A 12-month active biomonitoring study was performed in 2008-2009 on the Vesle river basin (Champagne-Ardenne, France) using the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha as a sentinel species; allochthonous mussels originating from a reference site (Commercy) were exposed at four sites (Bouy, Sept-Saulx, Fismes, Ardre) within the Vesle river basin. Selected core biomarkers (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, glutathione-S transferase (GST) activity, metallothionein concentration), along with digestive enzyme activities (amylase, endocellulase) and energy reserve concentrations (glycogen, lipids), were monitored throughout the study in exposed mussels. At the Fismes and Ardre sites (downstream basin), metallic and organic contamination levels were low but still high enough to elicit AChE and GST activity induction in exposed mussels (chemical stress); besides, chemical pollutants had no apparent deleterious effects on mussel condition. At the Bouy and Sept-Saulx sites (upstream basin), mussels obviously suffered from adverse food conditions which seriously impaired individual physiological state and survival (nutritional stress); food scarcity had however no apparent effects on core biomarker responses. Digestive enzyme activities responded to both chemical and nutritional stresses, the increase in energy outputs (general adaptation syndrome-downstream sites) or the decrease in energy inputs (food scarcity-upstream sites) leading to mid-or long-term induction of digestive carbohydrase activities in exposed mussels (energy optimizing strategy). Complex regulation patterns of these activities require nevertheless the use of a multi-marker approach to allow data interpretation. Besides, their sensitivity to natural confounding environmental factors remains to be precised.

Nowe możliwości w zakresie badania jakości wód basenowych The new opportunities for study a quality of swimming pools waters Słowa klucze: wody basenowe, testy toksyczności, biotesty, uboczne produkty dezynfekcji Sport i rekreacja powinna stanowić ważny element życia człowieka od najmłodszych lat. Jedną z częściej zalecanych aktywności fizycznych jest pływanie. Pełne i bezpieczne korzystanie z pływalni i kąpielisk może być zapewnione tylko przy zachowaniu wysokich standardów jakości wody basenowej. Osiągnięcie tego celu jest możliwe przy ograniczeniu rozwoju chorobotwórczych mikroorganizmów, które pojawiają sie w basenach w trakcie ich użytkowania. Dlatego dezynfekcja chemiczna jest niezbędnym krokiem w procesie uzdatniania wody basenowej. Woda basenowa tworzy specyficzny układ obejmujący nie tylko wodę w jej czystej postaci, ale również pozostałości środków do dezynfekcji oraz zanieczyszczeń wprowadzanych przez kąpiących się. Obecność moczu, potu, włosów oraz pozostałości kosmetyków w znaczący sposób przyczynia się do powstawania prekursorów ubocznych produktów dezynfekcji. Mocznik, aminokwasy, kreatynina, kwas cytrynowy czy liczne parabeny reagując ze związkami chloru tworzą szeroką grupę związków zwanych ubocznymi produktami dezynfekcji (DBP). DBP mają negatywny wpływ na zdrowie osób korzystających z basenu, a wielu z nich przypisuje się nie tylko właściwości toksyczne, ale również mutagenne i rakotwórcze. Postęp analizy instrumentalnej w znaczącym stopniu przyczynił się do identyfikacji większości z nich, jednak ich działanie na organizmy żywe wciąż jest przedmiotem licznych badań. Obok analizy instrumentalnej swoją obecność coraz mocniej zaznaczają metody toksykologiczne oparte o testy na żywych organizmach-bakteryjnych, zwierzęcych czy roślinnych. Możliwość wyboru z pośród dużej liczby organizmów testowych oraz dostosowania metodyki do potrzeb własnej pracy badawczej stanowi o atrakcyjności tych metod. Zastosowanie ich jako przesiewowych metod oceny jakości wód basenowych może stanowić ciekawą i skuteczną metodę wspomagania klasycznej analizy fizykochemicznej. W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono przegląd testów toksykologicznych na różnym poziomie organizacji organizmów testowych. Oceniono przede wszystkim ich użyteczność w ocenie jakości wód basenowych, a także zaprezentowano własne spostrzeżenia i wnioski w zakresie oceny toksykologicznej jakości wód basenowych prowadzonej przez autorów w ramach wstępnych prac badawczych.

The toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined using mussel, sea-urchin and ascidian embryo-larval bioassays. Fluorescent light exposure enhanced phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and hydroxypyrene toxicity in comparison with dark conditions, but not naphthalene and fluorene toxicity. The toxicity of PAHs was inversely related to their K(OW) values following QSAR models derived for baseline toxicity of general narcotics, whereas the obtained regression using toxicity data from photoactivated PAHs significantly departed from the general narcosis model. Also, the mixture toxicity of five PAHs to the larval growth of the sea-urchin was compared with predictions derived from the concentration addition concept, indicating less than additive effects. Finally, we compared our toxicity data with worst-case environmental concentrations in order to provide a preliminary estimate of the risk to the marine environment. Naphthalene, fluorene and pyrene are not considered...

The trade-off between starvation and predation risk is of paramount importance to songbirds and many other small organisms. A contaminant with metabolic or neurological effects may hinder a bird's ability to manage these ecological risks, which are contingent on metabolic state and require cognitive assessments. Methylmercury (MeHg) is a ubiquitous pollutant that is associated with neurotoxicity, reproductive failure, altered behaviour and increased mortality in aquatic organisms. It was recently discovered that MeHg can enter terrestrial food webs and affect songbirds that eat contaminated invertebrates. Research on behavioural effects of environmentally relevant doses of MeHg in songbirds is a conservation priority as this pollutant is widespread, poorly regulated, increasing and understudied in terms of sublethal effects such as abnormal behaviours. To help close this knowledge gap, we examined how MeHg affects behavioural strategies in captive zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata. We quantified the birds' responses to risk by measuring regulation of body mass, vigilance behaviour, willingness to move away from dense cover in search of food and reluctance to return to foraging after a disturbance. Dosed and undosed birds were placed in an experimental arena and were videorecorded over 3 days of increasing perception of predation risk. We found that MeHg-exposed birds, compared to control birds, (1) lost significantly more mass and (2) waited significantly longer to forage under the highest predation risk. Our results indicate that MeHg-exposed birds may react more strongly to threat of predation and thereby increase their risk of starvation. To our knowledge this is the first mechanistic study of how a pervasive pollutant may alter optimal decision making, and therefore potentially survival, in songbirds.

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among water, sediment, and fish tissue metal concentrations as they relate to fish diversity, tissue metal accumulation, and fish morphometric and reproductive condition. Fish were captured in 12 lakes near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, that ranged in their degree of metal contamination. In general, metal concentrations in water and sediment decreased with increasing distance from industrial operations. However, only Cu and Ni demonstrated this trend in sediments. Although 20 fish species were identified in the 12 lakes, only one species, yellow perch (Perca flavescens), was common to all 12 lakes. Fish diversity was only associated with sediment metals, suggesting that short-term processes are much less important than long-term processes for fish community recovery in metal-contaminated lakes. Multivariate characterization of water metal concentrations resulted in three lake clusters: Group 1 consisted of reference lakes; Group 2 lakes had high alkalinity, conductivity, hardness, pH, waterborne metals (especially Se), and sediment Cu and Ni concentrations; Group 3 lakes had high pH, waterborne and sediment Cu, and sediment Ni, intermediate alkalinity, conductivity, and waterborne metals (except Al and Fe), and low hardness and waterborne Al and Fe. Liver Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, muscle Zn, and intestinal Cd and Zn were highest, and muscle Cu and male gonadosomatic index (GSI) were lowest, in Group 3 fish. Liver, muscle, and intestinal Se concentrations, and Fulton's condition factor (FCF), hepatosomatic index (HSI), and male GSI were highest in Group 2 fish. Group 1 fish had the highest muscle Hg concentrations and female GSI. Muscle Se appeared to have an antagonistic effect on muscle Hg accumulation as a function of distance from smelting operations. Neither Cu nor Ni, both metals of concern in the Sudbury area, was useful for predicting fish condition, probably because of homeostatic regulatory control. Liver Cd accumulation, which was negatively related to FCF (r ¼ À0:16; Po0:05), exhibited strong, nonlinear inhibition (r 2 ¼ 0:99; Po0:0001) as a function of water hardness. Because Cd was not detected in water samples in this study, we suspect that branchial Ca 2+ uptake may play some role in reducing dietary Cd uptake in hard water lakes. Selenium has received relatively little attention in the contaminated systems around Sudbury, yet our results demonstrated that tissue Se was related to all condition metrics studied. Moreover, evidence was provided that suggests that there is a gender-specific interaction between dietary Se and Cu uptake that may contribute to decreased female reproductive condition in wild yellow perch. r 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The persistence, mobility and degradation of tebuconazole were assessed under field conditions in a sandy clay loam soil amended with spent mushroom substrate (SMS) at two rates. The aim was to evaluate the environmental impact of the simultaneous application of SMS and fungicide in a vineyard soil. SMS is the pasteurized and composted organic material remaining after a crop of mushroom is produced. SMS is generated in increasing amounts in La Rioja region (Spain), and could be used as soil amendment in vineyard soils, where fungicides are also applied in large amounts. The study was carried out in 18 experimental plots (6 treatments and 3 replicates per treatment) over one year. Laboratory experiments were also conducted to verify the changes over time in the adsorption of fungicide by soils and in soil dehydrogenase activity caused by the fungicide and/or SMS. Tebuconazole dissipation followed biphasic kinetics with a rapid dissipation phase, followed by a slow dissipation phase. ...

