Meio- and macrofauna communities in three sandy beaches of the northern Adriatic Sea protected by artificial reefs

Interactions between meio- and macrofaunal assemblages and food availability were investigated in relation to tourism pressures on three beaches of the northern Adriatic Sea. All beaches were characterised by the presence of artificial reefs, freshwater inputs and tourism pressures. Beach sediments displayed high organic loads and low protein and chlorophyll a contributions to the bulk of the organic matter. Consequently, the organic matter was of mostly refractory composition and, thus, of scarce nutritional quality. Macrofaunal community structure and biomass were related to the quantity and nutritional quality of sedimentary organic matter, whereas meiofauna was apparently not. No relationships were found between physical variables and the metazoan communities. Most likely, the presence of artificial reefs reduced the physical impact of waves on the beach assemblages, whereas the presence of synergistic human impacts, including freshwater inputs and the tourism pressure, negatively influenced both the meio- and the macrofaunal assemblages.     

Motility of cryopreserved spermatozoa for the ecotoxicological evaluation of aquatic environments

A new approach to environmental studies was investigated by the authors, who propose the use of cryopreserved biological systems in ecotoxicological bioassays. The feasibility of spermiotoxicity tests using cryopreserved semen of the sea bream Sparus aurata, with sperm motility parameters as the endpoint, was evaluated. Thawed sperm was incubated in environmental samples (sediment elutriate and dumpsite leachate) and in a reference toxicant (cadmium) at scaled concentrations. Motility was then evaluated by video-microscopy using both visual and computer-assisted analyses. Activation time, sperm motility and velocity and motility duration were assessed on thawing and at the end of the incubation time, and the difference with respect to the control was statistically evaluated. All the endpoints of the bioassay proved to have good sensitivity even at the highest dilutions of the tested matrices. Observed differences in the sensitivity thresholds of the endpoints were considered to be representative of different aspects of sperm physiology. Therefore the proposed bioassay is a promising starting point for the development of toxicity tests that are increasingly tailored to the needs of ecotoxicology and environmental quality evaluation strategies for aquatic environments.     

Agricultural production and sustainable development in a Brazilian region (Southwest,São Paulo State): motivations and barriers to adopting sustainable and ecologically friendly practices

The objective of this study is to identify the adoption level of practices associated with more sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly practices. Additionally, the motivations for and barriers to the adoption of these practices by farmers are investigated. Data were collected through closed questionnaires taken by a random sample of farmers in the Southwest, São Paulo, Brazil, during the second half of 2013. Overall, sustainable agricultural practices recommended in the literature and analysed in this study are being not fully adopted by farmers of the studied area. The results showed that financial motivation is associated with farmers adopting new, more sustainable technology, whereas the lack of information on and lack of technical support for these technologies are significant barriers. Other results, research implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are presented.     

First evidence of large-scale PAH trends in French soils

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread organic pollutants. Soils are a reservoir of PAHs because some soil constituents favour PAH accumulation. Therefore, soil is a key indicator of the degree of contamination. So far, studies mapping soil PAH levels over large territories are very rare. Here, we report the first nation-wide maps of soil PAHs in France. Results were obtained within the French National Soil Monitoring Network, which is the first European network monitoring systematically soil PAHs. We used advanced geostatistics to map PAH distribution over the whole French territory. Our results show clear trends of PAH levels at the nation scale. For instance, the highest PAH levels are found in Northern and Eastern France. This high contamination is explained by the intense industrial activity of these regions during the last century. High levels of PAH are also found near some coastlines. This observation could be explained by long-range atmospheric transportation. In addition, we found that light PAHs are rarely found in French topsoils.     

When do emotionally exhausted employees speak up? Exploring the potential curvilinear relationship between emotional exhaustion and voice

Two studies were conducted to address the potential nonlinear relationship between emotional exhaustion and voice. Study 1 developed and tested a model rooted in conservation of resources theory in which responses to emotional exhaustion are determined by individual‐level and group‐level conditions that influence the perceived safety and efficacy of voice and drive prohibitive voice behaviors by giving rise to either resource‐conservation‐based or resource‐acquisition‐based motivation. Specifically, there was a curvilinear (U‐shaped) relationship between emotional exhaustion and prohibitive voice under conditions of (i) high job security and (ii) high interactional justice climate, but a linearly negative relationship when these resources were low. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings to include an empirical examination of these effects on promotive versus prohibitive voice. Results confirmed the findings of Study 1, provided evidence of differences in the nomological networks of promotive and prohibitive voice, and indicated that prohibitive voice is more salient to the experience of high emotional strain. Implications of the findings and areas for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can a marine pest reduce the nutritional value of Mediterranean fish flesh?

