Assessing land-use effects on water quality, in-stream habitat, riparian ecosystems and biodiversity in Patagonian northwest streams

Changes in land-use practices have affected the integrity and quality of water resources worldwide. In Patagonia there is a strong concern about the ecological status of surface waters because these changes are rapidly occurring in the region. To test the hypothesis that greater intensity of land-use will have negative effects on water quality, stream habitat and biodiversity we assessed benthic macroinvertebrates, riparian/littoral invertebrates, fish and birds from the riparian corridor and environmental variables of 15 rivers (Patagonia) subjected to a gradient of land-use practices (non-managed native forest, managed native forest, pine plantations, pasture, urbanization). A total of 158 macroinvertebrate taxa, 105 riparian/littoral invertebrate taxa, 5 fish species, 34 bird species, and 15 aquatic plant species, were recorded considering all sites. Urban land-use produced the most significant changes in streams including physical features, conductivity, nutrients, habitat condition, riparian quality and invertebrate metrics. Pasture and managed native forest sites appeared in an intermediate situation. The highest values of fish and bird abundance and diversity were observed at disturbed sites; this might be explained by the opportunistic behavior displayed by these communities which let them take advantage of increased trophic resources in these environments. As expected, non-managed native forest sites showed the highest integrity of ecological conditions and also great biodiversity of benthic communities. Macroinvertebrate metrics that reflected good water quality were positively related to forest land cover and negatively related to urban and pasture land cover. However, by offering stream edge areas, pasture sites still supported rich communities of riparian/littoral invertebrates, increasing overall biodiversity. Macroinvertebrates were good indicators of land-use impact and water quality conditions and resulted useful tools to early alert of disturbances in streams. Fish and birds having a greater ability of dispersion and capacity to move quickly from disturbances would reflect changes at a higher scale.     

Calcium and protein intake and bone markers in premenopausic and posmenopausic women with normal bone mineral density from Comodoro Rivadavia (Argentina)

Healthy premenopausal women (Pre n=28) and posmenopausal (Pos n=22), living in Comodoro Rivadavia (Argentina), with normal femoral neck and lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) were studied. Usual daily calcium intake (CaI) and protein intake (PrI) were calculated according to an special questionaire and the National Food Composition Tables. Fasting blood samples and 24 h urine were collected. Laboratory measurements were: in urine (U): calcium (Ca), creatinine (Crea) and deoxypiridinoline (Dpyr); in serum: Bone Alkaline Phosphatase (BAPh). The results presented the following media +/- SD (minimum - maximum) in Pre and Pos, respectively: CaI (mg/d): 694 +/- 411 (190 - 2,117); 918 +/- 304 (471 - 1740) (p < 0.01); PrI (g/d): 64.6 +/- 25.4 (33.5 - 136); 63.7 +/- 17.6 (41.5 - 95.2); daily UCa (mg/d): 123 +/- 85 (20 +/- 369); 114 +/- 66 (17 - 252); Ca/crea (mg/mg): 0.124 +/- 0.086 (0.014 - 0.372); 0.131 +/- 0.077 (0.020 - 0.338); Dpyr/crea (nM/mM): 5.5 +/- 1.5 (3.4 - 10.3); 7.1 +/- 2.3 (3.9 - 14.5) (p < 0.01); BAPh (UI/l): 58 +/- 12 (28 - 94); 70 +/- 20 (32 - 99) (p < 0.01). CaI was lower than the Adequate Dietary calcium intake in 86% and 82% of the Pre and Pos women, respectively. There was no correlation between CaI, PrI and the biochemical indicators. Conclusions: in these healthy women, without bone mass loss and with wide range of CaI, although usually low, markers of bone turnover, would be a balance between the increase of bone formation and resorption.