Ecology of Humic Substances in Freshwaters

by Steinberg, Christian E. W.

• ISBN13: 9783540439226
• ISBN10: 3540439226
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Humic Substances color all waters more or less brown. Their concentrations exceed all carbon of living organisms by at least one order of magnitude. Opposite to former paradigms, they participate in almost any metabolic pathway. They protect against UV-irradation, enable indirect photolysis and, thus, purify hazardous chemicals, they provide inorganic and organic nutrients, may form cryptic genes with DNA and dampen metabolic fluctuations. More recently they can increase adverse effects of hazardous chemicals and they can directly interfere with organisms. The book tries to relate effects to structural features.

Author Biography

Christian E. W. Steinberg holds the chair for Freshwater Ecology at the Humboldt University at Berlin, and is Director of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.

Table of Contents

Glossary	7	(2)
Introduction	9	(22)
Definitions	13	(5)
Operational Definition of `Dissolved'	18	(1)
The Age of Humic Substances	19	(1)
Aims of the Book	19	(2)
Chemical Building-Blocks and Reactivity of Humic Substances	21	(6)
Random or Systematic Elemental Composition?	21	(3)
Steps to Predict Environmental Behavior	24	(3)
Short History of Aquatic Humic Substance Research	27	(4)
Early Days	27	(1)
Scientific Schools	27	(2)
Sephadex Period	29	(1)
Scientific Upsurge	30	(1)
Origin of Humic Substances in Freshwater: Biogeochemical Pathways	31	(30)
Degradative Pathway	31	(2)
Condensation Pathway	33	(3)
Polyphenol Model	33	(2)
Melanoidin Model	35	(1)
Polyunsaturated Structure Model	35	(1)
Genesis of Humic Substances	36	(3)
Recent Findings about Production and Diagenesis	39	(8)
Structural Aspects of the Reactivity of Humic Substances in Ecosystems	47	(14)
Peptides, Glucosamine, Saccharides, and Long-Chain Fatty Acids	48	(1)
Peptides and Amino Acids	48	(1)
Glucosamine	49	(1)
Carbohydrates	49	(2)
Long-chain Fatty Acids	51	(1)
Secondary and Tertiary Structure	51	(3)
Protein-like Macromolecules	54	(1)
Micelles	55	(1)
Supramolecular Associations	56	(2)
Molecular Modeling	58	(2)
Outlook	60	(1)
Humic Substances as Geochemical Determinants	61	(56)
Influence of the Catchment	61	(28)
Influence on Humic Substance Quantity	63	(9)
Hydrological Events	72	(2)
Influence on Humic Substance Quality	74	(15)
Dissolved Humic Substance and the Acid Status of Freshwaters with Low Acid Neutralizing Capacities	89	(19)
Acuto-Limnological Studies	91	(4)
Paleolimnological Studies	95	(13)
Paleolimnological Reconstructions of Humic Substances Trends	108	(9)
Lakes at the Canadian Tree Line	109	(1)
Lakes in Finnish Lapland	110	(3)
Lakes in Northeast Germany	113	(4)
Humic Substances and Global Climate Change	117	(14)
Susceptibility of Lakes to Climate Change	118	(7)
Arctic and Antarctic lakes	119	(2)
Canadian Lakes	121	(3)
European High Mountain Lakes	124	(1)
Increase in DOC Concentration	125	(6)
Lake and Rivers in Scandinavia	126	(2)
Lakes and Streams in the United Kingdom	128	(1)
German Reservoirs	129	(2)
Source of Inorganic and Organic Nutrients and Interaction with Photons	131	(46)
Underwater Light Climate	131	(3)
Source of Carbon and Energy	134	(16)
Use by Heterotrophic Microorganisms	134	(7)
Predictability of Microbial Utilization	141	(1)
Hotspots of Carbon Turnover in a Lake	142	(1)
Indirect Utilization	143	(2)
Changes during Transport and Input into Water Bodies	145	(2)
Retention in Benthic Biofilms	147	(3)
Interactions with Photons	150	(27)
Effects of Stratospheric Ozone Reduction on Photochemistry	154	(1)
Toxic Effects after Radiation	155	(1)
Cleavage and Bioavailability	156	(5)
Photobleaching and Photomineralization	161	(7)
Indirect Photolysis of Xenobiotics and Allelochemicals	168	(9)
Interactions with Nutrients, Metals, Halogens, Biopolymers, Pheromones, and Electrons	177	(48)
Nutrients	177	(11)
Phosphorus	177	(4)
Nitrogen	181	(2)
Metals	183	(5)
Mercury	188	(10)
Fish Mercury Content and Water Chemistry	190	(1)
Mercury Speciation in Freshwaters	191	(5)
Fate of Mercury in Aquatic Ecosystems	196	(1)
Mercury in Sediments and Floodplain Soils	197	(1)
Other Trace Elements	198	(17)
Trace Metals	198	(7)
Aluminum	205	(2)
Halogens	207	(8)
Biopolymers and Pheromones	215	(4)
Exoenzymes	215	(3)
DNA and its Building Blocks	218	(1)
Pheromones	218	(1)
Interactions with Electrons: HS as Redox Catalyst	219	(6)
Indirect Effects on Organisms	225	(44)
Binding of Xenobiotics to Humic Substances	225	(7)
Hydrophobic Chemicals	226	(4)
Hydrophobic Ions	230	(1)
Hydrophilic Chemicals	231	(1)
Synopsis of Binding Mechanisms	232	(1)
Decrease in Bioconcentration of Xenobiotics	232	(13)
Influence of Quantity and Quality of Humic Substances	236	(6)
Kinetic Effects on Bioavailability	242	(3)
Changes in Toxicity of Selected Heavy Metals	245	(12)
Iron	246	(1)
Zinc	246	(2)
Cadmium	248	(4)
Predicting Changes in Metal Toxicity	252	(5)
Alteration of Xenobiotic Toxicity	257	(3)
Humic Substances Mediated Decrease in Toxicity of Xenobiotics	257	(2)
Decrease in Xenobiotic Toxicity in the Presence of Dissolved HS and UV Radiation	259	(1)
Humic Substances Mediated Increases of Adverse Effects	260	(9)
Controlled Release and Humic Substances-Mediated Transport of Xenobiotics and Metals	260	(3)
Increases in Bioconcentration of Hydrophobic Xenobiotics	263	(1)
Toxicity	263	(6)
Direct Effects on Organisms and Niche Differentiation	269	(70)
Uptake of HS and HS-like compounds	270	(1)
Effects in Acidic Waters	271	(12)
Algae	272	(3)
Zooplankton	275	(4)
Selected Benthic Invertebrates	279	(2)
Amphibians	281	(1)
Fish	282	(1)
Effects in Non-Acidic Waters	283	(40)
Allelopathy of Polyphenolic Substances	284	(1)
Plants	284	(11)
Fungi and Bacteria	295	(4)
Invertebrates	299	(14)
Comparison of Ceratophyllum, Dreissena, and Chaetogammarus	313	(1)
Amphibians	314	(1)
Fish	314	(6)
Potential Mode of Direct Action	320	(3)
Well Known Effects of Humic Substances on Terrestrial Plants and Vertebrates	323	(10)
Bog People	323	(1)
Terrestrial Plants	324	(2)
Terrestrial Plants: Humic Substances and Chemicals	326	(1)
Terrestrial Plants: Humic Substances and Pathogens	327	(1)
Animals and People	328	(2)
Humic Substances as Agents for Diseases	330	(2)
Therapeutic Use of Humic Substances	332	(1)
Application of Humic Substances to Food and Ornamental Fish	333	(6)
Impact of Humic Substances on Fungal Infections	336	(1)
Impact of Humic Substances on Parasite Infections	337	(1)
Impact of Humic Substances on Medications	337	(1)
Conclusion	338	(1)
Ecological Significance	339	(18)
Net Heterotrophy	340	(1)
Competition for Phosphorus	341	(1)
Bacterial Production	342	(1)
Food Webs in Humic-Rich Lakes as a Template for Non-Eutrophic Systems	343	(4)
Higher Trophic Levels	347	(2)
Seasonality of Production	349	(2)
Applicability of Net Heterotrophy	351	(6)
Potential Changes in Humification Substrates During Eutrophication	352	(1)
Food Web Structure	352	(2)
Trade-offs between Specific and Non-specific Effects	354	(3)
Concluding Remarks	357	(4)
References	361	(69)
Books	361	(3)
2001 and later	361	(1)
1991--2000	361	(1)
1981--1990	362	(1)
1951--1980	363	(1)
Before 1950	364	(1)
Papers	364	(66)
Index	430