Arsenic incorporation in a salt marsh ecosystem

Replicate portions of a Delaware salt marsh were enclosed in cylindrical microcosms and exposed to elevated levels of inorganic arsenic (arsenate). All biotic and abiotic components in dosed cylinders rapidly incorporated arsenic. Spartina blades showed the greatest arsenic enrichment, with dosed plants incorporating arsenic concentrations an order of magnitude higher than controls. Spartina detritus and sediments also exhibited greatly elevated arsenic concentrations. Virtually all of the arsenic was incorporated into plant tissue or strongly sorbed to cell surfaces. Thus, elevated arsenic concentrations in estuarine waters will be reflected in living and non-living components of a salt marsh ecosystem, implying that increased arsenic will be available to organisms within the marsh ecosystem.     

Accumulation of Zn,Cu and Cd by crabs and barnacles

The crab Carcinus maenas (L.) and the barnacle Elminius modestus Darwin were exposed to a range of dissolved concentrations of Zn, Cu and Cd for 21 days in artificial seawater. Accumulation of Zn and Cu by crabs has been interpreted in terms of the presence of a regulation mechanism to maintain constant body concentrations (83·2 ± 19·4 μg Zn g^?1 dry wt.; 39·8 ± 9·8 μg Cu g^?1 dry wt.) under varying external dissolved metal levels, until a threshold dissolved metal concentration (c. 400 μg Zn l^?1; c. 170 μg Cu l^?1) beyond which net accumulation of metal begins. Cadium appears to be accumulated by C. maenas at all exposures with no evidence for regulation of body cadmium concentrations. Exposure of E. modestus to Zn, Cu or Cd caused net accumulation of the respective metal in the bodies of the barnacles, with no evidence for regulation of body metal concentrations.     

Nitrogen uptake,ammonium oxidation and nitrous oxide (N2O) levels in the coastal waters of western Cook Strait,New Zealand

Vertical measurements of $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}$, $\text{NO}{}_3{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ and N₂O concentrations, $\text{NO}{}_3{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ and $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ uptake, and $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ oxidation rates were measured at 5 sites in western Cook Strait, New Zealand, between 31 March and 3 April 1983. Nitrate increased with depth at all stations reaching a maximum of 10.5 μg-atom $\text{NO}{}_3{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{N l}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$ at the most strongly stratified station whereas $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ was relatively constant with depth at all stations (～0.1 μg-atom $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{N l}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$). The highest rates of $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ oxidation generally occurred in the near surface waters and decreased with depth. N₂O levels were near saturation with respect to the air above the sea surface and showed no obvious changes during 24 h incubation. $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ oxidation by nitrifying bacteria may account for about 30% of the total $\text{NH}{}_4{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ utilization (i.e. bacterial+agal) and, assuming oxidation through to $\text{NO}{}_3{}^{\mathrm{?}}$, may supply about 40% of the algal requirements of $\text{NO}{}_3{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ in the study area. These results suggest that bacterial nitrification is of potential importance to the nitrogen dynamics of the western Cook Strait, particularly with respect to the nitrogen demands of the phytoplankton.     

Modelling the effect of low soil temperatures on transpiration by Scots pine

For ecosystem modelling of the Boreal forest it is important to include processes associated with low soil temperature during spring‐early summer, as these affect the tree water uptake. The COUP model, a physically based SVAT model, was tested with 2 years of soil and snow physical measurements and sap flow measurements in a 70‐year‐old Scots pine stand in the boreal zone of northern Sweden. During the first year the extent and duration of soil frost was manipulated in the field. The model was successful in reproducing the timing of the soil warming after the snowmelt and frost thaw. A delayed soil warming, into the growing season, severely reduced the transpiration. We demonstrated the potential for considerable overestimation of transpiration by the model if the reduction of the trees' capacity to transpire due to low soil temperatures is not taken into account. We also demonstrated that the accumulated effect of aboveground conditions could be included when simulating the relationship between soil temperature and tree water uptake. This improved the estimated transpiration for the control plot and when soil warming was delayed into the growing season. The study illustrates the need of including antecedent conditions on root growth in the model in order to catch these effects on transpiration. The COUP model is a promising tool for predicting transpiration in high‐latitude stands. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

15N示踪-离子质谱法测定新生产力的研究

本文提出了~(15)N示踪-离子质谱法实测新生产力的方法,并于1991年11月—1992年5月结合胶州湾现场调查的实际样品,对示踪剂量、培养时间、样品贮存、消解剂量和时间、铵离子的扩散吸收,以及方法的空白值、检出限、精密度和准确度等进行了实验研究。结果表明,该法具有较高的精密度和良好的准确度,与经典的气体质谱法相比,还具有进样量少以及可同时分析~(15)N丰度、总氮浓度和水中铵离子浓度等特点,对于含氮量极低、铵氮再生迅速的海洋环境中新生产力的研究,具有特殊的意义。     

