Influence of electric fields over the nucleation ratio of the lithium-potassium sulfate and its pedagogical value

[EN]This paper presents our research about nucleation and its dependency with external conditions, as well as the internal characteristics of the solution itself. Among the research lines of our group, we has been studying the influence of electric fields over two different but related compounds: Lithium-Potassium Sulfate and Lithium-Amonium Sulfate, which both of them show a variation on the nucleation ratio when an electric field is applied during the crystal growth. Moreover, in this paper will be explained a laboratory protocol to teach universitary Science students the nucleation process itself and how it depends on external applied conditions, e.g. electric fields.

Preliminary approach to the hatchlings sex-ratio of a population of Caretta caretta of Boavista island, Cape Verde Archipielago (Western Africa).

[EN] A nesting population of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta has recently been described for Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde Archipelago (Western Africa). Since 1998, “Projecto Cabo Verde Natura 2000” has monitored three beaches during the turtle breeding season. The beaches being monitored - Calheta, Errata and Ponta Cosme - are located in the southeast part of Boa Vista Island. This work intends to give a first insight into the Boa Vista Island sea turtle population’s sex ratio using a histological approach, as sexual determination in sea turtles is known to be temperature-dependent (TSD or temperature-dependent sex determination).

Climate change and the evolution of loggerhead sex-ratio in Cabo Verde

[EN] Global warming can affect nesting success of sea turtles due to the rise of the sea level and the subsequent increased inundation or erosion of nesting beaches. Moreover, it can reduce male production to levels that can alter reproduction due to their temperature dependant sex determination (TSD). Now, mean nest temperatures all around the world predict a predominance of female hatchlings, and this trend may increase with global warming in the next decades.