title: Coastal hypoxia and the importance of benthic macrofauna communities for ecosystem functioning

authors: Gammal, Johanna

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Coastal ecosystems are important because of the vital ecosystem functions and services they provide, but many are threatened by eutrophication and hypoxia. This results in loss of biodiversity and subsequent changes in ecosystem functioning. Consequently, the need for empirical field studies regarding biodiversity-ecosystem functioning in coastal areas has been emphasized. The present field study quantified the links between benthic macrofaunal communities (abundance, biomass, and species richness), sediment oxygen consumption, and solute fluxes (NO₃ ⁻ + NO₂⁻, NH₄⁺, PO₄³⁻, SiO₄, Fe, Mn) along a 7.5-km natural gradient of seasonal hypoxia in the coastal northern Baltic Sea. Sampling was done in late August 2010 in the middle archipelago zone of the Hanko peninsula, Finland. As predicted, the macrofaunal communities were decimated with increasing hypoxia, and the nutrient transformation processes were changed at the sediment-water interface, with notably higher effluxes of phosphate and ammonium from the sediment. Solute fluxes varied even during normoxia, which implies a high context-dependency, and could be explained by even small variations in environmental variables such as organic matter and C/N ratios. Importantly, the low diversity benthic macrofaunal communities, which were dominated by Macoma balthica and the invasive Marenzelleria spp., had a large influence on the solute fluxes, especially under normoxia, but also under hypoxia.

text: Coastal hypoxia and the importance of benthic macrofauna communities for ecosystem functioning Coastal ecosystems are important because of the vital ecosystem functions and services they provide, but many are threatened by eutrophication and hypoxia. This results in loss of biodiversity and subsequent changes in ecosystem functioning. Consequently, the need for empirical field studies regarding biodiversity-ecosystem functioning in coastal areas has been emphasized. The present field study quantified the links between benthic macrofaunal communities (abundance, biomass, and species richness), sediment oxygen consumption, and solute fluxes (NO₃ ⁻ + NO₂⁻, NH₄⁺, PO₄³⁻, SiO₄, Fe, Mn) along a 7.5-km natural gradient of seasonal hypoxia in the coastal northern Baltic Sea. Sampling was done in late August 2010 in the middle archipelago zone of the Hanko peninsula, Finland. As predicted, the macrofaunal communities were decimated with increasing hypoxia, and the nutrient transformation processes were changed at the sediment-water interface, with notably higher effluxes of phosphate and ammonium from the sediment. Solute fluxes varied even during normoxia, which implies a high context-dependency, and could be explained by even small variations in environmental variables such as organic matter and C/N ratios. Importantly, the low diversity benthic macrofaunal communities, which were dominated by Macoma balthica and the invasive Marenzelleria spp., had a large influence on the solute fluxes, especially under normoxia, but also under hypoxia.

year: 2017

title: Development of a Method for the Quantitative Detection of Honey in Imported Products.

authors: Dumté, Mérine Emilie Jennifer

subjects: Asian honey

abstract: The carbohydrate composition of Asian honeys was determined using analysis of per-O-trimethylsilylated sugar alditols by GC-FID. This method was established to detect the presence and quantify honey in imported products scheduled for investigation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) Biosecurity, because the import of honey products is regulated. The Asian honeys analysed had a carbohydrate composition within the limits set for honey by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and had a disaccharide profile similar to honeys from elsewhere in the world. Kojibiose, and peaks corresponding to turanose/nigerose and turanose/maltulose, which are carbohydrates not common in nature, were present in all the honey samples analysed. A reference database of the sugar content of these honeys was created; and the presence of these disaccharides together in imported products under investigation would indicate that the product contains honey. Several samples were found to be adulterated, mostly with sucrose syrup and also with glucose syrup through improper bee-feeding. This method is suitable for detection of the presence of honey in a product being investigated but might encounter problems when quantitation of the honey at low levels of honey addition is required, due to the poor precision of the method. This low precision resulted from the difficulty in getting a homogeneous honey sample and quantifying the small or poorly resolved peaks in the chromatograms. A report on the analysis of actual samples supplied by MAF is presented in Appendix A; quantitation of the monosaccharides, the ratio of glucose:fructose and ratio of disaccharides to monosaccharides could be used to quantitate the amount of honey present and this method is recommended for future use.

