Spatial and temporal patterns of predation on seeds of the seagrass Phyllospadix torreyi S. Watson were quantified at four sites near Santa Barbara, California, USA. Over a period of four flowering seasons during
1995 to 1998, monthly patterns of seed fall and intensity of seed predation were similar among sites, but were temporally
quite variable. Abundance of dispersed seeds varied greatly both among seasons and years. Within any one year, seeds were
present in the environment every month, but they peaked in abundance during the fall months following the annual flowering
period. Seeds were more abundant during the earlier years of the study. The intensity of predation steadily increased throughout
the study period, from a low of ≤10% seeds consumed during 1995 to ∼50% consumption by 1997, and it was not correlated with
abundance of seeds in the environment. Pre-dispersal seed loss also was estimated in two flowering seasons by counting the
numbers of seeds consumed prior to release from the plant, and was relatively low (<15%). No differences were detected among
the four study sites in patterns of pre-dispersal loss. Field surveys were done at two sites to identify potential seed predators.
Three of the most abundant species identified in these surveys were tested in the laboratory to determine size-specific patterns
of feeding activity and to assess which early life stages of P. torreyi (fruits within spadices, dehisced fruits, seedlings) were most vulnerable to predation. All three of the early life stages
were consumed. The crabs Pugettiaproducta (Randall) and Pachygrapsus crassipes Randall were much more voracious predators than the isopod Idotea resecata Stimpson.
Received: 8 June 1999 / Accepted: 2 February 2000 相似文献
Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.
Background, aim, and scope The enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) detects estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the molecular level of receptor
binding and is a useful tool for the integrative assessment of ecotoxicological potentials caused by hormonally active agents
(HAA) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). The main advantage of the ELRA is its high sample throughput and its robustness
against cytotoxicity and microbial contamination. After a methodological adaptation to salinity of the ELRA, according to
the first part of this study, which increased its salinity tolerance and sensitivity for 17-β-estradiol, the optimised ELRA
was used to investigate 13 native sediments characterised by different levels of salinity and chemical contamination. The
applicability of the ELRA for routine analysis in environmental assessment was evaluated. Salinity is often a critical factor
for bioassays in ecotoxicological sediment assessment. Therefore, salinity of the samples was additionally adjusted to different
levels to characterise its influence on elution and binding processes of receptor-binding substances.
Materials and methods The ELRA was carried out with the human estrogen receptor α (ER) in a 96-well microplate format using the experimental setup
known from the competitive immunoassay based on ligand–protein interaction. It is an important improvement that a physiologically
relevant receptor was used as a linking protein instead of an antibody. The microplates were coated with a 17-β-estradiol-BSA
conjugate, and dilution series of estradiol and of native sediment samples were added and incubated with the ER. After a washing
step, a biotinylated mouse anti-ER antibody was added to each well. Receptor binding to estradiol, agonistic and antagonistic
receptor binding, were determined by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex with subsequent measurement of the peroxidase activity
at the wavelength of 450 nm using a commercial ELISA multiplate reader. The sediment elutriates and pore water samples of
sediments were tested in a dilution series to evaluate at which dilution step the receptor-binding potential ends. In the
elution process (see Section 2.1 to 2.2), a method was developed to adjust the salinity to the levels of the reference testings, which offers an appropriate option
to adjust the salinity in both directions. Statistical evaluation was made with a combination of the Mann–Whitney U test and the pT-method.
Results This part of the study characterised the environmental factor ‘salinity’ for prospective applications of the ELRA. Using reference
substances such as 17-β-estradiol, the ELRA showed sigmoid concentration-effect relations over a broad range from 0.05 μg/l
to 100 μg/l under physiological conditions. After methodological optimisation, both sensitivity and tolerance of the assay
against salinity could be significantly raised, and the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations
of 20.5‰. The mean relative inter-test error (n = 3) was around 11% with reference substances and below 5% for single sediments elutriates in three replicates each. For
sediment testings, the pore water and different salinity-adjusted elutriates of 13 sediments were used. A clear differentiation
of the receptor-binding potential could be reached by application of the pT-method. Thereby, pT-values from one to six could
be assigned to the sediments, and the deviation caused by the different salinity conditions was one pT-value. The mean standard
deviation in the salinity adaptation procedure of the elutriates was below 5%.
