Anthropogenic activities are often considered to be the main sources of mercury (Hg) found in aquatic systems. The aim of this study was to reconstruct the historic input of Hg to a large lake (Lake Ekoln) situated downstream the City of Uppsala using a dated sediment core. The main objective was to reveal general long-term (millennia-scale) trend in mercury loadings to the lake assess to what extent the lake has received an increase input of mercury during the last century from atmospheric inputs or local sources (mining activities, hospital effluents, industries or agricultural activities). Sediment samples were analyzed with X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy for measurements of lead and phosphorous (used as a proxy for atmospheric inputs and effluent water, respectively). Total Hg was analyzed using a mercury analyzer. My results indicate high Hg concentrations in sediment of Lake Ekoln during the last three centuries. Hg concentrations was not correlated to atmospheric derived metals (Pb) or effluent water derived nutrients (P) and only weakly correlated to the organic matter content of the sediment. Highest concentrations was found during a period around 1850 and in the last few years. The weak correlation with Pb suggest that the Hg is entering the lake from other sources than atmospheric inputs. The most likely local sources are argued to be mining activities (including fossil fuel burning during the production of iron) or Uppsala university hospital situated upstream of Lake Ekoln. However, there is a large uncertainty regarding the importance of these historical Hg sources for the lake.

This study has contributed to the development of the reference condition approach in disturbed landscapes. The reference condition approach has been an important development for the bioassessment of aquatic ecosystems by providing a practical tool for the accurate assessment of river condition. The selection of appropriate reference sites is critical to the success of the predictive model in terms of being able to distinguish between natural variation in biota and the effects of human disturbance. Capturing natural variability and explaining it is a key difference between the reference condition approach and other study designs (e.g. before/after/control/impact). Natural disturbances such as drought or bushfire can significantly alter the ecological condition of streams, and although the ecological condition of streams affected by natural drought or bushfire is part of the natural cycle, this natural variation of the ecological condition is rarely incorporated into many study designs because of a mismatch in time scales. Human disturbance has also significantly altered the condition of landscapes through the development of agriculture and urbanisation. In urban or agricultural landscapes it can be impossible to locate streams that have not been modified by human activity for use as a reference condition. This study looked at the effects of natural disturbance on the reference condition, in terms of the way natural disturbance affects the prediction of stream condition and also the incorporation of the condition of streams experiencing natural disturbance into a predictive model. Additionally this study identified an alternative benchmark for modified landscapes based on the presence of good management practices for river protection, and tested this benchmark for the assessment of streams impacted by urbanisation. Drought and bushfire regularly disturb aquatic ecosystems in Australia, and affected reference sites in the ACT and South Coast region of New South Wales in 2002 and 2003. Drought and bushfire conditions affected macroinvertebrates and environmental variables across these streams, and the majority of sites were assessed as significantly impaired using regional AUSRIVAS (AUstralian RIVers Assessment System) models. This indicated the existing reference conditions for these regions had not incorporated the ecological conditions of reference sites suffering these natural disturbances. Many of the environmental variables used to predict the condition of streams were also affected by drought or bushfire. The changes to environmental variables affected how sites were assessed in models, but the overall assessment was not significantly changed from the initial assessment that drought or bushfire had significantly impaired the ecological condition. To reduce potential assessment errors associated with changes to predictor variables an attempt was made to construct new models with changeable variables excluded. However, it was not possible to completely exclude these types of variables, and subsequent models were no better than the original models in terms of changes to predictor variables affecting the generation of expected taxa lists. The changes to environmental variables did not affect the actual assessment of site condition because although group membership probabilities were changed the probabilities of taxon occurrence did not change significantly. The different reference site groups all contained some common taxa that occurred at most sites and even when group probabilities changed this did not change the probability of these taxa occurring at a