Ecology of Humic Substances in Freshwaters: Determinants from Geochemistry to Ecological Niches

441 Pages·2003·17.62 MB·English

by  Professor Dr. Christian E. W. Steinberg (auth.)

Christian E.W. Steinberg
Ecology of Humic Substances in Freshwaters
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH
Christian E.W. Steinberg
Ecology of Humic
Substances
in Freshwaters
Determinants from Geochemistry
to Ecological Niches
With 213 Figures and 19 Tables
t
Springer
Professor Dr. Christian E.W. Steinberg
Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin und
Leibniz-Institut fUr Gewasserokologie und Binnenfischerei
Mtiggelseedamm 310
12587 Berlin
ISBN 978-3-642-07873-6 ISBN 978-3-662-06815-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-06815-1
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Originally published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York in 2003.
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Dedication
I dedicate this book to my wife Anette for all the borrowed common leisure time
during weekends and vacations. Anette, I thank you very much for your patience
and understanding. That must be love.
Acknowledgments
I gratefully acknowledge the help of so many friends and colleagues: Gudrun
Abbt-Braun, Valeria Arne, George R. Aiken, Jacqui Aitkenhead, Jarkko Akkanen,
David Bastviken, Nanna Buesing, Kent B. Burnison, Yona Chen, Helmut Fischer,
Fritz H. Frimmel, Egil Gjessing, Elisabeth Gross, Markus Haitzer, Sebastian
Hoss, Karsten Kalbitz, Maris Klavins, Renate K16cking, Edgar Klose, Pirkko Kor
telainen, Jussi Kukkonen, Bernd Marschner, Eurico Melo, Uwe Miinster, E. Mike
Perdue, Irina V. Perminova, Hans Rudolf Schulten, Ruben Sommaruga, Maxim
Timofejew, Lars Tranvik, Rolf Vogt, and Quinlan Wu. I am also deeply indebted
to the members of my working group: Jorg Gelbrecht, Thomas Meinelt, Andreas
Nicklisch, Andrea Paul, Stephan Pflugmacher, Thomas Rossoll, Anke Sachse,
Angelika StUber, Claudia Wiegand, and Elke Zwirnmann, and to our enthusiastic
students, Kerstin Greulich, Philipp Hillmeister, Nanke Meems, Constanze Pietsch,
Torsten Preuer, Stefanie Piitz, Wiete Rieger, and Dominik Zak.
Furthennore, I thank the staff of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology
and Inland Fisheries, especially Brigitte Spieler, Karin Romer, Magdalena Sieber,
and Vera Henke, for providing office, library, and technical support. I wish to ex
press my gratitude to all colleagues and publishing houses, who gave copyright
pennission for figures and chapters.
I am very grateful to Andrew Fyson for working hard on the earlier version of
the manuscript, and Sarah L. Poynton for language polishing and particularly for
very rigorous, yet very supportive, comments on the manuscript.
Many thanks are also due to the staff of Springer-Verlag, particularly Janet
Sterritt-Brunner and Christian Witschel, for their understanding, and their help in
preparing my book.
