Determination of selected quaternary ammonium compounds by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. Part II. Application to sediment and sludge samples in Austria

Soxhlet extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry detection (MS/MS) was used for the determination of selected quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in solid samples. The method was applied for the determination of alkyl benzyl, dialkyl and trialkyl quaternary ammonium compounds in sediment and sludge samples in Austria. The overall method quantification limits range from 0.6 to 3 microg/kg for sediments and from 2 to 5 microg/kg for sewage sludges. Mean recoveries between 67% and 95% are achieved. In general sediments were especially contaminated by C12 chain benzalkonium chloride (BAC-C12) as well as by the long C-chain dialkyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC-C18) with a maximum concentration of 3.6 mg/kg and 2.1mg/kg, respectively. Maxima of 27 mg/kg for DDAC-C10, 25 mg/kg for BAC-C12 and 23 mg/kg for BAC-C14 were determined for sludge samples. The sums of the 12 selected target compounds range from 22 mg/kg to 103 mg/kg in the sludge samples.     

Ozone and forests in South-Western Europe

The paper provides basic information about background, objectives and structure of O3SWE (Ozone at the permanent monitoring plots in South-Western Europe), an international co-operative project aimed at evaluating O3 concentrations, cumulative exposure, uptake and effects on forest vegetation in four countries of South-Western Europe (France, Italy, Luxenbourg, Spain and Switzerland). The project covers a total of 83 permanent plots of the EU and UN/ECE intensive forest monitoring programme and span over three years of investigation (2000-2002). The O3SWE project aims to demonstrate how, using data collected routinely in an intensive forest monitoring network, O3 exposure, flux and effects can be assessed and exceedances critically evaluated.     

Preliminary results of modeled ozone uptake for Fagus sylvatica L. trees at selected EU/UN-ECE intensive monitoring plots

The objective of this study was to establish whether EU and UN-ECE/ICP-Forests monitoring data (i) provide the variables necessary to apply the flux-based modeling methods and (ii) meet the quality criteria necessary to apply the flux-based critical level concept. Application of this model has been possible using environmental data collected from the EU and UN-ECE/ICP-Forests monitoring network in Switzerland and Italy for 2000-2002. The test for data completeness and plausibility resulted in 6 out of a possible total of 20 Fagus sylvatica L. plots being identified as suitable from Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and France. The results show that the collected data allow the identification of different spatial and temporal areas and periods as having higher risk to ozone than those identified using the AOT40 approach. However, it was also apparent that the quality and completeness of the available data may severely limit a complete risk assessment across Europe.     

A framework for evaluating the impact of the IUCN Red List of threatened species

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, a species extinction risk assessment tool, has been guiding conservation efforts for over 5 decades. It is widely assumed to have been instrumental in preventing species from moving closer to extinction and driving recoveries. However, the impact of the IUCN Red List in guiding conservation has not been evaluated. We conducted, transcribed, and coded interviews with experts who use the IUCN Red List across a range of sectors to understand how the list is used in conservation. We developed a theory of change to illustrate how and why change is expected to occur along causal pathways contributing to the long-term goal of the IUCN Red List and an evaluation framework with indicators for measuring the impact of the IUCN Red List in generating scientific knowledge, raising awareness among stakeholders, designating priority conservation sites, allocating funding and resources, influencing development of legislation and policy, and guiding targeted conservation action (key themes). Red-list assessments were the primary input leading to outputs (scientific knowledge, raised awareness), outcomes (better informed priority setting, access to funding and resource availability, improved legislation and policy), and impact (implemented conservation action leading to positive change) that have resulted in achievement of IUCN Red List goals. To explore feasibility of attributing the difference made by the IUCN Red List across themes, we studied increased scientific knowledge, raised awareness, access to funding and resource allocation, and increased conservation activity. The feasibility exploration showed increased scientific knowledge over time identified through positive trends in publications referring to the IUCN Red List in the literature; raised awareness of the list following high IUCN activity identified by peaks in online search activity; an increased proportion of conservation funding bodies requesting IUCN Red List status in the application process; and, based on interviews with Amphibian Specialist Group members, red-list assessments were essential in connecting relevant stakeholders and ensuring conservation action. Although we identified the IUCN Red List as a vital tool in global conservation efforts, it was challenging to measure specific impacts because of its ubiquitous nature. We are the first to identify the influence of the IUCN Red List on conservation.     

Impact of alternative metrics on estimates of extent of occurrence for extinction risk assessment

In International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments, extent of occurrence (EOO) is a key measure of extinction risk. However, the way assessors estimate EOO from maps of species’ distributions is inconsistent among assessments of different species and among major taxonomic groups. Assessors often estimate EOO from the area of mapped distribution, but these maps often exclude areas that are not habitat in idiosyncratic ways and are not created at the same spatial resolutions. We assessed the impact on extinction risk categories of applying different methods (minimum convex polygon, alpha hull) for estimating EOO for 21,763 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians. Overall, the percentage of threatened species requiring down listing to a lower category of threat (taking into account other Red List criteria under which they qualified) spanned 11–13% for all species combined (14–15% for mammals, 7–8% for birds, and 12–15% for amphibians). These down listings resulted from larger estimates of EOO and depended on the EOO calculation method. Using birds as an example, we found that 14% of threatened and near threatened species could require down listing based on the minimum convex polygon (MCP) approach, an approach that is now recommended by IUCN. Other metrics (such as alpha hull) had marginally smaller impacts. Our results suggest that uniformly applying the MCP approach may lead to a one‐time down listing of hundreds of species but ultimately ensure consistency across assessments and realign the calculation of EOO with the theoretical basis on which the metric was founded.     

Mustached males in a tropical poeciliid fish: emerging female preference selects for a novel male trait

One possible mechanism for the (co-)evolution of seemingly novel male traits and female preferences for them is that males exploit pre-existing female biases, and livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae) have been at the forefront of this research for almost two decades. Here, using 13 poeciliid species from four different genera, we tested whether mustache-like rostral filaments found in males of some Mexican molly (Poecilia sphenops) populations could have evolved due to exploitation of a pre-existing female bias. While Mexican mollies were the only species with a significant female association preference for mustached males, we also did not find any species exhibiting significant aversion for mustached males; rather, variance in female preference scores was large throughout. For example, more than 25% of females spent twice as much time with the mustached male compared to the non-mustached male in most species, but even 31% of Mexican molly females spent more time near the non-mustached male. Hence, a comparison of the strength of preference was inconclusive. We discuss the possibility that the female preference of P. sphenops for mustached males could be due to a female pre-existing bias (sensu lato), even if population means were not significant for species other than P. sphenops. This highlights the importance of distinguishing between population means and individual preferences when interpreting mate choice, and thus, adds depth to the concept of mating preferences as a motor for evolutionary change.     

Comparison of Extraction Methods for the Detection of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus RNA in Goat Raw Milk and Cream Cheese

Food and Environmental Virology - Infection with the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) can cause meningitis, meningoencephalitis and myelitis in humans. TBEV is an enveloped RNA virus of the...