The Activity Rhythm of Blennius sanguinolentus Pallas*

Abstract. In the field, feeding activity of the algivorous Blennius sanguinolentus increased remarkably from morning to late afternoon. Swimming is evenly distributed; other behaviour does not fall into regular daily patterns. No association was found, save in extreme values, between the distribution of any activity and environmental factors measured simultaneously. We suggest that the feeding cycle is an adaptation to the metabolic properties of green algae, the staple diet of B. sanguinolentus. Activity distributions following predictable short-term fluctuations in food quality are expected to be found in other animals.     

Nature-based environmental education of children: Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature,together, are related to ecological behaviour

The promotion of environmental knowledge is viewed as a fundamental component of environmental education and a necessary prerequisite to ecological behaviour; however, it has little effect on actual behaviour. Nature-based environmental education, which combines the acquisition of environmental knowledge with the promotion of an intrinsic driver, namely connectedness to nature, is proposed as a holistic approach to increase ecological behaviour. This paper evaluates the effect of participation in nature-based environmental education in 4th to 6th graders (N = 255). As expected, increased participation in nature-based environmental education was related to greater ecological behaviour, mediated by increases in environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature. While both factors were similarly predicted by participation in nature-based environmental education, connectedness to nature explained 69% and environmental knowledge 2% of the variance in ecological behaviour. However, the design of our data do not evidence the causality of these relations, which are solely based on theoretical assumptions supported by literature. Nevertheless, the importance of fostering both environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature as complementary drivers of ecological behaviour, as offered by nature-based environmental education, should be researched further as a highly promising approach to fostering ecologically-motivated individuals.     

A REVIEW OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF ENTERPRISE

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A framework for identifying activity groups from individual space-time profiles

ABSTRACT

Datasets collecting the ever-changing position of moving individuals are usually big and possess high spatial and temporal resolution to reveal activity patterns of individuals in greater detail. Information about human mobility, such as ‘when, where and why people travel’, is contained in these datasets and is necessary for urban planning and public policy making. Nevertheless, how to segregate the users into groups with different movement and behaviours and generalise the patterns of groups are still challenging. To address this, this article develops a theoretical framework for uncovering space-time activity patterns from individual’s movement trajectory data and segregating users into subgroups according to these patterns. In this framework, individuals’ activities are modelled as their visits to spatio-temporal region of interests (ST-ROIs) by incorporating both the time and places the activities take place. An individual’s behaviour is defined as his/her profile of time allocation on the ST-ROIs she/he visited. A hierarchical approach is adopted to segregate individuals into subgroups based upon the similarity of these individuals’ profiles. The proposed framework is tested in the analysis of the behaviours of London foot patrol police officers based on their GPS trajectories provided by the Metropolitan Police.     

Leaching of rock-concrete interfaces

Summary  It has been shown that contacts between host rock and engineered barriers may be critical in the design of deep radioactive waste repositories. Water is expected to reach the interface zone after the resaturation of the geological massive and its presence may lead to concrete leaching. Such a phenomenon could increase the interface transmissivity and compromise the confinement of radioactive waste. This paper intends to investigate the influence of concrete leaching on the hydromechanical behaviour of host rock-concrete interfaces. Some concrete specimens have been subjected to an accelerated leaching process using ammonium nitrate. The hydromechanical response of degraded concrete-rock interfaces has been studied under shearing and compared to that of sound interfaces. Consistent with the results available in the literature on bulk concrete, a loss of mechanical strength has been observed for the degraded interface. Unlike the sound specimens, the degraded interfaces do not dilate when sheared and they tend to be closed, thereby preventing water from flowing. Correspondence: O. Buzzi, Centre for Geotechnical and Materials Modelling, School of Engineering, University of Newcastle, 2308 Callaghan NSW, Australia     

Experimental and modelled mechanical behaviour of a rock fracture under normal stress

Summary  The mechanical and hydromechanical behaviour of isolated rock joints is of prime importance for a correct understanding of the behaviour of jointed rock masses. This paper focuses on the mechanical behaviour of a fracture under normal stress (fracture closure), using approaches based on both experimentation and modelled analysis. Experimental closure tests were carried out by positioning four displacement transducers around a fracture, leading to results which tended to vary as a function of transducer location. Such variations can be explained by the non-constant void space distribution between both walls of the fracture. The present study focuses on the importance of transducer location in such a test, and on the significant role played, in terms of mechanical response, by the morphology of the fracture surfaces. An analytical mechanical model is then developed, which takes into account the deformation of surface asperities and of the bulk material surrounding the fracture; it also includes the effects of mechanical interaction between contact points. The model is validated by simulating the behaviour which is very similar to experimental observations. Various parametric studies (scale effect, spatial distribution of contact points) are then carried out. The study of scale effects reveals a decrease in the normal stiffness with increasing fracture size. Finally, analysis of the role of various mechanical parameters has shown that the most influential of these is Young’s modulus corresponding to the bulk material surrounding the joint. Many applications, such as geothermal fluid recovery from fractures, could benefit from these results. Correspondence: Antoine Marache, Université Bordeaux 1, GHYMAC, Av. des Facultés, 33405 Talence Cedex, France     

Flow and solute transport monitoring in the karst aquifer in SW Slovenia

The role of the unsaturated zone in the karst aquifer hydraulic behaviour was brought into focus in these studies of the catchment of the Hubelj spring (SW Slovenia). The variations of natural tracers in precipitation and in groundwater during a summer storm event made it possible to trace local flow and solute transport in the observed aquifer. The results produced data on the aquifer recharge, storage and discharge processes, as well as on mechanisms that affected them, which reflects a karst groundwater dynamics also at a regional scale. They point out the significance of effects of the fast preferential flow—epiflow that is the main factor controlling solute/contaminant transport towards the aquifer saturated zone. Numerous arguments indicate that the karst aquifer flow and solute transport mechanisms depend on the hydraulic behaviour of the epikarst zone.