Food preferences and related behavior of the browsing sea urchin <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tripneustes gratilla</Emphasis> (Linnaeus) and its potential for use as a biological control agent

The short-spined toxopneustid sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla feeds on a wide variety of algal species and on sea grasses. However, the urchin does show preferences when offered a selection of macroalgal species, which it encounters in nature. Preferences among macroalgae were evident in field-collected urchins exposed to pair-wise tests where the variable was either the consumption rate of the algae or observation of which algal species the urchins chose to touch with their lantern teeth. Exposure of lab-housed urchins to one of five species of macroalgae for 5 months did not seem to alter preferences of urchins in three of the exposure groups, but those exposed to Padina sanctae-crucis seemed to show an enhanced preference for this species when offered a choice of the five species of macroalgae at the end of the exposure period, and those exposed to Gracilaria salicornia seemed to avoid the species when offered the choice of the five species. Perhaps more ecologically important than their preferences were two other observations on these urchins: first, when offered only a single species of algae, the urchins on four of five diets ate the same quantity per day. Second, when simultaneously offered the choice among the five macroalgal species, the urchins consumed more macroalgae per day than when offered only one species. These urchins move about a meter a day. They probably encounter food resources in a relatively coarse-grained fashion and have evolved to eat what is available. Because of their limited movements, their habitat overlap with grazing fishes, their acceptance of a wide variety of macroalgae and their preference for macroalgae, these native urchins are thought to have the potential to serve as biological control agents of alien and invasive macroalgae, which have come to dominate some reef zones normally occupied by corals in Hawaii.     

Assessing perceptions about ecosystem health and restoration options in three east coast estuaries

Increasingly public and governmental agencies are concerned aboutrevitalizing coastal environments. Understanding how the publicuses these areas, and what they see as the most important improvements to these regions is critical to their assessment andmanagement. Uses of three estuaries, and perceptions of possiblemanagement and restoration options, were examined for people whowere interviewed in the New York/New Jersey Harbor, Manasquan Inlet, and Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Nearly 90% of the people interviewed listed pollution as New Jersey's most important environmental problem. Most people (68%) used the habitat for outdoor sports, but rated communing with nature, walking, and the provision of open `green' space as the most valued uses. Pollution prevention was the most often mentioned habitat improvement desired, and people rated removing pollution, cleaning up garbage, and creating more fish breeding habitat the highest. There were significant locational differences inhow people used the estuaries, and in how they thought they should be improved. People from Barnegat Bay ranked most uses higher than did people from elsewhere, while the people from Manasquan Inlet rated the importance of most remediation and restoration actions higher. Many of the improvements fall withinenvironmental management, including (rank order from high to low)creating more fish breeding habitat, improving native vegetation,improving habitat for birds, increasing plant diversity,improving habitat for butterflies, and enlarging adjacentmarshes. The data provide clear support for the importance ofthese coastal habitats for communing with nature and having open`green space' spaces, and for providing recreationalopportunities. To enhance their value, people want to removepollution and improve both the habitat quality and the educational and recreational facilities.     

Prevalence of Human Parainfluenza Viruses and Noroviruses Genomes on Office Fomites

