Periphyton of the Experimental Lakes Area, Northwestern Ontario

1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Stockner ◽  
F. A. J. Armstrong

The periphyton of four Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) lakes was examined in 1969. The littoral zone of all lakes was composed chiefly of large boulders and rock shelfs and the epilithic algal assemblage was accordingly dominant. Depending directly on light penetration and substrate availability benthic algal growth in most lakes was negligible at depths greater than 10 m. Throughout the growing season diatoms were the dominant algal group within the epilithic assemblage, comprising more than 60–70% of the total algal volume. Filamentous green and blue-green algae increased in importance in July and August but never constituted more than 40% of the volume of the total algal biomass. A well-defined diatom succession was observed both on the natural lithic substrate and on glass slides. Achnangthes minutissima was the most abundant diatom encountered in the littoral zone of all lakes. Periphyton growth on glass slides in lake 240 was 27 mg organic matter/m2∙day during initial colonization and 250 mg organic matter/m2∙day during the period of maximum growth. The vertical distribution of littoral diatoms in lake 240 was examined and differences among species are discussed in light of possible regulating mechanisms. Achnanthes flexella and Eunotia pectinalis were found only in the psammonal habitat of lake 240.Statistical treatment of chemical analyses of N, P, and chlorophyll a content of periphyton showed no significant difference in amounts of total N among periphyton from lakes, but the distribution of both total P and chlorophyll a was significantly different among lakes examined. Highest concentrations of both P and chlorophyll a were found in lakes 239 and 227. In lake 227, a lake receiving weekly additions of N and P, concentrations of P were significantly greater than in the other lakes. Concentrations of N and P/unit organic weight of periphyton taken at a depth of 1 m in each of the study lakes were greatest in lake 227. Comparisons among lakes are made and, based on the results of these comparisons, the role of N and P as regulators of periphyton growth in the ELA lakes is discussed.

1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Brunskill ◽  
B. W. Graham ◽  
J. W. M. Rudd

Experiments were performed in tubes in Lake 303 at the Experimental Lakes Area to determine the effects of arsenate and arsenite on microbial degradation of organic matter, and to determine rates of reduction and oxidation of inorganic arsenic. Under winter ice, 40 μmol∙L−1 arsenate or arsenite inhibited microbial degradation of organic matter by 50%. Rates of oxidation of arsenite were about 2 μmol∙L−1∙d−1 under aerobic conditions, and rates of reduction of arsenate were about 1 μmol∙L−1∙d−1 under anaerobic conditions. During the ice-free season, arsenate and arsenite had little apparent effect upon rates of degradation of organic matter in lake tubes enriched with nutrients. Rates of formation of particulate phosphorus, and rates of planktonic uptake of dissolved phosphorus were depressed in the presence of arsenic. The observed rate of oxidation of arsenite in summer was similar to the winter value. Arsenate reduction rates ([Formula: see text]30 μmol∙L−1∙d−1) were very rapid under short periods of anaerobiosis. In the presence of large nutrient (N, P) concentrations, As did not inhibit the development of high algal biomass.Based on these experiments, we predict that addition of domestic sewage to arsenate-polluted Kam Lake (near Yellowknife, N.W.T.) will result in a state of restrained eutrophication. Degradation of organic matter will not be inhibited by As in summer, and dissolved phosphorus concentrations will remain high, due to As inhibition of P uptake by the plankton. During the summer, growth of algal blooms may be moderated by As, and more dissolved phosphorus will flow out of the lake to downstream waterbodies.Key words: arsenic, bacteria, algae, organic matter decomposition, eutrophication


2013 ◽  
Vol 864-867 ◽  
pp. 2492-2497
Author(s):  
Gan Wen Lie ◽  
Long Hua Ye ◽  
Hai Yong Bao ◽  
Hong Yue Chen ◽  
Li Xue

