Nutrient dynamics in shallow lakes of northern greece

GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Shallow lakes display a number of features that set them apart from the more frequently studied deeper systems. The majority of lakes in Northern Greece are small to moderate in size with a relatively low depth and are considered as sites of high value of the wetland habitat. However, the water quality of these lakes has only been evaluated segmentally and occasionally. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to thoroughly investigate nitrogen and phosphorus speciation in lakes of a high ecological significance located in N. Greece, in order to evaluate their eutrophication status and possible nutrient limitation factors, and to investigate the main factors/sources that affect the water quality of these systems. METHODS: An extensive survey was carried out during the period from 1998-1999. Water samples were collected on a monthly basis from lakes Koronia, Volvi, Doirani, Mikri Prespa and Megali Prespa located in N. Greece. Water quality parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity), organic indices (COD, BOD5), and N- and P-species (NO3(-), NO2(-), NH4(+), and PO4(3-), Kieldahl nitrogen and acid-hydrolysable phosphorus) were determined according to standard methods for surface water. Statistical treatment of the data was employed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The physicochemical parameters determined in the lakes studied revealed a high temporal variation. The trophic state of the lakes ranged from meso- to hypertrophic. The nutrient limiting factor varied among lakes suggesting either P-limitation conditions or mixed conditions changing from P- to N-limitation throughout the year. Urban/industrial activities and agricultural runoff are the major factors affecting all lakes, although with a varying contribution. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: This lake-specific research offers valuable information about water quality and nutrient dynamics in lakes of significant ecological value located in N. Greece that can be useful for an effective pollution control/management of these systems. Due to the large intra-annual variability of certain physicochemical parameters, a properly designed monitoring program of lake water is recommended.     

基于动态质量平衡的室内颗粒物沉降规律研究

目前室内颗粒物污染问题已经受到广泛关注.越来越多的流行病学研究表明,大气悬浮颗粒物浓度对人体健康存在显著的负影响.由于个人在室内滞留的时间可能超过全天时间的90％,因此剖析室外颗粒物向室内的传输渗透机理,对掌握室内微环境下的颗粒浓度水平至关重要.本实验以青岛一办公室为研究对象,使用具有4个尺寸间隔的光学计数器同时测量室内和室外的颗粒物浓度,粒径分布范围在0.3~2.5μm,采集时间为2016年4月~9月.根据实验数据,采用基于时间的动态质量平衡模型,估算了换气次数在0.03~0.25h^-1范围内的室内颗粒物渗透率和沉降速率分别为0.45~0.82h^-1和0.94~2.82m/h,并分析了这些参数随粒径大小的变化规律.其结论为进一步研究颗粒物在室内的传输机理和运动轨迹提供参数.     

Isotopes, Wool, and Rangeland Monitoring: Let the Sheep Do the Sampling

3 and C₄ plant species consumed by animals. Sheep sample vegetation continuously throughout a year, and as their wool grows it integrates and stores information about their diet. In subtropical and tropical rangelands the majority of grass species are C₄. Since sheep prefer to graze, and their wool is an isotopic record of their diet, we now have the potential to develop a high resolution index to the availability of grass from a sheep's perspective. Isotopic analyses of wool suggest a new direction for monitoring grazing and for the reconstruction of past vegetation changes, which will make a significant contribution to traditional rangeland ecology and management. It is recommended that isotopic and other analyses of wool be further developed for use in rangeland monitoring programs to provide valuable feedback for land managers.     

Sex ratios,mating behavior and sexual size dimorphism of the northern water snake,Nerodia sipedon

Competition among males to mate is generally associated with male-biased size dimorphism. In this study we examine mating behavior in the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), a species in which males are much smaller than females despite substantial competition among males to mate. Competition among males was a consequence of a male-biased operational sex ratio due to slightly higher female mortality from a birth sex ratio of 1 : 1, and, in 1 year, more synchronous and longer mating activity by males. Approximately one-third of both males and females appeared not to mate in a given year. Larger males were generally more likely to attempt mating, but size did not explain the variance in the number of aggregations in which individual males participated. Within aggregations, males that were successful at achieving intromission were larger than unsuccessful males in 1 of 2 years. Variation in condition (mass relative to length) and relative tail length were not generally useful predictors of either mating effort or success in males. Because large size was often advantageous to males, sexual size dimorphism appeared not to be a consequence of sexual selection favoring smaller males. Because sexual dimorphism was evident at birth, and both males and females matured sexually at about 4 years, sexual dimorphism was not simply a consequence of one sex growing at the maximum rate for longer. Female fecundity increased with size, and sex differences in size-fecundity relations may underly the pattern of sexual size dimorphism. However, because multiple mating by females is common, sperm competition is likely to be important in determining male reproductive success. Therefore, allocation of energy to sperm rather than growth may also prove to be an important influence on male growth rates and sexual size dimorphism.     

Accounting for large-scale factors in the study of understory vegetation using a conditional logistic model

Local-scale and large-scale factors can affect the presence of a species of understory vegetation in the forest. Local-scale factors may be the influence of surrounding trees, while climate and latitude are typically considered large-scale factors. A model for the presence of a species needs to take into account both scales. A conditional logistic model is proposed for those studies where only the local-scale factors are of interest and that avoids estimating the large-scale parameters. Conditioning is carried out by the number of quadrats in the plot where the vegetation is found. As the latter is a sufficient statistic for the large-scale factors, a model free from these parameters is obtained. Data gathered in the permanent sample plots of the 1985–1986 National Forest Inventory of Finland is used for illustration, where the local-scale factor of interest is the influence of the trees, quantified by an index based on the size and location of the trees. The model fitted to Vaccinium vitis-idaea showed a significant and positive influence of Scots pine on the presence of this species, while for Calamagrostis arundinacea, a decrease in the odds ratio was observed due to the influence of Norway spruce.     

