Coastal directories and beyond: providing multidisciplinary coastal zone resource information for resource management

Baseline resource information in an easily accessible form is a vital starting point for developing coastal zone management. On behalf of a wide-ranging group of organizations involved in the management of the U.K. maritime zone, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is compiling a series of 16 regional volumes. The volumes contain multi-disciplinary coastal zone resource information arranged in ten chapters under the general title ‘Coasts and Seas of the UK’. These volumes form part of a series of paper and electronic publications of coastal information being produced by JNCC’s Coastal Directories Project and are designed to meet the needs of planners and all others involved in decision-making and management of the coast.     

Mussels flexing their muscles: a new method for quantifying bivalve behaviour

We employed a novel technique to quantify how blue mussels Mytilus edulis react to predation risk in their environment by quantifying mussel gape using a Hall sensor attached to one shell valve reacting to a magnet attached to the other. Change in gape angle per second (CHIGA) versus gape angle plots resulted in a distribution with a boundary, which defined the maximum CHIGA of a mussel at all gape angles. CHIGA boundary plots for all individual mussels were similar in form. However, the CHIGA boundary increased in extent with mussel length (maximum CHIGA for mussel valve closures for mussels 2.98 and 79.6 mm long were −1.5 and −11°s⁻¹, respectively), showing that larger mussels opened and closed most rapidly. Mussel extract added to the seawater, a factor believed to signal predation, caused mussels to close significantly faster than otherwise (P < 0.001). This approach for assessing how mussels react to their environment indicates that mussel response to predation is graded and complex and may well indicate animal-based assessments of the trade-off between effective feeding and the likelihood of predation.     

Discharge characteristics of nematocysts isolated from acontia ofCalliactis parasitica

Experiments were performed on specimens ofCalliactis parasitica collected near Plymouth in April 1987 and in the Mediterranean between September 1987 and April 1988. Undischarged nematocysts (basitrichous isorhizas) were separated from the acontia of by using 1M glycerol, 1M citrate, 0.5% Nonidet or 0.5% Triton X-100 as isolating agents, or by freezing the acontial tissue. The mechanisms of extrusion were not studied. The effectiveness of 50 mM thioglycolate in discharging nematocysts isolated by the above methods and suspended in Ca- and Mg-free artificial sea water (ASW) was investigated. Nematocysts extruded in glycerol were more responsive to thioglycolate than those extruded in citrate. Capsules isolated in non-ionic detergents, however, and those obtained by freezing were not discharged by thioglycolate. If capsules extruded in glycerol were suspended in ASW and this was replaced with distilled water, they did not respond to thioglycolate. The effect of distilled water was only partly reversible. It was observed that these nematocysts, unlike those ofPelagia noctiluca andAiptasia mutabilis previously investigated, did not release measurable amounts of free Ca²⁺ during discharge. It is suggested that if calcium is not involved in the mechanism of discharge of isolatedC. parasitica nematocysts then some other ionic species may stabilize the resting condition of these capsules.     

Inhibition of laccase activity from Trametes versicolor by heavy metals and organic compounds

Due to the numerous biotechnological applications of laccase enzyme, it is essential to know the influence of different agents usually present in the natural environment on its enzymatic action, especially for in situ treatment technologies. In the present work, a simple and rapid method to determine the inhibitory or inducer effect of different compounds on laccase activity was developed. The compounds tested were copper-chelating agents and heavy metals. It was found that using syringaldazine as a substrate, all copper-chelating agents (except EDTA) highly inhibited laccase activity (around 100%) at an inhibitor concentration lower than 20 mM. Moreover, 40% of inhibition, which was detected at a concentration of 20 mM for both Cd(2+) and Cu(2+) increased with concentration until nearly complete inhibition at 80 mM.     

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia due to anti-P1A1 (anti-hpa-1a): Importance of paternal and fetal platelet typing for assessment of fetal risk

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT), which usually involves sensitization to P1^A1 (HPA-1a), may have devastating complications for the fetus. These may be prevented by antenatal treatment of severe cases with either maternally administered high-dose gamma-globulin and/or repeated intrauterine platelet transfusions. Determination of the paternal platelet phenotype is useful for counselling parents who have had one or more affected pregnancies. This report of an unaffected pregnancy in a woman with a history of previous pregnancies complicated by NAIT illustrates the role of paternal and fetal platelet phenotyping in managing existing pregnancies at risk of NAIT.     

