• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.112-120
• /
• 2008

A series of experiments were conducted to establish a marine ecotoxicological standard method using marine primary producers, Skeletonema costatum, Heterosigma akashiwo, Prorocentrum micans, Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmis suecica as candidate test species. Marine diatom, S. costatum was selected as standard test species in terms of the ecological roles and international uses as test species. Test methods and test acceptability criteria are as follows; $72{\sim}96$ hr population growth inhibition $EC_{50}$ as endpoint. Static non-renewal method, and population growth rates over 0.04/hr in control as test acceptability criterium. S. costatum is widely distributed in the world ocean and used for standard species of marine toxicity test method by ISO (International Standardization Organization). Possible salinity ranges for this test method are $20{\sim}35\;psu$, and reproducibility and interlaboratory test results were consistent through the calibration tests. Sensitivity of the test method was comparable or better than other toxicity tests such as rotifer neonate mortality, bioluminescent bacterial inhibition, seaweed sporulation and sea urchin fertilization tests.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.34 no.12
• /
• pp.828-834
• /
• 2012

The ecotoxicity detection device for preliminary test (Test jig) was manufactured to develop the biological early warning system using Vibrio fischeri. In this study, the ecotoxicity detection charateristics of the Test jig was investigated for 6 heavy metals (Cr, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu and Hg). It was observed that relative luminescence unit (RLU) of Vibrio fischeri constantly decreased by the concentrations of the tested heavy metals. In contrast with other heavy metals, RLUs of Pb and Hg constantly decreased even at low concentrations. RLU of Hg drastically decreased when its concentration increased from 0.13 mg/L to 0.25 mg/L. $EC_{50}$ values of Cr, Zn, Pb and Cd gradually decreased with exposure time, whereas there was no significant change in $EC_{50}$ values of Cu and Hg with time. On the other hand, $EC_{50}$ values between the Test jig and Reference device were compared to evaluate the ecotoxicity detection performance of the Test jig. No big difference was found in $EC_{50}$ vlaues between the two devices, indicating that the Test jig could be applied as the ecotoxicity detection device for heavy metals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Urban Environment
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.547-555
• /
• 2018

In addition to North America and Europe, Korea is also responding to the toxic damage caused by the production and distribution of chemicals. Methods for assessing bio-toxicity of harmful substances have been widely introduced, but it is required of quantitative and speedy information for modeling. For 6 heavy metals, as zinc, copper, chrome, cadmium, mercury and lead, bio-toxicity assessment and kinetics model were constructed using Vibrio fischeri which is widely used luminous bacteria. The degree of luminescence activity and the toxicity of heavy metals were relative limunescence unit, RLU measured as by using a photomultiplier embedded device. The toxicity was assessed by the concentration levels giving under 20% lethality and lethal concentration, $EC_{50}$. In the results, the toxicity order were followed from mercury, lead, copper, chrome, zinc and cadmium. $EC_{{50},{\infty}}$ obtained by trends of $EC_{50}$ by time follows had highly linear agreement with main parameters of bio-toxicity modelling. The average error rates of the reproduced lethality obtained from DAM and TDM model on the basis of body residue, were 10.2% for mercury, lead, copper, chrome and 20.0 for the all 6 methals.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.243-252
• /
• 2006

Influence of the increasing carbon dioxide concentration in seawater on various marine organisms is assessed in this article with regard to the impacts of anthropogenic $CO_2$ introduced into surface or deep oceans. Recent proposals to sequester $CO_2$ in deep oceans arouse the concerns of adverse effects of increased $CO_2$ concentration on deep-sea organisms. Atmospheric introduction of $CO_2$ into the ocean can also acidify the surface water, thereby the population of some sensitive organisms including coral reefs, cocolithophorids and sea urchins will be reduced considerably in near future (e.g. in 2100 unless the increasing trend of $CO_2$ emission is actively regulated). We exposed bioluminescent bacteria and benthic amphipods to varying concentrations of $CO_2$ and also pH for a short period. The ${\sim}l.5$ unit decrease of pH adversely affected test organisms. However, amphipods were not influenced by decreasing pH when HCl was used for the seawater acidification. In this article, we reviewed the biological adverse effects of $CO_2$ on various marine organisms studied so for. Theses results will be useful to predict the potential risks of the increase of $CO_2$ concentrations in seawater due to the increase of atmospheric $CO_2$ emission and/or sequestration of $CO_2$ in deep oceans.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.8-15
• /
• 2010

