A bee in the corridor: centering and wall-following

In an attempt to better understand the mechanism underlying lateral collision avoidance in flying insects, we trained honeybees (Apis mellifera) to fly through a large (95-cm wide) flight tunnel. We found that, depending on the entrance and feeder positions, honeybees would either center along the corridor midline or fly along one wall. Bees kept following one wall even when a major (150-cm long) part of the opposite wall was removed. These findings cannot be accounted for by the “optic flow balance” hypothesis that has been put forward to explain the typical bees’ “centering response” observed in narrower corridors. Both centering and wall-following behaviors are well accounted for, however, by a control scheme called the lateral optic flow regulator, i.e., a feedback system that strives to maintain the unilateral optic flow constant. The power of this control scheme is that it would allow the bee to guide itself visually in a corridor without having to measure its speed or distance from the walls.     

The Significance of Particulate Emissions

Fine participates are the subject of increasing concern as one of the major air pollutants. They contribute to smog formation. They are a health hazard because they bypass the respiratory filters and penetrate deep into the lungs, and because they may act synergistically with other pollutants. The sources of submicron particle size pollutants are discussed.     

On the communicative significance of whistles in wild killer whales (Orcinus orca)

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) use pulsed calls and whistles in underwater communication. Unlike pulsed calls, whistles have received little study and thus their function is poorly known. In this study, whistle activities of groups of individually known killer whales were compared quantitatively across behavioural categories. Acoustic recordings and simultaneous behavioural observations were made of northern resident killer whales off Vancouver Island in 1996 and 1997. Whistles were produced at greater rates than discrete calls during close-range behavioural activities than during long-range activities. They were the predominant sound-type recorded during socializing. The number of whistles per animal per minute was significantly higher during close-range behavioural activities than during long-range activities. Evidently, whistles play an important role in the close-range acoustic communication in northern resident killer whales.     

Recurrent congenital toxoplasmosis in a woman with lupus erythematosus

We describe the case of a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus, treated by corticosteroids, who presented during two successive pregnancies with serological reactivation of toxoplasmosis associated with fetal lesions. The first infected fetus died in utero with signs of hydrops. The second fetus was treated in utero with a combination of sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine, administered to the mother, and is now well. The increasing number of immunocompromised pregnant patients with immunity to Toxoplasma gondii may lead to a higher risk of reactivation of maternal toxoplasmosis and congenital infection.     

Significance of Participate Emissions

The advancement of technology relating to participate emissions is pointed out as a significant aspect of this nation’s air pollution control efforts. Important factors include the ability of particulates: to cause poor visibility, to constitute a health hazard, to act as transport vehicles for gaseous pollutants, and (for some) to be highly active both chemically and catalytically. Attention is drawn to fine particulates (those with diameters less than about 3 microns) as an object of special attention within the general problem area. Recent EPA evaluations have indicated the effectiveness, under proper conditions, of advanced precipitators for fine particulate control.     

Fish Welfare in Aquaculture: Explicating the Chain of Interactions Between Science and Ethics

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal-production sector in the world. This leads to the question how we should guarantee fish welfare. Implementing welfare standards presupposes that we know how to weigh, define, and measure welfare. While at first glance these seem empirical questions, they cannot be answered without ethical reflection. Normative assumptions are made when weighing, defining, and measuring welfare. Moreover, the focus on welfare presupposes that welfare is a morally important concept. This in turn presupposes that we can define the capacities of fish, which is an empirical undertaking that informs and is informed by ethical theories about the moral status of animals. In this article we want to illustrate the need for a constant interaction between empirical scientific research and ethics, in which both fields of research make their own contribution. This is not a novel claim. However, the case of fish sheds new light on this claim, because regarding fish there is still much empirical uncertainty and there is a plurality of moral views on all levels. Therefore, we do not only want to show the necessity of this interaction, but also the added value of a cooperation between ethicists and empirical scientists, such as biologists, physiologists, and ethologists. We demonstrate this by considering the different steps in the process of reflection about and implementation of fish welfare.     

Deteriorated watersheds can be restored: A case study

A project in west-central Colorado demonstrated that a watershed dissected by a dense gully network can be stabilized and rehabilitated. Check dam systems, aided by improved vegetative cover through reduced cattle grazing and plantings, stabilized not only the structurally treated gullies, but also gullies within the network that were not structurally treated. Comparison with untreated gullies located outside of the project area, showed that the outside gullies widened three times as much as the structurally untreated inside gullies. Statistical analysis indicated that precipitation was normal during the treatment and evaluation period.Check dams decreased gully depth by accumulating sediment deposits. In turn, gully bank stabilization was hastened and alluvial aquifer volumes increased. This increase, plus higher infiltration rates as a result of denser vegetation, led to renewed perennial streamflow after 7 treatment years.Within 11 years after treatment, check dam systems and improved vegetation reduced sediment loads in the flows by more than 90 percent, providing a substantial benefit to farmlands and ponds downstream.From this work we are able to conclude that only part of a gully network requires structural treatment. The mainstem gully, and those tributaries controlling the local base levels of others, are the critical segments that should be structurally treated.     

Channel adjustments to the removal of log steps: an experiment in a mountain stream

Fallen trees and their large debris often form log steps in small mountain streams, where they are incorporated into the hydraulic geometry. The hypothesis here was that these log steps take the place of gravel bars that otherwise would have been required for channel slope adjustment. In this experiment, the treated as well as the control stream were located in virgin mixed conifer forests and until the study began, no human activity had interfered with the natural developments. All log steps were removed from a stream and the formation of new log steps was prohibited by periodic removal of fallen trees and branches. Five years later, 74% of all removed log steps had been replaced by gravel bars, thus proving the hypothesis that increased bedload movement was required to offset the loss of log steps. Implications are that streamside forests should be managed so that they can provide a steady supply of debris for channel stability.