Reproducció accidental de ropit Erithacus rubecula a l'illa de Mallorca

Incidental breeding of Robin Erithacus rubecula in Mallorca. First breeding report of the Robin, Erithacus rubecula, in the Balearic Islands. This species is considered a migrant and an abundant winter visitor to these islands. Since 2002 it has been observed during the breeding season at an area known as Son Pax in Palma. In 2004 a maximum of two birds was observed between 30th April and 14th September. On 3rd April 2005 two birds hatched the previous year (EURING code 5) were trapped using mist-nets, one of which was developing an incubation patch (Patch code 1)(PINILLA, 2000). On 16th July a juvenile (EURING code 3) with a brownish head and back, brownish-yellow spots and a red breast was observed at the same place. This confirmed successful breeding of this species in Mallorca and probably for the region

Recompte hivernal d'aus aquàtiques i limícoles a les Balears, gener 2008

Winter census of Wildfowl and Shorebirds in the Balearic Islands, January 2008. Results of the winter census of Wildfowl and Shorebirds in the Balearics in 2008 are presented. In the year 2008 a total of 25.638 individuals belonging to 58 species were recorded. The results are compared with the average for the last 17 years. This shows an increase in almost all the groups in Mallorca except Podicipediformes and Phoenicopteriformes, and a recovery in the number of waders compared with 200. There was a marked decrease of Pelecaniformes (Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo) and Gruiformes (Common coot Fulica atra) in Menorca and a marked decrease of Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus in the Pitiuses, as well as a decrease in the number of blacknecked greebes Podiceps nigricollis in Formentera

Estudio del estado ecológico de los ríos de la cuenca hidrográfica del Júcar (España) mediante el índice BMWP'

El diseño de la Red Biológica, basado en el uso de indicadores hidromorfológicos, físico-químicos y biológicos, permitió realizar un diagnóstico de calidad en 221 puntos de muestreo en 104 ríos de la red hidrográfica del Júcar (Júcar, Turia, Mijares, Vinalopó, Palancia, Serpis y cuencas menores) durante el año 2000 y establecer su estado ecológico. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados obtenidos con el índice BMWP'. Los ríos con un estado ecológico muy bueno se hallan situados en los tramos altos, tanto de los ríos principales como de los afluentes de primer y segundo orden. La mayoría de los puntos de referencia (12.7%) se encuentran en altitudes superiores a los 800 m. Los ríos situados en altitudes medias (800-200 m) se hallan muy regulados y presentan, en general, un estado entre bueno y aceptable, existiendo pocos puntos de referencia (6.8%). Por último, los ríos situados en tierras bajas (< 200 m) se encuentran, la gran mayoría, en un estado deficiente o malo, siendo muy difícil hallar ríos en buen estado y casi imposible establecer puntos de referencia con un muy buen estado ecológico (0.5%). Las medidas correctoras propuestas para los ríos de la red hidrográfica del Júcar se centran en la mejora de las características hidromorfológicas y físico-químicas, y por tanto de las comunidades biológicas, con el propósito final de conseguir el mejor estado ecológico y químico posible para las aguas superficiales tal y como exige la DMA (Directiva Marco del Agua).The design of the Biological Network, based on the use of hydromorphological, physical, chemical, and biological indicators, allowed a diagnosis of the quality in 221 sampling points in 104 rivers of Júcar's Basin (Jucar, Turia, Mijares, Vinalopo, Palancia, Serpis and small basins) to be carried out during the year 2000 and to establish its ecological status. In this work the results obtained with the BMWP' index are presented. The rivers with a high ecological status are located in the high altitudes, so much of the main rivers as of the tributaries of first and second order. Most of the reference points (12.7%) are located at altitudes higher than 800 m. The rivers located at middle-altitudes (800-200 m) are very regulated and they present, in general, an ecological status between good and acceptable, with few reference points (6.8%). Last, the rivers located in lowlands (< 200 m) are, mostly, in a poor or bad ecological state, making it very difficult to find rivers in good ecological status and almost impossible to establish reference points with a high ecological status (0.5%). The correcting measures proposed for the rivers of the Júcar's Basin are centered in the improvement of the hydromorphological, physical, and chemical characteristics, and therefore of the biological communities, with the final purpose of achieving the highest ecological and chemical status possible for surface waters like the WFD (Water Framework Directive) demands

La gestión y evaluación de prácticas externas a través de herramientas de teleformación

