PM10 concentration levels at an urban and background site in Cyprus: The impact of urban sources and dust storms

Air quality in Cyprus is influenced by both local and transported pollution, including desert dust storms. We examined PM₁₀ concentration data collected in Nicosia (urban representative) from April 1, 1993, through December 11, 2008, and in Ayia Marina (rural background representative) from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2008. Measurements were conducted using a Tapered Element Oscillating Micro-balance (TEOM). PM₁₀ concentrations, meteorological records, and satellite data were used to identify dust storm days. We investigated long-term trends using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) after controlling for day of week, month, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity. In Nicosia, annual PM₁₀ concentrations ranged from 50.4 to 63.8 μg/m³ and exceeded the EU annual standard limit enacted in 2005 of 40 μg/m³ every year. A large, statistically significant impact of urban sources (defined as the difference between urban and background levels) was seen in Nicosia over the period 2000–2008, and was highest during traffic hours, weekdays, cold months, and low wind conditions. Our estimate of the mean (standard error) contribution of urban sources to the daily ambient PM₁₀ was 24.0 (0.4) μg/m³. The study of yearly trends showed that PM₁₀ levels in Nicosia decreased from 59.4 μg/m³ in 1993 to 49.0 μg/m³ in 2008, probably in part as a result of traffic emission control policies in Cyprus. In Ayia Marina, annual concentrations ranged from 27.3 to 35.6 μg/m³, and no obvious time trends were observed. The levels measured at the Cyprus background site are comparable to background concentrations reported in other Eastern Mediterranean countries. Average daily PM₁₀ concentrations during desert dust storms were around 100 μg/m³ since 2000 and much higher in earlier years. Despite the large impact of dust storms and their increasing frequency over time, dust storms were responsible for a small fraction of the exceedances of the daily PM₁₀ limit.

ImplicationsThis paper examines PM₁₀ concentrations in Nicosia, Cyprus, from 1993 to 2008. The decrease in PM₁₀ levels in Nicosia suggests that the implementation of traffic emission control policies in Cyprus has been effective. However, particle levels still exceeded the European Union annual standard, and dust storms were responsible for a small fraction of the daily PM₁₀ limit exceedances. Other natural particles that are not assessed in this study, such as resuspended soil and sea salt, may be responsible in part for the high particle levels.     

Tail regeneration affects the digestive performance of a Mediterranean lizard

In caudal autotomy, lizards shed their tail to escape from an attacking predator. Since the tail serves multiple functions, caudal regeneration is of pivotal importance. However, it is a demanding procedure that requires substantial energy and nutrients. Therefore, lizards have to increase energy income to fuel the extraordinary requirements of the regenerating tail. We presumed that autotomized lizards would adjust their digestion to acquire this additional energy. To clarify the effects of tail regeneration on digestion, we compared the digestive performance before autotomy, during regeneration, and after its completion. Tail regeneration indeed increased gut passage time but did not affect digestive performance in a uniform pattern: though protein income was maximized, lipid and sugar acquisition remained stable. This divergence in proteins may be attributed to their particular role in tail reconstruction, as they are the main building blocks for tissue formation.     

An investigation on the physical,chemical and ecotoxicological characteristics of particulate matter emitted from light-duty vehicles

Particulate matter (PM) emitted from three light-duty vehicles was studied in terms of its physicochemical and ecotoxicological character using Microtox^® bioassay tests. A diesel vehicle equipped with an oxidation catalyst emitted PM which consisted of carbon species at over 97%. PM from a diesel vehicle with a particle filter (DPF) consisted of almost equal amounts of carbon species and ions, while a gasoline vehicle emitted PM consisting of ～90% carbon and ～10% ions. Both the DPF and the gasoline vehicles produced a distinct nucleation mode at 120 km/h. The PM emitted from the DPF and the gasoline vehicles was less ecotoxic than that of conventional diesel, but not in direct proportion to the emission levels of the different vehicles. These results indicate that PM emission reductions are not equally translated into ecotoxicity reductions, implying some deficiencies on the actual environmental impact of emission control technologies and regulations.     

The Interactive Effects of Fire and Diversity on Short-Term Responses of Ecosystem Processes in Experimental Mediterranean Grasslands

We conducted a field experiment using constructed communities to test whether species richness contributed to the maintenance of ecosystem processes under fire disturbance. We studied the effects of diversity components (i.e., species richness and species composition) upon productivity, structural traits of vegetation, decomposition rates, and soil nutrients between burnt and unburnt experimental Mediterranean grassland communities. Our results demonstrated that fire and species richness had interactive effects on aboveground biomass production and canopy structure components. Fire increased biomass production of the highest-richness communities. The effects of fire on aboveground biomass production at different levels of species richness were derived from changes in both vertical and horizontal canopy structure of the communities. The most species-rich communities appeared to be more resistant to fire in relation to species-poor ones, due to both compositional and richness effects. Interactive effects of fire and species richness were not important for belowground processes. Decomposition rates increased with species richness, related in part to increased levels of canopy structure traits. Fire increased soil nutrients and long-term decomposition rate. Our results provide evidence that composition within richness levels had often larger effects on the stability of aboveground ecosystem processes in the face of fire disturbance than species richness per se.     

