Effect of dietary copper exposure on accumulation, growth and hematological parameters of the juvenile rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli

Copper accumulation, and its effect on growth and hematological parameters were investigated in juvenile rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli (mean length 11.83+/-0.03 cm, and mean weight 26.02+/-0.23 g), after sub-chronic dietary Cu exposure (0, 50, 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg) for 60 days. The profile of Cu accumulation among tissues in rockfish is dependent on the exposure periods and Cu concentration. Liver of rockfish is a more important storage tissue than other tissues, and the order of Cu accumulation in tissues was liver > intestine > kidney > gill > muscle. Cu reduced the growth rate, and there was an inverse relationship between growth and Cu concentration (> 50 mg/kg). The RNA:DNA ratios were not affected by exposure and there was no correlation between growth rate and RNA:DNA ratio in the liver and muscle. There was no significant effect of exposure on blood parameters except for magnesium. Cu exposure increased GOT and GPT serum concentrations with increasing time and dose.     

Direct examination of the dietary preference of the copepod<Emphasis Type="Italic">calanus helgolandicus</Emphasis> using the colorimetric approach

The food selectivity of tethered females of the copepodCalanus helgolandicus was examined by using the colorimetric approach. First, feeding behavior of the copepod did not show any differences between the red-color stained with neutral red and non-stained diets using the diatomCoscinodiscus curvatulus. Then, the copepods were fed a mixtures of two diets, the diatomC. curvatulus, stained with neutral red, and the dinoflagellateGymnodinium sanguineum for 14~60 minutes of feeding duration. The foregut colors of females were examined using a stereo-microscope and a video monitor. The foreguts of animals fed with a high density of diatoms in mixed diets showed a dark red color, whereas those fed with a high density of dinoflagellate in mixed diets were a dark yellow. The results suggest that this species of copepod may not selectively feed either one of the diets used for this study. Their feeding activity may be more likely related to the density of available prey in their environment. Therefore, this quick and easy colorimetric approach could provide very useful information, like the pre-screening procedure before designing and conducting the time-consuming and complex feeding experiments to understand the feeding ecology of copepods.     

Characterization of contemporary aeolian dust deposition on mountain glaciers of western China

From 2008 to 2010,a total of 15 snow pit samples were collected from 13 mountain glaciers in western China.In this study these samples are used to determine the spatial distribution of insoluble particle concentrations and dust deposition fluxes in western China.The results show that the mass concentrations of insoluble particles exhibit high spatial variation and strongly decrease(by a factor of approximately 50) from the north(Tienshan Mountains) to the south(Himalayas).However,the insoluble particles concentrations at the southeastern Tibetan Plateau(TP) sites are also high and approximately 30 times greater than those in the Himalayas.The spatial distribution of the dust flux is similar to that of the mass concentrations;however,the high dust deposition rate in the southeastern TP is very significant as a result of the extensive snow accumulation(precipitation) in this region.The average sizes of the insoluble particles at each site generally exhibit bimodal distributions with peaks at approximately 5 μm and 10 μm,which can be explained as resulting from dust emissions from regional and local sources,respectively.The enrichment factors for most of the elements measured in insoluble particles are less than 10 at all of the study sites,indicating primarily crustal sources.However,the sites located in the peripheral mountains of western China,such as the Tienshan Mountains and the Himalayas,are characterized by high levels of certain enrichment elements(e.g.,Cu,Zn,Cr,and V) indicative of sources related to the long-range transport of pollutants.     

Incorporating spatial interaction patterns in classifying and understanding urban land use

Land use classification has benefited from the emerging big data, such as mobile phone records and taxi trajectories. Temporal activity variations derived from these data have been used to interpret and understand the land use of parcels from the perspective of social functions, complementing the outcome of traditional remote sensing methods. However, spatial interaction patterns between parcels, which could depict land uses from a perspective of connections, have rarely been examined and analysed. To leverage spatial interaction information contained in the above-mentioned massive data sets, we propose a novel unsupervised land use classification method with a new type of place signature. Based on the observation that spatial interaction patterns between places of two specific land uses are similar, the new place signature improves land use classification by trading off between aggregated temporal activity variations and detailed spatial interactions among places. The method is validated with a case study using taxi trip data from Shanghai.     

