Predictability of marine nematode biodiversity

In this paper, we investigated: (1) the predictability of different aspects of biodiversity, (2) the effect of spatial autocorrelation on the predictability and (3) the environmental variables affecting the biodiversity of free-living marine nematodes on the Belgian Continental Shelf. An extensive historical database of free-living marine nematodes was employed to model different aspects of biodiversity: species richness, evenness, and taxonomic diversity. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), often considered as “black boxes”, were applied as a modeling tool. Three methods were used to reveal these “black boxes” and to identify the contributions of each environmental variable to the diversity indices. Since spatial autocorrelation is known to introduce bias in spatial analyses, Moran's I was used to test the spatial dependency of the diversity indices and the residuals of the model. The best predictions were made for evenness. Although species richness was quite accurately predicted as well, the residuals indicated a lack of performance of the model. Pure taxonomic diversity shows high spatial variability and is difficult to model. The biodiversity indices show a strong spatial dependency, opposed to the residuals of the models, indicating that the environmental variables explain the spatial variability of the diversity indices adequately. The most important environmental variables structuring evenness are clay and sand fraction, and the minimum annual total suspended matter. Species richness is also affected by the intensity of sand extraction and the amount of gravel of the sea bed.     

高效液相色谱与电感耦合等离子体质谱联用测定矿泉水中的三价铬与六价铬

由于铬在各种工业生产中应用广泛,加之来源于自然界中铬的腐蚀,使得铬在环境中普遍存在.因此,对环境、食品以及水资源中的铬进行监测,并以此评价由于铬暴露所造成的潜在危害是至关重要的.Cr(Ⅲ)和Cr(Ⅵ)在价态上的差异导致其在毒性、反应活性以及生物可利用性方面存在显著不同,因此,对于铬的价态区分显得十分重要.Cr(Ⅲ)是人体的必需元素,它在葡萄糖、蛋白质以及脂肪代谢等生命活动中扮演着很重要的角色,对于成人而言,Cr(Ⅲ)的每日推荐摄取量为50到200μg;急性动物实验表明,Cr(Ⅲ)若经口摄入,会产生中等毒性,而对于Cr(Ⅵ),由于其强的氧化性,误食或者吸入后将对人体产生非常大的毒害,有证据表明,一定量的Cr(Ⅵ)暴露能刺激皮肤、鼻、眼睛以及咽喉;严重时会造成肺和肾脏循环系统以及神经组织的损害,甚至引起呼吸系统方面的癌症,鉴于此,世界卫生组织(WHO)推荐饮用水中Cr(Ⅵ)的最大允许浓度为0.05 mg·l-1,美国环境保护署(EPA)和欧盟(EU)各自颁布法令规定饮用水中总铬含量最大容许浓度分别为0.1和0.05 mg·l-1.     

TOWARDS CHARACTERIZING AND PLANNTNG FOR DROUGHT IN VERMONT‐PART II: POLICY IMPLICATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Vermont is one of approximately half a dozen states for which no official drought mitigation plan exists. Given the recurring nature of this natural hazard, current contingency measures should be expanded upon into a coherent mitigation framework. The types of drought and impacts resulting from the 1998 to 1999 event were the focus of a previous article in this volume. The present article builds on the understanding of drought characteristics specific to the Vermont context and introduces the rationale behind a proposed drought planning framework. Pivotal organizations and institutions that should be involved in this process are also presented.     

Assessment of GM Crops in Commercial Agriculture

The caliber of recent discourse regarding geneticallymodified organisms (GMOs) has suffered from a lack of consensuson terminology, from the scarcity of evidence upon which toassess risk to health and to the environment, and from valuedifferences between proponents and opponents of GMOs. Towardsaddressing these issues, we present the thesis that GM should bedefined as the forcible insertion of DNA into a host genome,irrespective of the source of the DNA, and exclusive ofconventional or mutation breeding.Some defenders of the commercial use of GMOs have referred to thescientific work of GMO critics as ``junk science.' Such a claim isfalse and misleading, given that many papers critical of both theutility and safety of GMOs have been published in peer reviewedjournals by respected scientists. In contrast, there is a dearthof peer reviewed work to substantiate the frequently heardassertions of either safety or utility in GMOs. The polarity,which now characterizes much of the public discourse on GMOs,reflects not simply scientific disagreement, but alsodisagreement in underlying value assumptions. Value differencesstrongly affect the assessment of both benefit and harm fromGMOs.The concept of substantial equivalence occupies a pivotalposition in the GMO risk assessment process that is used in bothCanada and the US. A GMO judged to be substantially equivalent toa conventional product – as have all submissions to date – ispresumed to be safe enough for commercialization. The conclusionof safety – from both human health and environmental perspectives– should be based on scientific evidence, corroborated by actualexperimentation. However, regulators infer safety largely fromassumptions-based reasoning, with little or no experimentalvalidation. The judgement of safety because of substantialequivalence is a dubious argument by analogy.     

