Water Security in Uzbekistan: Implication of Return Waters on the Amu Darya Water Quality

- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.01.007 Goal, Scope and Background Amu Darya river, one of the main water resources of Uzbekistan, shows a relevant longitudinal enrichment of soluble contents which strongly limits the human uses of its waters. Because of the low natural run-off processes, salts and pollutants are mainly driven to the river by the return waters used for washing and irrigating the surrounding lands. The influence of return waters on stream quality is dramatically relevant in the lower reaches of the river where almost all the flowing waters have been previously used for the agriculture practises. To provide analytical evidence on the potential effects of return waters on the quality of the Amu Darya river, the paper reports and comments data on salinity and metals contents of the waters flowing in the artificial channel network of Bukhara and in the Amu Darya river, from Bukhara up to the dam forming the Tuyamuyn Hydro Complex (THC). Methods A total of 15 sampling sites were selected for the analytical survey: Two sites were located on the Amu Darya river downstream from the inflow of the return waters from Bukhara, two in the river entering in the THC, and three downstream from the dam forming the reservoir complex. The waters entering and leaving the Bukhara agricultural area were sampled in two main collectors, while the waters flowing in the channel system were sampled in six distinct collectors. The following parameters were considered in the survey: pH, Oxygen, Hardness, Salinity, Conductivity, P-PO4 3–, P tot, N tot, N-NO3 2–, N-NO2 –, COD, Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb. Results and Discussion Salt concentrations below 1000 mg/l were measured in the Amu Darya waters upstream to Bukhara. In the drainage system, salinity exceeds the palatability limit and reaches the maximum peak of 3200 mg/l in the outflow collector. Due to dilution effects, salinity returns to lower values (400–700 mg/l) along the Amu Darya river downstream from Bukhara; calcium and magnesium resulted the major constituents of the overall salinity. No serious metal contaminations were detected in the waters entering and leaving the examined channel system. Differently, the Amu Darya waters upstream to the THC showed a relevant metal contamination, with Cr, Ni, Fe concentrations exceeding the limits for human consumption. In the downstream sites, located in the Tuyamuyn Hydro Complex and in the Amu Darya river flowing out from this reservoir, excluding Fe, all the examined metals showed lover concentrations and values below the normative limits. Conclusion The direct human consumption of the lower Amu Darya waters is strongly limited by salinity and by metal contamination. Although the salinity of the return waters from the Bukhara drainage system results in above normal limits, no corresponding increases were measured in the Amu Darya river downstream from the return water inflow at the time of the survey. As for the metal contamination of the Amu Darya river, the survey revealed the presence of relevant sources of metal contamination downstream from Bukhara external to the agricultural drainage system. This contamination resulted in reduced sedimentation processes taking place in the limnetic zones of the Amu Darya river upstream to the dam forming the Tuyamuyn Hydro Complex. Recommendation and Outlook To fully understand the longitudinal increase of Amu Darya salinity, an evaluation of the cumulative effects of the loads from the main agricultural areas is required, also by using mass-balance models. As for the metals, an investigation should be addressed to identify the anthropogenic sources of contaminations present in the lower Amu Darya region and the metal loads should be diverted.     

Polarisation vision: overcoming challenges of working with a property of light we barely see

In recent years, the study of polarisation vision in animals has seen numerous breakthroughs, not just in terms of what is known about the function of this sensory ability, but also in the experimental methods by which polarisation can be controlled, presented and measured. Once thought to be limited to only a few animal species, polarisation sensitivity is now known to be widespread across many taxonomic groups, and advances in experimental techniques are, in part, responsible for these discoveries. Nevertheless, its study remains challenging, perhaps because of our own poor sensitivity to the polarisation of light, but equally as a result of the slow spread of new practices and methodological innovations within the field. In this review, we introduce the most important steps in designing and calibrating polarised stimuli, within the broader context of areas of current research and the applications of new techniques to key questions. Our aim is to provide a constructive guide to help researchers, particularly those with no background in the physics of polarisation, to design robust experiments that are free from confounding factors.     

