Use of aquatic plants of three different ecological types for Escherichia coli removal from pacu breeding effluents

<p></p><p>ABSTRACT This study evaluated the water contamination by Escherichia coli in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) breeding ponds and its removal by a constructed wetland system containing macrophytes of three different ecological types (Eichhornia crassipes, Ceratophyllum demersum, and Typha domingensis). The most probable number of E. coli in the water was quantified for supply site, effluent and at each stage of treatment (sedimentation and use of each type of aquatic macrophyte). We conclude that E. coli contamination in water supply and in fishpond can reach the environment through the effluent. The proposed treatment system was efficient in removing E. coli from the water, and when the system was stabilized the average removal efficiency of E. coli was 95%. The tank containing E. crassipes showed the highest removal average, even though it exhibited an efficiency reduction after 60 days of experiment. The average removal of the tanks containing C. demersum and T. domingensis was hampered due to the presence of E. coli in soil used as substrate. However, after the decrease of substrate contamination effect, these two plants were essential for the maintenance of water quality of the treated effluent, indicating the benefits of aquatic macrophytes diversity in treatment systems. The effluent quality was maintained even when some system steps presented a decrease of removal efficiency.</p><p></p

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data