Interspecific relationships of the midday gerbil (Meriones meridianus Pall., 1773) and tamarisk gerbil (M. tamariscinus Pall., 1773) in pasture ecosystems of the Kalmyk Republic

Studies performed in the southern Kalmyk Republic from 1993 to 2005 have shown that the midday and tamarisk gerbils are similar in their biotopic distribution and that their preferences for certain habitats depend on specific features of feeding. Individual home ranges of both species overlap, and the patterns of their daily activity are synchronous. These facts suggest that there is no interference competition between the midday and tamarisk gerbils in pastures of the southern Kalmyk Republic.     

STATISTICAL IDENTIFICATION OF STORAGE MODELS WITH APPLICATION TO STOCHASTIC HYDROLOGY1

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a method for the statistical identification of storage models for daily riverflow time series, together with numerical results. The first step in the identification process is to obtain a discrete time version of a storage model using a local linearization approach. It is shown that the discrete time version thus obtained may be utilized in the identification of the original storage model. A statistical method for the identification of daily rainfall time series models used in simulation is also presented. This identification procedure employs the maximum likelihood method for point process data analysis and is illustrated by means of numerical examples.     

Influence of intra- and interspecific competition on daily activity of common (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus arvalis</Emphasis>) and East European (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus rossiaemeridionalis</Emphasis>) voles in experiments

The influence of intra- and interspecific competition of common and East European voles on their daily activity was studied in 34-m² enclosures at the Chernogolovka Experimental Research Station (Moscow Region). Family groups of animals captured in the same biotopes were placed in enclosures and, 25 day later, their daily activity was observed. Thereafter, the animals were pooled and observations were repeated 25 days later. The experiment consisted of three stages. At the first stage, the daily activity, time budget, and social behavior of common voles were studied before and after pooling different family groups; at the second stage, the same was performed with East European voles; and at the third stage, with both species. The species proved to use different strategies for alleviating intraspecific competition: in common voles, this was segregation of ecological niches via desynchronization of daily activity; in East European voles, conversely, aggregation in groups and synchronization of activity. Under experimental cohabitation, the strategy of the common vole, a more aggressive species, was to force out the other species, ecologically similar but less competitive; the strategy of the East European vole was aimed at avoidance via segregation of ecological niches in time.     

SBR法降解处理日化厂废水的实验研究

日化厂废水成分复杂,其中表面活性剂、含P化合物、油脂、色素等严重污染生态环镜,较难处理.本文采用小规模的间歇式活性污泥法(SBR)生物反应器降解处理日化厂废水,分析了废水降解过程中污泥体积指数、污泥负荷、容积负荷等微生物学的特性变化,并讨论了曝气时间、污泥负荷、容积负荷对污染物去除率的影响.结果表明,通过对普通活性污泥的培养与驯化,利用SBR工艺降解处理日化厂废水是可行的.当曝气时间为4.5 h,污泥负荷为1.2 kg/(kg·d)(以MLSS计的COD),容积负荷为2.1～2.3g/(L·d)时,COD、油脂、总磷、表面活性剂(SAA)、SO42-等的去除率分别可达92.3%,99.1%,99.3%,99.3%,99.0%和98.9%.     

TMDL Balance: A Model for Coastal Water Pollutant Loadings

Bacterial contamination accounts for more than 60% of the impairments included on the 2008 Texas 303(d) List. Many of these bacterial impairments are along the Texas Gulf Coast because coastal waters often are regulated for oyster harvesting, which have strict water quality standards. Under the Clean Water Act, each one of these impaired waterbodies requires a total maximum daily load (TMDL) study to be performed. A recent, statewide study recommended the development and application of simple modeling approaches to address the majority of Texas's bacteria TMDLs, including “… simple load duration curve, GIS [geographic information systems], and/or mass balance models.” We developed the TMDL Balance model in response to this recommendation. TMDL Balance is a steady state, mass balance, GIS‐based model for simulating pollutant loads and concentrations in coastal systems. The model uses plug‐flow reactor and continuously‐stirred tank reactor equations to route spatially distributed point and nonpoint source loads through a watershed via overland flow, non‐tidal flow, and tidal flow, decaying the loads via first‐order kinetics. In this paper, we explain the development of the watershed loading portion of the TMDL Balance model, demonstrating the methodology through a case study: computing bacterial loads in the Copano Bay watershed of southeast Texas. The application highlights an example of distributing bacterial sources spatially based on land use data.     

Modeling Biochemical Oxygen Demand Through the Middle and Lower Savannah River1

Abstract: In order to improve modeling accuracy and general understanding of lotic biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), this study characterized river metabolism with the current Georgia Environmental Protection Division method for the middle and lower Savannah River basin (MLSRB) and several alternative methods developed with 120‐day, long‐term biochemical oxygen demand (LTBOD) data from the MLSRB. The data were a subset of a larger two‐year LTBOD study to characterize and understand BOD in the MLSRB, located approximately between Augusta, Georgia, and Savannah, Georgia, along the border of Georgia and South Carolina. The LTBOD data included total oxygen loss and nitrogen speciation for separately quantifying nitrification. Results support the following insights and opportunities for modeling methods: (1) it is important to modeling accuracy that residuals be checked for even dispersion to avoid areas of over‐ and underprediction; (2) modeling with bounded, yet unfixed, rates is a sufficiently simple alternative to fixed‐rate modeling that can eliminate the need for manual adjustments and provide additional system understanding to inform regulation; (3) if fixed rates modeling is desired, model quality for this system might be improved through revising the current low rate (along with the associated f‐ratio updates) from 0.02/day rate to 0.006/day and potentially adding a new rate at 1.0/day in some cases; and (4) the current 57/43 ratio of slow/fast BOD is reasonable based on the 52/45/3 slow/fast/faster BOD proportions of this study.     

加强突发性环境污染事故应急监测的质量管理

突发性环境污染事故应急监测工作应针对应急监测工作中的各个环节，从日常质量保障和现场质量管理两个方面，加强质量管理工作，确保环境应急监测数据准确可靠。     

伊宁市大气污染特征及变化浅析

通过对伊宁市2005年1月起空气自动监测系统正式运行以来的监测数据分析,归纳、总结伊宁市大气污染物随季节变化规律,每日、小时变化规律及市区不同地区大气污染物分布特征,并对这种特征及变化规律进行分析.     

Potential health risks due to toxic contamination in the ambient environment of certain Indian states

Toxic or hazardous substances pose two types of risks in the environment, namely `short-term or acute risk' and `long-termor chronic risk'. The short-term risk is associated with the one-time acute exposure to potentially hazardous substancesaccidentally released in the environment, whereas the long-termrisk is resulted from continuous exposure to potentially harmfulsubstances present in different environmental media. This articledeals with the assessment of potential health risks related to certain carcinogens and non-carcinogens (e.g. cadmium, chromiumand nickel) present in three environmental media, viz. air, waterand food in different Indian states (regions). Appropriate dose-response models have been identified and used for this purpose with the assumptions and input data as per the Indian context. Mean values of ambient air concentration levels of Cd,Cr and Ni have been used to estimate the individual and societalrisks of extra cancer in different states of India. The hazardquotients and hazard index representing the non-carcinogenic chronic health effects caused by chromium and cadmium due to their long-term exposure through water and food have also beenestimated. The risk results have been compared with the diseasesurveillance data. A definite correlation between the estimatedrisk results and the reported number of lung cancer cases and chronic liver diseases have been observed in different regions. As a matter of fact, it is not possible to derive precise risk estimates due to various uncertainties included both in availabledata and in the models which are used to calculate potency factors and effective concentration. However, average risk levelsas estimated and presented in this article are quite useful forplanning purposes.     

INTERVENTION ANALYSIS OF WATER USE RESTRICTIONS,AUSTIN, TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: Mandatory water conservation in the form of restrictions on outdoor watering, car washing, and recreation was implemented in the City of Austin, Texas, during the summers of 1984 and 1985. Three different stages of restrictions were implemented limiting the number of watering hours per day, as well as a restriction that allowed lawn watering once every five days according to the last digit of the street address, Intervention analysis using a transfer function-noise model of daily water use is applied to assess the impact of the restrictions. Compared to a peak water use rate of about 170 MGD, it is shown that mandatory restrictions in 1984 reduced water use by an average of 13.5 MGD, while similar restrictions during the summer of 1985 reduced usage by an average of 5.5 MGD. Lawn watering restrictions on a five-day cycle produced a corresponding five-day cycle in water use of more than 10 MGD in amplitude in 1985. An alternative lawn watering scheme that eliminates this cycle is prescribed.