Impairment of trophic interactions between zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) and midge larvae ( Chironomus riparius ) by chlorpyrifos

The effects of chemicals on biotic interactions, such as competition and predation, have rarely been investigated in aquatic ecotoxicology. This study presents a new approach for the investigation of predator-prey interactions between zebrafish (Danio rerio) and midge larvae (Chironomus riparius) impaired by chlorpyrifos (CHP), a neurotoxic insecticide. With a simple experimental design including four different treatments: (1) control, (2) predator exposed, (3) prey exposed and (4) both, predator and prey, exposed, we were able to detect by visual observation an increase in the feeding rate of zebrafish preying on exposed chironomids after acute (2h) exposure to 6μg/l CHP. Previously, a decrease in the burrowing behaviour of exposed chironomid larvae was observed. However, when pre-exposing simultaneously both predators and prey, no significant differences in the feeding rate of zebrafish were observed. This suggests an impairment in prey recognition of the exposed zebrafish. At a lower CHP concentration (1μg/l), no differences in feeding rate of zebrafish were observed. We therefore propose the use of trophic interactions as parameters in higher tier studies for chemical testing and evaluation of ecotoxicological risk assessmen

Impact of the Antidiabetic Drug Metformin and Its Transformation Product Guanylurea on the Health of the Big Ramshorn Snail (Planorbarius corneus)

Pharmaceuticals can enter surface waters via sewage treatment plants. In the environment, the substances and their transformation products, formed by the degradation of the parent compounds, can affect aquatic wildlife, including freshwater invertebrates. However, research on pharmaceutical-induced effects in wild freshwater organisms other than fish is still scarce. In our study, we investigated the impact of the highly consumed antidiabetic drug metformin and its main transformation product, guanylurea, on the health of a freshwater gastropod—the big ramshorn snail (Planorbarius corneus) by analysing its biochemical and cellular stress responses and apical parameters. The snails were exposed to different concentrations of the drug (0, 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/L) and its transformation product (0, 0.1, 10, and 100 mg/L). The examined parameters were mortality, weight, tissue integrity of the hepatopancreas, and the levels of stress proteins and lipid peroxides. Mortality and the levels of stress proteins and lipid peroxides were not influenced by the two substances. In response to the highest concentrations of both chemicals, the weight of the snails was slightly but not significantly reduced. The histopathological investigation of the hepatopancreas revealed a significant effect of guanylurea at a concentration of 100 mg/L with an increased number of symptoms of cellular responses in the tissue (e.g., dilated lumen, disturbed compartmentation of the digestive cells, nucleus deformation, hyperplasia, and hypertrophy of crypt cells). For the parent compound, a similar trend was also observed for the highest concentration. Overall, the observed effects did not occur at environmentally relevant concentrations, but at concentrations which were 10,000 times higher than these. Thus, the results did not give rise to a major concern that metformin and guanylurea could pose a risk to the big ramshorn snail in the environment

Impact of a Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade on Amphipods and Other Macroinvertebrates: Individual and Community Responses

In the present study, we investigated the efficiency of additional wastewater treatment based on powdered activated carbon and its benefit for the ecosystem of a connected river system in the catchment area of Lake Constance, Southern Germany. We focused on the overall health status of gammarids and the integrity of the macrozoobenthic community. Samples were taken up- and down-stream of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), as well as before and after its upgrading. The investigations showed that both sex ratio and fecundity of gammarids, as well as the macrozoobenthic community were affected by the effluent prior to the WWTP upgrade. After the upgrade, gammarids from the downstream site did not differ any longer from those collected upstream of the WWTP with respect to the investigated health parameters. Furthermore, the overall number of taxa and, particularly, the number of sensitive taxa within the macrozoobenthic community downstream of the WWTP increased considerably. Therefore, we conclude that the additional treatment with powdered activated carbon was highly efficient to improve invertebrate health and community integrity

Does the antidiabetic drug metformin affect embryo development and the health of brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario)?

Abstract Background Due to the rising number of type 2 diabetes patients, the antidiabetic drug, metformin is currently among those pharmaceuticals with the highest consumption rates worldwide. Via sewage-treatment plants, metformin enters surface waters where it is frequently detected in low concentrations (µg/L). Since possible adverse effects of this substance in aquatic organisms have been insufficiently explored to date, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of metformin on health and development in brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario) and its microbiome. Results Brown trout embryos were exposed to 0, 1, 10, 100 and 1000 µg/L metformin over a period from 48 days post fertilisation (dpf) until 8 weeks post-yolk sac consumption at 7 °C (156 dpf) and 11 °C (143 dpf). Chemical analyses in tissues of exposed fish showed the concentration-dependent presence of metformin in the larvae. Mortality, embryonic development, body length, liver tissue integrity, stress protein levels and swimming behaviour were not influenced. However, compared to the controls, the amount of hepatic glycogen was higher in larvae exposed to metformin, especially in fish exposed to the lowest metformin concentration of 1 µg/L, which is environmentally relevant. At higher metformin concentrations, the glycogen content in the liver showed a high variability, especially for larvae exposed to 1000 µg/L metformin. Furthermore, the body weight of fish exposed to 10 and 100 µg/L metformin at 7 °C and to 1 µg/L metformin at 11 °C was decreased compared with the respective controls. The results of the microbiome analyses indicated a shift in the bacteria distribution in fish exposed to 1 and 10 µg/L metformin at 7 °C and to 100 µg/L metformin at 11 °C, leading to an increase of Proteobacteria and a reduction of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Conclusions Overall, weight reduction and the increased glycogen content belong to the described pharmaceutical effects of the drug in humans, but this study showed that they also occur in brown trout larvae. The impact of a shift in the intestinal microbiome caused by metformin on the immune system and vitality of the host organism should be the subject of further research before assessing the environmental relevance of the pharmaceutical

