Inactivation of hepatitis A virus and murine norovirus on surfaces of plastic,steel and raspberries using steam-ultrasound treatment

Food and Environmental Virology - The leading causes of foodborne viral disease outbreaks are human norovirus and hepatitis A virus (HAV). Their environmental persistence enables contamination of...     

Temporal life history plasticity of the Southern Ocean squid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Todarodes filippovae</Emphasis> from waters off Tasmania,Australia

Population dynamics and maturity parameters were analysed for seasonal samples of the oceanic ommastrephid squid Todarodes filippovae from off the coast of Tasmania Australia from 2002 to 2004. Based on assumed daily periodicity in statolith increments, T. filippovae had a life cycle of about a year with the sexually dimorphic females reaching their larger size by predominantly growing faster than males. Due to the small sample size of males, analysis was undertaken on female individuals only. Growth in all samples was best described by a power curve and varied annually, with significantly faster growth in 2001 compared to the subsequent 2 years. Seasonal growth rates also varied with autumn- and winter-hatched squid significantly faster than summer-hatched squid. Spring growth rates were intermediate but not significantly different to the other three seasons. Peak hatching periods occurred in late autumn and early winter. ANOVA revealed a season × year interaction for mantle length and total body weight. Pairwise comparisons showed that the annual differences were likely driven by smaller squid in autumn 2002 compared to autumn samples in the other 2 years. Pairwise comparisons also revealed seasonal differences with winter-caught squid smaller than those from the majority of other samples. There were no seasonal effects on mature female gonad weights but females caught in 2002 had significantly lighter gonad weights than females from the following 2 years. There were no consistent trends among seasons or years in the age structure of mature females. This study revealed the plasticity and flexibility in growth and maturity parameters in this species, with a preference for faster growth during cooler periods.     

Vital staining of Patiria miniata larvae

Larvae and unfertilized eggs of the California sea star Patiria miniata (Brandt) were exposed to 3 stains: Nile Blue Sulfate, Neutral Red and Rhodamine B. Concentration of the stains was 5 or 10 ppm, and length of exposure 5, 10 or 20 min. None of the stains were toxic, and Nile Blue Sulfate was found to be the best tested for retention of stain over long periods of time. This method is suggested for studies of development, growth, survival and dispersal of sea-star larvae in the plankton and in laboratory studies.Contribution No. 38, Pacific Marine Station, Dillon Beach, California, USA.     

Predicting the effects of habitat homogenization on marine biodiversity.

Seafloor habitats throughout the world's oceans are being homogenized by physical disturbance. Even though seafloor sediments are commonly considered to be simple and unstructured ecosystems, the negative impacts of habitat homogenization are widespread because resident organisms create much of their habitat's structure. We combine the insight gained from remote sensing of seafloor habitats with recently developed analytical techniques to estimate species richness and assess the potential for change with habitat homogenization. Using habitat-dependent species-area relationships we show that realistic scenarios of habitat homogenization predict biodiversity losses when biogenic habitats in soft sediments are homogenized. We develop a simple model that highlights the degree to which the reductions in the number of species and functional diversity are related to the distribution across habitats of habitat-specific and generalist species. Our results suggest that, by using habitat-dependent species-area relationships, we can better predict variation in biodiversity across seafloor landscapes and contribute to improved management and conservation.     

The spatial links tool: Automated mapping of habitat linkages in variegated landscapes

The removal, alteration and fragmentation of habitat in many parts of the world has led to a loss of biodiversity. Within the prevailing societal limitations the process is not easily reversed. Attempts are being made to minimise the fragmentation of remaining habitat by strategically reversing or managing habitat loss. Although their relative usefulness is a topic of debate among ecologists, habitat corridors are seen as one way of maintaining spatially dependent ecological processes within landscapes where habitat has been seriously depleted. Corridors can only be effective if they significantly contribute to the species sustaining processes of gene flow, resource access or the colonisation of vacant patches. We present a spatial habitat modelling methodology for evaluating the contribution and potential contribution of connecting paths to landscape connectivity. We have developed the spatial links tool (SLT), which maps link value across a region. The SLT combines connectivity measures from metapopulation ecology with the least cost path algorithm from graph theory, and can be applied to continuously variable landscape data. Combined with expert judgement, link value maps can be used to delineate habitat corridors. The approach capitalises on some synergies between ecological relevance and computational efficiency to produce an easily applied heuristic tool that has been successfully applied in NSW Australia.     

