bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A survey of the threat of surface water acidification to the nature conservation interest of fresh waters on Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Britain
Authors: Rimes Carrie A. , Farmer Andrew M. , Howell David 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis study collated information relating to acidification of running and standing waters on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) throughout Britain in acid‐sensitive areas.Of those SSSIs which occur in acid‐sensitive areas of Britain, 196 have water bodies. The following information was obtained for each site if available: details of local geology and soils, types of land use and management, water quality data and data relating to biological components of both the aquatic and riparian habitats.In addition, samples from 112 water bodies were collected for water chemistry and epilithic diatom analysis. Results from each site were placed into existing critical loads and species response models to determine whether acidification had occurred.Results showed that the fresh waters on 141 SSSIs had probably suffered acidification. This was most acute in north Wales, with mid Wales, south‐west and north‐east Scotland and northern England also being badly affected.A wide variety of changes in the biological status of water bodies relating to acidification were found to have been recorded on SSSIs, ranging from phytoplankton, invertebrate and macrophyte community changes to decline of fish, amphibian, bird and mammal populations.Catchment afforestation may be a problem in poorly buffered areas and has probably contributed to freshwater acidification on 40 SSSIs.Comparison with critical loads maps for acidity in UK fresh waters reveals that existing commitments on acidifying emissions (the EC Large Combustion Plant Directive) will not be sufficient to prevent further acidification on a number of SSSIs. In order to achieve a protection of the nature conservation interest of fresh waters further commitments to emission reductions will be necessary.
Wetland vulnerability in East Anglia: The range of validity of a generalized classification approach
Authors: Gilvear D. J. , Tellam J. H. , Lloyd J. W. , Lerner D. N. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractWetlands are under threat from a variety of human activities and in response to this various assessment schemes have been devised. A recent hydrological vulnerability assessment procedure has been advanced by Lloyd et al. (1993) for East Anglia, UK, which deals with hydrological threats to fens. The assessment starts with a desk study which classifies a wetland into a particular hydrological class, and from this general statements can be made with regard to the wetland's likely vulnerability to such activities as water abstraction and pollution. No type of desk study, however, will always be able to predict the hydrological consequences of an activity with certainty. Thus, if protection of the wetland is of high priority, Lloyd et al. (1993) propose further stages of investigation of increasing expense and difficulty, involving hydrological monitoring and modelling.The purpose of this article is to explore how much desk‐study classifications such as that of Lloyd et al. (1993) can reveal about wetland hydrological vulnerability, using East Anglian field investigation and hydrological monitoring evidence. Three sites in East Anglia have been examined over a 2 year period, and the water balance and hydrological processes, together with the hydrological vulnerability of each site, deduced. Comparing these data with the conclusions from the desk study indicates that the classification procedure was able generally to identify the vulnerability of wetlands correctly at the regional scale, but the detailed studies showed that local features, below the scale resolvable by the classification and desk‐study procedure, can easily lead to incorrect assessments.The results of the East Anglian field investigations suggest that although classification procedures are adequate for providing general conclusions about the vulnerability of wetlands in a given region, they cannot be relied upon to be correct for a specific site and ensure its protection against any given hydrological threat. In the case of the assessment of important wetland sites, there is therefore no substitute for detailed hydrological and geological investigations. Because of the importance of seasonal hydrological data for detailed investigations and vulnerability assessment, it is also recommended that hydrological monitoring at a single point on important wetland sites should start well before an impact is envisaged.
