Temperature and Concentration Effects in Biomonitoring of Organic Air Pollutants

Up to now only very few studies in biomonitoring of organic air pollutants have been published taking into account the strong influence mean temperatures have on the accumulation process into plants during the course of the exposition. Temperature governed sorption as well as the plants vitality pose a major source of uncertainty making inter-study comparisons difficult. Different surface-to-volume ratios of plant foliage lead to strongly varying concentration effects in different plant species. Moreover a plants content of waxes and lipids must be considered in order to relate xenobiotic concentrations to the compounds being most efficient in the bioaccumulation process. Some of these factors are evaluated in regard to the use of plants as biomonitors for organic air pollutants. Another aim is to deduce the mean ambient gas phase concentrations from PAH concentrations determined in the biomonitor plants using vegetation-air partitioning coefficients which have been corrected for temperature dependent sorption as well as the plants lipid content. Restrictions of such approaches and methods of biomonitoring in general are discussed.     

Developing sediment quality criteria for heavy metal pollution in the Le An River with equilibrium partitioning approach

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基于单颗粒质谱信息气溶胶分类方法的研究进展

气溶胶质谱仪在对气溶胶颗粒的监测过程中会产生大量单颗粒的化学成分和粒径信息,基于这些质谱数据能够推测颗粒的来源。而对气溶胶来源的分析,很大程度上是由颗粒的种类决定的,故对海量数据的分类就成为不可忽略的步骤。针对气溶胶质谱仪采集到的数据,概述了用于气溶胶分类的多种方法的理论核心、分类步骤及各自的优缺点等。据此可为今后气溶胶分类方法的研究提供建设性意见。     

卤系阻燃剂在东江工业水体中的质量浓度及其分配特征

本研究分析了东江工业水体中卤系阻燃剂的浓度,组成分布以及分配特征.结果表明多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)是水体中的主要的卤系阻燃剂,占总卤系阻燃剂的41.0%,其质量浓度范围为1 102.3~3 666.9 pg·L~(-1),其中BDE209是颗粒相的主要成分.四溴双酚A(TBBPA)占总卤系阻燃剂的32.4%,其质量浓度范围为1 120.9~2 856.5 pg·L~(-1),其他卤系阻燃剂如十溴二苯乙烷(DBDPE)、德克隆(DP)和六溴环十二烷(HBCDs)分别占总卤系阻燃剂的16.3%、7.3%和3.0%,其质量浓度范围分别为397.7~1 736.8、235.7~778.1和9.5~266.8 pg·L~(-1).在对水体溶解相和颗粒相分配的研究中发现,PBDEs、DBDPE、DP和HBCDs主要存在于水体颗粒相中,而TBBPA由于其较大的水溶性,主要存在于溶解相中;卤系阻燃剂的lgK_(oc)与lgK_(ow)之间存在显著的相关性,但是lgK_(oc)实测值与其理论预测值有一定差异,这可能是受控于悬浮颗粒(SPM)含量和溶解有机碳(DOC)含量这两个因素,此外,颗粒相和溶解相之间分配是否达到平衡也是影响测量lg Koc值的因素.     

DISTRIBUTION AND GRAIN-SIZE PARTITIONING OF METALS IN BOVFOM SEDIMENTS OF AN EXPERIMENTALLY ACIDIFIED WISCONSIN LAKE1

ABSTRACT: A study of concentrations and distribution of major and trace elements in surficial bottom sediments of Little Rock Lake in northern Wisconsin included examination of spatial variation and grain-size effects. No significant differences with respect to metal distribution in sediments were observed between the two basins of the lake, despite the experimental acidification of one of the basins from pH 6.1 to 4.6. The concentrations of most elements in the lake sediments were generally similar to soil concentrations in the area and were well below sediment quality criteria. Two exceptions were lead and zinc, whose concentrations in July 1990 exceeded the criteria of 50 μg/g and 100 μg/g, respectively, in both littoral and pelagic sediments. Concentrations of some elements, particularly Cu, Pb, and Zn, increased along transects from nearshore to midlake, following a similar gradient of sedimentary organic carbon. In contrast, Mn, Fe, and alkali/alkaline-earth elements were at maximum concentrations in nearshore sediments. These elements are less likely to partition to organic particles, and their distribution is more dependent on mineralogical composition, grain size, and other factors. Element concentrations varied among different sediment grain-size fractions, although a simple inverse relation to grain size was not observed. Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn were more concentrated in a grain-size range 20–60 tm than in either the very fine or the coarse fractions, possibly because of the aggregation of smaller particles cemented together by organic and Fe/Mn hydrous-oxide coatings.     

Comparative Influence of Forest Management and Habitat Structural Factors on the Abundances of Hollow-Nesting Bird Species in Subtropical Australian Eucalypt Forest

We examined the impact of single-tree selective logging and fuel reduction burns on the abundance of hollow-nesting bird species at a regional scale in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Data were collected on species abundance and habitat structure of dry sclerophyll production forest at 36 sites with known logging and fire histories. Sixteen bird species were recorded with most being resident, territorial, obligate hollow nesters that used hollows that were either small (<10 cm diameter) or very large (>18 cm diameter). Species densities were typically low, but combinations of two forest management and three habitat structural variables influenced the abundances of eight bird species in different and sometimes conflicting ways. The results suggest that habitat tree management for biodiversity in production forests cannot depend upon habitat structural characteristics alone. Management histories appear to have independent influence (on some bird species) that are distinguishable from their impacts on habitat structure per se. Rather than managing to maximize species abundances to maintain biodiversity, we may be better off managing to avoid extinctions of populations by identifying thresholds of acceptable fluctuations in populations of not only hollow-nesting birds but other forest dependent wildlife relative to scientifically valid forest management and habitat structural surrogates.     

