Frontal ambulacral and peribuccal areas of the spatangoid echinoid Echinocardium cordatum (Echinodermata): a functional entity in feeding mechanism

Echinocardium cordatum (Pennant, 1777) were collected in Normandy, France, in March and November 1985. The grooved frontal ambulacrum of the burrowing echinoid E. cordatum functions in transferring surface sediment from the apex to the mouth of the echinoid. Particles that fall down the burrow's chimney accumulate between the spines of the apical tuft and are taken over by specialized groove spines. Due to the slope of the groove and the type of floor spines it harbours, four successive regions can be recognized, namely the adapical region, the fasciolar region, the ambital region, and the adoral region. As a general rule aboral floor spines (i.e. club-shaped, golf-club-shaped, and isodiametric spines) function in gathering particles while propelling them mouthwards; they simultaneously embed particles in a mucous string. The oral floor spines (i.e. spatulated spines) function in hauling and guiding the mucous string towards the peribuccal area of the echinoid. Once facing the peribuccal area, particles are picked up by the peribuccal tube feet that either transfer them into the esophagus or scrape them out against the peribuccal spines. Spine-retained particles are either sucked up by the pumping action of the esophagus or fall to the burrow's floor where the tube feet may pick them up again. Together the apical tuft, the frontal groove, and the peribuccal area form an efficient food-collecting system that transfers trapped surface particles from the echinoid apex down to the mouth. Compared to that of most other spatangoids the frontal ambulacrum of E. cordatum is highly specialized. Such specialization is related to colonization of fine sediment, as is the occurrence of a chimney linking the burrow to the sediment surface. Actually the burrow's chimney is the only route for oxygen and food supply; it acts as a real ecological umbilical cord for spatangoids buried in fine sediment.     

A Multimedia Chemical Fate Model with Time-Dependent Air-Water Transfer Rates

A multimedia model for the temporal evolution of the concentration of chemical species in a water basin and its bottom sediment layer has been tested with time-dependent air-water transfer rates varying with the meteorological conditions over the basin. The multimedia model uses the chemical fugacity approach in a system of two ordinary differential equations for the chemical species partition in the two mentioned media, with transfer through the sediment-water and the air-water interfaces. The air-water transfer rates are estimated by a micrometeorological preprocessor. A scenario in which known concentrations in air of a soluble pollutant (benzene) induce water and sediment pollution is tested on both synthetic (MonteCarlo-simulated) and real series of meteorological data. It is found that the use of time-dependent transfer coefficients affects not only the relaxation time, but also the long term concentration of the pollutant in water and sediment, that differs between 10 and 40% in the examined cases when compared with the same multimedia model using average constant transfer rates as usual. This is shown to be due to the statistical correlations between meteorological parameters and air pollutant concentrations, which stresses the advantages of a time-dependent estimation of the transfer coefficients. Correction terms are proposed to take into account the correlation effects when a constant parameters multimedia model is used.     

Interaction between Fe-cyanide complex and humic acids

The fate of cyanides in soil is strongly influenced by the formation of Fe cyanides, which can interact with organic and inorganic colloids and precipitate as stable compounds. Scarce information is available on the capacity of humic acids to interact with cyano-complexes and thus affect the leaching and prevent the risk of contamination of watertable. Here we show that interaction between humic acids (HAs) and ferricyanide complex led to a formation of ferricyanide-humo micelles, and that the interaction did not imply changes in the original structure of ferricyanide complex.     

Strong effects of various incidence and observation angles on spectrometric assessment of plumage colouration in birds

The assessment of plumage colouration has become a common procedure in many ornithological studies, especially after the discovery of differences between avian and human visual systems, namely the avian ability to perceive ultraviolet wavelengths. There are many techniques available for plumage colour assessment. Nevertheless, unidirectional reflectance spectrometry seems actually to be the method of choice and is used in most studies. The active avian visual communication skills, the physical characteristics of the plumage surface and the birds’ body shape prompted us to study plumage colouration with different angles of incidence and observation by bidirectional reflectance spectrometry. In this study, we explore the effect of different angles of incidence and observation, on a single plane of incidence, on the reflectance spectrometric assessment of five differently coloured body regions of the blue fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva). Measurements were made using a AVS-USB2000 spectrometer with a DH-2000 light source and two different reflection probes (bifurcated fibre optic probe and a specially designed fibre holder). The results of this study illustrate clear angle dependence of colour parameters in differently coloured non-iridescent plumage regions of the blue fronted Amazon parrot. Our results may have direct implications on the observed transmitted information of display and its associated predation risk (trade-off) in birds, but also in other animals. Moreover, the results show that unidirectional reflectance spectrometry alone may be a rather limited procedure to quantify and compare true colour of a complex surface such as birds’ plumage. Therefore, slight but behavioural important characteristics of plumage pattern may remain undiscovered with this method.     

Interpolation performance of a spatio-temporal model with spatially varying coefficients: application to PM<Subscript>10</Subscript> concentrations in Rio de Janeiro

In this work we present a Bayesian analysis in linear regression models with spatially varying coefficients for modeling and inference in spatio-temporal processes. This kind of model is particularly appealing in situations where the effect of one or more explanatory processes on the response present substantial spatial heterogeneity. We describe for this model how to make inference about the regression coefficients and response processes under two scenarios: when the explanatory processes are known throughout the study region, and when they are known only at the sampling locations. Using a simulation experiment we investigate how parameter inference and interpolation performance are affected by some features of the data and prior distribution that is used. The proposed methodology is used to model the dataset on PM₁₀ levels in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro presented in Paez and Gamerman (2003).     

