Male fighting and “territoriality” within colonies of the ant Cardiocondyla venustula

The ant genus Cardiocondyla is characterized by a bizarre male polymorphism with wingless fighter males and winged disperser males. Winged males have been lost convergently in several clades, and in at least one of them, wingless males have evolved mutual tolerance. To better understand the evolutionary pathways of reproductive tactics, we investigated Cardiocondyla venustula, a species, which in a phylogenetic analysis clusters with species with fighting and species with mutually tolerant, wingless males. Wingless males of C. venustula use their strong mandibles to kill freshly eclosed rival males and also engage in short fights with other adult males, but in addition show a novel behavior hitherto not reported from social insect males: they spread out in the natal nest and defend “territories” against other males. Ant males therefore show a much larger variety of reproductive tactics than previously assumed.     

Sustainable global energy supply based on lignocellulosic biomass from afforestation of degraded areas

An important aspect of present global energy scenarios is the assumption that the amount of biomass that can be grown on the available area is so limited that a scenario based on biomass as the major source of energy should be unrealistic. We have been investigating the question whether a Biomass Scenario may be realistic. We found that the global energy demand projected by the International Energy Agency in the Reference Scenario for the year 2030 could be provided sustainably and economically primarily from lignocellulosic biomass grown on areas which have been degraded by human activities in historical times. Moreover, other renewable energies will contribute to the energy mix. There would be no competition with increasing food demand for existing arable land. Afforestation of degraded areas and investment for energy and fuel usage of the biomass are not more expensive than investment in energy infrastructure necessary up to 2030 assumed in the fossil energy based Reference Scenario, probably much cheaper considering the additional advantages such as stopping the increase of and even slowly reducing the CO₂ content of the atmosphere, soil, and water conservation and desertification control. Most importantly, investment for a Biomass Scenario would be actually sustainable, in contrast to investment in energy-supply infrastructure of the Reference Scenario. Methods of afforestation of degraded areas, cultivation, and energetic usage of lignocellulosic biomass are available but have to be further improved. Afforestation can be started immediately, has an impact in some few years, and may be realized in some decades. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Application of response surface methodology for the optimization of biodiesel production from yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) seed oil

In the present study, response surface methodology (RSM) involving central composite design (CCD) was applied to optimize the reaction parameters of biodiesel production from yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) seed oil during the single-step transesterification process. A total of 30 experiments were designed and performed to determine under the effects of variables on the biodiesel yield such as methanol to oil molar ratio (2:1–10:1), catalyst concentration (0.2–1.0 wt.% NaOH), reaction temperature (50–70°C), and reaction time (30–90 min). The second order polynomial model was used to predict the biodiesel yield and coefficient of determination (R²) was found to be at 0.9818. The optimum biodiesel yield was calculated as 96.695% from the model with the following reaction conditions: 7.41:1 of methanol to oil molar ratio, 0.63 wt. % NaOH of catalyst concentration, 61.84°C of reaction temperature, and 62.12 min of reaction time. It is seen that the regression model results were in agreement with the experimental data. The results showed that RSM is a suitable statistical technique for optimizing the reaction parameters in the transesterification process in order to maximize the biodiesel yield.     

Arsenic and sulfur nanoparticle synthesis mimicking environmental conditions of submarine shallow-water hydrothermal vents

Arsenic and sulfur mineralization is a natural phenomenon occurring in hydrothermal systems where parameters like temperature and organic matter(OM) can influence the mobilization of the toxic metalloid in marine environments. In the present study we analyze the influence of temperature and OM(particularly sulfur-containing additives) on As and S precipitation based on the recent discovery of As-rich nanoparticles in the hydrothermal system near the coast of the Greek island Milos. To this end, ...     

Reception of particle oscillation in a medium — an unorthodox sensory capacity

The oscillation of particles in a medium is the adequate stimulus for specialized receptors. Such receptors can be found in nearly all phyla in the animal kingdom. Specialized sensory hairs in arthropods are used here as an example to show conditions and limits of vibration reception in a medium. The use of this sensory capacity in biologically relevant situations is shown on some well-known examples.     

Imprecision in waggle dances of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) for nearby food sources: error or adaptation?

A curious feature of the honeybee's waggle dance is the imprecision in the direction indication for nearby food sources. One hypothesis for the function of this imprecision is that it serves to spread recruits over a certain area and thus is an adaptation to the typical spatial configuration of the bees' food sources, i.e., flowers in sizable patches. We report an experiment that tests this tuned-error hypothesis. We measured the precision of direction indication in waggle dances advertising a nest site (typically a tree cavity, hence a target that is almost a point) and compared it with that of dances advertising a food source (typically a flower patch, hence a target that covers an area). The precision of dances for a nearby nest site was significantly higher than that of dances for an equidistant feeder. This was demonstrated four times with four colonies. Our evidence therefore supports the hypothesis that the level of precision in the direction indication for nearby food sources is tuned to its optimum without being at its maximum. Received: 9 December 1998 / Received in revised form: 24 February 1999 / Accepted 12 March 1999     

Ein Ansatz zur Methodik der vergleichenden Bewertung von Bodenbelastungen

An evaluation of the degradation of soils can be performed in several ways. Here, one way will be demonstrated beginning with the definition of the objects which are to be evaluated, continued with the definition of protection aims and the derivation of indicators. Objects together with indicators provide the frame within which a multicriteria assessment, has to be performed. Often no deterministic quality function is available, so that the concept of partially ordered sets is suggested. This concept is demonstrated by an example of an evaluation exercise performed for the environmental protection agency in Baden Württemberg. A result is that the use of arbitrarily defined quality functions may lead to erroneous statements.     

Identifikation der kfz-bürtigen Schadstoffbelastung mit Hilfe der Verhältnisse der stabilen Isotope von Kohlenstoff und Schwefel

Different sources of traffic immissions (tyres, soot, oil, asphalt, plastic, paint) were analysed for stable carbon and sulphur isotope ratios. The aim of this study is to investigate whether these isotope ratios can be used to evaluate the environmental impact of traffic immitted harmful substances in roadside soils. The δ¹³C values of technical materials are between -30‰ and -18‰ (PDB). They can be distinguished by their δ¹³C value because of specific production methods. The δ¹³C value of asphalt is between -23 and -18‰, soot shows values from -27 to-22‰ Moreover, soot of different fuel have different carbon isotope ratios. Plastic, paint and oil have similar δ¹³C from -30 to -27‰ Carbon isotope ratios of automobile tyres are around -26‰ Traffic impact on the carbon isotope composition is reflected in δ¹³C values of various carbon spezies found in street sediments and road side soils. These δ¹³C values correlate to concentrations of lead and platinum. Although δ³⁴S values of technical materials are between -6 and +8‰ it was not possible to characterise samples according to their Sulphur isotopic compostion.