Search

Water samples from Waiora Drinking Water Treatment Plant in New Zealand were analyzed using excitation‐emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (EEMS) and parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis to evaluate organic matter removal across the plant. The assessment also included the individual granular activated carbon (GAC) filters since the filters had varying media ages due to partial media replacement over a 10‐month period, presenting a unique assessment opportunity. PARAFAC analysis identified humic‐like, tyrosine‐protein‐like, and tryptophan‐protein‐like components representing fluorescent dissolved organic matter groups. The humic‐like component strongly correlated with total organic carbon (TOC) concentration and removal was significantly influenced by filter media age. However, protein‐like components had minimal TOC correlation and were not effectively removed by the overall plant treatment irrespective of filter media age. These findings have implications for disinfection, taste and odor, and bacterial regrowth and require an improved media replacement strategy. Further study of the protein‐like components is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The filamentous green alga Chaetomorpha ligustica (Cladophoraceae, Cladophorales) was recorded covering seagrass meadows at Pāuatahanui Inlet, New Zealand. Species of the genus Chaetomorpha are difficult to identify by their morphologically, and the identification of C. ligustica was confirmed by sequencing the 28S rRNA large subunit providing a high level of confidence in the species designation. In November 2019, we found C. ligustica intertwined with Ulva spp. forming dense, heavy and entangled structures. Here we report, for the first time, negative impacts of this species upon meadows of the New Zealand seagrass Zostera muelleri. We observed a significant loss of seagrass cover and evidence of anoxia under C. ligustica mats two weeks from the first sighting. Chaetomorpha ligustica can easily be misidentified in the field. This may lead to over- and under-reporting of species, and we recommend the need for more careful identification of macroalgal blooms in the future and further research on growth requirements and origins of strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seagrass Zostera muelleri has been reported to reproduce mainly asexually in New Zealand. However, a recent study in Tauranga Harbour suggested that flowering might occur more often than previously thought. Here we provide evidence of intertidal seagrass flowering events in six New Zealand estuaries in which it has not before been documented. Further research on seagrass sexual reproduction is desirable as we hypothesise that either flowering events have formerly been missed due to the cryptic nature of the flowers, or that sexual reproduction is emerging as a response to increasing pressures on seagrass ecosystems. In addition, with evidence of seagrass decline occurring globally, and likely also in New Zealand, we recommend collection of seagrass seeds to preserve genetic variability and to attempt restoration efforts through assisted sexual reproduction techniques that have not yet been used in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the retention ability of a New Zealand dairy farm soil amended with 3 types of biochar produced from a variety of feedstocks for a steroid hormone (oestradiol, E2) and its primary transformation product (estrone, El). Biochars produced from corn cob (CC), pine sawdust (PSD) and green waste (GW) were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and solid-state [sup.13]C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Batch sorption studies were performed on soil amended with each biochar (0.5% and 1% by weight) using a complex solvent extraction scheme, and isotherms were fitted to the Freundlich model. All isotherms were highly non-linear, with N values in the range 0.46-0.83 (E2) and 0.664).88 (El) in soil amended with different percentages of biochars. Overall, addition of all 3 biochars was found to increase the soil sorption affinity for the hormones, with E2 sorption being the highest in the soil amended with 1% PSD biochar. There was no marked difference in hormone sorption ability in the other 2 treatments (soil treated with 1% CC biochar and 1% GW biochar). Overall, the effective distribution coefficient ([K.sub.d.sup.cfr]) values for E2 at the lowest equilibrium concentration ([C.sub.w] 0.5 mg/L) ranged from 35 to 311 L/kg in soil amended with the 3 types of biochar. Addition of 0.5% of PSD biochar resulted in ~560% increase in the [K.sub.d.sup.efr] value for E2, while at 1% addition of PSD biochar, uptake of E2 was nearly 1400% higher than the control. For E1, the percentage increase in [K.sub.d.sup.elf] was comparatively smaller than E2; however, it still ranged from 40 to 280%, and 60 to >320% at addition of 0.5% and 1% PSD biochar, respectively, compared with the control soil. Highest treatment temperature and associated greater surface area, low ash content, higher carbon content, and the abundance of polar functional groups (e.g. 43H, C=O) may explain why the soil amended with PSD biochar exhibited high sorptive capacity for the hormones. Additional keywords: effective distribution coefficient, estradiol, estrone, FTIR, NMR spectroscopy, SEM., Introduction Steroid hormones such as 17β-oestradiol (E2) and its primary metabolite estrone (El) are naturally excreted in the faeces and urine of dairy cows and other livestock animals (Hanselman et [...]