Large-scale spatial pollution patterns around the North Sea indicated by coastal bird eggs within an EcoQO programme

To categorize the marine environmental health status, the Oslo and Paris commissions have recently formulated Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) for many ecological features including the contamination of coastal bird eggs with mercury and organochlorines. In this study, we describe spatial and temporal patterns of egg contamination around the North Sea and compared them to the EcoQOs. Concentrations of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyl (??PCB) congeners, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (??DDT) and derivatives, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorocyclohexane (??HCH) isomers were analysed in two tern species (Sterna hirundo and Sterna paradisaea) and Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) eggs collected between 2008 and 2010 in a total of 21 sites in seven countries surrounding the North Sea. Hg, ??PCB and HCB were highest in the southern sites, while ??DDT and ??HCH concentrations were greatest in eggs from the western North Sea and the Elbe estuary. There were rarely any consistent decreases over time for any compounds. In the terns, Hg, HCB and ??HCH increased at most sites, ??PCB and ??DDT in Sweden and Norway. In the Oystercatcher, HCB and ??HCH increased at more than the half of the sites, ??PCB, ??DDT and Hg at several German sites. In the terns, Hg, ??PCB and ??DDT exceeded the EcoQO in all, HCB in most years and sites. At most sites, ??HCH fulfilled the EcoQO in some study years. In the Oystercatcher, Hg, ??PCB and ??DDT exceeded the EcoQO in all or most years and sites. HCB and ??HCH fulfilled the EcoQO in some or all years at most sites. The EcoQO was exceeded most frequently in estuaries. We conclude that EcoQOs are suitable for drawing contamination patterns of the coastal North Sea in an easily understandable manner, offering the opportunity to harmonize the EcoQOs with coordinated environmental monitoring programmes.     

Binary mixtures of diclofenac with paracetamol,ibuprofen, naproxen,and acetylsalicylic acid and these pharmaceuticals in isolated form induce oxidative stress on Hyalella azteca

Toxicity in natural ecosystems is usually not due to exposure to a single substance, but is rather the result of exposure to mixtures of toxic substances. Knowing the effects of contaminants as a mixture compared to their effects in isolated form is therefore important. This study aimed to evaluate the oxidative stress induced by binary mixtures of diclofenac with paracetamol, ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetylsalicylic acid and by these nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in isolated form, using Hyalella azteca as a bioindicator. The median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) and the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of each NSAID were obtained. Amphipods were exposed for 72 h to the latter value in isolated form and as binary mixtures. The following biomarkers were evaluated: lipid peroxidation (LPX), protein carbonyl content (PCC), and activity of the antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Significant increases in LPX and PCC with respect to the control group (p?≤?0.05) were induced by NSAIDs both in isolated form and as binary mixtures. Changes in SOD, CAT, and GPx activity likewise occurred with NSAIDs in isolated form and as binary mixtures. In conclusion, NSAIDs used in this study induce oxidative stress on H. azteca both in isolated form and as binary mixtures, and the interactions occurring between these pharmaceuticals are probably antagonistic in type.     

Assessing use-values and relative importance of trees for livelihood values and their potentials for environmental protection in Southern Burkina Faso

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Empirical ethnobotanical studies in Burkina Faso and the Sahel apply unmodified use-value methods, which often fail to capture uses of plants within...     

Local governing of climate change in Denmark: recasting citizens as consumers

This paper is concerned with the ways in which Danish municipalities seek to mitigate climate change through a range of governance strategies. Through the analysis of ten municipal climate plans using the framework of Mitchell Dean, as well as extensive ethnographic fieldwork in two municipalities, this paper explores how local climate change mitigation is shaped by particular rationalities and technologies of government, and thus seeks to illustrate how the strategies set out in the plans construe climate change mitigation from a certain perspective, thereby rendering some solutions more likely than others and recasting citizens as passive consumers who are to be guided to consume in more climate-friendly ways in the process.     

Levels of dechlorane plus and polybrominated diphenylethers in human milk in two Canadian cities

Flame retardant dechlorane plus (DP) and several polybrominated diphenylether (PBDE) congeners have been measured in 87 human milk samples collected in two Canadian cities: Kingston and Sherbrooke. The levels of PBDEs in human milk (mean (median), ng g^− 1 lipid weight = 10 (5.9), 4.1 (2.8), 3.0 (1.6), 5.12 (1.6), and 15 (ND) for BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153, and BDE-209, respectively) were comparable to those reported in Europe, U.S.A. and China. The levels of DP, with a mean value of 0.98 ng g^− 1 and a median value of 0.60 ng g^− 1 (lipid weight), were two to ten times lower than those of concurrently measured major PBDEs including BDE-209. While there is little difference in the levels of measured contaminants in milk samples collected from the two cities, the contaminants levels in human milk show, indicated by Principal Components Analysis, that DP, deca-BDE, and penta-BDE come from three distinct sources. The mean and median isomer ratio values of DP in milk were 0.67 and 0.69, respectively, very similar to that of DP commercial products.     

Unexpected toxic interactions in the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex (L.) exposed to binary copper and nickel mixtures

To document the toxicity of copper and nickel in binary mixtures, freshwater amphipods Gammarus pulex were exposed to the metals given independently or as mixtures. Toxicity to Cu alone was relatively high: 96-h LC₁₀ and LC₅₀ were found at 91 and 196 μg L^?1, respectively. Toxicity to Ni alone was very low, with 96-h LC₁₀ and LC₅₀ of 44,900 and 79,200 μg L^?1, respectively. Mixture toxicities were calculated from single toxicity data using conventional models. Modeled toxicity was then compared with the measured toxicity of the binary mixture. Two kinds of mixtures were tested. Type I mixtures were designed as combinations of Cu and Ni given at the same effect concentrations, when taken independently, to identify possible interactions between copper and nickel. In type II mixtures, Cu concentrations varied from 0 to 600 μg L^?1 while the nickel concentration was kept constant at 500 μg L^?1 to mimic conditions of industrial wastewater discharges. Ni and Cu showed synergic effects in type I mixtures while type II mixtures revealed antagonistic effects. Low doses of Ni reduced Cu toxicity towards G. pulex. These results show that even for simple binary mixtures of contaminants with known chemistry and toxicity, unexpected interactions between the contaminants may occur. This reduces the reliability of conventional additivity models.     

Effects of fluvial instability on the bed morphology in vegetated channels

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - Flume experiments are conducted to investigate the effect of streambed instability in channels with randomly-distributed vegetation, varying vegetation density and...     

Silicon nanoparticles decrease arsenic translocation and mitigate phytotoxicity in tomato plants

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, we simulate the irrigation of tomato plants with arsenic (As)-contaminated water (from 0 to 3.2 mg L?1) and investigate...     

Isolation and Genomic Sequence of Hepatitis A Virus from Mixed Frozen Berries in Italy

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) was detected in two samples of mixed frozen berries linked to Italian hepatitis A outbreak in April and September 2013. Both viruses were fully sequenced by next-generation sequencing and the genomes clustered with HAV complete genomes of sub-genotype IA with nucleotide identities of 95–97 %.