A Multiscale Conceptual Framework for Integrated Ecogeomorphological Research to Support Stream Naturalization in the Agricultural Midwest

The complexity of fluvial systems necessitates interdisciplinary research in fluvial geomorphology and aquatic ecology to develop a fundamental understanding of interconnections among biotic and abiotic aspects of these systems. Integrated knowledge of this type is vital for environmental management of streams in human-dominated environments. A conceptual framework is presented for integrating geomorphological and ecological research on streams in East Central Illinois, USA, a glaciated low-relief agricultural landscape. The framework embodies a multiscale perspective in which a geomorphological conception of the fluvial system is used to define a hierarchy of characteristic spatial scales for exploring important linkages between stream geomorphology and aquatic ecology. The focus ecologically is on fish, because a rich body of historical information exists on fisheries in East Central Illinois and because past work has suggested that availability of physical habitat is a major factor influencing the community characteristics of fish in this human-altered environment. The hierarchy embodied in the framework includes the network, link, planform, bar unit, bar element, and bedform/grain scales. Background knowledge from past research is drawn upon to identify potential linkages between geomorphological and ecological conditions at each of these scales. The conceptual framework is useful for guiding integrated ecogeomorphological research at specific scales and across different scales. It also is helpful for illustrating how widespread human modification of streams has catastrophically altered the scalar structure of fluvial systems in East Central Illinois. Knowledge emerging from the integrated research provides a basis for environmental-management schemes directed toward stream naturalization.     

Leaching and sorption of neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides from seed coatings

Seed coatings are a treatment used on a variety of crops to improve production and offer protection against pests and fungal outbreaks. The leaching of the active ingredients associated with the seed coatings and the sorption to soil was evaluated under laboratory conditions using commercially available corn and soybean seeds to study the fate and transport of these pesticides under controlled conditions. The active ingredients (AI) included one neonicotinoid insecticide (thiamethoxam) and five fungicides (azoxystrobin, fludioxonil, metalaxyl, sedaxane thiabendazole). An aqueous leaching experiment was conducted with treated corn and soybean seeds. Leaching potential was a function of solubility and seed type. The leaching of fludioxonil, was dependent on seed type with a shorter time to equilibrium on the corn compared to the soybean seeds. Sorption experiments with the treated seeds and a solution of the AIs were conducted using three different soil types. Sorption behavior was a function of soil organic matter as well as seed type. For most AIs, a negative relationship was observed between the aqueous concentration and the log K_oc. Sorption to all soils tested was limited for the hydrophilic pesticides thiamethoxam and metalaxyl. However, partitioning for the more hydrophobic fungicides was dependent on both seed type and soil properties. The mobility of fludioxonil in the sorption experiment varied by seed type indicating that the adjuvants associated with the seed coating could potentially play a role in the environmental fate of fludioxonil. This is the first study to assess, under laboratory conditions, the fate of pesticides associated with seed coatings using commercially available treated seeds. This information can be used to understand how alterations in agricultural practices (e.g., increasing use of seed treatments) can impact the exposure (concentration and duration) and potential effects of these chemicals to aquatic and terrestrial organisms.     

Direct comparison of 210Po, 234Th and POC particle-size distributions and export fluxes at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site

Particle-reactive, naturally occurring radionuclides are useful tracers of the sinking flux of organic matter from the surface to the deep ocean. Since the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) began in 1987, the disequilibrium between ²³⁴Th and its parent ²³⁸U has become widely used as a technique to measure particle export fluxes from surface ocean waters. Another radionuclide pair, ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb, can be used for the same purpose but has not been as widely adopted due to difficulty with accurately constraining the ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb radiochemical balance in the ocean and because of the more time-consuming radiochemical procedures. Direct comparison of particle flux estimated in different ocean regions using these short-lived radionuclides is important in evaluating their utility and accuracy as tracers of particle flux. In this paper, we present paired ²³⁴Th/²³⁸U and ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb data from oligotrophic surface waters of the subtropical Northwest Atlantic and discuss their advantages and limitations. Vertical profiles of total and particle size-fractionated ²¹⁰Po and ²³⁴Th activities, together with particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations, were measured during three seasons at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site. Both ²¹⁰Po and ²³⁴Th reasonably predict sinking POC flux caught in sediment traps, and each tracer provides unique information about the magnitude and efficiency of the ocean's biological pump.     

