In der Studie wurde die Ernährung und die Verteilung von larvalen und juvenilen Stadien von Plötze (Rutilus rutilus (L.)) und Barsch (Perca fluviatilis L.) untersucht. Untersuchungsgewässer war der Feldberger Haussee, ein geschichteter eutropher Hardwassersee, der seit über 15 Jahren biomanipuliert wurde. Der Bestand an Barschen war in diesem Gewässer im gesamten Biomanipulationszeitraum sehr gering (< 1% der Gesamtfischbiomasse). Längerfristig stabilisiert, aus wissenschafticher Sicht, eine hoher Bestand an piscivoren Barschen die Effekte der Biomanipulation. Ziel der Untersuchung war daher die Überprüfung der Hypothese, dass das Vorhandensein von Konkurrenz um die Ressource Zooplankton zwischen den juvenilen Barsch und Plötzen für den geringen Barschbestand verantwortlich ist (PERSSON & GREENBERG 1990, PERSSON et al. 1991). Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen ließen sich in folgenden Punkten zusammenfassen: i) Der juvenile Barsch segregierte in der Hochsommer- bis Herbstperiode in eine spezielle Nahrungsnische. Die beiden Fischarten unterschieden sich deutlich bezogen auf die Art der bevorzugten Zooplankter (0+-Barsch vorwiegend Eudiaptomus, Diaphanosoma, Leptodora; 1+/2+-Plötzen fraßen Cladocerennahrung Bosmina und in hohen Anteilen auch Daphnia). Separation und Aufteilung der Zooplanktonresourcen konnte auch für die bevorzugte Größe der Zooplankter beobachtet werden. Die hohen Wachstumsraten und der gute Konditionszustand des juvenilen Barsches sowie das Fehlen von Wintermortalität ließen konkurrenzinduzierte Mortalität als Begründung für den geringen Bestand nicht glaubhaft erscheinen. ii) Die räuberbedingte saisonale Mortalität der juvenilen Barsche in der Hochsommer- bis Herbstperiode ließ sich bei den 0+-Barschen und 1+-Barschen jeweils auf bis zu 90% einschätzen. Dadurch wurde auch ein starker Jahrgang (wie 1997) innerhalb der ersten zwei Lebensjahre auf bis zu 99% reduziert. iii) Als Alternativhypothese wurde aus den Ergebnissen der Studie und den Bedingungen am Feldberger Haussee gefolgert, dass eine Kombination von langer zooplanktivorer Phase und einem hohen Bestand an effektiven pelagischen Piscivoren (wie Sander lucioperca L.) für den geringen Barschbestand verantwortlich ist. / In the study the feeding behaviour and distribution of larval and juvenile stages of roach (Rutilus rutilus (L.)) and perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) was examined. The object of the study was the Lake Haussee, an stratified eutrophic hardwater lake that was biomanipulated for more than fifteen years. Over the whole period of biomanipulation the portion of perch population did not reach the level of one percent of the total fish biomass. From the scientific point of the view, a high biomass of piscivorous perch may stabilize the effects of biomanipulation in the long run. The aim of the study was to evaluate the hypothesis of strong competitive interaction between juvenile roach and perch for zooplankton, which could be responsible for the minor population of perch in lakes (PERSSON & GREENBERG 1990, PERSSON et al. 1991). The results of the study can be summarised as follows: i) In the period of midsummer to autumn juvenile perch segregated to a special food niche. In comparison to 1+/2+-roach, which fed on cladocerans (e.g. Bosmina and a high portion of Daphnia), 0+-perch preferred Eudiaptomus, Diaphanosoma and Leptodora. Thus, partitioning and separation were also observed for size-selectivity. Furthermore, the high growth rates and the good state of condition of the young perch as well as the lack of winter mortality did not indicate a competitive-induced mortality in the Lake Haussee. ii) In the period of midsummer to autumn the predator-induced seasonal mortality of juvenile perch (groups like 0+/1+) was estimated nearly up to 90 percent. Thereby, also a strong age group (like 1997) of juvenile perch was reduced up to 99 percent within the first two years of life. iii) The results of this study supported an alternative hypothesis: the morphological conditions of Lake Haussee, a prolonged zooplanktivore period of juvenile perch in combination with a strong stock of an effective pelagic piscivore predator (like Sander lucioperca L.) are responsible for the low perch stock.

