A Preliminary Survey of Medium and Large‐Sized Mammals in Amoro Forest, West Gojjam Zone, Amhara, Ethiopia

Wiener Index ◽

Vervet Monkey ◽

Early Morning ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Spotted Hyena ◽

Papio Anubis ◽

Chlorocebus Aethiops ◽

West Gojjam ◽

Aim: The objective of this study was to survey the species composition, relative abundance and to determine major threats of medium and large-sized mammals in Amoro Forest. Method: Linetransects surveying and indirect surveys method (including fresh tracks, scats, hair, spines and burrows) were used to survey mammalian diversity. A survey was conducted in the early morning from 6:00 to 10:00 and late afternoon from 16:00 to 19:00. Key interview and direct site observationswere carried out to assess the major threat of mammals in the study area. Results: A total of 12 species of medium and large sized mammals belonging to sex orders and eight families were recorded. Porcupine (Hystrix cristata), Vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) and Olive baboon (Papio anubis) were among the medium-sized mammals while, Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta),Leopard (Panthera pardus) and Common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) were among the large sized mammals observed in the study area. Shannon–Wiener Index values were low (H′ = 1.666) whereas, the Simpson’s index (1-D) of diversity showed the highest species diversity (0.761) in the study area. Illegal logging of trees; overgrazing, agricultural activities and human-wildlife conflicts were the foremost threats in the area. Conclusion: Species richness and evenness were varied from habitat to habitat in Amoro forest. Land degradation anddifferent anthropogenicactivities were common threats for the mammals in the study area. Community participation and awareness creation is very important to limit the impact of anthropogenic activities threatening wildlife. Key words: Anthropogenic activity, Conservation, Diversity, Mammalssurvey

Ground-Based MAX-DOAS Observations of Tropospheric NO2 and HCHO During COVID-19 Lockdown and Spring Festival Over Shanghai, China

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13030488 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 488

Author(s):

Aimon Tanvir ◽

Zeeshan Javed ◽

Zhu Jian ◽

Sanbao Zhang ◽

Muhammad Bilal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Hysplit Model ◽

Vertical Column ◽

Weekly Cycle ◽

Spring Festival ◽

Level 1 ◽

Reduced Mobility ◽

Reduced mobility and less anthropogenic activity under special case circumstances over various parts of the world have pronounced effects on air quality. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of reduced anthropogenic activity on air quality in the mega city of Shanghai, China. Observations from the highly sophisticated multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscope (MAX-DOAS) instrument were used for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) column densities. In situ measurements for NO2, ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5) and the air quality index (AQI) were also used. The concentration of trace gases in the atmosphere reduces significantly during annual Spring Festival holidays, whereby mobility is reduced and anthropogenic activities come to a halt. The COVID-19 lockdown during 2020 resulted in a considerable drop in vertical column densities (VCDs) of HCHO and NO2 during lockdown Level-1, which refers to strict lockdown, i.e., strict measures taken to reduce mobility (43% for NO2; 24% for HCHO), and lockdown Level-2, which refers to relaxed lockdown, i.e., when the mobility restrictions were relaxed somehow (20% for NO2; 22% for HCHO), compared with pre-lockdown days, as measured by the MAX-DOAS instrument. However, for 2019, a reduction in VCDs was found only during Level-1 (24% for NO2; 6.62% for HCHO), when the Spring Festival happened. The weekly cycle for NO2 and HCHO depicts no significant effect of weekends on the lockdown. After the start of the Spring Festival, the VCDs of NO2 and HCHO showed a decline for 2019 as well as 2020. Backward trajectories calculated using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model indicated more air masses coming from the sea after the Spring Festival for 2019 and 2020, implying that a low pollutant load was carried by them. No impact of anthropogenic activity was found on O3 concentration. The results indicate that the ratio of HCHO to NO2 (RFN) fell in the volatile organic compound (VOC)-limited regime.

