Impacts of n-alkane concentration on soil bacterial community structure and alkane monooxygenase genes abundance during bioremediation processes

Petroleum hydrocarbons, mainly consisting of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are considered as priority pollutants and biohazards in the environment, eventually affecting the ecosystem and human health. Though many previous studies have investigated the change of bacterial community and alkane degraders during the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons, there is still lack of understanding on the impacts of soil alkane contamination level. In the present study, microcosms with different n-alkane contamination (1%, 3% and 5%) were set up and our results indicated a complete alkane degradation after 30 and 50 days in 1%- and 3%-alkane treatments, respectively. In all the treatments, alkanes with medium-chain length (C₁₁-C₁₄) were preferentially degraded by soil microbes, followed by C₂₇-alkane in 3% and 5% treatments. Alkane contamination level slightly altered soil bacterial community, and the main change was the presence and abundance of dominant alkane degraders. Thermogemmatisporaceae, Gemmataceae and Thermodesulfovibrionaceae were highly related to the degradation of C₁₄- and C₂₇-alkanes in 5% treatment, but linked to alkanes with medium-chain (C₁₁-C₁₈) in 1% treatment and C₂₁-alkane in 3% treatment, respectively. Additionally, we compared the abundance of three alkane-monooxygenase genes, e.g., alk_A, alk_P and alk_R. The abundance of alk_R gene was highest in soils, and alk_P gene was more correlated with alkane degradation efficiency, especially in 5% treatment. Our results suggested that alkane contamination level showed non-negligible effects on soil bacterial communities to some extents, and particularly shaped alkane degraders and degrading genes significantly. This study provides a better understanding on the response of alkane degraders and bacterial communities to soil alkane concentrations, which affects their biodegradation process.

Open image in new window

     

Mapping Land-Cover and Mangrove Structures with Remote Sensing Techniques: A Contribution to a Synoptic GIS in Support of Coastal Management in North Brazil

This article deals with the development and application of a cartographic database for a synoptic Geographic Information System (GIS). Its purpose is the storage and evaluation of the heterogeneous datasets of the interdisciplinary scientific research program MADAM (Mangrove Dynamics and Management), which aims to develop recommendations for a tailored integrated coastal management scheme for the mangrove ecosystem at Bragança (North Brazil). The article describes the integration of remote sensing data, aerial photographs, as well as point data provided by fieldwork from different scientific fields. Using various innovative processing techniques and different scale-resolution levels, an assessment of temporal–spatial changes of the mangrove peninsula and the adjacent rural socioeconomic impact area, the type of mangrove structure, as well as a land-use cover analyses was undertaken. The definition of the spatial level of detail was found to be a major issue in the development of the GIS, as well as during the processing and analysis procedures. A division between strong and weak patterns in the mangrove ecosystem could be made, which implies different management measures and sets of specific interdisciplinary studies and monitoring at hierarchical scales.     

国家地震紧急救援训练基地可控地震废墟设计(Ⅱ)——功能设计

地震往往给人类社会带来巨大的财产损失和人员伤亡，专业化的地震紧急救援能够及时应对地震灾害，最大限度减少人民生命财产损失，是防震减灾体系不可或缺的组成部分。国家紧急救援训练基地的建立就是为了训练具有专业水平的地震紧急救援队伍和人员。针对建筑物在地震中的破坏倒塌模式，借鉴国际先进地震搜索救援经验，进行了在各种地震废墟中紧急搜索和救援的方案设计以及国家地震紧急救援训练基地可控地震废墟部分的功能设计。     

国家地震紧急救援训练基地可控地震废墟设计(II)——功能设计

地震往往给人类社会带来巨大的财产损失和人员伤亡,专业化的地震紧急救援能够及时应对地震灾害,最大限度减少人民生命财产损失,是防震减灾体系不可或缺的组成部分。国家紧急救援训练基地的建立就是为了训练具有专业水平的地震紧急救援队伍和人员。针对建筑物在地震中的破坏倒塌模式,借鉴国际先进地震搜索救援经验,进行了在各种地震废墟中紧急搜索和救援的方案设计以及国家地震紧急救援训练基地可控地震废墟部分的功能设计。     

