Emissions of organophosphate and brominated flame retardants from selected consumer products and building materials

The emissions of selected flame retardants were measured in 1- and 0.02-m³ emission test chambers and 0.001-m³ emission test cells. Four product groups were of interest: insulating materials, assembly foam, upholstery/mattresses, and electronics equipment. The experiments were performed under constant environmental conditions (23°C, 50% RH) using a fixed sample surface area and controlled air flow rates. Tris (2-chloro-isopropyl)phosphate (TCPP) was observed to be one of the most commonly emitted organophosphate flame retardants in polyurethane foam applications. Depending on the sample type, area-specific emission rates (SER_a) of TCPP varied between 20 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ and 140 μg m⁻² h⁻¹.The emissions from electronic devices were measured at 60°C to simulate operating conditions. Under these conditions, unit specific emission rates (SER_u) of organophosphates were determined to be 10–85 ng unit⁻¹ h⁻¹. Increasing the temperature increased the emission of several flame retardants by up to a factor of 500. The results presented in this paper indicate that emissions of several brominated and organophosphate flame retardants are measurable. Polybrominated diphenylethers exhibited an SER_a of between 0.2 and 6.6 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ and an SER_u of between 0.6 and 14.2 ng unit⁻¹ h⁻¹. Because of sink effects, i.e., sorption to chamber components, the emission test chambers and cells used in this study have limited utility for substances low vapour pressures, especially the highly brominated compounds; hexabromocyclododecane had an SER_a of between 0.1 and 29 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ and decabromodiphenylether was not detectable at all.     

Halogenated compounds and climate change: future emission levels and reduction costs

OBJECTIVES: This work assesses the contribution to climate change resulting from emissions of the group of halogenated greenhouse gases. METHODS: A bottom-up emission model covering 22 technological sectors in four major regions is described. Emission estimates for 1996 and projection for 2010 and 2020 are presented. The costs for deep cuts into projected emission levels are calculated. RESULTS: The substances covered by this study have contributed emissions of 1100 +/- 800 MT CO2 equivalents per year in 1996. In terms of their relative contribution to emissions of CO2 equivalents, this corresponds to 3 +/- 2% of global emissions of all anthropogenic greenhouse gases. The wide range of uncertainty is due to the poorly quantified net global warming potential of the ozone depleting substances, which have an indirect cooling effect on climate through the destruction of stratospheric ozone. For annual emissions of HFCs, PFCs and SF6 (which are regulated under the Kyoto Protocol and for which global warming potentials are well defined), the relative contribution is projected to increase to 2% (600 MT CO2 eq.) of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2010. This trend is expected to continue, emissions are projected to grow to a contribution of roughly 3% (870 MT CO2 eq.) in 2020 compared to 0.9% (300 MT CO2 eq.) in 1996. For HFCs, PFCs and SF6, this study identifies global emission reduction potentials of 260 MT CO2 eq. per year in 2010 and 640 MT CO2 eq. per year in 2020 at below US$ 50 per ton. These values correspond to roughly 40% and 75% of projected emissions in 2010 and 2020, respectively.     

Artificial indoor streams as a method to investigate the impact of chemicals on lotic communities

The potential hazard of chemicals on aquatic communities are generally evaluated by standardised single-species bioassays. Safety assessment is based on results gained from organisms adapted to lentic systems and biological interactions in ecosystems are neglected. While lotic communities are often at first in contact with chemicals, it is astonishing that microcosms with lentic communities are mainly used as a bridge between laboratory bioassays and outdoor aquatic systems. Hence, we established five artificial indoor streams to simulate abiotic factors of small rivers. The closed-circuit system was filled with nutrients added to tap water. Washed pebbles were used as sediment. The dynamics of a simple biocoenoses consisting of aufwuchs, Lumbriculus variegatus Asellus aquaticus and Gammarus fossarum was investigated. The dynamic of aufwuchs and periphyton was determined as dry weight and chlorophyll-a, respectively and qualitatively by pigment pattern. The abundance of different developmental stages of L. variegatus was determined at the end of the experiment as well as the population dynamics of G. fossarum and A. aquaticus. Survival rates of gammarids and juveniles per female were investigated and data were used for modelling the population dynamics. The experiment was carried out to investigate the performance of the established artificial streams and the developed approaches to investigate effects of chemicals on a basic lotic community. The prime reason to establish this approach was to close a gap between complex artificial stream systems and laboratory single species tests to assess the impact of chemicals on the aquatic environment.     

