Modeling Dinophysis in Western Andalucía using an autoregressive hidden Markov model

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - Dinophysis spp. can produce diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DST) including okadaic acid and dinophysistoxins, and some strains can also produce non-diarrheic...     

Effects of exposure to environmental pollutants on mitochondrial DNA copy number: a meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Exposure to environmental pollutants has been associated with alteration on relative levels of mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn). However, the...     

Geographic variation in resource dominance-discovery in Brazilian ant communities

A predictive framework for the ecology of species invasions requires that we learn what limits successful invaders in their native range. The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) is invasive in the United States, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and China. Solenopsis invicta appears to be a superior competitor in its introduced range, where it can cause the local extirpation of native species, but little is known about its competitive ability in its native range in South America. Here we examine the competitive ability of S. invicta for food resources in three widely separated Brazilian ant communities. Each of these communities contains 20-40 ant species, 8-10 of which were common and frequently interacted with S. invicta. S. invicta at all three sites was attacked by several species-specific phorid parasitoids, and at one site, two other species were attacked by their own specialized parasitoids. We examined interactions in these local communities for evidence that trade-offs among ant species between resource dominance and resource discovery, and between resource dominance and parasitoid vulnerability facilitate local coexistence. The trade-off between resource dominance and resource discovery was strong and significant only at Santa Genebra, where parasitoids had no effect on the outcome of confrontations at resources. At Bonito, parasitoids significantly reduced the ability of S. invicta, which was the top-ranked behavioral dominant, from defending and usurping food resources from subordinate species. In the Pantanal, S. invicta ranked behind three other ant species in a linear hierarchy of behavioral dominance, and lost the majority of its interactions with a fourth more subordinate species, Paratrechina fulva, another invasive species. Parasitoids of S. invicta were uncommon in the Pantanal, and did not affect its low position in the hierarchy relative to the other two sites. Parasitoids, however, did affect the ability of Linepithema angulatum, the top-ranked behavioral dominant in this community, from defending and usurping resources from behavioral subordinates. These results indicate that both interspecific competition and trait-mediated indirect effects of phorid parasitoids affect the ecological success of the red imported fire ant in its native range, but that the relative importance of these factors varies geographically.     

Trophic variation with length in two ommastrephid squids, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ommastrephes bartramii</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis</Emphasis>

From 1998 to 2001 a total of 200 Ommastrephes bartramii (27 paralarvae) and 170 Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (14 paralarvae) were sampled from the Central North Pacific. One group of non-paralarval O. bartramii (n = 30) was sampled from farther northwest in 1996. The δ¹⁵N of mantle muscle of non-paralarval O. bartramii ( = 12.4‰) was significantly greater than that of non-parlarval S. oualaniensis ( = 8.1‰) (P < 0.001). The δ¹⁵N of whole paralarvae of O. bartramii ( = 6.4‰) was not significantly different than parlarvalae of S. oualaniensis ( = 6.1‰) (P = 0.528). There was no significant difference between the mantle muscle δ¹⁵N values of male (n = 95, = 13.3‰) and female (n = 18, = 12.9 ‰) O. bartramii greater than 300 mm mantle length (ML) (P = 0.15). There was also no significant difference between the mantle muscle δ¹⁵N values of male (n = 15, = 7.2‰) and female (n = 26, = 7.3 ‰) S. oualaniensis in the same size range (P = 0.41). Overall there was a distinct logistic increase in δ¹⁵N with mantle length for O. bartramii, whereas S. oualaniensis showed an exponential increase in δ¹⁵N with mantle length that was stronger within individual years than with all samples combined. In general, adult O. bartramii are more than a trophic level above S. oualaniensis (4.3‰, 1.3 TLs). Because of the nature of the sampling protocol, this study could not separate spatial and temporal effects on the δ¹⁵N signals from each squid species. This study demonstrates the ability of stable isotope analyses to differentiate trophic levels between squid species as well as track trophic changes across size ranges from paralarvae to adults. Additional research is needed to validate these trophic changes across size within individuals.     

GIS‐BASED HYIROLOGIC MODELING OF RIPARIAN AREAS: IMPLICATIONS FOR STREAM WATER QUALITY1

ABSTRACT: Riparian buffers have potential for reducing excess nutrient levels in surface water. Spatial variation in riparian buffer effectiveness is well recognized, yet researchers and managers still lack effective general tools for understanding the relevance of different hydrologic settings. We present several terrain‐based GIS models to predict spatial patterns of shallow, subsurface hydrologic flux and riparian hydrology. We then link predictions of riparian hydrology to patterns of nutrient export in order to demonstrate potential for augmenting the predictive power of land use/land cover (LU/LC) maps. Using predicted hydrology in addition to LUILC, we observed increases in the explained variation of nutrient exports from 290 sites across Lower Michigan. The results suggest that our hydrologic predictions relate more strongly to patterns of nutrient export than the presence or absence of wetland vegetation, and that in fact the influence of vegetative structure largely depends on its hydrologic context. Such GIS models are useful and complimentary tools for exploring the role of hydrologic routing in riparian ecosystem function and stream water quality. Modeling efforts that take a similar GIS approach to material transport might be used to further explore the causal implications of riparian buffers in heterogeneous watersheds.     

