Anthropogenic disturbances are ubiquitous in coastal marine ecosystems. As such, more intensive monitoring efforts are necessary to conserve these valuable habitats. Bioindicators, organisms that predictably respond to changes in environmental variables, may be utilized in monitoring efforts to assess ecosystem functioning. To incorporate organisms into monitoring programs as bioindicators managers need to first understand the difference between the natural phenology of the focal organisms and their responses to different forms of anthropogenic disturbance. To determine if gammaridean amphipods could be used as indicators of changes in environmental quality in sub-tropical seagrass ecosystems, I conducted spatial and temporal surveys of amphipod communities in south Florida. Amphipod community structure varied significantly across sites and seasons. Variation in community structure was largely driven by macrophyte biomass, food availability, seasonally variable factors (epiphyte abundance, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature), water-column nitrogen concentration, and factors related to freshwater input, including low Thalassia testudinum and high Halodule wrightii densities, and salinity. Amphipods are also susceptible to mechanical damage in seagrass habitats and could be used as indicators of ecological functioning of a region. A major source of mechanical damage in seagrass ecosystems is caused by boat propellers. I simulated propeller scars in continuous seagrass beds to investigate the effects of scarring on seagrass ecosystem functioning. Seagrasses located adjacent to propeller scars experienced a shift in the limiting resource from light to phosphorus. Amphipod community structure, however, was not impacted by scarring, but amphipod density was reduced in fragmented patches. To determine if plant-herbivore interactions were impacted by propeller scarring, we removed amphipods from half of the experimental plots and measured epiphyte biomass and community composition. Top-down control on epiphyte biomass or community composition by amphipods was not affected by fragmentation, despite reduced amphipod densities. My dissertation research demonstrates that amphipods could be incorporated into existing management programs in sub-tropical seagrass ecosystems as environmental indicators. Reduced amphipod densities in fragmented seagrass beds suggests that amphipods could also be used as ecological indicators, but more research is needed to determine the extent of the impacts of fragmentation on higher trophic levels.

Establishing historical water velocities is a goal of Everglades restoration because of their role maintaining landscape topographic relief. However, flows may also change the trophic state of marshes by phosphorus loading. I used fatty acid (FA) and stoichiometric data to quantify how increased sheet flow altered the relative heterotrophic and autotrophic contributions to aquatic consumers in a field experiment that introduced flowing water to an Everglades marsh in November, 2014. Algal taxonomic composition was different between pre-flow and flow sampling, marked by increases in the nutrient exploiting Mougeotia species (green algae) during flow sampling. Dietary tracer FAs in consumers reflected changes in algal resources, including an increase in green algae-derived and a decrease in bacteria-derived FAs. These food web responses indicate that establishing historic water velocity in degraded wetlands can shift the origins of organic matter from a more detrital to more algal supported web.

Les hydroxyapatites (HAps) sont des matériaux basiques qui présentent des propriétés catalytiques atypiques, notamment une sélectivité importante en butanol à partir de l’éthanol. Leur versatilité en termes de composition et de morphologie, facilement contrôlée par la synthèse, s’accompagne d’une grande modularité des propriétés acido-basiques de la surface, ce qui nous a permis d’établir des relations structure-réactivité dans l’objectif de rationaliser son mode de fonctionnement au niveau moléculaire. Certes, la stœchiométrie qui traduit le rapport Ca/P est un paramètre clé pour l’activité de ces matériaux dans ce type de réaction mais il s’avère que c’est plus précisément la concentration massique des OH des colonnes qui gouverne le niveau de la réactivité, ce qui oriente vers l’implication de ces espèces en tant que sites basiques. Au delà de cet aspect macroscopique, une approche visant la discrimination des contributions des OH-, PO43- et PO-H de surface et de cœur a été menée par IR et RMN du solide via des échanges isotopiques H-D, des prétraitements thermiques et des séquences RMN spécifiques. L’implication dans les interactions acides ou basiques des sites présents en surface a été suivie par adsorption de molécules sonde. L’adsorption du CO2 a révélé le caractère basique faible de la surface des HAps en générant des hydrogénocarbonates et des carbonates, respectivement suite à l’implication des OH basiques de terminaison en surface et des oxygènes de groupements phosphates. Seuls les OH qui émergent des colonnes sont impliqués dans l’interaction avec l’acétylène, conjointement avec les acides de BrØnsted PO-H (phosphates de terminaisons protonés). Les ions calcium sont peu accessibles (adsorption de CO et données XPS) et l’augmentation de leur accessibilité relative via la modulation de paramètres post-synthèse ne favorise pas la formation du n-butanol. Le suivi de la réaction de conversion d’éthanol en mode operando appuie la participation de la paire acide-base PO-H/OH dans le processus catalytique. L’étude de l’influence de la morphologie sur le comportement catalytique des HAps nous a incités à proposer qu’au-delà d’une réactivité favorisée sur les faces (001), l’allongement des particules bénéficie aussi au processus catalytique. Plus largement, le rôle joué par la mobilité des protons qui est un processus activé en température, permettrait d’unifier l’ensemble des données expérimentales qui rendent compte d’une sensibilité à la structure. / StructureHydroxyapatites (HAps) are basic materials which exhibit atypical catalytic properties, particularly a high selectivity in n-butanol from ethanol’s conversion. Versatility in terms of composition and morphology, easily tuned by synthesis, is accompanied by a high modularity of acid-base properties of the surface, which allowed us to establish structure-reactivity relationships in order to rationalize how the system works at a molecular level. Certainly stoichiometry, represented by the bulk Ca/P ratio, is a key parameter for the activity of these materials for this type of reaction, but it seems that the concentration of OH in the columns governs the conversion level, highlighting the role of these species as basic sites. Beyond this macroscopic aspect, an approach intended for the discrimination of the bulk and surface spectroscopic contributions of OH, PO43- and PO-H was implemented by IR and solid state NMR via H-D isotopic exchanges, thermal pretreatments and specific NMR sequences. The involvement of the present sites on the surface was investigated by adsorption of probe molecules. The CO2 adsorption revealed the low basicity of the surface generating hydrogenocarbonates and carbonates, respectively as a result of the interaction with the basic surface OH and oxygens of the phosphate groups. Only basic OH sites emerging from the columns are involved in the interaction with the acetylene, in association with Brönsted acids PO-H (protonated terminated phosphates). Calcium ions are inaccessible (CO adsorption and XPS data) and the increase of its relative accessibility via the modulation of the post-synthesis parameters does not promote the formation of n-butanol. Monitoring the reaction conversion of ethanol in operando mode supports the participation of the acid-base pair PO-H/OH in the catalytic process. The study of the influence of the morphology on the catalytic behavior of HAps led us to propose that beyond the enhancement of the reactivity on the (001) surfaces, the elongation of the particles is also beneficial to the catalytic process. The role of the protons mobility, activated by temperature, may unify all the experimental data that reflect a good sensitivity to the structure.

