Östrogenartige wirkungen von bisphenol a auf vorderkiemenschnecken (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Prosobranchia)

Within a Federal Environmental Agency research project to develop a biological test for hormone-mimetic compounds using the freshwater snail Marisa cornuarietis, the effects of the suspected xenoestrogenic substance bisphenol A (BPA), not only on freshwater but also on marine prosobranch snails, were investigated. For the laboratory experiments the ramshorn snail Marisa cornuarietis and the ovoviviparous snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum were considered as freshwater species and two marine prosobranchs, the netted whelk Nassarius reticulatus and the dog whelk Nucella lapillus, were additionally employed. N. reticulatus, as a typical sediment-living species, was exposed via artificial sediments, while the three other prosobranchs were exposed via water. The test series with Marisa cornuarietis covered a nominal concentration range between 1 and 100 μg BPA/l in a 5 month experiment with adult snails and a complete life cycle test for 12 months. Additionally, a third test in the nominal range between 0.05 and 1 μg BPA/l (measured: 0.0079–0.404 μg/l) was performed with adults snails for 6 months. In these experiments, BPA induced a complex syndrome of physiological and morphological alterations in female Marisa referred to as the induction of ‘superfemales’. Affected specimens were characterised by the formation of additional female organs, an enlargement of the accessory pallial sex glands, gross malformations of the pallial oviduct section resulting in an increased female mortality, and a massive stimulation of oocyte and spawning mass production. For these tests, an LOEC of 48.3 ng/l, an NOEC of 7.9 ng/l and an EC₁₀ of 13.9 ng/l were calculated. Superfemales occurred also in the BPA exposure experiment with the other snail species, but comparable oviduct malformations as in Marisa were not found, probably due to species differences in the gross anatomical structure of the pallial oviduct. During the 9 week test with Potamopyrgus antipodarum in the nominal concentration range between 1 and 100 μg/l, BPA induced an enhancement of embryo production even in the sexual repose phase of the reproductive cycle. A characteristic inverted U-type concentration response relationship was found. Nassarius reticulatus was exposed via BPA-spiked artificial sediments (nominal concentration range: 10–1000 μg/kg dry wt.) for 3 months. BPA exhibited a significant and concentration dependent uterotrophic effect which could be detected not only by an enlargement but also by a weight increase of the accessory pallial gland complex in the pallial oviduct section. Adult Nucella lapillus were tested for three months in the laboratory in a nominal concentration range between 1 and 100 μg BPA/l. Superfemales in the dog whelk were also characterised by enlarged accessory pallial sex glands and an enhancement of egg production, but the test compound also affected the males in this species. A lower percentage of exposed specimens had ripe sperm stored in their vesicula seminalis and male Nucella exhibited a reduced length of penis and prostate gland when compared to the control. Because statistically significant effects were observed already at the lowest nominal test concentration (1 μg/l), it can be assumed that even lower concentrations may have a negative impact on the snails. The results show that prosobranch snails are affected by BPA at lower concentrations compared to other systematic taxa in the animal kingdom. Consequently, it has to be claimed that the results of these experiment have to be considered for the current EU risk assessment for BPA in order to achieve a sufficient protection of wildlife in aquatic ecosystems.     

Development and application of GIS datasets for assessing and managing coastal impacts and future change on the central coast of Western Australia

The coastal zone between Guilderton and Kalbarri, north of Perth, Western Australia, is a highly dynamic area of high landscape and conservation values under increasing development pressures. Intensification of terrestrial and coastal impacts has highlighted the need to develop a georeferenced data base for land management. The Coastal Assessment and Restoration project aimed to document the natural resources and coastal developments to the region and to identify & assess threats to the coastal strip through the creation of GIS datasets. GIS datasets provide a key source of reference information which can be accessed by a number of stakeholders for future coastal planning and management and provide a basis for developing a risk management assessment of the coastal zone and a strategy for coastal managers in our climate change future.     

Surrogate Measures for Providing High Frequency Estimates of Total Suspended Solids and Total Phosphorus Concentrations1

Spackman Jones, Amber, David K. Stevens, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, and Nancy O. Mesner, 2010. Surrogate Measures for Providing High Frequency Estimates of Total Suspended Solids and Total Phosphorus Concentrations. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐15. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00505.x Abstract: Surrogate measures like turbidity, which can be observed with high frequency in situ, have potential for generating high frequency estimates of total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations. In the semiarid, snowmelt‐driven, and irrigation‐regulated Little Bear River watershed of northern Utah, high frequency in situ water quality measurements were recorded in conjunction with periodic chemistry sampling. Site‐specific relationships were developed using turbidity as a surrogate for TP and TSS at two monitoring locations. Methods are presented for employing censored data and for investigating categorical explanatory variables (e.g., hydrologic conditions). Turbidity was a significant explanatory variable for TP and TSS at both sites, which differ in hydrologic and water quality characteristics. The relationship between turbidity and TP was stronger at the upper watershed site where TP is predominantly particulate. At both sites, the relationships between turbidity and TP varied between spring snowmelt and base flow conditions while the relationships between TSS and turbidity were consistent across hydrological conditions. This approach enables the calculation of high frequency time series of TP and TSS concentrations previously unavailable using traditional monitoring approaches. These methods have broad application for situations that require accurate characterization of fluxes of these constituents over a range of hydrologic conditions.     

Patterns in soil fertility and root herbivory interact to influence fine-root dynamics

Fine-scale soil nutrient enrichment typically stimulates root growth, but it may also increase root herbivory, resulting in trade-offs for plant species and potentially influencing carbon cycling patterns. We used root ingrowth cores to investigate the effects of microsite fertility and root herbivory on root biomass in an aggrading upland forest in the coastal plain of South Carolina, USA. Treatments were randomly assigned to cores from a factorial combination of fertilizer and insecticide. Soil, soil fauna, and roots were removed from the cores at the end of the experiment (8-9 mo), and roots were separated at harvest into three diameter classes. Each diameter class responded differently to fertilizer and insecticide treatments. The finest roots (< 1.0 mm diameter), which comprised well over half of all root biomass, were the only ones to respond significantly to both treatments, increasing when fertilizer and when insecticide were added (each P < 0.0001), with maximum biomass found where the treatments were combined (interaction term significant, P < 0.001). These results suggest that root-feeding insects have a strong influence on root standing crop with stronger herbivore impacts on finer roots and within more fertile microsites. Thus, increased vulnerability to root herbivory is a potentially significant cost of root foraging in nutrient-rich patches.     

Detection and Classification of Motor Vehicle Noise in a Forested Landscape

Noise emanating from human activity has become a common addition to natural soundscapes and has the potential to harm wildlife and erode human enjoyment of nature. In particular, motor vehicles traveling along roads and trails produce high levels of both chronic and intermittent noise, eliciting varied responses from a wide range of animal species. Anthropogenic noise is especially conspicuous in natural areas where ambient background sound levels are low. In this article, we present an acoustic method to detect and analyze motor vehicle noise. Our approach uses inexpensive consumer products to record sound, sound analysis software to automatically detect sound events within continuous recordings and measure their acoustic properties, and statistical classification methods to categorize sound events. We describe an application of this approach to detect motor vehicle noise on paved, gravel, and natural-surface roads, and off-road vehicle trails in 36 sites distributed throughout a national forest in the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA. These low-cost, unobtrusive methods can be used by scientists and managers to detect anthropogenic noise events for many potential applications, including ecological research, transportation and recreation planning, and natural resource management.     

Scales of integration for sustainable development governance

Efforts at integration are central in the Sustainable Development Goals and the wider Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda. While integration forms a major focus of this agenda, there are fundamental limitations on pursuing this focus. The global governance discussions on integration lack a clear conceptualization of what it is, do not have any tools for measurement or assessment, and are narrowly focused around policy integration between global institutions. This article develops a framework for conceptualizing cross-level and cross-scale integration which addresses these problems and introduces the opportunities and challenges of pursuing different types of integration in global governance. Cross-level integration involves governance efforts which seek to bridge similar institutions with one another (for example, bringing together efforts by environmental ministries and development ministries). Cross-scale integration, in contrast, deals with governance efforts that bring together institutions which have distinct scopes, jurisdictions, and epistemologies. With this important distinction, the article explores the opportunities for cross-scale integration as part of the global sustainable development efforts and particularly expanding the policy integration focus with spatial and temporal integration as well. The conclusion uses the Earth System Governance perspective to focus on the trade-offs that are likely as wider forms of institutional integration are pursued beyond environmental mainstreaming and policy integration.     

Nutrient attenuation by a riparian wetland during natural and artificial runoff events

Due to chronic nutrient enrichment of surface water, wetlands adjacent to land managed with fertilizer have been studied to determine their role in nutrient dynamics. We sampled golf course runoff and determined the loads of NO3- and PO4(-3) transported during storms and the attenuation of those loads when runoff passed through a riparian wetland. All sampled storm events contained NO3- (2 to 1470 g NO3-N per event) and PO4(-3) (1 to 4156 g PO4-P per event). Extensive nutrient attenuation occurred when water passed through the riparian wetland. In 11 events, NO3- and PO4(-3) attenuation averaged 80 and 74%, respectively. In subsequent experiments, we created a stream of water flowing into the wetland and amended it with NO3-, PO4(-3) and Br-, creating an artificial runoff event. The experiments were conducted using conditions similar to those of natural runoff events. We observed rapid and complete attenuation of PO4(-3) immediately after runoff water infiltrated into the wetland subsurface. No PO4(-3) was observed in discharge from the wetland. Nitrate attenuation occurred following a lag phase of several hours that was probably due to reactivation of denitrifying enzymes. Nitrate attenuation was initially less than 60% but increased to 100% in all experiments. We observed extensive dilution of runoff water in the wetland subsurface indicating mixing with pre-event ground water in the wetland. The results indicated that intermittent inputs of NO3- and PO4(-3) could be successfully attenuated in the wetland on the time scale of natural storm events.     

Changes in HIV/AIDS/STI knowledge, attitudes and practices among commercial sex workers and military forces in Port Loko, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone suffered from 11 years of civil war (1991-2002) resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and mutilations together with massive population displacement. In 2001, ARC International, Sierra Leone conducted a baseline survey of 201 commercial sex workers (CSWs) and 202 military respondents on the knowledge, attitudes and practices surrounding HIV/AIDS and STIs in Port Loko, Sierra Leone. In 2003, a comparable post-intervention survey of 202 CSWs and 205 military respondents was performed. Comparison of baseline and post-intervention results showed that HIV/AIDS knowledge increased among both groups, with those able to name three effective means of avoiding AIDS increasing from 5 per cent to 70 per cent among CSWs, and 11 to 75 per cent among the military. Reported condom use during last sex increased among CSWs from 38 to 68 per cent and among military from 39 to 68 per cent. These results demonstrate that, despite the challenges inherent in a post-conflict country, good-quality AIDS-prevention programmes can be effective.     

Fly ash as a liming material for cotton

A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of fly ash from a coal combustion electric power facility on soil acidity in a cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) field. Fresh fly ash was applied to a Bosket fine sandy loam (fine-loamy, mixed, thermic Mollic Hapludalf) soil with an initial soil pH(salt) of 4.8. The fly ash was equivalent to 42 g kg(-1) calcium carbonate with 97% passing through a 60 mesh (U.S. standard) sieve. Fly ash was applied one day before cotton planting in 1999 at 0, 3.4, 6.7, and 10.1 Mg ha(-1). No fly ash was applied in 2000. Within 60 d of fly ash application in 1999, all rates of fly ash significantly increased soil pH above 6.0. Manganese levels in cotton petioles were reduced significantly by 6.7 and 10.1 Mg ha(-1) of fly ash. Soil boron (B) and sodium (Na) concentrations were significantly increased with fly ash. In 1999, B in cotton leaves ranged from 72 to 84 mg kg(-1) in plots with fly ash applications. However, no visual symptoms of B toxicity in plants were observed. In 1999, cotton lint yield decreased on average 12 kg ha(-1) for each Mg of fly ash applied. In 2000, cotton yields were significantly greater for the residual 3.4 and 6.7 Mg fly ash ha(-1) plots than the untreated check. Due to the adverse yield effects measured in the first year following application, fly ash would not be a suitable soil amendment for cotton on this soil at this time.