Palaeoecological insights for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems in dryland environments: A case study of the Verlorenvlei system, South Africa
Authors: Baxter Andrew J. , Davies Bryan R. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractVerlorenvlei, a dryland aquatic ecosystem in South Africa, has been identified as having enormous conservation importance. Although the system has Ramsar status and is widely regarded as being in ‘pristine' condition, neither statutory control nor any form of management is currently in existence.Based on the analysis of fossil pollen derived from the sediments of Verlorenvlei, a sequence of rapid changes within the riparian and aquatic vegetation is identified. Synchronous changes in the rate of sedimentation suggest a threefold increase in annual sediment deposition since the mid‐18th century—the onset of colonial settlement.The pollen spectra prior to the arrival of colonial settlers suggest that abundant Poaceae (grasses) and rooted aquatic plants dominated the vegetation of the site. Radical changes in the pollen record become evident after the time of European colonization. Aquatic vegetation, including Gentianaceae (water lilies) and Potamogetonaceae, show a marked decrease while riparian vegetation, particularly reed elements such as Cyperaceae, Typhaceae and Juncaceae, are seen to increase progressively. Terrestrial pollen indicators reveal an expansion in the vegetation of classic disturbance indicators such as Asteraceae, Oxalidaceae and Scrophulariaceae.As the wetland has already endured rapid ecological adjustments in the face of colonial (and more recent) occupation of the broader landscape, it cannot be regarded as being in a ‘pristine’ state. Indeed, Verlorenvlei is interpreted as having reached a state of ‘transitional’ ecological equilibrium in which it continues to endure a number of rapid ecological changes; nonetheless, it is still worthy of conservation and management, not least because of its role as a strategic wetland in a dryland environment.Failing the timely implementation of remedial action in the form of an integrated conservation and management plan, Verlorenvlei appears destined to become irreversibly altered.Dryland aquatic ecosystems are vital aquatic resources in so called ‘Third World’ regions of the world yet, paradoxically, scientific research on, and the conservation of, these environments in the Southern Hemisphere are rare by comparison to wetland environments in the northern temperate zones. Although many dryland aquatic systems may already be altered, most are worthy of urgent management and conservation action, bearing in mind the fundamental question: ‘What is it that we wish to conserve?’.A number of recommendations for the management of dryland aquatic ecosystems such as Verlorenvlei are listed.
Quantifying anthropogenic nutrient sources and loadings within a small catchment with conservation interests, eastern Scotland
Authors: Grieve I. C. , Gilvear D. J. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis paper demonstrates the possibility of quantifying sub‐catchment nutrient budgets from routinely monitored hydrological and hydrochemical data. The relative importance of a number of potential anthropogenic nutrient sources was quantified for a small catchment in Scotland. Within the catchment there are two Sites of Special Scientific Interest, including two lochs and a floodplain mire. The study was undertaken to provide information for prescribing strategies to safeguard the conservation interests of these aquatic systems.The principal source of nitrate was found to be groundwater. Phosphate and ammonium loadings were greatest in surface run‐off. The evidence indicates that the greatest contributor towards these nutrient sources is agriculture. Even when conservative estimates of losses were applied, current fertilizer and animal inputs could account for present day nutrient loadings. In addition, changes in the area under arable farming and under individual crops during the past 30 years are consistent with trends in nitrate and phosphate loads.Nutrient inputs from sewage works overflows and septic tanks within the catchment were estimated to be small. Leachate from a landfill site within the catchment was also not considered to be a major source of nutrients, but a more intensive water quality monitoring programme would be needed to confirm the absence of leachate plumes.The only long‐term solution to reducing nutrient loadings to the aquatic systems is a reduction in agricultural activities within the catchment and avoidance of fertilizer and slurry applications near water sources. Diversion of drainage ditch waters supplying the floodplain mire is also a possibility but the hydrological consequences of such an action could induce more severe degradation than that due to nutrient enrichment.
