酸性矿山废水区域废矿石中真核生物多样性分析

采集安徽某铁矿酸性矿山废水库周边的废矿石样品,分析了样品的主要物化参数,进而利用分子生物学方法,构建真核生物18S rDNA克隆文库,对样品中的真核生物多样性和群落结构进行了研究.结果表明,该区域呈现强酸性,pH均在3以下,Fe、SO2-4、P、NO-3-N含量都显示同一个趋势,即裸露的废矿石样品PD和1M的含量高于有植被覆盖的样品LW和XC.4个样品含有子囊菌门(Ascomycota)、担子菌门(Basidiomycota)、球囊菌门(Glomeromycota)和节肢动物门(Arthropoda)这4类真核生物.其中球囊菌门可以与植物形成绝对共生关系,是早期植物适应陆地环境的关键.包含球囊菌门的样品LW和XC,有植被保护,其生物多样性比裸露的废矿石样品PD和1M的生物多样性更丰富.此外,还发现样品中存在很多对极低pH、重金属有耐受力的菌种,如Penicillium purpurogenum、Chaetothyriales sp.、Staninwardia suttonii等.     

基于多个扩增子的DNA metabarcoding技术探究黄海微型真核浮游植物多样性

微型真核浮游植物是海洋生态系统中能量流动和物质循环的关键环节,对维持海洋生态系统的稳定发挥着关键的作用.本研究首次应用DNA metabarcoding技术探讨黄海微型真核浮游植物的物种组成及多样性,对比分析ITS、18S r DNA V4和18S r DNA V9扩增子条件下微型真核浮游植物的群落结构及多样性水平,并探讨了其多样性与温度、盐度的响应关系.结果表明:①基于ITS扩增子获得的微型真核浮游植物中绿藻门所占比例较高,而基于18S r DNA V4和18S r DNA V9扩增子获得的甲藻门相对丰度较高.②基于18S r DNA V9扩增子获得的微型真核浮游植物的ACE、Chao1、Shannon和Simpson指数较ITS和18S r DNA V4扩增子更高,而且其门、纲、目和科的数目较高.③黄海微型真核浮游植物的Shannon指数与温度呈现出显著正相关的关系(P 0. 01),而与盐度呈现出显著负相关的关系(P 0. 05).本研究通过对比不同扩增子条件下黄海微型真核浮游植物的群落结构及丰度特征,丰富了黄海微型真核浮游植物的认识,可为今后该海域微型真核浮游植物的生态学研究、生物多样性监测、生物资源动态变化及持续开发生产等方面的分析提供科学依据.     

The use of δ18O as an indicator of vanadium movement in a dormant stratovolcano region

The oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) stable water tracer can be a promising new tool for identifying trace metals in volcanoes and their sources. In the present study, the origin of vanadium in water from a spring at the base of Mt. Fuji is examined using δ¹⁸O, a dormant stratovolcano consisting of lava and basalt rock located on the North Pacific Coast of Japan. A comparison of water from the main springs at the foot of the Mt. Fuji volcano indicates that only V, Cr, Mn and Co enrichment could be related to volcanic events, whereas Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb originate from the dissolution of particles of anthropogenic origin from the industrial areas of Fuji and Fujinomiya. The average V concentrations at the mountain sites ranged from 50 to 110 µg L^?1 and from 18 to 47 µg L^?1 in the coastal areas. The δ¹⁸O became depleted at higher elevations and increased in coastal areas as well as in some NO₃^?-contaminated water. Therefore, variations in the dissolved V/δ¹⁸O ratio in springs of the study area occur due to the elevations of their catchments and the increased concentrations of δ¹⁸O from NO₃^? as a contaminant.     

