Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Food Chain”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

COMIDA: a radionuclide food chain model for acute fallout deposition.

A dynamic food chain model and computer code, named "COMIDA," has been developed to estimate radionuclide concentrations in agricultural food products following an acute fallout event. COMIDA estimates yearly harvest concentrations for five human crop types (Bq kg-1 crop per Bq m-2 deposited) and integrated concentrations for four animal products (Bq d kg-1 animal product per Bq m-2) for a unit deposition that occurs on any user-specified day of the year. COMIDA is structurally very similar to the PATHWAY model and includes the same seasonal transport processes and discrete events for soil and vegetation compartments. Animal product assimilation is modeled using simpler equilibrium models. Differential transport and ingrowth of up to three radioactive progeny are also evaluated. Benchmark results between COMIDA and PATHWAY for monthly fallout events show very similar seasonal agreement for integrated concentrations in milk and beef. Benchmark results between COMIDA and four international steady-state models show good agreement for deposition events that occur during the middle of the growing season. COMIDA will be implemented in the new Department of Energy version of the MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System for evaluation of accidental releases from nuclear power plants.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2002

Bioaccumulation of chlorpyrifos through an experimental food chain: study of protein HSP70 as biomarker of sublethal stress in fish.

The accumulation and transfer of the organophosphorus pesticide chlorpyrifos has been studied in an experimental aquatic two-level food chain using two species of the crustacean Artemia (A. franciscana and A. parthenogenetica) and the small fish Aphanius iberus. Artemia adults contaminated by exposure to the pesticide in water were used as live prey for Aphanius, the next trophic level. During the experimental bioaccumulation phase, fish were fed chlorpyrifos-contaminated Artemia pools with concentrations between 6.5 and 14.5 ng/g fresh weight for 32 days. Both concentrations accumulated in fish, and biomagnification factor (BMF) values showed a continuous decrease during the bioaccumulation phase, probably due to the physicochemical characteristics of the organophosphorus pesticide, to the biotransformation ability of fish and to the progressive adaptation of fish metabolism to toxic exposure. The first day that fish were fed uncontaminated preys, the pesticide accumulated via food was rapidly eliminated and was not detected. The effect of chlorpyrifos exposure through the food chain on stress protein (HSP70) synthesis was measured as a general biochemical response of stress in the fish (A. iberus). The levels of HSP70 were significantly higher in fish fed on contaminated Artemia than in the control fish fed on uncontaminated Artemia. Results showed that the HSP70 induction in fish could be associated to exposure of chlorpyrifos via food.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Occurrence and sequestration of toxins in food chains.

Animals may acquire toxicity by absorbing toxic compounds from their food, e.g. from plants or other animals. Sequestration and accumulation of toxins may provide protection from predators, which learn to avoid this prey because of unpleasant experiences such as bitter taste. This is a common phenomenon in marine as well as in terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, toxins may enter food chains where they accumulate reaching high, often lethal concentrations. Palytoxin which had been primarily detected in marine zoanthids (Palythoa sp.), occurs also in a wide range of other animals, e.g. in sponges, corals, shellfish, polychaetes and crustaceans, but also in fish, which feed on crustaceans and zoanthids as well. These animals exhibit a high resistance to the toxin's action. The mechanisms which protect the Na+, K+-ATPase of their cell membranes, the primary target of palytoxin, is unknown. Sequestration of the toxin by other animals may cause health problems due to food poisoning.

Acrylamides↗
PubMed2001

The marine food chain in relation to biodiversity.

Biodiversity provides "raw materials" for the food chain and seafood production, and also influences the capacity of ecosystems to perform these and other services. Harvested marine seafood species now exceed 100 million t y(-1) and provide about 6% of all protein and 17% of animal protein consumed by humans. These resources include representatives from about nine biologically diverse groups of plants and animals. Fish account for most of the world"s marine catches, of which only 40 species are taken in abundance. Highest primary productivity and the richest fisheries are found within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). This narrow strip (200 nautical mile/370 km wide) is not only the site of coastal "food factories" but also the area associated with heaviest perturbation to the marine environment. Structural redundancy is evident in marine ecosystems, in that many species are interchangeable in the way they characterise assemblage composition. While there is probably functional redundancy within groups, the effects of species loss on ecosystem performance cannot be easily predicted. In particular, the degree to which biodiversity per se is needed for ecosystem services, including seafood/fishery production, is poorly understood. Many human activities, including unsustainable fishing and mariculture, lead to erosion of marine biodiversity. This can undermine the biophysical cornerstones of fisheries and have other undesirable environmental side effects. Of direct concern are "species effects", in particular the removal of target and non-target fishery species, as well as conservationally important fauna. Equally disrupting but less immediate are "ecosystem effects", such as fishing down the food web, following a shift from harvested species of high to low trophic level. Physical and biological disturbances from trawl nets and dynamite fishing on coral reefs can also severely impact ecosystem structure and function. "Broadscale" biological and social effects brought about by fishing carry even more far-reaching consequences. For example, fishing itself can change the age at which sexual maturity is reached, thus affecting the reproductive status of the stock. Hence, fishing may be regarded as a mediator of evolution. Social impacts include conflicts over fish prices and policies arising from heavy fishing and inadequate institutional structures. Measures to increase the sustainability of catches and of biodiversity need to be much more tightly coupled. Promising approaches include use of bio-economic indicators and fully protected marine areas. High- and local-level governance options are also examined. Use of expert systems incorporating "fuzzy logic" are providing useful environmental insights in the ASEAN countries and other parts of the world, and have applications in fishery management and biodiversity conservation.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Radionuclides and trace metals in Canadian moose near uranium mines: comparison of radiation doses and food chain transfer with cattle and caribou.