text: Development of a Method for the Quantitative Detection of Honey in Imported Products. The carbohydrate composition of Asian honeys was determined using analysis of per-O-trimethylsilylated sugar alditols by GC-FID. This method was established to detect the presence and quantify honey in imported products scheduled for investigation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) Biosecurity, because the import of honey products is regulated. The Asian honeys analysed had a carbohydrate composition within the limits set for honey by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and had a disaccharide profile similar to honeys from elsewhere in the world. Kojibiose, and peaks corresponding to turanose/nigerose and turanose/maltulose, which are carbohydrates not common in nature, were present in all the honey samples analysed. A reference database of the sugar content of these honeys was created; and the presence of these disaccharides together in imported products under investigation would indicate that the product contains honey. Several samples were found to be adulterated, mostly with sucrose syrup and also with glucose syrup through improper bee-feeding. This method is suitable for detection of the presence of honey in a product being investigated but might encounter problems when quantitation of the honey at low levels of honey addition is required, due to the poor precision of the method. This low precision resulted from the difficulty in getting a homogeneous honey sample and quantifying the small or poorly resolved peaks in the chromatograms. A report on the analysis of actual samples supplied by MAF is presented in Appendix A; quantitation of the monosaccharides, the ratio of glucose:fructose and ratio of disaccharides to monosaccharides could be used to quantitate the amount of honey present and this method is recommended for future use.

year: 2010

title: !!!FR33D0M 0FF SP33CH!!!

authors: Smith, Hugh Lyal

subjects: Poetry

abstract: My title is “FR33D0M 0FF SP33CH”, a play on the saying “freedom of speech”. I write with the intent of voicing tough subjects that others haven’t or don’t, and often exposing things that I wouldn’t tell or share personally. “FR33D0M 0FF SP33CH” consists of 37 poems, 2 hooks and a chorus in this complete album. My earliest piece can date back to 2020 with the latest pieces being written in 2021. They express different visions of day-to-day life through points of view and alternating voices and perspectives. The topics range from anything like seeing a face in the smudge on a wall, to things like love, street styles and why I can’t sleep at night. They are to be read left to right, top to bottom -- but feel free to read them as you see fit, because it’s art after all and what you see is what you see. Those labelled “Mirrored” have been turned upside down to allow reading from either end and show the extent of form and variety my pieces can take. Some things may be explicit or hard to read, but I assure you that they are just certain views from different angles that I believe need to be shared. There is a strong political/cultural component to my mahi, a tough vocal attack on elements of society I believe are flawed and unjust, and an exposure of the addictions and abuses that colonial history and racial inequality lead to – but there’s also an intense celebration of the power of the Māori voice that remains, its beat and pride and resilience and ancestry, joined by a rich musical joy in the songs of the street I grew up in, their rhythms and rap, energy and power. It has taken me a long time to reach this level of writing in terms of technique, rhythm and content. I want the reader to see things through my shades and feel what it feels like to be me with an understanding of why I am and where I come from. To understand that, No, I don’t know everything, and I don’t expect anyone else to. But, Yes, this is what I saw, felt and how I interpreted it. So there it is and this is me, the bro Hugh. A lit ūrikā descendant of Ngāti Kuri, Ngāti Rēhia, Te Rārawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāpuhi. Bred in the streets I-roam and made home. A dreamer of the future. Last but not least, your son, your brother, your bro and he who wrote the killer book that you are about to read. Churrr!!!

text: !!!FR33D0M 0FF SP33CH!!! My title is “FR33D0M 0FF SP33CH”, a play on the saying “freedom of speech”. I write with the intent of voicing tough subjects that others haven’t or don’t, and often exposing things that I wouldn’t tell or share personally. “FR33D0M 0FF SP33CH” consists of 37 poems, 2 hooks and a chorus in this complete album. My earliest piece can date back to 2020 with the latest pieces being written in 2021. They express different visions of day-to-day life through points of view and alternating voices and perspectives. The topics range from anything like seeing a face in the smudge on a wall, to things like love, street styles and why I can’t sleep at night. They are to be read left to right, top to bottom -- but feel free to read them as you see fit, because it’s art after all and what you see is what you see. Those labelled “Mirrored” have been turned upside down to allow reading from either end and show the extent of form and variety my pieces can take. Some things may be explicit or hard to read, but I assure you that they are just certain views from different angles that I believe need to be shared. There is a strong political/cultural component to my mahi, a tough vocal attack on elements of society I believe are flawed and unjust, and an exposure of the addictions and abuses that colonial history and racial inequality lead to – but there’s also an intense celebration of the power of the Māori voice that remains, its beat and pride and resilience and ancestry, joined by a rich musical joy in the songs of the street I grew up in, their rhythms and rap, energy and power. It has taken me a long time to reach this level of writing in terms of technique, rhythm and content. I want the reader to see things through my shades and feel what it feels like to be me with an understanding of why I am and where I come from. To understand that, No, I don’t know everything, and I don’t expect anyone else to. But, Yes, this is what I saw, felt and how I interpreted it. So there it is and this is me, the bro Hugh. A lit ūrikā descendant of Ngāti Kuri, Ngāti Rēhia, Te Rārawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāpuhi. Bred in the streets I-roam and made home. A dreamer of the future. Last but not least, your son, your brother, your bro and he who wrote the killer book that you are about to read. Churrr!!!

year: 2021