Selbsteinkapselung von organischen Schadstoffgemischen unterschiedlich flüchtiger Komponenten in Böden

The evaporation of organic contaminants of different volatility from a porous sandfill was investigated in laboratory experiments. A significant decrease of the evaporation rate was observed under conditions of compacted fill, at high concentrations of the low-volatile component. This can be explained by the formation of a layer with a low mass fraction of the solvent near the gas-phase boundary of the contaminated zone. The term ?self-encapsulation” is suggested for this phenomenon. Theoretical considerations show that this effect can occur if a volatile component evaporates from a mixture with a substance of low volatility and if the total mass transfer resistance is mainly within the contaminant phase. The formation of a solid layer at the surface can enhance this encapsulating effect for the remaining volatile material. A similar behaviour can be expected for contaminants consisting of components of different solubility which get in contact with flowing water.     

Gill pump characteristics of the soft clamMya arenaria

Pumping rates in the soft clamMya arenaria, collected in June 1987 in the Great Belt, Denmark, were determined as rates at which clams cleared suspensions of algae,Dunaliella marina. The frictional resistance of the siphons to water flow was estimated by studying the effect of excision of the siphons at the base on the rate of water pumping. The frictional resistance was also calculated from the Poiseuille equation. Excision of the siphons had no measurable effect on the pumping rate, and calculations indicated pressure losses ranging between 0.3 to 1.2 mm H₂O. This is consistent with the conception that the capacity of filter feeding bivalves to process large amounts of water depends upon a low resistance to water flow in the siphons.     

In-situ observations of Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) spawning behaviour in the Askö-Landsort area,northern Baltic proper

In a Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras L.) spawning ground study, carried out in summer 1982 in the northern Baltic proper, spawning herring were encountered on two line transects on June 14. The spawning behaviour of minor groups as well as of a large school was studied in situ by four divers for approximately three hours. No behavioural differences or systematic coordinated behaviour between the sexes could be detected. Most of the spawning took place in a limited depth interval, 0.5 to 4 m, and Ceramium tenuicorne was the substrate most used.     

Okadaic acid: a potential defense molecule for the sponge <Emphasis Type="Italic">Suberites domuncula</Emphasis>

Sponges are sessile filter feeders that are exposed to toxic compounds/xenobiotics and a huge number of diverse pro- and eukaryotic organisms occurring in the aqueous milieu. To cope with these threats, sponges have developed a variety of chemical and immunological defense systems. Among them are potent secondary metabolites or toxins. The demosponge Suberites domuncula contains the bioactive compound okadaic acid; concentrations of ᅢ ng/g (ᅬ nM) of wet tissue have been quantified by LC/MS. In the present study, we sought to determine whether okadaic acid is beneficial for this sponge. Antibodies were raised against okadaic acid and used to localize this compound in situ. It could be demonstrated that the polyclonal antibodies/antiserum stained the sponge cells (endopinacocytes) which form the epithelium of the lacunae and the water channels. They also reacted with bacteria present in sponge tissue. Okadaic acid was found to augment the immune response of S. domuncula against the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). If primmorphs, a special form of 3-D aggregates, are incubated with LPS at a concentration of 3 µg/ml, a reduction in the incorporation rate of [³H] phenylalanine is measured. In the presence of okadaic acid, this effect is measured already at a concentration of 1 µg/ml, suggesting that okadaic acid sensitizes this (immune) response. Okadaic acid is a known inhibitor of protein phosphatases which, as shown here, cause an increased phosphorylation of p38, a central kinase of the MAP kinase pathway; this may explain the sensitive response of the sponge cells to LPS. At higher concentrations, okadaic acid induces apoptosis, as was demonstrated here by a differential expression of the Bcl-2 homolog and the caspase gene. It is concluded that okadaic acid has two functions in the sponge; first, at low concentrations (<100 nM) a stimulation of the defense system against bacteria, and second, at concentrations above 500 nM, a differential effect on the pro-/anti-apoptotic genes.     

Urban Geochemistry: A Multimedia and Multielement Survey of a Small Town in Northern Europe

The concentrations and distributions of chemical elements (Ag, Al, As, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W and Zn) were studied in till, humus and urban soil in Jakobstad, a small town (20,000 inhabitants) in W. Finland. The analyses were performed with ICP-MS after aqua regia leaching of till (n = 37), urban topsoil (n = 32) and subsoil (n = 32), and HNO3 leaching of humus (n = 37). The till and humus samples, collected at the same sites, were divided into urban and rural samples. The urban till was not significantly enriched in metals. In contrast, a majority of the elements occurred in higher concentrations in the urban than the rural humus samples. Statistical and spatial interpretations of the humus data revealed that traffic (Pb, V and Ni), metal industry (Pb, Zn, Bi, Sb and Cr), an abandoned shooting range (Pb and Sb) and other sources contribute to higher metal levels in the urban humus. The urban soil samples were collected at parks, yards, abandoned industrial sites, roadsides, etc. The topsoil samples were enriched in most elements, also by elements not enriched in the urban humus (e.g. Cd). At several sites, the concentrations far exceeded the limit concentrations for contaminated soils in Finland. A large variety of sources were identified or indicated.     

Influence of body size on the uptake,depuration, and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners by Baltic Sea blue mussels,Mytilus edulis

The present study was designed to examine the influence of body size on the bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners by Baltic Sea blue mussels, Mytilus edulis L. This was done, firstly, by establishing the relationship (as a power function: PCB tissue conc = a tissue dry wt^b) between tissue concentration and body weight for seven PCB congeners (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry No. 52, 101, 105, 118, 138, 153, and 180) in field sampled mussels; and, secondly, by assessing the influence of body weight on the uptake clearance coefficients, the depuration rate coefficients and the calculated bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) of three ¹⁴C-labelled PCB congeners (IUPAC No. 31, 49, 153) in mechanistic kinetic experiments. Both the background tissue concentrations of PCB 138, PCB 153 and PCB 180 and the predicted BAF values in the kinetic experiments correlated negatively with body weight (b=-0.17 and-0.31, respectively). Of the two kinetic rate coefficients examined, only the uptake clearance rate showed weight dependency (b=-0.32, i.e. negative correlation with body weight), whereas depuration rates were unaffectd by body weight. Uptake clearance rates and BAFs adjusted for body weight increased with the octanol/water partition coefficient (K_ow) of the congener, whereas depuration rates dectreased with K_ow. These observations suggest that size-dependent bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in suspension-feeding bivalves is driven by size-related differences in uptake rate, although several other mechanisms may also affect bioaccumulation in natural mussel beds (e.g. sizerelated differences in lipid content, production, and contaminant exposure). From an ecotoxicological perspective size-dependent bioaccumulation implies not only that variability due to body size differences has to be dealt with in experimental designs, but also that several ecological factors such as size-specific predation and shifts in population structure may affect HOC cycling by dense populations of bivalve suspensionfeeders.     

Particle capture in the musselMytilus edulis: The role of latero-frontal cirri

Microscope video graphs of particle paths near one-filament-thick mussel gill preparations, stimulated with a nerve transmitter (10^–6 M serotonin which restores normal ciliary activity), were used to disclose the capture of 6 m algal cells. Suspended algal cells carried with the water were stopped for a while at the entrance to the interfilament gap by the action of the latero-frontal cirri (Ifc), and transferred to the frontal side of the filament to be transported towards the marginal food groove. The event of transfer took place during approximately a time interval of 1150 to 1/25 s. To gain a better understanding of the capture mechanism and retention efficiency versus particle size, the flow through and around the Ifc was theoretically estimated. Normally beating Ifc create periodic, unsteady, three-dimensional flows at the entrance to the interfilament canal. During the active beat most of the water is deflected to flow around the branching cilia of the Ifc while some of the water is strained by these. Large particles (> 4 m) are stopped and transferred to the frontal current, whereas smaller particles either follow the flow around the Ifc and escape or they are stopped by the branching cilia.