Effects of four rice herbicides on some metabolic and toxicology parameters of teleost fish (Leporinus obtusidens)

Effects of different herbicides on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), catalase and TBARS formation in teleost fish (Leporinus obtusidens) were studied. Fish were exposed during 30 days at concentrations of herbicides used in rice field. AChE activity in the brain decreased significantly after exposure to the herbicides clomazone and quinclorac. However, AChE activity increased significantly in muscle tissue after exposure to clomazone, propanil and metsulfuron methyl. Fish exposed to quinclorac, propanil and metsulfuron methyl showed TBARS decreased levels in brain and muscle tissues. However, TBARS and catalase activity increased in liver tissue after clomazone and propanil exposure. This study pointed out long-term effects on AChE activity, oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme catalase in tissues of L. obtusidens after exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of rice field herbicides. These parameters have been used to monitor fish toxicity in rice field system.     

Characterization of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from periphyton using liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection–organic nitrogen detection (LC-OCD-OND)

A protocol was developed to extract, fractionate, and quantitatively analyze periphyton extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which obtains both information on the molecular weight (M _r) distribution and protein and polysaccharide content. The EPS were extracted from freshwater periphyton between July and December 2011. Organic carbon (OC) compounds from different EPS extracts were analyzed using liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection–organic nitrogen detection (LC-OCD-OND), and total protein and polysaccharide content were quantified. Four distinct OC fractions, on the basis of M _r, were identified in all extracts, corresponding to high M _r biopolymers (≥80–4 kDa), degradation products of humic substances (M _r not available), low M _r acids (10–0.7 kDa), and small amphiphilic/neutral compounds (3–0.5 kDa). Low C/N ratios (4.3?±?0.8) were calculated for the biopolymer fractions, which represented 16–38 % of the measured dissolved organic carbon (DOC), indicating a significant presence of high M _r proteins in the EPS. Protein and polysaccharide represented the two major components of EPS and, when combined, accounted for the measured DOC in extracts. Differences in specific OC fractions of EPS extracts over the course of the study could be quantified using this method. This study suggests that LC-OCD-OND is a new valuable tool in EPS characterization of periphyton.     

建立室内实验程序用于量化鸟类对种子消耗量的杀虫剂处理效应

种衣剂中使用的杀虫剂会影响鸟类对种子的消耗量,从而影响鸟类的实际暴露风险。虽然量化这种对消耗量的影响目前不被考虑在环境风险评估中,但这是一个潜在的选择,例如在比较不同农药的暴露风险时应予以考虑。这种方法可以突出用于防止鸟类服用致死或亚致死剂量的杀虫剂。为了制定一个标准,我们在已建立的笔试方法的基础上开发了一个室内测试程序,包括饥饿期的“两选择”和“无选择”阶段。测试期间采用动物福利的最高标准。利用统计方法确定最合适的重复次数并分析最终结果。杀虫剂对种子消耗量的影响用处理后种子与未处理种子消耗的比率表示。该消耗因子可作为种子处理的鸟类风险评估中的回避因子。 作为案例,我们提出了一个获得绿雀（Carduelis chloris）和日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica）对未处理和使用杀真菌剂处理的油菜籽（Brassica napus）的种子和特定物种消耗量因子的试验程序。总体来说,两种鸟类的体质都没有受到试验程序的负面影响。试验程序适用于显示预期消耗模式的差异,例如在“两选择”试验中比在“无选择”试验中对经过杀真菌剂处理的种子有更高的避免性。而种子消耗量在不同物种和杀真菌剂处理组有差别,这使得我们可以对不同杀真菌剂的规避效应进行排序。使用本文所提出的标准程序可以针对更多鸟类物种得到具有可比性的农药和物种特定的消费因子。     

Ecological engineering with high diversity vegetation patches enhances bird activity and ecosystem services in Philippine rice fields

Regional Environmental Change - This study examines the potential for ecological engineering to enhance the beneficial ecosystem services provided by birds in tropical rice fields. Bird activities...     

Phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ash through an electrodialytic process

The electrodialytic separation process (ED) was applied to sewage sludge ash (SSA) aiming at phosphorus (P) recovery. As the SSA may have high heavy metals contents, their removal was also assessed. Two SSA were sampled, one immediately after incineration (SA) and the other from an open deposit (SB). Both samples were ED treated as stirred suspensions in sulphuric acid for 3, 7 and 14 days. After 14 days, phosphorus was mainly mobilized towards the anode end (approx. 60% in the SA and 70% in the SB), whereas heavy metals mainly electromigrated towards the cathode end. The anolyte presented a composition of 98% of P, mainly as orthophosphate, and 2% of heavy metals. The highest heavy metal removal was achieved for Cu (ca. 80%) and the lowest for Pb and Fe (between 4% and 6%). The ED showed to be a viable method for phosphorus recovery from SSA, as it promotes the separation of P from the heavy metals.     

Can faecal glucocorticoid metabolites be used to monitor body condition in wild Upland geese Chloephaga picta leucoptera?

The measurement of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites is used as a non-invasive technique to study stress in animal populations. They have been used most widely in mammals, and mammalian studies have also treated issues such as sample stability and storage methods. In birds, faecal corticosterone metabolite (CM) assays have been validated for a small number of species, and adequate storage under field conditions has not been addressed explicitly in previous studies. Furthermore, while it is well-established that baseline plasma corticosterone levels in birds rise with declining body condition, no study so far investigated if this relationship is also reflected in faecal samples. We here present data of a field study in wild Upland geese Chloephaga picta leucoptera on the Falkland Islands, testing different storage methods and investigating the relationship of faecal CM concentrations to body condition and reproductive parameters. We found that faecal CM measures are significantly repeatable within individuals, higher in individuals with lower body condition in both male and female wild Upland geese and higher in later breeding females with smaller broods. These results suggest that measuring faecal CM values may be a valuable non-invasive tool to monitor the relative condition or health of individuals and populations, especially in areas where there still is intense hunting practice.     

Is flower scent influencing host plant selection of leaf-galling sawflies (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae) on willows?

Though it is known that flower scent not only attracts pollinators but also herbivores, little is known about the importance of flower scent on the distribution of leaf herbivores among individuals within a plant species. In this study we determined the distribution of galls induced by the sawfly Pontania proxima (Serville 1823) (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae, Nematinae) on flowering and non-flowering representatives of several clones belonging to Salix fragilis and S. × rubens (Salicaceae). Further, amounts and composition of scent of flowering and non-flowering twigs were compared (dynamic headspace-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, DHS-GC–MS), and a scent sample collected from flowering twigs of S. fragilis was tested by coupled gas chromatography and electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) on the antennae of P. proxima females. The results show that the presence of flower catkins on plants led to a higher degree of allocation with galls, but the number of galls differed not between flowering and non-flowering plants. The DHS-GC–MS analyses revealed that the total amount of flower scent emitted per flowering twig is about 90 times higher than the scent emitted by a non-flowering twig. Further, several compounds were emitted only by flowering but not by non-flowering twigs. In the GC-EAD analyses, antennae consistently responded not only to green leaf volatiles, but also to compounds emitted only by the flowers (e.g. 1,4-dimethoxybenzene). These flower scent compounds are suggested to affect the host plant choice by attracting more sawflies from the distance to flowering plants compared to non-flowering plants. The EAD-active compounds emitted from vegetative plant parts are assumed to act as long-distance signals especially when flowers are absent on host plants, e.g. during the oviposition period of the second generation of P. proxima.