Reproduction and survival of tawny owls in relation to persistent organic pollutants

The potential effects of organochlorines (OCs) and brominated flame retardants on reproduction and survival were studied in tawny owls (Strix aluco) in Central Norway over a period of 19 years (1986-2004). Concentrations of 14 OCs and five polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in eggs (n=104), and Principal Component Analysis was used to produce composite measurements of pollutants; i.e. PC1 and PC2, which accounted for 85% of the variation in contaminant concentrations. There was no evidence for adverse associations between pollutants (PC scores) and life-history traits such as clutch size, probability of producing fledglings and survival, when controlling for potentially confounding variables. Moreover, there was no evidence for interactions between pollutants and vole abundance suggesting no synergistic effects of food stress and pollutants on these life-history traits. There was, however, some evidence for a non-linear negative association between p,p'-DDE (1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene) and eggshell thickness. This suggests that the concentrations of pollutants in this ecosystem were too low to affect reproduction and survival in an owl predominantly consuming prey at low trophic levels, but may be sufficient to cause eggshell thinning at the highest concentrations.     

Evidence for life history changes in high-altitude populations of three perennial forbs

Relatively little is known about how the life histories of perennial forb species, and especially their lifetime patterns of growth, vary across environmental gradients. We used a post hoc approach (herb-chronology) to determine plant age and previous growth (width of successive annual rings in roots) in three species of perennial forb (two long-lived species [Penstemon venustus, Lupinus laxiflorus] and one short-lived [Rudbeckia occidentalis]) along a 1000-m altitudinal gradient in the Wallowa Mountains (northeast Oregon, USA). Plants from the highest altitude tended to be considerably older and produced up to five times as many flowering shoots as lowland plants. In addition, mean ring widths of high-altitude plants were about half those of lowland plants. In plants from low and intermediate altitudes, ring width either decreased linearly or varied inconsistently during the life of the plant. In contrast, ring widths of high-altitude plants increased at first and later decreased, resulting in curvilinear growth trajectories that were highly consistent among species. Together, these data for three ecologically distinct forb species provide evidence of a consistent shift toward more conservative and strongly constrained life histories at higher altitudes. More generally, the results indicate the possible importance of changes in selection pressures across strong environmental gradients on life history strategies within a single species.     

A performance-based tabular approach for joint systematic improvement of risk control and resilience applied to telecommunication grid,gas network,and ultrasound localization system

Environment Systems and Decisions - Organizational and technical approaches have proven successful in increasing the performance and preventing risks at socio-technical systems at all scales....     

A multi-year study following BACI design reveals no short-term impact of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bti</Emphasis> on chironomids (Diptera) in a floodplain in Eastern Austria

Short-term impacts of aerial application of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) on Culicidae and Chironomidae were investigated over several years in temporary waters of the Dyje and Morava floodplains in Eastern Austria. The sampling followed a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) approach with sampling dates immediately before and shortly after the application and was repeated for 3 years. To test for effects of the Bti treatment on the two Diptera families, linear mixed-effects models were used. Data analysis included the factors Before-After and Control-Impact as fixed effects, while general temporal and spatial variables were random effects. One hundred sixteen taxa of chironomids were identified. Abundance varied between 2 and 1125 larvae per m², while culicid densities reached values of several 100 ind. per liter. Total culicid abundance significantly decreased after the Bti treatment, whereas no significant effects were found on the abundance of total chironomids and dominant chironomid subfamilies, tribes, and genera, on relative proportions of chironomid feeding guilds, diversity, and species composition. Further studies from this area are needed to extend the investigation over a period of several weeks in order to reveal possible delayed effects of the larvicide application.     

Ecological quality boundary-setting procedures: the Gulf of Riga case study

Two approaches for setting ecological class boundaries, response curves and a simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol, were tested for coastal, transitional and open waters in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. The simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol defines acceptable ecological status based on expert judgment by a uniform relative deviation from reference conditions. In contrast, response curves derive class boundary definitions from observed changes in biological quality elements along environmental pressure gradients for class boundary definitions. Identification of relevant environmental pressures for the construction of response curves was based on a conceptual model of eutrophication in the Gulf of Riga. Response curves were successfully established for summer chlorophyll a and transparency, as well as for macrozoobenthos abundance in the Central Gulf, macrozoobenthos biotic coefficient in the Southern Gulf, and maximum depth of phytobenthos in the Northern Gulf. In the Gulf of Riga response curves almost always permitted a larger deviation from reference conditions than the 50% deviation applied for the simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol. The case study clearly demonstrated that class boundary definitions should take into account the sensitivity of the target water body. Also, the class boundaries for different ecological quality elements were internally more consistent than those derived by the simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol.     

Empirical relationship between precision and ultra-trace concentrations of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in biological matrices

Dioxin analysis in food and feed can be characterized as an analytical application where very high accuracy is required at very low levels of contamination. Gas chromatography (GC) in combination with 13C-label isotope dilution (ID) high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is the reference congener-specific technique characterized by pronounced selectivity, precision and trueness at parts-per-trillion (ppt) and sub-parts-per-trillion (sub-ppt) levels. The quality of the analytical data produced routinely by a laboratory should be adequate for its intended purpose, i.e., one will seek a compromise between the cost and time needed and the consequences of incorrect decisions due to erroneous results. The requirements for reproducibility are usually dependent on the analyte concentrations and have been expressed in various empirical functions. While Horwitz or modified functions are widely useful for many purposes, it would be difficult to expect these functions to cover every analytical problem. This study reports on precision characteristics achieved by the GC-ID-HRMS reference method for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) in food and feed in two interlaboratory method-performance studies among expert laboratories with long-standing experience in this field. Striking linear functions in log scale between reproducibility standard deviation and congener's level over a concentration range of 10(-8)-10(-14)g per g fresh weight are observed. The data fit very well to a Horwitz-type function of the form sR=0.153c0.904, where sR and c are dimensionless mass ratios expressed in pg g(-1) on fresh weight, regardless of the nature of the toxic congeners, food and feed matrices, or sample preparation methods. We demonstrate that the proposed function is suitable for use as a fitness-for-purpose criterion for proficiency assessment in interlaboratory comparisons on dioxins and related compounds in food.     

Sovereign financial disaster risk management: The case of Mexico

In 2006, Mexico became the first transition country to transfer part of its public-sector natural catastrophe risk to the international reinsurance and capital markets. The Mexican case is of considerable interest to highly exposed transition and developing countries, many of which are considering similar transactions. Risk financing instruments can assure governments of sufficient post-disaster capital to provide emergency response, disaster relief to the affected population and repair public infrastructure. The costs of financial instruments, however, can greatly exceed expected losses, and for this reason it is important to closely examine their benefits and alternatives. This paper analyzes the Mexican case from the perspective of the risk cedent (the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit), which was informed by analyses provided by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The rationale for a government to insure its contingent liabilities is presented along with the fiscal, legal and institutional context of the Mexican transaction. Using publicly available data, the paper scrutinizes the choice the authorities faced between two different risk-transfer instruments: reinsurance and a catastrophe bond. Making use of IIASA's catastrophe simulation model (CATSIM), this financial risk management decision is analyzed within the context of a public investment decision.