Environmental contaminants in male river otters from Oregon and Washington, USA, 1994–1999

This study reports hepatic concentrations and distribution patterns of select metals, organochlorine pesticides (OCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in 180 male river otters (Lontra canadensis) collected from Oregon and Washington, 1994-1999. Seven regional locations of western Oregon and Washington were delineated based on associations with major population centers, industry or agriculture. Cadmium (Cd) was not found above 0.5 microg g(-1), dry weight (dw) in juveniles, but increased with age in adults though concentrations were generally low (nd-1.18 microg g(-1), dw). Regional geometric means for total mercury (THg) ranged from 3.63 to 8.05 microg g(-1), dw in juveniles and 3.46-12.6 microg g(-1) (dw) in adults. The highest THg concentration was 148 microg g(-1), dw from an apparently healthy adult male from the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Although THg increased with age in adult otters, the occurrence of the more toxic form methylmercury (MeHg) was not evaluated. Mean OC and PCB concentrations reported in this study declined dramatically from those reported in 1978-1979 from the lower Columbia River. Organochlorine pesticide and metabolite means for both juvenile and adult river otter males were all below 100 microg kg(-1), wet weight (ww), with only DDE, DDD and HCB having individual concentrations exceeding 500 microg kg(-1), ww. Mean SigmaPCB concentrations in both juvenile and adult male otters were below 1 microg g(-1) for all regional locations. Mean juvenile and adult concentrations of non-ortho substituted PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs were in the low ng kg(-1) for all locations studied.     

Illuminating reactive microbial transport in saturated porous media: demonstration of a visualization method and conceptual transport model

We demonstrate a method to study reactive microbial transport in saturated translucent porous media using the bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens 5RL genetically engineered to carry a plasmid with bioluminescence genes inducible by salicylate. Induced bacteria were injected into a cryolite grain filled chamber saturated with a sterile non-growth-promoting (phosphorus limited) chemical mixture containing salicylate as an aromatic hydrocarbon analogue. The amount of light produced by the bacteria serves as an estimator of the relative efficiency of aerobic biodegradation since bioluminescence is dependent on both salicylate and oxygen but only consumes oxygen. Bioluminescence was captured with a digital camera and analyzed to study the evolving spatial pattern of the bulk oxygen consuming reactions. As fluid flow transported the bacteria through the chamber, bioluminescence was observed to initially increase until an oxygen depletion zone developed behind the advective front. Bacterial transport was modeled with the advection dispersion equation and oxygen concentration was modeled assuming bacterial consumption via Monod kinetics with consideration of additional effects of rate-limited mass transfer from residual gas bubbles. Consistent with previous measurements, bioluminescence was considered proportional to oxygen consumed. Using the observed bioluminescence, model parameters were fit that were consistent with literature values and produced results in good agreement with the experimental data. These findings demonstrate potential for using this method to investigate the complex spatial and temporal dynamics of reactive microbial transport in saturated porous media.     

Relationships of frontal offset crash test results to real-world driver fatality rates

In a study of the relationship between Insurance Institute for Highway Safety frontal offset crash test ratings and real-world fatality rates, there was a clear trend for better-rated vehicles to have lower driver fatality risk, although the correlation was not uniform across all vehicle groups or statistically significant in all cases. For all types of crashes combined, fatality rates per registered vehicle were generally lower for vehicles rated good than for vehicles rated poor, but rates for acceptable and marginal vehicles were not always within this range. A more precise examination of fatality risk was accomplished by comparing driver outcomes in fatal two-vehicle crashes. When a rated vehicle collided with a nonrated vehicle, the fatality risk for the rated vehicle driver was highest for poorly rated vehicles, then progressively smaller for vehicles with marginal, acceptable, or good ratings. For two-vehicle crashes of similar vehicles rated good and poor, the odds of driver fatality was 34 percent lower for the good vehicle than for the poor vehicle, but this estimate was not statistically significant. Finally, in head-on crashes of rated vehicles, the estimated odds of driver fatality was approximately 74 percent lower for the good vehicle than for the poor vehicle, with confidence limits ranging from 28 to 91 percent.     

