DNA damage in eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) from Göteborg harbour

The relationship between DNA damage and the exposure of marine organisms to environmental contaminants was examined in the G?teborg harbour area. This research is part of a wider ecotoxicological study planned to evaluate the biological impact of chemical contamination in the River G?ta estuary, following a bunker oil (10-100 tonnes) spill occurred in June 2003. Here we present data on the DNA strand breaks derived using the comet assay and the presence of apoptotic cells using the diffusion assay in nucleated erythrocytes of the eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) from the study area and at a clean reference site. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites were also analyzed in the bile of exposed fish. The results showed a high level of damaged DNA, paralleled by a peak in bile PAH metabolites, in fish from the most impacted site, 3 weeks after the oil spill. A significant recovery was observed in specimens from the spill site, 5 months later, but not in fish caught in the middle part of G?teborg harbour, which is chronically subjected to heavy chemical pollution. The levels of apoptic cells did not show any marked variations, but a significant recovery was observed in fish from the oil impacted site 5 months after the spill.     

The effects of climate change on species composition,succession and phenology: a case study

Climate change and its role in altering biological interactions and the likelihood of invasion by introduced species in marine systems have received increased attention in recent years. It is difficult to forecast how climate change will influence community function or the probability of invasion as it alters multiple marine environmental parameters including rising water temperature, lower salinity and pH. In the present study, we correlate changes in environmental parameters to shifts in species composition in a subtidal community in Newcastle, NH through comparison of two, 3‐year periods separated by 23 years (1979–1981 and 2003–2005). We observed concurrent shifts in climate related factors and in groups of organisms that dominate the marine community when comparing 1979–1981 to 2003–2005. The 1979–1981 community was dominated by perennial species (mussels and barnacles). In contrast, the 2003–2005 community was dominated by annual native and invasive tunicates (sea‐squirts). We also observed a shift in the environmental factors that characterized both communities. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate characterized the 1979–1981 community while sea surface temperature, pH, and chlorophyll a characterized the 2003–2005 community. Elongated warmer water temperatures, through the fall and early winter months of the 2000s, extended the growing season of native organisms and facilitated local dominance of invasive species. Additionally, beta‐diversity was greater between 2003–2005 than 1979–1981 and driven by larger numbers of annual species whose life‐history characteristics (e.g., timing and magnitude of recruitment, growth and mortality) are driven by environmental parameters, particularly temperature.     

石油泄漏对暴风海燕群体的短期影响

2002年11月原油泄漏前后,我们对伊比利亚半岛比斯开湾内的Aketx岛上的暴风海燕(Hydrobatespelagicus)进行了监测。1993 -2005年期间,利用雾网法调查了暴风海燕的数量,并通过直接观察法来统计雏鸟出飞率。在石油泄漏前,暴风海燕的种群数量亦存在年际波动,天气变化和食物丰盛度可能是引起这一现象的根本原因。在2003年,繁殖个体的身体条件较前些年差,繁殖对的数量和雏鸟成活率也有所下降。2004年繁殖对的数量明显少于2003年,繁殖个体的身体状况稍强于2003年,且所有卵都孵化成功。2005年的种群数量已经回升到石油泄漏前的水平,几乎所有配对的暴风海燕都能成功繁殖,亲鸟的身体条件也恢复到了石油泄漏前的水平。值得注意的是,这一群体中幼年个体的数量仍在减少,表明石油污染对种群数量的影响仍然存在,确定污染物在体内积累对这些海鸟所造成的影响将是下一步研究的重点。     

Distribution of microorganisms in the oil-polluted ground of vadose and saturation zones

The ground polluted with oil products was analyzed at a depth of 0.5–7.8 m (loamy soil), 11.5–13.0 m (gravelstone), 13.0–15.0 m (siltstone). It was shown that the distribution of oil products and microorganisms in the ground over the profile depends on the hydrogeological properties of the rock (porosity, hydraulic conductivity). The number of aerobic heterotrophic microorganisms varied from 10⁶–10⁷ CFU/g, the fraction of hydrocarbon-oxidizing ones increased with depth from 30 to 85%. The number of anaerobic microorganisms was comparable to the number of aerobic ones. The number of psychrotrophs and psychrophiles increases with depth; in the lower horizon these organisms prevail over the number of mesophiles.     

