Agricultural dust production in standard and conservation tillage systems in the San Joaquin Valley

The negative health effects of repeated dust exposure have been well documented. In California's San Joaquin Valley, agricultural operations may contribute substantially to airborne particulates. We evaluated four management systems to assess impacts on dust production and soil properties for a cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)-tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) rotation: standard tillage with (STCC) and without (STNO) cover crop, and conservation tillage with (CTCC) and without (CTNO) cover crop. Gravimetric analysis of total dust (TD, <100-mum aerodynamic diameter) and respirable dust (RD, 4-mum aerodynamic diameter) samples collected in the plume generated by field implements showed that dust concentrations for CTNO treatments were about one-third of their STNO counterparts for both cumulative TD and RD measured throughout the two-year rotation, primarily due to fewer in-field operations. The TD and RD production for STNO and STCC was comparable, whereas the CTCC system produced about twice as much TD and RD as CTNO. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses showed absolute increases of 8 and 39% organic fragments in STCC and CTCC over STNO and CTNO, respectively, while organic fragments in the TD increased by 6% in both cover crop treatments. Soil C content was positively correlated with clay content and increased by an average of 0.12 and 0.07% in the cover crop and non-cover crop treatments, respectively, although soil C for each treatment showed a distinct response to a field texture gradient. While dust emissions show an immediate decrease due to fewer field operations for the conservation tillage treatments, long-term sampling is necessary to determine the effects that increased aggregation through organic matter additions may have on dust production.     

Limited effects of Antarctic ozone depletion on sea urchin development

The sea urchin, Sterechinus neumayeri, has a circumpolar distribution and is an abundant species in benthic communities of the Antarctic. Reproduction occurs during austral spring, when ozone concentrations over the past 25 years have been reduced by 50% or more, potentially exposing the planktonic embryos and larvae to elevated levels of UVB. During spring of 1996, cultures of S. neumayeri embryos incubated under ambient and partitioned sunlight (minus UVB) at static depths between 0 and 7 m were analyzed for DNA damage [cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs)] and morphological abnormalities. At 0-m and 1-m depths, nearly 100% of embryos developed abnormally, even under UVB-shielded conditions where little or no DNA damage accumulated. At depths >3 m, reduced or no abnormality was evident and DNA damage was negligible. Although UVB contributed to 0–65% of solar-induced abnormalities, the mean contribution was 11±17% and UVB was not primarily responsible for observed defects in urchin development. Moreover, developmental responses were not linearly related to ambient UVB gradients as might be expected, but are better characterized relative to threshold levels of total UVB exposure. Accumulated exposures of 25 kJ m^–2 ambient UVB caused minimal DNA damage and allowed normal embryological development to proceed. Higher UVB exposures (especially 80 kJ m^–2) precluded normal development. An ancillary threshold limit of 17 CPDs mb^–1 has been identified as the level of DNA damage that proscribes abnormal development. While higher wavelengths of UVA and visible light are not affected by ozone concentration and do not initiate significant CPD DNA damage, they did interfere significantly with the embryological development of S. neumayeri. It is concluded that exposure to increased UVB during recent Antarctic ozone-depletion cycles probably has only a small degree of impact relative to the magnitude of other solar effects on the developmental success of Sterechinus embryos, or compared to spawning seasons before ozone depletion (i.e., years prior to 1978).Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin     

Uranium-thorium disequilibrium in north-east Atlantic waters

In this paper we report and compare the concentrations of 234Th and 238U measured in surface and subsurface waters collected in the course of a sampling campaign in the north east Atlantic in June-July 1998. Dissolved 234Th concentrations in surface waters ranged from 5 to 20 Bq m(-3), showing a large deficiency relative to 238U concentrations (typically 42 Bq m-3). This disequilibrium is indicative of active 234Th scavenging from surface waters. Observed 234Th/238U activity ratios, together with corresponding 234Th particulate concentrations, were used to calculate mean residence times for 234Th with respect to scavenging onto particles (tau(diss)) and subsequent removal from surface waters (tau(part)). Residence times in the range 5-30 days were determined for tau(diss) and 4-18 days for tau(part) (n=14). In addition, ultrafiltration experiments at six stations in the course of the same expedition revealed that in north-east Atlantic surface waters a significant fraction (46+/-17%; n=6) of the thorium in the (operationally-defined) dissolved phase (<0.45 microm) is in colloidal form. These observations are consistent with the 'colloidal pumping' model in which it is assumed that 234Th is rapidly absorbed by colloidal particles, which then aggregate, albeit at a slower rate, into larger filterable particles. In essence, colloids act as intermediaries in the transition from the fully dissolved to the filter-retained (>0.45 microm) phase. Thus, the time (tau(c)) for fully dissolved 234Th to appear in the filter-retained fraction is dependent on the rate of colloidal aggregation. Here, we determined tau(c) values in the range 3-17 days.     

Cadmium, copper, mercury, and zinc concentrations in tissues of the king crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas) from southeast Australian waters.

The concentrations of cadmium, copper, mercury, and zinc were determined in muscle (body, claw, and leg), hepatopancreas, and gill tissues of Pseudocarcinus gigas, an exceptionally large, long-lived, and deep-dwelling crab species. The accumulation patterns observed are discussed in terms of both intra- and interspecies variations, with particular attention to the possible consequences of the extreme size and depth range of P. gigas. Metal concentrations did not depend significantly on sex of the crab. Significant differences between tissues were detected for all metals, and the distribution of metal between the tissues was different for each metal. Significant correlations were found between metal concentrations in the various tissues and crab size, and these are discussed and rationalised. The concentrations of mercury and zinc in muscle tissue increased with crab size and were high compared to other crab species. The concentrations of cadmium and copper present in edible tissues were not especially high compared to other crab species, but the concentration of cadmium in the hepatopancreas is of dietary concern.     

