Seasonal Occurrence of Cyanobacteria and First Detection of Microcystin-LR in Water Column of Foum-Gleita Reservoir, Mauritania

This work was carried out to study the seasonal occurrence of cyanobacteria and their microcystin-LR in water column of Foum-Gleita reservoir (Mauritania). Limnological and biological factors were investigated at three depths (surface, -3, and -6 m) in this reservoir during a full year. Nutrients were analyzed by Spectrophotometry, phytoplankton was analyzed by Inverted Microscopy, microsystins were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry and environmental factors relationships were analyzed by Pearson's correlation and Multiple Linear Regression. Physicochemical analyzes have shown that this reservoir is hypereutrophic with dissolved inorganic nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations relatively high, varying from 1.39 to 6.53 and 0.21 to 0.57 mg/L, respectively. Annual surface water temperature was exceptionally high (27.8 ± 3.6°C), characterizing of a Sahelian climatic conditions. Phytoplankton analyzes have shown dominance of two toxic cyanobacteria species Microcystis aeruginosa and Dolichospermum flos-aquae during warm season (May-September). Microcystins analysis revealed presence of only most toxic variant, microcystin-LR. Microcystin-LR concentration in the surface water samples, during cyanobacterial blooms, was consistently high (5.638 µg/L), exceeding 5-times the World Health Organization drinking water limit (1 µg/L), however, it was much lower (0.83 µg / L) at depth (-6 m). Analysis of environmental factors relationships showed that the most influential factors on abundance of Microcystis aeruginosa and Dolichospermum flos-aquae and variability of microcystin-LR concentrations were total phosphorus, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, iron, temperature and pH. Finally, the study clearly demonstrated need for regular monitoring of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in the waters of studied reservoir.

Forest defoliator outbreaks alter nutrient cycling in northern waters

Insect defoliators alter biogeochemical cycles from land into receiving waters by consuming terrestrial biomass and releasing biolabile frass. Here, we related insect outbreaks to water chemistry across 12 boreal lake catchments over 32-years. We report, on average, 27% lower dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and 112% higher dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in lake waters when defoliators covered entire catchments and reduced leaf area. DOC reductions reached 32% when deciduous stands dominated. Within-year changes in DOC from insect outbreaks exceeded 86% of between-year trends across a larger dataset of 266 boreal and north temperate lakes from 1990 to 2016. Similarly, within-year increases in DIN from insect outbreaks exceeded local, between-year changes in DIN by 12-times, on average. As insect defoliator outbreaks occur at least every 5 years across a wider 439,661 km2 boreal ecozone of Ontario, we suggest they are an underappreciated driver of biogeochemical cycles in forest catchments of this region.

Traceability and Emission Reduction of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen in Minjiang Estuary, China

The accumulation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in estuaries has become a global environmental problem. A two-dimensional, hydrodynamic water quality model was constructed in this study to investigate the sources of DIN pollution in the Minjiang Estuary. The concentration response field between the stream input and DIN in the estuary was established by using the surveyed source data of the study area. A sharing coefficient method was used to calculate the contribution percentage of each outfall to derive and propose a reasonable nitrogen reduction plan. The results showed that the input of land-based nitrogen into the Minjiang River contributed more than half of the DIN in the near-shore sea; the middle and upper reaches of the Minjiang River largely influenced the estuary area (38.57%). Conversely, the estuary and the coastline accounted for a smaller proportion of only 5.24%, indicating that an integrated DIN reduction should be implemented in the estuary area of the whole river basin. The model calculations showed that the reduction results, after remediation according to the current national standards for wastewater discharge in rivers, were not satisfactory. Thus, a new scheme is proposed in this paper—the total nitrogen (TN) input from land-based sources into the Minjiang Estuary and from the Shuikou Dam to the Min’an section should be reduced to below 31.64%; simultaneously, the DIN concentration discharged from the Shuikou Dam should be controlled and maintained below 0.5 mg·L−1 (TN = 0.8 mg·L−1). These results will provide guidelines for developing strategies for the improvement of DIN and water quality in similar estuaries.

