Observations of Size-related Asymmetries in Diet and Energy Intake of Rainbow Trout in a Regulated River

We examined diet and diel energy intake of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, of different lengths captured by electrofishing between 1991 and 1997 in the Lee's Ferry tailwater, Colorado River, below Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. Trout diets reflected a depauperate food base and indicated limited potential of different fish size-groups to partition food resources. As evidenced by relative stomach volumes of ingested matter, mid-sized and large trout tended to consume more algae than did small fish, suggesting that they consumed diets of lower nutritional quality. An energy intake model indicated that median consumers among mid-sized and large fish generally failed annually to surpass estimated maintenance energy requirements and that median consumers among mid-sized trout failed to meet or exceed maintenance requirements during all seasons. In contrast, median consumers among small trout met or surpassed maintenance energy requirements during most years and in summer. Results support a hypothesis that larger rainbow trout in lotic systems are food-limited more often than smaller fish.     

Soil biosensor for the detection of PAH toxicity using an immobilized recombinant bacterium and a biosurfactant

A biosensor for detecting the toxicity of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminated soil has been successfully constructed using an immobilized recombinant bioluminescent bacterium, GC2 (lac::luxCDABE), which constitutively produces bioluminescence. The biosurfactant, rhamnolipids, was used to extract a model PAH, phenanthrene, and was found to enhance the bioavailability of phenanthrene via an increase in its rate of mass transfer from sorbed soil to the aqueous phase. The monitoring of phenanthrene toxicity was achieved through the measurement of the decrease in bioluminescence when a sample extracted with the biosurfactant was injected into the minibioreactor. The concentrations of phenanthrene in the aqueous phase were found to correlate well with the corresponding toxicity data obtained by using this toxicity biosensor. In addition, it was also found that the addition of glass beads to the agar media enhanced the stability of the immobilized cells. This biosensor system using a biosurfactant may be applied as an in-situ biosensor to detect the toxicity of hydrophobic contaminants in soils and for performance evaluation of PAH degradation in soils.     

微立地土壤水分-物理性质差异及对水曲柳幼林生长的影响

采用较小立地尺度对土壤水分物理性质的变化及与水曲柳生长的关系进行研究.结果表明,除传统尺度立地上土壤水分-物理性质存在较大差异外,该尺度立地内部微立地间亦存在较大的变化,一些指标如非毛管孔隙度、土壤通气度和土壤渗透系数等在微立地间的变化甚至超出立地间的变化.土壤水分-物理性质的差异,使得不同微立地间水曲柳生长存在较大差异,同一立地内不同微立地间林木生长差异明显高于不同立地间的差异.土壤水分-物理性质及林木生长受到局部地段微立地的影响.微立地的研究对进一步实现适地适树具有重要意义.     

布氏田鼠非取食性牧草消耗量的测定

布氏田鼠 (Ｍｉｃｒｏｔｕｓｂｒａｎｄｔｉ)为内蒙古典型草原区的主要害鼠之一[1,6 ,8,9] 其危害主要表现为与牛羊争夺牧草资源。因此 ,测定其牧草消耗量 ,是定量地衡量其危害程度 ,推算鼠害防治经济阈值的重要基础。在牧草生长季节 ,该鼠对牧草的消耗主要分为两个方面 ,即取食量和非取食性消耗量 (布氏田鼠咬断而未取食的部分牧草或者食物残屑 )。有关该鼠食性与食量的研究已有一些报道[2 ,3 ,5] ,但对该鼠的非取食性牧草消耗量则缺乏研究。为此 ,本文开展了这项工作 ,为定量估算该鼠的危害程度提供依据。1　材料与方法本项研究是于 1997…     

山丹黄参的分布及微量元素含量研究

山丹黄参是伞形科迷果芹属的迷果芹（Sphallerocarpus gracilis)经测定,该植物含有大量人体必需的各种微量元素,其中P,Mg、Ｋ、Ｃu、Ｃr、Ｃo含量比党参（Codonopsis pilosula)和当归（Ａngelica sinensis)还高,Ｚn,Mn的水平也不低,是一种营养丰富的绿色食品,具有广泛的应用与开发前景。     

