Environmental practices and firm performance: an empirical analysis in the Spanish hotel industry

The impact of environmental practices on firm performance raises an ongoing debate in which the review of the existing literature yields no conclusive results. Different methods have been used to study this relationship and most of the analyses have focused on manufacturing companies. This paper examines the link between environmental practices and firm performance in the Spanish hotel industry using two methods: a cluster analysis and a regression analysis. First, three groups were defined according to their environmental proactivity, and hotels showing a stronger commitment to environmental practices proved to reach higher performance levels. Second, through the regression analysis, findings showed that environmental practices impact significantly on several performance variables.     

Hemosporidian blood parasites in seabirds—a comparative genetic study of species from Antarctic to tropical habitats

Whereas some bird species are heavily affected by blood parasites in the wild, others reportedly are not. Seabirds, in particular, are often free from blood parasites, even in the presence of potential vectors. By means of polymerase chain reaction, we amplified a DNA fragment from the cytochrome b gene to detect parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon, and Haemoproteus in 14 seabird species, ranging from Antarctica to the tropical Indian Ocean. We did not detect parasites in 11 of these species, including one Antarctic, four subantarctic, two temperate, and four tropical species. On the other hand, two subantarctic species, thin-billed prions Pachyptila belcheri and dolphin gulls Larus scoresbii, were found infected. One of 28 thin-billed prions had a Plasmodium infection whose DNA sequence was identical to lineage P22 of Plasmodium relictum, and one of 20 dolphin gulls was infected with a Haemoproteus lineage which appears phylogenetically clustered with parasites species isolated from passeriform birds such as Haemoproteus lanii, Haemoproteus magnus, Haemoproteus fringillae, Haemoproteus sylvae, Haemoproteus payevskyi, and Haemoproteus belopolskyi. In addition, we found a high parasite prevalence in a single tropical species, the Christmas Island frigatebird Fregata andrewsi, where 56% of sampled adults were infected with Haemoproteus. The latter formed a monophyletic group that includes a Haemoproteus line from Eastern Asian black-tailed gulls Larus crassirostris. Our results are in agreement with those showing that (a) seabirds are poor in hemosporidians and (b) latitude could be a determining factor to predict the presence of hemosporidians in birds. However, further studies should explore the relative importance of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on parasite prevalence, in particular using phylogenetically controlled comparative analyses, systematic sampling and screening of vectors, and within-species comparisons.     

“2+26”城市PM2.5与气象因子的尺度依存关系及影响因素分析

基于"2+26"城市的PM_2.5浓度和气象数据，通过连续小波变换（CWT）和离散小波变换（DWT）分析PM_2.5时间序列的变化，利用小波相干（WTC）和多小波相干（MWC）量化PM_2.5与单个、多个气象因子在时频域中的响应关系，并结合偏小波相干（PWC）定量评估大气遥相关因子对响应关系的影响.结果表明：①"2+26"城市的PM_2.5浓度具有中间高、外围低的空间分布特征.PM_2.5突变事件主要发生于气象条件稳定的冬季，并且集中在2018年以前.256~512 d的年尺度周期特征较稳定，同时也是PM_2.5时间序列的主导周期.②PM_2.5与气象因子的相干性取决于时频尺度和变量组合.在所有时频尺度上，PM_2.5与相对湿度、温度的相干性较强；在小、中时频尺度上，PM_2.5与风速相干性较强；在大时频尺度上，PM_2.5与温度的相干性较强.降水、温度和相对湿度的组合可作为解释PM_2.5在所有时频尺度上变化的最佳变量组合.③时频尺度不同，大气遥相关因子对响应关系的增强/削弱作用不尽相同.在所有时频尺度上，厄尔尼诺-南方涛动（ENSO）对PM_2.5与降水、温度之间响应关系的影响较大，太平洋年代际涛动（PDO）对PM_2.5与相对湿度、风速之间响应关系的影响较大.结果可为区域大气污染治理提供参考.     

Nonhydrostatic free surface flows by Oscar Castro-Orgaz and Willi Hager

Environmental Fluid Mechanics -     

Can haze warning policy reduce traffic accidents: evidence from China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Haze pollution may decrease drivers’ driving performance by worsening their physical and psychological states. This paper explores the effects...     

Spatial distribution patterns of rock fragments and their underlying mechanism of migration on steep hillslopes in a karst region of Yunnan Province,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In mountainous areas, rock fragments (RFs) are a common feature on the soil surface and in topsoil. Few studies, however, have investigated the...