?konomische ans?tze zur ?kosystembewertung Am Beispiel des Bodens

Zusammenfassung  Da es in einer Industriegesellschaft unm?glich ist, die Belastungen von ?kosystemen auf ein Ma? zu reduzieren, das jegliche Sch?digung ausschlie?t, besteht die Notwendigkeit der Bewertung. Eine der zur Verfügung stehenden Bewertungstechniken ist der ?konomische Ansatz. In der Artikelserie wird dieser Ansatz am Beispiel des Bodens vorgestellt. Im vorliegenden dritten Teil wird die Berücksichtigung des Faktors Zeit durch die sogenannte Diskontierung erl?utert. Auf den ersten Blick führt die Diskontierung dazu, da? Sch?den durch Umweltbelastungen, die m?glicherweise erst von zukünftigen Generationen getragen werden müssen, für die gegenw?rtige Generation (die diese Sch?den verursacht) in ihrer Bedeutung reduziert werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden verschiedene Begründungen für die Diskontierung diskutiert und es wird gezeigt, warum die Diskontierung auch bei einer intergenerativen Abw?gung von Kosten und Nutzen unverzichtbar ist. Die Pr?ambel zu diesem Beitrag ist ver?ffentlicht in UWSF 2/99, S. 119, 1999.     

Small testes size despite high extra-pair paternity in the pair-living nocturnal primate Phaner furcifer

Sperm competition will be the inevitable consequence of polyandrous mating behavior if two or more males inseminate a single female. It has been demonstrated for a wide variety of animals that males adapt to this situation behaviorally, physiologically and morphologically, e.g. by evolving relatively large testes size to produce more sperm. All pair-living primates investigated so far were found to have relatively small testes, suggesting a monandrous mating system. We investigated the relationship between extra-pair paternity (EPP) rate as a measure of sperm competition intensity and relative testes size in a pair-living primate, the fork-marked lemur (Phaner furcifer). Paternity exclusion analyses for seven offspring using six polymorphic DNA-microsatellite markers suggested a high EPP rate. Female nocturnal travel distances were longer during the mating season, suggesting that females take an active role in achieving extra-pair copulations (EPCs). Surprisingly, fork-marked lemur testes size was relatively small compared to 23 other lemuroid primates, a result that is in contrast to predictions of sperm competition theory. Neither possible behavioral and morphological adaptations to an alternative paternity guard (i.e. mate guarding), nor sampling biases, phylogenetic constraints, and population density effects explain the absence of large testes in a species with high EPP, a phenomenon also known from birds with moderate to low EPP rates. We conclude that more data are needed on the frequency of EPCs, the timing of in-pair and extra-pair copulations, as well as the role of female choice, to explain why males of some species apparently do not adapt to sperm competition.Communicated by S. Alberts     

To breed or not to breed—food competition and other factors involved in female breeding decisions in the pair-living nocturnal fork-marked lemur (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaner furcifer</Emphasis>)

Differential access to food resources is thought to be the main determinant of differences in female reproductive success but is poorly studied in both pair-living and nocturnal primates. The modes of food competition within and between families were investigated following the principles proposed by the ecological model using 3 years of field data from seven fork-marked lemur (Phaner furcifer) families. The major food resources were identified from year-round feeding observations and the strength and mode of competition were inferred from differences in physical condition. The most important food resource of fork-marked lemurs were tree exudates which occurred in small, defendable food patches, characterized by fast depletion and rapid renewal. These characteristics led to strong within-group contest and scramble competition, which were found to yield a positive dominance effect and a negative group-size effect on female net energy gain. Differential physical condition, however, did not translate directly into differential reproductive success. Low female fertility was best predicted by large family size associated with delayed dispersal by previous offspring. Although there is no obvious benefit from full-grown offspring in their territory, adults tolerate delayed natal dispersal, probably because dispersal poses extraordinary costs for the offspring. These costs are likely to accrue from decreased foraging efficiency in unfamiliar habitats because exudate feeding requires very rigid feeding itineraries. In conclusion, the presented evidence for group-size effects on reproductive success in pair-living females opens a new area for research on the costs and benefits of delayed dispersal and female reproductive decisions.This revised version was published in September 2003 with corrections to the Authors Present address.An erratum to this article can be found at Communicated by E.H.M. Sterck     

Invertebrate Morphospecies as Surrogates for Species: A Case Study

Environmental monitoring and conservation evaluation in terrestrial habitats may be enhanced by the use of invertebrate inventories, but taxonomic and logistic constraints frequently encountered during conventional taxonomic treatment have greatly restricted their use. To overcome this problem we suggest that nonspecialists may be used to classify invertebrates to morphospecies without compromising scientific accuracy. To test this proposition, large pitfall and litter samples of ants, beetles, and spiders from four forest types were sorted to morphospecies by a nonspecialist and to species by specialists. These data were used to generate morphospecies and species inventories and to estimate richness (α diversity) and turnover (β diversity), information frequently used in the above activities. Our results show that the estimates of richness of ants and spiders varied little between morphospecies and species inventories. Differences between estimates of beetle richness were largely influenced by errors of identification in two families, Curculionidae and Staphylinidae. But morphospecies and species inventories yielded identical ranking of forest type using richness. Turnover was assessed by sample ordination, which revealed similar clusters regardless of the type of inventory. Analysis of similarities of assemblages of ants and beetles showed significant differences between all forest types. Spider assemblages showed a lower level of discrimination. The assessment of turnover was consistent among inventories but different between the major taxa. Our findings suggest that morphospecies may be used as surrogates for species in some environmental monitoring and conservation, in particular when decisions are guided by estimates of richness and the assessment of turnover.     

