三氯生对水生生物的毒性效应研究进展

三氯生(TCS)作为一种广谱抗菌剂,在个人护理品中的广泛应用,将使其不可避免地释放到水环境中.随着在河流、湖泊、河口系统等水环境以及水生生物体内检测到TCS,TCS对于水生生物的生态毒理效应引起了学者们的广泛关注.本文概述了TCS在水环境及水生生物体内的赋存状况,归纳总结了TCS对水生生物的急性毒性、亚急性毒性、酶及基因毒性、内分泌干扰性及其降解产物毒性,最后展望了TCS对水生生物的生态毒理效应这一研究领域的发展方向.     

碳纳米材料的水环境行为及对水生生物毒理学研究进展

随着纳米科技的迅猛发展,人工碳纳米材料的生产和使用逐年递增,越来越多的碳纳米材料进入水环境中,对水生生物产生毒性效应。本文在介绍了碳纳米球、石墨烯、碳纳米管3种碳纳米材料的基础上,分析了碳纳米材料的水环境行为,重点综述了碳纳米材料对水生生物毒性效应研究现状,以及可能的致毒机制,并指出今后碳纳米材料对水生生物毒理学亟待加强的研究领域。     

单细胞质谱揭示四膜虫对极低剂量纳米颗粒的摄入特征

水生单细胞微生物的摄取是纳米材料进入食物网的重要途径之一.研究纳米材料在单细胞水生生物体内累积,对理解纳米材料在生态环境中的环境行为和生态毒理学效应具有重要意义.前期研究表明,暴露浓度是纳米材料生物累积过程中最重要的影响因素之一.然而,目前大多的研究中的纳米材料暴露浓度比实际环境浓度高多个数量级,无法反映实际环境暴露特征.此外,基于群体平均水平的研究方法不能识别具有独特的生理或摄取特性的个体,可能造成一些重要信息的丢失.当前,在单细胞水平研究极低暴露浓度下纳米颗粒的累积特征和毒性效应仍然面临严峻挑战.     

草甘膦的水环境行为及其对水生生物毒性的研究进展

草甘膦是世界上应用最广泛的除草剂,在水环境中普遍存在,其环境残留可能会危害非靶标水生生物,严重威胁水生生态系统健康,因此受到人们的广泛关注。本文整理分析了水环境中草甘膦的来源、污染现状和水环境行为,详细探讨了其对水生生物的毒性效应,并且对该领域的未来发展趋势做出了简要分析与展望,旨在为草甘膦的水生生态毒性和环境风险评估提供参考依据,为合理使用草甘膦提供一定的指导作用。     

组织残留法在水生生物基准中的应用概述

水生生物基准已成为生态风险评价和水环境管理的主要参考依据,在水污染治理、控制和管理以及水生生物保护方面发挥着重要作用。环境和生物学参数对基于水体或沉积物等外暴露浓度的毒性阈值和环境基准存在影响,使其具有变异性和不确定性。而基于组织残留的毒性剂量指标可以减少毒性值的变异性以及不确定性,特别是对于生物累积性物质而言,在毒性效应及环境基准研究中存在显著优势。针对组织残留法在水生生物基准研究中的应用,对组织残留法的概念、优势、应用,以及组织残留基准的推导方法等几个方面进行了综述,并提出了组织残留法在应用中存在的关键问题及建议,旨在推动环境基准、生态风险评价理论和方法的研究,以及为水环境管理和污染防治提供技术支持。     

水蚤分子生态毒理学研究进展

水蚤是广泛分布于各类淡水水体中的浮游动物,在水生生态系统中具有重要地位,也是水生毒理学研究中常用的模式生物。近年来,分子毒理学的发展为水蚤生态毒理学研究提供了新的工具和研究思路。本文分别从基因组学、转录组学、蛋白质组学、代谢组学和表观遗传组学方面,综述了不同环境污染物(重金属、农药和杀菌剂等有机污染物、环境激素类化合物、纳米材料和藻毒素等)对水蚤的生态毒理学效应及分子机制,为通过水蚤生态毒理学研究进行环境污染生物标志物筛选及生态风险评估提供参考。     

