Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecotoxicological Characterization of the Sava River: Biomarker Responses and Biological Assays

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Sava River

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 31))

Abstract

Driving forces related to settlements, agriculture, and release of contaminated untreated effluents from municipalities and industrial facilities that are greatly dominated by old and environmentally unfriendly technologies have always been considered as key elements that exert significant pressure on the ecological status of the Sava River. Despite such an unfavorable situation, the biological monitoring activities and chemical identification capabilities in most of the countries of the region have been traditionally restricted to a very limited number of biological markers and potentially hazardous contaminants, respectively. Nevertheless, the biomarker approach for the detection of hazardous chemical contamination in the Sava River was applied early in the 1980s, and the research studies that followed in subsequent decades introduced various biomarkers measured in various freshwater species. The use of the small-scale or in vitro bioassays has been more frequently used only from the late 1990s and culminated more recently with the investigations carried out within the related international research projects. In this chapter we present an overview of the research that has been done so far on the ecotoxicological evaluation of the Sava River using ecotoxicological biomarkers and bioassays, summarize the described evidence, and offer a general evaluation of the present ecotoxicological status of the Sava River.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

APEO:

Alkylphenol polyethoxylates

B[a]PMO:

Benzo[a]pyrene monooxygenase

CYP1A:

Cytochrome P4501A

EDA:

Effects-directed analysis

EROD:

7-Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase

GC/MS:

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

GST:

Glutathione S-transferase

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

LAS:

Linear alkylbenzenesulfonates

LC-QToF-MS:

Liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

MXR:

Multixenobiotic resistance

PAHs:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PCBs:

Polychlorinated biphenyls

RQ:

Risk quotient

WFD:

European Union Water Framework Directive

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

References

  1. International Sava River Basin Commission (2009) Sava River Basin Analysis Report. http://www.savacommission.org/dms/docs/dokumenti/documents_publications/publications/other_publications/sava_river_basin_analysis_report_high_res.pdf. Accessed 5 June 2013

  2. Ahel M, Giger W (1985) Identification of some specific water pollutants in the river Sava by high-resolution chromatographic techniques and computer assisted mass-spectrometry. Kem Ind 34:295–309

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kezic N, Rijavec M, Kurelec B (1980) Frequency of neoplasia in fish from the river Sava. Mut Res 74:195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kurelec B, Protić M, Britvić S et al (1981) Toxic effects in fish and the mutagenic capacity of water from the Sava River in Yugoslavia. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 26:179–187

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kezić N, Britvić S, Protić M et al (1983) Activity of benzo(a)pyrene monooxygenase in fish from the Sava River, Yugoslavia: correlation with pollution. Sci Total Environ 27:59–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Kurelec B, Kezic N, Singh H et al (1984) Mixed-function oxidases in fish: their role in adaptation to pollution. Mar Environ Res 14:409–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Reduction of environmental risks, posed by Emerging Contaminants, through advanced treatment of municipal and industrial wastes – EMCO (2007) Final Report. http://wbc-inco.net/object/news/3582. Accessed 5 June 2013

  8. Sava river basin: sustainable use, management and protection of resources – SARIB (2007) Final Report. http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=lib.document&DOC_LANG_ID=EN&DOC_ID=129220881&q=. Accessed 5 June 2013

  9. Assessment of hazardous chemical contamination in the Sava River basin (2007) NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme project. http://www.irb.hr/nato-savariver/. Accessed 5 June 2013

  10. Kurelec B, Garg A, Krca S et al (1989) Natural environment surpasses polluted environment in inducing DNA damage in fish. Carcinogenesis 10:1337–1339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Britvić S, Lucić D, Kurelec B (1993) Bile fluorescence and some early biological effects in fish as indicators of pollution by xenobiotics. Environ Toxicol Chem 12:765–773

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Kolak A, Treer T, Aničić I et al (1999) Monitoring the genotoxicity of the river Sava by micronuclei in chub (Leuciscus cephalus). Cytobios 392:135–142

    Google Scholar 

  13. Klobučar GIV, Pavlica M, Erben R et al (2003) Application of the micronucleus and comet assays to mussel Dreissena polymorpha haemocytes for genotoxicity monitoring of freshwater environments. Aquat Toxicol 64:15–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Smital T, Sauerborn R, Hackenberger BK (2003) Inducibility of the P-glycoprotein transport activity in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha. Aquat Toxicol 65:443–465

