Distribution and seasonal variability in the benthic eukaryotic community of Río Tinto (SW, Spain), an acidic, high metal extreme environment

The eukaryotic community of the Río Tinto (SW, Spain) was surveyed in fall, winter and spring through the combined use of traditional microscopy and molecular approaches, including Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequence analysis of 18S rRNA gene fragments. Eukaryotic assemblages of surface sediment biofilms collected in January, May and September 2002 were compared from 13 sampling stations along the river. Physicochemical data revealed extremely acidic conditions (the pH ranged from 0.9 to 2.5) with high concentrations of heavy metals, including up to 20 mg l(-1) Fe, 317 mg l(-1) Zn, 47 mg l(-1) As, 42 mg l(-1) Cd and 4 mg l(-1) Ni. In total, 20 taxa were identified, including members of the Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta and Euglenophyta phyla as well as ciliates, cercomonads, amoebae, stramenopiles, fungi, heliozoans and rotifers. In general, total cell abundances were highest in fall and spring but decreased drastically in winter, and the sampling stations with the most extreme conditions showed the lowest number of cells, as well as the lowest diversity. Species diversity did not vary much during the year. Only the filamentous algae showed a dramatic seasonal change, since they almost disappeared in winter and reached the highest biomass during the summer. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) showed a high inverse correlation between pH and most of the heavy metals analyzed, as well as Dunaliella sp., while Chlamydomonas sp. was directly related to pH during May and September. Three heavy metals (Zn, Cu and Ni) remained separate from the rest and showed an inverse correlation with most of the species analyzed, except for Dunaliella sp.     

Gaseous emissions from management of solid waste: a systematic review

The establishment of sustainable soil waste management practices implies minimizing their environmental losses associated with climate change (greenhouse gases: GHGs) and ecosystems acidification (ammonia: NH₃). Although a number of management strategies for solid waste management have been investigated to quantify nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) losses in relation to varied environmental and operational conditions, their overall effect is still uncertain. In this context, we have analyzed the current scientific information through a systematic review. We quantified the response of GHG emissions, NH₃ emissions, and total N losses to different solid waste management strategies (conventional solid storage, turned composting, forced aerated composting, covering, compaction, addition/substitution of bulking agents and the use of additives). Our study is based on a meta‐analysis of 50 research articles involving 304 observations. Our results indicated that improving the structure of the pile (waste or manure heap) via addition or substitution of certain bulking agents significantly reduced nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) emissions by 53% and 71%, respectively. Turned composting systems, unlike forced aerated composted systems, showed potential for reducing GHGs (N₂O: 50% and CH₄: 71%). Bulking agents and both composting systems involved a certain degree of pollution swapping as they significantly promoted NH₃ emissions by 35%, 54%, and 121% for bulking agents, turned and forced aerated composting, respectively. Strategies based on the restriction of O₂ supply, such as covering or compaction, did not show significant effects on reducing GHGs but substantially decreased NH₃ emissions by 61% and 54% for covering and compaction, respectively. The use of specific additives significantly reduced NH₃ losses by 69%. Our meta‐analysis suggested that there is enough evidence to refine future Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodologies from solid waste, especially for solid waste composting practices. More holistic and integrated approaches are therefore required to develop more sustainable solid waste management systems.     

Photosynthetic performance of phototrophic biofilms in extreme acidic environments

Photosynthesis versus irradiance curves and their associated photosynthetic parameters from different phototrophic biofilms isolated from an extreme acidic environment (Río Tinto, SW, Spain) were studied in order to relate them to their species composition and the physicochemical characteristics of their respective sampling locations. The results indicated that the biofilms are low light acclimated showing a photoinhibition model; only floating communities of filamentous algae showed a light saturation model. Thus, all the biofilms analysed showed photoinhibition over 60 μmol photon m(-2) s(-1) except in the case of Zygnemopsis sp. sample, which showed a light-saturated photosynthesis model under irradiations higher that 200 μmol photon m(-2) s(-1). The highest values of compensation light intensity (I(c)) were showed also by Zygnemosis sp. biofilm (c. 40 μmol photon m(-2) s(-1)), followed by Euglena mutabilis and Chlorella sp. samples (c. 20 μmol photon m(-2) s(-1)). The diatom sample showed the lowest I(c) values (c. 5 μmol photon m(-2) s(-1)). As far as we know this is the first attempt to determine the photosynthetic activity of low pH and heavy metal tolerant phototrophic biofilms, which may give light in the understanding of the ecological importance of these biofilms for the maintenance of the primary production of these extreme and unique ecosystems.     

