A second life for old data: global patterns in pollution ecology revealed from published observational studies

A synthesis of research on the responses of terrestrial biota (1095 effect sizes) to industrial pollution (206 point emission sources) was conducted to reveal regional and global patterns from small-scale observational studies. A meta-analysis, in combination with other statistical methods, showed that the effects of pollution depend on characteristics of the specific polluter (type, amount of emission, duration of impact on biota), the affected organism (trophic group, life history), the level at which the response was measured (organism, population, community), and the environment (biome, climate). In spite of high heterogeneity in responses, we have detected several general patterns. We suggest that the development of evolutionary adaptations to pollution is a common phenomenon and that the harmful effects of pollution on terrestrial ecosystems are likely to increase as the climate warms. We argue that community- and ecosystem-level responses to pollution should be explored directly, rather than deduced from organism-level studies.     

How long is long-term? reflections based on over 20 years of post-Chernobyl management in Norway

The radiation protection community has only recently started the important work of preparedness for long-term post-accidental management of radioactively contaminated areas, like for instance the EC projects STRATEGY, FARMING and EURANOS and the French authorities' CODIRPA and PAREX programmes. There are, however, different views concerning how long a long-term management might last. Based on the Norwegian and former Soviet Union experience after the Chernobyl accident, it is clear that a nuclear accident can entail decades of necessary management and rehabilitation of living conditions. The time period is dependent on a number of factors, e.g. amount of fallout, type of radionuclides, land use of contaminated area, number and density of people affected and available techniques and resources for implementing countermeasures. This paper discusses the management strategy implemented in Norway after the Chernobyl accident, the need for changing strategy over time and the important involvement of affected groups. Careful planning and reflections should be undertaken before actions are taken in the recovery phase, keeping in mind the possibility of decades with problems.     

Effects of pollution on humic substances

Abstract

To assess effects of industrial and environmental pollution on analytical characteristics of humic substances, we isolated humic acids (HA's) and fulvic acids (FA's) from unpolluted and polluted soils and sediments. Following purification, the HA's and FA's were characterized by elemental (C, H, O, N, S) and functional group (CO₂H, phenolic OH, total acidity) analyses, infrared (IR) spectrophotometry, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and by metal (Fe, Al, Cu, Mn, Pb, Ni, Co, Zn, Cr, Cd, Hg, Ca and Mg) analyses. Si was also determined in all samples.

Polluted HA's and FA's contained more N and S but less 0 and were richer in all metals and Si than were unpolluted ones. IR spectra showed that polluted humic materials were enriched in COO^‐ groups, secondary non‐cyclic amides and possible also in SO₃H groups. DTA curves indicated that polluted HA's and FA's were more thermostable than unpolluted HA's and FA's. Unusually high N, S, Cu, Cr, Zn and Hg contents of humic materials appear to be useful indicators of soil and sediment pollution.     

Effects of subsample size on seasonal and spatial comparisons of stream macroinvertebrate communities

We examined the effect of subsample size on the accuracy of information obtained from aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblage samples. Subsamples containing 100 organisms or 300 organisms were compared on the bases of processing time and the ability to discern ecological differences among samples. Independently of subsample size, assemblages differed between study streams, primarily reflecting an intermittent vs. permanent stream difference, and between seasons at most streams. It required, on average, two additional hours to process the larger subsamples. Larger subsamples gave significantly higher estimates of total richness and Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) richness, but the relative abundances of many assemblage subsets (e.g., EPT organisms and most functional feeding groups) were similar using both subsample sizes. Larger subsamples did not typically enhance the ability to discriminate between samples from different seasons, but did more accurately distinguish among streams when differences were subtle. They also appeared to avoid Type I error in comparisons of compositionally similar reaches within a study stream.     

Demystifying the challenges and barriers to manage,develop, and transfer clean and green technologies in Brazilian academic research groups: Some empirical evidence

This work presents empirical evidence of the main challenges in managing/leading academic research groups on clean and green technologies in Brazilian universities. We also present evidence about the main barriers to the effective creation of innovation and technology transfer of these clean and green technologies. Empirical evidence come from PhD researchers/academics who lead/manage official research groups on clean (environmental, green) technologies. Results show the following: (a) The main challenges of managing research groups are the lack of an innovative culture, the lack of partnership with an industrial sector, and the necessity of keeping laboratories updated; (b) the main barriers to innovation and technology transfer are difficulties in not having enough researchers and staff members, assessments of academic performance that do not consider innovation, and an uncertain national legislation on clean technology. Based on these and others’ findings, we suggest that policymakers working on clean and green technologies pay attention to act and develop initiatives focusing on the following: providing direct financial support for laboratory improvement, linking academics and practitioners from the industrial sector, and providing training and development programs on clean and green technologies’ legislation and financial issues, such as the payoff of clean and green technologies and opportunities from green investors.     