test site. For regional models, such as the ACT or NSW South Coast, changes to predictor variables may not significantly affect the assessment of site condition. Incorporating reference sites under drought conditions into a predictive model was an effective way of discriminating the effects of drought from human disturbance. The model only provided two different ecological conditions, a single drought measurement and a single non-drought measurement, so the model did not fully encompass the potential natural variability. The model has value as a starting point and was effective in distinguishing sites affected by human disturbance from sites affected by drought. Good Management Practice (GMP) for river protection is any intervention that minimises human impact on stream condition. Urban sites protected by GMP were used as an alternative benchmark to a minimally impacted reference condition. The criteria used to select reference sites were not sufficiently robust to detect a significant benefit of GMP on physical or chemical characteristics of protected sites, compared to sites without GMP. In general however, the physical and chemical condition of GMP sites was better than sites without GMP and there were significant differences in macroinvertebrate assemblages of GMP and non-GMP sites. A refinement to the site selection process is proposed to include a specific assessment of GMP effectiveness for the protection it is designed to provide. This will substantially improve the robustness of a GMP benchmark and provide a clearer picture of the factors controlling biota in urban streams protected by GMP. The GMP benchmark was developed into a predictive model for the assessment of urban stream health, and in terms of the assessment of test site condition, it did not differ significantly from a model using minimally impacted sites. The purpose of the GMP benchmark was to provide an alternative reference condition for the assessment of stream health in modified landscapes when minimally impacted sites are unavailable or provide an unattainable benchmark. The GMP reference condition as an alternative can provide an attainable and realistic benchmark. The development and application of the suggested site selection protocol will improve the robustness of the GMP benchmark and better account for natural variation in the biota and physical characteristics of the sites used to determine the reference condition.

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

Limitations from reduced light and increasing water depth on Nelumbo lutea seedlings were determined in tank experiments. Survival was high in all tested light levels. Total biomass increased significantly with increasing light. Biomass allocation shifted significantly to root production between 3 and 6 weeks in the 10 and 24% levels. Survival decreased with increasing planting depth, and biomass of survivors reduced significantly between 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m depths. Nelumbo lutea and Myriophyllum spicatum populations were monitored for one season in a 0.7 ha pond to track changes in species dominance. Myriophyllum spicatum dominated early, and N. lutea dominated from July through October, suppressing M. spicatum at all depths. Competitive interactions between N. lutea and M. spicatum were investigated for two seasons in a container experiment situated within a pond. Where established, N. lutea dominated in the presence of M. spicatum. However, N. lutea could not be established in depths greater than 1 meter.

A diverse cocktail of pharmaceuticals is spreading via water treatment plants’ effluent to surface water with known and unknown consequences of individual organisms and the ecosystem. In prior research on what consequences the pharmaceutical discharge can have, the antihistamine diphenhydramine has been found in surface waters and has been linked to alteration in organisms’ behaviours. In this study, Dytiscidae larvae were filmed before and after being exposed to diphenhydramin with a concentration of 1 µg/l. The exposure was done using four different treatments: no diphenhydramine, diphenhydramine in water, in their food or in both water and food. This was done to observe whether the behaviour, specifically activity and boldness, of Dytiscidae larvae would change with the exposure of the antihistamine and therefore potentially be a problem in aquatic ecosystems exposed to effluent. The experiment showed a significant difference (P = 0.015) between larvae in the control group and larvae only exposed to diphenhydramine through water, where exposed larvae were less active than the control group. Also, a trend pointed to a potential difference in exploration between the same groups, where the group exposed to diphenhydramine explored more than the control group. No behavioural change was found when larvae was exposed via food or food and water. The changed behaviour found here could influence fitness of the larvae and potentially also other parts of the ecosystem through cascading effects. Further research is required to confirm the dangers and consequences of diphenhydramine in surface waters, but my results suggest that it can alter the organism’s behaviour in aquatic ecosystems.

