Thermotolerant coliform loadings to coastal areas of Santa Catarina (Brazil) evidence the effect of growing urbanisation and insufficient provision of sewerage infrastructure

Thermotolerant coliform (TC) loadings were quantified for 49 catchments draining into the North and South Bays of Santa Catarina (SC, southeastern Brazil), an area known for its tourism and aquaculture. TC loadings were calculated based on flow measurements taken in 26 rivers. TC concentrations ere quantified based on surface water samples collected at 49 catchment outlets in 2012 and 2013. Median TC loads ranged from 3.7 × 10³ to 6.8 × 10⁸ MPN s^?1. TC loadings in the catchments increased in proportion to increases in resident human population, population density and percentage of urbanised area. Catchments with more than 60% of area covered by wastewater collection and treatment systems had higher TC loads per person than catchments with less than 25%. Based on the study catchments, these results indicate that current sewerage infrastructure is ineffective in reducing contamination of faecal origin to surface waters. These findings have important implications for the management of microbiological health hazards in bathing, recreational and shellfish aquaculture waters in the North and South Bays of Santa Catarina Island.     

Toward a new understanding of the links between poverty and illegal wildlife hunting

Conservation organizations have increasingly raised concerns about escalating rates of illegal hunting and trade in wildlife. Previous studies have concluded that people hunt illegally because they are financially poor or lack alternative livelihood strategies. However, there has been little attempt to develop a richer understanding of the motivations behind contemporary illegal wildlife hunting. As a first step, we reviewed the academic and policy literatures on poaching and illegal wildlife use and considered the meanings of poverty and the relative importance of structure and individual agency. We placed motivations for illegal wildlife hunting within the context of the complex history of how wildlife laws were initially designed and enforced to indicate how hunting practices by specific communities were criminalized. We also considered the nature of poverty and the reasons for economic deprivation in particular communities to indicate how particular understandings of poverty as material deprivation ultimately shape approaches to illegal wildlife hunting. We found there is a need for a much better understanding of what poverty is and what motivates people to hunt illegally.     

Soil C and N models that integrate microbial diversity

Industrial agriculture is yearly responsible for the loss of 55–100 Pg of historical soil carbon and 9.9 Tg of reactive nitrogen worldwide. Therefore, management practices should be adapted to preserve ecological processes and reduce inputs and environmental impacts. In particular, the management of soil organic matter (SOM) is a key factor influencing C and N cycles. Soil microorganisms play a central role in SOM dynamics. For instance, microbial diversity may explain up to 77 % of carbon mineralisation activities. However, soil microbial diversity is actually rarely taken into account in models of C and N dynamics. Here, we review the influence of microbial diversity on C and N dynamics, and the integration of microbial diversity in soil C and N models. We found that a gain of microbial richness and evenness enhances soil C and N dynamics on the average, though the improvement of C and N dynamics depends on the composition of microbial community. We reviewed 50 models integrating soil microbial diversity. More than 90 % of models integrate microbial diversity with discrete compartments representing conceptual functional groups (64 %) or identified taxonomic groups interacting in a food web (28 %). Half of the models have not been tested against an empirical dataset while the other half mainly consider fixed parameters. This is due to the difficulty to link taxonomic and functional diversity.     

Archaeometric researches on the provenance of Mediterranean Archaic Phoenician and Punic pottery

The aim of this study is to setup a first chemical database that could represent the starting point for a reliable classification method to discriminate between Archaic Phoenician and Punic pottery on the base of their chemical data. This database up to now can discriminate between several different areas of production and provenance and can be applied also to unknown ceramic samples of comparable age and production areas. More than 100 ceramic fragments were involved in this research, coming from various archaeological sites having a crucial importance in the context of the Phoenician and Punic settlement in central and western Mediterranean: Carthage (Tunisia), Toscanos (South Andalusia, Spain), Sulci, Monte Sirai, Othoca, Tharros (Sardinia, Italy) and Pithecusa (Campania, Italy). Since long-time archaeologists hypothesised that Mediterranean Archaic Phoenician and Punic pottery had mainly a local or just a regional diffusion, with the exception of some particular class like transport amphorae. To verify the pottery provenance, statistical analyses were carried out to define the existence of different ceramic compositional groups characterised by a local origin or imported from other sites. The existing literature data are now supplemented by new archaeometric investigations both on Archaic Phoenician ceramics and clayey raw materials from Sardinia. Therefore, diffractometric analyses, optical microscopy observations and X-ray fluorescence analyses were performed to identify the mineralogical and chemical composition of Othoca ceramics and clayey raw material. The obtained results were then compared with own literature data concerning Phoenician and Punic pottery in order to find features related to the different ceramic productions and their provenance. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were also performed on the chemical compositional data in order to discriminate ceramic groups. A very complex situation was found: imported ceramics coming from Carthage, with a large-scale distribution, were found together with a predominant local production pottery. The archaeometric results demonstrate that historical and typological approach has to be supported by scientific analyses to better understand local or Mediterranean exchanges.     

