Using high-frequency phosphorus monitoring for water quality management: a case study of the upper River Itchen, UK

Increased concentrations of phosphorus (P) in riverine systems lead to eutrophication and can contribute to other environmental effects. Chalk rivers are known to be particularly sensitive to elevated P levels. We used high-frequency (daily) automatic water sampling at five distinct locations in the upper River Itchen (Hampshire, UK) between May 2016 and June 2017 to identify the main P species (including filterable reactive phosphorus, total filterable phosphorus, total phosphorus and total particulate phosphorus) present and how these varied temporally. Our filterable reactive phosphorus (considered the biologically available fraction) data were compared with the available Environment Agency total reactive phosphorus (TRP) values over the same sampling period. Over the trial, the profiles of the P fractions were complex; the major fraction was total particulate phosphorus with the mean percentage value ranging between 69 and 82% of the total P present. Sources were likely to be attributable to wash off from agricultural activities. At all sites, the FRP and Environment Agency TRP mean concentrations over the study were comparable. However, there were a number of extended time periods (1 to 2 weeks) where the mean FRP concentration (e.g. 0.62 mg L−1) exceeded the existing regulatory values (giving a poor ecological status) for this type of river. Often, these exceedances were missed by the limited regulatory monitoring procedures undertaken by the Environment Agency. There is evidence that these spikes of elevated concentrations of P may have a biological impact on benthic invertebrate (e.g. blue-winged olive mayfly) communities that exist in these ecologically sensitive chalk streams. Further research is required to assess the ecological impact of P and how this might have implications for the development of future environmental regulations

Assessment of microplastic-sorbed contaminant bioavailability through analysis of biomarker gene expression in larval zebrafish

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Assessment of microplastic-sorbed contaminant bioavailability through analysis of biomarker gene expression in larval zebrafish journaltitle: Marine Pollution Bulletin articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.055 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Impact of environmental radiation on the health and reproductive status of fish from Chernobyl

Aquatic organisms at Chernobyl have now been chronically exposed to environmental radiation for three decades. The biological effects of acute exposure to radiation are relatively well documented, but much less is known about the long - term effects of chronic exposure of organisms in their natural environment. Highly exposed fish in freshwater systems at Chernobyl showed morphological changes in their reproductive system in the years after the accident. However, the relatively limited scope of past studies did not allow robust conclusions to be drawn. Moreover, the level of the radiation dose at which significant effects on wildlife occur is still under debate. In the most comprehensive evaluation of the effects of chronic radiation on wild fish populations to date, the present study measures specific activities of 137Cs, 90Sr and transuranium elements (238Pu, 239,240Pu and 241Am), index conditions, distribution and size of oocytes, as well as environmental and biological confounding factors in two fish species perch (Perca fluviatilis) and roach (Rutilus rutilus) from seven lakes. In addition, relative species abundance was examined. The results showed that both fish species are, perhaps surprisingly, in good general physiological and reproductive health. Perch, however, appeared to be more sensitive to radiation than roach: in the most contaminated lakes, a delay of the maturation of the gonads and the presence of several undeveloped phenotypes were evident only for perch and not for roach

Impact of environmental radiation on the health and reproductive status of fish from Chernobyl

© 2018 American Chemical Society. Aquatic organisms at Chernobyl have now been chronically exposed to environmental radiation for three decades. The biological effects of acute exposure to radiation are relatively well documented, but much less is known about the long-term effects of chronic exposure of organisms in their natural environment. Highly exposed fish in freshwater systems at Chernobyl showed morphological changes in their reproductive system in the years after the accident. However, the relatively limited scope of past studies did not allow robust conclusions to be drawn. Moreover, the level of the radiation dose at which significant effects on wildlife occur is still under debate. In the most comprehensive evaluation of the effects of chronic radiation on wild fish populations to date, the present study measures specific activities of 137Cs, 90Sr, and transuranium elements (238Pu, 239,240Pu, and 241Am), index conditions, distribution and size of oocytes, as well as environmental and biological confounding factors in two fish species perch (Perca fluviatilis) and roach (Rutilus rutilus) from seven lakes. In addition, relative species abundance was examined. The results showed that both fish species are, perhaps surprisingly, in good general physiological and reproductive health. Perch, however, appeared to be more sensitive to radiation than roach: in the most contaminated lakes, a delay of the maturation of the gonads and the presence of several undeveloped phenotypes were evident only for perch and not for roach

Development of a seaweed-based fixed-bed sorption column for the removal of metals in a waste stream

Fucus vesiculosus, Polysiphonia lanosa, Ulva lactuca and a seaweed waste material resulting from the industrial processing of Ascophyllum nodosum were screened for Zn(II), Ni(II), Al(III) and Sb(III) removal in dried form, in both single and multi-metal systems. The Ascophyllum waste material, which is referred to as Waste Ascophyllum Product (WAP), was also screened in wet form. WAP was shown to be efficient at removing Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III) in both single and multi-metal systems. Removal efficiencies (RE) for dried WAP were 93, 96 and 68% for Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III) respectively in single metal systems. Polysiphonia lanosa was found to be more effective at removing Sb(III) than WAP with a RE of 86%. In multi-metal systems, Sb(III) was found to adversely affect the sorption of Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III) by WAP, while P. lanosa removed Sb(III) in multi-metal systems. The antagonistic effect of Sb(III) on the sorption of the other metals by WAP was investigated using FTIR, XPS and conductimetric titrations. The results demonstrated that Sb(III) was able to bind on a larger and more diversified number of binding sites, preventing the uptake of Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III) by both P. lanosa and WAP. Maximum uptake capacity values (q max) were calculated using the Langmuir, Freundlich and the combined Langmuir-Freundlich sorption isotherms. Q max values were very high in the case of WAP for the sorption of Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III) at 134.05, 114.94 and 99.7 mg/g biosorbent. The respective q max value for P. lanosa and Sb(III) was lower at 47.44 mg/g biosorbent. Fixed-bed column studies using WAP and P. lanosa immobilised in agar resulted in high removal efficiencies (RE), with 90, 90, 74% for Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III) respectively for WAP/agar and 67% for Sb(III) for P. lanosa/agar removal over 3 hours. Agar was found to contribute to the RE. The regeneration and reuse of the biosorbents was achieved using 0.1M HCl with very little loss in metal reuptake efficiency over five sorption cycles. Scale-up of the laboratory column was carried out, with a high RE observed for all metals under investigation. Mathematical and COMSOL modelling were effective tools for representing experimental data and predicting concentration breakthroughs over time