Trends in Approval Times for Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States and the European Union

Genetically engineered (GE) crops are subject to regulatory oversight to ensure their safety for humans and the environment. Their approval in the European Union (EU) starts with an application in a given Member State followed by a scientific step (risk assessment), and ends with a political decision-making step (risk management); and in the United States (US) it starts with a scientific (field trial) step and ends with a ‘bureaucratic’ decision-making step. We investigated trends for the time taken for these steps and the overall time taken for approving GE crops in the US and the EU (traders in these commodities). Results show that from 1996-2015 the overall time trend for approval in the EU decreased and then flattened off, with an overall mean completion-time of 1,763 days. In the US in 1998 there was a break in the trend of the overall approval time: Initially, from 1988 until 1997 the trend decreased with a mean approval time of 1,321 days; from 1998-2015, the trend almost stagnated with a mean approval time of 2,467 days.

Climate drives temporal replacement and nested‐resultant richness patterns of Scottish coastal vegetation

Beta diversity quantifies spatial and/or temporal variation in species composition. It is comprised of two distinct components, species replacement and nestedness, which derive from opposing ecological processes. Using Scotland as a case study and a β-diversity partitioning framework, we investigate temporal replacement and nestedness patterns of coastal grassland species over a 34-yr time period. We aim to 1) understand the influence of two potentially pivotal processes (climate and land-use changes) on landscape-scale (5 × 5 km) temporal replacement and nestedness patterns, and 2) investigate whether patterns from one β-diversity component can mask observable patterns in the other.

We summarised key aspects of climate driven macro-ecological variation as measures of variance, long-term trends, between-year similarity and extremes, for three important climatic predictors (minimum temperature, water-balance and growing degree-days). Shifts in landscape-scale heterogeneity, a proxy of land-use change, was summarised as a spatial multiple-site dissimilarity measure. Together, these climatic and spatial predictors were used in a multi-model inference framework to gauge the relative contribution of each on temporal replacement and nestedness patterns.

Temporal β-diversity patterns were reasonably well explained by climate change but weakly explained by changes in landscape-scale heterogeneity. Climate was shown to have a greater influence on temporal nestedness than replacement patterns over our study period, linking nestedness patterns, as a result of imbalanced gains and losses, to climatic warming and extremes respectively. Important climatic predictors (i.e. growing degree-days) of temporal β-diversity were also identified, and contrasting patterns between the two β-diversity components revealed.

Results suggest climate influences plant species recruitment and establishment processes of Scotland's coastal grasslands, and while species extinctions take time, they are likely to be facilitated by climatic perturbations. Our findings also highlight the importance of distinguishing between different components of β-diversity, disentangling contrasting patterns than can mask one another.

Lake Kumphawapi revisited – The complex climatic and environmental record of a tropical wetland in NE Thailand

Kumphawapi, which is Thailand’s largest natural freshwater lake, contains a >10,000-year-long climatic and environmental archive. New data sets (stratigraphy, chronology, hydrogen isotopes, plant macrofossil and charcoal records) for two sedimentary sequences are here combined with earlier multi-proxy studies to provide a comprehensive reconstruction of past climatic and environmental changes for Northeast Thailand. Gradually higher moisture availability due to a strengthening of the summer monsoon led to the formation of a large shallow lake in the Kumphawapi basin between >10,700 and c. 7000 cal. BP. The marked increase in moisture availability and lower evaporation between c. 7000 and 6400 cal. BP favoured the growth and expansion of vegetation in and around the shallow lake. The increase in biomass led to gradual overgrowing and infilling, to an apparent lake level lowering and to the development of a wetland. Multiple hiatuses are apparent in all investigated sequences between c. 6500 and 1400 cal. BP and are explained by periodic desiccation events of the wetland and erosion due to the subsequent lake level rise. The rise in lake level, which started c. 2000 cal. BP and reached shallower parts c. 1400 cal. BP, is attributed to an increase in effective moisture availability. The timing of hydroclimatic conditions during the past 2000 years cannot be resolved because of chronological limitations.

Effects of the climatic factors and anthropogenic actions in the Ria de Aveiro

A compreensão dos impactes das alterações climáticas é fundamental para a gestão a longo do prazo dos ecossistemas estuarinos. Esta compreensão só poderá ser efectiva considerando a variabilidade climática natural e o papel relativo das intervenções antropogénicas nestes ecossistemas. Assim, a presente dissertação analisa a influência das alterações climáticas e pressões antropogénicas na qualidade da água e dinâmica ecológica da Ria de Aveiro com base numa abordagem integrada, que combinou a análise de séries temporais dos últimos 25 anos e a modelação numérica de elevada resolução de cenários futuros de alterações climáticas e intervenções antropogénicas. A componente de modelação de qualidade da água e ecológica foi melhorada a vários níveis. A análise de sensibilidade do modelo 3D hidrodinâmicoecológico ECO-SELFE aplicado à Ria de Aveiro e a revisão das constantes de semi-saturação para absorção de nutrientes pelo fitoplâncton contribuíram para a precisão e robustez das aplicações. A concentração do fitoplâncton foi significativamente influenciada pelas taxas de crescimento do fitoplâncton e de mortalidade e excreção do zooplâncton, e apresentou uma sensibilidade reduzida à variação das constantes de semi-saturação na gama identificada para as diatomáceas. O acoplamento do ECO-SELFE a um modelo de campo próximo e a integração do ciclo do oxigénio aumentaram a sua capacidade de representação dos processos e das escalas espaciais relevantes. A validação do ECO-SELFE foi realizada com base num conjunto de campanhas específicas realizadas no canal de Mira. Os padrões espaciais e temporais observados para as várias variáveis (clorofila a, nutrientes, oxigénio dissolvido, salinidade, temperatura da água, correntes e níveis) foram simulados com erros menores ou semelhantes aos obtidos neste tipo de aplicações. A análise dos padrões de variabilidade espacial e temporal da qualidade da água e ecológica na Ria de Aveiro a diferentes escalas, efectuada com base nos dados históricos de 1985 a 2010 complementados pelas campanhas realizadas, sugeriu uma influência combinada da variabilidade climática e das acções antropogénicas. Os cenários futuros de alterações climáticas e intervenções antropogénicas simulados evidenciaram uma influência mais significativa das alterações climáticas quando comparadas com os efeitos das acções antropogénicas analisadas. As variações mais significativas são previstas para os cenários de subida do nível do mar, seguidos dos cenários de alterações dos regimes hidrológicos, evidenciando o papel da circulação (maré e caudal fluvial) no estabelecimento da qualidade da água e dinâmica ecológica na laguna. Para os cenários de subida do nível do mar são previstos decréscimos significativos da clorofila a e dos nutrientes a jusante e nas zonas intermédias do canal, e um aumento significativo da salinidade a montante. Estas alterações poderão favorecer modificações da composição e distribuição das comunidades, afectando a cadeia alimentar e causando uma progressão para montante de espécies marinhas. Os resultados sugerem ainda que os efeitos poderão ser mais significativos em estuários pouco profundos.

Trends in deep-water shark fisheries in the Azores

Deep-sea resources have been increasingly exploited, and due to that, several ecosystems and species have been considerably affected. Deep-water sharks populations have been of the most disturbed by practices of unselected fisheries, bycatch and discard, mainly due to their low commercial value. Those practices make deep-water sharks very vulnerable to overfishing given their life-history traits, increasing their extinction risk. With the prohibition of the direct fishery, and implementation of quotas and TACs (Total Allowable Catches) regarding the deep-sea shark landings, the official landings have dramatically decreased after the 1990s. However, the IUU (Illegal, unreported and unregulated) catch has exponentially increased. With the analysis of catch per unit effort (CPUE), the depths, and the mean weight of the individuals over the years for each one of the nine most caught species in the Azores, we produced a descriptive analysis of the effect of fisheries in those species. The results show that some of these species have been suffering from a great fishing pressure, and their populations will be greatly affected in the near future if drastic measures are not taken when it comes to managing their long term sustainability.

Aquifer recharge in Moura region (South Portugal)

Dissertação de mest., Recursos Hídricos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Univ. do Algarve, 2011

Ecological genetics in the North Atlantic: environmental gradients and adaptation at specific loci

The North Atlantic intertidal community provides a rich set of organismal and environmental material for the study of ecological genetics. Clearly defined environmental gradients exist at multiple spatial scales: there are broad latitudinal trends in temperature, meso-scale changes in salinity along estuaries, and smaller scale gradients in desiccation and temperature spanning the intertidal range. The geology and geography of the American and European coasts provide natural replication of these gradients, allowing for population genetic analyses of parallel adaptation to environmental stress and heterogeneity. Statistical methods have been developed that provide genomic neutrality tests of population differentiation and aid in the process of candidate gene identification. In this paper, we review studies of marine organisms that illustrate associations between an environmental gradient and specific genetic markers. Such highly differentiated markers become candidate genes for adaptation to the environmental factors in question, but the functional significance of genetic variants must be comprehensively evaluated. We present a set of predictions about locus-specific selection across latitudinal, estuarine, and intertidal gradients that are likely to exist in the North Atlantic. We further present new data and analyses that support and contradict these simple selection models. Some taxa show pronounced clinal variation at certain loci against a background of mild clinal variation at many loci. These cases illustrate the procedures necessary for distinguishing selection driven by internal genomic vs. external environmental factors. We suggest that the North Atlantic intertidal community provides a model system for identifying genes that matter in ecology due to the clarity of the environmental stresses and an extensive experimental literature on ecological function. While these organisms are typically poor genetic and genomic models, advances in comparative genomics have provided access to molecular tools that can now be applied to taxa with well-defined ecologies. As many of the organisms we discuss have tight physiological limits driven by climatic factors, this synthesis of molecular population genetics with marine ecology could provide a sensitive means of assessing evolutionary responses to climate change.

