Nesting Ecology of Polistes Species (hymenoptera, Vespidae) in Urban Areas of South-western Iberian Peninsula

Urbanization is increasing across the globe and it is recognized as a major factor affectingspecies, populations and assemblages. Although urbanization is recognized as a major threat to biodiversity, there is increasing evidence that urban habitats may play a role in conservation. The objective of this work was to verify the occurrence of Polistes species (Vespidae) and the substrates used for nesting in urban areas in south-western Iberian Peninsula. The study was carried out from March to August of 2018 in three small towns in the Llanos de Olivenza region (SW Spain). Active searching was conducted for colonies of social wasps along and for each colony that was found we identified the species, type of substrate used for nesting, height of the colony in relation to the ground level and orientation. 753 colonies of social wasps were found belonging to two species: Polistes dominula and P. gallicus.  The most used nesting substrate was clay roof tile followed by metals. The height of the nests was related to the height of the buildings on which they were built. In all the tree towns nests exposure were oriented to the SE with mean angle values oscillating between 127.42° and 140.68°. In addition, our results confirm the prediction that wasps are more abundant in less or non-urbanized areas even if they are small urban areas such as those studied in our case

Causas de mortalidad de colonias de Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) en zonas urbanas del suroeste de la Península Ibérica

From 2017 to 2018 we studied populations of the eusocial paper wasp Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) in three municipalities of the south-western Iberian Peninsula, in order to identify the causes of colony mortality. The results showed that the first main cause of mortality in the study area was human activity (43.55 %). The second most important cause was abandonment of the nest (20.19 %). Only 82 of the 411 nests (19.95 %) showed signs of natural colony decline, following the emergence of reproductives.De 2017 a 2018 se estudiaron diversas poblaciones de la avispa eusocial Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) en tres municipios del suroeste de la península ibérica, con la finalidad de identificar las causas de mortalidad de sus colonias. Los resultados mostraron que la causa principal de mortalidad en las zonas de estudio fue la actividad antrópica (43,55 %). La segunda causa más relevante fue el abandono del nido (20,19 %). Únicamente 82 de 411 nidos (19,95 %) demostraron un declive natural de la colonia, tras la aparición de reproductores

Ejercicios resueltos de gestión cinegética

Se presentan aquí una serie de ejercicios relacionados con la asignatura Ordenación Cinegética y Piscícola. La gestión cinegética incluye una gran variedad de aspectos que pueden abordar desde la gestión económica de un coto, hasta la estima de parámetros biológicos o ecológicos de las especies cinegéticas. Obviamente no se encontrarán problemas sobre todos ellos, pero sí sobre los que con más frecuencia aparecen cuando se hace un proyecto de gestión, tales como estimas poblacionales o el cálculo de los cupos de captura. Algunos de los problemas que apareen en esta relación son propios, pero otros están basados o se han tomado de otros autores. Muchos de los dibujos NO están a escala, ya que solo se ha pretendido realizar una representación gráfica de una situación real para que la comprensión del problema sea más sencilla

