Production and transmission of honey bee queen (Apis mellifera L.) mandibular gland pheromone

Summary The social cohesiveness of eusocial insect colonies is maintained primarily through the utilization of pheromones. In this study we quantitatively elucidated the production, secretion, and transmission of 9-keto2(E)-decenoic acid (9-ODA), one of the components of the mandibular gland pheromone of the honey bee queen Apis mellifera; this is the only identified primer pheromone complex in the eusocial insects. Mated queens produce 12–400 g of 9-ODA/day, or between 10% and 170% the average amount found in the glands at any one time. Approximately 0.5 g of 9-ODA is maintained on the body surface of queens by an equilibrium between exudation, internalization, tracking on the comb, and removal by workers. Retinue bees, attending the queen, remove the greatest amount, although the role of the wax as both a sink and a medium for pheromone transfer has been previously underestimated. Only about 1 in 10 retinue workers pick up substantial quantities of pheromone while attending the queen and, within seconds, most of the acquired 9-ODA is found externally on the abdomen, or in the gut. These attendants, also called messenger bees, transfer 9-ODA to other workers, mostly through direct contacts, but also via the wax. A model evaluating the pathways and relative quantities of 9-ODA transferred throughout the nest is presented. As well as being important for a basic understanding of the system, the results have implications for the proper design and use of pheromones in bee management.Offprint requests to: K. Naumann     

A sustainability assessment framework for regional-scale Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) incorporating Inclusive Wealth,Satoumi, and ecosystem services science

Sustainability has become an increasingly important concept in the last few decades; however, its operational usefulness has not always been clear. In other words, some sustainability assessments may not provide decision makers with the practical information necessary to perform the assessment. This study proposes a novel operational sustainable assessment framework for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) on a regional-scale based on a feasibility study in the Seto Inland Sea in Japan. The framework draws upon three separately developed concepts: Inclusive Wealth as the technical framework for the sustainability indicators; Satoumi (a traditional Japanese multifaceted coastal zone concept); and ecosystem services science. These three concepts complement each other when seeking to corroborate an assessment framework. Indicators based on the framework and relevant to the case study site were identified. Although Satoumi is a traditional Japanese knowledge, it is believed that its application may be instructive for other areas, as similar concepts can be found and utilized for the conduct of ICZM sustainability assessments.     

Detection of indoor PCB contamination by thermal desorption of dust. A rapid screening method?

Although PCB in caulking materials has been forbidden for many years in most of Europe, including Denmark, there has been continued interest to measure PCB levels in the air of contaminated buildings and blood of the occupants (Mengon and Schlatter 1993, Fromme et al. 1996, Ewers et al. 1998, Currado and Harrad 1998, Gabrio et al. 2000). The relatively low priority for investigations of this contamination is probably due to the small quantities inhaled compared to exposure via food, and the rapid metabolism of the most volatile congeners demonstrated by low concentrations of all congeners in the blood of exposed persons (Ewers et al. 1998, Gabrio et al. 2000). There is, however, evidence that PCB containing caulking materials have been used even during the '90s (Fromme et al. 1996). In Denmark, it is estimated that 75 t PCB is still in buildings (Organization of Sealant Branch's Manufacturers and Distributors 2000). During an investigation of dust from buildings with excessive microbial growth (including 35 rooms from 9 buildings), the analysis of semivolatile compounds by thermal desorption-GC/MS of samples from a single building surprisingly revealed large amounts of PCBs containing 3, 4 and 5 chlorine atoms, 10-20 times the amounts found in samples from other buildings. Extraction of the dust by SFE followed by GC/ECD analysis for 12 PCB congeners showed that there was approximately 20 times the total PCB concentrations in dust from the polluted building compared to the levels in the other buildings. Subsequent headspace analysis of caulking material from the polluted building revealed this to be the source. Shelf dust functions as a passive sampling medium and, thus, can be used as a screening method to detect PCB and other semivolatile pollution indoors.     

Simultaneous nitrification-denitrification and clarification in a pseudoliquified activated sludge system.

This paper describes results from a pilot study of a novel wastewater treatment technology, which incorporates nutrient removal and solids separation to a single step. The pseudoliquified activated sludge process pilot system was tested on grit removal effluent at flowrates of 29.4 to 54.7 m3/d, three different solid residence times (SRT) (15, 37, and 57 days), and over a temperature range of 12 to 28 degrees C. Despite wide fluctuations in the influent characteristics, the system performed reliably and consistently with respect to organics and total suspended solids (TSS) removals, achieving biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and TSS reductions of > 96% and approximately 90%, respectively, with BOD5 and TSS concentrations as low as 3 mg/L. Although the system achieved average effluent ammonia concentrations of 2.7 to 3.2 mg/L, nitrification efficiency appeared to be hampered at low temperatures (< 15 degrees C). The system achieved tertiary effluent quality with denitrification efficiencies of 90 and 91% total nitrogen removal efficiency at a total hydraulic retention time of 4.8 hours and an SRT of 12 to 17 days. With ferric chloride addition, effluent phosphorous concentrations of 0.5 to 0.8 mg/L were achieved. Furthermore, because of operation at high biomass concentrations and relatively long biological SRTs, sludge yields were over 50% below typical values for activated sludge plants. The process was modeled using activated sludge model No. 2, as a two-stage system comprised an aerobic activated sludge system followed by an anoxic system. Model predictions for soluble BOD, ammonia, nitrates, and orthophosphates agreed well with experimental data.     

