Publications related to Aquatic toxicology

Parity in bacterial communities and resistomes: Microplastic and natural organic particles in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Sylvain Coudret

Petroleum-based microplastic particles (MPs) are carriers of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in aquatic environments, influencing the selection and spread of antimicrobial resistance. This research characterized MP and natural organic particle (NOP) ...

2024

A benchmark dataset for machine learning in ecotoxicology

Kristin Schirmer, Marco Baity-Jesi, Fernando Perez Cruz

The use of machine learning for predicting ecotoxicological outcomes is promising, but underutilized. The curation of data with informative features requires both expertise in machine learning as well as a strong biological and ecotoxicological background, ...

Nature Portfolio2023

Evaluation of tire tread particle toxicity to fish using rainbow trout cell lines

Kristin Schirmer, Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari, Thibault Béranger Masset, Gabrielle Léger

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) resulting from tire abrasion while driving raise concerns due to their potential contribution to aquatic toxicity. Our study aimed to assess cryogenically milled tire tread (CMTT) particle toxicity, used as a proxy for T ...

2023

Mechanistic insights on interactions of dissolved organic matter with chemical oxidants: quantification of reactive sites and identification of oxidation byproducts

Joanna Maria Houska

Chemical oxidants including ozone (O3), chlorine (HOCl/OCl-) and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) are applied for disinfection of drinking water. To cope with water scarcity and the increased risks associated with the presence of micropollutants, water treatment sy ...

EPFL2023

Numerical simulation of the fate, transport and public health risks of enteric viruses in Lake Geneva

Chaojie Li

Lakes are a fundamental feature of nature with brilliance, profoundness and complexity. Various of physical, chemical and biological changes take place three dimensionally in deep lakes, regulated by complicated boundary conditions. To understand and predi ...

EPFL2023

Fulfilling Riverscape – a creative interdisciplinary approach

Giovanni De Cesare, Paolo Perona, Sylvie Tram Nguyen

Hydrological, water technological, managerial and human induced processes affect aquatic, amphibian and terrestrial organisms and their habitats, far beyond the main channel of a river. This Riverscape includes diverse riparian habitats which vary in space ...

2023

Bioaccessibility of Organic Compounds Associated with Tire Particles Using a Fish In Vitro Digestive Model: Solubilization Kinetics and Effects of Food Coingestion

Kristin Schirmer, Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Dominique Grandjean, Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari, Thibault Béranger Masset, Luke Christopher Harris

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) account for an important part of the polymer particles released into the environment. There are scientific knowledge gaps as to the potential bioaccessibility of chemicals associated with TRWP to aquatic organisms. This ...

2022

Toward biocontrol of waterborne pathogens: contributions of protists to virus removal and associated mechanisms

Margot Ninon Lauren Olive

Human viruses are widespread in the water environment and pose a risk to human health. Wastewater effluents represent the main source of viruses discharge in the environment, leading to contamination of aquatic ecosystems. Viral pathogens can persist on th ...

EPFL2022

Influence of Microplastics on Microbial Structure, Function, and Mechanical Properties of Stream Periphyton

Kristin Schirmer, Ahmed Tlili, Renata Behra

Periphyton is a freshwater biofilm composed of prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities that occupy rocks and sediments, forming the base of the food web and playing a key role in nutrient cycling. Given the large surface that periphyton comprises, it may al ...

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA2022

Limitations and Uncertainties of Acute Fish Toxicity Assessments Can Be Reduced Using Alternative Methods

Kristin Schirmer

Information about acute fish toxicity is routinely required in many jurisdictions for environmental risk assessment of chemicals. This information is typically obtained using a 96-hour juvenile fish test for lethality according to OECD test guideline (TG) ...

2021

Approaches to Test the Neurotoxicity of Environmental Contaminants in the Zebrafish Model: From Behavior to Molecular Mechanisms

Anze Zupanic, Sarah-Katharina Könemann, Colette vom Berg

The occurrence of neuroactive chemicals in the aquatic environment is on the rise and poses a potential threat to aquatic biota of currently unpredictable outcome. In particular, subtle changes caused by these chemicals to an organism's sensation or behavi ...

2021

The influence of climate on water chemistry states and dynamics in rivers across Australia

Camille Roland Marie Minaudo

For effective water quality management and policy development, spatial variability in the mean concentrations and dynamics of riverine water quality needs to be understood. Using water chemistry (calcium, electrical conductivity, nitrate-nitrite, soluble r ...

WILEY2021

Extending the Concept of Predicting Fish Acute Toxicity In Vitro to the Intestinal Cell Line RTgutGC

Kristin Schirmer, Hannah Inka Schug, Jenny Maner

Testing chemicals for fish acute toxicity is a legal requirement in many countries as part of environmental risk assessment. To reduce the number of fish used, substantial efforts have been focused on alternative approaches. Prominently, the cell viability ...

2020

Viral Transfer and Inactivation through Zooplankton Trophic Interactions

Tamar Kohn, Virginie Bachmann, Xavier Fernandez Cassi, Margot Ninon Lauren Olive

Waterborne viruses are responsible for numerous diseases and are abundant in aquatic systems. Understanding the fate of viruses in natural systems has important implications for human health. This research quantifies the uptake of bacteriophage T4 and the ...

2020

Adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to constant sub-inhibitory concentrations of quaternary ammonium compounds

Urs von Gunten, Giovanni Dietler, Sandor Kasas, Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Leonardo Venturelli, Myriam Borgatta, Margaux Océane Voumard

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are widely used in consumer products for disinfection purposes. QACs are frequently detected in aquatic systems at sub-inhibitory concentrations and were found to affect the development of antimicrobial resistance if ba ...

2020

Assessing Subaquatic Mass Movement Hazards: an Integrated Observational and Hydrodynamic Modelling Approach

Alfred Johny Wüest, Damien Bouffard, Nathalie Dubois, Carl Love Mikael Råman Vinnå

High-resolution lake and reservoir bathymetric surveys can pinpoint locations that may experience underwater landslides (subaquatic sedimentary mass movements). These can pose a risk to underwater and shoreline infrastructure. This paper outlines an approa ...

2020

A fish intestinal barrier model to assess the interaction with chemicals in vitro

Hannah Inka Schug

The intestinal epithelium acts as vital gate keeper between the fish and its surrounding environment. A single layer of connected epithelial cells forms a selective barrier, which, among other essential functions, is important for nutrient uptake and defen ...

EPFL2019

Reactions of aliphatic amines with ozone: Kinetics and mechanisms

Urs von Gunten, Sung Eun Lim

Aliphatic amines are common constituents in micropollutants and dissolved organic matter and present in elevated concentrations in wastewater-impacted source waters. Due to high reactivity, reactions of aliphatic amines with ozone are likely to occur durin ...

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2019

Development and implementation of eco-genomic tools for aquatic ecosystem biomonitoring: the SYNAQUA French-Swiss program

Régis Lionel Vivien

The effectiveness of environmental protection measures is based on the early identification and diagnosis of anthropogenic pressures. Similarly, restoration actions require precise monitoring of changes in the ecological quality of ecosystems, in order to ...

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG2018

Kinetics and mechanisms of nitrate and ammonium formation during ozonation of dissolved organic nitrogen

Urs von Gunten, Glen Andrew De Vera

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is an emerging concern in oxidative water treatment because it exerts oxidant demand and may form nitrogenous oxidation/disinfection by-products. In this study, we investigated the reactions of ozone with DON with a special ...

Elsevier2017