In this study, soil pH, organic matter, total N, total P, total K, alkali-hydrolyzable N, available P, available K, number of microorganism and enzyme activity were studied in a burnedE. urophyllaforest (the burned forest) and an unburned adjacentE. urophyllaforest (the control) in Dongyuan County, Guangdong Province, China. This study aims at investigating the effects of a single wildfire on soil properties of anE. urophyllaforest to provide basis for the recovery of soil fertility and management of burnedE. urophyllaforests. Significant differences were observed between the burned forest and the control in most of chemical properties. The wildfire significantly decreased the soil organic matter, total N, total P, total K, alkali-hydrolyzable N and available K by 32.8%, 33.6%, 36.8%, 35.2%, 25.0% and 28.5%, respectively. However, no significant difference was observed in soil pH and available P. The numbers of bacteria and fungi in burned forest were significant lower than those of the control, while there was no difference in actinomycetes between the two forests. The urease, phosphatase and catalase activities were statistically significant lower than those of the control. The results suggested that there were significant effects on theE. urophyllaforest 1 year after the wildfire and the recovery from the wildfire may take a long time.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412098809
Author(s):  
Paul K. Miller ◽  
Sophie Van Der Zee ◽  
David Elliott

In recent years a considerable body of psychological research has explored the relationship between membership of socio-cultural groups and personal pain perception. Rather less systematic attention has, however, been accorded to how such group membership(s) might influence individual attitudes towards the pain of others. In this paper, immersion in the culture of competitive sport, widely regarded as being exaggeratedly tolerant of risky behaviours around pain, is taken as a case-in-point with students of Physical Education (PE) in tertiary education as the key focus. PE students are highly-immersed in competitive sporting culture both academically and (typically) practically, and also represent a key nexus of cross-generational transmission regarding the norms of sport itself. Their attitudes towards the pain that others should reasonably tolerate during a range of activities, sporting and otherwise, were evaluated through a direct comparison with those of peers much less immersed in competitive sporting culture. In total, N=301 (144 PE, 157 non-PE) undergraduate students in the UK responded to a vignette-based survey. Therein, all participants were required to rate the pain (on a standard 0-10 scale) at which a standardised “other” should desist engagement with a set of five defined sporting and non-sporting tasks, each with weak and strong task severities. Results indicated that PE students were significantly more likely to expect others to persevere through higher levels of pain than their non-PE peers, but only during the sport-related tasks – an effect further magnified when task severity was high. In other tasks, there was no significant difference between groups, or valence of the effect was actually reversed. It is argued that the findings underscore some extant knowledge about the relationship between acculturated attitudes to pain, while also having practical implications for understanding sport-based pedagogy, and its potentially problematic role in the ongoing reproduction of a “culture of risk.”


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Raimbault ◽  
N. Garcia ◽  
F. Cerutti

Abstract. During the BIOSOPE cruise the RV Atalante was dedicated to study the biogeochemical properties in the South Pacific between the Marquesas Islands (141° W–8° S) and the Chilean upwelling (73° W–34° S). Over the 8000 km covered by the cruise, several different trophic situations were encountered, in particular strong oligotrophic conditions in the South Pacific Gyre (SPG, between 123° W and 101° W). In this isolated region, nitrate was undetectable between the surface and 160–180 m and only trace quantities (<20 nmoles l−1) of regenerated nitrogen (nitrite and ammonium) were detected, even in the subsurface maximum. Integrated nitrate over the photic layer, which reached 165 m, was close to zero. Despite this severe nitrogen-depletion, phosphate was always present in significant concentrations (≈0.1 μmoles l−1), while silicic acid was maintained at low but classical oceanic levels (≈1 μmoles l−1). In contrast, the Marquesas region (MAR) to the west and Chilean upwelling (UPW) to the east were characterized by high nutrient concentrations, one hundred to one thousand fold higher than in the SPG. The distribution of surface chlorophyll reflected the nitrate gradient, the lowest concentrations (0.023 nmoles l−1) being measured at the centre of the SPG, where integrated value throughout the photic layer was very low (≈ 10 mg m−2). However, due to the relatively high concentrations of chlorophyll-a encountered in the DCM (0.2 μg l−1), chlorophyll-a concentrations throughout the photic layer were less variable than nitrate concentrations (by a factor 2 to 5). In contrast to chlorophyll-a, integrated particulate organic matter (POM) remained more or less constant along the study area (500 mmoles m−2, 60 mmoles m−2 and 3.5 mmoles m−2 for particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen and particulate organic phosphorus, respectively), with the exception of the upwelling, where values were two fold higher. The residence time of particulate carbon in the surface water was only 4–5 days in the upwelling, but up to 30 days in the SPG, where light isotopic δ15N signal noted in the suspended POM suggests that N2-fixation provides a dominant supply of nitrogen to phytoplankton. The most striking feature was the large accumulation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the SPG compared to the surrounding waters, in particular dissolved organic carbon (DOC) where concentrations were at levels rarely measured in oceanic waters (>100 μmoles l−1). Due to this large pool of DOM in the SPG photic layer, integrated values followed a converse geographical pattern to that of inorganic nutrients with a large accumulation in the centre of the SPG. Whereas suspended particulate matter in the mixed layer had a C/N ratio largely conforming to the Redfield stochiometry (C/N≈6.6), marked deviations were observed in this excess DOM (C/N≈16 to 23). The marked geographical trend suggests that a net in situ source exists, mainly due to biological processes. Thus, in spite of strong nitrate-depletion leading to low chlorophyll biomass, the closed ecosystem of the SPG can accumulate large amounts of C-rich dissolved organic matter. The implications of this finding are examined, the conclusion being that, due to weak lateral advection, the biologically produced dissolved organic carbon can be accumulated and stored in the photic layer for very long periods. In spite of the lack of seasonal vertical mixing, a significant part of new production (up to 34%), which was mainly supported by dinitrogen fixation, can be exported to deep waters by turbulent diffusion in terms of DOC. The diffusive rate estimated in the SPG (134 μmolesC m−2 d−1), was quite equivalent to the particles flux measured by sediments traps.


2019 ◽  
Vol 128 (10) ◽  
pp. 894-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Kristin ◽  
Manuel Burggraf ◽  
Dirk Mucha ◽  
Christoph Malolepszy ◽  
Silvan Anderssohn ◽  
...  

Objective: Navigation systems create a connection between imaging data and intraoperative situs, allowing the surgeon to consistently determine the location of instruments and patient anatomy during the surgical procedure. The best results regarding the target registration error (measurement uncertainty) are normally demonstrated using fiducials. This study aimed at investigating a new registration strategy for an electromagnetic navigation device. Methods: For evaluation of an electromagnetic navigation system and comparison of registration with screw markers and automatic registration, we are calculating the target registration error in the region of the paranasal sinuses/anterior and lateral skull base with the use of an electromagnetic navigation system and intraoperative digital volume tomography (cone-beam computed tomography). We carried out 10 registrations on a head model (total n = 150 measurements) and 10 registrations on 4 temporal bone specimens (total n = 160 measurements). Results: All in all, the automatic registration was easy to perform. For the models that were used, a significant difference between an automatic registration and the registration on fiducials was evident for just a limited number of screws. Furthermore, the observed differences varied in terms of the preferential registration procedure. Conclusion: The automatic registration strategy seems to be an alternative to the established methods in artificial and cadaver models of intraoperative scenarios. Using intraoperative imaging, there is an option to resort to this kind of registration as needed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilva Brandini ◽  
◽  
Ana Paula de Castro Rodrigues ◽  
Ilene Matanó Abreu ◽  
Luiz Carlos Cotovicz Junior ◽  
...  