Exposure Elements in Oil Spill Risk and Natural Resource Damage Assessments: A Review

The use of the ecological risk assessment (ERA) framework for assessing effects of oil spills is applicable to the injury assessment component of natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). Central to the ERA process is the assessment of exposure, the critical component linking the release of oil to the assessment of effects. Exposure of biological receptors to the toxic fractions of spilled oil, usually considered the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), requires carefully designed and implemented assessment studies, which are periodically refocused on various environmental pathways and the various biological receptors of concern over the life history of an oil spill from initial release to recovery. As important is the detailed assessment of the exposure regime in the absence of a spill (i.e., the baseline or background exposure). A release of petroleum may not, in itself, equate to an effect on a natural resource. The presence of residual petroleum hydrocarbons does not imply either availability to living organisms or injury to a biological resource. Precise and accurate chemical concentration and compositional data for 2–6 ringed PAHs and alkylated homologues are the key toxicologically important chemical components that are central to the exposure assessment. These principles are illustrated in several oil spill case studies.     

Raptor Electrocution Rates for a Utility in the Intermountain Western United States

ABSTRACT We estimated electrocution rates for raptors and common ravens (Corvus corax) for the Moon Lake Electrical Association in northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado, USA. From July 2001 to May 2003, we conducted mortality searches at randomly selected distribution line segments and poles within 3 regions, but rate estimates (0.0036–0.0112 deaths/pole/yr) may have been biased by the effects of scavengers and by long sampling intervals (≥ 3 months), which prevented us from determining the cause of death for most birds because of advanced decay. In 2002–2003, we conducted carcass removal experiments in the Rangely Oil Field (ROF) in northwestern Colorado to estimate scavenging effects, and in 2003–2004, we reduced sampling intervals to 1 month and searched for dead birds at all distribution poles in the ROF. The shorter sampling interval nearly tripled the number of birds suitable for necropsy, but we were still unable to establish cause of death for >40% of our sample. Instead of eliminating the unknowns from rate estimates, we estimated minimum annual electrocution rates using only confirmed electrocutions and maximum annual electrocution rates based on all available mortalities, including mortalities without known causes. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) accounted for 63% of dead birds found in 2003–2004, but they were removed by scavengers at rates well below hawks and owls (6.8% vs. 55.6%). We compared maximum rates for the ROF in 2003–2004 with the rates estimated from a survey conducted at the same poles in 1999 to assess the effects of retrofitting conducted by Moon Lake from 1999 to 2003. Electrocution rates in 2003–2004 were 47% lower than those in 1999. Raptor densities in the ROF did not change during our study, suggesting the reduction was not the result of changes in raptor populations. However, estimates of raptor densities in 1999 were not available, and we cannot be sure that numbers of birds using the oil field in 1999 were similar to those in 2003–2004. Our research emphasizes the difficulties of estimating electrocution rates precisely but suggests that utilities will have the greatest effect on mortality by monitoring power lines at large scales and focusing subsequent mitigation efforts in areas that pose the greatest risk to the greatest number of birds.     

Reconsidering diversity–productivity relationships: directness of productivity estimates matters

Despite extensive research efforts, the controversy over diversity–productivity (D–P) patterns in natural communities still looms large. Recent meta‐analyses suggest that unimodal D–P relationships tend to pre‐dominate in plant studies, while positively linear relationships are more common in animal studies. These patterns, however, are based on studies in which productivity is estimated either directly, based on the biomass or energy of the studied organisms, or indirectly, according to the productivity of lower trophic levels, and various surrogates. Our analysis shows that the distribution of D–P patterns is sensitive to the directness of productivity estimates in animal studies but not in plant studies. Analysis of D–P patterns should be based on direct productivity estimates of the studied organisms, especially in comparative meta‐analyses of communities from multiple trophic levels, where productivity is often affected nonlinearly by indirect factors or when complex feedback interactions are expected between productivity and diversity.     

