This study was conducted to determine the concentration of boron in the waters of the Gediz River. According to the results, the boron concentrations ranged from 0.125 to 4.548 mg/L. The average boron value (2.428 mg/L) was compared with “Environmental Regulations, Water Pollution Control Regulations and Quality Criteria for Inland Water Resources by Class”. The Gediz River was determined as class IV (very polluted) in terms of the boron parameters. It was concluded that the reason for the high boron values were natural and/or industrial discharges at some stations.

The aim of this work is to use optimization as a tool for scale up in airlift bioreactors and apply this approach to a real life process. To put this approach into practice, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green microalgae, was used as a model microorganism. The effects of the design parameters on the performance of the bioreactors were monitored through the changes in mixing and circulation times. As the first step, the effective parameters (draft tube diameter and height, water level over the draft tube, volumetric flow rate of air, and sparger-draft tube distance) in the 1.1 L airlift bioreactor were determined and optimized by the 5-factor, 3-level Box-Behnken design for response surface methodology. A draft tube with a 38-250 mm dimension was selected resulting in a mixing time of 9.94 s with a 1.05 L min-1 air flow rate. In the second step the optimized values were applied to a larger airlift bioreactor of 11 L for C. reinhardtii productions. Comparable biomass productivities (0.87-0.90 g L-1 day-1) and doubling times (25-27 h) in both systems was a good indication of the success of the scale-up approach.

The spatio-temporal variation of the phytoplankton community structure and the environmental factors that affect its distribution and the changes in Homa Lagoon were examined. Sampling took place monthly at four stations between December 2006 and December 2007. During the study period, a total of 58 taxa of which 52 were used as active taxa in the numerical analysis (relative abundance>1%) were from four algal classes, Cyanophyceae, Dinophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, and Euglenophyceae. In general, the most important groups were diatoms and dinoflagellates in terms of species numbers and abundance. The mean Shannon-Weaver’s diversity index (H') and Pielou evenness index (J') values were 2.35 and 0.83, respectively. An abundance of the bloom of certain phytoplankton species, especially Cylindrotheca closterium and Navicula sp., was thought to be the cause of the low diversity index and evenness values. Although nitrogen was thought to be limiting in temperate regions, phosphorus was a limiting factor on the phytoplankton growth in the Homa Lagoon because of the correlation between the abundance and N/P ratio. The relationship between the phytoplankton communities and 10 environmental variables were researched using a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). According to the Monte Carlo unrestricted permutation test, the temperature and nitrate concentration were the most important variables in accounting for species distribution.

This study investigated the characteristics and dyeing fastness of chrome-tanned bovine leathers. Chitosan formate was applied to the leathers in four different proportions. The dye exhaustion and tensile strength of the leathers increased as the proportion of chitosan formate increased, and the highest levels of both dye exhaustion and tensile strength were obtained in an application at a proportion of 200% solution containing 2.5% chitosan on the basis of leather weight. In addition, chitosan formate was found to improve the pollution parameters of dyeing effluents such as chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, salinity, and electrical conductivity.

In this study, the possible oxidative stress that water pollution may cause to Asellus aquaticus is evaluated using the physico-chemical parameters, the heavy metal concentration in the water, and organism and biochemical responses in the living organisms being combined together. For this purpose, the A. aquaticus samples are collected by choosing three stations along the Saricay Creek, some of whose regions are exposed to domestic and industrial pollution. Sampling stations are chosen from regions that are interpreted as polluted or clean according to the heavy metal content and physico-chemical parameters where the A. aquaticus individuals live. After the determination of species is performed, the heavy metal (Cu, Fe, Cd, Pb, and Zn) and biomarker (Na+/K+-ATPase, Glutathione, and TBARS) analyzes were made. According to the water quality analysis, S3 was the most polluted station, S2 was a moderately polluted station, and S1 was determined as a clean station. A considerable increase in the amount of glutathione (GSH) was detected in the S2 and S3 stations in parallel with the increase of pollution. However, there were no statistical differences in the TBARS levels as an indicator of lipid peroxidation and Na + /K + -ATPase enzyme activity. The significant increase (three-fold) of the GSH levels in the polluted areas indicates that water pollution causes oxidative stress in the A. aquaticus species. These results show that ecological, physico-chemical, and biochemical parameters can be used together to identify and evaluate the water pollution in rivers that are

The effects of dormancy regulating chemicals [nitrate, thiourea, proline, kinetin and gibberellin (GA3)] were tested on the seed germination of three salt playa halophytes, Halogeton glomeratus, Lepidium latifolium, and Peganum harmala under various salinity treatments (0 to 400 mM NaCl) and photoperiod regimes (12/12 h light/dark and 24 h dark). More than 80% of all seed species germinate under non-saline conditions in a 12/12 h light/dark photoperiod. However, there was a progressive increase in the enforced dormancy with an increase in salinity treatments. Thiourea substantially improved seed germination and the rate of germination of all test species under saline conditions. Kinetin partially alleviated the salinity effect on the seed germination of H. glomeratus and P. harmala but not for L. latifolium. GA3 substantially improved the seed germination in L. latifolium. Nitrate and proline had no effect under saline conditions. Seed germination was completely inhibited in L. latifolium, partially in P. harmala, but had no effect on H. glomeratus seeds when germinated in the dark. GA3 alleviated dark inhibition in the order: L. latifolium > P. harmala > H. glomeratus. Species specific responses to GA3 and kinetin and environmentally mediated responses of thiourea appear to influence the seed germination of the salt playa species.

This study presents an analysis of the temporal variations in the upstream water quality parameters of the Munzur Spring. For this purpose, the spring water quality was monitored from 2007 to 2009 at different time periods. There were 5 water samples taken from 2008 to 2009 for hydrochemical and biological analyses, while 6 water samples were gathered between 2007 and 2009 for heavy metal analysis. The analysis results reveal that the water quality parameters were found to be in good agreement with the drinking water standards of Anonymous (1993) and Anonymous (2005). It was seen that the upstream source of the Munzur spring is periodically characterized by Ca+2 - Mg+2 - HCO3 - and Ca+2 - Cl- - HCO3 - facies according to Anonymous (1978), and CaCO3 and CaCl2 facies according to Back (1960, 1966). The results of a tritium analysis indicated that the spring is recharged by daily precipitations. The spring water was also found suitable for irrigation purposes based on Wilcox and US salinity diagrams.

In the present study the effect of increasing the concentrations of the heavy metal cadmium (Cd) (0.1-200 ppm) on the free polyamines (PAs) level and laccase activity was studied in the white rot fungi Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor and Funalia trogii at 6 and 15 days. Spermidine (Spd) was the most abundant PA in the two white rot fungi, while Spermine (Spm), and Putrescine (Put) were found only in trace amounts or were not determined. The highest Spd levels (1952.05 μg/DW and 2391.54 μg/DW) were observed in 1 ppm Cd at 15 days of incubation in T. versicolor and F. trogii respectively. The laccase activity of both species, especially in the 15-day cultures, showed a significant increase compared to the control. The highest increase was evident at 100 ppm Cd where the laccase activity was over 19 fold higher than that of the control sample in the 15 day culture of T. versicolor. The dry biomass in the 0.1 and 1 ppm Cd concentrations showed a significant increase in T. versicolor in the six and 15 day incubation periods. In all cases, the dry biomass in both the six and 15 day cultures of F. trogii showed a significant increase compared to the control cultures. The findings gathered through this study show that Cd can amplify free Spd levels and increase laccase activity in T. versicolor and F. trogii. This increase under Cd stress suggests their possible role in combating

In this study we have investigated the behaviors of the Little Egret and Night Heron during the breeding season at Poyrazlar Lake (SAKARYA) located in North-West Turkey (40°50’N, 30°28’E). The Ardeid colony consists of 330 adults; 150 of which are Night Heron (45.45%) and 180 are Little Egrets (54.55%). The breeding period starts at the end of March and lasts till the end of August. Neither the Night Herons nor the Little Egrets become active in the breeding period simultaneously. Due to the fact that the Little Egret is a species that is active in daytime and the Night Heron is active at night, making colonial activity continuous throughout the day and night (24 hours). While this situation limits the competition between the species, it provides advantages in terms of breeding success and colonial life.

In this study, the phytosociological features on the Cicek Mountain (Isparta province) were investigated. The vegetation of the area was analyzed using a 3-dimensional ordination technique based on the Braun- Blanquet method. Six plant associations were determined belonging to forest, steppe, and rock vegetation and classified syntaxonomically. The identified associations were examined from the nomenclatural, floristical, ecological, and chorological point of view. Associations and its higher units are as follows: Quercetea-Pubescentis Doing-Kraft ex Scamoni & Passarage 1959 Querco-Cedretalia libani Barbero, Loisel & Quezel 1974 Abieto-Cedrion Akman, Barbero & Quezel 1977 Querco vulcanicae-Cedretum libani ass. nova Adenocarpo complicatii-Pinetum nigrae Serin, 1996 Tilio platyphylli-Abietum isauricae ass. nova Asphodelino anatolicae-Juniperetum excelsae ass. nova Astragalo-Brometea Quezel 1973 em. Parolly Onobrychido armenae-Thymetalia leucostomi Akman, Ketenoglu, Quezel & Demirors 1984 Phlomido armeniacae-Astragalion microcephali Ketenoglu, Akman, Quezel & Demirors 1984 Tanaceto cadmei-Brometum tomentelli ass. nova Asplenietea trichomanis (Br.-Bl. in Meier et Br.-Bl. 1934) corr. Oberd. 1977 Silenetalia odontopetalae Quezel 1973 Silenion odontopetalae Quezel 1973 Valeriano oliganthae-Centauretum mucroniferae ass. nova