Assesment of the perception of majorcan society of the ecological and economical values ofPosidonia oceanica (L. Delile) seagrass beds

Abstract not availabl

Avaluació de la percepció de la societat mallorquina sobre els valors ecològics i econòmics dels prats de l'angiosperma marina Posidonia oceanica (L. Delile)

La percepció social que la població de Mallorca té sobre les funcions ecològiques que realitzen els prats de l'angiosperma marina Posidonia oceanica i la seva importància per l'economia de l'illa ha estat avaluada mitjançant (1) l'analisi del marc cultural de les notícies publicades sobre aquesta espècie entre octubre de 2001 i agost de 2003 als principals diaris de Mallorca, (2) una recopilació de les activitats portades a terme a l'illa en relació a aquesta espècie, completada amb 22 entrevistes realitzades a persones amb càrrecs a institucions de l'illa amb responsabilitat o interessos en l'ús sostenible dels ecosistemes costaners, i (3) 150 enquestes realitzades a residents de Mallorca i turistes. Els resultats obtinguts indiquen que P. oceanica és coneguda només pel 37% de les persones enquestades i, d'aquestes, menys de la meitat consideren fonamentals els recursos i serveis ecològics proporcionats pels prats d' aquesta planta. Les institucions públiques i privades de Mallorca amb responsabilitat o interès en l'ús sostenible del medi marí tenien un coneixement acceptable sobre el valor ecològic i la importància econòmica d'aquesta espècie, i consideraven acceptables les diverses activitats realitzades a l'illa. L'èxit d'aquestes activitats és, emperò, baix perquè només el 10% de les persones enquestades coneixien alguna acció relacionada amb la conservació dels fons marins de l'illa desenvolupada per aquestes institucions. El nombre de notícies publicades relacionades amb P. oceanica durant el període d'estudi fou de 74 i reflexa el baix coneixement que la societat mallorquina té sobre aquesta espècie. Finalment, es discuteixen els resultats obtinguts en relació a la conservació i ús sostenible d'aquest ecosistema marí de gran importància ecològica i econòmica per a Mallorca

The role of competition and herbivory in biotic resistance against invaders: a synergistic effect

Invasive species pose a major threat to global diversity, and once they are well established their eradication typically becomes unfeasible. However, certain natural mechanisms can increase the resistance of native communities to invaders and can be used to guide effective management policies. Both competition and herbivory have been identified as potential biotic resistance mechanisms that can limit plant invasiveness, but it is still under debate to what extent they might be effective against well-established invaders. Surprisingly, whereas biotic mechanisms are known to interact strongly, most studies to date have examined single biotic mechanisms separately, which likely influences our understanding of the strength and effectiveness of biotic resistance against invaders. Here we use long-term field data, benthic assemblage sampling, and exclusion experiments to assess the effect of native assemblage complexity and herbivory on the invasion dynamics of a successful invasive species, the alga Caulerpa cylindracea. A higher complexity of the native algal assemblage limited C. cylindracea invasion, probably through competition by canopy-forming and erect algae. Additionally, high herbivory pressure by the fish Sarpa salpa reduced C. cylindracea abundance by more than four times. However, long-term data of the invasion reflects that biotic resistance strength can vary across the invasion process and it is only where high assemblage complexity is concomitant with high herbivory pressure, that the most significant limitation is observed (synergistic effect). Overall, the findings reported in this study highlight that neglecting the interactions between biotic mechanisms during invasive processes and restricting the studied time scales may lead to underestimations of the true capacity of native assemblages to develop resistance to invaders.Versión del editor4,84

Patio 2.12: Vivienda prefabricada, sostenible, autosuficiente y energéticamente eficiente. Participación en la competición Solar Decathlon Europe 2012

The prototype “Patio 2.12” was Andalucía Team’s proposal for the 2012 Solar Decathlon Competition (SDE 2012), that was held in Madrid during September 2012, where it was awarded several prizes like the first one in Energy Efficiency. The team comprised a group of teachers and students from four Andalusian Universities. It worked for two years in the design and construction of a housing prototype that could be an example of several concepts at the same time: energy efficiency, architectural integration of solar systems, intermediate scale of prefabrication and a today´s interpretation of traditional Mediterranean way of living and building. Patio 2.12 was intended to be a compendium of energy, sustainability and passive conditioning devices.El prototipo Patio 2.12 fue la propuesta del equipo Andalucía Team para la competición Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 (SDE 2012), celebrada en Madrid en septiembre de 2012, en la que recibió hasta 9 premios, entre los que figura el de Eficiencia Energética. El equipo, integrado por profesores y alumnos de cuatro universidades andaluzas, trabajó durante dos años en el diseño y construcción de un prototipo de vivienda basada en la eficiencia energética, en la integración arquitectónica de los sistemas solares, en la prefabricación de escala intermedia y en una reinterpretación de la forma de vivir y construir de la tradición mediterránea. Patio 2.12 pretende ser un compendio de energía, sostenibilidad y mecanismos de acondicionamiento pasivo

Evolución de las capacidades físicas en jugadores jóvenes de baloncesto de medio nivel

