Linking chemical elements in forest floor humus (Oh-horizon) in the Czech Republic to contamination sources

While terrestrial moss and other plants are frequently used for environmental mapping and monitoring projects, data on the regional geochemistry of humus are scarce. Humus, however, has a much larger life span than any plant material. It can be seen as the “environmental memory” of an area for at least the last 60-100 years. Here concentrations of 39 elements determined by ICP-MS and ICP AES, pH and ash content are presented for 259 samples of forest floor humus collected at an average sample density of 1 site/300 km² in the Czech Republic. The scale of anomalies linked to known contamination sources (e.g., lignite mining and burning, metallurgical industry, coal fired power plants, metal smelters) is documented and discussed versus natural processes influencing humus quality. Most maps indicate a local impact from individual contamination sources: often more detailed sampling than used here would be needed to differentiate between likely sources.     

The use of sedimentary %C, %N, delta(15)N, and Pb concentrations to assess historical changes in anthropogenic influence on Portuguese estuaries

Vertical profiles of C, N, delta(15)N and Pb were measured in the Mondego and Mira estuaries as markers that conveyed notions as to the relative influence of anthropogenic influence over the past decades. Recent carbon changes in both estuaries may reflect changes in estuarine productivity, probably as a consequence of sediment reworking and erosion, and also of losses in salt marsh area and dwarf eelgrass beds. delta(15)N values began to diverge considerably before the %C and %N and were higher in Mondego. delta(15)N signatures detected N enrichment at relatively low rates, and indicated that Mondego received more enriched N than Mira. Lead concentrations differed between estuaries, with higher concentrations in Mondego. The secular increase in %N, Pb, and delta(15)N signatures was significantly related to human density in the watersheds of the estuaries and were sensitive indicators of anthropogenic activity.     

电化学氧化与厌氧技术联用处理垃圾渗沥水

采用电化学氧化与上流式厌氧污泥床(UASB)结合技术,提出了处理香港垃圾渗沥水的二步法工艺.对含COD和NH₃-N分别为4750mg/L和1310mg/L的垃圾渗沥水,首先进行UASB预处理(消化温度37℃,COD负荷0.78g/(L·d),HRT为6.1d),获得了66%的COD去除率;UASB的出水被引入电化学氧化反应器进行深度处理.在外加Cl 2000mg/L,电流密度为32.3mA/cm²的条件下,经6h的电解间接氧化,COD和NH₃-N的去除率分别达到87%和100%,出水的COD为209mg/L,并且不含NH3-N,此过程的COD电能消耗＜55kW·h/kg.本文讨论了电化学氧化过程中电极反应原理,各实验参数对COD和NH₃-N去除率的影响,以及电能消耗与运行成本评估等.     

Evaluating global interest in biodiversity and conservation

The first target of the Convention for Biological Diversity (Aichi target 1) was to increase public awareness of the values of biodiversity and actions needed to conserve it—a key prerequisite for other conservation targets. Monitoring success in achieving this target at a global scale has been difficult; however, increased digitization of human life in recent decades has made it easier to measure people's interests at an unprecedented scale and allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of Aichi target 1 than previously attempted. We used Google search volume data for over a thousand search terms related to different aspects of biodiversity and conservation to evaluate global interest in biodiversity and its conservation. We also investigated the correlation of interest in biodiversity and conservation across countries to variables related to biodiversity, economy, demography, research, education, internet use, and presence of environmental organizations. From 2013 to 2020, global searches for biodiversity components increased, driven mostly by searches for charismatic fauna (59% of searches were for mammal species). Searches for conservation actions, driven mostly by searches for national parks, decreased since 2019, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic inequality was negatively correlated with interest in biodiversity and conservation, whereas purchasing power was indirectly positively correlated with higher levels of education and research. Our results suggest partial success toward achieving Aichi target 1 in that interest in biodiversity increased widely, but not for conservation. We suggest that increased outreach and education efforts aimed at neglected aspects of biodiversity and conservation are still needed. Popular topics in biodiversity and conservation could be leveraged to increase awareness of other topics with attention to local socioeconomic contexts.     

The noble cats and the big bad scavengers: effects of dominant scavengers on solitary predators

Scavenging is an important but poorly understood ecological process. Dominant scavengers can impose a selection pressure that alters the predator’s fitness, morphology, behavior, and ecology. Interactions between ursids, likely the most important dominant scavengers in the Holarctic region, and solitary felids, which are characterized by long feeding times, provide a good opportunity for studying the effects of kleptoparasitism by dominant scavengers. We analyzed the effects of scavenging by brown bears Ursus arctos on Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and predator’s response to kleptoparasitism in a European temperate forest ecosystem. Bears found 32?% of lynx prey remains and 15?% of all biomass of large prey killed by lynx was lost to bears. In response, lynx increased their kill rate by 23?% but were able to compensate for only 59?% of the losses. The frequency of bear scavenging was strongly dependent on bear activity patterns and was highest during the lynx pregnancy and lactation period, when up to half of lynx kills were usurped by bears. We suggest that ursid scavenging, by promoting the hunting of smaller prey, may have played an important role in the evolution of the Lynx genus as well as other predators in the Holarctic. Our study indicates that prey loss to dominant scavengers is a widespread phenomenon among felids worldwide, including forest habitats. We highlight several implications of scavenging that could considerably improve our understanding of the ecology of vertebrate communities and the evolution of predators as well as benefit the future management and conservation of endangered predators.     

