Environmental and genetic influences on mating strategies along a replicated food availability gradient in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

Food availability is expected to influence the relative cost of different mating tactics, but little attention has been paid to this potential source of adaptive geographic variation in behavior. Associations between the frequency of different mating tactics and resource availability could arise because tactic use responds directly to food intake (phenotypic plasticity), because populations exposed to different average levels of food availability have diverged genetically in tactic use, or both. Different populations of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in Trinidad experience different average levels of food availability. We combined field observations with laboratory “common garden” and diet experiments to examine how this environmental gradient has influenced the evolution of male mating tactics. Three independent components of variation in male behavior were found in the field: courtship versus foraging, dominance interactions, and interference competition versus searching for mates. Compared with low-food-availability sites, males at high-food-availability sites devoted more effort to interference competition. This difference disappeared in the common garden experiment, which suggests that it was caused by phenotypic plasticity and not genetic divergence. In the diet experiment, interference competition was more frequent and intense among males raised on the greater of two food levels, but this was only true for fish descended from sites with low food availability. Thus, the association between interference competition and food availability in the field can be attributed to a genetically variable norm of reaction. Genetically variable norms of reaction with respect to food intake were found for the other two behavioral components as well and are discussed in relation to the patterns observed in the field. Our results indicate that food availability gradients are an important, albeit complex, source of geographic variation in male mating strategies.     

Propagation of olfactory information within the honeybee hive

Transfer of information about food source characteristics within insect societies is essential to colony-foraging success. The food odor communicated within honeybee hives has been shown to be important for food source exploitation. When successful foragers return to the nest and transfer the collected nectar to hive mates through mouth-to-mouth contacts (trophallaxis), potential recruits receiving these samples learn the food odor by associative learning. The food then becomes rapidly distributed among colony members, which is mainly a consequence of the numerous trophallaxes between hive-mates of all ages during food processing. We tested whether the distribution of food among hive mates causes a propagation of olfactory information within the hive. Using the proboscis extension response paradigm, we show that large proportions of bees of the age groups representing the main worker castes, 4 to 9-day-old bees (nurse-aged bees), 12 to 16-day-old bees (food processor-aged bees), and actual foragers (about 17+ day old bees) associatively learn the food odor in the course of processing food that has been collected by only a few foragers. Results further suggest that the information is shared more or less equally between bees of the three age groups. This shows that olfactory information about the flower species exploited by foragers is distributed within the entire colony and is acquired by bees of all age groups, which may influence many behaviors inside and outside the hive.     

Industry Response to the Challenge of Sustainability: The Case of the Canadian Nonferrous Mining Sector

/ The paper investigates how the Canadian nonferrous sector is tackling the challenge of sustainable development. Although there is no consensus as to what sustainable development means in practice for management in the sector, at least three dimensions must be taken into account: (1) metals are recyclable, the availability of this resource is not a concern for the foreseeable future; (2) the need to minimize environmental impacts of metals exploration, extraction, transformation, consumption, and recycling; and (3) production activities should not be socially or culturally disruptive. The nonferrous mining industry faces several environmental problems. Some of the most significant are acid mine drainage, sulfur emissions, recycling, and metals toxicity. The industry has developed a number of responses to address these specific concerns as well as other more general challenges. Six strategies are described and analyzed: (1) research and development, (2) an effort of consensus building among stakeholders known as the Whitehorse Mining Initiative, (3) international networking, (4) active involvement in the development of environmental management standards, (5) management reorganization and (6) voluntary agreements. The importance of external factors in the shaping of corporate environmental management practices is discussed, in particular the role of government. Progress has been achieved in three areas: (1) managerial practices and organization, (2) reducing the impacts of ongoing operations and (3) minimizing future liabilities, but two significant fields of conflict remain, namely mining in wilderness areas and projects on aboriginal lands.KEY WORDS: Canada; Environmental management; Minerals industry; Nonferrous metals; Sustainable development; Whitehorse Mining Initiative     

