A Spatially Explicit Resource-Based Approach for Managing Stream Fishes in Riverscapes

The article describes a riverscape approach based on landscape ecology concepts, which aims at studying the multiscale relationships between the spatial pattern of stream fish habitat patches and processes depending on fish movements. A review of the literature shows that few operational methods are available to study this relationship due to multiple methodological and practical challenges inherent to underwater environments. We illustrated the approach with literature data on a cyprinid species (Barbus barbus) and an actual riverscape of the Seine River, France. We represented the underwater environment of fishes for different discharges using two-dimensional geographic information system-based maps of the resource habitat patches, defined according to activities (feeding, resting, and spawning). To quantify spatial patterns at nested levels (resource habitat patch, daily activities area, subpopulation area), we calculated their composition, configuration, complementation, and connectivity with multiple spatial analysis methods: patch metrics, moving-window analysis, and least cost modeling. The proximity index allowed us to evaluate habitat patches of relatively great value, depending on their spatial context, which contributes to the setting of preservation policies. The methods presented to delimit potential daily activities areas and subpopulation areas showed the potential gaps in the biological connectivity of the reach. These methods provided some space for action in restoration schemes.     

From the 1996 groundwater action programme to the 2006 groundwater directive--what have we done, what have we learnt, what is the way ahead?

The need for action to avoid long term deterioration of fresh water quantity and quality was recognised by the Ministerial Seminar on groundwater held at The Hague in November 1991, which underlined the need to establish a programme of actions to be implemented by the year 2000 at national and Community level, aiming at sustainable management and protection of water resources. These discussions resulted in a communication from the European Commission in 1996 about a "Groundwater Action Programme" (GWAP). In parallel, a wide consultation had started on the need to streamline EU water policies, which led to the adoption of the Water Framework Directive in December 2000, later complemented by a "daughter" groundwater directive adopted in December 2006. This paper recalls the orientations of the GWAP and studies whether and how recommended actions have been tackled by the actual EU regulatory framework.     

Competitive Markets for Pollution Permits: Impact on Factor Income and International Equilibrium

We are interested in the impact of pollution permits on wages and profits. We analyze important consequences of introducing a market of pollution permits. A fundamental issue concerns the initial allocation of such permits: should they be allocated freely by grandfathering or be auctioned. The international symmetric case allows us to capture the essence of the problem on income factor. We show that allocating permits to factors in proportion of their contribution to production leads to an efficient (neoclassical) distribution. Considering the international asymmetric case, we show that a permit market does not modify the competitive world equilibrium without permits when the total allocation is large enough. When it is not, if allocation of permits is not proportional to the emissions in the world without permits, there is a reduction factor of emissions that results from the equilibrium allocation of capital.     

Modeling the effect of land use/land cover on nitrogen,phosphorous and dissolved oxygen loads in the Velhas River using the concept of exclusive contribution area

Non-point source water pollution is a major problem in most parts of the world, but is also very difficult to quantify and control since it is not easily separated from point sources and can theoretically originate from the whole watershed. In this article, we evaluate the relationship between land use and land cover and four water pollution parameters in a watershed in Southeast Brazil. The four parameters are nitrate, total ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorous, and dissolved oxygen. To help concentrate on non-point source pollution, only data from the wet seasons of the time period (2001–2013) were analysed, based on the fact that precipitation causes runoff which is the main cause of diffuse pollution. The parameters measured were transformed into loads, which were in turn associated with an exclusive contribution area, so that every measuring station could be considered independent. Analyses were also performed on riparian zones of different widths to verify if the effect of the land cover on the water quality of the stream decreases with the increased distance. Pearson correlation coefficients indicate that urban areas and agriculture/pasture tend to worsen water quality (source). Conversely, forest and riparian areas have a reducing effect on pollution (sink). The best results were obtained for total ammonia nitrogen and dissolved oxygen using the whole exclusive contribution areas with determination coefficients better than R²≈0.8. Nitrate and total phosphorous did not produce valid models. We suspect that the transformation delay from total ammonia nitrogen to nitrate might be an important factor for the poor result for this parameter. For phosphorous, we think that the phosphorous sink in the bottom sediment might be the most limiting factor explaining the failure of our models.     

Assessment of multi-contaminant exposure in a cancer treatment center: a 2-year monitoring of molds,mycotoxins, endotoxins,and glucans in bioaerosols

Indoor air quality in health care facilities is a major public health concern, particularly for immunocompromised patients who may be exposed to microbiological contaminants such as molds, mycotoxins, endotoxins, and (1,3)-ß-D-glucans. Over 2 years, bioaerosols were collected on a monthly basis in a cancer treatment center (Centre F. Baclesse, Normandy, France), characterized from areas where there was no any particular air treatment. Results showed the complexity of mycoflora in bioaerosols with more than 100 fungal species identified. A list of major strains in hospital environments could be put forward due to the frequency, the concentration level, and/or the capacity to produce mycotoxins in vitro: Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus melleus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium herbarum, Purpureocillium lilacinum, and Penicillium brevicompactum. The mean levels of viable airborne fungal particles were less than 30.530 CFU per m³ of air and were correlated to the total number of 0.30 to 20 μm particles. Seasonal variations were observed with fungal particle peaks during the summer and autumn. Statistical analysis showed that airborne fungal particle levels depended on the relative humidity level which could be a useful indicator of fungal contamination. Finally, the exposure to airborne mycotoxins was very low (only 3 positive samples), and no mutagenic activity was found in bioaerosols. Nevertheless, some fungal strains such as Aspergillus versicolor or Penicillium brevicompactum showed toxigenic potential in vitro.     

Wood-based diet and gut microflora of a galatheid crab associated with Pacific deep-sea wood falls

Wood falls in the deep sea have recently become the focus of studies showing their importance as nutrients on the deep-sea floor. In such environments, Crustaceans constitute numerically the second-largest group after Mollusks. Many questions have arisen regarding their trophic role therein. A careful examination of the feeding appendages, gut contents, and gut lining of Munidopsis andamanica caught with wood falls revealed this species as a truly original detritivorous species using wood and the biofilm covering it as two main food sources. Comparing individuals from other geographic areas from substrates not reported highlights the galatheid crab as specialist of refractory substrates, especially vegetal remains. M. andamanica also exhibits a resident gut microflora consisting of bacteria and fungi possibly involved in the digestion of wood fragments. The results suggest that Crustaceans could be full-fledged actors in the food chains of sunken-wood ecosystems and that feeding habits of some squat lobsters could be different than scavenging.     

Large-scale aircraft observations of ultra-fine and fine particle concentrations in the remote Siberian troposphere: New particle formation studies

Ultra-fine particle number concentrations were measured over Siberia during two large-scale airborne measurement campaigns in April and September 2006. During both campaigns, an aircraft flew between Novosibirsk and Yakutsk, collecting every 200 km vertical profiles up to 7 km. This dataset was completed by 5 years of monthly profiles above Novosibirsk. Particle number concentration was measured in the size ranges 3–70 and 70–200 nm, along with other tracers. Free troposphere (FT) particle concentrations (N_3–200) varied between 60 and 460 cm^?3, inferior to boundary layer concentrations (100–7000 cm^?3). In April, high concentrations of ～500 cm^?3 were observed in a polluted air mass recently uplifted at 5–6 km altitude over eastern Siberia, with no sign of significant new particle formation. In September, particle concentrations decreased with altitude, but with a steeper gradient in N_70–200 compared to N_3–70, the latter accounting for 90% of the total particle concentration in the free troposphere at 6–7 km altitude. Because ultra-fine particles presumably have short lifetimes, these observed particles could have been formed in situ in the clean Siberian atmosphere. Two cases of possible nucleation with high concentration and N_3–70/N_70–200 ratios are reported for the September campaign, in the upper troposphere and in cloud outflow in the mid-troposphere. In the seasonal analysis, a FT N_3–70 maximum is found in July–August between 6 and 7 km altitude, with N_3–70 accounting for ～90% of N_3–200 supporting the hypothesis of in situ formation in the FT. A secondary FT maximum of N_3–70 was identified later in autumn. In the boundary layer, seasonally maximum N_3–70 concentrations were found over Novosibirsk in May and September, but not in summer, possibly due to scavenging by precipitations and a large condensational sink from biomass burning aerosols. Our dataset has a limited size resolution and no speciation capability; more investigation is thus required to understand the conditions leading to in situ nucleation processes in the Siberian air shed.