Acid stress and extinction of a spring-spawning fish population

Investigation of Heeney Lake, 21.7 ha, revealed a small population of white sucker, Catostomus commersoni. Only four age-classes were represented in this normally abundant and long-lived species. By 1984 only one new age-class had been recruited into the population. As these fish spawned in the outlet stream in early spring, the potential toxicity of these waters was assessed at two snow-melt events. Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, of hatchery origin were held in the outlet stream as pH declined from 6.5 to 4.7 during a snow melt, late February. Trout showed a loss of 19% in plasma Na and 24% in Cl concurrent with gill Al concentration increasing from 10 to 250 μg'g^?1 dry wt. At the mid-April snow melt, pH fell to 4.1, and rainbow trout held in the outlet showed a decline in plasma sodium of 42% and gill Al increased from 10 to 415 μg'g^?1 dry wt. Control rainbow trout held in Harp L. at pH 6.3 showed no significant change in plasma and muscle ion concentrations, or in gill Al concentration. White sucker from nearby waters were held in Heeney Lake outlet, late April, and muscle Na and Cl declined significantly as gill Al concentration increased from 11 to 50 μg'g^?1 dry wt during 48 hr exposure. White sucker hekl in Heeney L. outlet, mid-May, showed no significant change in plasma ions. No white sucker have been captured in Heeney L. since 1984 and the population is presumed to be extinct. Acid deposition has declined in recent years but lake and stream pH have not recovered and fish populations may still decline or disappear.     

Chloride cycling in two forested lake watersheds in the west-central adirondack mountains,New York,U.S.A.

The chemistry of precipitation, throughfall, soil water, ground water, and surface water was evaluated in two forested lake-watersheds over a 4-yr period to assess factors controlling Cl^? cycling. Results indicate that Cl^? cycling in these watersheds is more complex than the generally held view of the rapid transport of atmospherically derived Cl^? through the excosystem. The annual throughfall Cl^? flux for individual species in the northern hardwood forest was 2 to 5 times that of precipitation (56 eq ha^?1), whereas the Na⁺ throughfall flux, in general, was similar to the precipitation flux. Concentrations of soil-water Cl^? sampled from ceramic tension lysimeters at 20 cm below land surface generally exceeded the Na⁺ concentrations and averaged 31 μeq L^?1, the highest of any waters sampled in the watersheds, except throughfall under red spruce which averaged 34 μeq L^?1. Chloride was concentrated prior to storms and mobilized rapidly during storms as suggested by increases in streamwater Cl^? concentrations with increasing flow. Major sources of Cl^? in both watersheds are the forest floor and hornblende weathering in the soils and till. In the Panther Lake watershed, which contains mainly thick deposits of till (>3 m), hornblende weathering results in a net Cl^? flux 3 times greater than that in the Woods Lake watershed, which contains mainly thin deposits of till. The estimated accumulation rate of Cl^? in the biomass of the two watersheds was comparable to the precipitation Cl^? flux.     

On the prediction of acid precipitation events and their effects on fishes

It is possible to predict acid rain events and melts of acid snow some 12 to 24 hr in advance, including estimation of the magnitude and duration of such events. This is sufficient notice to permit monitoring of stream chemistry and fish plasma and muscle ions before acid stress, and to continue this monitoring throughout and after specific events. Such a program has been in place for 2 yr in waters tributary to the Milford Bay Trout Hatchery, Ontario. During one snow melt in February 1984 surface waters showed a decline to pH 4 and associated negative ANC. Rainbow trout held in such water lost plasma Na and Cl rapidly and died within 28 hr. The hatchery water supply, consisting of a mixture of spring and surface water, showed a decline in alkalinity from 300 to 30 μeq.L^?1, and a pH change from 6.6 to 5.4, during snow melt. Total A1 concentration increased from 42 to 222 μg.L^?1 during snow melt with the “reactive” component increasing from 17 to 112 μg.L^?1. Rainbow trout held in this water did not show physiological stress. More rapid run-off of melt water could be expected to exhaust all of the alkalinity in the hatchery water supply permitting the pH to decline and A1 concentration to rise to levels lethal to the hatchery stock of rainbow trout.     

