Studies on water quality and fish diversity of Sadatpur lake in Ahmednagar district Maharashtra

The present study deals with the water quality and ichthyofauna of Sadatpur lake. Monthly changes in water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), total alkalinity, chlorides, sulphates, phosphates and nitrites have been studied for a period of one year beginning from January 2005 and were investigated to assess the suitability of this lake for fish and fisheries practices. All the physico-chemical parameters determined, revealed that the fluctuations in water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity and nitrites, were within the desirable limits. On the other hand, chloride and sulphate were lower whereas phosphate was higher than the desirable limits. Altogether 24 fish species belonging to 17 genera and 2 orders were found to be present in the lake. Among fish species family Cyprinidae dominated the lake. The lake subsistence fishery served the need of local fishermen community.

Effects of control of C/N ratio by low-cost carbohydrate addition on water quality and pond ecology in freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii post-larvae nursing system

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of control of carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) by addition of low cost carbohydrate to the water column on water quality and pond ecology in freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii post-larvae nursing system. In this experiment, two level of dietary protein 20% and 35% without carbohydrate addition (‘P20' and ‘P35') and with carbohydrate addition (‘P20+CH' and ‘P35+CH') were compared in small ponds of 40 m² area stocked with 20 post-larvae (0.021 ± 0.001g) per m² . Maize flour was used as low cost carbohydrate and applied to the water column followed by the first feeding during the day. The addition of carbohydrate significantly reduced (p< 0.05) ammonia-nitrogen (NH sub(3)-N) and nitrite-nitrogen (NO sub(2) - N) of water in P20 + CH and P35 + CH treatments. It significantly increased (p< 0.05) the total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) population both in water and sediment. Fifty nine genera of plankton were identified belonging to the Bacillariophyceae (11), Chlorophyceae (21), Cyanophyceae (7), Dinophyceae (1), Rotifera (7) and Crustacea (9) without any significant difference (p>0.05) of total phytoplankton and zooplankton among the treatments. Survival rate of prawn was significantly lowest (p<0.05) in P20 and no significant difference (p>0.05) was observed between P20+CH and P35 treatments. Control of C/N ratio by the addition of low-cost carbohydrate to the pond water column benefited the freshwater prawn nursing practices in three ways (1) increased heterotrophic bacterial growth supplying bacterial protein augment the prawn post-larvae growth performances, (2) reduced demand for supplemental feed protein and subsequent reduction in feed cost and (3) reduced toxic NH sub(3)-N and NO sub(2)-N levels in pond nursing system.

Effects of cage fish culture on water quality and selected biological communities in northern Lake Victoria, Uganda

Growing of fish in cages is currently practiced in Uganda and was first introduced in northern Lake Victoria in 2010. An environment monitoring study was undertaken at Source of the Nile, a private cage fish farm, in Napoleon gulf, northern Lake Victoria. In-situ measurements of key environmental (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity) and biological (algae, zooplankton, macro-benthos) variables were made at three transects: Transect 1- the site with fish cages (WC); transect 2- upstream of the fish cages (USC-control) and Transect 3- downstream of the cages (DSC). Upstream and Downstream sites were located approximately 1.0 km from the fish cages. Environment parameters varied spatially and temporally but were generally within safe ranges for freshwater habitats. Higher concentrations of SRP (0.015-0.112 Mg/L) occurred at USC during February, September and at DSC in November; NO2-N (0.217- 0.042 mg/L) at USC and DSC in February and November; NH4-N (0.0054- 0.065 Mg/L) at WC and DSC in February, May and November. Algal bio-volumes were significantly higher at WC (F (2,780)=4.619; P=0.010). Zooplankton species numbers were consistently lower at WC with a significant difference compared to the control site (P=0.032). Macro-benthos abundance was consistently higher at the site with cages where mollusks and low-oxygen and pollution-tolerant chironomids were the dominant group. Higher algal biomass, concentration of low-oxygen/pollution-tolerant macro-benthos and depressed zooplankton diversity at WC suggested impacts from the fish cages on aquatic biota.

A baseline survey of water quality, invertebrates, fisheries and socioeconomics on Lake Edward for proposed seismic surveys in block 4B : Final report

The National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI) on behalf of OPEP Consult Ltd undertook a baseline survey of the transition zone (basically along the shoreline) and near shore habitats of the Uganda apart of Lake Edward and Kazinga channel during December 2007 to January 2008. A major objective of the baseline survey was to generate baseline information on the aquatic ecosystem features related to the fisheries and socio-economics of the fish catch including issues raised by residents in the fish landing sites. Therefore, the baseline survey captured information on water quality, the aquatic invertebrate fauna, aspects of fish biology and ecology, the fish catch including facilities at fish landings, value in the catch and related fisheries socio-economic issues perceived by residents in the settled areas along the shores.

