Female reproductive qualities affect male painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata) reproductive success

Male reproductive success (RS) in polygamous species with minimal social systems is often determined by the number of mates. However, because male RS is translated through females, the number of offspring sired can also be influenced by female qualities. Empirically sufficient data to document how tradeoffs between mate number and quality influence male RS are seldom available for long-lived, iteroparous species. We combined long-term life history data (1983–2006) on the E. S. George Reserve (ESGR, MI, USA) with parentage data from 155 clutches of 59 female painted turtles (Chrysemys picta marginata) of varying reproductive frequencies (2003–2006) to determine the relative contribution of female numbers and qualities on male RS. One previously documented trait of female painted turtles that can have substantial influences on male RS is repeat paternity through the use of stored sperm to fertilize over 95 % of within-year clutches. In addition, our study found that second-clutch producing female painted turtles on the ESGR have higher among-year reproductive frequencies than do first-clutch only females. Multiple paternity was detected in 14.1 % of clutches (min-max?=?6.1–30.0 % annually), and the number of mates of both sexes was low annually (males 1.0; females 1.2) and over 4 years (males 1.1; females 1.7). Among successful males, RS varied substantially (1–32 offspring) and was strongly influenced by the combination of female reproductive frequency and repeat paternity (>38 % among years), but not mate number. Low mate number for both sexes was unexpected in a species without complex mating behaviors or parental care.     

Geochemical distribution,bioavailability and potential toxicity of some trace metals in a complex micro-tidal estuary,Southwest India

The spatial and temporal variations of some trace metals in the surface sediments of Cochin Estuary were analyzed along with their geochemical associations to identify the possible sources, bioavailability and the health risks posed by them. The dominance of kaolinite and suggested that clay minerals distribution is influenced by sediment sorting. Total metal analysis revealed enrichment for Cd, Pb and Zn due to anthropogenic activities. The speciation analysis established that notwithstanding the large availability, carbonate as well as organic and sulfides bound fractions showed negligible associations with most of the metals. Hydrous Fe–Mn oxides appeared to play a major role in controlling the fate and transport of these metals in the sediments of Cochin Estuary. Lower contribution of the residual fractions for Cd (21%–26%), Pb (<60%) and Zn (24%–42%) indicated an obvious increase of other geochemical fractions. Risk assessment analysis revealed that regardless of total concentration, none of the analyzed metals were at safe levels in the estuary as appreciable percentages were found to be associated with mobile geochemical forms. The speciation study conspicuously established that the metals originating from non-geogenic sources are largely associated with the labile fractions and hence are more detrimental to the aquatic biota.     

Factors affecting the implementation of green specifications in construction

Green specifications constitute one of the important elements in green construction. New sustainability requirements and changing priorities in construction management have spurred the emerging green specifications to a faster pace of development. A cross-sectional survey has been conducted in Hong Kong in 2007 to identify principal factors leading to the success of preparing green specifications. Based on extensive construction management literature, 20 variables concerning sustainable construction were summarized. Using the Mann–Whitney U-test, the subtle differences between stakeholders in specifying construction work have been detected even with the high consistency of the responses among the groups. Moreover, five independent factors for successful specification of green construction have been categorized by factor analysis. They are related to (1) green technology and techniques, (2) reliability and quality of specification, (3) leadership and responsibility, (4) stakeholder involvement, and (5) guide and benchmarking systems. Whilst the first and fourth factors are generally more important, different stakeholder groups have different emphases. The results of the survey have been validated against established principles.     

Resembling a Viper: Implications of Mimicry for Conservation of the Endangered Smooth Snake

The phenomenon of Batesian mimicry, where a palatable animal gains protection against predation by resembling an unpalatable model, has been a core interest of evolutionary biologists for 150 years. An extensive range of studies has focused on revealing mechanistic aspects of mimicry (shared education and generalization of predators) and the evolutionary dynamics of mimicry systems (co‐operation vs. conflict) and revealed that protective mimicry is widespread and is important for individual fitness. However, according to our knowledge, there are no case studies where mimicry theories have been applied to conservation of mimetic species. Theoretically, mimicry affects, for example, frequency dependency of predator avoidance learning and human induced mortality. We examined the case of the protected, endangered, nonvenomous smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) that mimics the nonprotected venomous adder (Vipera berus), both of which occur in the Åland archipelago, Finland. To quantify the added predation risk on smooth snakes caused by the rarity of vipers, we calculated risk estimates from experimental data. Resemblance of vipers enhances survival of smooth snakes against bird predation because many predators avoid touching venomous vipers. Mimetic resemblance is however disadvantageous against human predators, who kill venomous vipers and accidentally kill endangered, protected smooth snakes. We found that the effective population size of the adders in Åland is very low relative to its smooth snake mimic (28.93 and 41.35, respectively).Because Batesian mimicry is advantageous for the mimic only if model species exist in sufficiently high numbers, it is likely that the conservation program for smooth snakes will fail if adders continue to be destroyed. Understanding the population consequences of mimetic species may be crucial to the success of endangered species conservation. We suggest that when a Batesian mimic requires protection, conservation planners should not ignore the model species (or co‐mimic in Mullerian mimicry rings) even if it is not itself endangered. Implications of mimicry for Conservation of the endangered smooth snake     