Postautotomy tail activity in the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi

Caudal autotomy is an effective antipredator strategy widespread among lizards. The shed tail thrashes vigorously for long periods to distract the predator and facilitate the lizard's escape. This movement is maintained by energy supplied by the anaerobic conversion of glycogen into lactate. It has been suggested that lactate accumulation serves as an index for the vigor of tail thrashing. We made three predictions: (1) tail loss frequency should be higher under heavier predation regime, (2) the duration of postautotomy tail movement should be extended in populations under heavy predation pressure as an adaptation to the higher risk and the increased need for defense, and (3) as result, lactate in these tail tissues should be concentrated at higher levels. To eliminate the impact of phylogeny and environmental factors on the interpretation of our result, we focused exclusively on one species, the Balearic lizard (Podarcis lilfordi). We studied three populations under different predation pressure but sharing the same climatic conditions. We found no differences among the studied populations either in postautotomy duration of tail movement or in levels of final lactate accumulation while autotomy frequency was higher where predation pressure was more intense. Tail loss effectiveness is directly influenced by the level of predation, while secondary features of the trait appear to remain independent from the impact of environment.     

Predicting species dominance shifts across elevation gradients in mountain forests in Greece under a warmer and drier climate

Regional Environmental Change - The Mediterranean Basin is expected to face warmer and drier conditions in the future, following projected increases in temperature and declines in precipitation....     

Fetal nucleated red blood cells from CVS washings: an aid to development of first trimester non-invasive prenatal diagnosis

Fetal nucleated red blood cells (n-rbc) occur in the maternal circulation from 7 weeks of pregnancy. The enrichment of these cells from maternal blood will depend upon their stage of differentiation, which changes during development. We characterised the fetal n-rbc from chorionic villus sample (CVS) washings and used them to model first trimester non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. The ratio of ε- to γ-globin-producing cells declined rapidly from 10 to 13 weeks, as did the ratio of nucleated to non-nucleated rbc. By 13 weeks the great majority of cells containing γ- or ε-globin are anucleate. The fetal n-rbc were highly variable in size and density and sedimented over a wide density range with a high proportion (>80%) at a density overlapping with that of maternal rbc. We have devised an enrichment procedure using Orskoff lysis to differentially lyse the maternal cells followed by density centrifugation and separation using magnetic beads. This simple protocol allowed recovery of 70% (69±22%) of fetal cells when added at approximately 10 fetal cells/ml maternal blood. When 1 fetal cell/ml millilitre maternal blood was added (total volume 10 ml) the recovery was more variable but remained at approximately 70% (72±47%), with at least one fetal cell recovered in all cases. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation-based optimization of in-stream structures design: rock vanes

We employ a three-dimensional coupled hydro-morphodynamic model, the Virtual Flow Simulator (VFS-Geophysics) in its Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes mode closed with \(k-\omega\) model, to simulate the turbulent flow and sediment transport in large-scale sand and gravel bed waterways under prototype and live-bed conditions. The simulation results are used to carry out systematic numerical experiments to develop design guidelines for rock vane structures. The numerical model is based on the Curvilinear Immersed Boundary approach to simulate flow and sediment transport processes in arbitrarily complex rivers with embedded rock structures. Three validation test cases are conducted to examine the capability of the model in capturing turbulent flow and sediment transport in channels with mobile-bed. Transport of sediment materials is handled using the Exner equation coupled with a transport equation for suspended load. Two representative meandering rivers, with gravel and sand beds, respectively, are selected to serve as the virtual test-bed for developing design guidelines for rock vane structures. The characteristics of these rivers are selected based on available field data. Initially guided by existing design guidelines, we consider numerous arrangements of rock vane structures computationally to identify optimal structure design and placement characteristics for a given river system.     

ASSESSING CHANGES IN WATERSHED FLOW REGIMES WITH SPATIALLY EXPLICIT HYDRAULIC MODELS1

ABSTRACT: Urbanization, farming, and other watershed activities can significantly alter storm hydrographs and sediment erosion rates within a watershed. These changes routinely cause severe economic and ecological problems manifested in the form of increased flooding and significant changes in channel morphology. As the activities within a watershed influence the hydrologic, hydraulic, and ecological conditions within a river, interdisciplinary approaches to predict and assess the impacts that different land uses have on streams need to be developed. An important component of this process is ascertaining how hydrologic changes induced by specific watershed activities will affect hydraulic conditions and the accompanying flood levels, sediment transport rates, and habitat conditions within a stream. A conceptual model for using spatially explicit (two‐dimensional) hydraulic models to help evaluate the impacts that changes in flow regime might have on a river is presented. This framework proposes that reproducing and quantifying flow complexity allows one to compare the hydraulic conditions within urban, urbanizing, and non‐urban streams in a more biologically and economically meaningful way. The justification, advantage, and need for such a method is argued through the results of one‐ and two‐dimensional hydraulic model studies. The implementation of this methodology in watershed urbanization studies is described.