Liming in Ontario: Short-term biological and chemical changes

The short-term results of a 5-yr experimental lake neutralization program involving whole-lake liming of Trout and Bowland Lakes are reviewed. Whole-lake liming did not prevent spring melt pulses of acid and Al in a zone situated under the ice nearshore. Liming did improve whole-lake water quality in a previously acidified lake (Bowland Lake) so that lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) could be restocked successfully. In situ bioassays showed a statistically significant improvement in survival of overwintering lake trout eggs after liming. Lake trout fry exposed during spring melt also showed increased survival rates after liming except at one site in Trout Lake where liming did not prevent the occurrence of 100% mortality. The resident yellow perch (Perca flavescens) population in Bowland Lake exhibited short-term increases in survival and in recruitment the first year following neutralization. Growth rate responses differed among age cohorts. A preliminary shoal liming experiment in Laundrie Lake suggested that nearshore spawning shoals which are not necessarily protected by whole-lake liming may be protected by treatment with fine calcite gravel.     

Chemistry differences in two streams entering an acidic lake in the Adirondack Mountains,New York (U.S.A.)

Solution chemistry was measured in two major inlets, lake water column, lake outlet, and soils of the South Lake watershed in the Adirondack Mountains, New York. The east inlet had greater concentrations of H⁺, sulfate-S, and Al and smaller concentrations of base cations and silica than the west inlet (70, 116, 25, 90, 64 and 4, 99, 8, 228, 148 μeq L^?1 of H⁺ and sulfate-S, μmol L^?1 Al, μeq L^?1 total base cations and μmol L^?1 silica in east and west inlets, respectively). Concentrations of base cations in C horizon soil solutions (157 μeq L^?1 total base cations) were smaller and greater than west and east inlets, respectively. This suggests that water flowing into the west inlet contacted deeper mineral layers, whereas water reaching the east inlet did not. Lake and lake outlet concentrations were also intermediate between the two inlets, and the lake was acidic (pH 4.9 to 5.1) with relatively high total monomeric Al concentrations (8 to 9 μmol Al L^?1). The east inlet also had greater DOC concentrations than the west (0.38 and 0.24 μmol C L^?1, respectively), again indicating that soil solutions entering the east inlet passed through the forest floor but had more limited contact with deeper mineral layers in comparison with the west inlet. Differences between the streams are hypothesized to be related to contact of percolating solutions with mineral soil horizons and underlying glacial till, which provides neutralization of acidic solutions and releases base cations. This work indicates that processes controlling surface water acidification can be spatially quite variable over a small watershed.     

Response of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and brook trout (S. fontinalis) to surface water acidification in Ontario

Netting surveys of lakes varying in pH (4.4–7.1) showed that lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) populations fail to recruit at pH <5.5 and are lost from lakes with pH<5.2. Brook trout (S. fontinalis) were extirpated in lakes with pH <5.0. In regional chemical surveys of Ontario lakes, it was found that 2% of sampled brook trout lakes and 2.5% of lake trout lakes were acidified (alkalinity <0 uEq L^?1). Threshold pH levels determined from fisheries assessments were used to estimate that 1% of lake trout and brook trout populations have been lost due to acidification.     

Effects of Acidity and Aluminum on the Physiology and Migratory Behavior of Atlantic Salmon Smolts in Maine, USA

Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, smolts of hatchery origin were held for 5 to 16 days in ambient (pH 6.35, labile Al = 60 µg L^?1), limed (pH 6.72, labile Al = 58.4 µg L^?1), or acidified (pH 5.47, labile Al=96 µg L^?1) water from the Narraguagus River in Maine, USA. Wild smolts were captured in the same river in rotary traps and held for up to two days in ambient river water. Osmoregulatory ability was assessed by measuring Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase activity, hematocrit, and blood Cl concentration in freshwater, and after 24-hr exposure to seawater. Hatchery smolts exposed to acidic water and wild smolts displayed sub-lethal ionoregulatory stress both in fresh and seawater, with mortalities of wild smolts in seawater. Using ultrasonic telemetry, hatchery-reared ambient and acid-exposed, and wild smolts were tracked as they migrated through freshwater and estuarine sections of the river. The proportion of wild smolts migrating during daylight hours was higher than for hatchery-reared smolts. Wild smolts remained in the freshwater portions of the river longer than either group of hatchery smolts, although survival during migration to seawater was similar for all three treatments. Acid-exposed hatchery-origin and wild Narraguagus River smolts were both under ionoregulatory stress that may have affected their migratory behavior, but not their survival for the time and area in which we tracked them.     