研究显示OECD生态毒性试验不适合纳米材料

2013年7月4日来源:纳米毒理学根据英国和加拿大的一项联合研究,标准水生生物毒性试验,包括那些依照OECD指南进行的试验,可能不适合纳米材料。人造纳米材料向水生环境中的释放"不可避免",并且在过去几年中,已有广泛的生态毒理学研究考察了这些材料在水系中构成的潜在风险,由来自英国约克大学的     

典型氯酚类化合物对水生生物的毒性研究进展

氯酚类化合物(CPs)是一类广泛存在于水环境中的有机污染物。这类化合物具有环境稳定性、生物累积性和生物毒性,因而其在水环境中的生态毒理效应一直是人们关注的焦点。在水体中存在最普遍的酚类化合物主要有2,4-二氯酚(2,4-DCP),2,4,6-三氯酚(2,4,6-TCP)和五氯酚(PCP)。本文对近几年来这3种典型氯酚类化合物的水生态毒理学研究进行了总结,主要包括它们对水生生物的急性毒性、氧化损伤、发育毒性、内分泌干扰、遗传毒性、致癌性、免疫毒性、细胞毒性以及复合毒性的效应和机制,同时对目前存在的问题和进一步的研究方向进行了讨论和展望。     

应用物种敏感性分布评估微(纳米)塑料对水生生物的生态风险

水环境中的微(纳米)塑料对水生生物具有潜在的危害。为了评估微(纳米)塑料对水生生物的毒性效应及生态风险,本研究在广泛查阅并分析微(纳米)塑料相关毒理学研究数据的基础上,利用物种敏感性分布(Species Sensitivity Distributions,SSD)方法对其中5门10科11种水生生物的急性毒理数据进行曲线拟合;计算对应的5%危害浓度(the hazardous concentration for 5%of the species, HC_5)和潜在影响比例(potential affected fractions, PAF);计算了相应的急性生态效应阀值(predicted no effect concentration, PNEC_(acute)),并比较了各类水生生物对微(纳米)塑料的敏感性及其所受生态风险。结果表明,目前已有数据中微(纳米)塑料对费氏弧菌(Vibrio fischeri)的生态风险最大,对朱氏四爿藻(Tetraselmis chuii)的生态风险最小;基于Reweibull模型对水生生物数据所推导的PNEC_(acute)为0.185μg·L~(-1),约为当前微(纳米)塑料在水体环境中浓度的30%。利用SSD来预测微(纳米)塑料不同暴露浓度下对水生生物的PAF,发现当微(纳米)塑料暴露浓度小于10μg·L~(-1)时,水生生物所受的影响在可接受范围内;当暴露浓度达到1 000μg·L~(-1)时,将有26%的物种受到微(纳米)塑料的危害。此外,利用Rurrlioz软件估算了世界典型淡水与海水水域表层水体中微塑料对水生生物的PAF值,发现其PAF预测值都为0;将各水域微塑料浓度与急性生态效应阀值PNEC_(acute)比较后发现,除太湖外,其他水体环境中微塑料浓度都低于PNEC_(acute),说明如果只考虑微塑料本身的影响,目前世界典型水域表层水中微塑料对水生生物的危害程度大部分都在可接受的范围之内。     

纳米材料与水体其他污染物的复合暴露毒性研究进展

纳米材料被广泛应用于食品、医疗、化妆品等领域,大量的纳米材料被排入水体,由此引起广泛的水环境污染问题。纳米材料因其小尺寸,较大比表面积的特性,在环境中极易吸附其他污染物而造成复合暴露风险,增加其生物效应的复杂性。本文着重讨论纳米塑料、氧化石墨烯、纳米二氧化钛及单壁碳纳米管与水环境中农药、重金属、持续性有机污染物等的复合暴露风险及对生物体产生的毒性影响,从纳米材料与水体污染物的交互作用和细胞毒作用机制方面论述了纳米材料介导的复合暴露毒性机理,并就构建复合暴露模型进行展望,提出从分子水平上揭示复合毒性规律的研究方向,为水生态污染风险评估提供依据。     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation

Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza‐Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land‐use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon‐dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon‐based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development.     

