Geologic processes strongly influence water and sediment quality in aquatic ecosystems but rarely are geologic principles incorporated into routine biomonitoring studies. We test if elevated concentrations of metals in water and sediment are restricted to streams downstream of mines or areas that may discharge mine wastes. We surveyed 198 catchments classified as "historically mined" or "unmine...

The use of aquatic plants for phytoremediation is an important method for restoring polluted ecosystems. We sought to analyze the capacity of different aquatic plant species to absorb heavy metals and to summarize available relevant scientific data on this topic. We present a meta-analysis of Cu, Zn, and Cd absorption capacities of aquatic plants to provide a scientific basis for the selection ...

Aquatic birds have high cost of thermoregulation, especially during the moulting period, yet the effect of water temperature on the moulting strategy of aquatic birds has rarely been studied. Our general hypothesis is that energy savings associated with lower thermoregulation costs would be allocated to moulting processes. We predicted that aquatic birds moulting in warm water would have a high...

Aquatic and semi-aquatic mammals, while resting at the water surface or ashore, breathe with a low frequency (f) by comparison to terrestrial mammals of the same body size, the difference increasing the larger the species. Among various interpretations, it was suggested that the low-f breathing is a consequence of the end-inspiratory breath-holding pattern adopted by aquatic mammals to favour b...

Invasive plants pose a significant threat to biodiversity, especially under the current unstable climatic conditions. This study aimed test salt and drought tolerance of two ornamental species genus Ipomoea during germination vegetative growth. Germination tests were performed in presence increasing NaCl concentrations or iso-osmotic PEG concentrations—to mimic osmotic stress caused by drought....

Insects with over 30,000 aquatic species are known as very successful arthropods in freshwater habitats. Some of them are applied as biological indicators for water quality control, as well as the main food supply for fishes and amphibians. The faunistic studies are the basic step in entomological researches; the current study was carried out emphasizing on the fauna of aquatic insects in Karaj...

1 Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2 Department Surface Waters, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland, 3 Department Water Resources and Drinking Water, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland, 4 ...

CONTEXT Quantification of the magnitudes of fluid resistance provided by water jets (currents) and their effect on energy expenditure during aquatic-treadmill walking is lacking in the scientific literature. OBJECTIVE To quantify the effect of water-jet intensity on jet velocity, drag force, and oxygen uptake (VO2) during aquatic-treadmill walking. DESIGN Descriptive and repeated measures. ...

Lambda-cyhalothrin is a pyrethroid insecticide used for controlling pest insects in agriculture, public health, and in construction and households. Lambda-cyhalothrin is characterized by low vapor pressure and a low Henry's law constant but by a high octanol-water partition coefficient (K(ow)) and high water-solid-organic carbon partition coefficient (K(oc)) values. Lambda-cyhalothrin is quite ...

BACKGROUND Very little is known regarding the persistence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses in aquatic environments in tropical countries, although environmental materials have been suggested to play a role as reservoirs and sources of transmission for H5N1 viruses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The survival of HPAI H5N1 viruses in experimental aquatic biotopes (water,...