Glyphosate-based formulations are among the most widely used herbicides in the world. The effect of the formulation Glifosato Atanor Ò on freshwater microbial communities (phytoplankton, bacterioplankton, periphyton and zooplankton) was assessed through a manipulative experiment using six small outdoor microcosms of small volume. Three of the microcosms were added with 3.5 mg l -1 of glyphosate whereas the other three were left as controls without the herbicide. The treated microcosms showed a significant increase in total phosphorus, not fully explained by the glyphosate present in the Glifosato Atanor Ò . Therefore, part of the phosphorus should have come from the surfactants of the formulation. The results showed significant direct and indirect effects of Glifosato Atanor Ò on the microbial communities. A single application of the herbicide caused a fast increase both in the abundance of bacterioplankton and planktonic picocyanobacteria and in chlorophyll a concentration in the water column. Although metabolic alterations related to oxidative stress were induced in the periphyton community, the herbicide favored its development, with a large contribution of filamentous algae typical of nutrient-rich systems, with shallow and calm waters. An indirect effect of the herbicide on the zooplankton was observed due to the increase in the abundance of the rotifer Lecane spp. as a consequence of the improved food availability given by picocyanobacteria and bacteria. The formulation affected directly a fraction of copepods as a target. It was concluded that the Glifosato Atanor Ò accelerates the deterioration of the water quality, especially when considering small-volume water systems.

The main objective of the research was to evaluate the suitability of the Phytotoxkit microbiotest as a tool for hazard assessment of sediments. The concentrations of oil derivatives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined in sediment samples collected from the urban canal in Opole (Poland), in order to obtain a general insight of the level of sediment contamination. Phytotoxicity of sediments was estimated on the basis of seed germination and root elongation measurements, combined into an overall germination index (GI). The results revealed spatial and vertical differentiation in sediment contamination. A good correlation was obtained between organic matter content and the concentrations of particular sediment pollutants. Values of correlation coefficients at P < 0.05 ranged from 0.3246 for oil derivatives to 0.8929 for PAHs. Phytotoxicity tests, carried out on the monocotyl Sorghum saccharatum and the dicotyls Sinapis alba and Lepidium sativum, showed different responses of the three plant species to sediment samples ranging from growth inhibition to growth stimulation. The GI values revealed the following increasing order of plant sensitivity to contaminated sediments: L. sativum < S. alba < S. saccharatum. The study demonstrated that the Phytotoxkit microbiotest was effective in identifying toxic samples. However, sediment organic matter content and grain-size distribution had a significant impact on both sediment contamination and higher plant responses to contaminated samples. The implication of these findings are discussed.

