Female mate choice in the zebra finch — the effect of male beak colour and male song

Studies of female mate preference in zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata) have shown that male beak colour and song rate are important. However, the two characters are correlated. Here the effect of beak colour and song rate on female choice are examined independently. In mate choice tests involving two males, beak colour was manipulated artificially using nail varnish. The results showed that females showed a significant preference for males with a high song rate, but not with a red beak. Females did not prefer males with a red beak if song rate was low and females preferred males with orange beaks who expressed a high song rate. Female preference for males with red beaks was not found when beak and song characters were no longer correlated.     

Metal transport in a stream polluted by acid mine drainage--The Afon Goch, Anglesey, UK

Sampling of the Afon Goch over a 14-month period revealed maximum dissolved Fe, Al, Mn, Cu and Zn concentrations of 259, 167, 49, 60 and 42 mg dm(-3), respectively, and pH as low as 2.3, making it one of the most metal- and acid-contaminated streams in the UK. The river produces particulates by precipitation of ferrihydrite, due to the entry of near-neutral tributary waters, under all discharge conditions. Consequently, metal transport in this stream is dominated by processes different from those in less contaminated streams. The stream acts as a sink for contaminants, except under high discharge, when accumulated metals are flushed from the system. The implications of these observations for the monitoring and management of streams polluted by acid mine drainage are discussed.     

Optimal loading rates and economic analyses for anaerobic digestion of poultry waste

Four combinations of litter and carcasses from broiler chickens were examined utilizing a thermophilic, stirred-tank digester of demonstration size of approximately 10,000 gal. Under computed optimal loading rates, litter with paper bedding had the highest daily production of methane over an 8-day retention period. The greatest methane production per lb of volatile solids was achieved over 10 days with litter and paper bedding combined with carcasses. This research found that sufficient poultry litter is generated within 20 mi (32 km) of Moorefield, WV, to support a commercial-sized digester operation. However, anaerobic digestion of poultry waste cannot be financially supported by methane production alone. To be financially viable, anaerobic digestion requires a disposal fee for poultry waste and/or the sale of the digested solid effluent as an organic fertilizer to retail markets.     

Evaluation of pesticides and metals in fish of the Dniester River, Moldova

The Dniester River is one of the largest rivers in Eastern Europe and receives input from numerous anthropogenic activities. In October 2001, fish samples (Abramis brama, Rutilus rutilus heckeli, Perca fluviatilis, Chondrostoma nasus, Carassius auratus gibelio, and Cyprinus carpio) were collected and analyzed for metals and various pesticides. Maximum total DDT pesticide concentrations were between 27.7 and 34.2 ng/g wet weight in muscles and gonads, respectively. DDE isomers comprised up to 70% of total DDT measurement in fish tissues, indicating historical rather than recent DDT pollution. Chlordane and lindane were also detected in amounts up to 37 and 76 ng/g wet weight in gonads, respectively. Among organophosphorous pesticides, malathion showed extremely high concentrations--3 microg/g wet weight in muscles and 46 microg/g wet weight in gonads, indicating recent exposure. Copper concentrations in muscles (1.8-7.2 microg/g) exceeded Threshold Effect Concentrations for copper in fish. Detection of high concentrations of malathion and copper in fish tissues indicated potential anthropogenic stress for more sensitive aquatic biota, likely from agricultural sources in the Dniester River.     

Remediation of BTEX and trichloroethene

The widespread use of industrial chemicals in our highly industrialized society has often caused contamination of large terrestrial and marine areas due to the deliberate and accidental release of organic pollutants into the soil and groundwater. In this review, environmental problems arising from the use of chlorinated solvents and BTEX compounds are described, and an overview about active management strategies for remediation with special emphasis on phytoremediation are presented to achieve a reduction of the total mass of chlorinated solvents and BTEX compounds in contaminated areas. Phytoremediation has been proposed as an efficient, low-cost remediation technique to restore areas contaminated with chlorinated solvents and BTEX compounds. The feasibility of phytoremediation as a remediation tool for these compounds is discussed with particular reference to the uptake and metabolism of these compounds, and a future perspective on the use of phytoremediation for the removal of chlorinated solvents and BTEX compounds is given.     

The contribution from shipping emissions to air quality and acid deposition in Europe

A global three-dimensional Lagrangian chemistry-transport model STOCHEM is used to describe the European regional acid deposition and ozone air quality impacts along the Atlantic Ocean seaboard of Europe, from the SO2, NOx, VOCs and CO emissions from international shipping under conditions appropriate to the year 2000. Model-derived total sulfur deposition from international shipping reaches over 200 mg S m(-2) yr(-1) over the southwestern approaches to the British Isles and Brittany. The contribution from international shipping to surface ozone concentrations during the summertime, peaks at about 6 ppb over Ireland, Brittany and Portugal. Shipping emissions act as an external influence on acid deposition and ozone air quality within Europe and may require control actions in the future if strict deposition and air quality targets are to be met.     