Multi-method assessment of reservoir effects on hydrological droughts in an arid region

10.5194/esd-2016-57 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Sally Rangecroft ◽

Anne F. Van Loon ◽

Héctor Maureira ◽

Koen Verbist ◽

David M. Hannah

Keyword(s):

Arid Regions ◽

Hydrological Regime ◽

Threshold Level ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Observation Data ◽

Weap Model ◽

Level Method ◽

The Impact ◽

Hydrological Droughts

Abstract. Increasing pressures on water resources in arid regions have led to their increased management and construction of dams; however, the impacts of these anthropogenic activities on hydrological droughts have yet to be incorporated and assessed. Here, the impact of the Santa Juana dam on hydrological drought characteristics downstream has been analysed in the Huasco basin in northern Chile. Two different methods of drought analysis, threshold level method and standardised indices, were applied to observed and modelled data. An upstream-downstream approach was taken for the observation data, analysing the "disturbed" (post-dam) period and the "undisturbed" (pre-dam) period to allow for an assessment of the onset of the significant anthropogenic activity on the hydrological regime. Modelled data from the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model generated a naturalised scenario and human-influenced scenario for similar analysis. Our findings show the characteristics of recent drought events in the basin (1965–2013). The reservoir is shown to help alleviate hydrological droughts by reducing frequency, duration and intensity of drought events, though it did not alleviate major multi-year drought events. A delay in timing of drought events has been observed also with the presence of the dam. The reliability of these different methods and approaches to quantify the impact of the dam are evaluated, with concluding recommendations that the threshold level method using an undisturbed threshold may be the most suitable. These findings show an applicable way forward with quantifying the human influence on hydrological droughts, a method that can be applied elsewhere, and on other human activities.

An Improved Conceptual Model Quantifying the Effect of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities on Vegetation Change in Arid Regions

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11182110 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (18) ◽

pp. 2110

Author(s):

Yu ◽

Yang ◽

Li ◽

Yang

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Conceptual Model ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Vegetation Change ◽

Hydrological Cycle ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Area Index ◽

Vegetation shows a greening trend on the global scale in the past decades, which has an important effect on the hydrological cycle, and thus quantitative interpretation of the causes for vegetation change is of great benefit to understanding changes in ecology, climate, and hydrology. Although the Donohue13 model, a simple conceptual model based on gas exchange theory, provides an effective tool to interpret the greening trend, it cannot be used to evaluate the impact from land use and land cover change (LULCC) on the regional scale, whose importance to vegetation change has been demonstrated in a large number of studies. Hence, we have improved the Donohue13 model by taking into account the change in vegetation cover ratio due to LULCC, and applied this model to the Yarkand Oasis in the arid region of northwest China. The estimated change trend in leaf area index (LAI) is 1.20%/year from 2001 to 2017, which accounts for approximately half of the observed (2.31%/year) by the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS). Regarding the causes for vegetation greening, the contributions of: (1) LULCC; (2) atmospheric CO2 concentration; and (3) vapor pressure deficit were: (1) 88.3%; (2) 40.0%; and (3) −28.3%, respectively, which reveals that the largest contribution was from LULCC, which is probably driven by increased total water availability in whole oasis with a constant transpiration in vegetation area. The improved Donohue13 model, a simple but physics-based model, can partially explain the impact of factors related to climate change and anthropogenic activity on vegetation change in arid regions. It can be further combined with the Budyko hypothesis to establish a framework for quantifying the changes in coupled response of vegetation and hydrological processes to environment changes.

Effect of coronavirus lockdowns on the ambient seismic noise levels in Gujarat, northwest India

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-86557-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ketan Singha Roy ◽

Jyoti Sharma ◽

Santosh Kumar ◽

M. Ravi Kumar

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Seismic Noise ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Noise Levels ◽

Geological Conditions ◽

Northwest India ◽

Almost All ◽

Cultural Noise ◽

AbstractThe Covid-19 pandemic created havoc and forced lockdowns in almost all the countries worldwide, to inhibit social spreading. In India as well, as a precautionary measure, complete and partial lockdowns were announced in phases during March 25 to May 31, 2020. The restricted human activities led to a drastic reduction in seismic background noise in the high frequency range of 1–20 Hz, representative of cultural noise. In this study, we analyse the effect of anthropogenic activity on the Earth vibrations, utilizing ambient noise recorded at twelve broadband seismographs installed in different environmental and geological conditions in Gujarat. We find that the lockdowns caused 1–19 dB decrease in seismic noise levels. The impact of restricted anthropogenic activities is predominantly visible during the daytime in urban areas, in the vicinity of industries and/or highways. A 27–79% reduction in seismic noise ground displacement (drms) is observed in daytime during the lockdown, in populated areas. However, data from station MOR reveals a drastic decrease in drms amplitude both during the day (79%) and night times (87%) since factories in this area operate round the clock. The noise at stations located in remote areas and that due to microseisms, shows negligible variation.

