Biodegradation of trace gases in simulated landfill soil cover systems

The attenuation of methane and seven volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was investigated in a dynamic methane and oxygen counter gradient system simulating a landfill soil cover. The VOCs investigated were: Tetrachloromethane (TeCM), trichloromethane (TCM), dichloromethane (DCM), trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl chloride (VC), benzene, and toluene. Soil was sampled at Skellingsted landfill, Denmark. The soil columns showed a high capacity for methane oxidation, with oxidation rates up to 184 g/m2/d corresponding to a 77% reduction of inlet methane. Maximal methane oxidation occurred at 15-20 cm depth, in the upper part of the column where there were overlapping gradients of methane and oxygen. All the chlorinated hydrocarbons were degraded in the active soil columns with removal efficiencies higher than 57%. Soil gas concentration profiles indicated that the removal of the fully chlorinated compound TeCM was because of anaerobic degradation, whereas the degradation of lower chlorinated compounds like VC and DCM was located in the upper oxic part of the column. Benzene and toluene were also removed in the active column. This study demonstrates the complexity of landfill soil cover systems and shows that both anaerobic and aerobic bacteria may play an important role in reducing the emission of trace components into the atmosphere.     

The Arctic sea butterfly<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Limacina helicina</Emphasis>: lipids and life strategy

The sea butterfly Limacina helicina was collected from May to September 2001 in Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen, to investigate population structure and body and lipid composition with regard to life cycle and reproductive strategy. Veligers and juveniles were only found in late autumn and spring, whereas females occurred from July to September. The size of the females increased until mid-August and decreased in September. Dry and lipid mass were closely related to size; dry mass increased exponentially and lipids linearly with size. The lipid content was highest in veligers (31.5% of dry mass) and juveniles (23.6%) but low in females (<10%). Phospholipids were the dominating lipid class followed by triacylglycerols. Females, veligers, and egg ribbons, all from September, were richest in phospholipids. Juveniles contained the highest amounts of triacylglycerols, whereas females had low levels in July and the beginning of August. In mid-August, levels of triacylglycerols were variable and higher. This suggests that females were in their main spawning period and the high variability in triacylglycerols points to different stages within the spawning cycle. Enhanced amounts of free fatty acids in females from July may be related to gonad development. The 16:1(n-7) fatty acid was more dominant in spring whereas 18:4(n-3) increased in summer and autumn, which reflects a change in diet from diatom-dominated food items in spring to dinoflagellates in summer/autumn. Small amounts of long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids suggest ingestion of copepods, and the fatty acid composition of veligers feeding on particulate matter. L. helicina has a one-year life cycle with peak spawning in August and over-winters as veligers that may grow to juveniles during the winter period. They metamorphose into juveniles during spring, develop to males in early summer, and mature into females in July and August.Communicated by M. Kühl, Helsingør     

Bioremediation of TCE in a fractured limestone aquifer using a novel horizontal passive biobarrier

This article discusses a project demonstrating the successful use of a novel horizontal biobarrier approach to protect a fractured limestone aquifer from continuing contamination while passive bioremediation of the overlying clay till source area is in progress. The emplacement of the biobarrier has significantly reduced the concentrations of chlorinated ethenes and dechlorination activity in the limestone aquifer, promoting complete reductive dechlorination of the trichloroethene plume. The biobarrier strategy has thus met the challenge of protecting the limestone from the overlying overburden. Direct GeoProbe injections performed in the source area, which consist of a clay till overburden, have also reduced the contaminant concentrations in the clay till due to enhanced dechlorination activity; however, repeat injections may be required to address the areas of the till in which the injectate has not yet been distributed. The time frame for remediating the source area in the till is expected to be on the order of a decade. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sexual exchange relationships in captive chimpanzees?

Summary In a group of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), we studied whether females received more social benefits from males when they were in oestrus than at other times and whether males distributed their beneficial acts especially to females with whom they mated more frequently. When in oestrus, females were groomed more frequently by males than at other times. There was an indication that females were groomed especially by those males with whom they mated more often. From the male point of view, the relationship between active grooming and copulation frequency held only in interactions with oestrous females. No difference was found in the male's tendency to share food with females in oestrous or anoestrous condition. Further, clear disadvantages were associated with being in oestrus: females received support from males less frequently and were more often involved in conflicts with males than in their anoestrous period. Higher ranking males did not mate more often. No relationship was found between the frequency with which a male copulated with a given female and her dominance rank, age or parity, nor did he support her or share food more often with her.     

Economic incentives drive the conversion of agriculture to aquaculture in the Indian Sundarbans: Livelihood and environmental implications of different aquaculture types

Expansion of aquaculture in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is irreversibly replacing agricultural land and the drivers of this change are disputed. Based on in-depth interviews with 67 aquaculture farmers, this paper characterizes major aquaculture types in the SBR, their impacts, and identifies drivers of conversion from agricultural land. Aquaculture types included traditional, improved-traditional, modified-extensive, and semi-intensive systems. Extensive capture of wild shrimp larvae is environmentally harmful but constitutes an important livelihood. Semi-intensive aquaculture of exotic shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) has much higher unit-area profitability than other types but involves greater financial risk. Profitability is the main driver for the transition from agriculture, but environmental factors such as lowered crop yields and cyclone impacts also contributed. Many conversions from agriculture to aquaculture are illegal according to the stakeholders. Existing legislation, if enforced, could halt the loss of agriculture, while the promotion of improved-traditional aquaculture could reduce the demand for wild seed.     

Climate change adaptation,mitigation and livelihood benefits in coffee production: where are the synergies?

There are worldwide approximately 4.3 million coffee (Coffea arabica) producing smallholders generating a large share of tropical developing countries’ gross domestic product, notably in Central America. Their livelihoods and coffee production are facing major challenges due to projected climate change, requiring adaptation decisions that may range from changes in management practices to changes in crops or migration. Since management practices such as shade use and reforestation influence both climate vulnerability and carbon stocks in coffee, there may be synergies between climate change adaptation and mitigation that could make it advantageous to jointly pursue both objectives. In some cases, carbon accounting for mitigation actions might even be used to incentivize and subsidize adaptation actions. To assess potential synergies between climate change mitigation and adaptation in smallholder coffee production systems, we quantified (i) the potential of changes in coffee production and processing practices as well as other livelihood activities to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) coffee farmers’ climate change vulnerability and need for adaptation, including the possibility of carbon markets subsidizing adaptation. We worked with smallholder organic coffee farmers in Northern Nicaragua, using workshops, interviews, farm visits and the Cool Farm Tool software to calculate greenhouse gas balances of coffee farms. From the 12 activities found to be relevant for adaptation, two showed strong and five showed modest synergies with mitigation. Afforestation of degraded areas with coffee agroforestry systems and boundary tree plantings resulted in the highest synergies between adaptation and mitigation. Financing possibilities for joint adaptation-mitigation activities could arise through carbon offsetting, carbon insetting, and carbon footprint reductions. Non-monetary benefits such as technical assistance and capacity building could be effective in promoting such synergies at low transaction costs.     

Exposure to Airborne Noroviruses and Other Bioaerosol Components at a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Denmark

Exposure to bioaerosols associated with wastewater treatment processes may represent an occupational health risk for workers at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). A high frequency of acute symptoms in the gastrointestinal tract among the wastewater workers at a Danish WWTP has been reported. The objective of the study was therefore to examine the exposure of the workers to aerosolised microorganisms. Sampling of inhalable endotoxin, bacteria, moulds and viruses was performed on one occasion using personal samplers. Noroviruses (NoVs) and endotoxin were detected at concentrations that could pose an occupational health risk and possibly contribute to the increased frequency of gastrointestinal illness among the workers and should therefore be investigated further. In addition, positive correlations between exposure to endotoxin, bacteria, moulds and NoVs were found and indicate that the exposure to bioaerosols may be related to work tasks. This is the first study directly showing an occupational exposure to airborne NoVs by its detection in airborne dust.