The effect of catchment liming on bryophytes in upland Welsh streams, with an assessment of the communities at risk
Authors: Wilkinson S. M. , Ormerod S. J. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe effects of catchment liming, used to restore acidified streams, are still only partially known. In particular, the impact on aquatic bryophytes remains unappraised.Six upland streams were surveyed for aquatic bryophytes from 1987–93, and three of their catchments limed experimentally in 1987–88 so that the resulting changes in the abundance and distribution of common bryophyte taxa could be assessed. An additional nine streams were surveyed during 1987–89, 1992 and 1993 using the same methods to give a wider indication of the bryophyte communities in streams where liming might occur.Twenty‐nine bryophyte species were recorded from the wetted margins of these 15 upland streams. Percentage cover by individual species varied markedly, and was highest in Nardia compressa (up to 71%). Cover by most other species was limited to less than 5%.Total bryophyte cover, and cover by Scapania undulata fluctuated from year to year so that no responses to liming could be detected. However, cover by Nardia compressa declined significantly from 39% ± 21% SD to 5% ± 2% SD in treated streams following lime addition. Reference streams showed no such change, and no other taxa increased in abundance to replace the lost Nardia in the 5 years after liming.Changes of this type, and their possible ramifications for invertebrates, will have to be considered where catchment liming is planned.
Evidence of change in the macrofauna of tidal flats subject to anthropomorphic impacts in north‐east England
Authors: Evans S. M. , Arnott S. , Wahju R. I. 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe study assessed differences that have occurred in macrofaunal assemblages of tidal flats subject to anthropomorphic impacts in north‐east England between 1931, when they were surveyed by Brady (1943), and 1991.The dominant members of the assemblages were the same for both surveys, and almost all the taxa recorded by Brady were present in 1991. There were also similar groupings of data from individual sampling stations by MDS ordination of the 1931 and and 1991 results.There is nevertheless evidence of change of two kinds. First, the Arenicola/Scoloplos/Cerastoderma/Macoma community, which was characteristic of the entire tidal flats at Budle Bay in 1931, had been replaced in north‐west corner of the Bay by an oligochaete‐dominated community in 1991. Second, numerical densities of macrofauna were much higher in 1991 than in 1931 at each of the study sites.
Effects of stream acidity on non‐breeding dippers cinclus cinclus in the south‐central highlands of Scotland
Authors: Logie John W. 
Published: February 2007

Abstract
Macroinvertebrate and Dipper Cinclus cinclus abundances and pH were assessed on four rivers in the south‐central highlands of Scotland in early winter 1990 to examine the general applicability of Dipper/acidity relationships established during the breeding season (Ormerod et al., 1985; Vickery, 1991).
The most acid waters had the lowest invertebrate biomasses and Dipper densities. Birds on these rivers spent significantly more of the morning foraging and less time at rest, apparently reflecting reduced prey capture rates and hence the greater time required to replace overnight mass losses.
Analysis of published data on seasonal changes in Dipper population densities and individual energetic demands suggests that even accounting for the higher numbers of Dippers in all habitats during autumn and winter, energetic requirements both of individuals and populations are greatest during breeding, when the costs of self maintenance are coupled with the additional demands of chick rearing.
However, from the patterns found here and elsewhere during autumn it appears that the effects of acidity on Dipper populations are important generally during both the breeding and non‐breeding seasons.
Home range and diet of re‐introduced European otters Lutra Lutra (L.) in Hertfordshire rivers
Authors: Roche Kevin , Harris Rebecca , Warrington Stuart , Copp Gordon H. 
Published: February 2007

Abstract
The distribution and diet of two groups of captive‐bred, re‐introduced otters Lutra lutra (L.) was assessed through the collection and analysis of spraints (faeces), collected between July 1992 and March 1994 from the Rivers Stort, Lee and Rib in Hertfordshire (UK).
Almost immediately after release in 1991, both groups of otters moved upstream of their release sites. In February 1992, one male was found dead on a road near the River Stort, and both groups appeared to have moved downstream, their total range eventually extending to about 40 km, from 8 km downstream of the confluence of the Rivers Stort and Lee to about 16 km up the Stort and 16 km up the Lee.
