Strong site fidelity and longer internesting interval for solitary nesting olive ridley sea turtles in Brazil

Olive ridley sea turtles display two different types of nesting behavior: in arribada (synchronous mass nesting) or solitarily. Contrarily to arribadas, little has been published about solitary nesters. This study aimed to expand the knowledge on internesting interval and site fidelity of solitary nesting olive ridleys and to test a possible development of arribada nesting behavior. Data were collected in Sergipe (Brazil) over 125 km of beach from 10°30′S/36o23′W to 11°26′S/37o19′W, between nesting seasons 2004/2005 and 2006/2007. From 962 tagged females, 173 were seen renesting. The average internesting interval found was longer (22.35 ± 7.01 days) than previously described, which might relate to lower water temperatures during the internesting period. Olive ridleys at Sergipe showed high nesting site fidelity, with consecutive nesting events occurring in close proximity, non-randomly and dependently of previous events. Most of the consecutive nests were separated by 4.06–5.59 km. Development of arribada nesting behavior was not confirmed.     

A methodological framework for integrating computational fluid dynamics and ecological models applied to juvenile freshwater mussel dispersal in the Upper Mississippi River

Interdisciplinary research in hydraulics and ecology for river management and restoration must integrate processes that occur over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, which presents a challenge to ecohydraulics modelers. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are being more widely used to determine flow fields for ecohydraulics applications. In the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), the mussel dynamics model was developed as a tool for management and conservation of freshwater mussels (Unionidae), which are benthic organisms, imperiled in North America, that are inextricably linked with the hydraulics of river flow. We updated the juvenile dispersal component of the mussel dynamics model by using stochastic Lagrangian particle tracking in a three dimensional flow field output from CFD models of reaches in the UMR. We developed a methodological framework to integrate hydrodynamic data with the mussel dynamics model, and we demonstrate the use of the juvenile dispersal model employed within the methodological framework in two reaches of the UMR. The method was used to test the hypothesis that impoundment affects the relationship of some hydraulic parameters with juvenile settling distribution. Simulation results were consistent with this hypothesis, and the relationships of bed shear stress and Froude number with juvenile settling were altered by impoundment most likely through effects on local hydraulics. The methodological framework is robust, integrates Eulerian and Lagrangian reference frameworks, and incorporates processes over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, from watershed scale hydrologic processes (decades), to reach scale (km) processes that occur over hours or days, and turbulent processes on spatial scales of meter to millimeter and times scales of seconds. The methods are presently being used to assess the impacts of pre- and early post-settlement processes on mussel distributions, including the effects of bed shear stress, and the sensitivity of the location of the host fish when juveniles excyst, on juvenile settling distribution.     

First approach of the selective treatment of water by heterogeneous photocatalysis

Photocatalytic reactions using titanium dioxide are of great interest due to their possible applications to solar energy storage and detoxification of wastewater. However, TiO₂ has usually given a very poor selectivity. Here we show that, using binary mixtures, it is possible to selectively degrade one molecular substance without any concentration change of another substance. We have studied the influence of the pH and TiO₂ concentration on the selectivity of the degradation of benzamide and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. With appropriate modifications of both parameters, the selectivity can be improved.     

Influence of fly ash on soil physical properties and turfgrass establishment

A field study (1993-96) assessed the benefits of applying unusually high rates of coal fly ash as a soil amendment to enhance water retention of soils without adversely affecting growth and marketability of the turf species, centipedegrass [Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack.]. A Latin Square plot design was employed that included 0 (control, no ash applied), 280, 560, and 1120 Mg ha-1 application rates of unweathered precipitator fly ash. The fly ash was spread evenly over each plot area, rototilled, and allowed to weather under natural conditions for 8 mo before seeding. High levels of soluble salts, indicated by the electrical conductivity (EC) of soil extracts, in tandem with an apparent phytotoxic effect from boron (B), apparently inhibited initial plant establishment as shown by substantially lower germination counts in treated soil. However, plant height and rooting depth were not adversely affected, as were the dry matter (DM) yields throughout the study period. Ash treatment did not significantly influence water infiltration rate, bulk density, or temperature of the soil, but substantially improved water-holding capacity (WHC) and plant-available water (PAW). Enhanced water retention capacity improved the cohesion and handling property of harvested sod.