Investigations of nitrogen fluxes and pools on a limestone site in the Alps

In the North Tyrolean Limestone Alps a site was investigated over a four-year period (1998–2001) in order to assess the nitrogen saturation status, the nitrogen budget (quantification of the net uptake of nitrogen by the canopy and of the nitrogen mineralization, nitrogen uptake from roots and N₂O emission rates, proof of the origin of nitrate in the soil water with stable isotope analyses), and the effects of the actual nitrogen input on ground water quality. The main goals were to quantify the nitrogen input rate, the nitrogen pools in above-ground and below-ground compartments, nitrogen turnover processes in the soil as well as the output into the groundwater and into the atmosphere. The findings are based on continuous and discontinuous field measurements as well as on model results.While nitrogen input exceeded the Critical Loads of the WHO (1995), nitrogen deficiency and nutrient imbalances were verified by needle analyses. The atmospheric input of inorganic nitrogen was higher than the nitrogen output in 50 cm soil depth. A tracer experiment with¹⁵N helped to prove that not more than half of the applied nitrate could be discharged. This allows the conclusion that nitrogen is stored in the system and that the site cannot yet be said to be saturated with nitrogen. The same result was also obtained by modelling. In addition, it was proved that the nitrogen discharge did not stem from deposition but from processes within the system.     

Dechlorination of PCE in the presence of Fe0 enhanced by a mixed culture containing two Dehalococcoides strains

A mixed culture capable of supplying its energy requirements by the oxidation of zero-valent iron (Fe0) and concomitant reduction of chlorinated ethenes was established. The culture contained Dehalococcoides species as determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with genus specific primers. The use of a newly designed ARDRA procedure and subsequent sequencing revealed the presence of two Dehalococcoides strains, one closely related to Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195, a bacterium respiring with chlorinated ethenes, and one closely related to strain CBDB1 a chlorobenzene and dioxin dehalogenating anaerobe. The mixed culture was used to study dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) to ethene in the presence of Fe0. Whereas abiotic transformation of PCE by Fe0 led to incomplete dechlorination, the mixed culture mediated fast and complete dechlorination of PCE to ethene with Fe0 as electron donor. Compared to cultures with hydrogen added as electron donor, cultures with Fe0 as electron donor showed the same or higher rates of PCE dechlorination. Growth of the Dehalococcoides strains in the mixed culture is linked to the presence of Fe0 as electron donor and PCE as electron acceptor demonstrating that Dehalococcoides spp. play a pivotal role in the dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes in Fe0 systems.     

Assessment of the importance of sorption for steroid estrogens removal during activated sludge treatment

Distribution coefficients (K(d)) between water and activated sludge particles (f(oc)=27.7+/-0.1%) were measured for the steroid estrogens (SE), estrone (E1), 17beta-estradiol (E2) and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in batch experiments. Experimental concentration levels ranged from environmentally realistic low ng/l to the high microg/l. In this range K(d)s were independent of their water concentration. The experimentally obtained K(d)s (with 95% confidence intervals) were 402+/-126 l/kg, 476+/-192 l/kg and 584+/-136 l/kg for E1, E2 and EE2, respectively. K(d)s were used to estimate the fraction of the total SE concentration that is expected to be sorbed in the activated sludge treatment tanks of a typical STP assuming equilibrium conditions. Assuming a suspended solids concentration of 4 g/l dissolved solids (ds), it was estimated that 61+/-9%, 66+/-13% and 70+/-6% of the total concentration of E1, E2 and EE2, respectively, would be sorbed during activated sludge treatment. The fraction of the SEs that was expected to be sorbed to suspended sludge particles in the effluents from a typical Danish STP was estimated to be only 0.20+/-0.06%, 0.24+/-0.10% and 0.29+/-0.07% of the total concentration of E1, E2 and EE2, respectively, at a suspended solids concentration of 5 mg/lds. For a typical STP the removal of steroid estrogens with excess sludge was estimated to be only 1.5-1.8% of the total loading if equilibrium conditions exists. Sorption is therefore not important for the fate of SEs in STPs compared to biodegradation.     

