A 2 x 2 factorial design investigated effects of sediment nitrogen and water potassium levels on autofragment production. Reduced nitrogen levels significantly increased autofragment production whereas potassium levels did not significantly alter production. Up to 50% of autofragment production abscised from parent plants grown under low nitrogen conditions compared to 12% or less under high nitrogen conditions.

Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) habitat was predicted at multiple scales, including a lake, regional, and national level. This dissertation illustrates how habitat can be predicted for M. spicatum using publically-available data for both presence and environmental variables. Models were generated using statistical procedures and quantative methods to determine where the greatest likelihood of presence was located. For the single lake, presence and absence data were available, but the larger-scale models used presence-only methods of prediction. These models were paired with a Geographic Information System so that data could be visualized on a map. For the selected lake, Pend Oreille (Idaho), spatial analysis using general linear mixed models was used to show that depth and fetch could be used to predict habitat, although differences were seen in their importance between the littoral and pelagic zones. For the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Mahalanobis distance and maximum entropy methods were used to demonstrate that available habitat will not always mean presence of M. spicatum. The differing approaches to management in these states illustrated how an aggressive public education campaign can limit spread of M. spicatum, even when habitat is available. Bass habitat appeared to be the largest predictor of M. spicatum in Minnesota, although this was due to the similar environmental preferences by these species. Using maximum entropy, on a national level, presence of M. spicatum appeared to be best predicted by annual precipitation. Again, results showed that habitat is colonized as time permits, and not necessarily as conditions permit.

