A Stage-Structured Pest-Natural Enemy Dynamics with Holling Type-II Interaction and Maturation Delay for Pest Species

In this paper, a pest-natural enemy dynamics with maturation delay for pest species is proposed. Here, pest is categorized into two stages, namely immature and mature and the natural enemy only harvest mature pest population with Holling type-II interaction. The boundedness and positivity of the solution of the system are presented. The asymptotic behavior of the system is studied and analyzed for all feasible equilibrium points. Sensitivity analysis of the system at interior equilibrium point for the system parameters is performed, and respective sensitive indices of the variables are identified. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to support our analytic results.

     

Rice and wheat straw ashes: Characterization and modeling of pretilachlor sorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm

The rice straw ash (RSA) and wheat straw ash (WSA) were explored as low cost adsorbent for pretilachlor removal from water. The ashes were characterized and sorption behavior of pretilachlor was evaluated. Kinetics study suggested that the modified Elovich model best explained the pretilachlor sorption on both the ashes. The adsorption data were analyzed using 2-, 3- and 4-parameter models and nine error functions were used to compute the best fit isotherm by nonlinear regression analysis. The pretilachlor was more sorbed onto the RSA (22.0–92.2%) than the WSA (11.4–61.4%) and percent adsorption decreased with increase in the herbicide concentration in solution. Isotherm model optimization analysis suggested that the Freundlich and the Temkin isotherms were the best models to predict the pretilachlor adsorption onto the RSA and the WSA. The error analysis suggested that the reciprocal of the observed squared (ROS) and the reciprocal of the predicted squared (RPS) error functions provided the best determination of the adsorption constants for the Freundlich and the Temkin isotherms, respectively. The RSA, which exhibited higher pretilachlor sorption potential, can be utilized as low cost adsorbent for pesticide removal from contaminated water.     

Health cost of salinity contamination in drinking water: evidence from Bangladesh

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - This study estimates health cost of salinity contamination in drinking water in the severe salinity affected three south-western districts of...     

Industrial energy prices and export competitiveness: evidence from India

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - This paper empirically measures the impact of sectoral energy price differential between trading partners on Indian exports. Using dynamic gravity...     

Special issue on sustainable waste treatment and management

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Assessment of anticipated performance index of some deciduous plant species under dust air pollution

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Green vegetation improvement is an economical strategy to mitigate dust air pollution. The anticipated performance index (API) is considered a main...     

Current developments in the nanomediated delivery of photoprotective phytochemicals

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Natural products have been used to protect the skin from harmful UV radiation for decades. Due to the ecotoxicological implications of synthetic...     

When can culturally diverse teams be more creative? The role of leaders' benevolent paternalism

The current research examines the conditions under which cross‐cultural teams can realize their creative potential—a consequence of their cultural diversity. We propose that in more culturally diverse teams, team members are less open when communicating with each other, which impairs the team's ability to elaborate on the information contributed by different members, ultimately limiting team creativity. We further theorize that leaders' benevolent paternalism, a leadership style that is particularly prevalent in East Asian contexts, can reduce the negative consequence of intercultural diversity on intercultural communication openness. On the basis of multiwave, multisource data from 48 culturally diverse teams in China, we found that perceived intercultural diversity is negatively related to intercultural communication openness, which, in turn, is positively related to information elaboration, and ultimately, team creativity. Leader benevolent paternalism attenuates the negative relationship between intercultural diversity and intercultural communication openness. These findings enrich the literature on intercultural diversity by calling attention to communication‐related obstacles.     

Microplankton dynamics of a coastal lagoon,Chilika: interactive effect of environmental parameters on microplankton groups

Microplankton population of Asia’s largest coastal lagoon Chilika was studied for five major groups, bacillariophyceae, cyanophyceae, chlorophyceae, dinophyceae, rotifera, and tintinninae. The study reported presence of 233 species of microplankton whose average annual abundance was 1631 cells/l. The physicochemical parameters contributing to the spatio-temporal fluctuations in microplankton diversity, abundance, and community structure were identified as salinity, pH, DO, nitrate, and silicate. Salinity, transparency, depth, and silicate most explained the abundance of bacillariophyceae; nitrate, pH, and DO influenced cyanophyceae; salinity, transparency, and chlorophyll concentration influenced chlorophyceae; salinity, depth, and water temperature influenced dinophyceae; salinity, free CO2, and nitrate-influenced rotifers, whereas salinity, pH, DO, and depth influenced tintinnids. Biotic-abiotic relationships revealed particular preference of environmental conditions at species level in groups like bacillariophyceae, cyanophyceae, and dinophyceae. Although the lagoon is shallow, bacillariophyceae-environment interaction showed depth can be a critical factor for species like Aulocoseira sp., Amphipleura sp., and Rhophalodia sp. Species of dinoflagellates like Dinophysis caudata, Noctiluca scintillans, and Protoperidinium proliferated in lower level of silicate. Unlike other cyanophyceae species Streptococcus sp., Chroococcus sp., Diplococcus sp., Aphanocapsa sp., and Gloeocapsa sp. were negatively influenced by nitrate concentration. The study provides better scope for ecological management of the lagoon with respect to conserving biodiversity and hydrological quality of the ecosystem.     

Pesticide residues in Indian raw honeys,an indicator of environmental pollution

Honey has multifaceted beneficial properties, but polluted environment and unapproved apicultural practices have led to its contamination. In this study, QuEChERS method followed by chromatographic analysis by GC-μECD/FTD and GC-MS was validated and used for determination of 24 pesticides in 100 raw honey samples from various floral origins of Northern India. Matrix-matched calibrations showed that the method was selective and linear (r²?>?0.99) with detection limit <?9.1 ng g^?1 for all the studied pesticides except for monocrotophos (21.3 ng g^?1). The average recoveries at different fortification levels ranged from 86.0 to 107.7% with relative standard deviation <?20%. Pesticide residues were detected in 19.0% samples, and most prevalent compounds detected were dichlorvos in 6.0% samples followed by monocrotophos (5.0%), profenofos (5.0%), permethrin (4.0%), ethion (3.0%), and lindane (3.0%) with concentrations ranging from 58.8 to 225.5, from 96.0 to 430.1, from 14.6 to 43.2, from 27.8 to 39.6, from 25.6 to 28.0, and from 19.6 to 99.2 ng g^?1, respectively. Honey samples originating from cotton, sunflower, and mustard crops (33.3%) that tested positive for pesticide residues were found to be significantly higher (p?<?0.05) than the honey originating from natural and fruity vegetation (13.5%). Therefore, considering the contamination of environmental compartments due to extensive application of pesticides in the study area and their potential for subsequent transfer to honey by the expeditious bees, the results of present study proclaim that honey may be used as an indicator of environmental pollution. Further, estimated daily intakes of all contaminants were found to be at levels well below their acceptable daily intakes suggesting that consumption of honeys at current levels does not pose deleterious effects on human health. However, precautionary measures should always be taken considering the customary honey feeding in infants and cumulative effect of these chemicals in the foreseeable future.