Direct and interactive effects of enemies and mutualists on plant performance: a meta-analysis

Plants engage in multiple, simultaneous interactions with other species; some (enemies) reduce and others (mutualists) enhance plant performance. Moreover, effects of different species may not be independent of one another; for example, enemies may compete, reducing their negative impact on a plant. The magnitudes of positive and negative effects, as well as the frequency of interactive effects and whether they tend to enhance or depress plant performance, have never been comprehensively assessed across the many published studies on plant-enemy and plant-mutualist interactions. We performed a meta-analysis of experiments in which two enemies, two mutualists, or an enemy and a mutualist were manipulated factorially. Specifically, we performed a factorial meta-analysis using the log response ratio. We found that the magnitude of (negative) enemy effects was greater than that of (positive) mutualist effects in isolation, but in the presence of other species, the two effects were of comparable magnitude. Hence studies evaluating single-species effects of mutualists may underestimate the true effects found in natural settings, where multiple interactions are the norm and indirect effects are possible. Enemies did not on average influence the effects on plant performance of other enemies, nor did mutualists influence the effects of mutualists. However, these averages mask significant and large, but positive or negative, interactions in individual studies. In contrast, mutualists ameliorated the negative effects of enemies in a manner that benefited plants; this overall effect was driven by interactions between pathogens and belowground mutualists (bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi). The high frequency of significant interactive effects suggests a widespread potential for diffuse rather than pairwise coevolutionary interactions between plants and their enemies and mutualists. Pollinators and mycorrhizal fungi enhanced plant performance more than did bacterial mutualists. In the greenhouse (but not the field), pathogens reduced plant performance more than did herbivores, pathogens were more damaging to herbaceous than to woody plants, and herbivores were more damaging to crop than to non-crop plants (suggesting evolutionary change in plants or herbivores following crop domestication). We discuss how observed differences in effect size might be confounded with methodological differences among studies.     

Shoreline rotation and response to nourishment of a gravel embayed beach using a low-cost video monitoring technique: San Michele-Sassi Neri,Central Italy

On beaches where natural shoreline variability is significant, beach nourishment is a useful engineering method to augment the dry beach and protect infrastructure and/or unstable cliffs. In this study, a low-cost video monitoring system is used to monitor the shoreline response to a nourishment operation on a dynamic gravel embayed beach in Central Italy. Video-derived shorelines were collected over a 15-month period to measure the evolution of the beach with regards to three specific parameters: the dry beach width, the dry beach area and the beach orientation. Moderate increases in the dry beach width of 3.6 m and 6.7 m across the embayment were observed in response to two different gravel nourishments of approximately 40,000 m³ and 46,000 m³ respectively. The orientation of the beach meanwhile was found to rotate rapidly in the clockwise direction and more gradually in the counter-clockwise direction. Analyses of individual storm events suggest these rapid clockwise rotations are caused by ESE storms, which result in beach retreat particularly at the southern end. The combination of an overall narrow beach width and a clockwise beach orientation is observed to cause a cliff erosion event at a vulnerable point along the embayment.     

A Decision Support Framework for Science-Based, Multi-Stakeholder Deliberation: A Coral Reef Example

We present a decision support framework for science-based assessment and multi-stakeholder deliberation. The framework consists of two parts: a DPSIR (Drivers–Pressures–States–Impacts–Responses) analysis to identify the important causal relationships among anthropogenic environmental stressors, processes, and outcomes; and a Decision Landscape analysis to depict the legal, social, and institutional dimensions of environmental decisions. The Decision Landscape incorporates interactions among government agencies, regulated businesses, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders. It also identifies where scientific information regarding environmental processes is collected and transmitted to improve knowledge about elements of the DPSIR and to improve the scientific basis for decisions. Our application of the decision support framework to coral reef protection and restoration in the Florida Keys focusing on anthropogenic stressors, such as wastewater, proved to be successful and offered several insights. Using information from a management plan, it was possible to capture the current state of the science with a DPSIR analysis as well as important decision options, decision makers and applicable laws with a the Decision Landscape analysis. A structured elicitation of values and beliefs conducted at a coral reef management workshop held in Key West, Florida provided a diversity of opinion and also indicated a prioritization of several environmental stressors affecting coral reef health. The integrated DPSIR/Decision landscape framework for the Florida Keys developed based on the elicited opinion and the DPSIR analysis can be used to inform management decisions, to reveal the role that further scientific information and research might play to populate the framework, and to facilitate better-informed agreement among participants.     

Local consumers induce resistance differentially between Spartina populations in the field

Intraspecific variation in the strength of inducible plant defenses plays a central role in the interactions between plants and herbivores. Studies of this variation are typically conducted in the greenhouse or laboratory rather than the field. We simultaneously manipulated densities of local consumers in the field within Maine and South Carolina populations of the smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora. South Carolina, but not Maine, plants induced resistance when grazed by local consumers. South Carolina populations of Littoraria snails and planthoppers colonized control more than previously grazed South Carolina plants, and Littoraria snails consumed more control than previously grazed plants. The inducible feeding deterrents in South Carolina plants appear to be water soluble, but not phenolic based. In contrast, grazed and control plants from Maine populations did not differ in attractiveness or palatability to Maine consumers. Thus, inducible plant responses by South Carolina plants had a strong effect on the South Carolina consumer community, but no analogous effect occurred in Maine. Field experiments are a powerful approach to detecting the strength of inducible plant resistance and its impacts on local consumers, which in this case were shown to vary with location.