Discussion Although the ELRA has already been used for assessments of wastewater, sludge and soil, its applicability for samples to different
salinity levels has not been investigated so far. Even if the ELRA is not as sensitive as the E-screen or the YES-assay, with
regard to reference substances like 17-β-estradiol, it is a very useful tool for pre-screening, because it is able to integrate
both estrogenic as well as anti-estrogenic receptor-binding effects. According to the results of sediment testing, and given
the integrative power to detect different directions of effects, the ELRA shows sufficient sensitivity and salinity tolerance
to discriminate receptor-binding potentials in environmental samples.
Conclusions The optimised ELRA assay is a fast, cost-effective, reliable and highly reproducible tool that can be used for high-throughput
screening in a microplate format in detecting both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects. Additionally, the ELRA is robust
against microbial contaminations, and is not susceptible towards cytotoxic interferences like the common cell-culture methods.
The general applicability and sufficient sensitivity of the ELRA was shown in freshwater environments. Marine and brackish
samples can be measured up to salinity levels of 20.5‰.
Recommendations and perspectives In view of the proven sensitivity, functionality and the fastness of the ELRA, it is recommendable to standardise the test
method. At the moment, no adequate in vitro test procedure exists which is standardised to DIN or ISO levels. The E-screen
and the yeast estrogen/androgen screens (YES/YAS) sometimes underlie strong cytotoxic effects, as reported in the first part
of this study. Further development of an ELRA assay using human androgen receptors appears to be very promising to gain information
about androgenic and anti-androgenic effects, too. This would offer a possibility to use the ELRA as a fast and reliable pre-screening
tool for the detection of endocrine potentials, thus minimising time and cost-expensive animal experiments. 相似文献
Many countries undertake a national forest inventory to enable statistically valid monitoring in support of national and international reporting of forest conditions and change. Canada’s National Forest Inventory (NFI) program is designed to operate on a 10-year remeasurement cycle, with an interim report produced at the 5-year mid-point. The NFI is a sample-based inventory, with approximately 18,850 2 ×2-km photo plots across the country, distributed on a 20×20-km grid of sample points; these photo plots are the primary data source for the NFI. Capacity to provide annual monitoring information is required to keep policy and decision makers apprised of current forest conditions. In this study, we implemented a multistage monitoring framework and used a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) change product to successfully identify 78% of the changes in forest cover area that were captured with a Landsat change detection approach. Of the NFI photo plots that were identified by both the Landsat and MODIS approaches as having changes in forest cover, the proportion of change area within the plots was similar (R2?=?0.78). Approximately 70% of the Landsat-derived change events occupied less than 40% of a single MODIS pixel, and more than 90% of the change events of this size were successfully detected with the MODIS product. Finally, MODIS estimates of the proportion of forest cover change at the NFI photo plot level were comparable to change estimates for the ecoregions as a whole (R2?=?0.95). High-temporal, low-spatial resolution imagery such as MODIS, in combination with other remotely sensed data sources, can provide information on disturbance events within a national forest inventory remeasurement cycle, thereby satisfying the interim information needs of policy and decision makers as well as the requirements of national and international reporting commitments. 相似文献
Use of crops for green manure as a substitute for chemical fertilizers and pesticides is an important approach towards more sustainable agricultural practices. Green manure from white clover is rich in nitrogen but white clover also produces the cyanogenic glucosides (CGs) linamarin and lotaustralin; CGs release toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) upon hydrolysis which may be utilized for pest control. We demonstrate that applying CGs in the form of a liquid extract of white clover to large columns of intact agricultural soils can result in leaching of toxic cyanide species to a depth of at least 1m. Although degradation of the CGs during leaching proceeded with half lives in the interval 1.5-35 h depending on soil characteristics, a fraction of the applied CGs (0.9-3.2%) was recovered in the leachate as either CGs or toxic cyanide species. Detoxification of the HCN formed was rapid in soil and leachate from both sandy and loamy soil. However, 30% of the leachate samples exceeded the EU threshold value of 50 micrgl(-1) total cyanide for drinking water and 85% exceeded the US threshold of 5 micrgl(-1) for cyanide chronic ecotoxicity in fresh water. This study demonstrates that even easily degradable natural products present in crop plants as defense compounds pose a threat to the quality of groundwater and surface waters. This aspect needs consideration in assessment of the risk associated with use of crops as green manure to replace chemical fertilizers and pesticides as well as in genetic engineering approaches to design crops with improved pest resistance. 相似文献