Ce doctorat s'intègre dans le projet ANR BIOMET (JC05_59809) et a eu pour vocation d'améliorer les connaissances actuelles sur l'influence de la matière organique dissoute sur la spéciation et la biodisponibilité des métaux particulièrement dans le cas de système sous forte pression urbaine tel que la Seine. La compréhension de l'influence de la MOD sur la spéciation et la biodisponibilité des métaux suppose en outre que l'on connaisse précisément sa composition chimique ou plus exactement ses groupements fonctionnels. C'est pourquoi une partie de ces travaux est consacrée à l'extraction et la caractérisation de la matière organique dissoutes d'origine naturelle et urbaine. La caractérisation des fractions de MOD a été réalisée de manière originale par une approche multidimensionnelle à l'aide d'un véritable éventail de techniques analytiques (analyses élémentaires; isotopiques; fonctionnelles et moléculaires) permettant ainsi de mieux aborder l'influence de la MOD sur la spéciation et la biodisponibilité du cuivre et du plomb. Parallèlement à l'étude de caractérisation de la MOD, ce travail s'attache à mieux cerner le rôle de la MOD d'origine urbaine en particulier de la MOD hydrophile sur la spéciation et la biodisponibilité du cuivre et du plomb. Dans cet objectif, les techniques : potentiométrique à l'aide d'électrode ionique spécifique et la récente technique électrochimique AGNES ainsi que des biotests de toxicité aiguë (Daphnia magna) et de bioaccumulation (Fontinalis antipyretica) ont permis : - d'étudier la complexation du cuivre et du plomb par les fractions de MOD obtenues afin notamment de fournir des paramètres de complexations des MOD hydrophiles peu connues jusqu'à présent et ainsi mieux prédire le transport des métaux en milieu urbain. - d'évaluer le rôle protecteur de la MOD d'origine urbaine sur la biodisponibilité du cuivre. Les résultats ont montré que la MOD issue des effluents de station d'épuration et rejetée dans le milieu récepteur présente des caractéristiques originales à savoir un fort pourcentage de MOD hydrophile, c'est à dire une faible hydrophobicité et un degré d'aromaticité peu marqué soulignant le caractère peu réfractaire de cette MOD. En revanche une plus grande diversité fonctionnelle de la MOD d'origine urbaine par rapport à la MOD naturelle a été mise en évidence notamment par un taux de structures protéiques très important. Les résultats obtenus ici pour la première fois vis-à-vis des MOD hydrophiles d'origine urbaine ont montré une réactivité particulière vis-à-vis du cuivre. En effet les fractions HPI et plus généralement les fractions issues des effluents de station d'épuration ont montré une teneur en sites complexants plus élevée que ce qu'il avait été déjà observé pour des matières organiques naturelles. Les valeurs des constantes ne semblent pas varier d'une fraction à l'autre et assez peu suivant l'origine de la MOD. Le rôle particulier de l'azote dans la complexation du cuivre notamment sous la forme de groupements amines a été mis en évidence. Les approches utilisées pour évaluer la biodisponibilité du cuivre ont révélé pour l'ensemble des fractions de MOD un effet protecteur vis-à-vis du cuivre sur les organismes vivants. Néanmoins cet effet protecteur ne se trouve pas à la hauteur de celui pouvant être prédit par le modèle de l'ion libre principalement dû à une biodisponibilité de certains complexes organiques. Ceci peut être expliqué par l'important taux de structures protéiques dans ces MOD, les protéines étant connues pour jouer un rôle important dans les mécanismes de transports des métaux au sein des organismes. Par ailleurs, l'outil DGT (Diffusive gradient in thin films) a montré son efficacité pour évaluer la fraction biodisponible du cuivre

I investigated effects of environmental change on disease, and effects of disease on ecosystems, using a freshwater zooplankton host and its fungal parasite. This research involved lake surveys, manipulative experiments, and mathematical models. My results indicate that ecosystem characteristics such as habitat structure, nutrient availability, and quality of a host’s resources (here, phytoplankton) can affect the spread of disease. For example, a survey of epidemics in lakes revealed direct and indirect links between habitat structure and epidemic size, where indirect connections were mediated by non-host species. Then, in a mesocosm experiment in a lake, manipulations of habitat structure and nutrient availability interactively affected the spread of disease, and nutrient enrichment increased densities of infected hosts. In a separate laboratory experiment, poor quality resources were shown to decrease parasite transmission rate by altering host foraging behavior. My experimental results also