The structure and organization of acoustic signals arise through evolutionary processes and adaptive pressures on each species. During learning, natural or anthropogenic factors, such as high noise levels in urban areas, pose challenges to acoustic communication in birds. Many species adjust their acoustic signals to higher noise levels by increasing the frequency of vocalizations. The objectives of this study were to compare the dominant frequency of songs among birds dwelling in forest fragments distant from and near to urban areas, establish correlations between the dominant frequency of song and noise levels in these environments and verified the difference of response between oscines, suboscines and non-passerines. We recorded vocalizations of birds between July/2013 and November/2014 in four forest fragments, two of them near and two distant from urban areas. We used Audacity software to measure the dominant frequency. We measured the ambient noise by a calibrated sound pressure level meter in decibels (dBA) in each of the forest fragments. We analyzed 3740 vocalizations of nine tropical bird species. Forest fragments near to urban areas have higher noise levels than more distant forest fragments. Eight of nine studied species presented higher dominant frequencies of songs in forest fragments near to urban areas. Only one species, Myiothlypis flaveola, did not change the dominant frequency of song between the four analyzed forest fragments. The difference in dominant frequency between the forest fragments distant and closer to the urban areas did not vary between oscines, suboscines and non-passerines. Eight tropical birds exhibited higher dominant frequencies of song in forest fragments near urban areas with high level of ambient noise. Oscine, suboscine and non-passerine showed song variations. Bird species that have differences in the vocalization dominant frequency can be used in environmental monitoring and in ethological studies, as they are sensitive to high noise levels.Noise pollution caused by the vehicular traffic and urbanization are correlates with changes in the vocalization of tropical birds in forest fragments.

Little is known about effects of maternally transferred contaminants in snakes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate sublethal effects of maternally transferred mercury (Hg) on neonatal northern watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon). We captured 31 gravid females along a historically Hg-contaminated river. Following birth, we measured litter Hg concentrations and assessed locomotor performance, foraging ability (i.e., number of prey eaten, latency to first strike, strike efficiency, and handling time), and learning (i.e., change in foraging measures over time) in their offspring (n = 609). Mercury concentrations in offspring negatively correlated with motivation to feed and strike efficiency. Over time, strike efficiency and latency to strike decreased for all snakes in the study. However, offspring from contaminated areas maintained consistently lower efficiencies than reference individuals. This study is the first to examine sublethal behavioral effects of maternally transferred contaminants in snakes and suggests that maternally transferred Hg negatively affects offspring behavior.

Few studies have reported the association between greenspace and academic performance at school level. We examined associations between both residential and school greenspace and individual school grades in German adolescents.German and maths grades from the latest school certificate, residential and school greenspace, and covariates were available for 1351 10 and 15 years old Munich children and 1078 Wesel children from two German birth cohorts – GINIplus and LISA. Residential and school greenspace was assessed by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree cover, and (in Munich only) proportion of agricultural land, forest, and urban green space in 500-m and 1000-m circular buffers. Longitudinal associations between each exposure-outcome pair were assessed by logistic mixed effects models with person and school as random intercepts and adjusted for potential confounders.No associations were observed between any of the greenspace variables and grades in Wesel children. Several statistically significant associations were observed with German and maths grades in Munich children, however associations were inconsistent across sensitivity analyses.There is no evidence of an association of higher greenspace at residence, school or combined with improved academic performance in German adolescents from the GINIplus and LISA longitudinal studies.

This study investigated the role of nocturnal melatonin secretion in the cognitive performance of diurnal animals. An initial experiment measured the cognitive performance in Indian house crows treated for 11 days with 12 h light at 1.426 W/m² (∼150 lux) coupled with 12 h of 0.058 W/m² (∼6-lux) dim light at night (dLAN) or with absolute darkness (0 lux dark night, LD). dLAN treatment significantly decreased midnight melatonin levels and negatively impacted cognitive performance. Subsequently, the role of exogenous melatonin (50 μg; administered intraperitoneally half an hour before the night began) was assessed on the regulation of cognitive performance in two separate experimental cohorts of crows kept under dLAN; LD controls received vehicle. Exogenous melatonin restored its mid-night levels under dLAN at par with those under LD controls, and improved the cognitive performance, as measured in the innovative problem-solving, and spatial and pattern learning-memory efficiency tests in dLAN-treated crows. There were concurrent molecular changes in the cognition-associated brain areas, namely the hippocampus, nidopallium caudolaterale and midbrain. In particular, the expression levels of genes involved in neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity (bdnf, dcx, egr1, creb), and dopamine synthesis and signalling (th, drd1, drd2, darpp32, taar1) were restored to LD control levels in crows treated with illuminated nights and received melatonin. These results demonstrate that the maintenance of nocturnal melatonin levels is crucial for an optimal higher-order brain function in diurnal animals in the face of an environmental threat, such as light pollution.