A Self-Consistent Solution to the Nuclear Many-Body Problem at Finite Temperature

The properties of symmetric nuclear matter are investigated within the Green's functions approach. We have implemented an iterative procedure allowing for a self-consistent evaluation of the single-particle and two-particle propagators. The in-medium scattering equation is solved for a realistic (non-separable) nucleon-nucleon interaction including both particle-particle and hole-hole propagation. The corresponding two-particle propagator is constructed explicitely from the single-particle spectral functions. Results are obtained for finite temperatures and an extrapolation to T=0 is presented.Comment: 11 pages 5 figure

Integrated toxicity evaluation of a pulp deposit using organisms of different trophic levels

Purpose: In order to assess possible adverse effects originating from pulp deposits in a Swiss lake, a sediment quality triad approach was applied with chemical, ecotoxicological and ecological assessment methods. Materials and methods: To obtain an integrative picture of the potential ecotoxicological effects on organisms of different trophic levels, four test procedures were applied. The acute effects of pulp deposit pore water on a decomposer, the amphipod Gammarus fossarum, were monitored. Chronic toxicity of the pore water was evaluated on primary producers via a growth inhibition test with unicellular green algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) and on secondary consumers in a reproduction test with the water flea Ceriodaphnia dubia. To evaluate the effects of the pulp deposit on sediment inhabitants, a whole-life-cycle test with the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius was undertaken. Chemical assessment included dissolved organic carbon, extractable organic halogenic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. The composition of the macrozoobenthos community was analysed in order to assess the ecological effects. Results and discussion: G. fossarum displayed increased locomotor activity at 12.5% but not at 25% sample concentration during a short-time exposure of 20h. Chronic effects compromised the reproduction and growth of C. dubia (lowest observed effect concentration, 12.5% sample concentration) with zero population growth in 100% pulp deposit pore water. In 100% pulp deposit, C. riparius exhibited increased mortality at 10 and 17days after oviposition. Pulp deposits of 50% and 100% concentration caused a significantly lower emergence compared with the reference treatments (lake sediment and quartz sand). Additionally, the locomotor activity of chironomids decreased significantly in 25-100% pulp deposit. No chronic effects of pulp deposit pore water on algae photosynthesis and growth could be detected. The bioassay results were in accordance with an elevated content of PAHs, PCBs and metals in the pulp deposit. Significantly more organisms known to be tolerant to organic pollution were present within the macrozoobenthos community. Conclusions: In general, for sediment inhabitants such as chironomids, the pulp deposit has to be classified toxic. In the present test setup, the toxicity of the pulp deposit was reflected better by the chronic test systems applied than by the acute ones. The applied testing framework could be a suitable tool to assess the risk of contaminated sites, and this information will help decide whether risk mitigation measures should be taken. In addition, with a similar approach, the success of any mitigation measures taken can be assesse

Interacting Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics and the Antidepressant Amitriptyline on Early Life Stages of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta f. fario)

Whether microplastics themselves or their interactions with chemicals influence the health and development of aquatic organisms has become a matter of scientific discussion. In aquatic environments, several groups of chemicals are abundant in parallel to microplastics. The tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline is frequently prescribed, and residues of it are regularly found in surface waters. In the present study, the influence of irregularly shaped polystyrene microplastics (<50 µm), amitriptyline, and their mixture on early life-stages of brown trout were investigated. In a first experiment, the impacts of 100, 104, and 105 particles/L were studied from the fertilization of eggs until one month after yolk-sac consumption. In a second experiment, eggs were exposed in eyed ova stages to 105, 106 particles/L, to amitriptyline (pulse-spiked, average 48 ± 33 µg/L) or to two mixtures for two months. Microplastics alone did neither influence the development of fish nor the oxidative stress level or the acetylcholinesterase activity. Solely, a slight effect on the resting behavior of fry exposed to 106 particles/L was observed. Amitriptyline exposure exerted a significant effect on development, caused elevated acetylcholinesterase activity and inhibition of two carboxylesterases. Most obvious was the severely altered swimming and resting behavior. However, effects of amitriptyline were not modulated by microplastics

SchussenAktivplus: reduction of micropollutants and of potentially pathogenic bacteria for further water quality improvement of the river Schussen, a tributary of Lake Constance, Germany

The project focuses on the efficiency of combined technologies to reduce the release of micropollutants and bacteria into surface waters via sewage treatment plants of different size and via stormwater overflow basins of different types. As a model river in a highly populated catchment area, the river Schussen and, as a control, the river Argen, two tributaries of Lake Constance, Southern Germany, are under investigation in this project. The efficiency of the different cleaning technologies is monitored by a wide range of exposure and effect analyses including chemical and microbiological techniques as well as effect studies ranging from molecules to communities

Excited States of Ladder-type Poly-p-phenylene Oligomers

Ground state properties and excited states of ladder-type paraphenylene oligomers are calculated applying semiempirical methods for up to eleven phenylene rings. The results are in qualitative agreement with experimental data. A new scheme to interpret the excited states is developed which reveals the excitonic nature of the excited states. The electron-hole pair of the S1-state has a mean distance of approximately 4 Angstroem.Comment: 24 pages, 21 figure