From total suspended solids to molecular biology tools--a personal view of biological wastewater treatment process population dynamics

The development of the tools needed to study the population dynamics of biological wastewater treatment processes is traced from its beginnings in the early 1900s to today's use of molecular biology tools (Oerther and Love, 2003). Examples of the benefits of population dynamics research in improving the performance and aiding the design and operation of biological wastewater treatment processes are given. Some thoughts on future areas of study are presented.     

Arctic terrestrial biodiversity status and trends: A synopsis of science supporting the CBMP State of Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report

Ambio - This review provides a synopsis of the main findings of individual papers in the special issue Terrestrial Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing Arctic. The special issue was developed to...     

Development and Application of Protocols for the Determination of Response of Real-Time Particle Monitors to Common Indoor Aerosols

Abstract

Protocols have been developed and applied for the generation of aerosols that are likely to be comparable to those encountered in field settings for the calibration of easily transportable/portable real-time particle monitors. Aerosols generated were simulated environmental tobacco smoke, cedar wood smoke, cooking oil fumes, and propane stove particles. The time-integrated responses of three nephelometers and a monitor for particle-bound polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were compared with gravimetric respirable suspended particulate matter (RSP) in a controlled-atmosphere chamber. In general, the monitor responses increased linearly with increasing mass concentration. However, the two monitors that reported mass per volume concentrations tended to overreport the actual RSP concentrations by factors up to 4.4. The real-time PAH monitor did not respond to cooking oil fumes, indicative of little PAH being present in the aerosol. One of the monitors that has been used in a variety of studies reported in the literature (DustTrak) was collocated with gravimetric RSP samplers in several hospitality venues in the Louisville, KY, area. Field studies indicated that the units overreported actual RSP concentrations by factors of 2.6–3.1, depending on whether the sampling was conducted in the nonsmoking or smoking sections of the facilities.     

Variability in abundances of fishes associated with seagrass habitats in relation to diets of predatory fishes

The spatial, diel and tidal variability in the abundance of piscivorous fishes and their teleost prey, and the dietary composition of predatory fishes were investigated in beds of Heterozostera tasmanica within Port Phillip Bay, Australia, from September 1997 to February 1998. Predatory and prey fish assemblages were sampled from beds of H. tasmanica at three locations during each combination of diel (day and night) and tidal (high and low) cycles. Pelagic and benthic crustaceans represented >60% by abundance of the diets of all predatory fishes. Seven species, 54% of all predatory fishes, were piscivorous. These piscivores consumed individuals from seven families, 36.8% of the fish families being associated with seagrass. Western Australian salmon, Arripis truttacea (Arripidae) (n = 174) and yank flathead, Platycephalus speculator (Platycephalidae) (n = 46) were the most abundant piscivores. A. truttacea consumed larval/post-larval atherinids, gobiids and sillaginids. P. speculator consumed late-juvenile/adult atherinids, clinids and gobiids. While the abundances of piscivores varied between locations (P < 0.001) and diel periods (P = 0.028), the relative differences in piscivore abundance between sites and diel periods were not consistent between tides. The abundances of A. truttacea varied in a complex way amongst sites, diel period and tidal cycle, as shown by a three-way interaction between these factors (P = 0.026). Only during diurnal periods at St. Leonards was the abundance of A. truttacea significantly higher during high than low tides (P < 0.001). During the other diel periods at each site, the abundance of A. truttacea did not vary. P. speculator was significantly more abundant nocturnally (P = 0.017). The abundance of small (prey) fishes varied significantly amongst sites (P < 0.001). During the day, the abundance of small fishes did not vary between high and low tides (P = 0.185), but their nocturnal abundance was greater during low tide (P < 0.001). Atherinids (n = 1732) and sillaginids (n = 1623) were the most abundant families of small fishes. Atherinids were significantly more abundant nocturnally (P = 0.005) and during low tides (P = 0.029), and varied significantly amongst sites (P < 0.001). Sillaginids varied significantly only amongst sites (P < 0.001). Seagrass beds provide a foraging habitat for a diverse assemblage of predatory fishes, many of which are piscivorous. Anti-predator behaviour and amongst-location variability in abundances of piscivorous fishes may explain some of the diel and tidal, and broad-scale spatial patterns in small-fish abundances. Received: 23 July 1999 / Accepted: 18 January 2000     

Satellite-based decadal change assessments of pan-Arctic environments

Remote sensing can advance the work of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program through monitoring of satellite-derived terrestrial and marine physical and ecological variables. Standardized data facilitate an unbiased comparison across variables and environments. Using MODIS standard products of land surface temperature, percent snow covered area, NDVI, EVI, phenology, burned area, marine chlorophyll, CDOM, sea surface temperature, and marine primary productivity, significant trends were observed in almost all variables between 2000 and 2017. Analysis of seasonal data revealed significant breakpoints in temporal trends. Within the terrestrial environment, data showed significant increasing trends in land surface temperature and NDVI. In the marine environment, significant increasing trends were detected in primary productivity. Significantly earlier onset of green up date was observed in bioclimate subzones C&E and longer end of growing season in B&E. Terrestrial and marine parameters showed similar rates of change with unidirectional change in terrestrial and significant directional and magnitude shifts in marine.     

