Photosynthesis/respiration ratios in aquatic microcosms under arsenic stress     

Jeffrey Giddings  Gerald K. Eddlemon 《Water, air, and soil pollution》1978,9(2):207-212

The ratio of net photosynthesis (P) to total ecosystem respiration (R) usually declines when an aquatic ecosystem is subjected to various types of stress. P/R ratios were measured in 12 80-l microcosms containing water, sediment, and entire biotic communities (dominated by Elodea sp.) from a shallow pond. P and R were estimated from changes in dissolved O₂ concentrations during the day and night, respectively. After 10 weeks, the microcosms were stressed by the addition of sodium arsenate at concentrations of 0, 0.066, 11.5, and 143 ppm (as As). P/R ranged from 1.0 to 1.4 in all microcosms before arsenate was added. Under stress, both P and R declined in the 11.5 and 143 ppm microcosms, with negative net photosynthesis (i.e., decreases in dissolved O₂ during the day) observed on several occasions. P/R in these microcosms fell to zero or below, returning to l.0 after three weeks. P/R remained above l.0 in the 0.066 ppm and control microcosms. The P/R response could be used for screening suspected hazardous substances in microcosms, as well as for monitoring natural ecosystems.  相似文献   

Elevated CO₂ enhances leaf senescence during extreme drought in a temperate forest     

Warren JM  Norby RJ  Wullschleger SD 《Tree physiology》2011,31(2):117-130

In 2007, an extreme drought and acute heat wave impacted ecosystems across the southeastern USA, including a 19-year-old Liquidambar styraciflua L. (sweetgum) tree plantation exposed to long-term elevated (E(CO(2))) or ambient (A(CO(2))) CO(2) treatments. Stem sap velocities were analyzed to assess plant response to potential interactions between CO(2) and these weather extremes. Canopy conductance and net carbon assimilation (A(net)) were modeled based on patterns of sap velocity to estimate indirect impacts of observed reductions in transpiration under E(CO(2)) on premature leaf senescence. Elevated CO(2) reduced sap flow by 28% during early summer, and by up to 45% late in the drought during record-setting temperatures. Modeled canopy conductance declined more rapidly in E(CO(2)) plots during this period, thereby directly reducing carbon gain at a greater rate than in A(CO(2)) plots. Indeed, pre-drought canopy A(net) was similar across treatment plots, but declined to ～40% less than A(net) in A(CO(2)) as the drought progressed, likely leading to negative net carbon balance. Consequently, premature leaf senescence and abscission increased rapidly during this period, and was 30% greater for E(CO(2)). While E(CO(2)) can reduce leaf-level water use under droughty conditions, acute drought may induce excessive stomatal closure that could offset benefits of E(CO(2)) to temperate forest species during extreme weather events.  相似文献   

Pollutant loadings from solvay waste beds to lower Ninemile Creek,New York     

Steven W. Effler  Carol M. Brooks  Jeffrey M. Addess  Susan M. Doerr  Michelle L. Storey  Bruce A. Wagner 《Water, air, and soil pollution》1991,55(3-4):427-444

Concentrations of Cl, total ammonia (TNH₃), NO₃ plus NO₂, total P (TP), and soluble reactive P (SRP) were measured at two sites, located 5 km apart, on Ninemile Creek, New York, for a period of more than 8 mo. The sites bound the most recently formed Solvay waste beds, associated with the production of soda ash, that adjoin the creek. Concentrations of Cl and T-NH₃ increased on average by factors of 16.1 and 7.6, respectively, over the monitored stream reach. The estimated average loadings of these materials to the stream over this reach were 2.3 × 10⁵ and 1.2 × 102 kg d^?1, respectively. These inputs are attributable to the Solvay waste beds. The loading of Cl from this source has not changed significantly over a 4 yr period since the closure of the soda ash manufacturing facility. This is the single largest source of Cl, and the second largest source of T-NH₃, to polluted Onondaga Lake. Profiles of Cl in the lake indicated that at times the creek inflow plunges to subsurface layers as a result of its elevated density. This is at least in part a result of the creek's ionic enrichment. The concentration of SRP decreased by a factor of 2.0 on average over the study reach, probably due to adsorption to the CaCO₃ deposits that cover the stream bed in this area. However, the TP load from the creek to the lake is not significantly affected by this phenomenon.  相似文献   

Randomized intervention analysis of the response of the West Bear Brook Watershed,Maine to chemical manipulation     

Venkatesh Uddameri  Stephen A. Norton  Jeffrey S. Kahl  John P. Scofield 《Water, air, and soil pollution》1995,79(1-4):131-146

A paired watershed manipulation study was conducted to study the qualitative and quantitative impacts of elevated acidic precipitation on the chemistry of soils, soil water, and stream water. The Bear Brook Watershed, Maine (BBWM) is drained by two first order streams, East Bear Brook and West Bear Brook. The streams were chemically and hydrologically monitored for two years (1987–1989) and exhibited similar behavior. The West Bear watershed was then chemically manipulated with the bimonthly addition of (NH₄)₂SO₄ (150 mol ha^?1 per application). To assess whether changes in stream water chemistry occurred following the chemical manipulation, and if so when, Randomized Intervention Analysis (RIA) was performed using time-paired data from the two watersheds. RIA, along with autocorrelation analysis, statistically evaluates the behavior of the various analytes under the influence of artificial acidification and therefore provided an objective basis for determining whether changes in the geochemical behavior of West Bear Brook were temporally associated with the chemical manipulation. RIA analysis using weekly data yielded higher probabilities of stream water chemistry effects being temporally linked with the manipulation than RIA analysis using monthly data. Using monthly data, there is a lower probability that short-term excursions in water chemistry related to hydrology can be detected. According to RIA analysis of weekly data for three years of manipulation (1989–1992), the statistically-determined order of impact on water chemistry was (K⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, total Al, pH, SO ₄ ^2? , NO ₃ ^? , DOC)>Si>Cl^?. Autocorrelation analysis indicated that several analytes exhibited increasingly deterministic behavior, including SO ₄ ^2? , base cations, and DOC. Both RIA and autocorrelation analysis indicated no temporal relationship between the manipulation and hydrology.  相似文献   

Integration of multiple soil parameters to evaluate soil quality: a field example   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7  

Jonathan J. Halvorson  Jeffrey L. Smith  Robert I. Papendick 《Biology and Fertility of Soils》1996,21(3):207-214

Development of a method to assess and monitor soil quality is critical to soil resource management and policy formation. To be useful, a method for assessing soil quality must be able to integrate many different kinds of data, allow evaluation of soil quality based on alternative uses or definitions and estimate soil quality for unsampled locations. In the present study we used one such method, based on non-parametric geostatistics. We evaluated soil quality from the integration of six soil variables measured at 220 locations in an agricultural field in southeastern Washington State. We converted the continous data values for each soil variable at each location to a binary variable indicator transform based on thresholds. We then combined indicator transformed data for individual soil variables into a single integrative indicator of soil quality termed a multiple variable indicator transform (MVIT). We observed that soil chemical variables, pools of soil resources, populations of microorgansims, and soil enzymes covaried spatially across the landscape. These ensembles of soil variables were not randomly distributed, but rather were systematically patterned. Soil quality maps calculated by kriging showed that the joint probabilities of meeting specific MVIT selection were influenced by the critical threshold values used to transform each individual soil quality variable and the MVIT selection criteria. If MVIT criteria adequately reflect soil quality then the kriging can produce maps of the probabilty of a soil being of good or poor quality.  相似文献   

Fast and efficient discrimination of the Isotoma viridis group (Insecta: Collembola) by PCR-RFLP     

Ulrich Burkhardt  Juliane Filser   《Pedobiologia》2004,48(5-6):435-443

Identification of collembolan species is generally based on specific morphological characters, such as chaetotaxy and pigmentation pattern. However, some specimens do not match to described characters because these refer to adult specimens, often of one specific sex, or the characters are highly variable in adults (e.g. pigmentation, setae or furcal teeth). Isozymes have frequently assisted species discrimination, and also these may vary with developmental stage or environmental conditions. For identification of single species of the Isotoma viridis group, we present both direct sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) gene and a simple DNA-based molecular method.

