The expected impact of the “Peace Conduit” project (the Red Sea - Dead Sea pipeline) on the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is a severely disturbed ecosystem, greatly damaged by anthropogenic intervention in its water balance. During the 20th century, the Dead Sea level dropped by more than 25 meters, and presently (2003) it is at about 416 meters below mean sea level. This negative water balance is mainly due to the diversion of water from the catchment area of the lake by Israel, Jordan and Syria. During the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development Israel and Jordan jointly announced their interest in saving the Dead Sea by constructing the “Peace Conduit” that will pipe water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The inflow of seawater (or reject brine after desalinization) into the Dead Sea will have a major impact on its limnology, geochemistry and biology. During the filling stage, relatively diluted surface water will form and the rate of evaporation will therefore increase. Dilution of the surface water will most likely result in microbial blooming whose duration is not known, while the lower water layer is likely to develop reducing conditions, including bacterial sulfate reduction and presence of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Mixing between the calcium-rich Dead Sea brine and the sulfate-rich seawater will result in gypsum precipitation (CaSO₄⋅ 2H₂O). Once the target level is reached, inflow will be outbalanced by evaporation and salinity of the surface water will increase due to accumulation of seawater-salts. The water column will re-mix when the density of the surface water will equal that of the lower water column. In spite of its large volume and high salinity relative to that of the inflowing water, over the long run the composition of this unique lake will change. Before a decision is made on the planning and construction of the Conduit, it is essential that the long term evolution and characteristics of the “renewed” Dead Sea be known and anticipated changes examined. Once decided upon, the planning and construction of the Conduit should be conducted so as to minimize possible negative impacts of seawater introduction on the Dead Sea. This can only be achieved through a thorough understanding of the expected changes in the limnological physical/chemical characteristics of the Dead Sea and its unique brine.     

Aluminum position in Rb-feldspar as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Al/Si configurations in some natural and synthetic Rb-feldspars have been examined carefully by EMPA and XPS analyses. Our results indicate that a small amount of H₂O and excess Si and Al are incorporated in hydrothermally synthesized Rb-feldspar. The quantities of excess Al are 0.056 atoms per formula unit and are negatively correlated with those of the Rb, suggesting the presence of excess Al occupying non-tetrahedral sites in feldspar structures. This leads to incorporation of Al(Al₃Si)O₈ endmember into Rb-feldspars, estimated as one appropriate endmember indication for unusual chemistry of feldspars. In addition, Si2p, Al2p and O1s XPS signals of Rb-feldspars shift drastically toward the higher energy side than those of any natural feldspars. These provide conclusive evidence not only for existence of perceptible excess Si and Al, but also for Al at both extra-framework and tetrahedral sites in feldspar structures.     

Aphid soldier differentiation: density acts on both embryos and newborn nymphs

The mechanism of caste differentiation in a social aphid Tuberaphis styraci, which has a sterile soldier caste in the 2nd instar, was investigated using an artificial diet rearing system. High aphid density induced soldier production. Combinatorial prenatal and postnatal density treatments revealed that (1) either prenatal high density or postnatal high density is sufficient for soldier induction; (2) thus, embryos in the maternal body and newborn 1st instar nymphs are both responsive to high density; (3) the combination of prenatal high density and postnatal high density enhances soldier differentiation in a synergistic manner; and (4) the final determination of soldier differentiation occurs postnatally, probably at a late 1st instar stage. This study first throws light on the developmental aspects of caste differentiation in a social aphid.     

Food offering in jackdaws (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Corvus monedula</Emphasis>)

Food sharing among unrelated same-sex individuals has received considerable interest from primatologists and evolutionary biologists because of its apparent altruistic nature and implications for the evolution of complex social cognition. In contrast to primates, food sharing in birds has received relatively little attention. Here we describe three types of food sharing in jackdaws, with the initiative for the transfer either with the receiver or the giver. The latter situation is of particular interest because the food transfer takes place through active giving. Compared to primates, jackdaws show high rates of food sharing. Finally we discuss the implications of food sharing in jackdaws, and in birds in general.     

Parasitoids and competitors influence colony-level responses in the red imported fire ant,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Solenopsis invicta</Emphasis>

Social insect colonies respond to challenges set by a variable environment by reallocating work among colony members. In many social insects, such colony-level task allocation strategies are achieved through individual decisions that produce a self-organized adapting group. We investigated colony responses to parasitoids and native ant competitors in the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). Parasitoid flies affected fire ants by decreasing the proportion of workers engaged in foraging. Competitors also altered colony-level behaviours by reducing the proportion of foraging ants and by increasing the proportion of roaming majors, whose role is colony defence. Interestingly, the presence of both parasitism and competition almost always had similar effects on task allocation in comparison to each of the biotic factors on its own. Thus, our study uniquely demonstrates that the interactive effect of both parasitism and competition is not necessarily additive, implying that these biotic factors alter colony behaviour in distinct ways. More generally, our work demonstrates the importance of studying the dynamics of species interactions in a broader context.