Accumulation and toxicity of cadmium, lead and thallium in duckweed (Lemna minor L.) The toxicity and accumulation of lead, cadmium and thallium in the aquatic plant Lemna minor was investigated, using a modification of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standard growth inhibition test. Plants were cultured in modified Swedish Institute Standard (SIS) at pH 6.5±0.5 under 85 µmol m-2 S-1 at 25°C and exposed to a wide range of lead, cadmium, and thallium concentrations from environmentally realistic to very high concentrations (0.001, 0.01,0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000 µmol L-1) for seven days. Various physico-biochemical endpoints were measured after seven days of exposure. The concentrations of dissolved lead, cadmium, and thallium remaining in the residual solutions, and accumulation of lead, cadmium and thallium in fronds and roots were assessed using Inductively Couple Plasma – Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Over the exposure duration, lead, cadmium, and thallium concentrations in solution decreased rapidly and chlorosis was observed in fronds exposed to the three highest lead, cadmium, and thallium concentrations. After seven days of exposure, there were significant decreases in the relative growth rate (RGR), relative frond area (RFA), pigment content (chlorophyll a, b and total carotenoid) and activity of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) at concentrations of 0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000 µmol L-1Pb, 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000 µmol L-1cd, 0.01,0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000 µmol L-1TI. However, our results suggested that root elongation based on relative growth rate of L. minor will be an optimal and relevant endpoint in compare to other endpoints. As expected, results demonstrated that root elongation was concluded that root length was most predictive of a dose response model compared to the rest of growth endpoints and physiological and biochemical endpoints when assessing toxicity of lead, cadmium and thallium using L. minor. Toxicity testing for the floating macrophytes should include root elongation measurement which alone will be sufficient to meet sensitivity and variability requirements for toxicity testing. Cellular concentrations of lead, cadmium, and thallium were higher in roots than fronds, whereas more lead, cadmium, and thallium was adsorbed to the extracellular matrix of fronds than roots. The bio - concentration factor (BCF; i.e. lead concentration in plant tissue at day seven relative to residual lead concentration in the growth medium at day seven) indicates that L. minor is a good accumulator of lead, cadmium, and thallium particularly at lower concentration, but the physiological data shows that these metals toxic at concentrations that can be encountered in wastewater treatment facilities. The translocation factor (TF) value was found to be less than 1. Though, lead, cadmium and Thallium was mostly stored in roots, only minor amounts of lead, cadmium and thallium were trans located to fronds.

La finalité de l’étude est d’explorer la gestion des écosystèmes aquatiques d’Europe et d’Afrique à travers le prisme de l’approche systémique. Cette approche est fondée sur la recherche de solutions générales et globales aux problèmes y afférents, sans sacrifier les particularités et spécificités propres à chaque écosystème. A la différence d’une gestion cloisonnée, fragmentée et sectorielle, l’intérêt d’une gestion globale et intégrée des ressources en eau rares, est de permettre une meilleure rationalisation de cette gestion, par la prise en compte de l’ensemble des contraintes et des opportunités y relatives, de façon qu’elle soit plus pertinente et soutenable. Dans cette optique, la comparaison entre les systèmes européens, globalement plus avancés et les systèmes africains, vise, d’une part, à souligner que quelque soit le système considéré, les problèmes sont quasiment les mêmes et que l’approche globale et intégrée reste le meilleur gage d’efficacité et d’efficience en vue de les résorber ; d’autre part, à montrer que ces systèmes peuvent être mutuellement bénéfiques, notamment en termes d’échanges de bons procédés ou de bonnes pratiques.On entend par écosystème aquatique, l’ensemble des eaux douces de toutes origines, superficielles, souterraines ou autres. Ces écosystèmes aquatiques entretiennent des interactions avec la terre, la mer et d’autres éléments de l’environnement global, qu’il importe de bien maîtriser, pour sacrifier aux exigences d’une gestion globale pertinente et intégrée desdits écosystèmes. / This study attempts to examine the management of freshwater resources in Africa and Europe, from an ecosystemic view point, and aims at global and appropriate solutions to problems, without neglecting local or regional specificities. Contrary to territorial and sector approaches, integrated water resource management is a better way to ensure a sustainable management of freshwater resources, taking into consideration all problems and opportunities pertaining thereto. In this regard, the first interest of comparing advanced European systems with African systems is to bring up global problems, in spite of regional or continental peculiarities, and to stress on the global and integrated approach as the best way of solving them effectively. The second interest is to show that managing these systems can be mutually beneficial if their respective advantages and weaknesses are considered.Freshwater resources comprise superficial or deep water of various origins, and interact with elements of the global environment (earth, sea). Their mastery is of utmost importance as it will permit the global, adequate and integrated management of such ecosystems.

The incidence of parasitism by Bunodera mediovitellata in Trichoptera in Tin Can Creek was investigated. Larvae of Lepidostoma roafi had a low incidence of infection , while Psychoglypha alascensis larvae had a high incidence of infection. The encapsulation reactions of these Trichoptera larvae to internal Epon implants, and metacercariae of the parasite encysted within the silk glands, were examined in vivo to determine the details of the cellular encapsulation reactions of Trichoptera to foreign objects in both of these sites, and to determine which hemocytes are involved in the reaction. The hemocytes of larvae of P. alascensis were capable of encapsulating Epon implants within the hemocoele; the reaction took approximately twenty days longer than those of other insects that have been maintained at 20°C. The hemocytes of larvae of P. alascensis are also capable of encapsulating the metacercariae of their natural parasite B. mediovitellata in the silk glands despite the normal absence of hemocytes from the silk gland lumen. The hemocyte capsules around both the non-living and living objects was typical of the 'ordinary encapsulation reaction' described by Salt (1970). The capsule consisted of an inner layer of flattened cells which were densely packed and an outer layer of cells which were not flattened to the same extent as those of the inner layer. The hemocytes which took part in both capsules around implants and capsules around parasites were flattened elongated hemocytes which probably correspond to plasmatocytes or granulocytes. However, the production of a Summary Fate Map of free circulating hemocytes demonstrated that hemocyte types are stages in the development of a number of lines of hemocyte types. It appears that the hemocytes taking part in the encapsulation reactions belong to two of these lines of hemocyte types. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

M.Sc. / Biomarkers are responses in living organisms that signify exposure to harmful substances. The use of biomarkers enables researchers to detect toxicity at suborganismal level. It can thus be used as an early warning of chronic pollution. This project employs biomarkers in preliminary field research to assess aquatic ecosystem health. The indigenous freshwater fish Oreochromis mossambicus and Labeo umbratus are used as test organisms. Mature fish are collected at polluted and unpolluted sites. Blood, brain- and liver tissue is removed and analysed. Laboratory evaluation involves the exposure of juvenile Oreochromis mossambicus to a variety of toxic chemicals in a static system to determine biomarker responses. The biomarkers investigated include acetylcholinesterase, which is inhibited by organophosphate and carbamate pesticides and pyruvate kinase, which is a ratelimiting enzyme of glycolysis. Lactate dehydrogenase is used as biomarker for muscle tissue damage and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is a key regulatory enzyme of the pentose-phosphate shunt. Osmotic anion and cation concentrations are measured to determine stress on the regulation of water- and osmotic balance. Although results from the field study is variable, some biomarkers show potential to be included in a suite of biomarkers for biomonitoring, together with other biological, physical and chemical measures. Applying techniques to assess a suite of biomarkers in key organisms, produces a more accurate reflection of ecosystem health. Exposure studies with juvenile fish produced extremely variable and unreliable results. Many repetitions of each exposure will be necessary to determine significant deviations in biomarker responses from the normal range.

No description available.

Roadways are a pervasive feature of northeastern landscapes and can be a significant source of mortality for turtles. Until recently, little has been known about the design requirements for successful under-road passages for turtles and other wildlife to move safely between bisected habitat patches. At outdoor laboratories, using a factorial experimental design, we examined movements in response to varying light levels, and barrier opacity for painted turtles (Chrysemys picta, n=833), Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii, n=49), and spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata, n=49). Additionally, we examined tunnel size, tunnel entrance design, and artificial lighting for painted turtles only. All three species responded poorly to a 0% available light treatment. As the amount of natural light transmitted through the tops of tunnels increased, successful completion of the trials increased. Furthermore, turtles generally moved at a slower rate when traveling along a translucent barrier, compared to an opaque one. Our results indicate the importance of designing road passage structures for freshwater turtles that provide adequate tunnel lighting in combination with specific entrance designs that meet the goals of the project.

