Deposition monitoring networks: what monitoring is required to give reasonable estimates of ammonia/ammonium?

Deposition is one of the main loss terms for ammonia and ammonium from the atmosphere. It is also the input for ecosystems that can lead to drastic changes and effects. Deposition networks are needed to evaluate the need and the effect of policies to reduce nitrogen emissions, but also for studying deposition parameters and for developing deposition models. As with ambient concentrations of ammonia, deposition, especially dry deposition, varies strongly in space and in time. Furthermore, the bi-directional surface-atmosphere exchange of ammonia makes the combination of ambient concentration measurements with inferential models inadequate. Developing deposition monitoring networks with reasonable accuracy and representativeness is therefore not straightforward. In Europe several projects have addressed deposition monitoring. From these results it is concluded that a monitoring strategy should consist of a network with a limited amount of super sites combined with a larger number of sites where low cost methods are applied, together with models for generalisation.     

Towards water security: political determination and human adaptation crucial

Although high-level attention has been drawn to the escalating world water problems, few changes are noticeable in terms of actual management of the water resource. Politicians continue to be misled by the apparent simplicity of water. The environment-oriented community tends to focus only on problems arising from man-induced side-effects, and most people tend to take water for granted. The double challenge of providing adequate water supplies and meeting increasing food requirements of expanding populations, in addition to already existing water management problems, requires special attention. In addition, the intensifying pollution of water systems will have to be dealt with. Considerable human adaptation to physical realities as well as ingenious action are needed.
There is a brief discussion of the risk of hydrocide, a condition of serious water-quality degradation where available water is no longer sufficient, or cannot be used for the purposes needed. However, the main focus of the paper is on water quantity issues, highlighting the confusion arising from different methods of assessing water scarcity. Levels of regional water scarcity predicaments are discussed in terms of distinct regional clusters. Attention is drawn to the limitations of dry climate regions to achieve food self sufficiency, and the emerging need in many areas to import food; related trade and price aspects are also discussed. A distinction is made between efficiency of use and efficiency of allocation.
The need for a global ethic regarding upstream–downstream water-sharing is stressed, especially in cases of consumptive (evaporative) use of water for cultivating crops, which may deplete river flows available to downstream users. In conclusion, four key concerns are highlighted that call for global consensus.     

Bioaccumulation of metals in human blood in industrially contaminated area

The consumption of contaminated food crops, meat and milk has significantly increased the concentrations of trace metals in human blood as compared to the control area.     

Relationships between reproductive performance and organochlorine contaminants in great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus)

The great black-backed gull Larus marinus is a top predator in subarctic and temperate marine ecosystems, and the aim of this study was to investigate if organochlorines (OCs) were related to reproductive performance in this species at the subarctic parts of the Norwegian Coast. We measured blood levels of various OCs in 53 breeding birds. The OC levels were relatively low compared to levels found in nearby arctic areas. In females, however, there was a significant positive relationship between blood concentrations of OCs, especially hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and egg laying date, and a positive relationship between the probability of nest predation and blood concentration of beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH), oxychlordane, and DDE. In females with high levels of OCs, especially persistent polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), there was also a decline in egg volume as egg laying progressed; i.e. the second and third laid egg were relatively smaller, compared to females with low OC levels. No relationships between reproductive parameters and OC levels were found in males.     

