Using environmental heterogeneity to plan for sea‐level rise

Environmental heterogeneity is increasingly being used to select conservation areas that will provide for future biodiversity under a variety of climate scenarios. This approach, termed conserving nature's stage (CNS), assumes environmental features respond to climate change more slowly than biological communities, but will CNS be effective if the stage were to change as rapidly as the climate? We tested the effectiveness of using CNS to select sites in salt marshes for conservation in coastal Georgia (U.S.A.), where environmental features will change rapidly as sea level rises. We calculated species diversity based on distributions of 7 bird species with a variety of niches in Georgia salt marshes. Environmental heterogeneity was assessed across six landscape gradients (e.g., elevation, salinity, and patch area). We used 2 approaches to select sites with high environmental heterogeneity: site complementarity (environmental diversity [ED]) and local environmental heterogeneity (environmental richness [ER]). Sites selected based on ER predicted present‐day species diversity better than randomly selected sites (up to an 8.1% improvement), were resilient to areal loss from SLR (1.0% average areal loss by 2050 compared with 0.9% loss of randomly selected sites), and provided habitat to a threatened species (0.63 average occupancy compared with 0.6 average occupancy of randomly selected sites). Sites selected based on ED predicted species diversity no better or worse than random and were not resilient to SLR (2.9% average areal loss by 2050). Despite the discrepancy between the 2 approaches, CNS is a viable strategy for conservation site selection in salt marshes because the ER approach was successful. It has potential for application in other coastal areas where SLR will affect environmental features, but its performance may depend on the magnitude of geological changes caused by SLR. Our results indicate that conservation planners that had heretofore excluded low‐lying coasts from CNS planning could include coastal ecosystems in regional conservation strategies.     

Conservation implications of physiological carry‐over effects in bats recovering from white‐nose syndrome

Although it is well documented that infectious diseases can pose threats to biodiversity, the potential long‐term consequences of pathogen exposure on individual fitness and its effects on population viability have rarely been studied. We tested the hypothesis that pathogen exposure causes physiological carry‐over effects with a pathogen that is uniquely suited to this question because the infection period is specific and time limited. The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans causes white‐nose syndrome (WNS) in hibernating bats, which either die due to the infection while hibernating or recover following emergence from hibernation. The fungus infects all exposed individuals in an overwintering site simultaneously, and bats that survive infection during hibernation clear the pathogen within a few weeks following emergence. We quantified chronic stress during the active season, when bats are not infected, by measuring cortisol in bat claws. Free‐ranging Myotis lucifugus who survived previous exposure to P. destructans had significantly higher levels of claw cortisol than naïve individuals. Thus, cryptic physiological carry‐over effects of pathogen exposure may persist in asymptomatic, recovered individuals. If these effects result in reduced survival or reproductive success, they could also affect population viability and even act as a third stream in the extinction vortex. For example, significant increases in chronic stress, such as those indicated here, are correlated with reduced reproductive success in a number of species. Future research should directly explore the link between pathogen exposure and the viability of apparently recovered populations to improve understanding of the true impacts of infectious diseases on threatened populations.     

Evaluation of thermal reaction for two azo compounds by using 20-L apparatus and calorimetry

Azo compounds are widely involved in the industrial processes of dyes, pigments, initiators, and blowing agents. Unfortunately, these compounds have a bivalent unstable –NN– composition, which can be readily broken when the ambient temperature is elevated. Self-accelerating decomposition might cause a runaway reaction and lead to a fire, explosion, or leakage when the cooling system fails or other events occur. This study investigated the explosion properties, thermal stability parameters, and thermal hazard and mechanism of 2,2′–azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and 2,2′–azobis–2–methylbutyronitrile (AMBN). We used a 20-L apparatus, vent sizing package 2, synchronous thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry under explosive, adiabatic, and dynamic conditions to acquire the explosive curves, thermal curves, and thermodynamic parameters of the substances. Moreover, the differential isoconversional method (Friedman method) and ASTM E698 equation were employed to obtain the apparent activation energy E_a. All the experimental results revealed that AIBN is more dangerous than AMBN. The E_a of AIBN was lower than that of AMBN. The results can be used to construct an azo compound thermal hazard database for use for searches and reference examples by industry and related research areas.     

Water saving effect on integrated water resource management

This study proposes an improved integrated water resource management (IWRM), in which water conservation was analyzed for the entire water use process. A multi-objective optimization method was applied to optimize the IWRM, which investigated the reduction of freshwater consumption and the total water supply cost. Customer's preference for saving water and an end use analysis (EUA) was applied in the water conservation analysis. Taking Tianjin as the study area, a reduction in customer's economic pressure (EP) was utilized to evaluate the degree of the customer's preference for saving water. The results revealed that agriculture had a greater preference for saving water than other sectors, where as the public had the weakest motivation for saving water. Improving the transportation method could contribute 62.1% of the total water savings in the agriculture sector. The optimization of the IWRM demonstrated that the local freshwater savings would be 21.5%, and the total cost for water supplies would decrease by 13%. However, a government subsidy of 87.5 million Yuan would be needed. Additionally, by analyzing the change in the amount of water savings affected by water price, the appropriate water price increase range was suggested to be 1.5–1.7 times the original price.     

