Boldness and body size of male Spanish terrapins affect their responses to chemical cues of familiar and unfamiliar males

Recognition and avoidance of conspecifics based on chemical cues could reduce the risk of aggressive interactions between males. Success in agonistics encounters with unfamiliar males should be lower than with previously known familiar males. Then, males should avoid the chemicals from unfamiliar males with respect to those from familiar males. However, boldness and size could affect the outcome of encounters between males and, consequently, the response to chemical cues of conspecific males. We compared the time spent by male turtles Mauremys leprosa in water pools with chemical stimuli from unfamiliar or familiar males or with their own chemical stimuli. We also performed a behavioral test to estimate boldness of turtles in an antipredatory situation. Turtles avoided the chemicals from unfamiliar males respect to familiar ones and their own odors, but their responses depended on boldness and size of the tested turtle. Bold turtles avoided water with chemicals of unfamiliar males, but not with chemicals of familiar males, whereas shy turtles avoided chemicals of both familiar and unfamiliar males. On the other hand, large males avoided the odor from unfamiliar males, but small males did not avoid water with the odor from other males. Results suggest that male M. leprosa can detect chemicals released to water from conspecific males and discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar males. However, responses to these chemicals depended on boldness and body size of the responding turtle because these factors may affect intrasexual competition.     

New aspect in seagrass acclimation: leaf mechanical properties vary spatially and seasonally in the temperate species Cymodocea nodosa Ucria (Ascherson)

Seagrasses may acclimate to environmental heterogeneity through phenotypic plasticity. In contrast to leaf morphology, which has been a central point in seagrass acclimation studies, plasticity in leaf biomechanics and fibre content is poorly understood, despite being crucial in plant ecological performance, especially regarding physical forces. We hypothesised that mechanical traits (e.g. breaking force, strength, toughness, and stiffness) and fibre content of seagrass leaves vary as morphology does under differential environments. Cymodocea nodosa was seasonally monitored at three locations around Cádiz Bay (southern Spain) with hydrodynamic regime as the most noticeable difference between them. Leaves showed plasticity in both morphology and mechanical traits, with wave-exposed individuals presenting short but extensible and tough leaves. Leaf fibre content was invariant along the year and with little spatial variability. Cross-sectional area rather than material properties or fibre content differentiates leaf mechanical resistance. Seagrass capacity to thrive under a range of mechanical forces may be dictated by their plasticity in morpho-biomechanical traits, a key element for the hydrodynamical performance and, hence, for species colonisation and distribution.     

Ecological niche segregation among five toothed whale species off the NW Iberian Peninsula using ecological tracers as multi-approach

This study aims to assess niche segregation among the five main toothed whales that frequent the NW Iberian Peninsula waters: the common dolphin, the harbour porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin, the striped dolphin and the long-finned pilot whale. We used cadmium (Cd) and stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) as ecological tracers to assess degree of segregation in diet/trophic level and in foraging habitat, over various time-scales. δ¹³C values highlighted different habitats, while Cd concentrations highlighted feeding differences between oceanic and neritic species. Moreover, δ¹⁵N values suggest different trophic levels of prey targeted within oceanic and neritic species. Hence, results revealed long-term ecological segregation among five toothed whales that coexist in the NWIP and demonstrated the ability of ecological tracers to discriminate ecological niches among closely related species.     

Shifts in Microbial Communities,Microbial Biomass and Organic Matter Mineralization for Three Mediterranean Soils Contaminated By Metals

Microbial communities (phospholipid fatty acid pattern, bacterial growing strategies, eco-physiological index (EPI) and total bacteria counts, as a number of heterotrophic cuhurable bacteria), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and nitrogen mineralization were studied in three Mediterranean soils at three different depth levels (A, B and C). Soils were experimentally treated with a final concentration of 1000 ppm of trace metals (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Al³⁺, Fe²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Cd²⁺). Soils were stored in 571 plastic containers for one year, and watered with 1001 during this period. Leachate was recovered through a bottom tap. Samples of the three depths were studied. Soil microbial communities showed different effects to other studies presented in the literature, but carried out on non-Mediterranean soils. Dramatic differences were found between treated soils and untreated ones, but not between soils or horizons. the treated soil displayed a decrease in CFUs, SIR N-mineralization and EPI together with a dominance of r-growing strategists. the relative moles percent of several PLFAs, especially 15:0, 16: 1ω7, cy17: 0, br18:0 and 18: 1ω7 decreased because of the pollution of soils, whereas 10Me16, 18:2ω6, cy19:0, i16:0 and br17:0 showed higher values than in untreated soils.     

Comparing interactive and automated mapping systems for supporting fisheries enforcement activities—a case study on vessel monitoring systems (VMS)

The conservation of wild fisheries resources in the face of an ever-increasing world demand for seafood requires the use of a number of management tools, including no-take zones, and gear, species, and temporal restrictions. One way of enforcing some of these regulations is through the use of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data that provides enforcement officers with the position of fishing vessels in the management area. The increasing volume of movement data collected using VMS calls for new methods that could help analysts extract useful knowledge from these large data sets. Various approaches have been proposed for visualizing and exploring movement data and detecting patterns within these data, but those approaches have generally not been tested in a real-world context or compared together, making their actual usability and utility unclear. This paper describes, compares, and assesses three such approaches in the context of fisheries enforcement: an existing system used for fisheries enforcement operations in Canada (VUE), a novel Hybrid Spatio-temporal Filtering (HSF) system developed by the authors, and an automated Behavioural Change Point Analysis (BCPA) system. A field trial was conducted with experienced fisheries enforcement officers to compare and contrast the benefits and drawbacks of the three approaches. While all three presented advantages and disadvantages, the interactivity of VUE and HSF were identified as desirable features, as they provide analysts with more control over the data, while allowing flexible data exploration. BCPA, while providing an automated approach to the data analysis, was pointed out as being too much of a “black box”, causing unease among the experts who require a level of transparency similar to that of legally admissible evidence. In the end, the experts suggested that the best approach would be to merge the analytical power of their existing VUE system with the exploratory power of the HSF system. This study provides insight into the value of using interactive mapping and filtering approaches in support of data analysis in the context of fisheries enforcement.     