Biological invasions are deemed as one of the most severe threats to biodiversity and can result in huge economic impacts on natural resources. Many studies have assessed structural changes caused by the introduction of nonindigenous species, but urgent questions remain to be answered about the complex indirect effects of invasive pests on marine biodiversity at the species and ecosystem level. Previous investigations focusing on the biological invasion by Caulerpa racemosa in the Mediterranean indicated that the lipophilic algal metabolite caulerpin accumulates in the tissues of the native edible white sea bream Diplodus sargus feeding on the exotic alga. The level of caulerpin in D. sargus has been thus used as an indicator of the trophic exposure of the fish to the seaweed and related with adverse effects on the fish health. In the present study, we show that the C. racemosa-based diet can also alter muscle fatty acids composition in the white sea bream by reducing the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 and n-6 series, such as eicosapentaenoic (C20:5), docosahexaenoic (C22:6) and arachidonic acids (C20:4). This represents both a real threat to the health of fish unable to biosynthesize these essential fatty acids and an impoverishment of an important source of essential fatty acids for human nutrition, which helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hepatic steatosis, cancer and neurological disorders. On the whole, this work sheds light on an unexplored and critical aspect of biological invasions with implication on the health of both humans and the environment.     

Spatial mismatch between wild bee diversity hotspots and protected areas

Wild bees are critical for multiple ecosystem functions but are currently threatened. Understanding the determinants of the spatial distribution of wild bee diversity is a major research gap for their conservation. We modeled wild bee α and β taxonomic and functional diversity in Switzerland to uncover countrywide diversity patterns and determine the extent to which they provide complementary information, assess the importance of the different drivers structuring wild bee diversity, identify hotspots of wild bee diversity, and determine the overlap between diversity hotspots and the network of protected areas. We used site-level occurrence and trait data from 547 wild bee species across 3343 plots and calculated community attributes, including taxonomic diversity metrics, community mean trait values, and functional diversity metrics. We modeled their distribution with predictors describing gradients of climate, resource availability (vegetation), and anthropogenic influence (i.e., land-use types and beekeeping intensity). Wild bee diversity changed along gradients of climate and resource availability; high-elevation areas had lower functional and taxonomic α diversity, and xeric areas harbored more diverse bee communities. Functional and taxonomic β diversities diverged from this pattern, with high elevations hosting unique species and trait combinations. The proportion of diversity hotspots included in protected areas depended on the biodiversity facet, but most diversity hotspots occurred in unprotected land. Climate and resource availability gradients drove spatial patterns of wild bee diversity, resulting in lower overall diversity at higher elevations, but simultaneously greater taxonomic and functional uniqueness. This spatial mismatch among distinct biodiversity facets and the degree of overlap with protected areas is a challenge to wild bee conservation, especially in the face of global change, and calls for better integrating unprotected land. The application of spatial predictive models represents a valuable tool to aid the future development of protected areas and achieve wild bee conservation goals.     

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.     

Agricultural Land Use and Best Management Practices to Control Nonpoint Water Pollution

In recent years, improvements in point-source depuration technologies have highlighted the problems regarding agricultural nonpoint (diffuse) sources, and this issue has become highly relevant from the environmental point of view. The considerable extension of the areas responsible for this kind of pollution, together with the scarcity of funds available to local managers, make minimizing the impacts of nonpoint sources on a whole basin a virtually impossible task. This article presents the results of a study intended to pinpoint those agricultural areas, within a basin, that contribute most to water pollution, so that operations aimed at preventing and/or reducing this kind of pollution can be focused on them. With this aim, an innovative approach is presented that integrates a field-scale management model, a simple regression model, and a geographic information system (GIS). The Lake Vico basin, where recent studies highlighted a considerable increase in the trophic state, mainly caused by phosphorus (P) compounds deriving principally from the intensive cultivation of hazelnut trees in the lake basin, was chosen as the study site. Using the management model Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems (GLEAMS), the consequences, in terms of sediment yield and phosphorus export, of hazelnut tree cultivation were estimated on different areas of the basin with and without the application of a best management practice (BMP) that consists of growing meadow under the trees. The GLEAMS results were successively extended to basin scale thanks to the application of a purposely designed regression model and of a GIS. The main conclusions can be summarized as follows: The effectiveness of the above-mentioned BMP is always greater for erosion reduction than for particulate P reduction, whatever the slope value considered; moreover, the effectiveness with reference to both particulate P and sediment yield production decreases as the slope increases. The proposed approach, being completely distributed, represents a considerable step ahead compared to the semidistributed or lumped approaches, which are traditionally employed in research into tools to support the decision-making process for land-use planning aimed at water pollution control.     

Metal Contamination in Urban Soils of Coastal Tuscany (Italy)

Urban soils are often contaminated by metals deriving from human activities. Urban polluted soils can affect human health through direct physical contact or through the food chain. The behaviour of metals is affected by chemical and physical soil properties. Heavy metal concentration was determined in some soils of three medium sized towns of coastal Tuscany, Central Italy. Soil samples were collected in roadsides, urban agricultural soils (allotments), playgrounds and public parks. The analysis included total metal content (Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd), and sequential extraction. Lead reached the highest levels in the soils and was higher near roads. In urban agricultural soils and in allotments Cu was present in noticeable quantities (300 mg kg⁻¹). The presence of Cu in urban soils seems to be typical of soils used for a long period as agricultural land, especially vineyards in the area covered by this study. Sequential extraction was performed to evaluate the mobility of the metals and to better understand the impact of the anthropogenic activity on urban sites. In the present study principal components analysis (PCA) is employed to describe the characteristics of urban soils.