Wildfire effects on soil nutrients and leaching in a tahoe basin watershed

A wildfire burned through a previously sampled research site, allowing pre- and post-burn measurements of the forest floor, soils, and soil leaching near Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Fire and post-fire erosion caused large and statistically significant (P < or = 0.05) losses of C, N, P, S, Ca, and Mg from the forest floor. There were no statistically significant effects on mineral soils aside from a decrease in total N in the surface (A11) horizon, an increase in pH in the A11 horizon, and increases in water-extractable SO4(2-) in the A11 and A12 horizons. Burning caused consistent but nonsignificant increases in exchangeable Ca2+ in most horizons, but no consistent or statistically significant effects on exchangeable K+ or Mg2+, or on Bray-, bicarbonate-, or water-extractable P concentrations. Before the burn, there were no significant differences in leaching, but during the first winter after the fire, soil solution concentrations of NH4+, NO3-, ortho-P, and (especially) SO4(2-) were elevated in the burned area, and resin lysimeters showed significant increases in the leaching of NH4+ and mineral N. The leaching losses of mineral N were much smaller than the losses from the forest floor and A11 horizons, however. We conclude that the major short-term effects of wildfire were on leaching whereas the major long-term effect was the loss of N from the forest floor and soil during the fire.     

Interdimensional correlations in individual and dyadic performance ratings

Performance rating research about individual performance may not necessarily generalize to rating performance of dyads. Using data from the 1992 Winter Olympics, this study demonstrates that observed interdimensional correlations are higher when dyads rather than individuals are being rated, particularly when raters have the opportunity to form prior general impressions of ratees. Implications of these results are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards the selection of a produced water enrichment for biological gas hydrate inhibitors

Economic concerns associated with the recovery of non-conventional hydrocarbon reserves include unexpected ice as well as ice-like gas hydrate formation. Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) inhibit ice growth, and experiments with fish, plant, and insect AFPs have shown promise of effective gas hydrate inhibition in lab-scale experiments. If produced on an industrial scale, AFPs could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to kinetic inhibitors, but a large-scale production of these AFPs is not currently feasible. We believe that these difficulties could be surmounted by the production of microbial AFPs, but to date, only a few such proteins have been identified and purified, and none of these are associated with hydrocarbon reserves. Here, we have used ice-affinity and freeze-thaw stress to select microbes derived from oil and gas formation water, or produced water, as a source of anaerobic microbial communities. Ice-affinity successfully incorporated anaerobic bacteria under aerobic conditions, and the mixed culture had ice-associating properties. Under these conditions, ice-affinity selection does not result in cultivatable isolates, but similar, cultivable microbes were obtained following freeze-thaw selection under anaerobic conditions. Since these mixed cultures inhibited the growth of ice crystals, they also have the potential to inhibit hydrate growth. Overall, freeze-thaw selection provides a promising first step towards the isolation of microbes capable of the inhibition of ice and gas hydrate growth, for possible application for energy exploration and recovery at high-latitudes and in-deep, cold waters.     

What fraction of the organic carbon in sacoglossans is obtained from photosynthesis by kleptoplastids? An investigation using the natural abundance of stable carbon isotopes

any sacoglossans (opisthobranch gastropods) have the potential for carbon acquisition from photosynthesis by plastids sequestered from their macroalgal food as well as by ingestion, digestion and assimilation of the organic carbon derived from the alga. A new method for obtaining a minimum estimate of the fraction of sacoglossan carbon supplied from photosynthesis by kleptoplastids is suggested, based on the mass balance of stable carbon isotopes at the natural abundance level. The method involves comparison of ¹³C/¹²C ratios in sacoglossans with those of the algae on which they are found. Differences in ratios between alga and sacoglossan are used to give a minimum estimate of carbon acquisition by kleptoplasty, granted assumptions about the range of ¹³C/¹²C fractionation values which can occur for marine photolithotrophs. The new method is applied to several green (ulvophycean) alga–sacoglossan associations from Rottnest Island, Western Australia, and the values compared with those obtained previously by other means. The method suggests values of up to 0.6 of the total carbon input to the sacoglossans from photosynthesis by their kleptoplastids. To improve the estimates of the minimum role of kleptoplastidy in the carbon nutrition of sacoglossans, further information is needed: (1) on the fidelity of a given sacoglossan to a given algal individual (or species), (2) on the ¹³C/¹²C ratio of the part of the alga ingested by the sacoglossan, and (3) on the allocation of dietary organic carbon and of kleptoplastidic photosynthate to carbon lost in respiration, mucopolysaccharide production and gametes (and hence not sampled with the animal). Received: 24 November 1999 / Accepted: 20 October 2000     