Fluid flow and solute transport in a network of channels

A new model to describe flow and transort in fractured rocks is proposed. It is based on the concept of a network of channels. The individual channel members are given stochastically selected conductances and volumes. Flow-rate calculations have been performed. For large standard deviations in conductances, channeling becomes pronounced with most of the water flowing in a few paths. The effluent patterns and flow-rate distributions obtained in the simulations have been compared to three field measurements in drifts and tunnels of flow-rate distributions. Standard deviations of channel conductances were between 1.6 and 2.4 in some cases. A particle-following technique was used to simulate solute transport in the network. Non-sorbing as well as sorbing solute transport can be simulated. By using a special technique, solutes that diffuse into the rock matrix can also be simulated.     

Evaluation of relative photonic efficiency in heterogeneous photocatalytic reactors

The evaluation of photonic efficiency in heterogeneous photocatalysis remains elusive because the number of absorbed photons is difficult to assess experimentally. The photonic efficiency of heterogeneous photocatalytic reactors depends on the reactor geometry, irradiation source, and photocatalyst properties. In this work, the relative photonic efficiency of heterogeneous photocatalytic reactors to degrade an azo dye was evaluated using phenol as the standard system. The experimental tests were carried out in a batch reactor under different conditions of pH, catalyst dosage, initial concentration, and ultraviolet (UV) lamps. The kinetics of disappearance of both phenol and azo dye were studied using the initial rate method and were described according to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetic model. It was observed that the relative photonic efficiency depends on the adsorption/desorption properties of the photocatalyst.     

A method to estimate emission rates from industrial stacks based on neural networks

This paper presents a technique based on artificial neural networks (ANN) to estimate pollutant rates of emission from industrial stacks, on the basis of pollutant concentrations measured on the ground. The ANN is trained on data generated by the ISCST3 model, widely accepted for evaluation of dispersion of primary pollutants as a part of an environmental impact study. Simulations using theoretical values and comparison with field data are done, obtaining good results in both cases at predicting emission rates. The application of this technique would allow the local environment authority to control emissions from industrial plants without need of performing direct measurements inside the plant.     

Bioavailability and biodegradation of prosulfocarb in soil

Active microbial degraders of the herbicide prosulfocarb (PSC) were isolated to evaluate their performance in soil with a view to their use for bioremediation. The isolated cultures (a microbial consortium and a Pseudomonas sp. strain) were active when tested in mineral medium with PSC as the only carbon source, but had an adverse effect on the soil indigenous microflora. Biodegradation in the inoculated soils was thus lower than in the uninoculated soil when only the indigenous microflora was present. Further tests showed that the strong affinity of PSC for soil organic matter affected its bioavailability and hence its biodegradation by the inocula. Bioremediation of PSC contaminated soils could thus be undertaken by biostimulation of indigenous microflora.     

Detection,Quantification, and Microbial Risk Assessment of Group A Rotavirus in Rivers from Uruguay

Food and Environmental Virology - The aim of this study was to detect, quantify, and assess the risk of infection and illness for Group A Rotavirus (RVA) in the watersheds of the Santa Lucia and...     

Representativity and univocity of traffic signs and their effect on trajectory movement in a driving simulation task: Warning signs

Objective: The effect of traffic signs on the behavior of drivers is not completely understood. Knowing about how humans process the meaning of signs (not just by learning but instinctively) will improve reaction time and decision making when traveling. The economic, social, and psychological consequences of car accidents are well known.

Methods: This study sounds out which traffic signs are more ergonomic for participants, from a cognitive point of view, and determines, at the same time, their effect in participants' movement trajectories in a driving simulation task.

Results: Results point out that the signs least representative of their meaning produce a greater deviation from the center of the road than the most representative ones.

Conclusions: This study encourages both an in-depth analysis of the effect on movement of roadside signs and the study of how this effect can be modified by the context in which these signs are presented (with the aim to move the research closer to and analyze the data in real contexts). The goal is to achieve clarity of meaning and lack of counterproductive effects on the trajectory of representative signs (those that provoke fewer mistakes in the decision task).