Benthic ecology of the high arctic deep sea

An analysis is made of 75 quantitative benthic samples collected by Mini-LUBS, and 28 qualitative benthic samples collected with the small biological trawl, from Fletcher's Ice Island, T-3, while it was drifting over the Alpha Cordillera region of the High Arctic Ocean during October, 1969 through February, 1970 and in March, 1972. The depth range was 1000 to 2500 m. Benthic foraminiferans account for about 53%, bivalves for 27%, sponges for 7%, and polychaetes for 5% of the total biomass. Other groups make up the remaining 8%. The weight ratio of macro- to meiofauna is 1:1. Numerically, excluding Foraminifera, polychaetes comprise 42%, nematodes 16%, sponges 11%, and bivalves 8% of the total fauna. The remaining 23% is composed of 13 other taxa. Biomass in the Amerasian Basin at depths of 1000 to 2000 m is extremely low (0.04 g/m); it is comparable to depths of 5000 to 6000 m in the oligotrophic red-clay area of the mid-Pacific Ocean, and is 40 times less than biomass at comparable depths from Antarctica and off Peru. Diversity, as calculated by the Shannon-Weaver method, is low, suggesting that the Arctic ecosystem is young, as reported in earlier studies (Dunbar, 1968; Menzies et al., 1973). Although the H' values are low, no biocoenoses of oligomixity in the deep Arctic are revealed, contrary to previous statements and beliefs. There may be fewer major benthic groups in the Arctic Ocean than in other parts of the world oceans. Following the conventional terminology of Petersen (1913) and Thorson (1957), we have called the High Arctic biocoenoses of the Alpha Cordillera region a Thenea abyssorum-Spirorbis granulatus community.     

A further contribution to the study of fish populations by capture-recapture experiments

In capture-recapture experiments, fish populations can be studied by two different sampling procedures. In both procedures, tagged fish are released on capture, but untagged fish are in one procedure released after tagging, in the second procedure they are retained. Using the two sampling techniques, Rafail (1971a,b) gave expressions for the estimation of an assumed constant (C) of proportionality between probabilities of capture of tagged to untagged fish which are simplified here to forms easier for calculation. The estimation of this constant (C) aids in estimation of abundance and mortality rates of untagged fish which are assumed to differ from those of tagged fish.     

Sensitivity of future ozone concentrations in the northeast USA to regional climate change

An air quality modeling system was used to simulate the effects on ozone concentration in the northeast USA from climate changes projected through the end of the twenty-first century by the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s (NCAR’s) parallel climate model, a fully coupled general circulation model, under a higher and a lower scenario of future global changes in concentrations of radiatively active constituents. The air quality calculations were done with both a global chemistry-transport model and a regional air quality model focused on the northeast USA. The air quality simulations assumed no changes in regional anthropogenic emissions of the chemical species primarily involved in the chemical reactions of ozone creation and destruction, but only accounted for changes in the climate. Together, these idealized global and regional model simulations provide insights into the contribution of possible future climate changes on ozone. Over the coming century, summer climate is projected to be warmer and less cloudy for the northeast USA. These changes are considerably larger under the higher scenario as compared with the lower. Higher temperatures also increase biogenic emissions. Both mean daily and 8-h maximum ozone increase from the combination of three factors that tend to favor higher concentrations: (1) higher temperatures change the rates of reactions and photolysis rates important to the ozone chemistry; (2) lower cloudiness (higher solar radiation) increases the photolysis reaction rates; and (3) higher biogenic emissions increase the concentration of reactive species. Regional model simulations with two cumulus parameterizations produce ozone concentration changes that differ by approximately 10%, indicating that there is considerable uncertainty in the magnitude of changes due to uncertainties in how physical processes should be parameterized in the models. However, the overall effect of the climate changes simulated by these models – in the absence of reductions in regional anthropogenic emissions – would be to increase ozone concentrations.     

Plutonium isotopes in surface air of Prague in 1986-2006

Monitoring of (239,240)Pu in surface air of Prague started in 1986 in connection with the Chernobyl accident. Measurable activities of 10-28muBqm(-3) were found from 29 April 1986 to 5 May 1986. In the most of the monitoring periods of 1987-1996, activities of (239,240)Pu in air were not measurable. Positive values for (239,240)Pu and (238)Pu in air could be obtained after installation of an aerosol sampler with higher flow-rate in 1997. Activity concentrations of (239,240)Pu and (238)Pu in Prague air in the most of quarters of 1997-2006 were in the range 0.53-5.06 and <0.16-1.10nBqm(-3), respectively. Seasonal fluctuations can be found in content of (239,240)Pu in air. Activity ratios of (238)Pu/(239,240)Pu in air are higher than those in top soil, so it can be supposed that (238)Pu is coming to air of Prague also from other sources than resuspension of fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests.     

