Simultaneous nitrogen and silicate deficiency of a phytoplankton community in a coastal jet-front

The nutritional status of a phytoplankton community was investigated in a coastal jet-front located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, in 1987. During the sampling period, the frontal community was mainly composed of the diatomsChaetoceros debilis, Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira gravida andC. pelagicus. As previously reported for the St. Lawrence, some frontal stations were depleted both in nitrate and silicate. At stations impoverished in nitrate, internal nitrate pool concentrations were low or undetectable, suggesting that cells had not, recently, been exposed to a nitrate flux which exceeded the nitrate assimilation rate. At these impoverished stations, however, ambient and intracellular concentrations of ammonium and urea were high, suggesting that the community was not nitrogen-deficient. The comparison between the ambient silicate concentrations and the silicate requirement (K _s ) of the dominant diatoms suggests thatC. debilis andS. costatum were Si-deficient. This is further supported by the low silicate uptake rates and intracellular concentrations measured at the silicate impoverished stations. The silicate deficiency also resulted in a decrease in the seston and phytoplankton N:C ratios.Please address all correspondence and requests for reprints to Dr Levasseur at his new address: Maurice Lamontagne Institute, 850 Route de la Mer, Mont-Joli, Québec G5H 3Z4, Canada     

Effects of sublethal concentrations of mercuric chloride on ammonium-limitedSkeletonema costatum

The effect of sublethal additions of mercuric chloride on the marine diatomSkeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve grown in NH₄-limited chemostats and batch cultures was assessed. In short-term Hg exposure experiments (up to 5 h), the effect of Hg on ammonium uptake rates was studied by simulatneously perturbing the culture with 5 M NH₄ Cl and Hg concentrations ranging from 0.04 to 5.52 nM HgCl₂. The threshold of Hg toxicity occurred between 1.8 and 3.7 nM, based on a decrease in ammonium uptake rates. When the NH₄-limited culture was starved of ammonium for 30 h, the threshold of Hg toxicity decreased about an order of magnitude to 0.2 nM. In long-term Hg exposure experiments (679.5 h), NH₄-limited continuous cultures were semi-continuously exposed to 0.37 and 3.68 nM HgCl₂. After 4 days, the cell density in the Hg-treated chemostats began to drastically decline. After about 16 days these populations recovered, even though Hg additions continued. At the end of the experiment (26 days), cell densities had reached the levels observed at the beginning of the experiment. The reason for the recovery is unknown, but several possibilities are discussed. Ammonium uptake rates determined during the time-course of this long-term Hg exposure, indicated that these NH₄-limited cultures exhibited a significant loss in their ability to take up ammonium at low concentrations (e.g. 1 M). Thus, mercury pollution may seriously decrease the ability of a species to utilize the limiting nutrient during periods of seasonal nutrient limitation.     

Can decentralized planning really achieve first-best in the presence of environmental spillovers?

It is generally accepted that decentralized policy choice in the presence of interjurisdictional spillovers is inefficient. Strikingly, Ogawa and Wildasin (2009) find that in a model with heterogenous jurisdictions, interjurisdictional capital flows, and interjurisdictional environmental damage spillovers, decentralized planning outcomes are equivalent to that under a centralized planner. We first show the critical importance of two key assumptions (no retirement of capital, fixed environmental damages per unit of capital) in obtaining this result. Second, we consider a more general model allowing for capital retirement and abatement activities and show that the outcome of a decentralized market generally differs from the solution of a centralized planner?s social welfare-maximizing problem.     

A European aerosol phenomenology – 3: Physical and chemical characteristics of particulate matter from 60 rural,urban, and kerbside sites across Europe

This paper synthesizes data on aerosol (particulate matter, PM) physical and chemical characteristics, which were obtained over the past decade in aerosol research and monitoring activities at more than 60 natural background, rural, near-city, urban, and kerbside sites across Europe. The data include simultaneously measured PM₁₀ and/or PM_2.5 mass on the one hand, and aerosol particle number concentrations or PM chemistry on the other hand. The aerosol data presented in our previous works (Van Dingenen et al., 2004, Putaud et al., 2004) were updated and merged to those collected in the framework of the EU supported European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical action COST633 (Particulate matter: Properties related to health effects). A number of conclusions from our previous studies were confirmed. There is no single ratio between PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ mass concentrations valid for all sites, although fairly constant ratios ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 are observed at most individual sites. There is no general correlation between PM mass and particle number concentrations, although particle number concentrations increase with PM_2.5 levels at most sites. The main constituents of both PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 are generally organic matter, sulfate and nitrate. Mineral dust can also be a major constituent of PM₁₀ at kerbside sites and in Southern Europe. There is a clear decreasing gradient in SO₄^2? and NO₃^? contribution to PM₁₀ when moving from rural to urban to kerbside sites. In contrast, the total carbon/PM₁₀ ratio increases from rural to kerbside sites. Some new conclusions were also drawn from this work: the ratio between ultrafine particle and total particle number concentration decreases with PM_2.5 concentration at all sites but one, and significant gradients in PM chemistry are observed when moving from Northwestern, to Southern to Central Europe. Compiling an even larger number of data sets would have further increased the significance of our conclusions, but collecting all the aerosol data sets obtained also through research projects remains a tedious task.     

Identification of brake wear particles and derivation of a quantitative tracer for brake dust at a major road

Traffic-generated air pollutant emissions can be classified into exhaust and non-exhaust emissions. Increased attention is focussing on non-exhaust emissions as exhaust emissions are progressively limited by regulations. To characterise metal-rich emission from abrasion processes, size-segregated analysis of atmospheric aerosol particles sampled with micro-orifice uniform deposit impactors (MOUDI) in March 2007 in London was performed. The samples were collected at a roadside and a background site and were analysed for Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Sb, Ti, V, Zn, Ca²⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, and NH₄⁺. Most components showed a clear roadside increment, which was evident as a higher mass concentration and a change in the size distribution. In particular, Fe, Cu, Ba, and Sb correlated highly, indicative of a common traffic-related source. Using complementary information on the fleet composition, vehicle number and average speed, the brake wear emission was calculated using the EMEP/CORINAIR emission database. The total PM₁₀ and barium emission of the traffic was determined by ratio to NO_x whose source strength was estimated from published emission factors. Barium was found to comprise 1.1% of brake wear (PM₁₀) particles from the traffic fleet as a whole, allowing its use as a quantitative tracer of brake wear emissions at other traffic-influenced sites.     

Biotic, temporal and spatial variability of tritium concentrations in transpirate samples collected in the vicinity of a near-surface low-level nuclear waste disposal site and nearby research reactor

The results of a 21 month sampling program measuring tritium in tree transpirate with respect to local sources are reported. The aim was to assess the potential of tree transpirate to indicate the presence of sub-surface seepage plumes.Transpirate gathered from trees near low-level nuclear waste disposal trenches contained activity concentrations of ³H that were significantly higher (up to ∼700 Bq L⁻¹) than local background levels (0-10 Bq L⁻¹). The effects of the waste source declined rapidly with distance to be at background levels within 10s of metres. A research reactor 1.6 km south of the site contributed significant (p < 0.01) local fallout ³H but its influence did not reach as far as the disposal trenches.The elevated ³H levels in transpirate were, however, substantially lower than groundwater concentrations measured across the site (ranging from 0 to 91% with a median of 2%). Temporal patterns of tree transpirate ³H, together with local meteorological observations, indicate that soil water within the active root zones comprised a mixture of seepage and rainfall infiltration. The degree of mixing was variable given that the soil water activity concentrations were heterogeneous at a scale equivalent to the effective rooting volume of the trees. In addition, water taken up by roots was not well mixed within the trees. Based on correlation modelling, net rainfall less evaporation (a surrogate for infiltration) over a period of from 2 to 3 weeks prior to sampling seems to be the optimum predictor of transpirate ³H variability for any sampled tree at this site.The results demonstrate successful use of ³H in transpirate from trees to indicate the presence and general extent of sub-surface contamination at a low-level nuclear waste site.     

Improving the farmland biodiversity value of riparian buffer strips: conflicts and compromises

The intensity of management of lowland grassland fields in the United Kingdom, coupled with the fact that such grasslands dominate much of the lowland landscape, means that there are now few opportunities for many plants, invertebrates, birds, or mammals to survive. The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has investigated whether fencing off the margins of such fields next to watercourses to control diffuse pollution has any positive impacts on biodiversity, based on assessments of vegetation composition and condition and structure of assemblages of invertebrates of importance as foodstuffs to farmland birds. Fencing watercourses increased the abundance of key groups of invertebrates. However, the invertebrate species diversity was not increased unless the margins were ≥ 5.4 m in width. Margins established in the study area to prevent access by livestock to watercourses or to enhance biodiversity are generally ≤ 2.6 m wide and are therefore unlikely to provide conditions for additional invertebrate species to use. The dense, tall swards within such margins are also unlikely to provide foraging opportunities for farmland birds. Management (such as low-intensity grazing by livestock in the margins) is essential to provide the conditions required for these groups, but this could conflict with the diffuse pollution mitigation aims. A compromise is proposed whereby limited autumn/winter grazing by livestock could be used to open the vegetation structure in the margins. Grazing by livestock at that time may be acceptable since it is not occurring in the period of main diffuse pollution concern (i.e., the fecal contamination of watercourses and bathing waters in the spring and summer). It is also essential that a landscape-scale approach is taken, driven by knowledge of the full needs of the species concerned, when deciding where best to target agri-environmental actions aimed at farmland bird conservation.