The Incomati River Estuary is prone to pollutants from anthropogenic activities such as agricultural and industrial activities in the upper catchments. The main aim of the study was to use free-living nematodes as pollution indicators in the Incomati River Estuary. The main objectives were to determine the relationship between nematodes assemblage and environmental variables, and to identify environmental factors that play a role in nematodes community structuring. Lastly, it was to identify free-living nematode genera that can be used as pollution indicators in the Incomati River Estuary. Four sites were selected following the salinity gradient of the Incomati River Estuary. Site E1 with a salinity range of 0-3NST (Oligohaline Zone), E2 with a salinity 3-5NST (Euhaline Zone), E3 with a salinity 6-18NST (Mesohaline Zone), and E4 with 20-27 NST (Polyhaline Zone) were selected and monitored bi-monthly from June 2017 to April 2018. Two sediments samples were collected per site during neap tide using a handheld perplex corer which was 1m long with a 3.6 diameter and 10cm penetration height. Plastic bottles with a height of 13cm and a diameter of 7cm were used to store the sediment samples. One of the two sediment samples was used for free-living nematodes, and the other bottle was used for the analysis of environmental factors. All environmental factors were analysed at Labserve Laboratory, Mbombela Town, Mpumalanga Province. Sediment particle size and organic matter analyses were done following the procedure set by Parker (1983) and Buchanan (1971) respectively. Metal analysis was done following the procedure used by Gyedu-Ababio et al.1999. Nutrients were done using different methods. For nitrates (NO3) analysis, a copper cadmium method by Bate and Heelas, 1975 was used, while a method designed by Strickland and Parson, 1972 was used to analyse orthophosphate. A mixed acid digestion procedure of Oles and Dean 1965 was followed for total phosphate. A method by Lorenzen and Jeffrey, 1980 was used for the analysis of chlorophyll-a. Heterotrophic bacteria analysis were done following a procedure by (Atlas, 1997). Nematodes were extracted using a method by Furstenberg et al.1978, with sucrose as a separating agent. Nematodes were counted following a procedure by Giere, 1993. Nematodes feeding types were investigated using Wieser, 1953 procedure. Different statistical packages including PRIMER version 6 were used to analyse the data. A Bray-Curtis Cluster analysis indicated a similarity between sites E1 (Oligohaline Zone) and E2 (Euhaline Zone), and between site E3 (Mesohaline Zone) and E4 (Polyhaline Zone) which was attributed to similar sediment particle sizes distribution within the sites. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) of sediments particle size between the sites. The highest concentration of metals was found at site E2 which was situated in the Euhaline Zone, whilst the second highest concentration was found at site E1 which was situated in the Oligohaline Zone. A PERMANOVA analysis indicated that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) of Metal concentration between sites sampled. The PCA analyses indicated that there was a positive correlation between Metals and Sediment Particle Size such as Granules. It was observed that sediment particle size and organic matter influenced the distribution of metals in the Estuary. The highest concentration of chlorophyll-a and nitrates (NO3) were found at site E3 which was situated in the Mesohaline Zone, and the second highest was found at site E4 which was situated in the Polyhaline Zone. There was a positive correlation between Heterotrophic bacteria and environmental factors such as zinc, fine sand, very fine sand and mud. This indicated that certain metals and sediment particles size played a role in structuring food source for meiofauna, especially nematodes. The number of free-living nematodes were found to decrease towards site E1. This indicated that salinity influenced the diversity and density of free-living nematodes in the estuary. Site E2 had the lowest diversity and richness followed by site E1. The lower diversity, richness and Maturity Index at site E2 and E1 indicated that these sites were under stress. A Bray-Curtis Cluster analysis indicated that there was a spatio-temporal variation of diversity and density of free-living nematodes in the estuary. All four nematodes feeding types were found in the Estuary and feeding type 1B was the dominant feeding type at the sites, followed by feeding type 2A. The highest number of feeding type 1B (non-selective deposit feeders) was identified at site E2. The life strategy characterisation (colonizer- persisters) indicated that site E2 was dominated by colonizer and intermediate genera (c-p 2 and 3), which indicated that the site was under stress. The study found that genera such as Terschellingia and Theristus were pollution indicators because they were found in higher abundance at a site that was mostly polluted by metals, organic matter, and total phosphate. Further studies in other River Estuaries in South Africa and SADC should be undertaken to add to the findings of the current study. / Environmental Studies / Ph. D. (Environmental Sciences)