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the biologically adverse effect of increased carbon dioxide in seawater on marine bacteria, Vibrio fischeri. We measured the bioluminescence and cell density at every 6 hours for 24 hours of the whole incubation period after exposing test microbes to a range of $CO_2$ concentration such as 380(Control), 1,000, 3,000, 10,000 and 30,000 ppm, respectively. Significant effect on relative luminescence(RLU) of V. fischeri was observed in treatments with $CO_2$ concentration higher than 3,000 ppm at t=12 h. However, the difference of RLU among treatments significantly decreased with the incubation time until t=24 h. Similar trend was observed for the variation of cell density, which was measured as optical density using spectrophotometer. The results showed that a significant relationship between $CO_2$ concentration and bioluminescence of test microbes was observed for the mean time. However, the inhibition of relative bioluminescence and also cell density could be recovered at the concentration levels higher than 3,000 ppm. The dissolved $CO_2$ can be absorbed directly by cell and it can decrease the intracellular pH. Our results implied that microbes might be adversely affected at the initial growing phase by increased $CO_2$. However, they could adapt by increasing ion transport including bicarbonate and then could make their pH back to normal level. Results of this study could be supported to understand the possible influence on marine bacteria by atmospheric increase of $CO_2$ in near future and also by released $CO_2$ during the marine $CO_2$ sequestration activity.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.93-101
• /
• 2007

In order for bioremediate the benthic layer in polluted inner Bay, the effects of irradiance and wave-length irradiated from light emission diode (LED) on the growth of benthic diatom Nitzschia sp. (Hakozaki Bay strain of Japan) were investigated. The Nitzschia sp. was cultured under blue LED (450 nm), yellow LED (590 nm), red LED (650 nm) and fluorescent lamp (mixed wavelengths). At $25^{\circ}C$ and 30 psu, the growth of Nitzschia sp. showed its peak at $20\;{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}\;s^{-1}$ (blue LED) and $40\;{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}\;s^{-1}$ (fluorescent lamp), and was inhibited at the irradiance higher than that irradiance. Nitzschia sp. in yellow LED and red LED is fitted by a rectangular hyperbolic curve because no photoinhibition was observed under maximum irradiance used in this study. The irradiance-growth curves were described as ${\mu}=-0.46{\exp}(1-I/6.32)+0.46-0.00043I,\;(r^2=0.98)$ under blue LED, ${\mu}=0.42(I+7.87)/(I+58.9),\;(r^2=0.99)$ under yellow LED, ${\mu}=0.39(I+3.39)/(I+21.6),\;(r^2=0.94)$ under red LED, ${\mu}=-0.38{\exp}(1-I/7.23)+0.38-0.00016I,\;(r^2=0.96)$ under fluorescent lamp. Maximum specific growth rate of blue LED, yellow LED, red LED and fluorescent lamp was $0.44\;day^{-1},\;0.42\;day^{-1},\;0.39\;day^{-1}$ and $0.37\;day^{-1}$, respectively. The absorption coefficient ($a_{ph}$) of Nitzschia sp. was similar under all the wavelengths (400 nm-700 nm), although maximum $a_{ph}$ was $0.0224\;m^2\;mg\;chi.\;{\alpha}^{-1}$ in 472 nm and $0.0179\;m^2\;mg\;chi.\;{\alpha}^{-1}$) in 663 nm. The results may indicate the possibility of environmental improvement around the benthic layer in polluted coastal area because microphytobenthos growth is stimulated by means of irradiated blue LED at the benthic boundary layer during both autumn and winter, and yellow LED, which might have been suppressed growth of harmful algae, at the layer during both spring and summer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2022

