Variability in the performance of juvenile Chinook salmon is explained primarily by when and where they resided in estuarine habitats

Estuarine habitats provide rearing opportunities for the juvenile life stage of anadromous fishes. Because survival is positively correlated with juvenile performance, these estuarine habitats play an important role in population abundance and productivity. To provide information for the recovery of several depressed stocks of Chinook salmon in the Columbia River Basin, we sought to identify the factors that explain variability in performance. Using otolith‐derived estimates of juvenile somatic growth rate as an index of recent performance, we observed a negative nonlinear relationship between growth rate and day of year, and a decreasing and increasing trend of growth rate over the 8 years of this study and distance from the river mouth respectively. Using a generalised linear modelling approach, we found that variability in juvenile somatic growth rate was best explained by where and when individuals were collected, their body size, contaminant loads, stock of origin, and whether a fish was hatchery produced or unmarked. Lastly, we argue that a considerable improvement to the growth rate of juveniles in estuarine habitats is physiologically possible. The results of this 8‐year study provide a baseline of the performance of juvenile Chinook salmon to evaluate habitat restoration programs and to compare against future anthropogenic conditions.     

Sewage sludge processing determines its impact on soil microbial community structure and function

Composting and thermal drying are amongst the most commonly used post-digestion processes for allowing sanitation and biological stabilization of sewage sludge from municipal treatment plants, and making it suitable as soil conditioner for use in agriculture. To assess the impact of sludge-derived materials on soil microbial properties, fresh (LAF), composted (LAC) and thermally dried (LAT) sludge fractions, each resulting from a different post-treatment process of a same aerobically digested sewage sludge, were added at 1% (w/w) application rate on two contrasting (a loam and a loamy sand) soils and incubated under laboratory conditions for 28 days. Soil respiration, microbial ATP content, hydrolytic activities and arginine ammonification rate were monitored throughout the incubation period. Results showed that soil biochemical variables, including the metabolic quotient (qCO₂), were markedly stimulated after sludge application, and the magnitude of this stimulatory effect was dependent on sludge type (precisely LAT > LAF > LAC), but not on soil type. This effect was related to the content of stable organic matter, which was lower in LAT. Genetic fingerprinting by PCR–DGGE revealed that compositional shifts of soil bacterial and, at greater extent, actinobacterial communities were responsive to the amendment with a differing sludge fraction. The observed time-dependent changes in the DGGE profiles of amended soils reflected the microbial turnover dependent on the sludge nutrient input, whereas no indications of adverse effects of sludge-borne contaminants were noted. Our findings indicate that composting rather thermal drying can represent a more appropriate post-digestion process to make sewage sludge suitable for use as soil conditioner in agriculture.     

Presence and distribution of PAHs,PCBs and DDE in feed and sediments under salmon aquaculture cages in the Bay of Fundy,New Brunswick,Canada

