Experimental exposure of juvenile savannah monitors (Varanus exanthematicus) to an environmentally relevant mixture of three contaminants: effects and accumulation in tissues

Using varanids as indicators of pollution in African continental wetlands was previously proposed. The present study aimed at understanding experimentally how monitors absorb and accumulate pollutants and how they are affected. The relevance of non-destructive sampling was also evaluated. Savannah monitors (Varanus exanthematicus) were orally exposed during 6 months to a mixture of lead, 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (4,4′-DDT) and chlorpyrifos-ethyl (CPF) or to the vehicle only. Proportionally to their mass, exposed monitors received the same dose: 20 then 10 mg lead?kg^?1, 2 then 0.5 mg CPF?kg^?1 and 4 mg 4,4′-DDT?kg^?1. Individuals surviving contamination were euthanized after 4 or 6 months of experiment. Tissues were analysed for lead by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and for DDT and CPF by gas chromatography. Exposed monitors absorbed all three pollutants but only lead (essentially in bone, tail tips and phalanxes) and 4,4′-DDT plus its main metabolites (essentially in fat and liver) accumulated. CPF killed ten individuals. Clear correlations occurred between the total quantity of lead or 4,4′-DDT administered and concentrations in tissues. Tail tips and skin samples are recommended non-destructive indicators for lead and organochlorine pesticides contamination, respectively. This work confirms that monitors can be used as relevant indicators of environmental pollution by lead and organochlorine pesticides. Although varanids withstand heavy lead and DDT contamination, our results suggest that CPF can be lethal at very low doses to the herpetofauna and emphasize the importance of considering all taxa in impact assessment studies, including reptiles.     

Transaction costs for carbon sequestration projects in the tropical forest sector

There is general consensus that carbon (C) sequestration projects in forests are a relatively low cost option for mitigating climate change, but most studies on the subject have assumed that transaction costs are negligible. The objectives of the study were to examine transaction costs for forest C sequestration projects and to determine the significance of the costs based on economic analyses. Here we examine four case studies of active C sequestration projects being implemented in tropical countries and developed for the C market. The results from the case studies were then used with a dynamic forest and land use economic model to investigate how transaction costs affect the efficiency and cost of forest C projects globally. In the case studies transaction costs ranged from 0.38 to 27 million US dollars ($0.09 to $7.71/t CO₂) or 0.3 to 270 % of anticipated income depending principally on the price of C and project size. The three largest cost categories were insurance (under the voluntary market; 41–89 % of total costs), monitoring (3–42 %) and regulatory approval (8–50 %). The global analysis indicated that most existing estimates of marginal costs of C sequestration are underestimated by up to 30 % because transaction costs were not included.     

Spatial and Temporal Changes of Suspended Matter in Relation to Wind and Vegetation Cover in A Mediterranean Shallow Coastal Environment

Seasonal and spatial changes in seston, (POC), particulate organic carbon, (PON) particulate organic nitrogen and chlorophyll-a concentrations were studied on a monthly basis in a Mediterranean shallow coastal area (Stagnone di Marsala, Western Sicily) in order to gather information on factors controlling particulate organic matter distribution and composition. Seston concentration and composition were connected to the main physicochemical and biological driving factors, such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, wind-speed and biomass of submerged vegetation. the Stagnone di Marsala is characterized by high temperatures with strong seasonality (range: 11-28°C), while values ranged from 33 to 45 salinity. Total suspended organic matter concentrations (by ignition loss) ranged from 2 mg l^-1 (in summer) to 12mgl^-1 (in winter) and chlorophyll-a concentrations from 0.02 to 2 μgl^-1. Despite a low POC/PON ratios (ranging from 5 to 11), the ratio of POC to chlorophyll (CHL-a) displayed very high values (annual average of 647). the data reported in this study, highlighting the oligotrophy of the Stagnone di Marsala area, indicate that the trophic state of the basin was controlled by different degrees of wind exposure (mean monthly wind velocity at exposed sites ranged between 4.2 and 6.7 m s^-1) and by gradients in vegetation cover. These two factors induced clear changes in the concentration and composition of the suspended particles, but played a different role in exposed and sheltered areas. Exposed areas with limited vegetation were characterized by large resuspension processes and wide temperature and salinity fluctuations caused by wind induced turbulence. in these areas, autotrophic biomass (as chlorophyll-a), due to phytoplankton and/or re-suspended microphytobenthos, appeared to play an important     

Nocturnal boundary layer characteristics and land breeze development in Houston,Texas during TexAQS II

The nocturnal boundary layer in Houston, Texas was studied using a high temporal and vertical resolution tethersonde system on four nights during the Texas Air Quality Study II (TexAQS II) in August and September 2006. The launch site was on the University of Houston campus located approximately 4 km from downtown Houston. Of particular interest was the evolution of the nocturnal surface inversion and the wind flows within the boundary layer. The land–sea breeze oscillation in Houston has important implications for air quality as the cycle can impact ozone concentrations through pollutant advection and recirculation. The results showed that a weakly stable surface inversion averaging in depth between 145 and 200 m AGL formed on each of the experiment nights, typically within 2–3 h after sunset. Tethersonde vertical winds were compared with two other Houston data sets (High Resolution Doppler Lidar and radar wind profiler) from locations near the coastline and good agreement was found, albeit with a temporal lag at the tethersonde site. This comparison revealed development of a land breeze on three nights which began near the coastline and propagated inland both horizontally and vertically with time. The vertical temperature structure was significantly modified on one night at the tethersonde site after the land breeze wind shift, exhibiting near-adiabatic profiles below 100 m AGL.