Mortality and physiological stress of year-classes of landlocked and migratory Atlantic salmon,brown trout and brook trout in acidic aluminium-rich soft water

Physiological stress, measured as changes in plasma chloride, and mortality were measured on different year-classes of landlocked and migratory Atlantic salmon, two strains of brown trout, and brook trout, in a flow-through system with acidic Al-rich soft water. The oldest year-classes of salmon were smolts. Water from Lake Byglandsfjord (pH = 5.9), was enriched 1 th inorganic Al (as AlCl₃) and H₂SO₄ to pH = 5.1, total Al = 225 ug L^?1 , and labile Al = 135 ug L^?1 . As a reference, lake water was limed by means of a shellsanj filter to pH = 6.2, increasing Ca-concentration from 1.0 to 1.5 mg L^?1. During the 83 hr experiment, neither mortality nor physiological stress occurred in any species or year-class in the limed water. In the acid water, no mortality occurred on any stage of brown trout or brook trout. Among the migratory and landlocked salmon, however, 5% of the alevins died after 49 and 70 hr, respectively. All smolts of both the landlocked and the migratory salmon died after 83 and 35 hr, respectively, the co responding loss rate of plasma chloride was ?0.76 and ?1.26 meq Cl hr^?1. Brook trout, however, increased plasma ion concentration during the experimental period, and hence showed no stress.     

Localization of aluminum in tissues of fish

The concentrations of Al in fish gills has been used as a measure of fish exposure to this metal in acidified waters. This experiment was designed to determine if other fish tissues also accumulate Al and thus possibly contribute to the cause of death. Rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were exposed to the following fours test conditions for 48 hr or until death: (1) pH 6.8, <0.001 mg.L^?1 Al (n=6); (2) pH 5.2, <0.001 mg₁L^?1 Al (n=2);(3) pH 5.2,1.0 mg.L^?1 Al (n=5); (4) pH 6.8, 1.0 mg.L^?1 Al (n=3). The trout were held in synthetic, low Ca water prior to, and during, experimentation. Esophagus-stomach, gonad, gall bladder, gill (left and right), heart, intestine, kidney, liver, muscle (epaxial), and spleen were digested in a 4:1 mixture of HNO₃:HClO₄ and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrophotometry. Elevated Al concentrations were found in gill and gastrointestinal tissues. Left and right gills of fish exposed to pH 5.2, 1.0 mg.L^?1 Al were the only tissues found to be significantly different (p<0.01) between the test conditions. The mean total Al concentrations of these test 3 fish, for the left and right gill were 3.61 and 4.33 mg.g^?1 Al dw. The Al concentration in thle gastrointestinal tissues of the fish exposed to pH 6.8 at 1.0 mg.L^?1 Al was greater than that of the control fish, but not statistically significant. These results suggest that the analysis of whole gill remains an effective indicator of Al exposure in fishes at low pH.     

PHYTOTOXICITY OF SALTS IN COMPOSTED SEWAGE SLUDGE AND CORRELATION WITH SODIUM CHLORIDE,CALCIUM NITRATE,AND MAGNESIUM NITRATE

The phytotoxicity of salts in composted sewage sludge (CSS) was evaluated. Concentrations of sodium (Na⁺), chloride (Cl^?1), calcium (Ca²⁺), and magnesium (Mg²⁺) were present at levels that would induce salt stress in plants. Nutrient imbalances were also found that would adversely affect the use of CSS as a growth medium. To further understand the phytotoxic nature of these salts, sodium chloride (NaCl), calcium nitrate [Ca(NO₃)₂] and magnesium nitrate [Mg(NO₃)₂] solutions were used to simulate the composition of salts found in CSS in an investigation of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) seed germination. High concentrations of Ca²⁺ (92.1 mmol.L^?1) and Mg²⁺ (27.4 mmol.L^?1) inhibited seed germination to an equal extent as did Na⁺ (40.6 mmol.L^?1). The lower concentration of Ca²⁺ (10 mmol.L^?1), however, significantly relieved the stress caused by NaCl. These results indicated that the composition and total amount of Na⁺, Cl^?1, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ in CSS should be carefully monitored before it is used as a soil amendment or growth medium.     

Individual and additive effects of Na+ and Cl− ions on rice under salinity stress

This study was attempted to assess the extent of toxicity contributed by Na⁺ and/or Cl^? ions individually, besides their possible additive effects under NaCl using physiological and biochemical parameters. Despite the fact that most annual plants accumulate both Na⁺ and Cl^? under saline conditions and each ion deserves equal considerations, most research has been focused on Na⁺ toxicity. Consequently, Cl^? toxicity mechanisms including its accumulation/exclusion in plants are poorly understood. To address these issues, effects of equimolar (100 mM) concentrations of Na⁺, Cl^? and NaCl (EC ≈ 10 dS m^?1) were studied on 15-day-old seedlings of two rice cultivars, Panvel-3 (tolerant) and Sahyadri-3 (sensitive), using in vitro cultures. All three treatments induced substantial reductions in germination rate and plant growth with greater impacts under NaCl than Na⁺ and Cl^? separately. Apparently, salt tolerance of Panvel-3 was due to its ability to exclude Na⁺ and Cl^? from its shoots and maintaining low (<1.0) Na⁺/K⁺ ratios. Panvel-3 exhibited better vigour and membrane stability indices coupled with lower reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation levels, besides stimulated synthesis of proline, glycine betaine and ascorbic acid. Overall, the magnitude of toxicity was observed in NaCl > Na⁺ > Cl^? manner. Though Cl^? was relatively less toxic than its countercation, its effect cannot be totally diminished.     

Comparing Two Extraction Methods to Evaluate the Composition of Substrate Solution of a Burnt Rice Husk Substrate Used for Carnation Crops

Substrates have been increasingly used in recent years for carnation crops. Burnt rice husk (BRH) is widely available and used as a substrate in Colombia. The present work aims to compare the effects of two aqueous extraction methods on the chemical contents. Saturated and 1:1 (v/v) extractions were performed in three replications. Ionic forms of the macronutrients (NO₃^?, NH₄⁺, PO₄H₂^?, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and SO₄^2?, in meq L^?1), micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and B, in mg L^?1), Cl^?, CO₃ H^? in meq L^?1, electrical conductivity in dS m^?1, and pH were analyzed. Except for NH₄⁺, Cl^?, and B the determination coefficient R² was greater than 95 percent. Average values and standard errors of data have been used to define suitable intervals for 1:1 extractions. Proposed intervals for 1:1 extracts are consistent with the saturated extract and therefore are a good tool to optimize the management of fertigation in those crops.     

Physiological response of brown trout (Salmo trutta) spawners and postspawners to acidic alminum-rich stream water

High immediate postspawning mortality due to inferior autumn water quality has been hypothesized to cause juvenilization in some brown trout populations in acidified areas. We exposed male and female spawners and female postspawners from a juvenile-dominated brown trout population to acidic streamwater (pH = 4.83, Al_i = 240 μg L^?1) and a limed control (pH = 5.70, Al_i = 55 μg L^?1) for 28 days in November and December, 1984. Water chemistry was monitored at least bi-daily, and physiological stress was assessed by analysis of plasma chloride, osmolality and haematocrit. Neither pronounced physiological stress nor mortality was observed at the control site. At the exposure site trout showed significant but moderate stress responses and 15 % died. The results are discussed in terms of potential population effects and physiological mechanisms, e.g., plasma volume reduction.     

