Transforming open mining pits into fish farms: Moving towards sustainability

The legacy of mining activities has typically been land ‘returned to wildlife’, or, at some sites, degraded to such an extent that it is unsuitable for any alternate use. Progress towards sustainability is made when value is added in terms of the ecological, social and economic well‐being of the community. In keeping with the principles of sustainable development, the innovative use of flooded open pits and tailings impoundments as commercial, recreational or ornamental fish farms should be considered in some locations, as it could make a significant contribution to the social equity, economic vitality and environmental integrity of mining communities. This article highlights the growing significance of aquaculture and explores the benefits and barriers to transforming flooded pits and impoundments into aquaculture operations. Among other benefits, aquaculture may provide a much‐needed source of revenue, employment and, in some cases, food to communities impacted by mine closure. Further, aquaculture in a controlled closed environment may be more acceptable to critics of fish farming who are concerned about fish escapes and viral transmissions to wild populations. Despite the potential benefits, aquaculture in flooded pits and impoundments is not without its complications — it requires a site‐specific design approach that must consider issues ranging from metals uptake by fish, to the long‐term viability of the aquatic system as fish habitat, to the overall contribution of aquaculture to sustainability.     

三阶段温度控制堆肥接种法对有机氮变化规律的影响

利用原生生活垃圾,通过三阶段温度控制技术进行堆肥试验,探讨在堆肥过程中有机态氮组分的动态变化规律.结果表明,全氮、酸水解有机态氮、氨基酸态氮均在堆肥的前期呈明显的下降趋势,呈较好的相关性.与CK（对照组）处理相比,在堆肥的后期,三阶段温度控制堆肥酸水解有机态氮、氨基酸态氮、氨基糖态氮及酸解未知态氮含量呈不同程度的上升趋势,增加幅度依次为：10.67%、16.17%、7.17%、22.44%.表明三阶段温度控制技术能减少堆肥中氮素的损失,堆肥产品施入土壤后,可提高土壤的供氮潜力.     

Hyperspectral Characteristics of Canopy Components and Structure for Phenological Assessment of an Invasive Weed

Spectral reflectance values of four canopy components (stems, buds, opening flowers, and postflowers of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis)) were measured to describe their spectral characteristics. We then physically combined these canopy components to simulate the flowering stage indicated by accumulated flower ratios (AFR) 10%, 40%, 70%, and 90%, respectively. Spectral dissimilarity and spectral angles were calculated to quantitatively identify spectral differences among canopy components and characteristic patterns of these flowering stages. This study demonstrated the ability of hyperspectral data to characterize canopy components, and identify different flowering stages. Stems had a typical spectral profile of green vegetation, which produced a spectral dissimilarity with three reproduction organs (buds, opening flowers, and postflowers). Quantitative differences between simulated flower stages depended on spectral regions and phenological stages examined. Using full-range canopy spectra, the initial flowering stage could be separated from the early peak, peak, and late flowering stages by three spectral regions, i.e. the blue absorption (around 480 nm) and red absorption (around 650 nm) regions and NIR plateau from 730 nm to 950 nm. For airborne CASI data, only the red absorption region and NIR plateau could be used to identify the flowering stages in the field. This study also revealed that the peak flowering stage was more easily recognized than any of the other three stages.     

Closing a Loop: Substance Flow Analysis of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Rainbow Trout Production and Domestic Consumption System in Finland

Ongoing eutrophication is changing the Baltic Sea ecosystem. Aquaculture causes relatively small-scale nutrient emissions, but local environmental impact may be considerable. We used substance flow analysis (SFA) to identify and quantify the most significant flows and stocks of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) related to rainbow trout aquaculture in Finland. In 2004–2007, the input of nutrients to the system in the form of fish feed was 829 t N year⁻¹ and 115 t P year⁻¹. Around one-fifth of these nutrients ended up as food for human consumption. Of the primary input, 70% ended up in the Baltic Sea, directly from aquaculture and indirectly through waste management. The nutrient cycle could be closed partially by using local fish instead of imported fish in rainbow trout feed, thus reducing the net load of N and P to a fraction.     