Sand mining and morphometric dynamics along Ologe Lagoon

Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences ◽

10.5194/piahs-366-201-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 366 ◽

pp. 201-201

Author(s):

D. Thaddeus ◽

S. Odunuga

Keyword(s):

Form Factor ◽

Riparian Forest ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Mining Activities ◽

Sand Mining ◽

Significance Level ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Government ◽

Abstract. The study focuses on the sand mining activities and morphometric dynamics of Ologe Lagoon, in Lagos, Nigeria. It determines the sand mining activities and morphometric dynamics of Ologe Lagoon catchment area, the quantity of sand mined per unit time, and the extent of environmental degradation due to the continuous sand mining activities. Topographic maps of the 1985 and 2013 Ikonos satellite imagery were used to identify the morphometric dynamics of the area. Two hypotheses were generated to determine if there are significant differences between the means of the sampled population that lost properties due to flooding, and to determine if there was a correlation between building subsidence and loss of property; it was tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with a correlation coefficient at 0.05 α significance level. The results of geometric measurement of the Ologe Lagoon between the two years interval show that perimeter width and circularity of the basin had reduced and shrunk, while the form factor remains the same at 0.15 km2. The basin elongation increased significantly by 0.01 km2, thus, increasing the rate at which water will be supplied to the lagoon. The ration of the form factor of 0.69/0.5 is close to the unity value R1, which shows a higher peak runoff; the values of the circularity ratio of 3.94/3.13 indicates circularity. This shows that the basin is circular time. The impact of the geometry indicates the development of mud flats and sandy bars, particularly at the lower portion of the lagoon; there is also modification of sediment deposition. The anthropogenic activity of sand mining causes destruction of the riparian forest around the lagoon. There is no significant difference in the means of sampled respondents regarding loss properties due to flooding, while there is a correlation between building subsidence and loss of life. It is recommended that a road map should be developed and implemented by the relevant agency of the government to guide anthropogenic activities around the lagoon to enhance sustainable development.

Impact of Abandoned Land on Environmental Protection, Landscape and Economic Benefit in Lithuania

Proccedings of 10th International Conference "Environmental Engineering" ◽

10.3846/enviro.2017.190 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Rimvydas Gaudėšius ◽

Virginija Gurskienė ◽

Vida Maliene

Keyword(s):

Economic Activity ◽

Economic Benefit ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Human Economic Activity ◽

The Republic ◽

Human economic activity is defined as an anthropogenic process that has a negative impact on natural environment. The urbanisation and agricultural development influence the environment mostly. In order to receive economic benefit to the above-mentioned activities, the landscape is changed, the soil is affected and pollutants are released into the environment. In the light of the fact that the identified processes and problems caused by them are global, the variety of international directives are designed to minimise the impact of anthropogenic activities on the environment. The territory of the Republic of Lithuania has a considerable amount of areas, where the economic activity is suspended, i.e. the land is abandoned. This is due to a variety of social, natural and economic reasons. This process can be perceived as opposite to the anthropogenic activity, however it is important to examine how it affects the environment, landscape or economic needs. These processes are relevant on the local and international level, therefore, the scientific results of this article may be useful for the professionals in various areas and further research. The research investigates the territory of abandoned agricultural land, which is to be urbanised in the future. Land cadastre data, spatial planning documents are analysed, a questionnaire-based survey is conducted, and the actual inspection in the area is carried out. The research results identify the causes for non-use of the land, and the impact of no economic activity on the environment, the landscape and the economic performance. To reach the set objectives, the data analysis, synthesis, induction methods have been used.

