Ecotoxicity monitoring of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil using earthworm (Eisenia foetida)

In order to assess the applicability of an earthworm bioassayas a technique for monitoring the soil flushing process, short-term and long-term toxicity tests were conducted on remediatedsoil using various pore volumes of surfactant solution. Resultsobtained on short-term toxicity testing indicated that biomassincreased as the soil flushing proceeded, and on diesel-contaminated soils this testing showed that the effect of dieselis lethal and that 25 pore volumes of soil surfactant were notsufficient to abrogate the toxic effect of diesel. These short-term tests also showed strong sublethal relationships between the development of biomass, and the concentrations of toxic chemicals in the soil. Although relationships between contaminants and the various bioassay parameters examined werenot significant in long-term testing, an increase in the numberof juveniles was observed over time, which may have been a consequence of a reduction in toxicity associated with the flushing process.     

全球变暖对上海和广州人群死亡数的可能影响

研究表明，最高气温达到３４℃以上的“热日”死亡数显增加，“热日多出死亡数”占夏季总死亡数的百分率，上海为４．２％，广州为３．８％，广州人对人热压力的适应性比上海人强。如果上海和广州未来温升不同１℃，冬夏死亡数变化不大；如温升几度，夏季死亡数上升，超过冬季死亡数的下降，全年死亡率增高。     

全球变暖对上海和广州人群死亡数的可能影响

研究表明，最高气温达到３４℃以上的“热日”死亡数显著增加，“热日多出死亡数”占夏季总死亡数的百分率，上海为４．２％，广州为３．８％。广州人对热压力的适应性比上海人强。如果上海和广州未来温升不到１℃，冬夏死亡效变化不大；如温升几度，夏季死亡数上升，超过冬季死亡数的下降，全年死亡率增高。     

Apparent sibling rivalry in the freshwater fingernail clam<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Sphaerium striatinum</Emphasis>

In Sphaerium striatinum, a freshwater brooding bivalve, up to 97.5% of offspring that adults initially produce fail to reach independence. Marsupial sacs, specialized extensions of gill filaments that act as nurseries, initially contain multiple offspring in various sizes and stages of development. However, by the time offspring reach later stages of development, marsupial sacs typically contain only one offspring. Brood mortality is hypothesized to be the result of competition among embryos for nutrients and/or space. Sphaeriid eggs do not contain enough yolk for offspring to complete development. Adults supply additional nutrients required to reach independence. Brood capacity is limited by adult size. Adults cannot physically brood all offspring they produce. Here, we examine the validity of the competition hypothesis for brood mortality. We reared offspring, in vitro, through metamorphosis under varying nutrient levels and embryo densities. While hatching success and time to hatching were not influenced by nutrients or density, both factors had significant effects on the percentage of embryos completing metamorphosis and timing of metamorphosis. A higher percentage of offspring completed metamorphosis in higher nutrient levels and lower densities. Offspring reared with higher nutrient levels and lower densities also completed metamorphosis more rapidly. We discuss these results in relation to hypotheses for the overproduction of offspring, sibling rivalries, as well as factors that might explain brood mortality in this species.Communicated by T. Czeschlik     

中国燃煤电厂大气污染物排放的健康影响特征

基于全国高分辨率燃煤电厂排放数据库,利用全球-区域嵌套的大气化学伴随模式GEOS-Chem Adjoint,分析了全国各电网区域不同类型燃煤机组对PM_(2.5)污染相关健康影响的贡献.结果发现,2010年中国燃煤电厂大气污染物排放产生的PM_(2.5)污染导致10. 6万人(95%CI:6. 8~13. 2万人)过早死亡,占全国人为源PM_(2.5)污染相关过早死亡人数的9. 8%.其中,小型机组和老旧机组的健康损失强度(定义为单位发电量导致的过早死亡人数)显著高于大型机组和新建机组.装机容量小于100 MW机组的健康损失强度达到62人·(TW·h)~(-1),是装机容量600 MW以上机组的2. 8倍.类似地,投运年限超过30 a的老旧机组的健康损失强度为58人·(TW·h)~(-1),是投运年限5 a以内新机组的2. 1倍.在电网层面,华中电网的健康损失强度较大,达到77人·(TW·h)~(-1).进一步分析跨电网区域电力输送隐含的健康损失发现,2010年跨电网输电导致燃煤电厂健康损失较无跨电网输电情景增加过早死亡680人.本研究结果表明我国应当加快小型机组和老旧机组的淘汰步伐,降低燃煤电厂的污染健康影响,同时通过优化区域间输电结构,减少整体污染健康损失水平.     

Mortality rates of pathogen indicator microorganisms discharged from point and non-point sources in an urban area

This research measured the mortality rates of pathogen indicator microorganisms discharged from various point and non-point sources in an urban area.Water samples were collected from a domestic sewer,a combined sewer overflow,the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant,and an urban river.Mortality rates of indicator microorganisms in sediment of an urban river were also measured.Mortality rates of indicator microorganisms in domestic sewage,estimated by assuming first order kinetics at 20°C were 0.197 day -1 ,0.234 day -1 ,0.258 day -1 and 0.276 day -1 for total coliform,fecal coliform,Escherichia coli,and fecal streptococci,respectively.Effects of temperature,sunlight irradiation and settlement on the mortality rate were measured.Results of this research can be used as input data for water quality modeling or can be used as design factors for treatment facilities.     

The interplay of sex ratio, male success and density-independent mortality affects population dynamics

Environmental constraints can limit a population to a certain size, which is usually called the carrying capacity of a habitat. Besides to this ‘external’ factor, which is mainly determined by the limitation of resources, we investigate here another set of population-intrinsic factors that can limit a population size significantly below the maximum sustainable size. Firstly, density-independent mortality is a prominent factor in all organisms that show age-related and/or accidental death. Secondly, in sexually reproducing organisms the sex ratio and the success of pairing is important for finding reproductive partners. Using a simple model, we demonstrate how sex ratio, mating success and gender-specific mortality can strongly affect the speed of population growth and the maximum population size. In addition, we demonstrate that density-independent mortality, which is often neglected in population models, adds a very important feature to the system: it strongly enhances the negative influence of unbiased sex ratios and inefficient pairing to the maximum sustainable population size. A decrease of the maximum population size significantly affects a population's survival chance in inter-specific competition. Thus, we conclude that the inclusion of density-independent mortality is crucial, especially for models of species that reproduce sexually. We show that density-independent mortality, together with biased sex ratios, can significantly lower the abilities of a population to survive in conditions of strong inter-specific competition and due to the Allee effect. We emphasize that population models should incorporate the sex ratio, male success and density-independent mortality to make plausible predictions of the population dynamics in a gender-structured population. We show that the population size is limited by these intrinsic factors. This is of high ecological significance, because it means that there will always be resources available in any habitat that allows other species (e.g., invaders) to use these resources and settle successfully, if they are sufficiently adapted.     

Hierarchical Bayesian Modelling of plant colonisation by winged aphids: Inferring dispersal processes by linking aerial and field count data

Understanding and modelling insect pest dispersal is an important prerequisite for designing integrated pest management programs. Nevertheless, studies investigating the dispersal of small insects in natural conditions remain scarce mainly because of the difficulty of tracking the movements of these organisms. Here we propose to use Hierarchical Bayesian Modelling (HBM) framework to gain knowledge on hidden processes that cannot be observed directly in natura, such as insect landing and insect mortality, through the definition of latent variables. An HBM describing crop colonization by winged aphids was fitted to a large dataset of field observations issued from a long term survey at a wide scale of both aerial and field densities of the bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi. This study provides the first evidence that suction trap data are reliable proxies of aphid colonizing rates in cereal fields in autumn and can be a nice alternative to the very time-consuming crop sampling. The proportion of winged aphids landing in cereal fields is shown to vary between regions according to the degree of investment of local R. padi population in sexual reproduction. Results also indicate that under autumnal field conditions, less than 5% of winged aphids survive more than 10 days after landing. This HBM provides the basis of a predictive model for aphid crop colonization that fully accounts for all sources of uncertainty. It should be of great value to improve the trust of users in any decision making systems.     

Using cluster analysis to explore mortality patterns associated with tropical cyclones

Understanding the circumstances and conditions surrounding disaster‐attributed deaths may contribute to designing and implementing emergency preparedness and response programmes. This paper introduces a three‐step cluster analysis of multiple binary variables to investigate mortality patterns related to tropical cyclones. It is designed to overcome the difficulties of performing cluster analysis in a disaster database that is composed in part of nominal variables and is unavoidably incomplete owing to missing information. The first step in the process codes all variables as binary data in order to accommodate the nominal variables. The second step calculates Spearman's rank correlation coefficients for pairs of variables. And the third step subjects the correlation coefficients to cluster analysis. Data related to 1,575 deaths attributed to tropical cyclones (also known as typhoons) that struck Taiwan between 2000 and 2015 are used to illustrate the method. The results yield two distinct groups of variables that are worthy of further exploration.