Use of pattern recognition in the evaluation of PCDD and PCDF residue data from GC/MS analyses

We used the chemometric approach with SIMCA (soft independent modeling by class analogy) multivariate statistical programs, based on principal components modeling to examine complex PCDD and PCDF residues in environmental samples. This approach was employed to determine the acceptability of measured tetrachloro isotope ratios when three ion intensities, m^+., (m+2)^+., and (m+4)^+., were measured by monitoring multiple ions. Isotope labeled internal standards and native compounds were examined. Principal components contain information about similarity of samples and variability in measurement. The data for the observed ion ratios were merged with the theoretical ion ratios and a calculated set of data that deviated from the theoretical values over a range of +/− 10 % for each ion pair. Thus the plot of principal components sample scores contains the error boundaries for accepting data that meet this quality assurance criterion and identifies the samples and calibration data that are within the acceptable range. In addition, GC/MS peaks having more than one constituent with different degrees of chlorination were readily detected. Residues of PCDDs in eggs of herring gulls ( ) collected from colonies in the Great Lakes region in 1981 – 1984 were measured by GC/MS. Principal components modeling of the normalized residue data demonstrated that the sample residue profiles differed according to the sample's origin and that sample profiles remained remarkably similar over the 4-year period in which the samples were collected.     

Reversal of acidification in tributaries of the River Duddon (English Lake District) between 1970 and 1998

Long-term changes in stream water chemistry in the upper Duddon catchment (southwest Lake District, UK) were investigated. Ten streams were sampled and analysed weekly during 1998, and the results compared with data for the early 1970s and 1986. The waters exhibited a range of pH, average values for 1998 being 5.04-7.04. For all the streams, the average pH in 1998 was greater than that during 1971-73. Statistical analysis was carried out, using the 1970s data to estimate the magnitude of inter-annual variation, and taking discharge into account on the basis of antecedent rainfall. The results showed that for two of the streams the pH increase was significant at the 2.5% level, while for a further three it was significant at the 10% level. Comparison of the 1998 concentrations of nitrate and non-marine sulphate with data obtained for five streams in 1973-74 showed that average nitrate concentration had increased from 11 to 20 microeq dm(-3) while that of non-marine sulphate had decreased from 94 to 50 microeq dm(-3). For four of the streams, comparisons were also made between the 1998 data and those for 1986. In three cases, pH in 1998 was generally higher, and Al generally lower, than the values for 1986, but in the fourth case little difference was evident. The present results support observations for five nearby standing waters, strengthening the evidence for a general reversal of acidification in the southwest part of Lake District, due to a decline in the deposition of pollutant sulphur.     

Environmental accounting: Neo-classical framework or alternative?

Summary Traditional environmental accounting framework is based on a neo-classical economic theory that treats environmental assets and liabilities as if their contribution to economic acitivity were similar to that of conventional, marketed assets and liabilities. The environment is viewed as a producer of outputs consumed by other productive economic sectors. It is proposed in this article that the environment is not only a producer of outputs, but also an output itself. The environment requires not only its protection, but importantly its continual improvement. Under this framework environmental accounting as a discipline is split into two categories: corporate environmental accounting and social environmental accounting. Two information streams exist under this framework: products-oriented information and environment-oriented information.Dr Simon S. Gao is a Senior Lecturer in the Accounting and Finance Division of the Business School at Staffordshire University. He obtained a BA in Economics in 1993, and an MA in Accounting and Finance, in 1987, both from Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics, China. He was recently awarded a PhD from Faculty of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands). His research intersts include among others, environmental accounting and reporting, environmental cost and risk analysis, and environmental asset management. He has published papers widely on accounting and finance issues.