Muskox status,recent variation,and uncertain future

Ambio - Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are an integral component of Arctic biodiversity. Given low genetic diversity, their ability to respond to future and rapid Arctic change is unknown, although...     

Spatial and Temporal Variations in Trace Metal Concentrations in the Cockle, Austrovenus Stutchburyi from Otago, New Zealand

This is the first comprehensive study of sources of variation in metal concentrations within the whole tissues of a shallow burrowing, filter-feeding intertidal clam, Austrovenus stutchburyi. Samples were collected from 12 sites in April, August, November and February in 1993–1994 in the vicinity of Otago Harbour and Peninsula, New Zealand. Total tissue trace metal concentrations (μg g⁻¹ dry weight) were measured in individual animals for the essential metals : Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni and the non-essential Cr using trace-metal clean acid-digestion and ICP-OAES techniques. Average metal concentrations were 3–60 μg g⁻¹ for Cu, 40–118 μg g⁻¹ for Zn, 2–12 μg g⁻¹ for Mn, 5–35 μg g⁻¹ for Ni and 1–44 μg g⁻¹ for Cr. These levels decreased with body weight and differed amongst sites except for Cr in February (mid-summer). Highest concentrations occurred at sites close to a city (Dunedin) and within the central harbour region although the Cu, Zn, Ni and Cr concentrations did not correlate with the environmental gradient or season. At one coastal site, samples of both the blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and cockles gave similar trends in trace metal levels. These results suggest that the cockle could be a useful trace metal biomonitor within NZ estuaries.     

Patterns of television viewing and of perceptions of hazards to life

A previous study using respondents in a London regional audience appreciation diary panel showed that links existed between overall amounts of the viewing of television recorded across one week and levels of perception of risk of three hazards to life, namely lightning, flooding and terrorist bomb attacks. With a fourth hazard, cancer, there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between perceived risk level and amount of viewing. At the same time there were no relationships between amounts of viewing of news and documentary material and perceived risks of any of 12 hazards. Two new surveys were done, nearly three years after the previous one, asking people in widely different regions about their perceptions of nine various hazards, and linking these results with measures of attitudes towards certain adaptations of new technology (which could prove hazardous or beneficial according to points of view) and to patterns of television viewing. The two surveys agreed on a wide number of points with each other; they agreed with the previous study in finding no steady relationships between information programme viewing and hazard perception. Lightning and flooding were again related, this time more specifically with viewing of particular types of television programming. A new finding is that heavier viewing of television sport is associated with less perceived risk of cancer and of nuclear pollution. Interpretations are generally favoured along the lines of a selective process of viewers with certain predispositions choosing certain kinds of viewing patterns, rather than that programme contents provide an example for formulating perceptions and attitudes.     

Benthic Impacts of Intertidal Oyster Culture, with Consideration of Taxonomic Sufficiency

An investigation of the impacts from elevated intertidal Pacific oyster culture in a New Zealand estuary showed enhanced sedimentation beneath culture racks compared with other sites. Seabed elevation beneath racks was generally lower than between them, suggesting that topographic patterns more likely result from a local effect of rack structures on hydrodynamic processes than from enhanced deposition. Compared with control sites, seabed sediments within the farm had a greater silt/clay and organic content, and a lower redox potential and shear strength. While a marked trend in macrofaunal species richness was not evident, species composition and dominance patterns were consistent with a disturbance gradient, with farm effects not evident 35 m from the perimeter of the racks. Of the environmental variables measured, sediment shear strength was most closely associated with the distribution and density of macrofauna, suggesting that human-induced disturbance from farming operations may have contributed to the biological patterns. To evaluate the taxonomic sufficiency needed to document impacts, aggregation to the family level based on Linnean classification was compared with an aggregation scheme based on `general groups' identifiable with limited taxonomic expertise. Compared with species-level analyses, spatial patterns of impact were equally discernible at both aggregation levels used, provided density rather than presence/absence data were used. Once baseline conditions are established and the efficacy of taxonomic aggregation demonstrated, a `general group' scheme provides an appropriate and increasingly relevant tool for routine monitoring.     

Environmentally significant photochemistry of chlorinated benzenes and their derivatives in aquatic systems†

The pollution of soil and aquatic environments by chlorinated aromatic pollutants (CAPs) such as polychlorobenzenes (PCBzs), polychlorophenols (PCPs), polychloro‐diphenyl ethers (PCDPEs), phenoxyacetic acids, etc., creates growing public anxiety. Phototransformation is an important process for pollutants in aquatic systems. This article extensively reviews the environmentally significant solution phase photochemistry of PCBzs as well as other CAPs derived therefrom. The paper includes photochemical fate of these CAPs at wavelengths >285 nm on the one hand and their photolysis in solution in aquatic systems on the other. In this article, photolytic reductive dechlorination and isomerization of PCBzs are reviewed together with the photoformation of several products including polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) from PCBzs. Recently developed phenomena of photoincorporation of PCBzs into humic model monomers is also described. This review also describes the environmental photochemistry of chlorobenzene derivatives, namely, α‐substituted p‐chlorotoluenes of the general structure p‐ClC₆H₄CH₂‐X (X = H, Cl, CN, COOH and OH), di‐through pentachlorophenols, PCDPEs (having Cl_1–5 contents) with and without o‐OH substituents, and 2,4‐di‐ and 2,4,5‐trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D and 2,4,5‐T, respectively) as well as their esters and some formulations.     

