Structural dynamic eutrophication models

This article discusses problems of modelling the seasonal succession of algal species in lakes and reservoirs, and the adaptive selection of certain groups of algae in response to changes in the inputs and relative concentrations of nutrients and other environmental variables. A new generation of quantitative models is being developed which attempts to translate some important biological properties of species (survival, variation, inheritance, reproductive rates and population growth) into predictions about the survival of the fittest, where ”fitness” is measured or estimated in thermodynamic terms. The concept of ”exergy” and its calculation is explored to examine maximal exergy as a measure of fitness in ecosystems, and its use for calculating changes in species composition by means of structural dynamic models. These models accomodate short-term changes in parameters that affect the adaptive responses (species selection) of algae.

An ecological characterization of the marine resources of Vieques, Puerto Rico Part II: Field studies of habitats, nutrients, contaminants, fish, and benthic communities

Since the 1940s, portions of the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico have been used by the United States Navy (USN) as an ammunition support detachment and bombing and maneuver training range. In April 2001, the USN began phasing out military activities on the island and transferring military property to the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Municipality of Vieques, and the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust. A small number of studies have been commissioned by the USN in the past few decades to assess selected components of the coral reef ecosystem surrounding the island; however, these studies were generally of limited geographic scope and short duration. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), in consultation with NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) and other local and regional experts, conducted a more comprehensive characterization of coral reef ecosystems, contaminants, and nutrient distribution patterns around Vieques. This work was conducted using many of the same protocols as ongoing monitoring work underway elsewhere in the U.S. Caribbean and has enabled comparisons among coral reef ecosystems in Vieques and other locations in the region. This characterization of Vieques’ marine ecosystems consists of a two part series. First, available information on reefs, fish, birds, seagrasses, turtles, mangroves, climate, geology, currents, and human uses from previous studies was gathered and integrated into a single document comprising Part I of this two part series (Bauer et al. 2008). For Part II of the series, presented in this document, new field studies were conducted to fill data gaps identified in previous studies, to provide an island-wide characterization, and to establish baseline values for the distribution of habitats, nutrients, contaminants, fish, and benthic communities. An important objective underlying this suite of studies was to quantify any differences in the marine areas adjacent to the former and current land-use zoning around Vieques. Specifically of interest was the possibility that either Naval (e.g., practice bombing, munitions storage) or civilian activities (e.g., sewage pollutants, overfishing) could have a negative impact on adjacent marine resources. Measuring conditions at this time and so recently after the land transfer was essential because present conditions are likely to be reflective of past land-use practices. In addition, the assessment will establish benchmark conditions that can be influenced by the potentially dramatic future changes in land-use practices as Vieques considers its development. This report is organized into seven chapters that represent a suite of interrelated studies. Chapter 1 provides a short introduction to the island setting, the former and current land-use zoning, and how the land zoning was used to spatially stratify much of the sampling. Chapter 2 is focused on benthic mapping and provides the methods, accuracy assessment, and results of newly created benthic maps for Vieques. Chapter 3 presents the results of new surveys of fish, marine debris, and reef communities on hardbottom habitats around the island. Chapter 4 presents results of flora and fauna surveys in selected bays and lagoons. Chapter 5 examines the distribution of nutrients in lagoons, inshore, and offshore waters around the island. Chapter 6 is focused on the distribution of chemical contaminants in sediments and corals. Chapter 7 is a brief summary discussion that highlights key findings of the entire suite of studies.

Dried field populations of Nostoc flagelliforme (Cyanophyceae) require exogenous nutrients for their photosynthetic recovery

The effects of nutrients on the photosynthetic recovery of Nostoc flagelliforme during re-hydration were investigated in order to see if their addition was necessary. Net photosynthesis was negligible in distilled water without nutrient-enrichment. Addition of K+ resulted in significant enhancement of net photosynthesis, whereas other nutrients (Fe3+, Mg2+, Na+, NO3-, PO43-, Cl-) and trace-metals (A(5)) showed little effect. The recovered net photosynthetic activity increased with the increased K+, and reached the maximum at concentrations above 230 mu M. Desiccation and re-hydration did not affect the dependence of photosynthetic recovery on K+. It was concluded that dried field populations of N. flagelliforme require exogenous addition of potassium for photosynthetic recovery and that growth may be potassium-limited in nature.

