Modern Scientific Press

ABSTRACT: Estuaries and sea-associated wetlands are the final destination for organic pollutants due to their chemical and physical properties. The current research studied Parai River and estuary adjacent to the southern South China Sea in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Six samples of surface sediment were taken during January 2012. The samples (top 3 cm) were extracted by Soxhlet using Dichloromethane, subjected to 2 steps of column chromatography for clean-up and fractionation followed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. The results indicated that the highest concentration of alkane in a full range of even and odd carbon numbers is dominant in the estuary and sea-associated wetland. Estuaries receive the highest level of suspended materials due to continuous interaction between marine saline and riverine fresh water. The high amount of Unresolved Complex Mixture (UCM) indicated an incomplete cycle of degradation and decomposition. Terrestrial input was the most dominant natural entry to the study area where C31/C19 ratio was employed. The study concluded that sea-associated wetlands around the estuary may act as the final sink of organic pollutants in the environment.

ABSTRACT: Salt stress is one of the most serious limiting factors for crop growth and production. In this study, the morphological and biochemical changes of black gram (Vigna mungo L.) under NaCl stress were investigated. The black gram seeds were treated with various concentrations viz., control, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 150 ppm of NaCl. The well grown plants were utilized for analysis of various morphological and biochemical parameters. The morphological growth parameters such as germination percentage, seedling growth and photosynthetic pigments were decreased with increasing concentration of NaCl treatment, while metabolites such as sugar, protein, and proline content were increased at increasing concentrations of NaCl. This investigation demonstrated that decreasing of growth parameters and photosynthetic pigments was due to low osmotic potential at intracellular level generated by NaCl stress.

ABSTRACT: Microalgae can grow in different environmental conditions. Especially, microalgae can convert carbon dioxide and other wastes (such as wastewater) into useful substances, such as bioenergy (bio-hydrogen, biodiesel, and bio-ethanol fuels, etc.) and functional foods (polyunsaturated fatty acids, astaxanthin, and lutein). In this review, we summarized resource of microalgae, cultural methods of microalgae, and potential of microalgae as bioenergy and functional foods.

ABSTRACT: This study assessed the effectiveness of Wami-Mbiki WMA General Management Plan (GMP) in mitigating human-wildlife conflicts and enhancing conservation. The study took place in Kaloleni, Mwidu, and Visakazi villages which are administratively in Bagamoyo District. Data were collected by using questionnaire survey, key informants interviews, physical site visits, focus group discussions and archive information. A total of 100 respondents were involved in this study. Results indicated that respondents perceived high human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs) and increased biodiversity degradation by 66.6% and 64.4% respectively before having a GMP in place. However, HWC’s decreased and wildlife conservation was also enhanced after the GMP became operational, implying the effectiveness of the plan. Despite the good performance of the plan the study observed several weaknesses hindering efficient performance of the plan. The weaknesses among others include lack of both GMP annual implementation strategies and community awareness on the importance of the GMP. For the GMP to be effective, the study recommends the preparation and implementation of a holistic of participatory land use plans for all villages forming the WMA.

ABSTRACT: Laboratory cultivation of microalgae was carried out using Notore Chemical Company effluent and the New Calabar River water as base media. The physicochemical analyses of the effluent and the river water revealed the presence of vital nutrients for microalgal growth. Growth media were formulated using combinations of effluent with synthetic medium and river water with synthetic medium in varying proportions. Growths were successfully achieved in media formulations of 80:20, 60:40, 90:10, 50:50 and 75:25vol/vol in effluent: synthetic medium and river water: synthetic medium ratios. The genera of microalgae identified in effluent and river water were Cystodinium sp., Chlorella sp, Geochloris sp., Dunalliella sp., Phaeodermatium sp., Synechococcus sp., Elatokatothrix sp. and Rhizochloris sp.. During an 8-day cultivation of the microalgae in the two media formulations, the wet weight, dry weight, lipid, protein and carbohydrate content of the microalgae ranged from 2.21-2.73mg/ml; 0.44-0.52mg/ml; 0.014-0.021mg/ml; 0.018-0.043mg/ml and 2.26-3.5mg/ml, respectively. Results showed that the river water and the industrial wastewater are sources of essential nutrients for growth media for the cultivation of microalgae. The lipids and carbohydrates can be modified to serve as biofuels, the biomass as feedstock for useful biochemicals and protein for single cell protein.