Unicellular, eukaryotic organisms - known as protists - form the base of all aquatic food webs. Frequently, marine protists are divided into either phytoplankton or (proto)zooplankton. Phytoplankton use phototrophy to acquire their energy from light to fix carbon dioxide into organic carbon, while protozooplankton use phagotrophy to directly acquire organic carbon from their prey. Mixoplankton that employ mixotrophy, i.e. the combination of phototrophy and phagotrophy within one cell, are often neglected. However, many marine protists are mixoplankton and they are ubiquitous in the worlds’ oceans. In oligotrophic oceans, mixoplankton are the base of food webs and many harmful algal blooms are formed by mixoplankton. Yet, the concept of mixoplankton is slow to mature within coastal water management. This thesis hypothesizes that the whole protist community, including mixoplankton, needs to be taken into account to understand and predict the effect of anthropogenic pressures on coastal systems. This thesis is a cumulative summary of three papers that employ data analysis, model developments and modelling scenarios to test this hypothesis. As a study area the Southern North Sea was chosen as it is an exceptionally well sampled coastal sea that is forecast to be heavily modified in the future. In a first step, routine monitoring data from the Southern North Sea were analyzed. The data analysis showed that the relative occurrence of mixoplankton was highest in seasonally stratified, clear, dissolved inorganic nutrient depleted environments. In a second step, a mathematical model, called PROTIST, was developed with the aim to reproduce the trophic composition of protist communities across abiotic gradients. Not only was PROTIST capable of reproducing the trophic composition of protist communities in the Southern North Sea, a sensitivity analysis conducted on the model results also showed that the occurrence of mixoplankton in the Southern North Sea is driven mainly by the availability of dissolved inorganic phosphate and silica and not by the availability of light. In a third step, PROTIST was used in a 3D model scenario of the North Sea to research whether the planned intensification of seaweed aquaculture affects the composition of protist communities. Preliminary 3Dmodel results show that seaweed aquaculture in the Southern North Sea could decrease nutrient concentrations in winter and lead to an increase in mixoplankton biomass. Pooling the information gained from the different approaches, this thesis concludes that coastal zone management should take mixoplankton into account to understand and predict the effect of future anthropogenic pressures on coastalecosystems. / Doctorat en Sciences agronomiques et ingénierie biologique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Le travail de thèse présenté dans ce manuscrit porte sur la caractérisation de l’exposition des organismes aquatiques à un produit pharmaceutique (PP) et sur l’étude des perturbations métaboliques associées. Un PP récemment inclus dans la liste de vigilance de la directive cadre sur l’eau européenne (2015/495/EC), le DCF, et un organisme du milieu marin, Mytilus galloprovincialis, ont été choisis comme modèles de travail. L’approche méthodologique développée est une combinaison de l’analyse ciblée et non-ciblée des métabolites endogènes et exogènes (l’endo- et le xéno-métabolome) présents chez l’organisme d’étude suite à une exposition au DCF. L’évaluation des effets du DCF chez la moule par approche ciblée a été conduite sur la base de son mode d’action connu chez l’Homme : la modulation de la synthèse des prostaglandines (PG). Les PGs sont impliquées dans diverses fonctions, telles que la reproduction et l’osmorégulation chez les organismes aquatiques, et d’autres voies métaboliques sont susceptibles d’être impactées. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de mettre en évidence une sous-modulation de la synthèse de la PGE2 chez les moules exposées au DCF. Par ailleurs, peu d’informations sont disponibles concernant la métabolisation du DCF chez les invertébrés. Pour étudier la biotransformation et les effets du DCF chez la moule, l’application d’une approche non-ciblée nous semblait prometteuse. L’étude du xéno-métabolome m’a permis de mettre en évidence la formation de 13 métabolites, dont 3 de phase I et 10 de phase II. Parmi ces métabolites, 5 sont référencés pour la première fois dans la littérature. Par la suite, l’étude de l’endo-métabolome a permis de révéler la modulation de deux voies métaboliques : le métabolisme de la tyrosine et le métabolisme du tryptophane. Les catécholamines et la sérotonine ressortent comme particulièrement impactées dans ces deux voies métaboliques. Chez la moule, ces métabolites sont impliqués dans des fonctions biologiques importantes : l’osmorégulation et la reproduction et sont en accord avec les études menées chez d’autres organismes aquatiques. Le travail effectué a permis de mettre en évidence que l’application de l’approche métabolomique à des questions environnementales est pertinente et performante pour étudier la biotransformation et les effets non-documentés (différent du mécanisme d’action connu) d’un produit pharmaceutique chez des organismes non-cibles, sans hypothèse a priori. / This PhD thesis describes an investigation of the metabolomic approach performances to characterize the pharmaceuticals environmental exposure and effects in non target organisms. The studied pharmaceutical was diclofenac (DCF), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug recently included in the first watch list of the European Water Framework Directive (2015/495/EC), and the model organism was the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. The methodological approach combines target and non-targeted analysis of endogenous and exogenous metabolites in mussel, the endo- and the xeno-metabolome. DCF effects in mussel were investigated considering its known mode of action in human: the prostaglandins (PG) synthesis modulation. In aquatic organisms, PGs are involved in various biological functions, such as reproduction or osmoregulation. This targeted analysis allowed us to determine a PGE2 synthesis disruption with DCF exposure. Otherwise, little information is available about DCF biotransformation in invertebrates. To study DCF biotransformation in mussel, the application of a non-targeted approach seemed promising. This study allows the reveal 13 DCF metabolites formation of which 3 were phase I metabolites and 10 were phase II metabolites. Among them, 5 were described for the first time. Subsequently, the mussel’s endo-metabolome study showed the modulation of two pathways: the tyrosine and the tryptophan metabolism. Inside these pathways, the catecholamines and serotonin appeared as particularly impacted. In mussels, these compounds are involved in important biological functions: the osmoregulation and the reproduction. Such DCF effects are in accordance with those reported in other study conducted on aquatic organisms. The work conducted highlighted the relevance and pertinence of the metabolomic approach as a tool for environmental studies without a priori hypothesis, such as studying the biotransformation and unexpected effects of pharmaceuticals in non-target organisms.