Multiple paternity and offspring quality in tree swallows

There is mounting evidence in a variety of taxa that females increase offspring quality by mating with multiple males, often resulting in multiple paternity. In birds, however, few studies have explicitly examined the benefits of mating with several different males; instead, the focus has been on whether or not extra-pair mating occurs, and its adaptive significance remains controversial. We examined the hypothesis that offspring quality, particularly immune response (phytohaemagglutinin assay) and growth, increases with the number of sires in broods of socially monogamous tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). We found one of the highest known levels of multiple paternity in birds (84% of nests with two or more extra-pair young had at least two extra-pair sires). Among nests with extra-pair young, the number and diversity of sires continued to increase linearly with the number of extra-pair young, so there was no evidence that some males monopolized paternity at high levels of extra-pair fertilization. Indeed, the number of sires was actually greater than expected in large broods, suggesting that some females might be seeking more mates. We found no effect of the number of sires on nestling immune response or growth. In mixed paternity broods, the immune response of extra-pair young did not differ from that of their within-pair half-siblings. However, among all broods, nestlings had a stronger immune response in nests with at least one extra-pair nestling than in nests with all within-pair nestlings. These results are not consistent with a good genes benefit of extra-pair mating, but they do suggest that there are environmental effects associated with extra-pair mating that increase nestling immune response. These environmental effects could produce indirect genetic effects on sexual selection if they are heritable. The extraordinarily high number of sires in this species highlights a relatively unexplored source of sexual selection in birds.     

Distribution of detoxifying genes polymorphism in Maharastrian population of central India

The present study is aimed at evaluating the genotype frequency of detoxifying genes such as GSTM1, GSTT1 and NQO1 in Maharastrian population of central India. The study revealed about 64.6% of GSTM1-positive and 35.4% GSTM1-null population. GSTT1-positive genotype was found to be 87.5% and GSTT1-null showed 12.5%. The NQO1 genotype of Maharastrian population showed 52.3% of C/C, 42.48% C/T and 5.18% T/T. The NQO1 of this population does not deviate from the expected Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The genotype frequencies GSTM1 and GSTT1 of the population when compared with other ethnic groups of Asia and Caucasians show distinct nature of Maharastrian population from other Asian and Caucasian population.     

Visions for the North Sea: The Societal Dilemma Behind Specifying Good Environmental Status

We augment discussions about the Good Environmental Status of the North Sea by developing two extreme visions and assessing their societal benefits. One vision (‘Then’) assumes restoration of benthic functioning; we contend that trawling had already degraded the southern North Sea a century ago. Available information is used to speculate about benthic functioning in a relatively undisturbed southern North Sea. The second vision (‘Now’) draws on recent benthic functioning. The supply of five ecosystem services, supported by benthic functioning, is discussed. ‘Then’ offers confidence in the sustainable supply of diverse services but restoration of past function is uncertain and likely to be paired with costs, notably trawling restraints. ‘Now’ delivers known and valued services but sustained delivery is threatened by, for example, climate change. We do not advocate either vision. Our purpose is to stimulate debate about what society wants, and might receive, from the future southern North Sea.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0536-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Ontogenetic switch between alternative antipredatory strategies in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius): defensive threat versus escape

Ontogenetic changes in antipredator behavior optimize survival of growing animals. Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) respond to a simulated predator either by postural and vocal threats, sometimes followed by biting, or alternatively by a rapid escape. The former “confrontational” and the latter “avoidance” behavior rarely occurs in a sequence; in fact, they represent mutually exclusive defensive strategies. We examined 552 individuals of a leopard gecko (E. macularius) of various ages, from hatching up to adulthood (31 months). Each experimental animal was exposed to a sequence of five “water-spraying” and ten “stick” (stick poking on base of the tail) stimuli, and the emitted behavior was recorded. We analyzed the effects of age, body size, body condition, adult–juvenile coloration, and sex on observed behavioral traits. The results showed that in the case of water-spraying stimulus, the usage of deterrent vocalization or escape tactic was affected by age and condition. In addition to that, using deterrent vocalization was influenced by the coloration of the animal. Stick stimulus evokes antipredator strategies that correspond with age and coloration (deterrent vocalization) and also with standardized body size (escape). Thus, leopard geckos exhibit clear ontogenetic change of defensive strategies, from threat–vocalization–bite strategy prevailing in juveniles to an escape strategy typical for adults. This behavioral change is accompanied by the ontogenetic switch of coloration from presumably warning contrasting light–dark banded pattern of juveniles to a cryptic spotted coloration of the adults.