Orientation in the intertidal salt-marsh collembolan Anurida maritima

We investigated the cues used by the intertidal insect Anurida maritima (Apterygota: Collembola) to orient to the appropriate zone in which to seek shelter during high tide. Our experiments clearly ruled out any significant role for magnetic, local topographic, slope or celestial cues. Instead, we suggest that the difference between the appearance of the up-shore and the down-shore horizon is the major cue used by the collembolans. When a mirror was used to duplicate either of the two horizons, the insects were not able to orient. The insects moved towards an artificially dark horizon (the reverse of the mirror) placed down-shore, the opposite of their usual direction of movement. The insects had an endogenous circatidal rhythm of phototactic behaviour: most of the population was always negatively phototactic, but between 2 and 7 h after low tide, a significant proportion of the population became positively phototactic. This is the first demonstration of an endogenous tidal rhythm of orientation in an insect. Received: 31 May 1999 / Received in revised form: 1 February 2000 / Accepted: 19 February 2000     

A Field Demonstration of the UV/Oxidation Technology to Treat Ground Water Contaminated with VOCs

This paper presents the Geld evaluation results of the ultraviolet radiation (UV)/oxidation technology developed by Ultrox International, Santa Ana, California. The Geld evaluation was performed at the Lorentz Barrel and Drum (LB&D) site in San Jose, California, under the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation program in February and March of 1989.

The UV/oxidation technology uses UV radiation, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide to oxidize organic contaminants present in water. At the LB&D site, this technology was evaluated in treating ground water contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Ultrox system achieved VOC removals greater than 90 percent. Most VOCs were removed through chemical oxidation. However, for a few VOCs, such as 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane and 1, 1-dichloroethane, stripping also contributed toward removal. The treated ground water met the applicable discharge standards for discharge into a local waterway at 95 percent confidence level. There were no harmful air emissions to the atmosphere from the Ultrox system, which is equipped with an off-gas treatment unit.     

In situ bioremediation of an aniline spill in an industrial setting

In situ remediation of aniline from soils and groundwater using biological and physical treatments was conducted at the BASF Corporation facility in Geismar, Louisiana. To mitigate the migration of aniline, remediate contaminated soil and groundwater, and determine concentrations, 24 immobilized microbe bioreactors were fixed in the subsoil, and a horizontal recovery well and 7 monitoring wells were installed. Soil and monitoring wells were sampled quarterly to assess bioplug impact on the aniline concentrations. The recovery well was sampled monthly to estimate the pounds of aniline removed from groundwater. Soil pH, composition, and microbial counts were used to estimate the fate and transport. Aniline levels were lowered significantly after remediation and total cancer risk was below levels for industrial sites, as established by State of Louisiana Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program guidelines. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Adaptive Targeting: Engaging Farmers to Improve Targeting and Adoption of Agricultural Conservation Practices

Targeting of agricultural conservation practices to cost‐effective locations has long been of interest to watershed managers, yet its implementation cannot succeed without meaningful engagement of agricultural producers who are decision makers on the lands they farm. In this study, we engaged 14 west‐central Indiana producers and landowners in an adaptive targeting experiment. Interviews carried out prior to targeting provided rich spatial information on existing conservation practices as well as producers' preferences for future conservation projects. We targeted six of the most accepted conservation practices using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool and spatial optimization using a genetic algorithm approach. Fairly optimal conservation scenarios were possible with even the most limiting constraints of farmer‐accepted practices. We presented in follow‐up interviews a total of 176 conservation practice recommendations on 103 farm fields to 10 farmers whose lands were targeted for conservation. Primary findings indicated producers were interested in the project, were open to hearing recommendations about their lands, and expressed a high likelihood of adopting 35% of targeted recommendations. Farmers generally viewed the interview process and presentation of results quite favorably, and the interviews were found to build trust and make the targeting process more acceptable to them.     

A climatic driver for abrupt mid-Holocene vegetation dynamics and the hemlock decline in New England

The mid-Holocene decline of eastern hemlock is widely viewed as the sole prehistorical example of an insect- or pathogen-mediated collapse of a North American tree species and has been extensively studied for insights into pest-host dynamics and the consequences to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of dominant-species removal. We report paleoecological evidence implicating climate as a major driver of this episode. Data drawn from sites across a gradient in hemlock abundance from dominant to absent demonstrate: a synchronous, dramatic decline in a contrasting taxon (oak); changes in lake sediments and aquatic taxa indicating low water levels; and one or more intervals of intense drought at regional to continental scales. These results, which accord well with emerging climate reconstructions, challenge the interpretation of a biotically driven hemlock decline and highlight the potential for climate change to generate major, abrupt dynamics in forest ecosystems.     