suggest that disease can affect ecosystems through effects on host densities and host traits. In the mesocosm experiment, the parasite indirectly increased abundance of algal resources by decreasing densities of the zooplankton host. Disease in the experimental zooplankton populations also impacted nutrient stoichiometry of algae, which could entail a parasite-mediated shift in food quality for grazers such as the host. Additionally, I showed that infection dramatically reduces host feeding rate, and used a dynamic epidemiological model to illustrate how this parasite-mediated trait change could affect densities of resources and hosts, as well as the spread of disease. I discuss the implications of these ecosystem–disease interactions in light of ongoing changes to habitat and nutrient regimes in freshwater ecosystems.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:31:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2512.pdf: 462139 bytes, checksum: b566d530cb4e59c327e6ea0ee9a9cda6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-06-10 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / With the advance of industrialization, there was an increase in the quantity of substances discharged in nature without treatment. Many of these substances are toxic and can cause adverse effects to aquatic biota, and may affect the rest of the food chain, including humans. For better understanding of the effects of contamination, there is a growing progress in the study of exposure of organisms of different trophic levels of the contaminant and monitoring changes in their development and reproduction. Copper, an essential element at low concentrations, can cause adverse effects in higher concentrations. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in a zooplankton species, Daphnia laevis (Crustacea, Cladocera) fed with algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) previously exposed to different concentrations of copper. The accumulation of metal was measured both in algae and in cladoceran. The animals were monitored throughout its life cycle through the testing of chronic toxicity and through bionomic parameters and calculation of their secondary production, the treatments were compared to a control. The results suggest that exposure to contaminated food directly influence the reproduction of animals, and found significant statistical differences (p <0.05) in the total number of eggs and neonates produced over the life of the animal. Another parameter that was affected significantly was the secondary production of animals, where changes were observed mainly in the investment to reproduction, affecting the total secondary production. Through the results, consider the importance of the capture of copper through the food and how the secondary production, although very important, is not explored in ecotoxicological studies. / Com o avanço da industrialização, houve um aumento na quantidade de substâncias despejadas sem tratamento na natureza. Muitas destas substâncias são tóxicas e podem causar efeitos adversos à biota aquática, podendo atingir o resto da cadeia trófica, incluindo o homem. Para a melhor compreensão dos efeitos da contaminação, há um crescente avanço no estudo da exposição de organismos de diferentes níveis tróficos ao contaminante e o acompanhamento de mudanças no seu desenvolvimento e reprodução. O cobre, elemento essencial em baixas concentrações, pode causar efeitos negativos em concentrações mais elevadas. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar as mudanças ocorridas em uma espécie zooplanctônica, Daphnia laevis (Crustacea, Cladocera), alimentada com algas (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) previamente expostas a diferentes concentrações de cobre. O acúmulo de metal foi quantificado tanto na alga quanto no cladócero. Os animais foram acompanhados durante todo o seu ciclo de vida através da realização de testes de toxicidade crônica e, através de parâmetros bionômicos e cálculo de sua produção secundária, os tratamentos foram comparados a um controle. Os resultados encontrados sugerem que a exposição ao alimento contaminado influenciou diretamente na reprodução dos animais, sendo encontradas diferenças estatísticas significantes (p<0,05) no número total de ovos e de neonatos produzidos ao longo da vida do animal. Outro parâmetro que foi afetado significantemente foi a produção secundária dos animais, onde foram observadas mudanças principalmente no investimento destinado à reprodução, afetando a produção secundária total. Através dos resultados obtidos, consideramos a importância da captura do cobre através do alimento e de como a produção secundária, embora muito importante, é pouco explorada nos trabalhos ecotoxicológicos.

Submitted by Claudinei Pracidelli (cpracide@ipen.br) on 2016-11-11T16:56:25Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-11T16:56:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / As evidências da contaminação das águas por resíduos de medicamentos e seus subprodutos levou esse grupo de resíduos a compor a lista de poluentes orgânicos emergentes, como consequência da expansão do uso de medicamentos, como o antidepressivo cloridrato de fluoxetina e o anti-inflamatório diclofenaco. Diversos Processos Oxidativos Avançados vêm sendo aplicados para a degradação destes compostos. Dentre eles, o processo de irradiação com feixe elétrons obteve bons resultados na remoção de toxicidade e degradação de fármacos. O presente estudo consistiu em aplicar radiação ionizante como uma possível tecnologia para degradar os fármacos em águas. A irradiação de solução aquosa contendo os fármacos foi aplicada usando acelerador de elétrons, cuja eficiência foi discutida mediante análises químicas (Cromatografia Líquida Ultra Rápida e Carbono Orgânico Total (COT)), ecotoxicológicas (ensaios de toxicidade com Vibrio fischeri e Daphnia similis) e biológicas (Ensaios Respirométricos). Os resultados de COT indicaram mineralização não significativa dos compostos, mesmo sendo observada degradação máxima de 99,9% para o diclofenaco e 55% para o cloridrato de fluoxetina na mistura (1:1) em 5.0 kGy. Foi observada toxicidade aguda dos fármacos, sendo mais acentuada para a fluoxetina, seguido do diclofenaco e, finalmente, da mistura para V. fischeri. Quando D. similis foram empregadas nessa avaliação, a ordem de toxicidade foi de fluoxetina, a mistura de ambos os medicamentos e do diclofenaco. Além disso, foi observada remoção de toxicidade nas amostras irradiadas em todas as doses aplicadas para a bactéria V. fischeri, com maior eficiência de remoção de toxicidade de 55%, em 5 kGy, na mistura dos dois fármacos. Para a D. similis, foi observada remoção significativa de toxicidade da mistura apenas na dose 2,5 kGy. Os ensaios respiroétricos não indicaram biodegradabilidade após o tratamento. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de NÃvel Superior / Avaliou-se o uso de testes de ecotoxicidade com o organismo-teste Daphnia magna no biomonitoramento de efluentes de ETEs industriais (real e sintÃtico), hospitalares e de aterro sanitÃrio. Para tanto, foram selecionadas algumas ETEs a citar: Industrial Real (Sistema Integrado do Distrito Industrial â SIDI), Industrial SintÃtico (Reator anaerÃbio seguido dos pÃs-tratamentos em Reator em Batelada SeqÃencial â RBS e Processo de OxidaÃÃo AvanÃado â POA do tipo H2O2/UV, tratando um efluente contendo o corante azo Reactive Black 5 - RB5), Hospitalar (Hospital Geral Waldemar de AlcÃntara â HGWA) e Aterro SanitÃrio (Lixiviado coletado na saÃda do sistema de lagoas de estabilizaÃÃo do Aterro SanitÃrio Metropolitano Oeste de Caucaia â ASMOC e submetido a um pÃs-tratamento por meio de um Reator Aerado Submerso â RAS). Os testes de toxicidade aguda realizados com o lixiviado indicaram que o efluente ao sistema ASMOC apresentou CE50 de 68%, o qual podia ser classificado como moderadamente tÃxico. Assim, alÃm de alguns parÃmetros fÃsico-quÃmicos nÃo estarem atendendo à Portaria n 154/02 da SEMACE, os resultados ecotoxicolÃgicos confirmaram o potencial poluidor do lixiviado em questÃo para ser descartado no Riacho Garoto, de baixa capacidade de diluiÃÃo. O pÃs-tratamento aerÃbio realizado no RAS contribuiu bastante na reduÃÃo da toxicidade do lixiviado, tanto em termos fÃsico-quÃmicos quanto em termos ecotoxicolÃgicos, aumentando o valor de CE50 para 95,04%, se configurando como uma boa opÃÃo de pÃs-tratamento. Os resultados obtidos com o esgoto afluente e efluente ao SIDI revelaram que o CE50 passou de 18,05% para 61,90%, mudando a classificaÃÃo de muito tÃxico para moderadamente tÃxico, respectivamente. Entretanto, o estudo efluente do SIDI, com as caracterÃsticas fÃsico-quÃmicas e de toxicidade encontradas, associadas à elevada vazÃo de esgotos tratados, representam um sistema com uma carga poluidora que merece ser investigada no corpo receptor. Em relaÃÃo ao esgoto hospitalar, observou-se que o esgoto bruto apresentou alta toxicidade e um CE50 de 7,27% (muito tÃxico) enquanto que o efluente tratado pela seqÃÃncia de reator UASB e lodo ativado apresentou CE50 de 30,83% (tÃxico). Portanto, os ensaios ecotoxicolÃgicos apontaram para o carÃter tÃxico do efluente em termos agudos, e podemos inferir a toxicidade crÃnica que tal efluente pode causar no corpo hÃdrico, jà que o mesmo pode conter elevadas concentraÃÃes de fÃrmacos, hormÃnios e outros micro-poluentes. O efluente sintÃtico bruto contendo o corante RB5 apresentou CE50 de 23,02%, sendo classificado como efluente muito tÃxico. ApÃs o tratamento no reator UASB, o valor de CE50 caiu para 40,34%, ou seja, houve uma diminuiÃÃo da toxicidade no tratamento anaerÃbio. No