Assessment of hydrocarbon emissions from diesel invert mud residues treated in a bioreactor

Hydrocarbon emissions from a diesel invert mud residue (DIMR) were monitored while the hydrocarbons were being biodegraded in a solid‐phase bioreactor. Five to twenty percent of the reduction in diesel hydrocarbons was attributed to evaporation depending on the treatment, i.e. homogenization, cultivation, and aeration. Most of these volatile hydrocarbons were linear C₈ — C₁₂ alkanes and one‐ring aromatics. Of the treatments aeration had the largest effect on emissions; forced air through the bottom of the bioreactor cells increased emissions by three times over that of the non‐aerated cells. Cultivation increased hydrocarbon emission concentration as much as twofold over the pre‐cultivation value, however, emissions returned to the original levels within 12 hours. Homogenization had the least effect of all treatments. Diurnally, the emission rate was 40% higher in late afternoon than at midnight; the cause of which was probably atmospheric fluctuations such as temperature and solar radiation. The effects of daily atmospheric fluctuations were empirically modeled and taken into account for determining the total volume of emissions.     

Temporal Analysis of Genetic Structure to Assess Population Dynamics of Reintroduced Swift Foxes

Reintroductions are increasingly used to reestablish species, but a paucity of long‐term postrelease monitoring has limited understanding of whether and when viable populations subsequently persist. We conducted temporal genetic analyses of reintroduced populations of swift foxes (Vulpes velox) in Canada (Alberta and Saskatchewan) and the United States (Montana). We used samples collected 4 years apart, 17 years from the initiation of the reintroduction, and 3 years after the conclusion of releases. To assess program success, we genotyped 304 hair samples, subsampled from the known range in 2000 and 2001, and 2005 and 2006, at 7 microsatellite loci. We compared diversity, effective population size, and genetic connectivity over time in each population. Diversity remained stable over time and there was evidence of increasing effective population size. We determined population structure in both periods after correcting for differences in sample sizes. The geographic distribution of these populations roughly corresponded with the original release locations, which suggests the release sites had residual effects on the population structure. However, given that both reintroduction sites had similar source populations, habitat fragmentation, due to cropland, may be associated with the population structure we found. Although our results indicate growing, stable populations, future connectivity analyses are warranted to ensure both populations are not subject to negative small‐population effects. Our results demonstrate the importance of multiple sampling years to fully capture population dynamics of reintroduced populations. Análisis Temporal de la Estructura Genética para Evaluar la Dinámica Poblacional de Zorros (Vulpes velox) Reintroducidos     

Cryptic prey colouration increases search time in brown trout (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmo trutta</Emphasis>): effects of learning and body size

Little is known about how cryptic colouration influences prey search in near-surface aquatic habitats, although such knowledge is critical for understanding the adaptive value of colour crypsis as well as the perceptive constraints influencing foraging behaviour in these environments. This study had two main aims: (1) to investigate how background colour matching by prey affects foraging efficiency by brown trout parr and (2) to investigate how foraging ability on cryptic and conspicuous prey is affected by fish size at age (reflecting dominance). We addressed these questions by training wild brown trout parr to forage individually on live brown-coloured maggots on a cryptic (brown) or conspicuous (green) background. A separate experiment confirmed the absence of trout preference for brown or green substrate. The results show that prey background colour matching increases search time in brown trout. Search time generally decreased by learning, but conspicuous prey remained an easier prey to find throughout the six training trials. Thus, perceptive constraints appear to limit search efficiency for cryptic prey, suggesting that cryptic colouration can confer survival benefits to prey in natural environments. Smaller fish generally found conspicuous prey faster than larger individuals, whereas search time for cryptic prey was not influenced by body size. This suggests that smaller individuals compensate for inferior competitive ability by increasing foraging activity rather than improving cognitive ability. The technique of varying cognitive demands in behavioural tasks could be used more in future studies aimed at distinguishing motivational effects from cognitive explanations for variation in behavioural performance.     

Intraspecific variation in a predator affects community structure and cascading trophic interactions

Intraspecific phenotypic variation in ecologically important traits is widespread and important for evolutionary processes, but its effects on community and ecosystem processes are poorly understood. We use life history differences among populations of alewives, Alosa pseudoharengus, to test the effects of intraspecific phenotypic variation in a predator on pelagic zooplankton community structure and the strength of cascading trophic interactions. We focus on the effects of differences in (1) the duration of residence in fresh water (either seasonal or year-round) and (2) differences in foraging morphology, both of which may strongly influence interactions between alewives and their prey. We measured zooplankton community structure, algal biomass, and spring total phosphorus in lakes that contained landlocked, anadromous, or no alewives. Both the duration of residence and the intraspecific variation in foraging morphology strongly influenced zooplankton community structure. Lakes with landlocked alewives had small-bodied zooplankton year-round, and lakes with no alewives had large-bodied zooplankton year-round. In contrast, zooplankton communities in lakes with anadromous alewives cycled between large-bodied zooplankton in the winter and spring and small-bodied zooplankton in the summer. In summer, differences in feeding morphology of alewives caused zooplankton biomass to be lower and body size to be smaller in lakes with anadromous alewives than in lakes with landlocked alewives. Furthermore, intraspecific variation altered the strength of the trophic cascade caused by alewives. Our results demonstrate that intraspecific phenotypic variation of predators can regulate community structure and ecosystem processes by modifying the form and strength of complex trophic interactions.     

