Male Enchenopa treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae) vary mate-searching behavior but not signaling behavior in response to spider silk

Finding and attracting mates can impose costs on males in terms of increased encounters with, and attraction of, predators. To decrease the likelihood of predation, males may modify mate-acquisition efforts in two main ways: they may reduce mate-searching efforts or they may reduce mate-attraction efforts. The specific behavior that males change in the presence of predator cues should depend upon the nature of risk imposed by the type of predator present in the environment. For example, sit-and-wait predators impose greater costs to males moving in search of mates. Here, we test whether cues of the presence of a sit-and-wait predator lead to a reduction in mate-searching but not mate-acquisition behavior. We used a member of the Enchenopa binotata complex of treehoppers—a clade of vibrationally communicating insects in which males fly in search of mates and produce mate-attraction signals when they land on plant stems. We tested for changes in mate-searching and signaling behaviors when silk from a web-building spider was present or absent. We found that males delayed flight when spider silk was present but only if they were actively searching for mates. These results suggest that males have been selected to reduce predation risk by adjusting how they move about their environment according to the cues of sit-and-wait predators.     

Primary prevention for worker health and safety: cleaner production and toxics use reduction in Massachusetts

Worker health and safety and environmental protection are not always considered simultaneously when attempting to reduce or eliminate hazardous materials from our environment. Cleaner Production-Pollution Prevention (CPPP), as primary prevention, has the ability to shift worker health and safety strategies from control to prevention, where exposure prevention precedes exposure control. This paper evaluates the effect of Cleaner Production-Pollution Prevention in the form of toxics use reduction (TUR) on worker health and safety at three printed wire board facilities covered under the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act. In-depth case study analysis, including an assessment of each facility’s health and safety status, explores the root causes of the worker health and safety changes attributable to the TUR interventions. By exploring the relationship between worker health and safety and environmental protection within the corporate structure; we can identify the factors driving companies to reduce toxics both inside and outside of their plants, as a single concern.While traditionally there have been divergent paths of practice for worker health and safety and environmental protection, the two are closely connected. It is important, however, to consider the implications of risk transfer/shifting between the general and work environment. In order to avoid this risk shifting, worker health and safety perspectives and goals must be more clearly incorporated into the Cleaner Production-Pollution Prevention/TUR management system. This study opens a dialog around the effects of environmental intervention programs on worker health and safety. We realize now that while CPPP/TUR reduces exposure to toxic substances in the general environment, it also offers unique opportunities to reaffirm primary prevention principles in the work environment.     

Ozone Predictions in Atlanta,Georgia: Analysis of the 1999 Ozone Season

ABSTRACT

Ozone prediction has become an important activity in many U.S. ozone nonattainment areas. In this study, we describe the ozone prediction program in the Atlanta metropolitan area and analyze the performance of this program during the 1999 ozone-forecasting season. From May to September, a team of 10 air quality regulators, meteorologists, and atmospheric scientists made a daily prediction of the next-day maximum 8-hr average ozone concentration. The daily forecast was made aided by two linear regression models, a 3-dimensional air quality model, and the no-skill ozone persistence model. The team's performance is compared with the numerical models using several numerical indicators. Our analysis indicated that (1) the team correctly predicted next-day peak ozone concentrations 84% of the time, (2) the two linear regression models had a better performance than a 3-dimensional air quality model, (3) persistence was a strong predictor of ozone concentrations with a performance of 78%, and (4) about half of the team's wrong predictions could be prevented with improved meteorological predictions.     

A schematic sampling protocol for contaminant monitoring in raptors

Birds of prey, owls and falcons are widely used as sentinel species in raptor biomonitoring programmes. A major current challenge is to facilitate large-scale biomonitoring by coordinating contaminant monitoring activities and by building capacity across countries. This requires sharing, dissemination and adoption of best practices addressed by the Networking Programme Research and Monitoring for and with Raptors in Europe (EURAPMON) and now being advanced by the ongoing international COST Action European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility. The present perspective introduces a schematic sampling protocol for contaminant monitoring in raptors. We provide guidance on sample collection with a view to increasing sampling capacity across countries, ensuring appropriate quality of samples and facilitating harmonization of procedures to maximize the reliability, comparability and interoperability of data. The here presented protocol can be used by professionals and volunteers as a standard guide to ensure harmonised sampling methods for contaminant monitoring in raptors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01341-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Floating aquatic macrophytes for the treatment of aquaculture effluents

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Aquaculture is an activity with economic and social importance since it generates food, employment, and income. However, like other human activities,...     

Biocapacity convergence clubs in Latin America: an analysis of their determining factors using quantile regressions

Latin America experiences an increasing urban primacy index and a rapid expansion of the financial system, putting direct pressure on the demand for resources to satisfy the consumption of large cities. We investigate the convergence of per capita biocapacity in 16 Latin America countries and evaluate the factors that influence its evolution over time. Specifically, we analyze the impact of the urban primacy index, economic progress, and the financial globalization index on the convergence of per capita biocapacity. We use the methodological framework developed by Phillips and Sul Econometrica 75:1771-1855, (2007) to analyze the convergence and the formation of convergence clubs of biocapacity during 1970–2017. The findings indicate that the countries of the region do not share a common trend of biocapacity, although they are grouped into five converging clubs. Biocapacity transition analysis reveals that countries have heterogeneous transition pathways between them. Using marginal effects, we find that the urban primacy index and economic progress reduce the biocapacity. The effect of the financial globalization index on biocapacity is not conclusive. The quantile regressions reveal that quantiles’ impact of the urban primacy index and financial globalization on per capita biocapacity is heterogeneous. However, the effect of economic progress on biocapacity that predominates among quantiles is positive. The adoption of common policies among the countries that form the converging clubs could improve the effectiveness of pro-environmental policies and promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals related to environmental quality.