The effect of sediments in a waste dumping area on marine organisms was evaluated using sediment toxicity tests with a benthic amphipod (Monocorophium acherusicum) and bioluminescent bacterium (Vibrio fischeri) in accordance with the Korean Standard Method for Marine Wastes (KSMMW). Nine sites in the East Sea-Byeong, East Sea-Jeong, and Yellow Sea-Byeong areas were sampled from 2016 to 2019. The test results showed that the relative average survival rate (benthic amphipods) and relative luminescence inhibition rate (luminescent bacteria) were below 30%, which were judged to be "non-toxic." However, in the t-test, a total of 12 benthic amphipod samples (6, 1, 1, and 4 in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively) were significantly different (p<0.05) from the control samples. To identify the source of toxicity on benthic amphipods, a simple linear regression analysis was performed between the levels of eight heavy metals (Cr, As, Ni, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg) in sediments and the relative average survival rate. The results indicated that Cr had the highest contribution to the toxicity of benthic amphipods (p = 0.000, R2 = 0.355). In addition, Cr was detected at the highest concentration at the DB-85 station and exceeded the Marine Environment Standards every year. Although the sediments were determined as "not toxic" according to the ecotoxicity criteria of the KSMMW, the results of the statistical significance tests and toxicity identification evaluation indicated that the toxic effect was not acceptable. Therefore, revising the criteria for determining the toxic effect by deriving a reference value through quantitative risk assessment using species sensitivity distribution curves is necessary in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.34 no.9
• /
• pp.630-636
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to determine optimum wavelength, light intensity, aeration rate, and temperature for the cultivation of Dunaliella salina illuminated by various types of light emitting diode. Growth rates of Dunaliella salina were faster at higher temperature than the growth rate at lower temperature. Among the culturing temperatures, $22^{\circ}C$ was the optimum temperature for the growth of Dunaliella salina. White LED was the most efficient light source and lower light intensity (3,000 Lux) resulted in better biomass production (1.30 g/L). The value of aeration varied between 0 and 2.4 vvm at the illumination of 3,000 Lux of white light emitting diode. Highest specific growth rate of $1.12day^{-1}$ was obtained at no-aeration and lower specific growth rates were obtained for other aeration tests, which indicated that aeration could be harmful for the cultivation of Dunaliella salina.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.655-661
• /
• 2015

This study intends to evaluate the effect of nitric acid($HNO_3$) spill accidents on the marine ecosystem, while $HNO_3$ is known as one of the typical HNS. For this purpose, we performed (1) the growth inhibition test by using phytoplankton(Skeletonema costatum), (2) acute and chronic toxicity test by using invertebrate(Brachionus plicatilis and Monocorphium acherusicum), (3) fish(Cyprinodon variegatus) and (4) bacteria(Vibrio fischeri). In these tests, we observed the (1) pH changes induced by the nitric acid spill and (2) changes in nitrate($NO_3$) concentration disassociated from nitric acid after the accident, respectively. The toxicity test result on pH changes induced by $HNO_3$ shows that the no observed effect concentration(NOEC), lowest observed effect concentration(LOEC) and 50 % effect concentration($72h-EC_{50}$) values of M. acherusicum are pH 7 (0.3 mM), pH 5(1.1 mM) and pH 5.2(1.4 mM), respectively, indicating that M. acherusicum is the most sensitive species. The chronic toxicity test (population growth rate test) on $NO_3{^-}$ of B. plicatilis show that the NOEC, LOEC and $96h-EC_{50}$ are 5.9 mM, 11.8 mM and 32.6 mM, respectively, indicating that B. plicatilis is the most sensitive species. In conclusion, toxic effecst on the marine organism caused by the nitric acid spill accident is determined to be so slightly except for the most adjacent area of the ship in pH scale and such concentration of nitrate, to the extent of directly influencing the survival and reproduction of the marine organism, is determined practically not to be applicable in the typical accidents in the sea.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.342-350
• /
• 1999

Photobacterium phosphoreum was used in order to study response to heavy metal including $HgCl_2$, $CdCl_2$, $MnSO_4$ and $ZnSO_4$ in view of developing monitoring system for toxic substances. The concentrations of heavy metal causing 50% reduction($EC_{50}$) in bioluminescence intensity were determined with both free and immobilized P. phosphoreum. The bioluminescence responses were examined at various concentrations of heavy metal after 10, 20 and 30 min of exposure. The linear correlation between Gamma values and concentrations of heavy metal was obtained and $EC_{50}$ was calculated from the linear correlation. The significant inhibitory concentrations for bioluminescence emission were found to be 0.05mg/L for $HgCl_2$, 25mg/L for $CdCl_2$, 50mg/L for $MnSO_4$ and 12.5mg/L for $ZnSO_4$, respectively. The free cell and disc type were shown to be more sensitive to heavy metal than cells mixed with Na-alginate or immobilized on Sr-alginate. However, the linear regression curves were derived from the Sr-alginate immobilized cells indicating the immobilization method is a useful tool for monitoring of heavy metal under more stable condition of bioluminescence.