Effects of Desertification Caused by Lithophaga lithophaga (Mollusca) Fishery on Littoral Fish Assemblages along Rocky Coasts of Southeastern Italy

Abstract:  We surveyed shallow, rocky reefs in southwestern Apulia (Mediterranean Sea) to assess the effects on coastal fish assemblages of the date mussel (  Lithophaga lithophaga ) fishery, an illegal practice that strips the rocky reef bare. We visually sampled fish four times over 15 months at three locations, one affected by date-mussel fishery and two controls. The fish assemblage at the affected location differed significantly from those at the control locations over all sampling times. Herbivorous fishes, sparids, and labrids (genus Symphodus ) contributed most to the differences between the affected location and controls. Lower densities of Symphodus spp. were observed at the affected location, whereas detritivorous fishes were recorded exclusively at control sites. Small serranids and sparids showed temporal trends that differed between the affected location and the control locations. Our results suggest that the date-mussel fishery affects fish assemblages chiefly through reduction of arborescent macroalgae (contributing to habitat complexity and primary production) and emphasize the need for more effective policing against this destructive practice.     

Bioindicator organisms: Heavy metal pollution evaluation in the Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea—Italy)

Trace metal concentrations of mercury, cadmium, lead and chromium in Patella caerulea, and Mullus barbatus were investigated to provide information on pollution of Ionian Sea, since these metals have the highest toxic potential. High chromium levels (0.47–0.97 g g^–1 ww) were registered in limpet samples collected from two station near the Gulf of Taranto, while elevated concentration of mercury (0.31–1.50 g g^–1 ww) were found in mullet specimens from Sicily. The metal concentrations recorded at the clean stations may be considered as useful background levels to which to refer for comparison within the Mediterranean area. On the contrary, the high levels of chromium and mercury found respectively in the areas near the Gulf of Taranto and at Capo Passero being of concern in terms of environmental health need frequent monitoring.     

人工生物浮岛载体的研究进展

为改善浮岛性能,减少有机高分子材料所造成的"白色污染",有必要研制开发新型浮岛载体-轻质高效微生物载体.从国内外浮岛的研究现状看,目前在工程实例中广泛采用的是有机高分子材料载体,无机材料的浮岛尚处于实验研究阶段.在对几种典型无机材料-轻质滤料的物理特性、成分、化学稳定性、价格、来源等方面进行综合分析后可知,用无机材料制作有机浮岛载体的替代品是可行的,具有广阔的发展前景,但还需进一步的研究和探索.     

Chemical Composition and Acidity of Rain at the Gulf of Iskenderun,North-East Mediterranean

The purpose of the present work was to investigate the chemistry of rain in the Gulf of Iskenderun, North East Mediterranean, Turkey. The Gulf region has a large number of industries. Main industries existing in the region are iron and steel works, fertilizer plants, a cement plant, and several medium and mini size steel mills in addition to the international pipe line terminals. This study aims to apportion the local sources contributing to the overall pollution of the region. To this end a precipitation sampling program was started in January 2000, and over 48 precipitation samples were collected from each of 5 stations located at Iskenderun city center, Iskenderun industrial zone, Payas city center, the campus of Iskenderun Technical College and the campus of Mustafa Kemal University. Samples were analysed for pH, NO₃ ⁺, Cl^-. Ca, Al, Ba, Na, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, Li, Mg, Mn, Ni, Zn, Fe, K. Concentrations of metal ions were determined by ICP-AES. NO₃ ^- ions and pH were determined by using NO₃ ^- selective electrode and pH meter, respectively.pH values of the collected samples at the industrial zone and at Payas city center, ranged between 5.02 and 7.38, respectively. NO₃ ^- and metal ions concentrations were highly variable. Concentrations of Ca and Fe ions were higher in the industrial zone and Payas city center. In the other three stations, concentrations of metal ions and NO₃ ^- ion were lower than that of industrial zone and the values of pH ranged between 6 and 7.4. The average pH values at Iskenderun Gulf showed that the precipitation was not acidic, because of the high concentration of Ca. The highest concentrations of Na and Cl ions were recorded in the University campus because the campus is located by the Mediterranean Sea.     

