ADSORPTION IN MULTICOMPONENT SOLUTION BY ACTIVATED CARBON

It was found that the total adsorptive capacity of activated carbon was enhanced by using a multicomponent solution with glucose, peptone and phenylphosphonic acid. A maximum use of the carbon adsorptive capacity is possible if the carbon is used for tertiary treatment followed by treating a stronger waste.     

Shifting elasmobranch community assemblage at Cocos Island—an isolated marine protected area

Fishing pressure has increased the extinction risk of many elasmobranch (shark and ray) species. Although many countries have established no‐take marine reserves, a paucity of monitoring data means it is still unclear if reserves are effectively protecting these species. We examined data collected by a small group of divers over the past 21 years at one of the world's oldest marine protected areas (MPAs), Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica. We used mixed effects models to determine trends in relative abundance, or probability of occurrence, of 12 monitored elasmobranch species while accounting for variation among observers and from abiotic factors. Eight of 12 species declined significantly over the past 2 decades. We documented decreases in relative abundance for 6 species, including the iconic scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) (?45%), whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) (?77%), mobula ray (Mobula spp.) (?78%), and manta ray (Manta birostris) (?89%), and decreases in the probability of occurrence for 2 other species. Several of these species have small home ranges and should be better protected by an MPA, which underscores the notion that declines of marine megafauna will continue unabated in MPAs unless there is adequate enforcement effort to control fishing. In addition, probability of occurrence at Cocos Island of tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier), Galapagos (Carcharhinus galapagensis), blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus), and whale (Rhincodon typus) sharks increased significantly. The effectiveness of MPAs cannot be evaluated by examining single species because population responses can vary depending on life history traits and vulnerability to fishing pressure.     

Regression analysis of forest inventory data with time and space dependencies

In this paper the data of a forest health inventory are analyzed. Since 1983 the degree of defoliation, together with various explanatory variables (covariates) concerning stand, site, soil and weather, are recorded by the second of the two authors, in the forest district of Rothenbuch (Spessart, Bavaria). The focus is on the space and time dependencies of the data. The mutual relationship of space-time functions and the set of covariates is evaluated. For this we use generalized linear models (GLMs) for ordinal response variables and semiparametric estimation approaches. By using goodness-of-fit measures it turns out that (i) the contribution of space-time functions is quantitatively comparable with that of the set of covariates, (ii) the contribution of space-time functions is small compared with the contribution of a set of variables describing the last-year and neighboring response values. By applying appropriate residual methods a detailed analysis of the individual sites in the area can be carried out. This analysis reveals where the predictive power of the covariates fail to explain the observed defoliation.     

Assessing wetland changes in the venice lagoon by means of satellite remote sensing data

Not only does lagoon ecology represent a transitional zone between the sea and the continent but it also expresses the equilibrium belt between erosion and sedimentation processes. Within the framework of a coastal management scheme, a precise and timely mapping of morphological changes in this environment is important. This paper illustrates the possible contribution of multi-temporal satellite observations in the monitoring of the erosion/sedimentation processes of coastal zones, where landscape features are subjected to highly morphodynamical modifications. In particular, an improved mapping accuracy was obtained by the successive application of the Maximum Likelihood (MLH) classifier and the Linear Mixture Model (LMM) techniques to the satellite image classification procedure. In fact, by estimating the amount of shallow water and wetland within each satellite pixel, the LMM technique allows for an accurate mapping of the transitional zones in the lagoon environment, thus permitting an optimal separation between land and water. The study concerns the Venice lagoon (Italy) which has been sinking slowly since the beginning of this century. This has led to widespread loss of wetlands. In order to monitor the development of the land cover, four Landsat Thematic Mapper scenes were examined, during the period 1984 to 1993. The results obtained proved that the digital analysis method of multitemporal satellite imagery, applied over a selected test area, enables the evolution of an estuarine environment landscape, with its different sequences of erosion and periods of accretion, to be monitored. The significant influence of tidal stages is discussed in the data analysis.     

Linear regression with Type I interval- and left-censored response data

Laboratory analyses in a variety of contexts may result in left- and interval-censored measurements. We develop and evaluate a maximum likelihood approach to linear regression analysis in this setting and compare this approach to commonly used simple substitution methods. We explore via simulation the impact on bias and power of censoring fraction and sample size in a range of settings. The maximum likelihood approach represents only a moderate increase in power, but we show that the bias in substitution estimates may be substantial.     

