[en] Progress is reported on the following research programs: analysis and modeling of ecosystems; EDFB/IBP data center; biome analysis studies; land/water interaction studies; and computer programs for development of models

No abstract available

[en] Allometry, or the biology of scaling, is the study of size and its consequences. It has become a useful tool for comparative physiology. There are several allometric equations that relate body size to many parameters, including ingestion rate, lifespan, inhalation rate, home range and more. While these equations were originally derived from empirical observations, there is a growing body of evidence that these relationships have their origins in the dynamics of energy transport mechanisms. As part of an ongoing effort by the Department of Energy in developing generic methods for evaluating radiation dose to biota, we have examined the utility of applying allometric techniques to predicting radionuclide tissue concentration across a large range of terrestrial and riparian species of animals. This particular study examined 23 radionuclides. Initial investigations suggest that the allometric approach can provide a useful tool to derive limiting values of uptake and elimination factors for animals

No abstract available

[en] In the wetland Jaboque (Bogota, Colombia) the physical and chemical properties of the water and the food dietary guilds of the aquatic macroinvertebrate community were analyzed from April 2009 to January 2010. The wetland waters had a slightly acid character with high values of nitrate, ammonia and orthophosphate, so this ecosystem is classified as eutrophic to hypereutrophic. In the aquatic macroinvertebrate community six food groups were recorded; they were confirmed by 27 families, 26 confirmed genera and nine to be confirmed, with a total of 6,403 individuals collected in 28 samples of macrophytes. the highest abundances corresponded to detritivores (43.5 %), collector-scrapers (31.5 %), and collector-shredders (14.1 %), which were more abundant in the months of low rainfall. stomach contents of some of the organisms showed that most of these individuals consumed more than one food type and high amounts of organic matter. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) showed a spatial (stations) and temporal (climatic seasons) organization, in which trophic guilds are grouped according to their niche requirements, environmental fluctuations or anthropogenic factors. variations in dietary groups reflected changes in the macroinvertebrate community from a functional perspective and indicated that the wetland is very disturbed by urban activities.

[en] Mathematical computer model is developed to simulate the population dynamics and dynamic mass budgets of the microbial community realized as a self sustainable aquatic ecological system in the tube. Autotrophic algae, heterotrophic protozoa and sapro-trophic bacteria live symbiotically with inter-species' interactions as predator-prey relationship, competition for the common resource, autolysis of detritus and detritus-grazing food chain, etc. The simulation model is the individual-based parallel model, built in the demographic stochasticity, environmental stochasticity by dividing the aquatic environment into patches. Validity of the model is checked by the multifaceted data of the microcosm experiments. In the analysis, intrinsic parameters of umbrella endpoints (lethality, morbidity, reproductive growth, mutation) are manipulated at the individual level, and tried to find the population level, community level and ecosystem level disorders of ecologically crucial parameters (e.g. intrinsic growth rate, carrying capacity, variation, etc.) that related to the probability of population extinction. (author)

[en] The book includes topics like the ecosystems of swamps, zonification for its handling, growth of species of swamps, restoration and vegetation, integral plan of handling of swamps and its fauna among other topics

No abstract available

[en] The aim of the article was to verify the hypothesis concerning the diversification of plutonium sources in the natural environment of Antarctica. Plutonium activity and atom ratios were analyzed in two groups of biological samples: terrestrial and marine. Both isotopic ratios in the terrestrial set were consistent with global radioactive fallout ratios. The average activity ratio in the marine ecosystem was lower than global radioactive fallout. At the same time mass ratio values in this group turned out to be surprisingly varied. Analysis of the results showed statistically significant differences between the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. (author)

[en] Highlights: • Some airborne MPs over the ocean do not enter marine ecosystems. • East Asian summer monsoon is an efficient transport pathway for atmospheric MPs. • East Asian summer monsoon transport flux of atmospheric MPs was first estimated. • Backward trajectory and wind fields revealed the potential sources of airborne MPs. The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the atmosphere is a global concern because of its environmental and health impacts; however, the monsoonal transport of atmospheric MPs has not yet been investigated. To fully understand the effect of the monsoon on atmospheric MP transport, we conducted a study along the southeast coast of China during the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). We found that the EASM transports atmospheric MPs back onto the continent at a flux of up to 212.977–213.433 kg/EASM/year. The backward trajectory and wind field results indicate that the EASM provides an effective MP transport pathway from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia to southeastern China. This suggests that only some of the airborne MPs over the ocean enter the marine ecosystem. The average abundance of atmospheric MPs over the sampling area was 0.39 items/100 m³ (0.39 ± 0.43 items/100 m³) during the EASM season, with high variability among the sampling sites. This study improves our understanding of the impact of the EASM on atmospheric MP transport, which can help quantify the contributions of atmospheric MPs to marine or terrestrial ecosystems.