Perceptions of river managers of institutional constraints on floodplain restoration in the UK

The restoration of river environments has been of growing importance to river management and planning in the UK. The extension of ecological restoration to floodplains as well as river channels is more complex, partly because of the range of stakeholders and the diversity of relevant management institutions. This paper draws on a qualitative survey of river managers in the UK to identify institutional factors relevant to the success or failure of floodplain restoration projects.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils of the Moscow Region--concentrations, temporal trends, and small-scale distribution

The knowledge of the environmental fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is restricted to few climatic regions of the world almost excluding the Taiga. Our objectives were to (i) separate anthropogenic from background contributions to PAH concentrations and (ii) determine temporal trends in PAH concentrations during the last century including the change in distribution of PAHs in interior and exterior portions of aggregates in soils of the Moscow region. Along a southeast-bound transect from Moscow (windward in winter) and at a background location northeast of Moscow (leeward in winter), seven topsoil samples were collected in 1910-1954 and 35 in 1998-2003. We fractionated the soils in interior and exterior portions of aggregates > 10 mm and remaining soil without aggregates. The sum of 21 PAHs (sigma21PAHs) concentrations in recent bulk soil ranged from 59 to 1350 ng g(-1). The concentrations of all PAHs were lower outside than in Moscow. The range of the concentrations of the sigma21PAHs in archived soil samples (159-1280 ng g(-1)) was similar as in recent soils. In most recent and archived samples, naphthalene and phenanthrene, were most abundant. The concentrations of low-molecular-weight PAHs decreased during the last century at most sites; those of high-molecular-weight compounds increased. The sigma21PAHs concentrations were accumulated in the exterior of aggregates (109%) and depleted in the interior (95%) relative to the concentration in bulk soil (defined as 100%), which was similar to that in the soil without aggregates (99%). The differences between aggregate interior and exterior did not change during the last century. The dominance of naphthalene and phenanthrene is typical of remote regions. The urban influence on PAH concentrations in the last century was small.     

Predatory insects as bioindicators of heavy metal pollution

Heavy metal concentrations of different predatory insects were studied near by a steel factory and from control sites. Waterstriders (Gerridae), dragon fly larvae (Odonata), antlion larvae (Myrmeleontidae) and ants (Formicidae) were analyzed by AAS. In most cases the metal concentrations were higher near the factory, but e.g. waterstriders had higher cadmium concentrations in control area. Discriminant analysis clearly reveals that all these insect groups can be used as heavy metal indicators. However, the commonly used ants were the least effective in indicating the differences between the factory and control sites. Waterstriders are good in detecting differences in iron and manganese, but seem to be poor in accumulating nickel and lead. Antlions are efficient in detecting differences in iron. Antlions and ants are effective in accumulating manganese; as well antlions are efficient in accumulating cadmium. Waterstriders are poor in accumulating lead, but antlions and ants are effective.     

Biosensors for detection of mercury in contaminated soils

Biosensors based on whole bacterial cells and on bacterial heavy metal binding protein were used to determine the mercury concentration in soil. The soil samples were collected in a vegetable garden accidentally contaminated with elemental mercury 25 years earlier. Bioavailable mercury was measured using different sensors: a protein-based biosensor, a whole bacterial cell based biosensor, and a plant sensor, i.e. morphological and biochemical responses in primary leaves and roots of bean seedlings grown in the mercury-contaminated soil. For comparison the total mercury concentration of the soil samples was determined by AAS. Whole bacterial cell and protein-based biosensors gave accurate responses proportional to the total amount of mercury in the soil samples. On the contrary, plant sensors were found to be less useful indicators of soil mercury contamination, as determined by plant biomass, mercury content of primary leaves and enzyme activities.     

Effects of concentrated drinking water injection on glutathione and glutathione-dependent enzymes in liver of Cyprinus carpio L

Two drinking water production plants located in North Italy, collecting water from the River Po (Plants 1 and 2) were chosen for this study. Water samples were collected before and after the disinfection process and at two points along the piping system. Water samples were concentrated by the solid-phase extraction system and injected intraperitoneally into specimens of Cyprinus carpio. The concentration of water samples was 3 l/equiv. In order to assess the effects of the water samples on carp liver, total glutathione and glutathione-dependent enzymes, such as glutathione S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glyoxalase I, were measured following this treatment for 6 days at two experimental times (3 and 6 days). Both water plant-treated carp showed a general increase of the enzymatic activities of glutathione S-transferase, and glutathione reductase which might be employed as potential biomarkers of oxidative stress induced by disinfected river water. Plant 1-treated carp showed higher glyoxalase I and glutathione levels and lower glutathione peroxidase activity. A depleted level of total glutathione and of glyoxalase I for specimens of water plant 2 (for both experimental times), without correlation with the distances in the pipeline, suggests that river plant water can also lead to potentially adverse effects on selected biochemical parameters in C. carpio.     

Das International Panel on Chemical Pollution (IPCP)

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Source to sink tracking of selected human pharmaceuticals from two Oslo city hospitals and a wastewater treatment works

The occurrence of twenty pharmaceutical compounds was quantitatively determined in effluents from two major Oslo city hospitals, Rikshospitalet and Ullev?l, along with influent, sludge and final effluent from the city's VEAS wastewater treatment works (WTW). Composite hospital effluents were collected over a twelve week period and were showed to contain paracetamol, metoprolol, diclofenac, ibuprofen, 17beta-Estradiol, estriol, estrone, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, doxycycline, chlorotetracycline, demeclocycline, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. Three pharmaceuticals were not detected above the limit of detection; cefuroxime, 17alpha-ethinylestradiol and meclocycline. Composite influent, sludge and effluent samples were collected from VEAS WTW over a seven week period. The influent into VEAS WTW contained all of the same selected substances detected in the hospital effluents, except for oxytetracycline, chlorotetracycline, demeclocycline, cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. The percentage of pharmaceuticals entering the works from the hospitals was <10% for all of the selected compounds. VEAS sludge samples contained a different profile of substances reflecting their physico-chemical properties. Hydrophobic antibiotics, such as oxytetracycline, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin, were detected in all of the collected sludge samples. Their absence in the collected influent samples suggests that they enter the works bound to effluent particles, with the dissolved fraction observed in the hospital effluents partitioning onto particulate matter within the sewerage network. The final effluent from VEAS WTW contained reduced concentrations of many pharmaceuticals, including paracetamol, ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazole. For other compounds, such as metoprolol, diclofenac and trimethoprim, there were often higher concentrations in the effluent than the influent. These effluent concentrations represent median inputs varying from low g day(-1) (e.g. paracetamol and ibuprofen) to nearly 200 g day(-1) (e.g. metoprolol and trimethoprim) into Oslofjord. A simple risk assessment showed that the antibiotic ciprofloxacin may at times pose an acute risk to the Oslofjord aquatic environment.     

Black Rats, Island Characteristics, and Colonial Nesting Birds in the Mediterranean: Consequences of an Ancient Introduction

Abstract: The devastation of island faunas by alien species has been instrumental in raising concerns about the global threat to biological diversity. Colonial nesting species, often restricted to islands, have been affected severely. Eradication of introduced species as a means to alleviate the problem is usually done with little or no understanding of the mechanisms governing interactions between introduced and native species. Such an understanding could help target management action. We analyzed how island area, rock substrate, bird species biology, and presence of an introduced species, the black rat (   Rattus rattus ), interact to explain the distribution and abundance of colonial nesting birds on a set of 72 islands from six archipelagos in the western Mediterranean. Rats were introduced to this region over 2000 years ago, and these communities have had time to reach an equilibrium. Using general linear models, we show that rats have affected species distributions more on the smaller islands and on islands with an acidic or neutral rock substrate; larger bird species are more resistant. On the smaller islands, where rat densities are highest, larger colonial birds are negatively affected. On larger islands, where rat densities are lower and fluctuate form year to year, larger colonial birds can maintain healthy populations despite the presence of rats. Although rats caused local extinction or reduction in bird abundance, the presence of islands varying in size and/or substrate allowed most archipelagos to retain their suite of colonial nesting bird species, despite a presumably reduced abundance for most species.     

Ecological effects of cultivation on the machair sand dune systems of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland

The machair sand dune systems of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland are a unique habitat, which is rare within both a global and European context. Unusually, the machair habitat also represents an agricultural resource that is very important to the Hebridean people, having been subject to both grazing and cultivation throughout the historical period. Following designation as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) in 1988, the machairs of South Uist have been studied with the aim of understanding the links between agricultural practice and their plant community and ecosystem dynamics. This research focused primarily on the effects of cultivation practices and their role in maintaining plant species richness and community and ecosystem stability. Within two carefully selected areas, the successional plant communities of machair at different stages of recovery following ploughing and cultivation of cereals and potato patches or ‘lazy beds’ were identified at both a macro- and micro-level. Investigations of the vegetation recovery processes on turves taken from newly ploughed land indicated that the initial stages of recolonization are characterized primarily by rapid vegetative reproduction and growth, although re-vegetation by seeds is also an important factor. The implications of these findings for the long-term management of machair plant communities are discussed and in particular the need to maintain old cultivation practices such as shallow ploughing. The need for more detailed research into both seed banks and seed rain and into processes of vegetative reproduction is stressed. Nomenclature: Clapham et al. (1981) and Stace (1991, 1997) for vascular plants; Hubbard (1984) for grasses; Pankhurst & Mullin (1991) for the regional flora; Dobson (1992) for lichens; Watson (1981) for mosses and liverworts.