Detection,Quantification, and Microbial Risk Assessment of Group A Rotavirus in Rivers from Uruguay

Food and Environmental Virology - The aim of this study was to detect, quantify, and assess the risk of infection and illness for Group A Rotavirus (RVA) in the watersheds of the Santa Lucia and...     

Delayed ontogenic dietary shift and high levels of omnivory in green turtles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chelonia mydas</Emphasis>) from the NW coast of Africa

Young green turtles (Chelonia mydas) spend their early lives as oceanic omnivores with a prevalence of animal prey. Once they settle into neritic habitats (recruitment), they are thought to shift rapidly to an herbivorous diet, as revealed by studies in the Greater Caribbean. However, the precise timing of the ontogenic dietary shift and the actual relevance of animal prey in the diet of neritic green turtles are poorly known elsewhere. Stable isotopes of carbon, sulfur and nitrogen in the carapace scutes of 19 green turtles from Mauritania (NW Africa), ranging from 26 to 102 cm in curved carapace length (CCLmin), were analyzed to test the hypothesis of a rapid dietary shift after recruitment. Although the length of residence time in neritic habitats increased with turtle length, as revealed by a significant correlation between turtle length and the δ¹³C and the δ³⁴S of the scutes, comparison of the δ¹⁵N of the innermost and outermost layers of carapace scutes demonstrated that consumption of macrophytes did not always start immediately after recruitment, and turtles often resumed an animal-based diet after starting to graze on seagrasses. As a consequence, seagrass consumption did not increase gradually with turtle size and animal prey largely contributed to the diet of turtles within the range 29–59 cm CCLmin (76–99% of assimilated nutrients). Seagrass consumption by turtles larger than 59 cm CCLmin was higher, but they still relied largely on animal prey (53–76% of assimilated nutrients). Thus, throughout most of their neritic juvenile life, green turtles from NW Africa would be better classified as omnivores rather than herbivores. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Ecological restoration as a strategy for mitigating and adapting to climate change: lessons and challenges from Brazil

Climate change is a global phenomenon that affects biophysical systems and human well-being. The Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force in 2016 with the objective of strengthening the global response to climate change by keeping global temperature rise this century well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 °C. The agreement requires all Parties to submit their “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. Reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is an important strategy for mitigating climate change, particularly in developing countries with large forests. Extensive tropical forest loss and degradation have increased awareness at the international level of the need to undertake large-scale ecological restoration, highlighting the need to identify cases in which restoration strategies can contribute to mitigation and adaptation. Here we consider Brazil as a case study to evaluate the benefits and challenges of implementing large-scale restoration programs in developing countries. The Brazilian NDC included the target of restoring and reforesting 12 million hectares of forests for multiple uses by 2030. Restoration of native vegetation is one of the foundations of sustainable rural development in Brazil and should consider multiple purposes, from biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation to social and economic development. However, ecological restoration still presents substantial challenges for tropical and mega-diverse countries, including the need to develop plans that are technically and financially feasible, as well as public policies and monitoring instruments that can assess effectiveness. The planning, execution, and monitoring of restoration efforts strongly depend on the context and the diagnosis of the area with respect to reference ecosystems (e.g., forests, savannas, grasslands, wetlands). In addition, poor integration of climate change policies at the national and subnational levels and with other sectorial policies constrains the large-scale implementation of restoration programs. The case of Brazil shows that slowing deforestation is possible; however, this analysis highlights the need for increased national commitment and international support for actions that require large-scale transformations of the forest sector regarding ecosystem restoration efforts. Scaling up the ambitions and actions of the Paris Agreement implies the need for a global framework that recognizes landscape restoration as a cost-effective nature-based solution and that supports countries in addressing their remaining needs, challenges, and barriers.

