Impacts of multiple stressors on freshwater biota across spatial scales and ecosystems.

Climate and land-use change drive a suite of stressors that shape ecosystems and interact to yield complex ecological responses (that is, additive, antagonistic and synergistic effects). We know little about the spatial scales relevant for the outcomes of such interactions and little about effect sizes. These knowledge gaps need to be filled to underpin future land management decisions or climate mitigation interventions for protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems.

Occurrence and risk assessment of an azo dye - The case of Disperse Red 1.

Water quality criteria to protect aquatic life are not available for most disperse dyes which are often used as commercial mixtures in textile coloration. In this study, the acute and chronic toxicity of the commercial dye Disperse Red 1 (DR1) to eight aquatic organisms from four trophic levels was evaluated. A safety threshold, i.

Using phylogenetic information and chemical properties to predict species tolerances to pesticides.

Direct estimation of species' tolerance to pesticides and other toxic organic substances is a combinatorial problem, because of the large number of species-substance pairs. We propose a statistical modelling approach to predict tolerances associated with untested species-substance pairs, by using models fitted to tested pairs. This approach is based on the phylogeny of species and physico-chemical descriptors of pesticides, with both kinds of information combined in a bilinear model.

Distinguishing the effects of habitat degradation and pesticide stress on benthic invertebrates using stressor-specific metrics.

Hydromorphological degradation is a well known stressor for running waters, while the effects of elevated levels of pesticides are widely ignored. Hence, distinguishing between the effects of these two stressors is an urgent task for water managers that aim at appropriate remediation measures. We used a large monitoring data set on benthic invertebrates, habitat descriptors, and physico-chemical variables to develop the SPEAR[%](habitat) metric that indicates the effects of in-stream habitat degradation.

Occurrences and potential risks of 16 fragrances in five German sewage treatment plants and their receiving waters.

Fragrances are used in a wide array of everyday products and enter the aquatic environment via wastewater. While several musk compounds have been studied in detail, little is known about the occurrence and fate of other fragrances. We selected 16 fragrance compounds and scrutinized their presence in Bavarian sewage treatment plants (STP) influents and effluents and discussed their ecological risks for the receiving surface waters.

Physiological sensitivity of freshwater macroinvertebrates to heavy metals.

Macroinvertebrate species traits, such as physiological sensitivity, have successfully been introduced in trait-based bioassessment approaches and are important predictors of species sensitivity in the field. The authors ranked macroinvertebrate species according to their physiological sensitivity to heavy metals using toxicity data from acute laboratory assays. Rankings for each of the heavy metals, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Hg, were standardized based on all available species data.

Thresholds for the effects of pesticides on invertebrate communities and leaf breakdown in stream ecosystems.

We compiled data from eight field studies conducted between 1998 and 2010 in Europe, Siberia, and Australia to derive thresholds for the effects of pesticides on macroinvertebrate communities and the ecosystem function leaf breakdown. Dose-response models for the relationship of pesticide toxicity with the abundance of sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa showed significant differences to reference sites at 1/1000 to 1/10,000 of the median acute effect concentration (EC50) for Daphnia magna, depending on the model specification and whether forested upstream sections were present. Hence, the analysis revealed effects well below the threshold of 1/100 of the EC50 for D.

Triclosan--the forgotten priority substance?

Introduction: Triclosan (TCS) is a multi-purpose biocide. Its wide use in personal care products (PCPs) fosters its dispersal in the aquatic environment. Despite enhanced awareness of both scientists and the public in the last decade with regard to fate and effects, TCS received little attention regarding its prioritisation as a candidate river basin-specific pollutant or even priority substance, due to scarce monitoring data.

Water toxicity assessment and spatial pollution patterns identification in a Mediterranean River Basin District. Tools for water management and risk analysis.

In compliance with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive, monitoring of the ecological and chemical status of Catalan river basins (NE Spain) is carried out by the Catalan Water Agency. The large amount of data collected and the complex relationships among the environmental variables monitored often mislead data interpretation in terms of toxic impact, especially considering that even pollutants at very low concentrations might contribute to the total toxicity. The total dataset of chemical monitoring carried out between 2007 and 2008 (232 sampling stations and 60 pollutants) has been analyzed using sequential advanced modeling techniques.

Occurrence and toxicity of 331 organic pollutants in large rivers of north Germany over a decade (1994 to 2004).

We analyzed the detection frequencies and concentrations for 331 organic compounds measured between 1994 and 2004 in the four largest rivers of north Germany, the Elbe, Weser, Aller, and Ems Rivers, and we assessed the potential risk for aquatic fauna using experimental and predicted acute toxicity data for the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, the crustacean Daphnia magna, and the fish Pimephales promelas. The detection frequency for most compounds decreased significantly from 1994 to 2004. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were most frequently detected, while pesticides were the most important chemical group concerning toxicity for the standard test organisms.

A new risk assessment approach for the prioritization of 500 classical and emerging organic microcontaminants as potential river basin specific pollutants under the European Water Framework Directive.

Given the huge number of chemicals released into the environment and existing time and budget constraints, there is a need to prioritize chemicals for risk assessment and monitoring in the context of the European Union Water Framework Directive (EU WFD). This study is the first to assess the risk of 500 organic substances based on observations in the four European river basins of the Elbe, Scheldt, Danube and Llobregat. A decision tree is introduced that first classifies chemicals into six categories depending on the information available, which allows water managers to focus on the next steps (e.

Identification of a phytotoxic photo-transformation product of diclofenac using effect-directed analysis.

The pharmaceutical diclofenac (DCF) is released in considerably high amounts to the aquatic environment. Photo-transformation of DCF was reported as the main degradation pathway in surface waters and was found to produce metabolites with enhanced toxicity to the green algae Scenedesmus vacuolatus. We identified and subsequently confirmed 2-[2-(chlorophenyl)amino]benzaldehyde (CPAB) as a transformation product with enhanced toxicity using effect-directed analysis.

Water quality indices across Europe--a comparison of the good ecological status of five river basins.

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires the definition of near-natural reference conditions to determine the extent of water bodies' deviation from "good ecological status" caused by stress gradients. However, the classification of ecological quality depends on the assessment method applied and the stressor concerned. While assessment methods that are generally applicable would be favourable, many European countries employ the locally developed water quality metrics that assess the impact of organic pollution (including eutrophication) and the associated decrease in dissolved oxygen.

MODELKEY. Models for assessing and forecasting the impact of environmental key pollutants on freshwater and marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Background: Triggered by the requirement of Water Framework Directive for a good ecological status for European river systems till 2015 and by still existing lacks in tools for cause identification of insufficient ecological status MODELKEY (http:// www.modelkey.org), an Integrated Project with 26 partners from 14 European countries, was started in 2005.

Analyzing effects of pesticides on invertebrate communities in streams.

The aim of this investigation was to find patterns in aquatic invertebrate community composition that are related to the effects of pesticides. Investigations were carried out in 20 central European streams. To reduce the site-specific variation of community descriptors due to environmental factors other than pesticides, species were classified and grouped according to their vulnerability to pesticides.

Relative sensitivity distribution of aquatic invertebrates to organic and metal compounds.

In the field, a multitude of species can be exposed to numerous toxicants; thus, the sensitivity of individual species to particular toxicants must be known to predict effects and to analyze changes in species composition. For most species, no information about their toxicant sensitivity is available. To address this limitation, we have grouped the available information to assign sensitivities to aquatic invertebrate taxa relative to Daphnia magna.