Understanding the spatial distribution patterns of microplastics (plastics?<?5 mm) contributes to the assessment of sources and sinks of pollution thus providing information for the management of biota safety and overall ecosystem functionality. We chose a semi-closed study area, Lake Bracciano (Italy), to assess the environmental variability of contamination, focusing on the water compartment and the exposure of biota, specifically fish, by analysing the ingestion of microplastics. The focus of this study is to evaluate the concentration of microplastics in water (surface and column) across the lake and the ingestion of microplastics by two fish species of economic interest: Atherina boyeri and Coregonus lavaretus, inhabiting demersal and pelagic habitats respectively. Results show a surface contamination of 392,000?±?417,000 items km?2 and a column one of 0.76?±?1.00 items m?3. Fragments were the most abundant in surface while fibres in the column. Microplastics were found in C. lavaretus specimens, corresponding to contamination frequency of 5% and concentration of 0.15 items/fish. The main polymer found in water was polyethylene (81%); of minor percentages, there were various other polymers, including polystyrene and acrylic, which were also found in fish. As scientific literature provides few research where water and fish are simultaneously sampled, this investigation wants to contribute filling this knowledge gap by investigating for the first time a volcanic lake.
Heterogeneous photocatalysis is highlighted to treat volatile organic compound (VOC) emission. Then, this work analysed the influence of palladium (Pd) content loaded in TiO2 on n-octane and iso-octane photodegradation. For this, TiO2 was loaded with Pd in different contents: 0.4%, 0.7%, and 1.0%. The samples were characterized, and the photodegradation experiments were conducted by Pd/TiO2/UV process. The characterization analyses showed that the metal presence did not change the catalyst structure or its surface area; however, it reduced the bandgap energy. The photocatalytic results proved that palladium improved n-octane degradation from 62% (pure TiO2) to 92.6% (0.4%Pd/TiO2) and, iso-octane degradation enhanced from 59% (pure TiO2) to 90.6% (0.7%Pd/TiO2); all results were obtained in the space time of 39 s. Therefore, 0.4%Pd/TiO2 and 0.7%Pd/TiO2 showed better oxidation results to degradation n-octane and iso-octane, respectively. The kinetic model of pseudo-first order showed a good fit for the data of both VOCs. Heterogeneous photocatalysis with Pd/TiO2 showed to be an adequate technique to reduce VOCs emission.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by the modified Hummers method. The nanomaterial was characterized by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy,... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Exposure to air pollution during physical exercise is a health issue because fine particulate matter (dimension < 10 μm; PM10) includes... 相似文献
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. 相似文献
In many species, the ability to evade predators is known to be periodically impaired by increased weight loads due to feeding
and reproduction. Not only may extra weight reduce escape speed, but feeding and mating can also make the prey more noticeable
to visually hunting predators. A number of butterfly species mate for hours, and if a mating couple is disturbed, one of the
butterflies is responsible for flying, whereas its partner remains still. This study investigated the ability of male Pieris napi butterflies to fly while mating, with the prediction that mate carrying impairs flight ability compared to single flying
males and that males with relatively high flight muscle ratios (FMR; male thorax mass/male + female body mass) will have better
flight performance in copula. Our results clearly show that whereas single males always take off at steep angles and fly upwards,
couples invariably have a negative take-off angle and rarely gain height. Moreover, landing height of the couples is positively
associated with higher FMR. Hence, male flight ability when in copula is positively associated with a high relative thorax
mass. Butterfly pairs may thus be at greater risk of predation as a consequence of their impaired flight ability, especially
couples with critically low FMRs (<16%). 相似文献