[ES] La asignatura Introducción a los Sectores Empresariales (ISE) se imparte en el primer curso de la Licenciatura de Administración y Dirección de Empresas en la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Debido a su carácter generalista y a su ubicación en el plan de estudios se ha promovido desde su creación la participación activa de los alumnos en su formación en esta materia. Por ello, la adaptación de la asignatura al nuevo contexto educativo ha sido relativamente sencilla, puesto que diferentes metodologías activas de aprendizaje ya se venían realizando para fomentar la implicación del alumno en este proceso. Entre éstas, se encuentran las visitas a empresas, utilizando el enfoque de práctica externa, aprovechando al mismo tiempo como herramientas docentes para su gestión y evaluación, el uso de las tecnologías de la información disponibles en nuestra Universidad, la plataforma PoliformaT, basada en SAKAI. En base a la experiencia obtenida en la parte de la asignatura relativa a los sectores agroalimentario y servicios se elabora este trabajo con el fin de exponer la metodología y plan de trabajo seguido así como mostrar los resultados obtenidosGarcía-Martínez, G.; Silvestre Esteve, E.; Seguí-Mas, E.; Lajara-Camilleri, N. (2011). La gestión y evaluación de prácticas externas a través de herramientas de teleformación. Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad de Alicante. 996-1008. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/178226S996100

The L-sigma Relation of Local HII Galaxies

We present for the first time a new data set of emission line widths for 118 star-forming regions in HII galaxies (HIIGs). This homogeneous set is used to investigate the L-sigma relation in conjunction with optical spectrophotometric observations. Peculiarities in the line profiles such as sharp lines, wings, asymmetries, and in some cases more than one component in emission were verified. From a new independent homogeneous set of spectrophotometric data we derived physical condition parameters and performed the statistical principal component analysis. We have investigated the potential role of metallicity (O/H), Hbeta equivalent width (WHbeta) and ionization ratio [OIII]/[OII] to account for the observational scatter of L-sigma relation. Our results indicate that the L-sigma relation for HIIGs is more sensitive to the evolution of the current starburst event (short-term evolution) and dated by WHbeta or even the [OIII]/[OII] ratio. The long-term evolution measured by O/H also plays a potential role in determining the luminosity of the current burst for a given velocity dispersion and age as previously suggested. Additionally, galaxies showing Gaussian line profiles present more tight correlations indicating that they are best targets for the application of the parametric relations as an extragalactic cosmological distance indicator. Best fits for a restricted homogeneous sample of 45 HIIGs provide us a set of new extragalactic distance indicators with an RMS scatter compatible with observational errors of Delta_log(LHalpha) = 0.2 dex or 0.5 mag. Improvements may still come from future optimized observational programs to reduce the observational uncertainties on the predicted luminosities of HIIGs in order to achieve the precision required for the application of these relations as tests of cosmological models.Comment: 53 pages, 15 figures, 4 complete tables Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Generalized additive and fuzzy models in environmental flow assessment: A comparison employing the West Balkan trout (Salmo farioides; Karaman, 1938)

Human activities have altered flow regimes resulting in increased pressures and threats on river biota. Physical habitat simulation has been established as a standard approach among the methods for Environmental Flow Assessment (EFA). Traditionally, in EFA, univariate habitat suitability curves have been used to evaluate the habitat suitability at the microhabitat scale whereas Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and fuzzy logic are considered the most common multivariate approaches to do so. The assessment of the habitat suitability for three size classes of the West Balkan trout (Salmo farioides; Karaman, 1938) inferred with these multivariate approaches was compared at three different levels. First the modelled patterns of habitat selection were compared by developing partial dependence plots. Then, the habitat assessment was spatially explicitly compared by calculating the fuzzy kappa statistic and finally, the habitat quantity and quality was compared broadly and at relevant flows under a hypothetical flow regulation, based on the Weighted Usable Area (WUA) vs. flow curves. The GAMs were slightly more accurate and the WUA-flow curves demonstrated that they were more optimistic in the habitat assessment with larger areas assessed with low to intermediate suitability (0.2 0.6). Nevertheless, both approaches coincided in the habitat assessment (the optimal areas were spatially coincident) and in the modelled patterns of habitat selection; large trout selected microhabitats with low flow velocity, large depth, coarse substrate and abundant cover. Medium sized trout selected microhabitats with low flow velocity, middle-to-large depth, any kind of substrate but bedrock and some elements of cover. Finally small trout selected microhabitats with low flow velocity, small depth, and light cover only avoiding bedrock substrate. Furthermore, both approaches also rendered similar WUA-flow curves and coincided in the predicted increases and decreases of the WUA under the hypothetical flow regulation. Although on an equal footing, GAMs performed slightly better, they do not automatically account for variables interactions. Conversely, fuzzy models do so and can be easily modified by experts to include new insights or to cover a wider range of environmental conditions. Therefore, as a consequence of the agreement between both approaches, we would advocate for combinations of GAMs and fuzzy models in fish-based EFA.This study was supported by the ECOFLOW project funded by the Hellenic General Secretariat of Research and Technology in the framework of the NSRF 2007-2013. We are grateful for field assistance of Dimitris Kommatas, Orfeas Triantafillou and Martin Palt and to Alcibiades N. Economou for assistance in discussions on trout biology and ecology.Muñoz Mas, R.; Papadaki, C.; Martinez-Capel, F.; Zogaris, S.; Ntoanidis, L.; Dimitriou, E. (2016). Generalized additive and fuzzy models in environmental flow assessment: A comparison employing the West Balkan trout (Salmo farioides; Karaman, 1938). Ecological Engineering. 91:365-377. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.03.009S3653779