Evaluating the Quality of Citizen‐Scientist Data on Pollinator Communities

Abstract: Concerns about pollinator declines have grown in recent years, yet the ability to detect changes in abundance, taxonomic richness, and composition of pollinator communities is hampered severely by the lack of data over space and time. Citizen scientists may be able to extend the spatial and temporal extent of pollinator monitoring programs. We developed a citizen‐science monitoring protocol in which we trained 13 citizen scientists to observe and classify floral visitors at the resolution of orders or super families (e.g., bee, wasp, fly) and at finer resolution within bees (superfamily Apoidea) only. We evaluated the protocol by comparing data collected simultaneously at 17 sites by citizen scientists (observational data set) and by professionals (specimen‐based data set). The sites differed with respect to the presence and age of hedgerows planted to improve habitat quality for pollinators. We found significant, positive correlations among the two data sets for higher level taxonomic composition, honey bee (Apis mellifera) abundance, non‐Apis bee abundance, bee richness, and bee community similarity. Results for both data sets also showed similar trends (or lack thereof) in these metrics among sites differing in the presence and age of hedgerows. Nevertheless, citizen scientists did not observe approximately half of the bee groups collected by professional scientists at the same sites. Thus, the utility of citizen‐science observational data may be restricted to detection of community‐level changes in abundance, richness, or similarity over space and time, and citizen‐science observations may not reliably reflect the abundance or frequency of occurrence of specific pollinator species or groups.     

Uncertainty characterization for emergy values

While statistical estimation of uncertainty has not typically accompanied published emergy values, as with any other quantitative model, uncertainty is embedded in these values, and lack of uncertainty characterization makes their accuracy not only opaque, it also prevents the use of emergy values in statistical tests of hypotheses. This paper first attempts to describe sources of uncertainty in unit emergy values (UEVs) and presents a framework for estimating this uncertainty with analytical and stochastic models, with model choices dependent upon on how the UEV is calculated and what kind of uncertainties are quantified. The analytical model can incorporate a broader spectrum of uncertainty types than the stochastic model, including model and scenario uncertainty, which may be significant in emergy models, but is only appropriate for the most basic of emergy calculations. Although less comprehensive in its incorporation of uncertainty, the proposed stochastic method is suitable for all types of UEVs. The distributions of unit emergy values approximate the lognormal distribution with variations depending on the types of uncertainty quantified as well as the way the UEVs are calculated. While both methods of estimating uncertainty in UEVs have their limitations in their presented stage of development, this paper provides methods for incorporating uncertainty into emergy, and demonstrates how this can be depicted and propagated so that it can be used in future emergy analyses and permit emergy to be more readily incorporated into other methods of environmental assessment, such as LCA.     

Coupled reservoir-geomechanical analysis of CO2 injection and ground deformations at In Salah,Algeria

In Salah Gas Project in Algeria has been injecting 0.5–1 million tonnes CO₂ per year over the past 5 years into a water-filled strata at a depth of about 1800–1900 m. Unlike most CO₂ storage sites, the permeability of the storage formation is relatively low and comparatively thin with a thickness of about 20 m. To ensure adequate CO₂ flow-rates across the low-permeability sand-face, the In Salah Gas Project decided to use long-reach (about 1–1.5 km) horizontal injection wells. In an ongoing research project we use field data and coupled reservoir-geomechanical numerical modeling to assess the effectiveness of this approach and to investigate monitoring techniques to evaluate the performance of a CO₂ injection operation in relatively low-permeability formations. Among the field data used are ground surface deformations evaluated from recently acquired satellite-based inferrometry (InSAR). The InSAR data shows a surface uplift on the order of 5 mm per year above active CO₂ injection wells and the uplift pattern extends several km from the injection wells. In this paper we use the observed surface uplift to constrain our coupled reservoir-geomechanical model and conduct sensitivity studies to investigate potential causes and mechanisms of the observed uplift. The results of our analysis indicate that most of the observed uplift magnitude can be explained by pressure-induced, poro-elastic expansion of the 20-m-thick injection zone, but there could also be a significant contribution from pressure-induced deformations within a 100-m-thick zone of shaly sands immediately above the injection zone.     

Engineered nanoparticles in wastewater and wastewater sludge – Evidence and impacts

Nanotechnology has widespread application in agricultural, environmental and industrial sectors ranging from fabrication of molecular assemblies to microbial array chips. Despite the booming application of nanotechnology, there have been serious implications which are coming into light in the recent years within different environmental compartments, namely air, water and soil and its likely impact on the human health. Health and environmental effects of common metals and materials are well-known, however, when the metals and materials take the form of nanoparticles – consequential hazards based on shape and size are yet to be explored. The nanoparticles released from different nanomaterials used in our household and industrial commodities find their way through waste disposal routes into the wastewater treatment facilities and end up in wastewater sludge. Further escape of these nanoparticles into the effluent will contaminate the aquatic and soil environment. Hence, an understanding of the presence, behavior and impact of these nanoparticles in wastewater and wastewater sludge is necessary and timely. Despite the lack of sufficient literature, the present review attempts to link various compartmentalization aspects of the nanoparticles, their physical properties and toxicity in wastewater and wastewater sludge through simile drawn from other environmental streams.