Microarray testing for the presence of toxic algae monitoring programme in Galicia (NW Spain)

Rapid and reliable detection of harmful algae in coastal areas and shellfish farms is an important requirement of monitoring programmes. Monitoring of toxic algae by means of traditional methods, i.e., light microscopy, can be time consuming when many samples have to be routinely analysed. Reliable species identification requires expensive equipment and trained personnel to carry out the analyses. However, all techniques for the monitoring of harmful algae usually require transportation of samples to specialised laboratories. In many monitoring laboratories, results are usually obtained within five working days after receiving the sample and therefore preventative measures are not always possible. Molecular technologies are rapidly improving the detection of phytoplankton and their toxins and the speed at which the results can be obtained. Assays are based on the discrimination of the genetic differences of the different species and species-specific probes can be designed. Such probes have been adapted to a microarray or phylochip format and assessed in several EU monitoring sites. Microarray results are presented for 1 year of field samples validated with cell counts from concentrated samples taken during toxic events from the weekly sampling of the Galician Monitoring Programme done by INTECMAR. The Galician monitoring laboratory does their own counting and their results are posted on their web site within 24 h. There was good correlation between cells present and microarray signals. In the few cases of false negatives, these can be attributed to poor RNA extraction of the target species, viz. Prorocentrum or Dinophysis. Where potential false positives were encountered, the smaller volume taken for cell counts as compared to the upto 300 times more volume taken for RNA extraction for the microarray is likely the cause for these differences, making the microarray more sensitive. The microarray was able to provide better species resolution in Alexandrium and Pseudo-nitzschia. In all cases, the toxins recovered by the toxin array were matched by target species in the array or in the cell counts.     

Pair formation,pre-spawning waiting,and protandry in kokanee,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Oncorhynchus nerka</Emphasis>

The timing of arrival to breeding areas can have profound effects on reproductive success. Under some conditions (restricted breeding seasons and mating systems characterized by a longer period of mating among males than females), the maximization of mating opportunities by males theoretically selects for the earlier arrival of males than females (a phenomenon called protandry). This study quantifies the relationship between the arrival timing and spawning success of male kokanee (non-anadromous Oncorhynchus nerka). The spawning behavior of kokanee was observed in a large pen and the spawning success of each male was estimated as the number of spawning events he participated in. A male's spawning success depended primarily on his success at pairing with and mate-guarding females, and less on participation in spawning events while unpaired. Males who paired earlier in the season had higher spawning success than males who paired later in the season because they experienced more opportunities to pair with new females. Among males who eventually paired (some males never did), arriving early was correlated with pairing early. However, selection for protandry was weak, largely because early arrival did not guarantee that a male would pair. Pre-spawning waiting by females also weakened the correlation between arrival day and pairing day. The random probability of pairing with respect to arrival day and pre-spawning waiting by females likely explains the weak selection for protandry in kokanee and the low amount of protandry observed in other sockeye salmon (anadromous O. nerka) populations.     

Age-related foetal sex ratio bias in Iberian red deer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cervus elaphus hispanicus</Emphasis>): are male calves too expensive for growing mothers?

Several theories predict offspring biases towards males or females with increasing reproductive resources of the mother to maximize reproductive returns by offspring, or as a result of prohibitive cost of the most expensive sex for young mothers or those in poor condition. This study examines foetus sex of 221 harvested hinds in a food-supplemented game estate for 10 years, according to hind age class (yearlings, subadults or adults), precise age, body mass and condition, and jaw length. A logistic model showed that hinds had a greater probability of bearing a male foetus with increasing age class, but not with any other variable. The greatest bias was found in yearling hinds. After controlling for age class and mass, jaw length was smaller in pregnant compared to non-pregnant yearlings and subadults, which suggests a trade-off between reproduction and growth. The bias towards females in yearlings increased as gestation proceeded, which suggests that the bias might be a result of selective abortion of male foetuses. Although results do not exclude an investment in males to increase number of grand-offspring, they suggest that young hinds may produce daughters as a trade-off between low energetic-cost offspring and their need to grow.Communicated by S. Krackow     

Preliminary data suggest that venlafaxine environmental concentrations could be toxic to plants

