therefore reduce the vulnerability of rural indigenous communities in small island developing states (SIDS) to environmental hazards. This involves a review of the impacts of environmental processes and their intrinsic effects upon rural indigenous communities in SIDS and how indigenous knowledge has contributed to their coping capacity. The paper concludes that the vulnerability of indigenous communities in SIDS to environmental hazards can only be addressed through the utilisation of both indigenous and Western knowledge in a culturally compatible and sustainable manner.     

The effect of right-turn-on-red on pedestrian and bicyclist accidents

Right-Turn-on-Red (RTOR), in its “Western” version allows motorists to turn right on a red signal after stopping and yielding, unless specifically prohibited by a sign. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Western RTOR on pedestrian and bicycle accidents in selected jurisdictions adopting the rule in the mid-1970s. The results showed significant increases in pedestrian and bicyclist accidents involving right-turning vehicles at signalized locations following the introduction of Western RTOR. These increases were: 40 % for pedestrians and 82 % for bicycles in New York State; 107 % for pedestrians and 72 % for bicycles in Wisconsin; 57 % for pedestrians and 80 % for bicycles in Ohio; and 82 % for pedestrians in New Orleans. Analysis of police accident reports suggested that drivers stopped for a red light are looking left for a gap in traffic and do not see pedestrians and bicyclists coming from their right. Countermeasure research and development was recommended to deal with this well defined problem which involves between 1 % and 3 % of all pedestrian and bicycle accidents.     

Building institutions based on information disclosure: lessons from GRI's sustainability reporting

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine GRI's organizational field and conclude that since its modest beginnings in 1999 GRI has been by several measures a successful institutionalization project. But the institutional logic of this new entity, as an instrument for corporate sustainability management, leaves out one of the central elements of the initial vision for GRI: as a mobilizing agent for many societal actors. This emergent logic reflects GRI's dominant constituency – large global companies and financial institutions and international business management consultancies – and not the less active civil society organizations and organized labor. We attribute these developments to factors such as building GRI within the existing institutional structures; the highly inclusive multistakeholder process; and the underdeveloped base of information users. From the institutional theory perspective, this case shows how the process of institutionalization is deeply affected by initial strategies of the founders, and how it reproduces existing power relations. From the governance perspective, this case leads us to question the power of commodified information to mobilize civil society and to strengthen governance based on partnerships.     

Transmission,plasticity and the molecular identification of cyanobacterial symbionts in the Red Sea sponge <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diacarnus erythraenus</Emphasis>

Cyanobacterial symbionts in the sponge Diacarnus erythraenus from the Red Sea were identified in both adult sponges and their larvae by 16S rDNA sequencing. A single cyanobacterial type was found in all samples. This cyanobacterial type is closely related to other sponge cyanobacterial symbionts. The cyanobacterial rDNA, together with the morphological analysis by electron and fluorescence microscopy, provided evidence for vertical transmission of the symbionts in this sponge. In addition, we show phenotypic plasticity of the symbionts inside the sponge, probably as a result of variability in light availability inside the sponge tissue. Finally, the reproduction of Diacarnus erythraenus is also described.Matan Oren, Laura Steindler have contributed equally to the work.     

Tale of two colors: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cladopsammia gracilis</Emphasis> (Dendrophylliidae) color morphs distinguished also by their genetics and ecology

Cladopsammia gracilis (Dendrophylliidae), an ahermatypic coral inhabits the northern Red Sea. Two color morphs (pink and orange) are found aggregated in caves devoid of hermatypic corals, associated with crustose coralline algae (CCA). Sequencing the rDNA ITS region revealed a separate clustering of members of each color morph. Both morphs grow in shallow waters, with orange corals limited to the upper 4 m, while some pink coral aggregates thrive deeper than 30 m. Planulae were released between June and December. Pink planulae treated with antibiotics and exposed at different intervals to CCA, were competent and metamorphosed even 110 days after release. Maximal competency period for orange planulae was 70 days. All planulae were enhanced to metamorphose in presence of CCA. The mean age at metamorphosis of pink and orange planulae treated with CCA differed significantly. Most orange planulae settled directly on the CCA while most pink planulae settled on the wall of the experiment vial. The morphs differed significantly in the calyx cross-section area of primary polyps. Despite being considered a single species according to skeletal based taxonomy, the significant ecological and molecular differences between pink and orange C. gracilis specimens suggest that they may belong to separate species.     

Kinematic wave approximation to solute transport along preferred flow paths in soils

A routing procedure is introduced which accounts for the loss of a conservative solute tracer from preferred paths during macropore flow. Water flow is treated as a series of kinematic waves from which the tracer is lost due to mixing previously stored soil water, and an expression for solute loss is added to a previously developed model. The model parameters are estimated through experiments at three different input rates applied to a column of a macroporous forest soil.The results of seven experimental runs indicate that solute losses are consistently highest at the early stages of infiltration and drainage flow. An empirical relationship is proposed which links the frequency distribution of the flow parameter with that for solute loss from the preferred path during transient water flow and solute transport.