Structural and Thermal Properties of Starch Plasticized with Glycerol/Urea Mixture

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The paper presents the results of research on the influence of used plasticizing system on the structural and thermal properties of thermoplastic starch...     

Warning signals confer advantage to prey in competition with predators: bumblebees steal nests from insectivorous birds

Aposematic (warning) signals of prey help predators to recognize the defended distasteful or poisonous prey that should be avoided. The evolution of aposematism in the context of predation has been in the center of modern ecology for a long time. But, the possible roles of aposematic signals in other ecological contexts have been largely ignored. Here we address the role of aposematic signals in competition between prey and predators. Bumblebees use visual and auditory aposematic signals to warn predators about their defenses. For 2 years, we observed competition for nestboxes between chemically defended insects, Bombus ardens (and possibly also Bombus ignitus), and cavity nesting birds (Parus minor and Poecile varius). Bumblebees settled in 16 and 9 % of nestboxes (in 2010 and 2011 breeding seasons, respectively) that contained bird nests at the advanced stage of nest building or at the stage of egg laying. Presence of bumblebees prevented the birds from continuing the breeding activities in the nestboxes, while insects took over the birds’ nests (a form of kleptoparasitism). Playback experiments showed that the warning buzz by bumblebees contributed to the success in ousting the birds from their nests. This demonstrates that aposematic signals may be beneficial also in the context of resource competition.     

Content of selected elements and low-molecular-weight organic acids in fruiting bodies of edible mushroom Boletus badius (Fr.) Fr. from unpolluted and polluted areas

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of the study was to (i) investigate the potential of edible mushroom Boletus badius (Fr.) Fr. to accumulate 53 elements from unpolluted acidic...     

Lipophilicity and Metabolic Route Prediction of Imidazolium Ionic Liquids * (6 pp)

- Aims and Background. Ionic liquid application in industry will offer several excellent solutions, but it also means that they will enter the environment sooner or later. Responsible product design should always take into consideration not only technological demands, but also the risks arising out of possible toxicity and ecotoxicity. In our strategy we are aiming to understand the fate of these entities through their life cycle in the environment as a complimentary element of their design. This paper presents results on the lipophilicity of selected imidazolium ionic liquids, a parameter that plays a key role in environmental and biological distribution. Additionally, the prediction of the most stable metabolite of a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (BMIM) cation – a congener representative of this group of compounds is presented. Materials and Methods Lipophilicity was evaluated by means of reversed phase and immobilized artificial membrane chromatography and further compared to calculated data. Theoretical prediction of lipophilicity was undertaken using fragmental methodology combined with manual calculations of the geometric bond factor for quaternary ammonium and the electronic bond factor due to the presence of a charge. Results and Discussion All the substances studied are characterized by very low partition coefficients, and lipophilicity varies linearly with elongation of the n-alkyl chain. Prediction of metabolic routes was based solely on thermodynamic data of the radical intermediates formed during the reaction with the cytochrome P450 system. The energetically most stable radical structure is generated by hydrogen abstraction from the gamma position of the BMIM cation. Conclusions and Recommendations. The experimentally measured and theoretically estimated lipophilicity coefficients obtained for all the compounds studied generally indicate a relatively low lipophilicity and thus preferable partition to the aqueous phase. By means of thermodynamic data, it was also confirmed that the energetically most stable radical structure is generated by hydrogen abstraction from the gamma position on the alkyl chain in the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cation, as a result of which the C1 atom is preferentially oxidized. - * The basis of this peer-reviewed paper is a presentation at the 9th FECS Conference on 'Chemistry and Environment', 29 August to 1 September 2004, Bordeaux, France.     

