Aquatic Ecosystem Research Trends

450 Pages·2009·16.13 MB·English

by  George H. Nairne

A E
QUATIC COSYSTEM
RESEARCH TRENDS

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A E
QUATIC COSYSTEM
RESEARCH TRENDS

GEORGE H. NAIRNE
EDITOR

Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
New York
Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Aquatic ecosystem research trends / editors, George H. Nairne.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60876-284-2 (E-Book)
1. Aquatic ecology--Research. I. Nairne, George H.
QH541.5.W3A6786 2009
577.6--dc22
2008052987

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. (cid:30)  New York
CONTENTS

Preface vii
Chapter 1 Macrophytes as Indicators of the Quality and Ecological Status of
Waterbodies and for Use in Removing Nutrients and Metals 1
G. Thiébaut
Chapter 2 Management of Invasive Aquatic Plants in France 25
G. Thiébaut and A. Dutartre
Chapter 3 Mathematical Models for Dynamics and Management of Algal
Blooms in Aquatic Ecosystems 47
Takashi Amemiya, Hiroshi Serizawa, Takashi Sakajo and
Kiminori Itoh
Chapter 4 Sources, Presence, Analysis, and Fate of Steroid Sex Hormones in
Freshwater Ecosystems – A Review 103
Robert B. Young and Thomas Borch
Chapter 5 Changes in Macroinvertebrate Elemental Stoichiometry Below a
Point Source in a Mediterranean Stream 165
Jesús D. Ortiz, M. Ángeles Puig, Eugènia Martí,
Francesc Sabater and Gora Merseburger
Chapter 6 The Functional Role of Phragmites Australis in the Inhibition of
Cyanobacterial Growth and the Transition of Plant Species 187
Sheng Zhou, Satoshi Nakai, Megumi Nishikawa
and Masaaki Hosomi
Chapter 7 Is ALA-D Activity a Useful Biomarker of Lead Exposure for Field
Monitoring Programs? 217
Noemí R. Verrengia Guerrero and Paula E. Lombardi
Chapter 8 Ecology of Temperate Port Communities 263
Chariton Charles Chintiroglou and Chryssanthi Antoniadou
vi Contents
Chapter 9 Chemical Ecology and Medicinal Chemistry of Marine NF-κB
Inhibitors 277
F. Folmer, M. Schumacher, M. Jaspars, M. Dicato and
M. Diederich
Chapter 10 Impact of Climate and Environmental Factors on the Epidemiology
of Vibrio cholerae in Aquatic Ecosystems 327
Violeta Trinidad Pardío Sedas
Chapter 11 Aquatic Pollutant Assessment Across Multiple Scales 361
Clint D. McCullough
Chapter 12 Peculiarities of Radionuclide Distribution in the Main Components
of Aquatic Ecosystems within the Chernobyl Accident Exclusion
Zone 383
D. I. Gudkov, S. I. Kireev, M. I. Kuzmenko, A. B. Nazarov,
A. E. Kaglyan, L. N. Zub and V. G. Klenus
Index 405
PREFACE

This book discusses various freshwater ecosystems and methods used for the purposes of
water quality monitoring, including those utilizing aquatic macrophytes. Early-established
management plans provide the first steps towards sustainable management of aquatic
environments. Thus, the methods used for managing aquatic plants, including mechanical or
manual harvesting, hand-pulling and biological control are discussed. The removal efficiency
of nutrients and of metal by macrophytes is examined, as well as the potential use of these
plants in wastewater treatment. This book surveys and critically reviews existing literature
regarding the presence of steroid sex hormones in freshwater ecosystems, their sources and
potential fate. Discharges from wastewater treatment plants and transport from agricultural
operations are also examined. Finally, this book discusses the role of NF-kB inhibitors, an
inducible transcription, in marine chemical ecology, as well as its role in biomedicine.
Chapter 1 - Submerged macrophytes respond to environmental fluctuations in nutrient
concentrations. A general framework for the assessment of aquatic macrophyte communities
has been developed in France, in part using phytosociology tools and water chemical
composition. A bioindication scale based on assessment of the macrophyte communities for
the water trophic level was established in both hard and soft streams. The relationships
between water chemistry and aquatic bryoflora in Eastern France were studied in an attempt
to survey the processes of acidification. A bioindication scale based on the degree of
acidification was proposed using aquatic plant communities. Subsequently, research in
Europe focused on the development of synthetic indices that allowed for the quantification of
water quality. Three main macrophyte indices are available for assessing the ecological status
of water bodies as tested in accordance with the aims of the Water Framework Directive
“WFD”. These are the Mean Trophic Rank (MTR), the Trophic Index of Macrophytes (TIM),
and the French Biological Macrophyte Index for Rivers (IBMR). The MTR and IBMR
indices could be useful for estimating the ecological status of rivers in accordance with the
aims of the WFD. Ecological optima and ranges of submerged macrophytes are, amongst
other factors, assumed to be influenced by ecoregion. Different macrophyte-based assessment
systems have also been developed for application on lakes to fulfil the demands of the Water
Framework Directive of the European Community. Aquatic macrophytes may be successfully
used as ecological indicators for assessing and predicting environmental changes.
The metal and nutrient bioaccumulation ability of macrophytes was also investigated.
The use of aquatic macrophytes for treatment of wastewater to mitigate a variety of pollution
levels is a research area of great interest. The removal efficiency of nutrients and of metals by
viii George H. Nairne
macrophytes has been discussed in this non-exhaustive review. The potential use of these
plants in wastewater treatment was also explored.
Chapter 2 - Some invasive species are considered to cause "nuisance". In general, the
priority of biological invasion control is to prevent new infestations from taking hold,
especially in the cases of the fastest-growing and most disruptive species. Exotic macrophytes
that do not rapidly increase in numbers are lower priorities. Controlling large infestations of
plants with considerable environmental impact, such as Ludwigia spp. or Hydrocharitaceae
(Lagarosiphon major, Egeria densa, Elodea species), is of the highest priority. There are
several methods for managing aquatic plants: mechanical or manual harvesting, hand-pulling,
biological control, changing the aquatic environment and chemical control. The management
techniques chosen must be suited to the aquatic plant itself as well as the uses and function of
the body water. Action is recommended only after careful analysis indicates that leaving the
spreading species unchecked will result in greater damage than that caused by control efforts.
Early-established management plans provide the first steps towards sustainable
management of aquatic environments. However, these efforts are compromised as long as
invasive aquatic plant species continue to be sold to individuals. Stronger enforcement of
existing laws coupled with an intensive public education campaign is needed to prevent
further alien species introduction.
Chapter 3 – The authors present four mathematical models of algal blooms in aquatic
ecosystems, and investigate the dynamics in the models. The models analyzed in this chapter
are (i) a minimal nutrient-phytoplankton (NP) model, (ii) an algal-grazer model taking into
account phenotypic plasticity in algae (cyanobacteria), (iii) the integrated model of the
minimal NP model and the algal-grazer model, and (iv) a modified abstract version of the
comprehensive aquatic simulation model (abs.-CASM). Bistability and oscillatory behaviors
are exhibited in all the models as a function of nutrient inputs, or eutrophication levels. The
authors also construct a reaction-diffusion-advection model by using the minimal NP model,
and show that two-dimensional spatiotemporal patterns (patchiness) in algae can be exhibited
by the combined effects of diffusion and advection by turbulent stirring and mixing, and
biological interactions. The minimal NP model is further extended to a one-dimensional
reaction-diffusion-advection model in the vertical direction of a lake, explaining the dynamics
of both seasonal outbreak and diurnal vertical migration of cyanobacteria. Taking into
account the dynamics of algal blooms, we propose effective lake restoration techniques by
using the abs.-CASM. The authors address the fact that understanding the mechanisms and
characteristics of the dynamical behaviors presented here are crucial to the management of
lake ecosystems, in particular, to coping with regime shifts, nonlinear-discontinuous
transitions, observed in lake ecosystems exposed to human stress. Finally the authors
reexamine the validity of the present models and their analyses from mathematical
viewpoints, and propose further mathematical insights into improving the models and their
analyses in accordance with real aquatic ecosystems.
Chapter 4 - Natural and synthetic steroid sex hormones, including those administered to
humans and livestock as pharmaceuticals, constitute an important class of environmental
endocrine disruptors. Steroid sex hormones generally have high biological activities at low
concentrations, and in river systems steroid sex hormones have been linked to various adverse
effects on fish, including altered sex ratios, intersex fish, and diminished reproduction. In a
national reconnaissance study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from 1999
to 2000, steroid sex hormones were observed at various concentrations and frequencies in