Dominance orders in the ponerine ant Pachycondyla apicalis (Hymenoptera,Formicidae)

Summary Intracolony aggression among workers of the neotropical ponerine ant species Pachycondyla apicalis leads to dominance orders. Antagonistic interactions can entail either overt physical attacks with the subordinate individual often exhibiting a submissive posture or the robbing and destruction of eggs laid by nestmates. The single queen, however, was never observed either attacking or being attacked by any colony member. The hierarchical structure among workers consists of one dominant individual and several subordinates; the relationships among subordinate workers are unclear, however. We report for the first time a natural (nonmanipulated) change in the social status of individuals within an ant dominance order. Dominant workers usually had better developed ovaries, laid more eggs and were more frequently observed attending the egg pile than subordinate individuals. This pattern became even more striking when the queen was excluded from the colony. These results indicate that workers of P. apicalis lay eggs even in the presence of the queen. It is possible that some of these haploid eggs may develop into males.Offprint requests to: B. Holldobler     

Short-term effects of environmental factors on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps

ABSTRACT

Aurelia is a jellyfish genus common in coastal and estuarine habitats, that are typically affected by human pressures such as heavy metals contamination. Mercury is one of the most dangerous due to its high toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. In this paper, we tested for the first time the independent and combined effects of a level of mercury allowable by European regulation in force and hyposalinity on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps, mirroring a realistic scenario. Both mercury (0.07?µg/L, Maximum Allowable Concentration) and salinity (18 and 23 PSU) and the combination of the two factors stimulated the asexual reproduction increasing the number of polyps and buds during the 41 days of experiments. The increment of the asexual reproduction and the absence of suffering and mortality suggest that levels of mercury below the concentration fixed by the law and hyposalinity conditions could promote jellyfish proliferations, according to the hormesis hypothesis.     

Large-scale shrimp farming in coastal wetlands of Venezuela,South America: Causes and consequences of land-use conflicts

In Venezuela, large-scale shrimp farming began in the 1980s. By 1987, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARNR) had received 14 proposals for approval. A developer illegally started the construction of ponds at the Píritu Lagoon in the State of Anzoátegui before the authorization process was completed. This action triggered a land-use conflict. This study identifies the causes for public protest and determines the consequences of this conflict for land-use management. The results show that public protest was based on the impacts of the partial construction of ponds. These impacts were related to direct removal of wetlands, interruption of natural patterns of surface flows, and alteration of feeding grounds of some bird species with migratory status. Consequences were identified in relation to the role that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play in land-use conflicts and the actions that MARNR could take in the future to prevent and solve similar situations.     

Development and calibration of a portable radon sampling system for groundwater Rn activity concentration measurements

The assembling of a system for field sampling and activity concentration measurement of radon dissolved in groundwater is described. Special attention is given in presenting the calibration procedure to obtain the radon activity concentration in groundwater from the raw counting rate registered in a portable scintillation detector and in establishing the precision of the activity concentration measurements. A field procedure was established and the system tested during one year of monthly observations of ²²²Rn activity concentration in groundwater drawn from two wells drilled on metamorphic rocks exposed at Eastern São Paulo State, Brazil. The observed mean ²²²Rn activity concentrations are 374 Bq/dm³ in one well and about 1275 Bq/dm³ in the other one. In both wells the ²²²Rn activity concentrations showed a seasonal variation similar to variations previously reported in the literature for the same region.     

Occurrence of Norovirus GIV in Environmental Water Samples from Belém City,Amazon Region,Brazil

Noroviruses are the major cause of non-bacterial acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in humans, with few reports about the occurrence of the norovirus GIV strain. We investigated the presence of norovirus GIV in surface water (river, bay, and stream) and untreated sewage, and we determined a positivity rate of 9.4 % (9/96). The strains genotyped were GIV.1. To our knowledge, this is the first report of GIV in Brazil.     

The G-Index: a sustainability reporting assessment tool

The subject of sustainability reports, especially those related to GRI, has become an interesting topic to academics and practitioners. This paper seeks to propose an easy-to-use sustainability reporting assessment tool that is suitable to the GRI G4 guidelines. Our idea is to provide a tool that can be applied by an organization, based in GRI indicators, in a quick and easy way. The tool, called G-Index, represents the organizational sustainability performance. The index is a sum of four factors, and a questionnaire about the GRI elements raised the data to elaborate a Mudge diagram, which was used to define the weight values. Finally, the method for the evaluation tool was established, and a case study with the automotive sector was performed. The results showed us the G-Index represents a good option to assess the organization’s disclosure practices in sustainability reports based on the GRI framework. The report analysis presented some important facts, it is more common the disclosure of the Management Approach then the application of External Assurance. Furthermore, even the General Standard Disclosures of the GRI guidelines being mandatory, some companies do not fully disclose them, as shown in the GS factor, that makes up, the G-Index.