PERFORMANCE VARIATIONS OF COD AND NITROGEN REMOVAL BY VEGETATED SUBMERGED BED WETLANDS1

ABSTRACT: Vegetated submerged bed wetlands can supplement treatment of onsite wastewater systems. This study evaluated vegetation, media, and seasonal impacts on system performance in six meso scale rock plant filters with and without narrow leaf cattails (Typha augustifolia). Daily chemical oxygen demand (COD) reductions in planted cells averaged 85 percent and weekly total nitrogen (TN) reductions averaged 50 percent. Planted cells had 17 percent greater COD reduction and 76 percent greater TN reduction than unplanted cells, both significant differences. Media type affected COD reduction, particularly in unplanted cells. COD treatment in planted cells was highest for fine crushed limestone (87±13 percent) and least variable for coarse river gravel (85±11 percent). No significant difference in TN reduction was observed for different media types (48 to 51 percent range). Seasonal influences on treatment included a significant decrease during late fall and early spring and a significant increase with temperature. After a step increase in organic loading, treatment efficiency decreased sharply but returned to prior levels after an adaptation period of about one month. Planted cells not only exhibited higher treatment efficiency but also had a retarded organic matter breakthrough, appearing after three to seven times the period for a bromide tracer. This supports a hypothesis that retardation of contaminant movement through the treatment cells results in enhanced removal. These results support the use of rock plant filters, but demonstrate the need to account for performance variations in system design. (KEY TERMS: constructed wetlands; seasonal effects; subsurface flow; Typha augustifolia; onsite wastewater treatment; water quality.)     

Comparative population genetic structure of marine gastropods (Littorina spp.) with and without pelagic larval dispersal

 Population genetic theory predicts that marine animal species with planktonic larvae will have less genetic structure than those with direct development. We compared the genetic structure of four species of littorinid snails – two with planktonic egg capsules that hatch as planktonic larvae and two with benthic egg masses that hatch as crawl-away juveniles. We used DNA sequencing and single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) to assess sequence variation in a 480 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and then used an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) to estimate Φ_st for populations from the northeastern Pacific coast. One of the two direct-developing species, Littorina subrotundata, had a moderate amount of population structure (Φ_st=0.209) as expected but the other direct-developing species, L. sitkana, was nearly fixed for a single haplotype that made it impossible to precisely estimate Φ_st. One of the two planktonic-developing species, L. scutulata, did not show any significant population structure (Φ_st=0.004). In contrast to our expectations, the other planktonic-developing species, L. plena, showed some weak but statistically significant population structure (Φ_st=0.052). We discuss how differences in population genetic structure between species with the same type of development may reflect differences in their historical demography. Received: 22 December 1999 / Accepted: 24 July 2000     

Parents adjust care in response to weather conditions and egg dehydration in a Neotropical glassfrog

Parental hydration of terrestrially developing eggs has evolved repeatedly among frogs and is thought to buffer embryos from environmental variation. While many anurans offer relevant opportunities to study parental care, research on how parents respond to environmental variation and offspring conditions are lacking. In this study, we investigated the interrelationships of weather, embryo hydration demands, and parental provisioning in a wild population of the glassfrog Hyalinobatrachium (‘Centrolenella’) fleischmanni in Oaxaca, Mexico. We determined whether males modify parental behavior in response to changes in weather conditions that effect embryo dehydration, how variation in both weather and parental hydration affect egg water balance and embryonic mortality, and whether parental provisioning is related to the hydration levels of egg clutches. We found that male H. fleischmanni compensate for environmental variation in offspring conditions by adjusting the frequency of parental care in response to both weather and egg dehydration. Using a male removal experiment, we examined the function of paternal care and made comparisons with previous research, finding that both the adaptive value of parental care and flexibility in parental behavior are impacted by spatial and temporal conditions. We present observations that indicate a direct conflict between providing parental care and multiple matings. In summary, this research demonstrates that the variable frequency of paternal care in H. fleischmanni is a response to the fluctuating nature of the climate and resulting hydration requirements of embryos in combination with the allocation of effort to parental care versus mating activity.     

