National-scale estimation of potentially harmful element ambient background concentrations in topsoil using parent material classified soil:stream–sediment relationships

Regulatory authorities require estimates of ambient background concentrations (ABCs) of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in topsoil; such data are currently not available in many countries. High resolution soil geochemical data exist for only part of England and Wales, whilst stream sediment data cover the entire landscape. A novel methodology is presented for estimating soil equivalent ABCs for PHEs from high-resolution (HR) stream sediment geochemical data grouped by common parent materials (PM), using arsenic (As) as an example. Geometric mean (GM) values for local PM groups are used to investigate different approaches for transforming sediment to soil equivalent concentrations. Holdout validation is used to assess: (i) the optimum number of samples for calculating local GM values, and (ii) the optimum scale at which to group data when using linear regression analysis to estimate GM soil ABCs from local sediment geochemical values. Holdout validation showed that the smallest differences were generally observed when five observations were used to calculate the GM and that these should be grouped over the smallest possible area in order to encompass soils over PMs with elevated GM As concentrations. Geometric mean ABCs are estimated and mapped for As in mineral soil across all of England and Wales within delineations of PM polygons. Errors for the estimation of soil equivalent GM As ABCs based on sediment data for an independent validation set were of a similar magnitude to those from holdout validation applied to the original data suggesting the approach is robust. The estimates of soil equivalent ABCs suggest that As exceeds the regulatory threshold used in risk assessments for residential land use (20 mg kg⁻¹) across 16% of the landscape of England and Wales. The applicability of the method for cognate landscapes, and potential refinements is discussed.     

Evaluating the effects of catch-and-release angling on Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi in a South African estuary

Fisheries managers are increasingly promoting catch-and-release (C&R) to manage recreationally angled fish stocks. Despite this, there is a scarcity of information on the effects of C&R on estuarine-dependent species. Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi dominates the recreational fisheries catch and provides an important source of food for subsistence fishers in some temperate South African estuaries. The health and survival of R. holubi exposed to a C&R event was investigated by examining their physiological stress response (blood glucose and lactate), reflex impairment (reflex action mortality predictors [RAMP]) and short-term (12-hour) survival. Fish were captured and exposed to one of three air-exposure treatments: 0 s, 30 s or 90 s. Stress and health were measured either immediately (immediate) or one hour after (delayed) the C&R event. There was no significant difference in blood glucose between air-exposure treatments, but there was a significant difference between the mean immediate and delayed glucose levels within each treatment (F_(2,143) = 81.8, p < 0.01). In contrast, blood lactate level was significantly higher in the 90-s treatment (p < 0.05). Immediate blood lactate levels were significantly lower than the delayed samples for each treatment (F = 4.29, p = 0.02; n = 169). Although all fish exhibited at least one reflex impairment, the RAMP score was significantly higher in the 90-s air-exposure treatment (H_(2,86) = 9.73, p = 0.007). Also, RAMP scores were significantly lower in the delayed samples (p < 0.01). Although short-term mortality was relatively low (2.3%) for this species, it was highest in the 90-s treatment (7%). These results suggest that physiological stress is higher when R. holubi are exposed to longer periods of air exposure and that the physiological stress of fish subject to a C&R event is best measured after a delay.     

Determination of part-per-trillion levels of atmospheric dimethyl sulfide by isotope dilution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Stable isotopic dilution was applied to the determination of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in ambient air at the low part-per-trillion by volume (pptrv) levels. Perdeuterated DMS was used as an internal standard in the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry determination. The isotopically labelled internal standard provided insensitivity to possible losses of DMS in sampling and analysis. The lower limit of detection (LLD) was 1 pptrv with a sample acquisition time of 2 min.     

Vicariance and dispersal: Confrontation or compatibility?