Tissues from 45 moose and 4 cattle were collected to assess the health of country foods near uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan. Bone, liver, kidney, muscle and rumen contents were analyzed for uranium, radium-226 (226Ra), lead-210 (210Pb), and polonium-210 (210Po). Cesium-137 (137Cs), potassium-40 (40K), and 27 trace metals were also measured in some tissues. Within the most active mining area, Po in liver and muscle declined significantly with distance from tailings, possibly influenced by nearby natural uranium outcrops. Moose from this area had significantly higher 226Ra, 210Pb, 210Po, and 137Cs in some edible soft tissues vs. one control area. However, soil type and diet may influence concentrations as much as uranium mining activities, given that a) liver levels of uranium, 226Ra, and 210Po were similar to a second positive control area with mineral-rich shale hills and b) 210Po was higher in cattle kidneys than in all moose. Enhanced food chain transfer from rumen contents to liver was found for selenium in the main mining area and for copper, molybdenum and cadmium in moose vs. cattle. Although radiological doses to moose in the main mining area were 2.6 times higher than doses to control moose or cattle, low moose intakes yielded low human doses (0.0068 mSv y(-1)), a mere 0.3% of the dose from intake of caribou (2.4 mSv y(-1)), the dietary staple in the area.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The effect of copper exposure on a simple aquatic food chain.

The effect of copper (44 microg l(-1)) on a simple food chain was studied using indoor experimental channels to identify the changes in periphyton community (metabolism, chlorophyll a content, abundance, composition and lipid and protein content) and in herbivore (Stagnicola vulnerata) growth rate and reproduction. The algal community was sensitive to copper at the beginning but differences between treatments were not significant during the experiment. However, copper affected growth rate, reproduction and embryo hatching on snails. These results indicate that the effects on snails are more sensitive endpoints in assessing sublethal copper toxicity than effects on periphyton.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1993

How lead can easily enter the food chain--a study of plant roots.

Using the root test, the relationship between the amount of lead in plant tissues and the level of the root growth inhibition was examined for twelve food plant species. 345 mg to 8152 mg Pb.kg-1 dry wt. inhibited root growth only by 5 to 36% as compared to the control. At least 96.6% of lead was bound in cells of root tips. Most of the lead was accumulated in cell walls, vacuoles and sometimes in dictyosomal vesicles. Lead accumulating in these cell compartments is separated from cell cytoplasm and therefore is no longer toxic for root cells. The results show that amounts of lead much bigger than those observed in the environment can now easily enter the food chain via plants. High tolerance to lead in plant roots is quite unfavourable for other members in the food chain, including man.

Growth Inhibitors↗
PubMed2005

Chaos-induced coherence in two independent food chains.

Coherence evolution of two food web models can be obtained under the stirring effect of chaotic advection. Each food web model sustains a three-level trophic system composed of interacting predators, consumers, and vegetation. These populations compete for a common limiting resource in open flows with chaotic advection dynamics. Here we show that two species (the top predators) of different colonies chaotically advected by a jetlike flow can synchronize their evolution even without migration interaction. The evolution is characterized as a phase synchronization. The phase differences (determined through the Hilbert transform) of the variables representing those species show a coherent evolution.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Remarks on food chain dynamics.

The main modes of behavior of a food chain model composed of logistic prey and Holling type II predator and superpredator are discussed in this paper. The study is carried out through bifurcation analysis, alternating between a normal form approach and numerical continuation. The two-parameter bifurcation diagram of the model contains Hopf, fold, and transcritical bifurcation curves of equilibria as well as flip, fold, and transcritical bifurcation curves of limit cycles. The appearance of chaos in the model is proved to be related to a Hopf bifurcation and a degenerate homoclinic bifurcation in the prey-predator subsystem. The boundary of the chaotic region is shown to have a very peculiar structure.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Stoichiometry and food-chain dynamics.

