Cycle synchrony and probability of conception in female hamadryas baboonsPapio hamadryas

We investigated the factors affecting conception in a captive population ofPapio hamadryas. We collected data on reproductive states from 16 females over 12 years. Probability of conception was related to the outcome of the immediately preceding pregnancy and the fate of the preceding offspring. After abortions or when an infant survived more than 6 months, a female needed more cycles to conceive than when an infant died within the first 6 months post partum. The degree of estrus synchrony within, but not between, one-male units influenced the probability of conception. Females experiencing conceptive estrus showed less synchrony than those experiencing nonconceptive estrus. The number of females simultaneously in estrus within a one-male unit was negatively correlated with the probability of conception. Within our captive population, group size and male and female age had no influence on the probability of conception. The results indicate that sperm may be a limited resource in the one-male reproductive units of hamadryas baboons. Female-female competition for conception may exist and should influence the demography of one-male units.     

Signature whistle variations in a bottlenosed dolphin,Tursiops truncatus

To examine whether context-specific information is superimposed upon the individual cues present in the whistling of the bottlenosed dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, parameter variations within the two most frequently emitted whistle types of a captive individual were investigated in three different behavioural contexts. The study concentrated on comparing signal features of spontaneously occurring vocalizations in two possible phases following the performance of a trained discrimination task and those occurring during isolation. Phases of the discrimination task differed according to whether the animal showed correct (reward given) or incorrect performance (no reward). Signature whistles were most common in isolation, but also represented just over half of the whistles following a choice task. Of 14 signature whistle frequency and time parameters measured 9 differed significantly between isolation and at least one of the phases following a choice task (Table 1). Three parameters also varied according to whether performance was correct or incorrect. In contrast, only one out of four parameters (start frequency) measured from the second most frequent whistle type varied significantly between contexts (isolation vs. phase following correct choice). The results indicate that not only identity but also context-related information is available in the whistles of a bottlenosed dolphin.     

Effect of pH on phosphine production and the fate of phosphorus during anaerobic process with granular sludge

The effect of pH on phosphine formation during anaerobic cultivation of granular sludge was investigated. The sludge was taken from full-scale anaerobic reactors treating brewery wastewater. Acetate and phosphate were used as the carbon source and phosphorus source respectively. After 10 days cultivation in the dark, results showed that acidic conditions were more favorable for free phosphine production. At pH 5, the optimum concentration 86.42 ng PH3 m-3 of free phosphine was obtained. The level at pH 7 was reduced to 18.53 ng PH3 m-3, about 1/5 of the maximum. The maximum concentration of matrix-bound phosphine of 3.30 ng PH3 kg-1 wet sludge was achieved at pH 6. More than 83% of the total phosphine was matrix-bound phosphine, which accounted for 0.003-0.009 per thousand of the phosphate removal, while free phosphine comprised 0.00002-0.001 per thousand of the phosphate removal. Most of the phosphorus removal from solution was turned into chemical precipitation or was adsorbed by sludge. The mechanism of the phosphate reduction-step in the formation of phosphine production is still unknown. The promotion of phosphine formation by low pH is compatible with an acidic bio-corrosion mechanism of metal particles in the sludge or of metal phosphides which form phosphine at low pH.     

Generation pattern of sulfur containing gases from anaerobically digested sludge cakes.

Eleven dewatered sludge cakes collected from anaerobic digesters at different treatment plants were evaluated for the amount, type, and pattern of odorous gas production. All but one of the sludge cakes were from mesophilic anaerobic digesters. One was from a thermophilic digester. The pattern and quantities of sulfur gases were found to be unique for each of the samples with regard to the products produced, magnitude, and subsequent decline. The main odor-causing chemicals were volatile sulfur compounds, which included hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, and dimethyl sulfide. Volatile sulfur compound production peaked in 3 to 8 days and then declined. The decline was a result of conversion of organic sulfur compounds to sulfide. In one side-by-side test, a high-solids centrifuge cake generated more odorous compounds than the low-solids centrifuge cake. The data show that anaerobic digestion does not eliminate the odor potential of anaerobically digested dewatered cakes.     

Effects of air quality on foliar injury, growth, yield, and quality of muskmelon

An evaluation of the effects of ambient ozone (O3) on muskmelon was conducted with the use of open-top chambers (OTCs). 'Superstar' muskmelons grown in charcoal-filtered (CF) chambers compared to those grown in nonfiltered (NF) chambers showed significant differences in the severity of visible foliar O3 injury. Furthermore, plants grown in NF conditions had significantly less (21.3%) marketable fruit weight and fewer (20.9%) marketable fruit number than those from CF chambers. No differences were found in early biomass production, leaf area, or number of nodes after 3 weeks of exposure to treatment conditions. Ambient O3 did not affect soluble solids content of mature fresh fruit nor foliage fresh weight at final harvest. Results indicate that ambient concentrations of O3 in southwestern Indiana caused significant foliar injury and yield loss to muskmelons.     

Teil I: Braucht die Landwirtschaft Umweltmanagementsysteme?

The farming community is today faced with requests by various interest groups to implement environmental management systems (EMS). The series of items shows principle theoretical questions of the method and the advantages of EMS (part I and II), presents the practical outcome (part III) and give a recommendation for potential users of EMS in agricultural systems (part IV). The study conducted outlines the method of the implementing an EMS according to the Environmental Management and Audit System (EMAS) and ISO 14001. Further advantages and disadvantages for the agricultural industry are addressed. Even though terms such as site can not easily be defined or problems with open material cycles and structural particularity of agricultural farms there appears to be a benefit to implement. The transparency and documentation of the material flow as well as the economical benefits of an optimized organization count towards the EMS. Further EMS can be a means to strengthen the argumentative position for example with the public, authorities, banks or insurance. This concurs with minimizing company liabilities and obtaining governmental privileges (deregulation).     

The annual course of TCA formation in the lower troposphere: a modeling study

We present a modeling study investigating the influence of climate conditions and solar radiation intensity on gas-phase trichloroacetic acid (TCA) formation. As part of the ECCA-project (Ecotoxicological Risk in the Caspian Catchment Area), this modeling study uses climate data specific for the two individual climate regimes, namely "Kalmykia" and "Kola Peninsula". A third regime has also been included in this study, namely "Central Europe", which serves as a reference to somehow more moderate climate conditions. The simulations have been performed with a box modeling package (SBOX, photoRACM), which uses Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) as its chemistry scheme. For this model a mechanism supplement has been developed including the reaction pathways of methyl chloroform photooxidation. The investigations are completed by a detailed sensitivity study addressing the impact of temperature and relative humidity. Atmospheric OH and HO2 concentrations and the NOx/HO2 ratio were identified as the governing quantities controlling the TCA formation trough methyl chloroform oxidation in the gas phase. Model calculations show a TCA production rate ranging between almost zero and 6.5 x 10(3) molecules cm(-3) day(-1) depending on location and season. In the Kalmykia regime the model predicts mean TCA production rates of 1.3 x 10(-4) and 5.4 x 10(-5) microg m(-3) year(-1) for the urban and rural environment, respectively. From the comparison of model calculations with measured TCA burdens in the soil ranging between 130 g m(-3) and 1750 g m(-3) we conclude that TCA formation through methyl chloroform photooxidation in the gas-phase is probably not the principal atmospheric TCA source in this region.     

Phosphine by bio-corrosion of phosphide-rich iron

Phosphine is a toxic agent and part of the phosphorus cycle. A hitherto unknown formation mechanism for phosphine in the environment was investigated. When iron samples containing iron phosphide were incubated in corrosive aquatic media affected by microbial metabolites, phosphine was liberated and measured by gas chromatography. Iron liberates phosphine especially in anoxic aquatic media under the influence of sulfide and an acidic pH. A phosphine-forming mechanism is suggested: Phosphate, an impurity of iron containing minerals, is reduced abioticly to iron phosphide. When iron is exposed to the environment (e.g. as outdoor equipment, scrap, contamination in iron milled food or as iron meteorites) and corrodes, the iron phosphide present in the iron is suspended in the medium and can hydrolyze to phosphine. Phosphine can accumulate to measurable quantities in anoxic microbial media, accelerating corrosion and preserving the phosphine formed from oxidation.