Active electric imaging: body-object interplay and object's "electric texture"

This article deals with the role of fish's body and object's geometry on determining the image spatial shape in pulse Gymnotiforms. This problem was explored by measuring local electric fields along a line on the skin in the presence and absence of objects. We depicted object's electric images at different regions of the electrosensory mosaic, paying particular attention to the perioral region where a fovea has been described. When sensory surface curvature increases relative to the object's curvature, the image details depending on object's shape are blurred and finally disappear. The remaining effect of the object on the stimulus profile depends on the strength of its global polarization. This depends on the length of the object's axis aligned with the field, in turn depending on fish body geometry. Thus, fish's body and self-generated electric field geometries are embodied in this "global effect" of the object. The presence of edges or local changes in impedance at the nearest surface of closely located objects adds peaks to the image profiles ("local effect" or "object's electric texture"). It is concluded that two cues for object recognition may be used by active electroreceptive animals: global effects (informing on object's dimension along the field lines, conductance, and position) and local effects (informing on object's surface). Since the field has fish's centered coordinates, and electrosensory fovea is used for exploration of surfaces, fish fine movements are essential to perform electric perception. We conclude that fish may explore adjacent objects combining active movements and electrogenesis to represent them using electrosensory information.     

Effects of pig genotype (Iberian v. Landrace × Large White) on nutrient digestibility, relative organ weight and small intestine structure at two stages of growth

Although the effects of pig genotype on total-tract apparent digestibility (TTAD) have been widely reported in the literature, there is controversial information on the digestive capacity of indigenous breeds compared with lean-type pigs. The strategy of this study was to test the effects of pig genotype and crude protein (CP) supply on performance, digestive utilization of nutrients, relative organ weight and morphometric analysis of the small intestine. Thirty-eight Iberian (IB) and Landrace × Large White (LD) pigs were used. Three pigs per genotype were slaughtered at approximately 15 kg BW. The remaining pigs were fed one of two diets differing in CP content (13% or 17% as fed) using a pair-fed procedure. Feeding level was restricted at 0.8 × ad libitum of IB pigs. Nutrient digestibility and nitrogen (N) balance trials were performed at 30 and 80 kg BW. Four pigs per dietary treatment and genotype were slaughtered at approximately 50 and 115 kg BW. The gastrointestinal tract and the rest of the visceral organs were weighed and samples of the small intestine were taken to carry out histological and histometrical studies. Daily gain and gain-to-feed ratio were higher in LD than in IB pigs during the fattening and growing-fattening periods (P < 0.01). N TTAD was significantly higher for LD pigs at 30 kg BW (P < 0.05), whereas at 80 kg BW we observed greater values for digestibility of organic matter and energy in IB pigs (averaging 1.5%, P < 0.01). Both N retention (NR) and efficiency of NR were increased in LD pigs at 30 and 80 kg BW (30% as mean value). The proportional weight of the small intestine was greater in LD than in IB pigs at 50 and 115 kg BW. Histometry showed that IB presented a lower muscle layer thickness than LD pigs in ileum, irrespective of the BW (P < 0.05). In contrast, LD pigs showed approximately 10% higher ileal villi length and villi-to-crypt ratio than IB pigs at 115 kg BW. CP supply affected to a larger extent the small intestinal micro-anatomical structure of LD pigs at 50 kg BW. In conclusion, our results suggests that although the higher growth rate, NR and efficiency of NR observed in LD pigs might be associated with presumably more efficient structural aspects of the small intestine, the main differences between the two genotypes should be attributed to a larger extent to protein and energy utilization in tissues with consequences for the overall efficiency of energy use.