Two stages kinetics of municipal solid waste inoculation composting processes

IntroductionCompostingisanatureprocess,butmanyman inducedinnovativemeasureshavebeendevelopedtoacceleratecompostingefficiency .Variousspecializedseedinoculumshavebeenappliedforpracticalengineering(Biey ,2 0 0 0 ) .ThemicrobialfloraandthemassconcentrationofmicrobesinMSWcompostingprocessesunderlyinginoculationaredifferentinvariousstages(Lei,2 0 0 0 ;Akihito ,1998) .Atthesametime ,thelivingenvironmentofmicroorganismsisalsoincessantlychangingduetotheincreaseofmetabolizingproductionandconsumption…     

Metagenomic insights into the profile of antibiotic resistomes in sediments of aquaculture wastewater treatment system

To meet the rapidly growing global demand for aquaculture products, large amounts of antibiotics were used in aquaculture, which might accelerate the evolution of antibioticresistant bacteria(ARB) and the propagation of antibiotic genes(ARGs). In our research, we revealed the ARGs profiles, their co-occurrence with mobile genetic elements(MGEs), and potential hosts in sediments of a crab pond wastewater purification system based on metagenomic analysis. The residual antibiotic seems to increase ...     

Marine aquaculture and bottlenose dolphins’ (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tursiops truncatus</Emphasis>) social structure

In this study, we investigate association patterns of 249 bottlenose dolphin feeding groups off Sardinia Island (Italy) from January 2000–May 2007 and describe how their association behaviour is related to their response to food patches created by a marine fin fish farm. We also tested the hypothesis that dolphins have different social structures with different feeding activities: Associations should decrease during opportunistic feeding behaviours as it is easier to capture prey, and cooperation is not as necessary. Sixteen individually identified bottlenose dolphins were observed participating in both opportunistic and not opportunistic feeding activities, with a mean of 30 ± 8 times and 9.6 ± 1 times, respectively. Bottlenose dolphins show non-random social behaviour during feeding and this behaviour differs depending on their specific foraging activity. Dolphin associations during feeding can be divided into three categories: acquaintances, affiliates, and feeding associates. Association behaviour during fish farm feeding is consistent with our hypothesis that during opportunistic behaviours, benefits from cooperation decrease, as it is easier to capture prey. Group size homogeneity in both feeding activities demonstrates that the number of dolphins engaging in foraging is not necessarily related with cooperation levels. Moreover, an adult dolphin may prefer to associate with a specific individual, independent of the sex, who shares the same foraging priorities. This study is the first to show how aquaculture is not only directly affecting marine predators but could also indirectly affect their social structure and behaviour.     

Predicting aquaculture-derived benthic organic enrichment: Model validation

A sediment trap validation study was conducted near the commercial sea bass and sea bream fish farm in order to assess the predictive capability of a particle tracking deposition model. The validation procedure consisted of two distinct phases. First, the deposition of particulate waste (i.e. fecal pellets and excess feed) was measured near a single net pen containing 19 tons of sea bass. Afterwards, the model quality was determined by statistical comparison of predicted and observed values.Goodness of fit analysis indicates that the model successfully accounts for more than 75% of variance in the observed deposition. At 5% significance level, predictions do not underestimate or overestimate observations and there is no bias. Mean absolute relative error of ±48.9% compares favorably to other published deposition models. Obtained results affirm the reliability of particle tracking techniques in modeling the aquaculture-derived benthic organic enrichment.     

Dynamic emergy evaluation of a fish farm rearing process

The environmental sustainability of a fish farm rearing process was examined by means of emergy analysis. Many emergy analyses integrate data for a whole year smoothing short term variations and sometimes losing meaningful information (aliasing). For this reason we developed a model for an instantaneous emergy evaluation in an aquacultural system so that transformities, efficiency and effort spent at each moment during the fish rearing activity could be calculated. By means of the model and dynamic emergy calculations it is possible to recognize step by step the importance of the various emergy contributions and verify where and when to modify the system to move toward optimum production of a sustainable product. By the application of the model we confirmed that the emergy trends in a fish farm installation follow wide oscillations during a year due to variations in both internal and external emergy contributions. Among the fluxes considered, those due to the introduction of fingerlings represented the highest contributions to the total emergy budget. Thus, to improve the sustainability of the analyzed system the amount, frequency and timing of these fluxes must be carefully considered. For this purpose, a comparison between two different fry introduction schedules was performed to evaluate differences in the efficiency of the rearing process.     