Vegetation structure constrains primary production response to water availability in the Patagonian steppe

Grassland aboveground net primary production (ANPP) increases linearly with precipitation in space and time, but temporal models relating time series of ANPP and annual precipitation for single sites show lower slopes and regression coefficients than are shown by spatial models. The analysis of several ANPP time series showed lags in the ecosystem response to increased water availability, which may explain the difference between spatial and temporal models. The lags may result from constraints that ecosystems experience after drought. Our objective was to explore the structural constraints of the ANPP response to rainfall variability in a semiarid ecosystem, the Patagonian steppe, in southern Argentina. We designed a 3-yr rainfall manipulation experiment where we decreased water input with rainout shelters during two consecutive years, which included three levels of rainfall interception (30%, 55%, and 80%) and a control. In the third year, we irrigated one-half of the plots of each rainfall-interception treatment. We evaluated the immediate effects of drought on current-year ANPP and the effects of previous-year drought on vegetation recovery after water supplementation. ANPP (g x m(-2) x yr(-1)) was linearly related to annual precipitation input (APPT; mm/yr) along the experimental precipitation gradient (ANPP = 0.13 x APPT + 58.3; r2 = 0.34, P < 0.01), and this relationship was mostly accounted for by changes in the ANPP of grasses. Plant density (D; no. individuals/mm2) was related to the precipitation received during the drought period (D = 0.11 x APPT + 18; r2 = 0.39, P < 0.05). The recovery of plants after irrigation was lower for those plots that had experienced experimental drought the previous years relative to controls, and the lags were proportional to the intensity of drought. Therefore, our results suggest that the density of plants may constrain the recovery of vegetation after drought, and these constraints may determine lags that limit the capacity of the ecosystem to take advantage of wet years after dry years.     

Characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban stormwater runoff flowing into the tidal Anacostia River, Washington, DC, USA

To investigate the sources, fate, and transport dynamics of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in stormwater runoff that is a leading source of pollution in urban watersheds, storm and base flow samples were collected in six branches along the lower Anacostia River. PAHs in storm flow (1510-12,500 ng/L) were significantly enriched in the particle phase, which accounted for 68-97% of the total PAHs. It suggests that reducing particles in stormwater using post-treatment system would decrease PAHs considerably. The solid-water distribution coefficients (KD) of PAHs in the storm flow samples were up to 340 times higher than predicted values. A greater portion of high molecular weight PAHs and their distribution patterns indicate higher contribution of automobile originated pyrogenic PAHs. Total suspended solids in storm flow had a positive relationship with flow rates and exceeded benchmark level for the protection of aquatic biota in some samples.     

Chemical Partitioning to Foliage: The Contribution and Legacy of Davide Calamari

- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.01.002 Background Davide Calamari and his colleagues were among the first to appreciate that vegetation could play a key role in determining the fate and effects of organic contaminants. They conducted pioneering experiments to investigate the uptake of contaminants by plants from the atmosphere and they sought to model the observed phenomena. In the nearly two decades since there has been a marked increase in understanding of these phenomena as a result of both experimental and modelling studies. - Goal. In this study we briefly review our current understanding of chemical partitioning between foliage and air. A model in both fugacity and concentration format is described, based on that of Tolls and McLachlan (1994), in which the leaf is treated as consisting of two layers, a waxy cuticle with an underlying 'reservoir' layer, the cuticle being surrounded by an air boundary layer and containing stomata that provide direct access from the air to the 'reservoir'. The model quantifies the dynamic penetration of a defined chemical into a defined leaf as a function of time. Main Features The model is applied for illustrative purposes to a hypothetical but typical leaf for a set of illustrative chemicals to demonstrate the effect of changes in physical-chemical properties and leaf characteristics. Discussion The results are compared qualitatively with a variety of field and laboratory studies of foliage uptake and clearance of chemicals. Conclusion It is concluded that the model yields results that are generally consistent with observations. It is suggested that with appropriate parameterisation and validation, the model can contribute to an improved understanding of the process of foliage uptake from the atmosphere and to the development of an improved predictive capability.