A survey of indicators for reproductive endocrine disruption in Fundulus heteroclitus (killifish) at selected sites in the Chesapeake Bay

Plasma vitellogenin and related parameters in the killifish Fundulus heteroclitus were measured at selected sites in the Chesapeake Bay. In males, vitellogenin was above the detection limit 14% of the time, and detections did not differ between sites or seasons. Few differences in plasma vitellogenin levels were found between sites during fall in either male or female F. heteroclitus, the time of natural gonadal regression for this species. There was some variation in the ratio of male to female F. heteroclitus, but was not consistent at most sites. Significant negative correlations were found between reported sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and GSI, and PAHs and plasma vitellogenin in females in both Spring 1999 and Spring 2000. Gonadal anomalies in F. heteroclitus included slight reductions in certain tissue types. Overall, reproductive endocrine disruption in the killifish F. heteroclitus at the sites sampled in the Chesapeake Bay appeared somewhat minimal.     

A multi-resolution satellite imagery approach for large area mapping of ericaceous shrubs in Northern Quebec, Canada

Invasive ericaceous shrubs (e.g. Kalmia angustifolia, Rhododendron groenlandicum, Vaccinium spp.) may reduce the regeneration and early growth of black spruce (Picea mariana) seedlings, the most economically important boreal tree species in Quebec. Our study focused, therefore, on developing a method for mapping ericaceous shrubs from satellite images. The method integrates very high resolution satellite imagery (IKONOS) to guide classifiers applied to medium resolution satellite imagery (Landsat-TM). An object-oriented image classification approach was applied using Definiens eCognition software. An independent ground survey revealed 80% accuracy at the very high spatial resolution. We found that the partial use (70%) of classified polygons derived from the IKONOS images were an effective way to guide classification algorithms applied to the Landsat-TM imagery. The results of this latter classification (78.4% overall accuracy) were assessed by the remaining portion (30%) of unused very high resolution classified polygons. We further validated our method (65.5% overall accuracy) by assessing the correspondence of an ericaceous cover classification scheme done with a Landsat-TM image and results of our ground survey using an independent set of 275 sample plots. Discrimination of ericaceous shrub cover from other land cover types was achieved with precision at both spatial resolutions with producer accuracies of 87.7% and 79.4% from IKONOS and Landsat, respectively. The method is weaker for areas with sparse cover of ericaceous shrubs or dense tree cover. Our method is adapted, therefore, for mapping the spatial distribution of ericaceous shrubs and is compatible with existing forest stand maps.     

Antimony in the environment: A review focused on natural waters. III. Microbiota relevant interactions

Antimony is ubiquitously present in the environment as a result of natural processes and human activities. Antimony is not considered to be an essential element for plants or animals. In this third review paper on the occurrence of antimony in natural waters, the interactions of antimony with microbiota are discussed in relation to its fate in natural waters. This paper covers the following aspects: occurrence in microbiota, uptake transport mechanisms, pathways of Sb(III) removal from cells involved in antimony tolerance, oxidation and reduction of antimony by living organisms, phytochelatin induction and biomethylation. This review is based on a careful and systematic examination of a comprehensive collection of papers on the above mentioned aspects of the subject. All data are quoted from the original sources. Relatively little existing information falls within the strict scope of this review and, when relevant, discussion on the interactions of antimony with reference microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and different protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, has been included.     

Carbon-isotopic analysis of individual pollen grains from C3 and C4 grasses using a spooling-wire microcombustion interface

Pollen grains from grasses using the C₃ and C₄ photosynthetic pathways have distinct ranges of δ¹³C values that may be used to estimate their relative abundance in paleorecords. We evaluated a spooling-wire microcombustion device interfaced with an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (SWiM-IRMS) for δ¹³C analysis of individual grass-pollen grains. Pollen from four C₃ and four C₄ grass species was isolated through micromanipulation and analyzed as single grains suspended in water. A carbon yield greater than the 2σ range of the carbon content of blanks containing only water was used to distinguish samples containing pollen (“pollen present”) from those not containing pollen. This criterion resulted in the exclusion of ∼45% of the 946 samples applied to the wire. The average δ¹³C values (±1σ) of the remaining samples were −26.9‰ (±6.3‰) and −11.5‰ (±9.6‰) for C₃ grasses and C₄ grasses, respectively, after blank-correcting the δ¹³C data. These results suggest that the SWiM-IRMS system can be used to distinguish C₃ from C₄ grass pollen. The high variability in measured δ¹³C values is likely caused by a combination of factors. These include natural isotopic variability among individual pollen grains; the relatively poor precision that can be obtained when determining δ¹³C values of such small samples; and the uncertainty in the magnitude, isotopic composition, and stability of the analytical blank. Nonetheless, high percentages of individual pollen grains were correctly classified as being of either C₃ or C₄ origin. On average, 90% (range = 78-100%) of pollen grains from C₃ grasses had δ¹³C values more negative than the cutoff threshold of −19.2‰; while 84% (range = 77-90%) of pollen grains from C₄ grasses had δ¹³C values more positive than −19.2‰. Compared with analysis using an elemental analyzer interfaced with an IRMS (EA-IRMS), the number of pollen grains required for δ¹³C-based evaluation of C₃/C₄ grass composition is many times lower with the SWiM-IRMS. Additionally, δ¹³C data from the SWiM-IRMS does not need to be incorporated into a mixing model to derive estimates of the abundance of C₃ and C₄ grass pollen. Carbon-isotopic analysis of individual grass-pollen grains using the SWiM-IRMS system may help improve our understanding of the evolutionary and ecological significance of grass taxa in the paleorecord.     

