Mate quality,not aggressive spillover,explains sexual cannibalism in a size-dimorphic spider

Sexual cannibalism particularly before mating is costly for the male victim but also for the female aggressor if she risks remaining unmated. The aggressive spillover hypothesis explains the persistence of this behavior as a maladaptive side effect of positive selection on aggressiveness in a foraging context. The hypothesis predicts that the occurrence of sexual cannibalism is explained by female aggressiveness but is not related to male phenotype or behavioral type. An alternative hypothesis invokes sexual selection and makes the opposite prediction namely that sexual cannibalism is an expression of female choice and should hence mainly target males of low quality. We tested the above hypotheses on a sexually dimorphic nephilid spider Nephilengys livida, known for male monopolization of females via genital damage, female genital plugging, and mate guarding, by staging mating trials during which we recorded mating behaviors and occurrences of pre- and postcopulatory cannibalism. We did not restrict assessment of aggressiveness to the mating and foraging context but also included aggression against same sex conspecifics. To assess female personalities, i.e., consistent individual differences in behavior including aggressiveness, we repeatedly tested them for intra-sex aggression, voracity towards prey, locomotory activity, and boldness. Females exhibited consistent differences in intra-sex aggressiveness, latency to attack prey, and boldness. Aggressive females had shorter latencies to attack prey and were more active than non-aggressive ones. In contrast to the predictions of the aggressive spillover hypothesis, females that were aggressive towards prey and towards other females were not more likely to attack a male than non-aggressive females. In support of the mate choice hypothesis, less aggressive males were more likely attacked and cannibalized than more aggressive ones. This hints at sexual selection for aggressiveness in males and raises the question of mechanisms that maintain variation in male aggressiveness.     

A Framework for Landscape Ecological Design of New Patches in the Rural Landscape

This study developed a comprehensive framework to incorporate landscape ecological principles into the landscape planning and design process, with a focus on the design of new patches in the rural landscape. The framework includes two interrelated phases: patch analyst (PA) and patch designer (PD). The patch analyst augments the process of landscape inventory and analysis. It distinguishes nodes (associated with potential habitat patches) from links (associated with corridors and stepping stones between habitats). For natural vegetation patches, characteristics such as size, shape, and spatial arrangement have been used to develop analytical tools that distinguish between nodes and links. The patch designer uses quantitative information and analytical tools to recommend locations, shapes, sizes, and composition of introduced patches. The framework has been applied to the development of a new golf course in the rural Mediterranean landscape of Apulia, Southern Italy. Fifty new patches of Mediterranean maquis (24 patches) and garrigue (26 patches) have been designed and located in the golf course, raising the overall natural vegetation area to 70 ha (60% of total property). The framework has potential for use in a wide variety of landscape planning, design, and management projects.     

Day length,latitude and behavioural (in)flexibility in baboons<Emphasis Type="Italic"> (Papio cynocephalus ursinus</Emphasis>)

Annual cycles in day length are an important consideration in any analysis of seasonal behaviour patterns, since they determine the period within which obligate diurnal or nocturnal animals must conduct all of their essential activities. As a consequence, seasonal variation in day length may represent an ecological constraint on behaviour, since short winter days restrict the length of the time available for foraging in diurnal species (with long summer days, and thus short nights, a potential constraint for nocturnal species). This paper examines monthly variation in activity patterns over a 4-year study of chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) at De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa. Time spent feeding, moving, grooming and resting are all significant positive functions of day length, even before chance events such as disease epidemics and climatically mediated home range shifts have been accounted for. These results provide strong support for the idea that day length acts as an ecological constraint by limiting the number of daylight hours and thus restricting the active period at certain times of year. Day length variation also has important implications across populations. Interpopulation variation in resting time, and non-foraging activity in general, is a positive function of latitude, with long summer days at temperate latitudes apparently producing an excess of time that cannot profitably be devoted to additional foraging or social activity. However, it is the short winter days that are probably of greatest importance, since diurnal animals must still fulfil their foraging requirements despite the restricted number of daylight hours and elevated thermoregulatory requirements at this time of year. Ultimately this serves to restrict the maximum ecologically tolerable group sizes of baboon populations with increasing distance from the equator. Seasonal variation in day length is thus an important ecological constraint on animal behaviour that has important implications both within and between populations, and future studies at non-equatorial latitudes must clearly be mindful of its importance.     

Soil microbial and faunal community responses to bt maize and insecticide in two soils

The effects of maize (Zea mays L.), genetically modified to express the Cry1Ab protein (Bt), and an insecticide on soil microbial and faunal communities were assessed in a glasshouse experiment. Soil for the experiment was taken from field sites where the same maize cultivars were grown to allow comparison between results under glasshouse conditions with those from field trials. Plants were grown in contrasting sandy loam and clay loam soils, half were sprayed with a pyrethroid insecticide (deltamethrin) and soil samples taken at the five-leaf stage, flowering, and maturity. The main effect on all measured parameters was that of soil type and there were no effects of Bt trait or insecticide on plant growth. The Bt trait resulted in more soil nematodes and protozoa (amoebae), whereas insecticide application increased plant Bt concentration and altered nematode community structure. The only significant effects on soil microbial community structure, microarthropods, and larvae of a nontarget root-feeding Dipteran, were due to soil type and plant growth stage. The results indicate that, although there were statistically significant effects of the Bt trait on soil populations, they were small. The relative magnitude of the effect could best be judged by comparison with the insecticide treatment, which was representative of current best practice. The Bt trait had no greater effect than the insecticide treatment. Results from this glasshouse experiment were in broad agreement with conclusions from field experiments using the same plant material grown in the same soils.     

Root uptake of atenolol,sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine,and their transformation in three soils and four plants

Soils can be contaminated by pharmaceuticals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of soil conditions (influencing sorption and persistence of pharmaceuticals in soils) and plant type on the root uptake of selected pharmaceuticals and their transformation in plant-soil systems. Four plants (lamb’s lettuce, spinach, arugula, radish) planted in 3 soils were irrigated for 20 days (26) with water contaminated by one of 3 pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, atenolol, sulfamethoxazole) or their mixture. The concentrations of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in soils and plant tissues were evaluated after the harvest. Sulfamethoxazole and atenolol dissipated rapidly from soils. The larger concentrations of both compounds and an atenolol metabolite were found in roots than in leaves. Sulfamethoxazole metabolites were below the limits of quantifications. Carbamazepine was stable in soils, easily uptaken, accumulated, and metabolized in plant leaves. The efficiency of radish and arugula (both family Brassicaceae) in metabolizing was very low contrary to the high and moderate efficiencies of lamb’s lettuce and spinach, respectively. Compounds’ transformations mostly masked the soil impact on their accumulation in plant tissues. The negative relationships were found between the carbamazepine sorption coefficients and its concentrations in roots of radish, lamb’s lettuce, and spinach.

     

Matrix effect in case of purification of oily waters by membrane separation combined with pre-ozonation

In the present study, oil in water emulsions (c_oil?=?100 ppm; d_{oil droplets}?<?2 μm) was purified with ozonation followed by microfiltration using polyethersulfone (PES) membrane (d_pore?=?0.2 μm). The effects of pre-ozonation on membrane microfiltration were investigated in detail both in case of ultrapure and model groundwater matrices, applying different durations (0, 5, 10, and 20 min) of pre-ozonation. Simultaneously, the effects of added inorganic water components on the combined method were investigated. Size distribution of oil droplets, zeta potentials, fluxes, and purification efficiencies were measured and fouling mechanisms were described in all cases. It was found that the matrix significantly affected the size distribution and adherence ability of oil droplets onto the membrane surface, therefore fouling mechanisms also were strongly dependent on the matrix. In case of low salt concentration, the total resistance was caused mainly by reversible resistance, which could be significantly reduced (eliminated) by pre-ozonation. In case of model groundwater matrix, nearly twice higher total resistance was measured, and irreversible resistance was dominant, because of the higher adhesion ability of the oil droplets onto the membrane surface. In this case, pre-ozonation resulted in much lower irreversible, but higher reversible resistance. Increased duration of pre-ozonation raised the total resistance and reduced the elimination efficiency (due to fragmented oil droplets and water soluble oxidation by-products) in both cases, therefore short pre-ozonation can be recommended both from economic and performance aspects.     

Clays and modified clays in remediating environmental pollutants

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Air pollution assessment based on elemental concentration of leaves tissue and foliage dust along an urbanization gradient in Vienna

Foliage dust contains heavy metal that may have harmful effects on human health. The elemental contents of tree leaves and foliage dust are especially useful to assess air environmental pollution. We studied the elemental concentrations in foliage dust and leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus along an urbanization gradient in Vienna, Austria. Samples were collected from urban, suburban and rural areas. We analysed 19 elements in both kind of samples: aluminium, barium, calcium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphor, sulphur, strontium and zinc. We found that the elemental concentrations of foliage dust were significantly higher in the urban area than in the rural area for aluminium, barium, iron, lead, phosphor and selenium. Elemental concentrations of leaves were significantly higher in urban than in rural area for manganese and strontium. Urbanization changed significantly the elemental concentrations of foliage dust and leaves and the applied method can be useful for monitoring the environmental load.     

What are the implications of sea-level rise for a 1.5, 2 and 3 °C rise in global mean temperatures in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and other vulnerable deltas?

Even if climate change mitigation is successful, sea levels will keep rising. With subsidence, relative sea-level rise represents a long-term threat to low-lying deltas. A large part of coastal Bangladesh was analysed using the Delta Dynamic Integrated Emulator Model to determine changes in flood depth, area and population affected given sea-level rise equivalent to global mean temperature rises of 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 °C with respect to pre-industrial for three ensemble members of a modified A1B scenario. Annual climate variability today (with approximately 1.0 °C of warming) is potentially more important, in terms of coastal impacts, than an additional 0.5 °C warming. In coastal Bangladesh, the average depth of flooding in protected areas is projected to double to between 0.07 and 0.09 m when temperatures are projected at 3.0 °C compared with 1.5 °C. In unprotected areas, the depth of flooding is projected to increase by approximately 50% to 0.21–0.27 m, whilst the average area inundated increases 2.5 times (from 5 to 13% of the region) in the same temperature frame. The greatest area of land flooded is projected in the central and north-east regions. In contrast, lower flood depths, less land area flooded and fewer people are projected in the poldered west of the region. Over multi-centennial timescales, climate change mitigation and controlled sedimentation to maintain relative delta height are key to a delta’s survival. With slow rates of sea-level rise, adaptation remains possible, but further support is required. Monitoring of sea-level rise and subsidence in deltas is recommended, together with improved datasets of elevation.