Differential sex- and age-related migration of Bluethroats Luscinia svecica at Eilat, Israel

This paper examines the phenology and biometrics of Bluethroats staging in the Eilat region. This is of special interest because of the extreme conditions with which this temperate zone breeding species has to contend because Eilat is a desert habitat and is the last green area before the crossing of the deserts in autumn or after it in spring. Data were collected during 20 spring and 18 autumn migration seasons in the years 1984–2003, and a total of 7,464 Bluethroat were recorded. The number of trapped birds was much higher in autumn than in spring. The majority of Bluethroats caught in both the autumn and spring migrations were juveniles. We found differences in sex ratio in the individual age classes only in the autumn wherein among both adults and juveniles, males were in greater numbers. We also found significant differences in the dates of ringed birds from different sex–age classes in the spring and in autumn migrations. In spring, males from both age classes were caught earlier than females. In autumn, adult birds arrived earlier than juveniles. We think that it is important to identify and conserve the high quality stopover habitats such as Eilat wherein not only Bluethroats have been shown to stopover but also several hundred other species.     

Preliminary Studies on Converting Agricultural Waste into Biodegradable Plastics – Part III: Sawdust

Summary Hardwood sawdust was derivatized either by carboxymethylation, glutaration, maleiation, phthallation, or succination in order to produce anionic materials suitable for complexation with soy protein isolate. Blending each derivative with soy protein isolate resulted in instant precipitation of gels. Infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry suggested that each derivative formed a complex with protein. Reaction products could be dried into pellets exhibiting tensile strengths between 0.9–2.4 MPa, suggested that these materials could be promising candidates for biodegradable structural materials.     

Studies of the effect of simulated acid rain on the ecological equilibrium of the soil system

Introduction to the problem of environmental pollution caused by acid depositions. Presentation of principles of the six-year field experiment with simulated acid rain. Short characteristics of particular parts of the series of papers.     

Ammoniacal leaching and recovery of copper from alloyed low-grade e-waste

The paper concerns a hydrometallurgical method for selective recovery of copper from low-grade electric and electronic wastes. The following consecutive stages were proposed: smelting of the scraps to produce Cu–Zn–Ag alloy, leaching of the alloy in ammoniacal solution, and selective copper electrowinning. Cu–Zn–Ag alloy was a polymetallic and five-phase system. It was leached in chloride, carbonate, sulfate and thiosulfate solutions. This resulted in the separation of the metals, wherein metallic tin and silver as well as lead salts remained in the slimes, while copper and zinc were transferred to the electrolyte. Copper was selectively recovered from the ammoniacal solutions by the electrolysis, leaving zinc ions in the electrolyte. The best conditions of the alloy treatment were obtained in the ammonia–carbonate system, where the final product was copper of high purity (99.9 %) at the current efficiency of 60 %. Thiosulfate solution was not applicable for the leaching of the copper alloy due to secondary reactions of the formation of copper(I) thiosulfate complexes and precipitation of copper(I) sulfide, both inhibiting dissolution of the metallic material.     

Evolution of within-colony distribution patterns of birds in response to habitat structure

It has long been suggested that habitat structure affects how colonial birds are distributed within their nesting aggregations, but this hypothesis has never been formally tested. The aim of this study was to test for a correlated evolution between habitat heterogeneity and within-colony distributions of Ciconiiformes by using Pagel’s general method of comparative analysis for discrete variables. The analysis indicated that central-periphery gradients of distribution (high-quality individuals occupying central nesting locations) prevail in species breeding in homogeneous habitats. These were mainly ground-nesting larids and spheniscids, where clear central-periphery patterns were recorded in ca. 80 % of the taxa. Since homogeneous habitats provide little variation in the physical quality of nest sites, central nesting locations should be largely preferred because they give better protection against predators by means of more efficient predator detection and deterrence. By contrast, central-periphery gradients tended to be disrupted in heterogeneous habitats, where 75 % of colonial Ciconiiform species showed uniform patterns of distribution. Under this model of distribution, edge nest sites of high physical quality confer higher fitness benefits in comparison to low-quality central sites, and thus, high-quality pairs are likely to choose nest sites irrespectively of their within-colony location. Breeding in homogeneous habitats and uniform distribution patterns were identified as probable ancestral states in Ciconiiformes, but there was a significant transition rate from uniform to central-periphery distributions in species occupying homogeneous habitats.