Should apple snail Pomacea canaliculata (Caenogastropoda, Ampullariidae) be used as bioindicator for BDE-209?

Apple snail Pomacea canaliculata has been reported to accumulate polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and was recently proposed as PBDE bioindicator. This work investigates the ability of P. canaliculata to accumulate BDE-209 by dietary exposure under controlled experimental conditions. A 30-day long enrichment feeding assay was carried out using 30 adult apple snails, placed in individual aquaria. Food was enriched at three BDE-209 concentrations (400, 4,700, and 8,300 μg g^?1 lipid weight). Correlation between BDE-209 values in food and snail tissue were estimated according to Stockholm Convention suggested criteria for chemicals with K_OW >5. All animals survived with no evident physical alterations, and all of them accumulated BDE-209. BDE-209 levels in tissue samples increased exponentially with the exposure concentration. The bioaccumulation factor vs. food concentration plot showed a peculiar pattern, in which at intermediate concentrations the snails accumulated less BDE-209 than expected. Our results suggest that P. canaliculata would present a detoxification mechanism for BDE-209 different from the most commonly reported metabolic pathways.     

Water use in arid rural systems and the integration of water and agricultural policies in Europe: the case of Andarax river basin

Water is a precious resource in arid rural areas with irrigated agriculture. Nonetheless, water and agricultural policies in Europe show different management scopes and objectives, usually translated in divergent drivers of rural change. This paper has a double aim: to propose a specific method for quantitative biophysical analysis of water use in rural systems with the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism approach and to show the usefulness of this method for the assessment of the integration of water and agricultural policies. The river basin scale is chosen, since it is the socioecological unit for water management established in the water framework directive 2000/60/CE. A multi-scale water use accounting is provided for a Mediterranean river basin in Andalusia, integrating water cycle, ecosystems and social levels. Particularly focusing on agricultural production, a relevant set of indicators is proposed in order to analyze and compare different metabolic patterns. Finally, the integration of water and agricultural planning is assessed in terms of external (biophysical) and internal (economic, institutional) constraints of the new water-use patterns generated by the scenarios posed in these policies. While on a European level water policy is ambitious in terms of ecological conservation, the lack of integration within the common agricultural policy and the entanglement of multiple scales of political and economic organization of local ruralities blur its priority in a rather slow transition to a new water culture.     

Financing Marine Protected Areas Through Visitor Fees: Insights from Tourists Willingness to Pay in Chile

Tourism is a financing mechanism considered by many donor-funded marine conservation initiatives. Here we assess the potential role of visitor entry fees, in generating the necessary revenue to manage a marine protected area (MPA), established through a Global Environmental Facility Grant, in a temperate region of Chile. We assess tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for an entry fee associated to management and protection of the MPA. Results show 97 % of respondents were willing to pay an entrance fee. WTP predictors included the type of tourist, tourists’ sensitivity to crowding, education, and understanding of ecological benefits of the MPA. Nature-based tourists state median WTP values of US$ 4.38 and Sun-sea-sand tourists US$ 3.77. Overall, entry fees could account for 10–13 % of MPA running costs. In Chile, where funding for conservation runs among the weakest in the world, visitor entry fees are no panacea in the short term and other mechanisms, including direct state/government support, should be considered.     

Sirenomelia,the mermaid syndrome—detection in the first trimester

The sirenomelia sequence with fusion, rotation, hypotrophy or atrophy of the lower limbs in combination with severe urogenital and gastrointestinal malformations is a rare and usually lethal disorder. We present the case of a 28-year-old woman, who was referred to our department because of an intraabdominal cystic structure in the 9th week of gestation. Subsequent scans confirmed the diagnosis of a sirenomelia sequence with the fusion of the lower extremities without fusion of the bones according to Stocker I classification. The size of the intraabdominal cyst decreased during follow-up. After counseling, termination of pregnancy was induced. The postmortem X-ray confirmed the ultrasound diagnosis. The exact etiological mechanism of this malformation is still unknown. An early alteration of the embryological vascular network damaging the caudal mesoderm is thought to lead to arrested development of the lower limbs and other affected organs. The cyst we saw in the 9th week might fit with this theory, either as an expression of the complex malformation of the lower abdomen or as the sonographic appearance of necrosis. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sources and concentrations of indoor nitrogen dioxide in Barcelona, Spain

Sources and concentrations of indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were examined in Barcelona, Spain, during 1996-1999. A total of 340 dwellings of infants participating in a hospital-based cohort study were selected from different areas of the city. Passive filter badges were used for indoor NO2 measurement over 7-30 days. Dwelling inhabitants completed a questionnaire on housing characteristics and smoking habits. Data on outdoor NO2 concentrations were available for the entire period of the study in the areas of the city where indoor concentrations were determined. Bivariate analysis was performed to investigate relationships between indoor NO2 concentrations on one hand and outdoor NO2 concentrations, housing, and occupant characteristics on the other. Stepwise multiple linear regression was performed with variables that were found to have a significant bivariate relationship. Indoor NO2 mean values ranged between 23.57 ppb in 1996 and 27.02 ppb in 1999, with the highest yearly value of 27.82 ppb in 1997. In the same time period, mean outdoor NO2 concentration ranged between 25.26 and 25.78 ppb with a peak of 30.5 ppb in 1998. Multiple regression analysis showed that principal sources of indoor NO2 concentrations were the use of a gas cooker, the absence of an extractor fan when cooking, and cigarette smoking. The absence of central heating was also associated with higher NO2 concentrations. Finally, each ppb increase in outdoor NO2 was associated with a 1% increase in indoor concentrations.     

