六六六(α-HCH)在水、冰和雪中的光化学反应

研究了紫外光作用下六六六(α-HCH)在水、冰和雪3种介质中的光化学反应,考察了α-HCH的光化学反应动力学、产物和机理.结果表明,在水、冰和雪中,α-HCH均可以发生光化学反应,且反应均符合一级动力学方程.光化学反应速率大小顺序为雪>水>冰.在水和冰中,α-HCH均生成了异构化产物β-HCH和γ-HCH,异构化机理是α-HCH分子中的氯原子改变原来的构像;由于雪中α-HCH的光化学反应较快,因此在雪中未检测到异构化产物.在3种介质中,α-HCH的光解产物均为二氯苯和五氯环己烯,其机理为氯化氢或氯原子的脱除反应.     

苯胺在含富里酸/Fe(Ⅲ)高盐水体中的光氯化

本文以典型芳香胺类有机物苯胺为模型化合物,研究苯胺在模拟太阳光照射下的光转化情况.考察高盐水体中,不同浓度富里酸、Fe(Ⅲ)及不同pH条件下,苯胺氯代产物光化学生成的情况,并通过苯胺在实际海水中的光反应,证明苯胺在天然海水中经太阳光照,可以生成其氯代产物.富里酸与铁离子形成络合物,有利于苯胺氯代反应的发生,反应过程中,4-氯苯胺的生成量要高于2-氯苯胺.在FA/Fe(Ⅲ)/Cl-共存水环境中,富里酸浓度相对于铁离子浓度对苯胺氯代反应影响小,活性铁物种在该反应中占据相对更重要的地位.     

纸浆中代表性酚类对二苯并-对-二噁英/二苯并呋喃氯化生成多氯代二噁英的影响

二苯并-对-二噁英/二苯并呋喃(DBD/F)的直接氯化是纸浆氯漂白过程中形成多氯代二噁英(PCDD/Fs)的重要途径.纸浆中的酚类在氯化漂白过程中也将消耗氯而生成氯化产物.本文在模拟纸浆氯漂白的实验条件下,对实验环境中的DBD/F进行检测,排除了背景DBD/F值对实验的干扰后,研究了纸浆中含量较高的酚类(苯酚、愈创木酚...     

紫外/氯工艺中磺胺类药物的转化:机理和毒性评价

磺胺类药物(sulfonamides,SAs)是一种常用的抗菌药物,由于在水生环境中经常被发现,因此备受关注.本文研究了紫外/氯(UV/Cl)工艺中3种磺胺类药物的转化过程及其产物毒性变化,并与氯化、紫外/过氧化氢(UV/H2O2)工艺进行比较.结果 显示,磺胺类药物在UV/Cl工艺中转化效率最高,氯类自由基在其中起到...     

水溶液中17α-乙炔基雌二醇的臭氧氧化产物与反应历程

利用HPLC,GC/MS和量子化学软件Gaussian 98研究了水溶液中17α-乙炔基雌二醇(EE2)臭氧氧化的产物及反应历程.分析结果表明,水溶液中EE2的氧化产物为亲水性较大的小分子化合物,经臭氧氧化2min后的产物主要为羟基化EE2的醌类化合物,20min后的氧化产物主要为乙二酸、丙二酸等含有2-6个碳原子的小分子羧酸类物质.软件计算结果表明,EE2分子中C2原子的电荷密度比较高,发生羟基自由基加成反应生成羟基化产物,然后被氧化为醌类化合物,进一步的氧化使得EE2苯环和脂环发生开环反应,生成小分子羧酸.产物鉴定与量子化学软件计算的结果具有一致性,两者的结合较好地揭示了EE2臭氧氧化的反应历程.     

Cu~(2+)对富里酸(FA)形态结构与其三卤甲烷生成能力的影响

水体中存在的金属离子会干扰活性氯与有机物的反应,进而影响其消毒副产物的生成情况.本文采用紫外可见光谱、红外光谱以及超滤膜分级(UF)等表征方法,研究Cu~(2+)在氯化过程中对富里酸(FA)的形态结构和其消毒副产物——三卤甲烷生成能力(THMs FP)的影响.结果显示,氯化过程中,Cu~(2+)对各个分子量范围FA的THMs FP均有促进作用,其中分子量范围在10—30 k Da的FA受Cu~(2+)影响最大.这主要是由于Cu~(2+)可与FA中酚、醇等含氧官能团发生络合作用,同时也通过该结构加速FA的水解,催化HOCl和HOBr与FA发生氧化和取代反应,从而促进THMs(尤其是溴代产物)的生成.     

