超声波提取活性污泥胞外聚合物的研究

采用超声波提取活性污泥的胞外聚合物(EPS),以EPS中葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶(G6PD)活性衡量细胞破损程度.结果表明:超声波的最佳作用频率为21kHz,最佳作用功率范围为32W-40W,提取时间不宜超过3min.低泥龄污泥的EPS易被提取,并且超声波法容易引起低泥龄污泥中细菌细胞的破损.     

MBR中胞外聚合物累积对污泥性质的影响

以一体式膜生物反应器(MBR)处理模拟生活污水为研究体系,探讨累积胞外聚合物(EPS)的组成、含量及其分布对污泥特性的影响.结果表明,EPS经历一个低谷后,在35 d时出现明显累积,污泥比基质降解速率和污泥体积指数(SVI)也出现相应变化.体系中EPS总量及污泥中蛋白质与多糖比值的增加有利于污泥活性及其沉降性能的改善,EPS累积期大部分EPS存在于污泥中,从另一个角度证实了EPS与污泥活性及其降解性能之间的相关关系.     

外源活性污泥胞外聚合物对小球衣藻聚集行为的影响

微藻聚集行为在藻华的治理等方面具有重要作用,也是目前微藻生物燃料收集的瓶颈之一.以小球衣藻为研究对象,观察污泥胞外聚合物(Extracellular polymeric substance,EPS)对微藻聚集行为的影响,并通过其聚集数据采集、EPS客观特性和微藻的自身响应等方面探究其可能的聚集原因.结果显示:随着外源性污泥EPS浓度的增大,小球衣藻聚集率从18.4%上升到81.8%,并且在110 mg/L时达到聚集率最大值.微藻细胞运动速度从26.8μm/s上升到49.4μm/s,增大了细胞间的碰撞几率,促进了微藻的聚集.三维荧光光谱表明,污泥胞外聚合物刺激了微藻色氨酸类蛋白和芳香族类蛋白的分泌,其分泌量与EPS的浓度成正比.但是外源性EPS溶液Zeta电位变化与微藻的聚集率呈负相关关系,并非微藻聚集原因.本研究表明外源性污泥胞外聚合物能够促进微藻的聚集,结果可为下一步在分子方面的探究提供实验基础.(图7表3参38)     

胞外聚合物物理法提取过程的优化

对物理法提取活性污泥中的胞外聚合物(EPS)进行了优化.分别考察了超声时间、振摇时间、离心速度和时间以及加热时间对EPS的松散附着(LB)和紧密粘附(TB)提取的影响,得出污泥EPS物理法提取的优化方案.     

好氧颗粒污泥胞外聚合物的产生及其分布

考察了不同操作条件和基质条件对好氧颗粒污泥中胞外聚合物(EPS)产生的影响及其在污泥和体系上清液中的分布.结果表明:随体系操作条件和基质条件的变化,好氧颗粒污泥内部和上清液中的EPS含量呈规律性变化.相对而言,好氧颗粒污泥中EPS含量的变化幅度较小,过多的EPS则释放到上清液中.大量EPS的释放只发生在颗粒污泥解体时,而酸性条件和不适当的C/N比不利于好氧颗粒污泥的形成及形态保持.体系溶解氧为4.5 mg·l-1,pH为中性,污泥负荷小于等于0.37kgCOD·kg-1MLSS·d-1,碳氮比为20∶ 1时,好氧颗粒污泥中EPS的含量约占污泥总质量的9%-12%,与厌氧颗粒污泥(0.6%-20%)相近,但远低于絮状活性污泥(80%),此时,EPS在上清液中的含量最低或接近最低,为14-26 mg·l-1.     

绿藻胞外聚合物对无机砷生物累积特征的影响

绿藻对无机污染物的净化作用受其自分泌胞外聚合物EPS影响.以EPS释放量高的蛋白核小球藻为绿藻代表,通过24 h短期As(Ⅲ)和As(V)的模拟水体暴露实验,研究绿藻对无机砷的生物累积特征及EPS影响.结果表明,在0—40 mg·L~(-1) As(Ⅲ)和As(V)暴露浓度范围,蛋白核小球藻细胞内的砷累积速率随暴露浓度的增加而升高,其动力学拟合结果符合Michaelis-Menten酶促反应动力学方程. EPS与无机砷存在界面相互作用影响,无机砷暴露浓度升高可促进小球藻EPS分泌, EPS与砷累积速率之间呈现正相关线性关系(R~2 0.900),主要影响成分是溶解态EPS.完整藻细胞与脱除胞外聚合物的活体细胞相比, As(Ⅲ)、As(V)暴露的最大吸附累积量分别增加30.6%和14.2%,而最大胞内累积量降低49.0%和31.0%. EPS与无机砷的微界面交互作用影响绿藻对砷污染的净化修复.     