EFFECTS OF TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL PROPERTIES ON RECHARGE AT TWO SITES IN AN AGRICULTURAL FIELD1

ABSTRACT: Field experiments were conducted from 1992 to 1995 to estimate ground water recharge rates at two sites located within a 2.7‐hectare agricultural field. The field lies in a sand plain setting in central Minnesota and is cropped continuously in field corn. The sites are located at a topographically high (upland) site and a topographically low (lowland) site in an effort to quantify the effects of depression focusing of recharge. Three site‐specific methods were used to estimate recharge rates: well hydrograph analysis, chlorofluorocarbon age dating, and an unsaturated zone water balance. All three recharge methods indicated that recharge rates at the lowland site (annual average of all methods of 29 cm) exceeded those at the upland site (annual average of 18 cm). On an annual basis, estimates by the individual methods ranged from 12 to 44 percent of precipitation at the upland site and from 21 to 83 percent at the lowland site. The difference in recharge rates between the sites is primarily attributed to depression focusing of surface water runon at the lowland site. However, two other factors were also important: the presence of thin lamellae at the upland site, and coarser textured soils below a depth of 1.5 m at the lowland site.     

Efficacy of stable isotope ratios in assigning endangered migrants to breeding and wintering sites.

A primary constraint on effective conservation of migratory animals is our inability to track individuals through their annual cycle. One such animal is the endangered southwestern subspecies of the Willow Flycatcher, which is difficult to distinguish from conspecifics. Identifying wintering regions used by the endangered subspecies would be an important step in formulating an effective conservation strategy. Our objective was to use stable isotope ratios as a means of identifying wintering sites of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers. We analyzed stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen from feathers of breeding and wintering Willow Flycatchers. Based on winter samples, we document a positive trend in hydrogen isotope ratios across latitude. We also found that Willow Flycatchers use C4 food webs south of 8 degrees N latitude, but we found no evidence of use of C4 food webs farther north. Nitrogen stable isotope ratios of feathers showed no discernable geographic variation. Discriminant function analyses, based on stable isotope ratios of wintering Willow Flycatchers, were only useful (>50% accurate) for assigning individuals to winter regions if the regions were large and the threshold probability for assignment was relatively high. When using these discriminant functions, most breeding samples of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers were assigned to two wintering regions: central Mexico and Ecuador. We think that assignment of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers to Ecuador is unrealistic. Given the large percentages of samples that could not be classified with certainty, we are not confident that these two regions are truly more likely to harbor wintering Southwestern Willow Flycatchers than other winter regions. We think our inconclusive results are due primarily to weak and nonlinear gradients in isotope ratios across the winter range of Willow Flycatchers.     

公交柴油车道路排放特征的实测研究初探

利用GPS和SEMTECH-D车载排放测试仪测量了上海市公交车行驶工况和公交柴油车在市区道路上的排放状况.该研究共获得193400组公交车行驶工况数据,累计测量里程820 km,排放数据75420个.测量结果显示,上海市公交车平均车行速度14 km·h-1,最高车速为60 km·h-1;市区公交车平均车行速度14 km·h-1,最高车速小于60 km·h-1,市区公交车的怠速时间比在25%以上.被测公交柴油车的CO、THC和NOx平均里程排放因子为(3.41±0.86)、(1.95±0.47)和(4.56±0.99) g·km-1,与陈长虹等人2005年提供的卡车3和卡车5的排放状况相近.测量结果还显示,被测车辆进出站时单位里程排放量是正常行驶条件下的10倍.此外,在交通高峰期或拥堵期,车行速度降低至0～5 km·h-1时,被测公交柴油车的CO、THC和NOx平均里程排放因子升高至17.49、6.68和15.85 g·km-1,是平均车速时候的5.13倍、3.4倍和3.48倍,车辆排放污染将明显加剧.测量结果说明,加强城市交通管理,减少车辆拥堵,不仅可以提高公交车运行效率,而且也是降低公交车污染的有效措施.     

重型柴油车实际道路排放与行驶工况的相关性研究

采用SEMTECH-D车载排放测试仪测量了东风柴油卡车在城市实际道路工况以及等速和加速工况下的油耗及污染物排放状况.测试结果显示,测试卡车实际道路综合百公里油耗为17.8 L,NOx、CO和HC排放因子分别为3.96、8.86和2.15g·km-1.其中主干道路况相对较差,油耗与排放因子较高,是所有测试道路平均水平的1.3～1.8倍左右.研究结果表明,重型车油耗及污染物排放与各行驶工况下的速度、加速度均密切相关,车辆在高速加速行驶状态下易产生高排放.车辆在30～50 km·h-1速度区间内等速行驶时,油耗与排放因子最为经济且环境友好.车辆在加速行驶时,油耗与NOx、CO排放因子可达到城市实际道路平均水平的2.0、2.2、1.4倍,急加速时达到2.8、2.1、14倍.应用比功率概念可准确描述车辆在各运行工况下的排放水平,但在重型车上缺乏实验依据,有待进一步研究.     

应用IVE模型计算上海市机动车污染物排放

为了解上海市机动车污染现状,建立上海市机动车源排放清单,分别选择上海市中心城区、商业区和收入相对较低区域中的主干道、快速道和次干道3种共9条典型道路,开展机动车技术水平参数、比功率(VSP)分布状况、启动状况等测试,并在此基础上将International Vehicle E-mission(IVE)模型本地化.调查结果表明,上海市区实际道路上轻型客车、出租车、公交巴士、卡车和摩托车(包含助动车)分别占道路总车流量的41.0%、30.8%、15.6%、6.9%和5.7%;从技术组成看,约85%的轻型客车和97%的出租车均安装有三元催化装置,约30%的公交巴士和90%的卡车没有达到欧Ⅰ标准;机动车的VSP分布主要集中在-2.9～1.2 kw·t-1.模式计算结果表明,2004年上海市机动车CO、VOC、NOx和PM排放量分别为57.06×104t、7.75×104t、9.20×104t和0.26×104t;20%的高排放车对总排放量的贡献占到25%～45%;启动过程中排放的CO、VOC和PM占总排放量的15%～25%,NOx仅占总排放量的4.5%.