Avaluació de l’estat sanitari del gènere Turdus Linnaeus 1758 a Mallorca: una proposta de col·laboració entre la caça, l’administració i l’acadèmia

[cat] Els tords són unes de les espècies cinegètiques que tenen un major interès per als caçadors de Mallorca. Per a la seva caça s’empren diferents modalitats, si bé la caça amb coll permet la realització d’un seguiment dels exemplars amb una major selecció sense afectar a altres espècies. El seguiment de les espècies cinegètiques és un assumpte clau per a poder gestionar les poblacions hivernants de manera adequada, i més encara quan els individus que es cacen son consumits per la població local. En aquest sentit l’aparició al 2018 d’exemplars de tords amb presència del paràsit Morishitium polonicum remarca la necessitat de realitzar un seguiment de l’estat sanitari de les diferents espècies del gènere Turdus. Per la qual cosa en el present manuscrit es proposa una col·laboració entre les societats de caçadors, l’administració responsable de la gestió de caça a l’illa de Mallorca i la Universitat de les Illes Balears, com a institució científica.[eng] True thrushes are the group of hunting species with greater appreciation among the hunters of Mallorca island. For hunting them, several techniques are used, but nevertheless the use of nets within the autochthonous technique named coll allows to carry out a monitoring of the individuals with major selection, thus not affecting other species of birds. The monitoring of hunting species is a key issue to manage winter populations in a proper way, and even more when the hunted specimens are eaten by native population. In this regard, the record of the occurrence of the parasite Morishitium polonicum highlights the need of a monitoring of the health status of different species of the genus Turdus. Therefore, in the present manuscript it is proposed an agreement among the hunter societies, the responsible administration for management of hunting activity at Mallorca island and the University of the Balearic Islands, as a scientific institution

Diseño, aplicación y valoración del feedback formativo para la tutorización del TFG

[spa] El estudio pretende dar a conocer el diseño y la aplicación de un proyecto de tutorización del Trabajo de Fin de Grado donde el feedback es objeto de un análisis en el que participan 9 profesores de la Facultad de Educación de la Universidad de las Islas Baleares y 58 alumnos del grado de Maestro en Educación Infantil y Primaria. Se utilizan dos instrumentos: un cuestionario destinado al profesorado y al alumnado; y, el análisis de contenido del feedback virtual facilitado por los tutores

Recent island colonization by an introduced shrew in the western mediterranean

Insular ecosystems are sensitive to alien invasive species. The Balearic Islands have been colonized by a large list of invasive species, in most cases due to human activity. White-toothed shrews have been historically recorded in this archipelago and to date four different species have been found. In this study we focus on the white-toothed pygmy shrew (Suncus etruscus) at the island of Mallorca, assessing its current status and identifying both its genetic variation and geographic structure. During the last 50 years this species has colonized a large proportion of the island. Haplotype network analyses support the hypothesis of a unique and recent colonization event from a single but unknown source population. Available genetic information suggests the populations from northeast Iberian Peninsula (Catalonia) and southwest France (Camarge) as the most plausible source of the lineage found in Mallorca. The recent and extensive distribution of Suncus etruscus on this island is characteristic of a fast growing population at an invasive colonization phase, indicating that it has found in Mallorca suitable ecological conditions to thrive

Effects of Human Activity on Markers of Oxidative Stress in the Intestine of Holothuria tubulosa, with Special Reference to the Presence of Microplastics

[eng] Pollution in the seas and oceans is a global problem, which highlights emerging pollutants and plastics, specifically microplastics (MPs), which are tiny (1 μm to 5 mm) ubiquitous plastic particles present in marine environments that can be ingested by a wide range of organisms. Holothurians are benthic organisms that feed on sediment; therefore, they can be exposed to contaminants present in the particles they ingest. The objective was to evaluate the effects of human activity on Holothuria tubulosa through the study of biomarkers. Specimens were collected in three different areas throughout the island of Eivissa, Spain: (1) a highly urbanized area, with tourist uses and a marina; (2) an urbanized area close to the mouth of a torrent; (3) an area devoid of human activity and considered clean. The results showed a higher presence of microplastics (MPs) in the sediments from the highly urbanized area in relation to the other two areas studied. Similarly, a higher number of MPs were observed in the digestive tract of H. tubulosa from the most affected area, decreasing with the degree of anthropic influence. Both in the sediment and in the holothurians, fibers predominated with more than 75% of the items. In the three areas, mesoplastics were analyzed by means of FTIR, showing that the main polymer was polypropylene (27%) followed by low-density polyethylene (17%) and polystyrene (16%). Regarding the biomarkers of oxidative stress, the intestine of H. tubulosa from the most impacted areas showed higher catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GRd), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels compared to the control area. The intermediate area only presented significant differences in GRd and GST with respect to the clean area. The activities of acetylcholinesterase and the levels and malondialdehyde presented similar values in all areas. In conclusion, human activity evaluated with the presence of MPs induced an antioxidant response in H. tubulosa, although without evidence of oxidative damage or neurotoxicity. H. tubulosa, due to its benthic animal characteristics and easy handling, can be a useful species for monitoring purposes

Long-term exposure to microplastics induces oxidative stress and a pro-inflammatory response in the gut of Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758

Environmental pollution from plastic debris is a major global concern, being a potential threat to marine organisms and ecosystems. The accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in the oceans has notable ecological implications due to their long persistence, their potential ecotoxicity, and their ability to adsorb other pollutants and act as vectors of pathogens. Nevertheless, whereas the number of investigations documenting the presence of MPs in wild fish has increased, less studies have addressed the toxicological effects associated with the ingestion of MPs in long-term laboratory conditions. The aim of the present study was to assess the physiological response of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) exposed to low-density polyethylene (LDPE) MPs during a 90-day exposure followed by an extra 30 days of depuration through the application of oxidative stress biomarkers in the gut. No changes were observed in the Fulton condition factor of fish associated with MP intake. The activities of antioxidant enzymes and glutathione s-transferase and the levels of reduced glutathione progressively increased throughout the study in the MPs-fed group compared to the control group, reaching the highest values at 90 days. Similarly, the activity of the pro-inflammatory enzyme, myeloperoxidase, and the levels of oxidative damage markers -malondialdehyde and protein carbonyls-also increased after 90 days of exposure to an enriched diet with MPs. During the 30-day depuration period, all the biomarkers analysed tended to normalize, with the majority recovering values similar to those of the control group. In conclusion, MPs exposure during 90 days to S. aurata induced oxidative stress and a pro-inflammatory response in gut, and were able to recover after the exposure to MPs was removed