On the crucial importance of a small bird: The ecosystem services of the little auk (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Alle alle</Emphasis>) population in Northwest Greenland in a long-term perspective

The little auk is the most numerous seabird in the North Atlantic and its most important breeding area is the eastern shores of the North Water polynya. Here, a population of an estimated 33 million pairs breeds in huge colonies and significantly shapes the ecosystem. Archaeological remains in the colonies document that the little auk has been harvested over millennia. Anthropological research discloses how the little auk has a role both as social engineer and as a significant resource for the Inughuit today. The hunting can be practiced without costly equipment, and has no gender and age discrimination in contrast to the dominant hunt for marine mammals. Little auks are ecological engineers in the sense that they transport vast amounts of nutrients from sea to land, where the nutrients are deposited as guano. Here, the fertilized vegetation provides important foraging opportunities for hares, geese, fox, reindeer, and the introduced muskox. We estimate that the relative muskox density is ten times higher within 1 km of little auk fertilized vegetation hotspots.     

Improvement of the BCR three step sequential extraction procedure prior to the certification of new sediment and soil reference materials

The Standards, Measurements and Testing Programme (formerly BCR) of the European Commission proposed a three-step sequential extraction procedure for sediment analysis, following extensive expert consultations and two interlaboratory studies. This scheme was recently used to certify the extractable trace element contents of a sediment reference material (CRM 601). Although this procedure offers a means to ensure the comparability of data in this field, some difficulties concerning the interlaboratory reproducibility still remain, and a new project is currently being conducted to determine the causes of poor reproducibility in the extraction scheme. The final objective of the project is the certification of new sediment and soil reference materials for their extractable contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. This paper presents the results of a small-scale interlaboratory study, which aimed to test a revised version of the extraction schemes by comparing the original and the modified protocols using the CRM 601 sample. This work offers an improvement to the BCR sequential extraction procedure through intercomparison exercises. This improved procedure will allow the obtaining of CRMs to validate analytical data in the analysis of soils and sediments, and it will also facilitate comparability of data in the European Union.     

Monitoring of Phenol in Wastewater Bioremediation by HPLC

Bioremediation emphasizes the detoxification and destruction of toxic substances by microorganisms. Wastewater obtained from an industrial concern was solvent extracted with methyl alcohol and dichloromethane and analysed by GC/MS. Besides phenol, a large variety of organic compounds were detected. Under controlled laboratory conditions, the wastewater was innoculated with a mixed culture of microorganisms specially selected for their abilities to degrade phenol. Samples were collected at regular intervals from the stirred tank bioreactor and analysed for phenol by reverse phase HPLC with a C18 column. Results shows that from an initial phenol concentration of 987 ppm, slightly more than 50% was destroyed within 163 hours. The dry weight of the microorganisms and the plate count (CFU/ml) shows a steady increase from 0.5238 gms to 0.5355 gms and from 1.1E+9 to 1.94E+13 respectively over the same period. This suggested that the phenol was consumed by the microorganisms as the sole carbon source.     

Uptake and Engagement of Activities to Promote Native Species in Private Gardens

Environmental Management - Activities undertaken by householders in their gardens have huge potential to enhance city-wide biodiversity, but programs aimed at activating householders require an...     

Pedestrian fatalities, Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area and United States, 2000-2004

Motor vehicle crashes killed almost 5,000 pedestrians in 2005 in the United States. Pedestrian risk may be higher in areas characterized by urban sprawl. From 2000 to 2004, pedestrian fatality rates declined in the United States, but the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area did not experience the same decline. Pedestrian fatality rates for males, Hispanics, and the 15–34 and 35–54 year age groups were higher in Atlanta than in the United States overall. Pedestrian safety interventions should be targeted to high-risk populations and localized pedestrian settings.     

Multivariate analysis of potentially toxic metals in sediments of a tropical coastal lagoon

Surface sediments collected from the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria, and three adjoining rivers were analysed for their physicochemical properties and pseudo-total concentration of the potentially toxic metals (PTM) Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn. The concentration of the PTM varied seasonally and spatially. Odo-Iyaalaro was observed to be the most polluted river, with highest concentrations of 42.1 mg kg^?1, 102 mg kg^?1, 185 mg kg^?1, 154 mg kg^?1 and 1040 mg kg^?1 of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn, respectively, while Ibeshe River was the least contaminated, apart from a site affected by Cu from the textile industry. Some of the sediments were found to be above the consensus-based probable effect concentrations and Dutch sediment guideline for metals. Overall metal concentrations were similar to those reported for other tropical lagoon and estuarine systems affected by anthropogenic inputs as a result of rapid urbanisation. Due to the large number of samples, principal component analysis was used to examine relationships within the data set. Generally, sediments collected during the dry season were observed to have higher concentration of PTM than those collected during the rainy season. This means that PTM could accumulate over a prolonged period and then be released relatively rapidly, on an annual basis, into tropical lagoon systems.     

