Role of Crab Herbivory in Die-Off of New England Salt Marshes

Abstract:  Die-offs of cordgrass are pervasive throughout western Atlantic salt marshes, yet understanding of the mechanisms precipitating these events is limited. We tested whether herbivory by the native crab , Sesarma reticulatum , is generating die-offs of cordgrass that are currently occurring on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (U.S.A.), by manipulating crab access to cordgrass transplanted into die-off areas and healthy vegetation. We surveyed 12 Cape Cod marshes to investigate whether the extent of cordgrass die-off on creek banks, where die-offs are concentrated, was related to local Sesarma grazing intensity and crab density. We then used archived aerial images to examine whether creek bank die-off areas have expanded over the past 2 decades and tested the hypothesis that release from predation, leading to elevated Sesarma densities, is triggering cordgrass die-offs by tethering crabs where die-offs are pervasive and where die-offs have not yet been reported. Intensity of crab grazing on transplanted cordgrass was an order of magnitude higher in die-off areas than in adjacent vegetation. Surveys revealed that Sesarma herbivory has denuded nearly half the creek banks in Cape Cod marshes, and differences in crab-grazing intensity among marshes explained >80% of variation in the extent of the die-offs. Moreover, the rate of die-off expansion and area of marsh affected have more than doubled since 2000. Crab-tethering experiments suggest that release from predation has triggered elevated crab densities that are driving these die-offs, indicating that disruption of predator–prey interactions may be generating the collapse of marsh ecosystems previously thought to be exclusively under bottom-up control .     

Are calcareous soils in uplands less prone to damage from road salting than acidic soils?

Previous studies of upland roadside soils in Cumbria, that would normally be naturally acidic, have highlighted that (a) runoff from roads subjected to long-term road salting can dramatically raise soil pH down slope in upland areas; (b) the soil pH increase dramatically changes N cycling in soils down slope, increasing mineralisation of organic matter, ammonification, ammonium leaching down slope and nitrification and nitrate leaching; (c) the increase in nitrification substantially increases nitrate leaching to down-slope rivers, and this is readily detectable in field studies; and (d) loss of soil organic matter over decades of salting is so great that organic matter is no longer substantially solubilised by high salt concentrations found in soil solution below road drains. This paper tests and supports the hypothesis that such effects are minimal for more calcareous soil ecosystems. It examines the soil and soil solution chemistry on another Cumbrian upland highway, the A686 near Leadgate, Alston. Sodium % of soil CEC values for soil transects affected by spray containing road salt are similar at both the A6 and A686 sites. However, spatial trends in calcium, magnesium, ammonium, and nitrate concentrations as well as pH differ, as a direct result of the higher weathering rate of parent material and possibly also the presence of limestone walls above both spray-affected and control transects at the A686 site.     

西藏盐井地区盐泉同位素特征示踪研究

对西藏盐井地区盐泉、曲孜卡泉、地表水及重要地层进行了同位素测定和分析,结合区域地质构造条件、辅以水化学证据确定泉水的补径排模式。δD~δ18O规律指示出盐泉和温泉的补给类型的差异;用δ18O对泉水的补给区海拔高程进行恢复;泉水、岩样的δ13C~δ18O规律指示出盐泉流经的主要相关层位为上三叠统地层T3b~T3d;其排泄主要受到芒康-盐井复式向斜次级背斜核部的张性裂隙所控制。     

不饱和季铵盐的合成及其聚合物在化工及环保领域的应用

按不饱和基团的类型对不饱和季铵盐进行了分类,并综述了其合成方法。介绍了其聚合物在含油污水处理、抗菌、纺织品、新材料等领域的应用。阐述了在不饱和季铵盐的开发及其聚合物的应用方面存在的问题。指出了今后的发展方向:应该加大科研投入,加快新型不饱和季铵盐的研发进程,特别是在主结构设计、纯度提高以及新型絮凝剂单体的多样性方面,以制备出多功能性的单体和聚合物。     

酸雨形成机制及其影响因素的探讨

本文概述了酸雨的形成机制及影响酸雨酸度的因素。重点探讨了致碱物质，如气体氨、含有Ca^2 、Mg^2 的碱性粒子以及海盐氯循环对酸雨的缓冲作用。     

天然植物单宁季铵盐改性絮凝剂的制备和性能评价

用植物单宁和二甲胺、甲醛及环氧氯丙烷进行季铵化反应 ,制得了JK A和JK B两种阳离子絮凝剂。测试了产品的红外光谱 ,并对两种絮凝剂处理效果进行了比较     

电化学间接氧化法处理H_2S气体的研究

采用填料塔对铁盐溶液吸收 H2 S的过程进行了初步研究 ,考察了气液比、填料层高度、吸收温度、Fe3+浓度、进气 H2 S浓度和 H+浓度等因素对 H2 S去除率的影响。结果表明 ,气液比、填料层高度和吸收温度对吸收效率的影响比较显著。通过正交试验选出最佳工艺条件 ,在此工艺条件下 H2 S的去除率接近 10 0 %。     

Assessment of community-based initiatives in sustainable management of Indian dry deciduous forests

SUMMARY

This work is devoted to analyzing the pros and cons of the proposed San Ignacio Lagoon (SIL) salt production project in Baja California Sur, México. The analysis of the project was done taking into account the technical data of the main potential effects of the SIL project, and by comparing the SIL proposed actions with the data of Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, where an almost identical salt production project has been operating for more than 44 years. The analysis was done from the following perspectives: biodiversity, biosphere reserve management, and socioeconomic development. The resulting analysis of the pros and cons of the SIL salt production project addresses key aspects of sustainable development in Third World nations. The resulting analysis indicates that the SIL salt production project is compatible with the biodiversity conservation of the zone. The SIL salt production project seems to be one of the best options to attain the sustainable use of natural resources of the most arid and isolated zone of all México.     

The Role of a Salt Marsh Plant on Trace Metal Bioavailability in Sediments. Estimation By Different Chemical Approaches * (7 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background The presence or absence of vegetation can condition sediment characteristics. The main aim of this work was to investigate the influence of the sea rush Juncus maritimus on metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) availability to organisms living on or in estuarine sediments, from Douro River (NW Portugal), by comparing the characteristics and chemical behaviour of rhizosediments (collected within the plant assemblage) and those of sediment (collected around the plant). In order to evaluate whether and how sediment characteristics condition the role of plants on metal availability, sandy and muddy sediments colonised by J. maritimus were studied in parallel. Methods Metal availability was estimated by enzymatic digestion with pepsin (ED), which may provide an estimate of metal availability to organisms living at estuarine sediments. Nevertheless, since no consensus exists yet on the most suitable methodologies to estimate metal bioavailability in sediments, two more conventional approaches, BCR sequential extraction (SE) and AVS/SEM model, were also used, in parallel, and the information these approaches provided was compared with that provided by ED. Total-recoverable metal contents were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry after sediment digestion using a high-pressure microwave system. Results and Discussion Plants could concentrate metals around its roots and rhizomes. In addition, they were capable of oxidizing (release of oxygen by the roots) the anaerobic medium surrounding their roots in muddy sediment (reducing AVS). As sulphide oxidation renders metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) into more soluble forms, according to the AVS/SEM model, metals from muddy sites would be more available in rhizosediment than in sediment. The SE approach led to a similar conclusion. Nevertheless, the results provided by ED pointed at opposite conclusion, particularly for Cd and Zn, indicating less availability at rhizosediments than in the surrounding sediment. ED results were interpreted as a consequence of an enrichment of the rhizosediment in organic ligands exuded by the roots or liberated by dead plants. The effect of complexation of metals by organic compounds, which ED could not decompose/dissolve, seemed to overcome that caused by sediment oxidation. In general, a comparison of the information about metal availability by ED, SE, AVS/SEM, showed that it did not always match and in few cases it was even contradictory. Conclusion and Outlook Therefore, a thorough evaluation of the metal availability in sediments requires a combination of different chemical approaches, so as to take into consideration differences in ways of organism exposure (interstitial water and/or ingestion of sediment particles). - * The basis of this peer-reviewed paper is a presentation at the 9th FECS Conference on 'Chemistry and Environment', 29 August to 1 September 2004, Bordeaux, France.     

青岛东风盐场中极端嗜盐古细菌的特性

从青岛东风盐场分离到3株嗜盐古细菌（编号：ZDA－1,ZDA－2和ZDA－5）,细胞为多形态杆状（0．7～15μm×2．0～50μm）,最适生长NaCl浓度为3．4mol／L,含有甘油二醚脂,类胡萝卜素色素和极性脂TGD－2（三糖基二醚脂）,x（C＋C）分别为63．7％,62．7％,和64．3％,据此,这3株菌可归入嗜盐小盒苗属（Hchoarcula）;但它们不水解淀粉,明胶不液化,不水解酪蛋白等生理生化特性不同于该属中现已正式承认的两个种,因此,本工作分离的3株菌可能是嗜盐小盒菌属一个新种.