Long-term changes of intertidal and subtidal sediment compositions in a tidal basin in the northern Wadden Sea (SE North Sea)

Wadden Sea tidal flats are highly dynamic regarding the spatial distribution and the grain size composition of their sediments. From 2003 to 2006 surface sediments have been surveyed in an intertidal and a subtidal area within the tidal inlet Königshafen (south-eastern North Sea, northern Wadden Sea, island of Sylt) with the goal to gain information on short-term development trends in the grain size composition. The average grain size (Mean) becomes finer in the sheltered part of the intertidal survey area whereas a coarsening tendency can be observed in the more exposed part of the intertidal and especially in the subtidal survey area. The trend of the most frequent grain size (first Mode) shows the same spatial distribution pattern but is far less distinct. Thus, the changing Mean must be related to an increase in the deposition of fines in the sheltered part of the intertidal Königshafen as well as a general removal of fine-grained material in the exposed intertidal and subtidal Königshafen. In order to see long-term trends the surveys of 2003–2006 were compared to earlier studies conducted in 1932/1933, 1981 and 1989. A significant depletion of mud can be observed in the entire survey area. It is concluded that primarily changed hydrodynamics that may accompany ongoing climate change are responsible for this. However, the loss of fine-grained sediments is additionally amplified by a reduced vegetation cover and coastal protection measures.     

Assessing the prospects for a return of organisms in evolutionary biology

An argument has been raised from various perspectives against the Modern Synthesis (MS) in the past two decades: it has forgotten organisms. Niche construction theorists (Odling-Smee et al. 2003), developmental biologists like West-Eberhard (2003) and Evo-Devo elaborated various views which concur on a rehabilitation of the explanatory role of organisms, formerly neglected by an evolutionary science mostly centered on genes. This paper aims at assessing such criticisms by unraveling the specific arguments they use and evaluating how empirical findings may support them. In the first section, I review the usual critiques about the way MS treats organisms and show that the organisms-concerned critique is multifaceted, and I use the controversy about units of selection in order to show that purely conceptual and empirical arguments have been mixed up when organisms were concerned. In the second section, I consider successively the challenges raised to evolutionary MS by structuralist biologists and then the developmentalist challenge mostly raised by Evo-Devo. I distinguish what is purely conceptual among those criticisms and what mostly relies on recent empirical findings about genome activation, inheritance, and epigenetics. The last section discusses another program in MS, namely "evolutionary transitions" research, as enquiry into the emergence of organisms.     

The nanotechnology among US: are metal and metal oxides nanoparticles a nano or mega risk for soil microbial communities?

Metal nanoparticles and metal oxides nanoparticles (MNPs/MONPs) have been widely included in a great diversity of products and industrial applications and they are already a part of our everyday life. According to estimation studies, their production is expected to increase exponentially in the next few years. Consequently, soil has been suggested as the main sink of MNPs/MONPs once they are deliberately or accidentally released into the environment. The potential negative perturbations that may result on soil microbial communities and ecological processes are resulting in concerns. Several nano-toxicological studies of MNPs/MONPs, reported so far, have focused on aquatic organisms, animals, and soil invertebrates. However, during recent years, the studies have been oriented to understand the effects of MNPs/MONPs on microbial communities and their interaction with soil components. The studies have suggested that MNPs/MONPs are one of the most toxic type to soil biota, amongst different types of nanomaterials. This may threaten soil health and fertility, since microbial communities are known to support important biological processes and ecosystem services such as the nutrient cycling, whereby their protection against the environmental pollution is imperative. Therefore, in this review we summarize the actual knowledge available from the last five years (2013–2018) and gaps about the potential negative, positive or neutral effects produced on soil by different classes of MNPs/MONPs. A particular emphasis has been placed on the associated soil microorganisms and biological processes. Finally, perspectives about future research are discussed.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: genetics of multigenomic, clonal networks and its ecological consequences

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are thought to have remained asexual for 400 million years, although recent studies have suggested that considerable genetic and phenotypic variation could potentially exist in populations. A brief discussion of these multigenomic organisms is presented.  © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 79 , 59–60.     

LIS1 at the microtubule plus end and its role in dynein-mediated nuclear migration

The cytoplasmic dynein complex and its accessory dynactin complex are involved in many cellular activities including nuclear migration in fungi (for review see Karki and Holzbaur, 1999). LIS1, the product of a causal gene for human lissencephaly (smooth brain), has also been implicated in dynein function based on studies in fungi and more recent studies in higher eukaryotic systems (for review see Gupta et al., 2002). Exactly how LIS1 may regulate the behavior of cytoplasmic dynein in various organisms is a fascinating question. In this issue, Lee et al. (2003) describe important new findings in Saccharomyces cerevisiae regarding the role of LIS1 (Pac1) in dynein-mediated nuclear migration.     

Toxicity of the bacterial luciferase substrate, n-decyl aldehyde, to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans

This study determined that the bacterial luciferase fusion gene (luxAB) was not a suitable in vivo gene reporter in the model eukaryotic organisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans. LuxAB expressing S. cerevisiae strains displayed distinctive rapid decays in luminescence upon addition of the bacterial luciferase substrate, n-decyl aldehyde, suggesting a toxic response. Growth studies and toxicity bioassays have subsequently confirmed, that the aldehyde substrate was toxic to both organisms at concentrations well tolerated by Escherichia coli. As the addition of aldehyde is an integral part of the bacterial luciferase activity assay, our results do not support the use of lux reporter genes for in vivo analyses in these model eukaryotic organisms.     

Proteomic profiling of oil bodies isolated from the unicellular green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: with focus on proteins involved in lipid metabolism

Oil bodies are sites of energy and carbon storage in many organisms including microalgae. As a step toward deciphering oil accumulation mechanisms in algae, we used proteomics to analyze purified oil bodies from the model microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii grown under nitrogen deprivation. Among the 248 proteins (≥ 2 peptides) identified by LC-MS/MS, 33 were putatively involved in the metabolism of lipids (mostly acyl-lipids and sterols). Compared with a recently reported Chlamydomonas oil body proteome, 19 new proteins of lipid metabolism were identified, spanning the key steps of the triacylglycerol synthesis pathway and including a glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), a lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase (LPAT) and a putative phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT). In addition, proteins putatively involved in deacylation/reacylation, sterol synthesis, lipid signaling and lipid trafficking were found to be associated with the oil body fraction. This data set thus provides evidence that Chlamydomonas oil bodies are not only storage compartments but also are dynamic structures likely to be involved in processes such as oil synthesis, degradation and lipid homeostasis. The proteins identified here should provide useful targets for genetic studies aiming at increasing our understanding of triacyglycerol synthesis and the role of oil bodies in microalgal cell functions.     

Hydrocarbon pollution of the sea and its influence on marine organisms

Summary 1. Marine oil pollution is becoming a major problem. The amount of pollution by oil and oil products may be expected to increase in the near future due to (a) the increase in number of sea going ships, including the tanker fleet, (b) the use of shelf zones for oil drilling, (c) poor international legislative measures to prevent oil pollution in the open seas.2. Hydrocarbon products, especially oils, exert detrimental effects on the hyponeuston (organismic community near the water surface), eggs and larvae of fishes, e. g., the plaice(Rhombus maeoticus) phyto- and zooplankton, nectonic organisms, including adult fishes (via direct damage or by causing them to emigrate), and a variety of benthic organisms.3. In general, eggs and larval stages of marine organisms seem to be more sensitive than their adult counterparts.4. There is great need for long-term studies employing sublethal criteria.5. Marine birds are killed by the thousand and hundred-thousands per year due to oil pollution.6. Hydrocarbon pollution represents a new, unfavorable, ecological factor which may lead to permanent changes in the biological structure of the oceans and coastal waters, and which finally may reduce their productivity.

---

Verunreinigung des Meeres durch Kohlenwasserstoffe und ihr Einfluß auf marine Organismen

Kurzfassung Hinsichtlich der Verunreinigung des Meeres durch Kohlenwasserstoffe stellt die Verschmutzung durch Öl und Ölprodukte ein höchst aktuelles Problem dar. Von den ins Meer entlassenen Ölprodukten werden in erster Linie die Oberflächenschichten und ihre Lebensgemeinschaften (Hyponeuston), aber auch die in tieferen Zonen lebenden Organismen betroffen, vor allem das Phyto- und Zooplankton. Versuche an 20 verschiedenen Planktonalgen zeigten, daß Ölprodukte stark toxisch wirken und diese töten oder ihre Vermehrung hemmen. Frei bewegliche Tiere, wie Fische, vermögen günstigenfalls aus ölverschmutzten Meeresgebieten abzuwandern. Organismen des Benthos werden durch Ölverschmutzungen ebenfalls, doch offensichtlich nicht in so starkem Maße, geschädigt. Es wird darauf hingewiesen, daß noch unzureichende Kenntnisse über die Folgen einer kurz- bzw. langfristigen Einwirkung von Ölprodukten auf Meeresorganismen bestehen.