Rural market imperfections and the role of institutions in collective action to improve markets for the poor

Many countries in sub‐Saharan Africa have liberalized markets to improve efficiency and enhance market linkages for smallholder farmers. The expected positive response by the private sector in areas with limited market infrastructure has however been very limited. The functioning of markets is constrained by high transaction costs and coordination problems along the production‐to‐consumption value chain. New kinds of institutional arrangements are needed to reduce these costs and fill the vacuum left when governments withdrew from markets in the era of structural adjustments. One of these institutional innovations has been the strengthening of producer organizations and formation of collective marketing groups as instruments to remedy pervasive market failures in rural economies. The analysis presented here with a case study from eastern Kenya has shown that marketing groups pay 20–25% higher prices than other buyers to farmers while participation was also positively correlated with adoption of improved dryland legume varieties, crops not targeted by the formal extension system. However the effectiveness of marketing groups is undermined by external shocks and structural constraints that limit the volume of trade and access to capital and information, and require investments in complementary institutions and coordination mechanisms to exploit scale economies. Successful groups have shown high levels of collective action in the form of increased participatory decision making, member contributions and initial start‐up capital. Failure to pay on delivery, resulting from lack of capital credit, is a major constraint that stifles competitiveness of marketing groups relative to other buyers. These findings call for interventions that improve governance and participation; mechanisms for improving access to operating capital; and effective strategies for risk management and enhancing the business skills of farmer marketing groups.     

Multi-biological defects caused by lead exposure exhibit transferable properties from exposed parents to their progeny in Caenorhabditis elegans

Whether the multi-biological toxicity from lead exposure could be transferred to progeny has not been clarified.In the present study,we explored the Caenorhabditis elegans to analyze the multiple toxicities from lead exposure and their possibly transferable properties.The lead exposure could cause series of severe multi-biological defects with a concentration-dependent manner by affecting the endpoints of life span,development,reproduction and locomotion behaviors in nematodes.Moreover,most of these toxicities could be transferred to progeny from lead exposed animals and some of the defects in progeny appeared even more severe than in their parents,such as the body sizes and mean life spans.We summarized the defects caused by lead exposure into three groups according to their transferable properties or rescue patterns.That is,the defects caused by lead exposure could be largely,or partially,or became even more severe in progeny animals.Therefore,our results suggest that lead exposure can cause severely multi-biological defects,and most of these multiple toxicities can be considered as transferable for exposed animals in C.elegans.     

Indigenous Power Struggles in the Peruvian Amazon: A Spatio-cultural Analysis of Communication

It is well established that external national policies and internal ethnic politics contribute to indigenous power struggles that create a disharmonious indigenous voice. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate how such fissures intersect with internal, covert communication forces embedded in indigenous communities. Based on a case study of Peru’s national indigenous Amazonian organization Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP or the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest), the authors advance a geographical perspective of communication to interrogate the physical and social spaces that contribute to and fragment indigenous public spheres, drawing from a content analysis of interviews and news media reports. The aim is to analyse how power—influenced by the spatio-cultural effects on communication—divided a national indigenous voice following Peru’s 2009 Amazon conflict.     

上海市居民人发重金属含量及其空间分布特征研究

采集上海市15个区(不包括崇明县),年龄在0~80岁之间的84例居民人发样品作为研究对象,着重分析上海市居民头发中镉(Cd)、铜(Cu)、铅(Pb)和锌(Zn)4种重金属元素含量,探究其与年龄的关系及空间分布特征.结果显示,上海市居民头发中Cd、Cu、Pb和Zn 4种重金属平均含量均在正常范围内,Cd含量为(0.11±0.19)μg·g~(-1),Cu为(11.42±8.75)μg·g~(-1),Pb为(1.64±2.12)μg·g~(-1),Zn为(121.20±106.59)μg·g~(-1),与国内外其他地区相比,上海市居民这4种重金属的污染水平较低.单因素方差分析(one-way ANOVA)表明,Pb和Cd含量的高值集中于0~10岁儿童,且与其他年龄段有显著差异,说明儿童较容易受到Pb和Cd的污染;利用样本数据进行反距离加权插值(IDW),得到上海市居民头发中4种重金属含量的空间分布规律,其中发Pb和发Cd含量呈现出由市区向郊区递减的变化特征.     

渭河流域浮游植物功能群与环境因子的关系

为分析渭河流域不同水期浮游植物的时空分布特征,于丰水期(2012年9月)和枯水期(2013年4月)对渭河流域浮游植物群落结构和水环境理化特征进行了野外调查,基于Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Pielou均匀度指数以及MRPP(多响应置换过程)、浮游植物功能群划分、CCA(典范对应分析)等方法,分析浮游植物群落的组成和空间结构特征. 结果表明:丰水期和枯水期渭河全流域分别鉴定出浮游植物165和175种;各采样点浮游植物物种密度平均值分别为1.07×106和1.85×106 L-1;Shannon-Wiener多样性指数平均值分别为2.98和2.74;Pielou均匀度指数平均值分别为0.40和0.37. 全流域共划分出浮游植物功能群23类,其中,丰水期20类,枯水期21类,均以MP功能群物种数最多;代表性功能群为MP、D、Lo和J. MRPP分析结果显示,丰水期和枯水期全流域浮游植物群落结构都具有较明显的空间差异. CCA结果显示,渭河水系丰水期浮游植物群落结构的主要驱动因子为ρ(DO)和ρ(TN),枯水期为流速、ρ(TN)和ρ(COD_Mn);泾河水系丰水期为ρ(SS)、流速和ρ(TN),枯水期为流速和ρ(TN);北洛河水系丰水期为ρ(TDS),枯水期为ρ(DO)和ρ(TP).