A multispecies test of source–sink indicators to prioritize habitat for declining populations

For species at risk of decline or extinction in source–sink systems, sources are an obvious target for habitat protection actions. However, the way in which source habitats are identified and prioritized can reduce the effectiveness of conservation actions. Although sources and sinks are conceptually defined using both demographic and movement criteria, simplifications are often required in systems with limited data. To assess the conservation outcomes of alternative source metrics and resulting prioritizations, we simulated population dynamics and extinction risk for 3 endangered species. Using empirically based habitat population models, we linked habitat maps with measured site‐ or habitat‐specific demographic conditions, movement abilities, and behaviors. We calculated source–sink metrics over a range of periods of data collection and prioritized consistently high‐output sources for conservation. We then tested whether prioritized patches identified the habitats that most affected persistence by removing them and measuring the population response. Conservation decisions based on different source–sink metrics and durations of data collection affected species persistence. Shorter time series obscured the ability of metrics to identify influential habitats, particularly in temporally variable and slowly declining populations. Data‐rich source–sink metrics that included both demography and movement information did not always identify the habitats with the greatest influence on extinction risk. In some declining populations, patch abundance better predicted influential habitats for short‐term regional persistence. Because source–sink metrics (i.e., births minus deaths; births and immigrations minus deaths and emigration) describe net population conditions and cancel out gross population counts, they may not adequately identify influential habitats in declining populations. For many nonequilibrium populations, new metrics that maintain the counts of individual births, deaths, and movement may provide additional insight into habitats that most influence persistence.     

Seven years from the first application of polyaluminium chloride in the Czech Republic – effects on phytoplankton communities in three water bodies

This study determines the efficiency of polyaluminium chloride application on phytoplankton species as a consequence of five reservoir restorations in the Czech Republic during the years 2005 and 2008, including the first ever large-scale application. Although polyaluminium chloride has been used in water treatment plants across the world, information about its application toward cyanobacterial blooms in nature is poor. Although the application of polyaluminium chloride did not cause any fundamental long-term changes in the composition of phytoplankton species or phosphorus load, instead causing fast and acute removal of the phytoplankton community, it may act as an algicidal compound with fast removal efficiency. All treated water bodies described in our study remained unaffected by cyanobacterial blooms and the hygienic limit for the purposes of recreation was not exceeded in any particular season. This article should serve as notice of the advantages and disadvantages of polyaluminium chloride application, and also warn against the uniform usage of this chemical as a method of reducing phytoplankton species in all types of water bodies where cyanobacteria are present. Moreover, data about the effects on non-target (invertebrates) species and microcystin release from cyanobacterial cells are also mentioned.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of the textile dye basic red 18 with irradiated titanium dioxide

One of the major problems of textile wastewater is the presence of dye materials, because colour is visible to the public even if the dye concentration is lower than other pollutants, and needs therefore to be removed from the wastewater before it is discharged. Techniques based on “advanced oxidative processes” such as photocatalysed oxidation seem to be very promising for industrial wastewater treatment, especially for decolourization of textile effluents. In this work, we describe the photocatalytic degradation of the textile dye Basic Red 18 (BR 18) in aqueous solution using two different types of TiO₂ as photocatalyst: Degussa P25 (80% anatase) and Framitalia (100% anatase). Photooxidation of BR 18 was followed by HPLC analysis, and kinetic parameters were evaluated in order to optimise the treatment procedure. The results obtained in this work showed that the colour became virtually zero and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is strongly reduced at the end of the treatment. The obtained results are compared with the efficiency of decolourization using the H₂O₂/UV System. Finally, marine mussel test was used to evaluate the efficiency of photocatalytic oxidation with TiO₂ in terms of ecotoxicity. A significant reduction of cumulative mortality was observed for the treated effluent.     

Infant health impacts of freshwater algal blooms: Evidence from an invasive species natural experiment

Economists are increasingly interested in causally interpretable estimates of environmental health externalities, particularly on infant health. This paper focuses on a specific case by investigating microcystin, a toxin produced by freshwater blue-green algal blooms. We exploit a natural experiment caused by a zebra mussel die-off in a large lake located in the state of Michigan, USA to identify changes in microcystin-related infant outcomes surrounding the lake. Using both the synthetic control method and a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that instances of low birth weight around the lake fell by 1.4 percentage points after lake water quality improved. Along the intensive margin, birth weight and length of gestation increased by 17.1 g and 0.47 weeks, respectively. Improvements to low birth weight result in $768,500 in average annual hospitalization cost savings. Many robustness and falsification tests are performed including using both annual and monthly data and accounting for possible weather confounders and seasonality. Results suggest that microcystin can affect infant health at levels below current water advisory guidelines.