The response of sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) veligers to a weak thermocline in 9-m deep mesocosms

We examined the vertical distributions of scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) veligers in deep (0.6 m diameter, 9.5 m deep) polyethylene mesocosms from December 1991 to January 1992. In the mesocosms temperature stratification varied from 0 to 1.5 °C. Profiles of vertical distribution revealed several repeated patterns. Peaks in veliger numbers often appeared at the water surface and just above the thermocline. Higher density patches were seen below the surface peaks, and revealed the presence of bio-convective cells. Distribution away from these discontinuities was usually even. Distribution of veligers was affected by thermoclines above 1.0 °C. Responses to thermoclines varied with larval age and time of day, and 28 to 30 d veligers passed in both directions through a 1.5 °C thermocline. We conclude that larval behaviour is a major determinant of whether veligers pass through a thermocline. Kinematic viscosity may play a role in perception of temperature changes. Two potential consequences of such behaviour are (1) remaining in more productive upper water layers, where feeding opportunities are enhanced, and (2) increased horizontal transport in the region of the thermocline, which may enhance recruitment. Received: 15 May 1996 / Accepted: 11 May 2000     

Monitoring method for airborne glymes and its application in fuel exhaust emission measurement.

A monitoring method based on solvent extraction of adsorbed target glymes followed by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry GC-MS analysis was developed for seven glymes, namely ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, propylene glycol dimethyl ether, ethylene glycol diethyl ether, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, diethylene glycol diethyl ether, triethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether. The best recoveries of target glymes were achieved when using a combination of sample collection medium of graphitised carbon black (GCB) with a solvent mixture of methylene chloride and methanol (95/5, v/v). Method detection limits ranged from 1.5 microg/m3 for diethylene glycol diethyl ether to 13.2 microg/m3 for ethylene glycol diethyl ether based on a sample volume of 3.4 1. Using this method, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and diethylene glycol diethyl ether were detected and measured successfully in diluted vehicle exhausts in diesel fuel engine tests.     

Risk assessment of etofenprox (vectron) on non-target aquatic fauna compared with other pesticides used as Simulium larvicide in a tropical environment

Within the rotational scheme developed by the Programme to fight the resistance of Simulium damnosum to chemical larvicides, there was an operational gap at discharges between 5 and 70 m³ s⁻¹ for the treatment of rivers where resistance to organophosphates was present. The use of permethrin and carbosulfan was precluded because of risk of environmental impact and, Bacillus thuringiensis ser. H-14 treatments were not envisageable due to cost and logistics constraints. Among the possible complementary groups of larvicides tested, the pseudo-pyrethroids, held promise, because of a mode of action similar to that of pyrethroids, but along with a usually lower toxicity for fish. Etofenprox, one of the pseudo-pyrethroids tested, shows a global detachment of non-target insects in 24 h close to that of pyraclofos, an organo-phosphorus compound (27 against 23%). In laboratory conditions, six times the operational dose which is 0.03 mg l⁻¹ 10 min, is needed to cause 50% mortality of Caridina sp. (a small shrimps species) and 30 times this same dose for 95% mortality. For fish species, a safety margin of 400–800 times the operational dose is observed for Oreochromis niloticus and 200–400 times for Tilapia zillii.     

Storage and distribution of trace metals and spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) from atmospheric deposition in the catchment peats of Lochnagar, Scotland.

Lochnagar is a remote mountain lake to the south-east of the Cairngorm region in Scotland. Its catchment receives anthropogenic trace metals solely from atmospheric deposition. Ten peat cores were taken from the catchment and analysis confirmed that they have been contaminated by trace metals. The peats have an high affinity for trace metals and this results in metal accumulation in the surface peat layers. The formation of trace metal sulphides may also reduce remobilisation. In this way, trace metals derived from atmospheric deposition have been scavenged and accumulated. In contaminated peat layers, 77.4% Hg, 89.6% Pb, 93.4% Cu, 72.4% Zn and 86.5% Cd of the total stored are from anthropogenic sources. The accumulated trace metals in the peats can potentially influence the lake system through erosion. Spheroidal carbonaceous particle (SCP) profiles were used to date the peat cores. By referring to the SCP profiles in the peats and comparing these with the trace metal profiles in the lake sediments, the mobility of trace metals in the catchment peats is confirmed.     

