Introduced species are common members of estuarine communities where their role as competitors and predators is of concern, This paper examines the invasion of Gulf of Maine benthic habitats by the ecologically similar alien invertebrates Styela clava, Botrylloides diegensis , and Membranipora membranacea . Styela clava increased slowly in abundance at study sites in Beverly, Massachusetts and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We found no evidence of competitive dominance by S. clava , even though it is the competitive dominant in similar habitats elsewhere. Botrylloides diegensis rapidly became a dominant species after its arrival in the Great Bay Estuary, but this dominance was short-lived. B. diegensis persists in the estuary as an early colonist of primary space and as an epibiont on secondary substrates in established communities. Membranipora membranacea became the dominant epiphyte on laminarian kelps within two years. Although M. membranacea overgrew the native epiphytes Obelia geniculata and Electra pilosa in the overwhelming majority of encounters these native species are more common on other algal hosts. Therefore, competitive dominance is not likely a factor in the successful invasion of the Gulf of Maine by M. membranacea . These species provide evidence for opposing views of the role of competition in mediating community invasion. We show that ecological similarity among species is not an accurate criterion to predict either the mechanism of invasion or the means of persistence. In addition, these data indicate that biological invasions must be examined on broad spatial and temporal scales; short-term or narrowly focused studies can lead to incorrect conclusions. 相似文献
Transfer of information about food source characteristics within insect societies is essential to colony-foraging success. The food odor communicated within honeybee hives has been shown to be important for food source exploitation. When successful foragers return to the nest and transfer the collected nectar to hive mates through mouth-to-mouth contacts (trophallaxis), potential recruits receiving these samples learn the food odor by associative learning. The food then becomes rapidly distributed among colony members, which is mainly a consequence of the numerous trophallaxes between hive-mates of all ages during food processing. We tested whether the distribution of food among hive mates causes a propagation of olfactory information within the hive. Using the proboscis extension response paradigm, we show that large proportions of bees of the age groups representing the main worker castes, 4 to 9-day-old bees (nurse-aged bees), 12 to 16-day-old bees (food processor-aged bees), and actual foragers (about 17+ day old bees) associatively learn the food odor in the course of processing food that has been collected by only a few foragers. Results further suggest that the information is shared more or less equally between bees of the three age groups. This shows that olfactory information about the flower species exploited by foragers is distributed within the entire colony and is acquired by bees of all age groups, which may influence many behaviors inside and outside the hive. 相似文献
Although forest conservation activities, particularly in the tropics, offer significant potential for mitigating carbon (C)
emissions, these types of activities have faced obstacles in the policy arena caused by the difficulty in determining key
elements of the project cycle, particularly the baseline. A baseline for forest conservation has two main components: the
projected land-use change and the corresponding carbon stocks in applicable pools in vegetation and soil, with land-use change
being the most difficult to address analytically. In this paper we focus on developing and comparing three models, ranging
from relatively simple extrapolations of past trends in land use based on simple drivers such as population growth to more
complex extrapolations of past trends using spatially explicit models of land-use change driven by biophysical and socioeconomic
factors. The three models used for making baseline projections of tropical deforestation at the regional scale are: the Forest
Area Change (FAC) model, the Land Use and Carbon Sequestration (LUCS) model, and the Geographical Modeling (GEOMOD) model.
The models were used to project deforestation in six tropical regions that featured different ecological and socioeconomic
conditions, population dynamics, and uses of the land: (1) northern Belize; (2) Santa Cruz State, Bolivia; (3) Paraná State,
Brazil; (4) Campeche, Mexico; (5) Chiapas, Mexico; and (6) Michoacán, Mexico.
A comparison of all model outputs across all six regions shows that each model produced quite different deforestation baselines.
In general, the simplest FAC model, applied at the national administrative-unit scale, projected the highest amount of forest
loss (four out of six regions) and the LUCS model the least amount of loss (four out of five regions). Based on simulations
of GEOMOD, we found that readily observable physical and biological factors as well as distance to areas of past disturbance
were each about twice as important as either sociological/demographic or economic/infrastructure factors (less observable)
in explaining empirical land-use patterns.
We propose from the lessons learned, a methodology comprised of three main steps and six tasks can be used to begin developing
credible baselines. We also propose that the baselines be projected over a 10-year period because, although projections beyond
10 years are feasible, they are likely to be unrealistic for policy purposes. In the first step, an historic land-use change
and deforestation estimate is made by determining the analytic domain (size of the region relative to the size of proposed
project), obtaining historic data, analyzing candidate baseline drivers, and identifying three to four major drivers. In the
second step, a baseline of where deforestation is likely to occur–a potential land-use change (PLUC) map—is produced using
a spatial model such as GEOMOD that uses the key drivers from step one. Then rates of deforestation are projected over a 10-year
baseline period based on one of the three models. Using the PLUC maps, projected rates of deforestation, and carbon stock
estimates, baseline projections are developed that can be used for project GHG accounting and crediting purposes: The final
step proposes that, at agreed interval (e.g., about 10 years), the baseline assumptions about baseline drivers be re-assessed.
This step reviews the viability of the 10-year baseline in light of changes in one or more key baseline drivers (e.g., new
roads, new communities, new protected area, etc.). The potential land-use change map and estimates of rates of deforestation
could be re-done at the agreed interval, allowing the deforestation rates and changes in spatial drivers to be incorporated
into a defense of the existing baseline, or the derivation of a new baseline projection. 相似文献
Environmental appearance of Q1, a natural heptachloro compound with the molecular formula C9H3Cl7N2, was studied in samples from different sites all over the world. Q1 was expected to have a bipyrrole backbone, similar to other compounds ascribed to natural sources. A method for isolation of Q1 was developed by combination of adsorption chromatography on silica and normal phase HPLC with an amino phase. UV-detection of Q1 supports the aromatic character of the compound.
The high levels detected in samples of marine mammals and birds suggested that Q1 is both a persistent and a bioaccumulative contaminant. This was underscored by calculated log KOW in the range of other lipophilic organohalogens. In accordance with earlier studies, highest Q1 concentrations were found in the Southern Hemisphere, but with a highly selective GC/ECNI-MS-SIM method, detection of Q1 was also achieved in many samples from the Northern Hemisphere. In addition to marine mammals and birds, Q1 was also detected in fish from the Mediterranean Sea and the Antarctic. Traces were also detected in SRM 1588 certified cod liver oil, but Q1 was not detected in fish from Hong Kong and Lake Baikal. 相似文献
Three dye solutions, namely, C.I. Acid Yellow 17, C.I. Basic Blue 3, and C.I. Basic Red 2, were treated in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor followed by a semi-continuous aerobic activated sludge tank. When hydraulic retention time was about 12 hours, no significant color removal was observed in the aerobic stage. In the anaerobic stage, Acid Yellow 17, Basic Blue 3, and Basic Red 2 were removed by 20%, 72%, and 78%, respectively. To treat wastewater from a dye manufacturing factory with COD concentration of 1200 mg/l and Color of 500 degree (dilution factor), an UASB reactor (4.5 liters) and an activated sludge tank (5 liters, adjustable), COD and color were removed by more than 83% and 90% at a COD loading rate of 5.3 kg COD/m3-day in the anaerobic stage, and at the hydraulic retention time of 6-10 hours for the anaerobic stage and 6.5 for the aerobic stage. The anaerobic stage of the A/O system removes both color and COD. In addition, it also improves biodegradability of dyes for further aerobic treatment. 相似文献
Incineration of municipal refuse results in the production of massive quantities of fly ash and bottom ash. Toxic elements in the original refuse may be concentrated up to 40-fold in the resultant ash. There is concern that burial of such ash in landfills could result in leaching of these elements downward into groundwater. In this study, refuse ashes were incorporated into glass, ceramic and cement composites to immobilize such toxic elements. The EP Toxicity Test (1986) was used to show that extraction of such elements by simulated acid rain is effectively blocked in these new solid materials. 相似文献
In this study we compared the contribution of individual congeners and the ratios of stable carbon isotopes of two technical toxaphene products. The former US-American product Toxaphene was from 1978 and the East-German product Melipax from 1979. Both technical products showed the known complexity in GC/ECD measurements. Contributions of 24 peaks to each of the technical products were determined by gas chromatography in combination high resolution electron capture negative ion mass spectrometry (GC/ECNI-HRMS). The percentages of the compounds studied in the technical mixtures ranged from approximately 0.05% to approximately 2.5% but showed some individual differences. 2,2,5,5,8,9,9,10,10-nonachlorobornane (B9-1025 or P-62) was identified as a major congener in both mixtures. 2-Endo,3-exo,5-endo,6-exo,8,8,10,10-octachlorobornane (B8-1413 or P26) and 2-endo,3-exo,5-endo,6-exo,8,8,9,10,10-nonachlorobornane (B9-1679 or P-50) were found at similar concentration in both technical products. Identical amounts of Melipax or Toxaphene were combusted to CO2 in an element analyzer and their delta13C values were determined relative to the international standard Vienna PeeDee belemnite (VPDB). The mean delta13C values of both products varied by 2.8% (determined at two different locations) which is roughly one order of magnitude more than the precision obtained in repetitive analyses of the individual products. Thus, both investigated products could be unequivocally distinguished by stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). IRMS analyses may thus be a suitable tool for tracing back toxaphene residues in environmental and food samples to the one or both of the products. 相似文献
This laboratory study investigated the kinetics of leaf and DNA content decomposition in two varieties of tomato (Palmiro and Admiro) after incubation in soil for 35 days. Results revealed that the decrease of dry matter in leaves in both varieties did not follow a single exponential function and was better described by a double exponential model. Composite half-decrease times were 3.4 and 2.4 days for Palmiro and Admiro respectively. The same pattern was observed for DNA mass loss, although this was closer to a single exponential model with composite half-decrease times of 1.5 and 1.4 days. Genomic analysis showed that DNA in dried leaves at room temperature (not inoculated in the soil), remains intact or presents a weak degradation, and DNA extracted from leaves inoculated in non-sterile soil showed degradation after two days. These results indicate that before release an important quantity of DNA may be degraded inside plant tissues during decomposition in soil. 相似文献