Extreme climatic events such as droughts are known to eliminate aquatic biota and alter community structure and function. Perennial headwater springs provide important drought refugia to benthic macroinvertebrates and an important source of colonists via drift or aerial adults to intermittent streams post-drought. During a supra-seasonal drought in North-central Texas summer and fall 2006, benthic macroinvertebrates from persistent groundwater-dependent macrohabitats of varying hydrological connectivity and riparian shading were studied: perennial riffles, connected pools, shaded disconnected pools, and full sun disconnected pools. Riffles were a distinct habitat with significantly higher taxa richness, proportion of lotic taxa, diversity and evenness than other macrohabitats. Macrohabitats were found to be important refugia for 106 benthic macroinvertebrates and 4 microcrustacean taxa. Throughout the extreme drought, perennially flowing habitats were refugia to 19 taxa (17.9% total taxa) not collected in disconnected pools. Shaded disconnected pools contained lotic taxa not previously known to be able to complete their lifecycles in lentic habitats, emphasizing the importance of groundwater effluent and shading. With the resumption of flow at a downstream intermittent site of Ash Creek in mid-October 2006, an annual recolonization study was conducted comparing the perennial headwaters’ benthic macroinvertebrate taxa richness, densities and community ecology with the downstream intermittent site. The headwaters supported higher mean taxa richness than the intermittent site over the duration of the study (ANOVA P < 0.001). However, the unexpected result of overall decreasing taxa richness at the perennial headwater site from August 2006 to April 2008 appears to reflect lag effects of the supra-seasonal drought combined with effects of multiple spates of 2007, which are factors confounding the point of recovery for taxa richness. Recovery of taxa richness at the intermittent site took 9 months compared to 1 to 2 months reported in other arid and semi-arid streams in the United States recovering from seasonal drying and floods. Sustainable use of groundwater resources and conservation of riparian corridors is vital to protecting groundwater-dependent ecosystems that play a vital role in maintaining regional biodiversity by serving as biotic refugia during catastrophic disturbance.

The chemical fate and biological impacts of cyfluthrin in aquatic ecosystems were investigated using microcosms (1.9 m^3 concrete tanks) during 1989. Results were compared to a concurrent pesticide registration study using mesocosms (634.7 m^3 earthen ponds). Ten spray drift and five soil runoff simulations were conducted. Pesticide loadings were scaled by system volume, with the same experimental design in ponds and microcosms. Aqueous cyfluthrin concentrations and sediment residue values were generally higher in microcosms, while aqueous half-life was shorter in the smaller systems.