Contaminants in Muscle of Plaice and Halibut Collected From the St. Lawrence Estuary and Northwest Atlantic

Levels of aromatic hydrocarbons in muscle or plaice and halibut were determined by fluorescence, using the chrysene standard, as recommended by the International Oceanographic Commision, for the analysis of PAH in environmental extracts. Concentrations were highest in muscle of halibut collected at the most contaminated, nearshore site, in the Saguenay Fjord of the St. Lawrence Estuary, compared to other locations further from shore. Although concentrations of fluorescing compounds were not statistically different in plaice, the saturated hydrocarbons displayed unquestionably more biodegradation, with a decrease of n-alkanes and increase of branched aliphatics, at the less contaminated site. Synchronous fluorescence indicated the presence of benzenoid and biphenyl hydrocarbons in the extracted mixtures, while GC-MS-TIC analysis tentatively identified the presence of a series of benzenoid (alkyl benzenes), chlorinated (PCB and DDE), N (trialkylamines) and O (phenols) hydrocarbons. These anthropogenic compounds could derive from petroleum products, surfactants and common products used in industry and households. This study emphasizes the importance of a multispectroscopic approach when investigating complex environmental mixtures.     

Accumulation of Biophilic Elements in the Needles of Picea Species in Natural and Urbanized Ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia in Relation to the Assessment of Environmental Quality

Variation in the content of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe has been analyzed in the needles of 19 spruce species growing in the natural and urbanized ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia. The results have shown that similarity in the content of biophilic elements in one-year-old needles of different species is conditioned by biochemical processes, which confirms the status of these species as passive bioindicators of environmental quality. The contents of trace elements in perennial needles, except color variations of chlorophyll, deserve further study as prospective indicators of environmental quality.     

The role of interactions between individual animals in the response to heat stress in the freshwater crustacean <Emphasis Type="Italic">Daphnia magna</Emphasis>

The thermal resistance of Daphnia magna Straus is a trait depending on the interaction between individuals. The group effect is expressed in D. magna as both a decrease in thermal resistance and a marked individual differentiation with respect to thermal resistance. Two types of interactions between individual D. magna have been found: (1) the release of an unidentified factor decreasing thermal resistance (without noticeably changing the phenotypic variability of this trait) into the medium and (2) a decrease in the thermal resistance of individuals poorly adapted to heat stress, with the thermal resistance of well-adapted individuals (determined by the dependence of thermal resistance on interactions between individuals) remaining the same or even slightly increasing.Translated from Ekologiya, No. 2, 2005, pp. 126–131.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Kalinnikova, Krasnoperova, T. Gainutdinov, Sadykova, M. Gainutdinov.     

Fate of Co at a sludge land application site

Vertical distributions of ⁶⁰Co are determined in soil cores obtained from a 10-ha grassland, where anaerobically digested sludge was applied by surface spraying from 1986 to 1995 on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation. These results, along with historical application records, are used to estimate vertical-migration rates and perform a mass balance. The presence of ⁶⁰Co results solely from the sludge-application process. Soil, vegetation, and surface-water samples were collected. Eleven soil cores were sectioned into 3-cm increments and analyzed by gamma-ray spectrometry. No ⁶⁰Co was detected in the vegetation or water samples. The downward migration rate of ⁶⁰Co in the upper 15 cm of soil ranged from 0.50 to 0.73 cm/yr. About 98%, 0.020 ± 0.011 Bq/cm², of ⁶⁰Co remained in the upper 15 cm of soil, which compared favorably with the expected ⁶⁰Co activity based on historical records of 0.019 ± 0.010 Bq/cm².