Evaluation of the infectivity, gene and antigenicity persistence of rotaviruses by free chlorine disinfection

The effects of free chlorine disinfection of tap water and wastewater effluents on the infectivity, gene integrity and surface antigens of rotaviruses were evaluated by a bench-scale chlorine disinfection experiments. Plaque assays, integrated cell culture-quantitative RT-PCR (ICC-RT-qPCR), RT-qPCR, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively, were used to assess the influence of the disinfectant on virus infectivity as well as genetic and antigenic integrity of simian rotavirus SA11 as a surrogate for human rotaviruses. The ICC-RT-qPCR was able to detect rotaviruses survival from chlorine disinfection at chlorine dose up to 20 mg/L (60 min contact), which suggested a required chlorine dose of 5 folds (from 1 to 5 mg/L) higher than that indicated by the plaque assay to achieve 1.8 log₁₀ reductions in tap water with 60 min exposing. The VP7 gene was more resistant than the infectivity and existed at chlorine dose up to 20 mg/L (60 min contact), while the antigencity was undetectable with chlorine dose more than 5 mg/L (60 min contact). The water quality also impacted the inactivation efficiencies, and rotaviruses have a relatively higher resistant in secondary effluents than in the tap water under the same chlorine disinfection treatments. This study indicated that rotaviruses have a higher infectivity, gene and antigencity resistance to chlorine than that previously indicated by plaque assay only, which seemed to underestimate the resistance of rotaviruses to chlorine and the risk of rotaviruses in environments. Present results also suggested that re-evaluation of resistance of other waterborne viruses after disinfections by more sensitive infectivity detection method (such as ICC-RT-qPCR) may be necessary, to determine the adequate disinfectant doses required for the inactivation of waterborne viruses.     

Effects of long-term nutrient addition on meso-micro soil arthropod communities in a Stipa baicalensis grassland北大核心CSCD

To analyze the effect of nutrient addition on small- and medium-sized soil arthropod communities in a Stipa Baikal meadow grassland, a nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition experiment was designed in the Stipa Baikal meadow grassland at Ewenki Banner, Hulunbeier City, Inner Mongolia, China in 2010. Changes in the structure and diversity of soil arthropod communities and their relationship with environmental factors were studied. Soil arthropod samples were collected during the forage greening (May), growth (August), and yellowing (end of September) periods in 2019. The results showed that: (1) compared to the control sample, N-added and NP-added samples had higher number of soil arthropods by 1.38 and 1.15 times, respectively, and an increase of 28.57% and 21.43% in the number of soil arthropod groups. The numbers of individual as well as groups of soil arthropods tended to increase with P addition; however, this response did not reach a significant level. (2) The water and heat conditions during the vegetation growth period in the test area were more suitable for the development of soil fauna communities. (3) The redundancy analysis (RDA) results further indicated that the community composition of soil fauna is mainly regulated by pH and plant evenness, and soil pH is particularly important in mediating changes in small- and medium-sized soil fauna communities. This study suggests that long-term nutrient addition has a positive impact on small- and medium-sized soil arthropod communities by changing plant evenness and soil pH, and the contribution of soil pH is greater than that of plant evenness. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.     

Construction of an ecosystem service value evaluation system for the Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park in Chengdu City Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process北大核心CSCD

As a special ecosystem, an urban forest park, which is different from a regular “forest park”, is one of the key elements involved in improving the urban ecological environment and promoting the sustainable development of a city. The “urban forest park” can also significantly improve living conditions by acting as a greenbelt. The Chengdu Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park is a rare mountain urban forest park located in the center of the city. This “urban forest park” not only provides more ecological products and maintains ecological security but also meets the growing needs of people for food, environmental quality, and spirituality. To comprehensively assess the ecological value of the Chengdu Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park, this study used the literature analogy and questionnaire survey methods to establish a targeted ecosystem service assessment system in this study area. In addition, combined with the hierarchical analysis method, the indicator system was tested, and the specific evaluation index was determined. In the Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park Ecosystem Service Value Index System, three first-level indicators, such as ecological material products (with a weight of 0.412 6), ecological regulation (0.327 5), and dwelling culture (0.259 9); eight secondary indicators, such as product production (0.206 3), resource supply (0.206 3), and biodiversity (0.194 4); and twenty-three tertiary indicators, such as air negative oxygen ion (0.154 7), habitat quality (0.095 9), and ecological health benefit (0.075 5), were identified. From the weights of the first and second indicators, it was clear that the supply of ecological material products is the main service function in the Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park ecosystem. Moreover, from the weights of the third indicator, the public’s cognition and concept of the ecosystem service value of the “urban forest park” gradually shifted from the supply service of products and resources to cultural services. In summary, the ecosystem service value assessment system designed for the Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park in this study has certain feasibility and extensibility that lays a theoretical foundation for the scientific assessment of ecological value and ecological value realization mechanism for other “forest parks” worldwide. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.