Hydrolytic enzymes in the two North Sea ctenophores Pleurobrachia pileus and Beroe gracilis

Hydrolytic enzyme activities were determined in tissue extracts of the two North Sea ctenophores Pleurobrachia pileus and Beroe gracilis. The following activities were measured in field samples and characterized according to their mean specific activities and their pH optima: protease, aminopeptidase, amylase, N-acetylglucosaminidase, -glucosidase, chitinase, carboxylesterase, phosphatase. Many of the enzyme activities are correlated, indicating their control by the same factors (i.e. nutritional conditions). Differences found between the phosphatase activities and the apparent lack of the chitinolytic system in B. gracilis reflect the differences in body composition and food specialization in both ctenophores, respectively. The low amylase and -glucosidase activities in both ctenophores agree with the low carbohydrate content of their prey. In spite of high carboxylesterase activities, no lipolytic activity was detected in either of the ctenophores. In a laboratory feeding experiment with P. pileus, the enzyme activities increased but did not reach the activities found in the field samples. In B. gracilis, seasonal variations of some enzyme activities are discussed in relation to the seasonal abundance of its prey, P. pileus.     

Substance Flow Analyses of Organic Pollutants in Stockholm

This paper summarizes substance flow analyses for four organic substances in the City of Stockholm, Sweden: diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), alkylphenolethoxylates (APEO), polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE) and chlorinated paraffins (CP). The results indicate that the stocks of APEO, PBDE and CP all are approximately 200–250 tonnes, whereas the DEHP stock is two orders of magnitude larger. Emissions can be linked to imported consumer goods such as electronics (PBDE) and textiles (APEO), and to construction materials (DEHP, CP). For several of the substances considerable amounts remain in the technosphere for a long time, even after use of the substance in new products has been eliminated. For example, the use of DEHP as plasticizer for PVC plastics in cables and floorings has more or less been phased-out, but still these applications make up a stock of some 20,000 tonnes (85% of the total DEHP stock in Stockholm) and emit 28 tonnes of DEHP annually (93% of overall emissions). Likewise, the use of chlorinated paraffins in sealants has been radically reduced, but there are 170 tonnes of CP in sealants in Stockholm making up 75% of the stock, and causing half of the emissions to water and air. These emissions are likely to continue for decades, and the stocks therefore have to be considered when analysing and managing the impact of urban substance flows on the environment.     

Controlling mechanisms of aluminium in soil solution--an evaluation of 180 podzolic forest soils.

To monitor the level of soil acidification in the county of V?rmland in the middle west of Sweden 180 podzolic forest soils were investigated. Soil solutions from four horizons were obtained by centrifugation and the soil was sampled for a determination of the exchangeable pool by extraction. The concentrations of inorganic Al and its fraction of the total Al in solution were greater in the south of the county (up to 50%). The factors influencing the total Al and free inorganic Al3+ in the soil solutions were evaluated. Saturation indices (SI) for five different mineral phases were calculated but none implied equilibrium conditions. The relationships between pAl3+ and pH (in the pH range 4-6.2) gave slopes of about 1, which indicated that ion exchange/complexation reactions may be important for determining the Al3+ concentration in the B and C horizons. In the E horizon solutions complexation with soluble organic acids seemed to be the major factor which influenced the Al3+ activity. The influence of organic matter on Al solubility was supported by partial least square (PLS) regressions.     

Environmental effects of one thousand years of copper production at Falun, central Sweden

Copper production in Falun, central Sweden, has emitted sulfur dioxide (SO2) and metals to the air during at least 1000 years. Emissions peaked in the 17th century when Falun produced 2/3 of the world's copper supply. This area offers unique opportunities to study long-term effects of acid deposition and metal pollution, including recovery following the three centuries of decreasing SO2 and metal deposition. Here we present a 1000-yr perspective on local emissions of SO2, estimated air concentrations and dry deposition of SO2, as well as results on acidification and metal pollution of soils and lakes. Despite a long period when deposition of SO2 exceeded the critical load, soil acidification is limited to the most heavily polluted area 12 km NW and SE from the mine. According to diatom analyses of take sediments, only 8 of 14 lakes have become acidified (0.4-0.8 pH units). None of these lakes show recovery from acidification, probably due to large amounts of sulfate still accumulated in the soils and changes in land use.     

Impact of precipitation disparity on groundwater fluctuation in a semi-arid region (Vellore district) of southern India using geospatial techniques

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the present study, impact of precipitation disparity on groundwater level fluctuation was carried out in Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India, using...     

Analysis of long-term water quality for effective river health monitoring in peri-urban landscapes—a case study of the Hawkesbury–Nepean river system in NSW, Australia

The Hawkesbury–Nepean River (HNR) system in South-Eastern Australia is the main source of water supply for the Sydney Metropolitan area and is one of the more complex river systems due to the influence of urbanisation and other activities in the peri-urban landscape through which it flows. The long-term monitoring of river water quality is likely to suffer from data gaps due to funding cuts, changes in priority and related reasons. Nevertheless, we need to assess river health based on the available information. In this study, we demonstrated how the Factor Analysis (FA), Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis (HACA) and Trend Analysis (TA) can be applied to evaluate long-term historic data sets. Six water quality parameters, viz., temperature, chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, oxides of nitrogen, suspended solids and reactive silicates, measured at weekly intervals between 1985 and 2008 at 12 monitoring stations located along the 300 km length of the HNR system were evaluated to understand the human and natural influences on the river system in a peri-urban landscape. The application of FA extracted three latent factors which explained more than 70 % of the total variance of the data and related to the ‘bio-geographical’, ‘natural’ and ‘nutrient pollutant’ dimensions of the HNR system. The bio-geographical and nutrient pollution factors more likely related to the direct influence of changes and activities of peri-urban natures and accounted for approximately 50 % of variability in water quality. The application of HACA indicated two major clusters representing clean and polluted zones of the river. On the spatial scale, one cluster was represented by the upper and lower sections of the river (clean zone) and accounted for approximately 158 km of the river. The other cluster was represented by the middle section (polluted zone) with a length of approximately 98 km. Trend Analysis indicated how the point sources influence river water quality on spatio-temporal scales, taking into account the various effects of nutrient and other pollutant loads from sewerage effluents, agriculture and other point and non-point sources along the river and major tributaries of the HNR. Over the past 26 years, water temperature has significantly increased while suspended solids have significantly decreased (p?<?0.05). The analysis of water quality data through FA, HACA and TA helped to characterise the key sections and cluster the key water quality variables of the HNR system. The insights gained from this study have the potential to improve the effectiveness of river health-monitoring programs in terms of cost, time and effort, particularly in a peri-urban context.     