The effect of randomised exposure to different types of natural outdoor environments compared to exposure to an urban environment on people with indications of psychological distress in Catalonia

© 2017 Triguero-Mas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction: Experimental studies have reported associations between short-term exposure to natural outdoor environments (NOE) and health benefits. However, they lack insight into mechanisms, often have low external and ecological validity, and have rarely focused on people with some psycho-physiological affection. The aim of this study was to use a randomized, case-crossover design to investigate: (i) the effects of unconstrained exposure to real natural and urban environments on psycho-physiological indicators of people with indications of psychological distress, (ii) the possible differential effects of 30 and 30+180 minutes exposures, and (iii) the possible mechanisms explaining these effects. Material and methods: People (n = 26) with indications of psychological distress were exposed to green (Collserola Natural Park), blue (Castelldefels beach) and urban (Eixample neighbourhood) environments in Catalonia. They were exposed to all environments in groups for a period of 30+180 minutes between October 2013 and January 2014. During the exposure period, participants were instructed to do what they would usually do in that environment. Before, during (at 30 and 30+180 minutes) and after each exposure, several psycho-physiological measures were taken: mood (measured as Total Mood Disturbance, TMD), attention capacity (measured as backwards digit-span task), stress levels (measures as salivary cortisol), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, autonomous nervous system (assessed as heart rate variability and the indicators: low frequency power (LF), high frequency power (HF), ratio between LF and HF (LF:HF), and coefficients of component variance of LF, HF, and LF:HF). We also measured several potential mediators: air pollution, noise, physical activity, social interactions, and self-perceived restoration experience. Results: When compared with responses to urban environment, we found statistically significantly lower TMD [-4.78 (-7.77, -1.79) points difference], and salivary cortisol [-0.21 (-0.34, -0.08) log nmol/L] in the green exposure environment, and statistically significantly lower TMD [-4.53 (-7.57, -1.49) points difference], and statistically significant favourable changes in heart rate variability indicators (specifically LF:HF and CCV-LF:HF with around -0.20 points of difference of the indicators) in the blue exposure environment. Physical activity and self-perceived restoration experience partially mediated the associations between NOE and TMD. Physical activity and air pollution partially mediated the associations between NOE and heart rate variability. Discussion and conclusions: This study extends the existing evidence on the benefits of NOE for people's health. It also suggests NOE potential as a preventive medicine, specifically focusing on people with indications of psychological distress. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02624921

The role of a firm's absorptive capacity and the technology transfer process in clusters: How effective are technology centres in low-tech clusters?

This paper analyses how the internal resources of small- and medium-sized enterprises determine access (learning processes) to technology centres (TCs) or industrial research institutes (innovation infrastructure) in traditional low-tech clusters. These interactions basically represent traded (market-based) transactions, which constitute important sources of knowledge in clusters. The paper addresses the role of TCs in low-tech clusters, and uses semi-structured interviews with 80 firms in a manufacturing cluster. The results point out that producer–user interactions are the most frequent; thus, the higher the sector knowledge-intensive base, the more likely the utilization of the available research infrastructure becomes. Conversely, the sectors with less knowledge-intensive structures, i.e. less absorptive capacity (AC), present weak linkages to TCs, as they frequently prefer to interact with suppliers, who act as transceivers of knowledge. Therefore, not all the firms in a cluster can fully exploit the available research infrastructure, and their AC moderates this engagement. In addition, the existence of TCs is not sufficient since the active role of a firm's search strategies to undertake interactions and conduct openness to available sources of knowledge is also needed. The study has implications for policymakers and academia