超声波提取活性污泥胞外聚合物的研究

采用超声波提取活性污泥的胞外聚合物(EPS),以EPS中葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶(G6PD)活性衡量细胞破损程度.结果表明:超声波的最佳作用频率为21kHz,最佳作用功率范围为32W-40W,提取时间不宜超过3min.低泥龄污泥的EPS易被提取,并且超声波法容易引起低泥龄污泥中细菌细胞的破损.     

MBR中胞外聚合物累积对污泥性质的影响

以一体式膜生物反应器(MBR)处理模拟生活污水为研究体系,探讨累积胞外聚合物(EPS)的组成、含量及其分布对污泥特性的影响.结果表明,EPS经历一个低谷后,在35 d时出现明显累积,污泥比基质降解速率和污泥体积指数(SVI)也出现相应变化.体系中EPS总量及污泥中蛋白质与多糖比值的增加有利于污泥活性及其沉降性能的改善,EPS累积期大部分EPS存在于污泥中,从另一个角度证实了EPS与污泥活性及其降解性能之间的相关关系.     

外源活性污泥胞外聚合物对小球衣藻聚集行为的影响

微藻聚集行为在藻华的治理等方面具有重要作用,也是目前微藻生物燃料收集的瓶颈之一.以小球衣藻为研究对象,观察污泥胞外聚合物(Extracellular polymeric substance,EPS)对微藻聚集行为的影响,并通过其聚集数据采集、EPS客观特性和微藻的自身响应等方面探究其可能的聚集原因.结果显示:随着外源性污泥EPS浓度的增大,小球衣藻聚集率从18.4%上升到81.8%,并且在110 mg/L时达到聚集率最大值.微藻细胞运动速度从26.8μm/s上升到49.4μm/s,增大了细胞间的碰撞几率,促进了微藻的聚集.三维荧光光谱表明,污泥胞外聚合物刺激了微藻色氨酸类蛋白和芳香族类蛋白的分泌,其分泌量与EPS的浓度成正比.但是外源性EPS溶液Zeta电位变化与微藻的聚集率呈负相关关系,并非微藻聚集原因.本研究表明外源性污泥胞外聚合物能够促进微藻的聚集,结果可为下一步在分子方面的探究提供实验基础.(图7表3参38)     

胞外聚合物物理法提取过程的优化

对物理法提取活性污泥中的胞外聚合物(EPS)进行了优化.分别考察了超声时间、振摇时间、离心速度和时间以及加热时间对EPS的松散附着(LB)和紧密粘附(TB)提取的影响,得出污泥EPS物理法提取的优化方案.     

好氧颗粒污泥胞外聚合物的产生及其分布

考察了不同操作条件和基质条件对好氧颗粒污泥中胞外聚合物(EPS)产生的影响及其在污泥和体系上清液中的分布.结果表明:随体系操作条件和基质条件的变化,好氧颗粒污泥内部和上清液中的EPS含量呈规律性变化.相对而言,好氧颗粒污泥中EPS含量的变化幅度较小,过多的EPS则释放到上清液中.大量EPS的释放只发生在颗粒污泥解体时,而酸性条件和不适当的C/N比不利于好氧颗粒污泥的形成及形态保持.体系溶解氧为4.5 mg·l-1,pH为中性,污泥负荷小于等于0.37kgCOD·kg-1MLSS·d-1,碳氮比为20∶ 1时,好氧颗粒污泥中EPS的含量约占污泥总质量的9%-12%,与厌氧颗粒污泥(0.6%-20%)相近,但远低于絮状活性污泥(80%),此时,EPS在上清液中的含量最低或接近最低,为14-26 mg·l-1.     

绿藻胞外聚合物对无机砷生物累积特征的影响

绿藻对无机污染物的净化作用受其自分泌胞外聚合物EPS影响.以EPS释放量高的蛋白核小球藻为绿藻代表,通过24 h短期As(Ⅲ)和As(V)的模拟水体暴露实验,研究绿藻对无机砷的生物累积特征及EPS影响.结果表明,在0—40 mg·L~(-1) As(Ⅲ)和As(V)暴露浓度范围,蛋白核小球藻细胞内的砷累积速率随暴露浓度的增加而升高,其动力学拟合结果符合Michaelis-Menten酶促反应动力学方程. EPS与无机砷存在界面相互作用影响,无机砷暴露浓度升高可促进小球藻EPS分泌, EPS与砷累积速率之间呈现正相关线性关系(R~2 0.900),主要影响成分是溶解态EPS.完整藻细胞与脱除胞外聚合物的活体细胞相比, As(Ⅲ)、As(V)暴露的最大吸附累积量分别增加30.6%和14.2%,而最大胞内累积量降低49.0%和31.0%. EPS与无机砷的微界面交互作用影响绿藻对砷污染的净化修复.     

