The acute aquatic toxicity of some substances carried by ships

At the request of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), our laboratory has performed acute toxicity testing with 43 substances, for which insufficient or no data had been available for hazard rating concerning damage to marine living resources.     

有毒铜绿微囊藻对鱼和溞的毒性

用有毒铜绿微囊藻细胞及其从毒细胞中提取的毒素喂养和腹腔注射鱼类,结果表明:(1)微囊藻毒素MCYST-LR对所有实验过的鱼有毒害作用(LD₅₀为110-500μg/kg).注射毒素24h后,鱼肝电镜超微结构观察均表现出肝损伤.(2)在受控条件下,当用有毒铜绿微囊藻作为食物喂养日鲢和罗非鱼时,鱼类能在以毒藻为唯一食物的环境中生活20d以上.白鲢和罗非鱼粪便的毒性比喂食藻类的毒性分别降低约2-4.5倍,其肝的超微结构现察仍有轻度损伤.(3)在培养液中加入15μg/mLMCYST-LR和用实验室纯培养的铜绿微囊藻作为食物培养枝角类时,均可使它们在48h死亡.以无毒微囊藻培养时则生长不良亦不怀卵,表明它不是枝角类合适的食物.     

中国濒危淡水鱼类致危成因分析

中国１０００多种淡水鱼类因受水工建设、围湖造田、乱伐滥垦等改变和破坏水域环境、酷渔滥捕,水体污染,不合理引种,法制不全及执法不力等原因导致部分鱼类濒危。初步确定为９２种,分属９目,２４科,７８属,根据程度分为四个等级,绝灭４种,稀土２３种,濒危２８种,渐危３７种。     

The acute toxicity of motor fuels to brackish water organisms

The addition of synthetic additives, such as methanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to the base fuel, with the aim of raising the octane content of motor fuel, is currently of special interest in Sweden. A question, which has to be solved, is whether it is preferable to carry the additives by ship in separate tanks, because of the probable enhanced toxicity of the motor fuels by the addition of solvents, or not. The acute toxicity of these blend fuels has been compared with the acute toxicity of base fuel, gasoline and low leaded gasoline. As test organisms, two representative species of the Baltic Sea have been used, the harpacticoid Nitocra spinipes and the bleak, Alburnus alburnus. The results of the tests show that the acute toxicity of base fuel to aquatic organisms is not increased by the addition of 15% methanol or 5% MTBE.     

Egg to adult identification of 13 freshwater fishes from Italy: a biochemical-genetic key

The family Cyprinidae comprises most of the freshwater fauna of the North Mediterranean region and it is often numerically dominant. Taxonomy based on morphology is problematic, owing to the high intraspecific variation in phenotypic traits, their overlap between species and environmental plasticity of morphometric and meristic characters. A difficult diagnosis, particularly for young developmental stages, can increase resource mismanagement. Here we report on the occurrence of species-specific allozymic patterns, consistent from eggs to adults. These allowed the construction of a biochemical-genetic key for the identification of all stages of 13 freshwater fishes, mainly cyprinids native to the North Mediterranean region (Alburnus alburnus alborella, Barbus plebejus, Chondrostoma genei, Gobio gobio, Leuciscus cephalus, L. lucumonis, L. souffia, Rutilus rubilio, R. erythrophthalmus, Scardinius erythrophthalmus, Tinca tinca, Pseudorasbora parva and Padogobius martensii).     

Acute toxicity of heavy metals to some marine larvae

The toxicity of copper, mercury and zinc to the larvae of oysters, shrimp, crab and lobsters has been examined over periods of up to 64 hours. Mercury was found to be more toxic than copper and zinc, which had similar levels of toxicity. Over the experimental period, the relationship between toxicity and concentration was linear. Larvae were from 14 to 1,000 times more susceptible than adults of the same species. The median lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) of each metal to the most sensitive species of larvae, tested over a 48 hour period, exceeded the concentrations found in natural sea water by a factor of 100. For longer test periods, the LC₅₀ would be considerably less and this factor would then be considerably reduced. Hence the continued addition of these metals to confined waters should give cause for concern.     

Acute toxicity of alkyl leads to some marine organisms

Following the wreck of the cargo ship Cavtat in the Adriatic Sea and the danger of pollution by alkyl lead antiknock compounds, the acute toxicity of alkyl leads to marine organisms at different trophic levels has been determined in the laboratory.     

Can saltwater toxicity be predicted from freshwater data?

The regulation of substances discharged to estuarine and coastal environments relies upon data derived from ecotoxicity tests. Most such data are generated for freshwater rather than saltwater species. If freshwater toxicity data are related to saltwater toxic effects in a systematic and predictable way, the former can be used to predict the latter. This would have economic advantages due to a reduction in toxicity testing of saltwater species. If toxicity data are plotted as species sensitivity distributions, four theoretical relationships between freshwater and saltwater can be envisaged. Examples show that each one of these relationships is supported by empirical data. These examples show that although there is considerable potential for freshwater to saltwater prediction, species parity and representativeness need to be examined for each chemical substance to avoid bias.     

Year-round variability of ambient noise in temperate freshwater habitats and its implications for fishes

Changes in habitat acoustics over the year can potentially affect fish hearing and orientation to sound, especially in temperate climates. This is the first study where year-round changes in ambient noise in aquatic habitats were assessed. Seven different European freshwater habitats were chosen for this study. Sound pressure level (SPL) and spectral composition of the ambient noise varied in both quiet stagnant habitats (lakes, backwaters) and in flowing habitats (streams, rivers). Linear equivalent SPL (L_{Leq, 60s}) tended to be lower in stagnant habitats (means: 91.6–111.7 dB) than in flowing habitats (means: 111.2–133.4 dB). The changes in SPL were smallest in the river (means: 4.2–4.4 dB, maxima: 8.5–10.1 dB), whereas significantly higher values were measured in stagnant habitats and the stream (means: 9.9–14.9 dB, maxima: 25.1–30.9 dB). The spectral compositions of the ambient noise determined at different times of the year were highly correlated to each other at the river sites (mean cross-correlation coefficients: 0.85 and 0.94) and were weaker or not correlated at the other study sites (means: 0.24–0.76). The changes in ambient noise spectra were negatively correlated to changes in SPL, indicating that large changes in SPLs were accompanied by large changes in spectral composition and vice versa. Comparison of these eco-acoustical data with a preceding study (Amoser and Ladich in J Exp Biol 208:3533–3542, 2005) indicates that the auditory sensitivity in hearing specialists is affected by changes in ambient noise levels and spectra throughout a year and that this effect tends to be more pronounced in stagnant waters and the stream than at river sites. On the other hand, absolute noise levels result in a higher degree of masking in flowing waters.     

应用物种敏感性分布评估有机磷农药对淡水生物的急性生态风险

构建了4种常用有机磷农药(二嗪磷、对硫磷、杀螟硫磷和马拉硫磷)对淡水生物的物种敏感性分布(SSD)曲线,计算了4种有机磷农药对不同淡水生物的5%危害浓度(HC5)及其不同暴露浓度对淡水生物的潜在影响比例(PAF),分析了4种有机磷农药的急性生态风险,比较了脊椎动物和无脊椎动物(包括鱼类、甲壳类以及昆虫与蜘蛛类)对4种有机磷农药的敏感性,评估了3个典型水体中常用有机磷农药的联合生态风险.结果表明:1)通过HC5和PAF值的比较发现,4种有机磷农药对无脊椎动物的毒性与生态风险明显高于脊椎动物,对甲壳类的毒性与生态风险最大,对鱼类的毒性与生态风险最小.2)通过SSD曲线的对比发现,当对数暴露浓度小于3.5μg/L时,4种有机磷农药对无脊椎动物的生态风险明显高于脊椎动物;而当对数暴露浓度大于4.5μg/L时,其对脊椎动物的生态风险较大.3)在绝大多数暴露浓度下,无脊椎动物比脊椎动物对4种有机磷农药更敏感;在较低暴露浓度下,甲壳类对4种有机磷农药的敏感性较高;而在较高暴露浓度下,昆虫和蜘蛛类对其敏感性较高.4)长江、九龙江和五小川流域水体中对硫磷与马拉硫磷对淡水生物的PAF以及它们的复合潜在影响比例(msPAF)均小于0.5%,生态风险很低.     

The toxicity of ammonium molybdate to marine invertebrates

Molybdenum occurs naturally in seawater as molybdate ion, but little is known of its effects, at elevated concentrations, upon marine organisms. The toxicity of ammonium molybdate, a constituent of some industrial wastes, to marine invertebrates has now been tested. It proves to be not very toxic.     

Respiratory response of cunners to silver

Cunners, a common inshore teleost fish of the north-east coast of the United States, were exposed to various concentrations of silver for 96 h. At the end of this exposure period measurements of gill-tissue oxygen consumption were made. Significant respiratory depression was noted after exposure to concentrations as low as 0.12 ppm. These results are compared to those of similar studies using cadmium and mercury as the test metals.     

Comparison of the behavioural and acute toxicity of copper to sheepshead,Atlantic croaker and pinfish

Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogon undulatus) and pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) were each exposed to aqueous solutions of reagent grade cupric chloride in artificial seawater in four static bioassays. The 24, 48, 72 and 96-h TL_m were determined to be, respectively, 4.17, 3.02, 2.19 and 1.14 mg Cu²⁺·I^?1 for sheepshead, 9.15, 7.55, 7.20 and 5.66 mg Cu²⁺·I^?1 for croaker, and 7.33, 4.43, 4.14 and 2.75 mg Cu²⁺·I^?1 for pinfish. These results are compared with literature values of experimental concentrations of copper producing subtle behavioural changes in these species.     

Effect of salinity on acute copper and zinc toxicity to Tigriopus japonicus: The difference between metal ions and nanoparticles

We investigated the effects of salinity (5‰, 15‰, 25‰ and 35‰) on metal ion (Cu and Zn) and nanoparticle (NP) CuO and ZnO toxicity to Tigriopus japonicus. Increasing the test media volume without renewal increased the 96-h LC₅₀ for Cu (32.75 mg L⁻¹) compared to the reported value (3.9 mg L⁻¹). There was no significant difference in acute toxicity at different salinities between acclimated and unacclimated T. japonicus (p > 0.05). Increasing salinity decreased the dissolved concentrations of Cu and Zn ions due to the precipitation of the metal ions, consequently reducing the acute toxicity to T. japonicus. The effect of salinity on acute CuO and ZnO NP toxicity was similar to that on metal ion toxicity. Since the aggregation of NPs generally enhanced at higher salinities, both the dissolution and aggregation of CuO and ZnO NPs may control the effect of salinity on acute toxicity to T. japonicus.     

The role of external ammonium inputs in freshwater acidification

Gaseous ammonia released into the atmosphere from animal manure, fertilizer and industrial processes, neutralizes acid oxidation products of sulphur and nitrogen oxides in precipitation. This results in a substantial increase in pH of precipitation. Once deposited in soil or water, the ammonium compounds may be oxidized to nitric acid. This means that hydrogen ions neutralized in the atmosphere are now released. This paper concerns bulk precipitation sampled at some selected northern Italian and Dutch sites, representing areas with different regional industrial and agricultural impact. In addition the role of external loads of ammonium in freshwater acidification is discussed considering an ammonium sulphate polluted subalpine lake in northern Italy and the results of experimentla studies on susceptible soft water systems in The Netherlands. In these cases the acidifying effect of biochemical ammonium conversions, particularly ammonium oxidation, was evident, reaching pH values below 4. Regarding the deleterious chemical and ecological effects, a reduction in the emission of gaseous ammonia is programmed for The Netherlands. In the Alpine region atmospheric ammonia and ammonium also constitute a threat for sensitive ecosystems.     

