Impact of refined petroleum spills on water quality, macro-invertebrate and microbial communities of a tropical aquatic environment

Water quality characteristics, benthic macro-invertebrates and microbial communities of three first order streams in South West Nigeria were investigated to assess the effects of refined petroleum five months after spillage. All physical and chemical conditions except temperature and pH were significantly different (P<0.01) at the upstream control stations and impacted stations reflecting the perturbational stress. The benthic macro-invertebrate fauna were dominated by arthropods, but the faunal spectrum was dissimilar at all the stations studied. Sampling stations at the epicentre of the spill showed considerable reduction in faunal compositions and relative abundance. Generally, the microbial density and diversity were highest in both soil and water samples from impacted sites than in control sites. There was a significantly higher proportion (P < 0.05) of hydrocarbon utilizers in soil than in water samples in all stations except in samples from stations (P<0.05).     

Assessment of labile phosphorus fractions and adsorption characteristics in relation to soil properties of West African savanna soils

A large proportion of total P in the soils of the area is unavailable to plants and consequently P is the second most limiting nutrient. The labile and moderately labile phosphorus fractions and adsorption characteristics of surface and subsurface horizons of eleven soil profiles in the derived savanna (DS) and the northern Guinea savanna (NGS) of West Africa were assessed. The labile P fractions are the resin and HCO₃-extractable inorganic (Pi) and organic (Po) P. The moderately labile fractions are the NaOH-extractable portion of soil P in the Hedley sequential procedure. In the DS soils, the resin P, considered the most readily available fraction, varied from 1 to 14 mg kg⁻¹, HCO₃-Pi ranged from 3.3 to 11, and HCO₃-PO was between 4 and 12 mg kg⁻¹ in the surface horizon. In the NGS, the topsoil contained 1.5–3 mg kg⁻¹ of resin P, 5–8 mg kg⁻¹ of HCO₃-Pi, and 7.5–9.7 mg kg⁻¹ of HCO₃-Po. Sodium hydroxide-Po was the largest of the fractions in all the soils studied. It ranged from 23 to 55 mg kg⁻¹ in the topsoil. In general, the labile P levels were higher in soils of the DS than of the NGS and were related to the oxalate-extractable Fe (Fe_ox), and Al (Al_ox) as well as to soil texture. The subsoil of Kasuwan Magani (profile KS 9–21 cm) required 153 mg P kg⁻¹ to maintain 0.2 mg P l⁻¹ in solution (standard P requirement), and Danayamaka (profile DD 7–32 cm) required 145 mg P kg⁻¹. These could translate to 214 and 200 kg P ha⁻¹ if a plow layer of 10 cm is assumed. Because these are within the plow layer, more P fertilizer would be needed for crop production than in the other soils. The standard P requirement and the adsorption maxima were related to Fe_ox and Al_ox, dithionite-Fe (Fe_d), and texture. The increase in labile P content with decreasing Fe_ox and Al_ox could imply that management practices capable of reducing the activities of Fe and Al in solution might improve P availability.     

Prenatal diagnosis of neural tube by measurement of serum alpha-fetoprotein defects in havana city

Prenatal screening was carried out in Havana City, Cuba, as part of a National Medical Genetics Programme, in order to detect elevated alpha-fetoprotein concentration in maternal serum (MS-AFP). A total of 97 900 pregnant women between 15 and 19 weeks of pregnancy were tested from 1982 to 1985. A double-antibody-sandwich technique was used. 173 malformed fetuses were detected. Confirmation was by ultrasonography, elevated AFP values in a second serum sample and in amniotic fluid and acetylcholinesterase. No termination of a normal pregnancy occurred. The screening of all pregnancies is easy, economical and useful for detecting not only fetuses suffering from open Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) and other severe disorders but also pregnancies at risk of further complications.     

Human Settlements on the Northern Shores of Lake Aral and Water Level Changes

The shore of Lake Aral in Kazakhstan is a perfect area for studying the human adaptation strategy to past climate changes. New archaeological material, gathered along the northern shores during the expedition of the INTAS project CLIMAN, is briefly presented. Changes in settlement activity during the Atlantic and Subboreal are related to lake level changes of the Aral Sea. A previ-ously proposed lake level maximum needs to be revised. In particular the lake level stand at 72/73 m, with an assumed age of 5000 BP is definitely refused. Based on the presented data the maximum lake level most probably never reached beyond 57/58 mean average sea level (masl). Furthermore the regression during the 15^th–16^th centuries has been underestimated. It may have been lower than the present day level. Thus the present desiccation of the Aral Sea is historically not unique, as a similar regression, probably induced by man as well, has occurred at least once during history. A readjustment of the water level is, therefore, possible at any time.     

