Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.

     

Effects of acidic attack on chemical,mineralogical, and morphological properties of geomaterials

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Exposure of geomaterials to acidic leachates may compromise their structure and functionality due to changes in physicochemical, mineralogical, and...     

京杭运河杭州段水体污染和细菌群落结构特征

为了解人类活动对城市河道水体污染和细菌群落的影响,选取京杭运河杭州段进行了分季节采样研究。测定了水体的环境与水质参数,分析了细菌丰度、胞外酶活性和群落结构变化。结果显示,从上游到下游,水体中高锰酸盐指数、氨氮、总氮以及细菌丰度和β-葡萄糖苷酶活性大体呈递增趋势,冬季水体总体污染水平及细菌丰度均显著高于其他季节。水体中细菌的主要种类集中在变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacterioidetes)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)和蓝藻门(Cyanobacteria),所占比例分别为37.8%、24.3%、18.9%、10.8%和8.1%,属于黄杆菌(Flavobacterium)、厚壁菌(Firmicutes bacterium)和放线菌(Actinobacterium)的细菌是水体中大多数时间的优势细菌。限制性排序分析显示,水体细菌群落结构从上游到下游差异明显,高锰酸盐指数和总氮是关键影响因子。杭州市区由人类活动产生的污染物输入是京杭运河杭州段的主要污染源,水体细菌群落对水体污染物的变化有着明显的响应。     

鄱阳湖平原区农村水塘水体原位修复技术应用效果分析

针对鄱阳湖平原区农村水塘内源底泥污染和外源农村生产、生活排水污染,通过选用覆沙处理、落干曝晒处理及生物联合调控处理(即底栖动物三角帆蚌(Hyriopsis cumingii)+滤食性鱼类鳙鱼和鲢鱼+湿地植物花叶芦竹(Arundo donax var.versicolor))等原位修复技术进行研究,以期得到农村小水塘经济高效的原位修复技术。结果表明:(1)生物联合调控处理对水质净化的效果总体最佳,浊度、氨氮、TN和COD去除率最高值分别为68.18%、92.64%、79.85%和92.10%。(2)生物联合调控处理的TN去除率与DO呈显著负相关,TP去除率与DO呈显著负相关、与氮磷质量比(N/P)呈显著正相关,COD去除率与氨氮、碳氮质量比(C/N)均呈显著负相关。     

一起鸟粪闪络引起220kV引流跳线与地线短接故障分析

对某220 kV输电线路跳闸故障进行分析,根据故障监测信息、故障时段故障区域的天气、现场环境等综合判断故障原因为鸟粪闪络,而造成鸟粪闪络的主要原因为跳线角钢未用绝缘护套包覆,鸟类夜间栖息在架空地线防振锤处排便,鸟粪在湿度80%RH、微风条件下降落,短接跳线角钢端头和地线防振锤间电气间隙而引起闪络放电。对绝缘护套的防鸟害效果进行仿真分析,得出了不同电压等级线路绝缘护套的最佳厚度,提出了防范类似鸟害故障的措施。     

A Screening Test for the Determination of Ethylene Sensitivity

Ethephon, which releases ethylene within plant tissues after application, was chosen to perform assessments of the relative sensitivity of crops to ethylene and to determine which stages of plant development were most sensitive. The species chosen were: barley, wheat, oats, canola and field pea, all of which are important crops in the province of Alberta, Canada. Plants were treated with ethephon at one of 7 different stages. Plants were assessed for their vegetative and reproductive growth, including height, biomass, yield and seed quality. Visual symptoms were photographed and documented to compare them with symptoms caused by ethylene applied as a gas. It was concluded that in barley, wheat and canola the late vegetative and early reproductive stages were most sensitive, at least when sensitivity was defined as reductions in yield and quality. As for field pea, ethephon had no effect on yield but did cause increased numbers of pods, which in certain conditions could lead to increased yields. Significant effects on vegetative growth were only observed in the early vegetative stages of development but with no effects on yield. The screening protocol successfully identified sensitive cultivars and growth stages for further investigation of the effects of ethylene exposure.     