The environmental behaviour of polychlorinated phenols and its relevance to cork forest ecosystems: a review

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) has been used as a herbicide, biocide and preservative worldwide since the 1930s and as a result, extensive and prolonged contamination exists. The environmental impact increases when its many degradation products are taken into consideration. A number of chloroanisols and their related chlorophenols have been found in cork slabs collected from Portuguese oak tree forests before stopper manufacturing, and contamination by PCP and polychlorinated anisole (PCA) has been detected in Canadian forests. It is suggested that the use of polychlorinated phenols, in particular PCP, is thought to be a cause of the cork taint problem in wine, a major socio-economic impact not only for industry but on sensitive and highly biodiverse ecosystems. It also highlights particular issues relating to the regional regulation of potentially toxic chemicals and global economics world wide. To fully understand the impact of contamination sources, the mechanisms responsible for the fate and transport of PCP and its degradation products and assessment of their environmental behaviour is required. This review looks at the current state of knowledge of soil sorption, fate and bioavailability and identifies the challenges of degradation product identification and the contradictory evidence from field and laboratory observations. The need for a systematic evaluation of PCP contamination in relation to cork forest ecosystems and transfer of PCP between trophic levels is emphasised by discrepancies in bioaccumulation and toxicity. This is essential to enable long term management of not only transboundary contaminants, but also the sustainable management of socially and economically important forest ecosystems.     

Monitoring water quality in Sydney Harbour using blue mussels during remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds,Nova Scotia,Canada

Using mussels as monitoring tools we measured water quality in Sydney Harbour during a large scale, multi-year remediation project of the Sydney Tar Ponds (STPs); one of Canada's most contaminated sites. Chemical contaminants were measured in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) in Sydney Harbour, which were used as monitoring tools to assess the spatio-temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); metals (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn) and lipid content during baseline and 3 years of remediation. The overall spatio-temporal distribution of chemicals in mussels was also compared to contaminants in other marine indicators (e.g., sediment, water and crab tissue). Measured metal concentrations in mussels showed some minor temporal variability (4 years), but these did not appear to be directly related to remediation activities, with the highest concentrations of As, Hg and Zn measured at reference stations. Most measured contaminants showed stable or potentially decreasing concentrations during the study, except Pb and Zn. Individual PAH compounds were mostly undetected during baseline and remediation, except for fluoranthene and pyrene. Concentrations of fluoranthene in mussels and deep water samples were moderately related. Generally, PCBs were undetected (<0.05 μg g^?1), except during year 2 remediation at some near-field stations. Contaminants measured during this study were at much lower concentrations than previously reported in other studies of mussels in Sydney Harbour and eastern Canada. This is likely due to the ongoing natural recovery of Sydney Harbour and to a lesser extent because of the environmental mitigation protection measures implemented during remediation activities at the STPs. The lack of detection of most individual PAHs and PCBs, plus relatively low bio-accumulation of metals observed during baseline and remediation attest to the effectiveness of using mussels as monitoring tools for environmental quality.     

