A tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer for formaldehyde atmospheric measurements validated by simulation chamber instrumentation

A tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer (TDLAS) for formaldehyde atmospheric measurements has been set up and validated through comparison experiments with a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) in a simulation chamber. Formaldehyde was generated in situ in the chamber from reaction of ethene with ozone. Three HCHO ro-vibrational line intensities (at 2909.71, 2912.09 and 2914.46 cm^-1) possibly used by TDLAS were calibrated by FT-IR spectra simultaneously recorded in the 1600-3200 cm^-1 domain during ethene ozonolysis, enabling the on-line deduction of the varying concentration for HCHO in formation. The experimental line intensities values inferred confirmed the calculated ones from the updated HITRAN database. In addition, the feasibility of stratospheric in situ HCHO measurements using the 2912.09 cm^-1 line was demonstrated. The TDLAS performances were also assessed, leading to a 2σ detection limit of 88 ppt in volume mixing ratio with a response time of 60 sec at 30 Torr and 294 K for 112 m optical path. As part of this work, the room-temperature rate constant of this reaction and the HCHO formation yield were found to be in excellent agreement with the compiled literature data.     

Reliability of social media data in monitoring the global pet trade in ants

The global pet trade is a major risk to biodiversity and humans and has become increasingly globalized, diversified, digitalized, and extremely difficult to control. With billions of internet users posting online daily, social media could be a powerful surveillance tool. But it is unknown how reliably social media can track the global pet trade. We tested whether Instagram data predicted the geographic distribution of pet stores and the taxonomic composition of traded species in the emerging pet trade in ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). We visited 138 online stores selling ants as pets worldwide and recorded the species traded. We scraped ∼38,000 Instagram posts from ∼6300 users referencing ants as pets and analyzed comments on post and geolocation (available for ∼1800 users). We tested whether the number of Instagram users predicted the number of ant sellers per country and whether the species referenced as pets on Instagram matched the species offered in online stores, with a particular focus on invasive species. The location of Instagram users referencing ants as pets predicted the location of ant sellers across the globe (R² = 0.87). Instagram data detected 439 of the 631 ant species traded in online stores (70%), including 59 of the 68 invasive species traded (87%). The number of Instagram users referencing a species was a good predictor of the number of sellers offering the species (R² = 0.77). Overall, Instagram data provided affordable and reliable data for monitoring the emerging pet trade in ants. Easier access to these data would facilitate monitoring of the global pet trade and help implement relevant regulations in a timely manner.     

Humanitarian aid and local responses: the aftermath of the rebuilding effort on Tongoa island,Vanuatu

Cyclone Pam swept through the archipelago of Vanuatu on 13–14 March 2015, with wind speeds exceeding those recorded anywhere in the South Pacific since the 1980s. Southern and central parts of the country were particularly affected. Material damage on Tongoa, one of the most afflicted islands, was extensive, but no deaths were reported. During the storm, villagers found shelter in their kitchen, in what is considered locally as a ‘lifeboat’. The aftermath was managed and mitigated by international aid organisations. On Tongoa, this included a ‘Shelter Cluster’ programme, under which villagers were given house rebuilding kits. Elaborating upon extensive ethnographic investigations on site between 2011 and 2018, this paper explores and reveals the ways in which this aid generated confusion among the local population. In a larger context of regular disasters triggered by natural hazards, locals have found endogenous ways of dealing with such extreme climatic events, for the most part without any external assistance.     

Are faecal hormone levels linked to winter progression,diet quality and social rank in young ungulates ? An experiment with white-tailed deer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Odocoileus virginianus</Emphasis>) fawns

Hormones play a central role in the physiology and behaviour of animals. The recent development of noninvasive techniques has increased information on physical and social states of individuals through hormone measurements. The relationships among hormones, life history traits and behaviours are, however, still poorly known. For the first time, we evaluated natural winter glucocorticoid and testosterone levels in young ungulates in relation to winter progression, diet quality and social rank. Overwinter, levels of glucocorticoid and testosterone decreased, possibly due to the decline of fawns’ body mass. The relationships between hormone levels and diet quality were surprising: Fawns fed the control diet presented higher glucocorticoid and lower testosterone levels then fawns fed the poor diet, suggesting that control fawns faced a higher nutritional stress than those on the poor diet. Similarly to other studies on social mammals, we found no relationship between faecal glucocorticoid levels and social rank, suggesting that social stress was similar for dominant and subordinate fawns during winter. Testosterone levels were not correlated to social rank as found previously in groups of individuals forming stable social hierarchies and maintaining stable dominance relationships. The simultaneous suppression of glucocorticoid and testosterone levels suggests for the first time that young ungulates present a hormonal strategy to prevent fast depletion of limited proteins and fat resources during winter.     