Societies are facing great challenges with obtaining a good quality and quantity of drinking water in the context of climate change. Increases in natural organic matter (NOM) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been observed in lakes and drinking water the past years, which is of great concern for water treatment plants in Sweden. It is therefore vital to increase the knowledge regarding the distribution of these substances in the environment. The main objective of this project was therefore to further develop a hydrodynamic model for lake Ekoln by including transportation and degradation of NOM. This was to be done by calibrating the model in terms of total organic carbon (TOC) and Water colour (Colour). A second objective was to investigate the requirements to successfully model PFAS in Ekoln for future studies. The study was done using the model MIKE 3 FM, developed by the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) The two variables TOC and Colour, were calibrated separately for the period of February 2017 to September 2018. For TOC the within-lake processes were decay and sedimentation. These were described using a reference decay constant for 20 °C (k0), that was scaled using the Arrhenius temperature coefficient (θ), and sedimentation was represented by a settling velocity (vsm). For Colour the included process was photooxidation. This process was described using a maximum photooxidation rate (kphoto) that was scaled using the Monod relation including parameters for minimum photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) necessary for photooxidation to occur (Imin) and a PAR half saturation constant (I1/2). The calibration of TOC resulted in the following best fit parameters for k0  of 0.001 d-1, θ of 1.07 and vsm of 0.001 md-1. The calibration of Colour resulted in the following best fit parameters for kphoto of 0.0125 d-1, Imin of 0 µmol photons m-2s-1 and I1/2 of 4 µmol photons m-2s-1. Overall it can be concluded that the chosen processes managed to capture the seasonal variations of TOC and Colour, and the calibrated parameter values are in line with similar studies. The assumption of not including autochthonous input proved to be the biggest source of error in the calibration of TOC but proved to have a minor influence on the calibration of Colour. To achieve a more realistic representation of photooxidation in the vertical profile, for the simulation of Colour, more processes should be considered to be added in the model in future studies. The results presented in this study contributes with increased knowledge of carbon budgets in lakes and can be used to predict water quality hazards connected to climate change and extreme events. The limited access to PFAS data for Ekoln, constrained the study of PFAS and only two sources could therefore be studied: The sewage treatment plant Kungsängsverket and precipitation. The results showed that the simulated concentrations of PFAS in Ekoln only accounted for 40 % of the observed concentrations. It could further be concluded that the contribution from precipitation is negligible. For future studies it is judged to be vital to include Fyrisån as a PFAS source, and to look into processes that influence PFAS distribution, such as sedimentation and adsorption to organic matter. / Samhällen står idag inför stora utmaningar vad gäller att tillhandahålla god kvalitet och kvantitet av dricksvatten under rådande klimatförändringar. De senaste åren har det observerats ökande halter av naturligt organiskt material (NOM) och per- och polyfluorerade alkylsubstanser (PFAS) i sjöar och dricksvatten, vilket är bekymmersamt för Sveriges vattenreningsverk. Det är därför av största vikt att öka kunskapen om dessa ämnens distribution i miljön. Huvudsyftet med denna studie var därför att vidareutveckla en hydrodynamisk modell för sjön Ekoln så att den även inkluderar transporten och nedbrytningen av NOM. Detta utfördes genom att kalibrera modellen för totalt organisk kol (TOC) och Vattenfärg (Färg). Ett andra syfte var att undersöka vilka förutsättningar som krävs för att kunna modellera PFAS på ett korrekt sätt i Ekoln. Studien utfördes i modellverktyget MIKE 3 FM, utvecklat av DHI.  De två variablerna TOC och Färg kalibrerades separat för perioden februari 2017 – september 2018. Processerna som valdes att påverka TOC var nedbrytning och sedimentation. Dessa processer beskrevs med hjälp av en referens-nedbrytningskonstant för 20 °C (k0), vilken anpassades med hjälp av Arrhenius temperaturkoefficient (θ) och sedimentation beskrevs med hjälp av en sedimentationshastighet (vsm). Färg påverkades endast av processen fotooxidation vilken beskrevs med en maximal hastighet för fotooxidation  (kphoto) som anpassades med hjälp av Monods relation. Anpassningen skedde med hjälp av parametern för minimal fotosyntetiskt aktivt ljus (PAR) för att fotooxidation ska ske (Imin) samt en PAR halv mättnads konstant (I1/2) .  Kalibreringen resulterade i värden för k0 av 0.001 d-1, θ av 1.07 och vsm av 0.001 md-1. Kalibreringen för Färg resulterade i värden för kphoto av 0.0125 d-1, Imin av 0 µmol fotoner m-2s-1 och I1/2 av 4 µmol fotoner m-2s-1. Det kan konstateras att de valda processerna lyckas med att beskriva säsongsvariationerna av både TOC och Färg och att de kalibrerade parametervärdena stämmer överens med litteraturen. Antagandet om att inte inkludera autoktont tillförsel av organiskt material (NOM från ytvatten), visade sig vara den största felkällan i simulering av TOC, men visade sig ha en mycket liten påverkan på simuleringen av Färg. För en mer realistisk bild av fotooxidations spridning i djupled, för simuleringen av Färg, bör fler processer övervägas att inkluderas i modellen för framtida studier.  Studien av PFAS var begränsad av tillgången till data, vilket medförde att endast två källor av PFAS till Ekoln analyserades: reningsverket Kungsängsverket och nederbörd. Resultaten visade att den simulerade koncentrationen av PFAS endast motsvarade 40 % av den observerade. Vidare kunde det konstateras att tillförsel av PFAS från regn kan antas vara försumbar. För framtida studier av PFAS i Ekoln bedöms det vara avgörande att inkludera Fyrisån som en källa, samt att vidare undersöka processer som påverkar transporten av PFAS så som sedimentation och adsorption till organiskt material.