Prymnesium parvum: The Texas Experience1

Southard, Gregory M., Loraine T. Fries, and Aaron Barkoh, 2010. Prymnesium parvum: The Texas Experience. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(1):14-23. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00387.x Abstract: Golden alga Prymnesium parvum was first identified in Texas during a fish kill investigation on the Pecos River in 1985. Since then golden alga kills occurred sporadically in a variety of waters in the western part of the state until 2001 when the alga became endemic in the Brazos, Canadian, Colorado, Red, and Rio Grande river systems, including the water supplies of two public fish hatcheries, the Possum Kingdom and Dundee state fish hatcheries. The increasing area adversely affected by the alga and frequent massive fish kills heightened public and political awareness and concerns regarding the ecological and economic impacts of P. parvum blooms. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the wildlife conservation agency of the state, responded to these concerns with a program to assess the ecological and economic impacts and to develop management options. To date 33 water bodies have been affected and losses are conservatively estimated at 34 million fish valued at US$13 million. Several sport fisheries, including smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu, striped bass Morone saxatilis, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, and blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus, have been severely affected. Additionally, 26 imperiled fish species occur in the affected water basins and some have been adversely affected. Economic losses associated with reduced fishing and other water-based recreational activities appear considerable. The combined economic losses to three counties (Palo Pinto, Stephens, and Young) surrounding Possum Kingdom reservoir for 2001 and 2003 were estimated at US$2.8 million and US$1.1 million, respectively. This paper describes how the TPWD responded to public and political concerns relative to the emergence of golden alga, its harmful effects to fisheries, and its historic and current statewide distribution.     

Photophysical and photochemical properties of the pharmaceutical compound salbutamol in aqueous solutions

Salbutamol is a potent β₂-adrenergic receptor agonist widely used in the treatment of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An increasing number of studies have detected salbutamol in natural water systems worldwide. Studies have shown that sunlight degrades salbutamol resulting in the formation of products; some showing higher toxicity to bacteria Vibrio fischeri than the parent compound. In this contribution, steady-state absorption and emission techniques, high-performance liquid chromatography, and transient absorption spectroscopy are used to investigate the photochemistry of salbutamol in aqueous buffer solutions at controlled pH values. Ground- and excited-state calculations that include solvent effects are performed to guide the interpretation of the experimental results. Salbutamol is sensitive to UVB light absorption in the pH range from 3 to 12, forming products that absorb light at longer wavelengths than the parent compound. Quantum yields of degradation reveal that the deprotonated species is 10-fold more photo-active than the protonated species. In line with this result, the fluorescence quantum yield of the protonated species is more than an order of magnitude higher than that of the deprotonated species. Transient absorption spectroscopy shows that population of the triplet state occurs with a rate constant of 7.1 × 10⁸ s⁻¹ in the protonated species, while a rate constant of 1.7 × 10¹⁰ s⁻¹ is measured for the deprotonated species. While degradation of the deprotonated species is not affected by the presence of molecular oxygen, a twofold increase in the photodegradation yield of the protonated species in air-saturated conditions is observed.     

不同氮磷比对多年生水生植物生长特性影响的研究

从氮、磷等植物生长的环境因子出发,研究了高低氮磷营养水平下,不同氮／磷比例的富营养化水体对聚草（Myriophyllum spicatum）、黄花水龙（Jussiaea stipulacea Ohwi）、喜旱莲子草（Alternanthera philoxeroides）生长特性的影响。结果表明,聚草在氮磷比2：1时生物量最大,且生物量在高浓度水平处理明显大于低浓度水平处理（P〈0．01）;黄花水龙在氮磷比10：1～20：1时生物量最大,高低浓度水平处理问生物量无显著性差异;喜旱莲子草在较高氮磷比20：l～40：1时生物量最大,高浓度水平处理时生物量显著性高于低浓度水平处理（P〈0．05）。在低浓度水平处理时,氮为黄花水龙和喜旱莲子草生长的主要限制因子,磷为聚草生长的主要限制因子,且喜早莲子草叶绿素增长期较其他处理提前,而黄花水龙的叶绿素变化在高低营养水平下差异不显著。营养盐水平对聚草茎长和生物量的影响较对黄花水龙和喜旱莲子草的影响明显。     

Flow‐Biology Relationships Based on Fish Habitat Guilds in North Carolina

The health of freshwater biota is dependent on streamflow, yet identification of the flow regimes required to maintain ecological integrity remains challenging to states in the United States seeking to establish ecological flows. We tested the relationship between decreases in streamflow and Shannon‐Weaver diversity index of fish species for four flow‐based habitat guilds: riffle, riffle‐run, pool‐run, and pool in North Carolina. We found species that prefer shallow habitats, such as riffles and riffle‐runs were the most sensitive to decreases in streamflow; whereas no significant relationships were found for pool or pool‐run species. The sensitivity to decreases in streamflow was greatest during summer and fall, when streams are naturally lower. When all fish habitat guilds were included in the assessment of flow‐biology relationships, there were no significant relationships to decreases in streamflow. As the sensitivity of fish to reductions in streamflow is not constant across habitat guilds, combining all fish species together for flow‐biology analyses may greatly underestimate the response of fish species to decreases in flow and should be acknowledged when establishing ecological flows.     

河流筑坝拦截的水环境响应——来自地球化学的视角

大规模筑坝拦截是当前世界河流普遍面临的共同趋势,"蓄水河流"在物理、化学及生物等多层次上区别于天然河流和湖泊,改变了河流水文、河流物质转化和输送通量以及河流生态环境.因此,认识和了解水库建成后河流一水库体系水环境演化的关键过程是评价水坝的水环境影响的基础.广泛综述国内外最近的一些涉及水库效应的研究成果,并结合作者对乌江流域梯级水库的初步研究,从蓄水河流水文情势改变、生源要素(磷和硅为例)形态和通量变化、温室气体释放、水生生态系统演替几个方面进行分析.认为,水能开发的巨大经济效益和面临的潜在生态风险之间的平衡关系需要进一步详尽的分析研究.     

大坝拦截对河流水溶解组分化学组成的影响分析——以夏季乌江渡水库为例

以乌江渡水库为主要研究对象,揭示了大坝拦截条件下的夏季水化学特征：阴离子以HCO-3,SO2-4为主,阳离子以Ca2+,Mg2+为主,其余离子含量低于10%,说明了碳酸盐岩的风化对水体化学组成起到了主要控制作用,蒸发盐岩石的风化对水体化学组成影响较小。水库水体存在温度分层现象,形成了不同层位的水体有着不同的水化学组成,即水化学分层。水化学的分层形成了溶解组分在水库垂直深度上的规律分布,比如受藻类的影响,Si和叶绿素随深度成相反的变化特征;HCO-3受光合作用和有机质降解的影响,30 m 以上随着水深的增加而递增,30 m 以下呈现相反趋势;水库泄水方式明显改变了水化学各种参数和离子在水体中的分配。乌江水库两主要支流（息烽河和偏岩河）分别对乌江渡坝前水体中的Ca2+,SO2-4,HCO-3,Mg2+和K+,Na+,Cl-有贡献。网箱养鱼、生活污水、农业施肥、酸性矿山废水以及酸雨沉降都会对水体造成不同程度的污染。     

Assessment Tools for Urban Catchments: Defining Observable Biological Potential1

Abstract: Urbanization represents a strong and increasingly more prevalent impact on stream quality worldwide. One of the characteristic effects of increased urbanization is a consistent decline in biological stream condition. The characterization of this biological degradation with increasing urbanization presents a number of advantages for the study and management of urban streams and catchments. In this paper, the limitation of biological condition with urbanization, called observed biological potential, is characterized. Using an urban intensity index and a biological index developed specifically for urban systems in the Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; and San Jose, California regions, two principal techniques were compared (quantile regression and bin regression) to define observed biological potential along urban gradients. Quantile regression was selected as the preferable tool for describing observed biological potential given the consistency with which it can be applied and its statistical efficiency, however, bin quantile regression performed similarly. Having identified a numeric approximation of observed biological potential, two methods for identifying factors related to distance from potential as a way of identifying critical environmental factors affecting biological condition in urban areas were explored. The results of this work can be used for identifying benchmarks for urban stream biological condition, identifying limiting catchment characteristics, and prioritizing urban stream management efforts.     

Differential blood counting in fish as a non-destructive biomarker of water contamination exposure

Differential white blood cell counting was performed on blood from the fish species Oreochromis niloticus and was used as an in situ indicator of the species’ exposure to contamination. Ten young fish were collected in an area influenced by the discharge of effluents and from a fish farm (control group). The fish were anesthetized and caudal puncture was used to collect the blood. Differential white blood cell counting was performed, as well as the counting of total leukocytes and thrombocytes (in 2000 cells). Physicochemical parameters of the water from both sites were analyzed. The water from the polluted area was found to have high conductivity and low levels of dissolved oxygen, factors that indicate poor environmental quality. Fish collected from the polluted site presented higher percentages of eosinophils and monocytes and fewer thrombocytes because of exposure to pollution and hypoxic conditions. The differential white blood cell count represents a suitable biomarker of environmental health and provides a tool for biomonitoring water quality.