• 1. Wastes from feed and faeces can result in the deposition of contaminants in sediments around aquaculture sites. Five types of feed pellet, a commercial fish oil and 76 sediment samples collected under and up to 100 m away from salmon aquaculture cages in the south‐western Bay of Fundy between 1998 and 2000 were analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides.
• 2. Five alkylated naphthalenes (aNAs) were consistently detected in fish oil (116–180 ng g^?1, per aNA), in pellets (25–51 ng g^?1, dry weight, per aNA), and sediments (<1–45 ng g^?1, dry weight, per aNA). Other PAHs were detected at variable levels in feed or in sediments.
• 3. IUPAC congener 153 (a PCB) and p,p′‐dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′‐DDE) were detected more frequently than other chlorinated targets in oil (108 ng g^?1 and 176 ng g^?1 respectively), feed (<1–14 ng g^?1 and 1.7–28.2 ng g^?1 respectively) and sediments (<0.08–3 ng g^?1 and <0.5–7 ng g^?1 respectively).
• 4. Trends were observed during the first year of sediment sampling (1998), with higher organic carbon, PCBs and p,p′‐DDE levels below the cages than 50 m away. The PAHs other than aNA showed an opposite trend with distance. In 1999, levels of p,p′‐DDE and PCBs were somewhat reduced under the cages, but were detected up to 100 m away from the cages.
• 5. Levels of aNA tended to be higher at some sites in 1999 relative to 1998, reflecting variability in feed and/or differential transport or degradation of contaminants relative to the environmental background. When detected, mean levels of PCBs and DDE were 2–10 times lower in 2000 than in 1999, and PAHs were 30–40% lower in 2000 than in 1999.
• 6. Interpretation of the results is done cautiously, since the exact locations of the sites sampled is only known to an intermediate facilitating the work between farmers and scientists. Levels of contaminants are compared with international results, interpreted relative to potential toxicity, uptake from feed, from deposited sediments, and in the framework of an aquaculture decision‐support system published recently.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Novel Particle Contact Assay with the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (8 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background   Numerous xenobiotics released into surface waters are transferred to suspended particulate matter and finally attached to sediments. Aquatic organisms may be exposed to them by direct particle feeding, by physical contact with contaminated surfaces as an exposure route, and by the uptake of dissolved contaminants after equilibration via the free water phase. In order to assess potential sediment toxicity, each of these exposure routes has to be addressed. This paper presents a newly developed particle contact assay that uses the fermentation performance of a specific Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain for the assessment of toxic effects in sediments. The test procedure is based on the characteristic feature of growing yeast cells to attach to sediment particles, which are also relevant for the accumulation of contaminants. The physical contact with lipophilic contaminants mirrors an exposition pathway for the direct uptake into the cells. In order to quantitatively characterize the toxic effects of particle attached pollutants on the fermentation performance, unpolluted native reference sediment was spiked with representatives for widely distributed anthropogenic contaminants. Methods   Saccharomyces cerevisiae was established as sensitive eukaryotic microorganism for the ecotoxicological assessment of particle attached anthropogenic contaminants in freshwater sediments. For this purpose, yeast cells were cultivated in sediment samples and the resulting fermentation performance was continuously measured. Sediments artifically spiked with HCB, PCB, g-HCH, DDT, and benzo(a)pyrene and solutions of each contaminant were comparatively investigated by means of their adverse effects on yeast fermentation performance. Additionally, four native river sediments characterized by increasing levels of pollution were assessed by the yeast particle contact assay, and simultaneously by standard aquatic tests with algae, daphniae, and luminescent bacteria using pore water and elutriates. Results of the bioassays were related to specific sediment contamination with respect to metals and organic priority pollutants. Results and Discussion   In sediments spiked with PCB and benzo(a)pyrene fermentation, performance was affected extensively below concentrations inhibiting fermentation in contaminant solutions. This suggests a high efficiency of the exposure route by physical contact. The fermentation performance was only slightly affected by single lipophilic pollutants, whereas mixtures of individually spiked sediments caused critically reduced fermentation performance suggesting additive synergistic effects. Native river sediments modestly to critically polluted by hazardous organic compounds lead to a slightly to dangerously reduced fermentation performance in the yeast contact assay. These inhibitory effects were much less pronounced in the standard bioassays conducted with algae, daphniae and luminescent bacteria, applying pore waters and elutriates as sample matrices. Using pore water, inhibition was measured only in the most polluted sediment, elutriates lead to a slight inhibition of the algal growth in the undiluted sample only. These results indicate an improved sensitivity of the yeast particle contact assay compared to the standard assays, due to uptake and physical cell contact as additional routes of exposure. Conclusion   The yeast particle contact assay is a valuable tool for the assessment of ecotoxicological potential in freshwater sediments. Since the assay addresses physical contact as an exposure route, it indicates bioavailability of lipophilic compounds in sediments. Outlook   The sensitive indication of bioavailable contaminants associated to sediment particles by the newly developed yeast particle contact assay recommends it as a complementary microbial bioassay in a test battery for assessing major pathways of contaminants in whole sediments.     

半透膜微萃取方法的建立及其在测定土壤间隙水中憎水性有机污染物的应用

提出了一种新型的基于半透膜被动采样技术的微萃取方法（semi-permeable membrane based micro-extraction, SPM-ME）,并以菲为模型污染物,测试了SPM-ME用于测定土壤间隙水中自由溶解态憎水性有机污染物的可行性。结果表明,菲在该SPE-ME装置与水相间的平衡可在6 h内达到,并且随着装置中三油酸甘油酯含量的增加,单元SPE-ME对于菲的富集系数也相应增加。该装置对土壤间隙水中菲的富集在10 d内能达到平衡,整个过程主要受菲从土壤向间隙水的传质控制。该装置测得间隙水中菲的浓度与实际测得间隙水浓度十分吻合,而由传统的相平衡分配法计算所得间隙水浓度则高出实测值4-5倍。同时,该装置对体系中污染物的耗竭小于体系中污染物总量的1%。因此,SPE-ME是一种准确、有效、非耗竭式的微萃取技术。     

