Lack of sampling site variation in chorion villus biopsy as assessed by DNA,enzymatic, morphological and cytogenetical analyses

A study of villus samples from eight random sites on five electively aborted chorion sacs was performed to determine any significant differences in yield, quality and composition of DNA, iduronate sulphate sulphatase activity and karyoptype status. The villi were also examined for their histological characteristics (e.g. stem, intermediate or terminal villi) and for HCG and BGP immuno-reactivities. The overall findings indicated no significant site to site variations in any of the parameters studied. It is therefore proposed that any villus should be equally suitable for prenatal diagnosis.     

Effect of ambient oxygen concentration on activities of enzymatic antioxidant defences and aerobic metabolism in the hydrothermal vent worm, Paralvinella grasslei

The alvinellid Paralvinella grasslei is a common endemic polychaete from the deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities located on the East Pacific Rise (EPR). These organisms colonise a large range of microhabitats around active sites where physico-chemical conditions are thought to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, in this aerobic organism, ROS could also be generated by the activity of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. In this paper, we investigated the effect of ambient oxygen concentration on the activities of three essential antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; glutathione peroxidase, GPX) and their relationships with the activity of enzymes involved in aerobic metabolism (cytochrome c oxidase, COX; citrate synthase, CS). Results of incubation of P. grasslei in a high-pressure vessel with circulating seawater at different oxygen partial pressures indicate that this worm regulates COX and CS activities differently in gills and body wall. CAT and GPX activities increase in these tissues when animals are maintained in filtered surface seawater. Moreover, levels of malondialdehyde increase in gills, testifying that oxidative damage occurs under these conditions. CAT and GPX activities are positively related to COX and CS activities, but no correlation was detected between SOD and the metabolic enzyme activities. In comparison with littoral annelids, SOD activities are very high whereas CAT activities are very low or absent in P. grasslei. The possible reasons for the occurrence of such differences are discussed.     

Colonisation of various types of sediment by estuarine nematodes via lateral infaunal migration: a laboratory study

A small-scale laboratory study was conducted to assess the capability of nematode species collected at an intertidal mudflat to migrate laterally into defaunated sediment by using an experimental design that excluded hydrodynamic influences. The colonisation of native mud, non-native sand and two types of non-native mud-sand mixture was monitored over a period of 2 months. Results revealed that the composition of source and colonist communities differed significantly between treatments and over time. Within the first 2 weeks of the experiment, dominance patterns in the control sediments were most similar to the sand treatment, indicating that the majority of species were able to migrate easily into non-native sandy sediment. Over the course of the experiment, colonist communities in the muddy sediments became more similar to the control microcosms, whereas the structure of the sand assemblage became increasingly dissimilar to that of the source community. The temporal patterns observed might be related to factors associated with sediment granulometry, such as the availability of appropriate food sources. The outcome of this study demonstrated that the colonisation of defaunated sediment via lateral interstitial migration is a directed, species-specific process that can lead to the establishment of colonist communities that are significantly different from source communities.Communicated by J.P. Thorpe, Port Erin     

Minimizing Impacts of Maintenance Dredged Material Disposal in the Coastal Environment: A Habitat Approach

At present, coastal disposal of maintenance dredged material constitutes one of the most important problems in coastal zone management and in some coastal areas represents the major anthropogenic disturbance to the benthos. In this review we first propose, based on the classic literature, that macrofaunal communities typical of environmentally stressed habitats are more resilient than those of more environmentally stable habitats, and we outline the macrofaunal successional changes following a disturbance. Second, from a review and analysis of the published and unpublished literature on macrofaunal recovery following maintenance dredged material deposition in the coastal environment, we compare the successional sequences and recovery rates in euhaline and polyhaline systems. The review reveals that invertebrate recovery following dredged material disposal in relatively unstressed marine environments generally takes between 1 and 4 years, while in more naturally stressed areas, recovery is generally achieved within 9 months, although deeper polyhaline habitats can take up to 2 years to recover. Differences in recovery times are attributed to the number of successional stages required to regain the original community composition and that species typical of naturally unstressed assemblages do not possess life-history traits to allow rapid recolonization of disturbances. In the last section of this review, the management implications of these findings are discussed in terms of minimizing dredged material disposal impacts on fisheries resources. Since the natural disturbance regime appears to be very important in determining the response of a benthic community following dredged material disposal, it is recommended that when predicting the potential environmental impact of an operation, the nature of the physical environment in combination with the status (and role) of associated marine benthic communities should be considered.     

