Edible wild plants growing in contaminated floodplains: implications for the issuance of tribal consumption advisories within the Grand Lake watershed of northeastern Oklahoma,USA

Metal releases from the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD) that is located in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma, have contaminated floodplain soils within the Neosho and Spring river watersheds of the Grand Lake watershed. Since the Oklahoma portion of the watershed lies within ten tribal jurisdictions, the potential accumulation of metals within plant species that are gathered and consumed by tribal members, as well as the resulting metal exposure risks to tribal human health, was a warranted concern for further investigation. Within this study, a total of 36 plant species that are commonly consumed by tribes were collected from floodplain areas that were previously demonstrated to have elevated soil metal concentrations relative to reference sites. A significant, positive correlation was shown for metal concentrations in plant tissues versus soil (n = 258; Cd: R = 0.72, p = 0.00; Pb: R = 0.52, p = 0.00; and Zn: R = 0.70, p = 0.00). Additionally, a significant difference in metal concentration distributions existed between reference and impacted plant samples (n = 210, p = 0.00 for all metals). These results proved that floodplain soils are a major contamination pathway for metal accumulation within plants, and the source of metal contamination is the result of mining releases from the TSMD. Metal accumulation within plants was found to vary according to specific metal and plant species. The lowest dietary exposure out of all plant organs sampled were associated with fruit, whereas the highest was associated with roots, stem/leaves, and low-lying leafy greens. Metals in plants were compared to weekly dietary intake limits established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Based on specific serving sizes established within this study for tribal children and adults, many plant species had sufficient concentrations to warrant tribal consumption restrictions within the floodplains of Elm Creek, Grand Lake, Lost Creek, Spring River, and Tar Creek. Importantly, these results highlighted the necessity for the issuance of plant consumption advisories for tribal communities in the watershed. A consumption restriction guide on the number of allowable servings of each species per week at specific streams was developed within this study for tribal children and adults. Results also demonstrated that soil metal concentrations do not need to be exceptionally elevated relative to reference sites in order for plants to accumulate sufficient metal concentrations to exceed dietary limits for one serving. Therefore, the exposure risk associated with the consumption of plants cannot be accurately predicted solely from metal concentrations within soils, but must be based on metal concentrations within specific plant tissues on a site-by-site basis. A weekly consumption scenario was created within this study in order to better understand the potential metal dietary exposures to child and adult tribal members who consume multiple servings of multiple plant species per day, as well as benthic invertebrates and fish from the watershed. These findings demonstrated that plants pose a greater consumption exposure risk for tribal members than benthic invertebrates or fish. Therefore, without the consideration of exposure risks associated with the consumption of plants within future human health risk assessments, tribal health risks will be severely underestimated.     

Environmental impact of incineration of calorific industrial waste: Rotary kiln vs. cement kiln

Rotary kiln incinerators and cement kilns are two energy intensive processes, requiring high temperatures that can be obtained by the combustion of fossil fuel. In both processes, fossil fuel is often substituted by high or medium calorific waste to avoid resource depletion and to save costs. Two types of industrial calorific waste streams are considered: automotive shredder residue (ASR) and meat and bone meal (MBM). These waste streams are of current high interest: ASR must be diverted from landfill, while MBM can no longer be used for cattle feeding. The environmental impact of the incineration of these waste streams is assessed and compared for both a rotary kiln and a cement kiln. For this purpose, data from an extensive emission inventory is applied for assessing the environmental impact using two different modeling approaches: one focusing on the impact of the relevant flows to and from the process and its subsystems, the other describing the change of environmental impact in response to these physical flows. Both ways of assessing emphasize different aspects of the considered processes. Attention is paid to assumptions in the methodology that can influence the outcome and conclusions of the assessment. It is concluded that for the incineration of calorific wastes, rotary kilns are generally preferred. Nevertheless, cement kilns show opportunities in improving their environmental impact when substituting their currently used fuels by more clean calorific waste streams, if this improvement is not at the expense of the actual environmental impact.     