     

Headwater streams: neglected ecosystems in the EU Water Framework Directive. Implications for nitrogen pollution control

The European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to achieve the “good status” of waters by 2015, through monitoring and control of human impacts on “bodies of surface water” (BSWs), discrete elements for quality diagnosis and management. Headwater streams, however, are frequently neglected as they are not usually recognised as BSW. This poses limitations for the management of river catchments, because anthropogenic impacts on headwaters can constrain the quality of downstream rivers. To illustrate this problem, we compared nitrate levels and land use pressures in a small agricultural catchment with those recorded in the catchment in which it is embedded (Ega), and in the Ebro River Basin (NE Spain) comprising both. Agriculture greatly influenced water nitrate concentration, regardless of the size of the catchments: R² = 0.91 for headwater catchments (0.1–7.3 km²), and R² = 0.82 for Ebro tributary catchments (223–3113 km²). Moreover, nitrate concentration in the outlet of a non-BSW small river catchment was similar to that of the greater downstream BSW rivers. These results are of interest since, despite representing 76% of the length of the Ega catchment hydrographical network, only 3.1% of the length of the headwater streams has been identified as BSWs. Human activities affecting headwater streams should therefore be considered if the 2015 objective of the WFD is to be achieved.     

Remediation procedure used for contaminated soil and underground water: A case study from the chemical industry

This is a case study of contamination by a non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) that leaked from a chemical plant. The remediation procedure adopted for the initial phase of the plume migration was a plastic diaphragm wall coupled with a series of water extraction wells designed to avoid environmental impact on the surrounding ecosystems. Monitoring has shown that the containment is successful, and additional measures that contribute to accelerating remediation have been adopted. The authors wished to investigate how remediation might be further enhanced. The use of in situ aeration coupled with a system of soil vapor extraction (AS/SVE) has been chosen, since the remediation of sites with characteristics similar to those in this study, if based exclusively on dissolved-phase control, would take several decades to be completed. The transport of contaminant plumes has been simulated by using an analytical model to evaluate the effectiveness of the natural attenuation of the contaminant. The results of the simulation have confirmed the limited effectiveness of the natural attenuation of the contaminant, as well as the effective increase of remediation that would occur if the AS/SVE system is applied. A sensitivity analysis that included several combinations of increments of parameters that correspond to the decay rate of the source and the dissolved plume has simulated what might happen if the AS/SVE system is implemented.     

The recycling cycle of materials as a design project tool

Currently, a large number of companies consider recycling of materials as an opportunity to maximize profits and to reduce the environmental impact generated by these materials after they are disposed. However, there is also a strong constraint on the use of recycled materials mainly due to the lack of technical/scientific information, which would relate their physical properties to their recycling cycle. This information should be used in the initial phase of the product design to serve as reference for the simulation of a project to point out the physical properties obtained from recycling the Projected material (Pm). Thus, it would be possible to foresee some recycling strategy to keep the good characteristics of recycled materials by encouraging their use, regardless of the product to be designed.Therefore, the Recycling Cycle of Materials (RCM) is a tool that provides scientific/technical support in the selection of materials. It uses the information related to the physical properties of the Pm as a parameter for product design after five recycling cycles. For the case study, this tool has been applied to obtain the basic material of ABS/PC blend. Subsequently, this blend was evaluated using DSC, FTIR, traction and impact methods to obtain delimiting data for the definition of the mechanical properties resulting from the application of RCM.     

Sustainability: A Study of the Level of Ecological Behavior of Postgraduate Students in Brazil

The decline in the supply of natural resources is a cause for concern, especially given continued worldwide population growth. New habits and attitudes toward resource use are slowly being introduced into the everyday lives of persons residing in a number of countries. The term “ecological behavior” refers to acting in favor of the environment, whether these actions are voluntarily or not, or learned or not (Pato & Tamayo, 2006 ). The general objective of this study is to identify the environmental behavior—one of several terms used interchangeably with ecological behavior—of graduate students from a Brazilian federal institution of higher education. We chose this particular group because many of them already act, or will act, as professors. Thus, by virtue of their positions, they will function as opinion leaders who will influence the education of future professionals, establishing a chain through which shared values can gradually change the environmental behavior of society.