Genomic erosion in a demographically recovered bird species during conservation rescue

The pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) is an endemic species of Mauritius that has made a remarkable recovery after a severe population bottleneck in the 1970s to early 1990s. Prior to this bottleneck, an ex situ population was established from which captive-bred individuals were released into free-living subpopulations to increase population size and genetic variation. This conservation rescue led to rapid population recovery to 400–480 individuals, and the species was twice downlisted on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. We analyzed the impacts of the bottleneck and genetic rescue on neutral genetic variation during and after population recovery (1993–2008) with restriction site-associated sequencing, microsatellite analyses, and quantitative genetic analysis of studbook data of 1112 birds from zoos in Europe and the United States. We used computer simulations to study the predicted changes in genetic variation and population viability from the past into the future. Genetic variation declined rapidly, despite the population rebound, and the effective population size was approximately an order of magnitude smaller than census size. The species carried a high genetic load of circa 15 lethal equivalents for longevity. Our computer simulations predicted continued inbreeding will likely result in increased expression of deleterious mutations (i.e., a high realized load) and severe inbreeding depression. Without continued conservation actions, it is likely that the pink pigeon will go extinct in the wild within 100 years. Conservation rescue of the pink pigeon has been instrumental in the recovery of the free-living population. However, further genetic rescue with captive-bred birds from zoos is required to recover lost variation, reduce expression of harmful deleterious variation, and prevent extinction. The use of genomics and modeling data can inform IUCN assessments of the viability and extinction risk of species, and it helps in assessments of the conservation dependency of populations.     

Comparative evaluation of a bioluminescent bacterial assay in terrestrial ecotoxicity testing

Despite the widespread and successful use of luminescence-based bioassays in water testing, their applications to soils and sediments is less proven. In part this is because such bioassays have mainly been carried out in an aqueous-based medium and, as such, favour contaminants that are readily water-soluble. In this study, aqueous solutions and soils contaminated with heavy metals (HM), polar organic contaminants and hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) were tested using a range of luminescence-based bioassays (Vibrio fischeri, Escherichia coli HB101 pUCD607 and Pseudomonas fluorescens 10586r pUCD607). For the first two chemical groups, the assays were highly reproducible when optimised extraction procedures were employed but for HOCs the bioassay response was poor. Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) obtained from aqueous solutions had a linear response although correlation for the chemicals tested using bacterial bioassays was significantly less sensitive than that of sublethal tests for Tetrahymena pyriformis. Bacterial and Dendrobaena veneta bioassay responses to extracts from HM amended soils showed that a clear relationship between trophic levels could be obtained. There is no doubt that the wide range of bioluminescent-based bioassays offers complementary applications to traditional testing techniques but there is a significant need to justify and optimise the extraction protocol prior to application.     

Treatment of atrazine by integrating photocatalytic and biological processes

This research examines the degradation of atrazine by photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) under different experimental conditions. Deisopropylatrazine, deethylatrazine and deethyldeisopropylatrazine were formed as major intermediates based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The reaction mixture was found to be toxic towards two bioassays, i.e. the Microtox and amphipods survival tests even when atrazine was completely degraded by PCO within 2 h under optimized conditions. The results indicate that adding H2O2 could significantly enhance the degradation of atrazine by PCO. Ammeline, ammelide and cyanuric acid (CA) became the major intermediates/products as detected by high performance liquid chromatography from 6th to the 40th h of PCO treatment. After 72 h PCO treatment, only CA was detectable in the reaction mixture. Further degradation of CA was carried out by a newly isolated CA-degrading bacterium, Sphingomonas capsulata. The photochemical pretreatment integrated with microbial degradation lead to the complete degradation and detoxification of atrazine.     

Toward a high-rate enhanced biological phosphorus removal process in a membrane-assisted bioreactor.

A membrane enhanced biological phosphorus removal (MEBPR) process was studied to determine the impact of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solids retention time (SRT) on the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, and phosphorus from municipal wastewater. The MEBPR process was capable of delivering complete nitrification independent of the prevailing operating conditions, whereas a significant improvement in COD removal efficiency was observed at longer SRTs. In the absence of carbon-limiting conditions, the MEBPR process was able to achieve low phosphorus concentrations in the effluent at increasingly higher hydraulic loads, with the lowest HRT being 5 hours. The MEBPR process was also able to maintain optimal phosphorus removal when the SRT was increased from 12 to 20 days. However, at higher suspended solids concentrations, a substantial increase was observed in carbon utilization per unit mass of phosphorus removed from the influent. These results offer critical insights to the application of membrane technology for biological nutrient removal systems.     

Uncertainty analysis of parameters for modeling the transfer and fate of benzo(a)pyrene in Tianjin wastewater irrigated areas

A Monte Carlo simulation for uncertainty analysis of three key parameters (local coal consumption rate Q(1L), dry deposition velocity of aerosol particulate Kp and biodegradation rate of benzo(a)pyrene in soil and sediment K(R3)) was conducted in this study. Results of the simulation indicate that the three parameters were influenced by uncertainty and that all equilibrium concentrations in the four bulk compartments and various sub-compartments were log-normally distributed. However, the results also indicated that among the six primary transfer fluxes, erosion associated with solids in soil and deposition associated with solids in water, along with output from sewers were also log-normally distributed, while deposition from air to soil and biodegradation in soil and sediment followed normal distributions. The effect of uncertainty on the model results of the three key parameters was derived using a comparison of upper and lower of confidence interval boundaries at the 95% level of confidence. The results reveal that uncertainty in the key parameters had a more significant influence on equilibrium concentrations of the chemical in the bulk compartments of soil and sediment than on concentrations in the other two bulk compartments, various sub-compartments and the six predominant transfer fluxes.     