pÃs-tratamento pelo RBS ocorreu uma diminuiÃÃo significativa de toxicidade, em que o mesmo pode ser classificado como nÃo tÃxico. Entretanto, o POA do tipo do tipo UV/H2O2 provocou aumento da toxicidade, com o efluente apresentando CE50 de 20,17%, recebendo classificaÃÃo de muito tÃxico. A investigaÃÃo ecotoxicolÃgica em D. magna para avaliar o efeito da concentraÃÃo de H2O2 revelou elevada toxicidade do residual de perÃxido, sendo que em todas as diluiÃÃes testadas houve morte de 100% dos organismos expostos. Portanto, os estudos indicaram que muito embora o processo de oxidaÃÃo avanÃado (POA) do tipo H2O2/UV tenha uma boa perspectiva de aplicaÃÃo no tratamento de esgotos recalcitrantes, o perÃxido residual tem que ser cuidadosamente monitorado, nÃo sà por elevar a DQO do efluente como tambÃm por aumentar a toxicidade deste. Como conclusÃo geral da presente dissertaÃÃo foi possÃvel demonstrar a grande importÃncia dos testes ecotoxicolÃgicos agudos e crÃnicos no biomonitoramento de cargas poluidoras localizadas em corpos de Ãgua do CearÃ, assim como para um melhor entendimento dos processos biolÃgicos e nÃo biolÃgicos de tratamento de esgotos. / We evaluated the use of ecotoxicity tests with Daphnia magna for the biomonitoring of industrial effluents (real and synthetic), hospital effluent and leachate: real industrial wastewater (Integrated System of Industrial District - SIDI), synthetic industrial wastewater (anaerobic reactor followed by the post-treatments Sequential Batch Reactor - SBR and Advanced Oxidation Process - AOP type H2O2/UV, both treating a wastewater containing the azo dye Reactive Black 5 - RB5), Hospital effluent (Hospital Geral Waldemar de AlcÃntara - HGWA) and Leachate collected at the output of the stabilization ponds system located at the Metropolitan Sanitary Landfill West of Caucaia - ASMOC and submit to the post-treatment of Submerged Aerated Reactor - SAR. The acute toxicity tests conducted with the leachate indicated that the effluent from ASMOC system showed EC50 of 68%, which could be classified as moderately toxic. Thus, in addition to some physical and chemical parameters that are not complying with the limits defined in the Portaria nÂ. 154/02 of SEMACE, ecotoxicological results confirm the pollution potential of the leachate to be discharged at the Riacho Garoto, which has low dilution capacity. The post-aerobic treatment performed in SAR showed to greatly contribute in reducing the leachate toxicity in terms of physical-chemical and ecotoxicological characteristics, increasing the EC50 value to 95.04%, and showing to be a good post-treatment option. The results obtained with the real industrial influent and effluent from SIDI revealed that the EC50 increased from 18.05% to 61.90%, switching the classification from very toxic to moderately toxic, respectively. However, the SIDI effluent, considering the physico-chemical properties and toxicity found, associated with the high flow rate of treated wastewater, represents a system with a pollutant load that should be further investigated in the receiving water body. Regarding the hospital wastewater, it was observed that the raw wastewater had a high toxicity, with EC50 of 7.27% (very toxic), while the effluent treated by the sequence of UASB and activated sludge showed EC50 of 30.83% (toxic). Therefore, ecotoxicological tests revealed the toxic character of the effluent in terms of in acute toxicity and it can infer the chronic toxicity that such an effluent can cause in the water body, since it may contain high concentrations of drugs, hormones and other micro-pollutants. The synthetic wastewater containing the azo dye RB5 presented EC50 of 23.02%, classified as very toxic. After treatment in the UASB reactor, the EC50 value increased to 40.34%, i.e. there was a toxicity decrease by the anaerobic treatment. In the post-treatment by SBR, a significant reduction of toxicity was found and the effluent could be classified as non-toxic. However, the UV/H2O2 AOP increased the toxicity, in other words the EC50 decreased to 20.17%, being classified as very toxic. The effect of H2O2 concentration on the ecotoxicological test with D. magna was assessed and showed high toxicity of the residual peroxide, in all dilutions tested, causing death of 100% of the exposed organisms. Therefore, the studies indicated that although the H2O2/UV advanced oxidation process (AOP) has a good prospect for application on recalcitrant compounds, the peroxide residual has to be carefully monitored, not only because it increases the wastewater COD but also because it increases the effluent toxicity. As a general conclusion of this research, it was possible to show the great importance of acute and chronic ecotoxicological tests for the biomonitoring of pollution sources located in CearÃ, and also for a better understanding of biological and non-biological processes applied to wastewater treatment.

This work involves the study of the effects of land use on the chemical composition of urban stormwater runoff, and its subsequent acute toxicity to the aquatic invertebrate Daphnia pulex. Samples were obtained from the Brunette drainage basin of Burnaby, British Columbia, from a variety of sites in the land use classifications commercial (C), industrial (I), residential (R) and open/greenspace (0). Results indicate that the toxicity to D. pulex and the chemical composition of the stormwater (measured by such parameters as COD, alkalinity, hardness, hydrocarbons and trace metals) were influenced by land use and the interval between rainfall events. The industrial and commercial land use sites were the major source of those trace metals most often considered toxic to aquatic organisms, with runoff from the commercial sites proving most toxic to the test organism (toxicity followed the sequence C>I>R»0). Bioassays with synthetic stormwater (Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn, at concentrations observed from field samples) demonstrated that pH and suspended solids helped to regulate the toxicity of the trace metals, and implicated the importance of these elements in natural stormwater toxicity. Statistical comparison between synthetic and natural stormwater runoff toxicity yielded poor correlation; however, this was expected due to the inherent differences between the laboratory and field environments. A detailed study of a single storm event indicated that while the "first-flush" of the storm may be contributing to toxicity through the physical scouring of insoluble pollutants, the soluble pollutants proved to be more toxic and were washed out of the area over the entire duration of the event. This prompted the author to propose the complete treatment of all stormwater runoff, and not simply the slug load of the first hour. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Few studies have explored the relative strength of ecogeographic versus lineage-specific effects on a global scale, particularly for poikilotherms, those organisms whose internal temperature varies with their environment. Here, we compile a global dataset of life history traits in Daphnia, at the species-and population-level, and use those data to parse the relative influences of lineage-specific effects and climate. We also compare the thermal response (plasticity) of life history traits and their dependence on climate, temperature, precipitation, and latitude. We found that the mode of evolution for life history traits varies but that the thermal response of life history traits most often follows a random walk model of evolution. We conclude that life history trait evolution in Daphnia is not strongly species-specific but is ecogeographically distinct, suggesting that life history evolution should be understood at the population level for Daphnia and possibly for other poikilotherms.