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Krča S, Žaja R, Čalić V et al (2007) Hepatic biomarker responses to organic contaminants in feral chub (Leuciscus cephalus) – laboratory characterization and field study in the Sava River, Croatia. Environ Toxicol Chem 26:2620–2633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Dragun Z, Raspor B, Podrug M (2007) The influence of the season and the biotic factors on the cytosolic metal concentrations in the gills of the European chub (Leuciscus cephalus L). Chemosphere 69:911–919

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Podrug M, Raspor B, Erk M et al (2009) Protein and metal concentrations in two fractions of hepatic cytosol of the European chub (Squalius cephalus L.). Chemosphere 75:843–849

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Dragun Z, Podrug M, Raspor B (2009) The assessment of natural causes of metallothionein variability in the gills of European chub (Squalius cephalus L.). Comp Biochem Physiol C 150:209–217

    Google Scholar 

  19. Marijic VF, Raspor B (2012) Site-specific gastrointestinal metal variability in relation to the gut content and fish age of indigenous European chub from the Sava River. Water Air Soil Pollut 223:4769–4783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kopjar N, Mustafić P, Zanella D et al (2008) Assessment of DNA integrity in erythrocytes of Cobitis elongata affected by water pollution: the alkaline comet assay study. Folia Zool 57:120–130

    Google Scholar 

  21. Pavlica M, Štambuk A, Malović L et al (2011) DNA integrity of chub erythrocytes (Squalius cephalus L.) as an indicator of pollution-related genotoxicity in the River Sava. Environ Monit Assess 177:85–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Klobučar GIV, Malev O, Šrut M et al (2012) Genotoxicity monitoring of freshwater environments using caged crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus). Chemosphere 87:62–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Radić S, Stipaničev D, Cvjetko P et al (2011) Duckweed Lemna minor as a tool for testing toxicity and genotoxicity of surface waters. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 74:182–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2002) Methods for measuring the acute toxicity of effluents and receiving waters to freshwater and marine organisms. http://water.epa.gov/scitech/methods/cwa/wet/disk2_index.cfm. Accessed 5 June 2013

  25. United States Environmental Protection Agency (2004) Whole effluent toxicity/clean water act analytical methods. http://water.epa.gov/scitech/methods/cwa/wet/. Accessed 5 June 2013

  26. Smital T, Kurelec B (1997) Inhibitors of the multixenobiotic resistance mechanism in natural waters: in vivo demonstration of their effects. Environ Toxicol Chem 16:2164–2170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Källqvist T, Milačič R, Smital T et al (2008) Chronic toxicity of the Sava River (SE Europe) sediments and river water to the algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. Water Res 42:2146–2156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. International Standardisation Organization (2004) Water quality – freshwater algal growth inhibition test with unicellular green algae. http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=54150. Accessed 5 June 2013

  29. Brack W, Klamer HJ, López de Alda M et al (2007) Effect-directed analysis of key toxicants in European river basins a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 14:30–38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Smital T, Terzic S, Zaja R et al (2011) Assessment of toxicological profiles of the municipal wastewater effluents using chemical analyses and bioassays. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 74:844–851

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Smital T, Terzić S, Lončar J et al (2013) Prioritisation of organic contaminants in a river basin using chemical analyses and bioassays. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20:1384–1395

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Reemtsma T, Weiss S, Mueller J et al (2006) Polar pollutants entry into the water cycle by municipal wastewater: a European perspective. Environ Sci Technol 40:5451–5458

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Terzic S, Ahel M (2006) Organic contaminants in Croatian municipal wastewaters. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 57:297–306

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Grung M, Lichtenthaler R, Ahel M et al (2007) Effects-directed analysis of organic toxicants in wastewater effluent from Zagreb, Croatia. Chemosphere 67:108–120

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Van der Oost R, Beyer J, Vermeulen NPE (2003) Fish bioaccumulation and biomarkers in environmental assessment: a review. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 13:57–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Ahel M (1989) Characterization of specific organic contaminants in the Sava River. In: Mestrov M (ed) Rijeka Sava – zaštita i korištenje voda. JAZU, Zagreb

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka 54, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Tvrtko Smital & Marijan Ahel

Authors
  1. Tvrtko Smital
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marijan Ahel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tvrtko Smital .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Radmila Milačič

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Janez Ščančar

  3. Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Momir Paunović

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Smital, T., Ahel, M. (2015). Ecotoxicological Characterization of the Sava River: Biomarker Responses and Biological Assays. In: Milačič, R., Ščančar, J., Paunović, M. (eds) The Sava River. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 31. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44034-6_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation