Ecological and toxicological effects of inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems: A global assessment

Camargo, Julio A.; Alonso, Álvaro

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2006.05.002

Cited by 1,765 publications

(1,059 citation statements)

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“…This is likely to increase the mineralisation of organic matter, such that the desired 377 low nitrogen and phosphorus conditions are not preserved (Lammerts and Grootjans, 1997), which will 378 further exacerbate the eutrophication issue. This study is the first evidence that shows biological impact 379 caused by DIN groundwater concentrations below 0.2mg N/L within dune wetlands, which is below 380 threshold concentrations described by Davy et al (2010) and Camargo and Alonso (2006). 381 to store nitrogen in the soil, and leach nitrate readily (Rowell, 1994).…”

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confidence: 63%

Evidence for sensitivity of dune wetlands to groundwater nutrients

Rhymes

Wallace²,

Fenner

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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. 2014. Evidence for sensitivity of dune wetlands to groundwater nutrients. Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.Manuscript for Science of the total environment ACCEPTED Dune slacks are seasonal wetlands, high in biodiversity, which experience considerable within-year and 24 between-year variations in water-table. They are subject to many pressures including climate change, 25 land use change and eutrophication. Despite their biological importance and the threats facing them, 26 the hydrological and nutrient parameters that influence their soil properties and biodiversity are poorly 27 understood and there have been no empirical studies to date testing for biological effects in dune 28Manuscript for Science of the total environment ACCEPTED 2 systems resulting from groundwater nutrients at low concentrations. In this study we examined the 29 impact of groundwater nutrients on water chemistry, soil chemistry and vegetation composition of dune 30 slacks at three distance classes (0-150 m, 150-300 m, 300-450 m) away from known (off-site) nutrient 31 sources at Aberffraw dunes in North Wales, whilst controlling for differences in water- (Provoost et al., 2011;Jones et al. 2011; Beaumont et 56 al. 2014). With regard to the latter; nutrients from atmospheric deposition have increased dramatically 57 from their pre-industrial levels of 2 -6 kg N ha -1 yr -1 (Fowler, 2004). As a consequence, the critical load 58 defined for dune slacks, 10-15kg N ha -1 yr -1 (Bobbink and Hettelingh, 2011), is exceeded across much 59Manuscript for Science of the total environment ACCEPTED 3 of Europe. While the effects of atmospheric deposition have received recent attention in dry dune 60 habitats (Plassmann et al., 2009; Remke et al. 2009;Jones et al. 2013), relatively little attention has 61 been given to the impact of other sources of nutrients in dune wetlands, indeed in wetlands in general, 62 and the issue of groundwater or surface water-derived nutrients is not explicitly considered within 63 atmospheric critical loads frameworks. In dune systems that are not isolated hydrologically from 64 surrounding groundwater, there is the potential for nutrient inputs to these habitats from agricultural and 65 other sources via groundwater to add to the nutrient load already received from atmospheric deposition. grasslands (Heil and Diemont, 1983). However, in dune slacks there is still relatively little empirical 82 evidence of nutrient impacts either from atmospheric deposition or from other sources, especially at 83 realistic N loads. One of the few studies, using high nutrient loads on dune vegetation at Braunton 84 Burrows demonstrated that Agrostis stolonifera dominated a dune slack following surface additions of N 85 and P (Willis, 1963). 86 87 Dune slack water tables tend to be at their highest in winter and fall in the summer m...

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confidence: 63%

Evidence for sensitivity of dune wetlands to groundwater nutrients

Rhymes

Wallace²,

Fenner

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Anthropogenic contamination of waterways constitutes a major problem in both developing and developed countries around the world (Barrett et al 1998;Gelberg et al 1999;Tilman et al 2002;Grande et al 2003;Fytianos and Christophoridis 2004;Camargo and Alonso 2006;Chen et al 2006;Nas and Berktay 2006;Chang 2008;Ma et al 2009). Declining surface water quality directly affects human and ecosystem health, which further impacts economic development and social wellbeing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variations of nitrogen pollution in Wen-Rui Tang River watershed, Zhejiang, China