Metal immobilization by sludge-derived biochar: roles of mineral oxides and carbonized organic compartment

Pyrolyzing sludge into biochar is a potentially promising recycling/disposal solution for municipal wastewater sludge, and the sludge-derived biochar (SDBC) presents an excellent sorbent for metal immobilization. As SDBC is composed of both mineral oxides and carbonized organic compartment, this study therefore compared the sorption behaviour of Pb and Zn on SDBC to those of individual and mixture of activated carbon (AC) and amorphous aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃). Batch experiments were conducted at 25 and 45 °C, and the metal-loaded sorbents were artificially aged in the atmosphere for 1–60 days followed by additional sorption experiments. The Pb sorption was generally higher than Zn sorption, and the co-presence of Pb reduced Zn sorption on each studied sorbent. Higher sorption capacities were observed at 45 °C than 25 °C for SDBC and AC, while the opposite was shown for Al₂O₃, indicating the significance of temperature-dependent diffusion processes in SDBC and AC. Nevertheless, metal sorption was more selective on Al₂O₃ that showed a greater affinity towards Pb over Zn under competition, correlating with the reducible fraction of sequential extraction. Furthermore, significant amounts of Pb and Zn were additionally sorbed on SDBC following 30-day ageing. The X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of metal-phosphate precipitates, while the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed a larger quantity of metal–oxygen bonding after 30-day ageing of metal-loaded SDBC. The results may imply favourable long-term transformation and additional sorption capacity of SDBC. In conclusion, SDBC resembles the sorption characteristics of both organic and mineral sorbents in different aspects, presenting an appropriate material for metal immobilization during soil amendment.     

Estimating Extinction Risk with Metapopulation Models of Large‐Scale Fragmentation

Habitat loss is the principal threat to species. How much habitat remains—and how quickly it is shrinking—are implicitly included in the way the International Union for Conservation of Nature determines a species’ risk of extinction. Many endangered species have habitats that are also fragmented to different extents. Thus, ideally, fragmentation should be quantified in a standard way in risk assessments. Although mapping fragmentation from satellite imagery is easy, efficient techniques for relating maps of remaining habitat to extinction risk are few. Purely spatial metrics from landscape ecology are hard to interpret and do not address extinction directly. Spatially explicit metapopulation models link fragmentation to extinction risk, but standard models work only at small scales. Counterintuitively, these models predict that a species in a large, contiguous habitat will fare worse than one in 2 tiny patches. This occurs because although the species in the large, contiguous habitat has a low probability of extinction, recolonization cannot occur if there are no other patches to provide colonists for a rescue effect. For 4 ecologically comparable bird species of the North Central American highland forests, we devised metapopulation models with area‐weighted self‐colonization terms; this reflected repopulation of a patch from a remnant of individuals that survived an adverse event. Use of this term gives extra weight to a patch in its own rescue effect. Species assigned least risk status were comparable in long‐term extinction risk with those ranked as threatened. This finding suggests that fragmentation has had a substantial negative effect on them that is not accounted for in their Red List category. Estimación del Riesgo de Extinción Mediante Modelos Metapoblacionales de Fragmentación a Gran Escala     

The Monitoring of UK Sewage Sludge Disposal Sites

In recent years there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of environmental monitoring surveys at UK sewage sludge disposal sites. These have been carried out by the regulatory authorities and by the licensees. in order to ensure maximum efficiency, a coordinated and harmonised programme of monitoring has been developed. the programme concentrates on sediment chemical and biological quality but also includes assessments of water and fish quality

In England and Wales the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is the regulatory authority and the Water Authorities are the licensees. the Ministry's first priority is the collection of samples for temporal trend analysis but in addition, infrequent surveys are made to check the status of the disposal site and surrounding areas. in the periods between status surveys, regular spatial surveys designed to define the area of impact are carried out by the Water Authorities.