Search results for "DFI"
showing 10 items of 128 documents
Exposure to mercury among 9-year-old Spanish children: Associated factors and trend throughout childhood
2019
Mercury is considered a neurotoxicant and human exposure occurs mainly from the consumption of marine species. We aimed to describe total mercury concentrations (THg) and associated factors in 9-year old children, as well as to explore the trend in THg from 4 to 9 years of age. The study population consisted of 9-year-old children participating in the INMA (Environment and Childhood) birth cohort study in Valencia, Spain (n = 405, 2013–2014). THg in hair samples was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry at the age of 4 and 9 years. Sociodemographic and dietary data was obtained through questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the association between THg and covari…
Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe: A Synthesis of National Perspectives
2021
Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by natio…
Tree species flammability based on plant traits: A synthesis.
2021
Abstract The occurrence of large and recurring forest fires has long been associated with fire-prone environments, but this perception has been shifted rapidly in recent decades as Earths' landscapes have become increasingly threatened by severe and unpredictable fires as a result of climate changes. In this regard, the flammability of trees is a topic of great interest for ecology, management, and the development of sustainable restoration and rehabilitation plans. Tree species differ in regard to flammability, and many plant functional traits contribute to flammability at species, community and vegetation level. The relationship between plant traits and flammability at species level is im…
Deadly impalement of a blue shark Prionace glauca by a swordfish Xiphias gladius
2017
In September, 2016, an adult female blue shark (Prionace glauca) 247 cm long stranded alive on the coast of Valencia (Spain, Western Mediterranean) but died shortly afterwards. The necropsy revealed ongoing pregnancy, with 65 embryos in early stage of development, and a healthy condition with no signs of starvation. Two fishing hooks surrounded by scarred tissue were detected in the mandible, indicating past interaction with fisheries. In addition, a fragment of the tip of a swordfish (Xiphias gladius) rostrum (length: 18 cm long, width: 0.5 cm (distal) and 3 cm (proximal)) was removed from the animal. The fragment had pierced the head producing an incision of 3.5 cm close to the left eye, …
Achievement of partial nitrification under different carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and ammonia loading rate for the co-treatment of landfill leachate with…
2019
Abstract Partial nitrification (PN) is a technically and economically effective solution for the treatment of wastewater featuring low C/N ratio, allowing to achieve approximately 25% energy saving and 40% carbon source for denitrification. This study investigated the effect of different carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) and ammonia loading rate (ALR) on PN performances in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating landfill leachate with municipal wastewater. The aim was to find an optimum range for C/N and ALR to maximize PN performances. Results demonstrated that a proper balancing between ALR and C/N is crucial to achieve high PN efficiency. The results highlighted the existence of an optimu…
Management strategy analysis for multispecies fisheries, including technical interactions and human behavior in modelling management decisions and fi…
2018
A multispecies fishery management strategy evaluation (MSE) framework based on the example of the groundfish fishery in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands region of Alaska was used to examine the interplay between a bycatch species and three groundfish species. The study introduces a framework for a realistic multispecies fishery MSE by accounting for fleet dynamics, multispecies fishery quota allocation, and the temporal dynamics of technical interactions. The quota allocation and the fleet dynamics models were implemented using linear programming, and regression approaches were used to make a realistic projection of future users’ behavioral response to changes in the fishery. The models…
Spatial reference points for groundfish
2016
Abstract According to density-dependent habitat selection theory, areas of high density can be indicative of high population productivity and have positive individual fitness consequences. Here, we explore six groundfish populations on the Scotian Shelf, Canada, where a decline in areas of high density beyond a certain threshold is associated with disproportionately large declines in Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB). This is evidenced by empirical, concave, positive relationships between high-density areas (HDAs) and SSB. We introduce a methodology to estimate the threshold below which SSB declines increasingly faster per unit of HDA decline. The spatial threshold among these six stocks was rem…
Assessment of landfill leachate biodegradability and treatability by means of allochthonous and autochthonous biomasses
2020
Abstract The biodegradability and treatability of a young (3 years old) municipal landfill leachate was evaluated by means of chemical oxygen demand (COD) fractionation tests, based on respirometric techniques. The tests were performed using two different biomasses: one cultivated from the raw leachate (autochthonous biomass) and the other collected from a conventional municipal wastewater treatment plant after its acclimation to leachate (allochthonous biomass). The long term performances of the two biomasses were also studied. The results demonstrated that the amount of biodegradable COD in the leachate was strictly dependent on the biomass that was used to perform the fractionation tests…
Fire benefits flower beetles in a Mediterranean ecosystem
2018
Despite the abundance of plants that benefit from fire in Mediterranean ecosystems, little is known about the possible presence of fire-favoured insects (other than bark beetles). For two years we sampled invertebrates after two large wildfires in eastern Spain and demonstrate that two flower beetle species, Protaetia morio and P. oblonga (Cetoniidae), show a pyrophilous behaviour. These beetles were much more numerous after the fires than in unburnt plots around the fire perimeter; in addition, these species tended to increase in number with the distance from the fire perimeter and with fire recurrence, especially P. morio. These results were maintained for the two postfire years sampled. …
Aggressive interactions between juvenile swordfishes and blue sharks in the Western Mediterranean: a widespread phenomenon?
2019
There are numerous reports of billfishes spearing objects, marine organisms, and even humans. Whether or not this behaviour is intentional and, if so, what is its functional meaning, are open questions. In 2016, an adult blue shark (Prionace glauca) was found to be killed by a juvenile swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the western Mediterranean. Here we report on three more recent cases involving both species in the same area. In February 2017, an adult male blue shark was found stranded in Garrucha (Spain) with a fragment of a juvenile swordfish’s rostrum (18cm long x 2cm wide at proximal end) inserted in its cranium. In March 2017, an adult pregnant female blue shark was stranded alive on th…