薄膜扩散梯度（DGT）技术在环境微界面物质运移过程研究中的应用

土壤、沉积物、水体和生物体之间的接触和作用形成了多种环境微界面。这些环境微界面是物质迁移转化的重要场所,而高度时空异质性的界面特征使得对其中化学反应信息的捕捉变得极其复杂且困难。薄膜梯度扩散(DGT)技术以其原位测量元素生物有效态和高空间分辨率等优势,适用于研究化学异质性的界面过程。本文系统总结了DGT技术在环境微界面的物质运移过程研究中的应用现状,包括以下3方面内容:一是一维物质浓度测定;二是二维化学分布成像;三是与薄膜扩散平衡技术(DET)、平衡式孔隙水采样器(Peeper)和平面光极(PO)等技术联用同步获取多种溶质分布信息。现有研究证据表明,DGT适合在亚毫米(几十至几百微米)至毫米尺度研究环境微界面营养盐和污染物运移的生物地球化学过程,并可与其他化学成像技术结合研究物质跨界面运移的驱动因子和动力学特征。最后,在DGT技术发展与应用场景扩展等方面提出了几点展望。     

规模化猪场污水处理效果分析——以乐平市金园牧业有限责任公司猪场为例

为探究规模化猪场污水的处理效果,本试验以乐平市金园牧业有限责任公司猪场为试验对象,分别在猪场污水处理的不同阶段(固液分离池、沼气池和氧化池)的出水口处采集污水样,测定在不同处理阶段污水中污染物和金属元素的含量,与国家规定排放标准进行比较,分析处理效果,并提出改进措施。结果显示:污水经过固液分离、厌氧发酵、曝氧氧化等处理后,污染物中的SS、TP和BOD5达到了排放标准,但NH^+3-N和COD含量超标;金属元素中Cu、Mn、Zn和Cr^6+达到了排放标准,但Cd含量超标。以上结果可知,该猪场当前的污水处理体系虽然在一定程度上可行,但仍有部分指标未达到国家规定的排放标准,需从营养源头减量化排放、污水处理工艺设计减量化排放和沼液的后续处理等方面进行改进和优化。     

Rapid testing methods for food contaminants and toxicants

Food safety is one of the major concerns in every country regardless of the economic and social development. The frequent occurrence of food scandals in the world has led the Chinese government to implement several strategies to fortify the food supply system to a high food safety standard. This relies heavily on laboratory testing services but conventional methods for detection of food contaminants and toxicants are limited by sophisticated sample preparation procedures,long analysis time,large instruments and professional personnel to meet the increasing demands. In this review,we have incorporated most of the current and potential rapid detection methods for many notorious food contaminants and toxicants including microbial agents,toxic ions,pesticides,veterinary drugs and preservatives,as well as detection of genetically modified food genes and adulterated edible oil. Development of rapid,accurate,easy-to-use and affordable testing methods could urge food handlers and the public to actively screen for food contaminants and toxicants instead of passively relying on monitoring by the government examination facility. This review also provides several recommendations including how to encourage the public to engage in the food safety management system and provide optimal education and financial assistance that may improve the current Chinese food safety control system.     

Optimal Conditions to Remove Chemical Hazards in Fish Protein Isolates from Tilapia Frame Using Response Surface Methodology

Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to maximize the removal of phospholipids (PLs) and other chemical hazards in tilapia protein isolates made from tilapia frame (TF). CaCl₂ and the ratio of water to minced tilapia frame (W:TF) were the significant variables affecting PLs reduction. The optimum condition for maximal PLs reduction (90.0%) was: 10.25 mM CaCl₂ and a W:TF of 7.8:1, while other variables were fixed at 5 mM citric acid, 60 min incubation, pH 11, and centrifugal speed of 8,000 × g. At these conditions, the great reduction of lipids (93.9%), Hg (97.6%), and As (95.5%), as well as 86.1% of protein recovery, were obtained. Protein isolates with significantly reduced chemical hazards and lipids were successfully prepared from tilapia frames using the alkaline extraction assisted with CaCl₂ and citric acid.     

半透膜微萃取方法的建立及其在测定土壤间隙水中憎水性有机污染物的应用

提出了一种新型的基于半透膜被动采样技术的微萃取方法(semi-permeable membrane based micro-extraction,SPM-ME),并以菲为模型污染物,测试了SPM-ME用于测定土壤间隙水中自由溶解态憎水性有机污染物的可行性。结果表明,菲在该SPE-ME装置与水相间的平衡可在6h内达到,并且随着装置中三油酸甘油酯含量的增加,单元SPE-ME对于菲的富集系数也相应增加。该装置对土壤间隙水中菲的富集在10d内能达到平衡,整个过程主要受菲从土壤向间隙水的传质控制。该装置测得间隙水中菲的浓度与实际测得间隙水浓度十分吻合,而由传统的相平衡分配法计算所得间隙水浓度则高出实测值4～5倍。同时,该装置对体系中污染物的耗竭小于体系中污染物总量的1%。因此,SPE-ME是一种准确、有效、非耗竭式的微萃取技术。