Although alfalfa is moderately tolerant of salinity, the effects of salinity on nutrient composition and forage parameters are poorly understood. In addition, there are no data on the effect of salinity on the antioxidant capacity of alfalfa. We evaluated four non-dormant, salinity-tolerant commercial cultivars, irrigated with saline water with electrical conductivities of 3.1, 7.2, 12.7, 18.4,...

A pot experiment was conducted to assess the effect of different salinity levels on growth and ion contents of black seeds (Nigella sativa L.) at Shakarganj Botanic Garden, Jhang, Pakistan. There were three levels of NaCl salinity as 0 (control), 3 dS/m and 6 dS/m. All growth attributes such as fresh and dry shoot weights, shoot length decreased with increase in salinity levels, but in contrast...

The salinity responses of cyanobacteria, anoxygenic phototrophs, sulfate reducers, and methanogens from the laminated endoevaporitic community in the solar salterns of Eilat, Israel, were studied in situ with oxygen microelectrodes and in the laboratory in slurries. The optimum salinity for the sulfate reduction rate in sediment slurries was between 100 and 120 per thousand, and sulfate reducti...

Halorhabdus utahensis, Natronomonas pharaonis, Haloferax sulfurifontis and Halobaculum gomorrense were grown at salinity values between 10% and 30% NaCl (w/v). The strains represent four haloarchaeal genera and have a range of salinity optima. Analysis of core membrane lipids of each strain using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) revealed structures consistent with saturated, unsatur...

A new split-root system was established through grafting to study cotton response to non-uniform salinity. Each root half was treated with either uniform (100/100 mM) or non-uniform NaCl concentrations (0/200 and 50/150 mM). In contrast to uniform control, non-uniform salinity treatment improved plant growth and water use, with more water absorbed from the non- and low salinity side. Non-unifor...

In this study, we assessed the combined effect of Cd concentration and salinity, on Cd uptake and mortality rate of Littorina littorea, collected along a salinity and pollution gradient in the Western Scheldt estuary (The Netherlands). Animals kept at their field salinity levels were exposed to three Cd concentrations (i.e. 10, 40 and 320 microM), while animals kept in 10 microM of Cd were subj...

We tested the response of Enteromorpha intestinalis to fluctuating reduced salinity regimes which may occur in coastal estuaries due to both natural and anthropogenic influences. In a fully crossed two factor experiment, we subjected E. intestinalis to 0, 5, 15 and 25 psu water enriched with nutrients for 1-, 5-, 11- and 23-day periods. Each period was followed by 24 h of exposure to 25 psu (am...

The killifish Fundulus heteroclitus is an estuarine species with broad physiological plasticity, enabling acclimation to diverse stressors. Previous work suggests that freshwater populations expanded their physiology to accommodate low salinity environments; however, it is unknown whether this compromises their tolerance to high salinity. We used a comparative approach to investigate the mechan...

Salinity represents a critical environmental factor for all aquatic organisms, including fishes. Environments of stable salinity are inhabited by stenohaline fishes having narrow salinity tolerance ranges. Environments of variable salinity are inhabited by euryhaline fishes having wide salinity tolerance ranges. Euryhaline fishes harbor mechanisms that control dynamic changes in osmoregulatory ...

The salinity budget in a 3-D numerical model of an estuary is analyzed using isohaline surfaces to define the volume of integration. Such surfaces move with the currents, and as a result of turbulent mixing. The isohaline analysis allows us to clarify the processes which create and destroy water in different salinity classes in the estuary. We find that the estuary naturally divides into three ...