Managing maize under pest species competition: is Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) maize the solution?

Transgenic crops that contain Cry genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been adopted by farmers over the last 17 years. Unlike traditional broad spectrum chemical insecticides, Bt's toxicity spectrum is relatively narrow and selective, which may indirectly benefit secondary insects that may become important pests. The economic damage caused by the rise of secondary pests could offset some or all of the benefits associated with the use of Bt varieties. We develop a bioeconomic model to analyze the interactions between primary and secondary insect populations and the impact of different management options on insecticide use and economic impact over time. Results indicate that some of the benefits associated with the adoption of genetically engineered insect resistant crops may be eroded when taking into account ecological dynamics. It is suggested that secondary pests could easily become key insect pests requiring additional measures - such as insecticide applications or stacked traits – to keep their populations under the economic threshold.

The grass-free lawn: floral performance and management implications

Grass lawns are a ubiquitous feature of urban green-space throughout much of the temperate world. Species poor and intensively managed, lawns are ecologically impoverished, however environmentally aware lawn owners are reluctant to implement alternatives due to aesthetic concerns. Developing an alternative lawn format which is both biodiversity friendly and aesthetically pleasing is an imperative for urban greening. We suggest that such an alternative can be provided by replacing the grass lawn by a forb-based mix. To advance this, we tested the floral performance of three groups of clonal perennial forbs (native, non-native and mixed), each maintained using standard lawn management mowing regimes. Our findings show that both the frequency of mowing and the height at which mowing is applied influence floral performance and lawn aesthetics. Species origin was found to influence floral productivity, floral visibility and floral variety within grass-free lawns, with native species providing the greatest floral performance. The behaviour and management of grass lawns was not found to be a suitable analogue for the management of grass-free lawns and grass-free lawns are sufficiently different from grass lawns to require an entirely original management approach. We suggest that the grass-free lawn can provide an aesthetically and environmentally relevant replacement for the ubiquitous and ecologically-poor grass lawn.

On site flotation for recovering polluted aquatic systems: is it a feasible solution for a Brazilian urban river?

Pinheiros River (Brazil) plays a pivotal role in supplying water to Billings Reservoir, which presents multiple uses (human drinking, energy generation, irrigation, navigation, fishing and leisure) An intense monitoring program was performed during the years 2007 and 2008 to find out whether on site flotation is a feasible solution or not for improving the water quality of this urban river, attenuating the pollutants load caused by the water pumping to the reservoir (approximately 10 m(3)s(-1)) The monitoring of 18 variables (13,429 laboratorial analysis during the period of 490 days), suggested that despite the convenience of the on site approach for water treatment, especially for rivers located in fully urbanized areas, the flotation system is not enough itself to recover Pinheiros River water quality, given the several constraints that apply Total phosphorus removal was high in percentage terms (about 90%), although the remaining concentrations were not so low (mean of 0 05 mg L(-1)) The removal efficiency of some variables was insufficient, leading to high final mean concentrations of metals [e g aluminium (0 29 mg L(-1)), chromium (0 02 mg L(-1)) and iron (1 1 mg L(-1))] as well as nitrogen-ammonia (25 8 mg L(-1)) and total suspended solids (18 mg L(-1)) in the treated water

On Real-Time Monitoring And Control For Efficient Management Of Drinking Water Networks: Barcelona Case Study

