Plankton Taxonomic and Size Diversity of Mediterranean Brackish Ponds in Spring: Influence of Abiotic and Biotic Factors

In this study, performed in Mediterranean brackish ponds during spring season, we assessed the effects of biotic interactions and abiotic factors on the size and taxonomic structure of the phytoplankton and zooplankton. We used a taxonomic and a size diversity index as a descriptor of the community structure. We predicted that the size diversity of each trophic level would be mainly related to biotic interactions, such as size-based fish predation (in the case of zooplankton) and food resource availability (in the case of phytoplankton), whereas taxonomic diversity would be more affected by abiotic variables (e.g., conductivity, pond morphology). Our results showed a negative relationship between phytoplankton size diversity and food resource availability leading to low size diversities under food scarcity due to dominance of small species. Conductivity also negatively affected the phytoplankton size diversity, although slightly. Regarding zooplankton size diversity, none of predictors tested seemed to influence this index. Similar fish size diversities among ponds may prevent a significant effect of fish predation on size diversity of zooplankton. As expected, taxonomic diversity of phytoplankton and zooplankton was related to abiotic variables (specifically pond morphometry) rather than biotic interactions, which are usually body size dependent, especially in these species-poor brackish environments

Slaughter weight rather than sex affects carcass cuts and tissue composition of Bisaro pigs

Carcass cuts and tissue composition were assessed in Bisaro pigs (n=64) from two sexes (31 gilts and 33 entire males) reared until three target slaughter body-weights (BW) means: 17 kg, 32 kg, and 79 kg. Dressing percentage and backfat thickness increased whereas carcass shrinkage decreased with increasing BW. Slaughter weight affected most of the carcass cut proportions, except shoulder and thoracic regions. Bone proportion decreased linearly with increasing slaughter BW, while intermuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissue depots increased concomitantly. Slaughter weight increased the subcutaneous adipose tissue proportion but this impaired intramuscular and intermuscular adipose tissues in the loin primal. The sex of the pigs minimally affected the carcass composition, as only the belly weight and the subcutaneous adipose tissue proportions were greater in gilts than in entire males. Light pigs regardless of sex are recommended to balance the trade-offs between carcass cuts and their non-edible compositional outcomes.Work included in the Portuguese PRODER research Project BISOPORC – Pork extensive production of Bísara breed, in two alternative systems: fattening on concentrate vs chesnut, Project PRODER SI I&DT Medida 4.1 “Cooperação para a Inovação”. The authors are grateful to Laboratory of Carcass and Meat Quality of Agriculture School of Polytechnic Institute of Bragança ‘Cantinho do Alfredo’. The authors are members of the MARCARNE network, funded by CYTED (ref. 116RT0503).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Plastic debris in lakes and reservoirs

Plastic debris is thought to be widespread in freshwater ecosystems globally. However, a lack of comprehensive and comparable data makes rigorous assessment of its distribution challenging. Here we present a standardized cross-national survey that assesses the abundance and type of plastic debris (>250 μm) in freshwater ecosystems. We sample surface waters of 38 lakes and reservoirs, distributed across gradients of geographical position and limnological attributes, with the aim to identify factors associated with an increased observation of plastics. We find plastic debris in all studied lakes and reservoirs, suggesting that these ecosystems play a key role in the plastic-pollution cycle. Our results indicate that two types of lakes are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination: lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized areas and large lakes and reservoirs with elevated deposition areas, long water-retention times and high levels of anthropogenic influence. Plastic concentrations vary widely among lakes; in the most polluted, concentrations reach or even exceed those reported in the subtropical oceanic gyres, marine areas collecting large amounts of debris. Our findings highlight the importance of including lakes and reservoirs when addressing plastic pollution, in the context of pollution management and for the continued provision of lake ecosystem services

Global patterns and predictors of microplastic occurrence and abundance in lentic systems