落叶松根际土壤磷的有效性研究

野外用剥落法采集落叶松(Larixgmelini)根际土与非根际土,分析P浓度的变化,结果表明,落叶松根际土与非根际土全P浓度无明显差异,但根际土有效P却明显高于非根际土.12年生时根际土有效P增加12.6%,40年生时增加23.4%,表明落叶松根际对土壤中的P具有活化作用.落叶松根际土无机P各组分与非根际土亦有差异,表现出根际土OP低于非根际土,AlP、FeP、CaP和NH4ClP则高于非根际土的趋势.落叶松根际土的pH低于非根际土,但落叶松根际并未发生明显酸化.落叶松根际有效P与pH变化相关不显著.     

Energy budgeting and emergy synthesis of rainfed maize–wheat rotation system with different soil amendment applications

Soil is a non-renewable resource and its preservation is essential for food security, ecosystem services and our sustainable future. Simultaneously, it is a major challenge to substitute non-renewable fossil based resources with renewable resources to reduce environmental load. In order to check soil erosion vis-a-vis degradation of sloppy lands of rainfed maize–wheat rotation system, fertilization with organic manure supplemented with inorganic fertilizers is required. In order to address these issues, substitution of 50% NPK through four organic manures viz. farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC), poultry manure (PM) and in situ green manuring (GM) of sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) were evaluated against 100% NPK through inorganic fertilizers and through FYM for energy budgeting and emergy synthesis during 2009–2014. Integrated use of FYM along with 50% NPK fertilizers could maintain the highest energy ratio (7.3), human energy profitability (142.4), energy productivity (0.22 kg MJ⁻¹), and energy profitability (6.3 MJ ha⁻¹) over other treatments. However, GM and inorganic fertilizers on equal NPK basis maintained the highest energy intensiveness (24.61 MJ US $⁻¹) and exhibited higher emergy yield ratio (2.66) and lower emergy investment ratio (0.60) and environmental loading ratio (3.74) which resulted into higher environmental sustainability index (0.71) over other treatments. Fertilization with organic manure (FYM) alone could not compete with other fertilized options to energy budgeting and emergy synthesis except specific energy. The study demonstrated that innovative integrated nutrient management of chemical fertilizers and organic manures particularly FYM for energy budgeting and GM for emergy synthesis may be considered as feasible and environment-friendly options for soil conservation, thereby benefiting a 50% saving on costly chemical fertilizers in non-OPEC countries which import most of its phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.     

The effects of a 9-year nitrogen and water addition on soil aggregate phosphorus and sulfur availability in a semi-arid grassland

Previous studies have demonstrated that higher nitrogen (N) and water availability affect both above- and below-ground communities, soil carbon and N pools, and microbial activity in semi-arid grasslands of Inner Mongolia. However, how soil phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) pools, and related soil enzyme activities (as indicators of P and S cycles) respond to long-term N and water addition has still remained unclear. Since 2005, a field experiment with urea and water amendments has been conducted to examine their effects on total and available P and S concentrations and alkaline phosphomonoesterase (PME) and aryl-sulfatase (ArS) activities in three soil aggregate fractions: large macroaggregates (>2 mm), small macroaggregates (0.25–2 mm), and microaggregates (<0.25 mm) in an Inner Mongolia semi-arid grassland. Normalized to aggregate mass, microaggregates retained the highest total P and S concentrations. Both N and water additions increased the available P (by up to 84.5%) and the available S (by up to 150%) in the soil aggregate fractions. Soil acidification, as a result of the N addition, decreased both alkaline PME and ArS activities by up to 62.9% and 39.6%, respectively, while the water addition increased their activities. Our observations revealed that soil acidification (under the N addition) and elevated enzyme activity (under the water addition) played important roles in the levels of soil available P and S. The depression of P- and S-acquiring enzymes with soil acidification may decrease P and S availability, potentially impacting ecosystem processes and limiting the restoration of these grassland systems. The water addition was shown to be a more effective practice than the urea amendment for improving soil structure, supplying available P and S, and maintaining the sustainability of this semi-arid grassland.