Secondary metabolism — evolution and function: Products or processes?

Summary The distinguishing characteristics of secondary metabolism and its associated metabolites are outlined. Current theories relating to the function of secondary metabolism in plants and micro-organisms are enumerated and the view that consideration of the processes rather than the products may best explain the origins of secondary metabolism is discussed.     

Projected twenty-first-century changes in the Central American mid-summer drought using statistically downscaled climate projections

Regional Environmental Change - In addition to periodic long-term drought, much of Central America experiences a rainy season with two peaks separated by a dry period of weeks to over a month in...     

Why emotional intelligence is an invalid concept

In this paper I argue that the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) is invalid both because it is not a form of intelligence and because it is defined so broadly and inclusively that it has no intelligible meaning. I distinguish the so‐called concept of EI from actual intelligence and from rationality. I identify the actual relation between reason and emotion. I reveal the fundamental inadequacy of the concept of EI when applied to leadership. Finally, I suggest some alternatives to the EI concept. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The environmental audit. II. Application to stream network design

The planning and execution of water quality management programs requires careful collection and analysis of data coupled with a systematic review and analysis of programmatic success. The environmental audit is a tool which facilitates improved water quality planning and management. This article demonstrates the utility of the environmental audit by reviewing portions of a comprehensive review of the water quality management program for the state of Idaho. The audit is a tool which forces careful design of a sampling program before data are collected. In the audit approach, program objectives are clearly stated prior to initiation of sampling. Stated objectives are also evaluated regularly to identify tension points, that is, conflicts between expectations and reality. In the example taken from Idaho, a management review team followed a directive to redesign the water quality monitoring program. We present a summary of the redesign as proposed by that team, to illustrate the results of a typical review of monitoring programs. That summary is followed by an example of how the proposed program would differ if the audit approach had been used. The two approaches offered both coincident and conflicting recommendations. Management review team and audit recommendations for lake sampling programs were similar even though a different process was used to develop the recommendations. The most striking contrast between the two results lies in the review team's approach to the problem. The directives followed, and the team's responses, concentrate on tools, such as increasing biological monitoring or reliance on monthly BWMP stations. In contrast, the audit results stress addressing management questions for which clear objectives have been stated, depending on specific tools only as needed to meet stated objectives. Although the audit does integrate externalities in its structure, it is little affected by economic or political influences. A major strength of the audit approach is its ability to provide defensible data for management decision making.     

Cognitive and motivational effects of participation: A mediator study

Previous experimental studies of participation have typically examined its motivational (especially commitment) benefits. These studies showed that these benefits are neither large nor consistent. The present study focused on the cognitive benefits of participation in decision making (pdm) and on the role of a different motivational mediator, self-efficacy. Unlike previous research which claimed to study the cognitive (informational) effects of participation, the present experiment: (a) allowed the information concerning task strategies to emerge from group discussion rather than being manipulated by the experimenter; (b) measured the actual strategies that were developed and used by subjects in the pdm condition; and (c) measured self-efficacy which was associated with the discovery and use of these strategies. It was found that the strategies developed by the subjects and their self-efficacy completely mediated the effect of participation on performance. Further, participation in setting goals, consistent with previous studies, did not affect performance but did affect self-efficacy.     

Organic mercury levels among the Yanomama of the Brazilian Amazon Basin

The Catrimani River basin in northern Brazil is the home of the Yanomama and has been the site of renegade gold mining since 1980. Gold-mining operations release inorganic mercury (Hg) into the environment where it is organified and biomagnified in aquatic ecosystems. Ingestion of mercury-contaminated fish poses a potential hazard to fish-eating populations such as the Yanomama. We surveyed Hg levels in Yanomama villagers living near mined and unmined rivers in 1994 and 1995, and analyzed Hg levels in piranha caught by villagers. In 1994, 90 Yanomama Indians from 5 villages and in 1995, 62 Yanomama Indians from 3 villages participated in the studies. Four villages surveyed in 1994 were located directly on the Catrimani River, approximately 140-160 km downstream from past gold-mining activities. The other village surveyed in 1994 was situated on the unmined Ajaraní River. In 1995, 2 of the Catrimani River villages were revisited, and a third Yanomama village, on the unmined Pacu River, was surveyed. Blood organic mercury levels among all villagers surveyed ranged from 0 to 62.6 microg L(-1) (mean levels in each village between 21.2 microg L(-1) and 43.1 microg L(-1)). Mercury levels in piranha from the mined Catrimani River ranged from 235 to 1084 parts per billion (ppb). Nine of 13 piranhas, measuring 30 cm or longer had total mercury levels which exceeded mercury consumption limits (500 ppb) set by both the World Health Organization and the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Unexpectedly, high mercury levels were also observed in fish and villagers along the unmined Ajaraní and Pacu Rivers suggesting that indirect sources may contribute to environmental mercury contamination in the Amazon basin.     

Chemical Plume Tracing

Environmental Fluid Mechanics -     

Differential attraction of females to dominant males: Olfactory discrimination and mating preference in the brown lemming (Lemmus trimucronatus)

Summary This study investigated differential attraction of estrous brown lemmings (Lemmus trimucronatus) to conspecific males recently exposed to each other for a 10-min agonistic encounter. In tests conducted 5 min, 1 h and 24 h after agonistic encounters, females preferred the oder of dominant males to that of defeated males when both odors were presented simultaneously in a Y-maze olfactometer. Defeat in an agonistic encounter did not reduce the propensity of male lemmings to initiate sexual behavior. In one-male, one-female tests conducted 5 min after agonistic encounters, dominant males achieved higher mount and thrust scores while defeated males obtained higher scores for attempted mounts. The sexual behavior of dominant and defeated males did not differ significantly in similar tests conducted 1 h and 24 h later. In contrast, females readily mated with dominant males and tended to avoid defeated males in two-male tethering tests conducted 5 min after agonistic encounters. In these tests, females still showed a preference for dominant males 1 h and 24 h after male agonistic encounters.