Chemical Composition and Metal Speciation in Porewaters from the Upper Qu’Appelle River Basin, Saskatchewan

Water Quality Research Journal ◽

10.2166/wqrj.1993.005 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 83-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard E. Farrell ◽

Jae E. Yang ◽

P. Ming Huang ◽

Wen K. Liaw

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Trace Metal ◽

River Basin ◽

Drainage Basin ◽

Metal Speciation ◽

High Concentration ◽

Metal Concentrations ◽

Carbonate Equilibria ◽

Abstract Porewater samples from the upper Qu’Appelle River basin in Saskatchewan, Canada, were analyzed to obtain metal, inorganic ligand and amino add profiles. These data were used to compute the aqueous speciation of the metals in each porewater using the computer program GEOCHEM-PC. The porewaters were classified as slightly to moderately saline. Metal concentrations reflected both the geology of the drainage basin and the impact of anthropogenic activities. Whereas K and Na were present almost entirely as the free aquo ions, carbonate equilibria dominated the speciation of Ca. Mg and Mn (the predominant metal ligand species were of the type MCO3 (s). MCO30. and MHCO3+). Trace metal concentrations were generally within the ranges reported for non-polluted freshwater systems. Whereas the speciation of the trace metals Cr(III) and Co(II) was dominated by carbonate equilibria, Hg(II)-, Zn(II)- and Fe(II)-speciation was dominated by hydroxy-metal complexes of the type M(OH)+ and M(OH)2°. The speciation of Fe(III) was dominated by Fe(OH)3 (s). In porewaters with high chloride concentrations (> 2 mM), however, significant amounts of Hg(II) were bound as HgCl20 and HgClOH0. The aqueous speciation of Al was dominated by Al(OH)4− and Al2Si2O4(OH)6 (s). Total concentrations of dissolved free amino acids varied from 15.21 to 25.17 umole L−1. The most important metal scavenging amino acids were histidine (due to high stability constants for the metal-histidine complexes) and tryptophan (due to its relatively high concentration in the porewaters. i.e., 5.96 to 7.73 umole L−1). Secondary concentrations of various trace metal-amino add complexes were computed for all the porewaters, but metal-amino acid complexes dominated the speciation of Cu(II) in all the porewaters and Ni(II) in two of the porewaters.

Morphological Variations of Wild Populations of Brycon dentex (Characidae, Teleostei) in the Guayas Hydrographic Basin (Ecuador). The Impact of Fishing Policies and Environmental Conditions

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11071901 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1901

Author(s):

Ana Gonzalez-Martinez ◽

Carmen De-Pablos-Heredero ◽

Martin González ◽

Jorge Rodriguez ◽

Cecilio Barba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Discriminant Analysis ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Freshwater Species ◽

Fishing Pressure ◽

Wild Populations ◽

Morphometric Variation ◽

Morphological Variations ◽

Body Development ◽

The Guayas, located in Ecuador, is the largest basin in the Pacific Ocean and has an inventory of 123 native freshwater species. Most of these are endemic species that are threatened or at-risk due to anthropogenic activity and the modification, fragmentation, and destruction of habitats. The aim of this study was to determine the morphometric variation in three wild populations of Brycon dentex in the Guayas basin rivers and their connections to fishing management and environmental conditions. A total of 200 mature fish were captured, and 26 morphometric parameters were measured. The fishing policies (Hypothesis 1) and environmental conditions (Hypothesis 2) were considered fixed factors and were validated by t-tests. The morphological variation among the three populations (Hypothesis 3) was validated through a discriminant analysis. Fishing policies and resource management were found to generate morphological differences associated with body development. In addition, the environmental conditions were found to influence the size and structure of Brycon dentex populations. The analyzed populations were discriminated by the generated morphometric models, which differentiated Cluster 1 (Quevedo and Mocache rivers) with high fishing pressure from Cluster 2 (Pintado river) with medium–low fishing pressure. Morphometric differentiation by discriminant analysis is a direct and economic methodology that can be applied as an indicator of diversity maintenance.