<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Razvojem testova inhibicije rasta na vrstama&nbsp; roda&nbsp;<em> Myriophyllum&nbsp;</em> ispitan je<br />potencijal&nbsp; vrsta <em>Myriophyllum&nbsp; aquaticum</em>&nbsp; (Vell.) Verd.&nbsp; i&nbsp;<em> Myriophyllum spicatum</em>&nbsp; L. u<br />ekolo&scaron;koj proceni rizika&nbsp; od herbicida i kontrole kvaliteta sedimenta. Ispitana je<br />primenljivost&nbsp; kontaktnog testa toksičnosti sedimenta sa vrstom&nbsp; M. aquaticum&nbsp; u<br />retrospektivnoj&nbsp; proceni&nbsp; rizika&nbsp; sedimenta&nbsp; na uzorcima iz prirode&nbsp; &ndash;&nbsp; na sedimentu&nbsp; reka Tami&scaron;, Krivaja i Jegrička.&nbsp; Testom toksičnosti sedimenta obogaćenog atrazinom,<br />analiziran je i potencijal kontaktnog testa u preventivnoj proceni rizika od hemikalija<br />koje pokazuju afinitet vezivanja za sediment. Testovima inhibicije rasta <em>M. aquaticum</em><br />i&nbsp; <em>M. spicatum&nbsp;</em> u voda-sediment sistemu ispitana je osetljivost i mogućnost primene<br />metode u preventivnoj proceni rizika od herbicida i regulatora rasta.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Deo rezultata dobijenih u radu uključen je u zavr&scaron;ne izve&scaron;taje internacionalnih<br />testova interkalibracije metoda,&nbsp; a kao rezultat ovih aktivnosti usvojene su nove<br />standardne metode na ukorenjenim akvatičnim makrofitama ISO 16191/2013 i OECD 239/2014.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Na osnovu istraživanja, zaključeno je da je kontaktni test toksičnosti<br />sedimenta&nbsp; jednostavan i lak za izvođenje, kao i da je vrsta<em>&nbsp; M. aquaticum</em>&nbsp; u jedno-komponentnom sistemu (sediment)&nbsp; adekvatan test model. Rastom kontrolnih biljaka, niskom varijabilno&scaron;ću i visokom osetljivo&scaron;ću biolo&scaron;kih&nbsp; odgovora zadovoljen je kriterijum validnosti testa. Preporučeno je kori&scaron;ćenje dodatne kontrole&nbsp; u&nbsp; slučajevima kada postoje značajna odstupanja u strukturi između&nbsp; standardnog sintetičkog kontrolnog i&nbsp; testiranog prirodnog sedimenta.&nbsp; Kontaktnim&nbsp; testom toksičnosti sedimenta obogaćenog&nbsp; atrazinom&nbsp; pokazano je da se ovaj test&nbsp; može smatrati potencijalno dobrom metodom za pro&scaron;irenje ekolo&scaron;ke procene rizika od hemikalija koje pokazuju afinitet vezivanja za sediment.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Ispitivanjem potencijala&nbsp; testa&nbsp; inhibicije rasta vrsta roda&nbsp;<em> Myriophyllum</em>&nbsp; u voda-sediment sistemu&nbsp; utvrđeno je da su testovi&nbsp; izvodljivi u praksi, da pokazuju&nbsp; visoki stepen stabilnosti, statističku snagu i malu varijabilnost&nbsp; većine&nbsp; ispitivanih parametara rasta. Poređenjem testova sa vrstama&nbsp;<em> M. aquaticum</em>&nbsp; i&nbsp;<em> M. spicatum</em>, nije utvrđena značajna&nbsp; razlika u osetljivosti na odabrane herbicide.&nbsp; Osetljivost&nbsp; testova na vrstama roda&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum</em>&nbsp; i standardnih&nbsp; Lemna&nbsp; testova je bila slična,&nbsp; osim u slučaju auksin simulatora gde su&nbsp; vrste roda <em>Myriophyllum</em>&nbsp; sp. bile osetljivije,&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; ukazuje&nbsp; na njihovu primenljivost u proceni rizika od pesticida specifičnog mehanizma toksičnog dejstva.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; Iako&nbsp; obe vrste roda&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum</em>&nbsp; imaju&nbsp; prednosti i nedostatke&nbsp; kao test<br />organizmi,&nbsp; vrste se&nbsp; mogu&nbsp; smatrati reprezentativnim akvatičnim ukorenjenim<br />makrofitama i predstavljati&nbsp; adekvatne&nbsp; dopunske test vrste u vi&scaron;im nivoima ekolo&scaron;ke<br />procene rizika od herbicida i regulatora rasta.&nbsp; Takođe, vrsta <em>M. aquaticum&nbsp; </em>je pogodna za&nbsp; testiranje u&nbsp; različitim test sistemima,&nbsp; a samim tim&nbsp; ima i veći&nbsp; potencijal primene u preventivnoj, ali i retrospektivnoj ekolo&scaron;koj proceni rizika.</p> / <p>Growth inhibition tests on <em>Myriophyllum&nbsp; aquaticum</em>&nbsp; (Vell.) Verd.&nbsp; and <em>Myriophyllum spicatum</em>&nbsp; L.&nbsp; were conducted in order to assess their use in refined risk assessment&nbsp; of chemicals, as well as in&nbsp; sediment&nbsp; risk assessment.&nbsp; The applicability, stability and sensitivity of the&nbsp;<em> M.&nbsp; aquaticum&nbsp; </em>sediment contact test on natural sediments (from rivers Tami&scaron;, Krivaja and&nbsp; Jegrička) was assessed for use in retrospective ecological risk assessment (ERA). The potential use of the spiked sediment contact test in risk assessment&nbsp; of&nbsp; sediment bound chemicals was&nbsp; also investigated. The sensitivity and applicability of the growth inhibition tests on&nbsp;<em> M. aquaticum</em>&nbsp; and&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum </em>spicatum&nbsp; in a water-sediment system was assessed for potential use in prospective ERA of plant protection products.</p><p>A part of the results of this study was included in the final report of the two&nbsp; international ring tests, which resulted with new standardised methods with rooted macrophytes:&nbsp; ISO 16191/2013 i&nbsp; OECD&nbsp; 239/2014. Tests on&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum</em>&nbsp; species were compared to standard Lemna&nbsp; tests.&nbsp; Test substances in <em>M. aquaticum</em>&nbsp; and&nbsp; <em>Lemna minor&nbsp; L</em>. tests were 3,5 dichlorphenol, atrazine, isoproturon, trifluralin, 2,4 D and dicamba, while substances used in&nbsp;<em> M. spicatum&nbsp;</em> tests were atrazine, isoproturon and 2,4 D.</p><p>The sediment contact test proved to be simple and robust, while <em>M. aquaticum</em> can be considered as an adequate test model in a one-compartment (sediment) test. The validity criteria regarding control plant growth and variability was met. The use of an additional control is suggested when testing of sediments with considerably different properties of the standard synthetic control is taking place.&nbsp; The spiked sediment contact tests with atrazine showed that the method could be applied in prospective risk assessment of sediment bound chemicals.</p><p>The water-sediment growth inhibition test with&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum</em>&nbsp; species proved to be applicable in practice, with high stability, statistical power and low variability of the majority of the growth parameters.<em>&nbsp; M. aquaticum&nbsp;</em> and&nbsp; M. spicatum&nbsp; didn&rsquo;t show major&nbsp; differences&nbsp; in sensitivity to tested substance.&nbsp; The sensitivity of&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum</em> and&nbsp; Lemna&nbsp; tests was also similar, except to auxin simulators, where&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum </em>species were considerably more sensitive, which makes them adequate&nbsp; candidates for use in risk assessment of chemicals with specific mode of action.</p><p>Even though both&nbsp; <em>Myriophyllum</em>&nbsp; species show advantages and disadvantages as test organisms, they can be regarded as representative rooted aquatic macrophyte species and additional test species in refined risk assessment of herbicides and growth regulators. &nbsp;Also,&nbsp; <em>M. aquaticum&nbsp; </em>can be tested in various test syytems, which makes this species &nbsp;applicable in prospective as well as retrospective ecological risk assessment.</p>