SAOZ measurements of NO2 at Aberystwyth

We present in this paper fifteen years' measurements, from March 1991 to September 2005, of stratospheric NO2 vertical columns measured by a SAOZ zenith-sky visible spectrometer. The instrument spent most of its time at Aberystwyth, Wales, with occasional excursions to other locations. The data have been analysed with the WinDOAS analysis program with low-temperature high-resolution NO2 cross-sections and fitting a slit function to each spectrum. Because of a change in detector in May 1998 there is some uncertainty about the relative changes before and after this date, which are partially constrained by the results of an intercomparison exercise. However, the effect of the Mt Pinatubo aerosol cloud is very evident in the data from 1991-94, with a decrease of 10% in NO2 in the summer of 1992 (the SAOZ was located in Lerwick, Scotland during the winter of 1991-92 and observed very low NO2 values but these cannot be directly compared to the Aberystwyth data). To focus more on interannual and long-term variations in NO2, a seasonal variation comprising an annual and semi-annual component was fitted to the morning and evening twilight separately from 1995 to the present. This fit yielded average NO2 columns of 4.08 x 10(15) cm(-2) and 2.68 x 10(15) cm(-2) for the evening and morning twilight, respectively, with a corresponding annual amplitude of +/-2.08 x 10(15) cm(-2) and +/-1.50 x 10(15) cm(-2). Departures from the fitted curve show a trend of 6% per decade, consistent with that reported elsewhere, for the period 1998-2003, but in the past two years a distinct interannual variation of amplitude of approximately 8% has emerged.     

The use of bioaccumulation, biomarkers and histopathology diseases in shape Procambarus clarkii to establish bioavailability of Cd and Zn after a mining spill

Individuals of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii (males and females) were exposed simultaneously to cadmium and zinc during 21 days. Exposure concentrations were those determined at the Guadiamar river after the Aznalcóllar mining spill (SW, Spain): 10 and 30 μg L⁻¹ of cadmium and 1000 and 3000 μg L⁻¹ of zinc. Three biomarkers (MT: metallothioneins like proteins, VTG: vitellogenin/vitellin like proteins and histopathology) together with heavy metal bioaccumulation were determined in soft tissues of male and female P. clarkii. At the concentrations tested, increasing cadmium exposure resulted in increasing cadmium bioaccumulation and increasing subletal effects (induction of MT, VTG and histopathological damage in tissues). Nevertheless, although increasing zinc exposure showed increasing VTG induction and histopathological damages, not a positive relationship was determined with MT induction. Concerning to responses determined in male and female crayfishes only differences were found between sexes at the highest cadmium exposure concentration related to bioaccumulation in hepatopancreas tissues. Biomarkers responses to heavy metal contamination in this crayfish, even VTG induction not before tested in heavy metal contamination assessment in crustaceans resulted potential tools for the monitoring of heavy metal environmental contamination.     

Community-Based Environmental Management in Atlantic Canada: The Impacts and Spheres of Influence of the Atlantic Coastal Action Program

The Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP) is a unique, community-based program initiated by Environment Canada in 1991 to help Atlantic Canadians restore and sustain watersheds and adjacent coastal areas. ACAP is the eastem-most Environment Canada Ecosystem Initiative. The ACAP family is currently made up of 14 ecosystem-based organizations in the four Atlantic provinces. Each one of these non-profit organizations operates independently, but is formally linked under the umbrella of ACAP to represent a force stronger than the individual parts. In Environment Canada's experience, the program consistently demonstrates the value of a community-based approach and produces results on an ecosystem basis. This paper will examine some of the impacts of ACAP in terms of economics, credible community science, and environmental results which most often align with Environment Canada's objectives. It will explore the influences of the community-based approach to environmental management on multiple scales (local, regional, etc.). Through examples, the paper will demonstrate the effectiveness of ACAP in influencing some of the policies, programs and attitudes of various levels of government and industry in the region, as well as describe how the community-based model has been exported internationally. The paper will conclude with a discussion on a planned path forward for ACAP.     

Linking Water Science to Policy: Results from a Series of National Workshops on Water

To ensure science better informs the decision-making process, researchers and policy/program managers need to understand and respect each other's way of working, culture and operational timelines. However, there is little practical guidance on how this should be done and even less documented experience with specific mechanisms that better link these two groups. The published literature on information transfer has largely emphasized the dissemination of standard packages of information to ill-defined constituencies whose needs for scientific information are not well understood. Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute, on behalf of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, led a series of “Linking Water Science to Policy Workshops” as one such mechanism by which recent science could be delivered to practitioners, and practitioners could identify their research needs to scientists and research managers. There is a pressing need to explore and share experiences using creative mechanisms for sustained dialogue and networking between scientists and policy and program managers. The lessons learned from the workshop series and the need for science to continually inform the decision-making process has particular relevance for Canada's Ecosystem Initiatives given their integrated, place-based focus on long-term restoration and protection, and the challenge of continually changing ecosystems.The Canadian Crown reserves the right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright.