During the past two decades, the round goby Apollonia melanostoma (=Neogobius melanostomus) has expanded its range via shipping transport and canals, extending north and west from the Ponto-Caspian region of Eurasia and to the North American Great Lakes. Exotic populations of the round goby have been very successful in the Baltic Sea and the Great Lakes regions, exerting significant ecological ...

In the coming decades, global warming and increase in temperature, in different regions of the world, may change indoor and outdoor thermal comfort conditions and human health. The aim of this research was to study the effects of global warming on thermal comfort conditions in indoor ambiences in Iran. To study the increase in temperature, model for assessment of greenhouse-gas induced climate ...

Persistent organic pollutants are a concern for species occupying high trophic levels since they can cause immunosuppression and impair reproduction. Mass mortalities due to canine distemper virus (CDV) occurred in Caspian seals (Pusa caspica), in spring of 1997, 2000 and 2001, but the potential role of organochlorine exposure in these epizootics remains undetermined. Here we integrate Caspian ...

Fipronil is an effective insecticide widely used in agriculture with potential ecotoxicological consequences. The median lethal dose (LD50) and concentration (LC50) of fipronil in 16.3 g Caspian white fish, Rutilus frisii kutum fingerlings were determined. To determine the LD50, a total of 133 fish were assigned to 19 tanks (7 fish/tank) including one control and 6 treatment groups (300, 450, 5...

Economic expansion in developed countries coupled with dramatically growing economies in countries such as China and India have precipitated a steady increase in demand for oil and natural gas. The Caspian Sea region holds large quantities of both oil and natural gas. Because the Caspian Sea is landlocked and the region’s nations are distant from the largest energy markets, transportation must ...

In 2010, H14 influenza A viruses were recovered from clinically normal sea ducks in the United States. These are the first H14 isolates recovered in the Western Hemisphere and represent the only documented H14 influenza A viruses isolated since the original isolates were recovered from near the Caspian Sea during 1982.