Use of the MicroResp™ method to assess pollution-induced community tolerance to metals for lotic biofilms

Understanding the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems and the impact of anthropogenic contamination requires correlating exposure to toxicants with impact on biological communities. Several tools exist for assessing the ecotoxicity of substances, but there is still a need for new tools that are ecologically relevant and easy to use. We have developed a protocol based on the substrate-induced respiration of a river biofilm community, using the MicroResp™ technique, in a pollution-induced community tolerance approach. The results show that MicroResp™ can be used in bioassays to assess the toxicity toward biofilm communities of a wide range of metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Ag, Ni, Fe, Co, Al and As). Moreover, a community-level physiological profile based on the mineralization of different carbon substrates was established. Finally, the utility of MicroResp™ was confirmed in an in-situ study showing gradient of tolerance to copper correlated to a contamination gradient of this metal in a small river.     

Native fungi as metal remediators: Silver myco-accumulation from metal contaminated waste-rock dumps (Libiola Mine,Italy)

ABSTRACT

Metal contamination constitutes a major source of pollution globally. Many recent studies emphasized the need to develop cheap and green technologies for the remediation or reclamation of environmental matrices contaminated by heavy metals. In this context, fungi are versatile organisms that can be exploited for bioremediation activities. In our work, we tested silver (Ag) bioaccumulation capabilities of three microfungal strains (Aspergillus alliaceus Thom & Church, Trichoderma harzianum Rifai, Clonostachys rosea (Link) Schroers, Samuels, Seifert & W. Gams) isolated from a silver polluted site. The aim was to select silver tolerant native strains and test their potential silver uptake. Among the three species tested, T. harzianum was the most efficient strain to tolerate and accumulate silver, showing an uptake capability of 153 mg L^?1 taken at the Ag concentration of 330 mg L^?1. Our study highlights the potential use of native microfungi spontaneously growing in sulphide-rich waste rock dumps, for silver bioaccumulation and bioremediation.     

丹江口水库蓄水后汉江中下游水文时空变化的#br# 定量评估及其生态影响

采用变化范围法（RVA）定量研究了丹江口水库蓄水后汉江中下游水文情势的时空变化,评估出汉江干流变化度最大的江段和水文特征指标类别,分析了其对应的生态影响,并针对汉江流域的四大家鱼和水华问题进行了敏感水文指标的变化度分析。结果显示:丹江口大坝蓄水后,汉江下游河道流量是中变化度占主导,比例范围为47～63%;水位是高变化度占主导,襄阳站和皇庄站高变化度的水文指标所占比例远大于其它站点,依次为53% 和75%,各站水位较蓄水前下降了1～2 m。黄家港站高/低流量脉冲出现的频率减少（变化度为-0.49和 -0.62）,且持续的时间变短（变化度为-0.87和 -0.74）。皇庄站和襄阳站流量和水位的月均值和极值较蓄水前减少,逆转次数在高RVA范围内较蓄水前增加（变化度为1.82）。四大家鱼产卵的敏感水文指标出现频率较蓄水前减少,且为中高变化度。下游河道枯水期流量和水位减小,增加了水华发生几率。     

长江上游大型水库群对宜昌站水文情势影响分析

近年来,长江上游已建成一批大型水库,其运行调度必然会对下游的径流产生影响。水文变化指标法(IHA)和水文变化幅度法(RVA)是以水流的量、时间、频率、延时和变化率5种基本特征为基础,对建坝前后的河道水文情势变化进行定量分析的方法。根据长江流域大型水库群建设的实际情况,利用Mann-Kendall秩次相关检验法划分了宜昌站建库前后的流量序列,用来评估长江上游大型水库群对宜昌站水文情势的改变情况。M-K相关检验发现,宜昌站的年最小流量已经在2000年发生了显著性地变化;IHA和RVA分析成果表明,宜昌站的水文情势已经发生了中等程度的改变,主要是与小流量相关的一些因子,如1~3月平均流量、最小流量六个因子、低脉冲发生次数及持续时间等;随着以三峡水库为核心的上游大型水库群建成并投入运行,未来长江下游河道径流还将发生进一步的改变。     

偶氮二甲酰胺发泡剂清洁生产评价模型

提出了针对不同工艺的偶氮二甲酰胺（ADC）发泡剂生产企业的清洁生产综合评价方案。利用逐层序关系分析法确定各指标的影响因子,采用极差标准化法对正逆向指标数据进行初步处理,使用主成分分析法对ADC发泡剂生产企业进行排名。该研究为ADC发泡剂清洁生产评价提供了一个更加客观和精确的方案。     

Determination of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by gas chromatography–electron capture detector

An effective method for determination of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been validated using gas chromatography (GC) equipped with electron capture detector (ECD). The GC–ECD method was validated by determining the linear range (working range) for determination of the compounds, minimum detectable quantities (MDQ), the precision and accuracy of the method for the analysis of the compounds. MDQ obtained for the compounds ranges from 0.0005 to 0.002 ng. Indeed the method was found to be more sensitive as the number of chlorine atoms attached to the biphenyl increases. The precision and accuracy of the GC method validated ranges from 2.4% to 14.5% and −7.0% to 14.6% respectively. Coefficient of variation associated with the repeatability of the retention times and corresponding peak areas was found to be 0.0001–0.0007 for the retention times and 0.0014–0.059 for the peak areas. Percentage recoveries for the compounds were in the range of 95.7–101.0%. The validated method was then applied to determine levels of indicator PCBs in sediments sampled from eleven sampling points along the Lake Bosuntwi in Ghana and the highest PCB load of 19.17 ng g⁻¹ was recorded at Pipie No. 2. PCB 52 and PCB 101 were found to be the most ubiquitous indicator PCBs in the study area, both with 90.91% occurrence.     

