Predation on two brachiopods, Joania cordata and Argyrotheca cuneata, from an offshore reef in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Predator holes in empty shells of Joania cordata and Argyrotheca cuneata (Brachiopoda: Megathyrididae) collected in the marine protected area “Secche di Tor Paterno”, central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy (41°35′N–12°20′E, at depths of 20–28?m), were analyzed. Predation intensity was low but appreciable, with the more common species J. cordata preyed on more frequently (6.7?%) than A. cuneata (3.8?%). Three main types of holes were recognized: (1) cylindrical drill holes with a circular outline, (2) larger irregular holes with a jagged outline, and (3) small holes at the bottom of depressions in the shell. They were probably produced by muricid gastropods, crabs, and Foraminifera, respectively. The large, irregular holes were the most common type in both brachiopod species. Evidence for predator selectivity with respect to which valve, the position of the hole on the valve, and the size of the brachiopod with respect to those available was assessed. The ventral valve, the postero-medial portions of both valves, and larger (J. cordata) or medium-sized (A. cuneata) shells were more frequently holed.     

V-doped TiO2 photocatalysts and their application to pollutant degradation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - V-doped TiO2 materials (0.01, 0.05, 0.10, and 1.00 nominal atomic %) were synthesized by the sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction,...     

The Influence of Land Use Change on Landslide Susceptibility Zonation: The Briga Catchment Test Site (Messina,Italy)

The spatial distribution of landslides is influenced by different climatic conditions and environmental settings including topography, morphology, hydrology, lithology, and land use. In this work, we have attempted to evaluate the influence of land use change on landslide susceptibility (LS) for a small study area located in the southern part of the Briga catchment, along the Ionian coast of Sicily (Italy). On October 1, 2009, the area was hit by an intense rainfall event that triggered abundant slope failures and resulted in widespread erosion. After the storm, an inventory map showing the distribution of pre-event and event landslides was prepared for the area. Moreover, two different land use maps were developed: the first was obtained through a semi-automatic classification of digitized aerial photographs acquired in 1954, the second through the combination of supervised classifications of two recent QuickBird images. Exploiting the two land use maps and different land use scenarios, LS zonations were prepared through multivariate statistical analyses. Differences in the susceptibility models were analyzed and quantified to evaluate the effects of land use change on the susceptibility zonation. Susceptibility maps show an increase in the areal percentage and number of slope units classified as unstable related to the increase in bare soils to the detriment of forested areas.     

Effects of detrital non-native and native macroalgae on the nitrogen and carbon cycling in intertidal sediments

The decay of non-native and native seaweed mixing may modify sediment biogeochemistry and organic matter transfers within benthic food webs according to their composition and biomass. The non-native species Sargassum muticum was deliberately added to the sediment of an intertidal sandflat at different biomass and mixed to the native species Ulva sp. and Fucus vesiculosus. The sediment porewater was then ¹³C and ¹⁵N enriched to test whether both detrital diversity and biomass influenced the transfer of porewater carbon and nitrogen to the sediment and to the macrofauna consumers. More ¹⁵N-nitrogen was mobilized to sediments and macrofauna when the 3-species detrital mixing was buried, probably because this mixing provided species-specific compounds such as polyphenols due to the presence of S. muticum and F. vesiculosus, as well as large amounts of nitrogen due to the presence of Ulva. Our study revealed the importance of detrital diversity and non-native seaweeds for the nitrogen cycling in the benthic food web.     

Subpopulation structure of caribou (Rangifer tarandus L.) in arctic and subarctic Canada

Effective management and conservation of species, subspecies, or ecotypes require an understanding of how populations are structured in space. We used satellite-tracking locations and hierarchical and fuzzy clustering to quantify subpopulations within the behaviorally different barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus), Dolphin and Union island caribou (R. t. groenlandicus x pearyi), and boreal (R. t. caribou) caribou ecotypes in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Using a novel approach, we verified that the previously recognized Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, Bluenose-East, Bathurst, Beverly, Qamanirjuaq, and Lorillard barren-ground subpopulations were robust and that the Queen Maude Gulf and Wager Bay barren-ground subpopulations were organized as individuals. Dolphin and Union island and boreal caribou formed one and two distinct subpopulation, respectively, and were organized as individuals. Robust subpopulations were structured by strong annual spatial affiliation among females; subpopulations organized as individuals were structured by migratory connectivity, barriers to movement, and/or habitat discontinuity. One barren-ground subpopulation used two calving grounds, and one calving ground was used by two barren-ground subpopulations, indicating that these caribou cannot be reliably assigned to subpopulations solely by calving-ground use. They should be classified by annual spatial affiliation among females. Annual-range size and path lengths varied significantly among ecotypes, including mountain woodland caribou (R. t. caribou), and reflected behavioral differences. An east-west cline in annual-range sizes and path lengths among migratory barren-ground subpopulations likely reflected differences in subpopulation size and habitat conditions and further supported the subpopulation structure identified.     