Evaluation of Salinity Effects on Ionic Balance and Compatible Solute Contents in Nine Grape (Vitis L.) Genotypes

The salinity tolerance of nine grape genotypes was studied. Salinity was applied as nutrient solutions containing 0, 25, 50, and 100 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) for two weeks. Growth was significantly reduced by salinity, whereas chloride (Cl^?) and sodium (Na⁺) contents increased. Sodium ion accumulation exceeded that of Cl^? in all treatments. Shirazi and H₆ had higher and lower Cl^? concentrations in their lamina than others. There were significant positive correlations (P < 0.01) between Cl^? and Na⁺ and negative correlation between Na⁺ and potassium (K⁺) in roots and laminas of all genotypes. Soluble sugars, proline, and glycine betaine contents increased in laminas of all of the genotypes with moderate salinity. There were positive correlations (P < 0.01) between lamina and root Na⁺ and Cl^? contents and compatible solutes in all genotypes. Overall results revealed that unlike Shirazi with higher Na⁺ and Cl^? accumulation in shoot, H₆ showed a higher capacity to restrict Na⁺ and Cl^? transport to shoot.     

Chemical effects of spring and summer alum additions to a small,Northwestern Ontario Lake

Aluminum was added as aluminum sulfate (alum) to Lake 114, a small, shallow lake of the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, in spring and summer point-source additions. Aluminum and H⁺ gradients were established during the additions, with high Al and low pH (about 1000 μg L^?1 Al, pH 4.7) near the alum sources, and background conditions (< 50 μg L^?1 Al, pH 5.7) further from the sources. Approximately 80% of the added Al was lost from the water column in two weeks. Phosphorus concentrations remained unchanged during the additions, whereas lake alkalinity decreased and sulfate increased close to the sources. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations decreased slightly (from 540 μM L^?1 to about 500 μM L^?1) near the alum source during the summer addition.     

Acidification of mixtures of granite powder and compost for reuse in plant production

We evaluated the utilization of granite powder—a residue of stone cutting and polishing resulting from its preparation for construction and ornamental use—in the preparation of nursery potting mixtures, within a general objective of waste recycling and reuse. Granite powder was blended with two composts of different origins and properties: one elaborated from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW), and another from pine bark. Since all materials presented pH values over 8, which are excessive for growing most vegetal species, the use of iron sulphate to acidify them has been assessed. Three doses of iron sulphate (14, 69, and 97 g kg^?1, equivalent to 0.1, 0.5, and 0.7 meq H⁺ g^?1) were added to the granitic powder and mixtures with 25 or 75% (v/v) of each compost, which were incubated in the laboratory during 30 days. Doses of iron sulphate above 0.1 meq H⁺ g^?1 resulted in excessive electrical conductivity (>2 dS m^?1) in all the samples, and too low pH values (<5) in most of them. The productivity of granite powder/compost mixtures acidified with 0.1 meq H⁺ g^?1 was tested in a greenhouse experiment with ryegrass, where it was observed that plant productivity increased with respect to a control commercial substrate based on peat, in particular when the MSW compost was employed. On the basis of the physicochemical properties of the mixtures and the results of the greenhouse experiment, the use of granite powder mixed with 75% of MSW compost (v/v), acidified with 14 g kg^?1 of iron sulphate (0.1 meq H⁺ g^?1) is recommended.     

Na+ and Cl−: Leaf extrusion,retranslocation and root efflux in diplachne fusca (kallar grass) grown in NaCl

Abstract

Groups of “Kallar”; grass plants were subjected to various treatments of 100 mM NaCl simultaneously labelled with ²²Na⁺ and ³⁶Cl^?. On the basis of the specific activity, the distribution of Na and Cl^? in the tissue was followed during and after treatment, i.e. after transfer of some groups to an identical but inactive solution. Sequential collections of leaf washes showed that both Na and Cl^? were extruded at a somewhat constant rate. Leaf sheaths accumulated more Na⁺ and Cl^? than the leaf blades and the amounts of Na⁺ and Cl^? in the leaf sheaths as a percentage of their total plant content (i.e. 28% and 31%) approximated the amounts of Na and Cl^? extruded by the leaves (i.e. 23%). Moreover, almost equivalent amounts of Na⁺ (21%) and Cl^? (29%) were removed by root efflux which continued even several days after transfer of the plants to the inactive, saline solution. Part of the Na⁺ and Cl^? was retranslocated from the tops to the roots and was attributed to phloem export.