The effect of conservation measures on the spatial and temporal variation of rocky fish assemblages in the Arrábida Marine Park

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been widely proposed for conservation purposes and as a tool for fisheries management. The Arrábida Marine Park is the first MPA in continental Portugal having a management plan, fully implemented since 2009. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of protection measures on rocky reef fish assemblages and target invertebrates through before-after and control-effect (no-take vs. fished areas) underwater visual surveys and analysis of landings trends. Second, we used surveys before, during and after implementation of the management plan to understand fishers‟ preferences for fishing grounds and adaptation to the new rules, and evaluated the reserve effect through analysis of both ecological responses and fishing effort density. Third, we identified the main oceanographic drivers influencing the structure of reef fish assemblages and predicted the community structure for the last 50 years, in light of climatic change. Overall results suggest positive responses in biomass but not yet in numbers of some commercial species, with no effects on non-target species. The reserve effect is reinforced by the increase in landings of commercial species, despite increased fishing effort density in some areas, especially with octopus traps. Fishing grounds are mainly chosen based on the distribution of target species and associated habitats, but distance to port, weather conditions and safety also influence fishers‟ choices. Moreover, different fisheries respond differently to the protection measures, and within each fishery, individual fishers show distinct strategies, with some operating in a broader area whereas others keep preferred territories. Our results also show that wind stress and temperature are the main oceanographic drivers for rocky reef fish assemblages, with tropicalization of assemblages and polewards movements of species over the last 50 years consistent with temperature trends. We believe this study provides significant lessons for marine conservation and management of coastal systems.

Prevalence of Artemisia Species Pollinosis in Western Poland: Impact of Climate Change on Aerobiological Trends, 1995-2004

Background: Artemisia species pollen represents a major cause of allergy in Central Europe. Variations in the pollen season, the influence of climate variables and the prevalence of pollinosis to it were analyzed in Poznan, in western Poland between 1995 and 2004. Methods: A Hirst volumetric spore trap was used for atmospheric sampling. Pollination date trend analysis and Spearman correlation tests were performed. Skin prick tests (SPT) and allergen specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E antibody measurements were performed in 676 and 524 patients, respectively. Results: The Artemisia species pollen season grew longer due to a clear advance in the starting day and only a slightly earlier end point; the peak day also came slightly earlier. Rainfall in the fi rst fortnight of July highly influenced pollen season severity. Temperature was directly correlated with daily Artemisia species pollen levels; relative humidity was inversely correlated. Twelve percent of patients had a positive SPT reaction to Artemisia species. Their symptoms were rhinitis and conjunctivitis (15%), atopic dermatitis (15%), chronic urticaria (14.3%), bronchial asthma (2.4%), and facial and disseminated dermatitis (1.3%). Elevated specifi c IgE concentrations were detected in the sera of 10.1% of patients. Conclusions: Artemisia species pollen is an important cause of pollinosis in western Poland. Pollen season intensity is highly influenced by rainfall in the previous weeks. Trends towards earlier season starts and longer duration, possibly caused by climate change, may have an impact on the allergic population.

Effects of climate and land management changes on conservation : of mediterranean cork oak woodlands and their bird communities

Tese de doutoramento (co-tutela), Biologia (Biologia da Conservação), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences, 2014

The Occurrence of Ambrosia Pollen in Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań, Poland: Investigation of Trends and Possible Transport of Ambrosia Pollen from Ukraine

Previous studies have shown that ragweed pollen arrives in Poland from sources in the south, in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. It is likely that ragweed pollen also arrives from sources in the southeast (e.g. Ukraine). This hypothesis is investigated using 13-years of pollen data and back-trajectory analysis. Ambrosia pollen data were collected at three sites in Poland, Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań. The amount of ragweed pollen recorded at Rzeszów was significantly higher than in Poznań and Kraków. This can be related to either a higher abundance of local populations of Ambrosia in south-east Poland or the nearness of Rzeszów to foreign sources of ragweed pollen. The combined results of pollen measurements and air mass trajectory calculations identified plumes of Ambrosia pollen that were recorded at Rzeszów, Kraków and Poznań on the 4th and 5th September 1999 and the 3rd September 2002. These plumes arrived at the pollen-monitoring sites from an easterly direction indicating sources of Ambrosia pollen in eastern Poland or Ukraine. This identifies Ukraine as a possible new source of ragweed pollen for Poland and therefore an important source area of Ambrosia pollen on the European Continent.