Arsenic-induced health crisis in peri-urban Moyna and Ardebok villages, West Bengal, India: an exposure assessment study

Drinking of arsenic (As)-contaminated groundwater has adverse effects on health of millions of people worldwide. This study aimed to determine the degree of severity of As exposure from drinking water in peri-urban Moyna and Ardebok villages, West Bengal, India. Arsenic concentrations in hair, nail and urine samp les of the individuals were determined. Arsenical dermatosis, keratosis and melanosis were investigated through medical evaluation. We have evaluated the association between As exposure from drinking water, and keratosis and melanosis outcomes. The results showed that 82.7?% of the sampled tube wells contain As concentrations above 10?μg/L, while 57.7?% contain As concentrations above 50?μg/L. The hair, nail and urine As concentrations were positively correlated with As concentrations in drinking water. In our study population, we observed a strong association between As concentrations ranging 51-99?μg/L and keratosis and melanosis outcomes, although the probability decreases at higher concentration ranges perhaps due to switching away from the use of As-contaminated tube wells for drinking and cooking purposes. High As concentrations in hair, nail and urine were observed to be associated with the age of the study population. The level of As concentrations in hair, nail and urine samples of the study population indicated the degree of severity of As exposure in the study region.     

Ecological drivers of group living in two populations of the communally rearing rodent, Octodon degus

Intraspecific variation in sociality is thought to reflect a trade-off between current fitness benefits and costs that emerge from individuals' decision to join or leave groups. Since those benefits and costs may be influenced by ecological conditions, ecological variation remains a major, ultimate cause of intraspecific variation in sociality. Intraspecific comparisons of mammalian sociality across populations facing different environmental conditions have not provided a consistent relationship between ecological variation and group-living. Thus, we studied two populations of the communally rearing rodent Octodon degus to determine how co-variation between sociality and ecology supports alternative ecological causes of group living. In particular, we examined how variables linked to predation risk, thermal conditions, burrowing costs, and food availability predicted temporal and population variation in sociality. Our study revealed population and temporal variation in total group size and group composition that covaried with population and yearly differences in ecology. In particular, predation risk and burrowing costs are supported as drivers of this social variation in degus. Thermal differences, food quantity and quality were not significant predictors of social group size. In contrast to between populations, social variation within populations was largely uncoupled from ecological differences.     

Molecular insight into the population structure of common and spotted dolphins inhabiting the pelagic waters of the Northeast Atlantic

Several cetacean species exhibit fine-scale population structure despite their high dispersal capacities and the apparent continuity of the marine environment. In dolphins, most studies have focused on coastal areas and continental margins, and they revealed differentiated populations within relatively small geographic areas, sometimes in conjunction with a specialisation for different habitats (ecotypes). We analysed the population genetic structure of short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the Azores and Madeira, the two most isolated archipelagos of the North Atlantic. The archipelago of the Azores is divided into three groups of islands and stands 900 km away from Madeira. It is not known whether individuals migrate between groups of islands and archipelagos, nor whether distinct ecotypes are present. These questions were investigated by genetic analyses of 343 biopsy samples collected on free-ranging dolphins. The analyses consisted in sequencing part of the mitochondrial hyper-variable region, screening up to 14 microsatellite loci, and molecular sexing. Results did not unravel any population structure at the scale of the study area. Lack of differentiation matches expectations for spotted dolphins, which are transient in both archipelagos, but not for common dolphins, which are present year-round in the Azores and potentially resident. Absence of genetic structure over hundreds and even thousands of kilometres implies the existence of gene flow over much larger distances than usually documented in small delphinids, which could be achieved through individual movements. This finding indicates that population structure in oceanic habitat differs from that observed in coastal habitat.     

Habituation to low-risk predators improves body condition in lizards

Habituation to nonlethal predation stimuli may provide benefits for animals living in areas with frequent encounters with low-risk predators. On the other hand, individuals can be very consistent in their antipredator responses, with shy individuals showing greater degree of responsiveness than bold individuals. However, the link between habituation or boldness and individual benefits has not been thoroughly investigated. We established whether and how two behavioral components associated with antipredator responses (habituation and boldness, and their interaction) would influence body condition, which is a parameter related to fitness. We conducted an outdoor semi-natural experiment with Iberian wall lizards (Podarcis hispanica). Individual boldness was consistent across contexts, but we did not find any effect of boldness or the interaction between boldness and habituation on body condition. However, those individuals that habituated more readily to a frequent predatory stimulus were able to increase their body condition more relative to lizards that habituated less. This finding highlights the importance of individual differences in behavioral plasticity, which could influence traits related to fitness. Habituation can provide benefits for individuals exposed to low-risk predators; however, individuals more prone to habituation could also experience mortality costs by wrongly habituating to a dangerous predator.     

The Impact of Biodegradable Plastics in the Properties of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Since biodegradable materials are unwittingly mixed with synthetic materials, this work aimed to study the feasibility of reliably identifying some...