For set parameters of a steam and a boiler feed water is designed a thermal and dimensional plan of the boiler, allowing high efficient requests. A boiler is used for combustion of blast furnace gas contains 10% of a natural gas used as a stabilisation element.

This thesis deals with the change of the fuel base of a coal boiler due to the reduction of CO2 emissions and its thermal recalculation. In the first part, there is implemented calculation of the combusting chamber. This is followed by the recalculation of the heat transfer surfaces. The emphasis is placed on the preservation of the exsiting steam parametrs.

For years considered pristine, glacial ecosystems are attracting more attention of biologists from various branches in last decades. Moreover, they are currently considered to be ecosystems forming the coldest biome on the Earth. The life on glaciers ranges from viruses and bacteria to highest consumers such as few groups of microinvertebrates. The most common are tardigrades (phylum Tardigrada) and rotifers (phylum Rotifera) which inhabit cryoconite holes on the glacial surface. Several studies highlight the importance of the role of these consumers. However, due to the dominance of prokaryotes on the glacial surface, these microinvertebrates are usually out of the major scope of most studies aiming at biological processes. The present study shows pioneering results on the isotopic composition of tardigrades and rotifers, which are the top consumers in cryoconite ecosystems, and is a foundation for the exploration of trophic pathways and interactions within cryoconite holes using elemental and stable isotopic analyses. It also presents information about the species composition of tardigrades and rotifers on different glaciers and in different parts of the ablation zone. We identified 5 species of tardigrades (Hypsibius sp., Hypsibius cf. dujardini, Pilatobius sp., Isohypsibius sp. and Cryoconicus...

Seed reproduction is a key part of the life cycle of the most plant species. It allows for the dispersal of species in space and time and, thus, significantly affects dynamics of plant populations and communities. Seed formation, germination and seedling establishment are subjected to selection pressures from the environment and lead to optimization of maternal investments (maternal care), manifested by the number of seeds and amount and composition of nutrients stored in individual seeds. The thesis aims to answer two questions: (i) whether maternal investments in terms of seed mass and seed nutrient stoichiometry is optimized according to the environmental conditions in which seedling development is expected and (ii) how nutrient availability, considering nutrients both stored in the seed by the mother plant and those available in the substrate, affects seedling growth and development. To answer the first question, we focused on interspecific comparisons of seed nutrient stoichiometry linking it with data on seed mass and species niche along gradients of nu- trient availability. We used a phylogenetically informed comparative approach to explore the ratio between phosphorus, nitrogen and nonstructural carbon in seeds from 510 wild herbaceous species. We analyzed seed nutrient stoichiometry with...

