Groundwater management by watershed agencies: an evaluation of the capacity of Ontario's conservation authorities

Watershed-based resource management organizations around the world are becoming more involved in groundwater management. This reflects, among other considerations, growing awareness of the critical role that these local agencies can and should play in the management of groundwater resources. Ontario's conservation authorities (CAs) are an important example. CAs are taking on new responsibilities for groundwater data collection, monitoring and planning. Unfortunately, not all local organizations are equally capable of participating effectively in groundwater management. This certainly is the case among Ontario's 38 CAs, which have highly variable levels of financial and staff resources. Local capacity for water management can be explored from the perspective of the institutional environment, the watershed community, and the financial, technical and staff resources of the organizations. This paper presents an evaluation of the groundwater management capacity of Ontario's conservation authorities, drawing on two detailed case studies (the Upper Thames River CA and the Ganaraska Region CA), and additional data gathered from all 38 CAs. Institutional issues, such as the clarity of management roles and senior government commitment to local management, as well as resourcing concerns, local working relationships, and public support, largely determine the capacity of CAs to expand their involvement in groundwater management. Strengthening the capacity of watershed-based agencies to participate in groundwater management is an important challenge in all jurisdictions, as these agencies are well placed to reinforce municipal groundwater management by identifying local needs and trends, facilitating communication and cooperation, and promoting best management practices.     

A longitudinal field study of group work redesig

The paper describes an action research project on group work redesign which involved blue-collar employees in a confectionery company. A theoretical framework, derived from previous research on semi-autonomous work groups and the Job Characteristics Model modified to apply to group working (Hackman, 1977), was used as a guide to diagnosis, redesign and evaluation. Hie findings, based on a short term evaluation after six months and a longer term evaluation after eighteen months, reveal that substantial increases in group autonomy and group work identity were achieved, and were followed, as predicted, by increased work motivation, performance, job satisfaction and mental health, as well as reduced labour turnover. Of particular interest to subsequent theoretical development is the sensitivity of mental health as an outcome variable, and the existence of differential rates of change in the dependent variables.     

Benthic Algal (Periphyton) Growth Rates in Response to Nitrogen and Phosphorus: Parameter Estimation for Water Quality Models

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are significant pollutants that can stimulate nuisance blooms of algae. Water quality models (e.g., Water Quality Simulation Program, CE‐QUAL‐R1, CE‐QUAL‐ICM, QUAL2k) are valuable and widely used management tools for algal accrual due to excess nutrients in the presence of other limiting factors. These models utilize the Monod and Droop equations to associate algal growth rate with dissolved nutrient concentration and intracellular nutrient content. Having accurate parameter values is essential to model performance; however, published values for model parameterization are limited, particularly for benthic (periphyton) algae. We conducted a 10‐day mesocosm experiment and measured diatom‐dominated periphyton biomass accrual through time as chlorophyll a (chl a) and ash‐free dry mass (AFDM) in response to additions of N (range 5–11,995 µg nitrate as nitrogen [NO₃‐N]/L) and P (range 0.89–59.51 µg soluble reactive phosphorus/L). Resulting half‐saturation coefficients and growth rates are similar to other published values, but minimum nutrient quotas are higher than those previously reported. Saturation concentration for N ranged from 150 to 2,450 µg NO₃‐N/L based on chl a and from 8.5 to 60 µg NO₃‐N/L when based on AFDM. Similarly, the saturation concentration for P ranged from 12 to 29 µg‐P/L based on chl a, and from 2.5 to 6.1 µg‐P/L based on AFDM. These saturation concentrations provide an upper limit for streams where diatom growth can be expected to respond to nutrient levels and a benchmark for reducing nutrient concentrations to a point where benthic algal growth will be limited.     

Sperm competition and evidence of sperm fertilization patterns in the carrion ball-roller beetle Canthon cyanellus cyanellus LeConte (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Field observation and laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate sperm competition and patterns of sperm fertilization under different experimental conditions in the carrion ball-roller beetle Canthon cyanellus cyanellus. Males in nature can mate with females whose spermathecae contains fertile sperm from other males. Sperm precedence was investigated using a visible genetic marker. The progeny of red (homozygous recessive) virgin females mated once with a red male and afterward, once with a green beetle (homozygous dominant) and vice versa, revealed that regardless of its color, the last male to mate fertilized c.a. 50% of the eggs, suggesting strong sperm competition. Males were able to achieve higher levels of paternity (more than 80%) when mated ad libitum with previously mated females, although large amount of variance in paternity does not exclude the possibility of first male sperm precedence or female cryptic choice. These results suggest that repeated mating and sperm replacement are the mechanisms by which last males achieve sperm precedence.     

Further predictors of renal dysplasia in fetal obstructive uropathy: Bladder pressure and biochemistry of ‘fresh’ urine

Urine was aspirated on two consecutive days from the dilated bladder of nine fetuses with lower urinary tract obstruction. Gestational age ranged from 17 to 35 weeks. Renal dysplasia was diagnosed histologically in four fetuses, whereas the other five had normal renal histology or only partial dysplasia. Urinary sodium (Na⁺) and osmolality (Osm) decreased significantly in the second urine sample 1 day after bladder emptying (median decrease: Na⁺ = −11.3 per cent; Osm= −13.3 per cent). Although there were no significant differences between fetuses with or without renal dysplasia, normalization of an initially raised urine Na ⁺ concentration occurred at the second sample in a fetus with partially normal renal histology, thus correcting a false-positive diagnosis of dysplasia. Bladder pressure was measured at the time of the first urine sampling in seven fetuses and in a further eight with bladder outlet obstruction undergoing a single urine aspiration at 18–28 weeks. Bladder pressure was increased above the reference range in 8 of 15 fetuses with urinary obstruction, but there was no correlation between pressure and the degree of impairment of renal function. Although no conclusive clinical guidelines can be drawn from this study for the evaluation of fetal renal function, these findings suggest that, in lower urinary tract obstruction, tubular reabsorption is impeded by the standing pressure in the urinary tract and that improvement of renal function may occur following relief of obstruction.     

"超级杂草"伴随着转基因作物而出现

最初的转基因大豆被基因工程业誉为“万金油”。它们能够在有除草剂的环境下生长，从理论上说，这将导致田地里那些不受欢迎的植物(比如杂草)的末日。这也将减少种植费用和除草剂的使用量。然而，多年来转基因技术的反对者们的预言现在已经变成了事实：随着时间的推移，“杂草”与转基因植物一样也具备了耐除草剂的特性。这便意味着必须应用其它除草剂，带来更多的花费。     

High-temperature tolerance of photosynthesis in the red alga Chondrus crispus

Chondrus crispus (Stackhouse) is a perennial red seaweed, common in intertidal and shallow sublittoral communities throughout the North Atlantic Ocean. In the intertidal zone, C. crispus may experience rapid temperature changes of 10 to 20C° during a single immerison-emerision cycle, and may be exposed to temperatures that exceed the thermal limits for long-term survival. C. crispus collected year-round at Long Cove Point, Chamberlain, Maine, USA, during 1989 and 1990, underwent phenotypic acclimation to growth temperature in the laboratory. This phenotypic acclimation enhanced its ability to withstand brief exposure to extreme temperature. Plants grown at summer seawater temperature (20°C) were able to maintain constant rates of lightsaturated photosynthesis at 30°C for 9 h. In contrast, light-saturated photosynthetic rates of plants grown at winter seawater temperature (5°C) declined rapidly following exposure to 30°C, reached 20 to 25% of initial values within 10 min, and then remained constant at this level for 9 h. The degree of inhibition of photosynthesis at 30°C was also dependent upon light intensity. Inhibition was greatest in plants exposed to 30°C in darkness or high light (600 mol photons m^-2s^-1) than in plants maintained under moderate light levels (70 to 100 mol photons m^-2s^-1). Photosynthesis of 20°C-acclimated plants was inhibited by exposure to 30°C in darkness or high light, but the degree of inhibition was less than that exhibited by 5°C-grown plants. Not only was light-saturated photosynthesis of 20°C plants less severely inhibited by exposure to 30°C than that of 5°C plants, but the former also recovered faster when they were returned to growth conditions. The mechanistic basis of this acclimation to growth temperature is not clear. Our results indicate that there were no differences between 5 and 20°C-grown plants in the thermal stability of respiration, electron transport associated with Photosystems I or II, Rubisco or energy transfer between the phycobilisomes and Photosystem II. Overall, our results suggest that phenotypic acclimation to seawater temperature allows plants to tolerate higher temperatures, and may play an important role in the success of C. crispus in the intertidal environment.     

Realizing the potential of GIS in community-based management of protected areas

SUMMARY

This paper explores the roles GIS technology can play in support of land management, focusing in particular on its application in protected environments such as Biosphere Reserves. These ecologically significant areas present complex planning situations since, unlike areas set aside solely for conservation, they must continue to support human populations that depend on natural resources for their economic and social well being. In situations such as marginal tropical locations, land managers often face major economic and political disincentives to the conservation of precious natural resources. The necessity for community participation and local expertise in the planning process becomes increasingly critical as GIS evolves from a basic presentation aid for spatial data to a synthesizing problem-solving tool. Coupled with enhanced community participation is the opportunity for greater education of stakeholders; the potential for GIS to serve as a medium for information gathering and dissemination is discussed. A case study in the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (SMBR), México, is presented.     

Body burdens of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in childbearing-aged women at an intensive electronic-waste recycling site in China

Background, aim and scope  

This study is the first to investigate PBDE body burden with regard to the concurrent analyses of multiple human matrices, namely milk, placenta, and hair, collected from a group of childbearing-aged women at an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site to determine the partitioning of PBDEs in these different human matrices and the possible health risks imposed to infants at the e-waste recycling site.