Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Acute toxic effect of sewage effluent on the early life phase of an estuarine crab Scylla serrata

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The biological quality of secondary treated sewage effluent was evaluated using a toolbox approach, which combined a larval developmental bioassay and measurement of fecal indicator organisms. The zoea developmental toxicity of Scylla serrata from stage I to stage II was determined by exposing to a range of secondary treated sewage concentrations. Results indicated that the relative progress of zoea stage I to zoea stage II negatively correlated with increasing sewage concentrations. Data was analyzed statistically to determine lethal, median lethal, sublethal, low observed effect, and no observed effect concentrations. Water samples collected along the Buckingham canal discharge zone were also analyzed for its toxicity to the larval development. Fecal indicator organisms chosen to determine the water quality were E. coli, enterococci, C. perfrigens, and F+ coliphages. Concentrations of these fecal markers were determined in the raw influent, primary treated effluent, secondary treated effluent, and in four discharge zone sites. Data showed that this biological toolbox is helpful for providing baseline information on the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment and environmental health of the discharge zone.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Bisson JW, Cabelli VJ (1979) Membrane filter enumeration method for Clostridium perfringens. Appl Environ Microbiol 37(1):55–66

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Connon RE, Geist J, Werner I (2012) Effect-based tools for monitoring and predicting the Ecotoxicological effects of Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment. Sensors (Special Issue: Biosensors) 12(9):12741–12771

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Debartolomeis J, Cabelli VJ (1991) Evaluation of an Escherichia coli host strain for enumeration of F male-specific bacteriophages. Appl Environ Microbiol 57:1301–1305

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dufour AP, Strickland ER, Cabelli VJ (1981) Membrane filter method for enumerating Escherichia coli. Appl Environ Microbiol 41:1152–1158

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fujioka R, Fujioka C, Oshiro R (2001) Development and assessment of a fecal bacterial monitoring program to determine the impact of ocean sewage outfall of shoreline water quality. Oceans 2001MTS/IEEE Conference Proceedings, pp 1417–1423. doi:10.1109/OCEANS.2001.968041

  • Fung DYC, Fujioka RS, Vijayavel K, Sato D, Bishop D (2007) Evaluation of Fung double tube test for Clostridium perfringens and Easyphage test for F-specific RNA Coliphages as rapid screening tests for fecal contamination in recreational waters of Hawaii. J. Rapid. Meth. Autom. Microbiol. 15:217–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gronewold AD, Stow CA, Vijayavel K, Moynihan MA, Kashian DR (2013) Differentiating Enterococcus concentration spatial, temporal, and analytical variability in recreational waters. Water Res 47:2141–2152

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harwood VJ, Boehm AB, Sassoubre LM, Vijayavel K, Stewart JR, Fong TT, Caprais MP, Converse RR, Diston D, Ebdon J, Fuhrman JA, Gourmelon M, Shields JG, Griffith JF, Kashian DR, Noble RT, Taylor H, Wicki M (2013) Performance of viruses and bacteriophages for fecal source determination in a multi-laboratory, comparative study. Water Res 47(18):6929–6943

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luther K, Fujioka RS (2004) Usefulness of monitoring tropical streams for male-specific FRNA coliphages. J Water Health 2(3):171–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Messer JW, Dufour AP (1998) A rapid, specific membrane filtration procedure for enumeration of enterococci in recreational water. Appl Environ Microbiol 64:678–680

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Quinitio ET, Parado-Estepa FD, Millamena OM, Rodriguez E, Borlongan E (2001) Seed production of mud crab Scylla serrata juveniles. Asian Fisheries Science 14:161–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart JR, Boehm AB, Dubinsky EA, Fong TT, Goodwin KD, Griffith JF, Noble RT, Shanks OC, Vijayavel K, Weisberg SB (2013) Recommendations following a multi-laboratory comparison of microbial source tracking methods. Water Res 47(18):6829–6838

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • U.S Environmental Protection Agency (1986) Ambient water quality criteria for bacteria. EPA/440/5–84-002. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S Environmental Protection Agency (1987) Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) for 301 (h) monitoring programs: guidance on field and laboratory methods

  • U.S Environmental Protection Agency (1992) Probit analysis program used for calculating LC/EC values version 1.5. Ecological Monitoring. Research Division. Environmental Monitoring System Laboratory, Cincinnati

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1985) Test methods for Escherichia coli and enterococci. EPA-600/4–85-076. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasconcelos V, Azevedo J, Silva M, Ramos V (2010) Effects of marine toxins on the reproduction and early stages development of aquatic organisms. Mar Drugs 8(1):59–79

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K (2010) Water chemistry influences the toxicity of silver to the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis. Environ Monit Assess 167(1):289–295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K, Balasubramanian MP (2008) Reproductive dysfunction induced by naphthalene in an estuarine crab Scylla serrata with reference to vitellogenesis Ecotoxico. Environ Safe 69(1):89–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K, Kashian DR (2014) Evaluation of Clostridium perfringens as a tracer of sewage contamination in sediments by two enumeration methods. Environ Monit Assess 186:5617–5624

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K, Ezhilarasibalasubramanian S, Balasubramanian MP (2006) Individual and combined effect of urea and ammonium chloride on aspartate and alanine transaminases of a fresh water fish Oreochromis mossambicus. Indian J Fisheries 53(1):19–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K, Fung DYC, Fujioka RS (2009) Modification of Fung double tube and CPAnaselect oxyplate methods to improve their performance in enumerating Clostridium perfringens from sewage and environmental waters. J Rapid Meth Autom Microbiol 17:535–549

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K, Fujioka RS, Ebdon J, Taylor H (2010) Isolation and characterization of Bacteroides host strain HB-73 used to detect sewage specific phages in Hawaii. Water Res 44:3714–3724

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K, Sadowsky MJ, Ferguson JA, Kashian DR (2013) The establishment of the nuisance cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei into the Great Lakes and its potential to harbor fecal indicator bacteria. J Great Lakes Res 39(4):560–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayavel K, Byappanahalli MN, Ebdon J, Taylor H, Whitman RL, Kashian DR (2014) Enterococcus phages as potential tools for identifying sewage inputs in the Great Lakes region. J Great Lakes Res 40:989–993

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wade TJ, Calderon RL, Sams E, Beach M, Brenner KP, Williams AH, Dufour AP (2006) Rapidly measured indicators of recreational water quality are predictive of swimming-associated gastrointestinal illness. Environ Health Perspec 114(1):24–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitman R, Harwood VJ, Edge TA, Nevers M, Byappanahalli M, Vijayavel K, Brandão J, Sadowsky MJ, Alm EW, Crowe A, Ferguson D, Ge Z, Halliday E, Kinzelman J, Kleinheinz G, Staley C, Gabriele HS (2014) Microbes in Beach Sands: integrating environment. Ecology and Public Health Reviews in Environ Scien Biotech 13:329–368

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Woodworth JG, King C, Miskiewicz AG, Laginestra E, Simon J (1999) Assessment of the comparative toxicity of sewage effluent from 10 sewage treatment plants in the area of Sydney, Australia using an amphipod and two sea urchin bioassays. Mar Pollut Bull 39:174–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology, Guru Nanak College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600042, India

    Manickavalli Gurunadhan Ragunathan

Authors
  1. Manickavalli Gurunadhan Ragunathan
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manickavalli Gurunadhan Ragunathan.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ragunathan, M.G. Acute toxic effect of sewage effluent on the early life phase of an estuarine crab Scylla serrata . Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 16927–16932 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9196-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9196-x

Keywords