Byssal detachment underestimates tolerance of mussels to toxic compounds

Mussels are sedentary organisms attached to solid substrata by means of byssus threads. Mussels detached from their substratum tend to reattach by producing new byssus threads. Therefore, in bioassays using mussels, if the test animals are in an unattached status, increased byssogenic activity would expose their soft body parts to the toxic compound used. We test the tolerance of two mussel species (Mytilopsis leucophaeata and Mytilus edulis) to an oxidizing biocide (chlorine) and show that detached mussels are 24-28% less tolerant than byssally attached ones. Detached mussels also showed higher oxygen consumption, filtration rate, foot activity, byssus thread production and byssogenesis index, parameters which are associated with valve opening. A review of literature showed that most of the published data on toxicity against heavy metals and biocides are generated using unattached mussels. The data, therefore, represent an underestimation of the toxicity of the tested compound. Correction data are presented for chlorine tolerance of Dreissena polymorpha, Mytilopsis leucophaeata and Mytilus edulis. The present study suggests the importance of maintaining mussels in their attached status, while undertaking toxicity bioassays.     

Metal speciation and environmental impact on sandy beaches due to El Salvador copper mine, Chile

Several coastal rocky shores in northern Chile have been affected by the discharges of copper mine tailings. The present study aims to analyze the chemical speciation of heavy metals in relation to the diversity of sessile species in the rocky intertidal benthic community on the northern Chilean coast, which is influenced by the presence of copper mine tailings. In particular, the chemical forms of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in beach sediment samples collected in the area influenced by El Salvador mine tailings were studied using a sequential chemical extraction method. In general, all the elements present a maximum concentration in the area near the actual discharge point (Caleta Palito). With regard to Cu and Mn, the concentrations range between 7.2-985 and 746-22,739 microg/g respectively, being lower than background levels only in the control site of Caleta Zenteno. Moreover, the correlation coefficients highlight that Fe, Mn and Ni correlate significantly and positively in the studied area, showing a possible common, natural origin, whilst Cu shows a negative correlation with Fe, Mn and Ni. It could be possible that Cu has an anthropogenic origin, coming from mining activity in the area. Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn are mostly associated with the residual phase, whilst Cu presents a different speciation pattern, as resulted from selective extractions. In fact, Cu is highly associated with organic and exchangeable phases in contaminated localities, whilst it is mainly bound to the residual phase in control sites. Moreover, our results, compared to local biological diversity, showed that those sites characterized by the highest metal concentrations in bioavailable phase had the lowest biodiversity.     

Heavy metals accumulation in two syntopic sandhopper species: Talitrus saltator (Montagu) and Talorchestia ugolinii Bellan Santini and Ruffo

We assessed the capacity for heavy metals accumulation in Talorchestia ugolinii by standard methods of heavy metals analysis. To compare the bioaccumulation in syntopic sandhopper species, we collected samples of T. ugolinii and Talitrus saltator living on the same and on different beaches in Corsica. There was a marked difference in the zonal distribution of the two species along the sea-land axis of the beach: T. ugolinii was distributed nearer the water line than T. saltator. The bioaccumulation capacity of T. ugolinii only partly matched that of the Mediterranean T. saltator: while Hg, Zn, Cu, and Cd were accumulated by both species, Al and Fe were accumulated by T. saltator but not by T. ugolinii. Pb was accumulated only by T. ugolinii, while Cr did not seem to be accumulated by either species. The bioaccumulation in sympatric T. saltator and T. ugolinii specimens collected on the same beach reflected the general trend of the two species on the Tyrrhenian and Corsican coasts, respectively. Moreover, six of the eight heavy metals considered (Hg, Pb, Zn, Fe, Al, Cu) were present in higher quantities in T. ugolinii than in T. saltator, independently of whether the trace elements were accumulated by the two species. Thus, there are some differences between T. ugolinii and T. saltator, even when the two species live in the same locality. These differences involve their zonation within the damp belt of sand, the bioaccumulation of some heavy metals (Al, Pb, Fe), and the quantity of each heavy metal in the body, independent of the bioaccumulation capacity.     

Development of distributed time-variant gain model for nonlinear hydrological systems

Hydrological science is a branch of the earth sci-ences.To study the complexities of hydrological pro-cesses and the associated environmental problems,a systematic approach is desired.For instance,Dooge published Linear Theory of Hydrological System[1]in1973.Singh(1988)published Hydrological Systems[2],with its Chinese version[3]being translated by the Yel-low River Conservancy Commission in2000.Ge(1999)carried out systematic studies on the hydro-logical linear system theory,and produced …     

RELATIONSHIPS OF SOUTHERN-OSCILLATION AND OTHER LARGE-SCALE FEATURES WITH BAY OF BENGAL CYCLONES DURING THE POST-MONSOON SEASON

Relationships of three Southern Oscillations and a few other large-scale atmospheric indices, like Stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, Northern Hemispheric surface air temperature, 50 hPa subtropical ridge position, Indian monsoon rainfall, with the movement and formation of the tropical cyclones over the Bay of Bengal during the post-monsoon season are examined. In general, these relationships are not very satisfactory. However, there is some indication that the low phase of the Southern Oscillation is associated with lower mean latitude of the tracks of cyclones.     

荒漠风成地貌

地貌是地表物质——岩石及岩石碎屑——对能量变率的系统反应。不同的地质过程,包括化学及机械风化(就地变化),物质坡移(重力引起的下移运动),水成活动(流水引起的侵蚀和堆积),及风成活动(风力引起的侵蚀和沉积),为荒漠提供了大量的能量。这些地质过程形成的各种地貌能发展到一种稳定的“动态平衡状态”。在某一特定地区,地貌发育的平均规模和形态与有效过程的能级近乎平衡。这一阐述的内在含义就是粗屑沉积、相互作用、及张弛时间的概念。而这个时间又影响着各种地表过程变化的反应时间。例如,从能量变化(在此情况下为风速)的反应看,小沙丘变形比大沙丘快。因为,小沙丘移动到重建平衡所需要的沙量没有大沙丘那么多。     

REAL-TIME FILTERING OF DATA FROM MOBILE,PASSIVE REMOTE INFRARED SENSORS WITH PRINCIPAL COMPONENT MODELS OF BACKGROUND

Real-time monitoring of pollutant levels from a mobile measuring platform requires fast,flexible dataanalysis methods.This paper reports a method for rapid analysis of passive remotely sensed infrared datawith the aid of a Kalman filter.The background spectra produced by emission from the atmosphere aremodelled at the start of the data collection sequence with a simple principal components model obtainedby eigenanalysis of the initial‘blank’data taken with the spectrometer.The species of interest areincluded in the state space model by a separate measurement of their infrared spectra.It is demonstratedthat for best filter performance in detecting the simulated pollutant species SF_6 in the atmosphere,a filtermodel with two principal components describing the emission background works best.The filter‘maps’of SF_6 closely follow the integrated spectral intensities measured after removal of suitable backgrounds.