Diversity of cyanobacterial phylotypes in a Mediterranean drinking water reservoir (Marathonas, Greece)

The structure of the cyanobacterial community in a large drinking water reservoir (Marathonas, Greece) was investigated in October 2007 and September 2008. Cyanobacteria-specific primers were used for the PCR amplification of cyanobacterial 16S rDNAs from three water column sites and the water collection tank. In total, 199 clones were sequenced representing 52 unique cyanobacterial, including chloroplast-related, and 11 non-cyanobacterial phylotypes. All cyanobacterial phylotypes belonged to the order Chroococcales. Cluster analysis showed that the cyanobacterial communities in 2007 in the three water column sites showed high similarity between the stations and low diversity (H?=?1.17???1.44), due to the occurring common phylotypes, while all sites in 2008 had very low similarities between them and higher diversity (H?=?1.56???2.40). Some of the most abundant phylotypes were closely related (>98%) to members of the genus Gloeocapsa and a potentially toxin-producing strain of Microcystis aeruginosa. The non-cyanobacterial phylotypes were either unaffiliated or belonged to the Verrucomicrobia, and were related with sequences originating from lake water habitats.     

Integrated approach for the quality assessment of freshwater resources in a vineyard area (South Portugal)

An integrated chemical and biological approach for the quality assessment of freshwater resources in a vineyard area of the ??Alentejo?? region (South Portugal) is presented. This includes analysis to 11 pesticide compounds and whole toxicity testing on algae and crustaceans. Simazine, terbuthylazine, terbutryn, desethylatrazine and chlorpyrifos were the most frequently detected pesticides in water collected from wells and drainage channels. Mixtures of up to three compounds in different qualitative combinations were also found. The quality standards for individual pesticides (0.1 ??g L^???1) and pesticides-total (0.5 ??g L^???1) were exceeded in some samples. However, their maximum concentrations were lower than the WHO guidelines, the USEPA health advisory values and the environmental quality standards for priority substances applicable to surface water. In five samples, the herbicides terbuthylazine and terbutryn and the insecticide chlorpyrifos did not pass the toxicity exposure ratio (TER) trigger values specified for aquatic organisms (algae, Daphnia and fish). Maximum toxic effects on Daphnia magna (100%) and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata (82.56%) were determined in groundwater samples, while in surface water, no toxicity was observed. Concerning effects on Heterocypris incongruens in sediment samples collected at the drainage channels, mortality and growth inhibition values were below 38%. Pro-active management of the use of pesticides is recommended for implementing at the farm and catchment level to reduce inputs into ground- and surface water.     

Repetitive Strain in Nonrepetitive Work: A Case Study

In a Québec factory, a woman in a nontraditional job suffered from epicondylitis whereas her male coworkers were unaffected. A study was undertaken in order to enumerate the operations at risk for epicondylitis. Workers were interviewed in order to identify difficult operations and systematic observations were done over 4 work days. Although tasks were extremely varied, certain movements at risk for epicondylitis were repeated many times. Fifty-three valves were turned against resistance as part of this job, and one valve requiring a particularly difficult movement was turned 20 times in one day. There were at least 61 operations at risk for epicondylitis per day over a 4-day period. Strain on the elbow joint was particularly intense for the woman worker because the design of the workplace gave an advantage to taller workers with larger hands. Although this case study does not permit us to conclude that the worker’s epicondylitis was due to her job, it enables us to suggest that it would be wise to adapt the dimensions of relevant equipment and worksites to a wider range of potential worker sizes. We also raise some questions about the definition of repetitive strain in epidemiological studies. We suggest that it may be necessary to consider not only the cycle time but also the total of forces exerted on a joint in order to study workplace injuries to the musculoskeletal system.     

A Strategy for Prioritizing Threats and Recovery Actions for At-Risk Species

Ensuring the persistence of at-risk species depends on implementing conservation actions that ameliorate threats. We developed and implemented a method to quantify the relative importance of threats and to prioritize recovery actions based on their potential to affect risk to Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). We used assessments of threat importance and elasticities of demographic rates from population matrix models to estimate the relative contributions of threats to overall increase in risk to the population. We found that urbanization, human access, military operations, disease, and illegal use of off highway vehicles are the most serious threats to the desert tortoise range-wide. These results suggest that, overall, recovery actions that decrease habitat loss, predation, and crushing will be most effective for recovery; specifically, we found that habitat restoration, topic-specific environmental education, and land acquisition are most likely to result in the greatest decrease in risk to the desert tortoise across its range. In addition, we have developed an application that manages the conceptual model and all supporting information and calculates threat severity and potential effectiveness of recovery actions. Our analytical approach provides an objective process for quantifying threats, prioritizing recovery actions, and developing monitoring metrics for those actions for adaptive management of any at-risk species.     

Vulnerability and resilience to climate change in Sorsogon City,the Philippines: learning from an ordinary city?

Sorsogon City is a rapidly urbanising coastal area in the Philippines. Its location, combined with a rapidly changing and growing urban fabric, leaves it vulnerable to both incremental climate change and associated extreme weather events. In this paper, UN-HABITAT data are used to draw out the climate change vulnerabilities and policy responses in Sorsogon City. Vulnerability “hotspots” highlight the spatial intersection of socio-economic justice concerns, particularly in terms of vulnerability to increased cyclone activity. We discuss vulnerabilities of Sorsogon City and its citizens to climate change and measures undertaken through various social, environmental and technical systems and interventions to increase resilience. The paper also attempts to unpick the relationship between the neat, concise reported city and the complexities of urban life using the Sorsogon experiment to consider the limitations of such approaches to governing climate change. We group these under four headings: social simplification in the absence of data; over-governance (and under-representation); quick wins versus strategic investment; and stretching the ecological and vulnerability footprints of the city. The experience of Sorsogon City is then extended to reflect on issues of governance and planning in other Asian coastal cities.     

Photocatalytic Production of Methane and Hydrogen Through Reduction of Carbon Dioxide with Water Using Titania Pellets

This paper presents an experimental study on employing a pellet form of catalyst in photo-reduction of carbon dioxide with water. Water was first absorbed into titania pellets. Highly purified carbon dioxide gas was then discharged into a reactor containing the wet pellets, which were then illuminated continuously for 65 hours using UVC lamps. Analysing the products accumulated in the reactor confirmed that methane and hydrogen were produced through photo-reduction of carbon dioxide with water. No other hydrocarbons were detected. Increasing the temperature in the reactor has showed little change on the amount of methane produced.     

Effects of increased content of leaf surface flavonoids on the performance of mountain birch feeding sawflies vary for early and late season species

Summary. The effects of artificially added flavonoid aglycones to birch leaf surfaces on the larval performance of six species of leaf-chewing sawflies were investigated. Significantly negative effects of increased contents of both total flavonoid and individually fed flavonoid compounds were found for the larval performance of certain mid to late and late, but not early season, sawfly species. Species-specific variations in the quantity of faecal flavonoid glycosides, which were examined to investigate whether effective glycosylation of foliar flavonoid aglycones in larvae correlated with varying tolerance to these compounds, also yielded significant species-specific differences between early and late season species. The results suggest seasonal adaptations in host plant use by sawflies feeding on mountain birch, such that phenologically earlier species are better adapted to coping with leaf surface flavonoid aglycones, which occur in the highest concentrations in young leaves.