System-level responses of lake ecosystems to chemical stresses using exergy and structural exergy as ecological indicators

This paper presents the system-level responses of experimental lake ecosystems to three chemical stresses (acidification, copper and pesticide contamination) using exergy and structural exergy as ecological indicators. The results indicate that the doses or toxicity of the three chemical stressors contributed to changes in both exergy and structural exergy. Remarkable changes in exergy and structural exergy occurred under acidic conditions and in the presence of Dursban, 24D-DMA, permethrin, bifenthrin, Carbaryl, TCP, PCP, trichlorethylene, benzene, and high doses of Cu, oil, and hexazinone. This seemed to indicate that the subject ecosystems were seriously contaminated by these chemical stressors. For low doses of Cu, oil, atrazine, HCBP, and hexazinone, exergy and structural exergy were either unchanged or only slightly changed, suggesting that the lake ecosystems were not significantly impacted by these chemical stressors. Discussion of the relationships between ecosystem-level changes and structural and functional changes in stressed lake ecosystems indicates that the above-mentioned ecosystem-level changes were in accordance with the changes in structure and function. The observed changes in exergy and structural exergy were also consistent with Odum's predictions of shortened food chains, reduced resource use efficiency, poor stability, low information, and high entropy in stressed aquatic ecosystems. The findings lead the authors to conclude that it is feasible for exergy and structural exergy to serve as ecological indicators when characterizing the system-level responses of experimental lake ecosystems to chemical stress. These results for experimental lake ecosystems would be extrapolated to actual lakes.     

Prenatal diagnosis of ring chromosome 6

An amniocentesis was performed on a gravida 1, para 0 23-year-old female because of high maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and nuchal thickening/cystic mass apparent on the fetal ultrasound. Detailed ultrasound examination revealed multiple anomalies including brain abnormalities. The fetus was found to have a mosaic female karyotype: 45,XX, - 6/46,XX,r(6) (p25q27) (62 per cent:38 per cent). This is the first report of a prenatally diagnosed case of ring chromosome 6.     

Sexual segregation in distribution,diet and trophic level of seabirds: insights from stable isotope analysis

Considerable attention has focused on inter- and intraspecific variation in trophic niches of marine predators. Although this has revealed evidence for sexual segregation in distribution in some species, few studies have been able to address sex-related dietary specialisation. Stable isotope analysis of blood cells collected from albatrosses and petrels at South Georgia during chick-rearing indicated a difference in δ¹³C, suggesting that females fed to the north of males, only in two species with male-biased sexual size dimorphism; in no species did sexes differ in trophic level (δ¹⁵N). Based on a wider review, significant differences between sexes in isotope signatures were much more common in seabirds during the pre-laying or breeding than the nonbreeding period, presumably reflecting greater between-sex partitioning of resources when foraging ranges are more constrained and competition is greater. Sex differences, or their absence, were usually consistent across successive stages during the pre-laying and breeding periods, but not necessarily year-round nor between populations. Significant differences in isotope signatures between males and females were extremely rare in monomorphic species, suggesting a link between sexual size dimorphism and segregation in diet or distribution. Among the Southern Ocean albatrosses, sex differences in δ¹³C suggested the underlying mechanism was related to habitat specialisation, whereas in other size-dimorphic taxa (both male- and female-biased), sex differences were more common in δ¹⁵N than δ¹³C and therefore more consistent with size-mediated competitive exclusion or dietary specialisation.     

Effects of environmental factors on organochlorine pesticide residues in soils of the Guanting Reservoir area, China

Topsoil samples from 56 sites around the Guanting Reservoir, China, were measured for HCH and DDT concentrations. The total soil HCH content (including alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-isomers) in these soil samples ranged from 0 to 7.33 ng x g(-1), with a mean of 0.69 ng x g(-1). These levels were considerably lower than those of the total DDT soil contents (including pp'-DDE, pp'-DDD, op'-DDT, and pp'-DDT), which ranged from 0 to 76.01 ng x g(-1), with a mean of 9.46 ng x g(-1). DDT was also found to be the major pollutant in the soil samples, accounting for approximately 93% of the total organochlorine pesticide (OCP) contents. Several environmental factors including land use, soil texture, soil taxonomy, and microbial biomass were considered to be responsible for the OCP levels observed. The data provide some insight into the effects of environmental conditions such as soil formation, agricultural cultivation, nutrient enrichment, and other anthropogenic activities on the degradation of OCPs in soils. Although the OCP residues currently are below the maximum limits set for use on agricultural land in China, and only rarely would such levels pose significant ecological concern, OCPs are highly persistent in soil and bioaccumulative. The data provided in this study are considered crucial for reservoir remediation, especially since the Guanting Reservoir will serve as one of the main drinking water sources for Beijing in the foreseeable future.