The majority of microplastic research has focused on seawater, with fewer than 4% of microplasticsrelated studies occurring on freshwaters. The limited available information suggests that theabundance of microplastics in freshwaters is often as high or even higher than marine environments.However, comprehensive investigations on occurrence and fate of microplastics in freshwaters arescarce and highly fragmented, partly because detection and identification of microplastic particles israther complex. In addition, up to now, harmonized and standardized protocols for the sampling andanalysis of microplastics in freshwaters do not exist, and studies with different research aims andhypotheses often report unstandardized results, making comparison among studies difficult. In thepresent study, we performed the first global standardized sampling and analysis effort to investigatethe occurrence and distribution of microplastics in surface water of lakes and reservoirs with differentanthropogenic impacts. Participants aim to collect water samples of freshwater systems with differentfeatures (e.g., area, depth, thermal behavior, watershed), following a common protocol. This establishes the collection of samples by horizontal trawling of a plankton net and, after treatmentwith hydrogen peroxide, the polymer identification through micro-Raman spectroscopy. This GLEONproject will allow obtaining comparable data about microplastic contamination in different freshwatersystems around the globe. With this global dataset, our goals are to determine whether a relationshipexists between the abundance of microplastics and the waterbody/watershed attributes andunderstand which factors are likely to influence the occurrence of microplastics in surface water oflentic systems.Fil: Nava, Veronica. University Of Milano-Bicocca; ItaliaFil: Frezzotti, Maria Luce. University Of Milano-Bicocca; ItaliaFil: Aherne, Julian. Trent University; CanadáFil: Alfonso, María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; ArgentinaFil: AntãoGeraldes, Ana M.. Instituto Politécnico De Bragança; PortugalFil: Attermeyer, Katrin. No especifíca;Fil: Bah, Abdou R.. City University of New York; Estados UnidosFil: Bao, Roberto. Universidad da Coruña; EspañaFil: Bartrons, Mireia. Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya; EspañaFil: Berger, Stella A.. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research; AlemaniaFil: Biernaczyk, Marcin. No especifíca;Fil: Breider, Florian. Institute Of Environmental Engineering; SueciaFil: Brookes, Justin. University of Adelaide; AustraliaFil: Cañedo Argüelles, Miguel. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Canle, Moisés. Universidad da Coruña; EspañaFil: Capelli, Camilla. Institute Of Earth Sciences; SueciaFil: Cereijo, José. Universidad da Coruña; EspañaFil: Carballeira, Rafael. Universidad da Coruña; EspañaFil: Christensen, Søren T.. Cphbusiness Laboratory And Environment; DinamarcaFil: Christoffersen, Kirsten S.. Universidad de Copenhagen; DinamarcaFil: Clayer, Francois. Norwegian Institute For Water Research; NoruegaFil: De Eyto, Elvira. Marine Institute; MayotteFil: De Senerpont Domis, Lisette N.. Netherlands Institute of Ecology; Países BajosFil: Jordi Delgado, Martín. Universidad da Coruña; EspañaFil: Doubek, Jonathan P.. Lake Superior State University; Estados UnidosFil: Eaton, Ashley. University of Vermont; Estados UnidosFil: Erdogan, Seyda. Bozok University; TurquíaFil: Erina, Oxana. Lomonosov Moscow State University; RusiaFil: Ersoy, Zeynep. Universidade De Évora; PortugalFil: Feuchtmayr, Heidrun. No especifíca;Fil: Fugère, Vincent. Université du Québec a Montreal; CanadáFil: Galafassi, Silvia. Water Research Institute; ItaliaFil: Gonçalves, Vitor. Universidad de Porto. Facultad de Ciências. Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos; PortugalFil: Grossart, Hans Peter. No especifíca;Fil: Hamilton, David. Griffith University; AustraliaFil: Hanson, Paul C.. University of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Harris, Ted. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Başaran Kankılıç, Gökben. Kırıkkale University; TurquíaFil: Kessler, Rebecca. University of Kansas; Estados UnidosFil: Jacquet, Stéphan. No especifíca;Fil: Kangur, Külli. Estonian University Of Life Sciences; EstoniaFil: Kiel, Christine. No especifíca;Fil: Knoll, Lesley. University of Minnesota; Estados UnidosFil: Kokorīte, Ilga. No especifíca;Fil: Lavoie, Isabelle. Institut National De La Recherche Scientifique; CanadáFil: Leiva Presa, Àngels. No especifíca;Fil: Lepori, Fabio. University Of Applied Sciences And Arts Of Southern Switzerland; SuizaFil: Lusher, Amy. Norwegian Institute For Water Research; NoruegaFil: Macintyre, Sally. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Matias, Miguel. Universidade De Évora; PortugalFil: Matsuzaki, Shin Ichiro S.. National Institute For Enviromental Studies; JapónFil: Mccarthy, Valerie. Dundalk Institute Of Technology; IrlandaFil: Mcelarney, Yvonne. Agri - Food And Bioscience Institute; IrlandaFil: Mcnally, David. Winooski High School; Estados UnidosFil: Mekonen Belay, Berte. Netherlands Institute Of Ecology; Países BajosFil: Messyasz, Beata. Adam Mickiewicz University In Poznan; PoloniaFil: Mlambo, Musa. Rhodes University. Albany Museum.; SudáfricaFil: Nandini, Sarma. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Nodine, Emily. Rollins College; Estados UnidosFil: Özen, Arda. Çankırı Karatekin University; TurquíaFil: Ozkundakci, Deniz. Waikato Regional Council Science; Nueva ZelandaFil: Vazquez Perez, Ricardo. Universidad da Coruña; EspañaFil: Pociecha, Agnieszka. Institute Of Nature Conservation; PoloniaFil: Raposeiro, Pedro. Universidad de Porto. Facultad de Ciências. Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos; PortugalFil: Rõõm, Eva Ingrid. Estonian University Of Life Sciences; EstoniaFil: Salmaso, Nico. Research And Innovation Centre; ItaliaFil: Sarma, Singaraju S. S.. Facultad De Estudios Superiores Iztacala; MéxicoFil: Saulnier Talbot, Émilie. Laval University. Centre Hospitalier de L'universite Laval; CanadáFil: Scordo, Facundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; ArgentinaFil: Sibomana, Claver. University Of Burundi; BurundiFil: Stepanowska, Katarzyna. West Pomeranian University Of Technology In Szczecin; PoloniaFil: Tavşanoğlu, Ü. Nihan. Çankırı Karatekin University; TurquíaFil: Tolotti, Monica. Research And Innovation Centre; ItaliaFil: Udoh, Abel. Gazi University; TurquíaFil: Urrutia Cordera, Pablo. Uppsala University; SueciaFil: Valois, Amanda. National Institute Of Water And Atmospheric Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Vandergoes, Marcus. No especifíca;Fil: Verburg, Piet. National Institute Of Water And Atmospheric Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Volta, Pietro. Water Research Institute - National Research Council; ItaliaFil: Wain, Danielle. No especifíca;Fil: Wesolek, Brian. Bay Mills Indian Community; Estados UnidosFil: Weyhenmeyer, Gesa. Uppsala University; SueciaFil: Wightman, Ryan. Agri - Food And Bioscience Institute; IrlandaFil: Wood, Susie. Cawthron Institute; Nueva ZelandaFil: Wu, Naicheng. Ningbo University; ChinaFil: Zawiska, Izabela. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Zawisza, Edyta. Polish Academy of Sciences; ArgentinaFil: Zink, Lauren. University Of Lethbridge; CanadáFil: Leoni, Barbara. University Of Milano Bicocca; ItaliaThe Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network All Hands' MeetingEstados UnidosGlobal Lake Ecological Observatory Networ