鳙、鲢鱼鳞作为稳定同位素研究非致命采样替代物的有效性

稳定同位素分析技术已成为食物网研究中的关键技术,通用方法是取鱼类背部白色肌肉,在实际应用过程会导致鱼类的死亡,因而有所局限.使用非致命组织作为稳定同位素研究中的替代组织越来越得到关注,但是目前国内尚未开展相关研究.比较鳙(Aristichthy nobilis)、鲢(Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)鱼鳞与肌肉组织中δ13C和δ15N比值,发现鳙、鲢的鱼鳞与肌肉组织中δ13C和δ15N比值均有显著差异.鱼鳞δ13C比值比肌肉更富集,平均高2.54‰,而δ15N比值比肌肉平均低0.7‰.对鳙、鲢的鱼鳞与肌肉组织δ15N比值含量进行相关分析发现,通过构建线性模型,可用校正后的鱼鳞δ15N比值替代肌肉组织δ15N比值.鲢的鱼鳞与肌肉组织δ13C比值存在显著线性相关,而鳙的鱼鳞与肌肉组织δ13C比值无显著相关关系.     

Sensitivity of climate response to variations in freshwater hosing location

In a recent intercomparison of the response of general circulation models (GCMs) to high-latitude freshwater forcing (Stouffer et al., J Climate 19(8):1365–1387, 2006), a number of the GCMs investigated showed a localised warming response in the high-latitude North Atlantic, as opposed to the cooling that the other models showed. We investigated the causes for this warming by testing the sensitivity of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) to variations in freshwater forcing location, and then analysing in detail the causes of the warming. By analysing results from experiments with HadCM3, we are able to show that the high-latitude warming is independent of the exact location of the additional freshwater in the North Atlantic or Arctic Ocean basin. Instead, the addition of freshwater changes the circulation in the sub-polar gyre, which leads to enhanced advection of warm, saline, sub-surface water into the Greenland–Iceland–Norwegian Sea despite the overall slowdown of the MOC. This sub-surface water is brought to the surface by convection, where it leads to a strong warming of the surface waters and the overlying atmosphere.     

Acute toxicity of inorganic mercury to Capitella

The polychaete worm Capitella capitata is shown to be fairly resistant to high concentrations of inorganic mercury. Survival of adults compared with those of the polychaete Ophryotrocha labronica shows that C. capitata can withstand 1 ppm Hg²⁺ for several days whilst O. labronica succombs to 0.5 ppm Hg²⁺ in 2 h.     

Acute toxicity of copper to a copepod

The acute toxicity of copper to the marine copepod Acartia clausi was determined by means of static bioassays. Natural copepod assemblages from two different locations, one from an area polluted with industrial effluents and domestic wastes and another from a relatively uncontaminated area, were compared. Results of metal toxicity tests expressed as 48 h LC₅₀ values indicate a significant difference in the tolerance of copper between the two populations, with the LC₅₀ of the pollution-adapted population higher than that of the population from the uncontaminated area.     

Acute toxicity of copper to sea catfish

Sea catfish (Arius felis) were exposed to aqueous solutions of reagent grade cupric chloride in artificial seawater ($\text{30.0±2.0‰}$, 21–23°C) in four static bioassays. The 24, 48, 72 and 96 h LC₅₀ were calculated and found to be 5.43, 4.17, 3.57 and 2.40 mg l.^?1 copper, respectively. Experimental concentrations of copper producing subtle behavioral changes in this species correspond to less than 0.3% of the 72 h LC₅₀. Based on this comparison with literature values, a new, maximum ‘safe’ concentration for copper in marine waters of 0.01 mg l.^?1 is proposed.