Biodiversity Conservation in a Changing Climate: A Review of Threats and Implications for Conservation Planning in Myanmar

High levels of species richness and endemism make Myanmar a regional priority for conservation. However, decades of economic and political sanctions have resulted in low conservation investment to effectively tackle threats to biodiversity. Recent sweeping political reforms have placed Myanmar on the fast track to economic development—the expectation is increased economic investments focused on the exploitation of the country’s rich, and relatively intact, natural resources. Within a context of weak regulatory capacity and inadequate environmental safeguards, rapid economic development is likely to have far-reaching negative implications for already threatened biodiversity and natural-resource-dependent human communities. Climate change will further exacerbate prevailing threats given Myanmar’s high exposure and vulnerability. The aim of this review is to examine the implications of increased economic growth and a changing climate within the larger context of biodiversity conservation in Myanmar. We summarize conservation challenges, assess direct climatological impacts on biodiversity and conclude with recommendations for long-term adaptation approaches for biodiversity conservation.     

抗生素最小抑制浓度法(MICs)评估环境大肠杆菌抗生素抗性

2015年世界卫生组织将抗生素的滥用列为21世纪最大的挑战之一,全球范围内抗生素抗药性的散播已严重威胁人类的健康。如何检测环境中的细菌抗药性,并有效评估抗药性感染的风险,是环境微生物研究的一项重要课题。本文通过改进的培养基微量稀释(broth micro-dilution)法,确定了2个地区(中国成都和美国夏威夷)不同环境来源(天然水系和市政污水)的大肠杆菌的抗生素最小抑制浓度(minimum inhibitory concentrations,MICs)。计算所得的MIC分位数(MIC50和MIC90)、菌体抗性百分比及多抗药性指数(multiple antibiotic resistance indexes,MARIs)显示两地不同环境区划的抗生素抗性存在明显的差异。天然水系(成都锦江)中的抗生素抗性是随时间可变的,与当地的降雨事件相关。环境菌株的抗药性模式通过聚类和非度量多维测度(non-metric multidimensional scaling,NMDS)进行分析。广谱β-内酰胺酶基因筛查显示出抗性基因与抗性表型之间的正相关性。结合现有的两地抗生素的使用数据讨论了两地环境抗生素抗性与当地人类活动及抗生素的使用实践之间的紧密联系。采集环境菌株抗生素MIC数据的实验及数据分析方法实现了环境抗药性的跨时空对比,为规范抗生素的区域性使用提供了指导作用。     

Characterization of Super Paramagnetic Nanoparticles Coated with a Biocompatible Polymer Produced by Dextransucrase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Weissella cibaria</Emphasis> JAG8

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) synthesised by chemical co-precipitation method was subjected to dextran coating by sonication method. The dextran was enzymatically synthesised by extracellular dextransucrase isolated from Weissella cibaria JAG8. The crystalline nature of MNPs and dextran coated MNPs were confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies with average particle size of 25 nm, which was confirmed further by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The surface morphology of MNPs and dextran coated MNPs were monitored by scanning electron microscopy studies. The vibrating sample magnetometer investigation displayed the super paramagnetic nature of MNPs and dextran coated MNPs. FT-IR analysis of MNPs and dextran coated MNPs, displayed characteristic band of Fe–O bond at 582 cm^?1. Thermo-gravimetric analysis of MNPs and dextran coated MNPs (1:1) ratio displayed a weight loss of 15 and 18 %, which clearly indicated 3.0 % of dextran was coated on to the MNPs. The elemental composition study by scanning electron microscopy confirmed the association of dextran with MNPs. The in vitro effect of MNPs and dextran coated MNPs was performed on human colon cancer (HT-29) cell lines and the results showed that dextran coated: MNPs (2:1) displayed good biocompatibility results over dextran coated: MNPs (1:1) and un-coated MNPs.     

Inconsistent definitions of "urban" result in different conclusions about the size of urban carbon and nitrogen stocks

There is conflicting evidence about the importance of urban soils and vegetation in regional C budgets that is caused, in part, by inconsistent definitions of "urban" land use. We quantified urban ecosystem contributions to C stocks in the Boston (Massachusetts, USA) Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) using several alternative urban definitions. Development altered aboveground and belowground C and N stocks, and the sign and magnitude of these changes varied by land use and development intensity. Aboveground biomass (live trees, dbh > or = 5 cm) for the MSA was 7.2 +/- 0.4 kg C/m2 (mean +/- SE), reflecting a high proportion of forest cover. Vegetation C was highest in forest (11.6 +/- 0.5 kg C/m2), followed by residential (4.6 +/- 0.5 kg C/m2), and then other developed (2.0 +/- 0.4 kg C/m2) land uses. Soil C (0-10 cm depth) followed the same pattern of decreasing C concentration from forest, to residential, to other developed land uses (4.1 +/- 0.1, 4.0 +/- 0.2, and 3.3 +/- 0.2 kg C/m2, respectively). Within a land use type, urban areas (which we defined as > 25% impervious surface area [ISA] within a 1-km(2) moving window) generally contained less vegetation C, but slightly more soil C, than nonurban areas. Soil N concentrations were higher in urban areas than nonurban areas of the same land use type, except for residential areas, which had similarly high soil N concentrations. When we compared our definition of urban to other commonly used urban extents (U.S. Census Bureau, Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project [GRUMP], and the MSA itself), we found that urban soil (1 m depth) and vegetation C stocks spanned a wide range, from 14.4 +/- 0.8 to 54.5 +/- 3.4 Tg C and from 4.2 +/- 0.4 to 27.3 +/- 3.2 Tg C, respectively. Conclusions about the importance of urban soils and vegetation to regional C and N stocks are very sensitive to the definition of urban used by the investigators. Urban areas, regardless of definition, are rapidly expanding in their extent; a systematic understanding of how our development patterns influence ecosystems is necessary to inform future development choices.     

Assessment of nitrate contamination due to groundwater pollution in north eastern part of Anantapur District, A.P. India

The north eastern part of Anantapur district is in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, is significant as it is covered by varied geological formations and has different land use and irrigation practices. Though ground water is the major drinking water source, deterioration in its quality is going unchecked. In such agro-economy based rural areas, the nitrate contamination is rampant and much attention has not been drawn towards this anthropogenic pollution. In the study area ground water samples from different hydrogeological set-up have been collected during the pre and post monsoon seasons and analysed for the major ions such as Ca, Mg, Na, K, CO(3), HCO(3), Cl, SO(4), NO(3) and F. The study revealed that 65% of the samples were found to be unsuitable for drinking purposes in the pre monsoon season and 45% in the post monsoon due to excess nitrate (>45 mg/l) content in the ground water. Among the different seasons and environs, nitrate was in highest concentration in the granitic terrain and canal command areas during pre monsoon season. The nitrate was found to decrease with depth in all the hydrogeological set-ups in both the seasons. Intense agriculture practices, improper sewerage and organic waste disposal methods were observed to contribute nitrate to the shallow and moderately deep aquifers.     

Studies on degradation of 14C-chlorpyrifos in the marine environment.

Degradation of 14C-chlorpyrifos was studied in a marine ecosystem for 60 days and in marine sediment under moist and flooded conditions using a continuous flow system allowing a total 14C-mass balance for a period of 40 days. In the marine ecosystem, 14C-chlorpyrifos underwent rapid degradation and very little (1-2%) 14C-residues of the applied activity were detected after two months in sediments. Clams were major component of the ecosystem and played a significant role in degradation of the insecticide. In the continuous flow system chlorpyrifos did not undergo substantial mineralization. Volatilization accounted for 0.8-1% loss during first ten days of application. The amounts of extractable 14C-activity were higher in flooded sediments than in moist sediment. More bound residues were formed under moist conditions. TCP (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol) was the major degradation product formed under both moist and flooded conditions, its formation being higher in the latter conditions. These studies underline the role of clams in degradation of chlorpyrifos and lack of microbial degradation. In absence of clams, chlorpyrifos underwent abiotic degradation in marine sediment with formation of bound residues.     

超声波辅助萃取测定土壤中的多溴联苯醚

对土壤中多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)的测定方法进行了研究.土壤样品经超声波辅助萃取后用硅胶氧化铝复合柱净化,再用带电子捕获检测器的气相色谱仪(GC-ECD)进行测定.该方法测定PBDEs各单体的相关系数(R2)为0.999 54～0.999 97,方法线性关系良好.基质加标空白回收率在74.9%～118.1%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为5.9%～8.9%,方法检测限为5.9～9.2 ng/kg.     

废水中硝基酚类化合物生物降解的研究进展

硝基酚是一类重要且常用的化工原料,一些硝基酚毒性大且难以生物降解,被美国环保局列入“优先控制污染物名单”。在自然环境条件下,硝基酚的生物降解速率缓慢,导致硝基酚在环境中长期滞留和积累。分析了人工强化条件下废水中硝基酚的生物降解性能,主要从具有降解硝基酚能力的微生物、硝基酚的厌氧生物降解性、硝基酚的好氧生物降解性和硝基酚的共基质代谢降解方面进行了较全面的综述,讨论了该研究当前仍存在的一些问题和研究展望。     

Estimating trace gas and aerosol emissions over South America: Relationship between fire radiative energy released and aerosol optical depth observations

Contemporary human activities such as tropical deforestation, land clearing for agriculture, pest control and grassland management lead to biomass burning, which in turn leads to land-cover changes. However, biomass burning emissions are not correctly measured and the methods to assess these emissions form a part of current research area. The traditional methods for estimating aerosols and trace gases released into the atmosphere generally use emission factors associated with fuel loading and moisture characteristics and other parameters that are hard to estimate in near real-time applications. In this paper, fire radiative power (FRP) products were extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) fire products and new South America generic biomes FRE-based smoke aerosol emission coefficients were derived and applied in 2002 South America fire season. The inventory estimated by MODIS and GOES FRP measurements were included in Coupled Aerosol-Tracer Transport model coupled to the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (CATT-BRAMS) and evaluated with ground truth collected in Large Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Smoke, Aerosols, Clouds, rainfall, and Climate (SMOCC) and Radiation, Cloud, and Climate Interactions (RaCCI). Although the linear regression showed that GOES FRP overestimates MODIS FRP observations, the use of a common external parameter such as MODIS aerosol optical depth product could minimize the difference between sensors. The relationship between the PM_2.5μm (Particulate Matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm) and CO (Carbon Monoxide) model shows a good agreement with SMOCC/RaCCI data in the general pattern of temporal evolution. The results showed high correlations, with values between 0.80 and 0.95 (significant at 0.5 level by student t test), for the CATT-BRAMS simulations with PM_2.5μm and CO.