三级人工快渗系统脱氮效果及菌种分布分析

为了更有效地去除污水中的氮类污染物,采用三级串联人工快渗系统对高氨氮生活污水进行脱氮性研究,同时进行系统内菌种分布的特征分析,从微观角度对比传统人工快渗和新式三级串联人工快渗系统中微生物分布的区别。结果表明三级串联人工快渗系统对氨氮和总氮(TN)的去除率较常规人工快渗系统分别提高5%和21%。三级串联人工快渗系统内硝化细菌和反硝化细菌总数均大于传统人工快渗系统。反硝化细菌数量的显著提高是总氮(TN)去除提高的主要原因。同时发现三级串联人工快渗系统可以有效地缓解堵塞现象的发生。     

昆山市耕地变化和粮食安全研究

采用粮食自给率结合区域最小人均耕地面积对江苏省昆山市20多年来粮食安全状况进行研究,结果表明:昆山市在2000年从粮食产区转型为粮食销区;2006年的粮食自给率仅有23%;生产力提高和作物种植结构的相互制约导致了最小人均耕地面积呈波动变化。在粮食安全未来发展趋势的分析方面,提出了依据相关社会经济指标对昆山市发展阶段进行聚类分析,然后以最新发展阶段数据进行建模的新思路。分析结果表明:昆山的粮食安全相关的社会经济指标变化确实呈明显阶段性;至2011年,昆山市粮食自给率将下降至11%;最小人均耕地面积降低至0.028 hm2,如果该变化趋势得不到有效控制而持续较长时间,到2016年时,粮食自给率和最小人均耕地面积将分别下降至8%和0.012 hm2。依据这些分析及预测,文章提出了坚持土地集约利用、提升耕地生产力、建立和完善粮食流通网络和拓展并强化与粮食产区之间的合作等保障粮食安全、促进地区可持续发展的对策措施。     

Eco-certification of Farmed Seafood: Will it Make a Difference?

Eco-certification is widely considered a tool for reducing environmental impacts of aquaculture, but what are the likely environmental outcomes for the world’s fastest growing animal-food production sector? This article analyzes a number of eco-certification schemes based on species choice, anticipated share of the global seafood market, size of eligible producers, and targeted environmental impacts. The potential of eco-certification to reduce the negative environmental impacts of aquaculture at scale presently appears uncertain as: (a) certification schemes currently focus on species predominantly consumed in the EU and US, with limited coverage of Asian markets; (b) the share of certified products in the market as currently projected is too low; (c) there is an inequitable and non-uniform applicability of certification across the sector; (d) mechanisms or incentives for improvement among the worst performers are lacking; and (e) there is incomplete coverage of environmental impacts, with biophysical sustainability and ecosystem perspectives generally lacking.     

Environmental and human health risk assessment of organic micro-pollutants occurring in a Spanish marine fish farm

In this work the risk posed to seawater organisms, predators and humans is assessed, as a consequence of exposure to 12 organic micro-pollutants, namely metronidazole, trimethoprim, erythromycin, simazine, flumequine, carbaryl, atrazine, diuron, terbutryn, irgarol, diphenyl sulphone (DPS) and 2-thiocyanomethylthiobenzothiazole (TCMTB). The risk assessment study is based on a 1-year monitoring study at a Spanish marine fish farm, involving passive sampling techniques. The results showed that the risk threshold for irgarol concerning seawater organisms is exceeded. On the other hand, the risk to predators and especially humans through consumption of fish is very low, due to the low bioconcentration potential of the substances assessed.     

Passing the Panda Standard: A TAD Off the Mark?

Tilapia, a tropical freshwater fish native to Africa, is an increasingly important global food commodity. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a major environmental nongovernmental organization, has established stakeholder dialogues to formulate farm certification standards that promote “responsible” culture practices. As a preface to its “tilapia aquaculture dialogue,” the WWF for Nature commissioned a review of potential certification issues, later published as a peer-reviewed article. This article contends that both the review and the draft certification standards subsequently developed fail to adequately integrate critical factors governing the relative sustainability of tilapia production and thereby miss more significant issues related to resource-use efficiency and the appropriation of ecosystem space and services. This raises a distinct possibility that subsequent certification will promote intensive systems of tilapia production that are far less ecologically benign than existing widely practiced semi-intensive alternatives. Given the likely future significance of this emergent standard, it is contended that a more holistic approach to certification is essential.