The environmental health of aquatic ecosystems depends amongst others, on the chemical pollution coming from activities in the catchment's area. In the Swan River Estuary, Western Australia, the chemical pollutants of concern released into the river are petroleum hydrocarbons and sodium pentachlorophenate (NaPCP). Decreased water quality causes a loss of biotic diversity especially amongst fish populations. The health of aquatic ecosystems can be monitored by fish health, especially fish located at higher levels in the food chain. Pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), an endemic Western Australian fish species, was tested for its potential as a bioindicator of aquatic environmental health. This thesis presents data on the responsiveness of pink snapper to the contaminants of concern, using biomarkers such as serum sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), mixed function oxygenase (MFO), metabolic enzymes such as citrate synthase (CS), cytochrome C oxidase (CCO) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the histological alteration such as hepatic cell lesions (hyperplasia and hypertrophy), and glycogen and lipid droplets. The metabolic enzymes CCO and LDH as well as the hepatic MFO induction and histopathology were proven to be the most suitable biomarkers for use for routine monitoring of the Swan River Estuary using pink snapper as a bioindicator. However, CS activity and hepatic cell lesions (hyperplasia and hypertrophy) did not respond to exposure to contamination and are therefore not suited as biomarkers of effects in pink snapper. The first phase of the study aimed at investigating the responsiveness of juvenile pink snapper to an MFO inducer. Polychlorinated biphenyl isomer # 126 was selected as a model MFO inducer for this study. In the initial experiment, MFO activity was measured as a biomarker of exposure, and serum SDH activity was assessed as a biomarker of liver damage. / MFO and SDH activities were of special interest as these biochemical tools have not previously been validated for any Western Australia fish species. Juvenile pink snapper were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 0, 10, 100, 500, 1000 microgram PCB-126 per kilogram. Fish were sacrificed 10 days postinjection, and liver and blood were collected for MFO and SDH analysis, respectively. Doses of 10 and 100 microgram PCB-126 per kilogram caused the highest MFO induction, while doses of 0 and 1000 microgram PCB-126 per kilogram did not result in higher MFO activity relative to carrier-injected (peanut oil) control fish. SDH activities were not significantly different among treatments indicating that hepatocellular damage was not responsible for the reduced MFO activity at the highest dose. Metabolic enzymes in pink snapper exposed by NaPCP were studied in the second phase of the experiment. The aim of this second experiment was to test the responsiveness of pink snapper to contaminants known to cause metabolic perturbations in vertebrates. Juvenile pink snapper were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with 0, 5, 10, 20 mg per kilogram. Oxidative enzymes were assessed by measuring CS and CCO activities and glycolytic enzyme was assessed by measuring LDI-1 activity in liver and white muscle tissues. CS activity remained unchanged in both the white muscle and in the liver. CCO activity was significantly enhanced in liver in all treated fish relative to control fish, but not in the white muscle. LDH activity was also higher in liver in all treated fish as compared to control fish, while in white muscle, LDH activity significantly increased at the highest dose injected. / The use of a suite of biochemical markers is useful in determining the effects of xenobiotic exposure of aquatic organisms, because it provides a holistic approach with biomarkers at different levels of biological organization. For the third and final phase of the study the suite of biomarkers selected were MFO, metabolic enzyme (CS, CCO and LDH) activities, and histological alternations in combination with physiological indices. The aim of this last experiment was to investigate if a modified liver metabolic activity would alter the MFO induction potential. To test if altered liver metabolism would influence liver detoxication capacities, juvenile pink snapper were i.p. injected with peanut oil (control), or pentachlorobiphenyl # 126 (PCB 126), with sodium pentachlorophenate (NaPCP), or combination of PCB 126+NaPCP. Relative to controls, ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity was induced in the PCB 126 and PCB 126+NaPCP fish, but not in the NaPCP group. In the liver, CCO activity was enhanced by the treatments while CS activity remained unchanged and LDH activity was increased in the NaPCP treatment only. In the white muscle, only the PCB 126+ NaPCP treatment enhanced CCO activity, with all other enzymatic activities remaining unchanged. Low serum sorbitol dehydrogenase (sSDH) activity and histopathology of the liver indicated no significant alteration of cellular structure, albeit the lipid droplet size was increased in the PCB 126 and in the PCB 126+NaPCP treatments. / It is concluded that the hepatic metabolic changes correspond to histopathological observations, but an altered metabolic capacity does not influence the metabolism of xenobiotics by liver enzymes, as measured by EROD activity. These experiments answered the need to identify a suitable fish species for routine monitoring of the aquatic environment in Western Australia. It also identified the most suitable biochemical markers of exposure and effects, and the suitability of the pink snapper as a bioindicator. Finally, the experiments investigated interactions between biomarkers and provided new knowledge useful to scientists using MFO and/or metabolic enzymes in field or laboratory toxicology.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Feb. 6, 2007). PDF text: xii, 196 p. : ill., maps. UMI publication number: AAT 3220344. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche format.

