Nutrient and sediment losses under simulated rainfall following manure incorporation by different methods

Incorporation of manure into cultivated soils is generally recommended to minimize nutrient losses. A 3-yr study was conducted to evaluate sediment and nutrient losses with different tillage methods (moldboard plow, heavy-duty cultivator, double disk, and no-incorporation) for incorporation of beef cattle manure in a silage barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cropping system. Runoff depths, sediment losses, and surface and subsurface nutrient transfers were determined from manured and unmanured field plots at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. A Guelph rainfall simulator was used to generate 30 min of runoff. Sediment losses among our tillage treatments (137.4-203.6 kg ha(-1)) were not significantly different due to compensating differences in runoff depths. Mass losses of total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) in surface runoff were greatest from the no-incorporation (NI) treatments, with reductions in TP loads of 14% for double disk (DD), 43% for cultivator (CU), and 79% for moldboard plow (MP) treatments. Total N load reductions in 2002 were 26% for DD, 70% for CU, and 95% for MP treatments compared to the NI treatments. Nutrient losses following incorporation of manure with the DD or CU methods were not significantly different from the NI treatments. Manure treatments generally had lower runoff depths and sediment losses, and higher phosphorus and nitrogen losses than the control treatments. Subsurface concentrations of NH4-N, NO3-N, and TN were greatest from the MP treatments, whereas subsurface phosphorus concentrations were not affected by tillage method. Tillage with a cultivator or double disk minimized combined surface and subsurface nutrient losses immediately after annual manure applications.     

The effect of soil composition and hydration on the bioavailability and toxicity of cadmium to hibernating juvenile American toads (Bufo americanus)

The soil ecotoxicology literature has focused primarily on a few major taxa, to the neglect of other fossorial organisms such as amphibians. We selected cadmium (Cd) and the American toad (Bufo americanus) as a model contaminant and biological species to assess the impact of soil contamination on amphibian hibernation survival and post-hibernation condition. Soil sand composition (50, 70, 90%) and hydration (100, 150% water holding capacity (WHC)) were manipulated in addition to Cd concentration (0, 56, 165, 483 microg/g) to determine whether these soil properties affect toxicity. Soil Cd concentration significantly reduced survival and locomotor performance, and was correlated negatively with percent mass loss and positively with whole body Cd concentration. Higher sand content resulted in less mass loss and greater Cd uptake. Toads that were hibernated in 50% sand hydrated to 100% WHC had higher survival, less mass loss, and better sprint performance than those hibernated in 50% sand, 150% WHC. This study demonstrates that concentrations of Cd found in soil at highly contaminated sites can be bioaccumulated by hibernating amphibians and may reduce fitness. Differences in microhabitat use may cause species to vary in their exposure and susceptibility to soil contamination. The toxicity of Cd to amphibians could be greater in natural systems where there are multiple stressors and fluctuations in environmental variables.     

Using fugacity to predict volatile emissions from layered materials with a clay/polymer diffusion barrier

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) have significant environmental and energy advantages. However, the tight structure that results may cause degraded indoor air quality and the potential release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from these layered materials must be considered. A physically based model for predicting VOC emissions from multi-layer materials is described. Fugacity is used to eliminate the concentration discontinuities at the interface between layers. This avoids an obstacle associated with numerically simulating mass transfer in composite materials. The numerical model is verified for a double-layer system by comparing predicted concentrations to those obtained with a previously published analytical model. In addition, hexanal emissions from multi-layer SIPs are simulated to demonstrate the usefulness of the fugacity approach. Finally, the multi-layer model is used to investigate the impact that clay/polyurethane nanocomposite diffusion barriers can have on VOC emissions. Indoor gas-phase concentrations can be greatly reduced with a barrier layer on the surface, thereby minimizing the environmental impact of SIPs.     

Practical experience using transabdominal chorionic villus biopsies taken after 16 weeks' gestation for rapid prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities

Placental biopsy was performed on 81 patients at greater than 16 weeks' gestation. The major indication for such biopsies was an increased risk of chromosomal abnormality because of either abnormal ultrasound findings or late presentations for advanced maternal age. Six abnormal karyotypes resulting in elective termination were found. The use of rapid karyotyping by this procedure as an alternative to amniocentesis or fetal blood sampling is discussed.     

Persistence of Violation and Crash Behavior Over Time

This analysis examines the ability of previous offenses to predict future high-risk offenses, and similarly, the ability of crashes to predict future high-risk crashes, using the complete driver history data (up to 9 years) for a set of young Michigan subjects. As expected, those with previous ticketed offenses or reported crashes are at greater risk for future offenses or crashes; with a previous-year serious offense doubling the odds of serious offenses during the subsequent year, and a previous-year at-fault crash increasing the odds of subsequent-year at-fault crashes by nearly 50%. There is modest evidence that serious offenses and at-fault crashes may better predict subsequent behavior in females and in more experienced drivers. This latter finding is also evidenced by the fact that records of these young drivers are less predictive of subsequent driving history than is true for records of all drivers in general found in other studies. This suggests that, in the early stages of driving, offenses and crashes are, at least in part, attributable to inexperience, and hence, characteristic of all beginning drivers.     

