Disentangling the causes of protected‐species bycatch in gillnet fisheries

Gillnet fisheries are widely thought to pose a conservation threat to many populations of marine mammals, seabirds, and turtles. Gillnet fisheries also support a significant proportion of small‐scale fishing communities worldwide. Despite a large number of studies on protected‐species bycatch in recent decades, relatively few have examined the underlying causes of bycatch and fewer still have considered the issue from a multitaxon perspective. We used 3 bibliographic databases and one search engine to identify studies by year of publication and taxon. The majority of studies on the mechanisms of gillnet bycatch are not accessible through the mainstream published literature. Many are reported in technical papers, government reports, and university theses. We reviewed over 600 published and unpublished studies of bycatch in which causal or correlative factors were considered and identified therein 28 environmental, operational, technical, and behavioral factors that may be associated with high or low bycatch rates of the taxa. Of the factors considered, 11 were associated with potential bycatch reduction in 2 out of the 3 taxa, and 3 factors (water depth, mesh size, and net height) were associated with trends in bycatch rate for all 3 taxa. These findings provide a basis to guide further experimental work to test hypotheses about which factors most influence bycatch rates and to explore ways of managing fishing activities and improving gear design to minimize the incidental capture of species of conservation concern while ensuring the viability of the fisheries concerned.     

Correction: Insight into the Adsorption Properties of Chitosan/Zeolite‑A Hybrid Structure for Effective Decontamination of Toxic Cd (II) and As (V) Ions from the Aqueous Environments

Journal of Polymers and the Environment -     

In silico screening of potent bioactive compounds from honeybee products against COVID-19 target enzymes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - After the early advent of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, myriads of FDA-approved drugs have been massively repurposed for...     

Health impact assessment of air pollution in an area of the largest coal mine in Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coal exploration and burning activities are among the activities with the greatest potential to cause atmospheric pollution due to the combustion...     

Intertidal macroinvertebrate community structure in a subtropical channel is driven by sediment properties across different land-use types

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Macroinvertebrate community in the intertidal setup plays an important role in coastal ecosystem functions and biogeochemical cycle. However,...     

Synergistic Effects of Multiple Metal Contaminants on Electrokinetic Remediation of Soils

This article presents a bench‐scale study performed to investigate the removal of heavy metals when they exist individually and in combination in soils. Electrokinetic experiments were conducted using two types of clayey soils, kaolin and glacial till. These soils were contaminated with Cr(VI) only, with Ni(II) only, and with Cr(VI), Ni(II), and Cd(II) combined. It was found that in kaolin, a significant pH variation occurred due to electric potential application, affecting the adsorption‐desorption and dissolution‐precipitation, as well as the extent of migration of the contaminants. In glacial till, however, pH changes were not affected significantly. In both kaolin and glacial till, the migration of Cr(VI) and Ni(II) was higher when they were present individually compared to when they existed together with Cd(II). Cr(VI) migration as single or combined contaminant was lower in kaolin as compared to that in glacial till. This result was due to the low pH conditions created near the anode region in kaolin that led to high Cr(VI) adsorption to the clay surfaces. In glacial till, however, nickel precipitated with or without the presence of co‐contaminants due to high pH conditions in the soil. Overall, this study demonstrates that adsorption, precipitation, and reduction are the significant hindering mechanisms for the removal of heavy metals using electrokinetic remediation. The direction of the contaminant migration and overall removal efficiency depend on the polarity of the contaminant, the presence of co‐contaminants, and the type of soil. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons.     

A multiobjective modeling approach to locate multi-compartment containers for urban-sorted waste

The location of multi-compartment sorted waste containers for recycling purposes in cities is an important problem in the context of urban waste management. The costs associated with those facilities and the impacts placed on populations are important concerns. This paper introduces a mixed-integer, multiobjective programming approach to identify the locations and capacities of such facilities. The approach incorporates an optimization model in a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based interactive decision support system that includes four objectives. The first objective minimizes the total investment cost; the second one minimizes the average distance from dwellings to the respective multi-compartment container; the last two objectives address the “pull” and “push” characteristics of the decision problem, one by minimizing the number of individuals too close to any container, and the other by minimizing the number of dwellings too far from the respective multi-compartment container. The model determines the number of facilities to be opened, the respective container capacities, their locations, their respective shares of the total waste of each type to be collected, and the dwellings assigned to each facility. The approach proposed was tested with a case study for the historical center of Coimbra city, Portugal, where a large urban renovation project, addressing about 800 buildings, is being undertaken. This paper demonstrates that the models and techniques incorporated in the interactive decision support system (IDSS) can be used to assist a decision maker (DM) in analyzing this complex problem in a realistically sized urban application. Ten solutions consisting of different combinations of underground containers for the disposal of four types of sorted waste in 12 candidate sites, were generated. These solutions and tradeoffs among the objectives are presented to the DM via tables, graphs, color-coded maps and other graphics. The DM can then use this information to “guide” the IDSS in identifying additional solutions of potential interest. Nevertheless, this research showed that a particular solution with a better objective balance can be identified. The actual sequence of additional solutions generated will depend upon the objectives and preferences of the DM in a specific application.