Escherichia coli can persist in streambed sediments and influence water quality monitoring programs through their resuspension into overlying waters. This study examined the spatial patterns in E. coli concentration and population structure within streambed morphological features during baseflow and following stormflow to inform sampling strategies for representative characterization of E. coli populations within a stream reach. E. coli concentrations in bed sediments were significantly different (p?=?0.002) among monitoring sites during baseflow, and significant interactive effects (p?=?0.002) occurred among monitoring sites and morphological features following stormflow. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression revealed that water velocity and effective particle size (D10) explained E. coli concentration during baseflow, whereas sediment organic carbon, water velocity and median particle diameter (D50) were important explanatory variables following stormflow. Principle Coordinate Analysis illustrated the site-scale differences in sediment E. coli populations between disconnected stream segments. Also, E. coli populations were similar among depositional features within a reach, but differed in relation to high velocity features (e.g., riffles). Canonical correspondence analysis resolved that E. coli population structure was primarily explained by spatial (26.9–31.7 %) over environmental variables (9.2–13.1 %). Spatial autocorrelation existed among monitoring sites and morphological features for both sampling events, and gradients in mean particle diameter and water velocity influenced E. coli population structure for the baseflow and stormflow sampling events, respectively. Representative characterization of streambed E. coli requires sampling of depositional and high velocity environments to accommodate strain selectivity among these features owing to sediment and water velocity heterogeneity. 相似文献
Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs) are commonly used to treat municipal wastewater in Arctic Canada. The biological treatment in the WSPs is strongly influenced by climatic conditions. Currently, there is limited information about the removal of fecal and pathogenic bacteria during the short cool summer treatment season. With relevance to public health, the objectives of this paper were to determine if treatment in arctic WSPs resulted in the disinfection (i.e., removal of fecal indicator bacteria, Escherichia coli) and removal of selected human bacterial pathogens from the treated effluent. The treatment performance, with focus on microbial removal, was assessed for the one-cell WSP in Pond Inlet (Nunavut [NU]) and two-cell WSP in Clyde River (NU) over three consecutive (2012–2014) summer treatment seasons (late June-early September). The WSPs provided a primary disinfection treatment of the wastewater with a 2–3 Log removal of generic indicator E. coli. The bacterial pathogens Salmonella spp., pathogenic E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, but not Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter pylori, were detected in the untreated and treated wastewater, indicating that human pathogens were not reliably removed. Seasonal and annual variations in temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the disinfection efficiency. Improved disinfection and pathogen removal was observed for the two-cell system in Clyde River as compared to the one-cell system in Pond Inlet. A quantitative microbial risk assessment should be performed to determine if the release of low levels of human pathogens into the arctic environment poses a human health risk. 相似文献
ABSTRACT Aerosol light absorption as black carbon (BC) was measured from November 19, 1995, to February 6, 1996, at a location 0.65 km downwind of the center of McMurdo Station on the Antarctic coast. The results show a bimo-dal frequency distribution of BC concentrations. Approximately 65% of the measurements were found in a mode at a low range of concentrations centered at ~20 ng/m3. These concentrations are higher than those found at other remote Antarctic locations and probably represent contamination from the station. The remaining measurements were in a high-concentration mode (BC ~300 ng/m3), indicating direct impact of local emissions from combustion activities at the station. High values of BC were associated with winds from the direction of the station, and the BC flux showed a clear directionality. Maximum BC concentrations occurred between 7:00 and 11:00 a.m. The "polluted" mode accounted for more than 80% of the BC frequency-weighted impact at this location. 相似文献