Phenotypic variation in shell form in the intertidal acorn barnacle Chthamalus montagui: distribution,response to predators and life history trade-offs

The acorn barnacle Chthamalus montagui can present strong variation in shell morphology, ranging from flat conic to a highly bent form, caused by a substantial overgrowth of the rostrum plate. Shell shape distribution was investigated between January and May 2004 from geographical to microhabitat spatial scales along the western coast of Britain. Populations studied in the north (Scotland and Isle of Man) showed a higher degree of shell variation compared to those in the south (Wales and south-west England). In the north, C. montagui living at lower tidal levels and in proximity to the predatory dogwhelk, Nucella lapillus, were more bent in profile. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine behavioural responses, and vulnerability of bent and conic barnacles to predation by N. lapillus. Dogwhelks did not attack one morphotype more than the other, but only 15 % of attacks on bent forms were successful compared to 75 % in conic forms. Dogwhelk effluent reduced the time spent feeding by C. montagui (11 %), but there was no significant difference between conic and bent forms. Examination of barnacle morphology indicated a trade-off in investment in shell structure and feeding appendages associated with being bent, but none with egg or somatic tissue mass. These results are consistent with C. montagui showing an induced defence comparable to that found in its congeners Chthamalus anisopoma and Chthamalus fissus on the Pacific coast of North America, but further work to demonstrate inducibility is required.     

Consequential cognition: Exploring how attribution theory sheds new light on the firm‐level consequences of product recalls

It is unclear why some firms suffer greater negative consequences than others following a product recall. To shed light on this question, we extend attribution theory to the firm level to explore how consumers engage in an attributional process following product recalls that shapes their responses to firms. Integrating attribution theory and the demand side theoretical perspective, we assert that consumer judgments of responsibility toward manufacturers are shaped by causal data regarding the locus of causality (i.e., manufacturer or supplier) and controllability (i.e., prior knowledge or awareness) of a recalled product's potential for harm. We then examine the impact of product recall characteristics on judgments of responsibility and firm‐level outcomes using an experimental test involving responses from 320 subjects. Our findings suggest that judgments of responsibility are attributed to the manufacturing firm more when consumers are given causal information indicating that the firm is the source of, or is aware of, a product's defects. The results also indicate that judgments of responsibility can have costly firm‐level consequences in the form of reputational damage, diminished consumer purchase intentions, and increased legal damage recommendations. We discuss theoretical contributions, practical implications, and opportunities for further research.     

Community structure in Florida Escarpment seep and Snake Pit (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) vent mussel beds

Comparisons between invertebrate communities hosted by similar foundation species under different environmental conditions permit identification of patterns of species distributions that might be characteristic of the different ecosystems. Similarities and differences in community structure between two major types of chemosynthetic ecosystems were assessed by analyzing samples of invertebrates associated with Bathymodiolus heckerae Gustafson et al. mussel beds at the Florida Escarpment seep (Gulf of Mexico, 26°01.8N; 84°54.9W; October 2000) and B. puteoserpentis von Cosel et al. mussel beds at the Snake Pit vent (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 23°22.1N; 44°56.9W; July 2001). Macrofaunal species richness was nearly twice as high in the seep mussel bed compared to the vent mussel bed, and only a single morphospecies, the ophiuroid Ophioctenella acies Tyler et al., was shared between the sites. Similarities between the two faunas at higher taxonomic levels (genus and family) were evident for only a small percentage of the total number of taxa, suggesting that evolutionary histories of many of these seep and vent macrofaunal taxa are not shared. The taxonomic distinctiveness of the seep and vent mussel-bed macrofaunal communities supports the hypothesis that environmental and oceanographic barriers prevent most taxa from occupying both types of habitats. Macrofaunal community heterogeneity among samples was similar in seep and vent mussel beds, indicating that spatial scales of processes regulating community variability may be similar in the two types of ecosystems. Suspension feeders were not represented in the macrofauna of seep or vent mussel beds. Primary consumers (deposit feeders and grazers) contributed more to the total abundance of macrofauna of seep mussel beds than vent mussel beds; secondary consumers (polychaetes and shrimp) were more abundant in the vent mussel beds.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1304-z.Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick     

17β-Estradiol and testosterone in drainage and runoff from poultry litter applications to tilled and no-till crop land under irrigation

Thirteen metric tons of poultry litter are produced annually by poultry producers in the U.S. Poultry litter contains the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, endocrine disruptors that have been detected in surface waters. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of poultry litter applications on estradiol and testosterone concentrations in subsurface drainage and surface runoff in irrigated crop land under no-till and conventional-till management. We conducted an irrigation study in fall of 2001 and spring of 2002. Four treatments, no-till plus poultry litter, conventional-till plus poultry litter, no-till plus conventional fertilizer, and conventional-till plus conventional fertilizer, were evaluated. Flow-weighted concentration and load ha⁻¹ of the two hormones were measured in drainage and runoff. Soil concentrations of estradiol and testosterone were measured. Based on comparisons to the conventional fertilizer (and control) treatments, poultry litter did not add to the flow-weighted concentration or load ha⁻¹ of either estradiol or testosterone in subsurface drainage or surface runoff. Significant differences were, however, observed between tillage treatments: flow-weighted concentrations of estradiol were greater for no-till than conventional-till plots of the June irrigation; and runoff loads of both estradiol and testosterone were less from no-till than conventional-till plots for the November irrigation. Although the differences between no-till and conventional-tillage appeared to affect the hydrologic transport of both hormones, the differences appeared to have inconsequential environmental impact.