Assessing of Environmental Quality in Six Areas in India,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Environmental quality for environmental health has been examined visually by describing general conditions and drinking water supply, sanitation and solid waste treatment conditions and practices in six South-East Asian villages with a dense population. The environmental review was supplemented by discussions with local people and political and administrative decision makers. Some drinking water analyses were done in order to show the water quality to the local people. The quality of the general conditions and the conditions and practices of drinking water supply, excreta disposal and solid waste treatment practices have been graded with the grading system presented below. The grading could be done in 1 or 2 days in each area by two persons, of which one was an environmental scientist and the other a social scientist, who also knew the local culture and worked as a translator.     

Digit ratios (2D:4D), secondary sexual characters and cell-mediated immunity in house sparrows <Emphasis Type="Italic">Passer domesticus</Emphasis>

Homeobox genes regulate development of digits, and it has been suggested that the ratio of length of second to length of fourth digit reflects such genetic effects in a sex-specific manner. We show that digit ratios in the sexually dichromatic house sparrow Passer domesticus differ between sexes, with males having higher ratios than females, and that individuals produce consistent ratios on the two feet. If Homeobox or other genes had pleiotropic effects on development of digits, behavior, and physiology of males and females, we would expect secondary sexual characters and immunity to be related to digit ratio in a sex-specific manner. The size of the visible part of the black badge in February (a secondary sexual character), but not total badge size, was positively correlated with digit ratios, suggesting that males with more male-like digit ratios had larger visible badges. Because of sex-specific effects of development on secondary sexual characters and immunity, we predicted sex-specific differences in immune response to be related to digit ratio. House sparrows with large digit ratios had weaker T cell-mediated immune response than individuals with small digit ratios, particularly in females, implying that females with more male-like digit ratios had weak immune responses. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that early development, as reflected by digit ratios, and genetics affect the expression of adult characters that are supposedly strongly contributing to fitness.     

Orientation and navigation in bats: known unknowns or unknown unknowns?

Bats have been extensively studied with regard to their ability to orient, navigate and hunt prey by means of echolocation, but almost nothing is known about how they orient and navigate in situations such as migration and homing outside the range of their echolocation system. As volant animals, bats face many of the same problems and challenges as birds. Migrating bats must relocate summer and winter home ranges over distances as far as 2,000 km. Foraging bats must be able to relocate their home roost if they range beyond a familiar area, and indeed circumstantial evidence suggests that these animals can home from more than 600 km. However, an extensive research program on homing and navigation in bats halted in the early 1970s. The field of bird navigation has advanced greatly since that time and many of the mechanisms that birds are known to use for navigation were not known or widely accepted at this time. In this paper I discuss what is known about orientation and navigation in bats and use bird navigation as a model for future research in bat navigation. Technology is advancing such that previous difficulties in studying orientation in bats in the field can be overcome and so that the mechanisms of navigation in this highly mobile animal can finally be elucidated.     

Ephemeral spawning aggregations in the Mediterranean sardine, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sardina pilchardus</Emphasis>: a comparison with other multiple-spawning clupeoids

Using previously published histological data on multiple, monthly samples of Sardina pilchardus collected in the central Aegean and Ionian Seas (September 1999–August 2000, and November 2000–February 2001), the Mediterranean sardine was treated as a case study to investigate the biological characteristics of ephemeral spawning aggregations in multiple-spawning clupeoids. Actively spawning (Day₀) females in the Mediterranean sardine, i.e., the daily class of spawners caught a few hours prior, during, or after the spawning act, were shown to separate spatially from late (Day₁₊) spawners and non-spawning females, taking with them a large proportion of conspecific males which were also in advanced spawning condition and in better somatic condition compared to the remaining population. In addition, information from 28 stocks of multiple-spawning clupeoids from a wide range of geographic locations, belonging to 14 species and 2 families (Engraulidae and Clupeidae), was reviewed and analyzed pertinent to the formation of ephemeral spawning aggregations. Results from the latter analysis indicated similar patterns of spatial segregation of Day₀ spawners in the reviewed clupeoid stocks as in the Mediterranean Sardine, which strongly suggested that the formation of ephemeral spawning aggregations is a common behavioral trait among multiple-spawning clupeoids. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Risk analysis of an LPG storage facility in India

An assignment to carry out a hazard study and risk analysis of a gas processing complex has been described briefly, wherein well known procedures have been used to identify and investigate potential hazards. A method of avoiding unintentional overfilling of LPG storage tanks has been recommended, which utilizes the existing level control instruments.     

Determination of trace elements in aquatic plants by means of solid sampling Zeeman atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-ZAAS)

Direct solid sampling Zeeman atomic absorption spectrometric methods were developed and successfully applied to the determination of mercury, cadmium, lead and manganese in aquatic plants. Mercury was determined using a specially designed furnace. The other elements were determined by a third generation spectrometer. In 3-field- and dynamic mode the working range was substantially extended and high amounts of analyte were detectable without laborious dilution of solid samples. The measurements were based on calibrations using certified reference materials of organic origin. No matrix effects were observed under the optimised conditions. Results obtained were in good agreement with the certified values.     

The Great Lake’s future at a cross road

Some argue that a collective vision for the future of the Laurentian Great Lakes is embodied in the␣Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). The GLWQA is a binational agreement, first signed in 1972 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and President Richard Nixon, wherein the two countries (the Parties) commit to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.” Article X of the Agreement states that the Parties shall conduct a comprehensive review of the operation and effectiveness of this Agreement following every third biennial report of the [International Joint] Commission (IJC). The IJC’s 12th Biennial Report, released in 2004, triggered this important science, program, and policy review which commenced May 2006. This essay makes the case for a rigorous review, that explores deliberately the future scope of the Agreement to protect the world’s largest surface freshwater resource, and calls for innovation in the governance regime of this binational ecosystem.