Transporting nutrients from sediments: nitrogen and carbon as indicators to measure scavenging ability of a detritivorous fish, Liza haematocheila

The redlip mullet, Liza haematocheila, is a common species in polyculture as a scavenger in China. Feeding on detritus, redlip mullet transports nutrients from sediments up into the water column and converts them into forms that can be utilized by phytoplankton and affects the relative abundance of detritus and dissolved inorganic nutrients to phytoplankton, zooplankton and other fishes. We used nitrogen and carbon as the indicators in this study to measure the scavenging ability, which means intake of nitrogen or carbon by redlip mullet, and the loss of nutrients. Temperature and body weight significantly affected growth nitrogen, faecal nitrogen and faecal carbon. At a certain temperature, the proportion of growth nitrogen or growth carbon increased while the proportion of excretion nitrogen or respiration carbon decreased with increasing body weight.

A comparison of the variability of biological nutrients against depth and potential density.

The main biogeochemical nutrient distributions, along with ambient ocean temperature and the light field, control ocean biological productivity. Observations of nutrients are much sparser than physical observations of temperature and salinity, yet it is critical to validate biogeochemical models against these sparse observations if we are to successfully model biological variability and trends. Here we use data from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study and the World Ocean Database 2005 to demonstrate quantitatively that over the entire globe a significant fraction of the temporal variability of phosphate, silicate and nitrate within the oceans is correlated with water density. The temporal variability of these nutrients as a function of depth is almost always greater than as a function of potential density, with he largest reductions in variability found within the main pycnocline. The greater nutrient variability as a function of depth occurs when dynamical processes vertically displace nutrient and density fields together on shorter timescales than biological adjustments. These results show that dynamical processes can have a significant impact on the instantaneous nutrient distributions. These processes must therefore be considered when modeling biogeochemical systems, when comparing such models with observations, or when assimilating data into such models.

Optimal foraging when regulating intake of multiple nutrients

There is growing evidence that, rather than maximizing energy intake subject to constraints, many animals attempt to regulate intake of multiple nutrients independently. In the complex diets of animals such as herbivores, the consumption of nutritionally imbalanced foods is sometimes inevitable, forcing trade-offs between eating too much of nutrients present in the foods in relative excess against too little of those in deficit. Such situations are not adequately represented in existing formulations of foraging theory. Here we provide the necessary theory to fit this case, using an approach that combines state-space models of nutrition with Tilman's models of resource exploitation (Tilman 1982, Resource Competition and Community Structure, Princeton: Princeton University Press). Our approach was to construct a smooth fitness landscape over nutrient space, centred on a 'target' intake at which no fitness cost is incurred, and this leads to a natural classification of the simple possible fitness landscapes based on Taylor series approximations of landscape shape. We next examined how needs for multiple nutrients can be assessed experimentally using direct measures of animal performance as the common currency, so that the nutritional strategies of animals can be mapped on to the performance surface, including the position of regulated points of intake and points of nutrient balance when fed suboptimal foods. We surveyed published data and conducted an experiment to map out the performance landscape of a generalist leaf-feeding caterpillar, Spodoptera littoralis. (C) 2004 Tire Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Poblished by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of artificial biofilms to strip nutrients from an industrial smelters waste water under conditions of low temperature and high pH

The Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has identified Alcoa’s Point Henry aluminium smelter as being a major source of recognized pollutant input due to its disposal of effluent into Corio Bay. Historically, the water quality parameters that have most often exceeded Point Henry’s EPA limits have been pH and suspended solids from the smelter’s discharge points. These waste water discharges also experience high nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations which result in algal blooms that occur at the onset of warm weather. The main hypothesis of this study was that “prevention of algal blooming with the onset of warm weather by removal of nutrients during the cooler months, and continued removal thereafter, is better than curing the problems chemically”. Biofilms have been used to remove nutrients from waste waters, but not under the conditions experienced at Point Henry. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine if significant biofilm growth would be observed on floating structures suspended in the Point Henry waste water stream during the cooler, winter months of the year. Statistically significant biofilm growth occurred on all suspended structures in all discharge ponds during the winter and early spring of 2000. The use of suspended structures, such as AquaMatTM, as an artificial substrate to attract and support periphyton and bacterial communities (biofilms), which are then able to out-compete phytoplankton communities for available nutrients, is therefore a viable option for the Point Henry smelter. However, further research on the competitive performance of biofilms in the Point Henry ponds during the summer months is required before adequate biofilm management strategies can be developed.

