Biochemical studies on “sub-micrometer particles” at Daya Bay I. Study on concentration, distribution and correlation of trace metals in different size fractions

This paper discusses the measured concentrations of trace metals in different size fractions at Daya Bay, and describes the features of distribution and variation of lead, copper and cadmium there. On average, 16% of Pb, 10% of Cu and 8% of Cd which previously would have been considered in the dissolved phase are actually associated with colloidal material. Thus, past studies overestimate the dissolved trace-metal concentration. The correlation between the colloidal fraction and the so-called dissolved fraction suggests the significant role of colloidal material in the biogeochemistry of trace metals. Project supported by the National “Ninth-Five-Year Plan” Special Project (No.97-926-04-03) and “KZ95T-04-04-04” Fund.     

Study of Panjin Wetlands Along Bohai Coast: (Ⅰ) the Information System of Wetlands Based on 3S Technique

Based on previous studies on Panjin wetlands along the coast of the Bohai Sea,this paper adopts RS,GIS and GPS tech-niques and establishes the information system for Panjin wetlands.The system involves many functions,such as identification andclassification of wetlands,calculation of the area of wetlands and storage of the information of the wetland management.Moreover,our study indicates that remote sensing technique is a useful tool for great macrography,speediness and accuracy to carry out theextraction,analysis,management and handling of information together with geography information system,which has prospectiveapplications in similar kinds of research.     

Does wetland watershed land use influence amphibian larval development? A relevant effect of agriculture on biota

Agriculture practices have been widely proposed as the major cause of amphibian population decline. However, the majority of these results have been based on laboratory experiments. The present study was conducted to test the repercussion of wetland sediment provenance on amphibian larval development. Bufo bufo larvae were used in two different treatments in an outdoor experiment, the first one using sediment from one wetland surrounded by intensive agricultural practices, and the second using sediment with no record of agrochemical uses. A negative effect was observed in the agricultural treatment, from subcellular to individual level. The results showed that the sediment from agricultural practices watershed generates a reduction in survival. Furthermore, individuals that developed under this treatment showed a lower total length and a delay in the time necessary to complete metamorphosis; these features are connected with recruitment success. In the same way, biochemical analysis showed high values of lipid peroxidation in metamorphs developing in sediments from an agricultural area. Finally, the results obtained highlight the importance of considering the sediments, not only the water, as origin treatment, allowing us to understand the consequences on amphibian populations that inhabit areas affected by intensive agriculture.

     

Zooplankton community structure,abundance and biovolume in Jiaozhou Bay and the adjacent coastal Yellow Sea during summers of 2005–2012: relationships with increasing water temperature

Zooplankton abundance, biovolume and taxonomic composition in Jiaozhou Bay and the adjacent coastal Yellow Sea were evaluated using ZooScan measurement of samples collected by net towing every August from 2005 to 2012. Zooplankton abundance and biovolume ranged from 1 938.5 to 24 800 ind./m~3 and 70.8 to 1 480.1 mm~3/m~3 in Jiaozhou Bay and 73.1 to 16 814.3 ind./m~3 and 19.6 to 640.7 mm~3/m~3 in the coastal Yellow Sea. Copepods were the most abundant group in both regions, followed by N octiluca scintillans and appendicularians in Jiaohzou Bay, and chaetognaths and N octiluca scintillans in adjacent coastal Yellow Sea. Over the study period, the most conspicuous hydrographic change was an increase in water temperature. Meanwhile, a general decrease in zooplankton abundance was observed, particularly in copepod populations. Based on redundancy analysis(RDA), the warming trend was the key environmental factor influencing to decrease of copepod abundance. The proportion of small-sized copepods increased while the mean size of all copepods decreased, in significant correlation with water temperature. Our results indicate that zooplankton, particularly copepods, are highly sensitive to change in water temperature, which is consistent with predicted impacts of warming on aquatic ectotherms. Due to their dominance in the zooplankton, the decline in copepod size and abundance could lead to an unfavourable decrease in energy availability for predators, particularly planktivorous fish.     

Silicon limitation on primary production and its destiny in Jiaozhou Bay,China Ⅷ: The variation of atmospheric carbon caused by both phytoplankton and human

Statistical analysis on data collected in the Jiaozhou Bay (Shandong, China) from May 1991 to February 1994 and those collected in Hawaii from March 1958 to December 2007 shows dynamic and cyclic changes in atmospheric carbon in the Northern Pacific Ocean (NPO), as well as the variation in space-time distribution of phytoplankton primary production and atmospheric carbon in the study regions. The study indicates that the human beings have imposed an important impact on the changing trends of the atmospheric carbon. Primary production in the Jiaozhou Bay presents a good example in this regard. In this paper, dynamic models of the atmospheric carbon in the NPO, the cyclic variations in the atmospheric carbon, and primary production in the Jiaozhou Bay are studied with simulation curves presented. A set of equations were established that able to calculate the rate and acceleration of increasing carbon discharged anthropologically into the atmosphere and the conversion rate of phytoplankton to atmospheric carbon. Our calculation shows that the amount of atmospheric carbon absorbed by one unit of primary production in the Jiaozhou Bay is (3.21–9.74)×10-9/(mgC·m-2d-1), and the amount of primary production consumed by a unit of atmospheric carbon is 102.66–311.52 (mgC·m-2d-1/10-6). Therefore, we consider that the variation of atmospheric carbon is a dynamic process controlled by the increase of carbon compound and its cyclic variation, and those from anthropologic discharge, and phytoplankton growth.