Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Spring 2013

Knowledge of transport and degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is important in assessing PAH contamination of soils and water resources. The transport of naphthalene, anthracene, pyrene and phenanthrene was determined in a contaminated calcareous soil obtained from the Shadegan wetland (Khozestan, Iran) considering a column study in laboratory conditions. The PAHs were added to the top 5 cm of soils at 75 and 150 mg kg-1 and leachates were collected for 10 pore volumes. PAH concentrations in the leachate fractions and soils (0-5, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-20 cm depths) were determined using high pressure liquid chromatography. Results showed that naphthalene was the most mobile among the PAHs, and differences among the mobility of selected PAHs were related to their water solubility and structure. Mass balance demonstrated that among the selected PAHs, anthracene and naphthalene were the most and the least recalcitrant compounds, respectively. Hence, naphthalene could have the greatest potential to contaminate surface and ground waters which should be considered apparently.

This research was carried out in order to quantify throughfall (TF) and interception loss (I) and to compare the chemical composition of TF, i.e. lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) as well as electrical conductivity (EC) and pH beneath Pinus eldarica and Cupressus arizonica plantations and the open field rainfall. The research was accomplished in the Chitgar Forest Park, a semi-arid polluted urban area, near Tehran, Iran. Gross rainfall (GR) was measured using ten collectors located in an open field. TF was quantified by randomly manual TF collectors placed beneath each plantation. Measurements were recorded on an event basis from 15 April 2010 to 15 February 2011. During the measurement, eighteen rainfall events with cumulative GR value of 114.8 mm were recorded. Interception loss was 35.3 mm by P. eldarica plantation and 30.4 mm by C. arizonica. There were strong correlations between I:GR and GR ((r2 Pinus = 0.686, r2 Cupressus = 0.766, p value? 0.01). Pb and Cd concentrations as well as EC of TF were significantly different among P. eldarica and C. arizonica and the open field. The results demonstrated that interception represents a considerable portion of GR in P.eldarica and C. arizonica plantations and, therefore, it should be considered while choosing trees for plantations in semiarid climate zones of Iran. Our results showed that P.eldarica and C. arizonica plantations have good potentials for filtering the polluted air with Pb and Cd.

Water erosion causes severe soil damage in northern forests of Iran which is associated with different rut depths in skid trails. The aim of this study was to assess rutting and soil displacement on skid trails to mitigate water erosion. Therefore the research was carried out in eight parcels of district No 3 of Shafarood Forest in the North of Iran. In order to evaluate the amount of erosion in skid trails, 30 lateral profiles in three slope classes (0-15, 15-25 and >25%) were randomly chosen in 10 skid trails. The amount of soil displaced and ruts were measured using lateral profile of skid trail. Then the effective factors on soil disturbances such as longitudinal slope, soil texture, crown canopy and forest floor cover were separately measured in the studied plots. The results of regression analysis showed that there were significant differences between amount of soil erosion and longitudinal slope, soil texture, crown canopy and forest floor cover. The results from Pearson test showed that there was significant correlation between amount of soil erosion and longitudinal slope of skid trails, soil texture and forest floor cover (?= 0.01) and (?= 0.05), but there was no significant correlation between amount of soil erosion and crown canopy. The results of this research showed that by increasing longitudinal slope of skid trail, displaced soil volume and rutting depth increases. The sample plots in longitudinal slope class of >25% and average displaced soil volume of 5.3 m3 have maximum disturbance. Mean comparison test also showed that there were no significant differences in the displaced soil volume in two longitudinal slope classes (0-15 and 15-25%), but with an increase in longitudinal slope (more than 25%) the average displaced soil volume increases.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of forest-based activities on the conditions of the Ganaveh woodland in southern Zagros, Iran, and to suggest strategies for improving the implementation of forest resource management plans. Woodland inventory data gathered in 2003, and data from interviews in 2008, were used in this study. The results show that there is forest degradation in terms of a lack of forest regeneration and a relatively high incidence of bad quality trees. These defects in the woodland attributes reflect the effects of the traditional management on vegetation cover, and are a cause of concern regarding the sustainability and conservation of the woodland. Overgrazing, seed gathering, and drought in some years are probably the main reasons for the poor natural regeneration in the area. Forest activities over the last decades could be the main cause of the relatively high rate of bad quality oak trees and the high rate of oaks in coppice form. Some efforts to gain acceptance from the woodland users of the need to protect the preserved areas from animal grazing and seed gathering for a period could be a better alternative for woodland rehabilitation than seeding.