Benthic mineralization rates at two locations in the southern North Sea

Benthic oxygen uptake, sulphate reduction and benthic bacterial production were measured at two contrasting locations in the southern North Sea: the shallow and turbulent Broad Fourteens area in the Southern Bight, and the deeper Oyster Grounds, a deposition area, where thermohaline stratification occurs during summer. Oxygen uptake and sulphate reduction showed a clear seasonal pattern in the Broad Fourteens area, indicating a supply of carbon to the benthic system that is closely related to the standing stock of carbon in the water column. This close benthic-pelagic coupling is probably due to the influence of the tide in this part of the North Sea, which keeps the water column permanently mixed. At the Oyster Grounds, no seasonal pattern was observed. Peaks in oxygen uptake and sulphate reduction were found in winter. Irregularly occurring events, such as storms and fishery-related activities, are likely to affect the benthic mineralization patterns in this area. Annual benthic carbon mineralization rates estimated from oxygen uptake rates were 44 gC·m⁻² at the Broad Fourteens, and 131 gC·m⁻² at the Oyster Grounds, of which 26 and 28%, respectively, could be attributed to sulphate reduction (assuming an annual sulphide reoxidation rate of 100%). Although sulphate reduction rates in the southern North Sea are higher than previously suggested, aerobic respiration is the most important pathway for benthic carbon mineralization at the stations visited. Production rates of benthic bacterial carbon measured with labelled leucine were much higher than carbon mineralization rates based on oxygen uptake or sulphate reduction. This may either imply a very high bacterial carbon conversion efficiency, or point to shortcomings in the accuracy of the techniques. A critical evaluation of the techniques is recommended.     

Release into the environment of metals by two vascular salt marsh plants

Metals in contaminated salt marshes are mainly locked in the anaerobic layer of sediments, where they are tightly bound as sulfides and organic complexes. Vascular plants survive in saturated soils in part by pumping O2 into their root zones, changing their microenvironment to an oxic one. This, along with chelating exudates, mobilizes metals, allowing uptake by the roots. We compared the common reed Phragmites australis and cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in lab and field studies for ways in which they handle trace metals. Both plants store most of their metal burden in their roots, but some is transported to aboveground tissues. Spartina leaves contain approximately 2-3 x more Cr, Pb, and Hg than Phragmites leaves, but equivalent Cu and Zn. Furthermore, Spartina leaves have salt glands, so leaf excretion of all metals is twice that of Phragmites. In-depth studies with Hg indicate that Hg excretion correlates with Na release but not with transpiration, which is 2.2 x higher in Phragmites; and that more Hg accumulates in early-appearing leaves than in upper (i.e. later) leaves in both species. Spartina thus makes more metals available to salt marsh ecosystems than Phragmites by direct excretion and via dead leaves which will enter the food web as detritus.     

Oxygen Uptake During Repeated Exposure to Temperature Change: Physiological Divergence in Panamanian Cognate Pairs and Latitudinally Distant Populations of Decapod Crustacea

Abstract. The emergence of the Isthmus of Panama subdivided the amphi-American biota. In the present study, Pacific and Atlantic populations of four cognate pairs of crabs were used to discern whether exposure to different thermal regimes in habitats, in the putative absence of gene flow, has resulted in physiological divergence. Populations that potentially form a common genetic pool were also used; these were populations of the Atlantic Panama cognate that occur in Belize and Florida. Decreases in water temperature occur periodically in Pacific Panama and Florida, but not in Atlantic Panama or Belize. In this study, physiological divergence in oxygen uptake was assessed in response to repeated exposure to either control and decreased temperature or control and increased temperature. Results indicate that, in only some of the genera tested, exposure to decreases in habitat temperature has resulted in divergence. Partial support is found for the corollary that adaptation to an environment with periods of decreased temperature results in reduced compensation during exposure to elevated temperature.     

潮汐对瞬态气候响应模拟的影响研究

In this study, the impact of oceanic processes on the sensitivity of transient climate change is investigated using two sets of coupled experiments with and without tidal forcing, which are termed Exp_Tide and Exp_Control,respectively. After introducing tidal forcing, the transient climate response(TCR) decreases from 2.32 K to 1.90 K,and the surface air temperature warming at high latitudes decreases by 29%. Large ocean heat uptake efficiency and heat storage can explain the low TCR in Exp_Tide. Approximately 21% more heat is stored in the ocean in Exp_Tide(1.10×10~(24) J) than in Exp_Control(0.91×10~(24) J). Most of the large ocean warming occurs in the upper 1 000 m between 60°S and 60°N, primarily in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans. This ocean warming is closely related to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation(AMOC). The initial transport at mid-and high latitudes and the decline in the AMOC observed in Exp_Tide are both larger than those observed in Exp_Control. The spatial structures of AMOC are also different with and without tidal forcing in present experiments. The AMOC in Exp_Tide has a large northward extension. We also investigated the relationship between AMOC and TCR suggested by previous studies using the present experiments.