The effects of water quality on freshwater fish populations - final report

There is a need to determine quantitative relationships between fishery status and water quality in order to make informed judgements concerning fishery health and the setting of environmental quality standards for fishery protection. Such relationships would also assist in the formulation of a system for classifying fisheries. A national database of fisheries and water quality has been collated from the archives of pollution control authorities throughout the UK. A number of probable and potential water quality effects on fish populations have been identified from a thorough analysis of the database, notwithstanding large confounding effects such as habitat variation and fish mobility, and the generally sparse nature of water quality information. A number of different approaches to data analysis was utilised, and the value of each has been appraised. Recommendations concerning the integration of water quality assessment approaches have been made and further research on fishery status, and its measurement, in relation to water quality has been suggested

Stable Isotopic Tracing—A Way Forward for Nanotechnology

Numerous publications and reports have expressed health and safety concerns about the production and use of nanoparticles, especially in areas of exposure monitoring, personal use, and environmental fate and transport. We suggest that stable isotopic tracers, which have been used widely in the earth sciences and in metabolic and other health-related studies for several decades, could be used to address many of these issues. One such example we are pursuing is the use of stable isotopes to monitor dermal absorption of zinc and titanium oxides in sunscreen preparations and other personal care products. Other potential applications of this tracing approach are discussed

The graphical presentation of lead isotope data for environmental source apportionment

Lead isotope ratios are widely used to identify original sources of Pb in the environment. Such source apportionment depends on the ability to distinguish potential sources on the basis of their isotopic composition. However, almost all terrestrial Pb is co-linear in some of the plots i.e. <sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>208</sup>Pb versus <sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>207</sup>Pb and <sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb versus <sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>207</sup>Pb commonly presented in the literature. These diagrams are unable to distinguish more than two sources of environmental Pb. Linear trends in such plots are an inevitable consequence of the co-linearity of terrestrial leads and should not be taken necessarily to indicate simple binary mixing of sources. A more reliable test for multiple source mixing can be obtained from plots involving <sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb, <sup>207</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb and <sup>208</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb and therefore requires measurements of the minor <sup>204</sup>Pb isotope

Species management in aquatic Habitats WRc Dec 1993

This is the Species management in aquatic Habitats WRc Dec 1993 produced by the National Rivers Authority in 1993. This report is focused on the Phase 1 of the Species Management in Aquatic Habitats, based on the Development of priority lists of rare and nuisance species for the National Rivers Authority (NRA). Certain ‘nuisance’ species cause problems for conservation by having a negative impact on more valued species or ecosystems. This project was initiated as part of a programme of research to develop strategies for the management of both rare and nuisance species. This project identified key rare and nuisance species of interest to the NRA and prioritised research needs to develop conservation strategies for these species. A combined provisional list of almost a thousand rare species, a priority list of 58 species of potential interest and a priority list of nine nuisance species was developed by a process of literature review and from suggestions by NRA conservation staff

Concerns about quadrupole ICP-MS lead isotopic data and interpretations in the environment and health fields

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15 (2018): 723, doi:10.3390/ijerph15040723.There has been a massive increase in recent years of the use of lead (Pb) isotopes in attempts to better understand sources and pathways of Pb in the environment and in man or experimental animals. Unfortunately, there have been many cases where the quality of the isotopic data, especially that obtained by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Q-ICP-MS), are questionable, resulting in questionable identification of potential sources, which, in turn, impacts study interpretation and conclusions. We present several cases where the isotopic data have compromised interpretation because of the use of only the major isotopes 208Pb/206Pb and 207Pb/206Pb, or their graphing in other combinations. We also present some examples comparing high precision data from thermal ionization (TIMS) or multi-collector plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) to illustrate the deficiency in the Q-ICP-MS data. In addition, we present cases where Pb isotopic ratios measured on Q-ICP-MS are virtually impossible for terrestrial samples. We also evaluate the Pb isotopic data for rat studies, which had concluded that Pb isotopic fractionation occurs between different organs and suggest that this notion of biological fractionation of Pb as an explanation for isotopic differences is not valid. Overall, the brief review of these case studies shows that Q-ICP-MS as commonly practiced is not a suitable technique for precise and accurate Pb isotopic analysis in the environment and health field

Effect of Grazing Muzzles on the Rate of Pelleted Feed Intake in Horses

Esophageal obstruction or “choke” is a relatively common occurrence in the equine industry. It often results from improper mastication, consuming feed too quickly, dehydration or a decrease in saliva production. Esophageal obstruction is a medical emergency during which a horse cannot dislodge a bolus of feed from the esophagus and must wait for human intervention or for the block to be softened and moved by peristalsis. This condition may result in the formation of ulcers, esophageal rupture, aspiration pneumonia, and possibly death. Grazing muzzles have been shown to slow the rate of forage intake. We hypothesized that grazing muzzles could also be used to decrease the rate of pelleted feed intake and so possibly reduce the risk of equine esophageal obstruction in horses fed large meals of pelleted feed. The objective of this research was to compare the rate of pelleted feed intake for horses wearing grazing muzzles to those wearing no muzzle. Utilizing a crossover design, horses were randomly assigned to three groups with each horse receiving each treatment. Treatments were as follows: No Muzzle (NM), Easy Breath Grazing Muzzle (EBGM), or Tough 1 Nylon Grazing Muzzle (TNGM). Eight adult stock-type horses age 5 ±1 years, were offered 2.27 kg of pelleted concentrate to consume in a 10-minute period once daily. The study was comprised of three periods (5 days each) with a two-day resting period between each. Horses were weighed daily and no significant change in bodyweight was observed. Data for daily intake were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS with significance established at P \u3c 0.05. Both the EBGM and the TNGM reduced rate of intake (P \u3c 0.05) during a 10-minute feeding interval as compared with NM. The findings of this study revealed that grazing muzzles may be a viable option to reduce the rate of intake of pelleted feed, which may benefit horses susceptible to choke as a 31 result of rapid feed ingestion