Megafaunal-habitat associations at a deep-sea coral mound off North Carolina,USA

Deep-sea corals provide important habitat for many organisms; however, the extent to which fishes and other invertebrates are affiliated with corals or other physical variables is uncertain. The Cape Fear coral mound off North Carolina, USA (366–463 m depth, 33° 34.4′N, 76° 27.8′W) was surveyed using multibeam sonar and the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible. Multibeam bathymetric data (2006) were coupled with in situ video data (2002–2005) to define habitat associations of 14 dominant megafauna at two spatial scales. Results suggested greater habitat specificity of deep-reef fauna than previously documented, with fishes showing greater affinity for certain habitat characteristics than most invertebrates. High vertical profile, degree of coral coverage, and topographic complexity influenced distributions of several species, including Beryx decadactylus, Conger oceanicus, and Novodinia antillensis on the smaller scale (30 × 30 m). On the broad scale (170 × 170 m), several suspension feeders (e.g., N. antillensis, anemones), detritivores (Echinus spp.), and mesopelagic feeders (e.g., Beryx decadactylus, Eumunida picta) were most often found on the south-southwest facing slope near the top of the mound. Transient reef species, including Laemonema barbatulum and Helicolenus dactylopterus, had limited affiliations to topographic complexity and were most often on the mound slope and base. Megafauna at deep-water reefs behave much like shallow-water reef fauna, with some species strongly associated with certain fine-scale habitat attributes, whereas other species are habitat generalists. Documenting the degree of habitat specialization is important for understanding habitat functionality, predicting faunal distributions, and assessing the impacts of disturbance on deep-reef megafauna.     

Pyrite-driven reactive oxygen species formation in simulated lung fluid: implications for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis

The origin of coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) has been long debated. A recent epidemiological study shows a correlation between what is essentially the concentration of pyrite within coal and the prevalence of CWP in miners. Hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical, both reactive oxygen species (ROS), form as byproducts of pyrite oxidative dissolution in air-saturated water. Motivated by the possible importance of ROS in the pathogenesis of CWP, we conducted an experimental study to evaluate if ROS form as byproducts in the oxidative dissolution of pyrite in simulated lung fluid (SLF) under biologically applicable conditions and to determine the persistence of pyrite in SLF. While the rate of pyrite oxidative dissolution in SLF is suppressed by 51% when compared to that in air-saturated water, the initial amount of hydrogen peroxide formed as a byproduct in SLF is nearly doubled. Hydroxyl radical is also formed in the experiments with SLF, but at lower concentrations than in the experiments with water. The formation of these ROS indicates that the reaction mechanism for pyrite oxidative dissolution in SLF is no different from that in water. The elevated hydrogen peroxide concentration in SLF suggests that the decomposition, via the Fenton mechanism to hydroxyl radical or with Fe(III) to form water and molecular oxygen, is initially inhibited by the presence of SLF components. On the basis of the oxidative dissolution rate of pyrite measured in this paper, it is calculated that a respirable two micron pyrite particle will take over 3?years to dissolve completely.     

Conflict resilience among community forestry user groups: experiences in Nepal

This paper explores the impact of violent conflict in Nepal on the functioning of community forestry user groups (CFUGs), particularly those supported by the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme, funded by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID). The key questions are: (i) what explains the resilience of CFUGs operating at the time of conflict?; (ii) what institutional arrangements and strategies allowed them to continue working under conflict conditions?; and (iii) what lessons can be drawn for donor‐supported development around the world? The study contributes to other research on the everyday experiences of residents of Nepal living in a period of conflict. It suggests that CFUG resilience was the result of the institutional set up of community forestry and the employment of various tactics by the CFUGs. While the institutional design of community forestry (structure) was very important for resilience, it was the ability of the CFUGs to support and use it effectively that was the determining factor in this regard.     

Sexual segregation in timing of foraging by imperial shags (Phalacrocorax atriceps): is it always ladies first?

The time seabirds have to forage is restricted while breeding, as time at sea must be balanced against the need to take turns with the partner protecting the nest site or offspring, and timing constraints change once the breeding season is over. Combined geolocator-immersion devices were deployed on eleven Imperial Shags (four males and seven females) in Argentina (43°04′S; 64°2′W) in November 2006 and recovered in November 2007. During the breeding season, females foraged throughout the morning, males exclusively in the afternoon, and variability between individuals was low. Outside the breeding season, both sexes foraged throughout the day, and variability between individuals was high. Timing differences may be explained by higher constraints on foraging or greater demands of parental duties experienced by the smaller sex, females in this case. Sexual differences in reproductive role, feeding habits or proficiency can also lead to segregation in timing of foraging, particularly while breeding.     

Sampling and analysis by GC/MS of the chitin synthesis inhibitors lufenuron and teflubenzuron in soil and soil invertebrates

A method for the measurement of benzoylphenyl ureas in soil, carabid beetles and earthworms was developed. These insecticides were transformed into their corresponding aniline derivatives in a hydrolytic step and subsequently measured by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.     