用三维荧光和红外技术分析好氧颗粒污泥形成初期胞外聚合物的变化

为了研究聚合氯化铝(PAC)的投加在好氧颗粒污泥培养初期的作用,本研究分别在污泥培养的第1—7天(R1)和第8—14天(R2)投加PAC,并采用三维荧光光谱(3D-EEM)和傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)技术分析好氧颗粒污泥形成初期胞外聚合物(EPS)各组分的含量及变化规律.结果表明,PAC投加时间推迟后,污泥沉降性能良好,且反应器中胞外聚合物和蛋白质含量明显增多,松散附着的EPS(LB-EPS)中蛋白含量变化趋势明显,多糖含量保持在较小范围内波动,与溶解性胞外聚合物(S-EPS)和紧密黏附的胞外聚合物(TB-EPS)相比较,LB-EPS和污泥颗粒化有密切关系;三维荧光光谱分析结果显示,R2中荧光类蛋白物质(峰A和峰B)强度均大于R1,而腐殖酸类物质(峰C)强度小于R1,说明A和B这两种荧光类蛋白物质在微生物聚集体形成过程中的作用更加重要;红外光谱表明,1636 cm-1、1654 cm-1分别属于蛋白质二级结构中C=O伸长振动引起的,分别存在于S-EPS和LB-EPS、TB-EPS中,且在投加PAC的时间推迟后1654 cm-1处的吸收峰吸收较弱,和三维荧光分析共同表明LB-EPS中的蛋白类物质是好氧颗粒污泥形成初期加入PAC进行强化造粒的核心原因之一.     

城市污水处理厂好氧颗粒污泥的特性

对城市污水处理厂曝气池中筛选出的好氧颗粒污泥进行了分析.结果表明,这些颗粒污泥的直径主要在0.2～0.8 mm范围;平均圆度为1.29;沉淀速率约在10～42 m h-1之间;比耗氧速率(SOUR)为14.2～18.9 mg g-1h-1,小于活性污泥;挥发性物质占总固体的量与活性污泥基本相似.这些颗粒污泥占污泥总量的0.1%～0.5%.颗粒污泥的激光共聚焦扫描显微镜(CLSM)图像显示:颗粒污泥内部几乎都由胞外聚合物(EPS)组成;细菌主要分布在颗粒污泥表面至100μm厚度区域,少部分分布在100～400μm厚度区域.     

pH调节对活性污泥混合液膜过滤性的影响

探讨了用NaOH调节pH值对膜-生物反应器混合液膜过滤性能的影响,并通过分析污泥混合液性质的变化研究其作用机理.试验表明,适当调节pH到碱性,可以使膜过滤性能得到改善.投加碱液使污泥胞外多聚物(EPS)减少,污泥容积指数(SVI)降低,但上清液中总有机碳(TOC)浓度增加.混合液膜过滤性能的改善与污泥SVI的降低密切相关.在碱性条件下,从细胞表面脱落下来的EPS对絮体颗粒的絮凝性有一定促进作用,但效果有限.推测碱液处理使细胞表面的LB-EPS脱落,从而使细胞表面疏水性增加,有利于絮体颗粒之间的絮凝,从而有利于混合液膜过滤性的改善.     

生物沥浸联合类Fenton作用对污泥脱水性能的改善

为了解生物沥浸促进下的类Fenton调理对污泥脱水性能的影响,采用序批式恒温培养法,以比阻(SRF)、毛细吸水时间(CST)、过滤时间(TTF)和上清液中胞外聚合物(EPS)组分含量等指标,比较生物沥浸、Fenton氧化以及生物沥浸联合类Fenton氧化3种调理方法对污泥脱水速率和脱水程度的影响,并探讨其调理机制.结果表明,污泥经过生物沥浸联合类Fenton氧化调理后,比阻和毛细吸水时间分别从14.0×10~(12) m/kg和24 s下降到0.178×10~(12) m/kg和7.7 s,脱水性能较单独生物沥浸提高80.0%,与单独Fenton相比提高90.6%.此外,H_2O_2投加量对污泥的脱水效果具有重要影响,在本研究条件下最佳H_2O_2投加量是20 mg/g DS(干物质).因此,生物沥浸联合类Fenton作用可显著改善污泥脱水性能,EPS释放、Fe~(3+)絮凝和大量结合水转化为自由水是促进污泥脱水的主要原因.     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation

Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza‐Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land‐use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon‐dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon‐based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development.     

