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Salmonella is not a priority pathogen for wild boar health. However, it poses a hazard for meat safety. This paper presents the results of our multi-year research on the prevalence and epidemiology of Salmonella in hunting grounds in Vojvodina, Serbia. In total, 425 wild boars (25.3% of the total population) were studied. The overall Salmonella prevalence in Vojvodina boars was not high (3.1%) and was quite similar to findings from Spain, Germany and Japan. However, the prevalence in some hunting grounds was very high (13.3-33.3%). The anthropogenic impact is significant, as the prevalence is statistically significantly higher in open hunting grounds where animals have contact with domestic animals and access to animal waste. The pulsotype (PFGE) profiles confirmed a link between isolates from wild pigs and domestic animals. The category of wild boars in which Salmonella was most commonly found was sows older than 36 months and weighing more than 75 kg, which is a direct consequence of their increased need for protein during the lactation period when they exhibit scavenging and cannibalistic behaviour. The measures taken against Salmonella in hunting grounds need to incorporate biosecurity measures that prevent anthropogenic influence. The hygienic and sanitary measures for the control of caught animals should also include enhanced measures when processing risk categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The analysis of hydrocarbon biomarkers in surface sediments along the Markanda River in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas was conducted to gain insights into the distribution and composition of organic matter (OM) within the sediments. This investigation is essential for comprehending how anthropogenic changes are influencing the OM dynamics in river systems. The study involved identification and quantification of various compound groups such as n- alkanes, hopanes, steranes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), linear alkyl benzenes (LABs) and phthalate esters along with their respective parametric ratios. The variation in distribution of n- alkanes and associated indices (odd-even carbon number predominance (OEP), average chain length (ACL), terrigenous to aquatic ratio (TAR), carbon preference index (CPI), and natural n -alkanes ratio (NAR)) were used to distinguish the natural source of organic content from those influenced by anthropogenic contamination. The detection of petroleum contamination was indicated by the presence of prominent unresolved complex mixtures (UCM) as well as specific petroleum biomarkers such as hopanes, diasteranes, and steranes. The study revealed varying concentrations of the analyzed organic pollutants, with the average of PAHs at 24.6 ng/g dw, LABs at 18.1 ng/g dw, and phthalates at 8.3 μg/g dw. The variability in concentration of the investigated compound groups across different locations indicated spatial heterogeneity, and the land use patterns appears to modulate the sources of OM in surface sediments. The source contribution of PAHs and phthalates determined by positive matrix factorization (PMF) shows the predominant sources of the anthropogenic hydrocarbons were linked primarily to petroleum/petroleum-derived products emissions, industrial discharges, cultural practices and common household waste/sewage disposal. This analysis provides insights for developing mitigation strategies and informing relevant policy changes globally, thereby contributing to the broader understanding of anthropogenic impacts on water ecosystems. • PAHs, phthalates, and LABs in the river sediment were investigated. • n -Alkanes had a mixture of biogenic and anthropogenic sources. • Multivariate analysis to distinguish biogenic and anthropogenic organic inputs. • Land use pattern modulate the sources of organic matter in surface sediments. • Positive matrix factorization for PAHs and phthalates sources determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study provides a comparison between living (LAs) and dead (DAs) assemblages of benthic foraminifera in 137 sites located at the mouth region of the Aveiro Lagoon (N Portugal). This coastal lagoon, commonly named Ria de Aveiro, is under strong anthropogenic influence due to changes in natural hydrodynamics through engineering structures and by the input of contaminants. The sedimentary environments of the mouth area are characterized by biotic (benthic foraminifera) and sedimentological (grain size, trace metals and total organic carbon concentrations) data. The pollution load index (PLI) identifies areas of increased concentrations of potentially toxic trace metals. An innovative combination of several statistical methods and extremely detailed data analyses allowed to verify that the dead associations (DAs) and the living assemblages (LAs) are absent or reduced in the deep and most hydrodynamically active zones along the navigable waterways of the channels. Breakwaters reducing the bottom currents allow the development of larger and more diversified LAs. The most suitable areas for LAs are located close to the South Jetty and in Mira Channel excluding the navigable channel and the eastern margin. LAs have in general little similarity with the DAs. Confined zones and areas with high organic matter flux and trace metals concentrations, where the sediments are being accumulated, are particularly unfavourable environments for living foraminifera. The obtained results evidenced that marked differences in hydrodynamics determine large dissimilarities between LAs and DAs. In some environments the taphonomic effects caused by the removal and high accumulation of foraminiferal tests can significantly misrepresent the faunal composition in the fossil registry, and lead to misinterpretations about the paleoenvironmental evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic signals are widely used as sexual displays to attract mates. The choice of display site can strongly influence the male call characteristics and their attractiveness to females. Males can improve the conspicuousness of their signals by increasing sound amplitude and expanding their broadcast area thereby reaching more potential mating partners and influencing female choice. Insects possess a rather limited degree of signal plasticity. To increase the intensity of their calls, insects have been known to manipulate and engineer their display locations. Mole crickets, for example, build burrows that are shaped like horns, designing the burrow such that its resonance closely matches that of their call frequency, thereby boosting sound amplitude. Tree crickets manipulate plant leaves, using them as baffles for optimal sound radiation. In this study, we show for the first time that an insect species can enhance its advertisement calls by using novel, anthropogenic environments as singing sites. During this study, the tropical cricket Anurogryllus muticus was frequently found singing beside the walls of houses, on concrete stairs or in storm drains. These locations significantly increased the sound amplitude of its calls, by an average of 13 and 7 dB SPL, respectively, as measured above and in front of the singing animals compared to the sound amplitude measured in their natural grassland habitat. To evaluate the effect of calling site choice on the male's life span, we conducted a 35-day population survey using the mark and recapture method. Our results revealed that those males that called in grassland habitat without occupying burrows had the shortest minimum life spans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was made of the influence of extraction of lead and zinc ores in the northern part of Vietnam (the Red river basin, Chodon district of Bac Can Province, and the basins of the Dai, Ban Thi, Ta Dieng and Cau rivers). Background concentrations of macro- and microelements and biogenic elements are determined in the river waters and water extracts from bottom sediments of small streams of the study area. A significance exceedance of background concentrations was revealed in stretches of the headwaters of the Ban Thi and Dai rivers caused by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. It is established that the river waters near the pollution sources contain increased (compared with the geochemical background) concentrations of Zn, Pb, Fe, Ni, Co, As, Bi, Cd, Cs, Sb, Ag,NO2− and SO42−. The waters are estimated as moderately and heavily polluted, and at the other points as minimally polluted. It is determined that the level of accumulation of matter in water extracts from bottom sediments with respect to the geochemical background in the vicinity of the ore dressing factories corresponds to weakly and heavily polluted bottom sediments, and further downstream, to thy minimum level of pollution. It is shown that the influence of extraction of lead and zinc ores on the state of small streams is observed in stretches as long as 11-12 km (with a maximum in stretches of up to 4.5 km). The mathematical model of Pb and Zn distribution in the river waters of the study area has been developed and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic disturbances have a detrimental impact on the natural world; the vast expansion of palm oil monocultures is one of the most significant agricultural influences. Primates worldwide consequently have been affected by the loss of their natural ecosystems. Long-tailed macaques ( Macaca fascilularis) in Southern Thailand have, however, learned to exploit oil palm nuts using stone tools. Using camera traps, we captured the stone tool behavior of one macaque group in Ao Phang-Nga National Park. Line transects placed throughout an abandoned oil palm plantation confirmed a high abundance of nut cracking sites. Long-tailed macaques previously have been observed using stone tools to harvest shellfish along the coasts of Thailand and Myanmar. The novel nut processing behavior indicates the successful transfer of existing lithic technology to a new food source. Such behavioral plasticity has been suggested to underlie cultural behavior in animals, suggesting that long-tailed macaques have potential to exhibit cultural tendencies. The use of tools to process oil palm nuts across multiple primate species allows direct comparisons