Fe_2O_3微纳米材料对八氯萘的热催化降解及其机制研究

本文研究了制备的α-Fe_2O_3微/纳米材料对八氯萘(octachloronaphthalene,CN-75)的催化降解活性及降解机制.在300℃下动力学研究发现,α-Fe_2O_3降解CN-75的反应行为呈现准一级动力学反应特征,反应速率常数为0.075 min~(-1).在α-Fe_2O_3催化下CN-75能够发生逐级加氢脱氯反应,生成一系列的七氯至二氯萘产物,且初始加氢脱氯优先发生在α位.此外,CN-75还能发生氧化开环反应生成甲酸、乙酸等中间产物.根据检测到的降解产物推测CN-75在α-Fe_2O_3上的降解反应历程为:CN-75→CN-73→CN-66/67→CN-54、CN-52、CN-51、CN-50→……→HCOOH+CH_3COOH.     

脱卤拟球菌(CBDB1)脱氯途径的构效关系

运用密度泛函理论在B3LYP/6-31G(d)水平下对多氯二苯并-对-二噁英(PCDDs)、氯苯和氯苯酚等分子进行计算,找到了一个可指示脱卤拟球菌Dehalococcoides sp.CBDB1降解转化PCDDs、氯苯和氯苯酚等有机氯污染物的脱氯途径和中间产物的参数氯原子电荷QCl(n)·以QCl(n)作为理论探针可准确指示PCDDs、氯苯和氯苯酚被菌株CBDB1转化的主要脱氯中间产物,脱氯反应主要发生在含有最大QCl(n)的位置上.对于同一系列化合物,根据不同分子的最大QCl(n)数值,可判断该分子发生脱氯反应可能性的大小,QCl(n)过大或过小都不利于脱氯反应的进行.另外还可利用同一分子内不同氯原子间电荷大小的差异△QCl(n)推断存在第二种脱氯产物可能性的大小,△QCl(n)越小则同时存在两种脱氯中间产物的可能性越大.     

三种不同氧化工艺条件下对乙酰氨基酚的降解过程与产物毒性变化研究

作为一种典型的药物,对乙酰氨基酚(acetaminophen,ACE)由于其广泛存在和潜在毒性引起重要关注.本研究比较了氯化、紫外/过氧化氢(UV/H2O2)和紫外/氯(UV/Cl)三种工艺对ACE的降解情况.结果表明,3种工艺中,UV/Cl和UV/H2O2工艺均能完全降解ACE,其中UV/Cl工艺的降解速率更快. UV/H2O2和UV/Cl工艺降解能用准一级动力学模型很好地拟合,它们的反应动力学常数(kobs,ACE)分别为0.1343 min-1和0.0657 min-1(293K,p H=7).通过p H实验发现,酸性条件下UV/Cl工艺效果更好,而p H对UV/H2O2工艺没有显著影响.相比而言,ACE的矿化比降解困难许多,在60 min后其矿化率最高仅为5.60%(UV/Cl工艺).在UV/Cl工艺降解过程中,检测到12种主要的转化产物,其转化途径主要包括羟基化、氯取代、二聚化、脱酰化和氧化反应.通过发光菌实验对溶液毒性进行分析,3种工艺条件下ACE溶液的毒性都会有所升高,其中氯化工艺最为突出.每种工艺中不同的反应活性物质导致了ACE转化产物的不同,最终使得溶液毒性不同程度地升高.     

纳米金属氧化物模拟天然酶催化水体中酚类污染物转化的研究进展

天然酶作为一种绿色催化剂,能够介导水体中酚类污染物形成酚氧自由基中间体,随后这些活性中间体通过共价偶联机制生成大分子聚合产物.纳米金属氧化物(N-MOs)兼具纳米材料和天然酶"双重身份",有望克服天然酶稳定性差、难回收、易失活和价格昂贵等缺点,高效地催化氧化水体中酚类污染物的转化.本文概述了两种天然酶(过氧化物酶和酚氧化酶)的基本性能及其催化偶联酚类污染物转化的作用机理,系统地探讨了N-MOs的纳米特性及其模拟天然酶催化氧化底物的显色反应、作用效能和影响因素,并阐释了N-MOs作为纳米酶催化氧化酚类污染物转化的最新研究进展及其潜在的应用价值,旨在为拓展和开发新型、有效地纳米酶在环境中的应用提供新的理论基础和技术指导.     

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.     

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     

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).