Building resilience to water scarcity in southern Spain: a case study of rice farming in Doñana protected wetlands

Agricultural water management needs to evolve in view of increased water scarcity, especially when farming and natural protected areas are closely linked. In the study site of Doñana (southern Spain), water is shared by rice producers and a world heritage biodiversity ecosystem. Our aim is to contribute to defining adaptation strategies that may build resilience to increasing water scarcity and minimize water conflicts among agricultural and natural systems. The analytical framework links a participatory process with quantitative methods to prioritize the adaptation options. Bottom-up proposed adaptation measures are evaluated by a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) that includes both socioeconomic criteria and criteria of the ecosystem services affected by the adaptation options. Criteria weights are estimated by three different methods—analytic hierarchy process, Likert scale and equal weights—that are then compared. Finally, scores from an MCA are input into an optimization model used to determine the optimal land-use distribution in order to maximize utility and land-use diversification according to different scenarios of funds and water availability. While our results show a spectrum of perceptions of priorities among stakeholders, there is one overriding theme that is to define a way to restore part of the rice fields to natural wetlands. These results hold true under the current climate scenario and even more so under an increased water scarcity scenario.     

Adverse effects in wild fish living downstream from pharmaceutical manufacture discharges

A set of biochemical and histological responses was measured in wild gudgeon collected upstream and downstream of urban and pharmaceutical manufacture effluents. These individual end-points were associated to fish assemblage characterisation. Responses of biotransformation enzymes, neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption biomarkers revealed contamination of investigated stream by a mixture of pollutants. Fish from sampled sites downstream of the industrial effluent exhibited also strong signs of endocrine disruption including vitellogenin induction, intersex and male-biased sex-ratio. These individual effects were associated to a decrease of density and a lack of sensitive fish species. This evidence supports the hypothesis that pharmaceutical compounds discharged in stream are involved in recorded endocrine disruption effects and fish population disturbances and threaten disappearance of resident fish species. Overall, this study gives argument for the utilisation of an effect-based monitoring approach to assess impacts of pharmaceutical manufacture discharges on wild fish populations.     

Methylmercury levels and bioaccumulation in the aquatic food web of a highly mercury-contaminated reservoir

The low Ebro River basin (NE Spain) represents a particular case of chronic and long-term mercury pollution due to the presence of an industrial waste (up to 436 μg/g of Hg) coming from a chlor-alkali plant Albeit high total mercury (THg) levels have been previously described in several aquatic species from the surveyed area, methylmercury (MeHg) values in fish individuals have never been reported. Accordingly, in order to investigate bioaccumulation patterns at different levels of the aquatic food web of such polluted area, crayfish and various fish species, were analysed for THg and MeHg content. At the hot spot, THg mean values of crayfish muscle tissue and hepatopancreas were 10 and 15 times, respectively, greater than the local background level. Higher mean THg concentrations were detected in piscivorous (THg=0.848 ± 0.476 μg/g wet weight (ww); MeHg=0.672 ± 0.364 μg/g ww) than in non-piscivorous fish (THg=0.305 ± 0.163 μg/g ww; MeHg=0.278 ± 0.239 μg/g ww). Although these results indicated that THg in fish increased significantly with increasing trophic position, the percentage of the methylated form of Hg was not strongly influenced by differences in relative trophic position. This is an important finding, since the fraction of THg as MeHg in the top fish predator was unexpectedly lower than for other species of the aquatic food chain. Moreover, mean THg concentrations in piscivorous fish exceed the maximum level recommended for human consumption. From our findings, it is clear that for this specific polluted system, speciation becomes almost mandatory when risk assessment is based on MeHg, since single measurements of THg are inadequate and could lead to an over- or under-estimation of contamination levels.     

Quantifying summed fullerene nC60 and related transformation products in water using LC LTQ Orbitrap MS and application to environmental samples

The application of engineered nanomaterials increases strongly. Development of analytical techniques and their application to environmental samples is essential for human and environmental risk assessment of the nanoparticles. The objective of this study was to develop a sensitive analytical method to quantify nC(60) in water, using accurate mass screening liquid chromatography-hybrid linear ion trap Orbitrap mass spectrometry. nC(60) can be transformed by oxidation, reduction and photochemical reaction. Therefore, the formation of some transformation products of nC(60) was studied as well. Finally, the developed analytical method was applied to surface water samples from several locations in the Netherlands. The developed method enabled to detect and quantify aqueous concentrations of the summed nC(60) and its transformation products as low as 5 ng/L. It was observed that nC(60) transformation products exceed quantities of the parent C(60). Despite the high sensitivity of the developed method, no nC(60) or transformation products were detected in an array of Dutch surface waters. This might be due to low emissions, losses in the aqueous phase by sedimentation, sorption or further transformation processes.     

Antlers of Cervus elaphus as biomonitors of ⁹⁰Sr in the environment

Adequate radioprotection of the environment requires the identification of biomonitors sensitive to the variation of its radionuclide content. Due to the chemical similarities between calcium and strontium, calcified tissues of mammals are considered to be good ⁹⁰Sr biomonitors. This work considered Cervus elaphus antlers which, being shed annually, can give information about the importance of radiostrontium contamination in an ecosystem in the time period required for the growth of the antler. The samples were collected at various points of W and SW Spain. The mean value of their ⁹⁰Sr content was (70 ± 43 (S.D.)) Bq/kg d.w., range (16-218) Bq/kg d.w., and the radionuclide was evenly distributed in the different parts of the antler. There was a good correlation between the antlers’ ⁹⁰Sr content and the ⁹⁰Sr deposited in the soil. The antlers’ content of ²²⁶Ra (from the natural uranium series) and the contents of some stable elements (Ca, Mg, Sr, and K) were also determined. The values for these stable elements were practically constant in the analyzed samples, and the concentrations measured decreased in the following order:Ca » Mg > K > Sr » ⁹⁰Sr > ²²⁶Ra     

Realistic retrospective dose assessments to members of the public around Spanish nuclear facilities

In the frame of an epidemiological study carried out in the influence areas around the Spanish nuclear facilities (ISCIII-CSN, 2009. Epidemiological Study of The Possible Effect of Ionizing Radiations Deriving from The Operation of Spanish Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities on The Health of The Population Living in Their Vicinity. Final report December 2009. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear. Madrid. Available from: http://www.csn.es/images/stories/actualidad_datos/especiales/epidemiologico/epidemiological_study.pdf), annual effective doses to public have been assessed by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) for over 45 years using a retrospective realistic-dose methodology. These values are compared with data from natural radiation exposure. For the affected population, natural radiation effective doses are in average 2300 times higher than effective doses due to the operation of nuclear installations (nuclear power stations and fuel cycle facilities). When considering the impact on the whole Spanish population, effective doses attributable to nuclear facilities represent in average 3.5 × 10⁻⁵ mSv/y, in contrast to 1.6 mSv/y from natural radiation or 1.3 mSv/y from medical exposures.