Carry-over of dietary organochlorine pesticides, PCDD/Fs, PCBs, and brominated flame retardants to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fillets

Information on carry-over of contaminants from feed to animal food products is essential for appropriate human risk assessment of feed contaminants. The carry-over of potentially hazardous persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from feed to fillet was assessed in consumption sized Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Relative carry-over (defined as the fraction of a certain dietary POP retained in the fillet) was assessed in a controlled feeding trial, which provided fillet retention of dietary organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), dioxins (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Highest retention was found for OCPs, BFRs and PCBs (31-58%), and the lowest retentions were observed for PCDD/Fs congeners (10-34%). National monitoring data on commercial fish feed and farmed Atlantic salmon on the Norwegian market were used to provide commercially relevant feed-to-fillet transfer factors (calculated as fillet POP level divided by feed POP level), which ranged from 0.4 to 0.5, which is a factor 5-10 times higher than reported for terrestrial meat products. For the OCP with one of the highest relative carry-over, toxaphene, uptake and elimination kinetics were established. Model simulations that are based on the uptake and elimination kinetics gave predicted levels that were in agreement with the measured values. Application of the model to the current EU upper limit for toxaphene in feed (50 μg kg⁻¹) gave maximum fillet levels of 22 μg kg⁻¹, which exceeds the estimated permissible level (21 μg kg⁻¹) for toxaphene in fish food samples in Norway.     

Changes in the structure of a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dactylorhiza incarnata</Emphasis> (L.) Soó population during the overgrowing of a meadow-bog community complex in the Moscow region

The overgrowing of meadow-bog communities by shrubs and trees (age 5–40 years, crown closure 0.4–0.9) leads to a decrease in incident illumination. As a consequence, juvenile and generative plants disappear from D. incarnata population loci, their average ecological density decreases, and the loci enter the state of regression. The digging activity of wild boars disrupts phytocenotically closed groups of longirhizomatous herbs, thereby creating favorable conditions for seed reproduction of D. incarnata. The species begins to form population loci with a complete ontogenetic spectrum and high ecological density, eventually restoring the normal (definitive) population structure.     

Unpacking the objectives and assumptions underpinning European aquaculture

Increasing demand for seafood and the lack of growth of capture fisheries have boosted aquaculture growth worldwide. However, European aquaculture has been stagnating over the past decade, and European public authorities have been developing policies and strategies in efforts to reverse this. Aquaculture discourses in the European Union, based on 34 policy, planning, and strategy documents, are examined and a discourse analysis conducted following Bacchi’s WPR (What is the Problem Represented to be?) approach. How the problems in these discourses are represented, the tensions among main objectives, and the implicit assumptions are unveiled, and discussed employing a Polanyian theoretical framework. Taking these assumptions for granted leads to a disembedded understanding of aquaculture, and facilitates the privatization of aquatic space and resources. The analysis contributes to the literature establishing the link between the expansion of aquaculture and the enclosure of aquatic resources and enriches environmental and political debates on European aquaculture.     

An elegant application of appropriate technology: the Sheep Creek Hatchery

Alaska's program for rebuilding salmon stock is calledfishery enhancement. Hatchery technology can produce dramatic increases in numbers of fish homing to selected streams. The Sheep Creek Hatchery is unusually efficient— it increases a fish run by a factor of 3000 and produces salmon at 9–11c/kg by minimizing mechanical energy inputs and human labor. The design harnesses the force of gravity and capitalizes on instinctual behavior of the fish. Since migratory fish collect protein from ocean pasturage, the technology increases the share of this resource collected and concentrated for harvest in a specific country or region. While small seaside hatcheries can solve biological problems of depleted fish stocks, economic and political considerations may preclude efficient utilization of the protein produced. Further, the potential for one state or country to concentrate fish near its shores poses new dilemmas for international regulation of harvests.     

Grass carp status in the United States: A review

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella Val.) were introduced into the United States in 1963 as potential biological control agents for nuisance aquatic weeds. Since that time an oftentimes bitter controversy has raged over its effects on sportfishing, and its possible natural reproduction and naturalization in North America. This review considers the history, ecology, and present status of grass carp in the United States in light of the voluminous scientific research conducted since its importation. Particular attention is given to the role of grass carp in the fisheries management plans of Arkansas. Recent development of a sterile, triploid grass carp hybrid may lead to widespread use of grass carp to control nuisance aquatic weeds in culturally eutrophicated waters of the United States.     

响应面法优化养殖水体中炔雌醇的固相萃取条件

在单因素试验、Plackett-Burman设计试验基础上,采用Box-Behnken响应面法对养殖水体中炔雌醇(EE2)的固相萃取条件进行优化。结果表明,洗脱液体积、洗脱液组成和淋洗液体积是影响EE2固相萃取回收率的3个主要因素;EE2的最佳固相萃取条件为:水样pH值为3,进样流量为3.0 mL/min,淋洗液为体积分数为10%的甲醇水溶液,淋洗液体积7.0 mL,洗脱液为乙酸乙酯-正己烷混合溶液(体积比为9∶1),洗脱液体积12.0 mL。该条件下养殖水样中EE2固相萃取回收率为81.6%～86.7%。