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential role of office fomites in respiratory (human parainfluenza virus 1—HPIV1, human parainfluenza virus 3—HPIV3) and enteric (norovirus GI—NoV GI, norovirus GII—NoV GII) viruses transmission by assessing the occurrence of these viruses on surfaces in office buildings. Between 2016 and 2017, a total of 130 surfaces from open-space and non-open-space rooms in office buildings located in one city were evaluated for HPIV1, HPIV3, NoV GI, and NoV GII viral RNA presence. Detection of viruses was performed by RT-qPCR method. Study revealed 27 positive samples, among them 59.3% were HPIV3-positive, 25.9% HPIV1-positive, and 14.8% NoV GII-positive. All tested surfaces were NoV GI-negative. Statistical analysis of obtained data showed that the surfaces of office equipment including computer keyboards and mice, telephones, and desktops were significantly more contaminated with respiratory viruses than the surfaces of building equipment elements such as door handles, light switches, or ventilation tracts (χ ² p = 0.006; Fisher’s Exact p = 0.004). All examined surfaces were significantly more contaminated with HPIVs than NoVs (χ ² p = 0.002; Fisher’s Exact p = 0.003). Office fomites in open-space rooms were more often contaminated with HPIVs than with NoVs (χ ² p = 0.016; Fisher’s Exact p = 0.013). The highest average concentration of HPIVs RNA copies was observed on telephones (1.66 × 10² copies/100 cm²), while NoVs on the light switches (1.40 × 10² copies/100 cm²). However, the Kruskal–Wallis test did not show statistically significant differences in concentration levels of viral RNA copies on surfaces between the all tested samples. This study unequivocally showed that individuals in office environment may have contact with both respiratory and enteric viral particles present on frequently touched surfaces.     

Changes in the peripheral blood flow in legs in response to the cold: own studies using plethysmography

The thermal environment in the workplace is an important factor which affects workers’ health. During 2011 in Poland, 14,781 workers were exposed to a cold working environment, i.e., 3.8% of persons employed in hazardous work conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the cardiovascular response to continuous (4 °C for 60 min) and intermittent (10 min at 4 °C and 10 min at room temperature alternately) exposure to the cold in 30 healthy men aged 20–27 years. Peripheral blood flow was assessed with impedance plethysmography. Heart rate and arterial blood pressure were monitored with the Holter system. Having assessed the results, it is difficult to say which kind of exposure has a more severe impact on the cardiovascular system. Longer observation and a more detailed analysis would be necessary (e.g., Doppler echocardiography).     

Approaches for assessing hazards and risks to workers and the public from contaminated land

Many public agencies and private entities are faced with assessing the risks to humans from contamination on their lands. The United States Department of Energy (US DOE) and Department of Defense are responsible for large holdings of contaminated land and face a long‐term and costly challenge to assure sustainable protectiveness. With increasing interest in the conversion of brownfields to productive uses, many former industrial properties must also be assessed to determine compatible future land uses. In the United States, many cleanup plans or actions are based on the Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility, Compensation, and Liability Act, which provides important but incomplete coverage of these issues, although many applications have tried to involve stakeholders at multiple steps. Where there is the potential for exposure to workers, the public, and the environment from either cleanup or leaving residual contamination in place, there is a need for a more comprehensive approach to evaluate and balance the present and future risk(s) from existing contamination, from remediation actions, as well as from postremediation residual contamination. This article focuses on the US DOE, the agency with the largest hazardous waste remediation task in the world. Presented is a framework extending from preliminary assessment, risk assessment and balancing, epidemiology, monitoring, communication, and stakeholder involvement useful for assessing risk to workers and site neighbors. Provided are examples of those who eat fish, meat, or fruit from contaminated habitats. The US DOE's contaminated sites are unique in a number of ways: (1) huge physical footprint size, (2) types of waste (mixed radiation/chemical), and (3) quantities of waste. Proposed future land uses provide goals for remediation, but since some contamination is of a type or magnitude that cannot be cleaned up with existing technology, this in turn constrains future land use options, requiring an iterative approach. The risk approaches must fit a range of future land uses and end‐states from leave‐in‐place to complete cleanup. This will include not only traditional risk methodologies, but also the assessment and surveillance necessary for stewards for long‐term monitoring of risk from historic and future exposure to maintain sustainable protectiveness. Because of the distinctiveness of DOE sites, application of the methodologies developed here to other waste site situations requires site‐specific evaluation © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Perceptions about Environmental Use and Future Restoration of an Urban Estuary