Community Perspectives and Conservation Needs for Dugongs (Dugong dugon) Along the Andaman Coast of Thailand

The dugong is classified as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union on the basis of declines in area or extent of occupancy, habitat quality, and actual or potential levels of exploitation. In Thailand, the largest groups of dugongs are found near islands off the Andaman coast. The authors conducted a 2-year project that included dugong population and habitat assessment as well as interviews with local fishers. The results indicate declining populations of dugongs. The largest threat to dugongs is incidental catch in fishing nets. The numbers of deaths reported place the dugong population along the Andaman Sea in danger of extirpation. Other threats include seagrass destruction both from fishing and coastal development and the use of dugong parts for medicinal purposes. Villagers still show strong ties with dugongs, and the majority favor establishing more large protected areas for the species. These should arise from an integrated national dugong and seagrass conservation strategy formulated by concerned stakeholders from government, nongovernmental organizations, scientists, and local communities. The strategy needs to be both top down and bottom up in its formation to balance existing and potential uses as well as conflicts between artisanal and commercial fishers. The strategy should include the development of educational materials and enforceable regulations, as well as the designation of community-protected seagrass beds and a system of dugong sanctuaries along the Andaman coast. An integrated management plan is needed urgently, with the continued input of concerned scientists, to monitor and increase knowledge of dugong behavior and distribution.     

Setting Site Specific Critical Loads: An Approach using Endorsement Theory and Dempster–Shafer

There is an increasing demand from conservation agencies for site-specific critical loads (CL); unfortunately, there is often very little specific information on a site to determine the important parameters needed to calculate the CL or on the spatial location of the “designated feature” in a site. Determining the most appropriate CL therefore involves using expert judegement to make decisions with incomplete and uncertain information. Endorsement Theory (Cohen, 1985) and Dempster–Shafer statistics (Dempster, 1967; Shafer, 1976) are, respectively, a decision-theoretic and a statistical technique for reasoning under those conditions (uncertainty and incompletness). A key reason for applying these techniques is that they make expert opinion explicit and available for scrutiny. Both techniques have been applied to the problem of setting an appropriate site specific CL, using heathland sites as a case study. Inital findings are encouraging; the uncertainty in expert judgement is made explict, the end results are intuitively reasonable and the methodology apparently acceptable to decision makers.     

A cost-effective microbial slurry technology for rapid composting of municipal solid wastes in waste dump sites in India and its feasibility for use in Australia

This short article reports on commercial composting slurry now available in India. The slurry culture containing active decomposer bacteria and enzymes is spread on the surface of the garbage and inside the heaps in windrows constructed at waste dump sites. The microbes produce hydrolysing enzymes to break down the long chain complexes of the organic substrates. About 1 kg of slurry culture in the colloidal emulsion form mixed with 20 litres of water is sprayed on about 3 m of solid waste. For one tonne of waste 200 litres of slurry water are needed. The waste heaps are turned once in 7 to 10 days for proper aeration and the inoculant slurry is sprayed at each turning to enhance decomposition and to maintain the proper moisture level which is usually 45–55 percent. The process is exothermic and the windrows reach a temperature of 70°–75°C within 24–36 hours, killing many harmful pathogens and repelling all birds, stray animals, flies and mosquitos from the dump site. The entire process is completed within 4–6 weeks and as the decomposition is completed the temperature falls to normal. About 40–45 percent of the undecomposed matter is of recyclable materials, and of the rest about 25–30 percent requires safe disposal in adjacent land-fill sites. The problem of emission from tip gases and of leachate and discharge of effluents is greatly reduced. The foul odor of the tip also disappears within 2–3 days of sanitization. The compost produced is rich in sodium, potassium and phosphorous as well as certain trace elements, and contains active nitrogen fixing and phosphate solubulising bacteria.     

