Optimum conditions for microbial carbonate precipitation

The type of bacteria, bacterial cell concentration, initial urea concentration, reaction temperature, the initial Ca(2+) concentration, ionic strength, and the pH of the media are some factors that control the activity of the urease enzyme, and may have a significant impact on microbial carbonate precipitation (MCP). Factorial experiments were designed based on these factors to determine the optimum conditions that take into consideration economic advantage while at the same time giving quality results. Sporosarcina pasteurii strain ATCC 11859 was used at constant temperature (25°C) and ionic strength with varying amounts of urea, Ca(2+), and bacterial cell concentration. The results indicate that the rate of ureolysis (k(urea)) increases with bacterial cell concentration, and the bacterial cell concentration had a greater influence on k(urea) than initial urea concentration. At 25 mM Ca(2+) concentration, increasing bacterial cell concentration from 10(6) to 10(8)cells mL?1 increased the CaCO(3) precipitated and CO(2) sequestrated by over 30%. However, when the Ca(2+) concentration was increased 10-fold to 250 mM Ca(2+), the amount of CaCO(3) precipitated and CO(2) sequestrated increased by over 100% irrespective of initial urea concentration. Consequently, the optimum conditions for MCP under our experimental conditions were 666 mM urea and 250 mM Ca(2+) at 2.3×10? cells mL?1 bacterial cell concentration. However, a greater CaCO(3) deposition is achievable with higher concentrations of urea, Ca(2+), and bacterial cells so long as the respective quantities are within their economic advantage. X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray analyzes confirmed that the precipitate formed was CaCO(3) and composed of predominantly calcite crystals with little vaterite crystals.     

Element patterns in albatrosses and petrels: Influence of trophic position, foraging range, and prey type

We investigated the concentrations of 22 essential and non-essential elements among a community of Procellariiformes (and their prey) to identify the extent to which trophic position and foraging range governed element accumulation. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) was used to characterise trophic (δ¹⁵N) and spatial patterns (δ¹³C) among species. Few consistent patterns were observed in element distributions among species and diet appeared to be highly influential in some instances. Arsenic levels in seabird red blood cells correlated with δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C, demonstrating the importance of trophic position and foraging range for arsenic distribution. Arsenic concentrations in prey varied significantly across taxa, and in the strength of association with δ¹⁵N values (trophic level). In most instances, element patterns in Procellariiformes showed the clearest separation among species, indicating that a combination of prey selection and other complex species-specific characteristics (e.g. moult patterns) were generally more important determining factors than trophic level per se.     

Copper distribution in surface and subsurface soil horizons

The horizons of four natural soils were treated with Cu²⁺ in an acid medium to study the retention capacity of Cu. The possible mineralogical changes arising because of the treatment were also studied. The soil properties and characteristics with the greatest influence on the metal retention and its distribution among the different soil fractions were determined. Crystalline phases of each horizon were determined by X-ray diffraction (XDR). The morphology, structural distribution and particle chemical composition of soil samples were investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Cu distribution in the different geochemical phases of the soil was studied using a sequential extraction. The treatment led to an increase in the amorphous phases and the formation of new crystalline phases, such as rouaite (Cu₂(NO₃)(OH)₃) and nitratine (NaNO₃). Cu was also found superficially sorbed on amorphous hydroxy compounds of Fe that interact with albite, muscovite and gibbsite, and also on spherical and curved particles of aluminium clays. The largest amount of Cu retained was in an exchangeable form, and the smallest amount associated with the crystalline Fe oxides and residual fraction. In the surface horizons, the predominant Cu retention process is complexation in organomineral associations, while in the subsurface horizons it is adsorption.     

Seasonal influences on PCB retention and biotransformation in fish

There is extensive evidence that fish from waters with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)-contaminated sediments accumulate PCBs and related chemicals and that people who eat fish from contaminated waters have higher body burdens of PCBs and PCB metabolites than those who do not. PCBs and their metabolites are potentially toxic; thus, it is important to human health to understand the uptake, biotransformation, and elimination of PCBs in fish since these processes determine the extent of accumulation. The intestinal uptake of PCBs present in the diet of fish into fish tissues is a process that is influenced by the lipid composition of the diet. Biotransformation of PCBs in fish, as in mammals, facilitates elimination, although many PCB congeners are recalcitrant to biotransformation in fish and mammals. Sequential biotransformation of PCBs by cytochrome P450 and conjugation pathways is even less efficient in fish than in mammalian species, thus contributing to the retention of PCBs in fish tissues. A very important factor influencing overall PCB disposition in fish is water temperature. Seasonal changes in water temperature produce adaptive physiological and biochemical changes in fish. While uptake of PCBs from the diet is similar in fish acclimated to winter or summer temperatures, there is evidence that elimination of PCBs occurs much more slowly when the fish is acclimated at low temperatures than at warmer temperatures. Research to date suggests that the processes of elimination of PCBs are modulated by several factors in fish including seasonal changes in water temperature. Thus, the body burden of PCBs in fish from a contaminated location is likely to vary with season.     