Use of PFU protozoan community structural and functional characteristics in assessment of water quality in a large, highly polluted freshwater lake in China

Structural and functional parameters of protozoan communities colonizing on PFU (polyurethane foam unit) artificial substrate were assessed as indicators of water quality in the Chaohu Lake, a large, shallow and highly polluted freshwater lake in China. Protozoan communities were sampled 1, 3, 6, 9 and 14 days after exposure of PFU artificial substrate in the lake during October 2003. Four study stations with the different water quality gradient changes along the lake were distinguishable in terms of differences in the community's structural (species richness, individual abundance, etc.) and functional parameters (protozoan colonization rates on PFU). The concentrations of TP, TN, COD and BOD as the main chemical indicators of pollution at the four sampling sites were also obtained each year during 2002-2003 for comparison with biological parameters. The results showed that the species richness and PFU colonization rate decreased as pollution intensity increased and that the Margalef diversity index values calculated at four sampling sites also related to water quality. The three functional parameters based on the PFU colonization process, that is, S-eq, G and T-90%, were strongly related to the pollution status of the water. The number of protozoan species colonizing on PFU after exposure of 1 to 3 days was found to give a clear comparative indication of the water quality at the four sampling stations. The research provides further evidence that the protozoan community may be utilized effectively in the assessment of water quality and that the PFU method furnishes rapid, cost-effective and reliable information that may be useful for measuring responses to pollution stress in aquatic ecosystems.

Numerical Study on the Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Water Quality in the Taihu Lake of China

Taihu Lake is the third largest fresh water lake in China. With the fast economic development, abundant industrial and agricultural waste water has been discharged into Taihu Lake, causing the eutrophication of the water quality, which greatly affected the water utility. In the past decades, the treatment of Taihu Lake has witnessed limited success. Therefore, it is practically and theoretically significant to study the eutrophication of Taihu Lake. This research has focused on the issue of water quality including the characteristics of spatial and temporal distributions, and the rules of nutrient diffusion in the Taihu lake area. Based on the monitoring data, the basis distribution characteristics of water quality in Taihu Lake are analyzed. Comparing Taihu Lake with other Lakes shows that one important reason for Taihu eutrophication is the long period of water retention. A transporting and diffusing model of Taihu nutrient is developed by combining with the hydrodynamics model. Using the model, the concentration field of the total phosphorus (TP) and the influence of wind-driven current are numerically investigated, which leads to the conclusion that the flow field has a great influence on the spatial and temporal distributions of TP in Taihu Lake. Furthermore, the effect for improving the water quality by the project of water diversion from the Yangtze River to Taihu Lake was analyzed by simulation. The results demonstrate that short-term water diversion cannot improve the water quality of the heavily-polluted Meiliang Bay and the western bank areas of Taihu Lake.

Spatial variability in water quality and surface sediment diatom assemblages in a complex lake basin,lake of the woods,ontario,canada

Lake of the Woods (LOW) is an international waterbody spanning the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, and the U.S. state of Minnesota. In recent years, there has been a perception that water quality has deteriorated in northern regions of the lake, with all increase in the frequency and intensity of toxin-producing cyanobacterial blooms. However, given the lack of long-term data these trends are difficult to verify. As a first step, we examine spatial and seasonal patterns in water quality in this highly complex lake on the Canadian Shield. Further, we examine surface sediment diatom assemblages across multiple sites to determine if they track within-take differences in environmental conditions. Our results show that there are significant spatial patterns in water quality in LOW. Principal Component Analysis divides the lake into three geographic zones based primarily on algal nutrients (i.e., total phosphorus, TP), with the highest concentrations at sites proximal to Rainy River. This variation is closely tracked by sedimentary diatom assemblages, with [TP] explaining 43% of the variation in diatom assemblages across sites. The close correlation between water quality and the surface sediment diatom record indicate that paleoecological models could be used to provide data on the relative importance of natural and anthropogenic sources of nutrients to the lake.

Development of process control methodology for tracking the quality and safety of pain, agitation and sedation management in critical care units

Objective: To develop sedation, pain, and agitation quality measures using process control methodology and evaluate their properties in clinical practice. Design: A Sedation Quality Assessment Tool was developed and validated to capture data for 12-hour periods of nursing care. Domains included pain/discomfort and sedation-agitation behaviors; sedative, analgesic, and neuromuscular blocking drug administration; ventilation status; and conditions potentially justifying deep sedation. Predefined sedation-related adverse events were recorded daily. Using an iterative process, algorithms were developed to describe the proportion of care periods with poor limb relaxation, poor ventilator synchronization, unnecessary deep sedation, agitation, and an overall optimum sedation metric. Proportion charts described processes over time (2 monthly intervals) for each ICU. The numbers of patients treated between sedation-related adverse events were described with G charts. Automated algorithms generated charts for 12 months of sequential data. Mean values for each process were calculated, and variation within and between ICUs explored qualitatively. Setting: Eight Scottish ICUs over a 12-month period. Patients: Mechanically ventilated patients. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: The Sedation Quality Assessment Tool agitation-sedation domains correlated with the Richmond Sedation Agitation Scale score (Spearman [rho] = 0.75) and were reliable in clinician-clinician (weighted kappa; [kappa] = 0.66) and clinician-researcher ([kappa] = 0.82) comparisons. The limb movement domain had fair correlation with Behavioral Pain Scale ([rho] = 0.24) and was reliable in clinician-clinician ([kappa] = 0.58) and clinician-researcher ([kappa] = 0.45) comparisons. Ventilator synchronization correlated with Behavioral Pain Scale ([rho] = 0.54), and reliability in clinician-clinician ([kappa] = 0.29) and clinician-researcher ([kappa] = 0.42) comparisons was fair-moderate. Eight hundred twenty-five patients were enrolled (range, 59-235 across ICUs), providing 12,385 care periods for evaluation (range 655-3,481 across ICUs). The mean proportion of care periods with each quality metric varied between ICUs: excessive sedation 12-38%; agitation 4-17%; poor relaxation 13-21%; poor ventilator synchronization 8-17%; and overall optimum sedation 45-70%. Mean adverse event intervals ranged from 1.5 to 10.3 patients treated. The quality measures appeared relatively stable during the observation period. Conclusions: Process control methodology can be used to simultaneously monitor multiple aspects of pain-sedation-agitation management within ICUs. Variation within and between ICUs could be used as triggers to explore practice variation, improve quality, and monitor this over time

Evaluation of the quality of the management of cancer of the corpus uteri-Selection of relevant quality indicators and implementation in Belgium

Objective Describe the methodology and selection of quality indicators (QI) to be implemented in the EFFECT (EFFectiveness of Endometrial Cancer Treatment) project. EFFECT aims to monitor the variability in Quality of Care (QoC) of uterine cancer in Belgium, to compare the effectiveness of different treatment strategies to improve the QoC and to check the internal validity of the QI to validate the impact of process indicators on outcome. Methods A QI list was retrieved from literature, recent guidelines and QI databases. The Belgian Healthcare Knowledge Center methodology was used for the selection process and involved an expert's panel rating the QI on 4 criteria. The resulting scores and further discussion resulted in a final QI list. An online EFFECT module was developed by the Belgian Cancer Registry including the list of variables required for measuring the QI. Three test phases were performed to evaluate the relevance, feasibility and understanding of the variables and to test the compatibility of the dataset. Results 138 QI were considered for further discussion and 82 QI were eligible for rating. Based on the rating scores and consensus among the expert's panel, 41 QI were considered measurable and relevant. Testing of the data collection enabled optimization of the content and the user-friendliness of the dataset and online module. Conclusions This first Belgian initiative for monitoring the QoC of uterine cancer indicates that the previously used QI selection methodology is reproducible for uterine cancer. The QI list could be applied by other research groups for comparison. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

The value of water quality improvements in the region Berlin-Brandenburg as a function of distance and state residency

This study uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit willingness to pay estimates for changes in the water quality of three rivers. As many regions the metropolitan region Berlin-Brandenburg struggles to achieve the objectives of the Water Framework Directive until 2015. A major problem is the high load of nutrients. As the region is part of two states (Länder) and the river sections are common throughout the whole region we account for the spatial context twofold. Firstly, we incorporate the distance between each respondent and all river stretches in all MNL and RPL models, and, secondly, we consider whether respondents reside in the state of Berlin or Brandenburg. The compensating variation (CV) calculated for various scenarios shows that overall people would significantly benefit from improved water quality. The CV measures, however, also reveal that not considering the spatial context would result in severely biased welfare measures. While the distance decay effect lowers CV, state residency is connected to the frequency of status quo choices and not accounting for residency would underestimate possible welfare gains in one state. Another finding is that the extent of the market varies with respect to attributes (river stretches) and attribute levels (water quality levels).