Simultaneous Determination of 11 Sulfonamides by HPLC–UV and Application for Fast Screening of Their Aerobic Elimination and Biodegradation in a Simple Test

Sulfonamides (SAs) are one of the most frequently used antibiotics. SAs have been found in various environmental compartments. If SAs are not degraded in the environment, they can affect bacteria by their antibiotic properties and contribute to bacterial antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the biodegradability of 11 SAs (sulfanilamide, sulfaguanidine monohydrate, sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfachloropyridazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfadimethoxine) was studied. For this purpose, the Closed Bottle Test (CBT, OECD 301D) was performed, which includes a toxicity control. In order to monitor the environmental fate of the parent compound and to check for transformation products, a simple, efficient, and reliable HPLC–UV method for the simultaneous determination of these SAs has been developed. Acetonitrile and water (with 0.1% formic acid) were used as mobile phase solvents for gradient elution. The method was validated in terms of precision, detection and quantitation limits, selectivity, and analytical solution stability. In the CBT, none of these SAs was readily biodegradable. The HPLC–UV analysis confirmed that no degradation of any SA took place. In the toxicity control, these SAs showed no toxic effect in the used concentration of environmental bacteria applied in the test.     

Assessment of the abnormal growth of floating macrophytes in Winam Gulf (Kenya) by using MODIS imagery time series

The objective of this research study is to assess the capability of time-series of MODIS imagery to provide information suitable for enhancing the understanding of the temporal cycles shown by the abnormal growth of the floating macrophytes in order to support monitoring and management action of Lake Victoria water resources.The proliferation of invasive plants and aquatic weeds is of growing concern. Starting from 1989, Lake Victoria has been interested by the high infestation of water hyacinth with significant socio-economic impact on riparian populations.In this paper, we describe an approach based on the time-series of MODIS to derive the temporal behaviour, the abundance and distribution of the floating macrophytes in the Winam Gulf (Kenyan portion of the Lake Victoria) and its possible links to the concentrations of the main water constituencies.To this end, we consider the NDVI values computed from the MODIS imagery time-series from 2000 to 2009 to identify the floating macrophytes cover and an appropriate bio-optical model to retrieve, by means of an inverse procedure, the concentrations of chlorophyll a, coloured dissolved organic matter and total suspended solid.The maps of the floating vegetation based on the NDVI values allow us to assess the spatial and temporal dynamics of the weeds with high time resolution.A floating vegetation index (FVI) has been introduced for describing the weeds pollution level.The results of the analysis show a consistent temporal relation between the water constituent concentrations within the Winam Gulf and the FVI, especially in the proximity of the greatest proliferation of floating vegetation in the last 10 years that occurred between the second half of 2006 and the first half of 2007.The adopted approach will be useful to implement an automatic system for monitoring and predicting the floating macrophytes proliferation in Lake Victoria.     

Effects of reduced salt concentrations on plant communities in the River Werra (Germany)

The reduction and equalization of the salt concentrations in the River Werra have resulted in a gradual recovery of the aquatic flora. Spatial high-resolution macrophyte mappings document the spread of the aquatic vascular plants in the middle and lower River Werra. Simultaneously, the plankton blooms have declined. Changes in the composition of the algal communities including diatoms also indicated lower salinity. In addition to the salinity, high nutrient concentrations, waste water discharges and structural degradation are important stressors in the River Werra as shown by e.g. low species richness of vascular plants and the common occurrence of pollution tolerant diatoms. From the existing data it is clear that an encompassing improvement of the ecological conditions in the River Werra can only be achieved by further restoration measures considering all stressors.     

Spatio-temporal changes in land cover and aquatic macrophytes of the Danube floodplain lake

The aquatic vegetation of ?í?ov Lake in the Danube floodplain, which is listed in the Ramsar Convention, was investigated to address three main questions: (1) how have landscape composition and the structures of the lake and its buffer zone changed from the mid-20th century; (2) how have species richness and the abundance of the aquatic macrophyte assemblage in this lake ecosystem changed over the last 34 years; and (3) which landscape metrics can best explain these temporal changes for floating-leaved macrophytes? Two methodological approaches, remote sensing and botanical field surveys, were applied. Historical (1949, 1970, 1990) and contemporary (2006) aerial photographs were analysed to determine land cover. Landscape configuration and structure were analysed using eight landscape metrics selected in advance to measure spatio-temporal changes and the fragmentation of the lake ecosystem and its corresponding buffer zone. The species diversity, abundance and distribution of true aquatic macrophytes were surveyed eleven times in five survey stretches between 1973 and 2007.At the landscape level, a decrease in the area covered by floating-leaved macrophytes, as well as an increase in open water surface and fragmentation of the land cover classes in the lake ecosystem, were recorded from 1949 to 2006. Overall, 30 true aquatic macrophytes were found from 1973 to 2007. Species richness did not change considerably, but the abundance of aquatic species fluctuated over the years. Three groups of true aquatic vegetation, based on common structural characteristics, were found in 1973–1983, 1989–2002, and 2004–2007 over the last 34 years. The landscape metrics NP, PD, LPI, and SHDI, which all express patterns of landscape fragmentation mostly indicate temporal changes in floating-leaved macrophytes.     

A critical review of approaches to aquatic environmental assessment

As demands on aquatic resources increase, there is a growing need to monitor and assess their condition. This paper reviews a variety of aquatic environmental assessments, at local, national, international and global scales and finds confusion in the terminology used to describe assessments. In particular the terms 'ecosystem' and 'integrated' are often misused resulting in lack of clarity. Therefore, definitions of some assessment terminology are suggested, consolidating existing proposals and simplifying future applications. A conclusion from the review is that a new classification system is required. The categorisation system proposed builds on preliminary work of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Assessment classification is based on the environmental components considered, methodologies and nature of the linkages between components, and the inclusion or exclusion of socio-economic factors. The assessment terminology and categorisation system provided could in future simplify the way that assessments are defined and used to inform development of management strategies.     

Modelling the biogeochemistry of a tidal flat ecosystem with EcoTiM

The ecological tidal model simulates the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphate, and silicate and describes the tidal, diurnal, and annual dynamics of the back barrier area of the island Spiekeroog in the German Bight. The region is characterized by strong tidal currents and extensive tidal flats. It is strongly influenced by the conditions in the southern part of the German Bight. This model study investigates the dependence of the model behavior on the boundary conditions and the forcing. The effect of short- and long-term sea level rise on nutrient and plankton dynamics is analyzed. As the model is set up as semi-Lagrangian with only a coarse approximation of the hydrodynamics, the seasonal and intratidal variability in the biogeochemical cycling can only be reproduced qualitatively. By varying the boundary conditions, the intrinsic dynamics of the back barrier area can be separated from boundary condition effects. This study shows that any agreement between model results and field data cannot be expected without correct boundary conditions. The seasonal variability is of major importance, while higher-frequency variability only plays a minor role.     

翠湖湿地公园水域生物多样性保护与成效

探讨了北京市海淀区翠湖国家城市湿地公园的水域生物多样性及保护方法,论证了生物防治藻类、高等植被恢复等基于物质循环再生原理的方法对水域生物多样性恢复的效果。实践表明,人工湿地污水净水系统、以营养环节来控制水体富营养化的生物水体防治方法,对翠湖湿地的水质有明显的净化、保护和提升作用,对水域生物多样性的保护起到了积极的作用。     

富营养化湖泊围隔中重建水生植被及其生态效应

水体富营养化导致水生植被衰退、蓝藻水华暴发、水质恶化和水生生态系统崩溃.恢复水生植被被认为是改善受损水体水质和提高其生态系统稳定性的重要手段.本研究通过构建大型围隔,根据水生植物的耐污程度及其对水质和底质等条件的需求,选取几种适宜的水生植物在围隔内进行移栽与群落构建,并以不移栽水生植物的围隔和围隔外水体作为对照.实验期间(2011年4月至2012年6月),围隔内移栽的几种水生植物全部存活,并建立了相对稳定的群落.同时还跟踪监测了3个处理组的水质情况,结果显示,移栽水生植物的围隔内水质明显优于围隔外,与未移栽水生植物围隔相比,也有很大程度的改善,其中移栽水生植物围隔内水体的总氮、铵态氮、总磷、水下消光系数相比于围隔外水体分别低30.55%、44.09%、36.04%和42.13%,相比于未移栽水生植物围隔内水体分别低5.96%、13.40%、6.70%和7.60%,透明度分别比围隔外水体和未移栽水生植物围隔水体高74.59%和8.70%,浮游植物生物量也大大低于围隔外,而浮游动物生物量却明显高于后者.此外,实验后移栽水生植物围隔内沉积物氮、磷含量及其间隙水总氮、总磷、铵态氮浓度明显低于围隔外和未移栽水生植物围隔.研究表明,在富营养化浅水湖泊中通过建立围隔进行合理的群落配置,进而逐步恢复水生植物是完全可行的,而水生植物恢复后加强对其管理和维护至关重要.     

大通湖及东洞庭湖区生物体重金属的水平及其生态评价

于2005年11月采集了大通湖及东洞庭湖区湖水和水生生物样品,并测定了水和水生生物样品中重金属(Cd、Pb、Hg、As)的含量,并对湖区生物体重金属进行了污染评价.研究结果表明,大通湖及东洞庭湖区湖水中重金属含量较小,绝大部分采样点水质都属于国家Ⅰ类水标准;水生生物体内CD、Pb含量为虾＞螺＞鱼,Hg的含量为鱼＞螺＞虾,As的含量为螺＞虾＞鱼;而鱼类重金属含量则为底栖鱼类＞中上层鱼类,肉食性鱼类＞植食性鱼类.大通湖及东洞庭湖区生物体中CD、Pb的污染指数为虾＞螺＞鱼,Hg的污染指数则为鱼＞螺＞虾,As的污染指数则为螺＞虾＞鱼.