Effects of anthropogenic activities on the Lower Sakarya River

We investigate the effects of anthropogenic activities on the Lower Sakarya River. The impacts of dam, levee, and bridge constructions, sand-gravel mining activities and water withdrawals during the industrialization period of the Sakarya River Basin have been explored by analyzing flow, sediment and channel cross section data from different periods in time by comparing pre- and post-1975 periods. The year 1975 is roughly determined to be commencement of heavy human activities. Assessment of data shows that average annual flow is reduced by almost 20% after 1975. Due to increased regulations after 1975 flow became less variable, i.e. low-flows are increased and high-flows are reduced. Flow showed less variation with seasons during the post-1975 period compared to the pre-1975 period. Close inspection of precipitation and temperature patterns over the course of this period indicates that these changes in the flow regime cannot be attributed to natural causes and must be instigated by anthropogenic activities. Analyses of sediment data point toward a consistent reduction in sediment concentration and loadings with years in the Lower Sakarya River. Sediment rating curves developed for pre- and post-1975 exhibit a similar pattern. The impact of the anthropogenic activities on the river cross section is also examined by employing data from 1965, 2003 and 2006 at various points along the river profile. We found as much as 1 m aggradation at the thalweg elevation along the river profile starting from the river mouth up to the 12th km. Degradation in thalweg elevation is observed upstream of the 12th km, as much as 7 m at some locations. This research clearly undermines how human activities can alter the river hydrology and morphology. The adverse impacts of these modifications on the stream ecology in the Lower Sakarya River unfortunately remain unresolved.     

Genetic differentiation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus brutia</Emphasis> Ten. using molecular markers and quantitative traits: the role of altitude

Context   

Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) is widespread in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. In the late 1970s, four common gardens were established along steep altitudinal transects extending from the coast to about 1,200 m in the Taurus Mountains (Antalya, Turkey).     

Acute effects of methyl parathion and diazinon as inducers for oxidative stress on certain biomarkers in various tissues of rainbowtrout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Present study aimed mainly to assess oxidative stress pesticides such as methyl parathion (MP) and diazinon, which are widely used insecticides and contaminate aquatic ecosystems, on certain biomarkers in various tissues of rainbowtrout (Oncorhynchcus mykiss). Biomarkers selected for stress monitoring were malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant defense system (ADS) mainly reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), peroxidase (GSH-PX), transferase (GST) and superoxidedismutase (SOD) activities in the liver, gills and muscle of fishes exposed to 0.5 and 1 ppm dosages of MP and diazinon for 24, 48 and 72 h. According to these results, after the administrations of MP and diazinon promote MDA content in some of the tissues of fishes treated with both dosages of MP and diazinon. With regard to the ADS, GSH-Px, GST, SOD, GR activities and GSH levels fluctuated after 24, 48 and 72 h in all the treatment groups compared with controls. Collective results demonstrated that exposure of fish to pesticides induced an increase in MDA joined with fluctuated ADS. This may reflect the potential role of these parameters as useful biomarkers for assessment of water pollution.     

Morphological Characterization of Autochthonous Apple Genetic Resources in Montenegro

Autochthonous apple varieties are still keeping their importance in Montenegro and they are valuable resources as human food and an important part of rural landscape. The aim of this study was to study and preserve morphological diversity of 30 autochthonous apple varieties in Montenegro between 2008 and 2010. We found a great variation on blooming period and maturation time among varieties and classified them as very early, early, mid and late for blooming and early, middle, late and very late for maturation. Fruit weight varied in wide range from 40.76 g to 206.74 g and ‘Krupnaja’, ‘Krstova?a’ and ‘Babova?a’ produced biggest fruits (191.83–206.74 g). Soluble solid content (SSC) varied between 11.0 to 16.1?% among varieties and ‘Borova?a’, ‘Aleksandrija’, ‘Krstova?a’, ‘Dapsi?anka’, ‘Bosnika’, ‘Rebra?a’ and ‘Babova?a’ had the highest SSC values imply that they can be commercially used in production of spirits, wine, concentrate and jam and also for drying. Based on 3-year average data for 25 properties, UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) dendrogram showed a high degree of variability among the studied varieties dividing them into 5 groups and 3 independent accessions.     