between stone tool using nonhuman primates living in anthropogenic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the historical variation in fire regimes is instrumental in managing forests today and in predicting what may happen in the future. By cross-dating 745 fire scars in 378 samples of remnant Scots pines, we delineated 254 individual forest fires during the past 700 years in a 74-km2 section of Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell Nature Reserve in south-central Norway. Fire sizes, numbers, burn rates, and frequencies were compared with historical climate proxies, vegetation maps, and written sources. The results revealed patterns consistent with a predominantly climate-driven fire regime up to 1625, followed by periods of strong anthropogenic influence that increased fire frequency during 1600-1700s and diminished fires during 1800-1900s. This was documented by an abrupt increase in number of small fires from the early 1600s that markedly shortened fire intervals from a median of 73 to 37 yr. This shift in fire frequency coincided with a sudden appearance of early-season fires from 1625 and onward. Whereas late-season burn rate increased with summer temperature, no such relationship was found for early-season fires. These results were corroborated by written sources that describe anthropogenic forest fires and slash-and-burn cultivation expanding with the increasing population from the late 1500s and subsequently diminishing due to increasing timber values during 1700-1800s. Whereas human activity strongly influenced the fire regime at multidecadal to centennial scales, it was the interannual variability in climate that triggered large fire events, especially during the pre-1625 period. Prior to 1625, the percentage of years with fire tripled from 7% during cold summers (10-12°C) to 21% during warm summers (14-16°C). Burn rate increased even more, from 0.01% to 1.3% for the same temperature intervals. Ecologically, the post-1625 period is remarkable in such a way that human activity, first by greatly increasing fire frequency and subsequently almost eradicating fires, possibly influenced the fire regime to such an extent that it may be unprecedented for millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chronostratigraphy of an eastern Mediterranean Holocene fluvial sequence reflects global trends (climate and sea-level), local modulations (hydrological regime and storm surges) and anthropogenic impact. Two continuous cores retrieved from the Tanninim Stream estuary, on the Carmel coast of Israel, are dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to span the Holocene. The sedimentology and faunal assemblages are analyzed for reconstructing environmental conditions. Despite time gaps recognized in the fluvial successions, three main depositional periods provide distinctive archives capturing natural and anthropogenic centennial to millennial changes. Alternations between enhanced and reduced fluvial activity associated with humid and dry climate conditions, characterized the early to mid-Holocene fluvial record between about 7.8 and 5.7 ka, and may match eastern Mediterranean climate records. The first humid phase, from 8 to 6 ka, features organic-rich fine sediments and proliferating brackish ostracods, foraminifera and molluscs. The appearance of this biofacies indicates the initiation of seepage from the Yarkon-Tanninim aquifer through the brackish oligohaline Enot Timsah springs. The advancing coastline, due to sea-level rise starting about 5.8 ka, resulted in an increasing supply of quartz sands and marine-transported foraminifera. Relatively fast accumulation of organic-rich fine-grained sediments with enhanced preservation of brackish fauna during the late Holocene is probably associated with maintenance of the Tanninim dams during the early Arab period (7th–8th centuries CE). The last century has been characterized by accelerated sedimentation rates that may be associated with reduced vegetation cover due to modern human activity, and by deposition by a high-energy surge event. This study demonstrates that the lower part of a semi-arid southeastern Mediterranean estuary responds to periods of climatic and sea-level change on a regional scale, and to human impact and abrupt past hydrological events on a local scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sousa, N.S.S.; Monteiro. M.C.; Gorayeb, A.; Costa, R.M., and Pereira, L.C.C., 2016. Effects of sewage on natural environments of the Amazon region (Pará-Brazil). In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 158-162. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The negative effects of sewage discharge were analyzed in two Amazonian environments (the Caeté Estuary and the Cereja River) subject to different levels of anthropogenic impact. For this, samples of surface water were collected for the analysis of physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters during dry and wet season. In the Caeté Estuary, the results indicated high levels of total nitrogen and fecal coliforms in the upper sector. Eutrophic conditions were recorded in the wet and dry season. Natural and anthropogenic sources may contribute to the input of dissolved nutrients, maintaining the eutrophic conditions of the estuary. A similar pattern was observed in the Cereja River, with higher concentrations being found in the most urbanized sector, however, these water were mesotrophic. The planning and construction of a public sewage collection system and treatment plant by local authorities will be a key step towards the improvement of the water quality of the Caeté and Cereja rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment texture controls the spatial distribution of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) in the Vembanad Lake. Influences of marine derived organic matter (OM) on SOM decreased inner-wards in the northern part of the lake. However, SOM from the southern part of the lake was dominated by terrestrial OM. Marine-derived OM showed the highest affinity for the clay-sized fraction (b2 µm) of the sediment in the northern part of the lake. However, aged and humified soil-derived OM was predominant in the clay-sized fractions from the southern part. Alteration of sediment texture led to a change in the distribution pattern of SOM in the lake after bund construction. Human intervention and changes in land-use patternwere also found to influence the SOMcontent in the southern part of the lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many nonhuman primates live in proximity to humans, and all studied primate populations are influenced in some ways by human interaction. While the effects of human interference on primate behavior and ecology are an important area of research in contemporary primatology, to date there is no systematic way to report the types or level of anthropogenic influence for a primate study population. In this paper, I introduce a diagnostic classification system that will allow primate field researchers to clearly and consistently report anthropogenic conditions at their study sites. This system provides a way to identify population conditions for four major variables: landscape, human-nonhuman primate interface, diet, and predation risk. The incredible diversity of the Order Primates necessitates a descriptive system that is applicable across a wide range of habitat types, social groupings, and ecological roles, so the proposed classification system has been specifically designed to avoid quantitative ranking. Instead, the system is intended to provide a standardized way to report a wealth of population and site information in a simple format. This will allow for meta-analysis of specific conditions across study sites, leading to a greater understanding of the effects of different forms of anthropogenic influence on primate behavior and ecology. Am. J. Primatol. 77:715-726, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vast body of literature demonstrated that anthropogenic disturbances such as overgrazing and fire are key drivers of abrupt transition between vegetation types in ecosystems. In this study, we propose that the hydrological context (described in terms of rainfall, evapotranspiration and water yield) is a first-order, primordial determinant of the propensity of ecosystems to undergo transition. This implies that the anthropogenic disturbance is a second-order determinant that is strongly conditioned by the first one. Through the meta-analysis of existing studies, a collection of 685 geo-referenced study cases was organized to study the hydrological characteristics of three climatic regions and three ecosystems that vary in their relation between woody and grassy plants. Thus, humid, sub-humid and dry climatic regions, respectively, receiving >1000, 500-1000 and <500 mm year−1, were studied, and possible transition mechanisms among grasslands/savannas, shrublands and forests were analysed. The results showed that the ecohydrological context determines the probabilities of ecosystems transitions in different climatic regions and the prevalence of alternative transition mechanisms. We showed that transition of forests into other ecosystems is highly improbable in high-precipitation regions, more probable and likely subject to a bi-stable and reversible regime in sub-humid regions, and highly probable and irreversible in dry regions. Factors such as runoff, deep-water drainage, fire, flammable/nonflammable biomass and overgrazing were considered as hypothetical transition mechanisms. As a novel finding, we demonstrate that ecohydrology, as a determinant of transition, is a factor that operates at a hierarchical level higher than that of the human-driven disturbance. A synthetic graphical model was proposed to characterize resilience (the capacity of ecosystems to withstand transition) in the three study climatic regions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichenoindication studies that were carried out in the islands of the Peter the Great Gulf in different years, revealed evidence for anthropogenic influences upon insular natural complexes. The northern islands with permanent settlements are experiencing the greatest influence. The southern islands that are situated in the Marine Reserve, are undergoing a less