Behavioral Parameters of Planarians (Girardia tigrina) as Fast Screening, Integrative and Cumulative Biomarkers of Environmental Contamination: Preliminary Results

Water ◽

10.3390/w13081077 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1077

Author(s):

Ana M. Córdova López ◽

Althiéris de Souza Saraiva ◽

Carlos Gravato ◽

Amadeu M. V. M. Soares ◽

Renato Almeida Sarmento

Keyword(s):

Water Samples ◽

Feeding Rate ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Sampling Point ◽

Total Chloride ◽

Fast Screening ◽

Sampling Points ◽

The present study aims to use behavioral responses of the freshwater planarian Girardia tigrina to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on the aquatic ecosystem of the watershed Araguaia-Tocantins (Tocantins, Brazil). Behavioral responses are integrative and cumulative tools that reflect changes in energy allocation in organisms. Thus, feeding rate and locomotion velocity (pLMV) were determined to assess the effects induced by the laboratory exposure of adult planarians to water samples collected in the region of Tocantins-Araguaia, identifying the sampling points affected by contaminants. Furthermore, physicochemical and microbiological parameters, as well as the presence of inorganic compounds (dissolved aluminum, total barium, total chloride, dissolved iron, total fluoride, total manganese, nitrates, nitric nitrogen, total sulfate, total zinc) and surfactants, were determined on each specific sampling point. The behavioral biomarkers (feeding rate and pLMV) of the freshwater planarians were significantly decreased when organisms were exposed to water samples from four municipalities (Formoso do Araguaia, Lagoa da Confusão, Gurupi and Porto Nacional), sites of the Tocantins-Araguaia hydrographic region—TAHR. Both behavioral biomarkers decreased up to ~37–39% compared to organisms in ASTM medium only. Our results showed that these behavioral biomarkers can be used for fast screening monitoring of environmental samples of freshwater ecosystems, since a decrease in feeding rate and locomotor activity was observed in sites impacted by anthropogenic activities. However, the absence of effects observed in some sampling points does not represent the absence of contamination, since several other classes of contaminants were not determined. In these negative results, the absence of deleterious effects on behavioral biomarkers might only be indicative that the potential presence of contaminants on such sites does not significantly affect the performance of planarians. This fast screening approach seems to be useful to determine contaminated sites in freshwater ecosystems for biomonitoring purposes. This knowledge will help to develop biomonitoring programs and to decide appropriate sampling sites and analysis.

Multi-domain probiotic consortium as an alternative to chemical remediation of oil spills at coral reefs and adjacent sites

Microbiome ◽

10.1186/s40168-021-01041-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Denise P. Silva ◽

Helena D. M. Villela ◽

Henrique F. Santos ◽

Gustavo A. S. Duarte ◽

José Roberto Ribeiro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Oil Spills ◽

Oil Contamination ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Corexit 9500 ◽

Coral Health ◽

Abstract Background Beginning in the last century, coral reefs have suffered the consequences of anthropogenic activities, including oil contamination. Chemical remediation methods, such as dispersants, can cause substantial harm to corals and reduce their resilience to stressors. To evaluate the impacts of oil contamination and find potential alternative solutions to chemical dispersants, we conducted a mesocosm experiment with the fire coral Millepora alcicornis, which is sensitive to environmental changes. We exposed M. alcicornis to a realistic oil-spill scenario in which we applied an innovative multi-domain bioremediator consortium (bacteria, filamentous fungi, and yeast) and a chemical dispersant (Corexit® 9500, one of the most widely used dispersants), to assess the effects on host health and host-associated microbial communities. Results The selected multi-domain microbial consortium helped to mitigate the impacts of the oil, substantially degrading the polycyclic aromatic and n-alkane fractions and maintaining the physiological integrity of the corals. Exposure to Corexit 9500 negatively impacted the host physiology and altered the coral-associated microbial community. After exposure, the abundances of certain bacterial genera such as Rugeria and Roseovarius increased, as previously reported in stressed or diseased corals. We also identified several bioindicators of Corexit 9500 in the microbiome. The impact of Corexit 9500 on the coral health and microbial community was far greater than oil alone, killing corals after only 4 days of exposure in the flow-through system. In the treatments with Corexit 9500, the action of the bioremediator consortium could not be observed directly because of the extreme toxicity of the dispersant to M. alcicornis and its associated microbiome. Conclusions Our results emphasize the importance of investigating the host-associated microbiome in order to detect and mitigate the effects of oil contamination on corals and the potential role of microbial mitigation and bioindicators as conservation tools. Chemical dispersants were far more damaging to corals and their associated microbiome than oil, and should not be used close to coral reefs. This study can aid in decision-making to minimize the negative effects of oil and dispersants on coral reefs.