Sustainability of sand dune restoration along the coast of the Tyrrhenian sea

This study reports the results of restoration management on sand dune environments along the coastal belt of the Castelporziano nature reserve (Rome, Italy) and the subsequent monitoring phases to test the sustainability of the ‘soft techniques’ applied. In the area concerned, over a length of ca. 3 km, 40 dunes were built up along with three belts located at <40 m, 40–70 m, and >70 m, respectively, from the shoreline. On each of 38 dunes 20 individuals ofAmmophila littoralis were planted; this species is one of the local autochthonous species considered particularly suitable for stabilizing sand dunes. After one year, two years and five years, respectively the changes in height and surface of each dune, the survival rates ofA. littoralis, and its changes in cover, the appearance of new shoots and the establishment of new species were observed. A progressive increase in species number, which five years after the restoration amounted to about 60% of those characterizing the natural dunes, was reported indicating a progressive trend towards populations similar to natural ones. In the colonization of new species there is a prevalence of theSporobolus-Elymetum farcti and theSalsolo Kali-Cakiletum maritimae association, while the species established successively refer to theEchinophoro spinosae-Ammophiletum arundinaceae association and theCrucianellion maritimae alliance as occurring in natural successions. This succession runs parallel to the natural dune colonization processes. In particular, the data regarding survival, cover and number of vegetative shoots indicate that the dune belt between 40 and 70 m from the sea is the one most suitable for restoration. Some changes in dune morphology was observed: the height of the artificial dunes tended to decrease considerably in the five years of observation, whereas a progressive increase in their surface area was observed. During the study period.A littoralis favoured the establishment of new species, but as yet exercises no action on increasing dune height.     

Methane oxidation and formation of EPS in compost: effect of oxygen concentration

Oxygen concentration plays an important role in the regulation of methane oxidation and the microbial ecology of methanotrophs. However, this effect is still poorly quantified in soil and compost ecosystems. The effect of oxygen on the formation of exopolymeric substances (EPS) is as yet unknown. We studied the effect of oxygen on the evolution of methanotrophic activity. At both high and low oxygen concentrations, peak activity was observed twice within a period of 6 months. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis showed that there was a shift from type I to type II methanotrophs during this period. At high oxygen concentration, EPS production was about 250% of the amount at low oxygen concentration. It is hypothesized that EPS serves as a carbon cycling mechanism for type I methanotrophs when inorganic nitrogen is limiting. Simultaneously, EPS stimulates nitrogenase activity in type II methanotrophs by creating oxygen-depleted zones. The kinetic results were incorporated in a simulation model for gas transport and methane oxidation in a passively aerated biofilter. Comparison between the model and experimental data showed that, besides acting as a micro-scale diffusion barrier, EPS can act as a barrier to macro-scale diffusion, reducing the performance of such biofilters.     

Fungal degradation of metsulfuron-methyl in pure cultures and soil

A fungal strain capable of utilizing metsulfuron-methyl as sole carbon and energy sources was isolated from a metsulfuron-methyl treated soil. The degradation characteristics of metsulfuron-methyl by this fungal strain were investigated in liquid culture and soil. More than 79% of metsulfuron-methyl at concentrations of 0.10 mgl(-1), 1.0 mgl(-1) and 10.0 mgl(-1) in pure culture was degraded by strain MD after incubation for 7 days, whereas only 5.6%, 8.6% and 13.1% of metsulfuron-methyl were degraded at levels of 0.10 mgl(-1), 1.0mgl(-1) and 10.0 mgl(-1) in the controls, respectively. The incorporation of strain MD into soil was found to substantially increase the degradation of metsulfuron-methyl. Degradation was 7.5 and 3.8 times faster in strain MD amended soils than in sterilized and fresh soils. The results show that addition of the isolated strain MD enhances degradation of metsulfuron-methyl in water and soil.     

Reverse osmosis sampling does not affect the protective effect of dissolved organic matter on copper and zinc toxicity to freshwater organisms

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a significant role in protecting freshwater organisms against metal toxicity. To study this, reverse osmosis (RO) has been widely used as a highly efficient method for rapid collection of large quantities of DOM from natural surface waters. The objective of this study was to examine the potential impact of the RO isolation technique on the protective effects of DOM on the toxicity of copper and zinc to the cladoceran Daphnia magna and the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. DOM was concentrated from a natural surface water using RO and at the same time a natural (unconcentrated) surface water was taken. The concentrated DOM was rediluted to the level of the natural water to obtain the so-called reconstituted water. Chemical analyses and toxicity tests were performed with both the natural surface water and the reconstituted water. First, most chemical parameters were not significantly changed by the RO sampling. For both copper and zinc, no significant differences were observed in 48 h-EC50s for D. magna and in 72 h-EC50s for P. subcapitata between the reconstituted water and the natural water. Hence, it may be concluded that reverse osmosis does not significantly affect the protective effect of natural DOM against copper and zinc toxicity.     

Studies on the acute toxicity of fluoride ion to stickleback,fathead minnow,and rainbow trout

We have studied the acute toxicity of fluoride ion to $\text{Gasterosteus aculeatus}$, $\text{Pimephales promelas}$, and juvenile $\text{Salmo gairdneri}$. LC50 values varied with species and (due to precipitation) initial water hardness. Exposure to elevated fluoride levels in water resulted in increased blood fluoride levels in $\text{Salmo gairdneri}$.