生态气象监测评估业务平台的设计与应用

  针对目前生态气象监测轨道业务的特点,结合工作的实际需要,运用C和C++语言建立了生态气象监测评估业务平台。在程序设计中,采用了生成中间交换文件的结构组织,能够对各模块的输出结果进行详尽直观的分析,并提供了等值线色斑图与区域填充等多种图形绘制方式。该系统可处理AVHRR和EOS/MODIS卫星遥感资料,对气象观测报文进行解译、数据分类管理和质量控制,统计计算水体密度指数、湿润指数、植被覆盖指数、土地退化指数、灾害指数和生态质量综合评价指标,以图形、图像的形式输出生态气象监测评估产品,实现了卫星遥感与生态气象地面监测数据的有效组织和智能化管理。将系统应用于湖南省生态质量气象评价,业务化运行的结果表明,该系统具有较好的业务实用性。〖HJ1〗〖HJ〗
〖HT5”H〗     

Relative Influence of Streamflows in Assessing Temporal Variability in Stream Habitat1

Abstract: The effects of streamflows on temporal variation in stream habitat were analyzed from the data collected 6‐11 years apart at 38 sites across the United States. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the variation in habitat caused by streamflow at the time of sampling and high flows between sampling. In addition to flow variables, the model also contained geomorphic and land use factors. The regression model was statistically significant (p < 0.05; R² = 0.31‐0.46) for 5 of 14 habitat variables: mean wetted stream depth, mean bankfull depth, mean wetted stream width, coefficient of variation of wetted stream width, and the percent frequency of bank erosion. High flows between samples accounted for about 16% of the total variation in the frequency of bank erosion. Streamflow at the time of sampling was the main source of variation in mean stream depth and contributed to the variation in mean stream width and the frequency of bank erosion. Urban land use (population change) accounted for over 20% of the total variation in mean bankfull depth, 15% of the total variation in the coefficient of variation of stream width, and about 10% of the variation in mean stream width.     

Real-time measurements of jet aircraft engine exhaust

Particulate-phase exhaust properties from two different types of ground-based jet aircraft engines--high-thrust and turboshaft--were studied with real-time instruments on a portable pallet and additional time-integrated sampling devices. The real-time instruments successfully characterized rapidly changing particulate mass, light absorption, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. The integrated measurements included particulate-size distributions, PAH, and carbon concentrations for an entire test run (i.e., "run-integrated" measurements). In all cases, the particle-size distributions showed single modes peaking at 20-40nm diameter. Measurements of exhaust from high-thrust F404 engines showed relatively low-light absorption compared with exhaust from a turboshaft engine. Particulate-phase PAH measurements generally varied in phase with both net particulate mass and with light-absorbing particulate concentrations. Unexplained response behavior sometimes occurred with the real-time PAH analyzer, although on average the real-time and integrated PAH methods agreed within the same order of magnitude found in earlier investigations.     

Learning to recognize novel predators under weakly acidic conditions: the effects of reduced pH on acquired predator recognition by juvenile rainbow trout

Summary. Recent studies have demonstrated that under weakly acidic conditions (pH 6.0), many prey fishes, including juvenile rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss), do not exhibit overt antipredator responses to conspecific chemical alarm cues. In laboratory trials, we investigated the potential effects of reduced pH on the ability of hatchery reared, predator naïve juvenile rainbow trout to acquire the recognition of a novel predator (yellow perch, Perca flavenscens). Initially, we exposed trout to the odour of a predatory yellow perch, buffered to pH 6.0 (weakly acidic) or pH 7.0 (neutral) paired with conspecific skin extracts (also buffered to pH 6.0 or 7.0) or a distilled water control. Juvenile trout exhibited significant increase in antipredator behaviour when exposed to neutral skin extract (pH 7.0). When retested 48 hours later to perch odour alone (pH 7.0), only trout initially conditioned with neutral skin extracts (pairs with either neutral or acidic perch odour) exhibited a learned recognition of perch odour as a predator risk. Those initially exposed to weakly acidic skin extract or the distilled water control did not show a learned response to predator odour. These results demonstrate that the ability to acquire the recognition of novel predators is impaired under weakly acidic conditions, as would occur in natural waterways affected by acidic precipitation.     

PLANNING FOR DROUGHT: MOVING FROM CRISIS TO RISK MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: Severe drought is a recurring problem for the United States, as illustrated by widespread economic, social, and environmental impacts. Recent drought episodes and the widespread drought conditions in 1996, 1998, and 1999 emphasized this vulnerability and the need for a more proactive, risk management approach to drought management that would place greater emphasis on preparedness planning and mitigation actions. Drought planning has become a principal tool of states and other levels of government to improve their response to droughts. For example, since 1982, the number of states with drought plans has increased from 3 to 29. Many local governments have also adopted drought or water shortage plans. Unfortunately, most state drought plans were established during the 1980s and early 1990s and emphasize emergency response or crisis management rather than risk management. This paper presents a substantive revision of a 10‐step drought planning process that has been applied widely in the United States and elsewhere. The revised planning process places more weight on risk assessment and the development and implementation of mitigation actions and programs. The goal of this paper is to encourage states to adopt this planning process in the revision of existing drought plans or, for states without plans, in the development of new plans.