Influence of glacial retreat on natural hazards of the Palcacocha Lake area, Peru

In this article we describe natural hazards associated with outburst floods of Palcacocha Lake and landslide events on the slopes of its moraine dam, in Cojup Valley, Cordillera Blanca (Peru). These events occurred in the last 70 years and some of them resulted in disasters, which strongly affected the city of Huarás. Field investigations and reference expression hydrodynamic tests as well as archive satellite images and aerial pictures were used to describe the evolution of hazards connected with Palcacocha Lake. Expression hydrodynamic tests proved a high permeability of sandy gravels glacial sediments, which form the present-day lake dam. Seepage through the natural dam forming small ponds below the overflow spillways occurs. A retreat of the glacial tongue causing an increase of the lake volume and unloading of the slope toe areas are the most important recent processes that influence the potential hazards affecting the Cojup valley. The research has proved that the climate warming and ongoing deglaciation play a very significant role in the change of natural hazards conditions in high mountains.     

Volcanic domes and gold mineralization in the Pueblo Viejo district, Dominican Republic

Gold mineralization in the Pueblo Viejo district, Dominican Republic, is spatially and temporally related to a series of Early Cretaceous volcanic domes. Separate but overlapping hydrothermal cells, centered on the domes, together deposited more than 40 million oz. of gold, 240 million oz. of silver, 3 million tonnes of zinc, and 0.4 million tonnes of copper. Two principal deposits (Moore and Monte Negro) and a number of smaller deposits (Cumba, Mejita, Upper Mejita, Banco V, Arroyo Hondo I and II) have contributed ore since mining commenced in 1975. New geologic mapping has identified a series of previously unrecognized volcanic domes that vary from andesite to dacite in composition. A dacite porphyry dome intrudes epiclastic sediments in the Moore deposit and is surrounded by a baked contact metamorphic aureole. Crumble breccias of mixed epiclastic and pyroclastic origin mantle andesite domes in the Monte Negro, Cumba, and Mejita deposits. Epiclastic volcanic sediments surrounding each of the domes reflect the composition of the local source rock. Andesite domes of the Monte Negro deposit are surrounded by andesitic volcaniclastic sediments. Epiclastic sediments surrounding a dacite porphyry dome in the Moore deposit contain detrital quartz eyes and debris flows of dacite porphyry. A series of at least seven volcanic centers interfinger, overlap, and are interbedded with locally derived epiclastic sediments. Field relations indicate that volcanic dome emplacement, epiclastic sediment accumulation, hydrothermal alteration, and gold mineralization were coeval events. Domes were emplaced in a shallow subaqueous environment on the flanks of an emergent volcanic edifice. Hydrothermal cells responsible for gold mineralization are controlled by high-angle faults. These same faults influenced the emplacement of volcanic domes, an essential step in the development of gold ore in the Pueblo Viejo district. Received: 15 March 1999 / Accepted: 29 September 1999     

The effect of temperature‐humidity similarity on Bowen ratios,dimensionless standard deviations,and mass transfer coefficients over a lake

Similarity between heat and water vapor turbulent transport in the Atmospheric Surface Layer has been the basis of many engineering models to calculate surface fluxes, including the widely applied Bowen ratio equation, for a long time. Modernly, it is best understood within the context of Monin‐Obkhov Similarity Theory (MOST). In this work we study similarity between temperature and humidity, the Bowen ratio, and turbulent mass and heat transfer coefficients over a tropical lake in Brazil (Furnas Lake). The analysis was partly based on the concept of ‘Surface flux numbers’ recently proposed to diagnose scalar similarity, and considered wind directions and flux footprints. A period of 50 days of 30‐min. micrometeorological runs was used. Several cases of dissimilar temperature‐humidity behavior were found in the data. Both footprint extent and an aggregate temperature‐humidity Surface flux number turned out to be insufficient to diagnose these situations, but separate flux numbers for each scalar were able to diagnose their individual conformity to MOST. Overall, temperature displayed consistently larger relative variances and fluxes in comparison with humidity. The results highlight the need of careful analysis when measurements are made at sites close to land, when flux footprints may extend over there, indicating the possibility of advection effects. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrology of hillslope‐wetland streams,Polar Bear Pass,Nunavut, Canada

Polar Bear Pass is a large High Arctic low‐gradient wetland (100 km²) bordered by low‐lying hills which are notched by a series of v‐shaped valleys. The spring and summer hydrology of two High Arctic hillslope‐wetland catchments, a first‐order stream, 0·2 km² Landing Strip Creek (LSC) and a larger second‐order basin, 4·2 km² Windy Creek (WC), is described here. A water balance framework was employed in 2008 to examine the movement of water from upland reaches into the low‐lying wetland. Snowcover was low in both basins (<50 mm in water equivalent units), but they both exhibited nival‐type regimes. After the main snowmelt season ended, runoff ceased in the smaller catchment (LSC), but not at the larger basin (WC) which continued to flow throughout the summer. Both basins responded to summer rains in different ways. At LSC, late‐summer continuous streamflow occurred only when rainfall satisfied the large soil moisture deficit in the upper bowl‐shaped zone of the basin. At WC, the presence of thinly thawed, ice‐rich polygonal terrain within the stream channel and in the upper reaches of the catchment likely limited infiltration in these near‐stream zones and enhanced runoff in response to both moderate and high rainfall. Subsequently, seasonal runoff ratios differed between the two sites (0·19 vs 0·68) as did the seasonal storage + residual (+16 vs ?50 mm). This suggests that the post‐snowmelt season runoff response to summer precipitation is very much modified by the unique basin characteristics (soil‐type, vegetation, ground ice) and their location within each stream order type. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.