Seston is the complex of organic and inorganic particles suspended in the water column in stream ecosystems. This detrital pool is a significant vector of energy and nutrients from headwaters to the ocean. Many of the processes involved in seston generation in streams involve the terrestrial ecosystems they drain. My objective was to determine how land use influences seston quality. Seston was collected from 9 streams along a gradient of catchment forest cover, draining 3 land-use categories: forested, agricultural, and residential. Quality variations were determined through the physical composition (size classes and concentration), chemical composition (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous) and organic content of seston, as well as microbial respiration of associated assemblages and growth rates of Chironomus tentans fed seston. There was more seston in streams draining less forested catchments but proportionally that material was less organic. Ultrafine particles dominated seston size classes at all sites and was higher in streams with less catchment forest cover. Phosphorous content of seston, as a % of ash free dry mass, and dissolved P in the water were higher in more disturbed streams, and C:N and N:P ratios of seston were higher in forested streams. Microbial respiration and instantaneous growth rates of C. tentans were highest on residential seston, indicating seston from those streams was more bioavailable. These results indicate that the quality of seston in stream ecosystems is linked to terrestrial processes and influenced by land use. / Master of Science

The systematic investigation of the x-ray diffraction symmetry of scapolites covering the whole range of solid solution show that all scapolites possess space group P4(2)/n, except the pure end-members, marialite and meionite, which will possess space group I4/m, if they exist. The intensity of the weak superlattice reflections violating the body-centred symmetry, continuously increases from zero at the marialite end-member as Me% increases, reaches a maximum around 37%+/-2% Me then approximately symmetrically decreases to 75% Me followed by a slower decrease to zero at the meionite end-member. Hence, all the intermediate scapolites of the marialite-meionite series actually have a pseudosymmetric structure, i. e., a pseudobody-centred structure, and as the chemical composition approaches both end-members, the scapolite structure approaches the structure with a body-centred lattice. The weak super-lattice reflections are directly related to the following two correlated factors: (1) the relative order-disorder of A1 and Si distribution in the tetrahedral framework, and (2) the structural distortion from the body-centred symmetry. Accompanied with the above facts is the systematic deviation of cell dimensions from the linear regression in such a way that the further the structure deviates from the body-centred symmetry, the smaller the cell volume and the a(o) become relative to the evaluated one from the linear regression. Scapolites are regarded as a continuous, perfect solid solution with a long-range disordering, and unlikely to be composed of submicroscopic twins or different domains. The structural analyses and refinements of three scapolites (ON8, 20% Me; XL, 52% Me; ON45, 93% Me) have been carried out by using 3-dimensional intensity data collected by integrated precession film techniques (ON8, ON45) and an automated single-crystal diffractometer (XL), and using the full-matrix least0squares method. The result has clarified the ambiguities arising from the previous studies and showed that the crystal structure is essentially continuous along the marialite-meionite series, with a slight structural variation as a function of chemical composition and ordering of Al, Si. Several important quantitative relationships regarding the crystal structure and crystal chemistry of the scapolite solid solution series have been established, namely, (1) the relationship between the superlattice intensity r(ΣI(h+k+l=2n+1)/ΣI(h+k+l=2n)) and the chemical index % Me. (2) the exponential relationship between the superlattice intensity ration r and the atomic displacement from the mirror plane consistent with the space group I4/m. (3) The linear relationship between the superlattice intensity ratio r and the difference of Al occupancy between T2 and T3 sites. (4) The Al occupancy (%) of tetrahedral sites as a function of the chemical composition of scapolites. The ordering of Al-Si, the c-axis displacement of (Ca, Na), the tilting of CO3 and the relative amount of CO3 and Cl in the same scapolite are all inter-related. The mechanism to cause all such related structural phenomena and even the abnormal stoichiometry of scapolite can all be interpreted in terms of the internal strain created by the two greatly different anions, Cl- and CO3-,sharing the same set of equivalent sites. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the problem solving proficiency of Physical Science learners in Highveld Ridge East circuits in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The objectives of this study were to determine the relationship between proficiency in conceptual and algorithmic problem solving, to compare the percentage of algorithmic and conceptual problems that were correctly and incorrectly answered, problems not attempted at all and finally to categorize Physical Science learners according to their stoichiometry problem solving proficiencies. The target population for this study was Grade 12 Physical Science learners in Highveld Ridge East and West circuit in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. To achieve the aim of this study and its subsequent objectives random sampling was used to select the three schools and the sample after a stoichiometry achievement test was administered by Physical Science teachers, who were teaching the participants at their respective schools. The researcher scored the tests using a memorandum. The results of this study indicated that learners’ proficiency in both algorithmic and conceptual problem solving was low, there was a weak positive correlation between algorithmic and conceptual problem solving proficiency, the percentage of solutions that were correctly solved was the lowest compared to the percentage of incorrect solutions and problems not attempted. The other result of this study was that there were no grade 12 Physical Science learners with high algorithmic and high conceptual abilities, a few learners had high algorithmic and low conceptual abilities and the majority of the learners had low algorithmic and low conceptual problem solving abilities. This implies that Physical Science teachers in these circuits should focus on developing both algorithmic and conceptual problem solving strategies when teaching stoichiometry. / Science and Technology Education / M. Sc. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)