Interactions Among the Copper Species and Forms in Sea Water/Sediments and Copper Bioaccumulation in Oysters

Earlier papers indicated that the first incident of green discoloration in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and the mass mortality observed in 1986 along the Taiwan Erhjin Chi coastal area were caused by the higher contents of total copper and copper species (mainly bioavailable and free ion) in sea water. the copper in sea water would be sorbed by suspended matter and transferred to sediments, and the copper in the sediments would also be desorbed to sea water. Processes of copper adsorption and desorption are the major factors influencing the contents of total copper and copper species in sea water and sediments. in this study, the Erhjin Chi sediments were mixed with sea water by a shaker technique. When the mixture was shaken for one hour, analogous to tidal mixing in estuaries, only copper desorption from sediments was observed. If the shaking time is increased for more than 3 hours, the copper released from the sediments was resorbed to the remaining solid phases. the higher the contents of mud (91.71%) and total copper (701 mg kg^-1) in sediments, the higher the copper desorption rate (1.86 ppm hr^-1) and copper adsorption rate (0.50 ppm hr^-1) were observed. in sediments containing lower mud (0.80%) and lower copper (43.5 mg kg^-1), the copper desorption and adsorption rates were 0.83 ppm hr^-1 and 0.22 ppm hr^-1, respectively. the interactions among the total copper and copper species in sea water and sediments, chemical and ecological parameters, and copper bioaccumulation in oysters in the Erhjin Chi estuarine and coastal area are also discussed.     

Modeling Abundance Index Data from Anuran Calling Surveys

Abstract:  Evaluation of anuran populations is commonly based on calling surveys that report categorical abundance index data. I present a statistical model for abundance index data that are observations representing ordered abundance classes (e.g., none, some, many). The proposed model provides a formal treatment of detection probability, factors that affect detection, and variation in abundance. The model can be viewed as a generalization of that proposed by MacKenzie et al. (2002) for estimating site-occupancy rates in that it allows for more than two abundance classes. Because the abundance distribution is characterized by multiple abundance classes, it may be more sensitive to subtle changes in the underlying abundance that may go undetected with simple occupancy estimates under which sites are characterized merely as occupied or not. The method is most immediately applicable to surveys of anurans in which index data related to the intensity of calling activity are collected. I applied the proposed method to calling index data from the green frog (  Rana clamitans ) collected as part of the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program. The best model indicated considerable variation in detectability over time and in response to temperature. The resulting adjusted (for detectability) abundance-state distribution demonstrates the negative bias in abundance state obtained from simplistic summaries of calling index data that disregard these sources of variation in detectability.     

岸滩侵蚀的环境工程观念

本文从环境工程的角度讨论了岸滩侵蚀问题中建立分析模型的基本框架.讨论了岸滩岩土介质在风浪潮作用下,根据不同的侵蚀准则所建立的岸滩沉积物在近海迁移和传输的模型.得出了岸滩的侵蚀、演变过程由三相组成的结论,第一相是与饱和多孔介质经受动力载荷变形和损伤相联系的固态相;第二相是关于介质侵蚀和剥离的流-固态混合相;第三相是流动和沉积物运输的流体相.从分析讨论还可以看出,岸滩侵蚀演化的模拟分析可在岸滩介质的动力固结、悬浮介质扩散漂移及海浪流体动力学理论相互交叉的基础上,针对海岸环境工程问题中的观念和现象来建模并完成.研究表明,在分析海滩侵蚀和海岸演化过程的机理时,采用海洋环境工程学中的相关方法可以得到更符合实际状况的结果.用损伤力学方法建摸研究岸滩介质的侵蚀和沙化过程,可以将海岸沉积物的迁移速率描述为海床面上的等效摩擦剪应力、损伤状态、侵蚀参数及介质的孔隙冲蚀率的函数.在岸滩侵蚀和演化机理研究中将海岸沉积物的纵向迁移和横向迁移理论相结合的模型有一定的优越性,这为岸滩侵蚀与海岸演变提供了定量的分析方法.