The New Danish Stream Monitoring Programme (Novana) – Preparing Monitoring Activities For The Water Framework Directive Era

Denmark has a long tradition of monitoring the aquatic environment. Previous monitoring has mainly focused on loss of nutrients and subsequent impacts on the biological structure in lakes and coastal areas. However, as part of the third Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment more emphasis has been put on stream ecology. The present paper describes background, strategy and content of the new NOVANA stream programme, which will run for the period 2004–2009. The new programme will encompass more than 800 stations covering all stream types in Denmark and monitoring will include three biological quality elements (macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fish) as well as physico-chemical features and hydromorphological elements. In addition, the new programme integrates monitoring of elements both in the stream itself and in the riparian zone. Compliance with important European Commission Directives such as the Water Framework Directive and the Habitat Directive is discussed.     

喜马拉雅中部药用植物的商业评估

本研究对尼泊尔全国药用植物的年产量及商业价值进行了评估.我们对尼泊尔15个地区的当地药用植物交易者(n=149)和印度的地区批发商(n=53)进行了无限制问卷调查,借以收集数据.据估计,年交易额的范围为7000～27 000t,案例年份1997～1998年的产量为14 500t.按印度主要市场的地区批发商购买价格计算,相应的年出口额估计为700～3000万美元,1997～1998年为1600万美元.约有10%的农户参与了商品化采集.低海拔生态区在产量和价值两方面均占优势;就价值而言,药草是最重要的生活型.约有36%的产量和51%的价值来自破坏性采集.有人认为,年产量和价值数据仍有可能属于保守估计.本文还简短讨论了本研究结果对喜马拉雅药用植物保护及贸易的意义.     

S-100 protein and neuron-specific enolase in amniotic fluid as markers of abdominal wall and neural tube defects in the fetus

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is increased leakage of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S-100 protein into amniotic fluid in pregnancies with neural tube defects, since both these proteins are produced by neural tissue, and to compare the value of these substances for detecting such defects with that of the more conventional techniques of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gel electrophoresis. Amniotic samples from 25 mid-pregnancies (15–17 weeks' gestation) with neural tube defects (14 with open spina bifida and 11 with anencephaly) and from seven mid-pregnancies with abdominal wall defects were compared with a control material consisting of 80 amniotic fluid samples from 80 consecutive mid-pregnancy amniocenteses, with normal karyotypes and AFP concentrations. All of the above cases of abnormalities were primarily detected through increased AFP levels in the amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid samples from 13 pregnancies with fetuses with autosomal chromosomal abnormalities and seven amniotic fluid samples contaminated with blood were also included in the investigation. It is concluded from the results that the conventional AFP assay combined with AChE gel electrophoresis is the best method for screening amniotic fluid for neural tube defects and defects of the abdominal wall. Neither NSE nor S-100 assay alone proved to be superior for the detection of these cases in mid-trimester amniotic fluid. The S-100 assay, however, could give additional information in cases where AChE gel electrophoresis is not decisive; for example, in samples contaminated with blood.     

Evaluating a safety culture campaign: Some lessons from a Norwegian case

The focus of the present study is on the implementation and some of the results of an evaluation of a safety culture campaign that partly was aimed at increasing workmate interventions (care). I focus on three groups either working on or with a Norwegian offshore platform: onshore managers, crane operators and process operators. The research questions are: “Has the safety culture campaign contributed to new safety cultures related to care in the three groups, why/why not and what can we learn from this?”. The study indicates that two of the groups have developed new safety cultures that sensitize them to new hazards, motivate and legitimize new preventive practices. In accordance with the interpretive approach to culture in organizations, these changes are discussed in light of members’ of each group’s negotiation over the meaning and relevance of campaign efforts on workmate interventions. Lessons that can be learned from the study are discussed.     

Using Relative Risk to Compare the Effects of Aquatic Stressors at a Regional Scale

The regional-scale importance of an aquatic stressor depends both on its regional extent (i.e., how widespread it is) and on the severity of its effects in ecosystems where it is found. Sample surveys, such as those developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), are designed to estimate and compare the extents, throughout a large region, of elevated conditions for various aquatic stressors. In this article, we propose relative risk as a complementary measure of the severity of each stressor’s effect on a response variable that characterizes aquatic ecological condition. Specifically, relative risk measures the strength of association between stressor and response variables that can be classified as either “good” (i.e., reference) or “poor” (i.e., different from reference). We present formulae for estimating relative risk and its confidence interval, adapted for the unequal sample inclusion probabilities employed in EMAP surveys. For a recent EMAP survey of streams in five Mid-Atlantic states, we estimated the relative extents of eight stressors as well as their relative risks to aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages, with assemblage condition measured by an index of biotic integrity (IBI). For example, a measure of excess sedimentation had a relative risk of 1.60 for macroinvertebrate IBI, with the meaning that poor IBI conditions were 1.6 times more likely to be found in streams having poor conditions of sedimentation than in streams having good sedimentation conditions. We show how stressor extent and relative risk estimates, viewed together, offer a compact and comprehensive assessment of the relative importances of multiple stressors.     

Food for Thought: Audience Engagement with Sustainability Messages in Branded Content

Branded platforms are a growing “gray-zone” of marketing and media messages, in which corporations and news journalists partner to create content that supports strategic corporate goals while aligning with a publication’s scope of editorial coverage. As corporations are key influencers of and contributors to environmental communication, this trend has the potential to change environmental dialogue. In this article, we closely examine messages about food and sustainability, created in partnership by Chipotle Mexican Grill and the Huffington Post news site. We illustrate how use of a branded platform expanded the scope of environmental topics, issues, and frames that Chipotle addresses, how frames identified here connect to frames in coverage of science-related issues, as identified by other scholars, and discuss how branded platforms allow corporations to draw attention to polarizing environmental issues while protecting stakeholder relationships and brand reputation.     