Effects of sewage sludge amendments on pesticide sorption and leaching through undisturbed Mediterranean soils

The Gharb region in Morocco is an important agricultural zone where soils receive pesticide treatments and organic amendments to increase yields. The groundwater aquifer in the Gharb region is relatively shallow and thus vulnerable. The objective of this work was to study the influence of organic amendments on diuron, cyhalofop-butyl and procymidone leaching through undisturbed soil columns. Two soils were sampled from the Gharb region, a Dehs (sandy soil) and a R’mel (loamy clay soil). Following elution (124.5 mm), the amount of pesticide residues in the leachates of the sandy soil (0.06–0.21 %) was lower than in those of the loamy clay soil (0.20–0.36 %), which was probably due to preferential flow through the loamy clay soil. The amount of procymidone leached through the amended soil columns was greater than the control for the sandy soil only. The organic amendments did not significantly influence diuron and cyhalofop-butyl leaching in either of the soils. The application of organic amendments affected the amounts of dissolved organic matter (DOM) eluted and thus pesticide leaching as a function of soil-type. Nevertheless, in some case, the formation of pesticide-DOM complexes appeared to promote pesticide leaching, thus increasing groundwater contamination risks.     

Effects of a brine discharge over soft bottom Polychaeta assemblage

Desalination is a growing activity that has introduced a new impact, brine discharge, which may affect benthic communities. Although the role of polychaetes as indicators to assess organic pollution is well known, their tolerance to salinity changes has not been examined to such a great extent. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of brine discharge over soft bottom polychaete assemblage along the Alicante coast (Southeast Spain) over a two year period. Changes in the polychaete assemblage was analysed using univariate and multivariate techniques. We compared a transect in front of the discharge with two controls. At each transect we sampled at three depths (4, 10 and 15 m) during winter and summer. We have observed different sensitivity of polychaete families to brine discharges, Ampharetidae being the most sensitive, followed by Nephtyidae and Spionidae. Syllidae and Capitellidae showed some resistance initially, while Paraonidae proved to be a tolerant family.     

基于可变模糊集理论的海岛可持续发展评价模型——以辽宁省长海县为例

海岛生态环境脆弱,保护海岛及其周边海域生态系统,合理开发利用海岛自然资源,促进海岛经济社会可持续发展是我国海岛保护法的根本宗旨。论文试图借鉴陆域可持续发展指标体系的思路,结合海岛的自然环境与社会经济特殊性,从生存支持、生态环境、经济发展、社会与智力支持四个层面选取指标,并将熵权法和非结构性决策模糊集理论模型相结合确定海岛可持续发展评价指标的权重,构建海岛可持续发展的指标体系;进一步引入可变模糊评价方法,建立基于可变模糊集理论的海岛可持续发展综合评价模型,对辽宁省长海县2001-2011年可持续发展的状况进行评价验证,识别影响长海县可持续发展能力的关键因素、存在的问题与限制性因子,为提高海岛经济社会可持续发展水平提供科学的分析数据。     

黄河三角洲贝壳海岛与植物多样性保护

根据1997－1999年调查，查清了黄河三角洲贝壳岛资源状况，研究了其高等植物物种多样性、植被类型、植物区系组成特点，分析了近年来因乱采滥挖贝壳资源对贝壳海岛和植物多样性破坏现状，提出了保护贝壳海岛和和植物多样性的对策与建议。     

The Influence of Linear Elements on Plant Species Diversity of Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: Assessment of Different Indices and Statistical Approaches

This paper mainly aims to study the linear element influence on the estimation of vascular plant species diversity in five Mediterranean landscapes modeled as land cover patch mosaics. These landscapes have several core habitats and a different set of linear elements -habitat edges or ecotones, roads or railways, rivers, streams and hedgerows on farm land- whose plant composition were examined. Secondly, it aims to check plant diversity estimation in Mediterranean landscapes using parametric and non-parametric procedures, with two indices: Species richness and Shannon index.Land cover types and landscape linear elements were identified from aerial photographs. Their spatial information was processed using GIS techniques. Field plots were selected using a stratified sampling design according to relieve and tree density of each habitat type. A 50×20 m² multi-scale sampling plot was designed for the core habitats and across the main landscape linear elements. Richness and diversity of plant species were estimated by comparing the observed field data to ICE (Incidence-based Coverage Estimator) and ACE (Abundance-based Coverage Estimator) non-parametric estimators.The species density, percentage of unique species, and alpha diversity per plot were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in linear elements than in core habitats. ICE estimate of number of species was 32% higher than of ACE estimate, which did not differ significantly from the observed values. Accumulated species richness in core habitats together with linear elements, were significantly higher than those recorded only in the core habitats in all the landscapes. Conversely, Shannon diversity index did not show significant differences.