The main objective of this paper is to implement a coupled three-dimensional physical and ecological model for the Aveiro coast, and to apply it to study the temperature and the phytoplankton biomass spatial distributions along the coastal ecosystem. The Aveiro coast is located at Portugal within the upwelling system of the Atlantic Iberian coast, characterized by nutrients availability and phytoplankton biomass accumulation, from April to October. In order to implement the ecological model, its validation was assessed by comparing simulations to data relative to the horizontal and vertical distributions of the temperature, nutrients and phytoplankton biomass, obtained during the CICLOS I survey off the Portuguese coast [Moita, M.T., 2001. Estrutura, Variabilidade e Dinâmica do Fitoplâncton na Costa de Portugal Continental. PhD Thesis. Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 272 pp.]. A sensitivity analysis of the model has been performed in order to assess the influence of the main ecological model variables. The simulation results show that the model is capable of predicting realistic the temperature, the nutrients and the chlorophyll-a distributions for the study area. The scenarios evidence the setup of a thermal stratification pattern resulting from the upwelling of deep and rich in nutrients water to the surface layer and a chlorophyll-a maxima extending offshore, along the picnocline and the nutricline. The results confirm the crucial role played by the physical processes in the phytoplankton bloom along the Aveiro coast. They also evidence the close link between the surface phytoplankton distribution and the surface temperature distribution. 相似文献
Some authors have proposed that homing pigeons are able to correct the error in orientation following a phase-shift treatment
by using the magnetic compass reference. They reported that clock-shifted pigeons bearing magnets display a greater deflection
compared to magnetically unmanipulated clock-shifted birds. However, this hypothesis tested by recording pigeons’ vanishing
bearings has led to contradictory results. The present study reports pigeons’ tracks recorded with a GPS and shows that clock-shifted
pigeons bearing magnets displayed a greater deviation through the whole route compared to the magnetically unmanipulated shifted
pigeons. Moreover, the analysis of the tracks shows that the birds belonging to both experimental groups stop in coincidence
with their subjective night. When re-starting their journey, the birds corrected the clock-shift induced error in orientation,
but the magnetically manipulated pigeons were less efficient in doing so. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that
homing pigeons released from unfamiliar location re-orient after clock shift by using the magnetic compass. 相似文献
Accurate prediction of the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship requires adequate understanding of the interactions
among species in a community. Effects of species diversity on ecosystem functioning are usually considered more pronounced
with increasing functional dissimilarity, although species within functional groups may also perform non-identical functions
and interact with each other. Here we present results of a laboratory experimental study aimed at elucidating whether interspecific
interactions among species within a single nematode trophic group, bacterivores, (1) affect population development and community
structure, and (2) depend on food availability. We studied the population growth of Rhabditis (Pellioditis) marina, a rhabditid nematode known to favour very high food densities when in monoculture, and of Diplolaimelloides meyli and D. oschei, congeneric Monhysteridae known to perform better in monocultures at intermediate food availability. Both Diplolaimelloides species showed significantly different patterns of food-density dependence in combination culture compared to monoculture.
At very high food availability, the rhabditid nematode facilitated growth of both monhysterid species, probably as a result
of down-regulation of bacterial density. At the lowest food availabilities, the presence of even low numbers of monhysterid
nematodes lead to exclusion of the rhabditid, which at such low food availability has a very inefficient food uptake. At intermediate
food availabilities, abundances of both Diplolaimelloides species were strongly depressed in the combination culture, as a result of food depletion by the rhabditid, indirect inhibitory
interactions between the two congeneric species, or both. The complexity of the species interactions render predictions on
the outcome and functional consequences of changes in within-trophic-group diversity highly problematic. 相似文献
We present a new methodology for database-driven ecosystem model generation and apply the methodology to the world's 66 currently defined Large Marine Ecosystems. The method relies on a large number of spatial and temporal databases, including FishBase, SeaLifeBase, as well as several other databases developed notably as part of the Sea Around Us project. The models are formulated using the freely available Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) modeling approach and software. We tune the models by fitting to available time series data, but recognize that the models represent only a first-generation of database-driven ecosystem models. We use the models to obtain a first estimate of fish biomass in the world's LMEs. The biggest hurdles at present to further model development and validation are insufficient time series trend information, and data on spatial fishing effort. 相似文献