Pyrene degradation by yeasts and filamentous fungi

The saprotrophic soil fungi Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc., Cylindrocarpon didymum (Hartig) Wollenw, Penicillium variabile Sopp. and the yeasts Rhodotorula glutinis (Fresenius) Harrison and Rhodotorula minuta (Saito) Harrison were cultured in mineral medium with pyrene. The remaining pyrene concentrations were periodically determined during 20 incubation days, using HPLC. To assess the metabolism of pyrene degradation we added 0.1 microCi of [4,5,9,10] 14C-pyrene to each fungi culture and measured the radioactivity in the volatile organic substances, extractable, aqueous phase, biomass and 14CO2 fractions. The assays demonstrated that F. solani and R. glutinis metabolized pyrene as a sole source of carbon. Differences in their activities at the beginning of the cultures disappeared by the end of the experiment, when 32 and 37% of the original pyrene concentration was detected, for the soil fungi and yeasts, respectively. Among the filamentous fungi, F. solani was highly active and oxidized pyrene; moreover, small but significant degradation rates were observed in C. didymum and P. variahile cultures. An increase in the 14CO2 evolution was observed at the 17th day with cosubstrate. R. glutinis and R. minuta cultures showed similar ability to biotransform pyrene, and that 35% of the initial concentration was consumed at the end of the assay. The same results were obtained in the experiments with or without glucose as cosubstrate.     

Fenton's pre-treatment of mature landfill leachate

The aim of this study was to check the effectiveness of the Fenton's reagent (Fe2+ + H2O2 + H+) for the pre-treatment of a municipal landfill leachate with the objective of improving its overall biodegradability, evaluated in terms of BOD5/COD ratio, up to a value compatible with biological treatment. The leachate came from a municipal sanitary landfill located in southern Italy and the average values of its main parameters were: pH=8.2; COD=10,540 mgl(-1); BOD5=2,300 mgl(-1); TOC=3,900 mgl(-1); NH4-N=5210 mgl(-1); conductivity=45,350 microScm(-1); alkalinity=21,470 mgl(-1) CaCO3. The effect of initial pH value on the pre-treatment effectiveness was evaluated by titrating the amount of acidic by-products formed. The extent of leachate oxidation was monitored and controlled by both pH and redox potential measurements. The best operational conditions for achieving the desired goal (i.e., BOD5/COD> or =0.5) resulted: Fe2+=275 mgl(-1); H2O2=3,300 mgl(-1); initial pH=3; reaction time=2 h. At the end of the Fenton's pre-treatment, in order to permit a subsequent biological treatment, residual ferric ions were removed increasing the pH up to 8.5 by adding 3 gl(-1) of Ca(OH)2 and 3 mgl(-1) of a cationic polyelectrolyte, the latter as an aid to coagulation. This final step also resulted in a further modest removal of residual COD due to co-precipitation phenomena.     

Microalgal communities epibiontic on the marine hydroid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eudendrium racemosum</Emphasis> in the Ligurian Sea during an annual cycle

The microalgal community associated with Eudendrium racemosum, a marine hydroid widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea, was studied during an annual cycle, at monthly frequency, in a coastal station of the Ligurian Sea. Microalgae were represented mainly by diatoms, which exhibited higher abundance and biomass values between autumn and spring (max 46,752 cells mm⁻² and 1.94 μg C mm⁻², respectively), while during summer a significant decrease was observed (min 917 cells mm⁻² and 0.013 μg C mm⁻²). High levels of abundance of filamentous cyanobacteria were observed in summer. Spatial distribution of epibiontic microalgae showed a markedly increasing gradient from the basal to the apical part of hydroid colonies. Considering the growth forms of diatom communities, motile diatoms (mainly small naviculoid taxa) were the most abundant in all the periods. Adnate (Amphora and Cocconeis spp.) were distributed mainly in the basal and central part of hydroid colonies and showed two peaks (autumn and summer). Erect forms (mainly Tabularia tabulata, Licmophora spp., Cyclophora tenuis) were mainly distributed in the apical part of the colonies and showed their maximum densities in spring–summer. Tube-dwelling (Berkeleya rutilans, Parlibellus sp.) were observed at low densities throughout the study period, without any significant temporal or spatial variability. Comparing the microalgal communities on marine hydroid to those grown on mimic substrata placed in the sampling station during summer, significantly higher values of abundance were observed in the hydroid, suggesting that microalgae may benefit from the polyp catabolites. This fact was particularly evident for the adnate diatoms, whose temporal trend paralleled the cycle of hydroid host.     

Evidence of obligate female promiscuity in a socially monogamous passerine

Extrapair paternity in birds has been the focus of an increasing number of studies over the last decades. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge about extrapair copulation (EPC) behavior. In this study, we investigate whether female bluethroats (Luscinia s. svecica) with no extrapair offspring (EPO) in their broods really have been sexually monogamous or if they have copulated with extrapair males. We used an experimental approach to prevent transfer of sperm from the social male during copulation by fitting a rubber tube around the cloaca of randomly chosen males. If the females mated to these males do not participate in EPCs, they will produce infertile eggs, whereas females that copulate with extrapair males will only produce EPO. We found that 87% (n=15) of the experimental pairs compared to only 36% (n=51) of unmanipulated pairs produced EPO. Our result therefore suggests that females having no EPO may still have copulated with extrapair males and that promiscuity may be an obligate sexual strategy among bluethroat females.Communicated by S. Pruett-Jones