Photocatalysis for arsenic removal from water: considerations for solar photocatalytic reactors

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The following work provides a perspective on the potential application of solar heterogeneous photocatalysis, which is a nonselective advanced...     

Essential and non-essential trace element concentrations in muscle and liver of a pregnant Munk’s pygmy devil ray (Mobula munkiana) and its embryo

During gestation, essential and non-essential trace elements are transferred from the pregnant females to embryos. This study aimed to determine and compare the concentrations of seven essential trace elements (Fe, Zn, Se, Cu, Mn, Cr, Co) and six non-essential trace elements (As, Cd, V, U, Tl, Ag) in the muscle and the liver of a Munk’s pygmy devil ray pregnant female, Mobula munkiana, and its embryo. Transfer evidence of essential and non-essential trace elements was detected in M. munkiana tissues. Arsenic was found in elevated concentrations in the pregnant female and the embryo tissues. Elevated levels of Cd, V, U, and Ag were found in the pregnant female liver, but were minimal in the embryo tissue. This is the first study to investigate maternal transfer of essential and non-essential trace elements in these species and their reproductive strategy.

     

Woody residues of the grape production chain as an alternative precursor of high porous activated carbon with remarkable performance for naproxen uptake from water

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Activated carbon prepared from grape branches was used as a remarkable adsorbent to uptake naproxen and treat a synthetic mixture from aqueous...     

Testing the extraction of 12 mycotoxins from aqueous solutions by insoluble beta-cyclodextrin bead polymer

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites of filamentous fungi; they are common contaminants in numerous foods and beverages. Cyclodextrins are ring-shaped...     

Phycobiliproteins extract from Spirulina protects against single-dose cadmium-induced reproductive toxicity in male mice

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cadmium (Cd) is known for its many toxic effects on male population such as hypogonadism and fertility difficulties, which are oftenly associated with...     

Energy-ecological efficiency of dual-fuel series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle considering WTW emissions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper discussed the possibility of replacing the internal combustion engine of the series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) powered by...     

Identification of the Meteorological Variables Influencing Evapotranspiration Variability Over Florida

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Evapotranspiration (ET) plays an important role in agricultural water management and crop modeling. The highest mean annual ET values (889–1016 mm)...     

Masting mediated by summer drought reduces acorn predation in Mediterranean oak forests

Temporally variable production of seed crops by perennial plants (masting) has been hypothesized to be a valuable mechanism in the reduction of seed predation by satiating and starving seed consumers. To achieve these benefits, coexisting species subjected to the same predator would benefit from a similar pattern of seeding fluctuation over time that could lead to a reduction in predation at the within-species level. We tested for the existence of an environmental factor enforcing synchrony in acorn production in two sympatric Mediterranean oaks (Quercus ilex and Q. humilis) and the consequences on within-species and between-species acorn predation, by monitoring 15 mixed forests (450 trees) over seven years. Acorn production in Q. ilex and Q. humilis was highly variable among years, with high population variability (CVp) values. The two species exhibited a very different pattern across years in their initial acorn crop size (sum of aborted, depredated, and sound acorns). Nevertheless, interannual differences in summer water stress modified the likelihood of abortion during acorn ripening and enforced within- and, particularly, between-species synchrony and population variability in acorn production. The increase in CVp from initial to mature acorn crop (after summer) accounted for 33% in Q. ilex, 59% in Q. humilis, and 60% in the two species together. Mean yearly acorn pre-dispersal predation by invertebrates was considerably higher in Q. humilis than in Q. ilex. Satiation and starvation of predators was recorded for the two oaks, and this effect was increased by the year-to-year variability in the size of the acorn crop of the two species combined. Moreover, at a longer time scale (over seven years), we observed a significant reduction in the mean proportion of acorns depredated for each oak and the variability in both species' acorn production combined. Therefore, our results demonstrate that similar patterns of seeding fluctuation over time in coexisting species mediated by an environmental cue (summer drought) may contribute to the reduction of the impact of seed predation at a within-species level. Future research should be aimed at addressing whether this process could be a factor assisting in the coexistence of Q. ilex and Q. humilis.     

Spatial–temporal pattern of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus L. 1758) gonad maturation across the Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT; Thunnus thynnus) is a migrating species straddling the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It is assumed that this species is divided into a western and an eastern stock, which spawn in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, respectively. To learn more about the reproductive behavior of the eastern BFT stock, we tracked gonadal development in adult fish that were sampled between April and July during three consecutive years (2003–2005). Sampling campaigns were carried out using common fishing methods at selected locations within the Mediterranean Sea, namely Levantine Sea, Malta, and Balearic Islands. An additional sampling point, Barbate, was situated northwest of the Straits of Gibraltar along the Atlantic coast. Morphometric parameters such as the total body mass (M _B) and the weights of the gonads (M _G) were recorded, and the respective gonadosomatic index (GSI) values were calculated. The data collected revealed two important trends: (1) GSI values are higher in fish caught in the eastern rather than the western locations across the Mediterranean Sea, and (2) the GSI reaches maximum values between late May and early June in Levantine Sea (eastern Mediterranean Sea), and only 2 and 4 weeks later in the central (Malta) and western (Balearic Islands) locations, respectively. The advanced gonadal development in BFT correlates well with higher sea surface temperatures. Our findings also distinguish the northern Levantine Sea BFT population (mean M _B 78.41 ± 4.13 kg), and the Barbate BFT population with the greatest M _B (all fish sampled > 100 kg). These data reflect a situation in which the eastern Mediterranean basin may function as a habitat for young BFT, until they gain a larger M _B and are able to move to the Atlantic Ocean. However, the existence of genetically discrete BFT populations in the Mediterranean Sea cannot be ruled out.     

The effect of size and cheliped autotomy on sexual competition between males of the mud crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyrtograpsus angulatus</Emphasis> Dana

Size advantage in male–male competition over mates, combined with male preference over large females, is a common feature that can drive to size assortative mating and, eventually, sexual selection. In crabs, appendage autotomy can affect assortative mating and opportunity for sexual selection by affecting size advantage in mating contests. In this work, we evaluate the effect of size and appendage autotomy in generating assortative mating in the mud crab Cyrtograpsus angulatus. Field observations of guarding pairs in two different populations show a positive correlation between carapace width of males and females in both the populations. In one of the populations, incidence of appendage autotomy was low and the variability in the size of reproductive males was lower than the variability in the size of randomly collected males (i.e. only larger males were successful in getting a female), whereas there was no differences in the other population (i.e. most male sizes were successful) where the incidence of appendage autotomy was very high, indicating that the importance of size is higher when the incidence of autotomy is low. In this context, experiments (in both populations) show that, in contests for a female, larger males outcompete smaller ones only when they had intact appendages. When males had missing chelipeds, winning or loosing against smaller males was random. This may lead to a decrease in the importance of male size in populations with high incidence of cheliped autotomy, affecting assortative mating and opportunity for selection and, thus, affecting selective pressures.