Current methods in biogeography are briefly reviewed and definitions of dispersal discussed. The need for countenancing the possibilities of operation of both the vicariance and dispersal modes is stressed, and for taking into account geological, climatological and floristic information as well as various aspects of the biology and information contained in the distribution patterns and phylogenies of the group under study. Methods for assessing the likelihood of vicariance and dispersal as causal processes, and possible indications of which of these has predominated, are also considered.     

波西米亚块体西部长周期电磁研究(英文)

在波西米亚块体西南部做了一条长周期电磁剖面 ,它靠近德国超深钻的位置。用一个二维合成模型对数据做了大体的拟合 ,模型走向东西 ,近地表盖层高度地不均匀畸变。畸变层显示强烈的各向异性 ,优势电导方向为NW -SE至NNW -SSE。讨论了深部区域结构的几个不同的模型 ,其中一个模型可以解释由MT和GDS数据显示的主方向的偏差 ,还讨论了沿特别剖面得到的结果与区域地电结构的关系     

Colonisation of the Krakatau islands by invertebrates

Arrival of invertebrates on the Krakatau islands, and the development of invertebrate assemblages there since 1883, are reviewed. Many data are imprecise, and difficulties of interpretation are outlined. A few well-known groups, such as butterflies, are used to suggest that much colonisation so far has been by relatively generalist species,and that the rate of addition of new species may become slower as the less vagile specialists characteristic of later successional vegetation may find natural colonisation harder. Studies of the assemblages developing in association with particular plant species are likely to be helpful in assessing future trends of invertebrate colonisation.     

Evolution of the Nearshore Bed Envelope

The temporal growth of the envelope of bed motion owing to the migration of bedforms, which can be considered a proxy for maximum object burial depth, is examined using five different data sets. These data sets support the hypothesis that the envelope of bed motion will grow as an exponential taper, quickly at first, tapering off and approaching an asymptotic value. This growth is largest and fastest in the surf zone where wave and current flows are strong. Within the surf zone, envelopes owing solely to the migration of megaripples (bedforms with heights from 20 to 40 cm and lengths from 1 to 5 m) grow for about 8 d and reach an asymptote of about 40 cm. When wave energy becomes larger ( 1 m), bed envelopes are dominated by migrating sand bars and approach an asymptote of 3-4 m, but only after 2-12 years (depending on the beach). In addition, the frequency of object burial (the percentage of time that an object would be buried by the crests of migrating bedforms) is highest in the surf zone and grows rapidly with time.     

Utilisation of different carbon sources in a shallow estuary identified through stable isotope techniques

Organic carbon in estuarine sediments can have many different sources. Terrestrial, riverine, estuarine and marine C pools may all contribute to and influence the organic C (C_org) inventory of the estuarine sediments and the differing stable isotope signatures of the sources are reflected in the sediment's overall ¹³C content. Ecological interpretations of sedimentary isotope data may, however, be limited by the fact the total C_org inventory of a sediment may not be an accurate representation of the fraction that is labile and being actively turned over by the sedimentary community. To gain a better understanding of sedimentary C_org dynamics in estuaries and the relationship between the sedimentary C pool and the C_org undergoing mineralisation, we studied three components of an estuarine system: (1) the sedimentary C_org inventory on a transect from the mouth to the upper end of the estuary, (2) temporal changes of sedimentary C_org at one station throughout a year, and (3) the δ¹³C of respired CO₂ compared to the δ¹³C of available source material and sedimentary C_org in a novel application of methods developed for soil science. Our experiments demonstrated that material of marine origin dominated the studied estuary. At the time-series station, material of marine origin dominated the sedimentary C_org throughout the 1-yr study period. δ¹³C values of CO₂ released from the sediment differed significantly from the sedimentary C_org inventory at all study sites, but also clearly reflected differences between the main sections of the estuary. These results suggest that δ¹³C measurements of respired CO₂ are promising as a tool to advance our understanding of C cycling in estuaries, and highlight that the sedimentary C_org pool alone may not be a satisfactory indicator of OM utilisation in estuarine sediments.