Ambient measurements of 2,2,4-trimethyl, 1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate in Southern California

2,2,4-trimethyl, 1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate (TPM) is a widely used solvent found in water-based coatings. Ambient measurements of TPM are reported here for the first time. Although this compound has been previously measured in indoor air, this study illustrates successful detection and quantification of TPM in ambient air at three locations in Southern California: Pico Rivera, Azusa, and Riverside. TPM was detected in every sample collected, with concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 49.5 parts per trillion (ppt). Collections took place during summer 2009, fall 2009, winter 2009/2010, and spring 2010, for 5–7 days during each season. The highest mean concentrations were observed during the summer months for each city, when coating activities are typically at their highest.

Implications 2,2,4-Trimethyl, 1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate (TPM) is a widely used solvent found in water-based coatings. Ambient measurements of TPM are reported here for the first time. The highest mean concentrations were observed during the summer months for each city, when coating activities are typically at their highest. Unreacted TPM constitutes approximately 0.01% of the total nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC) concentrations in the Los Angeles air basin and given its slow reactivity rate in forming ozone, this would be an approximate upper limit for the fraction of ozone that it is responsible for forming.     

Monitoring nekton as a bioindicator in shallow estuarine habitats

Long-term monitoring of estuarine nekton has many practical and ecological benefits but efforts are hampered by a lack of standardized sampling procedures. This study provides a rationale for monitoring nekton in shallow (<#60; 1 m), temperate, estuarine habitats and addresses some important issues that arise when developing monitoring protocols. Sampling in seagrass and salt marsh habitats is emphasized due to the susceptibility of each habitat to anthropogenic stress and to the abundant and rich nekton assemblages that each habitat supports. Extensive sampling with quantitative enclosure traps that estimate nekton density is suggested. These gears have a high capture efficiency in most habitats and are small enough (e.g., 1 m²) to permit sampling in specific microhabitats. Other aspects of nekton monitoring are discussed, including spatial and temporal sampling considerations, station selection, sample size estimation, and data collection and analysis. Developing and initiating long-term nekton monitoring programs will help evaluate natural and human-induced changes in estuarine nekton over time and advance our understanding of the interactions between nekton and the dynamic estuarine environment.     

Connecting with Country in Mungo National Park,Australia: a case study to measure the emotional dimension of experience and place attachment

Connecting people with nature improves well-being, but how people connect with natural places is not well documented. We asked 43 people (19 Aboriginal Australians, 24 non-Aboriginal people) about the messages they received from Country during an interactive experience in the remote Mungo National Park, Australia, and analysed the physical senses, emotions and cognitive processes they mentioned. The physical senses mentioned by most respondents were sight, hearing and motion (particularly walking). These senses helped people receive messages from Country and connect with place. We used the primary-process emotional systems of Panksepp [2010. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 12 (4), 533–545] as a framework to capture the emotional dimension of experience. Most people reported positive emotions; they spoke about being nurtured by the group and the land (CARE), and the intense joy (PLAY) of being part of the community, being on Country and being accompanied by Aboriginal people. However, our results indicate the framework does not capture the breadth of positive emotions, particularly those associated with connection to place and spiritual experiences. Both groups mentioned cognitive processes reflecting their beliefs, existing knowledge, or sharing and acquiring new knowledge. Our results indicate that the emotional dimension of experience has the potential to measure connection to place, and provide a subjective measure of well-being. More research is needed to document this dimension of experience, and how it changes with context. Our case study provides further insight for those who manage protected areas and seek to enrich the experience of visitors.     

A Watershed Approach to Improve Water Quality: Case Study of Clean Water Services’ Tualatin River Program1

Cochran, Bobby and Charles Logue, 2011. A Watershed Approach to Improve Water Quality: Case Study of Clean Water Services’ Tualatin River Program. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):29‐38. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00491.x Abstract: Over the last five years, Clean Water Services developed and implemented a program to offset thermal load discharged from its wastewater facilities to the Tualatin River by planting trees to shade streams and augmenting summertime instream flows. The program has overcome challenges facing many of the nation’s water quality trading programs to not only gain consensus on the frameworks needed to authorize trading, but also provide a broad range of ecosystem services. This paper compares the Tualatin case study with some of the commonly cited factors of successful trading programs.     

Linking irreplaceable landforms in a self‐organizing landscape to sensitivity of population vital rates for an ecological specialist

Irreplaceable, self‐organizing landforms and the endemic and ecologically specialized biodiversity they support are threatened globally by anthropogenic disturbances. Although the outcome of disrupting landforms is somewhat understood, little information exists that documents population consequences of landform disturbance on endemic biodiversity. Conservation strategies for species dependent upon landforms have been difficult to devise because they require understanding complex feedbacks that create and maintain landforms and the consequences of landform configuration on demography of species. We characterized and quantified links between landform configuration and demography of an ecological specialist, the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus), which occurs only in blowouts (i.e., wind‐blown sandy depressions) of Shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) sand‐dune landforms. We used matrix models to estimate vital rates from a multisite mark‐recapture study of 6 populations occupying landforms with different spatial configurations. Sensitivity and elasticity analyses demonstrated demographic rates among populations varied in sensitivity to different landform configurations. Specifically, significant relationships between blowout shape complexity and vital rate elasticities suggested direct links between S. arenicolus demography and amount of edge in Shinnery oak sand‐dune landforms. These landforms are irreplaceable, based on permanent transition of disturbed areas to alternative grassland ecosystem states. Additionally, complex feedbacks between wind, sand, and Shinnery oak maintain this landform, indicating restoration through land management practices is unlikely. Our findings that S. arenicolus population dynamics depended on landform configuration suggest that failure to consider processes of landform organization and their effects on species’ population dynamics may lead to incorrect inferences about threats to endemic species and ineffective habitat management for threatened or endangered species. As such, successful conservation of these systems and the biodiversity they support must be informed by research linking process‐oriented studies of self‐organized landforms with studies of movement, behavior, and demography of species that dwell in them.     

Pollution,habitat loss,fishing, and climate change as critical threats to penguins

Cumulative human impacts across the world's oceans are considerable. We therefore examined a single model taxonomic group, the penguins (Spheniscidae), to explore how marine species and communities might be at risk of decline or extinction in the southern hemisphere. We sought to determine the most important threats to penguins and to suggest means to mitigate these threats. Our review has relevance to other taxonomic groups in the southern hemisphere and in northern latitudes, where human impacts are greater. Our review was based on an expert assessment and literature review of all 18 penguin species; 49 scientists contributed to the process. For each penguin species, we considered their range and distribution, population trends, and main anthropogenic threats over the past approximately 250 years. These threats were harvesting adults for oil, skin, and feathers and as bait for crab and rock lobster fisheries; harvesting of eggs; terrestrial habitat degradation; marine pollution; fisheries bycatch and resource competition; environmental variability and climate change; and toxic algal poisoning and disease. Habitat loss, pollution, and fishing, all factors humans can readily mitigate, remain the primary threats for penguin species. Their future resilience to further climate change impacts will almost certainly depend on addressing current threats to existing habitat degradation on land and at sea. We suggest protection of breeding habitat, linked to the designation of appropriately scaled marine reserves, including in the High Seas, will be critical for the future conservation of penguins. However, large‐scale conservation zones are not always practical or politically feasible and other ecosystem‐based management methods that include spatial zoning, bycatch mitigation, and robust harvest control must be developed to maintain marine biodiversity and ensure that ecosystem functioning is maintained across a variety of scales. Contaminación, Pérdida de Hábitat, Pesca y Cambio Climático como Amenazas Críticas para los Pingüinos