Declines in organochlorines in eggs of red-breasted mergansers from Lake Michigan, 1977–1978 versus 1990

From 1977–1978 to 1990, concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and most organochlorine pesticides declined in eggs of red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator) nesting on islands in northwestern Lake Michigan. Total PCBs decreased 60% (from 21 ppm in 1977–1978 to 8.5 ppm in 1990) and p,p-DDE decreased 66% (from 6.5 to 2.2 ppm). Dieldrin decreased only 16% (from 0.82 to 0.69 ppm). In 1990, 79.1% of incubated eggs hatched, which was not significantly different from the 83.5% that hatched in 1977–1978.The U.S. Government right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

Responses of Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda, Crustacea) to metalliferous effluents: identification of toxic components and the importance of interpopulation variation

This study was designed to evaluate the ability of an in-situ bioassay to assess the impact of complex effluents on freshwaters and to identify toxic components. Reductions in the feeding rate of Gammarus pulex proved to be a sensitive indicator of the impact of metalliferous effluents on receiving water quality. The effluents contained a mixture of five potentially toxic metals. By combining information on feeding rates with bioaccumulation data, two metals, iron and manganese, were identified as the probable toxic agents. Laboratory experiments validated the conclusions reached from the field study and confirmed that iron was a major toxicant. The sensitivities of Gammarus pulex from a metal-contaminated site and a clean site were compared during both the field and laboratory studies. Interpopulation differences in the response of G. pulex to toxicants were detected in the field study but not in the laboratory experiments. Possible reasons for this are discussed.     

Climatic sensitivity of temperate forests

Climatic change and associated global changes are of major interest to foresters, both in terms of forest ecology and of future forest production. Predicting the likely effects of global change on forests is extremely difficult due to the critical lack of information on regional changes in meteorological factors relevant to forests. However, existing models of forest production and forest distribution fail to take adequate account of what is already known. Climate and carbon dioxide concentrations have shown substantial changes over the last 100 years. Although the rate of change is likely to increase, recent proposed and implemented control strategies, together with better climatic models, are tending to suggest that the rate of change will be less than initially thought. This means that past changes may provide an increasingly useful source of information. In particular, information on the impact on forests of both long-term climate change and short-term climatic events is rapidly increasing. Such information should be built into future forest response models.     

Interactions between copper and cadmium modify metal organ distribution in mature tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus

Sexually mature female tilapia were exposed to sublethal concentrations of waterborne Cu and/or Cd over 6 days, and subsequent body concentrations of these metals were determined in several organs. The results show that the distribution of Cu and Cd was metal and organ specific. This is demonstrated, for example, by the observation that in tilapia, Cu exposure did not result in Cu accumulation in the liver, whereas in the intestinal wall, notably high concentrations of Cu and Cd were measured in metal exposed fish. In addition to single metal exposed fish, we also determined Cu and Cd body distribution in Cu?Cd co-exposed fish. The observed interactions in metal accumulation were most pronounced in the organs of fish exposed to low, environmentally realistic, metal concentrations.     

一种分离纯化降解性质粒DNA的简便方法

控制微生物对某些环境污染物降解的质粒——降解性质粒,分子量较大,难于和染色体DNA分离。超螺旋质粒DNA在热变性后冷却即快速复性方面与染色体DNA不同。根据此性质,作者改进了McMaster的和Kado的方法,获得了良好效果。实验证明。经此法纯化的质粒具有转化活性,是研究化学污染物的降解性质粒的简便方法。     

气相色谱法测定汽油作业环境中MTBE含量

建立了汽油作业场所空气中MTBE的气相色谱测定方法。空气中的MTBE用注射器采集，直接进样，经大口径毛细管柱分离，氢焰离子化检测器检测，以保留时间定性，峰面积定量，并考察了MTBE与甲醇、正己烷的分离效果。     

电晕法处理易挥发性有机物(VOCs)的实验研究

叙述了电晕法处理易挥发性有机物（ＶＯＣｓ）的实验研究。从实验中得出ＶＯＣｓ去除率与电场强度和空管速度的关系。对比了有填料与无填料时线 管式反应器处理ＶＯＣｓ的效果     

安大略基拉尼公园及实验湖泊区浮游生物群落对酸化的响应及其恢复过程

人们普遍推测控制SO2排放可以促进加拿大、美国和欧洲的酸化淡水湖泊的恢复.本文研究了1998～2000年间靠近安大略省基拉尼公园的22个湖泊(pH值范围4.5～7.7)的浮游生物群落变化,将结果与安大略省西北的实验湖泊区(ELA)人工酸化(pH值从6.7降至4.5)又恢复(pH升至6.0)的南302号湖的数据进行了对比,以评价酸化后的恢复效果.根据历史记录,基拉尼地区数个湖泊的pH值由先前酸化的5.0～5.5反弹到6.0.浮游生物量与pH不相关,但其物种的丰富度与pH值间呈显著相关.将所得到的物种多样性数据与历史数据加以组合,可观察到其中6个湖泊中的恢复轨迹.相关分析表明:pH值得到提高后,其中几个湖泊的浮游生物群落开始向中性环境中的典型群落转化.     

中国华北地区冬季大气污染物航空测量(Ⅰ)——空中气态污染物污染特征研究

为掌握致酸大气污染物ＳＯ２ 和ＮＯｘ 的空间浓度分布，并探讨上述污染物扩散、迁移和传输规律，进而研究其在酸性降水形成过程中的作用，在“八五”期间酸性降水的研究中，针对中国华北地区城市和工业集中以及ＳＯ２ 和ＮＯｘ 等酸性大气污染物排放量大的特点，以石家庄及其以东地区为飞行区域，进行了华北地区冬季空中ＳＯ２ 和ＮＯｘ 污染特征的航空测量。通过测定发现在华北地区１－５ ｋｍ 左右的空中存在着ＳＯ２ 和ＮＯｘ 高浓度污染空域，同时ＳＯ２ 存在着高浓度汇集区