Five PCR primers amplifying the COII region (717 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA were used. The sequences clearly separated the species I. viridis, I. riparia and I. anglicana, irrespective of colour varieties within the first species. DNA amplification products of different species can also be distinguished by digestion with restriction endonucleases, followed by gel electrophoresis for separation of fragments. This restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), obtained after digestion with the endonucleases TaqI, VspI, MvaI and Bsp143I, revealed specific fragments that separated the three species from each other. Since restriction enzymes are sensitive to single base mutations, we suggest to use a combination of enzymes with at least two species-specific restriction sites when using the RFLP technique. For the I. viridis complex, VspI and Bsp143I appear to be an appropriate combination.  相似文献   

Input-Output Budgets of Inorganic Nitrogen for 24 Forest Watersheds in the Northeastern United States: A Review     

Campbell  John L.  Hornbeck  James W.  Mitchell  Myron J.  Adams  Mary Beth  Castro  Mark S.  Driscoll  Charles T.  Kahl  Jeffrey S.  Kochenderfer  James N.  Likens  Gene E.  Lynch  James A.  Murdoch  Peter S.  Nelson  Sarah J.  Shanley  James B. 《Water, air, and soil pollution》2004,151(1-4):373-396

Input-output budgets for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) are summarized for 24 small watersheds at 15 locations in the northeasternUnited States. The study watersheds are completely forested, free of recent physical disturbances, and span a geographical region bounded by West Virginia on the south and west, and Maine on the north and east. Total N budgets are not presented; however, fluxes of inorganic N in precipitation and streamwater dominate inputs and outputs of N at these watersheds. The range in inputs of DIN in wet-only precipitation from nearby National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) sites was 2.7 to 8.1 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 (mean = 6.4 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1; median = 7.0 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1). Outputs of DIN in streamwater ranged from 0.1 to 5.7 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 (mean = 2.0 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1; median = 1.7 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1). Precipitation inputs of DIN exceeded outputs in streamwater at all watersheds, with net retention of DIN ranging from 1.2 to 7.3 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 (mean = 4.4 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1; median = 4.6 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1). Outputs of DIN in streamwater were predominantly NO₃-N (mean = 89%; median = 94%). Wet deposition of DIN was not significantly related to DIN outputs in streamwater for these watersheds. Watershed characteristics such as hydrology, vegetation type, and land-use history affect DIN losses and may mask any relationship between inputs and outputs. Consequently, these factors need to be included in the development of indices and simulation models for predicting 'nitrogen saturation' and other ecological processes.  相似文献   

Program evaluation. Researchers fault U.S. report critiquing education programs     

Mervis J 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2007,316(5829):1267

  相似文献   

Single-base pair unwinding and asynchronous RNA release by the hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase     

Cheng W  Arunajadai SG  Moffitt JR  Tinoco I  Bustamante C 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2011,333(6050):1746-1749

Nonhexameric helicases use adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to unzip base pairs in double-stranded nucleic acids (dsNAs). Studies have suggested that these helicases unzip dsNAs in single-base pair increments, consuming one ATP molecule per base pair, but direct evidence for this mechanism is lacking. We used optical tweezers to follow the unwinding of double-stranded RNA by the hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase. Single-base pair steps by NS3 were observed, along with nascent nucleotide release that was asynchronous with base pair opening. Asynchronous release of nascent nucleotides rationalizes various observations of its dsNA unwinding and may be used to coordinate the translocation speed of NS3 along the RNA during viral replication.  相似文献   

The Physcomitrella genome reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants     

Rensing SA  Lang D  Zimmer AD  Terry A  Salamov A  Shapiro H  Nishiyama T  Perroud PF  Lindquist EA  Kamisugi Y  Tanahashi T  Sakakibara K  Fujita T  Oishi K  Shin-I T  Kuroki Y  Toyoda A  Suzuki Y  Hashimoto S  Yamaguchi K  Sugano S  Kohara Y  Fujiyama A  Anterola A  Aoki S  Ashton N  Barbazuk WB  Barker E  Bennetzen JL  Blankenship R  Cho SH  Dutcher SK  Estelle M  Fawcett JA  Gundlach H  Hanada K  Heyl A  Hicks KA  Hughes J  Lohr M  Mayer K  Melkozernov A  Murata T  Nelson DR  Pils B  Prigge M  Reiss B  Renner T  Rombauts S  Rushton PJ 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2008,319(5859):64-69

We report the draft genome sequence of the model moss Physcomitrella patens and compare its features with those of flowering plants, from which it is separated by more than 400 million years, and unicellular aquatic algae. This comparison reveals genomic changes concomitant with the evolutionary movement to land, including a general increase in gene family complexity; loss of genes associated with aquatic environments (e.g., flagellar arms); acquisition of genes for tolerating terrestrial stresses (e.g., variation in temperature and water availability); and the development of the auxin and abscisic acid signaling pathways for coordinating multicellular growth and dehydration response. The Physcomitrella genome provides a resource for phylogenetic inferences about gene function and for experimental analysis of plant processes through this plant's unique facility for reverse genetics.  相似文献