Assessing of Environmental Quality in Six Areas in India,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Environmental quality for environmental health has been examined visually by describing general conditions and drinking water supply, sanitation and solid waste treatment conditions and practices in six South-East Asian villages with a dense population. The environmental review was supplemented by discussions with local people and political and administrative decision makers. Some drinking water analyses were done in order to show the water quality to the local people. The quality of the general conditions and the conditions and practices of drinking water supply, excreta disposal and solid waste treatment practices have been graded with the grading system presented below. The grading could be done in 1 or 2 days in each area by two persons, of which one was an environmental scientist and the other a social scientist, who also knew the local culture and worked as a translator.     

Heterozygosity‐Fitness Correlations and Inbreeding Depression in Two Critically Endangered Mammals

The relation among inbreeding, heterozygosity, and fitness has been studied primarily among outbred populations, and little is known about these phenomena in endangered populations. Most researchers conclude that the relation between coefficient of inbreeding estimated from pedigrees and fitness traits (inbreeding‐fitness correlations) better reflects inbreeding depression than the relation between marker heterozygosity and fitness traits (heterozygosity‐fitness correlations). However, it has been suggested recently that heterozygosity‐fitness correlations should only be expected when inbreeding generates extensive identity disequilibrium (correlations in heterozygosity and homozygosity across loci throughout the genome). We tested this hypothesis in Mohor gazelle (Gazella dama mhorr) and Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). For Mohor gazelle, we calculated the inbreeding coefficient and measured heterozygosity at 17 microsatellite loci. For Iberian lynx, we measured heterozygosity at 36 microsatellite loci. In both species we estimated semen quality, a phenotypic trait directly related to fitness that is controlled by many loci and is affected by inbreeding depression. Both species showed evidence of extensive identity disequilibrium, and in both species heterozygosity was associated with semen quality. In the Iberian lynx the low proportion of normal sperm associated with low levels of heterozygosity was so extreme that it is likely to limit the fertility of males. In Mohor gazelle, although heterozygosity was associated with semen quality, inbreeding coefficient was not. This result suggests that when coefficient of inbreeding is calculated on the basis of a genealogy that begins after a long history of inbreeding, the coefficient of inbreeding fails to capture previous demographic information because it is a poor estimator of accumulated individual inbreeding. We conclude that among highly endangered species with extensive identity disequilibrium, examination of heterozygosity‐fitness correlations may be an effective way to detect inbreeding depression, whereas inbreeding‐fitness correlations may be poor indicators of inbreeding depression if the pedigree does not accurately reflect the history of inbreeding. Correlaciones Heterocigosidad‐ Adaptabilidad y Depresión Endogámica en Dos Especies de Mamíferos Críticamente en Peligro     

Innovations in the water chain – experiences in The Netherlands

Innovations in water chain are discussed based on experiences in the Netherlands. The available and new technological options, as well as their dissemination in the Netherlands, are presented for the prevailing system with add-on technologies (elongation), and for the emerging separation system with technologies at the source. Numerous new options are available for both systems but these options are rarely used. The low use is explained using economic theories and with practical examples from the Netherlands. In order to foster innovations, the mainstream, evolutionary, and behavioral theories pinpoint respectively the pricing of common goods, broad support of concerted action, and support for innovators’ entry. These actions may all be needed. Experiences with a stakeholder cluster in water management suggest that markets for high value water use invoke innovations and low-cost technology adaptations. The systematic development of services that foster high value water-based activities is recommended.     

Hyperactivity and tree-top disease induced by the baculovirus AcMNPV in Spodoptera exigua larvae are governed by independent mechanisms

Although many parasites are known to manipulate the behavior of their hosts, the mechanisms underlying such manipulations are largely unknown. Baculoviruses manipulate the behavior of caterpillar hosts by inducing hyperactivity and by inducing climbing behavior leading to death at elevated positions (tree-top disease or Wipfelkrankheit). Whether hyperactivity and tree-top disease are independent manipulative strategies of the virus is unclear. Recently, we demonstrated the involvement of the protein tyrosine phosphatase (ptp) gene of the baculovirus Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) in the induction of hyperactivity in Spodoptera exigua larvae. Here we show that AcMNPV ptp is not required for tree-top disease, indicating that in S. exigua baculovirus-induced hyperactivity and tree-top disease are independently induced behaviors that are governed by distinct mechanisms.