The toxicology of climate change: Environmental contaminants in a warming world

Climate change induced by anthropogenic warming of the earth's atmosphere is a daunting problem. This review examines one of the consequences of climate change that has only recently attracted attention: namely, the effects of climate change on the environmental distribution and toxicity of chemical pollutants. A review was undertaken of the scientific literature (original research articles, reviews, government and intergovernmental reports) focusing on the interactions of toxicants with the environmental parameters, temperature, precipitation, and salinity, as altered by climate change. Three broad classes of chemical toxicants of global significance were the focus: air pollutants, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including some organochlorine pesticides, and other classes of pesticides. Generally, increases in temperature will enhance the toxicity of contaminants and increase concentrations of tropospheric ozone regionally, but will also likely increase rates of chemical degradation. While further research is needed, climate change coupled with air pollutant exposures may have potentially serious adverse consequences for human health in urban and polluted regions. Climate change producing alterations in: food webs, lipid dynamics, ice and snow melt, and organic carbon cycling could result in increased POP levels in water, soil, and biota. There is also compelling evidence that increasing temperatures could be deleterious to pollutant-exposed wildlife. For example, elevated water temperatures may alter the biotransformation of contaminants to more bioactive metabolites and impair homeostasis. The complex interactions between climate change and pollutants may be particularly problematic for species living at the edge of their physiological tolerance range where acclimation capacity may be limited. In addition to temperature increases, regional precipitation patterns are projected to be altered with climate change. Regions subject to decreases in precipitation may experience enhanced volatilization of POPs and pesticides to the atmosphere. Reduced precipitation will also increase air pollution in urbanized regions resulting in negative health effects, which may be exacerbated by temperature increases. Regions subject to increased precipitation will have lower levels of air pollution, but will likely experience enhanced surface deposition of airborne POPs and increased run-off of pesticides. Moreover, increases in the intensity and frequency of storm events linked to climate change could lead to more severe episodes of chemical contamination of water bodies and surrounding watersheds. Changes in salinity may affect aquatic organisms as an independent stressor as well as by altering the bioavailability and in some instances increasing the toxicity of chemicals. A paramount issue will be to identify species and populations especially vulnerable to climate–pollutant interactions, in the context of the many other physical, chemical, and biological stressors that will be altered with climate change. Moreover, it will be important to predict tipping points that might trigger or accelerate synergistic interactions between climate change and contaminant exposures.     

Prioritizing research for trace pollutants and emerging contaminants in the freshwater environment

Organic chemicals have been detected at trace concentrations in the freshwater environment for decades. Though the term trace pollutant indicates low concentrations normally in the nanogram or microgram per liter range, many of these pollutants can exceed an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans. Trace pollutants referred to as emerging contaminants (ECs) have recently been detected in the freshwater environment and may have adverse human health effects. Analytical techniques continue to improve; therefore, the number and frequency of detections of ECs are increasing. It is difficult for regulators to restrict use of pollutants that are a human health hazard; scientists to improve treatment techniques for higher priority pollutants; and the public to modify consumption patterns due to the vast number of ECs and the breadth of literature on the occurrence, use, and toxicity. Hence, this paper examines literature containing occurrence and toxicity data for three broad classes of trace pollutants and ECs (industrials, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)), and assesses the relevance of 71 individual compounds. The evaluation indicates that widely used industrials (BPF) and PPCPs (AHTN, HHCB, ibuprofen, and estriol) occur frequently in samples from the freshwater environment but toxicity data were not available; thus, it is important to establish their ADI. Other widely used industrials (BDE-47, BDE-99) and pesticides (benomyl, carbendazim, aldrin, endrin, ethion, malathion, biphenthrin, and cypermethrin) have established ADI values but occurrence in the freshwater environment was not well documented. The highest priority pollutants for regulation and treatment should include industrials (PFOA, PFOS and DEHP), pesticides (diazinon, methoxychlor, and dieldrin), and PPCPs (EE2, carbamazepine, βE2, DEET, triclosan, acetaminophen, and E1) because they occur frequently in the freshwater environment and pose a human health hazard at environmental concentrations.     