Drinking water utilities in urban areas are focused on finding smart solutions facing new challenges in their real-time operation because of limited water resources, intensive energy requirements, a growing population, a costly and ageing infrastructure, increasingly stringent regulations, and increased attention towards the environmental impact of water use. Such challenges force water managers to monitor and control not only water supply and distribution, but also consumer demand. This paper presents and discusses novel methodologies and procedures towards an integrated water resource management system based on advanced ICT technologies of automation and telecommunications for largely improving the efficiency of drinking water networks (DWN) in terms of water use, energy consumption, water loss minimization, and water quality guarantees. In particular, the paper addresses the first results of the European project EFFINET (FP7-ICT2011-8-318556) devoted to the monitoring and control of the DWN in Barcelona (Spain). Results are split in two levels according to different management objectives: (i) the monitoring level is concerned with all the aspects involved in the observation of the current state of a system and the detection/diagnosis of abnormal situations. It is achieved through sensors and communications technology, together with mathematical models; (ii) the control level is concerned with computing the best suitable and admissible control strategies for network actuators as to optimize a given set of operational goals related to the performance of the overall system. This level covers the network control (optimal management of water and energy) and the demand management (smart metering, efficient supply). The consideration of the Barcelona DWN as the case study will allow to prove the general applicability of the proposed integrated ICT solutions and their effectiveness in the management of DWN, with considerable savings of electricity costs and reduced water loss while ensuring the high European standards of water quality to citizens.

Reducing The Risk Of Floods In Urban Areas With Combined Inland-River System

With the change of the water environment in accordance with climate change, the loss of lives and properties has increased due to urban flood. Although the importance of urban floods has been highlighted quickly, the construction of advancement technology of an urban drainage system combined with inland-river water and its relevant research has not been emphasized in Korea. In addition, without operation in consideration of combined inland-river water, it is difficult to prevent urban flooding effectively. This study, therefore, develops the uncertainty quantification technology of the risk-based water level and the assessment technology of a flood-risk region through a flooding analysis of the combination of inland-river. The study is also conducted to develop forecast technology of change in the water level of an urban region through the construction of very short-term/short-term flood forecast systems. This study is expected to be able to build an urban flood forecast system which makes it possible to support decision making for systematic disaster prevention which can cope actively with climate change.

Optimized Water Demand Management Through Intelligent Sensing And Analytics: The WISDOM Approach

New business and technology platforms are required to sustainably manage urban water resources [1,2]. However, any proposed solutions must be cognisant of security, privacy and other factors that may inhibit adoption and hence impact. The FP7 WISDOM project (funded by the European Commission - GA 619795) aims to achieve a step change in water and energy savings via the integration of innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) frameworks to optimize water distribution networks and to enable change in consumer behavior through innovative demand management and adaptive pricing schemes [1,2,3]. The WISDOM concept centres on the integration of water distribution, sensor monitoring and communication systems coupled with semantic modelling (using ontologies, potentially connected to BIM, to serve as intelligent linkages throughout the entire framework) and control capabilities to provide for near real-time management of urban water resources. Fundamental to this framework are the needs and operational requirements of users and stakeholders at domestic, corporate and city levels and this requires the interoperability of a number of demand and operational models, fed with data from diverse sources such as sensor networks and crowsourced information. This has implications regarding the provenance and trustworthiness of such data and how it can be used in not only the understanding of system and user behaviours, but more importantly in the real-time control of such systems. Adaptive and intelligent analytics will be used to produce decision support systems that will drive the ability to increase the variability of both supply and consumption [3]. This in turn paves the way for adaptive pricing incentives and a greater understanding of the water-energy nexus. This integration is complex and uncertain yet being typical of a cyber-physical system, and its relevance transcends the water resource management domain. The WISDOM framework will be modeled and simulated with initial testing at an experimental facility in France (AQUASIM – a full-scale test-bed facility to study sustainable water management), then deployed and evaluated in in two pilots in Cardiff (UK) and La Spezia (Italy). These demonstrators will evaluate the integrated concept providing insight for wider adoption.

Survey of preys captured and used by Polybia platycephala (Richards) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Epiponini)

As vespas sociais são predadoras de várias espécies de insetos e, portanto, o estudo de suas presas pode revelar seu potencial para programas de controle biológico de pragas. Durante o período de setembro de 2000 a janeiro de 2002, foram realizadas 70h de coleta de presas capturadas em doze ninhos de Polybia platycephala Richards, localizados em áreas urbanas do município de Juiz de Fora, MG. As presas capturadas por P. platycephala compreenderam cinco ordens de insetos: Diptera (33,4%), Lepidoptera (28,6%), Hemiptera (12,0%), Hymenoptera (9,4%) e Coleoptera (7,2%). O peso médio da carga protéica transportada pelas vespas foi 1,9 ±1,6 mg (n = 34, 0,3 - 6,2 mg), e a taxa média de proteína transportada por dia foi 22,8 mg. de acordo com os resultados, pode-se estimar a captura de 4.380 presas por ano por uma única colônia de P. platycephala. Desta forma, a espécie pode ser utilizada em programas de manejo em ambientes urbanos contribuindo para o controle de insetos pragas como larvas de pernilongos, lagartas desfolhadoras de plantas de jardins, pulgões e formas aladas de formigas.

Artisanal fisheries in urban reservoirs: a case study from Brazil (Billings Reservoir, São Paulo Metropolitan Region)

Billings Reservoir is an urban reservoir located in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region. Tt supports 101 active artisanal fishermen. To describe this fishery, landings were recorded daily between February 1996 and January 1997 at Colonia (23 degrees 50' 57 S; 46 degrees 40' 02 W). In every landing, a data collector recorded catch, effort, fishing gears and fishing grounds. A total of 147 593 kg of fish were recorded in 3515 fishing trips. The exotic Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), was the main species exploited (81.4% of the annual catches). Five other species were also targeted: the characid Astyanax eigenmaniorum (Cope) (13.0% of the annual catches); the erythrinid Hoplias aff malabaricus (Block) (2.1%); the exotic cyprinid Cyprinus carpio L. (Campos & Fernandez-Yepez) (2.4%); the curimatid Cyphocharax modestus L. (1.1%); and the pimelodid Rhamdia sp. (0.1%). Two main groups of fishermen were discriminated using Principal Components Analysis; these were associated with the type of fishing gear and fishing strategies, i.e. those who exploited Nile tilapia with cast nets and beating gill nets, and those who exploited other species with set gill nets. Management and maintenance of this fishery should consider the positive top-down effects that Nile tilapia could have in controlling eutrophication and also the social benefits.

The black lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysopygus - its conservation and management

The black lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysopygus originally occurred throughout a large part of the Atlantic forest in the west of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Today, however, it is restricted to a few isolated forest fragments as a result of deforestation caused by cattle ranching, and urban and agricultural expansion, especially in this century. One of its last strongholds is a small gallery forest at Lencois Paulista in the west-central part of the state. The authors report on a long-term study of this small and isolated population, aimed particularly at providing a basis for the intensive management and conservation of the species and its habitat.

Spectral analysis of flowers used by nectar-feeding birds in an urban area in Southeastern Brazil

Análise espectral de flores utilizada por aves nectarívoras em áreas urbanas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estabelecer a característica espectral das flores produtoras de néctar visitadas por nectarívoros em áreas urbanas. Este estudo foi desenvolvido na região central do município de Taubaté, no nordeste do Estado de São Paulo. As áreas amostradas incluíram espaços verdes, tais como praças e parques e a vegetação das ruas e avenidas. Foram registradas 12 espécies de plantas utilizadas por cinco espécies de aves nectarívoras. As espécies de flores mais visitadas foram aquelas que refletiram em comprimento de onda longos (>600 nm). Foi discutida a capacidade de detecção das aves em função de visão tetracromática das aves nectarívoras e da conspicuidade das flores em ambientes urbanos. Finalmente, foi abordado o problema da escassez de plantas atrativas para aves nectarívoras nas áreas verdes urbanas e a necessidade de se aumentar a quantidade dessas espécies de plantas para incrementar a biodiversidade em regiões urbanas.