用三维荧光和红外技术分析好氧颗粒污泥形成初期胞外聚合物的变化

为了研究聚合氯化铝(PAC)的投加在好氧颗粒污泥培养初期的作用,本研究分别在污泥培养的第1—7天(R1)和第8—14天(R2)投加PAC,并采用三维荧光光谱(3D-EEM)和傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)技术分析好氧颗粒污泥形成初期胞外聚合物(EPS)各组分的含量及变化规律.结果表明,PAC投加时间推迟后,污泥沉降性能良好,且反应器中胞外聚合物和蛋白质含量明显增多,松散附着的EPS(LB-EPS)中蛋白含量变化趋势明显,多糖含量保持在较小范围内波动,与溶解性胞外聚合物(S-EPS)和紧密黏附的胞外聚合物(TB-EPS)相比较,LB-EPS和污泥颗粒化有密切关系;三维荧光光谱分析结果显示,R2中荧光类蛋白物质(峰A和峰B)强度均大于R1,而腐殖酸类物质(峰C)强度小于R1,说明A和B这两种荧光类蛋白物质在微生物聚集体形成过程中的作用更加重要;红外光谱表明,1636 cm-1、1654 cm-1分别属于蛋白质二级结构中C=O伸长振动引起的,分别存在于S-EPS和LB-EPS、TB-EPS中,且在投加PAC的时间推迟后1654 cm-1处的吸收峰吸收较弱,和三维荧光分析共同表明LB-EPS中的蛋白类物质是好氧颗粒污泥形成初期加入PAC进行强化造粒的核心原因之一.     

城市污水处理厂好氧颗粒污泥的特性

对城市污水处理厂曝气池中筛选出的好氧颗粒污泥进行了分析.结果表明,这些颗粒污泥的直径主要在0.2～0.8 mm范围;平均圆度为1.29;沉淀速率约在10～42 m h-1之间;比耗氧速率(SOUR)为14.2～18.9 mg g-1h-1,小于活性污泥;挥发性物质占总固体的量与活性污泥基本相似.这些颗粒污泥占污泥总量的0.1%～0.5%.颗粒污泥的激光共聚焦扫描显微镜(CLSM)图像显示:颗粒污泥内部几乎都由胞外聚合物(EPS)组成;细菌主要分布在颗粒污泥表面至100μm厚度区域,少部分分布在100～400μm厚度区域.     

pH调节对活性污泥混合液膜过滤性的影响

探讨了用NaOH调节pH值对膜-生物反应器混合液膜过滤性能的影响,并通过分析污泥混合液性质的变化研究其作用机理.试验表明,适当调节pH到碱性,可以使膜过滤性能得到改善.投加碱液使污泥胞外多聚物(EPS)减少,污泥容积指数(SVI)降低,但上清液中总有机碳(TOC)浓度增加.混合液膜过滤性能的改善与污泥SVI的降低密切相关.在碱性条件下,从细胞表面脱落下来的EPS对絮体颗粒的絮凝性有一定促进作用,但效果有限.推测碱液处理使细胞表面的LB-EPS脱落,从而使细胞表面疏水性增加,有利于絮体颗粒之间的絮凝,从而有利于混合液膜过滤性的改善.     

生物沥浸联合类Fenton作用对污泥脱水性能的改善

为了解生物沥浸促进下的类Fenton调理对污泥脱水性能的影响,采用序批式恒温培养法,以比阻(SRF)、毛细吸水时间(CST)、过滤时间(TTF)和上清液中胞外聚合物(EPS)组分含量等指标,比较生物沥浸、Fenton氧化以及生物沥浸联合类Fenton氧化3种调理方法对污泥脱水速率和脱水程度的影响,并探讨其调理机制.结果表明,污泥经过生物沥浸联合类Fenton氧化调理后,比阻和毛细吸水时间分别从14.0×10~(12) m/kg和24 s下降到0.178×10~(12) m/kg和7.7 s,脱水性能较单独生物沥浸提高80.0%,与单独Fenton相比提高90.6%.此外,H_2O_2投加量对污泥的脱水效果具有重要影响,在本研究条件下最佳H_2O_2投加量是20 mg/g DS(干物质).因此,生物沥浸联合类Fenton作用可显著改善污泥脱水性能,EPS释放、Fe~(3+)絮凝和大量结合水转化为自由水是促进污泥脱水的主要原因.     