Traditional models of chemostat systems looking at interactions between predator, prey and nutrients have used only a single currency, such as energy or nitrogen. In reality, growth of autotrophs and heterotrophs may be limited by various elements, e.g. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous or iron. In this study we develop a dynamic energy budget model chemostat which has both carbon and nitrogen as currencies, and examine how the dual availability of these elements affects the growth of phytoplankton, trophic transfer to zooplankton, and the resulting stability of the chemostat ecosystem. Both species have two reserve pools to obtain a larger metabolic flexibility with respect to changing external environments. Mineral nitrogen and carbon form the base of the food chain, and they are supplied at a constant rate. In addition, the biota in the chemostat recycle nutrients by means of respiration and excretion, and organic detritus is recycled at a fixed rate. We use numerical bifurcation analysis to assess the model's dynamic behavior. In the model, phytoplankton is nitrogen limited, and nitrogen enrichment can lead to oscillations and multiple stable states. Moreover, we found that recycling has a destabilizing effect on the food chain due to the increased repletion of mineral nutrients. We found that both carbon and nitrogen enrichment stimulate zooplankton growth. Therefore, we conclude that the concept of single-element limitation may not be applicable in an ecosystem context.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Hopf bifurcation in three-species food chain models with group defense.

Three-species food-chain models, in which the prey population exhibits group defense, are considered. Using the carrying capacity of the environment as the bifurcation parameter, it is shown that the model without delay undergoes a sequence of Hopf bifurcations. In the model with delay it is shown that using a delay as a bifurcation parameter, a Hopf bifurcation can also occur in this case. These occurrences may be interpreted as showing that a region of local stability (survival) may exist even though the positive steady states are unstable. A computer code BIFDD is used to determine the stability of the bifurcation solutions of a delay model.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Using a bank of predatory fish samples for bioindication of radioactive contamination of aquatic food chains in the area affected by the Chernobyl accident.

From the analysis of experimental data on radioactive contamination of various fish, it is suggested that predatory fish specimens can be used as bioindicators of radionuclide accumulation in reservoir food chains of the Chernobyl emergency area. The increased content of cesium radionuclides were detected in the muscle tissue of predatory fish collected in various regions of the Chernobyl emergency area. In most of the water bodies studied, maximum contamination levels of predatory fish by radionuclides of cesium occurred in 1987-1988, whereas in 'nonpredatory' fish the concentration of cesium was maximum, as a rule, in the first year following the accident. The exposure doses of fish of various ecological groups and ages are estimated. The exposure doses of various population groups, using fish from contaminated water bodies, are also estimated. When forming the environmental data bank for the Chernobyl accident zone it is suggested that perch, pike-perch and pike be used as bioindicators of radioactive contamination of food chains.

Accidents↗
PubMed1979

[Experimental study of vibrio parahaemolyticus (biotype 2) transfer from water and sediments to benthic marine food chain organisms].

Transfer of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (biotype 2) from sediments to water and from water to benthic marine organisms was studied experimentally using a streptomycin-resistant strain. Transmission by trophic pathways was also studied using reconstituted marine food chains (Mytilus edulis, Nereis diversicolor, Carcinus maenas, Scorpaena porcus, Mus musculus). Water colonization by sediments could be observed only at temperatures above 16 degrees C. Sediments could well constitute a disseminating reservoir for these germs, their cycle in water being dependent of the cycle followed in the sediments. Contamination of animal organisms is essentially effected by a direct mean, either water or sediments; transfer by trophic pathways being negligible. Infection of land consumers (mice) is linked quantitatively to the nature of the last marine organism of the food chain since bacteria can flourish in the digestive tract of certain animals (Carcinus maenas).

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Food chain chaos with canard explosion.

The "tea-cup" attractor of a classical prey-predator-superpredator food chain model is studied analytically. Under the assumption that each species has its own time scale, ranging from fast for the prey to intermediate for the predator and to slow for the superpredator, the model is transformed into a singular perturbed system. It is demonstrated that the singular limit of the attractor contains a canard singularity. Singular return maps are constructed for which some subdynamics are shown to be equivalent to chaotic shift maps. Parameter regions in which the described chaotic dynamics exist are explicitly given.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Helicobacter pylori in animals affecting the human habitat through the food chain.

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is the causative agent of many gastrointestinal diseases. Horses, calves, pigs, rabbits, and chickens were evaluated for HP presence, and the pathogenetic effect on their gastric mucosa. The large-sized animals all resulted positive. No positive cases were observed in rabbits and chickens. Chronic inflammatory response to the infection with the development of acquired lymphoid tissue associated to the mucosa was revealed. The recognition of HP in animals living near the human habitat such as animals for slaughter and for technical zootechnic and alimentary use, before the witnessing of the transmission of this infection such as a zoonosis or an anthropozoonosis, can contribute to research on a common source for human and animals as reservoir. It is possible to consider that the intraspecies transmission of infection occurs by vomit, the mucus acting as a vector, while the interspecies one is due to the faecal contamination of the food chain.

Animals↗