Airborne reduced nitrogen: ammonia emissions from agriculture and other sources

Ammonia is a basic gas and one of the most abundant nitrogen-containing compounds in the atmosphere. When emitted, ammonia reacts with oxides of nitrogen and sulfur to form particles, typically in the fine particle size range. Roughly half of the PM(2.5) mass in eastern United States is ammonium sulfate, according to the US EPA. Results from recent studies of PM(2.5) show that these fine particles are typically deposited deep in the lungs and may lead to increased morbidity and/or mortality. Also, these particles are in the size range that will degrade visibility. Ammonia emission inventories are usually constructed by multiplying an activity level by an experimentally determined emission factor for each source category. Typical sources of ammonia include livestock, fertilizer, soils, forest fires and slash burning, industry, vehicles, the oceans, humans, pets, wild animals, and waste disposal and recycling activities. Livestock is the largest source category in the United States, with waste from livestock responsible for about 3x10(9) kg of ammonia in 1995. Volatilization of ammonia from livestock waste is dependent on many parameters, and thus emission factors are difficult to predict. Despite a seasonal variation in these values, the emission factors for general livestock categories are usually annually averaged in current inventories. Activity levels for livestock are from the USDA Census of Agriculture, which does not give information about animal raising practices such as housing types and grazing times, waste handling systems, and approximate animal slurry spreading times or methods. Ammonia emissions in the United States in 1995 from sources other than livestock are much lower; for example, annual emissions are roughly 8x10(8) kg from fertilizer, 7x10(7) kg from industry, 5x10(7) kg from vehicles and 1x10(8) kg from humans. There is considerable uncertainty in the emissions from soil and vegetation, although this category may also be significant. Recommendations for future directions in ammonia research include designing experiments to improve emission factors and their resolution in all significant source categories, developing mass balance models, and refining of the livestock activity level data by eliciting judgment from experts in this field.     

DNA sequence analysis identifies genetically distinguishable populations of harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) in the Northwest and Northeast Atlantic

Harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus Erxleben, 1777) comprise three populations based upon whelping areas in the Greenland Sea, White Sea, and Northwest Atlantic. The last comprises two subpopulations, one whelping in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (“Gulf ”) and one on the pack ice of the southern Labrador/northern Newfoundland coastal shelf (“Front”). A total of 40 female seals from the four whelping areas were collected during the 1990 and 1992 whelping seasons. DNA sequence variation was examined in a 307 bp region of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Eleven variable nucleotide positions defined 13 genotypes: a significant fraction of the genotypic variance (F _ST=0.12, or 0.09 as measured by Weir's coancestry coefficient θ) is attributable to differentiation between Northwest and Northeast Atlantic populations. There was no significant differentiation between the two whelping areas in the Northwest Atlantic, or between the Greenland Sea and White Sea. These findings suggest significant reproductive isolation exists between trans-Atlantic breeding populations. Received: 18 January 1999 / Accepted: 22 February 2000     

A mixed method study of hurricane evacuation: demographic predictors for stated compliance to voluntary and mandatory orders

The present paper examines the role of several demographic indicators on stated hurricane evacuation thresholds, or the lowest category storm for which participants indicated they would evacuate, for mandatory and voluntary orders. Quantitative analyses reveal that race was significantly associated with a lower stated evacuation threshold in both the bivariate and multivariate models and that previous refusal to comply with evacuation orders was associated with higher stated evacuation thresholds. Qualitative analyses reveal two key findings: (1) wind is perceived as more dangerous than water (rain and storm surge) associated with hurricanes; (2) traffic concerns were the most frequently cited reason listed for possible refusal to comply with evacuation orders. Implications of the findings include the value of future evaluations of race and trust, storm characteristics and threat perception, and other practical considerations for improving evacuation compliance such as the amelioration of traffic concerns. Findings also lead to the discussion of the social complexities of race and hurricane vulnerability as a key finding.