Neurotoxic effects of subacute exposure of dichlorvos and methyl parathion at sublethal dosages in rats

The present study was designed to understand the effects of sublethal dosages of dichlorvos (DIC) and methyl parathion (MP) on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in various tissues of rats exposed to 5 and 10 ppm of DIC and MP in drinking water ad libitum for 28 days continuously. According to the results, AChE activity was significantly decreased in all the tissues of rats treated with both dosages of DIC and MP except for in the lungs treated with both dosages of DIC. With regard to the BChE, MP caused a significant decrease in the liver, heart and lungs with 5 ppm dosage whereas it did not change the BChE activity in the other tissues with two dosages. Also, DIC caused a significant decrease in BChE activity in the heart tissue treated with both dosages and in the brain of rats treated with 5 ppm. The observations presented led us to conclude that the administrations of MP and DIC at sublethal concentrations inhibited AChE and BChE activities in the rats. These results suggest that inhibition of AChE may be a better biomarker for the assessment of neurotoxic effects in the living.     

Babesia ovis infections: Detailed clinical and laboratory observations in the pre- and post-treatment periods of 97 field cases

Ovine babesiosis, caused by Babesia ovis, is of major economic importance in Turkey. The changes in the blood profile of infected animals are informative about the course of infection. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the hematological and biochemical changes in the pre- and post-treatment periods of the natural B. ovis infections. The presence of the parasites was confirmed by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. On the basis of the clinical and laboratory findings, the infections were categorized into different groups according to the degree of anemia and the level of parasitemia. All infected sheep were treated with imidocarb dipropionate (IMDP). The blood pictures in the pre- and post-treatment periods were compared.Pancytopenia occurred in animals with severe anemia and very high parasitemia, and bicytopenia in the other groups. The platelet count (PLT), plateletcrit (PCT) and mean platelet volume (MPV) returned to the normal ranges after treatment, except those in the group with severe anemia. In the biochemical profile, B. ovis infection caused an increase in blood urea nitrogen and total bilirubin, and these parameters returned to normal levels after treatment.The indirect fluorescein antibody test (IFAT) results showed that 38.1% of the cases raised specific antibodies during the period of infection, with titers ranging from 1/160 to 1/640. All of 45 animals re-examined after treatment were seropositive, with high titers that rose up to 1/5120.     

Effects of essential oils from Liquidambar orientalis Mill. leaves on growth performance,carcass and some organ traits,some blood metabolites and intestinal microbiota in broilers

1. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of liquidambar essential oils (LEO) isolated from Turkish sweet gum (Liquidambar orientalis Mill.) leaves on growth performance, carcass, edible inner organs (EIO), gastrointestinal traits (gut), some blood metabolites and jejunum microbiota in broilers.

2. A total of 375 one-d-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated to 5 treatments with 5 pens with 15 birds. The birds were fed on diets without antibiotics (CONT), with antibiotic (50 mg per kg, AB), with LEOs at 0.0405 (0.04LEO), 0.0811 (0.08LEO) or 0.1622 (0.16LEO) g/kg feed up to 42 d of age. The levels of LEOs included to diets were determined according to in vitro antimicrobial activity.

3. From d 1 to 42, the 0.08LEO treatment had higher live weight gain (LWG) compared to others. The 0.08LEO treatment increased feed intake (FI) compared to the CONT, AB and 0.04LEO. However, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of these birds was lower than those in the AB and 0.16LEO treatments. From 1 to 42 d of age for LWG, the effects were quadratic and cubic, while those for FI and FCR were cubic and quadratic, respectively. Birds that fed 0.08LEO and AB diets had higher and lower carcass weights (CW) than those that fed other diets. The effect of LEO levels was cubic on the CW. The 0.08LEO and 0.16LEO decreased abdominal fat (AF) weight compared to the AB. The blood cholesterol decreased by the 0.04LEO and 0.08LEO treatments compared to the CONT. For the blood cholesterol, the effects of LEO levels were cubic. The 0.08LEO treatments decreased Escherichia coli counts in jejunum compared to the CONT and 0.16LEO.

4. Feeding a diet with LEO at 0.0811 g/kg might increase the LWG, FI and weights of carcass and AF, whereas it might decrease blood cholesterol and E. coli counts without affecting blood high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, glucose, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase concentrations.     

Effectiveness of a naturally derived insecticide, spinosad, against the pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea wilkinsoni Tams (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae) under laboratory conditions

The pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea wilkinsoni Tams is a serious pest on pine trees in southwestern Turkey. The efficacy of a naturally derived insecticide, spinosad, on fourth-fifth instar larvae of T. wilkinsoni was studied under laboratory conditions. The product exhibited strong larvicidal activity and at doses above 5 mg litre(-1) caused > 90% mortality in the fourth-fifth larval stages of the species after 72 h. At 72 h the LD50 and LD90 values were 3.26 and 5.69 mg litre(-1) respectively. The results showed that spinosad is highly effective on T. wilkinsoni larvae.