Vivid birds respond more to acoustic signals of predators

Because conspicuous morphology such as colorful plumage may increase predation risk, we aimed to see if variation in plumage coloration could explain variation in avian anti-predator behavior. We included several measures of plumage coloration: human perception of vividness from images in field guides, total intensity from reflectance spectra of museum skins, contrasts calculated from physiological models of these spectra parameterized for both raptors and humans, chroma, and spectral saturation. We investigated how well these measurements predicted risk assessment in ten species of birds in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. We quantified how each species responded to playbacks of a predator’s calls and compared this response to that elicited by songs from a non-predatory, sympatric bird. We found that human-determined measures of vividness best predicted anti-predator responses of birds—more vividly colored species responded more to predators than duller species. No spectrophotometric variable explained variation in species reactions to a predator call. Our results suggest that vivid birds may compensate for their conspicuousness by being more responsive to the sound of predators and that more work is needed to better evaluate how animal coloration is quantified in comparative studies.     

A review of emerging technologies for remediation of PFASs

The need for remediation of poly‐ and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is growing as a result of more regulatory attention to this new class of contaminants with diminishing water quality standards being promulgated, commonly in the parts per trillion range. PFASs comprise >3,000 individual compounds, but the focus of analyses and regulations has generally been PFASs termed perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), which are all extremely persistent, can be highly mobile, and are increasingly being reported to bioaccumulate, with understanding of their toxicology evolving. However, there are thousands of polyfluorinated “PFAA precursors”, which can transform in the environment and in higher organisms to create PFAAs as persistent daughter products. Some PFASs can travel miles from their point of release, as they are mobile and persistent, potentially creating large plumes. The use of a conceptual site model (CSM) to define risks posed by specific PFASs to potential receptors is considered essential. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is commonly used as part of interim remedial measures to treat PFASs present in water. Many alternative treatment technologies are being adapted for PFASs or ingenious solutions developed. The diversity of PFASs commonly associated with use of multiple PFASs in commercial products is not commonly assessed. Remedial technologies, which are adsorptive or destructive, are considered for both soils and waters with challenges to their commercial application outlined. Biological approaches to treat PFASs report biotransformation which creates persistent PFAAs, no PFASs can biodegrade. Water treatment technologies applied ex situ could be used in a treatment train approach, for example, to concentrate PFASs and then destroy them on‐site. Dynamic groundwater recirculation can greatly enhance contaminant mass removal via groundwater pumping. This review of technologies for remediation of PFASs describes that:

• GAC may be effective for removal of long‐chain PFAAs, but does not perform well on short‐chain PFAAs and its use for removal of precursors is reported to be less effective;
• Anion‐exchange resins can remove a wider array of long‐ and short‐chain PFAAs, but struggle to treat the shortest chain PFAAs and removal of most PFAA precursors has not been evaluated;
• Ozofractionation has been applied for PFASs at full scale and shown to be effective for removal of total PFASs;
• Chemical oxidation has been demonstrated to be potentially applicable for some PFAAs, but when applied in situ there is concern over the formation of shorter chain PFAAs and ongoing rebound from sorbed precursors;
• Electrochemical oxidation is evolving as a destructive technology for many PFASs, but can create undesirable by‐products such as perchlorate and bromate;
• Sonolysis has been demonstrated as a potential destructive technology in the laboratory but there are significant challenges when considering scale up;
• Soils stabilization approaches are evolving and have been used at full scale but performance need to be assessed using appropriate testing regimes;
• Thermal technologies to treat PFAS‐impacted soils show promise but elevated temperatures (potentially >500 °C) may be required for treatment.

There are a plethora of technologies evolving to manage PFASs but development is in its early stage, so there are opportunities for much ingenuity.     

