大型动物的种群恢复:大象种群增长的生态学效应

博茨瓦纳北部及其毗邻地区分布着世界上最大的非洲象种群(Loxodonta africana),而在100年前,由于过度捕猎,大象的种群数量极为稀少.     

Effect of surfactant alkyl chain length on soil cadmium desorption using surfactant/ligand systems

The effect of surfactant alkyl chain length on soil Cd desorption was studied using nonionic surfactants of polyethylene oxide (PEO) of PEO chain lengths of 7.5 (Triton X-114), 9.5 (Triton X-100), 30 (Triton X-305), or 40 units (Triton X-405) in combination with the I- ligand. Triplicate 1 g soil samples were equilibrated with 15 ml of surfactant-ligand mixture, at concentrations of 0.025, 0.50 or 0.10, and 0.0, 0.168 or 0.336 mol/l, respectively. After shaking the samples for 24 h, the supernatant fraction was analyzed for Cd content to determine the percent of Cd desorbed from the soil. After five successive washings, 53%, 40% and 25% of Cd had been desorbed by 0.025, 0.050 or 0.10 mol/l of Triton X-114, respectively, in the presence of 0.336 mol/l of I-, whereas with the same conditions, Triton X-100 desorbed 61%, 57% and 56% Cd and either Triton X-305 or Triton X-405 desorbed 51, 40 and 14 to 16% Cd. The most efficient Cd desorption was obtained using 0.025 mol/l Triton X-100 in admixture with 0.336 mol/l I-. Increased surfactant concentration was detrimental to Cd desorption consistent with a process that blocked ligand access to the soil particle surface. After 5 washings,the cumulative cadmium desorption decreased with increasing surfactant alkyl chain length, indicating that the metal-ligand complexes are preferably stabilized by the micelles' hydrophobic octyl phenyl (OP) group rather than by the hydrophilic PEO group. In the absence of ligand, the surfactants alone desorbed less than 1% Cd from the contaminated soil, suggesting that the ligand, rather than the surfactant, extracts the metal, to be subsequently stabilized within the surfactant micelles.     

Seasonality of spawning by tropical anguillid eels around Sulawesi Island, Indonesia

Remarkably little is known about the life histories of the many tropical anguillid eels distributed across the Indo-Pacific region, and since the Danish expedition to study eels in the region in 1928 and 1929, research on these eels has only begun again in recent years. Sampling for anguillid leptocephali in the Indonesian Seas has been carried out recently to learn about the spawning ecology and larval distributions of tropical eels there. The leptocephali of Anguilla marmorata, Anguilla bicolor pacifica, Anguilla borneensis, Anguilla interioris, and Anguilla celebesensis were collected around Sulawesi Island both in May 2001 and October of 2002. The development of genetic identification techniques has enabled these leptocephali to be identified to species, and their distributions and sizes during different seasons indicated that there are differing life history patterns among sympatric species in the region. A. celebesensis was found to have been spawning in Tomini Bay of northeastern Sulawesi Island in March and April 2001, but apparently, no spawning had occurred in the late summer and fall of 2002. Studies on anguillid glass eels have suggested that tropical anguillids may spawn throughout much of year, but our research on leptocephali in Tomini Bay and data on the downstream migration of tropical anguillids in the major tributary to Tomini Bay indicate that A. celebesensis may have a distinct seasonal pattern of spawning possibly related to the regional monsoon cycles. This is the first evidence of seasonality of spawning in tropical anguillid eels whose life histories are only just beginning to be revealed.     

Food regulates reproduction differently in different habitats: experimental evidence in the Goshawk

