Using Four Capitals to Assess Watershed Sustainability

The La Antigua watershed drains into the Gulf of Mexico and can be considered as one of the most important areas in Mexico because of its high productivity, history, and biodiversity, although poverty remains high in the area in spite of these positive attributes. In this study, we performed an integrated assessment of the watershed to recommend a better direction toward a sustainable management in which the four capitals (natural, human, social, and built) are balanced. We contrasted these four capitals in the municipalities of the upper, middle and lower watershed and found that natural capital (natural ecosystems and ecosystem services) was higher in the upper and middle watershed, while human and social capitals (literacy, health, education and income) were generally higher downstream. Overall, Human Development Index was negatively correlated with the percentage of natural ecosystems in the watershed, especially in the upper and lower watershed regions. Our results indicate that natural capital must be fully considered in projections for increasing human development, so that natural resources can be preserved and managed adequately while sustaining intergenerational well-being.     

Decline in body size and female fraction in the grass snake (Natrix natrix,Linnaeus 1758) population after 40 years (Southern Poland)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Depletion of free-living populations is often associated with changes in fitness-related traits, e.g., body size. Ongoing decrease in body size has...     

Effect of UV-B exposure on eggs and embryos of patagonian anurans and evidence of photoprotection

In Patagonia, enhanced levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) are affecting not only the southernmost territories but the northern as well, and there is a growing body of evidence indicating effects on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Anurans occur along a wide geographical gradient in Patagonia and are common in shallow waters, usually breeding during spring when seasonal UV-B radiation is at its highest level. In this paper we analyse the effective irradiances (I) experienced in nature by eggs and embryos of the patagonian anurans Pleurodema bufoninum, Pleurodema thaul and Bufo spinulosus papillosus, considering water and egg jelly optical properties. Besides, we determine photoprotective pigments in eggs and embryos of the different species, and ontogenetic shifts in pigment concentration. Finally, we studied the effects of natural and enhanced levels of UV-B on eggs of P. bufoninum aiming to evaluate the role of the jelly envelope in screening the damaging radiation. The evidence gathered in this work shows that natural and enhanced UV-B levels did not induce significant changes on the survivorship but incremented the occurrence of malformations. Also, the species experiencing high levels of exposure presented high concentrations of melanin suggesting that exposure to sunlight triggers photoprotection by pigments. Collectively our results suggest that the studied species bear certain levels of adaptation to cope with high ambient UVR conferred by environmental and biological factors.     

Fungal and enzymatic treatment of mature municipal landfill leachate

The aim of our study was to evaluate biotreatability of mature municipal landfill leachate by using white rot fungus and its extracellular enzymes. Leachates were collected in one active and one closed regional municipal landfill. Both chosen landfills were operating for many years and the leachates generated there were polluted by organic and inorganic compounds. The white rot fungus Dichomitus squalens was able to grow in the mature leachate from the closed landfill and as it utilizes present organic matter as a source of carbon, the results were showing 60% of DOC and COD removal and decreased toxicity to the bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri. On the other hand, growth of the fungus was inhibited in the presence of the leachate from the active landfill. However, when the leachate was introduced to a crude enzyme filtrate containing extracellular ligninolytic enzymes, removal levels of COD and DOC reached 61% and 44%, respectively. Furthermore, the treatment led to detoxification of the leachate to the bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri and to reduction of toxicity (42%) to the plant Sinapis alba. Fungal and enzymatic treatment seems to be a promising biological approach for treatment of mature landfill leachates and their application should be further investigated.     

Analyzing Spatio-temporal Land Cover Dynamics in an Atlantic Forest Portion Using Unsupervised Change Detection Techniques

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Over the past decades, the Southeast Atlantic Forest in Paraíba do Sul River Valley has suffered intense deforestation and human disturbances. Due to...     

An investigation of the effects from the user’s hand and head over received level and adaptive power control of a GSM mobile phone in typical operating environment

Current evolution of wireless personal communications has necessitated a comprehensive understanding of electromagnetic interactions between handset antennas and nearby human body. In this work the handset–human body interactions were evaluated in various configurations (with and without user’s hand; with and without user’s head, and combinations of them) in order to obtain statistical averages of the overall performance for system link evaluations. The measurements were performed using the random-field measurement (RFM) method, and thus the acquisition of large amounts of data about human–mobile phone interactions in typical operating environment with measured the received RF signal strength (RXLEV), and the output power level (TXLEV) on mobile station. The RXLEV and the TXLEV was measured over the air interface in the networks on two Bulgarian GSM mobile operators (Mtel and Vivatel). Both uplink and downlink measurements were performed in urban area in three cities. Each measurements were carried out in a building included both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight propagation of the electromagnetic waves between mobile station and base station. The results showed that the user’s hand and head induces more significant changes on the received RF signal strength in case when broadcast control channel (BCCH) levels are up to −60 dBm. Also the alterations of receiving RF signal strength and output power level of the MS are influence stronger from the larger size of the hand and head of user. The influence from presence of the head and hand of the subscriber in talk position over the alteration of the receiving RF signal strength is in boundaries from 14.21 dBm to 19.1 dBm (man) and from 8.5 dBm to 12.05 dBm (woman). The presence of the user’s hand and head increased the output power level of mobile station with 12 dBm to 14 dBm (man) and with 10 dBm to 12 dBm (woman) compare to output power level without user’s hand and head.     

Ecosystem Services and Economic Assessment of Land Uses in Urban and Periurban Areas

Environmental Management - This work quantified ecosystem services (ES) and the geographic gross product (GGP) at municipal level in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires (MRBA), Argentina. The...     

Seasonal variation in trace metals concentrations in the Ialomita River, Romania

Sampling streams for metals is an important aspect of water-quality monitoring. Using ICP-AES the concentration of some microelements in the Ialomi?a River (Romania) were determined. In order to grasp the different phases of the river regime, samples were collected from its water-sediment interface at seven locations along the river, during three campaigns: during snow melting periods in the mountain zones (April), the period of reduced flow and high water temperature (August) and the period of high precipitations (November). HNO3 was added to the samples for fixation. Cadmium and copper appear accidentally; lead was detected only in samples collected in the vicinity of roads; the MAC (maximum admitted concentration) for surface waters is exceeded for nickel and chromium in samples collected in April and respectively in April and November; zinc concentrations were usually above the MAC; molybdenum concentration was above the set reference value, especially for samples collected in April and November. Possible explanations are given for the presence of the investigated microelements along the river.