南亚热带森林3层次物种多度之广义泊松分布模型

生物群落中物种多度分布(species abundance distribution)呈典型的倒J形,即其中存在许多稀有种、少量常见种.物种多度分布模型研究有助于解决森林生态恢复中的物种配置等实际问题.本研究考察了一种过分散(over-dispersion,或称超分布,即方差大于均值)的离散型分布,即具有λ和α两个参数...     

近50年三江源地表湿润指数变化特征及其影响因素

基于三江源区1959—2008年月平均气温、最高气温、最低气温、相对湿度、降水量、风速和日照百分率等气候要素资料,应用修订的Penman-Monteith（P-M）模型计算了最大潜在蒸散量和地表湿润指数,分析其空间分布、年际和年代际变化特征及其主要气象因子的影响。结果表明：1959—2008年间,研究区年降水量呈增加趋势,降水量变化曲线线性拟合倾向率为5.316~13.047 mm.（10a）-1,春夏季增幅较大;最大潜在蒸散量呈增加趋势,年最大潜在蒸散量变化曲线线性拟合倾向率在5.073~10.712 mm.（10a）-1,夏季增幅最大;地表湿润指数变化也呈增加趋势,年地表湿润指数变化曲线线性拟合倾向率0.011~0.026（10a）-1,冬季增幅最大,在15年周期附近,出现了3~5个干湿交替期,1984年之后为偏湿期,在中高频区,1998—2006年有偏干振荡;影响三江源区地表湿润指数的主要因子是降水量、相对湿度和平均最高气温。     

1994—2008年河南省植被净第一性生产力及其时空变化

基于地理信息系统和卫星遥感技术,利用地面气象数据、遥感数据和土地分类等数据,根据河南省实际植被覆盖和自然地理情况,应用改进的CASA模型估算了1994—2008年间河南省植被净第一性生产力及其时空变化。结果表明：河南省植被净第一性生产力与年均温度的相关性好于植被年净第一性生产力与年降水量和年均太阳辐射之间的相关性,温度是限制河南省植被净第一性生产力的主要因子;15年来河南省植被净第一性生产力呈增加趋势,但不明显;河南省主要植被类型的净第一性生产力从大到小依次为林地、灌丛、耕地、草地、其它植被,它们随时间的变化趋势极为一致。     

Monitoring of Seasonal Vegetables for Pesticide Residues

Market samples (60) of six seasonal vegetables were monitoredduring 1996–1997 to determine the magnitude of pesticidalcontamination. The estimation of insecticide residuesrepresenting four major chemical groups i.e. organochlorine,organophosphorous, synthetic pyrethroid and carbamate, was doneby adopting a multiresidue analytical technique employingGC-ECD and GC-NPD systems with capillary columns. The testedsamples showed 100% contamination with low but measurableamounts of residues. Among the four chemical groups, theorganophosphates were dominant followed by organochlorines,synthetic pyrethroids and carbamates. About 23% of the samplesshowed contamination with organophosphorous compounds abovetheir respective MRL values. More extensive studies coveringdifferent regions of Haryana state are suggested to get a clearidea of the magnitude of vegetable contamination with pesticideresidues.     

A Variance Estimator for Constrained Estimates of Change in Relative Categorical Frequencies

Consistent estimators of change and state becomes an issue when sample data come from a mix of permanent and temporary observation units. A joint maximum likelihood estimator of state and change creates estimates of state that depend on antecedent viz. posterior survey results and may differ from estimates of state derived from a single-date analysis of the sample data. A constrained estimator of change in relative categorical frequencies that eliminates this potential inconsistency is proposed and a model based estimator of their sampling variance is developed. The performance of the constrained estimator is quantified against six criteria and a joint maximum likelihood estimator in simulated sampling from 15 populations with three combinations of permanent and temporary samples, four to six categorical class attributes, and constant size between sampling dates. Bias of the constrained estimators was negligible but larger than for joint maximum likelihood estimators. Mean absolute deviations and variances of constrained estimators were generally at par with the joint estimators. Constrained estimators of root mean square errors and achieved coverage of nominal confidence intervals of constrained estimators were occasionally better. A generalized variance function for the constrained estimates of change is provided as a computational shortcut.