The distribution of contaminants is seldom homogeneous in aquatic systems. In the present study, the avoidance response of Melita plumulosa, Nitocra spinipes, and Phallomedusa solida when exposed to contaminated sediments was investigated. Test vessels were designed to allow the congruent placement of two sediments and assessment of the movement of organisms between the sediments. When exposed to reference sediment, each species dispersed evenly between test chambers regardless of differences in sediment particle size. In the presence of contaminated sediment, the magnitude and rate of avoidance varied. Avoidance assays showed that test species avoided contaminated sediment as early as 6, 6, and 24 h following exposure for N. spinipes, P. solida, and M. plumulosa, respectively. The 48-h avoidance response of M. plumulosa for nine contaminated sediments of varying toxicity showed that avoidance was generally greater for sediments which elicited greater 10-d lethality to this species. The study demonstrated that each of these species has the ability to respond to chemical cues in the environment to inhabit sediment that provides the best opportunity for survival. The avoidance response for each species indicates the potential for developing rapid screening methods to assess sediment quality. Evidence suggests that avoidance was related to sediment toxicity and that static 10-d toxicity methods are likely to overestimate toxicity for species, which would avoid contamination in heterogeneous field settings. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2013;32:644-652. # 2012 SETAC Keywords-Behavioral endpoint Sediment toxicity Chemoreception Chronic Benthic invertebrate Avoidance of contaminated sediment by benthic invertebrates Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 32, 2013 645 Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 32, 2013 D.J. Ward et al.

Low cost sorbents have been widely studied in recent years in the search for filter materials that retain contaminants from water. One promising, low cost material is pine bark, a by-product from the forest industry. Many studies have shown that pine bark has great potential for the treatment of metals and organic substances, as a replacement for other commercial sorbents such as active carbon. However, some potential problems are introduced through the use of natural materials and by-products. One such problem that must be addressed is the possibility of leaching of contaminants from the filter material, especially in the initial filtration step or during flushes of lightly contaminated water, e.g. during rainfall for on-site treatment of storm water or landfill leachate. The aim of this preliminary study was therefore to identify potential risks and limitations of using pine bark as a filter material. Leachate from a standardized batch test was analysed for metals, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and phenols. In addition to these chemical analyses, an ecotoxicological test was conducted using the test organism Daphnia magna. The results showed significant leaching of DOC and some metals. Only a small fraction of the DOC was present as phenols. The leachate was however found to be toxic to the test organism without pH adjustment, and the EC 50 was established at an approximate leachate concentration of 40%. This was concluded to be related to the low pH in the eluate, since no toxicity was observed after pH adjustment before the toxicity tests.

Industrial wastes have a substantial impact on coastal environments. Therefore, to evaluate the impact of cooling water discharges from coastal power plants, we studied the kinetics of the degradative processes and the ecotoxicity of two antifouling products: (1) a classic antifouling product; sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and (2) an alternative one; aliphatic amines (commercial under the registered trade mark Mexel ® 432). To assess the persistence of both compounds the decay of sodium hypochlorite and the primary biodegradation rate of Mexel ® 432 were determined in natural seawater at 20°C. The results indicated a more rapid decay of NaClO than Mexel ® 432. The degradation behavior of both chemicals was described following a logistic model, which permitted calculating kinetic parameters such as t 50 or t 90 . The t 50 was 1 h and 2 d for NaClO and Mexel ® 432, respectively. To evaluate the potential risks of the aforementioned treatments to marine organisms, the acute toxicity of both antifouling products was studied on the microalgae Isochrysis galbana and Dunaliella salina, and on the invertebrate Brachionus plicatilis, using growth inhibition and death tests as toxic response, respectively. For I. galbana, the 96-h EC 50 values were 2.91 ± 0.15 mg/L of NaClO and 4.55 ± 0.11 mg/L of Mexel ® 432. D. salina showed values of 96-h EC 50 of 1.73 ± 0.16 mg/L of NaClO and 7.21 ± 0.1 mg/L of Mexel ® 432. Brachionus plicatilis showed a 24-h LC 50 of 1.23 ± 0.1 mg/L of NaClO and 3.62 ± 0.37 mg/L of Mexel ® 432. Acute toxicity was highly dependent on the chemical and species tested. NaClO presented more toxic effects than Mexel ® 432, also B. plicatilis was the most sensitive species in both cases. The lowest NOECs obtained, 0.25 mg/L for NaClO and 2.12 mg/L for Mexel ® 432, were similar to the theoretical residual concentrations of these biocides in cooling water discharges. Therefore, these discharges can cause undesirable negative effects upon the aquatic organisms present.