Mesoporous silica synthesized from natural local kaolin as an effective adsorbent for removing of Acid Red 337 and its application in the treatment of real industrial textile effluent

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper presents a synthesis of mesoporous silica (MS) from natural clay as a silica source using Pluronic L35 (EO11PO16EO11) as a...     

Promoting equity in water access: the limits of fairness of a rural water programme in semi‐arid Mozambique

Bridging the water infrastructure gap has become a major policy concern. In rural areas of Africa, access to water is as much constrained by territorial coverage as it is by the poor conditions of water points due to the difficulty in mobilizing communities for repairs. This paper examines the equity considerations of a rural water and sanitation programme in a district of Mozambique, and their impacts on the achievement of the programme's objectives. Our analysis underlines the contradictions in the conceptualization of equity in the design, planning and implementation of the programme. Even an explicitly pro‐poor strategy can fall short of delivering equity. Our findings stress the fact that overlooking local perception of equity can have a direct impact on the ability of a community to ensure the maintenance of their water points. They call for a careful definition of equity in the design of water programmes, as well as closer attention to this criterion as a precondition to achieving the long‐term objective of the programme.     

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.     

The effect of management systems and ecosystem types on bark regeneration in Himatanthus drasticus (Apocynaceae): recommendations for sustainable harvesting

Bark and exudates are widely commercialized non-timber forest products. However, the ecological impacts of the harvesting of these products have seldom been studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of tree resilience to harvesting intensity in Himatanthus drasticus, a tree that is highly exploited in the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado) for its medicinal latex. Although the traded product is the latex, the traditional harvesting systems involve the removal of the bark of the trees to allow exploitation. A 3-year experiment was conducted in two different Cerrado ecosystems (open savanna and savanna woodland). Trees were debarked at four debarking intensities to simulate the effects of traditional management systems. Measurements of bark growth were taken every 6 months, and quantitative and qualitative indexes of bark regeneration were obtained. The mortality of the debarked trees was low and could not be related to the intensity of harvesting. No signs of attack by fungi or insects were recorded. Compared with other species exploited for bark, H. drasticus is very resilient to harvesting; however, bark regeneration is relatively slow. In both analyzed ecosystems, the regeneration indexes showed higher values in the controls than in the treatments, indicating that 3 years is not sufficient for total recovery of the rhytidome. Bark regeneration occurred primarily by sheet growth and was more rapid in open savanna than in savanna woodland. No differences in the rate of bark recovery were found among management treatments. Based on the results, sustainable harvesting guidelines are suggested for the species.     

Assessment of organic pollution of an industrial river by synchronous fluorescence and UV–vis spectroscopy: the Fensch River (NE France)

To rapidly monitor the surface water quality in terms of organic pollution of an industrial river undergoing restoration, optical methods (UV–visible spectrometry and fluorescence) were applied in parallel to classical physical–chemical analyses. UV–visible spectra were analyzed using the maximum of the second derivative at 225 nm (related to nitrates), specific absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA₂₅₄), and the spectral slope between 275 and 295 nm (S _275–295) (related to the aromaticity and molecular weight of dissolved organic carbon). The synchronous fluorescence spectra (wavelength difference = 50 nm) exhibited a high variability in the composition of dissolved organic material between the upstream and downstream sections and also versus time. The principal components analysis of the entire set of synchronous fluorescence spectra helped to define three river sections with different pollution characteristics. Spectral decomposition was applied to the two most upstream sections: five fluorophores, classical in rivers impacted by domestic sewage and related to protein-like (λ _ex = 280 nm) and humic-like fluorescence (M-type with λ _ex ≈ 305–310 nm and C-type with λ _ex ≥ 335 nm), were identified. The irregular shape of the synchronous fluorescence spectra in the most downstream section is likely due to organic pollutants of industrial origin; however, their variability and the complexity of the spectra did not allow the further elucidation of their nature.     

Microsatellite DNA markers and morphometrics reveal a complex population structure in a merobenthic octopus species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Octopus maorum</Emphasis>) in south-east Australia and New Zealand

Five polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and then used to assess the population genetic structure of a commercially harvested merobenthic octopus species (Octopus maorum) in south-east Australian and New Zealand (NZ) waters. Beak and stylet morphometrics were also used to assess population differentiation in conjunction with the genetic data. Genetic variation across all loci and all sampled populations was very high (mean number alleles = 15, mean expected heterozygosity = 0.85). Microsatellites revealed significant genetic structuring (overall F _ST = 0.024, p < 0.001), which did not fit an isolation-by-distance model of population differentiation. Divergence was observed between Australian and NZ populations, between South Australia and north-east Tasmania, and between two relatively proximate Tasmanian sites. South Australian and southern Tasmanian populations were genetically homogeneous, indicating a level of connectivity on a scale of 1,500 km. Morphometric data also indicated significant differences between Australian and NZ populations. The patterns of population structuring identified can be explained largely in relation to regional oceanographic features.