Xenobiotics are of human and environmental concerns due to their potential toxicity. Octylphenol is one of the very common and daily used xenobiotics in door and out door activities of human beings. Toxicity of octylphenol to aquatic organisms, especially to zooplankton (e.g. Daphnia magna) was investigated but not fully understood. In this study we evaluated the chronic effects of octylphenol at the concentrations of 5, 50 and 500 μg L-1 on Daphnia magna over a period of 14 days. The results showed that low concentration of octylphenol (5 μg L-1) stimulated the maturation while high concentrations of the chemical (50 and 500 μg L-1) caused a significant mortality to the Daphnia. Besides, all the tested concentrations of octylphenol had serious impacts on fecundity and growth of the animals. Investigations on the presence, distribution, fate and toxicity of xonobiotics including octylphenol in the developing country environment are suggested for human, environmental and ecological health protection. / Những hợp chất tổng hợp đang là mối quan ngại cho con người và môi trường vì khả năng gây độc của chúng. Octylphenol là một trong những hợp chất tổng hợp được sử dụng phổ biến và thường xuyên trong những hoạt động của con người trong nhà và ngoài trời. Độc tính của octylphenol đối với thủy sinh vật, đặc biệt đối với động vật phù du (vd. Daphnia magna) mặc dù đã được nghiên cứu nhưng vẫn chưa được hiểu biết đầy đủ. Trong nghiên cứu này, chúng tôi đánh giá ảnh hưởng mãn tính của octylphenol ở các nồng độ 5, 50 và 500 μg/lít lên Daphnia magna trong thời gian 14 ngày. Kết quả cho thấy ở nồng độ octylphenol thấp (5 μg/lít) kích thích sự thành thục của sinh vật trong khi ở nồng độ cao hơn (50 và 500 μg/lít) gây chết đáng kể Daphnia. Bên cạnh đó, tất cả các nồng độ ocytlphenol dùng trong thí nghiệm gây ảnh hưởng nghiêm trọng lên sức sinh sản và sinh trưởng của sinh vật. Nghiên cứu về sự hiện diện, phân bố, phát tán và độc tính của những chất tổng hợp bao gồm octylphenol ở các nước đang phát triển nên được tiến hành vì mục tiêu bảo vệ sức khỏe con người, môi trường và hệ sinh thái.

<p>Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in natural waters is a heterogeneous mixture of organic molecules with direct and indirect influences on aquatic organisms. Although the influences are usually attributed to DOM quantity (quantified as Dissolved Organic Carbon, DOC), the role of quality (optical and binding characteristics obtained by absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy and potentiometric titration, respectively) is not well-understood. Through an initial critical review of the literature, followed by experimental geochemical, toxicological, and physiological investigations, a number of conclusions were reached that improve our knowledge in this area. Freshwater DOM sources exhibit source-dependent protection against metal toxicity, in particular copper (Cu). Generally, for this indirect effect, optically-dark terrestrially-derived or allochthonous DOMs offer better protection than microbially-derived or autochthonous sources. Linear regressions revealed that the better ameliorative effect is principally related to a higher aromatic composition (specific absorption coefficient, SAC₃₄₀) and a greater humic-like fluorescent component as quantified by parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). In addition, the allochthonous DOMs were shown to have relatively higher magnitudes of titration index (TI), a new summary of chemical reactivity of DOM molecules obtained by titration analysis, and closely related to optical properties. TI was strongly correlated with SAC₃₄₀, suggesting greater binding capacities for DOM molecules with higher SAC₃₄₀. Consequently, a method for incorporation of SAC₃₄₀ as a DOM quality measure into the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) was developed which improved Cu toxicity predictions in experimental tests with natural DOMs. For direct effects, two basic physiological functions (Na⁺ metabolism and nitrogen excretion) of the adult water flea (<em>Daphnia magna</em>, a cladoceran crustacean) and the zebrafish (<em>Danio </em><em>rerio</em>, a teleost fish) were investigated at circumneutral and acidic pH (≥ 7 and ~ 5, respectively). Three previously characterized, chemically-distinct natural DOM sources as well as a commercial humic acid (AHA) were examined. Regardless of the pH conditions, while Na⁺ regulation of <em>D</em>. <em>magna </em>remained unaffected by the presence of all DOMs, the passive diffusive efflux of Na⁺ in zebrafish was attenuated, indicating ameliorative action against unidirectional Na⁺ loss. In addition, only a distinct allochthonous-autochthonous DOM source stimulated the Na⁺ uptake rate of zebrafish at low pH. Ammonia excretion rates of <em>D</em>. <em>magna </em>were reduced at circumneutral pH by the most highly coloured, allochthonous DOM, and at low pH by all three natural DOMs. Both in <em>D. magna </em>and in <em>D. rerio</em>, urea excretion rates at both pH conditions were not influenced by the presence of the various DOMs, and the same was true for ammonia excretion in the zebrafish. A commercially prepared humic acid (Aldrich humic acid, AHA) exerted anomalous actions relative to those of natural DOMs, and does not appear to be representative of their normal effects. In contrast to the actions of DOM in detoxifying metals, these direct effects of DOMs on freshwater organisms appeared highly unpredictable with variable dependencies on the source, pH and species. This thesis has advanced our understanding of the relationships between DOM quality and its indirect and direct effects on aquatic organisms, and points to new directions for future work.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)