Sex allocation in Savi’s warblers <Emphasis Type="Italic">Locustella luscinioides</Emphasis>: multiple factors affect seasonal trends in brood sex ratios

Sex allocation theory predicts that whenever the relative fitness of sons and daughters differ, females should invest more in the sex with the greatest fitness return. In this study, we evaluated the influence of various ecological factors on the brood sex ratio (BSR) of Savi’s warblers (Locustella luscinioides) across several breeding seasons. There was a slight but significant female production bias at the population level, which is consistent with the ‘local resource competition’ hypothesis, as the breeding density is very high and females are more prone to disperse. We found that there was a significant decline in BSR during the breeding season, but no influence of male size, female size, social status nor extra-pair paternity were detected. The seasonal decline in BSR was further evaluated by assessing the within- and between-female effects, which indicated that multiple factors were operating simultaneously in our study population. First, there was a significant within-female decline in BSR, which was consistent with the decline in female condition due to the reproductive effort associated with multiple brooding (supporting the Trivers and Willard hypothesis). Second, a significant decline in BSR with the laying date of first clutches of different pairs indicated that male and/or female qualities are also associated with the seasonal variation in BSR. Finally, a comparison between the sex of the youngest nestling with the remaining ones did not suggest any bias, indicating that females do not compensate for the increased mortality of the last nestling (caused by asynchronous hatching) by producing a male from the last laid egg.     

Regaining the traditional use of wildlife in wetlands on the coastal plain of Veracruz,Mexico: ensuring food security in the face of global climate change

Regional Environmental Change - Wetlands play important roles that benefit social-ecological systems. They are threatened by climate change and human activities, i.e., raising livestock and...     

Levels and risks of particulate-bound PAHs in indoor air influenced by tobacco smoke: a field measurement

Considering tobacco smoke as one of the most health-relevant indoor sources, the aim of this work was to further understand its negative impacts on human health. The specific objectives of this work were to evaluate the levels of particulate-bound PAHs in smoking and non-smoking homes and to assess the risks associated with inhalation exposure to these compounds. The developed work concerned the application of the toxicity equivalency factors approach (including the estimation of the lifetime lung cancer risks, WHO) and the methodology established by USEPA (considering three different age categories) to 18 PAHs detected in inhalable (PM₁₀) and fine (PM_2.5) particles at two homes. The total concentrations of 18 PAHs (Σ_PAHs) was 17.1 and 16.6 ng m^?3 in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 at smoking home and 7.60 and 7.16 ng m^?3 in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 at non-smoking one. Compounds with five and six rings composed the majority of the particulate PAHs content (i.e., 73 and 78 % of Σ_PAHs at the smoking and non-smoking home, respectively). Target carcinogenic risks exceeded USEPA health-based guideline at smoking home for 2 different age categories. Estimated values of lifetime lung cancer risks largely exceeded (68–200 times) the health-based guideline levels at both homes thus demonstrating that long-term exposure to PAHs at the respective levels would eventually cause risk of developing cancer. The high determined values of cancer risks in the absence of smoking were probably caused by contribution of PAHs from outdoor sources.     

Implications of a changing climate on food security and smallholders’ livelihoods in Bogotá, Colombia

Small farmers who supply the city of Bogotá with food are facing many challenges that are jeopardizing their livelihoods and by extension, the food security of Colombia’s capital. We expect future changes in climatic conditions to exacerbate the plight of the small farmers and this is expected to compromise Bogota’s food security even further. This paper specifically seeks to assess the impact of climate change (CC) on the livelihoods of smallholders who supply Bogota with most of its food. In our multidisciplinary methodology, we translated the exposure to CC into direct impact on crops and assessed sensitivity and adaptive capacity using the sustainable rural livelihoods framework. The results show that rainfall (by average of 100 mm) and temperature (by average of 2.1 °C) will increase over the study area, while the future climate suitability of the most important crops such as mango (Mangifera indica), papaya (Carica papaya), corn (Zea mays) and plantain (Musa balbisiana) shows a decrease of 19 % to 47 % climate suitability by the year 2050. The assessment of sensitivity and adaptive capacity demonstrates that farmers participating in a farmers’ market, initiated by several local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are less vulnerable to CC than farmers who sell through intermediaries. Those farmers selling directly to consumers in the farmers’ market have a higher adaptive capacity (3 on a scale of 3) in social and financial capital than those selling to intermediaries with less adaptive capacity (1 on a scale of 3). In light of the reduction in overall climatic suitability of some of the major crops and the change of geographic location of suitability for others, there are likely to be serious threats for Bogotá’s food security, the ecological landscape around the city, and farmers’ livelihoods. We further conclude that unless proper adaptation measures are implemented, the geographical shift in climate suitability may also force farmers to shift their crops to higher elevations including remaining forests and páramos (the Colombian alpine tundra ecosystems), which may be threatened in the near future.     

Comparison between EMINENT and other energy technology assessment tools

Currently, issues related with climate change, security of energy supply, energy efficiency and sustainability are at the core of all energy policies and strategies. The current technologies are not able to face this challenge; therefore, the development of new and more sustainable energy technologies must be supported.As part of this, energy technology assessment tools can help decision-makers in the identification and evaluation of sustainable energy solutions, in order to integrate them in long term energy strategies.The EMINENT tool was developed to assess the performance and market potential of early stage technologies (EST) in a pre-defined energy chain, under national conditions, in terms of financial, energy and environmental criteria.This paper presents a comparative study between EMINENT and other tools for energy technology assessment. The tools analysed were CO2DB, MARKAL, IKARUS and E3Database.Although there are many different energy technology assessment tools, EMINENT seems to be the only one targeting EST.