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen Input via Net Nitrogen Mineralization under Antibiotics and Warming from the Water Level Fluctuation Zone of a Three Gorges Tributary

The water level fluctuation (WLF) zone is one of the dominant sources of total dissolved inorganic nitrogen (TDN) export via net nitrogen (N) mineralization in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). However, antibiotics pollution may impact the process of TND exports from WLF zone in the TGR, especially under drying-rewetting processes and climate warming, and thus increasing the risk of eutrophication in the tributaries of the TGR. The effects of the antibiotics Griseofulvin (GIN) and Fosfomycin (FIN) with 0, 0.2 and 0.4 g kg−1 net N mineralization rate (NMR) from WLF-zone soil in the Pengxi river, a typical tributary of the Yangtze River, under 25 and 35 °C were estimated in 30-day flooding and drying incubations. The results showed that GIN concentrations, temperatures and their interaction significantly affect net-nitrification rates (NNR) and NMR under drying and did not significantly affect NNR under flooding. FIN concentrations and temperatures solely influenced the NNR under flooding. The amounts of TDN exports via NMR without antibiotics from the WLF zone of Pengxi River are 6883.8 (flooding, 25 °C), 9987.3 (flooding, 35 °C), 9781.6 (drying, 25 °C), and 27,866.5 (drying, 35 °C) t year−1, which is 21.0, 29.8, 30.4 and 84.8 times of the permissible Class A discharge in China according to (GB18918-2002). Thus, the NMR of WLF zone should be controlled whether there is antibiotics pollution or not, especially during the dry period for alleviating water eutrophication. This study will be helpful for the assessment of nitrogen budgets in the WLF zone to eutrophication in the Three Gorges Reservoir.

Filtration and fertilisation effects of the bivalves Mytilus edulis and Magallana gigas on the kelp Saccharina latissima in tank culture

Biofouling by opportunistic epiphytes is a major concern in seaweed aquaculture. Colonisation of fouling organisms contributes to a reduction in algal performance as well as a lower quality crop. Further, epiphyte removal techniques often increase maintenance costs of cultivation systems. There have been a variety of methods to mitigate fouling in tank cultivations of seaweed, including the use of biological controls. Here, we present the use of filter feeding bivalves, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas), as a novel biofilter that also serves as a source of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in tank cultivations of the sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima. We observed significant reductions of fouling epiphytes on seaweed blades of around 50% by bivalve filtration, significant elevations of ammonium (NH4+) and phosphate (PO43−) by bivalves and alterations to kelp tissue quality when co-cultivated with bivalves rather than supplied with ambient seawater. Stable isotope ratios and seawater chlorophyll a concentrations provided evidence for bivalve biofiltration and the incorporation of their by-products into kelp tissue.

In Vitro Nitrogen Transformations by Pollen From Temperate Tree Species

The effects of pollen on dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) compounds in throughfall water are not completely understood. We conducted a 7-day leaching experiment with pollen from silver birch (including a sterilized control), European beech, sessile oak, Scots pine, Corsican black pine and Norway spruce using an immersion medium containing nitrate (11.295 mg N l-1). Within 2 hours, pollen released substantial amounts of potassium (K+), phosphate (PO3-) and organic compounds. Solute concentrations of ammonium (NH4+) were built up over time. In treatments with pollen from birch, oak and beech, nitrate (NO3-) concentrations started to decrease after 24–48 hours, while simultaneously nitrite (NO2-) emerged, but part of the inorganic nitrogen could no longer be detected in solution. For birch, sterilisation of the pollen made no difference, indicating that microorganisms on the pollen played no substantial role in the observed N transformations. Conditions in the samples were oxic (1.82–6.12 mg O2 l-1), rendering microbial denitrification unlikely. Our findings revealed that pollen from broadleaved deciduous trees can transform throughfall NO3- into NO2- and likely also nitric oxide (NO), probably through the nitrate reductase pathway. The synthesis of NH4+ might be part of a natural defence mechanism protecting reproductive organs against pathogens during pollination.

Nutrient criteria to achieve New Zealand’s riverine macroinvertebrate targets

Waterways worldwide are experiencing nutrient enrichment from population growth and intensive agriculture, and New Zealand is part of this global trend. Increasing fertilizer in New Zealand and intensive agriculture have driven substantial water quality declines over recent decades. A recent national directive has set environmental managers a range of riverine ecological targets, including three macroinvertebrate indicators, and requires nutrient criteria be set to support their achievement. To support these national aspirations, we use the minimization-of-mismatch analysis to derive potential nutrient criteria. Given that nutrient and macroinvertebrate monitoring often does not occur at the same sites, we compared nutrient criteria derived at sites where macroinvertebrates and nutrients are monitored concurrently with nutrient criteria derived at all macroinvertebrate monitoring sites and using modelled nutrients. To support all three macroinvertebrate targets, we suggest that suitable nutrient criteria would set median dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations at ~0.6 mg/L and median dissolved reactive phosphorus concentrations at ~0.02 mg/L. We recognize that deriving site-specific nutrient criteria requires the balancing of multiple values and consideration of multiple targets, and anticipate that criteria derived here will help and support these environmental goals.