Introducción a la Estadística Circular

La Estadística Circular se ocupa del análisis de datos circulares, unos datos con unas características muy particulares. En primer lugar, la escala en la que se desenvuelven es finita, ya que tiene una amplitud de 0° a 360°. En segundo lugar, la posición del cero es arbitraria, ya que no existe argumento científico para no poder situarlo en cualquier punto del círculo. En tercer lugar, no existen magnitudes cuando tratamos con datos circulares, ya que 270° no son más que 180°, sino que señalan direcciones diferentes. Estas (y algunas más) hacen que los procedimientos utilizados en estadística lineal no sean aplicables a los datos circulares, por ello nace la Estadística Circular, para que se puedan tratar este tipo de datos. La mayoría de los datos circulares se obtienen en forma de direcciones u orientaciones, pero también son datos circulares fenómenos cíclicos, es decir, aquellos que pueden acontecer en una hora, un día, una semana o un año. Dada la versatilidad de los datos circulares son muchas las disciplinas en las que se utilizan datos circulares, quizás en la que más se utilicen sea en Biología o, por ser más exactos, en las diferentes ramas de la Biología: Botánica, Etología, Fisiología, Geología, Biología Molecular, etc., pero también son empleados en Medicina, Meteorología, Ciencias de la Computación, Sociología, Ciencias Políticas, etc. Se ha optado por incluir ejercicios resueltos, de modo que el lector pueda realizarlos con la ayuda de una calculadora o una hoja de cálculo, evitando el empleo de programas informáticos (que existen para tal fin). Este trabajo ha sido dividido en cinco capítulos. El primero es un capítulo introductorio donde se explica que es la Estadística Circular, sus orígenes e historia, para finalizar con una breve reseña sobre las principales obras publicadas sobre el tema, los principales programas informáticos que se pueden utilizar y una serie de ejemplos obtenidos de la bibliografía, que permitirán evaluar la importancia y aplicabilidad de esta disciplina. En capítulo dos está dedicado a los datos empleados en estadística circular, aspecto sumamente importante ya que, aunque parezca lo contrario, son numerosas las formas de poder expresar datos circulares. El tercer capítulo está dedicado a la estadística descriptiva, a las representaciones gráficas y a las distribuciones circulares. El capítulo cuarto está dedicado a la inferencia estadística, básicamente a los test de uniformidad y a los test de bondad del ajuste. En el capítulo cinco se aborda otro aspecto interesante de las relaciones entre variables circulares y lineales: la correlación circula-circular y circular-lineal. Se ha incluido un anexo con las tablas de los valores críticos de los test estadísticos utilizados en el libro.The Circular Statistics deals with the analysis of circular data, data with very particular characteristics. Firstly, the scale on which they are developed is finite, as it has an amplitude of 0° to 360°. Secondly, the position of the zero is arbitrary, since there is no scientific argument for not being able to locate it at any point of the circle. Thirdly, there are no magnitudes when dealing with circular data, as 270° is only 180°, but points in different directions. These (and some others) make the procedures used in linear statistics not applicable to circular data, so the Circular Statistics is born, so that this type of data can be treated. Most circular data are obtained in the form of directions or orientations, but circular data are also cyclical phenomena, that is, those that can occur in an hour, a day, a week or a year. Given the versatility of circular data, there are many disciplines in which circular data are used, perhaps the most widely used is in Biology or, to be more exact, in the different branches of Biology: Botany, Ethology, Physiology, Geology, Molecular Biology, etc., but they are also used in Medicine, Meteorology, Computer Science, Sociology, Political Science, etc. It has been decided to include solved exercises, so that the reader can perform them with the help of a calculator or a spreadsheet, avoiding the use of computer programs (which exist for this purpose). This work has been divided into five chapters. The first is an introductory chapter explaining what Circular Statistics is, its origins and history, and ends with a brief review of the main works published on the subject, the main computer programs that can be used and a series of examples obtained from the bibliography, which will allow the importance and applicability of this discipline to be evaluated. Chapter two is devoted to data used in circular statistics, an extremely important aspect since, although it may seem otherwise, there are many ways of expressing circular data. The third chapter is dedicated to descriptive statistics, graphic representations and circular distributions. The fourth chapter is dedicated to statistical inference, basically the uniformity test and the goodness of fit test. Chapter five deals with another interesting aspect of the relationships between circular and linear variables: the circular-circular and circular-linear correlation. An appendix has been included with the tables of the critical values of the statistical tests used in the book

Recreational fisheries in rural regions of the South-Western Iberian peninsula: a case study

La dimensión humana de la pesca deportiva ha ganado interés en todo el mundo durante la última década para la correcta gestión de los recursos naturales. Sin embargo, en muchas regiones rurales del sur de Europa, los aspectos sociales y económicamente de la pesca deportiva siguen siendo poco estudiados. En este estudio se realizó una encuesta para cubrir esta brecha de conocimientos y elaborar recomendaciones de manejo potenciales para la explotación adecuada. Una encuesta de la pesca recreativa se llevó a cabo durante la temporada de pesca 2008-2009. Los datos se recogieron siguiendo los procedimientos de la encuesta de nasas y las respuestas a 171 entrevistas fueron analizadas para 27 variables. Para asociar estas variables categóricas se realizó un análisis de componentes principales (CATPCA). En el eje CATPCA en primer lugar (44,24% de la varianza), las correlaciones entre las variables mostraron una dimensión "económica". Las variables más influyentes en esta dimensión fueron los gastos, la temporada y el número de días de pesca por año, junto con la distancia recorrida a los sitios de pesca. La segunda dimensión (24,47% de la varianza) estaba relacionada con las especies preferidas, el equipo necesario para la captura de ellos, y con la facilidad de acceso a los sitios donde se encuentran estas especies. Los datos mostraron algunas diferencias entre los pescadores jóvenes y mayores con respecto a las variables analizadas.The human dimension of recreational fishing has gained interest worldwide during the last decade for proper management of the natural resources. However, in many rural regions in Southern Europe, the social and economically aspects of recreational fishing remains poorly studied. In this study we conducted a survey to cover this gap of knowledge and draw potential management recommendations for proper exploitation. A survey of recreational fishing was conducted during the 2008-2009 fishing seasons. Data were collected following creel survey procedures and responses to 171 interviews were analyzed for 27 variables. To associate these variables a categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) was performed. On the first CATPCA axis (44.24% of variance), the correlations among variables showed an “economic” dimension. The most influential variables in this dimension were expenditure, the season, and number of fishing days per year, together with the distance travelled to fishing sites. The second dimension (24.47% of variance) was related to the preferred species, the gear necessary to catch them, and with facility off access to sites where these species are found. The data showed some differences between both young and old fishermen with respect to the variables analyzed.-- Junta de Extremadura. Servicio de Medio AmbientepeerReviewe

Primera cita de Neoscona byzanthina (Pavesi, 1876) (Araneae, Araneidae) en la Península Ibérica

Neoscona byzanthina (Pavesi, 1786) (Araneae, Araneidae) is reported for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula. The specimen was captured on October 2018 in a holm-oak dehesa (Extremadura, Spain).Se hace referencia a la primera observación de Neoscona byzanthina (Pavesi, 1876) (Araneae, Araneidae) de la Península Ibérica. El ejemplar fue capturado en octubre de 2018 en un encinar adehesado (Extremadura, España)

Nest Association between Camponotus fallax (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Vespa crabro (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Central Iberian Peninsula

Because social wasps often defend their nests by inflicting painful stings or bites, some animals associate with them looking for protection against potential predators. Some neotropical vespids are known to maintain associations with other insect and vertebrate taxa, such as birds and bats, however there are not previous records about associations between ants and hornets in Europe. In this study, we reported the first case of association between the arboreal ant Camponotus fallax and the European hornet Vespa crabro in Europe. The observations were made in Central Spain, where two colonies of C. fallax were found in two different avian nest-boxes inhabited by V. crabro when spotless starlings finished their breeding season. The reasons of this possible association are also discussed

Photocatalytic ozonation of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid and its reaction intermediate 4-chloro-2-methyl phenol

This work has been supported by the CICYT of Spain (Project CTQ2012-39789-C02-01). Mr. Rafael Rodríguez Solís thanks the Gobierno de Extremadura, Consejería de Empleo, Empresa e Innovación and FSE Funds for his Ph.D. grant (PD12058).Aqueous 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) has been treated by the systems UVA/TiO2/N2, O3, TiO2/O3, UVA/O3, UVA/TiO2/O2, and UVA/TiO2/O3. Under the conditions investigated (T = 20 °C, pH = 4.5, Qgas = 30 L/h, V = 1 L, CO3= 5 ppm, CMCPA = 5 ppm, CTiO2= 0.5 g/L), MCPA is removed in less than 30 min. Photocatalytic ozonation is the most efficient process both in terms of MCPA removal rate (100% conversion in less than 15 min) and mineralization extent (60% after 3 h and 25 °C). 4-Chloro-2-methyl phenol (CMP) is detected in those systems combining TiO2 and UVA radiation. The presence of ozone involves the complete depletion of CMP following its generation. The direct rate constant between CMP and ozone corroborates the high reactivity observed (7.2 ± 0.3 × 104 (M s)−1, 4.4 ± 0.2 × 105 (M s)−1, and 2.9 ± 0.7 × 106 (M s)−1 at pHs 4, 7 and 10, respectively). Identified intermediates detected in the UVA/TiO2/O3 applied to MCPA correspond to oxygenated species derived from the parent compound after loss of some substitution groups. No significant toxicity of intermediates is observed in BOD5, Daphnia parvula, and Culex pipiens larvae tests.CICYT of Spain (Project CTQ2012-39789-C02-01)Gobierno de ExtremaduraFSE Funds (PD12058

Synergism between peroxymonosulfate and LaCoO3-TiO2 photocatalysis for oxidation of herbicides. Operational variables and catalyst characterization assessment

Authors thank economic support received from Junta de Extremadura, CICYT of Spain and FEDER funds through Projects GR15033 and CTQ2015/64944-R, respectively. Mr Rafael Rodríguez Solís also acknowledges Gobierno de Extremadura, Consejería de Empleo Empresa e Innovación, and FSE Funds for his PhD grant (PD12058). Catalyst characterization was provided by Facility of Analysis and Characterization of Solids and Surfaces of SAIUEx (financed by University of Extremadura, Junta de Extremadura, MICINN, FEDER and FSE).BACKGROUND. This paper reports the use of novel coupled LaCoO3-TiO2 as photocatalyst with double route of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. First, as a photocatalyst due to titania; and second, through PMS heterogeneous decomposition onto LaCoO3 particles. Thus, photocatalytical activity was tested for removing a mixture of four herbicides of different recalcitrance (metazachlor, tembotrione, tritosulfuron and ethofumesate). RESULTS. The presence of light and PMS highly enhanced herbicides removal rate: 3.5–5 times increases were obtained with UVA light. Oxidant concentration, catalyst load, pH and temperature were assessed. Herbicides were completely oxidized depending on their recalcitrant nature and the operational variables. 55% TOC conversion was reached using Oxone® 5 × 10−4 mol L−1. Phytotoxicity assays denoted no inhibition after 180 min of photocatalytic treatment (∼80% initial inhibition). Solid properties of Co/Ti = 0.1:1 ratio were studied by means of SEM (LaCoO3 aggregates linked to a variety of shapes and sizes of TiO2), XRF (6.1% of LaCoO3), XPS (superficial Co3+, La3+ and Ti4+), XRD (anatase, rutile and rhombohedral LaCoO3) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance (visible range absorption and bandgap of 2.88 eV for TiO2). CONCLUSION. Catalysts based on LaCoO3-TiO2 combined with peroxymonosulfate seem to be suitable for removing organic pollutants, with a moderate conversion of TOC and elimination of toxicity.Junta de Extremadura GR15033CICYT of Spain CTQ2015/64944-RFEDER foundsGobierno de ExtremaduraFSE Funds (PD12058)University of ExtremaduraJunta de ExtremaduraMICINNFS

Photocatalytic ozonation of pyridine-based herbicides by N-doped titania

The authors thank the economic support received from Gobierno de Extremadura and CICYT of Spain through Projects GRU10012 and CTQ2012-35789-C02-01, respectively. Mr. Rafael Rodríguez Solís thanks Gobierno de Extremadura, Consejería de Empleo, Empresa e Innovación, and FSE Funds for his Ph.D. grant (PD12058).BACKGROUND: A mixture of three pyridine herbicides in water (clopyralid, triclopyr and picloram) has been treated with photocatalytic processes, involving oxygen or ozone. Nitrogen doped and undoped titania were used in the process. Toxicity evolution during photocatalytic ozonation was monitored considering BOD, Daphnia parvula and fitotoxicity trials. RESULTS: N doped titania with an optimized photoactivity was tested in photocatalytic ozonation, leading to nearly 95% mineralization in 180 min. This catalyst was characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS techniques (13.5 nm crystal size, anatase phase, 1% N, and formation of O-Ti-N linkage). No loss of photocatalytic activity was observed after five consecutive runs. Although no toxicity from the parent compounds was observed, this parameter increased during the early stages of the oxidation process. When parent compounds were totally degraded and dechlorination was completed, toxicity decayed again to negligible values. CONCLUSION: N doping improves bare titania photoactivity through an optimum amount of N. Photocatalysis/ozone showed better behavior than photocatalysis/oxygen in herbicide removal and mineralization, and no significant loss of activity was observed after five runs. Toxicity initially increased due to toxic byproducts formation; however, it decreased after their abatement.Gobierno de Extremadura GRU10012CICYT of Spain CTQ2012-35789-C02-01Gobierno de ExtremaduraFSE Funds (PD12058