Urban naturalistic meadows to promote cultural and regulating ecosystem services

This thesis examined the ecosystem services delivered by a new type of vegetation comprised of grasses and forbs organised in biodiverse naturalistic meadows. The study site was a 500 metres retrofitted linear greenway, the Grey to Green, installed in Sheffield (UK) city centre. A street survey showed users highly appreciated the vegetation and had an improved the perception of the urban environment and thus established the delivery of cultural ecosystem services. By means of a questionnaire and micro-climatic measurements, a thermal sensation scale for Sheffield was defined. In addition to evidence for the role of physiological acclimatisation, a link was found between appreciation of the green space and tolerance to thermal discomfort. The influence of psychological factors on thermal comfort was further investigated using a visual questionnaire. Results highlighted interactions between thermal preference, thermal expectation, landscape appreciation and long-term experience. The microclimatic regulating services of meadows was demonstrated via a yearlong comparative study of surface temperature against that of shaded and exposed turf and concrete. The results highlighted meadows have a measurable impact on reducing the Urban Heat Island effect; and, at times, more efficiently so than trees. The environmental simulation software Envi-Met was tested against field data and was showed to predict realistically surface temperature. This thesis demonstrated the usefulness of urban meadows in cultural and regulating ecosystem services delivery. They may ease surface heat accumulation, improve perceptual qualities of the urban environment and improve the sensation of thermal comfort. Thus, they contribute to making cities more liveable

Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Fish Oil Lower Anxiety, Improve Cognitive Functions and Reduce Spontaneous Locomotor Activity in a Non-Human Primate

Omega-3 (ω3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are major components of brain cells membranes. ω3 PUFA-deficient rodents exhibit severe cognitive impairments (learning, memory) that have been linked to alteration of brain glucose utilization or to changes in neurotransmission processes. ω3 PUFA supplementation has been shown to lower anxiety and to improve several cognitive parameters in rodents, while very few data are available in primates. In humans, little is known about the association between anxiety and ω3 fatty acids supplementation and data are divergent about their impact on cognitive functions. Therefore, the development of nutritional studies in non-human primates is needed to disclose whether a long-term supplementation with long-chain ω3 PUFA has an impact on behavioural and cognitive parameters, differently or not from rodents. We address the hypothesis that ω3 PUFA supplementation could lower anxiety and improve cognitive performances of the Grey Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus), a nocturnal Malagasy prosimian primate. Adult male mouse lemurs were fed for 5 months on a control diet or on a diet supplemented with long-chain ω3 PUFA (n = 6 per group). Behavioural, cognitive and motor performances were measured using an open field test to evaluate anxiety, a circular platform test to evaluate reference spatial memory, a spontaneous locomotor activity monitoring and a sensory-motor test. ω3-supplemented animals exhibited lower anxiety level compared to control animals, what was accompanied by better performances in a reference spatial memory task (80% of successful trials vs 35% in controls, p<0.05), while the spontaneous locomotor activity was reduced by 31% in ω3-supplemented animals (p<0.001), a parameter that can be linked with lowered anxiety. The long-term dietary ω3 PUFA supplementation positively impacts on anxiety and cognitive performances in the adult mouse lemur. The supplementation of human food with ω3 fatty acids may represent a valuable dietary strategy to improve behavioural and cognitive functions

Plasma fatty acids from total phospholipids of control and tuna oil supplemented animals.

1<p>Values are means ± SEM, n = 6.</p><p>*indicates significant differences between dietary treatments with p<0.01.</p>2<p>Minor fatty acids [14∶0, 15∶0, 17∶0, 19∶0, 20∶0, 22∶0, 24∶0, 14∶1(n-5), 16∶1(n-9), 20∶1(n-7), 20∶1(n-11), 22∶1(n-7), 24∶1(n-11), 24∶1(n-7), 20∶3(n-9), and 22∶3(n-9)] are not reported because they represented <0.3% of total fatty acids.</p>a<p>20∶4 n-6: Arachidonic Acid (AA),</p>b<p>20∶5 n-3: Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA),</p>c<p>22∶6 n-3: Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA).</p

Performances in an accelerating rotating rod task.

<p>Data are expressed as the time standing on the rotating rod in s. Values are means ± SEM, n = 6 in each dietary group. Differences were considered significant between control (CTL) and tuna oil supplemented animals (ω3) with p<0.05.</p

Performances in a circular maze.

<p>A. Rate of success, expressed as the ratio of successful trials on the total number of trials (%). B. Time before reaching the right exit (s). C. Total number of visits. Values are means ± SEM, n = 6 in each dietary group. Differences were considered significant between control (CTL) and tuna oil supplemented animals (ω3) with p<0.05.</p

Performances in an open field (OF) task.

<p>A. Total distance travelled (cm). B. Activity duration (s). C. Number of times the animals crossed the central zone. Values are means ± SEM, n = 6 in each dietary group. Differences were considered significant between control (CTL) and tuna oil supplemented animals (ω3) with p<0.05.</p

Spontaneous night and day locomotor activity.

<p>Data were recorded during 5 consecutive 24 h periods (expressed in arbitrary units of locomotor activity). Values are means ± SEM, n = 6 in each dietary group. Differences were considered significant between control (CTL) and tuna oil supplemented animals (ω3) with p<0.05.</p