基于优化模型的抚仙湖营养物标准技术经济评估方法

在对美国水质标准经济分析研究的基础上,结合我国环境管理的实际情况,构建湖泊营养物标准的技术经济评估框架。计算标准建议值条件下的湖泊营养物容量及入量湖,得到削减量。通过不确定性优化模型对削减量进行分配,核算湖泊富营养化控制成本,并假设标准执行后,对流域经济造成的影响进行评估。将该方法应用于抚仙湖营养物标准的技术经济评估系统,结果表明,通过优化模型对削减量进行分配的削减成本较原规划低,通过构建的技术经济评估框架对该成本进行评估,标准执行后,对流域经济影响适中。     

稳定表流-潜流组合人工湿地系统处理生活污水的研究

设计并建造了由集水池、厌氧池、稳定表流人工湿地(FSSFW)、水平潜流人工湿地(SFCW)组成的稳定表流-潜流组合人工湿地系统,该系统依据地势建造,污水依靠重力流动,经过1个月驯化后,用于生活污水净化的中试研究。在设计水力负荷〔0.108 m³/(m²·d)〕和高水力负荷〔0.180 m³/(m²·d)〕时,分别监测各单元及系统对悬浮物(SS)、化学需氧量(COD)、氨氮(NH₃-N)、总氮(TN)和总磷(TP)的去除效果。结果表明:在设计水力负荷下,系统对SS、COD、NH₃-N、TN和TP的平均去除率分别为91.6%、81.2%、87.7%、77.3%和86.3%,其中FSSFW对SS和COD的去除率均值高于SFCW和厌氧池,SFCW对NH₃-N、TN和TP的去除率均值高于厌氧池和FSSFW,厌氧池对各污染指标去除的贡献最小;在高水力负荷下,系统对SS、COD、NH₃-N、TN和TP的去除率分别为91.2%、73.1%、84.2%、69.0%和82.7%,SFCW对SS、COD、NH₃-N和TN的去除起主要作用,FSSFW和SFCW对TP去除的贡献无明显差别,而厌氧池对各污染指标去除的贡献最小。该组合人工湿地系统在夏季运行的水力负荷可设为0.108~0.180 m³/(m²·d),冬季应严格按照设计水力负荷运行。在设计水力负荷下,系统出水各项指标均能稳定达到GB 18918—2002《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》一级B标准。     

Genetic divergence and phylogenetic inferences in five species of Mugilidae (Pisces: Perciformes)

Allozyme electrophoresis was used to compare the genetic divergence of global populations of Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758 and two congeneric [M.␣curema Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1836; M. gyrans (Jordan & Gilbert, 1885)] and two more distantly related [Liza ramada (Risso, 1826); Xenomugil thoburni (Jordan & Starks, 1896)] species on the basis of 18 enzyme loci. The amount of genetic divergence among the species examined is in agreement with their present systematic status, the differences being larger among non-congeneric species than among species of the same genus. Intraspecific genetic distances in M. cephalus (average Nei's D= 0.154), although higher than those reported for conspecific populations of fish, appear to be small when compared to the interspecific values among mugilid species (0.821 ≤ Nei's D ≤ 1.744). Phylogenetic trees obtained by genetic distance methods and discrete character parsimony analysis were of similar topology, except for the relationships within the genus Mugil and for the arrangement of M. cephalus populations. Received: 7 April 1997 / Accepted: 4 February 1998     

Queen control of egg fertilization in the honey bee

The study investigated the precision with which honey bee queens can control the fertilization of the eggs they lay. Because males and workers are reared in different-sized cells, the honey bee is one of the few Hymenoptera in which it is possible for the experimenter to know which type of egg a queen “intends” to lay. Eggs were collected from both worker and drone (male) cells from four honey bee colonies. Ploidy of the embryo was determined using polymorphic DNA microsatellites. All 169 eggs taken from worker cells were heterozygous at at least one microsatellite locus showing that the egg was fertilized. All 129 eggs taken from drone cells gave a single band at the B124 locus, strongly suggesting haploidy. These data show that honey bee queens have great, and quite possibly complete, ability to control the fertilization of the eggs they lay. Data from the literature suggest that in two species of parasitoid Hymenoptera (Copidosoma floridanum, Colpoclypeus florus) females have great, but not complete, ability to control fertilization. Received: 23 December 1997 / Accepted after revision: 17 May 1998