Life Sciences Commons^™

Microbial Content Of Abattoir Wastewater And Its Contaminated Soil In Lagos, Nigeria, A. O. Adesemoye, B. O. Opere, S. C. O. Makinde

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Microbial content of wastewater in two abattoirs and the impact on microbial population of receiving soil was studied in Agege and Ojo Local Government Areas in Lagos State, Nigeria. Wastewater samples were collected from each of the abattoirs over three months period and examined for microbial content. Soil samples contaminated with the wastewaters were also collected and analyzed for microbial content as compared to soil without wastewater contamination in the neighborhood (control). Some physico-chemical parameters of the samples such as total dissolved solid, chemical oxygen demand, etc., were examined. The wastewater samples from both abattoirs were highly contaminated; Agege abattoir …

Influence Of Biotransformation On Trophic Transfer Of The Pah, Fluoranthene, Annemette Palmqvist, Lene Juel Rasmussen, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

The persistence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine sediments may be influenced by benthic invertebrate bioturbation. Through processes such as deposit-feeding and enhancement of microbial metabolic activity PAHs may be remobilized from the sediment compartment, and either transferred to organisms at higher trophic levels or to the overlying water column, both processes inevitably changing the bioavailability of the PAH. Accumulation of contaminants from one level in the food chain to the next depends on feeding rate and assimilation efficiency, two factors that basically vary with food quality and contaminant type. Though it is generally believed that pre-consumptive biotransformation will …

Effects Of Food Type, Feeding Frequency, And Temperature On Juvenile Survival And Growth Of Marisa Cornuarietis (Mollusca: Gastropoda), Henriette Selck, John Aufderheide, Nadine Pounds, Charles Staples, Norbert Caspers, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

The present experiments are part of a larger study designed to investigate the influence of husbandry parameters on the life history of the ramshorn snail, Marisa cornuarietis, in order to identify suitable husbandry conditions for maintaining multi-generation populations in the laboratory for use in ecotoxicological testing. In this paper we focus on the effects of a combination of food types and feeding frequencies (i.e., the frequency with which the snails were offered food) on juvenile growth and survival at different temperatures. Offspring produced in the laboratory by wild specimens of M. cornuarietis, from Puerto Rico, were used to …

Effects Of Husbandry Parameters On The Life-History Traits Of The Apple Snail, Marisa Cornuarietis: Effects Of Temperature, Photoperiod, And Population Density, John Aufderheide, Ryan Warbritton, Nadine Pounds, Sharon File-Emperador, Charles Staples, Norbert Caspers, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

These experiments are part of a larger study designed to investigate the influence of husbandry parameters on the life history of the apple snail, Marisa cornuarietis. The overall objective of the program is to identify suitable husbandry conditions for maintaining multigeneration populations of this species in the laboratory for use in ecotoxicological testing. In this article, we focus on the effects of photoperiod, temperature, and population density on adult fecundity and juvenile growth. Increasing photoperiod from 12 to 16 h of light per day had no effect on adult fecundity or egg hatching and relatively minor effects on juvenile growth …

Ecology In A Cost-Benefit Society: The Issues, Valery E. Forbes, Peter Calow

Valery Forbes Publications

Is there a role for ecology in a cost-benefit society? As a prelude to a collection of papers arising from a conference on this theme held at Roskilde University in June 2004, this paper summarizes divergent approaches to public policy decision making. Whether based on strict cost-benefit analysis or wide-ranging discussion, we make the point that decisions need to be informed by an understanding of the causes behind environmental problems and their consequences, through impaired ecosystem services, on the economy. Taking this forward will require forums that bring ecologists, economists, and regulators into active and constructive dialogue.

Influence Of Biotransformation On Trophic Transfer Of The Pah, Fluoranthene, Annemette Palmqvist, Lene Juel Rasmussen, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

The persistence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine sediments may be influenced by benthic invertebrate bioturbation. Through processes such as deposit-feeding and enhancement of microbial metabolic activity PAHs may be remobilized from the sediment compartment, and either transferred to organisms at higher trophic levels or to the overlying water column, both processes inevitably changing the bioavailability of the PAH. Accumulation of contaminants from one level in the food chain to the next depends on feeding rate and assimilation efficiency, two factors that basically vary with food quality and contaminant type. Though it is generally believed that pre-consumptive biotransformation will …

Effects On The Function Of Three Trophic Levels In Marine Plankton Communities Under Stress From The Antifouling Compound Zinc Pyrithione, M. Hjorth, I. Dahllöf, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

This study aimed to investigate functional responses of natural marine planktonic communities to stress from the antifouling compound zinc pyrithione (ZPT). Isotope labelling techniques (¹⁴C) were applied to study bacterial incorporation of leucine, photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton and grazing of labelled prey by zooplankton communities for 6 days after exposures to nominal concentrations of 0, 5, 25, 50 nM ZPT in a mesocosm experiment in Isefjord, Denmark.

Significant direct effects were visible on chlorophyll α concentrations, which decreased in all exposed communities, to between 48 and 36% of control concentrations on Day 3, 1 day after the last …

Science-Based Organic Farming 2006: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Katja Koehler-Cole, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming includes growing food and fiber—animals, agronomic crops, horticultural fruits and vegetables, related products—as one dynamic and rapidly evolving component of our complex U.S. food system. Even as more farmers are moving toward organic certification and participation in an environmentally sound and economically lucrative market, questions arise about the long-term social impacts and sustainability of a set of practices that has gone from a movement to an industry. Consolidations in the organic trade have brought multinational corporations to the table, as they have observed a grassroots activity that has grown by 20% per year for the past two decades, …

Differential Expression Of Immune Response Genes In Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias Jubatus): An Indicator Of Ecosystem Health?, Lizabeth Bowen, Brian Aldridge, Kimberlee Beckmen, Tom Gelatt, Lorrie Rea, Kathy Burek, Ken Pitcher, Jeffrey L. Stott

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Characterization of the polygenic and polymorphic features of the Steller sea lion major histocompatibility complex (MHC) provides an ideal window for evaluating immunologic vigor of the population and identifying emergence of new genotypes that reflect ecosystem pressures. MHC genotyping can be used to measure the potential immunologic vigor of a population. However, since ecosystem-induced changes to MHC genotype can be slow to emerge, measurement of differential expression of these genes can potentially provide real-time evidence of immunologic perturbations. MHC DRB genes were cloned and sequenced using peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes derived from 10 Steller sea lions from southeast Alaska, Prince …