Herbivorous amphipods inhabit protective microhabitats within thalli of giant kelp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macrocystis pyrifera</Emphasis>

Many small marine herbivores utilize specific algal hosts, but the ultimate factors that shape host selection are not well understood. For example, the use of particular microhabitats within algal hosts and the functional role of these microhabitats have received little attention, especially in large algae such as kelps. We studied microhabitat use of the herbivorous amphipod Peramphithoe femorata that inhabits nest-like domiciles on the blades of giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. The vertical position of nest-bearing blades along the stipe of the algal thallus and the position of the nests within the lateral blades of M. pyrifera were surveyed in two kelp forests in northern-central Chile. Additionally, we conducted laboratory and field experiments to unravel the mechanisms driving the observed distributions. Peramphithoe femorata nests were predominantly built on the distal blade tips in apical sections of the stipes. Within-blade and within-stipe feeding preferences of P. femorata did not explain the amphipod distribution. Amphipods did not consistently select distal over proximal blade sections in habitat choice experiments. Mortality of tethered amphipods without nests was higher at the seafloor than at the sea surface in the field. Nests mitigated mortality of tethered amphipods, especially at the seafloor. Thus, protective microhabitats within thalli of large kelp species can substantially enhance survival of small marine herbivores. Our results suggest that differential survival from predation might be more important than food preferences in determining the microhabitat distribution of these herbivores.     

Home range of immature green turtles tracked at an offshore tropical reef using automated passive acoustic technology

Seventeen immature green turtles Chelonia mydas were tracked concurrently by automated ultrasonic receivers at a coral reef off North-Eastern Australia (September–December 2010, 16.4°S, 145.6°E). The majority (n = 11) were tracked for the entire 100-day study, the remainder for 23–85 days. Detection data aggregated at 30-min intervals produced median 6.5–35 daily locations for individual turtles. Home range areas (95 % utilisation distribution) were ≤1 km², $ {\bar{\text{x}}} $  ± SD = 0.74 km² ± 0.159. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first home range estimates for C. mydas foraging at offshore tropical reefs. The findings are important for conservation in revealing near-continuous presence of the same individuals within a small geographic area. Time between detections was very short (median <3 min) demonstrating passive ultrasonic technology can track multiple turtles in a foraging environment with higher temporal resolution than typically achieved by satellite tracking.     

Measuring sustainable governance in the European Union

This paper examines the problem of measuring sustainable governance in the European Union (EU-27) through the use of duality and the Slutsky equation. The proposed methodology is based on the application of a three-dimensional optimisation model, where the arguments of the objective (sustainable social welfare) function are economic goods that contribute to sustainable economic growth; environmental goods that provide for sustainable environmental protection; and social goods through which sustainable social development is achieved. The dual problem, formulated through this three-dimensional theoretical model, is solved to find the optimal solution, indicating a certain sustainability level. We suggest that this solution can be used for calculating the value of what we define here as the sustainable governmental policy indicator, which is considered to provide quantitative measurement of government policies on sustainable development within the context of ‘good governance’. Furthermore, it is suggested that the Slutsky equation can be used as a reliable method for long-term monitoring and planning of national as well as international good governance with regard to sustainable development policies. In its empirical part, the paper applies the theoretical model in an analysis of the sustainable development indicators (as set out in the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) of the EU) in Bulgaria for the period 2000–2010 and compares them to those of the EU-27.     

Rare earth elements upon assessment of reasons of the geophagy in Sikhote-Alin region (Russian Federation), Africa and other world regions

Rocks eaten by wild animals on the Bolshoy Shanduyskiy kudur in the Sikhote-Alin region (Russian Federation) are zeolite–clay mineral complexes—products of weathering of zeolitized vitric tuffs of rhyolite composition, deposited in aqueous medium within the volcanic caldera of about 55 million years ago. By composition of rock-forming oxides, the tuffs refer to high-potassium calc-alkaline series. In trace elements of most favorite kudurites of the Bolshoy Shanduyskiy kudur, there are significantly increased contents of most of rare earth elements (2–5 times in comparison with surrounding rocks). The results of our analysis of geological and geochemical data on kudurs and kudurites in another part of the Sikhote-Alin, as well as on other regions of the world (particularly, in Africa and Indonesia), taking into account new data on the prevalence of rare earth elements in living matter and their medical and biological properties, enable us to consider the version of causal connection of the geophagy with rare earth elements.