Revisions to the derivation of the Australian and New Zealand guidelines for toxicants in fresh and marine waters

The Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality are a key document in the Australian National Water Quality Management Strategy. These guidelines released in 2000 are currently being reviewed and updated. The revision is being co-ordinated by the Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, while technical matters are dealt with by a series of Working Groups. The revision will be evolutionary in nature reflecting the latest scientific developments and a range of stakeholder desires. Key changes will be: increasing the types and sources of data that can be used; working collaboratively with industry to permit the use of commercial-in-confidence data; increasing the minimum data requirements; including a measure of the uncertainty of the trigger value; improving the software used to calculate trigger values; increasing the rigour of site-specific trigger values; improving the method for assessing the reliability of the trigger values; and providing guidance of measures of toxicity and toxicological endpoints that may, in the near future, be appropriate for trigger value derivation. These changes will markedly improve the number and quality of the trigger values that can be derived and will increase end-users’ ability to understand and implement the guidelines in a scientifically rigorous manner.     

The holocene dynamics of vegetation and environmental conditions on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals

Consideration is given to changes in the vegetation and climatic conditions on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals in the second half of the Holocene as reconstructed on the basis of integrated palynological, botanical, paleocarpological, and radiocarbon analysis of material from a peat bog section in the floodplain of the Loz’va River. The results show that the northern taiga zone of the study region in the period between approximately 5000 and 700 years BP was occupied by forests of southern taiga facies, as the climate was significantly warmer than it is today.     

The WTO,ecology, and Russia: The time to make decisions

The relationship between the principle of free trade and nature conservation is one of the most acute and multifaceted problems in international business. The diversity of WTO activities implies the necessity of interdisciplinary studies utilizing the expertise and experience of specialists in international law and ecologists. In this paper, provisions of the WTO set of agreements and procedures for dispute settlement within the WTO framework are considered as applied to environmental protection.     

Climate impact on agroeconomy in semiarid region of Armenia

With 21 % of gross domestic product (GDP) in agricultural sector and having consistently experienced natural disasters (e.g., drought, flood), Armenia is very vulnerable to climate and its change. Given the fact that 63 % of the entire land is planted with grains, this study primarily focuses on the market for wheat flour and bread. Economic welfare loss due to drought episodes is calculated using the economic data integrated with climate measures. Economic data are utilized for the period 1995–2011 (obtained from Statistical Office of Armenia) and specifically include the quantity produced and consumed of wheat flour and bread combined with mean prices, population income, GDP in the agricultural sector, GDP in the planting sector, and governmental expenditure on subsidies. Climate data include temperature and precipitation during the period 1966–2011 (obtained from National Hydrometeorological Service of Armenia). The analysis includes three main components. The first utilizes a market framework that analyzes the impact of climate on equilibrium prices and quantities as well as trade and tax effects. The second employs a logarithmic utility function to estimate the effective insurance policy for the agricultural sector using risk management strategies. Lastly, a macroeconomic model has been developed to assess the efficient sum of governmental expenditure on subsidies and irrigation during the drought episodes and during the mean climatic conditions. All three parts of the study are developed for the first time.     

Mating systems in the steppe lemming (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lagurus lagurus)</Emphasis> and narrow-skulled vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus gregalis</Emphasis>) from the Northern Kulunda Steppe

A comparative analysis of reproductive behavior has been performed in the steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus) and narrow-skulled vole (Microtus gregalis). The results show that the species are similar in certain behavioral features indicative of the stability of mating pairs. However, in the narrow-skulled vole, unlike in the steppe lemming, mature males in olfactory tests show preference for receptive sibling females versus non-kin females. Probably, it is the absence of the incest taboo that allows the involvement of young of the year in reproduction within growing family groups and accounts for “coloniality” of the species.