Variation of genetic and behavioural traits in the sandhopper Talitrus saltator (Crustacea Amphipoda) along a dynamic sand beach

In an attempt to unravel the possible relationships among coastal stability, genetic variability and orientation behaviour in the sandhopper Talitrus saltator, we have screened four subpopulations of this species. Sandhoppers along 3 km of a dynamic sand beach were studied for orientation performance (i.e. adherence to the seaward theoretical escape direction (TED)) and sequence variation for a fragment of the mitochondrial (mt) gene encoding for the cytochrome oxidase Subunit I (COI). The sampling sites differed in the stability of the shoreline (from severely eroded to accreting). Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed significant subdivisions among the four locations. The subpopulation sampled at the most eroded point showed no haplotype diversity and had the highest scatter in orientation. Genetic diversity increased with decreasing erosion. Orientation performances were best where the beach is in dynamic equilibrium, and were progressively more scattered at the accreting points. Multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated that the variables and factors that affected orientation significantly were daytime, global solar radiation, sex of individuals and haplotype diversity. Environmental factors are likely to influence sandhopper behaviour on a short and medium time scale (i.e. from single individual life span to a few generations). The data also suggest that temporal stability of the shoreline has a positive effect on the genetic variability of the resident sandhopper populations

Coupling beach ecology and macroplastics litter studies: Current trends and the way ahead

As sites of floating marine material deposition, sandy beaches accumulate marine litter. While research and assessment on beach litter is increasing and involves various actors (scientists, society and NGOs), there is the need to assess current and future dominant trends, directions and priorities in that research. As such, a textural co-occurrence analysis was applied to published scientific literature. Words were considered both singly and as part of compound terms related to concepts relevant to sandy beach ecology: morphodynamic state; Littoral Active Zone; indicator fauna. Litter as a compound term was also included. The main co-occurrences were found within compounds, with scarce interaction of “morphodynamic state” with the others, indicating the need for further integration of beach ecology paradigms into beached plastics studies. Three approaches are proposed to overcome the research limits highlighted: the unequivocation of terms, the consideration of adequate scales, and the attention to dynamics rather than just patterns

The Winckelmann300 Project: Dissemination of Culture with Virtual Reality at the Capitoline Museum in Rome

The best way to disseminate culture is, nowadays, the creation of scenarios with virtual and augmented reality that supply the visitors of museums with a powerful, interactive tool that allows to learn sometimes difficult concepts in an easy, entertaining way. 3D models derived from reality-based techniques are nowadays used to preserve, document and restore historical artefacts. These digital contents are also powerful instrument to interactively communicate their significance to non-specialist, making easier to understand concepts sometimes complicated or not clear. Virtual and Augmented Reality are surely a valid tool to interact with 3D models and a fundamental help in making culture more accessible to the wide public. These technologies can help the museum curators to adapt the cultural proposal and the information about the artefacts based on the different type of visitor’s categories. These technologies allow visitors to travel through space and time and have a great educative function permitting to explain in an easy and attractive way information and concepts that could prove to be complicated. The aim of this paper is to create a virtual scenario and an augmented reality app to recreate specific spaces in the Capitoline Museum in Rome as they were during Winckelmann’s time, placing specific statues in their original position in the 18th century

Setback distances as a conservation tool in wildlife-human interactions : testing their efficacy for birds affected by vehicles on open-coast sandy beaches

In some wilderness areas, wildlife encounter vehicles disrupt their behaviour and habitat use. Changing driver behaviour has been proposed where bans on vehicle use are politically unpalatable, but the efficacy of vehicle setbacks and reduced speeds remains largely untested. We characterised bird-vehicle encounters in terms of driver behaviour and the disturbance caused to birds, and tested whether spatial buffers or lower speeds reduced bird escape responses on open beaches. Focal observations showed that: i) most drivers did not create sizeable buffers between their vehicles and birds; ii) bird disturbance was frequent; and iii) predictors of probability of flushing (escape) were setback distance and vehicle type (buses flushed birds at higher rates than cars). Experiments demonstrated that substantial reductions in bird escape responses required buffers to be wide (> 25 m) and vehicle speeds to be slow (< 30 km h-1). Setback distances can reduce impacts on wildlife, provided that they are carefully designed and derived from empirical evidence. No speed or distance combination we tested, however, eliminated bird responses. Thus, while buffers reduce response rates, they are likely to be much less effective than vehicle-free zones (i.e. beach closures), and rely on changes to current driver behaviou

Setback distances as a conservation tool in wildlife-human interactions : testing their efficacy for birds affected by vehicles on open-coast sandy beaches

In some wilderness areas, wildlife encounter vehicles disrupt their behaviour and habitat use. Changing driver behaviour has been proposed where bans on vehicle use are politically unpalatable, but the efficacy of vehicle setbacks and reduced speeds remains largely untested. We characterised bird-vehicle encounters in terms of driver behaviour and the disturbance caused to birds, and tested whether spatial buffers or lower speeds reduced bird escape responses on open beaches. Focal observations showed that: i) most drivers did not create sizeable buffers between their vehicles and birds; ii) bird disturbance was frequent; and iii) predictors of probability of flushing (escape) were setback distance and vehicle type (buses flushed birds at higher rates than cars). Experiments demonstrated that substantial reductions in bird escape responses required buffers to be wide (> 25 m) and vehicle speeds to be slow (< 30 km h-1). Setback distances can reduce impacts on wildlife, provided that they are carefully designed and derived from empirical evidence. No speed or distance combination we tested, however, eliminated bird responses. Thus, while buffers reduce response rates, they are likely to be much less effective than vehicle-free zones (i.e. beach closures), and rely on changes to current driver behaviou

Integration of the gender dimension into socioeconomics analysis

Men and women carry out different and complementary activities, specially if we consider rural environments. The environmental resources are therefore differently used and perceived with respect to gender, and different needs may emerge. To achieve equality conditions, these features should be considered in a constructive way and in an integrated perspective, avoiding gender segregation also in the theoretical perspective. Women activities and duties are often related to the domestic sphere and, even if essential to the household, generally do not generate money flow, so they may escape the socioenomic approach. A tuning is needed, to give voice to all social components, also considering their different (in space, time, status, power, etc.) scales. This chapter synthetically illustrates how the challenge of gender integration in the socioeconomic analysis was faced throughout the WADI project. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Variable orientation within a natural population of the sandhopper Talitrus saltator (Crustacea: Amphipoda) as a response to a variable environment: The case-study of Berkoukesh beach, Tunisia

Sandy beaches are harsh environments, driving resident arthropod populations to various typical adaptations, particularly behavioural ones. Here we evaluated the effects of seasonal meteorological variability on the behaviour of Talitrus saltator on Berkoukesh beach (N-W Tunisia). The site is characterised by a Mediterranean climate, but is particularly exposed to seasonal winds and storms. The shoreline is in morphodynamic equilibrium. We tested sandhopper Talitrus saltator orientation in April, when sudden rainfall and storms are common, and in June, when as a rule the weather is warm and dry. The results were analysed with circular statistics and multiple regression models adapted to angular distributions, in order to highlight differences in orientation under the various conditions. Depending on the environmental conditions, amphipods from the same population appeared to utilise various orientation strategies as a response to different environmental constraints. The use of a range of behavioural mechanisms (sun-orientation seaward, sun-orientation landward, and phototaxis) resulted in links to the local landscape and to the animals' life cycle. As a general conclusion, we can infer that the behavioural variability found within the same population represents a response to seasonal environmental fluctuation. Such an increase in variability is likely to develop on a beach in dynamic equilibrium, where landscape references are stable, and a variable behaviour represents a strategy for dealing with environmental fluctuations. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Storytelling and environmental information: connecting schoolchildren and herpetofauna in Morocco

Northwestern Morocco is undergoing a sudden change in the level of infrastructure growth and pressure on the environment from increased tourism. The ongoing changes are raising questions about how the ecosystem will react, and the relevant drivers of these changes. The Oued Laou valley in north-west Morocco hosts high landscape, species and human cultural diversity. The Talassemtane National Park has been established to preserve the environment in this region; however, what information tools are available to children regarding this environment? The ecosystem is illustrated here using three components: herpetofauna (representing ecosystem components), problems related to water quantity and quality (representing interactions within ecosystem components) and Talassemtane National Park (representing a case of ecosystem management). A children's book was written on this topic, and when the book was delivered to pupils, a questionnaire was included, aimed at determining their sources of environmental information. The results identified major changes in the sources of information utilized by children in this part of Morocco, a clear role of schools in explaining ecosystem components, and an increasing role of TV in environmental information supply. The role of the family was found to be less important than TV or school. Another major source of pupils' environmental knowledge is personal observation and hands-on experience, both for rural and urban children. Children are willing to discover and understand complex systems, and researchers should be encouraged to supply children with correct and up-to-date information on environmental systems, focusing at first on the local environment, as a background for sustainable development. © 2009 ISZS, Blackwell Publishing and IOZ/CAS

Coastal talitrids and connectivity between beaches: A behavioural test

Beach-hoppers and sandhoppers in the family Talitridae are strongly linked to the supralittoral environment. They are semi-terrestrial animals and because they are direct developers there is potentially no mobility between populations on adjacent beaches. In the case of coastlines fragmented by natural or artificial structures, the assumed lack of inter-connectivity between beaches may represent a severe threat for the resident populations: in case of impacts, they might not be able to recover and the habitat might not be re-colonised. Unless we consider another possible scenario: the potential connectivity of populations via water currents, from individuals swashed accidentally into the sea. We therefore tested two different species, the sandhopper Notorchestia quadrimana and the beach-hopper Platorchestia smithi for features relevant to dispersal and connectivity among beaches: 1) survival in sea-water; 2) orientation (baseline and scototaxis) in sea-water and 3) behaviour in a current. Talitrid populations were sampled from a sheltered beach and an exposed beach along the New South Wales coast. On the sheltered beach both species were found, co-occurring within the same distance from the shoreline. On the exposed beach only P. smithi was found, in a dune slack far away from the shoreline. All individuals tested survived 96. h in immersion, and when subjected to a current they were clinging on the edge of the flume apparatus for most of the duration of the test. Differences emerged when comparing orientation, with the sharpest precision towards a dark pattern (positive scototaxis) in P. smithi from the sheltered beach and bimodal orientation (partly scototactic and partly sun compass) in N. quadrimana. The behavioural differences observed are likely developed as risk-related: sandhoppers burrow in the substrate and are less exposed to occasional swash, while beach-hoppers living in cast wrack displayed the ability of swimming quickly towards a floating object, increasing the likelihood of being passively carried from one beach to another. Different ecological groups such "sandhoppers" and "beach-hoppers" showed different behavioural patterns. The consideration of behavioural answers to swash risk highlighted the possibility of the connectivity of talitrid populations across fragmented beaches. © 2014 Elsevier B.V