Prey-capture benefits in a mixed-species group of Amazonian tamarins,Saguinus fuscicollis and S. mystax

Summary Tamarins of the genus Saguinus feed on a wide range of arthropods and small vertebrates, which compose a critical component of their diet. This paper examines the foraging patterns and capture success of the Avila-Peres saddle-back (S. fuscicollis avilapiresi) and the red-capped moustached tamarin (S. mystax pileatus) in very stable mixed-species groups, and whether and how any foraging benefits for either species resulted from their association. Moustached tamarins actively searched for prey items which were mainly well exposed on the midstorey foliage. Saddle-back tamarins, on the other hand, foraged at lower heights, largely by manipulating a variety of microhabitats potentially concealing embedded prey. The foraging activity of the numerically dominant and larger-bodied moustached tamarins often resulted in prey items escaping to lower substrates, usually the forest leaf-litter. The beating effect of this species substantially facilitated captures of large, mobile prey items by saddle-backs, which were highly adept at locating and retrieving flushed prey. It is estimated that, while saddle-backs obtained 66–73% of their prey biomass from flushed items, this proportion was substantially lower (2–9%) for moustached tamarins. Commensal insectivory appears to involve a highly asymmetric benefit to saddle-backs, and a low cost to moustached tamarins, which partly explains the stability of mixed-species groups. Correspondence to the present address     

Acid mine drainage pollution in the Tinto and Odiel rivers (Iberian Pyrite Belt, SW Spain) and bioavailability of the transported metals to the Huelva Estuary

The Tinto and Odiel rivers are seriously affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) from the long-term mining activities in Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB). As a consequence, the Huelva estuary is heavily contaminated by metals and metalloids. This study presents an estimation of the seasonal variation, and the dissolved contaminant load transported by both rivers from February 2002 to September 2004. Besides, toxicity and bioaccumulation tests with the sediments of the estuary have been conducted in order to measure the mobility of the toxic metals. Results show that the Tinto and Odiel rivers transport enormous quantities of dissolved metals to the estuary: 7900 t yr(-1) of Iron (Fe), 5800 t yr(-1) Aluminium (Al), 3500 t yr(-1) Zinc (Zn), 1700 t yr(-1) Copper (Cu), 1600 t yr(-1) Manganese (Mn) and minor quantities of other metals and metalloids. These values represent 37% of the global gross flux of dissolved Zn transported by rivers in to the ocean, and 15% of the global gross flux of dissolved Cu. These metals and metalloids usually sink in the estuarine sediments due to pH and salinity changes. The increase of salinity in the estuary favours the adsorption and trapping of metals. For this reason, the mobility and bioavailability of metals such as Zn, Cd and Cu is higher in sediments located in the area of fresh water influence that in sediments located in the marine influenced area of the estuary, showing a higher percentage of fractionation and bioaccumulation of these metals in the station influenced by the fresh water environment.     

Fungal contamination of stored automobile-fuels in a tropical environment

Because of the lack of reports, the base levels of microbial contamination on stored fuels are unknown in tropical regions and it is unclear whether these levels have some influence on fuel quality parameters. Therefore, fungal quality in automobile fuels stored across Costa Rican territory was evaluated during two years according to the standard ASTM D6974-04. For a total of 96 samples, counts and identification of molds and yeasts were performed on regular gas, premium gas and diesel taken from the bottom and superior part of the container tanks. The highest contamination was found on the bottom of the tanks, where an aqueous phase was usually identified, showing populations over the ones present in the hydrocarbon itself (up to 108 CFU/L). Diesel was the most contaminated fuel (up to 107 CFU/L); however, an alteration on the physicochemical parameters was not observed in any kind of fuel. Seventy-five mold strains were isolated, Penicillium sp. being the most common genus (45.8% of the samples), and ten yeast strains, from the genera Candida sp. and Rhodotorula sp. Four of the yeasts were able to grow on diesel as the sole carbon source, at concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 25%. Increasing the frequency of tank cleaning, adding antimicrobial agents and monitoring microbial populations are recommended strategies to improve microbial quality of stored fuels.     

Molecular Detection of Adenoviruses in Lakes and Rivers of Goiânia,Goiás,Brazil

Adenoviruses are a highly important public health issue, since they are among the most persistent and ubiquitous viruses present in water and associated with a variety of clinical manifestations. The aim of this study was to use molecular techniques for the detection of adenovirus in public and recreational water supplies in Goiania, Brazil. From December 2007 to November 2008, 54 water samples were collected in 5 different sites in 2 lakes and 2 rivers of the city. The samples were filtered in a positively charged nylon membrane, and the DNA was extracted using the phenol–chloroform–isoamyl alcohol method. Semi-nested PCR was used to detect adenovirus DNA, and sequence analysis of the semi-nested PCR products was performed to identify the recovered viruses. Adenovirus DNA was detected in 43% (24 of 54) of samples collected. Considering all examined sites, MP1 presented the highest occurrence of adenovirus (6 positive from 10 collected samples), followed by MP2 (3 positive from 6 collected samples), JL (10 positive from 21 collected samples), VB (3 positive from 9 collected samples), and BB (2 positive from 8 collected samples), respectively. The methodology employed proved to be feasible, fast, low-cost, and suitable to be used as screening approach on adenovirus detection in water for public sanitation companies.     

