Plutonium bioaccumulation in seabirds

The aim of the paper was plutonium (²³⁸Pu and ^239+240Pu) determination in seabirds, permanently or temporarily living in northern Poland at the Baltic Sea coast. Together 11 marine birds species were examined: 3 species permanently residing in the southern Baltic, 4 species of wintering birds and 3 species of migrating birds. The obtained results indicated plutonium is non-uniformly distributed in organs and tissues of analyzed seabirds. The highest plutonium content was found in the digestion organs and feathers, the smallest in skin and muscles. The plutonium concentration was lower in analyzed species which feed on fish and much higher in herbivorous species. The main source of plutonium in analyzed marine birds was global atmospheric fallout.     

Accidental Versus Operational Oil Spills from Shipping in the Baltic Sea: Risk Governance and Management Strategies

Marine governance of oil transportation is complex. Due to difficulties in effectively monitoring procedures on vessels en voyage, incentives to save costs by not following established regulations on issues such as cleaning of tanks, crew size, and safe navigation may be substantial. The issue of problem structure is placed in focus, that is, to what degree the specific characteristics and complexity of intentional versus accidental oil spill risks affect institutional responses. It is shown that whereas the risk of accidental oil spills primarily has been met by technical requirements on the vessels in combination with Port State control, attempts have been made to curb intentional pollution by for example increased surveillance and smart governance mechanisms such as the No-Special-Fee system. It is suggested that environmental safety could be improved by increased use of smart governance mechanisms tightly adapted to key actors’ incentives to alter behavior in preferable directions.     

Status of Southeast Asia's marine sharks and rays

In Southeast Asia, elasmobranchs are particularly threatened. We synthesized knowledge from the peer-reviewed and gray literature on elasmobranchs in the region, including their fisheries, status, trade, biology, and management. We found that 59% of assessed species are threatened with extinction and 72.5% are in decline; rays were more threatened than sharks. Research and conservation is complicated by the socioeconomic contexts of the countries, geopolitical issues in the South China Sea, and the overcapacity and multispecies nature of fisheries that incidentally capture elasmobranchs. The general paucity of data, funds, personnel, and enforcement hinders management. Reduced capacity in the general fishery sector and marine protected areas of sufficient size (for elasmobranchs and local enforcement capabilities) are among recommendations to strengthen conservation.     

2005年夏季环渤海16条主要入海河流的污染状况

2005-07-01～2005-07-05对环渤海的黄河等16条主要河流的入海污染同步调查显示,13条河流断面的水质属于Ⅳ类以上,其中子牙新河等8条河流水质属于劣Ⅴ类,通过污染分担率分析,环渤海河流的首要污染物为石油类（11条河流）,其次为营养盐,高锰酸盐指数仅位居第3.采用综合营养状态指数法评价,大辽河、黄河等7条河流处于富营养状态,而小清河、蓟运河等7条河流处于重度富营养状态,可见环渤海河流的富营养化现象非常严重.有机污染物的调查显示,16条河流断面采样点TOC的平均值为16 .41 mg/L,高锰酸盐指数的平均值为6 .04 mg/L,其中易降解有机物所占比例平均为15 .61%,表明虽然环渤海16条河流中的化学需氧有机物质的污染严重,但总有机物的入海通量更大,这一点必须引起足够的重视.     

The Benefits of Nest Relocation Extend Far Beyond Recruitment: A Rejoinder to Mrosovsky

Individual sea turtle nests have an extremely low probability of producting adult turtles; thus the practice of moving nests away from the ocean (where they will not be inundated by seawater) is a questionable conservation strategy. Recently in Environmental Management, Mrosovosky used the repeatability of nesting female turtles to place their eggs in certain locations to infer that some females may consistently nest in areas which will be flooded, lowering the chance that any eggs will hatch. This information was used to hypothesize that saving “doomed” sea turtle nests may then alter the genetic composition of the population, ultimately resulting in turtles that nest in poor habitats. Here I question Mrosovosky’s argument by focusing on several weaknesses inherent in the original article, namely that at present there is no evidence to suggest that nest-site selection is a heritable trait with an underlying genetic basis.     

Assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea using red mullets as sentinel organisms

A biomonitoring program was carried out in spring and autumn in three pollution hot-spots and sensitive areas of the NW Mediterranean Sea using red mullets (Mullus barbatus) as sentinel organisms and a battery of biomarkers together with gonad histology. In fish from anthropogenic impacted areas (Fos-sur-mer, Cortiou, Arenzano, Delta of Ebro) lysosomal membrane destabilization occurred indicating disturbed health. There were no significant differences in metallothionein (MT) levels among stations. Peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) activity was highest in fish from Cortiou. Both MT levels and AOX activities were significantly correlated with gamete development. Prevalence of melanomacrophage centers were high in Cortiou in all samplings and in Fos-sur-mer in September samplings. In conclusion, the application of a battery of biomarkers in red mullets provided relevant data for the assessment of environmental pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea but also showed the difficulties of using native fish as sentinels. For future studies caging strategies are recommended.     

海平面升高与水土流失

从中国实际出发,并结合全球水汽循环及水力作用,指出水土流失也是引起海平面升高的一个重要因素。同时,提出了生态保护对策与建议。     

黄海南部近岸海域水质评价

基于2005年1月黄海南部近岸海域水质现场监测结果,采用单因子指数评价法、富营养化指数（E）评价法、有机污染指数（A）评价法对该海域水质状况进行现状评价,结果表明：pH值、DO、无机氮、CODMn均达《海水水质标准》）GB3097—1997）中一类水质标准;PO4^3- -P、BOD5仅达二类水质标准,且各监测站点超标率都已高于50％;43％监测站点E〉1,呈现明显富营养化,其余各站点E值也已接近1,处于富营养化临界状态;A值的范围为0．65～1．22．有57％的站点A〉1,有机污染巳相对较严重。总体来看,该海域水质已受到污染。必须对富营养化和有机污染加以控制。