Neighborhood effects on seed dispersal by frugivores: testing theory with a mistletoe-marsupial system in Patagonia

The outcome of the dispersal process in zoochorous plants is largely determined by the behavior of frugivorous animals. Recent simulation studies have found that fruit removal rates and mean dispersal distances are strongly affected by fruiting plant neighborhoods. We empirically tested the effects of conspecific fruiting plant neighborhoods, crop sizes, and plant accessibility on fruit removal rates and seed dispersal distances of a mistletoe species exclusively dispersed by an arboreal marsupial in Northern Patagonia. Moreover, in this study, we overcome technical limitations in the empirical estimation of seed dispersal by using a novel 15N stable isotope enrichment technique together with Bayesian mixing models that allowed us to identify dispersed seeds from focal plants without the need of extensive genotyping. We found that, as predicted by theory, plants in denser neighborhoods had greater fruit removal and shorter mean dispersal distances than more isolated plants. Furthermore, the probability of dispersing seeds farther away decreased with neighborhood density. Larger crop sizes resulted in larger fruit removal rates and smaller probabilities of longer distance dispersal. The interplay between frugivore behavioral decisions and the spatial distribution of plants could have important consequences for plant spatial dynamics.     

The width of riparian habitats for understory birds in an Amazonian forest

Riparian habitats are important for the maintenance of regional biodiversity. Many studies have compared bird distributions between riparian and non-riparian habitats but have not established how wide riparian habitats used by birds are, as measured by distance from the nearest stream. We investigated the distribution of understory birds along gradients of distance from streams, soil clay content, and slope in a central Amazonian forest, by mist-netting birds three times in 45 plots. We used nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to reduce the dimensionality of species quantitative (abundance) and qualitative (presence-absence) composition to one multivariate axis. Estimates of the width of riparian habitats as indicated by understory birds depended on the community attribute considered, measuring 90 m for species quantitative composition and 140 m for species qualitative composition. Species distributions were correlated with clay content but were independent of slope, while distance from streams was positively correlated with clay content but independent of slope. Clay content affects plant species composition, which in turn, may influence bird species composition. However, distribution patterns of birds in relation to distance from streams are consistent among studies carried out in many different temperate and tropical regions, indicating an effect of distance from streams itself. Protection of riparian habitats is one of the most widely used conservation strategies, and Brazilian environmental legislation mandates the protection of a 30 m wide strip of riparian vegetation on either side of small streams. We show that the protected strip should be much wider and recommend strategies to place other forms of land protection contiguous with riparian areas so that Brazilian environmental legislation better fulfills its role of protecting biodiversity associated with riparian habitats.     

Alkyl polyglucosides as cell surface modification factors: influence of the alkyl chain length

The use of surfactants in a bioremediation process is aimed at increasing the efficiency of the removal of hydrophobic contaminants from the environment. The subjects of the study were three alkyl polyglucosides (APGs) of different alkyl chain length: Glucopon 215 CS UP, Glucopon 600 CS UP, and Glucopon 650 EC. The impact of these surfactants on the surface properties of the test strain Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 14700, as well as on the biodegradation of diesel was tested. It was observed, that the length of alkyl chain has an influence on the cell surface properties. The modification of the cell surface hydrophobicity and the electrokinetic potential on the bacteria cells is dependent on the structure of Glucopon molecules. The elongation of alkyl chains in surfactant molecule caused an increase of the hydrophobic properties and a reduction of the electrokinetic potential on the bacteria cells. Moreover, the use of APGs below critical micelle concentration caused an increase of diesel oil biodegradation, especially in the case of Glucopons with longer alkyl chain (Glucopon 600 CS UP and 650 EC). The better diesel oil removal by tested strain after surfactant addition was correlated with the hydrophobic properties of bacteria strain.     

Strategic planning for sustainable tourism development in Poland

The aim of this article is to evaluate selected tourism development strategies in Poland, in the context of strategic planning, stakeholders’ participation, and sustainable development principles. A questionnaire evaluation of strategy (44 questions) was established and based on measurement scales developed and validated by other authors in earlier studies. The five authors of the study rated 37 tourism development strategies in 13 provinces, 11 cities, 5 counties, 6 municipalities, and 2 other areas. Analysis revealed that they implement paradigms of sustainable development of tourism to only a small extent. Definitely higher quality is documented for higher levels of administrative division. The highest rated domains of the tourism development strategy in the examined documents are Strategic Planning Indicators and Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation.     