Monitoring effects of remediation on natural sediment recovery in Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia

Chemical contaminants were assessed in Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia during pre-remediation (baseline) and 3 years of remediation of a former coking and steel facility after nearly a century of operation and historical pollution into the Sydney Tar Ponds (STP). Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, metals, and inorganic parameters measured in sediments and total suspended solids in seawater indicate that the overall spatial distribution pattern of historical contaminants remains unchanged, although at much lower concentrations than previously reported due to natural sediment recovery, despite remediation activities. Measured sediment deposition rates in bottom-moored traps during baseline were low (0.4–0.8 cm?year^?1), but during dredging operations required for construction of new port facilities in the inner Sydney Harbour, sedimentation rates were equivalent to 26–128 cm year^?1. Measurements of sediment chemical contaminants confirmed that natural recovery rates of Sydney Harbour sediments were in broad agreement with predicted concentrations, or in some cases, lower than originally predicted despite remediation activities at the STP site. Overall, most measured contaminants in sediments showed little temporal variability (4 years), except for the detection of significant increases in total PAH concentrations during the onset of remediation monitoring compared to baseline. This slight increase represents only a short-term interruption in the overall natural recovery of sediments in Sydney Harbour, which were enhanced due to the positive impacts of large-scale dredging of less contaminated outer harbor sediments which were discharged into a confined disposal area located in the inner harbor.     

Effects of residual antibiotics in groundwater on Salmonella typhimurium: changes in antibiotic resistance, in vivo and in vitro pathogenicity

An outbreak-causing strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was exposed to groundwater with residual antibiotics for up to four weeks. Representative concentrations (0.05, 1, and 100 μg L(-1)) of amoxicillin, tetracycline, and a mixture of several other antibiotics (1 μg L(-1) each) were spiked into artificially prepared groundwater (AGW). Antibiotic susceptibility analysis and the virulence response of stressed Salmonella were determined on a weekly basis by using human epithelial cells (HEp2) and soil nematodes (C. elegans). Results have shown that Salmonella typhimurium remains viable for long periods of exposure to antibiotic-supplemented groundwater; however, they failed to cultivate as an indication of a viable but nonculturable state. Prolonged antibiotics exposure did not induce any changes in the antibiotic susceptibility profile of the S. typhimurium strain used in this study. S. typhimurium exposed to 0.05 and 1 μg L(-1) amoxicillin, and 1 μg L(-1) tetracycline showed hyper-virulent profiles in both in vitro and in vivo virulence assays with the HEp2 cells and C. elegans respectively, most evident following 2nd and 3rd weeks of exposure.     

Monitoring human impacts on sandy shore ecosystems: a test of ghost crabs (Ocypode spp.) as biological indicators on an urban beach

This study evaluated the spatial and temporal distribution of metals in the coral reef system Cayos Arcas and Triangulos in the Campeche Bank region, off the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. No information has been generated before for the incorporation of natural and non-natural occurring metals, some of which are possibly endowed by the oil marine station Cayo Arcas. The multivariate exploratory study of the metals on the coral skeletons, showed the formation of two distinct groups. The metals that have the highest influence on the differentiation of the groups are the metals that are natural constituents of the coral skeletons, in particular Sr can explain much of the differences between the groups, and to a much lesser extent are the metals that could be indicators of pollution. This differentiation suggests that, in our case, the environment around the corals has a higher impact than the non-naturally occurring metals (and possible indicators of pollution). The two groups formed corresponded to: the coral cores influenced by open sea variables and the coral cores in the inner part of the keys which is less exposed to open sea variables. A chronological study was made to two samples that had the longest coral section and were situated in two clearly distinctive zones: an exposed surface subjected to high wave forces and another that was less exposed. Ni and Zn show an accumulation trend in both coral samples, while Ba showed an increase in incorporation around 1980 when the Cayo Arcas oil marine station was constructed.     

Development,Calibration and Use of a Plume Evaluation Training Unit

The Bay Area Air Pollution Control District adopted a regulation limiting plume visibility in terms of the Ringelmann Chart and also in terms of obscuration of the observer’s view. Since both limitations were adopted in terms requiring the judgment of an observer, preparation for enforcement required development and calibration of a training unit, so that inspectors could be qualified to testify as expert witnesses under this regulation.

This paper summarizes the design, calibration and use of the training unit developed for this purpose.