severe anthropogenic load; nevertheless, there are also taking place a reduction in lichen species diversity and a decrease in the occurrence of species of natural habitats combined with an increased occurrence of lichens across anthropogenically modified territories. The dynamics of the state of lichen cover in the islands being studied has been analyzed to show a consistent tendency for an enhancement in anthropogenic impact over the last several decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic influence and natural processes exert important effects on the aquatic ecosystem of Sanya Bay in the northern part of the South China Sea. These effects result to the temporal and spatial differences of water quality in the bay. In this study, four-way principal component analysis is employed to identify the natural characteristics of the water in this bay, as well as the anthropogenic effects on its water quality. The results indicate that anthropogenic influence (nutrients as indicator) is the dominant factor that affects the water quality at the mouth of Sanya River (S1). This region exhibits the maximum effects of the discharge from Saya River, which is indicated by higher nutrient levels and Chl a than in outer bay. Both upwelling and mixing caused by monsoons are the dominant factors that affect water quality in the central and outer bays. The water exchange between the bay and open oceanic water exercises an important effect on the water quality in Sanya Bay. The information on the spatial and temporal variations of the water quality in Sanya Bay may be valuable for the socioeconomic development and human health in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To contribute to establishing a historical baseline for future evaluations of the environmental quality of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain), we report metal contents determined in eight gravity cores obtained at representative locations in 1990 – before the installation of any wastewater treatment plants – and in fractions thereof that were obtained by the BCR sequential extraction method. The results suggest that early diagenesis had been influenced by both hydrodynamic conditions and organic matter input (the latter especially in areas devoted to mariculture), and that anthropogenic inputs had also affected the concentrations and between-fraction distribution of Cu, Pb, Zn and other metals in surficial sediments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In 1937/38 representative mollusc collections were made in Jakarta Bay (West Java, Indonesia). New data from here and the adjacent offshore Thousand Islands archipelago (Kepulauan Seribu) became available in 2005. Although collecting efforts and sampling methods differed, a comparison of the molluscan fauna of Jakarta Bay between 1937/38 and 2005 reveals a distinct deterioration. From 1937 to 2005, Jakarta Bay received increasing amounts of sewage from the greater Jakarta area, as well as increased sediment input from the deforested West Java hinterland. Predatory gastropods and numerous mollusc species associated with carbonate (reef) substrate have vanished from Jakarta Bay, among which many edible species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

New European legislation known as the Water Framework Directive (WFD) challenges catchment hydrologists and freshwater biologists to quantify the risk of damage to the organic communities of rivers that arises from anthropogenic distortion of the natural flow regime. Here, we take the first step towards this goal by collecting together relevant information from the two disciplines. An extensive biological literature is examined for insights into the ways in which the species and communities associated with rivers might change when the flow regime is altered. From the hydrological literature, the indicators of flow regime and flow regime change that are pertinent to ecology are described, and consideration is given to means of deriving flow regime data for ungauged river reaches. Attempts to combine hydrology and ecology in classifying rivers and in setting flow objectives to favour biota are then reviewed, together with integrated approaches to river management that aim to promote ecological quality. A significant scale disparity is noted between the disciplines, hydrology being studied at catchment, subcatchment and reach scales, and biology generally at local level. Nonetheless, both yield methods with potential applications in aspects of WFD implementation. The approach with most appeal for general risk assessment is based on the concept of hydrological alteration. This technique employs flow regime variables selected for their importance to aquatic and riparian ecology, and quantifies deviations from the natural values of these variables at reach scale. For WFD purposes, calibration of the scale of hydrological alteration in terms of risk to ecological status is desirable. In this, priority should be given to identification of the level of hydrological alteration that corresponds to the division between good and moderate ecological status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]