Colorful tails fade when lizards adopt less risky behaviors

Colorful tails that become cryptic during ontogeny are found in diverse taxa. Nevertheless, the evolutionary bases for this change remain debated. Recent work suggests that colorful tails, deflective displays, and striped patterns may represent antipredator mechanisms used by immature lizards to compensate for being more active and hence more vulnerable to predation (increased movement hypothesis, IMH). I challenged the generality of IMH by comparing foraging behavior and frequency of tail displays across five Acanthodactylus lizards that vary in fundamental life history traits, before and after the tail changed color. As these species underwent changes in tail coloration, they congruently adopted less risky behaviors and reduced the frequencies of tail displays. Contrary to expectation, in two species, the hatchling risky behavior resulted not from increased movements but from longer stay in exposed microhabitats. I suggest that colorful tails and deflective tail displays are synergistic antipredator mechanisms neonates use to minimize the fitness consequences of using various risky behaviors rather than increased movement alone.     

Cosolvent effect on the catalytic reductive dechlorination of PCE

Reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organic contaminants is an effective approach to treat this widespread group of environmentally hazardous substances. Metalloporphyrins can be used to catalyze reduction reactions by shuttling electrons from a reducing agent (electron donor) to chlorinated organic contaminants, thus rendering them to non-chlorinated acetylene, ethylene or ethane as major products. Iron, nickel and vanadium oxide tetraphenyl porphyrins (TPPs) were used as models of non-soluble metalloporphyrins that are common in subsurface environments, and hence may inflect on the ability to use natural ones. The effect of cosolvents on metalloporphyrins is demonstrated to switch the reduction of tetrachlorethylene (PCE) from no reaction to complete PCE transformation within 24 h and the production of final non-chlorinated compounds. Variations in product distributions for the different metalloporphyrins indicate that changes in the core metal can influence reaction rates and effective pathways. Furthermore, different cosolvents can generate varied product distributions, again suggesting that different pathways and/or rates are operative in the reduction reactions. Comparison of different cosolvent effects on PCE reduction using vitamin B12--a soluble natural metalloporphyrinogen--as the catalyst shows less pronounced differences between reactions in various cosolvent solutions versus only aqueous solution.     

Enhanced transport of pesticides in a field trial with treated sewage sludge

This study was designed to provide high-density data on spatial distribution of three herbicides with different physiochemical characteristics in a sludge-amended and non-amended control field over the course of an irrigation season. The field experiment was carried out on a sandy loam Hamra Red Mediterranean soil (Rhodoxeralf) at Bet Dagan, Israel. After a single 50 mm irrigation event, the mean centers of mass (COM) in the control field were at 15.6, 14.9, and 17 cm for bromacil, atrazine and terbuthylazine, respectively; in the sludge-amended field, mean COMs were at 28.8, 31.2, and 34.1 cm, respectively. After 500 mm of irrigation in the control field, the COM depth distribution of the three pesticides was inversely correlated with octanol-water (Kow) distribution coefficients and soil sorption coefficients (Koc), and positively correlated with aqueous solubilities. After 500 mm irrigation in the sludge-amended field, the mean terbuthylazine COM was at 19.8 cm versus 13.8 cm for the control field, demonstrating a sustained enhanced effect on terbuthylazine transport. Downward transport of atrazine was also enhanced by sludge amendment, albeit less than terbuthylazine. Bromacil was preferentially accumulated in the upper soil layers of the sludge-amended field as compared with the control field after 500 mm irrigation. The enhanced transport of all three pesticides in the sludge-amended field after a single irrigation event is attributed to development of preferential flow pathways around hydrophobic clods of sludge. Enhanced transport of terbuthylazine, and to a lesser extent, atrazine, throughout the irrigation season, is attributed to their transport as complexes with dissolved, colloidal and suspended organic matter derived from sludge degradation.     

Contaminant-induced irreversible changes in properties of the soil-vadose-aquifer zone: an overview

Most studies on contaminant interactions with the subsurface environment focus on contaminant transport, retention and persistence, and on potential remediation of polluted soils, vadose zones and aquifers. Changes in the soil-vadose-aquifer zone (SVAZ) matrix and properties, caused by human activities, are thus usually considered to be deviations from a normal geochemical environment, which will disappear by natural processes or by specific remediation procedures. However, contaminants may also cause, under specific conditions, irreversible changes in SVAZ properties. In this critical overview, we discuss a different aspect of contaminant-SVAZ interactions: irreversible changes in natural SVAZ properties as a result of anthropogenically-induced chemical contamination. We survey selected research results that illustrate various aspects of such phenomena, in soils, aquifers and the vadose zone. Grouping contaminants according to major and trace elements, we observe that major elements can irreversibly affect water transmission and other physical and chemical properties of the SVAZ, mainly in the liquid phase, while trace elements affect mostly the solid phase matrix.     