Food supplementation experiments have been widely used to get detailed insight into how food supply contributes to the reproductive performance of wild animals. Surprisingly, even though food seldom is distributed evenly in space, variation in local habitat quality has usually not been controlled for in food supplementation studies. With results from a two-year feeding experiment involving a habitat-sensitive avian top predator, the Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis, we show that treatment effects on goshawk reproductive performance are habitat dependent. Extra food reduced nestling mortality in low-quality territories where prime habitat (forest) is scarce, but not in high-quality territories where prime habitat is abundant. Consequently, brood size did not differ between treatment categories in heavily forested territories, but fledgling numbers differed between unfed and fed goshawk pairs breeding in territories where forest is scarce. However, because extra food was not superabundant, this artificial increase in offspring number induced a dramatic decrease in nestling condition in low-quality territories. Treatment effects were detected even after controlling statistically for other potentially confounding effects (year, territory identity) and strongly covaried with territory-specific abundances of the most important summer prey species. These results highlight the importance of acknowledging the effect that small-scale variation in habitat quality and availability of natural food may have on the results of food supplementation experiments. In order to assess the generality of food supplementation effects, the integration of habitat heterogeneity and variation in food abundance is thus needed, especially among species in which small-scale variation in habitat quality influences demographic patterns.     

Chemistry and aerosols in the marine boundary layer: 1-D modelling of the three ACE-2 Lagrangian experiments

Three Lagrangian experiments were conducted during IGAC's second aerosol characterization experiment (ACE-2) in the area between Portugal, Tenerife and Madeira in June/July 1997. During each Lagrangian experiment, a boundary layer air mass was followed for about 30 h, and the temporal evolution of its chemical and aerosol composition was documented by a series of vertical profiles and horizontal box pattern flown by the Meteorological Research Flight research aircraft Hercules C130. The wealth of observational data that has been collected during these three Lagrangian experiments is the basis for the development and testing of a one-dimensional Lagrangian boundary layer model with coupled gas, aqueous, and aerosol phase chemistry. The focus of this paper is on current model limitations and strengths. We show that the model is able to represent the dynamical and chemical evolution of the marine boundary layer, in some cases requiring adjustments of the subsidence velocity and of the surface heat fluxes. Entrainment of a layer rich in ozone and carbon monoxide from a residual continental boundary layer into the marine boundary layer as well as in-cloud oxidation of sulphur dioxide by hydrogen peroxide are simulated, and coherent results are obtained, concerning the evolution of the small, presumably sulphate–ammonia aerosol mode.     

Metals and emerging contaminants in groundwater and human health risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Groundwaters are normally consumed without previous treatment and therefore the monitoring of contaminants in order to guarantee its safety is...     

Health risks of environmental exposure to metals and herbicides in the Pardo River,Brazil

Mixture of metals and herbicides in rivers may pose relevant risks for the health of surrounding communities. Humans may be exposed to river pollution through intake of contaminated water and fish, as well as irrigated agricultural products. The aim of this study was to assess the human health risks of environmental exposure to metals and herbicides through water and fish intake in the Pardo River. Metals (Al, As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, Tl, Sn, V, and Zn) were analyzed in river water and in edible fish. Herbicides (ametryn, atrazine, diuron, hexazinone, simazine, and tebuthiuron) were analyzed in river water. Seasonal variances were also studied. Aluminum, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn levels in river water were higher than the USEPA benchmarks. Non-carcinogenic risks due to pollutants mixture exposure were above the limit, and carcinogenic risks of As exposure were >10^?6 in the sampling points during the rainy season. Metal levels in fish were lower than the Brazilian legislation and do not pose a threat to public health. Herbicides were detected in four sampling points, with atrazine concentrations (range 0.16–0.32 μg/L) below the Brazilian standard (2.0 μg/L), but above the European Union standard (0.1 μg/L). Considering the water supply needs of cities located in the Pardo River Basin and the persistence of metals and herbicides, the present study indicated that there was a seasonal influence on non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to human health, especially in the rainy season. Studies for water treatment plants implantation should consider the risks of exposure to persistent substances, in order to protect the population.     

Effects of parabens on apoptosis induced by serum-free medium

Alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acids (parabens), an endocrine disrupter, are used as preservatives in cosmetics and foods. In this study, to understand the relationship between parabens and differentiation in infants, the effects of parabens on apoptosis induced by serum deprivation in PC12 cells were investigated. In addition, apoptosis-related factors were assayed. As results, a tendency toward enhancement of apoptosis was observed in the cells cultured in the serum-free medium with methylparaben, and this tendency was suggested to be related to the contents of BAD, a pro-apoptotic protein. Butylparaben did not show any tendency to enhance apoptosis.