Paying for information: partial loads in central place foragers

Information about food sources can be crucial to the success of a foraging animal. We predict that this will influence foraging decisions by group-living foragers, which may sacrifice short-term foraging efficiency to collect information more frequently. This result emerges from a model of a central-place forager that can potentially receive information on newly available superior food sources at the central place. Such foragers are expected to return early from food sources, even with just partial loads, if information about the presence of sufficiently valuable food sources is likely to become available. Returning with an incomplete load implies that the forager is at that point not achieving the maximum possible food delivery rate. However, such partial loading can be more than compensated for by an earlier exploitation of a superior food source. Our model does not assume cooperative foraging and could thus be used to investigate this effect for any social central-place forager. We illustrate the approach using numerical calculations for honeybees and leafcutter ants, which do forage cooperatively. For these examples, however, our results indicate that reducing load confers minimal benefits in terms of receiving information. Moreover, the hypothesis that foragers reduce load to give information more quickly (rather than to receive it) fits empirical data from social insects better. Thus, we can conclude that in these two cases of social-insect foraging, efficient distribution of information by successful foragers may be more important than efficient collection of information by unsuccessful ones.     

Slow eyelid closure as a measure of driver drowsiness and its relationship to performance

Objective: Slow eyelid closure is recognized as an indicator of sleepiness in sleep-deprived individuals, although automated ocular devices are not well validated. This study aimed to determine whether changes in eyelid closure are evident following acute sleep deprivation as assessed by an automated device and how ocular parameters relate to performance after sleep deprivation.

Methods: Twelve healthy professional drivers (45.58 ± 10.93 years) completed 2 randomized sessions: After a normal night of sleep and after 24 h of total sleep deprivation. Slow eye closure (PERCLOS) was measured while drivers performed a simulated driving task.

Results: Following sleep deprivation, drivers displayed significantly more eyelid closure (P < .05), greater variation in lane position (P < .01) and more attentional lapses (P < .05) compared to after normal sleep. PERCLOS was moderately associated with variability in both vigilance performance (r = 0.68, P < .05) and variation in lane position on the driving task (r = 0.61, P < .05).

Conclusions: Automated ocular measurement appears to be an effective means of detecting impairment due to sleep loss in the laboratory.     

Challenges in providing residual risks in carrier testing

The probability an individual is a carrier for a recessive disorder despite a negative carrier test, referred to as residual risk, has been part of carrier screening for over 2 decades. Residual risks are calculated by subtracting the frequency of carriers of pathogenic variants detected by the test from the carrier frequency in a population, estimated from the incidence of the disease. Estimates of the incidence (and therefore carrier frequency) of many recessive disorders differ among different population groups and are inaccurate or unavailable for many genes on large carrier screening panels for most of the world's populations. The pathogenic variants detected by the test and their frequencies also vary across groups and over time as variants are newly discovered or reclassified, which requires today's residual carrier risks to be continually updated. Even when a residual carrier risk is derived using accurate data obtained in a particular group, it may not apply to many individuals in that group because of misattributed ancestry or unsuspected admixture. Missing or inaccurate data, the challenge of determining meaningful ancestry-specific risks and applying them appropriately, and a lack of evidence they impact management, suggest that patients be counseled that although carrier screening may miss a small fraction of carriers, residual risks with contemporary carrier screening are well below the risk posed by invasive prenatal diagnosis, even if one member of the couple is a carrier, and that efforts to provide precise residual carrier risks are unnecessary.     

Using decision science to evaluate global biodiversity indices

Global biodiversity indices are used to measure environmental change and progress toward conservation goals, yet few indices have been evaluated comprehensively for their capacity to detect trends of interest, such as declines in threatened species or ecosystem function. Using a structured approach based on decision science, we qualitatively evaluated 9 indices commonly used to track biodiversity at global and regional scales against 5 criteria relating to objectives, design, behavior, incorporation of uncertainty, and constraints (e.g., costs and data availability). Evaluation was based on reference literature for indices available at the time of assessment. We identified 4 key gaps in indices assessed: pathways to achieving goals (means objectives) were not always clear or relevant to desired outcomes (fundamental objectives); index testing and understanding of expected behavior was often lacking; uncertainty was seldom acknowledged or accounted for; and costs of implementation were seldom considered. These gaps may render indices inadequate in certain decision-making contexts and are problematic for indices linked with biodiversity targets and sustainability goals. Ensuring that index objectives are clear and their design is underpinned by a model of relevant processes are crucial in addressing the gaps identified by our assessment. Uptake and productive use of indices will be improved if index performance is tested rigorously and assumptions and uncertainties are clearly communicated to end users. This will increase index accuracy and value in tracking biodiversity change and supporting national and global policy decisions, such as the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity.