A comprehensive review of climate adaptation in the United States: more than before, but less than needed

We reviewed existing and planned adaptation activities of federal, tribal, state, and local governments and the private sector in the United States (U.S.) to understand what types of adaptation activities are underway across different sectors and scales throughout the country. Primary sources of review included material officially submitted for consideration in the upcoming 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment and supplemental peer-reviewed and grey literature. Although substantial adaptation planning is occurring in various sectors, levels of government, and the private sector, few measures have been implemented and even fewer have been evaluated. Most adaptation actions to date appear to be incremental changes, not the transformational changes that may be needed in certain cases to adapt to significant changes in climate. While there appear to be no one-size-fits-all adaptations, there are similarities in approaches across scales and sectors, including mainstreaming climate considerations into existing policies and plans, and pursuing no- and low-regrets strategies. Despite the positive momentum in recent years, barriers to implementation still impede action in all sectors and across scales. The most significant barriers include lack of funding, policy and institutional constraints, and difficulty in anticipating climate change given the current state of information on change. However, the practice of adaptation can advance through learning by doing, stakeholder engagements (including “listening sessions”), and sharing of best practices. Efforts to advance adaptation across the U.S. and globally will necessitate the reduction or elimination of barriers, the enhancement of information and best practice sharing mechanisms, and the creation of comprehensive adaptation evaluation metrics.     

Simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) by derivative stripping chronopotentiometry in Pittosporum tobira leaves: a measurement of local atmospheric pollution in Messina (Sicily, Italy)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the bio-accumulation of Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) in Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) Aiton leaves sampled in different zones of Messina, in order to assess the level of atmospheric metal deposition in correlation with the traffic volume. Derivative stripping chronopotentiometry was used as a practical, precise and sensitive technique to determine simultaneously Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn levels in Pittosporum leaves. In the optimised electro-chemical conditions, detection limits lower than 0.05 microg kg(-1) were achieved, whereas the accuracy, expressed as obtained recoveries from certified materials, was in the range 93.5-102.7%. The obtained data provided evidence that Cd and Pb levels significantly decreased from high to low traffic density zones (p < 0.005, ANOVA), whereas Cu and Zn are accumulated by plants particularly from the soil and their contents is not related to the traffic volume.     

Quantification of Human Adenoviruses in European Recreational Waters

The presence of human adenoviruses (HAdV) in recreational water might cause disease in the population upon exposure. HAdV detected by PCR could also serve as indicators of the virological water quality. In order to assess the applicability of HAdV to the evaluation of the faecal contamination in European bathing waters, a real-time quantitative PCR assay was used for the quantification of HAdV in 132 samples collected from 24 different recreational marine and freshwater sites in nine European countries. Selected samples presenting positive nested PCR results for HAdV were analyzed using quantitative PCR and 80 samples from a total of 132 produced quantitative results with mean values of 3.2 × 10² per 100 ml of water, being human adenovirus 41 the most prevalent serotype between the samples where adenovirus was typified. HAdV were quantified in samples from all 15 surveillance laboratories. Statistical analysis showed no homogeneous linear relation between HAdV and E. coli, intestinal enterococci or somatic coliphages concentrations in the tested samples when considering all the data together. Significant correlations between HAdV and at least one of the other indicators were observed only when data from individual laboratories were considered. The quantification of HAdV may provide complementary information in relation to the use of bacterial standards in the control of water quality in bathing water.     

UVC Inactivation of dsDNA and ssRNA Viruses in Water: UV Fluences and a qPCR-Based Approach to Evaluate Decay on Viral Infectivity

Disinfection by low-pressure monochromatic ultraviolet (UVC) radiation (253.7 nm) became an important technique to sanitize drinking water and also wastewater in tertiary treatments. In order to prevent the transmission of waterborne viral diseases, the analysis of the disinfection kinetics and the quantification of infectious viral pathogens and indicators are highly relevant and need to be addressed. The families Adenoviridae and Polyomaviridae comprise human and animal pathogenic viruses that have been also proposed as indicators of fecal contamination in water and as Microbial Source Tracking tools. While it has been previously suggested that dsDNA viruses may be highly resistant to UVC radiation compared to other viruses or bacteria, no information is available on the stability of polyomavirus toward UV irradiation. Here, the inactivation of dsDNA (HAdV2 and JCPyV) and ssRNA (MS2 bacteriophage) viruses was analyzed at increasing UVC fluences. A minor decay of 2-logs was achieved for both infectious JC polyomaviruses (JCPyV) and human adenoviruses 2 (HAdV2) exposed to a UVC fluence of 1,400 J/m², while a decay of 4-log was observed for MS2 bacteriophages (ssRNA). The present study reveals the high UVC resistance of dsDNA viruses, and the UV fluences needed to efficiently inactivate JCPyV and HAdV2 are predicted. Furthermore, we show that in conjunction with appropriate mathematical models, qPCR data may be used to accurately estimate virus infectivity.     

Environmental Effectors on the Inactivation of Human Adenoviruses in Water

Environmental factors are highly relevant to the global dissemination of viral pathogens. However, the specific contribution of major effectors such as temperature and sunlight on the inactivation of waterborne viruses is not well characterized. In this study, the effect of temperature (7, 20, and 37 °C), UVB and UVA radiation on viral inactivation was evaluated in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), mineral water, wastewater, 1,000-fold diluted wastewater and seawater. The stability of human adenoviruses infectivity, known as human pathogens and indicators of fecal contamination, was monitored during 24 h, both in the dark and exposed to UV radiation by immunofluorescence assays. In the dark, no Human adenovirus (HAdV) inactivation was observed in PBS and mineral water at any of the temperatures studied, whereas at 37 °C in reactors with higher microbial concentration (wastewater, diluted wastewater, and seawater), decays between 2.5 and 5 log were recorded. UVB radiation showed a dramatic effect on HAdV inactivation and 6-log were achieved in all reactors by the end of the experiments. The effect of UVA showed to be dependent on the water matrix analyzed. At 20 °C, HAdV showed a 2-log decay in all reactors radiation while at 37 °C, results in wastewater, diluted wastewater, and seawater reactors were equivalent to those observed in the dark. These results suggest UVB radiation as the major environmental factor challenging viral inactivation, followed by biotic activity indirectly associated to higher temperatures and finally, by UVA radiation.     

Changes in barnacle population structure along an intertidal community gradient in the Florida Keys

Population distributions, densities and percentage deaths and individual size variations of the barnacles Chthamalus stellatus and Tetraclita squamosa, and the distribution of the vermetid snail Spirogluphus annulatus are measured to clarify determinants the Florida Keys (USA). The species composition of the pilings community and barnacle population densities correspond to physical gradients dependent on piling distance from shore. Interspecific competition for space is insignificant in determining C. stellatus presence or absence on pilings. Intraspecific crowding in highdensity zones of adult T. squamosa is evidenced by a significant decrease in basal diameter as density increases. The peak percentage of dead C. stellatus coincides with peak densities. The percentage of dead T. squamosa is at a low point at peak densities due to the ability of T. squamosa cyprids to settle and survive on adult shells in high-density regions. Feasible perturbation experiments for testing the importance of interspecific competition in determining the densities and vertical distributions of the species are discussed. The results of such experiments can be used to test the assumptions and predictions of the widely applied competition coefficient measure proposed by Levins (1968). Several theoretical deficiencies of Levins' measure are discussed.     

Environmental Monitoring and Research Initiative: a Priority Activity for the Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources

The Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) has recognized a high priority need to integrate and coordinate federal agencies' efforts in order to enable a comprehensive evaluation of our nation's environmental resources and ecological systems. The federal government spends about $640 million per year collecting data about our forests, agricultural and rangelands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal marine systems. These efforts have significantly aided the progress in preserving and protecting the environment in recent decades but are not sufficiently coordinated to provide us a truly comprehensive status report or full understanding of the causes and effects of environmental change. This paper describes the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and its functions, provides a status report on the Environmental Monitoring and Research Initiative, and offers some perspectives on the factors that will make the initiative and its contributing programs a success. In particular, the paper discusses the potential relationship with the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP).     

Adenovirus and Norovirus Contaminants in Commercially Distributed Shellfish

Shellfish complying with European Regulations based on quantification of fecal bacterial indicators (FIB) are introduced into markets; however, information on viruses, more stable than FIB, is not available in the literature. To assess the presence of noroviruses (NoVs) GI and GII and human adenoviruses (HAdV) in domestic and imported mussels and clams (n = 151) their presence was analyzed during winter seasons (2004–2008) in north-west Spanish markets through a routine surveillance system. All samples tested negative for NoV GI and 13 % were positive for NoV GII. The role of HAdV as viral indicator was evaluated in 20 negative and 10 positive NoV GII samples showing an estimated sensitivity and specificity of HAdV to predict the presence of NoV GII of 100 and 74 % (cut-off 0.5). The levels of HAdV and NoVs and the efficiency of decontamination in shellfish depuration plants (SDP) were evaluated analyzing pre- and post-depurated mussels collected in May–June 2010 from three different SDP. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence and quantification of HAdV between pre- and post-depurated shellfish and between seawater entering and leaving the depuration systems. Moreover, infectious HAdV were detected in depurated mussels. These results confirm previous studies showing that current controls and depuration treatments limiting the number of FIB do not guarantee the absence of viruses in shellfish.