A comparison of results from two test methods for assessing the toxicity of aminotriazole to Selenastrum capricornutum

Two different test methods for assessing the toxicity of aminotriazole to Selenastrum capricornutum are compared. Growth medium composition is demonstrated to have a significant effect on the toxicity of aminotriazole.     

Effects on fisheries and waterbirds of raising water levels at Kerkini Reservoir,a Ramsar site in northern greece

A new, higher dam was installed at Kerkini Reservoir in 1982, causing habitat and landscape disruption. A decrease in the area of grassland and shallow water areas, the rapid disappearance of reedbeds, the appearance of beds ofNymphaea, and the disappearance of half the forest area were all observed between 1982 and 1991. With the new hydrological regime, a lacustrine system was created, with an extensive, rather deep (4–8 m), pelagic zone favorable for the development of coarse fish species throughout the year. After 1982, an increase in fishing effort and a change in the relative abundance of fish species in the catch, including the disappearance of eels and wels, were observed. The impact of the rise in the water level of breeding aquatic birds led to a general decline in species typical of marshy habitats in favor of species preferring deeper open water habitats. A decrease was recorded in bird species that feed largely on invertebrates and to a lesser extent fish (e.g., glossy ibis) and that require extensive shallow feeding areas. There was a decline in geese, whose nests were regularly flooded, and a major increase in piscivorous birds, particularly diving birds (e.g., cormorants), which prefer deeper open water and benefitted directly from the large increase in coarse fish biomass. The disappearance of birds breeding in flooded meadows (e.g., black-winged stilts) and of those restricted to reedbeds (e.g., marsh harrier) occurred from 1983. Over the same period, the changes in populations of wintering birds at Kerkini were different from those occurring in other wetlands in northern Greece. The changes recorded in the populations of wintering birds at Kerkini did not therefore result from overall regional trends but from the major habitat modifications that occurred to this wetland. As for breeding birds, strictly piscivorous species increased greatly as a result of the increased availability of fish, but also due to the appearance of many suitable night roosting sites (flooded trees) and to the great increase in the area of open water greater than 2 m deep. Today, Kerkini has become the most important breeding site in Greece for a majority of colonial waterbirds. In contrast, wintering shorebirds practically disappeared. The many changes recorded in the status of breeding and wintering birds at Kerkini can mostly be explained by the changes that occurred in the functioning of the ecosystem and in the habitat structure following the inauguration of the new hydrological regime. These changes did not all occur at the same time: some were immediate and others required a delay before they could be detected.     

Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in wood treatment materials and treated wood

The octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) concentrations have been determined in aged samples of commercial pentachlorophenol (PCP), in wood protection formulations containing PCP and in wood treated with PCP as a preservative or as an anti-sapstain treatment. The concentrations of OCDD found in the various samples are within the range expected from the amount of commercial PCP initially present in the samples. In view of the known stability of OCDD the results are interpreted as indicating that the formulation, treatment and ageing processes have not led to any substantial conversion of PCP to OCDD; although one result indicates that outdoor exposure of treated samples increased the OCDD concentration by a factor of approximately 2 after $\text{3}\text{1}\text{2}$ years. Analysis of aged samples of treated wood indicate that OCDD is lost much less rapidly from the wood than PCP.     

Innocent until proven guilty? Stable coexistence of alien rainbow trout and native marble trout in a Slovenian stream

To understand the consequences of the invasion of the nonnative rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss on the native marble trout Salmo marmoratus, we compared two distinct headwater sectors where marble trout occur in allopatry (MTa) or sympatry (MTs) with rainbow trout (RTs) in the Idrijca River (Slovenia). Using data from field surveys from 2002 to 2009, with biannual (June and September) sampling and tagging from June 2004 onwards, we analyzed body growth and survival probabilities of marble trout in each stream sector. Density of age-0 in September over the study period was greater for MTs than MTa and very similar between MTs and RTs, while density of trout ≥age-1 was similar for MTa and MTs and greater than density of RTs. Monthly apparent survival probabilities were slightly higher in MTa than in MTs, while RTs showed a lower survival than MTs. Mean weight of marble and rainbow trout aged 0+ in September was negatively related to cohort density for both marble and rainbow trout, but the relationship was not significantly different between MTs and MTa. No clear depression of body growth of sympatric marble trout between sampling intervals was observed. Despite a later emergence, mean weight of RTs cohorts at age 0+ in September was significantly higher than weight of both MTs and MTa. The establishment of a self-sustaining population of rainbow trout does not have a significant impact on body growth and survival probabilities of sympatric marble trout. The numerical dominance of rainbow trout in streams at lower altitudes seem to suggest that while the low summer flow pattern of Slovenian streams is favorable for rainbow trout invasion, the adaptation of marble trout to headwater environments may limit the invasion success of rainbow trout in headwaters.     

Analysis of polychlorobiphenyls from used transformers for polychlorodibenzofurans

The results of analyses for polychlorodibenzofuran (PCDF) content in two samples of polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) from used electrical transformers are presented and discussed. In neither sample was there evidence for enhanced PCDF concentrations even though one of them had been subjected to overheating while in service.     

Polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in technical pentachlorophenol - results of a collaborative analytical exercise

Results of analyses of eight samples of technical pentachlorophenol conducted by three different analytical methods are presented and discussed.     

Responses of vegetation to a rise in water level at Kerkini Reservoir (1982–1991), a Ramsar site in northern Greece

The floodplain of the river Strymon at Kerkini (northern Greece) was transformed into an irrigation reservoir by the construction of a dam in 1932 and subsequently enlarged in 1982. The aims of this study were to quantify the changes occurring in the various habitat types following raising of the waterlevel and to assess the stability of the plant communities present at this Ramsar site. The current hydrological regime, which has been stable since 1986, is typified by an increase in mean annual reservoir level of 2.2 m and by an increase in the annual range in level of 1.3 m. Landsat (1980, 1981, 1984, 1986, and 1988) and SPOT (1990) satellite images show a decrease in the area of grassland and shallow water areas, the very rapid disappearance of reedbeds, the appearance of beds ofNymphaea and the disappearance of half the forest area. The flooded forest, dominated bySalix alba, is a key habitat contributing to the biological richness of this wetland of international importance. The decrease in the forested area will continue because of the death of standing trees, the absence of regeneration under the new regime, the felling of trees and grazing. Management could be undertaken to ensure the survival of forested habitat and reedbeds at Kerkini, but this would require that the authorities take into account nature conservation and the protected status of the site and not raise the water level again.     

An investigation of aqueous activity coefficients at low concentrations

The activity of a chemical in solution determines its tendency to move into other media. At low concentrations (<0.01M) it is generally considered to be linearly related to concentration. A hypothetical model based on the structure of liquid water is discussed which could cause deviations from this linearity in the ppb region, a concentration much lower than that normally investigated thermodynamically, but one of great importance environmentally. Headspace experiments are reported with carbon tetrachloride and chloroform in water at concentrations down to ～10^?3 ppb but no such deviations were discerned.     

Long term changes in polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxin concentrations in wood treated with technical pentachlorophenol

Wood samples treated with technical pentachlorophenol (PCP), technical sodium pentachlorophenoxide (NaPCP) and octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin have been exposed outdoors for periods up to $\text{2}\text{1}\text{2}$ years. Analysis of extracts from the samples show that photolytic reductive dechlorination of highly chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins to less chlorinated isomers occurs. However there is no discernible increase in polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxin concentrations in the technical PCP treated wood presumably because further photolytic reactions and volatilisation compete effectively with the photolytic formation. There is no evidence for formation of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) in technical PCP treated wood in this study, probably because photolytic destruction and volatilisation compete effectively with formation reactions when the initial OCDD concentration is relatively high.