Fish, principally cyprinids, formed the major dietary element, with spatial differences in prey availability influencing the range of secondary items taken. Eels were the only prey category to show significant seasonal variation in spraints, occurring more often than expected in spring and summer spraints. Mammals/amphibia and birds were taken as prey only occasionally. Where environmental quality and/or prey species diversity were low, small‐bodied fish species, such as three‐spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, bullhead Cottus gobio and stone loach Barbatula barbatula, occurred more frequently in the diet.
Only two of the seven IUCN criteria for re‐introductions appear to have been met before the otters' release, and subsequent assessments suggest that most other criteria were not. As there has been only one possible, but unconfirmed, sighting of a female with cubs, it remains unclear whether the released otters have reproduced and thus the success of the re‐introduction is doubtful.
Historical channel analysis and its application to riparian and aquatic habitat restoration
Authors: Kondolf G. Mathias , Larson Marit 
Published: February 2007

Abstract
The planning, design and evaluation of a restoration project should be guided largely by an understanding of past channel changes.
A historical analysis can sometimes reveal underlying causes of channel change and document prior habitat conditions, both useful in setting appropriate objectives for restoration.
Restoration planning should address the historical causes and patterns of channel degradation that cannot be detected by examining current conditions alone. Moreover, ongoing adjustments in the channel and changes in the catchment must be understood when interpreting channel changes following construction of restoration projects.
Changes in channel form (and the independent geomorphological variables of run‐off and sediment load from the catchment) can be documented from a variety of sources, including historical maps, boundary lines, aerial photography, bridge and pipeline surveys, gauging records, field evidence and archival sources. Historical riparian vegetation, and use by fish and wildlife, may also be documented from early survey records, photographs and written accounts.
Historical analysis should cover an area large enough to capture all events potentially influencing the project reach. The entire catchment upstream should be examined to identify events affecting the flow regime and sediment load, such as deforestation or dam construction. For channels in erodible alluvium, the study should include the channel downstream to the first stable grade control to capture events whose effects may propagate upstream, such as channelization or base lowering.
Application of historical channel analysis to the San Luis Rey River in California served as a basis for evaluating the potential for (and hydrological constraints upon) riparian restoration.
Sensitivity of alpine stream ecosystems to climate change and human impacts
Authors: McGregor G. , Petts G. E. , Gurnell A. M. , Milner A. M. 
Published: February 2007

Abstract
Climatic changes and water resource developments alter the relative contribution of the water sources (glacier‐melt, snow‐melt, rainfall run‐off and springflow) to the discharge regime of alpine streams.
Likely changes in the magnitude and variability of a range of climatic determinants of glacier behaviour, as a result of an enhanced Greenhouse Effect, are shown to have important implications for the future hydrogeomorphological and thermal dynamics of alpine streams.
Zoobenthic communities typically show deterministic patterns in alpine streams due to the over‐riding influence of water temperature and channel stability. These communities could act as indicators of change in the relative contribution of run‐off, particularly to alterations of glacier‐melt patterns.
A reduction of glacial meltwater, following diversion for HEP generation, is used as an example to illustrate the sensitivity of the zoobenthic communities to changes in temperature and flow regimes, and geomorphological dynamics.