Aquatic vegetation management and fisheries management are inseparable, however conflicts are often perceived between the two. We investigated the impact of biological, chemical, and no vegetation control on the ecology of private impoundments stocked with largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if aquatic vegetation management had significant impact on pond ecology. A secondary purpose of this study was to collect data for a separate descriptive study on the impact of vegetation management on plankton populations. Nine 0.10 acre ponds were obtained at the Aquaculture Research and Teaching Facility of Texas A and M University in the fall of 2005. Southern naiad (Najas guadalupenis) was transplanted into each pond at a stocking rate of one ton per surface acre. One of three treatments was then randomly assigned to each pond. The treatments were replicated three times and consisted of: an herbicide treatment using Reward and Cutrine, a triploid grass carp treatment, and a control treatment. Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fingerlings were stocked in each pond. The treatments were initiated on May 31, 2006. Prior to the initiation of the treatments, sampling of each pond occurred for hardness, total phosphorus, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia-nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, and temperature. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected from each pond. Post-treatment sampling was conducted on the herbicide treatment and the control at day 2, day 7, day 14, day 28, and monthly thereafter. Posttreatment sampling on the triploid grass carp treatment was conducted at day 14, day 28, and monthly thereafter. One-way ANOVA tests were conducted on the data using SPSS 15.0, and multivariate analysis was conducted using CANOCO software. Significant differences between treatments were found for the parameters turbidity, macrophyte percent coverage, macroinvertebrate species richness, largemouth bass mean weight, and largemouth mean length. Herbicide application and grass scarp stocking significantly decreased the percent coverage of macrophytes in the ponds. Turbidity was significantly increased in the herbicide and grass carp treatments. Largemouth bass mean weight and length were significantly higher in the grass carp ponds. No significant relationships were found in the multivariate analysis; however, there appeared to be several trends within the multivariate analysis that provide insight into potential ecological relationships between the various parameters. The results of this study provide great insight into the impact that various aquatic vegetation management strategies have on the ecology of small impoundments and will help private pond owners and managers conduct better pond management when dealing with aquatic vegetation problems.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes special report entitled :Water and architecture. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Aquatic plants of the family Lemnaceae (e.g., duckweed) actively uptake, metabolize, and sequester pollutants in natural and engineered wetland systems. Numerous interrelated processes contribute to pollutant removal in wetlands; of these processes, interactions between organic pollutants and aquatic plants may be least understood. Research focused on (1) understanding parameters that affected uptake of fluorinated organic pollutants by Lemnaceae, (2) identifying plant processes involved in removal of wastewater-associated organic pollutants by Lemnaceae, and (3) assessing use of Lemnaceae callus cultures in understanding toxicity and metabolism of fluorinated organic pollutants by Lemnaceae. Through active plant uptake, Lemna minor rapidly removed 13 fluorinated phenols, with pseudo-first order rate constants of 0.20±0.04 d-1 to 0.84±0.07 d-1. Uptake rates depended on substituent type (i.e., trifluoromethyl- vs. fluoro-) and position, with slowest removal rates for di-ortho-substituted fluorophenols. Uptake rates decreased with increasing concentrations of fluorinated phenols; assessments of inhibition of plant oxygen production in conjugation with concentration studies indicated that concentration affected uptake rates even when Lemnaceae was not inhibited. Additionally, temperature dependencies of fluorinated phenol uptake by Lemnaceae were well represented by Arrhenius relationships; however, effects of temperature on plant activity were also observed in trends of uptake rates with temperature. Increasing uptake with decreasing concentration and increasing temperature, in addition to effects of plant inhibition, plant activity, and sorption on uptake, strongly emphasized the importance of plant metabolism in uptake of fluorinated phenols by Lemnaceae. Active plant uptake of wastewater-associated organic pollutants affected fate of fluoxetine, triclosan, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, while passive plant removal processes contributed to fate of four of six wastewater derived organic pollutants. Consequently, plant-associated processes were important components of fate for over 50% of experimental wastewater-associated organic pollutants. Furthermore, assessments with Lemnaceae callus cultures indicated that callus cultures were generally more susceptible to inhibitory responses to fluorinated phenols than were Lemnaceae plants; however, metabolism of 3-trifluormethylphenol in Lemnaceae callus cultures and plants was similar, indicating that callus cultures may be valuable in plant metabolism studies. Research advances understanding of fate of organic pollutants in wetland systems, and thus has important implications for water quality, ecosystem health, and human health.

Thesis (MFA)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 51).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Discipline of Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, 2008. / "December 2007" Bibliography: leaves 117-123. Also available in print form.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-25). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-143). Also available via the Internet.