Response of Glacier and Lake Covariations to Climate Change in Mapam Yumco Basin on Tibetan Plateau during 1974–2003

The study of spatial and temporal covariances of glaciers and lakes would help us to understand the impact of climate change within a basin in Tibet. This study focuses on glacier and lake variations in the Mapam Yumco(玛旁雍错)Basin (covering 7 786.44 km2)by Integrationg series of spatial data from topographic maps and digital satellite images at four different times 1974, 1990, 1999,and 2003. The results indicate that (1) decreased lakes, retreated glaciers, enlarged lakes and advanced glaciers co-exist in the basin during the last 30 years; (2) glacier recession was accelerated in recent years due to the warmer climate; (3) lake areas in the basin are both reduced and enlarged by an accelerated speed with more water supplies from speeding melt glaciers or frozen ground in the last three decades.     

Impact of Altered Land Use on the Hydrology of Urban Territories

This paper describes the impact of altered land use on urban flooding in Northwest Indiana over a 10-year time span between 1992 and 2001. The studied watershed, the Great Calumet basin, is located on the south shore of Lake Michigan, which is well known as a highly industrialized area. The flood peaks and the time-to-peak values are used to analyze the flooding problems of the study area. The study uses a Hydrologic Engineering Center for Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) model to explore the change in land use represented by Curve Number (CN). The model parameters are calibrated using archived raintall data available in National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) Instantaneous Data Archive (IDA). All four simulations show that the peak flow of simulated hydrographs in the terrain conditions of 2001 is by 22% higher than that in the terrain of 1992. The paper concludes with the results of simulation analyses that can be used to remedy flooding problems in the study area.     

Effects of freeze–thaw cycles on soil N_2O concentration and flux in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Nitrous oxide(N_2 O) is one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; freeze–thaw cycles(FTCs) might strongly influence the emission of soil N_2 O on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau(QTP). However, there is a lack of in situ research on the characteristics of soil N_2 O concentration and flux in response to variations in soil properties caused by FTCs.Here, we report the effect of FTC-induced changes in soil properties on the soil N_2 O concentration and flux in the permafrost region of the higher reaches of the Shule River Basin on the northeastern margin of the QTP. We measured chemical properties of the topsoil, activities of soil microorganisms, and air temperature(AT), as well as soil N_2 O concentration and flux, over an annual cycle from July 31, 2011, to July 30, 2012. The results showed that soil N_2 O concentration was significantly affected by soil temperature(ST), soil moisture(SM), soil salinity(SS), soil polyphenol oxidase(SPO), soil alkaline phosphatase(SAP), and soil culturable actinomycetes(SCA), ranked as SMSSSTSPOSAPSCA, whereas ST significantly increased soil N_2 O flux, compared with SS. Overall, our study indicated that the soil N_2 O concentration and flux in permafrost zone FTCs were strongly affected by soil properties, especially soil moisture, soil salinity, and soil temperature.     

基于FLUS模型与动能定理的城镇用地增长边界划定

城镇用地增长边界能够有效控制城市的无序蔓延,对城市健康持续发展具有重要意义。当前针对城镇用地增长边界划定的研究多采用较为成熟的元胞自动机(CA)模型对城市未来格局进行模拟,且研究多集中于单一的城镇用地增长边界划定,尚无对城镇用地增长的惯性边界进行定量划定,而划定惯性边界不仅能够为城市发展预留一定的用地空间,也能提高城市规划的实施效率。对此,本文以2000、2009和2015年福州中心城区土地利用数据为基础,采用FLUS模型进行土地利用模拟,并对模型精度进行了验证(2015年土地利用模拟总体精度达到0.9389,Kappa系数达0.9165),据此预测了2027年的土地利用格局,从中提取城镇用地采取形态学的膨胀与腐蚀法(MED)进行增长边界的划定。在此基础上,本文提出了一种借鉴力学动能定理划定城镇用地增长惯性边界的方法,以坡度和地类作为摩擦力参数,对福州中心城区城镇用地增长惯性边界进行了研究。结果表明,FLUS模型和MED能够有效地对土地利用进行模拟且能较好的对城镇用地增长边界进行拟合;借鉴动能定理的方法能够根据城市不同方向的扩展阻力和各个方向的扩展强度较好地划定其惯性边界,具有现实可操作性和实际参考价值。