Nitrate dynamics in an alpine forest site (Mühleggerköpfl) O and N stable isotope analysis in natural water samples

Stable isotope analysis of¹⁵N/¹⁴N and¹⁸O/¹⁶O - nitrate was used to investigate the nitrate dynamics and potential groundwater pollution in an Alpine forest stand in Tyrol/Austria. The dynamics of δ¹⁵−N_nitrate values were followed in a forest ecosystem. The stable isotopic values of the throughfall are comparable with other studies. The completely decoupled dynamics of the δ¹⁵−N_nitrate of the precipitation and the surface water was observed. High variations in δ¹⁵-N - nitrate values in rainfall indicate that nitrate of different sources is deposited at that site. A significant correlation between the δ¹⁵N_nitrate values of the surface water and soil water was obtained, while no significant correlation between the δ¹⁵N_nitrate values of any precipitation sample with the surface water could be found. This suggests that the main source of nitrate in soil water originates from microbiological activity such as nitrification reactions and less from nitrate input by deposition. The results of δ¹⁸O_nitrate measurements strongly supported the microbiological origin of nitrate in the surface and soil water. In an additional lysimeter experiment,¹⁵N - labelled nitrate was applied to study nitrate transport in soil. After 130 days and the collection of 300 L leachate, a total of 52% of the applied nitrate was detected in seepage water.

     

Alternative male mating tactics in a cichlid, Pelvicachromis pulcher: a comparison of reproductive effort and success

Pelvicachromis pulcher is a small African cichlid which breeds in holes. Males may either reproduce monogamously (pair males), polygynously (harem males), or be tolerated as helpers in a harem territory (satellite males). These helpers share in defence of the territory against conspecifics, heterospecific competitors and predators. There are two male colour morphs that are fixed for life and are apparently genetically determined. These differ in their potential mating strategy. Red morph males may become harem owners, while yellow morph males may become satellite males, and males of both morphs may alternatively pair up monogamously. We compared the reproductive effort and success of these three male reproductive strategies. Effort was measured as attack rates, time expenditure and the risk of being injured or killed when attacking competitors or predators of three sympatric fish species. Reproductive success was measured by observing how many eggs were fertilized by each male when this was possible, and by using genetic markers. The number of fry surviving to independence of parental care was used as a criterion of success. The reproductive success of harem males was 3.3 times higher than that of pair males and 7 times higher than that of the average satellite male. Dominant satellite males, however, were as successful as monogamous pair males, using the measure of fertilized eggs. To our knowledge, this has not been found previously in any fish species. Both harem and pair males had lower parental defence costs per sired offspring, however, than males using the alternative satellite tactic. Defence effort was significantly related to the risk of injury. Received: 17 January 1996 / Accepted after revision: 9 June 1997     

未来决策的工具:货币与生物物理学指标相结合

考虑货币指标信息的利害,关系到一个国家的财富,它对于保护国家财富、维护国家经济命脉是不可或缺的 .生物物理学指标的考虑,则关系到国内和全球天然资产的使用 .经济命脉的维护有赖于基本的生态贡献,诸如可更新和不可更新资源、废物的消纳与稳定的气候条件等 .这两项计量指标共同为决策者们提供了经济与生态生存能力的详尽资料 .这样一种方法也可以用来解释国家与全球之间的可持续性关系,以及参与政策的制定 .     

Klimaänderungen: Mögliche Ursachen in Vergangenheit und Zukunft

In this overview two definitions of climate are presented, from the meteorological point of view and from the climate system’s point of view. The origin of climate change is discussed, i.e., externally forced variability and free, or internal variability that is caused without external trigger by internal instabilities of the system. Both, forced and free variability can appear as periodic, randomly quasi-periodic, and abrupt climate change. Finally, various possibilities of climate forecast are considered.     

Reproductive effort in relation to maternal social rank in reindeer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rangifer tarandus</Emphasis>)

In polygynous mammals, high-quality females may increase their fitness by providing superior care to their offspring. Based on the agonistic interactions of female reindeer in an experimental herd during two consecutive years (1997 and 1998), we tested whether maternal social rank influenced: (1) winter body-mass change of females, (2) preparturition reproductive effort (measured as fecundity, the birth mass and the birth date of their calves), (3) preweaning maternal effort (measured as calves preweaning mortality, early preweaning and late preweaning growth rate and September body mass of calves), and (4) postweaning maternal effort (measured as calves body-mass change during their first winter). In the models, we included September females body mass as a covariate to separate the effects of maternal rank and body mass. We also tested whether the effect of social rank on maternal efforts was dependent on offspring sex. High-ranked females gained body mass whereas low-ranked females lost weight during the winter. Fecundity was higher and date of birth was earlier in high-ranked females than in subordinates, whereas no effect of females rank on birth mass of calves was found. Early preweaning growth rate and September body mass of calves increased with increasing females social rank, whereas late preweaning daily growth rate of calves was not influenced by females rank. Calves preweaning mortality was only influenced by year, which also explained most of the variance in the winter body-mass change of calves. The effects of females rank on the reproductive-efforts parameters studied were not specific to offspring sex. These findings suggest that females rank influences reproductive effort during the preparturition, as well as the preweaning, period, the effect being sex independent.Communicated by R. Gibson