Ecological changes and local knowledge in a giant honey bee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis dorsata</Emphasis> F.) hunting community in Palawan,Philippines

One of the traditional livelihood practices of indigenous Tagbanuas in Palawan, Philippines is wild honey hunting and gathering from the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata F.). In order to analyze the linkages of the social and ecological systems involved in this indigenous practice, we conducted spatial, quantitative, and qualitative analyses on field data gathered through mapping of global positioning system coordinates, community surveys, and key informant interviews. We found that only 24% of the 251 local community members surveyed could correctly identify the giant honey bee. Inferential statistics showed that a lower level of formal education strongly correlates with correct identification of the giant honey bee. Spatial analysis revealed that mean NDVI of sampled nesting tree areas has dropped from 0.61 in the year 1988 to 0.41 in 2015. However, those who correctly identified the giant honey bee lived in areas with high vegetation cover. Decreasing vegetation cover limits the presence of wild honey bees and this may also be limiting direct experience of the community with wild honey bees. However, with causality yet to be established, we recommend conducting further studies to concretely model feedbacks between ecological changes and local knowledge.     

Regional patterns of heavy metal exposure and contamination in the fish fauna of the Kharaa River basin (Mongolia)

Regional Environmental Change - Past and present gold mining operations scattered throughout the Kharaa River basin, Mongolia, have been identified as a major source of heavy metal and metalloid...     

PAMAM dendrimers as nano carriers to investigate inflammatory responses induced by pulmonary exposure of PCB metabolites in Sprague-Dawley rats

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) persist and accumulate in the ecosystem depending upon the degree of chlorination of the biphenyl rings. Airborne PCBs are especially susceptible to oxidative metabolism, yielding mono- and di-hydroxy metabolites. We have previously demonstrated that 4-chlorobiphenyl hydroquinones (4-CB-HQs) acted as cosubstrates for arachidonic acid metabolism by prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) and resulted in an increase of prostaglandin production in vitro. In the present study, we tested the capability of 4-CB-HQ to act as a co-substrate for PGHS catalysis in vivo. BQ and 4-CB-2′,5′-HQ were administered intratracheally to male Sprague-Dawley rats (2.5 μmol/kg body weight) using nanosized polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers as carriers. We found that 24 h post application, PGE₂ metabolites in kidney of rats treated with 4-CB-2′,5′-HQ were significantly increased compared to the controls. The increase of PGE₂ metabolites was correlated with increased alveolar macrophages in lung lavage fluid. The elevation of PGE₂ synthesis is of great interest since it plays a crucial role in balancing homeostasis and inflammation where a chronic disturbance may increase risk of cancer. PAMAM dentrimers proved to be an effective transport medium and did not stimulate an inflammatory response themselves.     

Upscaling of Environmental Information: Support of Land-Use Management Decisions by Spatio-Temporal Regionalization Approaches

This article presents several case studies in southwest Germany, which aimed to support land use management decisions by a process-oriented statistical upscaling of point-related environmental monitoring data to the landscape scale. When techniques of data subsetting were used in a sensible way and corresponding to the appropriate scale for the evaluation envisaged, multiple linear regression offered a data mining technique which was able to spatially predict relatively complex environmental patterns with parsimonious, interpretable and accurate models, whereby different evaluation scales were best represented by different DTM resolutions. Scenario models based upon the regression formulas were a valuable tool for visualizing management options and evaluating management impacts (tree species selection) on soil functions (carbon storage), which qualifies the presented methodology as a useful aid in decision making. Such upscaling techniques may be used for forecasting long-term effects of ecosystem management, but they provided no information on temporal dynamics. Therefore, time trends of point information on soil solution data were scaled by linking them to soil chemical data which was available in higher spatial resolution, using both statistical and process-oriented methods.     

Integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation: key challenges—scales, knowledge, and norms

Statistical data shows that the increase in disasters due to natural hazards over the past 20 years has, for the most part, been caused by meteorological and hydrological events. This increase has been largely assigned to climate change [Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 2010, http://www.emdat.be/Database/Trends/trends.html], that is, with climate-related hazards being major triggers for the majority of disasters. Consequently, there is obvious concern about how a changing climate will exacerbate the situation in the future (McBean and Ajibade in Curr Opin Environ Sustain 1:179–186, 2009). However, the attribution of a single hazard event or specific losses to climate change is still difficult, if not impossible, due to the complexity of factors that generate disaster losses. Disaster risk is a product of the interaction of the hazard (event) and the vulnerability conditions of the society or elements exposed. As a result, the need for a systematic linkage between disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) to advance sustainable development, and finally human security is being discussed within the ongoing climate change negotiations as well as within the disaster risk community, for example, in the framework of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report on ‘Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation’. However, crucial differences between DRR and CCA exist that have widely limited or hampered their integration in practice. A review of existing literature on the topic and current national and local adaptation strategies, as well as 38 expert interviews conducted between April and May 2009, have led the authors to hypothesise that most of these differences and challenges can be categorised with respect to different spatial and temporal scales, the knowledge base, and norm systems. This paper examines the reasons for the practical barriers when linking CCA and DRR according to these three aspects. Finally, we outline recommendations and measures that need to be adopted in order to overcome existing barriers. In addition, quality criteria are formulated that should be applied in order to constantly monitor and evaluate adaptation strategies designed to simultaneously meet DRR requirements and vice versa.     

