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Suspended sediment (SS) loadings in freshwater habitats have increased over the past century and SS is now a significant environmental stressor. Greater tolerance to environmental stressors has been proposed as a factor in the success of aquatic invasive species. Further, parasites may interact with environmental stressors to increase host susceptibility to loss of fitness and mortality. We compared the effects of SS exposure on the gill structure and aerobic scope of the endangered white-clawed crayfish ( Austropotamobius pallipes), and the invasive signal crayfish ( Pacifastacus leniusculus), and assessed impacts in relation to parasite burden. SS caused gill fouling and reduction in aerobic scope in both species, though A. pallipes was more susceptible than invasive P. leniusculus. The parasite Branchiobdella astaci, a crayfish worm that infests the gills, interacted with the sediment to affect gill structure whereas infection with the microsporidian parasite Thelohania contejeani had no effect on crayfish response to SS. Juvenile P. lenisuculus had a higher standard metabolic rate than A. pallipes, which may be linked to competitive advantages such as higher growth rate and behavioural dominance. Conservation of A. pallipes often involves relocation of threatened populations to isolated stillwaters; our findings suggest that SS levels should be assessed before relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe (III) reduction is a key component of the global iron cycle, and an important control on carbon mineralization. However, little is known about the relative roles and rates of microbial (biotic) iron reduction, which utilizes organic matter, versus abiotic iron reduction, which occurs without carbon mineralization. This paper reports on the capacity for salt marsh sediments, which typically are rich in iron, to support abiotic reduction of mineral Fe (III) driven by oxidation of sulphide. Sediment was reacted with amorphous FeS under strictly anaerobic conditions at a range of temperatures in biotic and abiotic microcosm experiments. Fe (III) reduction driven by sulphide oxidation occurs abiotically at all temperatures, leading to Fe (II) and elemental sulphur production in all abiotic experiments. In biotic experiments elemental sulphur is also the oxidized sulphur product but higher bicarbonate production leads to FeCO3 precipitation. Abiotic reduction of Fe (III) occurs at rates that are significant compared with microbial Fe (III) reduction in salt marsh sediments. The solid phases produced by coupled abiotic and biotic reactions, namely elemental sulphur and FeCO3, are comparable to those seen in nature at Warham, Norfolk, UK. Furthermore, the rates of these processes measured in the microcosm experiments are sufficient to generate siderite concretions on the rapid time scales observed in the field. This work highlights the importance of abiotic Fe (III) reduction alongside heterotrophic reduction, which has implications for iron cycling and carbon mineralization in modern and ancient sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the biogeochemical transformations of sulphur in organic-rich marine sediments in a Scottish fjord are investigated by a combination of pore water and sediment geochemistry with sulphide diffusive gradient thin-film probes and sulphate isotopic data (δ34S and δ18O). Particular attention is paid to sulphur cycling in the upper sediment profile where sulphate reduction occurs but free sulphide is below the detection limits of conventional pore water geochemical analysis but quantifiable by sulphide diffusive gradient thin film. In the uppermost part of the sediment core, δ18O sulphate decreased from near-sea water values to +7‰, indicating that anoxic sulphide oxidation dominated during this interval. Sulphate δ34S remained unchanged as there was no net sulphate reduction (i.e. reduction was balanced by re-oxidation). Below 4 cm depth, there was a slight increase in sulphate δ34S from 20‰ to 23‰ associated with minor accumulation of iron sulphide. The δ18O of the sulphate also increased, to around +10‰ at 10 cm depth, as a result of the isotopic exchange of sulphate–oxygen with pore water and/or sulphur disproportionation reactions mediated during sulphur cycling. These processes continued to increase the δ18O of the sulphate to 14‰ at 20 cm depth with no further change in the δ34S of the sulphate. Below 20 cm depth, free sulphide is detectable in pore waters and both the δ34S of the sulphate and sulphide increase with depth with an offset controlled by kinetic fractionation during bacterial sulphate reduction. The δ34S of the sedimentary organic fraction shifted towards lower, more bacteriogenic, values with depth in the profile, without any increase in the size of this sulphur pool. Thus, the organic sulphur fraction was open to interaction with bacteriogenic sulphide without the occurrence of net addition. Therefore, caution should be exercised when using sulphur isotopic compositions to infer simple net addition of bacteriogenic sulphide to the organic sulphur fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the legislative bills formulated which relate to forests care in Virginia. Information from a 2005 tally of forest-related country and city ordinances in Virginia shows that the number of ordinances has increased from 44 in 1992 to 377 in 2005. Most of these forest-related ordinances emphasized the problem on erosion and sediment control, prescribed fire, forestry in floodplains and wetlands, timber harvesting and pesticides. Almost all local governments have regulated forestry. Meanwhile, the study focuses on the inconsistency of regulatory standards between municipalities, possible arguments with state mandates and more.