Age-related multi-year associations in female humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Analyses of social structures in baleen whales are rare, and so far, they are thought to consist of mostly short and unstable associations. We investigated the association patterns of individual humpback whales from a summer feeding aggregation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence from 1997 to 2005. Photo-identified animals were sexed using genetic methods and were grouped into five categories: juvenile males/females, mature males and lactating/non-lactating females. We calculated half-weight association indices within and between the groups and found that 45% of the observation showed single animals and another 45% small groups (two to three) consisting mainly of mature animals besides lactating females. Using permutation tests, we found evidence for long-term associations between mature males and non-lactating females as well as among non-lactating females. Standardised lagged association rates revealed that these male–female groups disassociated quickly over about 2 weeks, whereas associations increased again towards the beginning of the breeding season. Non-lactating females of similar age engaged in multi-seasonal stable pairs for up to six consecutive feeding seasons; no mature male–female association was observed in consecutive years. The females with the most stable and long-term associations also had the highest reproductive output. While the risk of predation could not explain these long-term bonds, feeding cooperation seemed the most plausible explanation for group forming behaviour during the summer months.     

Cleaner production in Danish fish processing – experiences,status and possible future strategies

Danish fish processing industry has been one of the pioneers regarding implementation of cleaner production and environmental management systems. This article describes the experiences with cleaner production (CP) among leading Danish industries producing pickled herring and canned mackerel. The article emphasizes two case studies of ‘first mover’ companies, but data from other ‘proactive’ companies are also included.The article provides an overview of different types of CP solutions, improvement potentials, synergistic effects and possible trade-offs. The development of the applied solutions from the late 1980s until today are analysed and recommendations to future strategies at company level and policy level are provided.It is concluded that significant environmental improvements have been obtained for the analysed companies – especially concerning reductions in water consumption, wastewater emissions, and utilisation of fish ‘waste’ for valuable by-products. Still, more focus could be placed on the reduction of energy consumption, change of packaging types, and environmental impacts in other stages of the products life cycle.Authorities and companies have mainly focused on on-site reductions of wastewater emissions, but life cycle assessments show that more attention should be given to the reductions of environmental impacts in other parts of the product chain, e.g. fishing operations and transport as well.     

Distribution,fate and persistence of organochlorine compounds formed during production of bleached pulp

The processes governing distribution of a xenobiotic compound discharged initially into the environment are discussed, and attention is drawn to (a) binding to organic matter in the sediment phase which affects both persistence and toxicity to biota and (b) the role of atmospheric transport for compounds of low water solubility and high vapour pressure. Important limitations in the use of sum parameters such as EOCI are pointed out. The important distinction between biodegradation and biotransformation is pointed out, and significant experimental determinants noted. Pathways for the aerobic metabolism of chlorophenolic compounds are discussed, and attention is drawn to the role of O‐methylation as an environmentally significant alternative to biodegradation. Evidence for the biodegradation of chlorinated aliphatic acids and hydrocarbons under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions is presented. Anaerobic metabolism of chlorophenolic compounds is discussed with respect to (a) de‐O‐methylation of chloroguaiacols, (b) dechlorination of chlorocatechols and (c) reduction of chlorovanillins. It is emphasized that current evidence provides a complex metabolic picture, and that only partial dechlorination may occur. Brief attention is given to the important issue of the persistence of chlorolignin, and attention drawn to technical issues which render this problem difficult of access by traditional procedures. Biohalogenation—particularly by fungi—is noted, though its quantitative contribution cannot be estimated at the moment. A number of important unresolved issues are underscored: (a) the problem of determining rates of microbial reactions which may be translated to environmental situations, (b) the cardinal role not only of the number of chlorine atoms in an aromatic compound but also the substitution pattern and (c) limitations in current understanding of the role of anaerobic bacteria in bringing about biodegradation and biotransformation.     

Low levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in New Zealand eels reflect isolation from atmospheric sources

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organic pesticides (i.e., DDTs) were measured in long finned eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii) in 17 streams on the west coast of South Island, New Zealand. Very low levels of PCBs and low levels of ppDDE were found. The concentrations of PCBs and ppDDE were not correlated within sites indicating that different processes determined the levels of the two pollutants in New Zealand eels. The PCBs probably originate from atmospheric transport, ppDDE levels are determined by land use and are higher in agriculture areas. The low contamination level of these aquatic systems seems to be a function of a low input from both long and short-range transport as well as few local point sources. No correlation could be found between lipid content and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) concentration (as shown in previous studies) in the eels which could be explained by low and irregular intake of the pollutants.     

丹麦企业利用最有效技术进行废物处理

在<污染综合预防和控制法>的背景下,丹麦一家企业Kommunekemi帮助编写了有关更安全地处理有害废物的最有效技术的欧盟参考文献.几年前Kommunekemi面临着环境影响和职业健康与安全问题.1990年代安装了两个新的圆桶自动卸料系统(一个用于废液,一个用于固体和糊状废物).本文介绍了Kommunekemi公司内部和周围改善环境和安全条件所采用的方法.     

Environmental assessment of plant protection strategies using scenarios for pig feed production

Two scenarios for future pig meat production were constructed. The first was a "business as usual" scenario, where the pig feed was based on domestic grain and imported soy-meal, and no efforts were made to reduce pesticide use. The second scenario had a strong environmental focus, and both peas and rapeseed were grown at pig-farm level to produce grain and protein feed. Preventive measures, such as a more diverse crop rotation and mechanical weed control, were combined to reduce pesticide use. The two scenarios were environmentally assessed by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and a pesticide risk indicator model (PRI-Farm). The results showed environmentally sound possibilities to reduce pesticide dependency and risks by using altered plant protection strategies in pig-feed production. Organizing on-farm feed production so that protein feed crops are integrated with grain crops contributes to a more diverse crop rotation.     

Air permeability of compost as related to bulk density and volumetric air content.

Compost air permeability controls air flow through compost during composting or when using compost as biofilter material. Air permeability is therefore an important characteristic of compost. The relationships between air permeability (k(a)) in compost and compost dry bulk density (rho b), gravimetric water content (omega), and volumetric air content (epsilon) was investigated for two types of composts. The composts used were produced from a digested sewage sludge-straw mixture and from garden waste and measurements were conducted on sieved and repacked 100 cm3 compost samples. Results showed a linear relation between log(k(a)) and rho b at constant values of omega for both composts, indicating an exponential relationship between k(a) and rho b. The slopes of these relationships generally became more negative with increasing rho b. The results further showed a linear relationship between log(k(a)) and log(epsilon) for both composts as also often observed for soils. It was observed that the log(k(a)) and log(epsilon) relationships for the garden waste compost all intercepted at the same location despite having very different slopes. This means that it is possible to predict the entire k(a)-epsilon relationship using only one measurement of corresponding (k(a), epsilon) for garden waste. It was not possible to determine whether this was also the case for the sewage sludge compost due to difficulties in sample preparation at low and high water content.     

Dominance behaviour,body weight and fat variations,and partial migration in European blackbirds Turdus merula

Summary A partially migratory population of European blackbirds Turdus merula was studied in central Europe during the non-breeding season. Body weight and the amount of subcutaneous fat deposits showed seasonal variations typical for each age and sex category. Juveniles were fattest in autumn and spring and both juveniles and females lost fat and body weight in mid-winter. Adults and males reached their maximum body weight in mid-winter. These findings together with data from Schwabl (1983) suggest that juveniles and females constitute the main fraction of those birds migrating from the area in autumn. In winter mainly adults and males have access to food resources. These patterns may be regulated by dominance behaviour, since adults and males are usually dominant over juveniles and females throughout the non-breeding season. Subordinate birds that stay in the area probably suffer from a higher winter mortality but have the advantage of early breeding.     

Volatile substances in the pygidial secretion of gyrinid beetles (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae)

Summary Gyrinid beetles are common in freshwater habitats. They have paired pygidial glands with a secretion that contains high molecular weight substances rendering them toxic for predatory fish. In this paper we report on a laboratory study on volatile components released by three different gyrinid species when irritated. The volatile pattern had a clear difference between the different species.Gyrinus substriatus andG. aeratus, both produced 3-methyl-1-butanal and 3-methyl-1-butanol when irritated, but in quite different amounts. The third tested species,G. minutus, did not produce any substances above the detection level. It is suggested that the volatile compounds may be part of the beetles' communication and/or defence system.     

Riverine inputs of organic carbon and nitrogen to Norwegian coastal areas

The transport of organic and inorganic material in 10 Norwegian rivers has been monitored from 1990 to 1998. The suspended material in the rivers consisted of 40-80% organic materials. A major part of this was DOC with a C/ N mole ratio > 25. The C/N ratio of the organic material increases with increasing river flow when drained from forest-dominated catchments, in contrast to mountain dominated catchments where variation in runoff does not influence the C/N ratio. Laboratory experiments showed that more than 90% of the DOC remained in solution when salinity increased to 30. The flocculated and settled material contained less than 5% organic material with a C/N ratio of 6.7-12.4, comparable to C/N ratios in cultivated soils and coastal marine sediments. This confirms that only a minor amount of organic material carried to the sea by rivers settles in the coastal zone.