Atmospheric deposition may affect northern hardwood forest composition by altering soil nutrient supply.

In the northeastern United States, the input of reactive nitrogen (N) via atmospheric deposition has increased rapidly since the onset of the industrial revolution. During the same period of time, acid precipitation and forest harvest have removed substantial quantities of base cations from soil. Because of the dominance of base-poor soils and the low rates of atmospheric base cation deposition, soils throughout the northeastern United States may be increasingly rich in N but poor in calcium (Ca). We studied the consequences of a change in soil N and Ca availability on forest composition by transplanting seedlings of four tree species into replicate plots in the understory and in canopy gaps amended with N and Ca in factorial combination. In this paper, we report on the growth and survivorship of seedlings over a four-year period. Relative to control plots, fertilization with N increased red maple growth by an average of 39% whereas fertilization with Ca decreased survivorship in the understory by 41%. In sugar maple, fertilization with Ca increased growth by 232% and 46% in the forest understory and in canopy gaps, respectively, and significantly increased high light survivorship. Fertilization with N decreased white pine survivorship by 69% in the understory whereas high Ca availability significantly increased survivorship. Fertilization with N or Ca alone reduced red oak growth but had no effect on survivorship. The results of this study suggest that historical losses of soil Ca and the continuing effects of atmospheric-N deposition on N availability are likely to alter the composition of northeastern North American forests because of the positive effects of N enrichment on the growth of red maple and the negative effects of Ca loss on the growth and survivorship of sugar maple and white pine.     

Early prenatal diagnosis of cartilage-hair hypoplasia (CHH) with polymorphic DNA markers

Cartilage-hair hypoplasia (CHH) is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting in short stature and hypoplasia of hair. Associated features include impaired T-cell-mediated immunity, deficient erythropoiesis, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and an increased risk of malignancies. As the condition may, in some cases, be severe or even fatal during childhood, families with a previous history of CHH may wish to have prenatal diagnosis. We have previously assigned the gene for CHH to the proximal 9p by linkage analysis using several polymorphic DNA markers. Here we report the prenatal testing for CHH in three Finnish and one Australian family using three DNA markers closely linked to the CHH gene. In three cases a fetus unaffected with CHH was predicted at the probability level of more than 94 per cent. In one case, an affected fetus was predicted. The results were in concordance with ultrasonography performed for all fetuses. The three children born to date were unaffected as predicted. The DNA marker-based analysis thus provides a useful method for early prenatal testing for CHH.     

Adsorption of hydrogen sulfide on montmorillonites modified with iron

Sodium-rich montmorillonite was modified with iron in order to introduce active centers for hydrogen sulfide adsorption. In the first modification, interlayer sodium cations were exchanged with iron. In another modification, iron oxocations were introduced to the clay surface. The most elaborated modification was based on doping of iron within the interlayer space of aluminum-pillared clay. The modified clay samples were tested as hydrogen sulfide adsorbents. Iron-doped samples showed a significant improvement in the capacity for H2S removal, despite of a noticeable decrease in microporosity compared to the initial pillared clay. The smallest capacity was obtained for the clay modified with iron oxocations. Variations in adsorption capacity are likely due to differences in the chemistry of iron species, degree of their dispersion on the surface, and accessibility of small pores for H2S molecule. The results suggest that on the surface of iron-modified clay hydrogen sulfide reacts with Fe(+3) forming sulfides or it is catalytically oxidized to SO2 on iron (hydro)oxides. Subsequent oxidation may lead to sulfate formation.     

