A SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC VERSUS CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS OF SHEEP-FARMING

In the Mediterranean Agriculture, the organic production constitutes a real possibility for sustainable development, it can keep a population in these areas and provide it with a decent work. This paper try to establish differences between conventional and organic systems of production, so that observation of these differences would lead to conclusions relating to the level of efficiency of one system as against the other. To achieve this objective, the research team analyzed the evolution of seventeen milk sheep farms in various places in the Castilla y León Region for a whole year. The study consisted in the modeling of the results of a Cobb-Douglas production function. The findings reveal that organic farms have higher production levels with the same combination of inputs. This result is a guarantee of future for this type of production and guarantee of feasibility for these areas

Rediseño de la red actual del laboratorio de hardware y redes y desarrollo de una herramienta de interacción con elementos de la red.

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Simulations of model magnetorheological fluids in squeeze flow mode

A particle-level simulation methodology is proposed to study the squeeze flow behavior of model magnetorheological (MR) fluids. The simulation algorithm takes into account Brownian motion and local field corrections to magnetic interactions of the particles. Simulation results obtained from using different initial configurations, including one single-particle-width chain per simulation box, random or lattice arrangements of preassembled single-particle-width chains as well as randomly dispersed particle suspensions, are compared with experimental data and predictions of a recently developed microscopic model. The assumption of single-particle-width chain structures in the systems has been shown to generate normal stresses larger than those found in experiments and the micromechanical model. However, much better agreement between the simulation and experimental results have been reached when using random initial configurations in the simulations

Larval fish assemblage structure in the surface layer of the northwestern Mediterranean under contrasting oceanographic scenarios

During the summer, the relative influence of resident Atlantic Waters (AW) and new AW largely drives the mesoscale dynamics around the Balearic Islands (NW Mediterranean). Two principal summer hydrographic scenarios were identified in the region, differentiated by the relative position of the density front between new and resident AW within the archipelago and its associated mesoscale activity. In this study, we investigated how those early summer mesoscale scenarios influence larval fish assemblages, by analyzing data from two cruises representative of these two scenarios (2004 and 2005). Redundancy analysis was used to assess the variance in the larval fish assemblage that could be significantly explained by the most parsimonious combination of available environmental variables in both years. While depth was the most important variable in explaining the larval fish assemblage structure variability observed under both scenarios, indicators of mesoscale activity (dynamic height, geostrophic velocity) contributed significantly to understanding the dynamics of the larval fish community. Mesoscale activity was higher in summer 2004, leading to higher larval fish abundances and zooplankton biomass and lower larval fish diversity than in the unusually warm summer 2005, which showed lower mesoscale activity. The larval assemblage dynamics are discussed in terms of extrinsic and species-specific factors.Postprint1,749

Determinación del estado hídrico en viña a través de imágenes RGB y multiespectrales adquiridas por un VANT

La teledetección se ha convertido en una herramienta muy utilizada en la agricultura de precisión. La existencia de sensores ligeros, calibrados geométrica y radiométricamente, ha hecho que los vehículos aéreos no tripulados (VANTs) sean una de las plataformas más utilizadas en teledetección por obtener datos de muy alta resolución espacial y temporal. En el marco de la viticultura de precisión, haciendo uso de VANTs para la obtención de imágenes aéreas de la cubierta vegetal que proporcionen información agronómicamente útil para hacer un manejo y una gestión del riego sostenible y eficiente frente a la escasez hídrica existente principalmente en zonas áridas y semiáridas, se llevó a cabo un estudio en un viñedo localizado en Fuente-Álamo (Albacete) durante 2018 y 2019. Para obtener un amplio rango de condiciones de estado hídrico de la vid, varias estrategias de riego fueron aplicadas incluyendo regímenes con diferentes niveles de salinidad del agua, estableciendo diferencias en el estado hídrico de la cepa. Los vuelos se hicieron a lo largo del ciclo fenológico usando sensores convencionales (o RGB -red, green, blue-) y multiespectrales a bordo de un VANT, obteniendo ortoimágenes. Estas ortoimágenes fueron segmentadas para incluir solo la vegetación obteniendo el grado de cobertura verde como un parámetro geométrico representativo del desarrollo vegetal del cultivo. El potencial hídrico de tallo fue medido a mediodía con cámaras de presión, y la integral de estrés hídrico fue calculada a partir de estas medidas de estado hídrico, como una variable representativa del efecto acumulado de la intensidad y duración del estrés hídrico desde el comienzo del ciclo de desarrollo hasta el momento de la medida. Modelos de regresión lineal simple usando índices de vegetación basados en la respuesta espectral de la vegetación y el grado de cobertura verde fueron evaluados para predecir la integral de estrés hídrico. Técnicas de regresión no lineal usando redes neuronales artificiales con bandas de los sensores multiespectral y RGB y el grado de cobertura verde como variables predictoras de la integral de estrés hídrico también fueron empleadas. Ambos modelos mostraron que los datos del rango visible (pese a la menor reflectividad de la vegetación en este rango espectral) fueron más útiles para predecir la integral de estrés hídrico que los datos del rango multiespectral, que consideran la reflectividad en el red-edge y en el infrarrojo cercano, proporcionando mejores resultados los modelos no lineales de redes neuronales artificiales con valores de R2 próximos a 1 y errores relativos de 1.5 % o ligeramente superiores. La mayor resolución espacial, calidad radiométrica, facilidad de uso de la cámara RGB, su menor precio y fácil procesamiento de las imágenes RGB hace que estos sensores, utilizados en menor medida con usos agrícolas, sean una buena opción para usarse en la predicción del estado hídrico en viña

Singularities of surface mixing activity in the Western Mediterranean influence bluefin tuna larval habitats

Understanding how the surface dynamics of the ocean influence the spawning and larval ecology of many large pelagic species, in particular tuna species, is a major challenge. For temperate tunas, the selection of geographically restricted spawning grounds is influenced by environmental conditions, but the influence of surface mixing properties on the early life stages of these species remains poorly understood. Here, based on ichthyoplankton samples collected over 4 yr and satellite-derived finite size Lyapunov exponents (FSLEs), we examined how horizontal mixing activity drives the probability of presence of Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus larvae. We further analyzed the spatial and temporal scales of the FSLE variability at which the relationship between larval presence and mesoscale activity is maximized. We found that moderate mixing activity strongly favors the spatial-temporal distribution of larval habitats, evidencing an optimal environmental window of bluefin tuna spawning and early life development within the mesoscale dynamics. During the spawning season, the Balearic Sea presents a unique spatial and temporal hydrodynamic scenario within the Western Mediterranean. These results can be used for developing oceanographic indicators and improving larval abundance indices that are currently used in Atlantic bluefin tuna stock assessments.En prensa2,48

Dynamic arrest in charged colloidal systems exhibiting large-scale structural heterogeneities

Suspensions of charged liposomes are found to exhibit typical features of strongly repulsive fluid systems at short length scales, while exhibiting structural heterogeneities at larger length scales that are characteristic of attractive systems. We model the static structure factor of these systems using effective pair interaction potentials composed of a long-range attraction and a shorter range repulsion. Our modeling of the static structure yields conditions for dynamically arrested states at larger volume fractions, which we find to agree with the experimentally observed dynamics

Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn at suboptimal temperatures for their offspring

Life-history traits such as spawning migrations and timing of reproduction are adaptations to specific environmental constraints and seasonal cycles in many organisms’ annual routines. In this study we analyse how offspring fitness constrains spawning phenology in a large migratory apex predator, the Atlantic bluefin tuna. The reproductive schedule of Atlantic bluefin tuna varies between spawning sites, suggesting plasticity to local environ- mental conditions. Generally, temperature is considered to be the main constraint on tuna spawning phenology. We combine evidence from long- term field data, temperature-controlled rearing experiments on eggs and larvae, and a model of egg fitness, and show that Atlantic bluefin tuna do not spawn to optimize egg and larval temperature exposure. The timing of spawning leads to temperature exposure considerably lower than optimal at all spawning grounds across the Atlantic Ocean. The early spawning is constrained by thermal inhibition of egg hatching and larval growth rates, but some other factors must prevent later spawning. Matching offspring with ocean productivity and the prey peak might be an important driver for bluefin tuna spawning phenology. This finding is important for predictions of reproductive timing in future climate warming scenarios for bluefin tuna.Versión del edito

Pelagic habitat and offspring survival in the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna

In this manuscript, we test how an understanding of geographical variation in larval fitness in relation to temperature and habitat use could be a useful method to improve our understanding of recruitment and develop better indices of annual recruitment. On the basis of the assumption that growth and survival of tuna larvae are influenced by temperature, we have developed a potential larval survival index for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) by combining empirical data from egg and larval rearing experiments with temperature data from hydrodynamic models. The experiments were designed to test the full range of temperature variability that bluefin larvae would experience in the field and provide a mechanistic understanding of the processes driving egg and larval survival. We then developed a biological model using the temperature-related growth expressions and a size-dependent survival function for the larvae. The biological model was applied to a time-series of spatially explicit temperature data for the western Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar to 6 E, which includes the major recognized bluefin tuna eastern stock spawning area, the Balearic Sea. Our results show that areas with high probabilities of larval survival coincide with those that would be considered as optimal based on other data sources (ichthyoplankton surveys, spawning female locations from commercial fisheries data, and adult tracking data). However, evidence of spawning has been found in areas with suboptimal thermal habitats, as predicted by the model, which we discuss regarding sampling effort and salinity fronts. There was a good match between the survival index and recruitment indices from standardized CPUE fisheries data. These results have implications for our understanding of the recruitment process of the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna, since they suggest that the combined effects of temporal and spatial variability of the environment drive recruitment success, which has important implications for the management of the species.Versión del editor2,27