O virioplâncton é o mais diverso e o mais abundante componente do plâncton, o qual exerce grande importância ecológica, estando envolvido em processos de ciclagem de nutrientes, diversificação e distribuição de algas e bactérias, controle de florações fitoplanctônicas, formação de nuvens e transferência gênica horizontal. Os objetivos deste projeto foram analisar as populações das famílias Phycodnaviridae e Myoviridae, nos rios Cuieiras, Negro e Solimões (AM), e determinar um possível impacto do lançamento de efluente doméstico sobre essas populações. Miofagos foram detectados nas amostras dos 3 rios estudados, enquanto que os ficodnavírus somente foram encontrados nos rios Solimões e Cuieiras. Análises filogenéticas revelaram que os miofagos não se agrupam em função das características do ambiente nem da localidade, diferentemente dos ficodnavírus. A interferência do lançamento de efluentes domésticos sobre as características da água e sobre as populações locais das famílias Phycodnaviridae e Myoviridae e fitoplanctônicas não foi observada. / The virioplankton is the most diverse and abundant plankton component, which exerts great ecological importance by being involved in processes such as nutrient cycling, diversification and distribution of algae and bacteria, bloom termination, cloud formation and horizontal gene transfer. The aims of the present work were to analyze the viral populations of Phycodnaviridae and Myoviridae families from the Cuieiras, Negro and Solimões rivers (AM), and to determine whether or not sewage discharge in the area is affecting these populations. Myophages were detected in all samples from the 3 studied rivers while phycodnaviruses were only found in the Solimões and Cuieiras rivers. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that myophages do not cluster accordingly neither to the environment nor to the location, differently from phycodnaviruses. The interference of sewage discharge on the water characteristics and the local viral (phycodnavirus and myophage) and phytoplanktonic populations was not detected.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Zoology)) --University Limpopo, 2013 / Major anthropogenic activities such as, mining, coal-fired power stations and intensive agricultural practices in the upper catchment area of the Olifants River, have a dramatic impact on the water quality downstream. As a result the river is presently the third most polluted river in South Africa. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of water and sediment quality on the health of Labeo rosae and Schilbe intermedius. The aim was accomplished by applying the Fish Health Assessment Index (HAI) which includes the Parasite Index (PI) at Flag Boshielo Dam in the Middle Olifants River, Limpopo Province. This was achieved through; assessing the water quality of the dam by determining the levels of physical and chemical constituents in the water at three sampling sites, determining the bioaccumulation of selected metals in the muscle tissue of the two fish species, assessing the fish health (including the fish condition factor) and the fish parasites in the dam by using the fish HAI and PI, and ascertaining the Human Health risk factor upon consumption of fish contaminated with metals from the dam. The water and sediment quality were seasonally sampled at three sites in the dam: inflow, middle and wall. Dorsal muscle tissues from both fish species were collected for metal bioaccumulation analyses. The water, sediment and fish muscle tissue samples were analysed by an accredited laboratory by means of ICP-OES spectrometry. For the fish health and parasites, ten fish per species were collected seasonally (July 2009 to April 2010) by means of gill nets and examined at a field laboratory using the HAI and PI protocol. Generally the water quality of Flag Boshielo Dam was acceptable for aquatic ecosystems according to the SAWQG with the exception of phosphorus and some metals at the inflow area. The pH ranged between slightly acidic to alkaline values; water temperature: 15°C to 26°C; water hardness medium soft, salinity within the freshwater range; turbidity in the clear water range. The TDS and major ions (salts) were acceptable for the duration of the study. The highest concentrations of nutrients (specifically phosphorus) as well as metals (aluminium, cadmium, copper, iron and lead) were recorded at the inflow area of the dam. The nutrients were very low except the eutrophic range phosphorus concentrations recorded at the inflow whereby, the Elands River may be an additional source of nutrients into Flag Boshielo Dam. The metals that were recorded above TWQR are; aluminium, cadmium, copper, iron and lead, of which were mostly recorded at the inflow. However, statistically there was no significant difference among the three sampling sites. The metal concentrations at the inflow were recorded only slightly higher than the middle and the dam wall. The main source of the metals may be the water coming from catchment area of the dam given the intensive agricultural activities taking place between Loskop Dam and Flag Boshielo Dam. Sediment and bioaccumulation: All the metals were recorded at higher concentrations in the sediment than in the water and fish muscle tissue, except antimony, selenium and strontium. The most abundant metals recorded in the sediment were iron and aluminium. However, the concentrations above the TEL were cadmium, nickel and zinc. The elevated metal concentrations in the sediment are indicating that the metal load in the sediment of Flag Boshielo Dam could be a potential risk for the aquatic biota if they become bioavailable. Antimony, selenium and strontium metal concentrations were recorded at higher concentrations in the muscle tissue of both fish species than in the sediment and water. Iron was the most accumulated metal in the muscle tissue of both fish species. In terms of numbers, more metals were recorded in the muscle tissue of S. intermedius than in L. rosae however the metal concentrations were higher in the latter. This can be attributed to their different trophic levels in the food chain; L. rosae is a primary consumer while S. intermedius is a tertiary consumer. However, the metals that accumulated in the fish muscle tissue were indicative of bio-availability of the toxic metals in the dam and not water/sediment pollution. According to a Human Health risk assessment (Chapter 3), metals that may have risks upon consumption of L. rosae are; antimony, arsenic, chromium, iron and vanadium; for S. intermedius are; antimony, chromium, iron, vanadium and arsenic (in descending order). These metals may pose toxic and carcinogenic risks to humans. Therefore, the rednose labeo (L. rosae) and to a lesser extend the silver catfish (S. intermedius) fish species from Flag Boshielo Dam may not be suitable for humans if consumed above 350 g per week. Fish health and parasites: The Health Assessment Index (HAI) values of the two fish species differed significantly with higher index values recorded for S. intermedius than L. rosae. Besides the Parasite Index (PI), abnormal haematocrit readings, liver conditions, skin lesions and clubbed gills are the necropsy anomalies that contributed predominantly to the HAI. Overall, the PI contributed mostly to the total HAI value. The parasite load and therefore also the mean intensity, mean abundance and prevalence of S. intermedius were higher during all seasons than that of L. rosae. The dominant ectoparasites for both species were from the Class Monogenea and the dominant endoparasites were nematodes. Out of 40 L. rosae sampled, 139 parasites were retrieved; five parasite species were ectoparasites and two endoparasites. From the 40 S. intermedius sampled, 2473 parasites were retrieved, from which two species (one genus) were ectoparasites and three species were endoparasites. The condition factor is used to compare the “condition”, “fatness” or wellbeing of fish and it is based on the hypothesis that heavier fish of a particular length are in a better physiological condition. The L. rosae had a better condition factor, recorded at values less than (2) as compared to S. intermedius (>2). The cause of the HAI necropsy anomalies may have been also from parasite load other than the metals in the water and sediment. However, the HAI alone cannot be used for metal pollution, unless it is done in conjunction with a histopathological study of the tissues/organs. Therefore, the cause of the recorded anomalies from both fish species is inconclusive. On the hand, fish can be used as bioindicators because the accumulated metals in the fish tissues are indicative of the bioavailability of metals in Flag Boshielo Dam.

Natural resources management is one of the world‟s greatest concerns. It is a difficult task due to its complex nature. Natural resources are limited and scarce. Unfortunately and worst of all, they are under pressure, and stress due to unprecedented increase in their demand and inefficient use. But it is still possible to tackle this complex problem. This study focuses on understanding the value of the ecosystem services that human well-being depend on, as for more sustainable environment strategy on aquatic ecosystems management, such as lakes and rivers. Changing behavior and attitude can be a crucial complement and likely can stimulate our conscious effort towards saving our ecosystems beyond money contribution. This way of thinking seems to be overlooked and most people think that the development of technology and advancement in knowledge alone can provide solution. One way to overcome the problem of pressure and stressing of the environment is to develop adequate strategy and environmental policy. This policy should include economics measures where, when necessary and feasible. Since there are "no one solution and no one answer" to achieve the desired outcome of a sustainable future, it becomes necessary to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to environmental management and the understanding of the value and dynamism change of the ecosystem services. Adoption of efficient management is not enough; we have to adjust our attitude as well. To discuss this issue, the aquatic ecosystem, which the lake Vänern in Kristinehamn Municipality served as a case study.

