Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate patterns in unimpacted mountain rivers of two European ecoregions

The aim of the study was to compare the patterns of development of macrophytes and macroinvertebrates in different types of reference mountain rivers. The study is based on reference river sites surveyed throughout the mountains in Poland and Slovakia in two European ecoregions (9—Central Highlands, 10—The Carpathians). A wide range of environmental variables were estimated, including water chemistry, hydromorphology, geology, and the spatial factor. Based on the Jaccard index, macrophyte and macroinvertebrate variation was confirmed between four mountain and upland river types. It was found that the biological diversification is mainly influenced by geological and associated chemical factors. In the case of macroinvertebrates, additionally, the importance of the spatial factor was revealed (difference between ecoregions). Finally, the habitat preferences of various taxa were identified. It was found that extreme mountain conditions can sometimes distort bioindicative response, as was detected in the case of macroinvertebrates in the highest mountain sites. We concluded that consideration of two groups of organisms enables more comprehensive and reliable monitoring than assessment based on a single group, especially when standard bioindicative methods can be distorted by extreme local conditions

Sniffing the mood for cooperation: Personality and odor induced affective states effects

The paper explores situational and dispositional underpinnings of cooperative behavior. According to psychological research, cooperation is strongly related to affective states (Forgas, 1998) and personality dimensions (Volk, Thöni, & Ruigrok, 2011). In an experimental study we examined the conditions under which people cooperate with each other. The dispositional traits of co-workers (personality), the contribution to a collaborative effort, and a situational factor – ambient odor condition were taken into consideration. A one-way ANOVA revealed that compared to a malodorous condition, both the pleasant odor condition and the natural odor condition showed higher rates of cooperation. Further analysis indicated that only malodors influenced affective states which in turn determined social decisions. Although we found effects for the participants’ agreeableness and the coworker’s contribution to a joint work, they appeared to play a less critical role than affective states induced by the experimental odor conditions tested here

Sniffing the mood for cooperation: Personality and odor induced affective states effects

The paper explores situational and dispositional underpinnings of cooperative behavior. According to psychological research, cooperation is strongly related to affective states (Forgas, 1998) and personality dimensions (Volk, Thöni, & Ruigrok, 2011). In an experimental study we examined the conditions under which people cooperate with each other. The dispositional traits of co-workers (personality), the contribution to a collaborative effort, and a situational factor – ambient odor condition were taken into consideration. A one-way ANOVA revealed that compared to a malodorous condition, both the pleasant odor condition and the natural odor condition showed higher rates of cooperation. Further analysis indicated that only malodors influenced affective states which in turn determined social decisions. Although we found effects for the participants’ agreeableness and the coworker’s contribution to a joint work, they appeared to play a less critical role than affective states induced by the experimental odor conditions tested here