Achieving Open Access to Conservation Science

Conservation science is a crisis discipline in which the results of scientific enquiry must be made available quickly to those implementing management. We assessed the extent to which scientific research published since the year 2000 in 20 conservation science journals is publicly available. Of the 19,207 papers published, 1,667 (8.68%) are freely downloadable from an official repository. Moreover, only 938 papers (4.88%) meet the standard definition of open access in which material can be freely reused providing attribution to the authors is given. This compares poorly with a comparable set of 20 evolutionary biology journals, where 31.93% of papers are freely downloadable and 7.49% are open access. Seventeen of the 20 conservation journals offer an open access option, but fewer than 5% of the papers are available through open access. The cost of accessing the full body of conservation science runs into tens of thousands of dollars per year for institutional subscribers, and many conservation practitioners cannot access pay‐per‐view science through their workplace. However, important initiatives such as Research4Life are making science available to organizations in developing countries. We urge authors of conservation science to pay for open access on a per‐article basis or to choose publication in open access journals, taking care to ensure the license allows reuse for any purpose providing attribution is given. Currently, it would cost $51 million to make all conservation science published since 2000 freely available by paying the open access fees currently levied to authors. Publishers of conservation journals might consider more cost effective models for open access and conservation‐oriented organizations running journals could consider a broader range of options for open access to nonmembers such as sponsorship of open access via membership fees. Obtención de Acceso Abierto a la Ciencia de la Conservación     

Some polyphagous Homoptera gain protection from their natural enemies by feeding on the toxic plantsSpartium junceum andErythrina corallodendrum (Leguminosae)

Summary Interactions were studied among alkaloid-containing legumes (Erythrina corallodendrum andSpartium junceum) and non-toxic plants (Citrus sinensis, Cucurbita moschata andEuphorbia tirucalli), several polyphagous homopterans,Aphis craccivora (Aphididae),Icerya purchasi, I. aegyptiaca (Margarodidae),Lepidosaphes ulmi (Diaspididae) andPlanococcus citri (Pseudococcidae), and some major natural enemies of these homopterans. Significant reductions in survival due to negative effects of alkaloid containing as compared with non-alkaloidal plants were recorded for the predatorsRodolia cardinalis andChilocorus bipustulatus, but not forCryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae),Chrysoperla carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) andSympherobius sanctus (Neuroptera: Sympherobiidae). The development time of the larvae or pupae ofR. cardinalis, C. carnea andS. sanctus was longer on the toxic plants than on the non-toxic ones. The percentage of parasitism ofA. craccivora collected from the non-alkaloidal plantsVicia palaestina andMelilotus albus was much higher than that onS. junceum. The parasitoid complexes ofA. craccivora differed between both plant groups. The nutritive value of honeydew ofI. purchasi andA. craccivora, as expressed by the life span ofEncyrtus infelix (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) adults, was also investigated. Life spans were significantly longer when the wasps fed on honeydew produced on non-alkaloidal plants (C. sinensis andPittosporum tobira) than on alkaloid containing plants whenI. purchasi — but notA. craccivora — was the producer. It is suggested that the chemical defense ofE. corallodendrum andS. junceum is exploited by polyphagous phytophages to reduce predation. In nature, population growth and density of four of the investigated homopterans are conspicuously high when they developed on the alkaloid containing plant species, and very low on non-alkaloid plants. The efficiency of their natural enemies may be reduced by sequestration of alkaloids (or other toxic plant compounds) or their transfer into excreted honeydew. Therefore it is assumed that a generalist phytophagous homopteran may be protected from its natural enemies, although at different rates of efficiency, if it can safely sequester the host allelochemical when it develops on toxic species within its host range.     

Sequestration of cucurbitacin analogs by New and Old World chrysomelid leaf beetles in the tribe Luperini

Summary Two South American polyphagous leaf beetles,Diabrotica speciosa andCerotoma arcuata, selectively accumulated the bitter tasting compound 23,24-dihydrocucurbitacin D in their body after ingesting root tissues of cucurbit plants. Similarly, three Asian Cucurbitaceae-feeding specialists in the genusAulacophora were found to sequester the same compound. Cucurbitacin analogs were shown to deter feeding by a bird predator, indicating an allomonal role for these compounds in cucurbitacin-associated chrysomelid leaf beetles both of New and Old Worlds. The strong affinity to cucurbitacins, selective sequestration of the analogs and consequent protection from predators suggested an ecological adaptation mechanism developed in common among these two geographically isolated subtribes in the Luperini.     