Recent interest in restoring urban ecosystems has engendered studies on public perceptions of these ecosystems and future land use. This paper examines the perceptions of people using the waterfront area of the New York/New Jersey harbour estuary about their use of the area, and how this environment could be improved. Pollution was viewed as the most important problem in New Jersey, and removing pollution was rated the most important way to improve the waterfront habitat. Using the remaining undeveloped area for natural habitat and to improve quality of life were rated as the most important uses of the waterfront. People valued the waterfront for walking, providing open green space, and as a place to commune with nature without people. Management options people favoured were removing pollution and cleaning up rubbish and adding educational signs and information brochures about the remaining, natural habitat. Age, income and education influenced which activities people said they undertook. For improvements to the waterfront: Hispanics rated adding educational signs and creating information brochures higher, Blacks rated building promenades as more important, and Asians and Whites rated improving habitat for birds and butterflies more important than others. The data indicate that the public has a firm understanding of the big picture (pollution in the region and locally), habitat improvement, and of the small improvements that can be done locally. Planners and managers could move forward on three fronts: source reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and amenity (signs, brochures, cleaning up rubbish) development. Understanding how people use an environment, and wish to improve it, can provide valuable information for future restoration and management of urban environments generally, as well as for structuring a citizen advisory committee.     

Environmental key performance indicators: the role of regulations and stakeholder influence

Environment Systems and Decisions - Environmental protection is of vital importance and needs to be considered in the context of business strategies, including companies’ reporting decisions....     

The effects of male–male contests and female eavesdropping on female mate choice and male mating success in the jumping spider, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thiania bhamoensis</Emphasis> (Araneae: Salticidae)

In experiments that comprised of three phases (fight, choice, and mating) under “seen” and “unseen” conditions, we examined the effects of the outcomes of male–male contests and female eavesdropping on female mate choice and male mating success in the fighting spider, Thiania bhamoensis (Salticidae). The results revealed female eavesdropping on agonistic interactions. Females that had watched an aggressive interaction showed no distinctive preference for the winner over the loser, but they preferred the loser when they had not observed a fight. Winners, however, achieved a greater mating success than did losers during the mating phase. Gaining access to females was based on the insistence of the winners in courtship in terms of the number of quivers, rather than on the fighting behavior of the males. Hence, the outcome of male–male contests may not be an important determinant of a male’s mating success in T. bhamoensis. Instead, courtship display plays an important role in determining the success of male mating in this species. This study also suggests that female mate preference may not be a good indicator of eventual female mate choice and male mating success. Thus, a causal relationship between female mate preference and male mating success cannot be inferred. Joanna P. Y. Chan, Pei Rong Lau, and Ai Jie Tham contributed equally.     

Determination of phenols and pharmaceuticals in municipal wastewaters from Polish treatment plants by ultrasound-assisted emulsification–microextraction followed by GC–MS

A method combining ultrasound-assisted emulsification–microextraction (USAEME) with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was developed for simultaneous determination of four acidic pharmaceuticals, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, and diclofenac, as well as four phenols, 4-octylphenol, 4-n-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and triclosan in municipal wastewaters. Conditions of extraction and simultaneous derivatization were optimized with respect to such aspects as type and volume of extraction solvent, volume of derivatization reagent, kind and amount of buffering salt, location of the test tube in the ultrasonic bath, and extraction time. The average correlation coefficient of the calibration curves was 0.9946. The LOD/(LOQ) values in influent and effluent wastewater were in the range of 0.002–0.121/(0.005–0.403) μg L^?1 and 0.002–0.828/(0.006–2.758) μg L^?1, respectively. Quantitative recoveries (≥94 %) and satisfactory precision (average RSD 8.2 %) were obtained. The optimized USAEME/GC–MS method was applied for determination of the considered pharmaceuticals and phenols in influents and treated effluents from nine Polish municipal wastewater treatment plants. The average concentration of acidic pharmaceuticals in influent and effluent wastewater were in the range of 0.06–551.96 μg L^?1 and 0.01–22.61 μg L^?1, respectively, while for phenols were in the range of 0.03–102.54 μg L^?1 and 0.02–10.84 μg L^?1, respectively. The removal efficiencies of the target compounds during purification process were between 84 and 99 %.