Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of plankton communities in Lake Donghu, China, as revealed by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and its relation to biotic and abiotic factors

The 16S and 18S rRNA genes of planktonic organisms derived from five stations with nutrient gradients in Lake Donghu, China, were studied by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting, and the relationships between the genetic diversity of the plankton community and biotic/abiotic factors are discussed. The concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), NH4-N and As were found to be significantly related (P < 0.05) to morphological composition of the plankton community. Both chemical and morphological analyses suggested that temporal heterogeneity was comparatively higher than spatial heterogeneity in Lake Donghu. Although the morphological composition was not identical to the DGGE fingerprints in characterizing habitat similarity, the two strongest eutrophic stations (I and II) were always initially grouped into one cluster. Canonical correspondence analysis suggested that the factors strongly correlated with the first two ordination axes were seasonally different. The concentrations of TN and TP and the densities of rotifers and crustaceans were generally the main factors related to the DGGE patterns of the plankton communities. The study suggested that genetic diversity as depicted by metagenomic techniques (such as PCR-DGGE fingerprinting) is a promising tool for ecological study of plankton communities and that such techniques are likely to play an increasingly important role in assessing the environmental conditions of aquatic habitats.

Effects of ammonium on growth, nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism of Potamogeton maackianus A. Benn

Growth, nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism in relation to eutrophication were studied for a submerged plant Potamogeton maackianus, a species common in East Asian shallow lakes. The plants were grown in six NH4+-N concentrations (0.05, 0.50, 1.00, 3.50, 5.00 and 10.00 mg/L) for six days. NH4+-N levels in excess of 0.50 mg/L inhibited the plant growth. The relationships between external NH4+-N availability and total nitrogen (TN), protein-N, free amino acid-N (FAA-N) and NH4+-N in plant tissues, respectively, conformed to a logarithmic model suggesting that a feedback inhibition mechanism may exist for ammonium uptake. The response of starch to NH4+-N was fitted with a negative, logarithmic curve. Detailed analysis revealed that the influx NH4+-N had been efficiently incorporated into organic-N and eventually stored as protein at the expense of starch accumulation. These data suggest that this species may be able to tolerate high levels of ammonium when dissolved oxygen is sufficient.

Differentiate performance of eight filter media in vertical flow constructed wetland: Removal of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus

A comparative study was conducted to reveal the differentiate effects of eight different filter media including gravel, zeolites, anthracite, shale, vermiculite, ceramic filter media, blast furnace steel slag and round ceramsite. The study mainly related to the eight different filter media's removal performances of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus in the vertical flow constructed wetland simulated system, which treating wastewater at hydraulic loading rate of 1000-2500 mm/d. The results indicated that the removal effects were closely related to the physical and chemical properties of medium materials. Anthracite-filled system had the highest removal rate for the total organic carbon (TOC), up to 70%, and the removal rates of other systems ranged from 20% to 30%. As for the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), anthracite-filled and steel slag-filled systems had the highest removal rates, also up to 70%, as well as other systems all exceeded 50%. At the same time, for the total nitrogen (TN) and NH4(+)-N, the zeolites-filled and ceramic-filled systems had the best performances with the removal rates of more than 70%, the other way round, the removal rates of other systems were only about 20%. The distinguishable effects were also observed in removal performances of total phosphorus (TP) and total dissoluble phosphorus (TDP). The removal rates of TP and TDP in steel slag-filled systems were more than 90%, a much higher value, followed by that of the anthracite-filled system, more than 60%, but those of other systems being the less. Our study provided a potential mechanism to optimize the filter media design for the vertical flow constructed wetlands.

Phytoplankton biomass in relation to nutrients and zooplankton in thirty subtropical lakes adjacent to the Yangtze River, China

A total of 30 shallow lakes, located along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, were studied to assess the relative importance of nutrients and zooplankton biomass in determining the phytoplankton biomass in subtropical China. Zooplankton biomass and nutrients both varied greatly in these lakes. Factor analysis and multiple linear regression showed that phytoplankton biomass was positively correlated with TN, NH4+, NO3- and TP, while it did not show any negative relationship to zooplankton biomass. Meanwhile, the phytoplankton biomass showed contrary relationships to the mass ratio of TN/TP in spring and summer, suggesting that in nutrient-richer lakes the dominant phytoplankton species have different preferences for TN/TP ratio. The insignificant top-down control of phytoplankton biomass may be attributed to the dominance of small-sized crustaceans and low crustacean biomass resulting from cyanobacterial dominance and planktivorous fish predation as well as other factors. Thus, it is likely that nutrients were more important than zooplankton biomass in explaining the total variance of phytoplaDkton biomass in these subtropical lakes.

Simultaneous determination of chromium(VI) and chromium(III) of bioavailable fraction in bottom mud by flow injection-atomic absorption spectroscopy

A rapid and sensitive method for separation and determination of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in bottom mud of lake by flow injection on-line preconcentrtion system and GFAAS was developed. The available Cr(VI) and Cr(III) were extracted by HOAc or EDTA + NH4 NO3 and adsorbed simultaneously by an anion and a cation resin microclummn and then eluted simultaneously by 2 mol/L NH4 NO3 + 0.05 mol/L ascorbate and 2 mol/L H2SO4, respectively. The elution was performed for 50 s after adsorption for 2 min, and the efficiencies of elution were 85.4% - 94.8% and 96.7% - 106% for Cr(VI) and Cr(M) respectively. The detection limits of the method were 0.9 mu g/L and 2.7 mu g/L with relative standard deviations of 3.5% and 6.4% for the determination of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in sample, respectively.

Studies on temporal and spatial variations of phytoplankton in Lake Chaohu

Temporal and spatial variations of the phytoplankton assemblage in Lake Chaohu, a large shallow eutrophic lake in China, were studied from September 2002 to August 2003. A total of 191 phytoplankton species was identified, among which Chlorophytes (101) ranked the first, followed by Cyanophytes (46) and Bacillariophytes (28). On average over the entire lake, the maximum total algal biomass appeared in June (19.70 mg/L) with a minimum (5.05 mg/ L) in November. In terms of annual mean biomass, cyanobacteria contributed 45.43% to total algal biomass, followed by Chlorophytes (27.14%), and Bacillariophytes (20.6%). When nitrate (NO3-N) and ammonium (NH4-N) concentrations dropped in spring, fixing-nitrogen cyanobacterium (Anabaena) developed quickly and ranked the first in terms of biomass in summer. It is likely that dominance of zooplanktivorous fish and small crustacean zooplankton favored the development of the inedible filamentous or colony forming cyanobacteria. The persistent dominance of cyanobacteria throughout all seasons may indicate a new tendency of the response of phytoplankton to eutrophication in Lake Chaohu.

Development of the microbial communities in Lake Donghu in relation to water quality

There is increasing recognition that protozoa is very useful in monitoring and evaluating water ecological healthy and quality. In order to study the relationship between structure and function of protozoan communities and water qualities, six sampling stations were set on Lake Donghu, a hypereutrophic subtropical Chinese lake. Microbial communities and protists sampling from the six stations was conducted by PFU (Polyurethane foam unit) method. Species number (S), diversity index (DI), percentage of phytomastigophra, community pollution value (CPV), community similarity and heterophy index (HI) were mensurated. The measured indicators of water quality included total phosphorus (TP), dissolved oxygen (DO), Chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH4 (+), NO2 (-) and NO3-. Every month water samples from stations I, II, III, IV were chemically analyzed for a whole year, Among the chemically analyzed stations, station I was the most heavily polluted, station II was the next, stations III and IV had similar pollution degrees. The variable tendencies of COD, TP, NH3, NO2-, NO3-, and DO during the year was approximately coincident among the six stations. Analysis from the community parameters showed that the pollution of station 0 was much more serious than others, and station V was the most slight. Of the community parameters, CPV and HI were sensitive in reflecting the variables of the water quality. Community similarity index was also sensitive in dividing water qualities and the water quality status of different stations could be correctly classified by the cluster analysis. DI could reflect the tendency of water quality gradient, species number and percentage of Phytomastigophora was not obvious in indicating the water quality gradient.

