Wastewater management for hazardous chemicals ‐ disposal of ammonium perchlorate wastes from propellant production for space vehicles

An attempt to depict the wastewater treatment system for the production of ammonium perchlorate, a component of solid propellant used in space vehicles, has been made. The waste‐water management system uses solar ponds and seawater dilution for the retention and disposal of the undesirable constituents of the wastewater. The details of the wastewater generation and its treatment are highlighted in this paper.     

Atypical plant–herbivore association of algal food and a kleptoplastic sea slug (Elysia clarki) revealed by DNA barcoding and field surveys

The identity of food sources and feeding preferences of specialist herbivores have been commonly inferred from spatial associations between consumer and food items. However, such basic information for well-known marine herbivores, sacoglossans (sea slugs), and their algal diets remains disappointingly lacking, especially from field studies. The sacoglossan, Elysia clarki (Pierce et al. in Molluscan Res 26:23–38, 2006), is kleptoplastic and sequesters chloroplasts from algal food to photosynthesize, so DNA identification of sequestered chloroplasts was employed to verify the algal species fed upon by the slug across its geographic range. The molecular information on the algae consumed by E. clarki was combined with field surveys of slugs and algae in slug habitats in the Florida Keys in July and August of 2008 in order to evaluate whether the diet of this herbivore could be predicted based on its spatial association with algae in the field. A considerable mismatch between food availability and kleptoplast identity was recorded. E. clarki commonly occupied areas devoid of potential food and often contained symbiotic plastids from algal species different from those most frequently found in the surveyed habitats. In three of the four study sites, algal species present were poor predictors of slug diet. These findings suggest that the photosynthetic capability of E. clarki may release the slug from the constraint of requiring proximity to its food sources and may allow for the potential lack of spatial coupling between this herbivore and its algal food. This combination of field surveys and DNA barcoding provided critical and previously unavailable information on herbivore feeding in this marine system.     

Integrated environmental assessment of freshwater sediments: a chemical and ecotoxicological approach at the Alqueva reservoir

In order to study the pollution of an aquatic ecosystem, it is necessary to analyze not only the levels of chemical pollutants in water, but also those accumulated in the sediment matrix, as well as to assess its ecotoxicological status. The Alqueva reservoir, the largest artificial lake in Europe, was chosen as case study as it constitutes the most important water supply source in southern Portugal. It is located in the Guadiana River Basin, in a semi-arid region with high levels of water scarcity and where agriculture is one of the main activities. The evaluation of sediments comprised: (1) physical and chemical analysis (grain size, pH, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus); (2) potentially toxic trace elements (Cu, As, Pb, Cr, Cd, Zn and Ni); and (3) ecotoxicological evaluation with Vibrio fischeri, Thamnocephalus platyurus, Daphnia magna, and Heterocypris incongruens. Total trace element concentrations indicated that As, Cd, and Pb surpassed the Canadian levels for the protection of aquatic life, in most of Alqueva’s sites. The results of the toxicity assessment showed that some locations induced acute and chronic toxicity in the species used. Further, the H. incongruens was the most sensitive species as far as the contamination found in the sediment is concerned, followed by the bacteria V. fischeri. This integrative approach, together with the water column quality assessment, allowed a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental quality of this strongly modified water body and will allow the implementation of remediation strategies to obtain a good ecological potential as proposed in the Water Framework Directive.     

Persistent bimodal activity patterns in wild and captive black-tailed godwit <Emphasis Type="Italic">Limosa limosa</Emphasis> under different environmental conditions

There is a large literature dealing with daily foraging routines of wild birds during the non-breeding season. While different laboratory studies have showed that some bird activity patterns are a persistent property of the circadian system, most of field studies preclude the potential role of an endogenous circadian rhythm in controlling bird’s foraging routines. In this study we compared the patterns of diurnal foraging activity and intake rates of migrating black-tailed godwits, Limosa limosa (radio-tagged and non-tagged individuals) at two stopover sites (habitats) with different environmental characteristics, aiming at identifying proximate factors of bird activity routines. To gain insights into the role of food availability in control of such foraging routines, we also estimated foraging activity patterns in captive godwits subjected to constant food availability. Captive and wild black-tailed godwits showed a persistent bimodal activity pattern through daylight period. Food availability had a significant effect on the intake rates, but had a subtler effect on foraging and intake rate rhythms. Temperature and wind speed (combined in a weather index) showed non-significant effects on both rhythms. Although we could not discard a role for natural diurnal changes in light intensity, an important timing cue, our findings support the idea that an endogenous circadian rhythm could be an important proximate factor regulating foraging activity and food items taken per unit time of wild black-tailed godwits during migration.     

Marine reserves reduce risk of climate-driven phase shift by reinstating size- and habitat-specific trophic interactions