Dominance and polyethism in the eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus mastigophorus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Dominance interactions affected patterns of non-reproductive division of labor (polyethism) in the eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus mastigophorus. Socially dominant individuals foraged for food (nectar and insect prey) at lower rates than subordinate individuals. In contrast, dominant wasps performed most of the foraging for the wood pulp used in nest construction. Social dominance also affected partitioning of materials collected by foragers when they returned to the nest. Wood pulp loads were never shared with nest mates, while food loads, especially insect prey, were often partitioned with other wasps. Dominant individuals on the nest were more likely to take food from arriving foragers than subordinate individuals. The role of dominance interactions in regulating polyethism has evolved in the eusocial paper wasps (Polistinae). Both specialization by foragers and task partitioning have increased from basal genera (independent-founding wasps, including Mischo-cyttarus spp.) to more derived genera (swarm-founding Epiponini). Dominance interactions do not regulate forager specialization or task partitioning in epiponines. I hypothesize that these changes in polyethism were enabled by the evolution of increased colony size in the Epiponini. Received: 8 December 1997 / Accepted after revision: 28 March 1998     

Hydrograph Separation by Incorporating Climatological Factors: Application to Small Experimental Watersheds 1

Abstract: Evaluating the relative amounts of water moving through the different components of the hydrological cycle is required for precise management and planning of water resources. An important aspect of this evaluation is the partitioning of streamflow into surface (quick flow) and base‐flow components. A prior study evaluated 40 different approaches for hydrograph‐partitioning on a field scale watershed in the Coastal Plain of the Southeastern United States and concluded that the Boughton’s method produced the most consistent and accurate results. However, its accuracy depends upon the proper estimation of: (1) the end of surface runoff, and (2) the fraction factor (α) that is function of many physical and hydrologic characteristics of a watershed. Proper identification of the end of surface runoff was accomplished by using a second derivative approach. Applying this approach to 12 years of separately measured surface and subsurface flow data from a field scale watershed (study area) proved to be accurate for 87% of the time. Estimation of the α value was accomplished in this study using two steps: (1) alpha was fitted to individual hydrographs: and, (2) a regression equation that determines these alpha values based on climatological factors (e.g., rainfall, evapotranspiration) was developed. Using these strategies improved the streamflow partitioning method’s performance significantly.     

重金属在灰尘及其水溶解相中的分布特征及其影响因素——以南昌市为例

以南昌市为例,分析了不同功能区和公交车站降尘及其水溶解相中重金属浓度的空间分布特征.同时结合多种分析技术,探究降尘及其水溶解相理化性质对降尘重金属在固-液相中分配行为的影响.结果表明:南昌市降尘及其水溶解相中总重金属浓度范围分别为310~4393μg/g和2.17~55.62μg/g.两相中重金属的空间分布可能受到车流量较大的交通干线和汽车轮胎零件磨损的影响,其高值区主要分布于南昌县政府、部分高校以及客运站、驾校附近.风险评价的结果表明,南昌市降尘重金属综合生态风险总体处于中等水平,且Cr和As具有一定的致癌风险.溶解态中重金属所占百分比(K值)的排序为:Ni>Mn>Cu>As>Cr>Zn>Pb,K值的空间分布高值区多分布于人口密集地区、交通道路以及汽车客运站附近.大部分降尘及其水溶解相的理化性质与Pb、As、Mn具有显著正相关关系,降尘溶解相中较高的溶解性有机碳和腐殖化程度对重金属向溶解相中的释放具有重要作用.     

Effect of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity across Turkish Provinces

Although agricultural intensification is thought to pose a significant threat to species, little is known about its role in driving biodiversity loss at regional scales. I assessed the effects of a major component of agricultural intensification, agricultural chemical use, and land‐cover and climatic variables on butterfly diversity across 81 provinces in Turkey, where agriculture is practiced extensively but with varying degrees of intensity. I determined butterfly species presence in each province from data on known butterfly distributions and calculated agricultural chemical use as the proportion of agricultural households that use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. I used constrained correspondence analyses and regression‐based multimodel inference to determine the effect of environmental variables on species composition and richness, respectively. The variation in butterfly species composition across the provinces was largely explained (78%) by the combination of agricultural chemical use, particularly pesticides, and climatic and land‐cover variables. Although overall butterfly richness was primarily explained by climatic and land‐cover variables, such as the area of natural vegetation cover, threatened butterfly richness and the relative number of threatened butterfly species decreased substantially as the proportion of agricultural households using pesticides increased. These findings suggest that widespread use of agricultural chemicals, or other components of agricultural intensification that may be collinear with pesticide use, pose an imminent threat to the biodiversity of Turkey. Accordingly, policies that mitigate agricultural intensification and promote low‐input farming practices are crucial for protecting threatened species from extinction in rapidly industrializing nations such as Turkey. Efectos del Uso Extensivo de Agroquímicos sobre la Diversidad de Mariposas en Provincias Turcas