Economic and environmental logging is important for sustainable wood production in the Caspian forests, north of Iran. Predetermination of the skid trail network and directional felling is a usual recommended method to reduce logging impact. The aim of this study was evaluation of directional felling and to find effective factors on felling error. Totally 135 trees were selected randomly for directional felling in mountainous forest in Nav watershed in Caspian forest. Felling error was calculated for each observation in relation with lay deviation of ground slope, tree length, tree lean, the extent of rot on stump, and tree volume by applying multiple regression models. Tree volume, interaction of tree volume and terrain slope, and extent of rot in the stump were the most influencing factors on felling error. Results suggest that felling workers should be enough trained in the proper use of tools and equipments. The most common tools and devices for manual felling are wedge and hydraulic jack which should be provided in advance.

Fecundity is one of the important indicators of reproduction biology in fishes especially in rearing and restocking management of endangered species such as sturgeon. The fecundity of stellate Sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771) was studied in 50 specimens captured by gill net (mesh size= 100 mm) and seine net in different fishing areas along the southeastern part of the Caspian Sea from October 2004 through June 2005.Some biological characteristics of eggs (including diameter, surface-to-volume ratio of egg) and of fish (including age, fork length, weight, fecundity and gonadosomatic indices) were determined, and the relationship between them was defined. The results obtained showed that eggs were in stage F5 of development, and mean fork length, weight, age, fecundity and gonadosomatic indices were 125.26?8.01 (cm), 10.3?1.97 (kg), 12?1.34 (years), 170730?43211.11 and 20.88?3.19 (%), respectively. Also, the average egg diameter and surface-to-volume ratio were 2.92?1.44 (mm) and 2.06?0.12 (mm-1), respectively. Positive correlation was detected between egg diameter and surface, and volume, while negative correlation was found between egg diameter and surface-to-volume ratio. Weight, length and age have linear relationships with absolute fecundity and age was the best predicator of fecundity (r2= 0.848, F=27.962 and P value=0.003).

Geometric morphometric method was used to examine body shape variations among all the seven valid species of the genus Alburnus in Iran. In total 409 specimens of A. chalcoides, A. filippii, A. atropatenae, A. caeruleus, A. mossulensis, A. hohenackeri and A. zagrosensis were collected from Babolrud, Baleqlu-Chai, Miriseh, Sarabeleh, Gamasiyab, Mahabad-Chai Rivers and the Gandoman lagoon, respectively. Shape data was extracted by recording 15 landmark points on 2-D pictures of specimens. The PCA, DFA and CVA/MANOVA analysis were used to examine shape differences among the seven species. Significant differences were found among the species in term of body shape. The PCA and CVA/MANOVA showed separation of A. hohenackeri and A. caeruleus from the others. Results revealed that the studied species are divided into two categories; a group with great body depth and short caudal peduncle and the other one with shallow body depth and longer caudal peduncle. The obtained body shape properties can provide a shape-based identification key for the genus Alburnus in Iran, useful for fisheries and stock management or conservation programs.