Technological behaviour and leaching tests in ceramic tile bodies obtained by recycling of copper slag and MSW fly ash wastes

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The substitution of standard clays to residues, in this case copper smelter slag and fly ashes coming from the incineration process of MSW in...     

Metals concentration and bioaccumulation in the marine-coastal trophic web from Buenos Aires province southern coast,Argentina

Metals accumulated in the tissues of organisms inhabiting marine ecosystems generally reflect their bioavailable levels within that environment. The aim of this work was to study the presence and concentration of metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) and its bioaccumulation in liver-ink sac (n?=?12) and muscle (n?=?12) tissues of loliginid squids, Loligo sanpaulensis, in liver (n?=?15) and muscle (n?=?15) tissues of white croakers, Micropogonias furnieri, and in muscle (n?=?12) tissues of franciscana dolphins, Pontoporia blainvillei, as representatives of different trophic levels of an estuarial ecosystem from the southern coast of Buenos Aires. Except for Pb, all metals were detectable in the hepatic tissues. Bioaccumulation was observed for Fe, Cr and Ni in muscle of squids. Zn levels in muscle samples increased with the trophic level of the species analysed. Necochea-Quequén presents relatively high levels of Ni and Cr in the tissue samples of squids and fishes given other locations of southern hemisphere, indicating a possible anthropic enrichment. These outcomes provide the necessary basis for the environmental monitoring of an area with relevance for fishing and high anthropic activity.     

Biogeochemical characterization of surface waters in the Aljustrel mining area (South Portugal)

Aljustrel mining area (South Portugal) is a part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt and encloses six sulfide mineral masses. This mine is classified of high environmental risk due to the large tailings’ volume and acid mine drainage (AMD)-affected waters generated by sulfides’ oxidation. The use of biological indicators (e.g., diatoms) revealed to be an important tool to address the degree of AMD contamination in waters. Multivariate analysis has been used as a relevant approach for the characterization of AMD processes. Cluster analysis was used to integrate the significant amount and diversity of variables (physicochemical and biological), discriminating the different types of waters, characterized by the high complexity occurring in this region. The distinction of two main marked phenomena was achieved: (1) the circumneutral-Na-Cl water type (sites DA, PF, BX, BF, RO, CB), expressing the geological contributions of the Cenozoic sediments of Sado river basin, with high diatom diversity (predominating brackish diatoms as Entomoneis alata); and (2) the acid–metal-sulfated water type (sites BM, JU, RJ, AA, MR, BE, PC, AF), reflecting both the AMD contamination and the dissolution of minerals (e.g., silicates) from the hosting rocks, potentiated by the extremely low pH. This last group of sites showed lower diatom diversity but with typical diatoms from acid- and metal-contaminated waters (e.g., Pinnularia aljustrelica). In addition to these two water types, this hierarchical classification method also allowed to distinguish individual cases in subclusters, for example, treated dams (DC, DD), with alkaline substances (lime/limestone), that changed the physicochemical dynamics of the contaminated waters.

     

Is software sustainability considered in the CSR of software industry?

Software is a key factor in the functioning of today’s world. Software is supposed to have some characteristics such as: reliability, security, etc., but it is not at all easy to find energy efficiency considered as being one of software’s most important features. Aspects related to Green Software have begun to be considered vital and basic, due to pressure from a society which is becoming more and more aware of environmental problems. In this paper we want to explore whether software companies, responsible for developing software, are aligning their strategies with environmental concerns. To do so, we have checked the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies of the ten most important software companies and looked at these documents with reference to the UN’s sustainable development goals. A well-defined method for carrying out the analysis of the CSR policies led the authors to identify which of the sustainability actions proposed can be classified within any of the software sustainability dimensions. The analysis of these actions shows that sustainability is considered in most of the companies; nonetheless, most attention is currently devoted to hardware-based initiatives intended to reduce the carbon footprint of the hardware resources of the companies. In addition, green software initiatives are still not the priority, despite the influence of software on energy consumption, and in spite of its impact on the environment. Using the set of actions selected, a set of specific actions for software sustainability, to be included in the CSR of software companies, has been defined.