Oceanographic preferences of Atlantic bluefin tuna, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thunnus thynnus</Emphasis>, on their Gulf of Mexico breeding grounds

Electronic tagging and remotely sensed oceanographic data were used to determine the oceanographic habitat use and preferences of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus L.) exhibiting behaviors associated with breeding in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Oceanographic habitats used by 28 Atlantic bluefin tuna exhibiting breeding behavior (259 days) were compared with available habitats in the GOM, using Monte Carlo tests and discrete choice models. Habitat utilization and preference patterns for ten environmental parameters were quantified: bathymetry, bathymetric gradient, SST, SST gradient, surface chlorophyll concentration, surface chlorophyll gradient, sea surface height anomaly, eddy kinetic energy, surface wind speed, and surface current speed. Atlantic bluefin tuna exhibited breeding behavior in the western GOM and the frontal zone of the Loop Current. Breeding areas used by the bluefin tuna were significantly associated with bathymetry, SST, eddy kinetic energy, surface chlorophyll concentration, and surface wind speed, with SST being the most important parameter. The bluefin tuna exhibited significant preference for areas with continental slope waters (2,800–3,400 m), moderate SSTs (24–25 and 26–27°C), moderate eddy kinetic energy (251–355 cm² s⁻²), low surface chlorophyll concentrations (0.10–0.16 mg m⁻³), and moderate wind speeds (6–7 and 9–9.5 m s⁻¹). A resource selection function of the bluefin tuna in the GOM was estimated using a discrete choice model and was found to be highly sensitive to SST. These habitat utilization and preference patterns exhibited by breeding bluefin tuna can be used to develop habitat models and estimate the probable breeding areas of bluefin tuna in a dynamic environment.     

Can Science Writing Collectives Overcome Barriers to More Democratic Communication and Collaboration? Lessons from Environmental Communication Praxis in Southern Appalachia

Despite compelling reasons to involve nonscientists in the production of ecological knowledge, cultural and institutional factors often dis-incentivize engagement between scientists and nonscientists. This paper details our efforts to develop a biweekly newspaper column to increase communication between ecological scientists, social scientists, and the communities within which they work. Addressing community-generated topics and written by a collective of social and natural scientists, the column is meant to foster public dialog about socio-environmental issues and to lay the groundwork for the coproduction of environmental knowledge. Our collective approach to writing addresses some major barriers to public engagement by scientists, but the need to insert ourselves as intermediaries limits these gains. Overall, our efforts at environmental communication praxis have not generated significant public debate, but they have supported future coproduction by making scientists a more visible presence in the community and providing easy pathways for them to begin engaging the public. Finally, this research highlights an underappreciated barrier to public engagement: scientists are not merely disconnected from the public, but also connected in ways that may be functional for their research. Many field scientists, for example, seek out neutral and narrowly defined connections that permit research access but are largely incompatible with efforts to address controversial issues of environmental governance.     

Moral dimensions of human–wildlife conflict

Despite increasing support for conservation globally, controversy over specific conservation policies persists among diverse stakeholders. Investigating the links between morals in relation to conservation can help increase understanding about why humans support or oppose policy, especially related to human–wildlife conflict or human conflict over wildlife. Yet the moral dimension of human–wildlife conflict has mostly gone unconsidered and unmeasured; thus, policy and programmatic efforts to reduce controversy may be missing a key part of the equation. We conducted a web‐based survey (n = 1239 respondents) in Michigan (U.S.A.) to investigate cognitive and emotional influences on the value–behavior relationship. Respondents were identified by their interest and involvement in Michigan wolf management. The survey consisted of questions about values, emotions, cognitions, and behaviors relative to wolves in Michigan. We used path analysis to explore whether emotions and cognitions mediated the relationship between value and behavior. Most respondents attributed intrinsic value to wolves (n = 734) and all life (n = 773) and engaged in behaviors that benefited wolf populations and ecosystems regardless of stakeholder group (e.g., environmentalist, farmer). Attributing intrinsic value to wolves was positively related to favorable emotions toward wolves and cognitive assessments that hunting and trapping of wolves is unacceptable. Despite similarities in attribution of intrinsic value, groups differed in emotions and cognitions about wolf hunting. These differences provide a useful way to predict stakeholder behavior. Our findings may inform interventions aimed at increasing support for wolf management policies and positive interactions among stakeholders and wildlife. Leveraging agreement over intrinsic value may foster cooperation among stakeholders and garner support for controversial conservation policy.