Hyalella azteca was used to assess biological impairment in sediments from nine water bodies in the Mississippi Delta （i.e., lower Mississippi alluvial plain）. Water bodies were categorized according to land use and...Hyalella azteca was used to assess biological impairment in sediments from nine water bodies in the Mississippi Delta （i.e., lower Mississippi alluvial plain）. Water bodies were categorized according to land use and implementation of agricultural best management practices （BMPs）. Sediment samples were collected at three sites within each water body from June to July 2004 and analyzed for 17 current and historic-use pesticides and metabolites. Twenty-eight day H. azteca survival and growth were measured to assess the degree of biological impairment. No significant （P 〉 0.05） mortality occurred in animals exposed to sediments. Significant growth impairment was observed in sediments from all three 303（d） listed water bodies and two of three BMP oxbow lakes. Historic-use pesticides and metabolites were implicated in two of five biologically impaired water bodies. Complex contaminant mixtures often limit attempts to provide clear, definitive sources of biological impairment. In this study, even accounting for sediment characteristics such as sand-silt-clay fractions and organic carbon content did not further clarify sources of toxicity in some water bodies. Finally, results show that implementation of BMPs can mitigate biological impairment within lake sediments.展开更多
Although the Neotropical territorially dominant arboreal ant Azteca chartifex Forel is very aggressive towards any intruder,its populous colonies tolerate the close presence of the fierce polistine wasp Polybia reject...Although the Neotropical territorially dominant arboreal ant Azteca chartifex Forel is very aggressive towards any intruder,its populous colonies tolerate the close presence of the fierce polistine wasp Polybia rejecta(F.).In French Guiana,83.33%of the 48 P.rejecta nests recorded were found side by side with those of A.chartifex.This nesting association results in mutual protection from predators(i.e.,the wasps protected from army ants;the ants protected from birds).We conducted field studies,laboratorybased behavioral experiments and chemical analyses to elucidate the mechanisms allowing the persistence of this association.Due to differences in the cuticular profiles of the two species,we eliminated the possibility of chemical mimicry.Also,analyses of the carton nests did not reveal traces of marking on the envelopes.Because ant forager flows were not perturbed by extracts from the wasps’Dufour’s and venom glands,we rejected any hypothetical action of repulsive chemicals.Nevertheless,we noted that the wasps"scraped"the surface of the upper part of their nest envelope using their mandibles,likely removing the ants'scent trails,and an experiment showed that ant foragers were perturbed by the removal of their scent trails.This leads us to use the term"erasure hypothesis."Thus,this nesting association persists thanks to a relative tolerance by the ants towards wasp presence and the behavior of the wasps that allows them to"contain"their associated ants through the elimination of their scent trails,direct attacks,"wing-buzzing"behavior and ejecting the ants.展开更多
文摘Hyalella azteca was used to assess biological impairment in sediments from nine water bodies in the Mississippi Delta （i.e., lower Mississippi alluvial plain）. Water bodies were categorized according to land use and implementation of agricultural best management practices （BMPs）. Sediment samples were collected at three sites within each water body from June to July 2004 and analyzed for 17 current and historic-use pesticides and metabolites. Twenty-eight day H. azteca survival and growth were measured to assess the degree of biological impairment. No significant （P 〉 0.05） mortality occurred in animals exposed to sediments. Significant growth impairment was observed in sediments from all three 303（d） listed water bodies and two of three BMP oxbow lakes. Historic-use pesticides and metabolites were implicated in two of five biologically impaired water bodies. Complex contaminant mixtures often limit attempts to provide clear, definitive sources of biological impairment. In this study, even accounting for sediment characteristics such as sand-silt-clay fractions and organic carbon content did not further clarify sources of toxicity in some water bodies. Finally, results show that implementation of BMPs can mitigate biological impairment within lake sediments.
基金this study was provided by an“Investissement d’Avenir”grant managed by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche(CEBA,ref.ANR-10-LABX-25-01).
文摘Although the Neotropical territorially dominant arboreal ant Azteca chartifex Forel is very aggressive towards any intruder,its populous colonies tolerate the close presence of the fierce polistine wasp Polybia rejecta(F.).In French Guiana,83.33%of the 48 P.rejecta nests recorded were found side by side with those of A.chartifex.This nesting association results in mutual protection from predators(i.e.,the wasps protected from army ants;the ants protected from birds).We conducted field studies,laboratorybased behavioral experiments and chemical analyses to elucidate the mechanisms allowing the persistence of this association.Due to differences in the cuticular profiles of the two species,we eliminated the possibility of chemical mimicry.Also,analyses of the carton nests did not reveal traces of marking on the envelopes.Because ant forager flows were not perturbed by extracts from the wasps’Dufour’s and venom glands,we rejected any hypothetical action of repulsive chemicals.Nevertheless,we noted that the wasps"scraped"the surface of the upper part of their nest envelope using their mandibles,likely removing the ants'scent trails,and an experiment showed that ant foragers were perturbed by the removal of their scent trails.This leads us to use the term"erasure hypothesis."Thus,this nesting association persists thanks to a relative tolerance by the ants towards wasp presence and the behavior of the wasps that allows them to"contain"their associated ants through the elimination of their scent trails,direct attacks,"wing-buzzing"behavior and ejecting the ants.