Parent-absent signalling of need and its consequences for sibling competition in the barn swallow

In species with parental care, competition among siblings for access to limited parental resources is common. Sibling competition can be mediated by begging behaviour, a suite of different visual and acoustic displays by which offspring solicit parental care. These are mostly addressed to the parents upon food provisioning, but can also be performed in the absence of the attending parents. This so-called parent-absent begging (PAB) may function as an intrabrood communication signal and potentially affect intrabrood competition dynamics for access to food. We investigated the role of PAB in moulding sibling interactions and its effect on food intake among altricial barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) nestlings, both under normal and experimentally reduced food intake. Frequency of PAB increased after food deprivation. Nestlings that had performed PAB increased their begging intensity upon the subsequent parental feeding visit, while siblings reduced their own begging level, but only when they had not been food-deprived. As a consequence, nestlings which had performed PAB before parental arrival had larger chances of receiving food. However, nestlings did not benefit from displaying PAB when competing with food-deprived siblings. Our findings show that PAB reliably reflects need of food, indicating that a nestling will vigorously compete for the subsequent food item. By eavesdropping siblings' PAB displays, nestlings may optimally balance the costs of scrambling competition, the direct fitness gains of being fed and the indirect fitness costs of subtracting food to needy kin. However, large asymmetries in satiation between competitors may lead individual offspring to monopolize parental resources, irrespective of PAB displays.     

Increased primary production shifts the structure and composition of a terrestrial arthropod community

Numerous studies have examined relationships between primary production and biodiversity at higher trophic levels. However, altered production in plant communities is often tightly linked with concomitant shifts in diversity and composition, and most studies have not disentangled the direct effects of production on consumers. Furthermore, when studies do examine the effects of plant production on animals in terrestrial systems, they are primarily confined to a subset of taxonomic or functional groups instead of investigating the responses of the entire community. Using natural monocultures of the salt marsh cordgrass Spartina alterniflora, we were able to examine the impacts of increased plant production, independent of changes in plant composition and/or diversity, on the trophic structure, composition, and diversity of the entire arthropod community. If arthropod species richness increased with greater plant production, we predicted that it would be driven by: (1) an increase in the number of rare species, and/or (2) an increase in arthropod abundance. Our results largely supported our predictions: species richness of herbivores, detritivores, predators, and parasitoids increased monotonically with increasing levels of plant production, and the diversity of rare species also increased with plant production. However, rare species that accounted for this difference were predators, parasitoids, and detritivores, not herbivores. Herbivore species richness could be simply explained by the relationship between abundance and diversity. Using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), we also found significant changes in arthropod species composition with increasing levels of production. Our findings have important implications in the intertidal salt marsh, where human activities have increased nitrogen runoff into the marsh, and demonstrate that such nitrogen inputs cascade to affect community structure, diversity, and abundance in higher trophic levels.     

Assessment of the Whole Environmental Degradation of Oxo-Biodegradable Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) Films Designed for Mulching Applications

The current paper is aimed at understanding the environmental fate of linear low density polyethylenes (LLDPE) films designed for mulching purposes and loaded with different pro-degradant additives. These were analyzed, upon exposure to natural sunlight for a period intended to mimick a general crop season in the mediterranean region. The selected samples underwent a relatively low extent of degradation as monitored by carbonyl index, molecular weight variation, extractability by solvent, changes in the onset of the decomposition temperature and crystallinity. The tendency to biodegradation of outdoor exposed LLDPE was then assessed under different environmental compartments including soil medium, aqueous medium as well as in axenic culture of white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. That fungus is known to be effective in the degradation of recalcitrant organic materials and plastic items. During the soil burial biodegradation test, lasted for 27?months, samples specimen were withdrawn at time intervals and characterized by means of structural and thermal analysis. These analytical assessments allowed to monitor any progress of oxidative degradation as a direct effect of the incubation in an active microbial environment. Analogous characterizations were carried out at the end of the biodegradation tests in aqueous medium and in P. chrysosporium axenic cultures. Data presented here are in keeping with the initial abiotic oxidation via a free radical chain reaction promoted by a pro-degradant additive acting on hydroperoxides and peroxide moieties present initially in the polymer bulk. This step was followed by a free radical cascade reactions leading to degradation once the oxidation started under relatively mild conditions (sunlight exposure). During the incubation step in soil, the abiotically degraded samples underwent significant variation in the level of oxidation and degradation with respect to the detected starting values. Indications were gained on the synergistic effect of a random fashion microbial metabolization coupled to biotically mediated oxidation of the original abiotically fragmented samples. Similar results were obtained in the biodegradation tests carried out in the aqueous media and in presence of P. chrysosporium axenic cultures. These evidences are suggesting the role of natural occurring microorganisms in promoting both partial oxiditation and degradation of LLDPE samples in combination with contextual mineralization process of the oxidized fragments.     

Drawing the baseline of trace element levels in the vulnerable Mediterranean osprey Pandion haliaetus: variations by breeding location,habitats, and egg components

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Due to its peculiarity to accumulate environmental contaminants, the osprey Pandion haliaetus is a sentinel species for the biomonitoring of...