Protected Areas and Conservation of Biodiversity in the Tropics

Abstract: We compared deforestation rates and the extent of fragmentation inside and outside protected areas in the Sarapiquí region of Costa Rica. We determined deforestation rates using remotely sensed images with supervised classification. We georeferenced the processed images and then transformed them to vector format for final mapping and parameter quantification. The deforestation rate in protected areas was low and declined sharply from 0.56% annually between 1976 and 1986 to 0.16% from 1991 to 1995. Outside the protected areas, the rate decreased from 3.6% in 1976–1986 to 2.8% in 1986–1991, but it increased again to 3.2% in 1991–1995. Fragmentation outside the protected areas increased considerably: the number of patches increased from 537 in 1976 to 1231 in 1996, while during the same period the average size of patches decreased from 0.95 to 0.25 km². Forest landscapes in the Sarapiquí region are likely to lose considerable biodiversity because of the past forest loss and fragmentation even without further increases in deforestation and fragmentation.     

Basis for a national strategy for integrated coastal zone management—in Portugal

This paper includes the proposals made in the report “Basis for a National Strategy for Coastal Zone Management” prepared for the Portuguese Ministry of Environment, Territorial Planning and Regional Development. The final version of that report was presented in June 2006. This paper describes a theme framework followed by a discussion of concepts. Nine Primary Principles, eight Principal Objectives, and 37 Strategic Options for an Integrated Coastal Zone Management are then presented. These Strategic Options are set hierarchically according to their sequential priority, identifying the dominant types of Associated Measures. The analysis of these arrives at a set of Structural Measures, which interlink and aggregate various actions and propose a new method of integrated management for the coastal zone, which includes the “Legal Basis of Coastal Zone”; the Organization System; the Action Plan and Monitoring.     

Surfactants in sludge-amended agricultural soils: a review

Surfactants are included in different detergent formulations and are one of the most ubiquitous and important families of organic compounds. Although the generic term applies to a great number of products, 80% of their demand is covered by only ten types of compounds. The global surfactant market volume size is more than 18 million tons per year. Large quantities of surfactants are continuously released into the environment, where they can or cannot be degraded depending on their structure. The alkylbenzenesulphonate (LAS) is the most widely used surfactant. LAS can be degraded under aerobic conditions but is persistent in the environment under anaerobic conditions. Surfactants may enter the terrestrial environment through several routes, with the use of sewage sludge as fertiliser on agricultural land being by far the most important. High concentrations of surfactants and their degradation products may affect the biota. On the other hand, due to their amphiphilic nature, surfactants may interact both with inorganic as well as organic contaminants affecting their bioavailability.     

Effect of diet and paralarval development on digestive enzyme activity in the cephalopod <Emphasis Type="Italic">Robsonella</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">fontaniana</Emphasis>

This study aims at establishing the maturation of the digestive system in Robsonella fontaniana by means of measuring the digestive enzyme activity in paralarvae after hatching. Different groups of newly hatched paralarvae were fed with Artemia sp. (FA), Lithodes santolla zoea (FL) or were starved to serve as negative control (ST), the experimental period lasted 27 days after hatching (DAH). The semi-quantitative assay api^® ZYM (bioMérieux, France) was used to identify the pool of digestive enzymes present in paralarvae prior to selecting the specific enzymes acid phosphatase, total protease, trypsin and chymotrypsin for analysis. Mortality and larval protein content were also measured during the experiment. The survival of R. fontaniana hatchlings differed depending on the quality of the diet offered (ST < FA < FL), the same trend was observed with respect to paralarval protein content. Total protease and acid phosphatase activities were not related to either time of development or diet (P < 0.05). However, the activity of trypsin and chymotrypsin after DAH 10 was dependent on diet (P < 0.05). Paralarvae fed with Lithodes zoea (FL) performed better than paralarvae in the other two groups, exhibiting lower mortality, higher protein content and the highest proteolytic activity for trypsin and chymotrypsin. The results indicate that Lithodes-larvae are a better diet for R. fontaniana paralarvae than Artemia sp.     

Influence of various emission scenarios on ozone in Europe

In this study, we investigated the effect of numerous regulations enforced since 1985 to improve air quality on ozone in Europe with the focus on Switzerland, using the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) for a specific summer period. Several emission scenarios for the year 2010 were also considered. The model results suggest that the emission reductions of ozone precursors should have been effective to reduce ozone production between 1985 and 2000 in northern Switzerland. However, observations do not indicate any significant change in surface ozone levels since early 1990s, except in the region of Zurich where there is a small negative trend. On the other hand, the model predictions match very well the spatial variability of the trends but the calculated trends are around 0.5 ppb year⁻¹ lower than those observed. This difference is similar to the background ozone increase as suggested by the long-term observations at the high Alpine station Jungfraujoch. These results support the hypothesis that the decrease in local ozone production due to emission reductions might have been partly or completely compensated by the simultaneous increase in the background ozone. In 2010, a strict application of the Gothenburg Protocol in Europe would lead to a decrease in peak ozone concentrations by about 5% in Switzerland under the meteorological conditions applied. Our calculations also indicated that emission controls only in Switzerland would not be very effective to improve the air quality in the future. The further development of the background ozone will in any case be very important for the tropospheric ozone levels.