A study of hydraulic dynamics in vegetated and non-vegetated biorention mesocosms

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Hydroscience and Engineering, Philadelphia, PA, September 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1860/732Bioretention systems are stormwater treatment devices installed to remove both dissolved and particulate pollutants. As stormwater percolates through the bioretention system, dissolved pollutants are removed from solution by chemical and biological processes. In our study, 20 bioretention mesocosms (10 with loamy sand and 10 with sandy loam, half with and half without vegetation) were used to investigate hydraulic behavior. The mesocosms were dosed with 120L to 160L synthetic stormwater over 3h to 5h. The infiltration and percolation rates in the sand was rapid (>15 cm-h-1), while rates in the loam were much less (2-3 cm-h-1). Retention time in the sand was 1.5h while that in the loam was well over 10h. Vegetated systems had better percolation rates than the non-vegetated systems. Constriction of outlets rapidly affected infiltration rates. The infiltration and percolation response of the bioretention systems was evaluated in terms of the Green-Ampt equation, as affected by soil properties and vegetation. Implications for the design of bioretention facilities are then discussed

A study of hydraulic dynamics in vegetated and non-vegetated biorention mesocosms

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Hydroscience and Engineering, Philadelphia, PA, September 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1860/732Bioretention systems are stormwater treatment devices installed to remove both dissolved and particulate pollutants. As stormwater percolates through the bioretention system, dissolved pollutants are removed from solution by chemical and biological processes. In our study, 20 bioretention mesocosms (10 with loamy sand and 10 with sandy loam, half with and half without vegetation) were used to investigate hydraulic behavior. The mesocosms were dosed with 120L to 160L synthetic stormwater over 3h to 5h. The infiltration and percolation rates in the sand was rapid (>15 cm-h-1), while rates in the loam were much less (2-3 cm-h-1). Retention time in the sand was 1.5h while that in the loam was well over 10h. Vegetated systems had better percolation rates than the non-vegetated systems. Constriction of outlets rapidly affected infiltration rates. The infiltration and percolation response of the bioretention systems was evaluated in terms of the Green-Ampt equation, as affected by soil properties and vegetation. Implications for the design of bioretention facilities are then discussed

Reduction of Energetic Demands through Modification of Body Size and Routine Metabolic Rates in Extremophile Fish

Citation: Passow, C. N., Greenway, R., Arias-Rodriguez, L., Jeyasingh, P. D., & Tobler, M. (2015). Reduction of Energetic Demands through Modification of Body Size and Routine Metabolic Rates in Extremophile Fish. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 88(4), 371-383. doi:10.1086/681053Variation in energy availability or maintenance costs in extreme environments can exert selection for efficient energy use, and reductions in organismal energy demand can be achieved in two ways: reducing body mass or metabolic suppression. Whether long-term exposure to extreme environmental conditions drives adaptive shifts in body mass or metabolic rates remains an open question. We studied body size variation and variation in routine metabolic rates in locally adapted populations of extremophile fish (Poecilia mexicana) living in toxic, hydrogen sulfide-rich springs and caves. We quantified size distributions and routine metabolic rates in wild-caught individuals from four habitat types. Compared with ancestral populations in nonsulfidic surface habitats, extremophile populations were characterized by significant reductions in body size. Despite elevated metabolic rates in cave fish, the body size reduction precipitated in significantly reduced energy demands in all extremophile populations. Laboratory experiments on common garden-raised fish indicated that elevated routine metabolic rates in cave fish likely have a genetic basis. The results of this study indicate that adaptation to extreme environments directly impacts energy metabolism, with fish living in cave and sulfide spring environments expending less energy overall during routine metabolism

Tinamidae, Spheniscidae, Gaviidae, Podicipedidae, Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Hydrobatidae, Pelecanoididae, Phaethontidae, Pelecanidae, Sulidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Anhingidae, Fregatidae, Ardeidae, Cochleariidae, Scopidae, Ciconiidae, Threskiornithidae, Phoenicopteridae, Anatidae, Cathartidae, Accipitridae, Falconidae, Megapodiidae, Cracidae, Tetraonidae, Phasianidae, Numididae, Meleagrididae, Turnicidae, Pedionomidae, Gruidae, Rallidae

p. 209-345 ; 27 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 318-331) and index

Otididae, Jacanidae, Rostratulidae, Haematopodidae, Charadriidae, Scolopacidae, Recurvirostridae, Burhinidae, Glareolidae, Thinocoridae, Stercorariidae, Laridae, Alcidae, Pteroclididae, Columbidae, Psittacidae, Musophagidae, Cuculidae, Tytonidae, Strigidae, Podargidae, Nyctibiidae, Aegothelidae, Caprimulgidae, Apodidae, Hemiprocnidae, Trochilidae, Coliidae, Trogonidae, Alcedinidae, Momotidae, Meropidae, Leptosomatidae, Coraciidae, Upupidae, Phoeniculidae, Bucerotidae, Galbulidae, Bucconidae, Capitonidae, Indicatoridae, Ramphastidae, Picidae

305 p. ; 27 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-271) and index

Tyrannidae, Pipridae, Cotingidae, Oxyruncidae, Phytotomidae, Pittidae, Philepittidae, Acanthisittidae, Menuridae, Atrichornithidae

63 p. ; 27 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-54) and index

Biochemical differentiation of the porphyrias

Objectives: To differentiate the porphyrias by clinical and biochemical methods. Design and methods: We describe levels of blood, urine, and fecal porphyrins and their precursors in the porphyrias and present an algorithm for their biochemical differentiation. Diagnoses were established using clinical and biochemical data. Porphyrin analyses were performed by high performance liquid chromatography. Results and conclusions: Plasma and urine porphyrin patterns were useful for diagnosis of porphyria cutanea tarda, but not the acute porphyrias. Erythropoietic protoporphyria was confirmed by erythrocyte protoporphyrin assay and erythrocyte fluorescence. Acute intermittent porphyria was diagnosed by increases in urine delta-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen and confirmed by reduced erythrocyte porphobilinogen deaminase activity and normal or near-normal stool porphyrins. Variegate porphyria and hereditary coproporphyria were diagnosed by their characteristic stool porphyrin patterns. This appears to be the most convenient diagnostic approach until molecular abnormalities become more extensively defined and more widely available