Hydrodynamics, nutrients and algae of Fitzroy and Merri River estuaries

Various physical, biological and chemical attributes were investigated for the Fitzroy and Merri River estuaries. This research found algal communities were most influenced by high nitrogen concentrations at times of low flow. Mangement of nutrients within each catchment is therefore of high importance to reduce the possibility of future blooms.

Food fortification : the evidence, ethics and politics of adding nutrients to food

This research book presents a critical analysis of mandatory food fortification as a technology for protecting and promoting public health. Increasing numbers of foods fortified with novel amounts and combinations of nutrients are being introduced into the food supplies of countries around the world to raise populations’ nutrient intakes. Three topical food fortification case studies representing the different public health rationales for adding nutrients to food were assessed for their public health benefits, risks and ethical considerations: Universal salt iodisation (USI) to help prevent iodine deficiency disorders; mandatory flour fortification with folic acid (MFFFA) to help prevent neural tube defects; and mandatory milk fortification with vitamin D (MMFVD) to help prevent vitamin D deficiency. These assessments found that whereas USI performs strongly as a public health intervention, MFFFA and MMFVD are associated with more risks and less ethical justification than an alternative policy option. Food fortification can be a blunt policy response to complex policy problems. The findings highlight that the primary predictor of a mandatory food fortification policy’s benefits, risks and ethics is its ability to address the underlying cause of the policy problem. The analysis of the policy-making processes for each case study found that certain powerful actors use their influence to determine what counts as evidence in policy processes to privilege food fortification activities over alternative policy options. Policy-making frequently was notable for the low prominence it afforded ethical considerations and its lack of public engagement. Priority activities to help strengthen policy processes and outcomes are suggested.

A model for the plankton system of the Broa reservoir, Sao Carlos, Brazil

In this paper a model, called ELLOBO running in STELLA II, was set to describe the plankton system of the Broa reservoir (SP). The three state variables of the model are: phytoplankton, zooplankton, and the fish Astyanax fasciatus. The forcing variables are: temperature, nitrate, phosphorus and solar radiation. The model did not consider the cycling of nutrients inside the reservoir. The results show that: temperature is the principal forcing variable in the phytoplankton dynamic and in the subsequent evolution of the whole system. The zooplankton predation was described by Odum's equation, and there is a strong random component in zooplankton grazing, which was essential for the model, because zooplankton estimates have high variance. One must collect data in a short space of time (maybe daily) to better explain the zooplankton and phytoplankton variation. Validation was performed using simple statistics (arithmetic mean, standard deviation) and the results show concordance between observed and simulated values. Overhead was used to calibrate some parameters and to validate the model. The highest overhead value (5%) imply in the better accordance between estimated and;observed state variables values. We believe this approach in Broa reservoir will provide an useful tool for future research and it could be used comparatively in other continental aquatic ecosystems. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of boron and zinc fertilization on white oats grown in soil with average content of these nutrients

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of fertilization with zinc or boron on the growth and dry matter production, nutritional value and accumulation of nutrients in white oats. The study comprised two experiments conducted in glasshouses, the first consisting of the application of four doses of zinc (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mg/dm³) in the form of zinc sulphate (20% Zn), and the second consisting of the application of four doses of boron (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mg/dm³) in the form of Borax (11% B). The experimental design in each case was a randomized block design, with five replicates. Fertilization with zinc and boron increased the growth of white oats, but had no significant effect on the nutritional value of the forage. Higher levels of absorption and accumulation of nutrients in plant tissues were observed following the application of boron and zinc at rates of up to 0.60 mg/dm³ of soil.

Nutrient cycling aspects in stands of Pinus-elliottii engelm var elliottii under differents resining intensities .2. nutrients contents in litter

Annual and monthly quantities of nutrients wich returned to the soil through litter fall in Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii stand were estimated durint a two years period, in Experimental Station of Mogi-Guacu, SP. From the trees of the stand was extracted oleoresin according two differents techniques and control. The annual average of nutrients that returned to the soil was 72.2 Kg/ha, in following order: N > Ca > K > Mg > P. No relationship appeared between nutrient concentrations plus quantities when they were compared with oleoresin yields treatments and control. The differences in annual quantities were possibly due to climatic factors. The soil profile showed short concentrations in nutrient contents. Thus, the forest may be suffering by nutrient deficiences.