Does ‘Manna from Heaven’ help? The role of cash transfers in disaster recovery—lessons from Fiji after Tropical Cyclone Winston

This paper contributes to the evidence on the effectiveness of shock-responsive social protection systems in helping affected households recover from the negative consequences of disasters. It evaluates the influence of the top-up cash transfers provided by the Government of Fiji to poor households in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Winston, which struck the Pacific Island country on 20 February 2016. The impact evaluation strategy incorporates a sharp regression discontinuity design to define treatment and control groups, based on the eligibility threshold of the poverty benefit scheme. The results indicate that treatment households—that is, those that received cash transfers—are significantly more likely to report quicker recovery from various shocks. Female-headed households are more likely to recover from the ramifications, whereas households with older heads are less likely to do so. The presence of a functioning market appears to be a major factor aiding the speed of recovery. Finally, the evidence points towards strong district effects on recovery.     

Maize tassel-modified carbon paste electrode for voltammetric determination of Cu(II)

The preparation and application of a practical electrochemical sensor for environmental monitoring and assessment of heavy metal ions in samples is a subject of considerable interest. In this paper, a carbon paste electrode modified with maize tassel for the determination of Cu(II) has been proposed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to study morphology and identify the functional groups on the modified electrode, respectively. First, Cu(II) was adsorbed on the carbon paste electrode surface at open circuit and voltammetric techniques were used to investigate the electrochemical performances of the sensor. The electrochemical sensor showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards Cu(II) at pH 5.0 and by increasing the amount of maize tassel biomass, a maximum response at 1:2.5 (maize tassel:carbon paste; w/w) was obtained. The electrocatalytic redox current of Cu(II) showed a linear response in the range (1.23 μM to 0.4 mM) with the correlation coefficient of 0.9980. The limit of detection and current–concentration sensitivity were calculated to be 0.13 (±0.01) μM and 0.012 (±0.001) μA/μM, respectively. The sensor gave good recovery of Cu(II) in the range from 96.0 to 98.0 % when applied to water samples.     

Multidimensional fluorescence studies of the phenolic content of dissolved organic carbon in humic substances

Indicators suggest that the amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in natural waters may be increasing. Climate change has been proposed as a potential contributor to the trend, and under such a mechanism, the phenolic content of DOC may also be increasing. This study explores the assessment of the phenolic character of DOC using multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopy as a more convenient alternative to traditional wet chemistry methods. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) is applied to fluorescence excitation emission matrices (EEMs) of humic samples to analyze inherent phenolic content. The PARAFAC results are correlated with phenol concentrations derived from the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent-based method. The reagent-based method reveals that the phenolic content of five International Humic Substance Society (IHSS) samples varies from approximately 5.2 to 22 ppm Tannic Acid Equivalents (TAE). A four-component PARAFAC fit is applied to the EEMs of the IHSS sample dataset and it is determined by PARAFAC score correlations with phenol concentrations from the reagent-based method that components C2, C3, and C4 have the highest probability of containing phenolic groups. The results show the potential for PARAFAC analysis of multidimensional fluorescence data for monitoring the phenolic content of DOC.     

Preliminary screening of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) flame retardants in landfill leachate

The occurrence of selected brominated flame retardants, including nine polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) in leachate samples from eight landfill sites in South Africa, were investigated. In addition, the possible influences of dissolved organic carbon on their levels were also evaluated. Filtered leachate samples were subjected to solid-phase extraction to isolate the various target compounds. PBDEs with six bromine substituents and above, as well as α-HBCDD, β-HBCDD and TBBPA, were generally found below the detection limit. However, the mean value of the total lower PBDE congeners ranged between 0.04 and 0.48 μg L^?1, and the concentrations of γ-HBCDD ranged from not detectable (ND) to 0.05 μg L^?1. No significant correlation was observed between the target compounds and dissolved organic carbon, although weak to moderate correlations were mostly observed for the lower PBDEs.     

Community Structure and Quality After 10 Years in Two Central Ohio Mitigation Bank Wetlands