Recycling potential of urban solid waste destined for sanitary landfills: the case of Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil

The urban solid waste of the city of Indaiatuba (pop. 175 000), located in the state of São Paulo, was characterized, focusing on the recycling potential. For this purpose, collected waste was subdivided into 27 items, classified by mass and volume. About 90% of this waste was found to be potentially recyclable and only 10% requiring landfilling. The compostable organic matter, in the form of food and garden waste, both with high moisture content (51 and 41%, respectively), represents 54% in mass and 21% in volume. The most common type of plastic in this waste is high density polyethylene, whose estimated disposal is about 5000 kg day(-1). A socio-economic analysis of the waste generation indicates that low-income neighbourhoods discard relatively less packaging and more food waste, shoes and construction debris than middle and high income ones, which may be due to low purchasing power and schooling. Our findings indicate that more aluminium and uncoloured polyethylene terephthalate is discarded in the warmest months of the year, probably due to a greater consumption of canned and bottled drinks.

Urban Traffic Control and Monitoring - An Approach for the Brazilian Intelligent Cities Project

This paper describes an urban traffic control system which aims at contributing to a more efficient traffic management system in the cities of Brazil. It uses fuzzy sets, case-based reasoning, and genetic algorithms to handle dynamic and unpredictable traffic scenarios, as well as uncertain, incomplete, and inconsistent information. The system is composed by one supervisor and several controller agents, which cooperate with each other to improve the system's results through Artificial Intelligence Techniques.

RESTRUCTURING of SYSTEMS and LOGISTICS of MOVEMENT and ITS IMPACT on URBAN and REGIONAL PLANNING PAULISTA

Report some of the changes in production and consumption occurring in the state of São Paulo. through the restructuring in motion systems, logistics and standards and taxation, as well as the impacts on urban spaces through new economic dynamics, imposed by the demands of corporate, is the purpose of this article. The decentralization of production and consumption towards the interior was made possible by the combination of hierarchical and ordered some basic elements such as technological innovations (ways and means of transport) and organizational (logistics, standards and taxation) which optimized the flow territorial state São Paulo. It is noteworthy, therefore: 1) the improvement of logistics as a strategy, planning and management of transport, storage and communications (including the granting of public services to private), 2) the technological improvement and expansion of motion systems (infrastructure, means of transport) and 3) the systems of rules and regulations through taxation and deregulation affect the circulatory system of a given space. Thus, both systems aims to disentangle the economic flows (goods, services, information, capital and people) and provide a more fluid territorial. The impacts on the State of São Paulo, mainly through its economic dynamics, revert positively and negatively, by changing the way one thinks and performs planning.

A pest is a pest is a pest? The dilemma of neotropical leaf-cutting ants: Keystone taxa of natural ecosystems

Leaf-cutting ants of the genera Acromyrmex and Atta are considered the principal polyphagous pests of the Neotropics. Although some members of these genera are of economic importance, have a broad geographic distribution, and are extremely good colonizers, others are endemic and closely interact with native ecosystems. Control is generally practiced against any colony, irrespective of its taxonomic status. Indiscriminate control coupled with habitat destruction threatens endemic species with extinction, and, through habitat simplification, favors other pest species. As nests of Atta are large, having several square meters of nest surface, the endemic taxa can be easily used as environmental indicators for natural ecosystems. Likewise, the pest species can be used to detect environmental disturbance. As these ants are keystone species and easily identified by nonspecialists, efforts should be made to integrate these into viable conservation programs.

Foraging activity and demographic patterns of two termite species (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) living in urban landscapes in southeastern Brazil

Coptotermes gestroi and Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rbinotermitidae) are important pests in southeastern Brazil causing serious economic damage. In this study we determined the demographic patterns and foraging activity of these species using mark-release-recapture and the consumption of wooden stakes. Using both the weighted mean and Lincoln index methods, population estimates ranged from ≈ 0.57 to 1.99 million individuals for C. gestroi and from ≈ 0.20 to 1.37 million for H. tenuis. Territory size of the colonies ranged from 172.5 to 5235 m 2 for C. gestroi and from 16 to 40 m 2 for H. tenuis. Our results also indicate that foraging activity was dependent on the minimum temperature; however, the existence of a compensation strategy in the foraging activities may permit foragers to exploit food sources under different environmental conditions.