Venlafaxine hydrochloride is a structurally novel antidepressant. Its occurrence in surface waters and drinking water has only been reported in recent works. The aim of this work is to assess the acute and chronic sublethal toxicity of venlafaxine in relevant taxa of riparian ecosystems. We used the fern Polystichum setiferum during the critical life stage of development. Reliable biomarkers of cell viability (mitochondrial activity), plant physiology (chlorophyll), and growth (DNA content) were assessed as sensitive endpoints of toxicity. About DNA quantification, our results show that venlafaxine induces acute lethal phytotoxicity at 24 and 48 h (LOECs 1 μg L^?1 and 0.1 μg L^?1, respectively). At 24 h, hormetic effects in spores of P. setiferum mitochondrial activity mask lethality and adverse effects are observed (LOEC 1 μg L^?1). At 48 h a reduction in the mitochondrial activity happens (LOEC 10 μg L^?1). In chronic exposure of 1 week, LOEC for DNA is 0.1 μg L^?1. Mitochondrial activity showed a strong hormetic stimulation of a surviving spore population (LOEC 10 μg L^?1). Changes were not observed in chlorophyll autofluorescence. Environmental concentrations of venlafaxine can be deleterious for the development of significant populations of sensitive individuals in riparian ecosystems.     

Assessment of Wildfire Hazards with a Semiparametric Spatial Approach

Rural households in agricultural economies are vulnerable to several environmental risks such as fires, floods, and droughts that may affect their productivity in whole or in part. These hazards are especially relevant in developing countries where farmers have few or no access to traditional risk-transfer techniques, such as insurance and finance, and where low governmental investments in rural infrastructure, risk assessment techniques, or early warning systems makes the aftermath of such hazards more expensive and results in slower recovery for those who are affected. In this paper, we use historical satellite data (Terra) of burned areas in South America to fit a semiparametric spatial model, based on kernel smoothing and on a nonlinear relationship between average time between events and damage, to assess the environmental hazard affecting the land’s productivity. The results were twofold: first, we were able to develop a spatial assessment of fire hazard, and second, we were able to evaluate how much a farmer may lose in terms of productivity per hectare due to the environmental hazard. The methodology may be easily adapted to other world regions; to different environmental hazards such as floods, windbreak, windthrow, or related land-use changes; or to integrate various environmental hazards simultaneously, as long as they can be monitored via remote sensing (e.g., satellite imagery, aerial photographs, etc).     

Using the Framework for Integrated Sustainability Assessment (FISA) to expand the Multiregional Input–Output analysis to account for the three pillars of sustainability

Decision makers interested in promoting sustainable development must simultaneously consider the environmental, economic and social implications of any action. This article proposes the Framework for Integrated Sustainability Assessment (FISA), a methodological framework for conducting a sustainability impact assessment of any investment project. Based on a Multiregional Input–Output (MRIO) framework, FISA links the extended MRIO results with social risk data from the Social Hotspots Database (SHDB) in order to integrate the social with the environmental and economic pillars. Resulting impacts are simultaneously considered and reported by means of FISA charts, making it possible to assess the different impacts within the three sustainability pillars across countries involved in the whole supply chain of investment projects. This methodological framework can be applied not only to compare the sustainability impacts of two alternative projects, but also to derive specific recommendations aimed at minimizing the harmful social, environmental and economic effects along the whole project supply chain.     

Occurrence of perfluorinated compounds in water and sediment of L’Albufera Natural Park (València,Spain)

Purpose  

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are widely distributed from industrialized to remote locations throughout the world. This study demonstrates the spatial distributions of PFCs in water and sediments from the L’Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain).     

Spatial distribution of illicit drugs in surface waters of the natural park of Pego-Oliva Marsh (Valencia,Spain)

Background, aim and scope  

The Pego-Oliva Marsh is the second most important wetland in the Valencian Community (Spain). It is included in the RAMSAR agreement and represents one key point for migratory birds. Emerging contaminants from the human pressure, such as pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs and personal care product, are not included in the list of priority contaminants of the Water Framework Directive yet, and are neither monitored nor controlled. However, pollution of emerging contaminants can threaten the environment and even human health. In order to understand the status of the emerging contamination and recommend future rationalization of countermeasures, the occurrence of illicit drugs was investigated.     

Phylogeography of California and Galápagos sea lions and population structure within the California sea lion

We investigate the phylogeography of California (Zalophus californianus) and Galápagos (Z. wollebaeki) sea lions and describe within-population structure for the California sea lion based on mitochondrial DNA. Fifty control-region haplotypes were found, 41 from Z. californianus and 9 from Z. wollebaeki, with three fixed differences between the two species. Ranked population boundaries along the range of Z. californianus were defined based on the Monmonier Maximum Difference Algorithm, resulting in five genetically distinct populations, two in the Pacific Ocean and three inside the Gulf of California. A Minimum Spanning Network showed a strong phylogeographic signal with two well-defined clusters, Z. californianus and Z. wollebaeki, separated by six base-pair differences, supporting the existence of two genetically distinct species with an estimated divergence time of ~0.8 Ma. Results are discussed in the context of the historical geologic and paleoceanographic events of the last 1 Ma in the eastern Pacific.