Eutrophication is a major cause of wetland degradation worldwide. In recent decades, reductions in nutrient inputs have led to improvements in water quality in many rivers and lakes in central and northern Europe, but long-term trends are less clear in southern Europe. We conducted the first comprehensive study of water quality in Doñana (SW Spain), one of the most important wetland complexes in Europe and the Mediterranean region. The core area of Doñana is a large shallow, seasonal marsh (UNESCO World Heritage Site -WHS) that floods during rainy, cool winter months, then dries out during the summer. The marsh is fed by three main streams whose catchments are within a Biosphere Reserve but are impacted by greenhouses (for cultivating fruit, irrigated with groundwater), poorly treated urban wastewaters and tourism. From 2013 to 2016, we monitored nutrient (Total P, Total N, PO4 -3 , NH4 + , NO3 -, NO2 -) and phytoplankton chlorophyll-a (chla) concentrations in surface waters of the Doñana marsh and the three main streams. We quantified changes in greenhouse cover since 1995 using satellite images. Nutrient concentrations in streams were consistently higher than in the marsh, particularly in the Partido and Rocina streams that regularly reached concentrations equivalent to a "bad physico-chemical status" under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), and whose catchments suffered a fivefold expansion of greenhouses from 1995 to 2016. The Partido was the most polluted stream, and the most affected by wastewater effluents, and had particularly high concentrations of NH4 + (Geometric Mean = 0.3 mg L -1 ) and NO2 -(GM = 0.52 mg L -1 ) across seasons. Patterns in chla concentrations were less consistent, but streams (GM = 6.78 µg L -1 ) generally had higher concentrations than the marsh (GM = 4.27 µg L -1 ). Nutrient concentrations in spot samples within the marsh largely depended on a combination of evaporation (as revealed by higher stable isotope δ 2 H values in the water column) and spatial processes (concentrations increase close to stream entry points, where conductivity is lower). Anthropogenic nutrient pollution in entry streams is a serious problem in Doñana, with extensive stretches too toxic for fish. Reinforcement of policies aimed at reducing nutrient inputs to Doñana are urgently required to meet the biodiversity conservation and environmental objectives for the WHS and WFD, respectively. Paradoxically, the marsh is currently relied upon to purify the water entering from streams.
The composition of interstitial waters in Spain's Doñana National Park was assessed 4 years after a major pyrite slurry spill occurred from the Aznalcollar Mine. Metal and nutrient concentrations in pore waters from two of the most important watercourses traversing Doñana Park were measured: Guadiamar River (affected by the accident) and Partido Stream (unimpacted by the accident). Concentrations of dissolved constituents in interstitial waters varied according to land use in the two watersheds and to the effects of the mine spill. Levels of dissolved Co, Cu, Mo, Ti, and Zn were higher in pore waters from the Guadiamar River than in the Partido Stream, suggesting that concentrations of trace elements are still influenced by the spill. In contrast, concentrations of dissolved nutrients (NH4+, NO2-, NO3-, PO4(-3)) and some trace metals used in fertilizers (e.g. Al and Cr) were higher in the Partido Stream. Levels of dissolved As, Cs, DOC, Ge, Hg, Rb and V in the interstitial waters were equal in both watercourses. Metal concentrations in interstitial waters of the Guadiamar River floodplain were between 0.3 (As) and 16,000 (Zn) times lower than those previously reported in the river and groundwater a few weeks after the mine spill. Although metals in pore water appear to have reached levels characteristic of the area before the accident, concentrations are 60-150 times higher than those in pore waters from other regions. Metal:Al ratios in Doñana's pore waters suggest a transport of contaminants from the Iberian Pyrite Belt into Doñana Park.
The theory of affordances states that perception is of environmental properties that are relevant to action-capabilities of perceivers. The present study illustrates how concepts and methodological tools from the theory of affordances may help to advance research in the field of sensory substitution. The sensory substitution device (SSD) that was used consisted of two horizontal rows of 12 coin motors that each vibrated as a function of the distance to the nearest object. Sixty blindfolded participants used the SSD to explore virtual horizontal apertures with different widths. They were asked to judge the passability of the apertures. Participants with narrow shoulders judged narrower apertures as passable than participants with wide shoulders. This difference disappeared when aperture width was scaled to shoulder width, demonstrating that perception was body scaled. The actual aperture width was closely related to aspects of the exploratory movements and to aspects of the vibrotactile stimulation that was obtained with the exploratory movements. This implies that the exploratory movements themselves and the vibrotactile stimulation were both informative about the aperture width, and hence that the perception of passability may have been based on either of them or on a global variable that spans vibrotactile as well as kinaesthetic stimulation. Similar performance was observed for participants who accomplished the 7-trial familiarization phase with or without vision, meaning that practice with vision is not indispensable to learn to use the SSD.
ResumenLa publicidad utiliza estereotipos para facilitar la comprensión y aceptación de sus mensajes. Pero el uso de estereotipos de género contribuye a perpetuar la discriminación hacia las mujeres, ya que proceden de un sistema patriarcal histórico que atribuye a cada sexo funciones específicas, que en el caso de las mujeres se reducen al ámbito de la reproducción. La multiplicación de impactos reiterando estos estereotipos influye en la mentalidad social que, a pesar de los cambios legales, sigue asumiendo como naturales esas diferencias. Las políticas públicas están dirigidas a suprimir las barreras que impiden la igualdad real. El Instituto de la Mujer, a través del Observatorio de la Imagen, persigue transformar esas pautas de comunicación hacia un modelo que respete la dignidad y los derechos de las mujeres. Palabras clave: Derechos de las mujeres, discriminación, estereotipos de género, igualdad real, Instituto de la Mujer, Observatorio de la Imagen, publicidad.
AbstractAdvertising uses stereotypes to make their messages easier to understand and accept. But the use of gender stereotypes contributes to perpetuate women discrimination, because they come from a historical patriarchal system that attributes to each sex specific roles, which in the case of women are limited to the reproduction field. The numerous impacts repeating these stereotypes influence the social mentality and, in spite of the legal changes, people continue to accept as natural those differences. The aim of public policies is to eradicate the obstacles for a real equality. The Women Institute, through the Image Observatory, intends to modify these forms of communication to other model that respect the rights and dignity of women.
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