     

The Adaptive Behavior of the White Whales <Emphasis Type="Italic">Delphinapterus leucas</Emphasis> (Pallas, 1776) in the Southern Herd of the White Sea under Conditions of the Local Habitat During the Breeding Season

Research on a southern herd of white (beluga) whales conducted during the summer seasons of 2003–2006 in the southeastern part of the Onega Bay revealed the specific behavioral features that allow white whales to sustain their habitation in the local hydrological conditions. It has been shown that once the white whales occur in some areas of habitation with complicated hydrological conditions, the animals develop an entire complex of behavioral adaptations that provide their comfort and their successful reproduction in the habitat.     

Transport biofuels in global energy–economy modelling – a review of comprehensive energy systems assessment approaches

The high oil dependence and the growth of energy use in the transport sector have increased the interest in alternative nonfossil fuels as a measure to mitigate climate change and improve energy security. More ambitious energy and environmental targets and larger use of nonfossil energy in the transport sector increase energy–transport interactions and system effects over sector boundaries. While the stationary energy sector (e.g., electricity and heat generation) and the transport sector earlier to large degree could be considered as separate systems with limited interaction, integrated analysis approaches and assessments of energy–transport interactions now grow in importance. In recent years, the scientific literature has presented an increasing number of global energy–economy future studies based on systems modelling treating the transport sector as an integral part of the overall energy system and/or economy. Many of these studies provide important insights regarding transport biofuels. To clarify similarities and differences in approaches and results, the present work reviews studies on transport biofuels in global energy–economy modelling and investigates what future role comprehensive global energy–economy modelling studies portray for transport biofuels in terms of their potential and competitiveness. The results vary widely between the studies, but the resulting transport biofuel market shares are mainly below 40% during the entire time periods analysed. Some of the reviewed studies show higher transport biofuel market shares in the medium (15–30 years) than in the long term (above 30 years), and, in the long‐term models, at the end of the modelling horizon, transport biofuels are often substituted by electric and hydrogen cars.     

Species range size distributions for some marine taxa in the Atlantic Ocean. Effect of latitude and depth

The range size distributions of 6643 species in ten different fish and invertebrate taxa dwelling in pelagic (latitudinal range sizes) and benthic (latitudinal and depth range sizes) habitats on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (80°N−70°S) were studied. The objectives were to analyse: (1) the range size distribution patterns for the various taxa and whether they have right/left skewed or lognormal distributions; (2) the geographical species distributions, to ascertain whether the distribution ranges change with latitude (Rapoport's rule); and (3) the relationship between the depth ranges of benthic species and their maximum depth of occurrence and how depth range size distributions change with latitude. The pelagic taxa exhibited larger range sizes than did the benthic taxa, continental slope/rise species excepted. On the other hand, the boundaries between geographical provinces for both benthic taxa and pelagic taxa tended to occur in association with major oceanographic processes. The shape of the latitudinal range frequency distributions (LRFDs) of the pelagic organisms were distinctly left‐skewed, and the LRFDs for most taxa were significantly different from lognormal. There was no common pattern for the distributions of the benthic organisms, which were lognormal in Cephalopoda, Stomatopoda, and Crustacea Decapoda and tended to be left‐skewed and significantly different from lognormal in Pisces. The applicability of Rapoport's rule was not clearly inferable from the results, and the rule appears to be conditioned by the location of biogeographical boundaries and the endemism rate in the different biogeographical provinces. A clear increase in depth range size with maximum depth range was observable for benthic species, confirming previous studies. Species’ depth range distributions displayed a discernible latitudinal pattern, right‐skewed at high latitudes and left‐skewed at low latitudes. The location of biogeographical boundaries, and endemism rate by biogeographical province were considered to be the factors most useful in explaining species’ distribution patterns and their conformity or nonconformity to Rapoport's rule. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 80 , 437–455.