Brooded coral larvae differ in their response to high temperature and elevated pCO2 depending on the day of release

To evaluate the effects of temperature and pCO₂ on coral larvae, brooded larvae of Pocillopora damicornis from Nanwan Bay, Taiwan (21°56.179′N, 120°44.85′E), were exposed to ambient (419–470 μatm) and high (604–742 μatm) pCO₂ at ~25 and ~29 °C in two experiments conducted in March 2010 and March 2012. Larvae were sampled from four consecutive lunar days (LD) synchronized with spawning following the new moon, incubated in treatments for 24 h, and measured for respiration, maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (F _v/F _m), and mortality. The most striking outcome was a strong effect of time (i.e., LD) on larvae performance: respiration was affected by an LD × temperature interaction in 2010 and 2012, as well as an LD × pCO₂ × temperature interaction in 2012; F _v/F _m was affected by LD in 2010 (but not 2012); and mortality was affected by an LD × pCO₂ interaction in 2010, and an LD × temperature interaction in 2012. There were no main effects of pCO₂ in 2010, but in 2012, high pCO₂ depressed metabolic rate and reduced mortality. Therefore, differences in larval performance depended on day of release and resulted in varying susceptibility to future predicted environmental conditions. These results underscore the importance of considering larval brood variation across days when designing experiments. Subtle differences in experimental outcomes between years suggest that transgenerational plasticity in combination with unique histories of exposure to physical conditions can modulate the response of brooded coral larvae to climate change and ocean acidification.     

Some issues of environmental concern in Kampala,the capital city of Uganda

Kampala, the capital city of Uganda is the administrative, political, commercial, industrial, educational and cultural centre of Uganda. The city has an area of 190 km² and is located 8 km north of Lake Victoria (the second largest fresh water lake in the world) and approximately 42 km north of the equator. The population varies from about 1.2 million during the day to perhaps 0.9 million at night. The anthropogenic activityof this population far exceeds the infrastructure capacity of the city, leading to the deterioration of the urban environment. This article highlights the major sources of environmental degradation and pollution in the city, which include solid waste,abattoir waste, sewage, sanitation, drainage, industrial pollution, traffic pollution, atmospheric pollution, urban agriculture, rapid urbanisation and water hyacinth.     

Land application of carbonatic lake-dredged materials: effects on soil quality and forage productivity

The ability to reuse carbonatic lake-dredged materials (CLDM) for agricultural purposes is important because it reduces offshore disposal and provides an alternative to disposal of the materials in landfills that are already overtaxed. A four-year (2001 to 2005) study on land application of CLDM as an option for disposal was conducted on a beef cattle pasture in south central Florida. The objectives of this study were (i) to assess CLDM as a soil amendment to improve quality of sandy soils in most subtropical beef cattle pastures and (ii) to determine the effect of CLDM on productivity and nutritive values of bahiagrass (BG, Paspalum notatum Flügge) in subtropical beef cattle pasture. The five treatment combinations arranged in randomized complete block design were represented by plots with different ratios (R) of natural soil (NS) to CLDM: R1 (1000 g kg(-1):0 g kg(-1)); R2 (750 g kg(-1):250 g kg(-1)); R3 (500 g kg(-1):500 g kg(-1)); R4 (250 g kg(-1):750 g kg(-1)); and R5 (0 g kg(-1):1000 g kg(-1)). Addition of CLDM had significant (p < or = 0.001) effects on soil quality and favorable influence on forage establishment and nutritive values. Compared with the control plots (0 g kg(-1)), the soils in plots amended with CLDM exhibited (i) lower penetration resistance, (ii) an increase in soil pH and exchangeable cations (Ca and Mg), and (iii) decrease in the levels of soil trace metals (Mn, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Si). Results disclosed consistently and significantly (p < or = 0.001) higher BG biomass production (forage yield = -106.3x(2) + 1015.8x - 39.2; R(2) = 0.99**) and crude protein content (CP = 1.24x + 6.48; R(2) = 0.94**) from plots amended with CLDM than those of BG planted on plots with no CLDM treatment.     

Identifying Potential Conflict Associated with Oil and Gas Exploration in Texas State Coastal Waters: A Multicriteria Spatial Analysis

Recent interest in expanding offshore oil production within waters of the United States has been met with opposition by groups concerned with recreational, environmental, and aesthetic values associated with the coastal zone. Although the proposition of new oil platforms off the coast has generated conflict over how coastal resources should be utilized, little research has been conducted on where these user conflicts might be most intense and which sites might be most suitable for locating oil production facilities in light of the multiple, and often times, competing interests. In this article, we develop a multiple-criteria spatial decision support tool that identifies the potential degree of conflict associated with oil and gas production activities for existing lease tracts in the coastal margin of Texas. We use geographic information systems to measure and map a range of potentially competing representative values impacted by establishing energy extraction infrastructure and then spatially identify which leased tracts are the least contentious sites for oil and gas production in Texas state waters. Visual and statistical results indicate that oil and gas lease blocks within the study area vary in their potential to generate conflict among multiple stakeholders.     

Statistical analysis in estimating probable concentrations of representative chemical species in leachate: a solution for the source term of new or unmonitored landfills

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Leakage modeling can be crucial for environmental management and control of waste landfills. However, defining boundary conditions for these models...     