铁路交通噪声对鸟类生态环境的影响预测评价

由于鸟类的听觉频率范围与人类不同,以往基于A计权声压级的噪声测量方法,用于鸟类声环境的监测评价并不准确。以广东省江门市新会区“小鸟天堂”风景名胜区为例,开展铁路交通噪声对鸟类生态环境的影响研究。首先,通过实地调查,对鸟类生态区的多个监测点进行声环境线性频谱测量;其次,根据新茂铁路新会段的规划布局,采用模式预测法计算铁路运行期间在监测点产生的交通噪声频谱,并与铁路运行前实地测量的现状频谱叠加;在此基础上,进一步探讨铁路交通噪声对鸟类生态区声环境的影响以及预防措施。研究结果表明,列车运行时在鸟类良好听觉频率范围的噪声增量可达10~30dB,将严重影响鸟类声环境;当采取全封闭声屏障防护措施之后,可有效降低“小鸟天堂”景区范围的噪声。     

Effect of semantics in the study of tolerance for wolves

As conservation scholars increasingly recognize the critical role of human thought and behavior in determining the persistence of biodiversity across the globe, a growing line of inquiry regarding the validity and comparability of previous applications of core psychological concepts has emerged. Specifically, inconsistent measurement and use of terms, such as attitudes and acceptance, reveal important questions about previous approaches. Given that these concepts differ by definition, yet have been used interchangeably, we explored what drives differences in people's responses when each concept is operationalized in the context of a contested wildlife species, the gray wolf (Canis lupus). To do so, we used data from a 2014 survey of U.S. residents (n = 1287) to test how measures of six concepts (i.e., acceptance, attitudes, benefits, risks, [prior] behavior, and behavioral intentions) often employed in the conservation social sciences were related with a broad set of possible explanatory variables. Despite moderate to strong correlations between all concepts measured (| Pearson's r | = 0.39–0.65, p < 0.001), results revealed considerable variation in their respective relationships with identical explanatory variables. Specifically, although wildlife value orientation (i.e., domination or mutualism) operated fairly consistently across cognitive and behavioral concepts, the relationship between the six concepts and other factors, such as social trust, identification with various interest groups (i.e., hunter, farmer, or rancher, environmentalist, and animal rights advocate), and political ideology (i.e., liberal vs. conservative), varied considerably. Our findings underscore that differences exist in these measures, which could have serious implications for conservationists integrating social science findings in their decision-making processes if they are unaware of the theoretical underpinnings of and distinctions between core psychological concepts.     

Region-wide retreats from lower elevations of range-restricted birds across the Northern Andes

Local studies show upslope shifts in the distribution of tropical birds in response to warming temperatures. Unanswered is whether these upward shifts occur regionally across many species. We considered a nearly 2000-km length of the Northern Andes, where deforestation, temperature, and extreme weather events have increased during the past decades. Range-restricted bird species are particularly vulnerable to such events and occur in exceptionally high numbers in this region. Using abundant crowd-sourced data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology database, eBird, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, we documented distributions of nearly 200 such species. We examined whether species shifted their elevational ranges over time by comparing observed versus expected occurrences below a low elevational threshold and above a high elevational threshold for 2 periods: before and after 2005. We predicted fewer observations at lower elevations (those below the threshold) and more at upper elevations (those above the threshold) after 2005. We also tested for deforestation effects at lower elevations within each species’ distribution ranges. We compared relative forest loss with the differences between observed and expected occurrences across the elevational range. Species’ retreats from lower elevations were ubiquitous and involved a 23–40% decline in prevalence at the lowest elevations. Increases at higher elevations were not consistent. The retreats occurred across a broad spectrum of species, from predominantly lowland to predominantly highland. Because deforestation showed no relationship with species retreats, we contend that a warming climate is the most parsimonious explanation for such shifts.     

Visibility impairing aerosols in the urban atmosphere of Delhi

To study the visual air quality of Delhi, size fractionated aerosols – coarse and fine fractions of PM₁₀ – were collected and analysed for and EC at three sites with different background activities. The analysed species constitute a smaller portion of coarse fraction (39%) but a larger portion of fine fraction (69%). The sampling was performed from June 2003 to November 2003 which covers monsoon and post monsoon seasons.Aerosol data was used to describe the spatial variation of Visibility Range as a function of chemical composition of visibility impairing aerosols. During the study period, visibility was found to be poor varying between 4.7 and 13 km with an average value of 9.4 km. It is observed that visibility impairment was more due to carbonaceous aerosol followed by sulphate.