Assessment and sources of nonaromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments of three harbors in Santa Catarina State, Brazil

Nonaromatic hydrocarbons and geochemical parameters from 17 sediment?Cwater interface samples were used to assess sources of organic matter in three harbors, located in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. The evaluation was based on the molar C/N/P ratios, abundance of resolved nonaromatic hydrocarbons (3.0?C25.9 ??g g^???1), unresolved complex mixture, and two indexes: the carbon preference index (CPI) and the low molecular weight to high molecular weight ratio. The results indicate that the organic matter is predominantly of terrestrial origin (C/N > 10 and CPI > 2). Variations in the total organic carbon from 0.43 to 2.98 mmol g^???1 and total phosphorus from 82.4 to 464.3 ??g g^???1 showed no clear correlation with the silt and clay fractions of the sediments possibly due to anthropogenic input. In contrast to the low level of contamination based on the acyclic hydrocarbon distribution, the results obtained from a series of geologically stable hopanes and steranes reveal the presence of less degradable petroleum derivatives.     

Multiple paternity and individual variation in sperm precedence in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum

Intraspecific variation in the proportion of offspring sired by the second mate with a female (P₂) is an aspect of sperm competition that has received little attention. I examined the effects of delay between copulations (range 9–380 days) and size of sperm donor on sperm precedence in double-mated individuals of the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum. Using shell colour as a genetic marker, paternity was analysed in 132 broods produced by 35 snails that had mated with two partners of different genotype. Sperm precedence (P₂) was influenced by the time between the two matings when the mating delay exceeded 70 days (one reproductive season). P2 averaged 0.34 in the first brood of snails that mated twice within 70 days indicating first mate sperm precedence. In contrast, P₂ averaged 0.76 in broods of snails that remated in the following season, indicating a decreased viability of sperm from the first mate. The size of sperm-donating individuals had no effect on the fertilization success of their sperm in the first brood produced after the second copulation. Analysis of long-term sperm utilization in 23 snails that laid three to nine egg batches over 2 years revealed striking differences among individuals. Five snails (21.7%) exhibited first-mate sperm precedence throughout, eight snails (34.8%) showed second-mate sperm precedence throughout, whereas ten snails (43.5%) exhibited sperm mixing in successive batches. It is suggested that the individual variation in sperm precedence in A. arbustorum may partly be due to differences in the amount of sperm transferred. Paternity analysis in 34 batches laid by 19 wild-caught individuals of A. arbustorum indicated that at least 12 snails (63.2%) used sperm from two or more mates for the fertilization of their eggs. This suggests a high incidence of multiple paternity in broods of A. arbustorum under field conditions.     

Environmental monitoring using surface water, river sediments, and vegetation: A case study in the Famatina Range, La Rioja, NW Argentina

This work discusses trace elements studied beneath the semiarid endorheic region of the Famatina Range (La Rioja, NW Argentina). The results obtained in 27 control sites allow the determination of five distinct geochemical patterns in the Famatina Range. Pattern 1 reflects the composition of underlying Paleozoic and Tertiary bedrock (background level: water pH, 7.5–9; specific conductance, 0.2–0.7 mS cm⁻¹), which is influenced by mineralization. Pattern 2 exhibits water pH, 6; specific conductance, 0.7 mS cm⁻¹; high contents of Cu, Cd, Rb, Zn, Sn, and Be in waters; and high contents of Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb, Cr, Sb, Ag, Be, Co, Ni, Bi, Rare Earth Elements (REE), Li, Ba, Cs, and Sr in sediments. Pattern 3 exhibits water pH, 3–4; specific conductance, 1.0 mS cm⁻¹; high contents of Pb, Co, Be, Au, As, Cr, Hg, Th, Ba, Cs, Rb, Sb, Y, Zr, REE, and Hf in waters; high contents of Cd, Zn, Mo, and As in sediments). Pattern 3 is also modified by the input of elements from a source external to the Famatina Range. Pattern 4 exhibits water pH, 7–8; specific conductance, 1.5–2.3 mS cm⁻¹; high contents of B, Li, Ba, Sr, and Zn in waters; high contents of Li, Cr, Sr, Ni, and Cs in sediments. Finally, Pattern 5 is developed on the red sandstones from De la Cuesta Formation (water pH, 8; specific conductance, 2.5–5.0 mS cm⁻¹; high contents of Sr, Mo, U, B, Li, Rb, and Hf in waters; high contents of B, Ba, Cs, Li, and Rb in sediments). The mobility of above-mentioned elements is mainly related to water pH changes and evaporation processes.     

Short Note

This study was aimed to investigate the role of two exotic bivalves ( Ruditapes philippinarum and Musculista senhousia ) on the trophic enrichment and the nutritional quality of sediments from the Sacca di Goro (northern Adriatic Sea) through manipulative experiments. The concentrations of sedimentary total organic matter, biopolymeric carbon, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and chlorophyll- a were determined through a 64 days-long period. The experimental setup consisted in three replicated treatments ( R. philippinarum , M. senhousia and simply sand), with treatments and time as fixed factors. All the biochemical classes showed wide fluctuation, and significant differences among treatments were detected during the experimental period. Both bivalve species played a role in sediment enrichment process. At the end of the experimental period, proteins represented the main biochemical class of organic compounds in the treatments with bivalves (48.5 and 44.5% of the biopolymeric fraction in the M. senhousia and R. philippinarum treatments, respectively), while in the control treatment they were only 32.7%. The accumulation of proteic nitrogen increased the nutritional quality of the sedimentary organic matter. Moreover, the presence of M. senhousia also enhanced the accumulation of microphytobenthic carbon.