O virioplâncton é o mais diverso e o mais abundante componente do plâncton, o qual exerce grande importância ecológica, estando envolvido em processos de ciclagem de nutrientes, diversificação e distribuição de algas e bactérias, controle de florações fitoplanctônicas, formação de nuvens e transferência gênica horizontal. Os objetivos deste projeto foram analisar as populações das famílias Phycodnaviridae e Myoviridae, nos rios Cuieiras, Negro e Solimões (AM), e determinar um possível impacto do lançamento de efluente doméstico sobre essas populações. Miofagos foram detectados nas amostras dos 3 rios estudados, enquanto que os ficodnavírus somente foram encontrados nos rios Solimões e Cuieiras. Análises filogenéticas revelaram que os miofagos não se agrupam em função das características do ambiente nem da localidade, diferentemente dos ficodnavírus. A interferência do lançamento de efluentes domésticos sobre as características da água e sobre as populações locais das famílias Phycodnaviridae e Myoviridae e fitoplanctônicas não foi observada. / The virioplankton is the most diverse and abundant plankton component, which exerts great ecological importance by being involved in processes such as nutrient cycling, diversification and distribution of algae and bacteria, bloom termination, cloud formation and horizontal gene transfer. The aims of the present work were to analyze the viral populations of Phycodnaviridae and Myoviridae families from the Cuieiras, Negro and Solimões rivers (AM), and to determine whether or not sewage discharge in the area is affecting these populations. Myophages were detected in all samples from the 3 studied rivers while phycodnaviruses were only found in the Solimões and Cuieiras rivers. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that myophages do not cluster accordingly neither to the environment nor to the location, differently from phycodnaviruses. The interference of sewage discharge on the water characteristics and the local viral (phycodnavirus and myophage) and phytoplanktonic populations was not detected.

<p>With the increasing global population, providing sufficient food to meet the rising demand has become a great challenge to food-producing sectors. Aquaculture is one of the food sources which produces varieties of seafood. Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the US, and its production plays an important role in the aquaculture industry. However, shrimp farming causes various types of pollution to damage the environment and aquatic biodiversity, the associated impacts must be mitigated to ensure the sustainability of shrimp production. This study performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) on different shrimp production chains from cradle to the market in Midwestern US covering three farming systems and eight shrimp feed formulas. Midpoint environmental impacts including acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP) and global warming potential (GWP) were determined. Feed production was identified as the main contributor to the AP and GWP for both the intensive and semi-intensive production systems (SPS), regardless of the feed formula. While the environmental performance of feed production highly depended on the feed conversion ratio, feed ingredient was another determining factor in which animal protein sources, including poultry by-product meal and fishmeal, showed high contributions to the AP and GWP. However, plant proteins such as soybean, wheat, and corn gluten meals produced higher EP, therefore, substituting plant-based ingredients for animal-based ones in shrimp feeds did not all result in positive environmental consequences. Shrimp farming was the hotspot of all the three impacts, especially accounting for the highest EP. Among the three farming systems studied here, the SPS caused the highest environmental burdens due to the intensive uses of chemicals and fertilizers. On the contrary, the extensive farming was found to be the most sustainable system because no inputs of feeding and additional materials and energy are required for its operation. The LCA model developed in this study is expected to serve as US shrimp farmers’ decision-making guidelines to adapt farming practices with lower environmental footprint.<br><a></a></p>