The dependence of organohalogen compound concentrations on herring age and size in the Bothnian Sea, northern Baltic

The concentrations and composition profiles of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated naphthalenes were determined in herring individuals collected from the commercial catches of the Bothnian Sea, northern Baltic. The median age of herring was 5.0 years and in the muscle the median toxic equivalent concentration of PCDD/Fs was 5.6 WHO(PCDD/F)-TEQ pg/g fresh weight (fw) and that of PCBs 2.7 WHO(PCB)-TEQ pg/g fw. The median sum concentration of PBDEs was 1.4 ng/g fw and that of PCNs 0.1 ng/g fw. Differences in age-dependent accumulation between the organohalogen groups and individual congeners were major. In the Bothnian Sea the content of organohalogen compounds in herring is obviously elevated due to the availability and large proportion of Mysis crustaceans in their diet. More intensive fishing could reduce the concentrations of organohalogens, including the abundant, accumulative and toxic 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF congener in the Baltic herring catch.     

Combination of ICP-AES and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis as Effective Methods for Studying Distribution of Elements in Soil and Plants

A detailed characterisation was carried out for soil sampled from sites with different levels of contamination before and after the cultivation of oats and barley. Mineralogical composition, concentration of exchangeable cations, dynamics of soil pH and acid neutralisation buffer capacity of the soil were studied. A total of 21 elements in the soil and 28 elements in the plants were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Distribution of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb in soil leachates was studied by sequential leaching procedure and ICP-AES. It was found that plants significantly affect most of the soil characteristics including the leaching of heavy metals.     

Fluid–rock interaction at a carbonatite-gneiss contact, Alnö, Sweden

We evaluate balanced metasomatic reactions and model coupled reactive and isotopic transport at a carbonatite-gneiss contact at Alnö, Sweden. We interpret structurally channelled fluid flow along the carbonatite-gneiss contact at ～640°C. This caused (1) metasomatism of the gneiss, by the reaction: ${\hbox{biotite} + \hbox{quartz} + \hbox{oligoclase} + \hbox{K}_{2} \hbox{O} +\,\hbox{Na}_{2}\hbox{O} \pm \hbox{CaO} \pm \hbox{MgO} \pm \hbox{FeO} = \hbox{albite} + \hbox{K-feldspar} + \hbox{arfvedsonite} + \hbox{aegirene-}\hbox{augite} + \hbox{H}_{2} \hbox{O} + \hbox{SiO}_{2}}We evaluate balanced metasomatic reactions and model coupled reactive and isotopic transport at a carbonatite-gneiss contact at Aln?, Sweden. We interpret structurally channelled fluid flow along the carbonatite-gneiss contact at ∼640°C. This caused (1) metasomatism of the gneiss, by the reaction: , (2) metasomatism of carbonatite by the reaction: calcite + SiO₂ = wollastonite + CO₂, and (3) isotopic homogenization of the metasomatised region. We suggest that reactive weakening caused the metasomatised region to widen and that the metasomatic reactions are chemically (and possibly mechanically) coupled. Spatial separation of reaction and isotope fronts in the carbonatite conforms to a chromatographic model which assumes local calcite–fluid equilibrium, yields a timescale of 10²–10⁴ years for fluid–rock interaction and confirms that chemical transport towards the carbonatite interior was mainly by diffusion. We conclude that most silicate phases present in the studied carbonatite were acquired by corrosion and assimilation of ijolite, as a reactive by-product of this process and by metasomatism. The carbonatite was thus a relatively pure calcite–H₂O−CO₂–salt melt or fluid.     

Biomarker responses as indication of contaminant effects in blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and female eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) from the southwestern Baltic Sea

During a field study performed in spring and autumn 2001 and 2002, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and female eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) were collected at three locations in the Wismar Bay (Baltic Sea), and several biomarkers of contaminant effects were analysed. Besides seasonal and inter-annual variations, biomarker signals were most pronounced at the location closest to Wismar Harbour (Wendorf) in both species. Lysosomal membrane stability (LMS) was lowest and acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) was significantly reduced. Frequency of micronuclei (MN) was significantly higher (in blue mussels), indicating mutagenic effects. In eelpout elevated levels of DNA adducts, EROD induction and PAH-metabolites were measured. Metallothionein (MT), biomarker for trace metal exposure, showed a gradient only in spring. Organochlorine contaminant analyses (PCBs, DDTs) corresponded to the observed biomarker levels. The results obtained clearly demonstrate pollution effects in the southwestern Baltic Sea. Moreover, they show that a multibiomarker approach is also applicable in a brackish water environment.     