The effects of increasing nitrogen and phosphorus loading on submerged macrophyte development was tested in a mesocosm experiment for three months. Experiment consisted of three NO3-N loadings with factorial of two PO4-P loadings in a fourfold replicated design. Twenty four enclosures placed at one meter depth were isolated from the lake but kept open to sediment and atmosphere. Each enclosure stocked with ten Myriophyllum spicatum shoots with underyearling fish to reduce zooplankton grazers. Biweekly sampling and weekly nutrient additions were performed for three months. Mean total nitrogen (TN) concentrations sustained in nitrogen treatments through out the experiment were 0.52, 1.99, 8.07 mg/l. Both phosphorus treatments converged to a mean concentration below the targeted level, ranging between 0.05-0.1 mg/l TP. In comparison to mesocosm studies in temperate lakes, higher assimilation rates for nutrients were observed in Lake Pedina. Due to extraordinarily high evapotranspiration and drought in 2007, the water level decreased 0.6 m in enclosures. Total macrophyte biomass remained indifferent to nutrient treatments with continuous growth and failed to validate any direct or indirect negative effect of increasing nutrient concentrations. Phytoplankton biomass differed significantly among factorial treatments but remained low, while periphyton biomass differed among nitrogen treatments. In comparison with other studies the phytoplankton biomass remained low and the periphyton biomass became high for reference TP concentrations, indicating a competitive advantage of periphyton over phytoplankton on nutrient utilization in the enclosures. Zooplankton:phytoplankton biomass ratio was low throughout the experiment and zooplankton community mainly consists of smaller species, reflecting high predation pressure.

The physiological responses of Myriophyllum spicatum to 2,4-D, diquat and copper were quantified using a plant tissue viability assay, and daily measures of dissolved oxygen and pH. Correlations of herbicide tissue residues to physiological response measures were determined and the relationship was used to develop exposure-response models. Diquat and copper had a greater effect on plant tissue viability than was observed for 2,4-D. Diquat produced greater reductions in dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH values than 2,4-D or copper. Copper exposure had the least effect on these parameters. Exposure-response models developed for 2,4-D predicted effective control at plant tissue residues ranging from 4000 to 4700 mg/kg. Aqueous exposure concentrations necessary to produce effective control plant tissue residues ranged from 0.20 to 0.40 mg/L. Exposure-response models developed for diquat predicted effective control at plant tissue residues ranging from 225 to 280 mg/kg. Aqueous exposure concentrations necessary to produce effective control plant tissue residues ranged from 0.113 to 0.169 mg/L. Exposure-response models developed for copper predicted effective control at plant tissue residues ranging from 680 to 790 mg/kg. Aqueous exposure concentrations necessary to produce effective control plant tissue residues ranged from 0.32 to 0.64 mg/L. Model predictions for 2,4-D, diquat and copper were within 0.5 mg/L of the manufacturers' label recommendations for these herbicides. The use of laboratory microcosms in development of exposure-response models for diquat and copper produced results comparable to those using the larger-scale greenhouse systems. Diquat effectively controlled M. spicatum at lower tissue residues than 2,4-D or copper. In addition, initial aqueous exposure concentrations were also lower for diquat. Use of these models in field situations should be coupled with considerations of quantity of biomass present and environmental conditions, such as turbidity, in order to accurately calculate exposure concentrations necessary for effective tissue residues. Thus, the use of these models can be used to optimize the impact on the target species while minimizing exposure for nontarget species.