Trihalomethane formation during water disinfection in four water supplies in the Somes river basin in Romania

Background, aim and scope

After the discovery of chloroform in drinking water, an extensive amount of work has been dedicated to the factors influencing the formation of halogenated disinfections by-products (DBPs). The disinfection practice can vary significantly from one country to another. Whereas no disinfectant is added to many water supplies in Switzerland or no disinfectant residual is maintained in the distribution system, high disinfectant doses are applied together with high residual concentrations in the distribution system in other countries such as the USA or some southern European countries and Romania. In the present study, several treatment plants in the Somes river basin in Romania were investigated with regard to chlorine practice and DBP formation (trihalomethanes (THMs)). Laboratory kinetic studies were also performed to investigate whether there is a relationship between raw water dissolved organic matter, residual chlorine, water temperature and THM formation.

Materials and methods

Drinking water samples were collected from different sampling points in the water treatment plant (WTP) from Gilau and the corresponding distribution system in Cluj-Napoca and also from Beclean, Dej and Jibou WTPs. The water samples were collected once a month from July 2006 to November 2007 and stored in 40-mL vials closed with Teflon lined screw caps. Water samples were preserved at 4°C until analysis after sodium thiosulfate (Na₂S₂O₃) had been added to quench residual chlorine. All samples were analysed for THMs using headspace GC-ECD between 1 and 7 days after sampling. The sample (10 mL) was filled into 20-mL headspace vials and closed with a Teflon-lined screw cap. Thereafter, the samples were equilibrated in an oven at 60°C for 45 min. The headspace (1 mL) was then injected into the GC (Cyanopropylphenyl Polysiloxane column, 30 m × 53 mm, 3 μm film thickness, Thermo Finnigan, USA). The MDLs for THMs were determined from the standard deviation of eight standards at 1 μg/L. The MDLs for CHCl₃, CHBrCl₂, CHBr₂Cl and CHBr₃ were 0.3, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.6 μg/L, respectively. All kinetic laboratory studies were carried out only with water from the WTP Gilau. The experiments were conducted under two conditions: baseline conditions (pH 7, 21°C, 2.5 mg/L Cl₂) to gain information about the change of the organic matter in the raw water and seasonally variable conditions to simulate the actual process at the treatment plant and the distribution system.

Results and discussion

This study shows that the current chlorination practice in the investigated plants complies with the THM drinking water standards of the EU. The THM concentrations in all samples taken in the four treatment plants and distributions systems were below the EU drinking water standard for TTHMs of 100 μg/L. Due to the low bromide levels in the raw waters, the main THM formed in the investigated plants is chloroform. It could also be seen that the THM levels were typically lower in water supplies with groundwater as their water resource. In one plant (Dej) with a pre-ozonation step, a significantly lower (50%) THM formation during post-chlorination was observed. Laboratory chlorination experiments revealed a good correlation between chloroform formation and the consumed chlorine dose. Also, these experiments allowed a semi-quantative prediction of the chloroform formation in the distribution system of Cluj-Napoca.

Conclusions

CHCl₃ was the most important trihalomethane species observed after the chlorination of water in all of the sampled months. However, TTHM concentrations did not exceed the maximum permissible value of 100 μg/L (EU). The THM formation rates in the distribution system of Cluj-Napoca have a high seasonal variability. Kinetic laboratory experiments could be used to predict chloroform formation in the Cluj-Napoca distribution system. Furthermore, an empirical model allowed an estimation of the chloroform formation in the Gilau water treatment plant.

