The use of the removable thin film coating technique as an alternative to traditional decontamination methods to mitigate and abate hazardous particulates

This article summarizes a study that evaluated a new decontamination technique for the mitigation and abatement of hazardous dust and particulates. Traditional decontamination methods are time‐consuming, expensive, can create airborne hazards, and do not always bring the concentration of the contaminant to acceptable levels. The use of the removable thin film coating will increase efficiency, will not generate airborne hazards, will decrease costs, and, with one application, will bring the hazardous dust concentrations to acceptable levels. Qualitative tests demonstrated that the removable thin film coating reduced the amount of visible luminescent dust (a surrogate for hazardous dust) from various surfaces. It also indicated that wherever there were minute scratches, the coating did not remove all of the dust. However, the qualitative tests showed that this decontamination method worked well as a preventative method, protecting clean areas from becoming contaminated when exposed to the luminescent dust. Further investigation was conducted using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and carbon dust. Overall, the SEM experiment demonstrated that there was a statistically significant (p = 0.00007) removal of carbon dust (less than 10 μm in size) from surfaces with crevasses larger than 3 μm. The SEM also revealed that there were some limitations where there were large clusters of carbon dust; in these instances, the coating would tear and remain on the sample surface. One method to resolve this limitation involved adding Kevlar^TM fibers to the removable thin film coating. It was thought that this would increase the strength of the coating and eliminate the coating from tearing when removing large clusters of a contaminant. Unfortunately, this did not alleviate the issue. The use of an engineered textile, saturated with the coating, appeared to eliminate the problem with the coating not being able to remove the contaminant from the minute surface scratches and improved the removal process of the coating. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Unprecedented bleaching-induced mortality in Porites spp. at Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia

In April-May 1998, mass coral bleaching was observed in the lagoon of Rangiroa Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. Six months later, the extent of bleaching-induced coral mortality was assessed at three sites. Corals in the fast-growing genus Pocillopora had experienced >99% mortality. Many large colonies of the slow-growing genus Porites (mean horizontal cross-sectional area 5.8 m²) had also died - a phenomenon not previously observed in French Polynesia and virtually unprecedented world-wide. At one site, 25% of colonies, or 44% of the pre-bleaching cover of living Porites, experienced whole-colony mortality. At the two other sites, recently dead Porites accounted for 41% and 82% of the pre-bleaching live cover. Mortality in Porites was negatively correlated with depth between 1.5 and 5 m. Using a 50-year dataset of mean monthly sea surface temperature (SST), derived from ship- and satellite-borne instruments, we show that bleaching occurred during a period of exceptionally high summer SST. 1998 was the first year in which mean monthly SSTs exceeded the 1961-1990 upper 95% confidence limit (29.4°C) for a period of three consecutive months. We suggest that the sustained 3-month anomaly in local summer SST was a major cause of coral mortality, but do not discount the synergistic effect of solar radiation. Recovery of the size-frequency distribution of Porites colonies to pre-bleaching levels may take at least 100 years.     

Consistent personality differences in house-hunting behavior but not decision speed in swarms of honey bees (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis>)

Speed-accuracy tradeoffs are a common feature of decision-making processes, both in individual animals and in groups of animals working together to reach a single collective decision. Individual organisms display consistent differences in their “impulsivity,” and vary in their tendency to make rapid, impulsive choices as opposed to slower, more accurate decisions. However, we do not yet know whether groups of animals consistently differ in their tendency to prioritize decision speed over accuracy. We challenged 17 swarms of honey bees (Apis mellifera) to simultaneously choose a new nest site in each of three locations, and measured their decision speeds in each trial. We found that swarms displayed consistent personality differences in the number of waggle dances and shaking signals they performed and in how actively they scouted for new nest sites. However, swarms did not consistently differ in how long they took to choose a nest site. We suggest that house-hunting A. mellifera swarms may place an especially high emphasis on decision accuracy when choosing a nest site, and that chance events—such as the time when each swarm discovers a sufficiently high-quality nest site—may consequently play a greater role in determining a swarm’s decision speed than intrinsic characteristics such as a swarm’s “impulsivity.”     