Tolerance of Kallar grass to NaCl was thus related to preventing the tissue from accumulating high concentration by extrusion of both Na⁺ and Cl^? by the leaves and their efflux by the roots in addition to an equivalent retention in the leaf sheaths.     

Negative correlation between the ratio of K+ to Na+ and proline accumulation in tobacco suspension cells

Abstract

The concentrations of K⁺, Na⁺, and proline and the ratio of K⁺ to Na⁺ (K⁺ / Na⁺) were analyzed in NaCl-unadapted and NaCl-adapted tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells in suspension culture. At 3 to 5 d after inoculation, the NaCl-unadapted cells cultured in 100 mmol L^?1 NaCl saline culture medium (Na100 medium) accumulated 28.7 mmol L^?1 proline with a low ratio of K⁺ to Na⁺ (= 2.8) and the NaCl-adapted cells cultured in the Na100 medium contained 6.28 mmol L^?1 proline with a high K⁺ / Na⁺ ratio (≧ 7.5). The contents of amino acids for the NaCl-adapted cells in the Na100 medium were similar to those for the NaCl-unadapted cells in a modified LS medium (standard medium). At 14 d after inoculation, the NaCl-unadapted cells in the Na100 medium contained 4.77 mmol L^?1 proline and restored the K⁺ / Na⁺ ratio from 2.8 to 6.2. These results indicate the presence of a negative correlation between the K⁺ / Na⁺ ratio and proline accumulation and suggest that a balance between the K⁺ / Na⁺ ratio and proline accumulation may be the factor involved in determining the salt tolerance of plant cells.     

EFFECT OF PACLOBUTRAZOL AND PUTRESCINE ON ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES ACTIVITY AND NUTRIENTS CONTENT IN SALT TOLERANT CITRUS ROOTSTOCK SOUR ORANGE UNDER SODIUM CHLORIDE STRESS

The effects of paclobutrazol (PBZ) and putrescine (Put) on antioxidant enzymes activity, proline contents and nutrients uptake were studied on salt tolerant citrus rootstock sour orange. Six-month-old nucellar seedlings grown in pots and subjected to three levels of PBZ and two levels each of salinity and Put for 90 days. Seedlings treated with PBZ or Put alone or in combination had higher anti-oxidant enzymes activities, accumulation of proline and nutrients contents like potassium (K⁺) and calcium (Ca²⁺) under both saline and non-saline conditions. Further, application of PBZ or Put alone or in combination also reduced the accumulation of both Na⁺ and Cl^? ions in leaves and roots in NaCl stressed seedlings. A combined application of 250 mg L^?1 PBZ and 50 mg L^?1 Put proved to be more effective in improving proline and Ca²⁺ content and restricting accumulation of Na⁺ ions in leaf tissues.     

Can Phosphate Help Acidified Lakes to Recover?

Experimental addition of phosphate to enclosures in an acidified lake in Southern Norway was performed to study the effect on nitrate, pH and labile aluminium along a gradient of phosphate from 4–19 µg P L^?1. Nitrate decreased from 180 µg L^?1 to below detection limit after three weeks at P-concentrations > 17 µg L^?1, due to phytoplankton uptake. pH increased from 4.9 to 5.2, corresponding to a 50% decrease of H⁺-equivalents from 12 to 6 µg P L^?1 due to algal uptake of H⁺-ions when assimilating NO₃ ^?-ions. Due to the increased pH and probably also precipitation with phosphate, concentrations of labile aluminium decreased from 150 to 100 µg L^?1 within the P-interval 4–19 µg L^?1. Algal biomass increased from 0.5 to 6 µg chlorophyll a L^?1 along the same P-gradient. The results suggest that moderate P-addition (< 15 µg P L^?1 to avoid eutrophication problems) can improve water quality in moderately acidified lakes, and also increase nitrate retention in strongly acidified lakes. In humic lakes, the treatment will be less efficient due to light limitation of primary production and the presence of organic acids.