The sustainability of communicative packaging concepts in the food supply chain. A case study: part 1. Life cycle assessment

Purpose In recent years, a new perspective for food packaging has emerged as a result of several issues like quality, safety, competitive prices or providing of useful information to consumers. This new perspective is called communicative packaging. Communicative packaging may influence consumers/companies on purchasing decisions. Since the environmental evaluation of such systems has not yet been performed, this paper is focused on the environmental evaluation of a flexible best-before-date (FBBD) communicative device on a packaging consumer unit and its implications on reducing environmental impacts related to fresh products. This consumer unit consists of a nanoclay-based polylactic acid tray filled with pork chops. Methods The environmental assessment of the consumer unit was made through life cycle assessment (LCA) using a cradle-to-gate approach. Environmental impacts were assessed according to the Eco-Indicator 99 v 2.1 methodology in Individualist (I) perspective. Results and discussion Several results were obtained from the LCA. With regard to environmental impacts of the FBBD, most of them were due to the paper substrate used for the manufacture of this communicative packaging concept as well as to the transports for delivering the components of the FBBD communicative device. On the other hand, when environmental impacts of packaging system with and without FBBD were compared, a large environmental load was detected for the system that has the communicative device affixed as a result of the higher weight of the package. However, the environmental load caused by the use of the FBBD was minimal in comparison with the total environmental load of the whole packaging system. On the contrary, the consumer unit that has the communicative device affixed showed less environmental burden than the consumer unit that has not affixed the device. This was due to the environmental benefits that the communicative device provides by reducing the amount of out-of-date packaged products at retailer outlets. Conclusions The use of a FBBD contributes to minimize environmental burdens related to the production, packaging and delivery of pork chops since it facilitates a dynamic control of out-of-date products even though the consumer unit with FBBD weighs 1 g more than the consumer unit that does not use the communicative device. Recommendations The results presented in this paper are estimated results of a specific case study for a prototype of communicative packaging device. Consequently, these results must be considered as a first approach according to future developments on communicative packaging

Evaluating the performance of species richness estimators: sensitivity to sample grain size

Copyright © 2006 British Ecological Society.1. Fifteen species richness estimators (three asymptotic based on species accumulation curves, 11 nonparametric, and one based in the species-area relationship) were compared by examining their performance in estimating the total species richness of epigean arthropods in the Azorean Laurisilva forests. Data obtained with standardized sampling of 78 transects in natural forest remnants of five islands were aggregated in seven different grains (i.e. ways of defining a single sample): islands, natural areas, transects, pairs of traps, traps, database records and individuals to assess the effect of using different sampling units on species richness estimations. 2. Estimated species richness scores depended both on the estimator considered and on the grain size used to aggregate data. However, several estimators (ACE, Chao1, Jackknife1 and 2 and Bootstrap) were precise in spite of grain variations. Weibull and several recent estimators [proposed by Rosenzweig et al. (Conservation Biology, 2003, 17, 864-874), and Ugland et al. (Journal of Animal Ecology, 2003, 72, 888-897)] performed poorly. 3. Estimations developed using the smaller grain sizes (pair of traps, traps, records and individuals) presented similar scores in a number of estimators (the above-mentioned plus ICE, Chao2, Michaelis-Menten, Negative Exponential and Clench). The estimations from those four sample sizes were also highly correlated. 4. Contrary to other studies, we conclude that most species richness estimators may be useful in biodiversity studies. Owing to their inherent formulas, several nonparametric and asymptotic estimators present insensitivity to differences in the way the samples are aggregated. Thus, they could be used to compare species richness scores obtained from different sampling strategies. Our results also point out that species richness estimations coming from small grain sizes can be directly compared and other estimators could give more precise results in those cases. We propose a decision framework based on our results and on the literature to assess which estimator should be used to compare species richness scores of different sites, depending on the grain size of the original data, and of the kind of data available (species occurrence or abundance data)

Assessing the functional relationship between dung beetle traits and dung removal, burial, and seedling emergence

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is often assessed through trait diversity. However, the relationship between traits and functions is typically assumed but seldom tested. We analyze the relationship between dung beetle traits and three ecological functions: dung removal, dung burial, and seedling emergence. We set up a laboratory experiment using nine Scarabaeidae species (three endocoprids, four paracoprids, and two telecoprids). We placed a sexual pair of beetles in each experimental unit, together with a mixture of dung and seeds, and measured the amount of dung removed and buried, burial depth, and the number of emerged seedlings. Sixteen morphological traits related to dung removal and burial were measured in each individual. Results indicate that these traits were related to dung beetle performance in dung removal and burial. Most traits were positively related to dung removal, indicating the existence of a general trait syndrome associated with dung manipulation and digging capability. Dung exploitation strategies did not provide further explanatory power. Seedling emergence showed a negative but weak relationship with dung burial amount and depth and species identity. This implies that specific differences in dung–soil interface activity may be important in secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Riqueza de espécies e diversidade ecológica de himenópteros parasitóides (Hymenoptera, Parasitica) em culturas frutícolas da ilha Terceira (Açores)

"A ordem Hymenoptera, que compreende as abelhas, vespas e formigas, constitui um dos grupos mais diversos do reino animal (Nieves-Aldrey & Fontal-Cazalla, 1999). Actualmente conhecem-se entre 120.000 a 200.000 espécies de himenópteros, mas algumas estimativas apontam para valores bastante superiores: 250.000 a 500.000 espécies (Gaston, 1991). Nos Açores, actualmente estão referenciadas 131 espécies de Hymenoptera (11 das quais endémicas), um número que possivelmente corresponde a menos de 30% da fauna realmente existente no arquipélago (ver Fig. 8 em Borges et al., 2005). […]". (da Introdução

Assessing the areas under risk of invasion within islands through potential distribution modelling: the case of Pittosporum undulatum in São Miguel, Azores

Copyright © 2009 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.Non-indigenous plant species have been frequently reported as successful invaders in island environments, changing plant community composition and structure. This is the case of the sweet pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum), native from Australia, which is one of the most successful plant invaders in the Azores archipelago. Data extracted from recent forestry inventories were used to model and map the potential distribution of P. undulatum in São Miguel, the larger island of the Azores. Current distribution of P. undulatum is related to climate, altitude and some human activity effects. Further analysis of the areas under risk of invasion showed that protected areas are under potential threat, although only a few native forest remnants seem to be threatened due to future expansion of P. undulatum, since the current distribution of these native communities has been reduced due to clearing and competition with invasive plants. We discuss the threats that any further expansion of the species will represent for low-altitude native forests, as well as the utility of species distribution models in the assessment of the areas under risk of invasion

Resolving the Azorean knot: a response to Carine & Schaefer (2010)

Copyright © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Carine & Schaefer (Journal of Biogeography, 2010, 37, 77–89) suggest that the lack of past climate oscillations in the Azores may have contributed to the low plant endemism in this archipelago compared to that of the Canary Islands, a pattern they term the Azorean diversity enigma. Here we challenge their hypothesis, and discuss how the particular characteristics of the Azores may have driven current diversification patterns in this archipelago. We argue that the restricted number of Azorean endemic species and their wide distribution is explicable by the geological, geographical and ecological attributes of the archipelago. That is, the Azores are too young, too small, and too environmentally homogeneous to have hosted many in situ diversification events, so they do not host as many endemic species as other Macaronesian archipelagos, such as Madeira and especially the Canary Islands

Are species-area relationships from entire archipelagos congruent with those of their constituent islands?

Copyright © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.AIM To establish the extent to which archipelagos follow the same species–area relationship as their constituent islands and to explore the factors that may explain departures from the relationship. LOCATION Thirty-eight archipelagos distributed worldwide. METHODS We used ninety-seven published datasets to create island species–area relationships (ISARs) using the Arrhenius logarithmic form of the power model. Observed and predicted species richness of an archipelago and of each of its islands were used to calculate two indices that determined whether the archipelago followed the ISAR. Archipelagic residuals (ArcRes) were calculated as the residual of the prediction provided by the ISAR using the total area of the archipelago, standardized by the total richness observed in the archipelago. We also tested whether any characteristic of the archipelago (geological origin and isolation) and/or taxon accounts for whether an archipelago fits into the ISAR or not. Finally, we explored the relationship between ArcRes and two metrics of nestedness. RESULTS The archipelago was close to the ISAR of its constituent islands in most of the cases analysed. Exceptions arose for archipelagos where (i) the slopes of the ISAR are low, (ii) observed species richness is higher than expected by the ISAR and/or (iii) distance to the mainland is small. The archipelago's geological origin was also important; a higher percentage of oceanic archipelagos fit into their ISAR than continental ones. ArcRes indicated that the ISAR underpredicts archipelagic richness in the least isolated archipelagos. Different types of taxon showed no differences in ArcRes. Nestedness and ArcRes appear to be related, although the form of the relationship varies between metrics. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Archipelagos, as a rule, follow the same ISAR as their constituent islands. Therefore, they can be used as distinct units themselves in large-scale biogeographical and macroecological studies. Departure from the ISAR can be used as a crude indicator of richness-ordered nestedness, responsive to factors such as isolation, environmental heterogeneity, number and age of islands

Plant-plant competition outcomes are modulated by plant effects on the soil bacterial community

Competition is a key process that determines plant community structure and dynamics, often mediated by nutrients and water availability. However, the role of soil microorganisms on plant competition, and the links between above- and belowground processes, are not well understood. Here we show that the effects of interspecific plant competition on plant performance are mediated by feedbacks between plants and soil bacterial communities. Each plant species selects a singular community of soil microorganisms in its rhizosphere with a specific species composition, abundance and activity. When two plant species interact, the resulting soil bacterial community matches that of the most competitive plant species, suggesting strong competitive interactions between soil bacterial communities as well. We propose a novel mechanism by which changes in belowground bacterial communities promoted by the most competitive plant species influence plant performance and competition outcome. These findings emphasise the strong links between plant and soil communities, paving the way to a better understanding of plant community dynamics and the effects of soil bacterial communities on ecosystem functioning and services