This article describes design and application of feed-forward, fully-connected, three-layer perceptron neural network model for computing the water quality index (WQI)¹ for Kinta River (Malaysia). The modeling efforts showed that the optimal network architecture was 23-34-1 and that the best WQI predictions were associated with the quick propagation (QP) training algorithm; a learning rate of 0.06; and a QP coefficient of 1.75. The WQI predictions of this model had significant, positive, very high correlation (r=0.977, p<0.01) with the measured WQI values, implying that the model predictions explain around 95.4% of the variation in the measured WQI values. The approach presented in this article offers useful and powerful alternative to WQI computation and prediction, especially in the case of WQI calculation methods which involve lengthy computations and use of various sub-index formulae for each value, or range of values, of the constituent water quality variables.

The ballast water management convention incorporates principles of risk assessment. A new ballast water management risk assessment model was developed to support the implementation of most efficient management measures, which we also present as a flowchart decision support system model. The risk assessment model was tested using data from port baseline surveys where available, and real shipping and ballast water discharges data. The here presented ballast water management risk assessment and possible management options are applicable elsewhere to support and improve complex decision making in the implementation of management requirements according to the ballast water management convention. If needed, the model may easy be adapted to address local specifics in any other region or area.

Marine debris remains a global challenge, with significant impacts on wildlife. Despite this, there is a paucity of research examining public understanding about marine wildlife entanglement [MWE], particularly within an Australian context. The present study surveyed two hundred and thirteen participants across three coastal sites to assess familiarity with MWE and the effectiveness of a new community education initiative ‘Seal the Loop’ [STL]. Results revealed attitudes toward marine wildlife were very positive (M 40.5, SD 4.12); however 32% of participants were unable to correctly explain what MWE is and risks to wildlife were under-estimated. STL may be one method to enhance public understanding and engagement-if community familiarity with the program can be increased. For those aware of STL (<13% of the sample at the time of the study), findings revealed this was having a positive impact (e.g. learning something new, changed waste disposal behaviours).

The aim of the paper was to evaluate 23 catchment factors that determine total phosphorus and total nitrogen load to the Baltic Sea. Standard correlation analysis and clustering were used. Both phosphorus and nitrogen loads were found to be positively related to the number of pigs and the human population associated with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) per km2, while the number of cattle and agricultural area were found to influence nitrogen rather than phosphorus load, and the area of forests is negatively related to loads of both nutrients. Clustering indicates an overall north–south pattern in the spatial co-occurrence of socio-ecological factors, with some exceptions discussed in the paper. Positive steps in the Baltic Sea region have already been taken, but much remains to be done. The development of coherent response policies to reduce eutrophication in the Baltic Sea should be based on a comprehensive knowledge base, an appropriate information strategy and learning alliance platform in each drainage river catchments.

Acrylamide (ACR), an environmental toxin though being investigated for decades, remains an enigma with respect to its mechanism/site of actions. We aim to explicate the changes in cerebral ganglions and giant fibers along with the behavior of worms on ACR intoxication (3.5–17.5 mg/mL of medium/7 days). Neurotransmitter analysis revealed increased levels of excitatory glutamate and inhibitory gamma amino butyrate with reduced levels of dopamine, serotonin, melatonin, and epinephrine (p < 0.001). Scanning electron microscopy showed architectural changes in cerebral ganglions at 3.5 mg/mL/ACR. The learning behavior as evidenced by Pavlovian and maze tests was also altered well at 3.5 mg/mL of ACR. Electrophysiological assessment showed a reduction in conduction velocity of the medial and lateral giant nerve fibers. We speculate that the observed dose/time-dependent changes in neurotransmission, neurosecretion, and conduction velocity on ACR intoxication at 17.5 mg/ml, possibly, could be due to its effect on nerve fibers governing motor functions. The bioaccumulation factor in the range of 0.38–0.99 mg/g of ACR causes a detrimental impact on giant fibers affecting behavior of worm. The observations made using the simple invertebrate model implicate that the cerebral ganglionic variations in the worms may be useful to appreciate the pathology of the neurological diseases which involve motor neuron dysfunction, esp where the availability of brain samples from the victims are scarce.

Industries on the island of Mauritius are under increasing pressure from the regulatory authority and from the general public to control the air pollution from their boilers and particularly that of sulfur dioxide emissions from fuel oil combustion. The measures taken by industry are usually “ad hoc” in nature, and there has been yet no proper scientific methodology to justify the nature of the pollution control interventions. Air modeling as a planning tool provides a scientific methodology to industries and to the regulatory authority to select the optimum option(s) among various scenarios such as raising stack heights, changing fuels, implementing cleaner production opportunities or installation of wet scrubbers. The aim of this project was to use an air dispersion model for the selection of air pollution control systems for industrial boilers in an industrial estate. Given a number of constraints on small island developing states like Mauritius, it is recommended to start using established and simple modeling methods, as the complexity of the more refined models requires a relatively long learning curve to be able to use the model correctly. The Industrial Source Complex Short Term (ISCST3) is recommended for that purpose. The application of the ISCST3 model to the multiple-source case study helped in the identification of the most cost-effective options.