Toxic Effects of Crude Oil Combined with Oil Cleaner Simple Green on Yolk-sac Larvae and Adult Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (4 pp)

Background, Goal and Scope Cleaner CRYSTAL Simple Green (SG) was used for the cleanup of the oil spill in the Baltic Sea near Lithuania in 2001. No scientific data are available on the effects and consequences of its application for local aquatic life. The aim of this study was to determine and compare sublethal effects of a) solution SG; b) crude oil alone; c) SG in combination with oil on rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss at different stages of its development in laboratory conditions.Methods Laboratory studies were performed on adult rainbow trout (4-day duration) and on yolk-sac larvae (25-day duration) evaluating their biological parameters. Concentrations of water-soluble and thin-dispersed fractions of petroleum hydrocarbons were measured using gas chromatography.Results and Discussion SG solution (0.5 mg/l) did not affect the survival of larvae and adult fish, and no significant changes were determined in respiratory parameters of the exposed larvae and adult fish. The most expressed alterations were found in morphological parameters (a decrease in the average body mass) of larvae and in haematological indices (a decrease in the leukocyte count) of adult fish at the end of the tests. Crude oil (1610 mg/l) did not affect the survival of adult fish during the 4-day exposure. An increase in larvae mortality rate (~ 36%) was recorded at the end of the tests. A significant decrease in the average body mass and heart rate of larvae as well as in gill ventilation frequency of larvae and adult fish were determined. SG combined with oil induced an increase in larval mortality  46% of individuals died at the end of the tests. No mortality was recorded in adult fish. The average body mass and heart rate of larvae were significantly decreased. Marked changes were also found in respiratory parameters (gill ventilation frequency of larvae and adult fish significantly decreased, while “coughing” rate increased). A 1-day, 2-day exposure of fish to SG combined with oil induced a significant decrease in the leukocyte count of adult fish, which was also determined at the end of the tests. The augmentation of adverse impact could be explained by the data obtained from our studies. When SG was added into dilution water with crude oil the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in the mixture increased 3 ~ 4.5 times after 24 h and 96 h, respectively. Conclusions The comparative study of the effects of crude oil alone, SG and SG combined with oil showed that their toxic effects on fish differed. Oil combined with SG was found to be more toxic to fish (larvae and adults) than SG alone and oil alone. Fish at early stages of development (yolk-sac larvae) were more sensitive to the effects of the compounds studied than adults.Recommendations and Outlook To diminish the negative impact of oil spill cleanup using chemicals on aquatic ecosystems, it is recommended to carry out more comprehensive studies of their effects and after-effects in laboratory conditions using a wide scale of local aquatic organisms. The selected species of the most sensitive aquatic organisms should include those which are unable to escape the impact of combined action of oil and cleaners. Special attention should be directed to the research of effects of these pollutants on studied organisms at their most sensitive stages of life (reproduction, hatching, early stages of development), as after-effects of exposure to pollutants may be observed in future generations.     

Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2) and Chlorite (ClO2ˉ) to Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (4 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background Chlorite (ClO2ˉ) is a primary decomposition product when chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is added during water treatment; therefore the toxic effects of both compounds on aquatic organisms are possible. Limited data are available concerning their toxicity to fish. The aim of this study was to investigate sensitivity of rainbow trout to acute and chronic toxicity of chlorine dioxide and chlorite, and to estimate the Maximum-Acceptable-Toxicant-Concentration (MATC) of those compounds in fish. Methods The acute and chronic toxicity of chlorine dioxide and chlorite to larval and adult rainbow trout was investigated in 96-hour to 20-day laboratory exposures evaluating the wide range spectrum of biological indices under semi-static conditions. Results and Discussion Median lethal concentration (96-hour LC50) values derived from the tests were: 2.2 mg/l for larvae; 8.3 mg/l for adult fish and 20-day LC50 for larvae was 1.6 mg/l of chlorine dioxide, respectively. Chlorite was found to be from 48 to 18 times less acutely toxic to larvae and adult fish, correspondingly. Both chemical compounds induced similar toxic effects in rainbow trout larvae during chronic tests (they affected cardio-respiratory and growth parameters), but chlorine dioxide had a higher toxic potency than chlorite. A significant decrease in the heart rate and respiration frequency of larvae was established. However, within an increase in exposure duration recovery of cardio-respiratory responses was seen to have occurred in larvae exposed to chlorite. Meanwhile, in larvae exposed to chlorine dioxide, a significant decrease in cardio-respiratory responses remained during all 20-day chronic bioassays. Chlorine dioxide also more strongly affected growth parameters of rainbow trout larvae at much lower test concentrations. Decreased rate of yolk-sack resorption occurred only in the tests with chlorine dioxide. Conclusions Maximum-Acceptable-Toxicant-Concentration (MATC) of 0.21 mg/l for chlorine dioxide and of 3.3 mg/l for chlorite to fish was derived from chronic tests based on the most sensitive parameter of rainbow trout larvae (growth rate). According to substance toxicity classification accepted for Lithuanian inland waters, chlorine dioxide and chlorite can be referred to substances of \moderate\ toxicity to fish. Recommendations and Outlook Due to its very reactive nature, chlorine dioxide is rapidly (in a few hours) reduced to chlorite, which is persistent also as a biocide but 16 times less toxic to fish, according to MATC. Therefore, it is much more likely that fish will be exposed to chlorite than to chlorine dioxide in natural waters. Presently accepted, the Maximum-Permitted-Concentration of total residual chlorine (TRC) in waste-water discharging into receiving waters is 0.6 mg/l. If this requirement will not be exceeded, it is unlikely that fish would be exposed to lethal or even to sublethal concentrations of chlorine dioxide or chlorite. Furthermore, chlorine dioxide does not generate toxic nitrogenous (chloramines) or carcinogenic organic residuals (trihalomethanes). All these properties make chlorine dioxide a more promising biocide than chlorine.     

Did the Romans introduce the Egyptian mongoose (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Herpestes ichneumon</Emphasis>) into the Iberian Peninsula?

New finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), one from Portugal and one from Spain, were directly ¹⁴C dated to the first century AD. While the Portuguese specimen was found without connection to the Chalcolithic occupation of the Pedra Furada cave where it was recovered, the Spanish find, collected in the city of Mérida, comes from a ritual pit that also contained three human and 40 dog burials. The finds reported here show that the Egyptian mongoose, contrary to the traditional and predominant view, did not first arrive in the Iberian Peninsula during the Muslim occupation of Iberia. Instead, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the species was first introduced by the Romans, or at least sometime during the Roman occupation of Hispania. Therefore, radiocarbon dating of new archaeological finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula push back the confirmed presence of the species in the region by approximately eight centuries, as the previously oldest dated record is from the ninth century. With these new dates, there are now a total of four ¹⁴C dated specimens of Egyptian mongooses from the Iberian Peninsula, and all of these dates fall within the last 2000 years. This offers support for the hypothesis that the presence of the species in Iberia is due to historical introductions and is at odds with a scenario of natural sweepstake dispersal across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Late Pleistocene (126,000–11,700 years ago), recently proposed based on genetic data.     

Effects of environmental parameters on the chestnut gall wasp and its complex of indigenous parasitoids

The chestnut gall wasp (CGW), Dryocosmus kuriphilus, an invasive pest native to China, has caused severe yield and economic losses to chestnut production in Europe since its arrival in 2002. In Southern Italy, the complex of indigenous parasitoids colonizing CGW was monitored between 2013 and 2015, with the aim of estimating the composition of the indigenous parasitoid complex, its ability to control CGW populations, and the interactions of both factors with several measured environmental parameters. We compared results among three differently managed field types. Results showed an increase in the rate of parasitism both when the host population density was lower and in unmanaged chestnut stands with more natural conditions. The percentage of parasitism in galls was related to morphological traits of the galls and to higher seasonal temperatures, which reduced the parasitism intensity because CGW develops earlier under such conditions. The host–parasitoid mortality inside galls varied among sites and was associated mostly with rot fungi during wet spring and summer months. Parasitoid species richness was similar among the study sites, but the proportion of parasitoid species differed between orchards and unmanaged coppice stands. The timing of attack by parasitoids followed a species-specific successional sequence throughout the larva-to-adult life cycle of the CGW. These interactions should be considered in future research on trophic relationships and when modeling invasive scenarios for new pest species.     

Parental care compromises feeding in the pumpkinseed (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lepomis gibbosus</Emphasis>)

Providing parental care is potentially costly. Costs can arise through elevated energy expenditure or from an increased risk of mortality. A cost of parental care can also occur because a parent is compromised in their ability to forage. We used pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus, a fish with an alternative male mating strategy, to test whether parental males differed in their feeding in comparison with females and cuckolder males. To address this question, we examined the stomach contents of female, cuckolder male, and parental male pumpkinseed during the breeding season over an entire diel cycle. We showed that parental males had a lower total weight of food in their stomachs in comparison with females, while cuckolder males did not. Parental males also had a lower weight and number of chironomids in their stomachs. The temporal pattern of feeding of parental males diverged from that of females, and they had a lower probability of pupal chironomids in their stomachs, which implies spatial segregation in foraging. Parental males had a greater probability of conspecific eggs in their stomachs than females, while the probability of egg cannibalism did not differ between cuckolder males and females. Overall, these finding meet predictions in accordance with an assumption that parental care and territoriality can compromise feeding.     

The fractal dimension of a conspicuous ornament varies with mating status and shows assortative mating in wild red-legged partridges (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Alectoris rufa</Emphasis>)

Complex body designs, such as plumage ornaments in birds, can be described by fractal geometry. These complex patterns could have a role as visual signals during courtship and social interactions, but an empirical validation in the wild is currently lacking. Here, we investigated whether the fractal dimension (FD) of a complex plumage pattern displayed by red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa could function as a potential sexual signal. We captured wild birds early in the breeding season and tested if mated and unmated birds differed in the FD of their conspicuous melanin-based black bib. We also tested if the FD of the black bib was correlated within the pair, looking for evidence of assortative mating based on the expression of this trait. We simultaneously assessed similar effects in other ornamental traits (black bib size, white throat patch and black flank band surface, redness of the eye rings and bill). Mated birds showed higher black bib FD values than unmated ones. Mated males, but not females, also displayed a larger black bib. Moreover, the black bib FD (but not the trait size) and the white throat patch surface showed assortative mating. Finally, females with higher black bib FD showed smaller black flank band surface, suggesting a trade-off in the expression of the two melanin-pigmented plumage traits. This provides unique and novel indication for the shape complexity of a pigmented trait, here described by its fractal dimension, to be potentially under sexual selection in a wild animal.     

制革废水处理过程中磺胺类抗生素和抗性细菌的分布特征

针对两家制革厂废水处理过程中3种磺胺类抗生素和磺胺类抗性细菌的丰度和分布特性以及两个不同工艺污水处理厂对抗生素的去除规律做了相关研究.结果表明,3种抗生素在两家制革污水处理过程中均有检出,水样中3种抗生素的总质量浓度在59.1~706.7 ng·L~(-1)之间;两家制革厂废水处理剩余污泥中3种抗生素的总含量分别为4 388 ng·kg~(-1)和2 979.4ng·kg~(-1),与市政污水处理厂中的抗生素含量相差不大.不同的污水处理工段对3种抗生素去除效果不同,但去除效率均大于70%.生物处理单元对抗生素的去除率相对较高,而厌氧池是去除抗生素的主要阶段(去除率50%).两个制革厂的进出水和剩余污泥中共筛选出8株抗性细菌,这8个分离菌株可分为5个菌属.进出水中的抗性细菌含量介于9.37×10~3~5.08×10~5CFU·mL~(-1)之间,剩余污泥中的磺胺类抗性细菌含量较高分别为1.17×10`7CFU·g~(-1)和7.2×10~6CFU·g~(-1).两个制革污水处理厂对磺胺甲唑抗性细菌的去除率分别达到了1.34 log和2.15 log.     

基于稳定碳同位素技术的干旱区绿洲土壤有机碳向无机碳的转移

应用稳定碳同位素技术测定土壤无机碳稳定碳同位素组成(soil inorganic carbonδ13C,SICδ13C),并对干旱区绿洲土壤无机碳进行区分,结合土壤有机碳(soil organic carbon,SOC)与SIC含量关系进一步探讨SOC向SIC转移的碳量.结果表明,4种类型土壤SICδ13C值差异性极显著(P0.01),风沙土SICδ13C值最高且为正,均值为(0.32±0.04)‰,随土层深度增加而增加,说明风沙土原生性碳酸盐占绝对优势;灌漠土、棕漠土和盐碱土SIC的δ13C均值分别(-0.30±0.24)‰、(-1.96±0.66)‰和(-1.24±0.49)‰,随土层变化均呈先降低后逐渐增大的趋势,说明灌漠土原生性碳酸盐占优势,棕漠土和盐碱土发生性碳酸盐相对前者占优势.风沙土、灌漠土、棕漠土和盐碱土的发生性碳酸盐占SIC比例均值分别为1.33%、4.72%、15.01%、35.71%,均小于50%,说明干旱区绿洲土壤发生性碳酸盐比例总体水平较低.风沙土、灌漠土、棕漠土和盐碱土在土壤发生性碳酸盐形成或重结晶过程中固定土壤CO2的量分别为0.30、2.44、4.96、12.40 g·kg~(-1),其中固定来自大气CO2量平均为0.18、0.79、1.45、8.67 g·kg~(-1),来自SOC氧化分解转化为CO2的量分别为0.06、0.83、1.62、1.86g·kg~(-1),说明盐碱土、棕漠土SOC的贡献相对较高,灌漠土、风沙土较低;对土壤固定CO2量的来源比较发现,风沙土、盐碱土固定土壤CO2的量来自大气CO2量较高,SOC的贡献较低,而灌漠土、棕漠土固定来自SOC氧化分解CO2的量较高,大气贡献较低.研究区整体SOC向SIC的碳转移量介于0.03~2.38 g·kg~(-1)之间,平均每千克土壤固定1.09 g的CO2,说明干旱区绿洲土壤发生性碳酸盐所占比例较低,SOC的贡献较少.     

塔里木盆地北缘绿洲不同连作年限棉田土壤有机碳、无机碳含量与环境因子的相关性

农田土壤碳库是土壤碳库的重要组成部分,易受人类活动调节且固碳减排潜力巨大,研究土壤有机碳、无机碳含量特征及其与环境因子的关系有助于深入理解土壤生态过程,为全球碳收支平衡研究提供理论支持.本文以塔里木盆地北缘绿洲为靶区,分析土壤碳库特征,结合冗余分析、通径分析,探究土壤有机碳、无机碳含量及其与环境因子的相关关系.结果表明:(1)同一土层不同连作年限棉田土壤有机碳、无机碳含量存在显著差异(P0.05),随连作年限增加,有机碳含量呈先增加后减少趋势,而无机碳含量呈先减少后增加趋势;同一连作年限棉田不同土层土壤有机碳、无机碳含量存在显著差异(P0.05),有机碳含量均在0~20 cm层达到最大值,而无机碳含量均在20~50 cm层达到最大值.(2)通过冗余分析得出环境因子对土壤碳库特征影响的重要性排序为:磷酸酶活性p H值蔗糖酶活性过氧化氢酶活性全氮速效磷速效钾土壤含水量脲酶活性电导率;磷酸酶活性、p H值、蔗糖酶活性、过氧化氢酶活性、全氮、速效磷、速效钾与土壤有机碳、无机碳含量呈极显著相关关系(P0.01);土壤含水量、脲酶活性与土壤有机碳、无机碳含量表现为显著相关(P0.05).(3)通径分析表明,速效钾对有机碳含量直接作用显著,是影响有机碳含量的主要因素,而脲酶活性对无机碳含量直接作用显著,是影响无机碳含量的主要因素.干旱半干旱区土壤有机碳、无机碳含量研究是评价农田生态系统土壤碳的"源/汇"效应的基础数据,对研究全球碳收支平衡和陆地碳循环机制具有重要意义.