Effects of Controlled Fire and Livestock Grazing on Bird Communities in East African Savannas

Abstract: In East Africa fire and grazing by wild and domestic ungulates maintain savannas, and pastoralists historically set fires and herded livestock through the use of temporary corrals called bomas. In recent decades traditional pastoral practices have declined, and this may be affecting biodiversity. We investigated the effects of prescribed fires and bomas on savanna bird communities in East Africa during the first and second dry seasons of the year (respectively before and after the rains that mark the onset of breeding for most birds). We compared abundance, richness, and community composition on 9‐ha burned plots, recently abandoned bomas, and control plots in the undisturbed matrix habitat over a 3‐year period. Generally, recently burned areas and abandoned bomas attracted greater densities of birds and had different community assemblages than the surrounding matrix. The effects of disturbances were influenced by interactions between primary productivity, represented by the normalized difference vegetation index, and time. Bird densities were highest and a greater proportion of species was observed on burned plots in the months following the fires. Drought conditions equalized bird densities across treatments within 1 year, and individuals from a greater proportion of species were more commonly observed on abandoned bomas. Yearly fluctuations in abundance were less pronounced on bomas than on burns, which indicate that although fire may benefit birds in the short term, bomas may have a more‐lasting positive effect and provide resources during droughts. Several Palearctic migrants were attracted to burned plots regardless of rainfall, which indicates continued fire suppression may threaten their already‐declining populations. Most notably, the paucity of birds observed on the controls suggests that the current structure of the matrix developed as a result of fire suppression. Traditional pastoralism appears critical to the maintenance of avian diversity in these savannas.     

Effects of Coffee Management on Deforestation Rates and Forest Integrity

Knowledge about how forest margins are utilized can be crucial for a general understanding of changes in forest cover, forest structure, and biodiversity across landscapes. We studied forest‐agriculture transitions in southwestern Ethiopia and hypothesized that the presence of coffee (Coffea arabica)decreases deforestation rates because of coffee's importance to local economies and its widespread occurrence in forests and forest margins. Using satellite images and elevation data, we compared changes in forest cover over 37 years (1973–2010) across elevations in 2 forest‐agriculture mosaic landscapes (1100 km² around Bonga and 3000 km² in Goma‐Gera). In the field in the Bonga area, we determined coffee cover and forest structure in 40 forest margins that differed in time since deforestation. Both the absolute and relative deforestation rates were lower at coffee‐growing elevations compared with at higher elevations (?10/20% vs. ?40/50% comparing relative rates at 1800 m asl and 2300–2500 m asl, respectively). Within the coffee‐growing elevation, the proportion of sites with high coffee cover (>20%) was significantly higher in stable margins (42% of sites that had been in the same location for the entire period) than in recently changed margins (0% of sites where expansion of annual crops had changed the margin). Disturbance level and forest structure did not differ between sites with 30% or 3% coffee. However, a growing body of literature on gradients of coffee management in Ethiopia reports coffee's negative effects on abundances of forest‐specialist species. Even if the presence of coffee slows down the conversion of forest to annual‐crop agriculture, there is a risk that an intensification of coffee management will still threaten forest biodiversity, including the genetic diversity of wild coffee. Conservation policy for Ethiopian forests thus needs to develop strategies that acknowledge that forests without coffee production may have higher deforestation risks than forests with coffee production and that forests with coffee production often have lower biodiversity value. Efectos de la Administración Cafetalera sobre las Tasas de Deforestación y la Integridad de los Bosques     

What Every Conservation Biologist Should Know about Economic Theory

Abstract: The last century has seen the ascendance of a core economic model, which we will refer to as Walrasian economics. This model is driven by the psychological assumptions that humans act only in a self‐referential and narrowly rational way and that production can be described as a self‐contained circular flow between firms and households. These assumptions have critical implications for the way economics is used to inform conservation biology. Yet the Walrasian model is inconsistent with a large body of empirical evidence about actual human behavior, and it violates a number of basic physical laws. Research in behavioral science and neuroscience shows that humans are uniquely social animals and not self‐centered rational economic beings. Economic production is subject to physical laws including the laws of thermodynamics and mass balance. In addition, some contemporary economic theory, spurred by exciting new research in human behavior and a wealth of data about the negative global impact of the human economy on natural systems, is moving toward a world view that places consumption and production squarely in its behavioral and biophysical context. We argue that abandoning the straightjacket of the Walrasian core is essential to further progress in understanding the complex, coupled interactions between the human economy and the natural world. We call for a new framework for economic theory and policy that is consistent with observed human behavior, recognizes the complex and frequently irreversible interaction between human and natural systems, and directly confronts the cumulative negative effects of the human economy on the Earth's life support systems. Biophysical economics and ecological economics are two emerging economic frameworks in this movement.     