We evaluate two 10-year-old mitigation bank wetlands in central Ohio, one created and one with restored and enhanced components, by analysis of vegetation characteristics and by comparison of the year-10 vegetation and macroinvertebrate communities with reference wetlands. To assess different measures of wetland development, we compare the prevalence of native hydrophytes with an index of floristic quality and we evaluate the predictability of these parameters in year 10, given 5 years of data. Results show that the mitigation wetlands in this study meet vegetation performance criteria of native hydrophyte establishment by year 5 and maintain these characteristics through year 10. Species richness and floristic quality, as well as vegetative similarity with reference wetlands, differ among mitigation wetlands in year 1 and also in their rate of change during the first 10 years. The prevalence of native hydrophytes is reasonably predictable by year 10, but 5 years of monitoring is not sufficient to predict future trends of floristic quality in either the created or restored wetland. By year 10, macroinvertebrate taxa richness does not statistically differ among these wetlands, but mitigation wetlands differ from reference sites by tolerance index and by trophic guild dominance. The created wetland herbivore biomass is significantly smaller than its reference, whereas detritivore biomass is significantly greater in the created wetland and smaller in the restored wetland as compared with respective reference wetlands. These analyses illustrate differences in measures of wetland performance and contrast the monitoring duration necessary for legal compliance with the duration required for development of more complex indicators of ecosystem integrity.     

Spatial and temporal variability of outdoor coarse particulate matter mass concentrations measured with a new coarse particle sampler during the Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research Study

The Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research Study (DEARS) provided data to compare outdoor residential coarse particulate matter (PM_10–2.5) concentrations in six different areas of Detroit with data from a central monitoring site. Daily and seasonal influences on the spatial distribution of PM_10–2.5 during Summer 2006 and Winter 2007 were investigated using data collected with the newly developed coarse particle exposure monitor (CPEM). These data allowed the representativeness of the community monitoring site to be assessed for the greater Detroit metro area. Multiple CPEMs collocated with a dichotomous sampler determined the precision and accuracy of the CPEM PM_10–2.5 and PM_2.5 data.CPEM PM_2.5 concentrations agreed well with the dichotomous sampler data. The slope was 0.97 and the R² was 0.91. CPEM concentrations had an average 23% negative bias and R² of 0.81. The directional nature of the CPEM sampling efficiency due to bluff body effects probably caused the negative CPEM concentration bias.PM_10–2.5 was observed to vary spatially and temporally across Detroit, reflecting the seasonal impact of local sources. Summer PM_10–2.5 was 5 μg m^?3 higher in the two industrial areas near downtown than the average concentrations in other areas of Detroit. An area impacted by vehicular traffic had concentrations 8 μg m^?3 higher than the average concentrations in other parts of Detroit in the winter due to the suspected suspension of road salt. PM_10–2.5 Pearson Correlation Coefficients between monitoring locations varied from 0.03 to 0.76. All summer PM_10–2.5 correlations were greater than 0.28 and statistically significant (p-value < 0.05). Winter PM_10–2.5 correlations greater than 0.33 were statistically significant (p-value < 0.05). The PM_10–2.5 correlations found to be insignificant were associated with the area impacted by mobile sources during the winter. The suspected suspension of road salt from the Southfield Freeway, combined with a very stable atmosphere, caused concentrations to be greater in this area compared to other areas of Detroit. These findings indicated that PM_10–2.5, although correlated in some instances, varies sufficiently across a complex urban airshed that that a central monitoring site may not adequately represent the population's exposure to PM_10–2.5.     

活性氮和人类健康:眼前和长远的意义

活性氮对人类健康的影响表现在许多有益和不利的方面.有益方面,最为重要的是活性氮不断增加全球和区域性的食物供给,并提高了可利用食物的营养质量.在贫困、干旱、洪涝、战争以及难民涌入等因素造成食物紧缺时,膳食中氨基酸和蛋白质的摄入量不足是引起营养不良的主要原因.已掌握的大量数据即便还是有限的,也足以表明环境中活性氮流通量的增加通过其他一些作用途径对人类健康产生了显著的影响.职业原因和广大人群室内和户外生活所接触到的空气污染中的活性氮对人类的健康产生了不良影响.活性氮还可通过水污染和全球变暖影响人类健康,其产生的水污染包括地下水污染产生的高铁血红蛋白血症以及使鱼类死亡和对人体有毒的赤潮富营养化.环境中活性氮类的污染物普遍存在,因此,很难界定活性氮对人们健康产生特定影响的程度.鉴于活性氮影响到全人类,为了确定氮相关污染物及其衍生物对人类健康产生的有利和不良影响的程度和性质,需要多学科合作,进行长期的研究.