Carbon isotope ratios in logged and unlogged boreal forests: Examination of the potential for determining wildlife habitat use

Due to assimilation of recycled CO₂ from litter decomposition and photosynthetic changes in carbon fractionation at low light levels, the foliage at the base of a forest is often more depleted in¹³C compared to that exposed to the atmosphere in either the canopy or in open clearings. This is referred to as the canopy effect. African research has indicated that these habitat differences in foliar ¹³C can be substantial enough to affect the carbon isotope ratios of resident fauna. Previous work documenting a 30-year chronology on moose teeth from Isle Royale National Park indicated a progressive depletion in¹³C and suggested that this could be due to forest regrowth following extensive burning. The present study examined the assumption implicit in this hypothesis that foliar ¹³C varies between open and closed boreal forest sites. I found a marginal canopy effect of 2 ¹³C difference between upper canopy and ground flora for a forest in northwestern Ontario and an average difference of 1.2 in under- and mid-story vegetation between closed forests and open clear-cuts. Because of these small differences, the utility of carbon isotope analysis in quantifying temporally integrated exploitation of deforested habitats will be low for northern boreal locations. In denser forests, such as those in the tropics or western North American where the canopy effect can be expected to be much greater, ¹³C analysis may still offer some promise for determining selection by wildlife of disturbed habitats.     

Vertical gradients of ozone and carbon dioxide within a deciduous forest in Central Pennsylvania

Ambient concentrations of ozone (O(3)) and carbon dioxide (CO(2)) were measured at locations from the forest floor to the top of the canopy in a deciduous forest at the Moshannon State Forest in northcentral Pennsylvania. O(3) concentrations were measured from May-September for three years (1993-1995) while CO(2) concentrations were measured only during July and August of 1994. O(3) concentrations increased steadily during the day at all locations, peaking during the middle to late afternoon hours. O(3) concentrations then steadily declined to their lowest point, just before dawn. Vertical O(3) concentration gradients varied seasonally and among years. However, O(3) concentrations were highest within the forest canopy and lowest at the forest floor, with an average difference of approximately 13%. Differences in O(3) concentrations between the canopy and forest floor were greatest at night. O(3) concentrations were slightly higher at locations within the canopy than above the canopy. CO(2) concentrations were consistenly higher near the forest floor and were higher above the canopy than within the canopy. CO(2) concentrations were higher at night than during the day at all locations, especially near the forest floor.     

Cellular and ultrastructural changes in the endoderm of the temperate sea anemone Anemonia viridis as a result of increased temperature

Exposure of the temperate sea anemone Anemonia viridis Forskål to increased seawater temperature (from 16 to 26°C) reduced the lysosomal latency of coelenterate tissues. Lysosomes in the mesenterial filaments of anemones were destabilised by increased temperature, with greater destabilisation in heat-shocked symbiotic anemones than in heat-shocked aposymbiotic anemones in the early stages of the experiment. Lysosomal enzyme activity in zooxanthellae from heat-shocked symbiotic anemones was associated with the algal membranes and the cytoplasm of degenerate algal cells. While the relationship between host coelenterate and symbiotic alga may confer many benefits under normal conditions, comparison of the responses of symbiotic and aposymbiotic anemones to heat shock suggests that there may be disadvantages for symbiotic anemones under stress.     

Effects of population density and cadmium toxicity on growth and survival of blowflies

The blowfly Lucilia sericata has been reared on artificial diets containing from 0 to 200 mg Cd kg(-1) at population densities ranging from 8 larvae per 4-g diet to 8 larvae per 32-g diet. Peak larval weight, development period, pupal weight, adult-emergence weight, and fecundity were measured. Larvae of blowflies respond to food deprivation by a reduction in larval weight and subsequent pupal and adult size. Contaminating the food supply with cadmium produced similar additive effects, reduced the growth rate, and increased the age of pupation. The results are of importance in determining the effects of environmental pollutants on population dynamics.     

Some epidemiologic features of disasters in guatemala

Epidemiological procedures can be organised under disaster conditions by means of a simple surveillance system and with few personnel.
In the aftermath of the 4 February 1976 earthquake in Guatemala, an information system was organized by which the requisite information for decision-making was obtained with adequate speed and promptness.
The initial epidemiologic informution was based on reports collected during the early days on symptoms observed at hospitals and health centers and in localities and villages in the stricken area.
At a second, post-emergency stage a more elaborate surveillance system was instituted to provide guidance in the investigntwn of outbreaks, evaluate the health activities and establish basic criteria for preventive and control measures.     

Cost-effective selection of sampling frequencies for regulatory water quality monitoring

A dynamic programming code was formulated for the purpose of assigning sampling frequencies throughout a regulatory water quality monitoring network in order to optimize the statistical performance of the network while operating within a fixed budgetary constraint. The statistical objective is to achieve the greatest possible station to station uniformity in confidence interval widths about annual geometric means of the measured water quality variables and to keep the average confidence width reasonably small. The objective function is the sum (over several selected variables and all stations) of the normalized positive deviations of the predicted confidence interval widths from preselected design confidence interval widths. The code was designed to account for the effects of deterministic seasonal variation and serial correlation of the water quality observations by incorporating the results of the time series analysis of historical quality data. The economic constraint ensures that the annual operating cost of the system, including direct costs of travel and laboratory analysis, will not exceed the allowable budget. As an example situation, the dynamic programming code was used to assign sampling frequencies to the nine stations in Illinois from which historical quality data had been obtained and analyzed. Using five design quality constituents and representative travel and laboratory costs, an “optimal” design was produced. The optimal design achieved a 10% improvement in uniformity (standard deviation) of confidence interval widths when compared to a more traditional design based on the same budget and using identical sampling frequencies at every station.     

Interaction of temperature and salinity on oxygen consumption of the estuarine crab Panopeus herbstii

Marine Biology - The combined effects of temperature and salinity on the rate of oxygen consuption by the estuarine crab Panopeus herbstii Milne-Edwards (Crustacea: Decapoda: Xanthidae) were...     

Effect of Cross-Linking Waste Protein with Dialdehydes on Its Biodegradation Under Anaerobic Conditions

Most native polymers used in processing and application technologies are admittedly disposable from the environment in a biologic manner, but products possess low mechanical strength. One of the paths to increasing this attribute (if feasible) is their cross-linking, which may, however, affect their readiness to biodegradation. In the presented work this condition was observed on the example of waste protein (Hykol B) cross-linking by means of glutardialdehyde and glyoxal. Degree and course of cross-linking were determined through impedance spectroscopy. The objective of this work also was to obtain data for constructing a sensor capable of following the cross-linking course in real time, for potential industrial application of Hykol in continuous production. Impedance spectroscopy proved to be applicable even to this kind of material marked by considerable water content and exhibiting relatively high electric conductivity; so far it had been used only for materials of low conductivity. An aqueous environment inoculated with digested anaerobic sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant was selected for modeling anaerobic conditions. The relation was studied between cross-linking degree given by content of cross-linking agent (determined by impedance spectroscopy) and biodegradation degree under anaerobic conditions. It was confirmed that network density as given by quantity of added agent not only reduced breakdown degree but also slowed the course of the process. This fact is particularly obvious with cross-linking by means of glyoxal; network density is thus dependent on type of employed substance, which affect type and structure of created network. That not merely forms an obstacle during polymer swelling and dissolution but also prevents access of bacteria to source of metabolized organic carbon.