Improving lake riparian source area management using surface and subsurface runoff indices

Sensitivity indices, which rank factors pertinent to surface and subsurface runoff pathways, were used to identify phosphorus source areas in riparian zones of 15 northern Minnesota lakes. Watershed models were first developed using a geographic information system (GIS). Empirical models were then developed correlating water quality with land use, lake morphometry, and riparian sensitivity. Base models of forested, cultivated, pasture/open, wetland and residential land use within 100, 200, 400, and 2000 m of the study lakes were regressed on total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. Area-weighted groundwater and surface runoff sensitivity indices were then incorporated into each model and tested for significance. Within the 200-m buffer, the total phosphorus base model was improved by including the groundwater index alone. The chlorophyll-a base model at 200 m was improved by including: (1) the groundwater index alone, and (2) both the groundwater and surface runoff sensitivity indices. Results suggest that surface and subsurface runoff analysis of potential source areas can improve decision making for lake riparian management.     

EROSIONAL POTENTIAL OF STREAMS IN URBANIZING AREAS1

ABSTRACT: In urbanizing areas, the usual increase in flood flows also increases erosional capability of streams. In order to evaluate such tendencies quantitatively, 25 stream reaches were studied, and were classified as to whether erosion of the channel and banks was light, medium, or heavy. Analysis of characteristics indicated that (1) densely developed areas are correlated with greater erosion, (2) wide stream buffers of natural vegetation are correlated with lesser erosion, and (3) there is no definite correlation of erosion to slope or characteristics of soil. Erosional stream instability can be avoided by retention of storm water runoff, creating additional channel roughness or reducing channel slope during floods by drop structures, such as culverts, which restrict flow. Channel straightening and general bank protection should be minimized in such streams. Design of culverts should take such effects into consideration.     

The effect of social interactions on calling energetics in the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor)

Summary The vocal behavior of Hyla versicolor was studied in the field by means of behavioral observations and playback experiments, and these data were coupled with measurements of oxygen consumption in calling frogs to estimate the effect of social interactions on calling energetics. Male gray treefrogs have intense calls (median peak SPL=109 dB, fast RMS SPL=100 dB at 50 cm). At an air temperature of 23° C, males produced an average of 1,200–1,300 calls/h for 2–4 h per night. Calling rates and call durations differed among individuals, but were relatively constant for each male during periods of sustained calling. Males in dense choruses gave calls about twice as long as isolated males, but produced calls at about half the rate. Consequently, total calling effort and estimated aerobic costs were largely independent of chorus density. Playbacks of recorded calls to males in the field elicited increases in call duration and decreases in calling rate, regardless of the rate or duration of the stimulus. Males gave longer calls in response to long calls or to stimuli presented at high rates, but they did not precisely match either stimulus rate or duration. Calling effort and estimated oxygen consumption changed only slightly during stimulus playbacks. These results indicate that male-male competition elicits pro-found changes in the vocal behavior of calling males, but these changes have little effect on energy expenditure. We estimated that most calling males had metabolic rates of about 1.7–1.8 ml O₂/(g\h), or about 280 J/h for an average size (8.6 g) male at 20° C. Although changes in call duration and calling rate did not affect aerobic costs of calling, males producing long calls at slow rates called for fewer hours per night than males producing shorter calls at higher rates. This suggests that calling time may be limited by the rate at which muscle glycogen reserves are depleted.     

Control of Fly Ash from Conventional Coal-Fired Utility Boilers

This paper presents a detailed review and critical evaluation of current technologies as applied to fine particulate emissions from coal-fired utility boilers. Quantitative assessments of the capabilities of both conventional and novel air pollution control devices to meet three different performance standards—the present New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) of 0.03 Ib particulate/MBtu heat input, and standards of 0.05 and 0.1 Ib particulate/MBtu are included. Each of the three conventional devices (electrostatic precipitator, fabric filter baghouse, and wet scrubber) is compared and rated with respect to eight different performance categories. This information can be used to determine the relative effectiveness and attractiveness of these three control devices. Novel devices are compared and rated in the same manner, the conclusions from which may provide the research administrator with a guide for the selection of those novel devices which offer the best potential for commercialization.

The major conclusions of the investigation are: (1) The use of conventional scrubbers for fine particulate control on coal-fired utility boilers may no longer be feasible at the new NSPS of 0.03 Ib/MBtu. (2) At the old NSPS (0.1 Ib/MBtu) conventional electrostatic precipitators and baghouses were often competitive. For the new stricter standard, however, the baghouse generally is the more attractive alternative. (3) Novel devices appear to offer almost no hope for this particular application (at a commercial level) between now and 1985 and only little hope before 1990.     

BUFFER STRIPS TO PROTECT WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS: A MODEL AND RECOMMENDATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Buffer strips are undisturbed, naturally vegetated zones around water supply reservoirs and their tributaries that are a recognized and integral aspect of watershed management. These strips can be very effective in protecting the quality of public potable water supply reservoirs by removing sediment and associated pollutants, reducing bank erosion, and displacing activities from the water's edge that represent potential sources of nonpoint source pollutant generation. As part of a comprehensive watershed management protect for the State of New Jersey, a parameter-based buffer strip model was developed for application to all watersheds above water supply intakes or reservoirs. Input requirements for the model include a combination of slope, width, and time of travel. The application of the model to a watershed in New Jersey with a recommended buffer strip width that ranges from 50 to 300 feet, depending upon a number of assumptions, results in from 6 to 13 percent of the watershed above the reservoir being occupied by the buffer.     

Genital abnormalities in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in west-central Montana: pesticide exposure as a possible cause

From spring, 1996, to early spring, 2000, accident-killed and injured white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, in the Bitterroot Valley of west-central, Montana, U.S.A., were collected and examined for genital abnormalities at the Bitterroot Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Of the 254 male deer examined, 133 were fawns aged 3 months to 1 yr, 29 were 1 to 1 1/2 yrs of age, and 92 were 1 1/2 to 3 yrs of age. Approximately 33% were normal; the remaining 67% showed varying degrees of apparent genital developmental anomalies, specifically mispositioned and undersized scrota and ectopic testes, and this percentage held through all age groups. The sex ratio of fawns and fetuses was skewed towards males, significantly so for the 1996 fawn cohort and for the total of all fawns and fetuses in the study. Although possible causes of the genital anomalies, centering on endocrine disrupting pesticides, are discussed, no conclusions of cause and effect can be currently justified.     

Resource Depletion and Sustainability in Small Open Economies

Exogenous price changes affect the amount that a small country exporting natural resource commodities must invest to sustain its consumption level. The necessary amount is given by the difference between Hotelling rent and the discounted sum of future terms-of-trade effects (capital gains). The latter term is found to be large relative to the former in the case of petroleum depletion in Indonesia. This suggests that resource-rich countries will need to invest more than previously expected to sustain their consumption levels, if natural resource prices continue their long-term historical decline.     

A framework for evaluating biodiversity mitigation metrics

Biodiversity mitigation is a cornerstone of applied conservation. Mitigation encompasses a suite of practices, ranging from planned avoidance of impacts to creation of new natural habitats. Accurate and appropriate metrics quantifying impacts to natural systems and the effectiveness of restoration are necessary to measure the success of different mitigation strategies. Because effective mitigation requires adequate metrics, we developed a Biodiversity Metrics Framework to assist practitioners and policy makers in assessing biodiversity mitigation metrics. Based on Noss’ Hierarchy of Biodiversity, the Scorecard highlights the mismatch between scientifically defined best practices and metrics required by policy. The Framework may serve a vital role in standardizing and validating mitigation projects into the future.