Contents
Glossary .................................................................................................................. 7
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 9
1.1 Definitions ................................................................................................. 13
1.2 Operational Definition of 'Dissolved' ....................................................... 18
1.3 The Age of Humic Substances .................................................................. 19
1.4 Aims of the Book ....................................................................................... 19
Box 1.1 Chemical Building-Blocks and Reactivity of Humic Substances ....... 21
Random or Systematic Elemental Composition? ............................................ 21
Steps to Predict Environmental Behavior ........................................................ 24
Box 1.2 Short History of Aquatic Humic Substance Research ........................ 27
Early Days .................................................. ,. .................................................... 27
Scientific Schools ............................................................................................ 27
Sephadex Period .............................................................................................. 29
Scientific Upsurge ........................................................................................... 30
2 Origin of Humic Substances in Freshwater: Biogeochemical Pathways ..... 31
2.1 Degradative Pathway ................................................................................. 31
2.2 Condensation Pathway ............................................................................... 33
2.2.1 Polyphenol Model .............................................................................. 33
2.2.2 Melanoidin Model .............................................................................. 35
2.2.3 Polyunsaturated Structure Model ....................................................... 35
2.3 Genesis of Humic Substances .................................................................... 36
2.4 Recent Findings about Production and Diagenesis .................................... 39
Box 2.1 Structural Aspects of the Reactivity of Humic Substances in
Ecosystems ........................................................................................................... 47
Peptides, Glucosamine, Saccharides, and Long-Chain Fatty Acids ............... .48
Peptides and Amino Acids ......................................................................... .48
Glucosamine ................................................................................................ 49
2 Contents
Carbohydrates ............................................................................................. 49
Long-chain Fatty Acids ............................................................................... 51
Secondary and Tertiary Structure .................................................................... 51
Protein-like Macromolecules ...................................................................... 54
Micelles ....................................................................................................... 55
Supramolecular Associations ...................................................................... 56
Molecular Modeling .................................................................................... 58
Outlook ............................................................................................................ 60
3 Humic Substances as Geochemical Determinants ......................................... 6 1
3.1 Influence of the Catchment ........................................................................ 61
3.1.1 Influence on Humic Substance Quantity ............................................ 63
3.1.2. Hydrological Events .......................................................................... 72
3.1.3 Influence on Humic Substance Quality .............................................. 74
3.2 Dissolved Humic Substances and the Acid Status of Freshwaters
with Low Acid Neutralizing Capacities .......................................................... 89
3.2.1 Acuto-Limnological Studies .............................................................. 91
3.2.2 Paleolimnological Studies .................................................................. 95
3.3 Paleolimnological Reconstructions of Humic Substances Trends ........... 108
3.3.1 Lakes at the Canadian Tree Line ...................................................... 109
3.3.2 Lakes in Finnish Lapland ................................................................. 110
3.3.3 Lakes in Northeast Germany ............................................................ 113
4 Humic Substances and Global Climate Change .......................................... 117
4.1 Susceptibility of Lakes to Climate Change .............................................. 118
4.1.1 Arctic and Antarctic lakes ................................................................ 119
4.1.2 Canadian Lakes ................................................................................ 121
4.1.3 European High Mountain Lakes ...................................................... 124
4.2 Increase in DOC Concentration ............................................................... 125
4.2.1 Lake and Rivers in Scandinavia ....................................................... 126
4.2.2 Lakes and Streams in the United Kingdom ...................................... 128
4.2.3 German Reservoirs ........................................................................... 129
5 Source of Inorganic and Organic Nutrients and Interaction
with Photons ...................................................................................................... 131
5.1 Underwater Light Climate ....................................................................... 131
5.2 Source of Carbon and Energy .................................................................. 134
5.2.1 Use by Heterotrophic Microorganisms ............................................ 134
5.2.2 Predictability of Microbial Utilization ............................................. 141
5.2.3 Hotspots of Carbon Turnover in a Lake ........................................... 142
5.2.4 Indirect Utilization ........................................................................... 143
5.2.5 Changes during Transport and Input into Water Bodies .................. 145
5.2.6 Retention in Benthic Biofilms .......................................................... 147
5.3 Interactions with Photons ........................................................................ 150
5.3.1 Effects of Stratospheric Ozone Reduction on Photochemistry ........ 154
Contents 3
5.3.2 Toxic Effects after Radiation ........................................................... 155
5.3.3 Cleavage and Bioavailability ............................................................ 156
5.3.4 Photobleaching and Photomineralization ......................................... 161
5.3.5 Indirect Photolysis ofXenobiotics and Allelochemicals .................. 168
6 Interactions with Nutrients, Metals, Halogens, Biopolymers,
Pheromones, and Electrons .............................................................................. 177
6.1 Nutrients .................................................................................................. 177
6.1.1 Phosphorus ....................................................................................... 177
6.1.2 Nitrogen ........................................................................................... 181
6.1.3 Metals ............................................................................................... 183
6.2 Mercury ................................................................................................... 188
6.2.1 Fish Mercury Content and Water Chemistry .................................... 190
6.2.2 Mercury Speciation in Freshwaters .................................................. 191
6.2.4 Fate of Mercury in Aquatic Ecosystems .......................................... 196
6.2.5 Mercury in Sediments and Floodplain Soils .................................... 197
6.3 Other Trace Elements .............................................................................. 198
6.3.1 Trace Metals ..................................................................................... 198
6.3.2 Aluminum ........................................................................................ 205
6.3.3 Halogens ........................................................................................... 207
6.4 Biopolymers and Pheromones ................................................................. 215
6.4.1 Exoenzymes ..................................................................................... 215
6.4.2 DNA and its Building Blocks ........................................................... 218
6.4.3 Pheromones ...................................................................................... 218
6.5 Interactions with Electrons: HS as Redox Catalyst ................................. 219
7 Indirect Effects on Organisms ....................................................................... 225
7.1 Binding of Xenobiotics to Humic Substances ......................................... 225
7.1.1 Hydrophobic Chemicals ................................................................... 226
7.1.2 Hydrophobic Ions ............................................................................. 230
7.1.3 Hydrophilic Chemicals ..................................................................... 231
7.1.4 Synopsis of Binding Mechanisms .................................................... 232
7.2 Decrease in Bioconcentration ofXenobiotics ......................................... 232
7.2.1 Influence of Quantity and Quality of Humic Substances ................. 236
7.2.2 Kinetic Effects on Bioavailability .................................................... 242
7.3. Changes in Toxicity of Selected Heavy Metals ...................................... 245
7.3.1 Iron ................................................................................................... 246
7.3.2 Zinc .................................................................................................. 246
7.3.3 Cadmium .......................................................................................... 248
7.3.4 Predicting Changes in Metal Toxicity .............................................. 252
7.4 Alteration ofXenobiotic Toxicity ............................................................ 257
7.4.1 Humic Substances Mediated Decrease in Toxicity ofXenobiotics .257
7.4.2 Decrease in Xenobiotic Toxicity in the Presence of
Dissolved HS and UV Radiation ............................................................... 259
7.5 Humic Substances Mediated Increases of Adverse Effects ..................... 260
4 Contents
7.5.1 Controlled Release and Humic Substances-Mediated
Transport of Xenobiotics and Metals ........................................................ 260
Increases in Bioconcentration of Hydrophobic Xenobiotics ..................... 263
7.5.3 Toxicity ............................................................................................ 263
8 Direct Effects on Organisms and Niche Differentiation ............................. 269
8.1 Uptake ofHS and HS-like compounds .................................................... 270
8.2 Effects in Acidic Waters .......................................................................... 271
8.2.1 Algae ................................................................................................ 272
8.2.2 Zooplankton ..................................................................................... 275
8.2.3 Selected Benthic Invertebrates ......................................................... 279
8.2.4 Amphibians ...................................................................................... 281
8.2.5 Fish ....... ;. .......................................................................................... 282
8.3 Effects in Non-Acidic Waters .................................................................. 283
8.3.1 Allelopathy of Polyphenolic Substances .......................................... 284
8.3.2 Plants ................................................................................................ 284
8.3.3 Fungi and Bacteria ........................................................................... 295
8.3.4 Invertebrates ..................................................................................... 299
8.3.5 Comparison of Ceratophyllum, Dreissena, and Chaetogammarus .. 313
8.3.6 Amphibians ...................................................................................... 314
8.3.7 Fish ................................................................................................... 314
8.3.8 Potential Mode of Direct Action ...................................................... 320
Box 8.1 Well Known Effects of Humic Substances on Terrestrial Plants
and Vertebrates ................................................................................................. 323
Bog People ..................................................................................................... 323
Terrestrial Plants ............................................................................................ 324
Terrestrial Plants: Humic Substances and Chemicals ............................... 326
Terrestrial Plants: Humic Substances and Pathogens ................................ 327
Animals and People ....................................................................................... 328
Humic Substances as Agents for Diseases ................................................ 330
Therapeutic Use of Humic Substances ...................................................... 332
Box 8.2 Application of Humic Substances to Food and Ornamental Fish ... 333
Impact of Humic Substances on Fungal Infections ....................................... 336
Impact of Humic Substances on Parasite Infections ...................................... 337
Impact of Humic Substances on Medications ................................................ 337
Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 338