Significance of nanoplankton in the Chesapeake Bay estuary and problems associated with the measurement of nanoplankton productivity

Over a 2-year program of monthly cruises covering the entire Chesapeake Bay (USA), the phytoplankters which passed 35 μm mesh were responsible for 89.6% of the phytoplankton productivity. On a single summer cruise, the <35 μm phytoplankton fraction was responsible for 93.4% of the chlorophyll a and 100% of the primary productivity. The <10 μm fraction was responsible for 81.3% of the chlorophyll a and 94% of the productivity. The difference in biomass in the <35 μm and the <10 μm fractions was significant (P=0.025), but no significant difference in the productivity could be demonstrated. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that recently assimilated carbon can be lost with gravity screening. Considering both this and the effect of herbivorous zooplankters enclosed in productivity incubations, a prescreening rather than postscreening technique is recommended for studying nanoplankton productivity.     

Association of benzo(a)pyrene with dissolved organic matter: Prediction of Kdom from structural and chemical properties of the organic matter

The affinity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) for binding a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), was measured for 11 surface and ground waters and a commercial humic acid. The hydrophobic-acid (HbA) and hydrophobic-neutral (HbN) compositions of the DOM, solution absorptivity at 270nm (ABS₂₇₀), and DOM molar volumes were determined. Waters enriched in HbA material had a larger molar volume and higher aromatic content (as indicated by the ABS₂₇₀). There was a good correlation between the size and HbA content of the DOM from the different sources and the K_dom for binding BaP. An excellent predictive relationship (r² = 0.9) was demonstrated between the ABS₂₇₀ of a water and the K_dom for binding BaP. Based on these results, it is suggested that binding of BaP to DOM depends not only on the hydrophobicity of DOM, but also on the existence of an open structure within the DOM to provide access of the aqueous solute to hydrophobic domains within the DOM.     

Modulation of attention and urgent decisions by affect-laden roadside advertisement in risky driving scenarios

In road safety literature the effects of emotional content and salience of advertising billboards have been scarcely investigated. The main aim of this work was to uncover how affect-laden roadside advertisements can affect attention – eye-movements – and subsequent risky decisions – braking – on the Honda Riding Trainer motorcycle simulator. Results indicated that the number of fixations and total fixation time elicited by the negative and positive emotional advertisements were larger than the neutral ones. At the same time, negative pictures got later gaze disengagement than positive and neutral ones. This attentional capture results in less eye fixation times on the road relevant region, where the important driving events happen. Finally, the negative emotional valence advertisements sped up braking on subsequent risky situations. Overall results demonstrated how advertisements with emotional content modulate attention allocation and driving decisions in risky situations and might be helpful for designing roadside advertisements regulations and risk prevention programs.     

Effect of environmental parameters on the degradability of polymer films in laboratory-scale composting reactors

Previous research in our laboratory reported a convenient laboratory-scale composting test method to study the weight loss of polymer films in aerobic thermophilic (53°C) reactors maintained at a 60% moisture content. The laboratory-scale compost reactors contained the following synthetic compost mixture (percentage on dry-weight basis): tree leaves (45.0), shredded paper (16.5), food (6.7), meat (5.8), cow manure (17.5), sawdust (1.9), aluminum and steel shavings (2.4), glass beads (1.3), urea (1.9), and a compost seed (1.0) which is designated Mix-1 in this work. To simplify the laboratory-scale compost weight loss test method and better understand how compost mixture compositions and environmental parameters affect the rate of plastic degradation, a systematic variation of the synthetic mixture composition as well as the moisture content was carried out. Cellulose acetate (CA) with a degree of substitution (DS) value of 1.7 and cellophane films were chosen as test polymer substrates for this work. The extent of CA DS-1.7 and cellophane weight loss as a function of the exposure time remained unchanged when the metal and glass components of the mixture were excluded in Mix-2. Further study showed that large variations in the mixture composition such as the replacement of tree leaves, food, meat, and sawdust with steam-exploded wood and alfalfa (forming Mix-C) could be made with little or no change in the time dependence of CA DS-1.7 film weight loss. In contrast, substituting tree leaves, food, meat, cow manure, and sawdust with steam-exploded wood in combination with either Rabbit Choice (Mix-D) or starch and urea (Mix-E) resulted in a significant time increase (from 7 to 12 days) for the complete disappearance of CA DS-1.7 films. Interestingly, in this work no direct correlation was observed between the C/N ratio (which ranged from 13.9 to 61.4) and the CA DS-1.7 film weight loss. Decreasing moisture contents of the compost Mix-2 from 60 and 50 and 40% resulted in dramatic changes in polymer degradation such that CA DS-1.7 showed an increase in the time period for a complete disappearance of polymer films from 6 to 16 and 30 days, respectively.Guest Editor: Dr. Graham Swift, Rohm & Haas.Paper presented at the Bio/Environmentally Degradable Polymer Society—Second National Meeting, August 19–21, 1993, Chicago, Illinois.     

A field experiment characterizing variable detection rates during plant surveys

Surveys aimed at finding threatened and invasive species can be challenging due to individual rarity and low and variable individual detection rates. Detection rate in plant surveys typically varies due to differences among observers, among the individual plants being surveyed (targets), and across background environments. Interactions among these 3 components may occur but are rarely estimated due to limited replication and control during data collection. We conducted an experiment to investigate sources of variation in detection of 2 Pilosella species that are invasive and sparsely distributed in the Alpine National Park, Australia. These species are superficially similar in appearance to other yellow-flowered plants occurring in this landscape. We controlled the presence and color of flowers on target Pilosella plants and controlled their placement in plots, which were selected for their variation in cover of non-target yellow flowers and dominant vegetation type. Observers mimicked Pilosella surveys in the plots and reported 1 categorical and 4 quantitative indicators of their survey experience level. We applied survival analysis to detection data to model the influence of both controlled and uncontrolled variables on detection rate. Orange- and yellow-flowering Pilosella in grass- and heath-dominated vegetation were detected at a higher rate than nonflowering Pilosella. However, this detection gain diminished as the cover of other co-occurring yellow-flowering species increased. Recent experience with Pilosella surveys improved detection rate. Detection experiments are a direct and accessible means of understanding detection processes and interpreting survey data for threatened and invasive species. Our detection findings have been used for survey planning and can inform progress toward eradication. Interaction of target and background characteristics determined detection rate, which enhanced predictions in the Pilosella eradication program and demonstrated the difficulty of transferring detection findings into untested environments.     

Crystallization behavior of predominantly syndiotactic poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)

Predominantly syndiotactic poly(-hydroxybutyrate), syn-PHB, of variable syndioregularity (syndyad fractions 0.59, 0.62, 0.64, and 0.71) and molecular weight was prepared by the dibutyltin dimethoxide catalyzed ring opening of racemic-butyrolactone (BL). The crystallization behavior of the syn-PHB polymers was investigated by DSC and X-ray diffraction analyses. DSC of films after melting and annealing showed at least one, and often two distinct melting transitions occuring over a broad (often 40°C) temperature range. These results indicate that syn-PHB chain segments of variable syndioregularity form crystalline regions with very different thermodynamic stabilities. Maximum degrees of crystallinity for melt annealed 0.64- and 0.71-syn-PHB was observed at an annealing temperature (T _c ) of 30°C. AtT _c values at 45°C and higher, crystallization of relatively lower syndioregular chain segments was apparently excluded to variable degrees dependent onT _c and sample syndiotactic dyad content. After crystallization of syn-PHB samples at elevated temperatures, ambient temperature annealing resulted in an observed lower temperature melting transition at 50°C. This result showed little to no dependence on syn-PHB syndio-regularity andT _c . Both solution precipitated 0.62-syn-PHB and 0.71-syn-PHB have WAXS patterns with poorly resolved crystalline reflections superimposed on amorphous haloes indicating low levels of crystallinity (17% and 25%, respectively) and poorly formed crystals. Isothermal crystallization monitored by DSC showed that the syn- and natural origin PHB showed fastest crystallization rates at temperatures between 50°C and 70°C and 60°C and 90°C, respectively. From the dependence of the higher melting transition onT _c it was determined that the equilibrium melting temperatures for 0.62-syn-PHB (M _n =83,700 g/mol) and a 0.64-syn-PHB (M _n =11,900 g/mol) were 157 and 154°C, respectively. An Avrami analysis of syn-PHB yielded results similar to that found for natural origin PHB indicating that crystal growth occurs by a two-dimensional mechanism.Guest Editor: Dr. Graham Swift, Rohm & Haas.     

Sustainable urban development — the public health dimension

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Molecular relationships and species divergence among <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phragmatopoma</Emphasis> spp. (Polychaeta: Sabellaridae) in the Americas

Phragmatopoma spp. are marine, reef-building polychaetes that inhabit the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of both coasts of the Americas. Phragmatopoma californica is found in the Pacific Ocean along the California coast south to Mexico, while Phragmatopoma caudata inhabits the Caribbean islands and Atlantic Ocean from the Florida coast south to Brazil. Although apparently geographically isolated, P. californica and P. caudata have been found to interbreed (Pawlik 1988a) and thus their specific taxonomic relationship has been unclear. In this study, two genes, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and the first internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-1), were sequenced to assess the specific status of P. californica and P. caudata as well as Phragmatopoma virgini. Comparison of sequences revealed that samples of P. californica shared no COI haplotypes or ITS-1 sequences with P. caudata. Phylogenetic analyses, including maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods, clustered each species in separate, well-supported clades with genetic distances between them being greater than between either contested species or the uncontested, valid species, P. virgini. Thus, the molecular data support that P. californica and P. caudata are separate species. However, the sample of individuals of P. virgini included one genetically divergent individual, whose morphology was found to match that of a species formerly recognized as P. moerchi but since synonymized with P. virgini. Divergences among lineages were dated using the COI sequences, after adjustment for non-clock-like behavior. Consequently, we suggest that P. virgini and P. caudata are sister taxons and that P. californica diverged from the P. virgini/P. caudata clade ∼5.7 mya with P. virgini diverging from P. caudata ∼3 mya.     

Uptake and release of phosphorus by phytoplankton in the Chesapeake Bay estuary,USA

The phytoplankton uptake and release rates for inorganic phosphate, dissolved organic phosphate and polyphosphate were estimated during 5 cruises on the Chesapeake Bay over a 9-month period. Phosphorus in all pools turned over in several minutes to 100 h, and each soluble pool appeared to contain fractions which were metabolically useful to the phytoplankton. Maximal uptake rates (V _m ) for orthophosphate ranged from 0.02 to 2.95 μg-at P (1.h)^-1 with half saturation constants (K _s ) between 0.09 and 1.72 μg-at P l^-1. At low soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations, the uptake rate of trace ³²P orthophosphate was initially rapid, but declined after 15 to 60 min incubation. The data suggest that the initial uptake phase was dominated by exchange of ³²PO₄ ^≡ for ³¹PO₄ ^≡ in the membrane transport systems whereas the subsequent phase represented the net incorporation of orthophosphate into phytoplankton cells.     

Common Pool Resource Appropriation under Costly Cooperation

In addition to the usual fixed costs, we introduce variable costs in a community's effort to cooperate in extracting from a common pool resource. Using a standard supervision mechanism, these variable costs are shown to be an increasing function of individual members' incentives to default. The model explains why we frequently observe communities that all cooperate and have relatively similar resource endowments, and yet achieve very different levels of extraction.