Residual benefits of promiscuous soybean to maize (Zea mays L.) grown on farmers’ fields around Minna in the southern Guinea savanna zone of Nigeria

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by promiscuous cultivars of soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in cereal-based cropping systems of Nigeria’s moist savanna zone offers a potential for minimizing the investment made by resource-poor farmers on nitrogen fertilizers. A 3-year trial was conducted on five farmers’ fields in the southern Guinea savanna zone of Nigeria to assess the residual effects of two successive crops of promiscuous soybean cultivars on the yield of a following maize (Zea mays L.) crop. The soybean cultivars, TGX1456-2E (medium maturity) and TGX1660-19F (late maturity), were grown in 1996 and 1997. Treatments, imposed only in the first year of the trial, were: (i) uninoculated, (ii) inoculated with a mixture of two Bradyrhizobium strains, and (iii) fertilized with 60 kg N ha⁻¹. A fourth treatment was a plot left to fallow. In 1998, all the previous soybean and fallow plots were sown to maize without any fertilizer application. Results in 1996 and 1997 showed a soybean response to inoculation in the first year, but differences due to the residual effect of inoculation in the second year were not significant. Both cultivars showed a similar response to inoculation but responses at the five sites were varied. Soybean cultivar 1456-2E fixed 43–52% of its N amounting to 56–70 kg N ha⁻¹ and cultivar 1660-19F derived 39–54% of its N from N₂-fixation which amounted to 51–78 kg N ha⁻¹. Both cultivars had a high N harvest index resulting in a net removal of 52–95 kg N ha⁻¹ when both grain and stover were exported. Even when the stover was returned, there was a depletion of 23–65 kg N ha⁻¹, with 1456-2E removing more N than 1660-19F. Arbuscular-mycorrhizal infection on maize roots was 11–27% and dependent on previous soybean treatments and farmers’ fields. Plant height, shoot biomass, grain yield, and N uptake of maize were significantly greater in plots previously sown to soybean than in the fallow plots. In general, plots sown to the late maturing cultivar 1660-19F exhibited better residual effect, producing larger yield parameters than the plots planted with medium maturing 1456-2E.     

低浓度SO2长期暴露下菜豆的生长发育和气孔反应

本研究采用连续搅拌槽反应器系统(CSTR)对菜豆(Phaseolus vulgaris)进行低浓度SO_2长期暴露试验.结果表明,SO_2在植物可见伤害阈值以下抑制了莱豆生长,叶片气孔阻力随SO_2浓度的增加而增加.植物一旦脱离SO_2污染的环境,气孔就恢复到正常水平.切除子叶的菜豆生长明显受抑,但对SO_2敏感性和留子叶菜豆相同.     

Tectonic evolution of the Aravalli orogen (NW India): an inverted Proterozoic rift basin?

The Aravalli mountain range (AMR) in the northwestern part of the Indian Peninsula consists of two main Proterozoic metasedimentary and metaigneous sequences, the Aravalli and Delhi Supergroups, respectively, which rest over the Archaean gneissic basement. A synthesis and reinterpretation of the available geological, geochronological and geophysical data, including results of own field work and geophysical interpretations pertaining to the AMR, indicate its origin as an inverted basin: rifting into granitoid basement began ca. 2.5; Ga ago with Aravalli passive rifting (ca. 2.5–2.0 Ga) and Delhi active rifting (ca. 1.9–1.6 Ga). Associated mafic igneous rocks show both continental and oceanic tholeiitic geochemistry and are comparable with Phanerozoic, rift-related magmatic products. Available data showed no conclusive evidence for oceanic lithoshere and island-arc/active margin magmatic activity in the AMR. Subsequent inversion and orogeny (Delhi orogeny, ca. 1.5-1.4 Ga) lead to complex deformation and metamorphism. Only in the western and central zones has the basement been involved in this mid-Proterozoic (Delhi) deformation, whereas it is unaffected in the eastern part, except for local shear zones mainly along the basement/cover interface. The grade of metamorphism increases from the greenschist facies in the east to the amphibolite facies in the west with local HP assemblages. These latter are explained by rapid burial and exhumation of thin and cool continental lithosphere. Subsequently, during a final, mild phase of inversion, the Vindhyan basins consisting mainly of sandstones, limestones and shales, flanking the AMR formed which are comparable to foreland basins. The tectonic evolution of the AMR is therefore interpreted as an example of a major inverted continental rift and of a Proterozoic intra-continental orogen.     

Where Should Nature Reserves Be Located in South Africa? A Snake's Perspective

The present dispersion of nature reserves in South Africa is the historical result of a series of ad hoc decisions and may not be biologically optimal We have adopted a method to identify the optimal geography of nature reserves for the conservation of South Africa's snake fauna. The method of reserve selection operated on two tiers, and the spatial unit of analysis was a quarter-degree-square cell (∼625 km²). First, two scoring indices were used to rank cells with respect to species richness or to rarity. Second, two different iterative reserve-selection algorithms selected sets of cells (reserves), where each set represented all snake species at least once. Finally, the selected cells were examined for their present level of protection and their ranked scores. Depending on the algorithm chosen, only 23 or 29 cells were required to represent all species at least once; 72–78% of these cells already contained some level of protection; 59–70% of cells fell in areas of high species richness; and 72–91% of cells fell in areas with high rarity scores. Thus we conclude that most of the snake species in South Africa may be adequately protected with only modest acquisition of new reserves, and that the iterative algorithms appear to be efficient at siting cells in areas of high richness and rarity. We recommend that the reserve placement method outlined in this report be applied to as many other taxa as possible in the formulation of a national plan for an optimal reserve system for South Africa.