In situ toxicity and ecological risk assessment of agro-pesticide runoff in the Madre de Dios River in Costa Rica

<p>The River Madre de Dios (RMD) and its lagoon is a biodiversity rich watershed formed by a system of streams, rivers, channels, and a coastal lagoon communicating with the Caribbean Sea. This basin sustains a large area of agricultural activity (mostly banana, rice, and pineapple) with intensive use of pesticides, continually detected in water samples. We investigated in situ the toxicological effects caused by pesticide runoff from agriculture and the relation of pesticide concentrations with different biological organization levels: early responses in fish biomarkers (sub-organismal), acute toxicity to Daphnia magna (organismal), and aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure. The evaluation was carried out between October 2011 and November 2012 at five sites along the RMD influenced by agricultural discharges and a reference site in a stream outside the RMD that receives less pesticides. Acute toxicity to D. magna was observed only once in a sample from the RMD (Caño Azul); the index of biomarker responses in fish exposed in situ was higher than controls at the same site and at the RMD-Freeman. However, only macroinvertebrates were statistically related to the presence of pesticides, combined with both physical-chemical parameters and habitat degradation. All three groups of variables determined the distribution of macroinvertebrate taxa through the study sites.</p

In situ toxicity and ecological risk assessment of agro-pesticide runoff in the Madre de Dios River in Costa Rica

The River Madre de Dios (RMD) and its lagoon is a biodiversity rich watershed formed by a system of streams, rivers, channels, and a coastal lagoon communicating with the Caribbean Sea. This basin sustains a large area of agricultural activity (mostly banana, rice, and pineapple) with intensive use of pesticides, continually detected in water samples. We investigated in situ the toxicological effects caused by pesticide runoff from agriculture and the relation of pesticide concentrations with different biological organization levels: early responses in fish biomarkers (sub-organismal), acute toxicity to Daphnia magna (organismal), and aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure. The evaluation was carried out between October 2011 and November 2012 at five sites along the RMD influenced by agricultural discharges and a reference site in a stream outside the RMD that receives less pesticides. Acute toxicity to D. magna was observed only once in a sample from the RMD (Caño Azul); the index of biomarker responses in fish exposed in situ was higher than controls at the same site and at the RMD-Freeman. However, only macroinvertebrates were statistically related to the presence of pesticides, combined with both physical-chemical parameters and habitat degradation. All three groups of variables determined the distribution of macroinvertebrate taxa through the study sites.</p

How Do Limbo Dancing, Landlords and Students’ Energy Habits Link to EfSD? A Student Green Fund Case Study

University students who live in privately rented houses account for nearly 42% of the student population in the UK, the majority live in relatively old housing stock which is energy inefficient requiring infrastructure improvements to make them more thermally efficient. The student landlord market is a stand-alone sector with some specific challenges including the high turnover of tenants and issues around who pays the fuel bill. This project described and critiqued in this paper is focused on a set of guiding interventions designed to help undergraduate students to save energy at home by changing their behaviour, alongside encouraging property owners to make infrastructure improvements. This paper presents a case study on University of Worcester Students’ Union’s (WSU) behaviour change project funded through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)’s Student Green Fund (SGF). It aims to develop a cost effective model to assist university students to learn and develop energy saving behaviours. Competition on a bespoke student facing software platform, regular incentives and easy to understand reports are part of a multidimensional approach to this intended behaviour change. The overall goal of the programme design is to identify best or most effective practice and develop opportunities to engage with wider employability and academic skills in a number of disciplines. This project runs for two years from October 2013 in Worcester, UK with Birmingham Guild of Students a partner in year two to test the potential for replication of the same model elsewhere

Unfolding the dance of team learning: a metaphorical investigation of collective learning

This article engages with the ongoing debate surrounding the validity of collective learning methodologies found in the popular management literature, such as team learning. It explores some of the alleged lacunae in these dialogic methodologies by exploring the metaphors invoked by their proponents. This exploration employs a metaphorical framework, which then takes one of these metaphors (dance) and unfolds it as a more substantive `model' metaphor—rather than apply it in a superficial way, as appears to be the case currently. This development, in turn, permits the integration of an alternative sociocultural view of collective learning. Consequently, dialogue in collective learning becomes represented as divergent and multifarious, rather than merely as convergent upon simplistic outcomes. The potentials of the dance metaphor are examined, alongside a brief discussion of the methodological approaches that could facilitate further exploration, making it possible to highlight aspects for consideration in further research