Intercomparison of the measurements of oxalic acid in aerosols by gas chromatography and ion chromatography

Oxalate, the anion of oxalic acid, is one of the most abundant measurable organic species in atmospheric aerosols. Traditionally, this bifunctional species has been measured by gas chromatography (GC) after derivatization to butyl ester and by ion chromatography (IC) without derivatization. However, there are few published comparisons of the two techniques. Here, we report the results of an intercomparison study for the measurement of oxalic acid in Arctic aerosols (<2.5 μm, n = 82) collected in 1992 using GC and IC. The concentrations of oxalic acid by GC ranged from 6.5–59.1 ng m^?3 (av. 26.0 ng m^?3, median 26.2 ng m^?3) whereas those by IC ranged from 6.6–52.1 ng m^?3 (av. 26.6 ng m^?3, median 25.4 ng m^?3). They showed a good correlation (r = 0.84) with a slope of 0.96. Thus, observations of oxalate obtained by GC employing dibutyl esters are almost equal to those by IC. Because the accuracy of oxalic acid by GC method largely depends on the method used, it is important to strictly examine the recovery in each study.     

Development and application of biotechnologies in the metal mining industry

Metal mining faces a number of significant economic and environmental challenges in the twenty-first century for which established and emerging biotechnologies may, at least in part, provide the answers. Bioprocessing of mineral ores and concentrates is already used in variously engineered formats to extract base (e.g., copper, cobalt, and nickel) and precious (gold and silver) metals in mines throughout the world, though it remains a niche technology. However, current projections of an increasing future need to use low-grade primary metal ores, to reprocess mine wastes, and to develop in situ leaching technologies to extract metals from deep-buried ore bodies, all of which are economically more amenable to bioprocessing than conventional approaches (e.g., pyrometallurgy), would suggest that biomining will become more extensively utilized in the future. Recent research has also shown that bioleaching could be used to process a far wider range of metal ores (e.g., oxidized ores) than has previously been the case. Biotechnologies are also being developed to control mine-related pollution, including securing mine wastes (rocks and tailings) by using “ecological engineering” approaches, and also to remediate and recover metals from waste waters, such as acid mine drainage. This article reviews the current status of biotechnologies within the mining sector and considers how these may be developed and applied in future years.     

The spread of marine non-indigenous species via recreational boating: A conceptual model for risk assessment based on fault tree analysis

Recreational vessel movements are increasingly recognised as an important pathway for the spread of non-indigenous species (NIS) in marine environments. Research on risks posed by recreational vessels has focused on external hull fouling, yet a number of studies reveal the potential for NIS to also be transferred by a range of other vessel components. This paper uses fault tree analysis as a framework for incorporating input from a panel of international experts, to elucidate the consecutive steps that must occur for NIS to be introduced from different components of recreational boats. Our conceptual model reveals the complexity of the invasion process even when only the ‘release’ phase is considered (i.e. the release of NIS from an infected vessel into a new area). The model highlights that, in addition to external fouling of the ‘hull’ (hull, rudder and propeller), important vessel components may also include fouling, sediment or water released from the deck, internal spaces, anchors and fishing/diving gear. The extent to which these components are important is situation-specific, and depends on attributes of the vessel, location and NIS present. Hence, the comprehensive model described here could be modified or simplified to reflect the attributes that are relevant to particular circumstances. We demonstrate this principle using examples of three NIS: the colonial tunicate Didemnum vexillum and the Asian kelp Undaria pinnatifida that both have established in Port Nelson New Zealand after vessel-mediated spread, and the clubbed tunicate Styela clava that was detected on a vessel hull in the port but is not known to have established. Although the modelling and assessment of some of the events identified in the fault trees would be difficult or unrealistic, it is important to acknowledge them in order to provide a comprehensive risk assessment tool. Even where risks are largely unknown, difficult to quantify, or reflect stochastic events, this does not necessarily preclude management intervention.     

Prenatal diagnosis for arginase deficiency by second-trimester fetal erythrocyte arginase assay and first-trimester ARG1 mutation analysis

Hyperargininemia is a progressive neurometabolic disorder caused by deficiency of hepatic cytosolic arginase I, resulting from mutations in the ARG1 gene. We diagnosed arginase deficiency in a three-year-old male child of first-cousin Palestinian Arab parents. Prenatal diagnosis of an unaffected fetus was achieved in the second trimester of a subsequent pregnancy by cordocentesis and analysis of arginase activity in fetal erythrocytes. ARG1 mutation analysis in the proband revealed homozygosity for a deletion of 10 753 bp extending from the first intron to beyond the poly (A) site of the gene. This is the first gross deletion in the ARG1 gene to be identified and the first mutation to be described in an arginase-deficient patient of this ethnic origin. The identification of the ARG1 deletion in this family enabled first-trimester prenatal diagnosis in a subsequent pregnancy by multiplex PCR analysis performed on chorionic villous DNA. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.