Reductive hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons catalyzed by metalloporphyrins

The hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene) catalyzed by metalloporphyrins based on cobalt, nickel or iron was studied in aqueous solutions at room temperature and ambient pressure. Nickel porphyrin (P1) activated by nanosized zero-valent iron (nano-ZVI) and cobalt porphyrins (P2) and (P4) activated by titanium(III) citrate as the electron donor were demonstrated to be promising catalysts for the reductive hydrogenation of PAHs. In particular, partially saturated di-, tetra-, and octahydrogenated products were obtained for anthracene or phenanthrene using a nickel porphyrin activated by nano-ZVI, while naphthalene was transformed to tetralin. Systems containing cobalt porphyrins activated by titanium(III) citrate exhibited a high selectivity and activity toward hydrogenation of anthracene, producing 9,10-dihydroanthracene. However, no formation of hydrogenated hydrocarbons was observed from naphthalene or phenanthrene using cobalt porphyrins.     

Behavior and stability of organic contaminant droplets in aqueous solutions

The behavior of several hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in water at concentrations close to and above their maximum solubility values was studied. For this purpose, solutions of benzene, toluene, xylene, trichloroethylene (TCE) and a mixture of them were prepared in excess in freshwater and in saltwater, and solution stability was examined. High organic concentrations were found to remain stable in both freshwater and saltwater. In saltwater, for example, toluene and xylene concentrations remained as high as 14 and 26 times their solubilities, respectively, over a period of 6 days, while in freshwater, their concentrations remained 8 and 30 times their solubilities over the same period. This phenomenon is attributed to the presence of stable organic droplets, which were observed using optical microscopy. In addition, the transport of HOC droplets through sand is demonstrated, using an experimental system consisting of a saltwater source reservoir connected by a porous inactive sand layer to a freshwater collector reservoir.     

Local perspectives on regional challenges: jellyfish proliferation and fish stock management along the Israeli Mediterranean coast

The composition and abundance of marine biota in Israeli marine ecosystems are affected by natural and anthropogenic pressures, including blooms of non-indigenous jellyfish and overfishing. While overfishing is itself a major stressor of fish stocks, it appears that jellyfish may be outcompeting fish for scarce planktonic food resources. Beyond this direct impact on fisheries, jellyfish–ecosystem interactions are also important because of the disturbance they cause to multiple users of marine and coastal resources. This paper documents the concurrent changes in the composition of marine biotic communities, including jellyfish proliferation and dwindling stocks of endemic, commercially valuable fish and the rising rate of bottom trawling in Israeli fisheries. The capacity to deal directly with jellyfish is limited by lack of knowledge about their ecology. Therefore, we suggest that bolstering fish stocks and increasing their competitive advantage in the food web may be instrumental in limiting jellyfish blooms. Coordination of fishing and conservation policies is recommended, as are modifications to marine waste management and deployment of submerged artificial substrates.     

How Competing Securitized Discourses over Land Appropriation Are Constructed: The Promotion of Solar Energy in the Israeli Desert

Although solar farms are often favorably received by the public due to their contribution to clean energy, they are not conflict-free. In various contexts, this land-intensive technology often competes with other land uses like agriculture, nature reserves, and army training. As a result of this competition, interest groups often seek political leverage in order to prioritize their spatial use. Framing their uses as existential is one possible way to capture the attention of decision-makers. Yet, this securitization process may create a framing contest whereby different actors use similar securitization language to promote different land uses. This study is the first attempt to trace how this framing contest of securitized discourses over land appropriation is constructed. It is based on the Israeli experience of promoting solar energy in the Negev Desert, an area conceived as available to solar development. Through an analysis of protocols of Israeli policy-makers’ meetings between 2002 and 2011, the study documents the ways in which players adopt securitized language concerning various land uses such as energy, food, ecology, and traditional (national) security. The study found that the use of securitized framing varies between uses, forums, actors, and sectors. Yet competition between securities discourses remained uneven as, in the Israeli context, many players find it difficult to challenge the hegemonic role of traditional (national) security.