Estimation of the critical effect level for pollution prevention based on oyster embryonic development toxicity test: the search for reliability

In spite of the consideration that toxicity testing is a reduced approach to measure the effects of pollutants on ecosystems, the early-life-stage (ELS) tests have evident ecological relevance because they reflect the possible reproductive impairment of the natural populations. The procedure and validation of Crassostrea rhizophorae embryonic development test have shown that it meets the same precision as other U.S. EPA tests, where EC(50) is generally used as a toxicological endpoint. However, the recognition that EC(50) is not the best endpoint to assess contaminant effects led U.S. EPA to recently suggest EC(25) as an alternative to estimate xenobiotic effects for pollution prevention. To provide reliability to the toxicological test results on C. rhizophorae embryos, the present work aimed to establish the critical effect level for this test organism, based on its reaction to reference toxicants, by using the statistical method proposed by Norberg-King (Inhibition Concentration, version 2.0). Oyster embryos were exposed to graded series of reference toxicants (ZnSO(4) x 7H(2)O; AgNO(3); KCl; CdCl(2)H(2)O; phenol, 4-chlorophenol and dodecyl sodium sulphate). Based on the obtained results, the critical value for C. rhizophorae embryonic development test was estimated as EC(15). The present research enhances the emerging consensus that ELS tests data would be adequate for estimating the chronic safe concentrations of pollutants in the receiving waters. Based on recommended criteria and on the results of the present research, zinc sulphate and 4-chlorophenol have been pointed out, among the inorganic and organic compounds tested, as the best reference toxicants for C. rhizophorae ELS-test.     

Endocrine disruptors in the Leça River and nearby Porto Coast (NW Portugal): presence of estrogenic compounds and hypoxic conditions

The Leça River and two beaches close to the north and south margins of the estuary, nowadays an important seaport harbor, show signs of contamination. However, the chemical nature of that contamination is uncertain. Therefore, this study checked for the presence of 11 endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) of animal (17β-estradiol and estrone), pharmaceutical (17α-ethynylestradiol), and industrial (alkylphenols, alkylphenol ethoxylates, and bisphenol A) origins in water samples collected from six points at the river gradient and at two sites in the coastline (Atlantic Ocean). Along with the EDCs, evaluated by gas chromatography – mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) during spring, summer, and autumn, physico-chemical parameters were also assessed and particular attention was given to dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. Data showed the presence of high amounts of estrogens (up to 10?ng?L^?1 for estrone) and industrial compounds (up to 2?µg?L^?1 for the nonylphenol ethoxylates) at both river and seacoast. Along with this, clear signs of hypoxia were found in the river (DO??1 at several sampling sites). Taking into account these issues, it was concluded that there are local conditions for the occurrence of endocrine disruption in aquatic animals.     

Carbon-optimised land management strategies for southern Amazonia

Regional Environmental Change -     

Testing differences in methods of preparing moss samples

The main objective of this research was to estimate the total mass of nitrogen discharged from various sources in Korea using the mass balance approach. Three different nitrogen mass balances were presented: (1) agricultural activities including raising crops and animal husbandry; (2) domestic activities, and (3) activities in forest and urban areas. These nitrogen balances were combined to estimate riverine discharge of nitrogen to the ocean in national scale. Nitrogen inputs include atmospheric deposition, biological nitrogen fixation, application of inorganic fertilizers/manures, animal feed/imported foodstuffs, and meat/fish. Nitrogen outputs include ammonia volatilization, denitrification, human/animal waste generation, crop/meat production, and riverine discharge to the ocean. The estimated total nitrogen input in Korea was 1,194.5 × 10³ tons N/year. Nitrogen discharged into rivers was estimated as 408–422 × 10³ tons N/year, of which 66–71% was diffuse in origin. The estimated diffuse discharges for land uses were estimated as 82 × 10³ tons N/year from agricultural areas, 7 × 10³ tons N/year from forestry and 75 × 10³ tons N/year from urban and industrial areas.     

Mesocosm trials of bioremediation of contaminated soil of a petroleum refinery: comparison of natural attenuation,biostimulation and bioaugmentation

Purpose  

Contamination with petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) is a global problem with environmental implications. Physico-chemical treatments can be used for soil cleanup, but they are expensive, and can have implications for soil structure and environment. Otherwise, biological remediation treatments are cost-effective and restore soil structure. Several remediation experiments have been carried out in the lab and in the field; however, there is the challenge to achieve as good or better results in the field as in the laboratory. In the ambit of a project aiming at investigating suitable biological remediation approaches for recovering a refinery contaminated soil, we present here results obtained in bioremediation trials. The approaches biostimulation and bioaugmentation were tested, in parallel, and compared with natural attenuation. For this purpose, mesocosm experiments were carried out inside the refinery area, which constitutes a real asset of this work.