No evidence for genetic differentiation between Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna morphotypes

The extent to which genetic divergence can occur in the absence of physical barriers to gene flow is currently one of the most controversial topics in evolutionary biology, with implications for our understanding of speciation, phenotypic plasticity and adaptive potential. This is illustrated by a recent study reporting a surprising pattern of genetic differentiation between intertidal and subtidal morphotypes of the broadcast-spawning Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna. To explore this further, we collected almost 400 Antarctic limpets from four depths (intertidal, 6, 15 and 25 m) at Adelaide island, Antarctica, and conducted a combined morphometric and genetic analysis using 168 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci. Morphological analysis revealed not only pronounced differences between the two morphotypes, but also a continuous cline in shell shape from the intertidal zone down to 25 m depth, suggesting that the distinction between the morphotypes may be artificial. Moreover, genetic analysis using both F _st and a Bayesian analogue found no evidence for differentiation either between the two morphotypes or by depth, and a Bayesian cluster analysis did not detect any cryptic genetic structure. Our findings lend support to the notion that limpets can be phenotypically highly plastic, although further studies are required to determine unequivocally whether there is any genetic basis to the observed variation in shell morphology.     

Africanized honeybees are slower learners than their European counterparts

Does cognitive ability always correlate with a positive fitness consequence? Previous research in both vertebrates and invertebrates provides mixed results. Here, we compare the learning and memory abilities of Africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera scutellata hybrid) and European honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica). The range of the Africanized honeybee continues to expand, superseding the European honeybee, which led us to hypothesize that they might possess greater cognitive capabilities as revealed by a classical conditioning assay. Surprisingly, we found that fewer Africanized honeybees learn to associate an odor with a reward. Additionally, fewer Africanized honeybees remembered the association a day later. While Africanized honeybees are replacing European honeybees, our results show that they do so despite displaying a relatively poorer performance on an associative learning paradigm.     

IDENTIFICATION OF DISSOLVED-CONSTITUENT SOURCES IN MINE-SITE GROUND WATER USING BATCH MIXING1

ABSTRACT: Batch-mixing experiments were used to help identify lithologic and mineralogic sources of increased concentrations of dissolved solids in water affected by surface coal mining in northwestern Colorado. Ten overburden core samples were analyzed for mineral composition and mixed with distilled water for 90 days until mineral-water equilibrium was reached. Between one day and 90 days after initial contact, specific conductance in the sample mixtures had a median increase of 306 percent. Dissolved-solids concentrations ranged from 200 to 8,700 mg/L in water samples extracted from the mixtures after 90 days. Mass. balance simulations were conducted using the geochemical models BALANCE and WATEQF to quantify mineral-water interactions occurring in five selected sample mixtures and in water collected from a spring at a reclaimed mine site. The spring water is affected by mineral-water interactions occurring in all of the lithologic units comprising the overburden. Results of the simulations indicate that oxidation of pyrite, dissolution of dolomite, gypsum, and epsomite, and cation-exchange reactions are the primary mineral-water interactions occurring in the overburden. Three lithologic units in the overburden (a coal, a sandstone, and a shale) probably contribute most of the dissolved solids to the spring water. Water sample extracts from mixtures using core from these three units accounted for 85 percent of the total dissolved solids in the 10 sample extracts. Other lithologic units in the overburden probably contribute smaller quantities of dissolved solids to the spring water.     

CONFLICTING PERSPECTWES ABOUT DETECTION LIMITS AND ABOUT THE CENSORING OF ENVIRONMENTAL DATA1

ABSTRACT: Current conventions for reporting analytical results from environmental samples brings the objectives of laboratory scientists into conflict with those of environmental scientists. The objective of chemical analyses is to provide estimates of the true composition of samples. Reported results must reflect the analytical uncertainty. Current conventions require left-censoring of those results below the Limit of Detection. The objective of statistical interpretation of environmental data is to provide estimates of the characteristics of ecosystems. Such statistical analyses are often confounded by left-censoring of analytical results. We review the different points of view and propose a compromise which recognizes these conflicting perspectives.     

Trends and issues in land and water resources management: Setting the agenda for change

The classical model of a paradigm shift is used to explore changes that are occurring in public lands and water resources management. Recent policy developments suggest that the traditional paradigm, which is characterized by sustained yield, is in the process of being invalidated. While no new paradigm has been fully accepted, the emerging paradigm does appear to be based on two principles: ecosystem management and collaborative decision making. Implementation of these two principles is likely to require extensive revision of traditional management practices and institutions. Failure to address these issues could result in adoption of the rhetoric of change without any lasting shift in management practices or professional attitudes.