Begging signals more than just short-term need: cryptic effects of brood size in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)

The begging of nestling birds is known to reliably signal short-term nutritional need, which is used by parents to adjust rates of food delivery and patterns of food distribution within broods. To test whether begging signals reflect more than just short-term feeding history, we experimentally created 18 "small" (4-nestling) and 18 "large" (8-nestling) broods in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). Compared to small broods, large broods were provisioned by parents at a greater rate, but at a lower visit rate per nestling and with no obvious differences in load mass per visit. However, lower rates of food mass delivery per nestling in large broods did not result in any measurable reduction in nestling growth (i.e. "long-term need") or in any increase in the begging effort per individual nestling whilst in the nest. Mid-way through the nestling period we also used hand-feeding laboratory trials to assess in more detail individual begging behaviour and digestive performance of the three mid-ranking nestlings from each brood. More food items were required at the start of each trial to satiate nestlings from large broods, but despite this initial control for "short-term need", nestlings from large broods went on to beg at consistently higher rates and at different acoustic frequencies. Large brood nestlings also produced smaller faecal sacs, which were quantitatively different in content but did not differ in frequency. We suggest that different nutritional histories can produce cryptic changes in nestling digestive function, and that these can lead to important differences in begging signals despite controlling for short term need.     

Bat serenades—complex courtship songs of the sac-winged bat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccopteryx bilineata</Emphasis>)

Vocalisations of many songbirds, anurans, and insects are shaped by sexual selection. Males acoustically compete for territories, and females choose their mates by means of male courtship songs. In courtship, richness and complexity of elements are often favoured characters. Only a few examples of complex songs are known in mammals. Males of the harem-polygynous sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata, Emballonuridae) have an uncommonly complex vocal repertoire, and different song types of males are used in the context of territorial defence and in courting females. We classified the daytime vocalisations of 16 male S. bilineata from a colony in Costa Rica, both on the basis of their acoustical properties and the social context in which they occurred. Seven vocalisation types were differentiated: echolocation pulses, barks, chatter, whistles, screeches, territorial songs and courtship songs. Territorial songs were short, rather stereotyped and not obviously directed towards a certain conspecific. They appear to be of importance in male competition for harem territories, in which females roost during the day. Courtship songs were exclusively observed when males displayed towards a female; they were long and complex, and consisted of highly variable elements (calls). We classified the calls in courtship songs of six males into call types, based on acoustical properties, mainly spectral purity and duration. Four call types are described in detail: trills, noise-bursts, short tonal calls, and quasi constant frequency calls. Twelve parameter values were extracted from the most common call type, the trill. Discriminant function analysis of trills showed that different males had different repertoires. This could allow females to use trill parameters for recognition of individual males and thus for mate choice.Communicated by G. Wilkinson     

A Possible Method for the Rapid Assessment of Biodiversity

Inventories of vertebrate and flowering plants are frequently used as surrogates for estimates of total biodiversity. This is in part because the inclusion of invertebrates and nonflowering plants is perceived as being too time-consuming, costly, and difficult because of the shortage of specialists. Estimates of the species richness of field samples of spiders, ants, polychaetes, and mosses made by a biodiversity technician and by specialist taxonomists were compared. The biodiversity technician received a few hours training in the taxonomy of each group and separated specimens into recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs). The specialists sorted to species. For the three animal groups the biodiversity technician recorded 165 taxa and the specialists 147, with the error for the ants and spiders being 13% or less. A small amount of splitting and lumping of species was detected. The concordance of estimates remained very similar when small subsamples were used. The procedure was repeated by 13 undergraduates using a subsample of spiders. Their average error was 14.4%. The greatest similarity in estimates was for the mosses, but with high levels of splitting and lumping this result was entirely fortuitous. The results suggest that RTU estimates made by biodiversity technicians may be sufficiently close to formal taxonomic estimates of species richness to be useful for the rapid assessment of biodiversity. They also show, however, that the procedures outlined here should be used on invertebrate and nonflowering plant groups before they can be confidently included in biodiversity surveys.