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The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) for cetaceans is an important strategy to mitigate human disturbance and protect biodiversity. Despite abundant cetacean species, there are only a few MPAs dedicated to cetacean conservation in China, all of which are for inshore dolphins. Bryde's whales, the only nearshore baleen whale population in mainland China, are conflicting with intensive human activities, yet an effective conservation strategy is lacking. This study used species distribution models to analyze distribution patterns and suitable habitats of Bryde's whales in the Beibu Gulf and proposes the first baleen whale MPA in China. Our results showed Bryde's whales have a seasonal distribution pattern in the Beibu Gulf, and that the waters around Weizhou Island and the southeastern coast of Vietnam were their core habitats. The seasonal nighttime light data indicated a negative relationship between the number of ship lights and Bryde's whale sightings and suggest that Bryde's whales might be threatened by fisheries. We proposed an MPA based on the results, suggesting that the waters within 20 km around Weizhou Island should be declared a protected area. Furthermore, we recommend that anthropogenic activities in the waters around Weizhou Island are better managed to reduce negative impacts on marine life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demonstrates that the thermal maximum in the Holocene climate lasted from 7200 to 2700 aBP, with several abrupt ephemeral vibrations occurring between 7250-120 aBP and at around 4460, 3850 and 270 aBP in the Hainan Island, China. Distinct environmental change indicating an important climate transition in the tropical eastern Asia; High-resolution algae record.

• There is a similarity in PV potential within similar urban block types in the same types. • A significant difference exists between the three different types of urban blocks in regards to PV potential. • The highest PV potential is exhibited by commercial blocks, followed by residential and then industrial blocks. • Different block types exhibit different proportions of PV potential in terms of rooftops and facades due to variation in urban form. Due to the ever increasing energy demand, PV utilisation in the urban scale has become an attractive solution. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the effect of urban block type on solar potential. There exists a requirement to analyse solar potential in the real urban context of Wuhan based on block function and type. Therefore, this paper studies a real case in Wuhan's urban context by selecting 15 cases of real urban industrial, commercial and residential blocks. The PV output was calculated for roofs and façades respectively. The results obtained showed obvious differences between the three type of blocks, where commercial blocks received the most total solar irradiation, followed by residential blocks, and then industrial blocks. Similarly, the distribution of solar irradiation on roofs and façades for each block was vividly different based on the block type, owing to differences in building forms based on block function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-density culturing with excessive feeding of commercial feed has caused heavy metals pollution to agricultural production system. In this study, the dynamic changes and transfer of heavy metals in rice-crayfish coculture system (RCCS) and crayfish intensive culture system (CICS) within a completed culture cycle were systematically quantified. Our results showed that Cd in feed represented more than 50% of the total Cd input, and the inputs of As and Cr were mainly from irrigation. The residues of As and Pb in RCCS were slightly higher than those in CICS, while the residues of Cd and Cr in RCCS were far fewer than those in CICS. Moreover, the metal pollution index in CICS was 0.781, while it was 0.543 in the RCCS. Furthermore, a large proportion of the Cd and Pb in CICS was released into the external environment through drainage. Notably, the absorption and solidification of heavy metals by straw did not increase the residues of As and Pb in the major components of RCCS in the second year. Compared to CICS, RCCS did not produce many heavy metal residues or cause heavy metal discharge pressure on the external environment, and its food product had a low risk of heavy metal contamination., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Contamination with heavy metals in wild red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) from 7 different geographical areas in six provinces of China (Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong) was evaluated. Concentrations of chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) in the abdominal muscle, gonad, and hepatopancreas were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic fluorescence spectrometer (AFS). Except for the Cd content in the hepatopancreas, the contents of selected heavy metals in three different tissues were significantly lower than the proposed limits provided by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The maximum accumulations of Cd and Pb were in the hepatopancreas, while the maximum accumulation of As was in the gonad, and the maximum accumulations of Hg and Cr were in the abdominal muscle. The highest contents of Cr, Hg, and Pb were all detected in Dongting Lake, Hunan, which was consistent with the trend of the metal pollution index (MPI). Risk value of the target hazard quotient (THQ) was below 1.0, suggesting that the intake of selected heavy metals through crayfish consumption would not pose a significant health risk to consumers., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)