Abstract Aim: There are few studies dealing with the biogeochemical processes occurring in small estuaries receiving high sewage loading in tropical regions. The aim of this investigation was to characterize the biogeochemical behavior of nutrients in superficial waters collected at the Iguaçu estuarine system, during specific conditions (neap tide), located at the inner sector of a heavily eutrophicated embayment (Guanabara Bay, SE Brazil). Methods Physical and chemical variables were measured in situ (pH, temperature, conductivity, salinity, total dissolved solids, transparency, dissolved oxygen), whereas suspended particulate matter, chlorophyll a, phaepigments and nutrients (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus forms) were measured in laboratory across the mesohaline estuarine gradient. Results The Iguaçu River mouth is in a high stage of eutrophication, considering nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll a and transparency of water column. Results indicate a transition from heterotrophic conditions to autotrophic conditions, since the nutrients concentrations showed a decreasing pattern along the saline gradient, while the chlorophyll an increased over the transects. The pH values and chlorophyll : phaeopigments ratios are significantly related to the amount and quality of organic matter contents, especially at transects under strong marine influence. More than 95% of the dissolved and total nitrogen concentrations are represented by NH4+ contributions, which are related to the ammonification of organic matter contents in this region, indicating the existence of untreated sewage loads in this area. Conclusion In this study, the Iguaçu River seemed to contribute with high inputs of nutrients that support important phytoplankton production at the inner regions of the bay related to the CO2 sink and autotrophic metabolism, showing the importance of verifying the biogeochemical behaviors of nutrients in estuarine areas, even in small scale.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 1061-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Alessandro Rigotti ◽  
Adriano Menis Ferreira ◽  
Mara Corrêa Lelles Nogueira ◽  
Margarete Teresa Gottardo de Almeida ◽  
Odanir Garcia Guerra ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of three surface friction techniques for the removal of organic material. A quantitative, descriptive and exploratory study was developed to evaluate the presence or not of organic material before and after the cleaning and disinfection process of surfaces of bedside tables of patients hospitalized at an Intensive Care Unit. Three friction techniques were executed in the one-way, two-way and centrifugal sense, individually, three times on each table, during alternate weeks. For each patient unit and friction technique, a single table and three sides of cloth were used, moistened with 70% (w/v) alcohol. The organic matter was detected through the presence of adenosine triphosphate by bioluminescence, using 3M(tm) Clean-Trace(tm) ATP Systems. For each technique, 13 samples were collected before and 13 after the cleaning/disinfection process, totaling 78 samples of adenosine triphosphate by bioluminescence. No statistically significant difference was found among the removal techniques of organic matter. This study demonstrated that none of the three surface friction methods was better than the other to remove organic matter. Nevertheless, further research is needed in which other cleaning/disinfection indicators and surfaces are considered.


2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (8) ◽  
pp. 1493-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
R K Johnson ◽  
M L Ostrofsky

Sediment concentrations of total and available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) and organic matter from the littoral zone of Lake Pleasant, Pennsylvania, were highly variable. Only organic matter and total N were correlated with depth, however. This result suggests the existence of more complex environmental gradients than the prevailing paradigm of monotonic changes in sediment characteristics with increasing depth. The spatial heterogeneity of submersed aquatic plant communities was significantly correlated with depth, and available N and P. Canonical correspondence analysis demonstrated that these three factors explained 38% of the variance in community structure. Other sediment characteristics (available K, organic matter, and total N, P and K) were not significant by themselves, but all variables combined explained 63% of community-structure variance. Cluster analysis identified species or groups of species typical of endpoints on the depth versus nutrient axes. Myriophyllum exalbescens was typical of deep sites with relatively nutrient-rich sediments, whereas deep nutrient-poor sites were dominated by Vallisneria americana and Megalodonta beckii. Shallow nutrient-rich sites were dominated by several species of Potamogeton and Elodea canadensis, and shallow nutrient-poor sites were dominated by Heteranthera dubia and Najas flexilis. These results demonstrate the importance of sediment characteristics in determining macrophytes' community structure within lakes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 3269-3277 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Neethu ◽  
M. M. Ghangrekar

Abstract Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) are bio-electrochemical devices generating electricity from redox gradients occurring across the sediment–water interface. Sediment microbial carbon-capture cell (SMCC), a modified SMFC, uses algae grown in the overlying water of sediment and is considered as a promising system for power generation along with algal cultivation. In this study, the performance of SMCC and SMFC was evaluated in terms of power generation, dissolved oxygen variations, sediment organic matter removal and algal growth. SMCC gave a maximum power density of 22.19 mW/m2, which was 3.65 times higher than the SMFC operated under similar conditions. Sediment organic matter removal efficiencies of 77.6 ± 2.1% and 61.0 ± 1.3% were obtained in SMCC and SMFC, respectively. With presence of algae at the cathode, a maximum chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen removal efficiencies of 63.3 ± 2.3% (8th day) and 81.6 ± 1.2% (10th day), respectively, were observed. The system appears to be favorable from a resources utilization perspective as it does not depend on external aeration or membranes and utilizes algae and organic matter present in sediment for power generation. Thus, SMCC has proven its applicability for installation in an existing oxidation pond for sediment remediation, algae growth, carbon conversion and power generation, simultaneously.


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