Sand and wave induced mortality in invasive (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus galloprovincialis</Emphasis>) and indigenous (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Perna perna</Emphasis>) mussels

The ability of an invasive species to spread in a new locality depends on its interaction with the indigenous community and on variation in time and space in the environment. The Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis invaded the South African coast 30 years ago and it now competes and coexists with the indigenous mussel Perna perna. The two species show different tolerances to wave and sand stress, two of the main environmental factors affecting this intertidal community. P. perna is more resistant to hydrodynamic stress than M. galloprovincialis, while the invasive species is less vulnerable to sand action. Our results show that mortality rates of the two species over a period of 6 months had different timing. The indigenous species had higher mortality than M. galloprovincialis during periods of high sand accumulation in mussel beds, while the pattern reversed during winter, when wave action was high. A negative correlation between sand accumulation and attachment strength of the two mussels showed that sand not only affects mussel mortality through scouring and burial, but also weakens their attachment strength, subjecting them to a higher risk of dislodgement. Here we underline the importance of variations in time and space of environmental stress in regulating the interaction between invasive and indigenous species, and how these variations can create new competitive balances.     

Spatial variability of infaunal nematode and polychaete assemblages in two muddy subtidal habitats

Spatial variation of populations and their assemblages is an important component of many aspects of ecology, including the maintenance of species diversity. In nature, organisms are generally aggregated in patches or form gradients or other spatially related patterns. This investigation quantified the degree of spatial structure in benthic invertebrate assemblages. It examined the distribution of infaunal assemblages of different size, mobility and contrasting life-history strategies (i.e. meiofaunal nematodes and macrofaunal polychaetes) in two offshore muddy habitats in the Celtic Deep and the NW Irish Sea off the west coast of the United Kingdom. The more heterogeneous habitat in the NW Irish Sea was characterised by higher tidal stress and bottom temperature while greater water depth, mean particle diameter and organic carbon content was typical for the comparatively homogeneous environment in the Celtic Deep. In both habitats, the environmental conditions became increasingly dissimilar with separation. A total of 125 nematode and 88 polychaete species were recorded with 69% of the nematode and 49% of polychaete species present at both study sites. Occurrence frequency of species, species diversity and average similarity of assemblage composition was higher in the Celtic Deep than in the NW Irish Sea. Results from correlation analyses revealed statistically robust relationships of community similarity and sample distance. Given their small size and low mobility, nematodes were more susceptible to within-habitat physical variability than larger-sized, more mobile polychaetes. This, coupled with limits to long-distance dispersal and likely restrictions in gene flow, resulted in a significant decrease in community similarity with distance at the spatial scales sampled (i.e. within 0.1–23 km). Polychaetes, in contrast, combined a higher dispersal potential (>23 km) with a relatively high tolerance to within-habitat environmental variability and these were the most likely causes for non-significant relationships between the similarity of their assemblages and sample distance. The potential mechanisms causing the observed variation and implications of results for environmental management strategies are discussed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Population as an oscillating system

In this paper we present a new approach describing population dynamics based on the view of a population as an oscillating system. To develop a mathematical model of an oscillating population, we applied a third-order differential equation. Our model describes population dynamics within a parametric-temporal continuum, formed by the relative values of population growth and decrease over time. In this paper we also illustrate how our oscillative model effectively compliments the existing suite of models in population dynamics.     

Eventual saturation of the climate–carbon cycle feedback studied with a conceptual model

A saturation of climate–carbon cycle feedback was found earlier in the simulations with the IAP RAS climate model of intermediate complexity. Here, this eventual saturation is interpreted by using a conceptual linearised coupled model. It is shown that this saturation is due to weak, logarithmic, dependence of the carbon dioxide radiative forcing on its atmospheric concentration. This eventual saturation leads to the non-monotonic behaviour of climate–carbon cycle parameter f   in time. If the time scale of the atmospheric CO₂${\text{CO}}_2$ build up is _tp$t_{\text{p}}$ then, starting from an initial equilibrium, f   approaches maximum in time ?_tp$?t_{\text{p}}$. Afterwards, climate–carbon cycle parameter decreases and eventually tends to unity. The time scale of the latter decrease is _t1=(1−5)_tp$t_1=(1-5)t_{\text{p}}$. A dependence of _tm$t_{\text{m}}$ and _t1$t_1$ on governing parameters of the conceptual model is studied. It is argued that an eventual saturation of the climate–carbon cycle feedback is expected to occur also in the other integrations of sufficient length with coupled climate–carbon cycle models.     

Heavy metals in the SPM of air in the environment surrounding a ferro-alloy industrial plant in India

Prices for ferro-alloys have hardened due to the closure of plants in developed countries on account of increasingly stringent pollution control legislation, resulting in a higher cost of production. A ferro-alloy industry with a capacity of 80000 MT per annum was selected to study the nature of pollution. Because of the objectionable nature of polluting air in and around the plant it was located in a rural area where there was no other industry. The area was agriculturally active and there was no effective control system for this plant.The quality of ambient air around the plant site is discussed in this paper along with the meteorological conditions. The maximum concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) was 768 µg/NM³ downwind of the plant, minimum 184 µg/NM³, and the average was more than 446 µg/NM³. The presence of heavy metals, viz. Fe, Mn, Cr and Pb, was also assessed. The concentration of Fe was 50 µg/NM³ downwind and 10 µg/NM³ upwind. The concentration of other metals followed a similar trend.