Influence of temperature and salinity on the trace element incorporation into statoliths of the common cuttlefish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sepia officinalis</Emphasis>)

The use of statolith chemistry to trace migration pathways and distinguish populations of cephalopods is based on the assumption that the elemental composition of statoliths is influenced by physicochemical properties of the ambient environment. However, such influences have not been investigated experimentally up until now. This study presents the first microchemical analyses of cephalopod statoliths obtained from laboratory experiments under different controlled temperature and salinity conditions. Our results show that statolith chemical composition is strongly related to both salinity and temperature in ambient waters. The Ba/Ca ratio is negatively related to temperature and shows no relation to salinity. The I/Ca ratio is positively related to temperature and negatively to salinity. No Sr/Ca relation was found to either salinity or temperature, suggesting that the well-established proxy strontium is not as useful in cephalopod statoliths as in other biomineralized aragonites. Microanalysis of trace elements, however, shows an enormous potential for field studies on distribution, migration and stock separation of cephalopods. Furthermore, Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Analysis is introduced as a promising novel method for statolith analysis, providing a spatial resolution of typically 10–15 μm combined with detection limits down to 0.5 ppm.     

Risk of miscarriage after transcervical and transabdominal CVS in relation to bacterial colonization of the cervix

Cervieo-genital colonization with micro-organisms poses a potential threat to the pregnancy when transcervical (TC) CVS is performed. In order to evaluate this threat, cervical swabs in 478 patients were obtained and cultured for bacteria, yeasts, and mycoplasmas; chlamydias were detected by an enzyme immunology test. Two hundred and seventy-one patients had CVS (ione transvaginally and 207 underwent transabdominal (TA) CVS. Transvaginal specimens were obtained in 61.6 per cent by forceps biopsy. Overall in 29.9 per cent of patients micro-organisms were detected, the rate and distribution of different species being the same in both groups. There were 36 (7.5 per cent) miscarriages up to 28 weeks of gestation in the combined groups, 29 (10.7 per cent) in the TC-CVS group and 7 (3.4 percent) in the TA-CVS group. When miscarriages occurred after TC-CVS, bacteria/yeasts were involved in 10.3 per cent cif cases and mycoplasmas in 37.9 per cent, this proportion being almost the same in early (<2 weeks) and late (>2 weeks) miscarriages. After TA-CVS, in 28.6 per cent only mycoplasmas, and this only in late miscarriages (> 2 weeks), were involved, accounting for 40 per cent of late miscarriages.     

Input of trichloroacetic acid into the vegetation of various climate zones--measurements on several continents

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA, CCl(3)COOH) is a phytotoxic chemical. Although TCA salts and derivates were once used as herbicides to combat perennial grasses and weeds, they have since been banned because of their indiscriminate herbicidal effects on woody plant species. However, TCA can also be formed in the atmosphere. For instance, the high-volatile C(2)-chlorohydrocarbons tetrachloroethene (TECE, C(2)Cl(4)) and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCE, CCl(3)CH(3)) can react under oxidative conditions in the atmosphere to form TCA and other substances. The ongoing industrialisation of Southeast Asia, South Africa and South America means that use of TECE as solvents in the metal and textile industries of these regions in the southern hemisphere can be expected to rise. The increasing emissions of this substance--together with the rise in the atmospheric oxidation potential caused by urban activities, slash and burn agriculture and forest fires in the southern hemisphere--could lead to a greater input/formation of TCA in the vegetation located in the lee of these emission sources. By means of biomonitoring studies, the input/formation of TCA in vegetation was detected at various locations in South America, North America, Africa, and Europe.     

Understanding the distribution of cattle production systems in the South American Chaco

ABSTRACT

Impacts of cattle production vary among different production systems, but data on their distribution is scarce for most world regions. In this work, we combine datasets on cattle vaccination locations and land cover in a regression framework to define and map major cattle production systems in the Argentinean Dry Chaco. We also explore how cattle occurrence relates to spatial determinants. Results indicate that the region harbors about 5.5 million heads. Cattle density was mainly described by the share of pasture (69.9%), cropland (28.1%) and aridity (23.8%). We identified 12-major cattle production systems: six cow-calf, three whole-cycle, and three fattening systems. Of these, four systems had high woodland cover (>85%). Data generated is available in a website. Understanding the distribution of cattle production systems is important to assess the environmental impacts of beef production at broad scales. Integrating vaccination data with land-cover information provides a promising avenue to identify livestock systems.