Removal of heavy metals from water sources in the developing world using low-cost materials: A review.

By Alain F. Zuur, Elena N. Ieno and Graham M. Smith, New York, Springer, 2007, xxvi + 672 pp., £54.00 or US$84.95 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-387-45967-7 As stated in the preface, finding a suitable and...

Analysing ecological data

A comprehensive review on magnetic carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube-based buckypaper for removal of heavy metals and dyes

Assessment of water quality at the largest dam in Algeria (Beni Haroun Dam) and effects of irrigation on soil characteristics of agricultural lands.

Nest Building and Bird Behavior, Nicholas E. Collias, Elsie C. Collias. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1984), xix, +336. Price $16·50 (paperback), $45·00 (hardback)

Industrialization and urbanization are the main sources of pollutions worldwide and particularly in developing countries. This study aims the determination of anthropogenic inputs with trace metals in aquatic ecosystems at the Plain of Annaba (NE Algeria), which is known as one of the largest industrial areas in Africa. Samples of surface waters and upper sediments were conducted in six stations: four in Meboudja wadi and two in Seybouse wadi. Contents of iron, copper, chromium, nickel, zinc, and manganese were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, whereas Cd and Pb were determined using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Measurements of Hg were carried out using atomic fluorescence. Spatiotemporal variations of metal concentrations were tested using generalized linear models (GLM), whereas the influence of water pollution on sediment contamination was tested with generalized additive models (GAMs). Metal contents measured in surface water and sediments varied differently from upstream to downstream of the study wadis and between seasons. The results showed that the surface water was polluted with high levels of iron, nickel, chromium, lead, and cadmium. Values of the contamination index revealed that the surface sediments were contaminated by iron, chromium, lead, and cadmium. The GAMs indicated that water-phase metal concentrations had no significant effects on trace metal concentrations in the sediment. This suggests that seasonal metal concentrations in water phase, which are measured during the study period (2012) and are time-dependent, contribute increasingly and gradually over time-not immediately-to the accumulation of metals into the sediments. Therefore, the long-term accumulation of metals in the sediments resulted from the continuous discharges of metals in the water phase. The anthropogenic impacts are marked by high contaminations of Meboudja wadi particularly in downstream areas of the steel factory and the nearby industrial areas. The direct industrial discharges into the water and atmosphere (iron, lead, cadmium) as well as urban disposals and agricultural activities are at the origin of these contaminations.

Modeling seasonal and spatial contamination of surface waters and upper sediments with trace metal elements across industrialized urban areas of the Seybouse watershed in North Africa

Modelling environment contamination with heavy metals in flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus and upper sediments from north African coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.

Age, arrival date and egg laying date are essentially closely related and determine reproductive performance in the White Stork Ciconia ciconia.To describe the impact of age, arrival date and egg l...

Bourhane-Eddine Belabed

Papers

Modeling seasonal and spatial contamination of surface waters and upper sediments with trace metal elements across industrialized urban areas of the Seybouse watershed in North Africa

Modelling environment contamination with heavy metals in flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus and upper sediments from north African coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.

The early bird catches the worm: age-specific arrival time influences reproductive performance in the White Stork Ciconia ciconia