Human Influence and Classical Biogeographic Predictors of Rare Species Occurrence

Biogeographic theory predicts that rare species occur more often in larger, less‐isolated habitat patches and suggests that patch size and connectivity are positive predictors of patch quality for conservation. However, in areas substantially modified by humans, rare species may be relegated to the most isolated patches. We used data from plant surveys of 81 meadow patches in the Georgia Basin of Canada and the United States to show that presence of threatened and endangered plants was positively predicted for patches that were isolated on small islands surrounded by ocean and for patches that were isolated by surrounding forest. Neither patch size nor connectivity were positive predictors of rare species occurrence. Thus, in our study area, human influence, presumably due to disturbance or introduction of competitive non‐native species, appears to have overwhelmed classical predictors of rare species distribution, such that greater patch isolation appeared to favor presence of rare species. We suggest conservation planners consider the potential advantages of protecting geographically isolated patches in human‐modified landscapes because such patches may represent the only habitats in which rare species are likely to persist. Influencia Humana y Predictores Biogeográficos Clásicos de la Ocurrencia de Especies Raras     

Seasonal dynamics of macro-algae in the South Lake of Tunis

The macro-algae communities observed in the south lake of Tunis are characterized by the predominance of nitrophilous algae which are in the order of biomass importance:Ulva, Cladophora andEnteromorpha. We have noted seasonal changes of alga distribution. The wind appears to be one of the most important factors influencing this distribution. The total biomass reaches a maximum in the spring. Rapid decomposition of the biomass leads to a severe ecological imbalance, resulting in crises of anoxia and fish death. A restoration project has already started. It aims at removal of contaminated muds and the introduction of a new circulation system. The main objectives of this work were to collect information on the distribution and biomass of the phytobenthic communities as a first step in the constitution of a database for further comparison.     

Patterns and biases of climate change threats in the IUCN Red List

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments rely on published data and expert inputs, and biases can be introduced where underlying definitions and concepts are ambiguous. Consideration of climate change threat is no exception, and recently numerous approaches to assessing the threat of climate change to species have been developed. We explored IUCN Red List assessments of amphibians and birds to determine whether species listed as threatened by climate change display distinct patterns in terms of habitat occupied and additional nonclimatic threats faced. We compared IUCN Red List data with a published data set of species’ biological and ecological traits believed to infer high vulnerability to climate change and determined whether distributions of climate change‐threatened species on the IUCN Red List concur with those of climate change‐threatened species identified with the trait‐based approach and whether species possessing these traits are more likely to have climate change listed as a threat on the IUCN Red List. Species in some ecosystems (e.g., grassland, shrubland) and subject to particular threats (e.g., invasive species) were more likely to have climate change as a listed threat. Geographical patterns of climate change‐threatened amphibians and birds on the IUCN Red List were incongruent with patterns of global species richness and patterns identified using trait‐based approaches. Certain traits were linked to increases or decreases in the likelihood of a species being threatened by climate change. Broad temperature tolerance of a species was consistently related to an increased likelihood of climate change threat, indicating counterintuitive relationships in IUCN assessments. To improve the robustness of species assessments of the vulnerability or extinction risk associated with climate change, we suggest IUCN adopt a more cohesive approach whereby specific traits highlighted by our results are considered in Red List assessments. To achieve this and to strengthen the climate change‐vulnerability assessments approach, it is necessary to identify and implement logical avenues for further research into traits that make species vulnerable to climate change (including population‐level threats).     

Parasitic wasps orient to green leaf volatiles

Summary Undamaged plants emit low levels of green leaf volatiles (GLVs), while caterpillar-damaged and artificially damaged plants emit relatively higher levels of certain GLVs. Female braconid parasitoids,Microplitis croceipes, oriented to both damaged plants and to individual GLVs in no-choice tests in a wind tunnel, but seldom oriented to undamaged plants. Female ichneumonid parasitoids,Netelia heroica, also oriented to individual GLVs in a wind tunnel. Males of both wasp species failed to orient to the GLVs. These data show that leaf-feeding caterpillars can cause the release of GLVs, and that parasitic wasps can respond to these odors by flying upwind (chemoanemotactic response), which brings the wasps to their caterpillar hosts. This supports the hypothesis that plants communicate with members of the third trophic level,i.e., plants under herbivore attack emit chemical signals that guide natural enemies of herbivores to sites of plant damage. In this interaction, the GLVs serve as tritrophic plant-to-parasitoid synomones. That parasitoids from two different wasp families oriented to GLVs suggests that the response may be widespread among the Hymenoptera.Mention of a commercial or proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture