An account on the taxonomy and molecular diversity of a marine rock-pool dweller, Tigriopus fulvus (Copepoda, Harpacticoida)

The copepod genus Tigriopus Norman, 1869 is distributed worldwide in coastal rock pools and it is currently considered to include 14 valid species. Tigriopus fulvus (Fischer 1860), with its subspecies Tigriopus fulvus adriaticus Van Douwe 1913 and Tigriopus fulvusalgiricus Monard 1935, and Tigriopus minutus Bozic 1960 are currently reported to occur in the Mediterranean area, but the actual diversity of the genus is currently unknown. We aimed to assess the actual identity of Mediterranean Tigriopus populations and to elucidate their taxonomy and pattern of genetic diversity. In order to reach these goals, a fragment of a mitochondrial DNA gene (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) was sequenced to be used as a reference marker. Our data suggest the presence of a single species characterized by a noteworthy geographi-cally based genetic structure in the whole study area. The observed diversity pattern is tentatively ascribed here to a strong monopolization of the rock pools by the first immigrants that reached them. However, such a monopolization is periodically disrupted by local extinction events, which are frequent in the intrinsically unstable rock pool habitats. We propose the name “clockwork monopolization” for this pattern.El género de copépodos Tigriopus Norman, 1869 se distribuye en todo el mundo en charcas de rocas costeras y se considera que actualmente incluye 14 especies válidas. Tigriopus fulvus (Fischer 1860), con sus subespecies Tigriopus fulvus adriaticus Van Douwe 1913 y Tigriopus fulvus algiricus Monard 1935, y Tigriopus minutus Bozic 1960 han sido descritos para el área del Mediterráneo, pero la diversidad real del género es desconocida actualmente. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la identidad real de las poblaciones mediterráneas de Tigriopus y dilucidar su taxonomía y patrón de diversidad genética. Con este fin, se secuenció un fragmento del gen de ADN mitocondrial (citocromo c oxidasa subunidad I, COI) como marcador de referencia. Los resultados sugieren la presencia de una sola especie caracterizada por una estructuración genética con una notable base geográfica en toda el área de estudio. El patrón de diversidad observado aquí se atribuye tentativamente a una fuerte monopolización de las charcas de las costas rocosas por parte de los primeros inmigrantes que las alcanzan. Sin embargo, tal monopolización se interrumpe periódicamente por los eventos de extinción local, los cuales son frecuentes en los hábitats de charcas de rocas que son intrínsecamente inestables. Aquí proponemos para este patrón el nombre de “monopolización periódica” (“clockwork monopolization”)

Software Support for Discourse-Based Textual Information Analysis: A Systematic Literature Review and Software Guidelines in Practice

[Abstract] The intrinsic characteristics of humanities research require technological support and software assistance that also necessarily goes through the analysis of textual narratives. When these narratives become increasingly complex, pragmatics analysis (i.e., at discourse or argumentation levels) assisted by software is a great ally in the digital humanities. In recent years, solutions have been developed from the information visualization domain to support discourse analysis or argumentation analysis of textual sources via software, with applications in political speeches, debates, online forums, but also in written narratives, literature or historical sources. This paper presents a wide and interdisciplinary systematic literature review (SLR), both in software-related areas and humanities areas, on the information visualization and the software solutions adopted to support pragmatics textual analysis. As a result of this review, this paper detects weaknesses in existing works on the field, especially related to solutions’ availability, pragmatic framework dependence and lack of information sharing and reuse software mechanisms. The paper also provides some software guidelines for improving the detected weaknesses, exemplifying some guidelines in practice through their implementation in a new web tool, Viscourse. Viscourse is conceived as a complementary tool to assist textual analysis and to facilitate the reuse of informational pieces from discourse and argumentation text analysis tasks.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad; FJCI-2016-6 28032Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; RTI2018-093336-B-C2

Nutrient and Phytoplankton Analysis of a Mediterranean Coastal Area

Identifying and quantifying the key anthropogenic nutrient input sources are essential to adopting management measures that can target input for maximum effect in controlling the phytoplankton biomass. In this study, three systems characterized by distinctive main nutrient sources were sampled along a Mediterranean coast transect. These sources were groundwater discharge in the Ahuir area, the Serpis river discharge in the Venecia area, and a submarine wastewater outfall 1,900 m from the coast. The study area includes factors considered important in determining a coastal area as a sensitive area: it has significant nutrient sources, tourism is a major source of income in the region, and it includes an area of high water residence time (Venecia area) which is affected by the harbor facilities and by wastewater discharges. We found that in the Ahuir and the submarine wastewater outfall areas, the effects of freshwater inputs were reduced because of a greater water exchange with the oligotrophic Mediterranean waters. On the other hand, in the Venecia area, the highest levels of nutrient concentration and phytoplankton biomass were attributed to the greatest water residence time. In this enclosed area, harmful dinoflagellates were detected (Alexandrium sp. and Dinophysis caudata). If the planned enlargement of the Gandia Harbor proceeds, it may increase the vulnerability of this system and provide the proper conditions of confinement for the dinoflagellate blooms' development. Management measures should first target phosphorus inputs as this is the most potential-limiting nutrient in the Venecia area and comes from a point source that is easier to control. Finally, we recommend that harbor environmental management plans include regular monitoring of water quality in adjacent waters to identify adverse phytoplankton community changes.We would like to thank Simon Wright and Harry Higgins for providing the CHEMTAX software and helpful comments. We would like also to thank Mikel Latasa for his help with the CHEMTAX program. We are very grateful to the anonymous reviewers whose accurate revision contributed to improving the original manuscript. This research was supported by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Sebastiá Frasquet, MT.; Rodilla Alama, M. (2013). Nutrient and Phytoplankton Analysis of a Mediterranean Coastal Area. Environmental Management. 51(1):225-240. doi:10.1007/s00267-012-9986-3S225240511Aminot A, Chaussepied M (1983) Manuel des analyses chimiques en milieu marin. 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Conselleria de Cultura y Educación. Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, p 239Higgins HW, Wright SW, Schlüter L (2011) Quantitative interpretation of chemotaxonomic pigment data. In: Roy S, Llewellyn CA, Egeland ES, Johnsen G (eds) Phytoplankton pigments: characterization, chemotaxonomy, and applications in oceanography. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 257–313Hooker SB, Claustre H, Ras J, Van Heukelem L, Berthon JF, Targa C, van der Linde D, Barlow R, Sessions H (2000) The JRC method. In: Hooker SB, Firestone ER (eds) The first SeaWiFS HPLC analysis round-robin experiment (SeaHARRE-1). NASA Technical Memorandum 2000-206892, vol 14. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, p 42IET (2010) Balance del turismo en España en 2009. http://www.iet.tourspain.es . Accessed 12 Oct 2011INE (2009) Hotel industry and tourism. http://www.ine.es . Accessed 12 Oct 2011Latasa M (2007) Improving estimations of phytoplankton class abundances using CHEMTAX. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 329:13–21Latasa M, Scharek R, Vidal M, Vila-Reixach G, Gutiérrez-Rodríguez A, Emelianov M, Gasol JM (2010) Preferences of phytoplankton groups for waters of different trophic status in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 407:27–42Mackey MD, Mackey DJ, Higgins HW, Wright SW (1996) CHEMTAX—a program for estimating class abundances from chemical markers: application to HPLC measurements of phytoplankton. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 144:265–283Maier G, Nimmo-Smith RJ, Glegg GA, Tappin AD, Worsfold PJ (2009) Estuarine eutrophication in the UK: current incidence and future trends. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 19:43–56Mantecón A, Huete R (2007) The role of authenticity in tourism planning: empirical findings from southeast Spain. Tourism 55(3):323–333MARM (2009) Documento técnico de referencia: identificación y delimitación de masas de agua superficial y subterránea. Ámbito territorial de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar. http://www.phjucar.com/docs/DTR/DTR_Masas_CHJ_Ed10.pdf . Accessed 7 May 2012Mösso C, Sierra JP, Rodilla M, Romero I, Falco S, González del Río J, Sánchez-Arcilla A (2008) High vertical resolution sampling in density interfaces of estuaries and river plumes. Estuar Coast 31:258–268Olivos A, Masó M, Camp J (2002) Continental runoff of nutrients and their possible influence over stoichiometric ratios (DIN:P:Si) in the northeastern Mediterranean waters of Spain (Catalan Sea). Cienc Mar 28:393–406OSPAR (2003) OSPAR Integrated report 2003 on the eutrophication status of the OSPAR maritime area based upon the first application of the comprehensive procedure. OSPAR Commission, LondonPaerl HW (2006) Assessing and managing nutrient-enhanced eutrophication in estuarine and coastal waters: interactive effects of human and climatic perturbations. Ecol Eng 26:40–54Paerl HW, Rossignol KL, Hall SN, Peierls BL, Wetz MS (2010) Phytoplankton community indicators of short- and longterm ecological change in the anthropogenically and climatically impacted Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, USA. Estuar Coast 33:485–497Peris-Mora E, Diez Orejas JM, Subirats A, Ibáñez S, Alvarez P (2005) Development of a system of indicators for sustainable port management. Mar Pollut Bull 50:1649–1660Sánchez-Arcilla A, Mösso C, Mestres M, Cupul L, Sierra JP, Rodilla M, Romero I, González del Rio J (2007) Hydrodynamics of a Coastal Bay. Natural and man-made barriers. J Coast Res 47:2–16Schlüter L, Lauridesn TL, Krogh G, Jørgensen T (2006) Identification and quantification of phytoplankton groups in lakes using new pigment ratios—a comparison between pigment analysis by HPLC and microscopy. 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Estudio del segmento anterior de ojos con queratocono mediante el Oculus Pentacam HR

La aparición del queratocono provoca alteraciones en toda la córnea, que afecta a cualquier parámetro que se utilice para describirla y dichos cambios se pueden medir i registrar mediante el Oculus Pentacam HR®. Además, genera un aumento del tamaño de la cámara anterior, que se refleja en la profundidad y el volumen de la cámara

Optimizing Long-Term Service Agreements for gas-fired units in the context of increasing penetration of intermittent generation

As power systems increasingly rely on gas-fired power plants (GFPP), and as thermal cycling requirements increase due to larger penetrations of intermittent generation, the long-term service agreements (LTSAs) that define the conditions and costs for GFPP maintenance are exerting more economic influence over a power system’s short-term operations. In a previous paper, the authors proposed a unit commitment formulation that explicitly represents LTSAs and showed that these operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts substantially impact the cost of economic dispatch when GFPPs are forced to intensively cycle. The authors also showed that properly modeling these contracts can substantially alter a power system’s short term optimal scheduling. Traditional LTSAs were designed assuming that (especially) combined cycle gas turbines would operate in a base-loaded regime. In new operating regimes characterized by heavy cycling, GFPPs with traditional LTSAs can incur excessive cycling costs. It may be possible for owners of these GFPPs to renegotiate their existing LTSAs for more flexible conditions that will allow their GFPPs to cycle at lower costs, even if this renegotiation requires the owner to pay an upfront expense. In this paper, we propose a formulation aimed at supporting the process of optimizing LTSAs contracts for a portfolio of GFPPs

Analysis of the effects of wet and dry seasons on a Mediterranean river basin: consequences for coastal waters and its quality management

Rivers play a major role in the delivery of nutrients to coastal ecosystems which are essential for ecosystem productivity. However, the increase of nutrients due to anthropogenic activities can cause eutrophication problems. This study analyzes the seasonal variation of phytoplankton communities in the coastal receiving waters of a Mediterranean river. Two scenarios are compared: the wet and the dry season with distinctive characteristics. During the wet season agricultural runoff and combined sewer overflows (CSO) were responsible for nutrient discharges, while during the dry season partially treated effluent from wastewater was the main nutrient source. In the receiving waters, diatoms typical seasonal cycle was modified by CSO discharges during rain episodes, while dinoflagellate abundance was higher in the dry season due to partially treated effluents discharges and low turbulence. We recommend that the design of the Water Framework Directive monitoring programs should take into account wastewater treatment plants and combined sewer systems located near the coast. Management decisions should take into account that only reductions in CSO and partially treated summer effluent are likely to be efficient in the short term. Analyzing the corrective measures cost through a cost-benefit analysis would help to determine whether the costs are excessive or not.Sebastiá Frasquet, MT.; Rodilla Alamá, M.; Falco Giaccaglia, SL.; Sanchís Blay, JA. (2013). Analysis of the effects of wet and dry seasons on a Mediterranean river basin: consequences for coastal waters and its quality management. Ocean and Coastal Management. 78(3):45-55. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2013.03.012S455578

Influence of nutrient inputs from a wetland dominated by agriculture on the phytoplankton community in a shallow harbour at the Spanish Mediterranean coast

[EN] The Safor Wetland (Western Mediterranean) is a protected ecosystem declared Site of Community Importance under the Habitats Directive. Agricultural practices have been part of this ecosystem throughout history, and its hydrology is anthropogenically manipulated to satisfy cultivation needs. Freshwater from the wetland is discharged through surface channels to Gandia Harbour, a shallow water body with high water residence time. This study evaluated the linear eutrophication gradient downstream from the freshwater inflow locations. The role of the main nutrients in determining the phytoplankton community is discussed. The predominance of agricultural practices, 48% of the watershed soil, caused an excess of nitrogen and an imbalance in the nutrient ratios at all the sampling points. Phosphorus concentrations were particularly low, and did not exceed 1.0 ¿M. Chlorophyll-a concentration was of the order of that found in other eutrophic estuarine waters. In general, flagellates dominated over diatoms at all the harbour sampling points and depths. Potentially blooming species of both phytoplankton groups were detected. The correct implementation of the existing agricultural best management practices should continue to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loading to the estuary. It seems reasonable that for effective control of the eutrophication effects in this area, strict control over wastewater point sources should be also exercised. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.Sebastiá Frasquet, MT.; Rodilla Alamá, M.; Sanchís Blay, JA.; Altur Grau, VJ.; Gadea Pérez, MI.; Falco Giaccaglia, SL. (2012). Influence of nutrient inputs from a wetland dominated by agriculture on the phytoplankton community in a shallow harbour at the Spanish Mediterranean coast. AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT. 152(3):10-20. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2012.02.006S1020152

Effect of essential oils against acaricide‐susceptible and acaricide‑resistant Rhipicephalus ticks

The indiscriminate use of acaricides is a problem worldwide and has increased the selection of acaricide-resistant tick populations. The goal of this study was to evaluate the acaricide effects of two essential oils (from Schinus molle and Bulnesia sarmientoi) using the larval immersion test on three Rhipicephalus tick species. Rhipicephalus evertsi, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus pulchelus ticks collected in Kenya, without history of acaricide exposure, were tested, as well as individuals from two populations of Rhipicephalus microplus (with or without history of acaricide exposure), for comparison. The sample most resistant to the treatments was a population of R. microplus with previous acaricide exposure, whereas the least tolerant sample was a strain of the same species that never had contact with acaricides (Porto Alegre strain). Interestingly, the field tick samples without previous acaricide exposure responded to essential oils with a mortality profile resembling that observed in the acaricide-resistant R. microplus field population, and not the susceptible Porto Alegre strain. The essential oil of B. sarmientoi and its two components tested (guaiol and bulnesol) caused the highest mortality rates in the tested species and are potential molecules for future studies on control methods against these species

El diseño del modelo y prototipo. Herramientas para la comunicación y evaluación

En los proyectos de diseño y desarrollo de producto los modelos y prototipos físicos sirven como símbolos accesibles del futuro producto. Facilitan la definición de metas concretas y unifican a los equipos involucrados en todo el proceso. Tanto el diseño de las características como la elección de las técnicas empleadas en la fabricación de éstos depende de los diferentes aspectos del proyecto que vayan a ser evaluados . En el presente artículo se analiza a través de la literatura existente y la experiencia recogida en casos reales los criterios necesarios para la elección de la mejor de las opciones.Conejero Rodilla, A.; Martínez Torán, MB.; Ayala López, PJ.; Fernandez-Vicente, M. (2012). El diseño del modelo y prototipo. Herramientas para la comunicación y evaluación. Deforma Cultura Online. 1-7. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/70584S1