     

AhR agonist and genotoxicant bioavailability in a PAH-contaminated soil undergoing biological treatment

Background, aim, and scope  Degradation of the 16 US EPA priority PAHs in soil subjected to bioremediation is often achieved. However, the PAH loss is not always followed by a reduction in soil toxicity. For instance, bioanalytical testing of such soil using the chemical-activated luciferase gene expression (CALUX) assay, measuring the combined effect of all Ah receptor (AhR) activating compounds, occasionally indicates that the loss of PAHs does not correlate with the loss of Ah receptor-active compounds in the soil. In addition, standard PAH analysis does not address the issue of total toxicant bioavailability in bioremediated soil. Materials and methods  To address these questions, we have used the CALUX AhR agonist bioassay and the Comet genotoxicity bioassay with RTL-W1 cells to evaluate the toxic potential of different extracts from a PAH-contaminated soil undergoing large-scale bioremediation. The extracts were also chemically analyzed for PAH16 and PCDD/PCDF. Soil sampled on five occasions between day 0 and day 274 of biological treatment was shaken with n-butanol with vortex mixing at room temperature to determine the bioavailable fraction of contaminants. To establish total concentrations, parts of the same samples were extracted using an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) with toluene at 100°C. The extracts were tested as inducers of AhR-dependent luciferase activity in the CALUX assay and for DNA breakage potential in the Comet bioassay. Results  The chemical analysis of the toluene extracts indicated slow degradation rates and the CALUX assay indicated high levels of AhR agonists in the same extracts. Compared to day 0, the bioavailable fractions showed no decrease in AhR agonist activity during the treatment but rather an up-going trend, which was supported by increasing levels of PAHs and an increased effect in the Comet bioassay after 274 days. The bio-TEQs calculated using the CALUX assay were higher than the TEQs calculated from chemical analysis in both extracts, indicating that there are additional toxic PAHs in both extracts that are not included in the chemically derived TEQ. Discussion  The response in the CALUX and the Comet bioassays as well as the chemical analysis indicate that the soil might be more toxic to organisms living in soil after 274 days of treatment than in the untreated soil, due to the release of previously sorbed PAHs and possibly also metabolic formation of novel toxicants. Conclusions  Our results put focus on the issue of slow degradation rates and bioavailability of PAHs during large-scale bioremediation treatments. The release of sorbed PAHs at the investigated PAH-contaminated site seemed to be faster than the degradation rate, which demonstrates the importance of considering the bioavailable fraction of contaminants during a bioremediation process. Recommendations and perspectives  It has to be ensured that soft remediation methods like biodegradation or the natural remediation approach do not result in the mobilization of toxic compounds including more mobile degradation products. For PAH-contaminated sites this cannot be assured merely by monitoring the 16 target PAHs. The combined use of a battery of biotests for different types of PAH effects such as the CALUX and the Comet assay together with bioavailability extraction methods may be a useful screening tool of bioremediation processes of PAH-contaminated soil and contribute to a more accurate risk assessment. If the bioremediation causes a release of bound PAHs that are left undegraded in an easily extracted fraction, the soil may be more toxic to organisms living in the soil as a result of the treatment. A prolonged treatment time may be one way to reduce the risk of remaining mobile PAHs. In critical cases, the remediation concept might have to be changed to ex situ remediation methods.     

Disaster management and mitigation: the telecommunications infrastructure

Among the most typical consequences of disasters is the near or complete collapse of terrestrial telecommunications infrastructures (especially the distribution network–the 'last mile') and their concomitant unavailability to the rescuers and the higher echelons of mitigation teams. Even when such damage does not take place, the communications overload/congestion resulting from significantly elevated traffic generated by affected residents can be highly disturbing. The paper proposes innovative remedies to the telecommunications difficulties in disaster struck regions. The offered solutions are network-centric operations-cap able, and can be employed in management of disasters of any magnitude (local to national or international). Their implementation provide ground rescue teams (such as law enforcement, firemen, healthcare personnel, civilian authorities) with tactical connectivity among themselves, and, through the Next Generation Network backbone, ensure the essential bidirectional free flow of information and distribution of Actionable Knowledge among ground units, command/control centres, and civilian and military agencies participating in the rescue effort.     

Langfristigkeit ökosystemarer Forschung

Time in environmental science continues to be almost neglected. In connection with rising ecological problems long-term research, as is necessary for the evaluation and prediction of environmental conditions, seems to be an exception. Complex ecosystems, e.g. terrestrial and marine systems, however, are characterized by long lasting natural time-scales which must be taken into account by analyzing them. In this context the role of time in ecosystems research becomes important. Therefore, a data base was conceptualized that could take up the main characteristics of ecosystematic analyses. Annual research reports of ecosystem research centers were revised for taking them up into the data base. In this way it is possible to evaluate the pool of data on special aspects, especially on the time parameters of the analyses. One result — besides a partial unequality of the time scales in experiment and reality — is that long-term research in terrestrial ecosystems is very rare. The reasons for this are various, but cannot divert from the need for a greater consideration of longterm observation of the ecosystems. Otherwise the ecosystematic research will not be able to meet their tasks of evaluation and prediction.