Prior encounters with the opposite sex affect male and female mating behavior in a wolf spider (Araneae,Lycosidae)

Mate availability can vary widely in nature depending upon population density and sex ratio and can affect the ability of individuals to be selective in mate choice. We tested the effects of prior encounters with the opposite sex (i.e., exposure to the opposite sex either with or without mating) on subsequent mating behavior in two experiments that manipulated mate availability for both males and females in the wolf spider, Hogna helluo. The probability of mating in the experimental trial depended upon whether the prior encounter involved mating or not, and males and females responded in opposite directions. Exposure without mating resulted in a higher subsequent frequency of mating for females and a lower subsequent frequency of mating for males, while prior mating experience resulted in a lower frequency of female remating and a higher frequency of male remating. Prior exposure without mating did not affect female aggression. However, mated females engaged in precopulatory cannibalism more frequently than virgins. Mated males escaped postcopulatory cannibalism more frequently than virgins. Our results show that males respond to exposure without mating in the expected manner. However, prior mating (1 week earlier) had unexpected effects on males, which may be due to mated males being of higher quality. There were little or no effects of the size of the prior exposure individual or mate on subsequent mating behaviors. Further research is needed to determine why different species use different degrees of prior information in mate choice.     

Durability of recycled aggregate concrete using pozzolanic materials

In this study, pulverized fuel ash (PFA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) were used to compensate for the loss of strength and durability of concrete containing recycled aggregate. As a result, 30% PFA and 65% GGBS concretes increased the compressive strength to the level of control specimens cast with natural granite gravel, but the tensile strength was still lowered at 28 days. Replacement with PFA and GGBS was effective in raising the resistance to chloride ion penetrability into the concrete body, measured by a rapid chloride ion penetration test based on ASTM C 1202-91. It was found that the corrosion rate of 30% PFA and 65% GGBS concretes was kept at a lower level after corrosion initiation, compared to the control specimens, presumably due to the restriction of oxygen and water access. However, it was less effective in increasing the chloride threshold level for steel corrosion. Hence, it is expected that the corrosion time for 30% PFA and 65% GGBS concrete containing recycled aggregate mostly equates to the corrosion-free life of control specimens.     

Watershed vulnerability predictions for the Ozarks using landscape models

Forty-six broad-scale landscape metrics derived from commonly used landscape metrics were used to develop potential indicators of total phosphorus (TP) concentration, total ammonia (TA) concentration, and Escherichia coli bacteria count among 244 sub-watersheds of the Upper White River (Ozark Mountains, USA). Indicator models were developed by correlating field-based water quality measurements and contemporaneous remote-sensing-based ecological metrics using partial least squares (PLS) analyses. The TP PLS model resulted in one significant factor explaining 91% of the variability in surface water TP concentrations. Among the 18 contributing landscape model variables for the TP PLS model, the proportions of a sub-watershed that are barren and in human use were key indicators of water chemistry in the associated sub-watersheds. The increased presence and reduced fragmentation of forested areas are negatively correlated with TP concentrations in associated sub-watersheds, particularly within close proximity to rivers and streams. The TA PLS model resulted in one significant factor explaining 93% of the variability in surface water TA concentrations. The eight contributing landscape model variables for the TA PLS model were among the same forest and urban metrics for the TP model, with a similar spatial gradient trend in relationship to distance from streams and rivers within a sub-watershed. The E. coli PLS model resulted in two significant factors explaining 99.7% of the variability in E. coli cell count. The 17 contributing landscape model variables for the E. coli PLS model were similar to the TP and TA models. The integration of model results demonstrates that forest, riparian, and urban attributes of sub-watersheds affect all three models. The results provide watershed managers in the Ozark Mountains with a broad-scale vulnerability prediction tool, focusing on TP, TA, and E. coli, and are being used to prioritize and evaluate monitoring and restoration efforts in the vicinity of the White River, a major tributary to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.     

What is needed to improve tropical conservation? Appropriate education, training, and encouragement

Currently, there is a need for a better multidisciplinary education system for tropical conservation, as well as a need for more people from developing countries to receive such improved education and training. If this combination is achieved, universities in both developed and developing nations will likely produce graduates who are better prepared for jobs involving non-academic tropical conservation initiatives and, simultaneously produce graduates who may be better accepted as conservationists in tropical destinations.     

Factors Affecting Population Assessments of Desert Tortoises

Abstract: Desert tortoises have been a subject of controversy since their listing as threatened in 1990. With a wide geographic range and more living individuals than any other listed land animal, biologists have needed to detect population trends against a "noisy" background of strong annual changes. We obtained annual population estimates of desert tortoises over 6 consecutive years at a 2.59-km² plot in Joshua Tree National Park, California. Our estimates, based on weekly spring surveys, varied substantially, particularly between wet and dry years. Concurrently, we followed 10 radiotagged animals for 3 years to corroborate the surveys. Population density was determined separately for each year and for all years combined. Our best population estimate was an average of 67 adult tortoises, three times more than the density reported in a 1978 survey of the same site. Annual mortality was low ( <10%), and the animals showed extreme site fidelity. Apparent changes in population size were most strongly related to the animals' varying susceptibility to capture. In dry years, home ranges decreased, captures decreased, and effort required to find each tortoise nearly doubled. Our data confirm that tortoises are likely to be undercounted during dry years and call into question earlier studies conducted during droughts.