Decline of woody vegetation in a saline landscape in the Groundnut Basin,Senegal

Several studies have documented that vegetation in the Sahel is highly dynamic and is affected by the prevailing climatic conditions, as well as by human use of the areas. However, little is known about vegetation dynamics in the large saline areas bordering the rivers of West Africa. Combining satellite imagery, the perception of local people and botanical information, this study investigated the vegetation dynamics and the drivers of vegetation changes in Fatick Province, Senegal. Satellite images showed a change in vegetation composition, i.e., a loss of tree cover and an increase in shrub cover, herbaceous cover and tans (highly saline areas with sparse vegetation). Although the trend was the same, the three villages had different vegetation histories. A survey of the woody vegetation showed that shrubs and young trees were dominating with relatively few large trees. Local people perceived a general decline of woody plants from 1993 to 2013. Among 60 species mentioned by local people, 90 % were declining and 10 % increasing. Together the three methods documented a decrease in density and diversity of the woody vegetation, mainly influenced by salinity and land use. The large numbers of young trees indicate a potential for regeneration of some, but not all, tree species. As many tree species appreciated by local people were reported to be declining, local communities have experienced a reduction of their natural resources. Based on villagers’ recommendations for improved vegetation management, we discuss possible contributions including reforestation, desalinization and environmental protection for restoration of the vegetation.     

Contaminants in fish tissue from US lakes and reservoirs: a national probabilistic study

An unequal probability design was used to develop national estimates for 268 persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs of the conterminous United States (excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake). Predator (fillet) and bottom-dweller (whole body) composites were collected from 500 lakes selected randomly from the target population of 147,343 lakes in the lower 48 states. Each of these composite types comprised nationally representative samples whose results were extrapolated to the sampled population of an estimated 76,559 lakes for predators and 46,190 lakes for bottom dwellers. Mercury and PCBs were detected in all fish samples. Dioxins and furans were detected in 81% and 99% of predator and bottom-dweller samples, respectively. Cumulative frequency distributions showed that mercury concentrations exceeded the EPA 300 ppb mercury fish tissue criterion at nearly half of the lakes in the sampled population. Total PCB concentrations exceeded a 12 ppb human health risk-based consumption limit at nearly 17% of lakes, and dioxins and furans exceeded a 0.15 ppt (toxic equivalent or TEQ) risk-based threshold at nearly 8% of lakes in the sampled population. In contrast, 43 target chemicals were not detected in any samples. No detections were reported for nine organophosphate pesticides, one PCB congener, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or 17 other semivolatile organic chemicals.     

Preliminary evidence of a decline in perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) concentrations in American Red Cross blood donors

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS,C(8)F(17)SO(3)(-)) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA,C(7)F(15)CO(2)(-)) concentrations in American Red Cross blood donors from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota have declined after the 2000-2002 phase-out of perfluorooctanesulfonyl-fluoride (POSF, C(8)F(17)SO(2)F)-based materials by the primary global manufacturer, 3M Company. Forty donor plasma samples, categorized by age and sex, were collected in 2005, and PFOS and PFOA concentrations were compared to 100 (non-paired) donor serum samples collected in 2000 from the same general population that were analyzed at the time using ion-pair extraction methods with tetrahydroperfluorooctanesulfonate as an internal standard. Eleven of the 100 samples originally collected were reanalyzed with present study methods that involved (13)C- labeled PFOA spiked into the donor samples, original samples, control human plasma, and the calibration curve prior to extraction, and was used as a surrogate to monitor extraction efficiency. Quantification was performed by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods. Among the 100 serum samples analyzed for PFOS, the geometric mean was 33.1 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 29.8-36.7) in 2000 compared to 15.1 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 13.3-17.1) in 2005 (p<0.0001) for the 40 donor plasma samples. The geometric mean concentration for PFOA was 4.5 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 4.1-5.0) in 2000 compared to 2.2 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 1.9-2.6) in 2005 (p<0.0001). The decrease was consistent across donors' age and sex. To confirm these preliminary findings, additional sub-sets of year 2000 samples will be analyzed, and a much larger biomonitoring study of other locations is planned.     

Genetic differentiation in Sargassum polyceratium (Fucales: Phaeophyceae) around the island of Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)

The seaweed Sargassum polyceratium Montagne inhabits a broad spectrum of subtidal and intertidal habitats. Genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure were examined within and among 12 stands using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) phenotypes. Data were analyzed using analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and Shannon's information measure. In both analyses, 60-75% of the variation occurred within stands and 25-40% between stands. These values are consistent with out-crossing, high-dispersal species. Significant differentiation was found among bays ca. 25 km apart (Shannon's G'_st averaged 0.37 and pairwise AMOVA K_st values averaged 0.272) and among stands 150-200 m apart within bays (AMOVA K_st values averaged 0.149). Effects of shore (windward vs. leeward), depth, and bay on population structure were tested. These analyses revealed that the factor depth is confounded with shore, and that bays show significant differentiation from each other but are not completely isolated from one another. Mantel tests for differentiation-by-distance were significant along both sides of the island but stronger along the windward side. A neighbor-joining analysis of genetic distances among stands showed that the effects of currents around both tips of the island were especially important for shallow populations. For S. polyceratium, depth and bay promote population differentiation along shores, yet dispersal around the tips of the island simultaneously connects these populations to varying degrees. This study highlights the importance of investigating the relative contribution of habitat factorsin relation to island-scale population structure.