Macroinvertebrate communities inhabiting an exotic, Myriophyllum spicatum, and a native, Heteranthera dubia macrophyte were studied from March 1999 to June 2000 in experimental ponds. Although macrophyte architecture explained some variation in macroinvertebrate abundance between the two macrophytes, most variation was explained by the sampling months. Total number of macroinvertebrates was found to be positively correlated with epiphyton biomass which differed significantly between the two plant types and among sampling months. Taxa richness did not vary between the two plant types. Chironomid larvae were the most abundant organisms and dominated by Apedilum elachistus on both plant communities. Annual production of five chironomid species was estimated by the size-frequency method. Production estimates (P) in g dry wt m-2 yr-1 of plant surface area for the predator Tanypodinae larvae were: Larsia decolarata, P= 0.77 and 0.67, Labrundinia virescens, P= 0.59 and 0.35 on M. spicatum and H. dubia, respectively. Larvae of Cricotopus sylvestris and Psectrocladius vernalis were collected from M. spicatum from March to mid-June. Production of C. sylvestris was found to be 0.46 g dry wt m-2, whereas it was 0.07 g dry wt m-2 for P. vernalis for this period. Apedilum elachistus exhibited the highest productivity: 9.9 g dry wt m-2 yr-1 of plant surface area on M. spicatum, and 8.5 g dry wt m-2 yr-1 on H. dubia. These production estimates are among the highest production values reported for a single species. Additionally, post-ovipositing development times for five chironomid species collected from Myriophyllum and Heteranthera were determined. Three different temperatures (15°, 20° and 25°C) were chosen to rear eggs under 12L: 12D photoperiod. Egg development times ranged between 1-4 days. Larval development times ranged from 44 days at 20°C for Tanypus neopunctipennis to as few as 9 days at 20°C for Larsia decolorata.

Biological invasions are one of the main factors responsible for the imperiled status of freshwater ecosystems, but much remains to be learned about their indirect effects on native communities. The first part of this dissertation examines community effects of long-term efforts to selectively control invasive Eurasian watermilfoil. Results of the first study show that native plants immediately recolonized treated areas and habitat complexity was unaffected. Fish community was not influenced by invasive plant control. Macroinvertebrate communities were highly variable and part of their variability could be explained by plant community attributes. Both fish and macroinvertebrates used invasive watermilfoil, which emphasizes the need for timely restoration of native macrophytes to mitigate for lost habitat. Because fish and macroinvertebrates were more affected by complexity than other attributes of plant assemblage, reestablishment of habitat complexity appears to be a promising restoration strategy. The second study, which examined species interactions after watermilfoil control, found that fish feeding activity was not correlated with invasive plants or habitat complexity and that invasive macrophyte control did not affect characteristics of fish feeding investigated. The relationship between fish and macrophytes was further explored in the context of interactions between an invasive piscivore and its native prey. First, I examined the prey naiveté hypothesis with non-native peacock bass in Paraná River, Brazil. Prey responded to visual and chemical cues of peacock bass and displayed avoidance behaviors similar to those observed with a native predator, meaning that lack of recognition was not responsible for the observed vulnerability of native species to this introduced predator. After confirming lack of naiveté, I assessed direct and indirect effects of this non-native predator on native prey. Peacock bass had no indirect effects on its prey feeding activity. Macrophyte type did not affect indirect predator-prey interactions, whereas direct predator effects slightly decreased in the presence of aquatic vegetation. I discuss implications of these findings for native biodiversity and convene other potential explanations for the observed effects of peacock bass. Both projects contribute to our understanding of the relationship between aquatic plants and their animal communities and effects of invasive species in freshwater habitats.

No description available.