Assessing the toxicity and teratogenicity of pond water in north-central minnesota to amphibians

BACKGROUND: Incidence of amphibian deformities have increased in recent years, especially in the northern region of the United States. While many factors have been proposed as being responsible for generating deformities (e.g., contaminants, ultraviolet radiation [UV], parasites), no single cause has been definitively established. METHODS: To determine whether waterborne chemicals are responsible for amphibian deformities in ponds in north-central Minnesota, we deployed semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in an impacted and a reference site to accumulate lipophilic contaminants. We then exposed native tadpoles (northern leopard frogs; Rana pipiens) to the SPMD extracts combined with two agricultural pesticides (atrazine, carbaryl) at two levels of UV radiation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: UV radiation alone caused a slight increase in hatching success and tadpole growth rate. Deformity rate among hatchlings was high following exposure to SPMD extracts from the reference site in the absence of UV, suggesting that chemicals present at this site are broken down by UV to less harmful forms, or become less bioavailable. Conversely, impacted site SPMD extracts caused hatchling deformities only in the presence of UV, suggesting that UV potentiates the teratogenicity of the compounds present there. Impacted site SPMD extracts significantly increased the number of bony triangles among metamorphs, a common deformity observed at this site. The incidence of skin webbings increased significantly with SPMD extracts from both sites as well as with our pesticide control containing atrazine and carbaryl alone. CONCLUSIONS: Higher deformity rates among tadpoles reared in the presence of UV radiation and SPMD extracts from sites where deformities are common indicates a chemical compound (or compounds) in the water at this site may be causing the deformities. RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUTLOOK: It is important to examine the effects of chemical stressors in the presence of other natural stressors (e.g., UV radiation) to gain a better understanding of how multiple stressors work to impact amphibians and amphibian populations.     

Influence of pH and aluminum on developing brook trout in a low calcium water

Eyed embryos of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed to nominal pHs of 4.5, 5.5 and 7.5 with and without aluminum (300 microg liter(-1)) in extremely soft water (hardness <9mg liter (-1)) at 12 degrees C. Embryo mortality exceeded 80% at pH 4.5, averaged 15 to 18% in the pH 5.5 treatments and was less than 2% in the pH 7.5 treatments. Aluminum significantly reduced embryo mortality (85.3% vs 99.5%) at pH 4.5 but did not affect mortality at pH 5.5 or pH 7.5. Percent hatch and poor hatch were pH dependent and were not significantly influenced by aluminum. Brook trout larvae cumulative mortalities were 100% within 30 days at pH 4.5, with or without aluminum; 69% after 60 days at pH 5.5; 100% in 15 days at pH 5.5 with aluminum and 20% after 60 days at pH 7.5 with or without aluminum. Fish that survived the pH 5.5 treatment showed decreased growth and behavioral impairments compared to the controls (pH 7.5 without aluminum).     

Environmental Flows Can Reduce the Encroachment of Terrestrial Vegetation into River Channels: A Systematic Literature Review

Encroachment of riparian vegetation into regulated river channels exerts control over fluvial processes, channel morphology, and aquatic ecology. Reducing encroachment of terrestrial vegetation is an oft-cited objective of environmental flow recommendations, but there has been no systematic assessment of the evidence for and against the widely-accepted cause-and-effect mechanisms involved. We systematically reviewed the literature to test whether environmental flows can reduce the encroachment of terrestrial vegetation into river channels. We quantified the level of support for five explicit cause-effect hypotheses drawn from a conceptual model of the effects of flow on vegetation. We found that greater inundation, variously expressed as changes in the area, depth, duration, frequency, seasonality, and volume of surface water, generally reduces riparian vegetation abundance in channels, but most studies did not investigate the specific mechanisms causing these changes. Those that did show that increased inundation results in increased mortality, but also increased germination. The evidence was insufficient to determine whether increased inundation decreases reproduction. Our results contribute to hydro-ecological understanding by using the published literature to test for general cause-effect relationships between flow regime and terrestrial vegetation encroachment. Reviews of this nature provide robust support for flow management, and are more defensible than expert judgement-based approaches. Overall, we predict that restoration of more natural flow regimes will reduce encroachment of terrestrial vegetation into regulated river channels, partly through increased mortality. Conversely, infrequent deliveries of environmental flows may actually increase germination and subsequent encroachment.