Environmental mechanism of change in cyanobacterial species composition in the northeastern part of Lake Dianchi (China)

Environmental mechanism of change in cyanobacterial species composition in the northeastern part of Lake Dianchi (also called Macun Bay and Haidong Bay) was studied using canonical correlation analysis (CCA), but also bottom-up control and top-down control were fully discussed. Results from CCA suggest: (1) the abundance and dominance of Microcystis aeruginosa in Macun Bay and Haidong Bay are influenced by total phosphorus (TP), nitrate (NO3--N), nitrite (NO2--N), dissolved oxygen (DO) and water temperature (WT); (2) water temperature has a positive correlation with the abundance of M. aeruginosa and it also has negative correlations with the abundances of Anabaena flos-aquae and Aphanizomenonon flos-aquae; and (3) abundances of both Anabaena flos-aquae and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae have positive correlations with ammonia-N (NH4+-N). Furthermore, cyanobacterial species composition has no significant correlations with light and size-fractioned iron in this study. Grazers, cyanophages and viruses were able to control cyanobacterial blooms and change the composition of cyanobacterial species. Though we studied physical and chemical factors intensely enough, we still are not able to predict the change in the composition of cyanobacterial blooms, because of plankton system in a chaotic behavior.

Relationships between microcystins and environmental parameters in 30 subtropical shallow lakes along the Yangtze River, China

1. A survey of 30 subtropical shallow lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River area in China was conducted during July-September in 2003-2004 to study how environmental and biological variables were associated with the concentration of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin (MC). 2. Mean MC concentration in seasonally river-connected lakes (SL) was nearly 33 times that in permanently river-connected lakes (RL), and more than six times that in city lakes (NC) and non-urban lakes (NE) which were not connected to the Yangtze River. The highest MC (8.574 mu g L-1) was detected in Dianshan Lake. 3. MC-RR and MC-LR were the primary toxin variants in our data. MC-RR, MC-YR and MC-LR were significantly correlated with Ch1 a, biomass of cyanobacteria, Microcystis and Anabaena, indicating that microcystins were mainly produced by Microcystis and Anabaena sp. in these lakes. 4. Nonlinear interval maxima regression indicated that the relationships of Secchi depth, total nitrogen (TN) : total phosphorus UP) and NH4+ with MC were characterised by negative exponential curves. The relationships between MC and TN, TP, NO3- + NO2- were fitted well with a unimodal curve. 5. Multivariate analyses by principal component and classifying analysis indicated that MC was mainly affected by Microcystis among the biological factors, and was closely related with temperature among physicochernical factors.

Acute biochemical responses of a submersed macrophyte, Potamogeton crispus L., to high ammonium in an aquarium experiment

Acute biochemical responses of Potamogeton crispus L. to high external ammonium were investigated in an aquarium experiment. Shoots of P. crispus were incubated in aquaria for 24 h or 48 h at five treatments of ammonium-0, 1, 5, 10 and 20 mg/L NH4-N. Soluble sugar content of the shoots declined markedly with increasing ammonium levels, whereas soluble amino acid content increased dramatically. Responses of two antioxidant enzymes as well as soluble protein content fit a lognormal distribution with increasing ammonium levels. High ammonium levels (NH4-N greater than or equal to 5 mg/L) caused significant acute biochemical changes in P. crispus, which potentially could lead to significant biochemical damage.

An improvement on Si-etching tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide solution

An optimal concentration of the etching solution for deep etching of silicon, including 3% tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide and 0.3% (NH4)(2)S2O8, was achieved in this paper. For this etching solution, the etching rates of silicon and silicon dioxide were about 1.1 mu m(.)min(-1) and 0.5 nm(.)min(-1), respectively. The etching ratio between (100) and (111) planes was about 34:1, and the etched surface was very smooth.

生物质煤气废水氨氮脱除的研究

生物质煤气废水是一种新出现的高浓度氨氮有机废水。作者采用化学沉淀法去除该废水中的氨氮，研究了不同沉淀剂、pH、温度和搅拌时间对氨氮去除效果的影响。结果表明，MgCl2＋Na3PO4·12H2O明显优于其他沉淀剂组合。当n（Mg^2＋）：n（NH4^＋）：n（PO4^3-）=1：1：1、pH10．0、温度30℃、搅拌时间30min时，废水中的氨氮质量浓度从处理前的222mg/L降到17mg／L，去除率为92.3％。

水肥处理对黄瓜土壤养分、酶及微生物多样性的影响

以津优1号黄瓜为试材,设3个土壤相对含水量水平(50%～60%、70%～80%、90%～100%)和2个肥料追施量(600kgN·hm-2和420kgP2O5·hm-2,420kgN.hm-2和294kgP2O5·hm-2)处理,研究了不同水肥供应对日光温室黄瓜土壤养分、酶活性及微生物多样性的影响.结果表明:土壤中NH4+-N含量随施肥量的增加而提高,随土壤相对含水量的增加而降低;水肥供给的增加有利于提高土壤中速效磷含量和蔗糖酶活性;肥料增加使土壤中蛋白酶活性降低,而水分降低使土壤中脲酶活性提高.土壤中微生物多样性与土壤中养分含量无显著相关性,与土壤脲酶活性呈显著正相关,与蔗糖酶活性呈显著负相关.土壤相对含水量70%～80%、氮肥追施量600kgN·hm-2和420kgP2O5.hm-2处理的土壤养分含量、蔗糖酶、磷酸酶和脲酶活性较高,且土壤中微生物多样性和均匀度显著高于其他处理,土壤生产潜力最优.

黄土高原坡地密植枣园土壤质地与肥力状况分析

采用田间取样与实验室分析相结合的方法,研究了黄土高原坡地密植枣园土壤质地与肥力状况。结果表明,坡地枣园土壤肥力低,氮、磷严重缺乏,钾相对丰富,土壤属于砂壤土,通气性强,保肥、保水性差。0~60 cm土壤有机质含量为1.687~5.002 mg/kg;全氮为0.072~0.316 g/kg;硝酸盐为2.325~16.846 g/kg;铵态氮为1.187~2.146 g/kg,速效磷为0.270~2.480 mg/kg,速效钾为51.9~169.1 mg/kg,并且含量均随剖面向下减少。颗粒组成大部分为粉砂粒,含量一般在65.75%~68.98%;随有机质含量升高,0.25~0.05 mm微团聚体数量呈上升趋势,二者为正相关;<0.05 mm微团聚体含量则逐渐下降,二者呈负相关。黄土高原坡地密植枣园土壤肥力总体水平很低。除了速效钾为中等级外,有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效磷均为很低等级。

黄土高原典型土壤有机氮矿化过程

以黄土高原从北向南不同地区典型土壤类为对象,采用Bremner淹水培养法,研究黄土高原典型土壤有机氮的矿化过程。结果表明,淹水培养期间矿化出的部分NH4+-N会被粘土矿物固定,固定量因土壤不同而异,因此在测定有机氮矿化量时,只有考虑这一部分氮素,才可获得可靠结果。不同土壤有机氮量矿化明显不同,表现为土垫旱耕人为土>黄土正常新成土>简育干润均腐土>干润砂质新成土,从南到北氮素矿化量呈减小趋势。添加C/N低(C/N比为21.7)的紫花苜蓿(Medicago stativa)茎叶有利于促进土壤有机氮矿化,而添加C/N高(C/N比为43.3)的长芒草(Stipa bungeana)会促进矿质氮的生物固定;不同类型植被土壤间在培养20、40d和60d时的矿化量差异显著(p值分别为0.0177、0.0109和0.0073),均表现为均为林地土壤>裸地土壤>草地土壤>农田土壤;从平均看,加(NH4)2SO4后有机氮矿化量有一定减少。在不同培养阶段,不同土类间氮素矿化率不同,在20d和40d时存在显著差异(p分别为0.0092和0.0381),60d时差异不显著,不同土类氮素矿化率的大小顺序为干润砂质新成土>黄土正常新成土>...