Spatial closures in the marine environment are widely accepted as effective conservation and fisheries management tools. Given increasing human-derived stressors acting on marine ecosystems, the need for such effective action is urgently clear. Here we explore mechanisms underlying the utility of marine reserves to reinstate trophic dynamics and to increase resilience of kelp beds against climate-driven phase shift to sea urchin barrens on the rapidly warming Tasmanian east coast. Tethering and tagging experiments were used to examine size- and shelter-specific survival of the range-extending sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii (Diadematidae) translocated to reefs inside and outside no-take Tasmanian marine reserves. Results show that survival rates of C. rodgersii exposed on flat reef substratum by tethering were approximately seven times (small urchins 10.1 times; large urchins 6.1 times) lower on protected reef within marine reserve boundaries (high abundance of large predatory-capable lobsters) compared to fished reef (large predatory lobsters absent). When able to seek crevice shelter, tag-resighting models estimated that mortality rates of C. rodgersii were lower overall but remained 3.3 times (small urchins 2.1 times; large urchins 6.4 times) higher in the presence of large lobsters inside marine reserves, with higher survival of small urchins owing to greater access to crevices relative to large urchins. Indeed, shelter was 6.3 times and 3.1 times more important to survival of small and large urchins, respectively, on reserved relative to fished reef. Experimental results corroborate with surveys throughout the range extension region, showing greater occurrence of overgrazing on high-relief rocky habitats where shelter for C. rodgersii is readily available. This shows that ecosystem impacts mediated by range extension of such habitat-modifying organisms will be heterogeneous in space, and that marine systems with a more natural complement of large and thus functional predators, as achievable within no-take reserves, will minimize local risk of phase shifts by reinstating size and habitat-specific predator-prey dynamics eroded by fishing. Importantly, our findings also highlight the crucial need to account for the influence of size dynamics and habitat complexity on rates of key predator-prey interactions when managing expectations of ecosystem-level responses within marine reserve boundaries.     

Life cycle of the jellyfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lychnorhiza lucerna</Emphasis> (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae)

The life cycle of Lychnorhiza lucerna (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae) and the settlement preferences of its larvae were studied using laboratory-based rearing experiments. Mature medusae of L. lucerna were collected from the beach of the Río de la Plata estuary, Argentina. This species displayed the typical metagenetic, (i.e. medusoid and polypoid), life cycle reported for other rhizostomes. The fertilized eggs developed into motile and short lived planulae. The majority of planulae settled on the air-water interface (p < 0.001). Of those that settled on the settlement plates provided, no significant differences were observed between styrene slides, glass slides and shells of the bivalve Mactra isabelleana (p > 0.05). No planulae settled on stones. Several hours after planulae settled, they metamorphosed into sessile four-tentacled scyphistomae. Most scyphistomae attached onto the air-water interface. At 19–22°C, the scyphistomae grew up to 22 tentacles and reached 1,500 μm height. The scyphistomae increased their numbers by means of formation of podocysts from which new polyps emerged and strobilated. Strobilation occurred 46 days after settlement. Only polydisk strobilation was observed and each strobila always produced three ephyrae. After releasing ephyrae, strobilae returned to normal scyphistomae and were capable of repeating strobilation. A single founder polyp was estimated to produce up to 60 ephyrae over 4 months. Ephyrae developed into metephyrae 15 days after release at 19–22°C. In this paper we describe the morphological and some behavioural features of L. lucerna in the polypoid and early medusoid stages.     

Influences of divergent behavioral strategies upon risk allocation in juvenile flatfishes

Animals balance feeding and anti-predator behaviors at various temporal scales. When risk is infrequent or brief, prey can postpone feeding in the short term and temporally allocate feeding behavior to less risky periods. If risk is frequent or lengthy, however, prey must eventually resume feeding to avoid fitness consequences. Species may exhibit different behavioral strategies, depending on the fitness tradeoffs that exist in their environment or across their life histories. North Pacific flatfishes that share juvenile rearing habitat exhibit a variety of responses to predation risk, but their response to risk frequency has not been examined. We observed the feeding and anti-predator behaviors of young-of-the-year English sole (Parophrys vetulus), northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra), and Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)—three species that exhibit divergent anti-predator strategies—following exposure to three levels of predation risk: no risk, infrequent (two exposures/day), and frequent (five exposures/day). The English sole responded to the frequent risk treatment with higher feeding rates than during infrequent risk, following a pattern of behavioral response that is predicted by the risk allocation hypothesis; rock sole and halibut did not follow the predicted pattern, but this may be due to the limited range of treatments. Our observations of unique anti-predator strategies, along with differences in foraging and species-specific ecologies, suggest divergent trajectories of risk allocation for the three species.     

Experimental and numerical analysis of flow instabilities in rectangular shallow basins

Free surface flows in several shallow rectangular basins have been analyzed experimentally, numerically and theoretically. Different geometries, characterized by different widths and lengths, are considered as well as different hydraulic conditions. First, the results of a series of experimental tests are briefly depicted. They reveal that, under clearly identified hydraulic and geometrical conditions, the flow pattern is found to become non-symmetric, in spite of the symmetrical inflow conditions, outflow conditions and geometry of the basin. This non-symmetric motion results from the growth of small disturbances actually present in the experimental initial and boundary conditions. Second, numerical simulations are conducted based on a depth-averaged approach and a finite volume scheme. The simulation results reproduce the global pattern of the flow observed experimentally and succeed in predicting the stability or instability of a symmetric flow pattern for all tested configurations. Finally, an analytical study provides mathematical insights into the conditions under which the symmetric flow pattern becomes unstable and clarifies the governing physical processes.     

Aerobic granulation of pure bacterial strain

The objective of this study is to cultivate aerobic granules by pure bacterial strain, Bacillus thuringiensis, in a sequencing batch reactor. Stable granules sized 2.0–2.2 mm were formed in the reactor after a five-week cultivation. These granules exhibited excellent settling attributes, and degraded phenol at rates of 1.49 and 1.19 g phenol/(g VSS·d) at 250 and 1500 mg/L of phenol concentration, respectively. Confocal laser scanning microscopic test results show that Bacillus thuringiensis was distributed over the initial small aggregates, and the outer edge of the granule was away from the core regime in the following stage.