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Two oxytrichids Architricha indica Gupta et al., 2006 and Pleurotricha curdsi (Shi et al. 2002) Gupta et al., 2003 collected in East China, were studied using live observation and the silver staining method. The description and morphometric characterization of the new populations were supplied. The Shanghai population of A. indica differs from the Indian population in the number of cirri in the third right marginal row (average of 16.8 vs. 21.1). The Shanghai population of P. curdsi corresponds well with the Indian population, but it differs from the other Chinese population in the number of right marginal rows (two vs. three). The early process of reorganization of A. indica was studied, and a difference on the formation of anlage V was found compared to the original report. The small subunit rRNA genes of both species were sequenced for the first time. The phylogenetic analyses based on SSU rRNA gene sequence data revealed that Architricha is sister to the assemblage of Pseudouroleptus caudatus and two Strongylidium, while P. curdsi clusters with its congener P. lanceolata and is located in Stylonychinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shanghai is physically and socio-economically vulnerable to accelerated sea level rise because of its low elevation, flat topography, highly developed economy and highly-dense population. In this paper, two scenarios of sea level rise and storm surge flooding along the Shanghai coast are presented by forecasting 24 (year 2030) and 44 (year 2050) years into the future and are applied to a digital elevation model to illustrate the extent to which coastal areas are susceptible to levee breach and overtopping using previously developed inflow calculating and flood routing models. Further, the socio-economic impacts are examined by combining the inundation areas with land use and land cover change simulated using GeoCA-Urban software package. This analysis shows that levee breach inundation mainly occurs in the coastal zones and minimally intrudes inland with the conservative protection of dike systems designed. However, storm surge flooding at the possible maximum tide level could cause nearly total inundation of the landscape, and put approximately 24 million people in Shanghai under direct risk resulting from consequences of flooding (e.g. contamination of potable water supplies, failure of septic systems, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waterlogging induced by torrential rain or typhoon in urban areas due to rapid urban development and land cover changes has been a global hotspot and a potential risk affecting urban habitant lifelines and safety. This paper analyzed the impact of land use/cover change on the surface runoff and evaluated the waterlogging risk caused by precipitation with different intensities in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. A simplified urban waterlogging model has been built for the inundated water depth simulation through the combination of both SCS model and GIS spatial analysis with the consideration of underlying surface characters in urban area. Based on the simulated depth results, waterlogging risk ranks were further established to evaluate waterlogging risk of Pudong New Area under different conditions considering social survey results. The results show that the land use structure and pattern change increases surface runoff depth. Under the assumption of a daily maximum precipitation at 200 mm, the surface runoff depth increased by 13.19 mm from 1994 to 2006 due to urbanization. On the whole, Heqing, Huaxia tourism area, Chuansha, Tangzhen and Jichang Town have high waterlogging risk rank, Gaoqiao, Donggou, urban district, Jinqiao, Caolu, Sanlin and Beicai Town have medium waterlogging risk rank, and Zhangjiang, Gaodong and Huamu Town have low waterlogging risk rank. These results provide important information for the local government, and the method of waterlogging risk assessment can also be applied in other cities to provide guidance on waterlogging risk control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb concentrations of the sediment collected from three tidal flat sites of Yangtze estuary were investigated in October 2003. Results showed that the average concentrations of heavy metals in the sediments were two to three times to the environment background values of Yangtze estuary tidal flat sediment. The heavy metal concentrations in the sediments near the Bailonggang (BLG) and Laogang (LG) sewage outfalls were obviously higher than those of Chaoyang (CY) tidal flat where there are no sewage outfalls near the coast. And the concentrations of heavy metals in the surface sediments of LG tidal flat decreased with the increasing of the distance to the sewage outfalls. The heavy metal concentration profile in the sediment core changed with the depth, and generally reached maximum values at the depth of plant roots. The assessment results showed that the sediments of LG, BLG and CY tidal flat had been polluted by heavy metals in different level. The pollution degree of heavy metals in the sediments was as follows: Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr. The potential ecological risks of the four heavy metals in three tidal flat sites sediment were all at a middle level, and Cu and Pb made the main contributions. The adverse ecological effects caused by the four heavy metals did not occur frequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]