Mei

Zhang

et al. 2010

Environ Monit Assess

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Water quality has degraded dramatically in Wen-Rui Tang River watershed, Zhejiang, China, especially due to rapid economic development since 1995. This paper aims to assess spatial and temporal variations of the main pollutants (NH + 4 -N, TN, BOD 5 , COD Mn , DO) of water quality in Wen-Rui Tang River watershed, using the geographic information system, cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Results showed that concentrations of BOD 5 , COD Mn , NH + 4 -N, and TN were significantly higher in tertiary rivers than in primary and secondary rivers. From April 2006 to March 2007, the concentrations of NH + 4 -N (2.25-57.9 mg/L) and TN (3.78-70.4 mg/L) in all samples exceeded Type V national water quality standards (≥2 mg/L), while 5.3% of all COD Mn (1.83-27.5 mg/L) and 4 -N and TN in tertiary rivers had a significant negative correlation with 5-day cumulative rainfall and monthly rainfall, while there were no significant correlations in primary and secondary rivers. The results of CA and spatial analysis showed that the northern part of WenRui Tang River watershed was the most seriously polluted. This region is characterized by the high population density and industrial and commercial activities. The PCA and spatial analysis indicated that the degraded water quality is caused by anthropogenic activities and poor wastewater management.

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“…Ammonia is a component of the nitrogen cycle, and under natural conditions it derives from decomposition of organic matter and animal excretion. Additionally, ammonia concentrations can be increased as a consequence of different anthropogenic activities, such as animal and farming runoff, atmospheric deposition, industrial wastes, and urban effluents (Vitousek et al 1997;Camargo and Alonso 2006;Passel et al 2007). As a consequence, ammonia is one of the most widespread pollutants in developed countries (Abel 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Ionic strength also plays a role in ammonia equilibrium, but it is considered small, so it is normally ignored for freshwater ecosystems (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1999; Passel et al 2007). The nonionized form is toxic to aquatic animals, whereas the ionized form is only toxic at high concentrations and low pH values (Abel 2000;Camargo and Alonso 2006;Passel et al 2007). Nonionized ammonia has a high solubility in lipids, diffusing easily across cellular membranes, causing an increase in gill ventilation, hyperexcitability, convulsions, epithelial necrosis, and collapse of gill lamellae (Alabaster and Lloyd 1982;Russo 1985;Rebelo et al 2000;Camargo and Alonso 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The nonionized form is toxic to aquatic animals, whereas the ionized form is only toxic at high concentrations and low pH values (Abel 2000;Camargo and Alonso 2006;Passel et al 2007). Nonionized ammonia has a high solubility in lipids, diffusing easily across cellular membranes, causing an increase in gill ventilation, hyperexcitability, convulsions, epithelial necrosis, and collapse of gill lamellae (Alabaster and Lloyd 1982;Russo 1985;Rebelo et al 2000;Camargo and Alonso 2006). All these alterations can modify the normal movements of aquatic animals.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Long-Term Effects of Ammonia on the Behavioral Activity of the Aquatic Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca)

Alonso

Camargo

2008

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

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An appropriate approach to assess the effect of toxicants on aquatic animals is to monitor behavioral endpoints, as they are a link between physiological and ecological processes. A group that can be exposed longterm to low toxic concentrations is benthic macroinvertebrates, as their mobility in aquatic ecosystems is relatively limited. Therefore, the study of behavioral long-term effects in this group is suitable from an ecological point of view, as behavioral effects can appear before mortality. During the last decades there has been an increase in ammonia concentrations in freshwater ecosystems, threatening aquatic animals. The present study focuses on the long-term effects (40 days) of nonionized ammonia on the behavioral activity of the aquatic snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum. One control and three ammonia concentrations (0.02, 0.07, and 0.13 mg N-NH 3 /L) were used in triplicate, and the activity of snails (as mean time to start normal movement) and immobility were recorded for each treatment after 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 days of continuous exposure to nonionized ammonia. The results show that P. antipodarum presented a high tolerance to lethal long-term effects of nonionized ammonia, as no animal died during the bioassay. However, the behavioral activity of snails was a very sensitivity endpoint, as a mean nonionized ammonia concentration of 0.07 mg N-NH 3 /L affected P.antipodarum. The results are discussed and compared with the available literature on long-term effects of ammonia on freshwater macroinvertebrates. Additionally, the ammonia water quality criteria, NOECs, LOECs, and long-term LCs are discussed on the basis of the current available data for freshwater macroinvertebrates.

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Ecological and toxicological effects of inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems: A global assessment

Cited by 1,765 publications

References 181 publications

Evidence for sensitivity of dune wetlands to groundwater nutrients

Evidence for sensitivity of dune wetlands to groundwater nutrients

Spatial and temporal variations of nitrogen pollution in Wen-Rui Tang River watershed, Zhejiang, China

Long-Term Effects of Ammonia on the Behavioral Activity of the Aquatic Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca)

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