盐度渐增对水解微生物群落结构与功能的影响

工业废水循环利用导致盐度渐增,应用水解反应器连续处理硫酸钠盐度渐增的高色度印染废水.在进水盐度从0.5g·L^-1渐增到4 g·L^-1时,印染废水也得以持续高效脱色.宏基因测序表明,盐度渐增导致水解污泥微生物种数从882种下降到了631种,但细菌群落的生物多样性仍保持稳定.盐度渐增对细菌群落的整体功能没有明显影响,但改变了水解脱色功能菌和功能酶的丰度.低盐度条件下Proteobacteria门占主导地位,Methanothrix和Geobacter为参与水解作用的优势属.在盐度渐增时,与众多细菌对盐度胁迫的反应相反,Proteobacteria丰度持续增加,Desulfovibrio和Desulfococcus成为优势属.PICRUSt功能解析显示,脱色酶SOD1和SOD2相对丰度显著下降,CAT和TYR的相对丰度上升,从总体上保证了水解生物系统脱色功能的稳定.本研究从水解脱色功能基因的角度,探讨盐度渐增对水解微生物群落和功能的影响,为盐度渐增胁迫条件下印染废水的脱色和有机物去除机制研究提供理论基础.     

Modelling future copper ore grade decline based on a detailed assessment of copper resources and mining

The concept of “peak oil” has been explored and debated extensively within the literature. However there has been comparatively little research examining the concept of “peak minerals”, particularly in-depth analyses for individual metals. This paper presents scenarios for mined copper production based upon a detailed assessment of global copper resources and historic mine production. Scenarios for production from major copper deposit types and from individual countries or regions were developed using the Geologic Resources Supply-Demand Model (GeRS-DeMo). These scenarios were extended using cumulative grade-tonnage data, derived from our resource database, to produce estimates of potential rates of copper ore grade decline.The scenarios indicate that there are sufficient identified copper resources to grow mined copper production for at least the next twenty years. The future rate of ore grade decline may be less than has historically been the case, as mined grades are approaching the average resource grade and there is still significant copper endowment in high grade ore bodies. Despite increasing demand for copper as the developing world experiences economic growth, the economic and environmental impacts associated with increased production rates and declining ore grades (particularly those relating to energy consumption, water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions) will present barriers to the continued expansion of the industry. For these reasons peak mined copper production may well be realised during this century.     

Selection of both habitat and genes in specialized and endangered caribou

Genetic mechanisms determining habitat selection and specialization of individuals within species have been hypothesized, but not tested at the appropriate individual level in nature. In this work, we analyzed habitat selection for 139 GPS-collared caribou belonging to 3 declining ecotypes sampled throughout Northwestern Canada. We used Resource Selection Functions comparing resources at used and available locations. We found that the 3 caribou ecotypes differed in their use of habitat suggesting specialization. On expected grounds, we also found differences in habitat selection between summer and winter, but also, originally, among the individuals within an ecotype. We next obtained Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) for the same caribou individuals, we detected those associated to habitat selection, and then identified genes linked to these SNPs. These genes had functions related in other organisms to habitat and dietary specializations, and climatic adaptations. We therefore suggest that individual variation in habitat selection was based on genotypic variation in the SNPs of individual caribou, indicating that genetic forces underlie habitat and diet selection in the species. We also suggest that the associations between habitat and genes that we detected may lead to lack of resilience in the species, thus contributing to caribou endangerment. Our work emphasizes that similar mechanisms may exist for other specialized, endangered species.     

A suggestion for Korean resource productivity management policy with calculating and analyzing its national resource productivity

In this study, we suggested a criterion of Korean resource productivity calculation method including its range which is not generalized yet and analyzed its level by reviewing the resource productivity management policies and study trends of the major advanced countries. The material flow indexes that are widely used in major advanced countries, such as the domestic material consumption (DMC), were used to establish the resource productivity calculation method with estimation the domestic resource productivity during 2000–2010. As of 2010, the DMC was 590 million ton, GDP was 1 trillion dollars and DMC-based resource productivity was 1.75 thousand US dollars/ton, which was continuously increased during last ten years with 8.0%, 50.0%, and 38.9%, respectively. This increase tendency was not because of DMC reduction through resource management but because of just large GDP increase. The results of the comparison with other countries indicated that Korea had the lower resource productivity level and also the lower increasing rate than major advanced countries such as the UK and Japan, and required an efficient resource management plan for improvement. Therefore, we finally suggested a Korean resource productivity policy direction to construct its sustainable system for its improvement.     

Making a case for the consideration of trust,justice, and power in conservation relationships

In conservation, trust and justice are increasingly recognized as both intrinsically valuable and critical for successful socioecological outcomes. However, the interdependence between these concepts has not been explored. The conservation trust literature provides examples of efforts to build trust between conservationists and local actors; yet, these interventions are often conceived to incentivize local cooperation within dominant paradigms. We argue that when trust building is promoted as a technical fix that does not plan in advance to address power asymmetries in conservation practice, inequities may inadvertently be re-embedded. Therefore, we conceptualized a framework that joins trust, justice, and power so that critical analyses of conservation partnerships can be more effectively undertaken. We drew on environmental justice theory to better calibrate the trust literature for the historical-political settings of conservation, especially in the Global South. Justice and trust share strong theoretical links where perceptions of justice shape a willingness to trust, and, equally, trust is a precondition for justice to be perceived. Different forms of trust connect to varied domains of justice and power in different ways, which mediates the outcomes of interventions. We applied our framework to case studies to explore how these interdependences play out in practice. Failure of agencies to attend to issues of maldistribution, misrecognition of cultural values and knowledge, and exclusion from participation strongly compromised trust. Moreover, the ways in which nature-dependent communities and marginalized conservation workers are trusted, or the conditions under which they give trust, can lead to partnerships being perceived as just or unjust. Focusing on trust and justice can help identify power dynamics so they can be addressed more readily and create space for alternative understandings of partnerships.