Field scale evaluation of volatile organic compound production inside biosecure swine mortality composts

Emergency mortality composting associated with a disease outbreak has special requirements to reduce the risks of pathogen survival and disease transmission. The most important requirements are to cover mortalities with biosecure barriers and avoid turning compost piles until the pathogens are inactivated. Temperature is the most commonly used parameter for assessing success of a biosecure composting process, but a decline in compost core temperature does not necessarily signify completion of the degradation process. In this study, gas concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced inside biosecure swine mortality composting units filled with six different cover/plant materials were monitored to test the state and completion of the process. Among the 55 compounds identified, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, and pyrimidine were found to be marker compounds of the process. Temperature at the end of eight weeks was not found as an indicator of swine carcass degradation. However, gas concentrations of the marker compounds at the end of eight weeks were found to be related to carcass degradation. The highest gas concentrations of the marker compounds were measured for the test units with the lowest degradation (highest respiration rates). Dimethyl disulfide was found to be the most robust marker compound as it was detected from all composting units in the eighth week of the trial. Concentration of dimethyl disulfide decreased from a range of 290–4340 ppmv to 6–160 ppbv. Dimethyl trisulfide concentrations decreased to a range of below detection limit to 430 ppbv while pyrimidine concentrations decreased to a range of below detection limit to 13 ppbv.     

Changes in the spatial distribution of spawning activity by north-east Atlantic mackerel in warming seas: 1977–2010

Migratory species with a broad geographic range, such as north-east Atlantic mackerel, may be amongst the fauna most able to respond to warming seas, typically with a poleward shift in range. Habitat heterogeneity could, however, produce more complex patterns than a simple polewards translation in distribution. We tested for changes in the central location and spatial spread of mackerel spawning over a 33-year period. Spatial statistics [centre of gravity (CoG) of egg production, spatial variance, and degree of anisotropy] were used to summarise interannual changes in the spawning locations of the western spawning stock of north-east Atlantic mackerel (NEA-WSC) using data from the ICES triennial egg survey. A northwards shift in CoG of egg production estimates was observed, related to both an expansion in the distribution in survey effort and warming waters of the north-east Atlantic. Sea surface temperature (SST) had a significant positive association with the observed northward movement of NEA-WSC mackerel, equivalent to a displacement of 37.7 km °C^?1 (based on spring mean SST for the region). The spatial distribution of spawning around the CoG also changed significantly with SST, with a less elongated spatial spread in warm years. An increase in the proportion of spawning over the Porcupine Bank demonstrated how habitat interacts with positional shifts to affect how north-east Atlantic mackerel are distributed around the centre of their spawning range.     

Application of carbon adsorbents prepared from Brazilian-pine fruit shell for the removal of reactive orange 16 from aqueous solution: Kinetic,equilibrium, and thermodynamic studies

Activated (AC-PW) and non-activated (C-PW) carbonaceous materials were prepared from the Brazilian-pine fruit shell (Araucaria angustifolia) and tested as adsorbents for the removal of reactive orange 16 dye (RO-16) from aqueous effluents. The effects of shaking time, adsorbent dosage and pH on the adsorption capacity were studied. RO-16 uptake was favorable at pH values ranging from 2.0 to 3.0 and from 2.0 to 7.0 for C-PW and AC-PW, respectively. The contact time required to obtain the equilibrium using C-PW and AC-PW as adsorbents was 5 and 4 h at 298 K, respectively. The fractionary-order kinetic model provided the best fit to experimental data compared with other models. Equilibrium data were better fit to the Sips isotherm model using C-PW and AC-PW as adsorbents. The enthalpy and entropy of adsorption of RO-16 were obtained from adsorption experiments ranging from 298 to 323 K.     

Climate changes and tree stand dynamics at the upper limit of their growth in the North Ural mountains

The composition and structure of tree stands near the timberline have been studied on different slopes and at different elevations in the Tylaisko-Konzhakovsko-Serebryanskii Massif, the North Urals. It has been found that the upper limits of tree stands with different degrees of canopy closure have risen considerably (by about 100 m of elevation) since the mid-19th century, although the formation of these stands started as early as the late 18th century. Woodless areas in the eastern part of the massif started to be colonized by Larix sibirica in the late 18th to early 19th centuries; those in the western part, by Picea obovata in the mid-19th century; and in the southern part, by Betula tortuosa in the late 19th century. Analysis of meteorological data provides evidence for warming and increasing humidity of the climate since the late 19th century. Favorable climatic changes that facilitated the expansion of the forest have taken place both in the summer (prolongation of the growing period) and in winter seasons (increase of air temperature and precipitation). The observed differences in the composition and dynamics of tree stands between the studied areas of the mountain range are most probably explained by different requirements of tree species for the depth of snow cover and the degree of soil freezing.