Development of functional imidazole derivatives: the influence of alkaline metal cations on the rates of CL reactions of 2‐(phenyl and 4‐dimethylaminophenyl)‐4‐hydroperoxy‐4‐3′,4′‐(15‐crown‐5)phenyl‐5‐3″‐4″‐(15‐crown‐5)phenyl‐4H‐isoimidazoles
Authors: Kimura Masaru , Shi Kun , Hashimoto Koji , Hu Zhi Zhi 
Published: February 2007

AbstractAlthough several investigations have focused on luminescence modulation by chelation with metal cations using bidentate ligands or crown ether systems, a bis(crown ether) system has not yet been used for modulation of chemiluminescence (CL) reactions. In the CL reaction of 2‐(phenyl and 4‐dimethylaminophenyl)‐4‐hydroperoxy‐4‐3′,4′‐(15‐crown‐5)phenyl‐5‐3″,4″(15‐crown‐5)phenyl‐4H‐isoimidazoles 2a and b possessing a bis(15‐crown‐5 ether) moiety, the rate acceleration was observed in the presence of K+, Rb+ and Cs+ due to the holding effect of the bis‐crown moiety, but no rate acceleration was observed by Li+ and Na+ due to the template effect of the crown moiety. The acceleration of the CL reaction rates is ascribable to the conformational change induced by the scissor‐like motion of the bis‐crown moiety assisted by the holding effect. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chemiluminescence assay for tetrahydrobiopterin based on the generation of hydrogen peroxide using isoluminol‐microperoxidase in the presence of 1‐methoxy PMS
Authors: Arakawa Hidetoshi , Masuda Kouichi , Tajima Noriko , Maeda Masako 
Published: February 2007

AbstractWe developed a novel highly sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for BH4. The principle of the proposed method is based on active oxygen formation induced by 1‐methoxy‐5‐methyl phenazinium methyl sulphate (1‐methoxy PMS) in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Furthermore, active oxygen is determined by a CL assay involving the luminol reaction with microperoxidase. In this report, we examined the mechanism of formation and identified the reactive oxygen species derived from BH4 employing 1‐methoxy PMS. Additionally, optimum conditions for the CL assay of BH4 were established. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Qualitative growth and complementary technology: Beyond the technical fix
Authors: Fleming David 
Published: February 2007

AbstractAt present, improved environmental performance and corporate growth work hand in hand as part of a single business strategy. Growth enables the company to invest in environmental technology; environmental technology in turn enables it to grow while holding increases in environmental impact to a minimum. But this ‘Golden Age’ relationship could break down as the environmental benefits of technological advance are overwhelmed by growth in output. For this reason, there is already concern in some industries that the need to protect the environment may lead in due course to regulations designed to suppress further growth. However, any attempt to suppress growth would have extremely severe economic implications, and would require us to address the Growth Enigma: how are the needs of a stable economy and a stable environment to be met at the same time? The concept of ‘qualitative growth’, i.e. corporate strategy based on a reduced rate of growth, is examined with special reference to the airline industry and to Swissair, which has recently announced a qualitative growth strategy. It turns out that the company is not in fact implementing the strategy, but the declaration of intent itself reveals some valuable lessons which may help in a solution to the central problem of growth and the environment.
How green is the transnational corporation?
Authors: Miller Van , Quinn John 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThis paper discusses and criticises the often proposed transitional solution for global corporations in the light of an environmental imperative. The concept of an environmental imperative or demand is developed and advocated as equally important to the market demand that is inherent in the transnational solution. However, the environmental imperative itself is tempered by the characteristics of national regulatory regimes, which are presently the major force for change. Two case studies of businesses examined by the creators of the transnational solution are offered as evidence that corporations are not as indifferent to the environment as the creators of the solution are. Based on the findings from the two cases, some tentative proposals are advanced regarding the organisation of global corporations.
Fine tuning the dinosaur? Environmental product innovation and strategic threat in the automotive industry: A case study of the Volkswagen Audi Group
Authors: Gouldson Andy 
Published: February 2007

AbstractThe environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of the automobile are pronounced. Indeed, many environmentalists suggest that through its lifetime the core product of the automotive industry is the most polluting product on earth. This paper analyses the response to such criticism from one particular automotive manufacturer, the Volkswagen Audi Group.The paper charts the improvements that are being realised by VW throughout the life cycle of the car, particularly in relation to product use and disposal. It is suggests that the efforts of the automotive industry to reduce its environmental impact through incremental improvements in the environmental efficiency of each car are continually undermined by an overall increase in the level of transport. Thus, it is concluded that the ability of the automotive industry to manage the life cycle impact of its product is severely constrained unless it can dramatically influence the demands of its customers, and that potentially this is an issue of fundamental strategic importance for the industry as a whole.