El objetivo de estudio fue analizar la evolución de las capacidades físicas de jugadores de medio nivel a lo largo de 2 años (categoría: cadete y júnior). Metodo. 15 jugadores fueron evaluados durante 2 años: en el ultimo año de la etapa cadete (U16) y el primer año de la etapa junior (U18). Los tests fueron realizados en 4 momentos (M) de cada temporada [1.Septiembre (pre-temporada), 2. Diciembre, 3. Abril y 4. Julio, para un total de 8 pruebas]. La batería consistió en un test de 20 m sprint (MST), un test de agilidad T (AGIT), un lanzamiento de balón medicinal de 5 kg (5KGT), un salto (CMJ), un test Sit and Reach (SAR) y la Course Navette (CN). Resultados. Los principales resultados fueron:,los jugadores mejoraron en MST: [1º M: 3.16 ± 0.27 m/s Vs. 4º M: 2.87 ± 0.17 m/s; (p<0.05)]; en CMJ,observamos diferencias estadísticas entre el 1º y 8º M [1º M: 32.57 ± 2.8 cm Vs. 8º M: 42.14 ± 3.8 cm;(p<0.05)]; los resultados en SAR mostraron que los valores decrecieron (1º M: 13.14 ± 12.27 cm al 8º M: 6.42 ± 7.36 cm); finalmente, observamos diferencias significativas entre 1º M y el 8º M en CNT [1º M: 10.36 ± 1.7 paliers Vs. 8º M: 12.5 ± 1.4 paliers; (p<0.05)]. Conclusiones. Se constataron mejoras significativas en las capacidades neuromusculares, la potencia aeróbica y la flexibilidad

Anthropogenic versus fish‐derived nutrient effects on seagrass community structure and function

Humans are altering nutrient dynamics through myriad pathways globally. Concurrent with the addition of nutrients via municipal, industrial, and agricultural sources, widespread consumer exploitation is changing consumer‐mediated nutrient dynamics drastically. Thus, altered nutrient dynamics can occur through changes in the supply of multiple nutrients, as well as through changes in the sources of these nutrients. Seagrass ecosystems are heavily impacted by human activities, with highly altered nutrient dynamics from multiple causes. We simulate scenarios of altered nutrient supply and ratios, nitrogen:phosphorus (N:P), from two nutrient sources in seagrass ecosystems: anthropogenic fertilizer and fish excretion. In doing so we tested expectations rooted in ecological theory that suggest the importance of resource dynamics for predicting primary producer dynamics. Ecosystem functions were strongly altered by artificial fertilizer (e.g., seagrass growth increased by as much as 140%), whereas plant/algae community structure was most affected by fish‐mediated nutrients or the interaction of both treatments (e.g., evenness increased by ~140% under conditions of low fish nutrients and high anthropogenic nutrients). Interactions between the nutrient sources were found for only two of six response variables, and the ratio of nutrient supply was the best predictor for only one response. These findings show that seagrass structure and function are well predicted by supply of a single nutrient (either N or P). Importantly, no single nutrient best explained the majority of responses—measures of community structure were best explained by the primary limiting nutrient to this system (P), whereas measures of growth and density of the dominant producer in the system were best explained by N. Thus, while our findings support aspects of theoretical expectations, the complexity of producer community responses belies broad generalities, underscoring the need to manage for multiple simultaneous nutrients in these imperiled coastal ecosystems.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/1/ecy2388_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/2/ecy2388-sup-0003-AppendixS3.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/3/ecy2388-sup-0005-AppendixS5.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/4/ecy2388-sup-0006-AppendixS6.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/5/ecy2388-sup-0001-AppendixS1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/6/ecy2388-sup-0002-AppendixS2.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/7/ecy2388.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145341/8/ecy2388-sup-0004-AppendixS4.pd

The traditional maximal lactate steady state test versus the 5× 2000 m test

Here, we compared the maximal lactate steady state velocity (vMLSS) estimated from a single-visit protocol (v5 × 2000) to the traditional multi-day protocol (vMLSS). Furthermore, we determined whether there was a lactate steady state during the time limits (Tlim) at vMLSS or v5 × 2000. Eight runners completed a half marathon (HM), the traditional protocol to determine the vMLSS and the 5 × 2000 m test in a randomised order, and a Tlim at vMLSS and at v5 × 2000 in a randomised order. The vMLSS (13.56 ± 0.90 km·h − 1 ) was higher than the v5 × 2000 (12.93 ± 0.90 km·h − 1 , p = 0.001) and comparable to the vHM (13.34 ± 0.75 km·h − 1 ). The vMLSS (r = 0.83) and the v5 × 2000 (r = 0.91) were associated with the vHM but were not indicative of the competition pace. The Tlim at vMLSS (64 ± 15 min) was lower than the Tlim at v5 × 2000 (94 ± 21 min) and the HM time (95 ± 5 min). In both Tlim, lactate was lower at 45 min than upon fi nishing the eff ort and was predictive of its duration (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that the 5 × 2000 m test can be equally useful to assess runners as the traditional MLSS protocol and that there is no lactate steady state during the Tlim at vMLSS or at v5 × 200

Wanted dead or alive : high diversity of macroinvertebrates associated with living and ’dead’ Posidonia oceanica matte

The Mediterranean endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica forms beds characterised by a dense leaf canopy and a thick root-rhizome ‘matte’. Death of P. oceanica shoots leads to exposure of the underlying matte, which can persist for many years, and is termed ‘dead’ matte. Traditionally, dead matte has been regarded as a degraded habitat. To test whether this assumption was true, the motile macroinvertebrates of adjacent living (with shoots) and dead (without shoots) matte of P. oceanica were sampled in four different plots located at the same depth (5–6 m) in Mellieha Bay, Malta (central Mediterranean). The total number of species and abundance were significantly higher (ANOVA; P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively) in the dead matte than in living P. oceanica matte, despite the presence of the foliar canopy in the latter. Multivariate analysis (MDS) clearly showed two main groups of assemblages, corresponding to the two matte types. The amphipods Leptocheirus guttatus and Maera grossimana, and the polychaete Nereis rava contributed most to the dissimilarity between the two different matte types. Several unique properties of the dead matte contributing to the unexpected higher number of species and abundance of motile macroinvertebrates associated with this habitat are discussed. The findings have important implications for the conservation of bare P. oceanica matte, which has been generally viewed as a habitat of low ecological value.peer-reviewe