武汉市儿童多途径铅暴露风险评估

在武汉市区设置70个采样点,采集土壤、灰尘、大气及食品样品.根据美国EPA推荐的儿童铅暴露参数,应用美国EPA人体暴露风险评估方法对武汉市儿童多途径铅暴露进行了风险评估,结果表明,武汉市区儿童每天的铅暴露量为1.20×10-3mg.（kg.d）-1.经消化道途径是儿童摄入铅的主要途径,其暴露量为1.04×10-3mg.（kg.d）-1,其次为经呼吸道途径及皮肤吸收途径,其暴露量分别为0.153×10-3mg.（kg.d）-1和8.56×10-7mg.（kg.d）-1.在消化道途径中,摄入土壤或灰尘铅暴露量占占总暴露量的52.0%,通过消化道途径摄入土壤或灰尘是最主要的暴露途径.用Monte Carlo法进行模拟,在消化道途径中,通过摄取土壤铅暴露量为2.48×10-2mg.d-1.超过JECFA指定的PTDI的概率为2.1%.风险水平R计算结果表明,从消化道、呼吸道、皮肤吸收这3个途径的铅暴露风险均小于最大可接受风险水平5.0×10-5,其中经过皮肤吸收途径的铅暴露风险值小于可忽略风险水平1×10-8.应用Kriging插值法获得武汉市中心城区儿童铅日暴露量的空间分布,运用指示Kriging方法获得了武汉市儿童铅暴露危险指数图,显示武汉市青山区及江岸区儿童铅暴露水平较高.     

Removal of Cd2+ from water by Friedel’s salt (FS: 3CaO.Al2O3·CaCl2·10H2O): Sorption characteristics and mechanisms

The development of low-cost and efficient new mineral adsorbents has been a hot topic in recent years. In this study, Friedel’s salt (FS:3CaO·A12O3 ·CaCl2 ·10H2O), a hexagonal layered inorganic absorbent, was synthesized to remove Cd2+ from water. The adsorption process was simulated by Langmuir and Freundlich models. The adsorption mechanism was further analyzed with TEM, XRD, FT-IR analysis and monitoring of metal cations released and solution pH variation. The results indicated the adsorbent FS had an outstanding ability for Cd(Ⅱ) adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity of the FS for Cd(Ⅱ) removal can reach up to 671.14 mg/g. The nearly equal numbers of Cd2+ adsorbed and Ca2+ released demonstrated that ion-exchange (both surface and inner) of the FS for Cd(Ⅱ) played an important role during the adsorption process. Furthermore, the surface of the FS after adsorption was microscopically disintegrated while the inner lamellar structure was almost unchanged. The behavior of Cd(Ⅱ) adsorption by FS was significantly affected by surface reactions. The mechanisms of Cd2+ adsorption by the FS mainly included surface complexation and surface precipitation. In the present study, the adsorption process was fitted better by the Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.9999) than the Freundlich isotherm model (R2 = 0.8122). Finally, due to the high capacity for ion-exchange on the FS surface, FS is a promising layered inorganic adsorbent for the removal of Cd(Ⅱ) from water.     

水质氨氮自动分析仪分析方法研究

氨氮自动分析仪是根据纳氏试剂分光光度法的原理,通过自动进样,自动蒸馏,来实现快速准确的分析水质氨氮样品。近年来,氨氮自动分析仪广泛应用于环境监测领域,该方法能够快速、准确、方便地测定水质中的氨氮。利用标准方法纳氏试剂分光光度法进行实验室内的比对实验,通过实验分析,氨氮自动分析仪的分析曲线线性较好,相关系数达到0．9998,方法检出限、准确率和精密度能够满足当前环境监测标准的要求,实际样品测定结果理想,适合在环境监测领域推广应用。     

加大对重点项目和民生项目建设的环境管理,充分发挥环评在产业结构调整、工业布局优化中的重要作用

加大对重点项目和民生项目建设的环境管理,充分发挥环评在产业结构调整、工业布局优化中的重要作用,是政府和环保部门当前必须认真对待的首要问题。     

检测管法与纳氏试剂光度法测定氨氮的比较研究

对氨氮真空玻璃检测管法和纳氏试剂光度法进行检出限、精密度、准确度,以及实际样品测试方面的比较研究。研究表明,氨氮检测管的检出限为0．2mg／L,精密度测定的相对标准偏差为0％～5．75％,准确度测定的加标回收率为93％～124％。检测管法和纳氏剂法同时测定多种实际样品,结果两种方法的相对误差为-37．8％～11．8％,结论：检测管法能够满足半定量测试的需求。