Bathymetric trends of northeastern Brazilian snappers (Pisces, Lutjanidae): implications for the reef fishery dynamic

A distribuição batimétrica de cinco espécies de peixes do Nordeste Brasileiro foi examinada através da análise da composição da captura e e abundância relativa (CPUE) mostrou que, de uma maneira geral, o comprimento furcal aumentou com a profundidade e que algumas espécies dominaram a captura de acordo com a faixa de profundidade. A cioba, L. analis, a guaiúba, L. chrysurus, e o dentão, L. jocu foram principalmente pescados na zona intermediaria (20-80 m) enquanto ariocó, L. synagris e o pargo olho-de-vidro L. vivanus ocorreram respectivamente nas águas rasas e nas águas profundas. Cada tipo de embarcação do Nordeste do Brasil explota preferencialmente uma combinação particular de espécies e uma determinada amplitude de tamanho. A dinâmica da frota do nordeste do Brasil é tecnologicamente heterogênea e determina a composição da captura. A distribuição geográfica da pesca e a interação técnica entre as frotas e as artes de pesca devem ser consideradas pelo manejo destas espécies visando a manutenção dos estoques em bases sustentáveis e a garantia de continuidade do recurso.

Nutrients and Nonessential Elements in Soil after 11 Years of Wastewater Irrigation

Irrigation of citrus (Citrus aurantium L. x Citrus paradise Macf.) with urban reclaimed wastewater (RWW) can be economical and conserve fresh water. However, concerns remain regarding its deleterious effects on soil quality. We investigated the ionic speciation (ISP) of RWW and potential impacts of 11 yr of irrigation with RWW on soil quality, compared with well-water (WW) irrigation. Most of nutrients (similar to 53-99%) in RWW are free ionic species and readily available for plant uptake, such as: NH4+, NO3-, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-, H3BO3, Cl-, Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Co2+, and Ni2+, whereas more than about 80% of Cu, Cr, Pb, and Al are complexed with CO3-, OH-, and/or organic matter. The RWW irrigation increased the availability and total concentrations of nutrients and nonessential elements, and soil salinity and sodicity by two to three times compared with WW-irrigated soils. Although RWW irrigation changed many soil parameters, no difference in citrus yield was observed. The risk of negative impacts from RWW irrigation on soil quality appears to be minimal because of: (i) adequate quality of RWW, according to USEPA limits; (ii) low concentrations of metals in soil after 11 yr of irrigation with RWW; and (iii) rapid leaching of salts in RWW-irrigated soil during the rainy season.

Dynamic Activation and Repression of the Plasmodium falciparum rif Gene Family and Their Relation to Chromatin Modification

The regulation of variant gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum is still only partially understood. Regulation of var genes, the most studied gene family involved in antigenic variation, is orchestrated by a dynamic pattern of inherited chromatin states. Although recent evidence pointed to epigenetic regulation of transcribed and repressed rif loci, little is known about specific on/off associated histone modifications of individual rif genes. To investigate the chromatin marks for transcribed and repressed rif loci, we cultivated parasites and evaluated the transcriptional status of chosen rif targets by qRT-PCR and performed ChIP assays using H3K9ac and H3K9me3 antibodies. We then monitored changes in the epigenetic patterns in parasites after several reinvasions and also evaluated the "poised'' mark in trophozoites and schizonts of the same erythrocytic cycle by ChIP using H3K4me2 specific antibodies. Our results show that H3K9 is acetylated in transcribed rif loci and trimethylated or even unmodified in repressed rif loci. These transcriptional and epigenetic states are inherited after several reinvasions. The poised modification H3K4me2 showed a tendency to be more present in loci in trophozoites that upon progression to schizonts strongly transcribe the respective locus. However, this effect was not consistently observed for all monitored loci. While our data show important similarities to var transcription-associated chromatin modifications, the observed swiftly occurring modifications at rif loci and the absence of H3K9 modification point to a different dynamic of recruitment of chromatin modifying enzymes.