Zinc is an essential trace metal, but many aspects of its toxicity remain unclear. In this study, we investigated zinc effects on oxidative stress parameters and antioxidant profile in four tissues (gill, liver, kidney, and white muscle) of Fundulus heteroclitus. Possible interactive effects of salinity were also studied. Killifish were exposed to sublethal level (500 μgL(-1)) of waterborne zin...

It has been nearly 15 years since the suggestion that synaptically released Zn2+ might contribute to excitotoxic brain injury after seizures, stroke, and brain trauma. In the original "zinc-translocation" model, it was proposed that synaptically released Zn2+ ions penetrated postsynaptic neurons, causing injury. According to the model, chelating zinc in the cleft was predicted to be neuroprotec...

Organochlorine chemical residues and elemental contaminants were measured in northern pike (Esox lucius), longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus), and burbot (Lota lota) from 10 sites in the Yukon River Basin (YRB) during 2002. Contaminant concentrations were compared to historical YRB data and to toxicity thresholds for fish and piscivorous wildlife from the scientific literature. A risk analy...

The median 96-h lethal zinc concentration (LC50) was 439 microg Zn/L (hardness of 154 mg/L as CaCO3) for feral mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi), decreasing to a median incipient lethal level of 266 microg Zn/L after 13 d. The 30-d chronic value was 255 microg Zn/L. The acute toxicity-hardness (ln-ln) slope of 1.022 exceeded that of the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency zinc criteria. ...

Trace element concentrations were measured in Pacific Dunlin (Calidris alpina pacifica) to identify factors that influence accumulation and to assess toxicity risks. We report concentrations of cadmium, copper, and zinc in kidneys as well as copper, lead, mercury, selenium and zinc in feathers. Relationships between element concentrations and Dunlin age, sex, bill length, habitat preference, tr...

Due to the difficulty in dispersing some engineered nanomaterials in exposure media, realizing homogeneous distributions of nanoparticles (NP) in soil may pose major challenges. The present study investigated the distribution of zinc oxide (ZnO) NP (30 nm) and non-nano ZnO (200 nm) in natural soil using two different spiking procedures, i.e. as dry powder and as suspension in soil extract. Both...

Acute and chronic ecotoxicity tests with zinc were performed with the earthworm Eisenia fetida, the potworm Enchytraeus albidus, and the springtail Folsomia candida. To assess the influence of the soil type on zinc toxicity for these soil invertebrates, these tests were carried out in a standard artificial soil, a sandy and a loamy field soil. Based on the results of this experimental work and ...