Parasitic wasps orient to green leaf volatiles

Summary Undamaged plants emit low levels of green leaf volatiles (GLVs), while caterpillar-damaged and artificially damaged plants emit relatively higher levels of certain GLVs. Female braconid parasitoids,Microplitis croceipes, oriented to both damaged plants and to individual GLVs in no-choice tests in a wind tunnel, but seldom oriented to undamaged plants. Female ichneumonid parasitoids,Netelia heroica, also oriented to individual GLVs in a wind tunnel. Males of both wasp species failed to orient to the GLVs. These data show that leaf-feeding caterpillars can cause the release of GLVs, and that parasitic wasps can respond to these odors by flying upwind (chemoanemotactic response), which brings the wasps to their caterpillar hosts. This supports the hypothesis that plants communicate with members of the third trophic level,i.e., plants under herbivore attack emit chemical signals that guide natural enemies of herbivores to sites of plant damage. In this interaction, the GLVs serve as tritrophic plant-to-parasitoid synomones. That parasitoids from two different wasp families oriented to GLVs suggests that the response may be widespread among the Hymenoptera.Mention of a commercial or proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture     

Human Influence and Classical Biogeographic Predictors of Rare Species Occurrence

Biogeographic theory predicts that rare species occur more often in larger, less‐isolated habitat patches and suggests that patch size and connectivity are positive predictors of patch quality for conservation. However, in areas substantially modified by humans, rare species may be relegated to the most isolated patches. We used data from plant surveys of 81 meadow patches in the Georgia Basin of Canada and the United States to show that presence of threatened and endangered plants was positively predicted for patches that were isolated on small islands surrounded by ocean and for patches that were isolated by surrounding forest. Neither patch size nor connectivity were positive predictors of rare species occurrence. Thus, in our study area, human influence, presumably due to disturbance or introduction of competitive non‐native species, appears to have overwhelmed classical predictors of rare species distribution, such that greater patch isolation appeared to favor presence of rare species. We suggest conservation planners consider the potential advantages of protecting geographically isolated patches in human‐modified landscapes because such patches may represent the only habitats in which rare species are likely to persist. Influencia Humana y Predictores Biogeográficos Clásicos de la Ocurrencia de Especies Raras     

Seasonal dynamics of macro-algae in the South Lake of Tunis

The macro-algae communities observed in the south lake of Tunis are characterized by the predominance of nitrophilous algae which are in the order of biomass importance:Ulva, Cladophora andEnteromorpha. We have noted seasonal changes of alga distribution. The wind appears to be one of the most important factors influencing this distribution. The total biomass reaches a maximum in the spring. Rapid decomposition of the biomass leads to a severe ecological imbalance, resulting in crises of anoxia and fish death. A restoration project has already started. It aims at removal of contaminated muds and the introduction of a new circulation system. The main objectives of this work were to collect information on the distribution and biomass of the phytobenthic communities as a first step in the constitution of a database for further comparison.     

Patterns and biases of climate change threats in the IUCN Red List

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments rely on published data and expert inputs, and biases can be introduced where underlying definitions and concepts are ambiguous. Consideration of climate change threat is no exception, and recently numerous approaches to assessing the threat of climate change to species have been developed. We explored IUCN Red List assessments of amphibians and birds to determine whether species listed as threatened by climate change display distinct patterns in terms of habitat occupied and additional nonclimatic threats faced. We compared IUCN Red List data with a published data set of species’ biological and ecological traits believed to infer high vulnerability to climate change and determined whether distributions of climate change‐threatened species on the IUCN Red List concur with those of climate change‐threatened species identified with the trait‐based approach and whether species possessing these traits are more likely to have climate change listed as a threat on the IUCN Red List. Species in some ecosystems (e.g., grassland, shrubland) and subject to particular threats (e.g., invasive species) were more likely to have climate change as a listed threat. Geographical patterns of climate change‐threatened amphibians and birds on the IUCN Red List were incongruent with patterns of global species richness and patterns identified using trait‐based approaches. Certain traits were linked to increases or decreases in the likelihood of a species being threatened by climate change. Broad temperature tolerance of a species was consistently related to an increased likelihood of climate change threat, indicating counterintuitive relationships in IUCN assessments. To improve the robustness of species assessments of the vulnerability or extinction risk associated with climate change, we suggest IUCN adopt a more cohesive approach whereby specific traits highlighted by our results are considered in Red List assessments. To achieve this and to strengthen the climate change‐vulnerability assessments approach, it is necessary to identify and implement logical avenues for further research into traits that make species vulnerable to climate change (including population‐level threats).