Urban wild meat consumption and trade in central Amazonia

The switch from hunting wild meat for home consumption to supplying more lucrative city markets in Amazonia can adversely affect some game species. Despite this, information on the amounts of wild meat eaten in Amazonian cities is still limited. We estimated wild meat consumption rates in 5 cities in the State of Amazonas in Brazil through 1046 door-to-door household interviews conducted from 2004 to 2012. With these data, we modeled the relationship between wild meat use and a selection of socioeconomic indices. We then scaled up our model to determine the amounts of wild meat likely to be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers in central Amazonia. A total of 80.3% of all interviewees reported consuming wild meat during an average of 29.3 (CI 11.6) days per year. Most wild meat was reported as bought in local markets (80.1%) or hunted by a family member (14.9%). Twenty-one taxa were cited as consumed, mostly mammals (71.6%), followed by reptiles (23.2%) and then birds (5.2%). The declared frequency of wild meat consumption was positively correlated with the proportion of rural population as well as with the per capita gross domestic product of the municipality (administrative divisions) where the cities were seated. We estimated that as much as 10,691 t of wild meat might be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers within central Amazonia, the equivalent of 6.49 kg per person per year. In monetary terms, this amounts to US$21.72 per person per year or US$35.1 million overall, the latter figure is comparable to fish and timber production in the region. Given this magnitude of wild meat trade in central Amazonia, it is fundamental to integrate this activity into the formal economy and actively develop policies that allow the trade of more resilient taxa and restrict trade in species sensitive to hunting.     

Colonization and early succession on artificial hard substrata by meiofauna

An experiment was undertaken at Farol Island, Brazil, to examine colonization of bare aluminium surfaces by microbes and meiofauna. It was hypothesized that a primary source of meiofaunal colonists was sediment resuspended during upwelling events, two of which occurred during the experiment. Microbial biofilms formed on the experimental substrata within 1 day, and continued to develop throughout the experimental period. Among meiofaunal groups copepods also appeared on the first day, and nematodes on the second. Meiofaunal community structure developed in three main phases: an initial phase of 2 days, characterized by low abundances of copepods; a second phase during the first upwelling period characterized by higher abundances of copepods and also by turbellarians; and a third phase from day 13 onwards characterized by relatively stable abundances of a range of taxa including copepods, cirripedes, nematodes and ostracods. Nematode assemblages also developed in three phases, but with different timings coinciding with upwelling events: an initial phase, from the beginning of the experiment to day 9, characterized by few species and low (or no) abundances; a second phase following the first upwelling characterized by moderate abundances of Chromadorina, Chromadorella, Daptonema and Euchromadora sp. 3; a third phase following the second upwelling period (from day 26 onwards) in which Daptonema disappeared and the assemblage was characterized by moderate to high abundances of Euchromadora (species 1 and 2) and Chromadorella. Although shifts in nematode assemblage structure coincided with upwelling events no evidence was found for sediments being the primary source of colonizers on the aluminium substrata, in contrast to our hypothesis.     

Photocatalytic degradation of chlorophenols using Ru(bpy) 3 2+ /S2O 8 2−

Advanced oxidation processes, such as photocatalysed oxidation, provide an important route for degradation of wastes. In this study, the lowest excited state (³MLCT) of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ is used to break down chlorophenol pollutant molecules to harmless products. This has the advantage of using visible light and a short-lived catalytically active species. Photolysis of deaerated aqueous solutions of a variety of mono- and poly-substituted chlorophenols has been followed in the presence of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/S₂O₈²⁻ with near visible light (λ > 350 nm) by UV/visible absorption spectroscopy, luminescence, potentiometry, NMR and HPLC techniques. Upon irradiation, a decrease is observed in the chlorophenol concentration, accompanied by the formation of Cl⁻, H⁺ and SO₄²⁻ ions as the main inorganic products. Benzoquinone, phenol, dihydroxybenzenes and chlorinated compounds were the dominant organic products. As the ruthenium(II) complex is regenerated in the reaction, the scheme corresponds to an overall catalytic process. The kinetics of the rapid chlorophenol photodechlorination has been studied, and are described quite well by pseudo-first order behaviour. Further studies on this were made by following Cl⁻ release with respect to the initial Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ and S₂O₈²⁻ concentrations. A comparison is presented of the photodechlorination reactivity of the mono and polychlorophenols studied at acidic and alkaline pH.     

Markets,population dynamics,and coastal ecosystems

Our synthesis focuses on how markets influence the population and environment relationship within coastal ecosystems by considering the differential valuing of environmental resources and ecosystem services through 3 perspectives: livelihood, globalization, and public goods and externalities. These are not new perspectives when considering how markets shape demographic and environmental outcomes. However, we suggest that the insight offered by viewing coastal and marine health through these combined lenses brings into focus with renewed urgency the perils facing these vital ecosystems.     

Influence of air pollution on the incidence of respiratory tract neoplasm

To evaluate the possible influence of air pollutants on the incidence of respiratory tract neoplasm we studied 12 S?o Paulo City districts where air pollution is observed. We collected data on pollutants from 1981-1990 and correlated it with the incidence of larynx and lung neoplasms in 1997. Ozone was the pollutant that best correlated with the incidence of neoplasm. The correlation coefficients were 0.7234 (p=0.277) and 0.9929 (p=0.007) for lung and larynx cancer, respectively. There may be a relationship between air pollution and the incidence of respiratory tract neoplasm. This study, however, does not allow us to conclude that there is a causal relationship.     

Evaluation of soil temperature effect on herbicide leaching potential into groundwater in the Brazilian Cerrado

The effect of annual variations in the daily average soil temperatures, at different depths, on the calculation of pesticide leaching potential indices is presented. This index can be applied to assess the risk of groundwater contamination by a pesticide. It considers the effects of water table depth, daily recharge net rate, pesticide sorption coefficient, and degradation rate of the pesticide in the soil. The leaching potential index is frequently used as a screening indicator in pesticide groundwater contamination studies, and the temperature effect involved in its calculation is usually not considered. It is well known that soil temperature affects pesticide degradation rates, air-water partition coefficient, and water-soil partition coefficient. These three parameters are components of the attenuation and retardation factors, as well as the leaching potential index, and contribute to determine pesticide behavior in the environment. The Arrhenius, van't Hoff, and Clausius-Clapeyron equations were used in this work to estimate the soil temperature effect on pesticide degradation rate, air-water partition coefficient, and water-soil partition coefficient, respectively. The relationship between leaching potential index and soil temperature at different depths is presented and aids in the understanding of how potential pesticide groundwater contamination varies on different climatic conditions. Numerical results will be presented for 31 herbicides known to be used in corn and soybean crops grown on the municipality of S?o Gabriel do Oeste, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil.     

Air quality management in Portugal: example of needs and available tools

The Framework Directive (FWD) and the proposed Daughter Directives are the newest legislative instruments concerning a new political strategy and air quality management approach for Europe. Additionally, the member countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe have included the concepts of critical load and level for planning air pollution abatement strategies and as a base of international agreements concerning limitation of the emissions of air pollutants. These concepts imply an accurate knowledge about pollutants deposition fluxes. The paper describes the main needs and the tools available to define a strategy of air quality management in Portugal. Two study cases are presented: (1) extensive monitoring plan to assess the impact of an urban incinerator plant; and (2) contribution to a methodology to estimate critical levels for a coastal region in Portugal. These different approaches allowed illustrating the complexity of the implementation of an air pollution management strategy.     

Speciation of heavy metals in estuarine sediments in the northeast of Brazil

An analytical procedure involving a three-step sequential extraction was used to determine the chemical association of heavy metals (Zn, Cr, Mn and Fe) with the major phases (exchangable, reducible and oxidizable) in samples from a fishpond of estuarine sediments. The pond is located in the Capibaribe River estuary, within the boundaries of the city of Recife, in the State of Pernambuco in the northeast of Brazil. The total metal content was determined as well. All metals were extracted from the residual fraction at a percentage greater than 50%.