Evaluating Genetic Diversity Associated with Propagation-Assisted Restoration of American Shad

Abstract: We investigated the conservation of genetic diversity during a restoration program for American shad ( Alosa sapidissima ) in Virginia ( U.S.A.). Restoration entailed capture of wild Pamunkey River shad broodstock followed by production and release of hatchery-reared fry to supplement the nearly extinct James River shad population. To assess the baseline genetic diversity of donor and recipient populations, we used five tri- and tetra-nucleotide microsatellite loci to test for genetic heterogeneity among yearly subsamples from both rivers and between early- and late-spawning shad from the donor population. Tests for allelic heterogeneity between James River and Pamunkey shad subsamples yielded no significant genetic differentiation (χ ² = 14.72, p = 0.132 and χ ² = 10.24, p = 0.440, respectively). We detected no significant genetic divergence between early- and late-spawning adults in Pamunkey River spawning aggregations in either year. The donor and recipient populations exhibited significant genetic differentiation (χ ² = 27.4, p = 0.003), however, indicating that the stocking program carries a risk of outbreeding depression. Because the two river populations are genetically divergent, replenishment of the James population with Pamunkey fry may be detectable in the future as heterozygote deficits and linkage disequilibria in the James River population. In an analysis of broodstock and their hatchery-reared progeny, microsatellites proved efficient for family analysis, unambiguously determining the parentage of 100% of the hatchery-reared fry studied. Genetic analysis indicated that breeding procedures may result in high levels of reproductive variance.     

Effects of VOCs on herbaceous plants in an open-top chamber experiment

A selection of herbaceous plants representing the ground flora around a typical chemical installation in the UK was exposed continuously for 7 weeks to a mixture of six VOCs (acetone, acetonitrile, dichloromethane, ethanol, methyl t-butyl ether and toluene) in open-top chambers. Exposure concentrations were based on predictions of atmospheric dispersion from a single source, at a distance of approximately 2 km. The effects of continuous exposure, representing a worst-case, were measured in terms of uncontrolled water loss from leaves, leaf wettability, chlorophyll content and fluorescence, dry matter production and detailed observations of changes in plant growth and phenology. There were significant effects of VOC exposure on seed production, leaf water content and photosynthetic efficiency in some plant species. Such effects may be detectable in vegetation close to major industrial point sources of VOCs, or as a result of an accidental release of material during manufacture or transport. Some of the species tested e.g. birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) seem to be promising as potential bioindicators for VOCs, but there may be other even more sensitive species waiting to be discovered. However, the most obvious and conveniently measured response to VOCexposure in the birdsfoot trefoil (premature senescence i.e. advanced timing of seed pod production) could easily be confused in the field with climatic influences. It is also uncertain at this stage whether any of the effects observed would lead to longer term ecological changes in natural plant communities, through biased competition between sensitive and more tolerant species.     

Fly-ash-amended sand as filter media in bioretention cells to improve phosphorus removal.

This study identified material with high phosphorus sorption suitable for bioretention filter media. Materials examined were fly ash, two expanded shales, peat moss, limestone, and two common Oklahoma soils--Teller loam and Dougherty sand. The peat moss was a phosphorus source, while the two soils, limestone, and one expanded shale had only modest sorption capacity. One expanded shale and the fly ash had significant phosphorus sorption. Fly ash is unsuitable for use in a pure form, as a result of its low permeability, but phosphorus sorption on the sand was increased significantly with the incorporation of small amounts of fly ash. Column leaching experiments found that the sand with 2.5 and 5% fly ash and the better expanded shale had linear, non-equilibrium transport retardation factors of 272, 1618, and 185, with first-order rate coefficients of 0.153, 0.0752, and 0.113 hour(-1), respectively. Desorption experiments showed that the phosphorus sorption on the sand/fly ash mixture is largely nonreversible. Transport simulation assuming a 1-m-deep sand/fly ash treatment layer, with 5% of the watershed area, showed that the sand/fly ash filter media could effectively treat 1 mg/L influent for 12 years in a paved watershed and 34 years in a grassed watershed before exceeding Oklahoma's scenic rivers' phosphorus criterion of 0.037 mg/L. Significant phosphorus removal would continue for over 100 years.     

Recent Ogallala Aquifer Region Drought Conditions as Observed by Terrestrial Water Storage Anomalies from GRACE

Recent severe drought events have occurred over the Ogallala Aquifer region (OAR) during the period 2011–2015, creating significant impacts on water resources and their use in regional environmental and economic systems. The changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS), as indicated by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), reveals a detailed picture of the temporal and spatial evolution of drought events. The observations by GRACE indicate the worst drought conditions occurred in September 2012, with an average TWS deficit of ~8 cm in the northern OAR and ~11 cm in the southern OAR, consistent with precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project. Comparing changes in TWS with precipitation shows the TWS changes can be predominantly attributable to variations in precipitation. Power spectrum and squared wavelet coherence analysis indicate a significant correlation between TWS change and the El Nino‐Southern Oscillation, and the influence of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures on TWS change is much stronger in the southern OAR than the northern OAR. The results of this study illustrate the value of GRACE in not just the diagnosis of significant drought events, but also in possibly improving the predictive power of remote signals that are impacted by nonregional climatic events (El Nino), ultimately leading to improved water resource management applications on a regional scale. Editor’s note : This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

A habitat‐based approach to predict impacts of marine protected areas on fishers

Although marine protected areas can simultaneously contribute to biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, the global network is biased toward particular ecosystem types because they have been established primarily in an ad hoc fashion. The optimization of trade‐offs between biodiversity benefits and socioeconomic values increases success of protected areas and minimizes enforcement costs in the long run, but it is often neglected in marine spatial planning (MSP). Although the acquisition of spatially explicit socioeconomic data is perceived as a costly or secondary step in MSP, it is critical to account for lost opportunities by people whose activities will be restricted, especially fishers. We developed an easily reproduced habitat‐based approach to estimate the spatial distribution of opportunity cost to fishers in data‐poor regions. We assumed the most accessible areas have higher economic and conservation values than less accessible areas and their designation as no‐take zones represents a loss of fishing opportunities. We estimated potential distribution of fishing resources from bathymetric ranges and benthic habitat distribution and the relative importance of the different resources for each port of total catches, revenues, and stakeholder perception. In our model, we combined different cost layers to produce a comprehensive cost layer so that we could evaluate of trade‐offs. Our approach directly supports conservation planning, can be applied generally, and is expected to facilitate stakeholder input and community acceptance of conservation.     

Land managers’ behaviours modulate pathways to visions of future land systems

Regional Environmental Change - Attempts to influence the development of land systems are often based on detailed scenarios that constrain relevant factors, describe a range of divergent but...     

Genetic Structure of Fragmented Populations of the Endangered Daisy Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides

Abstract: The endangered grassland daisy Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides has been subject to severe habitat destruction and fragmentation over the past century. Using allozyme markers, we examined the genetic diversity and structure of 16 fragmented populations. The species had high genetic variation compared to other plant species, and both polymorphism and allelic richness showed strong positive relationships with log reproductive population size, reflecting a loss of rare alleles (frequency of q < 0.1) in smaller populations. Fixation coefficients were positively related to size, due either to a lack of rare homozygotes in small populations or to Wahlund effects (owing to spatial genetic structure) in large ones. Neither gene diversity nor heterozygosity was related to population size, and other population parameters such as density, spatial contagion, and isolation had no apparent effect on genetic variation. Genetic divergence among populations was low , despite a large north-to-south break in the species' current distribution. To preserve maximum genetic variation, conservation strategies should aim to maintain the five populations larger than 5000 reproductive plants, all of which occur in the north of the range, as well as the largest southern population of 626 plants at Truganina. Only one of these is currently under formal protection. High heterozygosity in smaller populations suggests that they are unlikely to be suffering from inbreeding depression and so are also valuable for conservation. Erosion of allelic richness at self-incompatibility loci, however, may limit the reproductive capacity of populations numbering less than 20 flowering plants.     

Female distribution affects mate searching and sexual selection in male northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon)

Mating systems and sexual selection are assumed to be affected by the distribution of critical resources. We use observations of 312 mating aggregations to compare mate-searching success of male northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) in two marshes in which differences in mating substrate availability resulted in more than fourfold differences in female dispersion. Reproductive males had significantly larger home ranges where females were dispersed than where females were clumped. The number of females encountered by males increased significantly with male home range size where females were dispersed, and decreased significantly where females were clumped. Where females were clumped, males were more likely to encounter other males when they located females. We found no evidence in either population that mate searching was energetically expensive or that males with relatively more energy had larger home ranges. However, males with greater fat reserves at the start of the season participated in more mating aggregations when females were dispersed, suggesting that fat reserves could affect a male’s willingness to attempt mating or to persist in aggregations. When females were dispersed there was weak stabilizing selection acting to maintain male body size (β=–0.14), but strong directional selection favoring larger (β=0.50) and fatter (β=0.37) males. Over 7 years, the intensity of selection favoring larger males varied substantially (β=0.14–1.15), but that variation was not related to variation in the operational sex ratio. We found no evidence of directional selection on either body size (β=0.05) or fat reserves (β=0.10) of males when females were spatially clumped. Overall, the distribution of females had a pronounced effect on male behavior, on the factors that affected male success in locating females, and probably on the extent of sperm competition once females had been located. Received: 23 November 1998 / Received in revised form: 9 August 1999 / Accepted: 18 August 1999     

影响平板式太阳能热水器热效率诸因素的研究

本文根据辐射传热和对流传热理论,利用Ｍａｔｌａｂ 程序结合太阳能热水器本身的尺寸以及与其有关的水和空气的物理弹性详细分析了影响平板式太阳能热水器热效率的因素包括太阳能热水器表面的太阳光辐射的吸收率αｓ 和辐射系数ε,太阳能热水器的水进口温度Ｔｃ,ｉｎ和流量ｍｃ 太阳辐射能力Ｇｓ,,环境大气温度Ｔｅ,大气辐射系数εｓｋｙ 以及太阳能热水器内部的总传热系数Ｕ。分析结果表明较高的太阳照射能力、环境温度和总传热系数有利于提高集热效率,而增加水量和水进口温度、热水器辐射系数和大气辐射系数则有相反的效果。     

Distribution and ratios of Cs and K in control and K-treated coconut trees at Bikini Island where nuclear test fallout occurred: effects and implications

Coconut trees growing on atolls of the Bikini Islands are on the margin of K deficiency because the concentration of exchangeable K in coral soil is very low, ranging from only 20 to 80 mg kg⁻¹. When provided with additional K, coconut trees absorb large quantities of K and this uptake of K significantly alters the patterns of distribution of ¹³⁷Cs within the plant. Following a single K fertilization event, mean total K in trunks of K-treated trees is 5.6 times greater than in trunks of control trees. In contrast, ¹³⁷Cs concentration in trunks of K-treated and control trees is statistically the same while ¹³⁷Cs is significantly lower in edible fruits of K-treated trees. Within one year after fertilization (one rainy season), K concentration in soil is back to naturally low concentrations. However, the tissue concentrations of K in treated trees stays very high internally in the trees for years while ¹³⁷Cs concentration in treated trees remains very low in all tree compartments except for the trunk. Potassium fertilization did not change soil Cs availability.