Impacts of pH and ammonia on the leaching of Cu(II) and Cd(II) from coal fly ash

Many coal-fired power plants are implementing ammonia-based technologies to reduce NO(x) emissions. Excess ammonia in the flue gas often deposits on the coal fly ash. Ammonia can form complexes with many heavy metals and change the leaching characteristics of these metals. This research tends to develop a fundamental understanding of the ammonia impact on the leaching of some heavy metals, exemplified by Cu(II) and Cd(II), under different pH conditions. Batch results indicated that the adsorption is the main mechanism controlling Cu(II) and Cd(II) leaching, and high concentrations of ammonia (>5,000 mg/l) can increase the release of Cu(II) and Cd(II) in the alkaline pH range. Based on the chemical reactions among fly ash, ammonia, and heavy metal ion, a mathematical model was developed to quantify effects of pH and ammonia on metal adsorption. The adsorption constants (logK) of Cu(2+), Cu(OH)(+), Cu(OH)(2), and Cu(NH(3))(m)(2+) for the fly ash under investigation were respectively 6.0, 7.7, 9.6, and 2.9. For Cd(II), these constants were respectively 4.3, 6.9, 8.8, and 2.6. Metal speciation calculations indicated that the formation of less adsorbable metal-ammonia complexes decreased metal adsorption, therefore enhanced metal leaching.     

Potential application of synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy to determine benzo[a]pyrene in soil extracts

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a significant environmental pollutant and rapid, accurate methods to quantify this compound in soil for both research and environmental investigation purposes are required. In this work, solvent extracts from five contrasting soils spiked with four different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were rapidly analysed by using a synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) method. The SFS method was validated using HPLC with ultraviolet detection. A good correlation for the quantification of BaP in soil extracts by the two methods was observed. The detection limit of the SFS method was 1.6 x 10(-9) g/ml in CTAB micellar medium (7.8 mmol/l). The work demonstrates that SFS has potential as a sensitive, accurate, rapid, simple and economic methodology and an efficient alternative to HPLC for fast confirmation and quantification of BaP in complex soil extracts.     

Digital technology and human development: A charter for nature conservation

The application of digital technology in conservation holds much potential for advancing the understanding of, and facilitating interaction with, the natural world. In other sectors, digital technology has long been used to engage communities and share information. Human development—which holds parallels with the nature conservation sector—has seen a proliferation of innovation in technological development. Throughout this Perspective, we consider what nature conservation can learn from the introduction of digital technology in human development. From this, we derive a charter to be used before and throughout project development, in order to help reduce replication and failure of digital innovation in nature conservation projects. We argue that the proposed charter will promote collaboration with the development of digital tools and ensure that nature conservation projects progress appropriately with the development of new digital technologies.     

Road de-icing salt as a potential constraint on urban growth in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada

North America's fifth most populated municipality--the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)--is undergoing rapid urban development with serious questions being raised regarding the long-term impacts of urban growth on the quality and quantity of ground and surface water. Degradation of groundwater quality by NaCl de-icing salt is the primary concern since there are no cost effective alternatives to NaCl de-icing salt and there is little evidence that salt loadings to the subsurface can be significantly reduced. In 2001, the issue acquired a new sense of urgency when de-icing chemicals containing inorganic chloride salts (with or without ferrocyanide de-caking agents) were designated as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. To heighten concerns, future growth in the GTA will inevitably take place in areas where groundwater is regularly used for potable supply. Studies using groundwater flow and transport models show that significant deterioration of groundwater quality can be expected in shallow aquifers as a result of urban development with chloride concentrations approaching the drinking water quality standard of 250 mg/l. Results demonstrate that urban planning needs a fresh approach that explicitly includes groundwater protection and aquifer management in the decision-making process, clearly defines acceptable environmental performance standards and makes greater use of groundwater models to evaluate alternative urban designs.     

Temporal trends in polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, dioxin-like PCBs, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Niagara river suspended sediments

Archived suspended sediment samples collected over the period 1980-2002 at Niagara-on-the-Lake in the Niagara river were analyzed to assess temporal trends in contaminants associated with historical industrial activities in the watershed (PCDDs/PCDFs, DLPCBs), compared to more modern industrial chemicals (PBDEs). The temporal trends for PCDDs/PCDFs and DLPCBs were generally similar, and showed a general trend toward decreasing concentrations, which was presumably due to implementation of control measures in the Niagara river watershed, including the remediation of hazardous waste facilities. The temporal trend in PBDEs contrasted with those of PCDDs/PCDFs and DLPCBs. Prior to 1988, PBDEs (sum of 16 congeners including deca-BDE) were generally detected at low-ppb concentrations, but showed a trend toward increasing concentrations over the period 1980-1988. After 1988, PBDE concentrations in the Niagara river showed a more rapidly increasing trend to a maximum of approximately 35 ng/g in 1995, with deca-BDE as the predominant congener detected. Samples collected over the period February 2003 to March 2004 at the head and mouth of the Niagara river were also analyzed for PBDEs; in all cases PBDE concentrations were higher at the mouth of the river at the outflow to Lake Ontario, indicating the Niagara river watershed is a source of PBDE contamination to Lake Ontario. However, PBDE concentrations in suspended sediments of the Niagara river were comparable to, or lower than, concentrations in bottom sediments in other industrialized/urbanized areas of the world. Based on these comparisons of global PBDE bottom sediment concentrations, the Niagara river watershed does not appear to be a significant local source of PBDEs to Lake Ontario, and concentrations in suspended sediments appear to be indicative of general PBDE contamination from a contamination of local, regional, and continental sources.