Globalization of the Cashmere Market and the Decline of Large Mammals in Central Asia

As drivers of terrestrial ecosystems, humans have replaced large carnivores in most areas, and human influence not only exerts striking ecological pressures on biodiversity at local scales but also has indirect effects in distant corners of the world. We suggest that the multibillion dollar cashmere industry creates economic motivations that link western fashion preferences for cashmere to land use in Central Asia. This penchant for stylish clothing, in turn, encourages herders to increase livestock production which affects persistence of over 6 endangered large mammals in these remote, arid ecosystems. We hypothesized that global trade in cashmere has strong negative effects on native large mammals of deserts and grassland where cashmere‐producing goats are raised. We used time series data, ecological snapshots of the biomass of native and domestic ungulates, and ecologically and behaviorally based fieldwork to test our hypothesis. In Mongolia increases in domestic goat production were associated with a 3‐fold increase in local profits for herders coexisting with endangered saiga (Saiga tatarica).That increasing domestic grazing pressure carries fitness consequences was inferred on the basis of an approximately 4‐fold difference in juvenile recruitment among blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur)in trans‐Himalayan India. Across 7 study areas in Mongolia, India, and China's Tibetan Plateau, native ungulate biomass is now <5% that of domestic species. Such trends suggest ecosystem degradation and decreased capacity for the persistence of native species, including at least 8 Asian endemic species: saiga, chiru (Pantholops hodgsoni), Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus), snow leopard(Panthera uncia), khulan(Equus hemionus), kiang (E. kiang), takhi (E. przewalski), and wild yak (Bos mutus). Our results suggest striking yet indirect and unintended actions that link trophic‐level effects to markets induced by the trade for cashmere. Globalización del Mercado de Cachemira y la Declinación de Mamíferos Mayores en Asia Central     

The lichen-rich coastal heath vegetation on the isle of Anholt, Denmark — conservation and management

The high conservational value of the lichen-rich vegetation and landscape of the marine foreland Ørkenen on the isle of Anholt is treated from a Danish as well as a European perspective. The sensitivity of the lichen-rich vegetation to physical disturbance is emphasized. The impact of invasive species such asPinus mugo as well as the effect of atmospheric deposition of nutrients on the heaths at Anholt is described. Considerations related to the development of a management plan for Ørkenen are presented.     

Behavior and ecology of Old World Luperini beetles of the genusAulacophora (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Summary The attraction of Old World leaf beetles in the genusAulacophora to kairomones and parakairomones which are effective lures for New WorldDiabrotica andAcalymma were investigated. Beetles captured on sticky traps baited with single and multicomponent lures were no different from the control traps for two species ofAulacophora. Yellow colored traps and squash blossoms are attractive toAulacophora beetles which detect sub-microgram quantities of cucurbitacins on silica gel. Leaf feeding behavior and flight activity data are correlated with varietal preference of threeAulacophora species. The common response byDiabrotica andAulacophora to cucurbitacins reinforces the two groups' coevolutionary association with the Cucurbitaceae. The apparent lack of a common response toCucurbita blossom volatiles suggests recent evolutionary pathways are substantially different for these two groups of beetles.     

Use of stochastic patch occupancy models in the California red-legged frog for Bayesian inference regarding past events and future persistence

Assessing causes of population decline is critically important to management of threatened species. Stochastic patch occupancy models (SPOMs) are popular tools for examining spatial and temporal dynamics of populations when presence–absence data in multiple habitat patches are available. We developed a Bayesian Markov chain method that extends existing SPOMs by focusing on past environmental changes that may have altered occupancy patterns prior to the beginning of data collection. Using occupancy data from 3 creeks, we applied the method to assess 2 hypothesized causes of population decline—in situ die-off and residual impact of past source population loss—in the California red-legged frog. Despite having no data for the 20–30 years between the hypothetical event leading to population decline and the first data collected, we were able to discriminate among hypotheses, finding evidence that in situ die-off increased in 2 of the creeks. Although the creeks had comparable numbers of occupied segments, owing to different extinction–colonization dynamics, our model predicted an 8-fold difference in persistence probabilities of their populations to 2030. Adding a source population led to a greater predicted persistence probability than did decreasing the in situ die-off, emphasizing that reversing the deleterious impacts of a disturbance may not be the most efficient management strategy. We expect our method will be useful for studying dynamics and evaluating management strategies of many species.