Publication details

Humic Substances: Part 2: Interactions with Organisms

Authors

STEINBERG Christian, E. W. MEINELT Thomas TIMOFEYEV Maxim, A. BITTNER Michal MENZEL Ralph

Year of publication 2008
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Environmental Science and Pollution Research
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Science

Citation
Web http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2007.07.434
Field Hydrology and limnology
Keywords Dissolved humic substances; Chemical stress defense;
Description Freshwater bodies which chemistry is dominated by dissolved humic substances (HS) seem to be the major type on Earth, due to huge non-calcareous geological formations in the Northern Hemisphere and in the tropics. Based on the paradigm of the inertness of being organic, direct interactions of dissolved HS with freshwater organisms are mostly neglected. However, dissolved organic carbon, the majority of which being HS, are natural environmental chemicals and should therefore directly interact with organisms. Major results that widened our perspective on humic substance ecology come from experiments with the compost nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, which behaved contradictorily to textbook knowledge and provoked an in-depth re-consideration of some paradigms.
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