Characterizing changes in surface ozone levels in metropolitan and rural areas in the United States for 1980–2008 and 1994–2008

In this analysis, we characterize urban and rural ozone (O₃) trends across the US for the periods 1980–2008 (29 years) and 1994–2008 (15 years) using three exposure metrics, which summarize daily O₃ concentrations to reflect different ways O₃ may affect human health and vegetation. We observe that a statistically significant trend at a specific monitoring site, using one exposure metric, does not necessarily result in a similar trend using the other two metrics. The two most common trends among the monitoring sites are either a continuation of negative trending over the 29-year period or a shift from negative to no trend status, indicating a leveling off of the trending. Very few sites exhibit statistically significant increases in the exposure indices. In characterizing the statistically significant changes in the distribution of hourly average O₃, we observe subtle statistically significant changes in the lower part of the distribution (i.e., below 50 ppb) that are not necessarily captured by the trending patterns associated with the three exposure metrics. Using multisite data from 12 metropolitan cities, we find that as the frequency of higher hourly average concentrations is reduced, the lower hourly average concentrations also move upward toward the mid-level values. The change in the number of the hourly average concentrations in the lower range is consistent with decreased NO scavenging. We recommend assessing possible subtle shifts in O₃ concentrations by characterizing changes in the distribution of hourly average concentrations by month. Identifying statistically significant monthly changes in the mid- and low-level hourly average concentrations may provide important information for assessing changes in physical processes associated with global climate change, long-range transport, and the efficacy of models used for emission and risk reductions. Our results indicate that it is important to investigate the change in the trending pattern with time (e.g., moving 15-year trending) in order to assess how year-to-year variability may influence the trend calculation.     

Towards an integrative model of place identification: Dimensionality and predictors of intrapersonal-level place preferences

Research on place identity has been hampered by confusion in defining the concept and lacks an integrated account of social and motivational processes underlying people's identification with places. We used multilevel modelling (N = 141) to investigate the dimensionality and predictors of intrapersonal variance in place identification, drawing on psychological and anthropological literatures. Confirmatory factor analysis distinguished three dimensions of place identification (attachment/self-extension, environmental fit, and place-self congruity), and each was predicted by a somewhat different combination of needs and motives (e.g., self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, belonging, meaning, security, control, aesthetic pleasure) and social/symbolic links to places (e.g., genealogy, economics, loss, narrative, spiritual significance, special events). Satisfaction of needs and motives partially accounted for effects of social/symbolic links.     

Quantification and characterization of vehicle-based polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in street dust from the Tamale metropolis,Ghana

Objective

Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in street dust in the Tamale metropolis, Ghana, have been measured in this study.

Results

The concentrations of the various types of PAHs identified in street dust samples from high vehicular traffic density in the metropolis are as follows: naphthalene, 10,000 μg/kg; acenaphthylene, 13,000 μg/kg; acenaphthene, 76,000 μg/kg; fluorene, 18,900 μg/kg; phenanthrene, 40,000 μg/kg; anthracene, 21,000 μg/kg; fluoranthene, 35,200 μg/kg; pyrene, 119,000 μg/kg; benzo[a]anthracene, 17,700 μg/kg; chrysene, 10,600 μg/kg; benzo[k]fluoranthene, 18,700 μg/kg; benzo[a]pyrene, 10,900 μg/kg and benzo[g, h, i]perylene, 21,000 μg/kg. Calculation of the phenanthrene/anthracene ratio indicated that the PAHs identified in this study were from vehicular fallout as the ratio was less than 10.

Conclusion

It is clear from the results of the study that road users in the Tamale metropolis, especially hawkers, are exposed to the harmful effects of PAHs, and this suggests the need for the establishment of mitigation measures by the regulatory agencies.

     

Ground-Cover Measurements: Assessing Correlation Among Aerial and Ground-Based Methods

Wyoming’s Green Mountain Common Allotment is public land providing livestock forage, wildlife habitat, and unfenced solitude, amid other ecological services. It is also the center of ongoing debate over USDI Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) adjudication of land uses. Monitoring resource use is a BLM responsibility, but conventional monitoring is inadequate for the vast areas encompassed in this and other public-land units. New monitoring methods are needed that will reduce monitoring costs. An understanding of data-set relationships among old and new methods is also needed. This study compared two conventional methods with two remote sensing methods using images captured from two meters and 100 meters above ground level from a camera stand (a ground, image-based method) and a light airplane (an aerial, image-based method). Image analysis used SamplePoint or VegMeasure software. Aerial methods allowed for increased sampling intensity at low cost relative to the time and travel required by ground methods. Costs to acquire the aerial imagery and measure ground cover on 162 aerial samples representing 9000 ha were less than $3000. The four highest correlations among data sets for bare ground—the ground-cover characteristic yielding the highest correlations (r)—ranged from 0.76 to 0.85 and included ground with ground, ground with aerial, and aerial with aerial data-set associations. We conclude that our aerial surveys are a cost-effective monitoring method, that ground with aerial data-set correlations can be equal to, or greater than those among ground-based data sets, and that bare ground should continue to be investigated and tested for use as a key indicator of rangeland health.