Limitation of communal latrines in changing the prevalence of parasites and diarrhoeal attack rate in Dhaka Peri-urban slums

A study of the effects of communal latrines on diarrhoeal incidence and parasite prevalence rates was conducted in 1983 at Tongi, which had five communal Oxfam latrines with a manual flushing system for 924 people; and at Kalsi, which had 39 open fit latrines for 823 people. Inhabitants' stool samples were tested initially and also after twelve months to see the reinfection rates. All inhabitants were dewormed with pyrantel, and were visited weekly to obtain diarrhoea histories. In both communities, there were high prevalence rates of roundworm, hookworm, Trichuris trichiura, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lambia and Strongyloides stercoralis. Following the dewormings, the prevalence rates of roundworm, hookworm and Trichuris infection came down significantly, in both areas. The prevalence or reinfection rates remained identical in both communities. There was also no difference in diarrhoea incidence rate for the two areas. It is found that keeping all other variables unchanged, use of communal latrines, without strict disposal of everyone's excreta, does not affect parasite prevalence and diarrhoea rates. People must be educated about the use of communal latrines and the safe disposal of all excreta, including that of children.     

Relationship between release of nitric oxide and CO2 and their dependence on oxidation reduction potential in wastewater treatment

Nitric oxide (NO) is an intermediate of denitrification process and can be produced by denitrifiers, nitrifiers and other bacteria. In our experiments we measured the dynamic flow of NO depending on oxidation reduction potential (ORP). Different ORP-ranges were related to various carbon loading stages in the wastewater treatment pilot plant. Nitrification and denitrification were achieved by a sequence of aeration and non-aeration periods. Our measurements show that different carbon loading conditions (low feed, balanced and overloaded conditions) did not change the range of the mixing ratio of NO emissions when the aeration conditions like air-flow and temperature were kept constant. Minimum and maximum NO mixing ratios were 34.7 and 91.8 ppbv; 52.3 and 91.3 ppbv; 57.6 and 109 ppbv for low feed, balanced and overloaded conditions, respectively. The curve of the NO graph relied on nitrification/denitrification dynamics. The dependence of NO release on different ORP and CO2-release during the various conditions are shown. Longer aeration times resulted in an increased release of gaseous NO. The net-release of NO g(-1) nitrogen removed was between 0.014% and 0.028%. The NO fluxes to the air were observed between 8.3 and 14.9 mg m(-2) d(-1) NO. The major release occurred during high aeration periods whereas the concentration of dissolved [NOaq] in the wastewater was less than 0.05% of the gaseous release due to very low solubility of the NO.     

Zooplankton biomass in the ice-covered Weddell Sea,Antarctica

Zooplankton was sampled by a Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT 1 + 8) in Weddell Sea surface waters (0 to 300 m) between 66 and 78°S during austral summer (February – March 1983). Sixty-nine taxa including different developmental stages were considered and divided into 16 size classes between <1 and >39.5 mm length. Biomass was determined by taxon and size class for three different meso- and macroplankton communities in the oceanic region, on the northeastern shelf and on the southern shelf of the Weddell Sea. The highest biomass of 11.2 mg DW m^–3 (3.4 g DW m^–2) was found in the northeastern shelf community (70 to 74°S), where juvenile and adultEuphausia crystallorophias accounted for 3.7 mg DW m^–3 (1.1 g DW m^–2). Although not quantitatively sampled, early copepodite stages (CI to CIII) ofCalanoides acutus andCalanus propinquus ranked second with 2.7 mg DW m^–3 (0.8 g DW m^–2). Biomass in the northeastern shelf community was concentrated in the size ranges 1 to 4 mm and 19.5 to 39.5 mm. The oceanic community of the central Weddell Sea was dominated by copepods smaller than 5 mm, which made up half of the total oceanic biomass. The tunicateSalpa thompsoni (7.0 to 8.5 mm) was the dominant single species with 1.6 mg DW m^–3 (0.5 g DW m^–2). Euphausiids, mainly juvenile and adult krillEuphausia superba, comprised 1.2 mg DW m^–3 (0.4 g DW m^–2). Total standing stock in the oceanic community was 9.4 mg DWm^–3 (2.8 g DW m^–2). Lowest biomass values were found in the southern shelf community (south of 75°S) with 4.0 mg DW m^–3 (1.2 g DW m^–2), concentrated in the 1 to 4 mm and 14.5 to 34.5 mm size classes. Abundant species were the pteropodLimacina helicina (1 to 2 mm; 0.7 mg DW m^–3; 0.2 g DW m^–2) andE. crystallorophias (24.5 to 39.5 mm; 0.9 mg DW m^–3; 0.3 g DW m^–2). The data reveal that it is essential to distinguish among subsystems in the Southern Ocean. This leads to a better understanding of the structure and function of those pelagic food webs which represent alternatives to the paradigmatic krill-centered system.