The present research was aimed to study the effects of different sources of carotenoids and their varying concentrations on the reproductive functions of goldfish. The study was carried out in seven treatments with three replicates at the Bony Fish Hatchery Complex (Rasht, Iran) from December 2011 to May 2012. Experimental diets containing 50, 100, and 150 mg kg-1 astaxanthin and 50, 100, and 150 mg kg-1? -caroten along with a carotenoid free basic carp feed as control were utilized. The goldfish broodstock were fed with the formulated diets for a period of four months. In May, eggs obtained from the female goldfish were fertilized with the semen of identical male goldfish fed with control diet and the absolute, working and relative fecundities and egg fertilization along with egg survival rate were estimated for different treatments during incubation period. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the fecundity rates among different diet treatments. Nevertheless, the diameter and the number of egg per gram of the fertilized eggs in fish in the A150 (astaxanthin 150 mg kg-1) treatment were greater than those in the other treatments (P? 0.05) and this treatment showed higher egg survival rates in the incubation period (P? 0.05). Correlation of egg astaxanthin with fertilization rate and survival rate was significant. Moreover, there was significant correlation between? -caroten and survival rate (P? 0.05).

Growth hormone (GH) is a pituitary hormone that promotes somatic growth, development and metabolism in vertebrates. In this study, GH gene of Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus was cloned and sequenced for the first time. The cDNA clones encoding Persian sturgeon growth hormone (prGH) have been isolated from a cDNA library prepared from Persian sturgeon pituitary gland poly(A)+ RNA. The complete nucleotide sequence of prGH was efficiently cloned in Escherichia coli carrying recombinant plasmid of prGH cDNA. The results showed that the nucleotide sequence of Persian sturgeon growth hormone is 768 bp including 26 bp 5? untranslated region and 297 bp 3? untranslated region with an open reading frame of 645 bp. The putative polyadenylation site is situated 49 bp upstream of poly A tail. The position of signal peptide is indicated to be at first 24 amino acids (aa) residues. Persian sturgeon growth hormone encodes a mature aa with 190 residue. Comparing the Persian sturgeon growth hormone gene with that of other vertebrates shows the highest similarity at first with Family Acipenseridae (95-98%) and mammals (71-74%) followed by Anguilliformes (67%) and amphibians (67%). The high similarity of growth hormone gene between the Persian sturgeon growth hormone and other species suggests that growth hormone is derived from a common ancestral gene.

Saprolegnia is one of? the?? most important agents decreasing the eggs survival rate in sturgeon hatcheries. There are some chemical substances for controlling the fungal infection of eggs. In this study, an attempt was made to introduce a? germ negative bacterium, Pseudomonas aeroginosa (PTCC1430)(Persian Type Culture Collection) as a biocontrol??ling agent of?? water mold. Saprolegnia was isolated from the eggs of some infected Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus? in a sturgeon hatchery and then? was purified. P. aeroginosa was cultured in Potato dextrose Agar (PDB) media and then was prepared in 5 concentrations (103,104,105,106and107cfu.ml-1) while challenging with fungi in petri dishes under laboratory conditions. The results showed that by increasing the concentration of the bacteria in plates,? ??hyphal growth of the fungi was reduced. The? highest concentration of P. aeroginosa concentration (107) roughly stopped the? fungi growth and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was 104cfu.m-l. Results? in this study implied the potential?? of? P. aeroginosa (PTCC1430) as a biological agent in controlling saprolegniosis.

After around a hundred years of being without any record of occurrence of Paracobitis rhadinaeus, a species of Nemacheiline loach, in Sistan basin, southeast of Iran, the year 2012 was the turning point of wild life in this area. Twenty-five Specimens were caught from Chahnimeh Reservoir, a water body adjacent to Hamoun Wetland in Sistan basin. Morphometric and meristic characteristics were measured.

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the concentration of copper (Cu) in liver and muscle of two fish species Squalius cephalus and Capoeta capoeta gracilis. The fish were caught in four sampling sites along Tajan River, Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. The concentration of Cu was determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. There were significant differences (P<0.05) between the sampling sites with regard to Cu concentration in both muscle and liver of fish species. Significant differences were also found (P<0.05) between S. cephalus and C. c. gracilis regarding Cu content in liver and muscle tissues. The content of Cu in the liver was greater (P<0.05) than that in the muscle in both species. Also, Cu content of liver in both species was higher than the standard limits declared by WHO. This study reports high loads of Cu in Tajan River and a high content of Cu in the muscle and liver of S. cephalus and C. c. gracilis.