Differential toxicity of silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on Drosophila melanogaster development, reproductive effort, and viability: size, coatings and antioxidants matter

Silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles are known to induce oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo. Here we test if they impact development, mating success, and survivorship in Drosophila melanogaster, and if so, if these effects are reversible by antioxidants. Ingestion of nanotitanium dioxide during the larval stage of the life cycle showed no effects on development or survivorship, up to doses of 200 μg mL⁻¹. Conversely, ingestion of nanosilver had major dose, size, and coating-dependent effects on each of these aspects of life history. Each of these effects was partially or fully reversible by vitamin C. Larvae growing on nanosilver supplemented with vitamin C showed a greater than twofold increase in survivorship compared to flies reared on nanosilver alone, and a threefold increase in mating success. Vitamin C also rescued cuticular and pigmentation defects in nanosilver fed flies. Biochemical assays of superoxide dismutase and glutathione show these markers respond to nanotitanium dioxide and nanosilver induced oxidative stress, and this response is reduced by vitamin C. These results indicate that life history effects of nanosilver ingestion result from oxidative stress, and suggest antioxidants as a potential remediation for nanosilver toxicity. Conversely, the lack of nanotitanium dioxide life history toxicity shows that oxidative stress does not necessarily result in whole organism effects, and argues that nanoparticle toxicity needs to be examined at different levels of biological organization.     

Savviness of prey to introduced predators

The prey naivety hypothesis posits that prey are vulnerable to introduced predators because many generations in slow gradual coevolution are needed for appropriate avoidance responses to develop. It predicts that prey will be more responsive to native than introduced predators and less responsive to introduced predators that differ substantially from native predators and from those newly established. To test these predictions, we conducted a global meta-analysis of studies that measured the wariness responses of small mammals to the scent of sympatric mammalian mesopredators. We identified 26 studies that met our selection criteria. These studies comprised 134 experiments reporting on the responses of 36 small mammal species to the scent of six introduced mesopredators and 12 native mesopredators. For each introduced mesopredator, we measured their phylogenetic and functional distance to local native mesopredators and the number of years sympatric with their prey. We used predator and prey body mass as a measure of predation risk. Globally, small mammals were similarly wary of the scent of native and introduced mesopredators; phylogenetic and functional distance between introduced mesopredators and closest native mesopredators had no effect on wariness; and wariness was unrelated to the number of prey generations, or years, since first contact with introduced mesopredators. Small mammal wariness was associated with predator-prey body mass ratio, regardless of the nativity. The one thing animals do not seem to recognize is whether their predators are native.     

Bibliometric investigation of the integration of animal personality in conservation contexts

Consistent individual differences in behavior, commonly termed animal personality, are a widespread phenomenon across taxa that have important consequences for fitness, natural selection, and trophic interactions. Animal personality research may prove useful in several conservation contexts, but which contexts remains to be determined. We conducted a structured literature review of 654 studies identified by combining search terms for animal personality and various conservation subfields. We scored the relevance of personality and conservation issues for each study to identify which studies meaningfully integrated the 2 fields as opposed to surface-level connections or vague allusions. We found a taxonomic bias toward mammals (29% of all studies). Very few amphibian or reptile studies applied personality research to conservation issues (6% each). Climate change (21%), invasive species (15%), and captive breeding and reintroduction (13%) were the most abundant conservation subfields that occurred in our search, though a substantial proportion of these papers weakly integrated conservation and animal personality (climate change 54%, invasive species 51%, captive breeding and reintroduction 40%). Based on our results, we recommend that researchers strive for consistent and broadly applicable terminology when describing consistent behavioral differences to minimize confusion and improve the searchability of research. We identify several gaps in the literature that appear to be promising and fruitful avenues for future research, such as disease transmission as a function of sociability or exploration as a driver of space use in protected areas. Practitioners can begin informing future conservation efforts with knowledge gained from animal personality research.     

CHANNEL STABILITY DOWNSTREAM FROM A DAM ASSESSED USING AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND STREAM‐GAGE INFORMATION1

ABSTRACT: The stability of the Neosho River channel downstream from John Redmond Dam, in southeast Kansas, was investigated using multiple‐date aerial photographs and stream‐gage information. Bankfull channel width was used as the primary indicator variable to assess pre‐ and post‐dam channel change. Five sin‐mile river reaches and four stream gages were used in the analysis. Results indicated that, aside from some localized channel widening, the overall channel change has been minor with little post‐dam change in bankfull channel width. The lack of a pronounced post‐dam channel change may be attributed to a substantial reduction in the magnitude of the post‐dam annual peak discharges in combination with the resistance to erosion of the bed and bank materials. Also, the channel may have been overwidened by a series of large floods that predated construction of the dam, including one with an estimated 500‐year recurrence interval.