Biochemical genetic study of sympatric Lake Constance whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) populations: “Blaufelchen” and “Gangfisch”

Ripe females of whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) of Lake Constance were caught at spawning time on their known spawning sites. Fish were examined for their size, gill-raker number, and for their egg dry weight. On the basis of their spawning sites as well as on correlation between body weight and egg weight, fish were allocated at one of the two sympatric populations: nearshore spawning Gangfisch or pelagic spawning Blaufelchen. The two fish samples were examined electrophoretically for the enzyme products of 37 genetic loci. Blaufelchen and Gangfisch were genetically identical (Nei's unbiased genetic distance D = 0.000) when all fish samples were included into the analysis. However, some genetic differentiation (D = 0.001) was evident after excluding the fish whose data points on body weight versus egg weight overlapped. Additional enzyme systems or some other genetic methodology should be used to provide more information on the genetic status of the two whitefish forms in Lake Constance.Contribution No. 8 in the Program of Joint Investigation of Holarctic Fishes among the Russia, Canada, Finland, and Poland     

Zonation and spatial distribution of littoral fish communities from the southwestern Finnish coast (Archipelago and Bothnian Sea,Northern Baltic Sea)

The aim of our study was to test whether the distribution of littoral fish assemblages would reflect both their immediate environment with reference to local underwater vegetation, including larger scale geographic archipelagial zonation. A total of 62 locations were sampled using beach seine and underwater video along the southwestern Finnish coastline in summer 2001. At all locations, water temperature, water transparency and benthic vegetation patterns (depth ranges of plant species or taxa) were recorded. Using correspondence analysis, our results showed a clear division of the Archipelago Sea into three separate zones based on littoral fish species assemblages. Overall, fish assemblages formed three distinct site groups, being dominated by pike and cyprinids, by percids and gobies, or by gasterosteids, and showed clear inner, middle and outer archipelago zones respectively, within the study area. Our results suggest that while vegetation in the study sites was diverse, it failed to express the zonation reflected by the littoral fish assemblages, which showed a definite zonation pattern which broadly reflected previous reports using both physical and biological parameters. We interpret our results to show that littoral vegetation is better in expressing small-scale differences between study sites, while littoral fish communities are more robust in detecting changes over a larger geographical scale.     

Biochemical biomarkers in adult female perch (Perca fluviatilis) in a chronically polluted gradient in the Stockholm recipient (Sweden)

A battery of biochemical biomarkers and the SigmaPCB concentration in adult female perch (Perca fluviatilis) verified an aquatic pollution gradient with the city of Stockholm (Sweden) as a point source of anthropogenic substances. The investigation included both an upstream gradient, 46 km westwards through Lake M?laren, and a downstream gradient, 84 km eastwards through the Stockholm archipelago. Besides the main gradient from Stockholm, there were strong indications of pollution coming from the Baltic Sea. The results indicated a severe pollution situation in central Stockholm, with poor health status of the perch, characterised by increased specific EROD activity in the liver, increased liver EROD somatic index, decreased AChE activity in the muscle, increased amount of DNA adducts in the liver, and a high concentration of biliary 1-pyrenol. In addition, laboratory exposure to common EROD inducers elicited an abnormal response, suggestive of chronic intoxication.     

Origin of silicate minerals in carbonatites from Alnö Island,Sweden: magmatic crystallization or wall rock assimilation?

Textural, electron microprobe and whole rock geochemical evidence from carbonatites and associated silicate rocks on Alnö Island, Sweden, suggest that the carbonatite, at the time of emplacement, could have been an (almost) pure CaCO₃ liquid with a high volatile (H₂O–CO₂) content and that most silicate minerals, which are ubiquitously present, are either (1) assimilated from the surrounding wall rock, by progressive and coupled fragmentation and corrosion; or (2) by‐products of corrosive interaction between the carbonatite liquid and the wall rock. This interpretation is supported by balancing a reaction to describe interaction between carbonatite and a cpx + ne‐bearing (ijolite) wall rock. Although our analysis does not preclude the possibility that fenitizing agents (e.g. Na, Fe) were transported by the carbonatite liquid, these components are not required to drive the observed mineralogical changes in the carbonatite.