南京大气气溶胶中多环芳烃源识别及污染评价

采用GC、GC-MS等方法,研究了南京市不同功能区夏、冬季大气气溶胶中多环芳烃(PAHs)的污染状况和污染来源,并对不同功能区的PAHs进行了污染评价.结果表明,南京市各功能区气溶胶中PAHs总量在19.73～497.40ng/m³之间,且冬季高于夏季,细颗粒中含量高于粗颗粒.通过一些特征标志PAHs的比值,可判断夏季各功能区的PAHs污染主要来自于汽车尾气(主要是柴油型)的排放,冬季则为汽车尾气和燃煤污染.采用苯并(a)芘(BaP)及苯并(a)芘等效致癌浓度(BaPE)来评价5个功能区气溶胶中PAHs的污染状况,夏季除交通干道超过国家标准(BaP,10ng/m³),居民区细颗粒中略超过居民区标准(BaP,5ng/m³)外,空气质量良好.而冬季各功能区PAHs基本上均严重超标.     

Seasonal variation of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons along the Kaohsiung coast

Thirty-three air samples were collected by high-volume samplers from May 2007 to June 2008 in the coastal area of southwest Taiwan and analyzed for total suspended particulates (TSP) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Concentrations of TSP and total PAHs ranged from 40.4 to 251 μg m(-3) and 1.86-56.4 ng m(-3), respectively. Except for joss paper burning during the religious celebration of Ghost Month, which resulted in the highest concentration of PAHs in the summer of 2007, a seasonal variation in total PAH concentration was observed over this study period, with the highest concentrations in winter and the lowest in summer. Because of the geographical and climatic characteristics of the sampling site, monsoon activities modulate the seasonal variations of PAHs. Diagnostic ratios showed that PAHs in the atmosphere of the Kaohsiung coastal area arose predominantly from vehicle emissions (mainly from diesel exhaust), joss paper burning, and coal/wood combustion. The results of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the sampling days could be divided into three groups and that the major source identification of PAHs was the same as the identification by diagnostic ratios. In addition, the results of HCA and PCA suggest that the samples collected with a prevailing northerly or northeasterly wind direction contain both local emissions and those from neighboring sources. On the other hand, the cases related to westerly or northwesterly winds indicated that local emission was the major source for the sampling site.     

Characteristics of heavy metals and Pb isotopic signatures in sediment cores collected from typical urban shallow lakes in Nanjing, China

To investigate the contamination levels and sources for heavy metals that have occurred during the development of cities, sediment cores collected from typical urban shallow lakes (Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake) in Nanjing, China were analyzed for Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, and for Pb stable isotopic ratios. No significant differences were found in the concentrations of Cu, Ni and Cd among sediment layers from Xuanwu or in the levels of Cr and Ni among sediment layers from Mochou. However, there were significant differences among the layers in the concentrations of Cr, Zn and Pb in Xuanwu and Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in Mochou. Based on geoaccumulation indexes and enrichment factors, Cd was the primary pollutant at all depths in the sediment cores. The ratios of (206)Pb/(207)Pb and (208)Pb/(206)Pb differ significantly among sediment layers in Xuanwu. No significant differences were found on the ratios of (208)Pb/(206)Pb in Mochou, but the ratios of (206)Pb/(207)Pb differ significantly among some of the sediment layers in Mochou. The range of (208)Pb/(206)Pb and (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios was found to be 2.098-2.106 and 1.170-1.176, respectively, for sediment cores from Mochou Lake and 2.091-2.104 and 1.168-1.183, respectively, for cores from Xuanwu Lake. The differences in heavy metal concentrations and the Pb isotopic ratios with depth for the cores from Xuanwu and Mochou confirmed that the contamination sources changed during the formation of the different sediment layers. Furthermore, the ratios of (206)Pb/(207)Pb demonstrated that gasoline and vehicular Pb were not the primary sources of Pb contamination at different depths in the sediment cores in Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake.     

以甲醇为碳源生物反硝化过程释放一氧化二氮的试验研究

污水生物反硝化脱氮过程是一氧化二氮(N2O)的重要释放源之一.试验采用序批式反应器以甲醇为碳源(电子供体),硝酸盐(NO3--N)为电子受体驯化反硝化菌,并采用批处理试验研究不同电子受体、不同碳氮(C/N)比和不同初始亚硝酸盐(NO2--N)质量浓度条件下N2O释放情况.在典型周期试验和批处理试验中均能检测到N2O的释放.以NO2--N为电子受体时会释放较多的N2O,而以NO3--N为电子受体时释放的N2O相对较少.不同C/N比通过影响反硝化菌的活性进而影响N2O的释放,反硝化菌的活性和N2O的释放量均随着C/N比的降低而降低.N2O的释放量随着初始NO2--N质量浓度的增加而增加,一定浓度范围内的NO2--N会增强反硝化菌的活性.初始NO2--N质量浓度与N2O的释放量具有较好的指数相关性.