Spatial variation of mercury levels in nesting Bonelli's eagles from Southwest Portugal: effects of diet composition and prey contamination

Mercury (Hg) was determined in adult Bonelli's eagles (Hieraaetus fasciatus) and their avian prey, from samples of feathers collected between 1992 and 2001 at the nesting sites of 21 pairs in Southwest Portugal. Eagle Hg levels showed great variation, reflecting primarily differences in diet composition and food chain biomagnification. Concentrations were positively correlated with the dietary proportion of insectivorous and omnivorous birds (e.g. egrets, corvids and thrushes), with very low levels for pairs feeding mainly on herbivores (e.g. rabbits, pigeons and partridges). Differences in prey contamination among breeding territories added to dietary effects in determining variation of Hg levels in eagles, shaping a spatial pattern that was largely consistent with a source of contamination in a coal-burning power-plant lying upwind of the study area. Despite this presumed contamination, Hg levels seemed to be of little concern to this eagle population, though there might be subtle deleterious effects on the reproductive output of a few pairs. This study emphasizes the need to account for dietary effects when biomonitoring Hg contamination using birds of prey.     

Catalytic NO(chi) reduction with simultaneous dioxin and furan oxidation

The engineering, construction, performance and running costs of a catalytic flue gas cleaning component in the low dust area of a municipal waste incinerator is discussed. For this purpose, the case study of a Flemish incineration plant is presented, covering the history, the design procedure of the catalyst, relevant process data and the financial aspects. A reliable PCDD/F-destruction by means of oxidation by the catalyst to typical values of 0.001 ng TEQ/Nm3 has been demonstrated. At the same time, NO(chi)- and CO-emissions are reduced by 90% and 20% to about 50 mg/N m3 andbelow 10 mg/N m3, respectively.     

Study of fractionation and potential mobility of metal in sludge from pyrite mining and affected river sediments: changes in mobility over time and use of artificial ageing as a tool in environmental impact assessment

Sludge from mining exploitation can be a source of land and water contamination in the adjacent zone. Accidents such as the break of waste mining pools in the Aznalcollar Mine (Seville, Spain) in 1998 produce important ecological disasters. In this work is presented a study of the evolution of aqua regia leachable concentration and mobility of metals in sediment samples of Guadiamar River basin from the accident date up to 2001. The application of BCR standard extraction procedures provides valuable information about the mobility and toxicity of the spill and the metal mobility in Guadiamar River polluted sediments. As a rule, themobility of several metals in the initial sludge (sulphides) is low, except for copper. Otherwise, the results of aqua regia leachable concentration and mobility of metal obtained for sediments samples indicate that the cleaning and inertisation works carried out in the zone have been adequate but insufficient, being the metal levels observed in the zone are higher than natural levels. To establish the initial impact of the spill and the mobility changes with time, mineralogical composition of the pyritic sludge and its evolution after the natural weathering and after the induction, of accelerated ageing processes by light and temperature was studied in the laboratory. Oxidation of initial sulphides to sulphates was observed. Both environmental and laboratory oxidation of the metallic sulphides increase the mobility of all metals, especially of copper, zinc and lead. The proposed laboratory procedure allows to predict the changes in mobility and therefore in toxicity that can occur at short or long term after exposure of sludge at environ-mental conditions. The mobility results in sludge and sediment samples are interpreted in terms of the mineral composition of the samples.     

Baltic sub-basin turnover times examined using the Rossby Centre Ocean model

Not least when judging the possible effects of climate change it proves necessary to estimate the water-renewal rates of limited marine areas subject to pronounced external influences. In connection with the SWECLIM programme this has been undertaken for two ecologically sensitive sub-basins of the Baltic, viz. the Gulf of Riga and Gdansk Bay. For this purpose two methodologically different approaches have been employed, based on mass-balance budgets and analysis of Lagrangian trajectories, respectively. When compared to the results obtained using the Lagrangian technique, the box-model approach proved to be adequate for the Gulf of Riga representing a morphologically highly constrained basin, whereas it demonstrated certain shortcomings when applied to the more open topographic conditions characterizing Gdansk Bay.     

Note on the variability of heterotrophic activity measurements by the 14C method in sea water

Twenty five measurements in triplicate of heterotrophic activity in sea water showed good reproducibility. The mean coefficient of variation was 6.2%, which is lower than the coefficient of variation obtained with a similar method for primary production measurements. This result indirectly confirms that most heterotrophic activity can be attributed to a great number of small cells, i.e., bacteria which, if not free-swimming, are fixed to particles of smaller size than the average phytoplankton. The good reproducibility obtained also suggests that there was no extraneous contamination despite non-sterile working conditions.     

Site-Specific Characterization of Castromil Brownfield Area Related to Gold Mining Activities

Castromil is one of the gold mining areas in Portugal that has been abandoned since 1940. This area, which was first mined in Roman times, is located within a Hercynian granite body near the contact with Silurian metasediments. Gold is essentially disseminated along veins in the silicified granite, running NW-SE, related with a shear zone and frequently associated with sulphides (arsenopyrite and basically pyrite). In paragenetic terms, three stages of mineralization are considered: ferro-arseniferous (quartz + arsenopyrite I + pyrite I + pyrrhotite + bismuth), zinciferous (sphalerite + chalcopyrite), and remobilization (arsenopyrite II + galena + gold). Due to the lack of laws and environmental education, Castromil is today a gold mining heritage site where we can detect the consequences of an incautious exploration (tailings, wells and adits located in the old explored zone) and where a residential area is located. In order to characterize the actual state of the old mining area the trace metal contamination of soils and waters by mining activities was investigated. In the studied area 106 soil samples, 15 waters and 20 plants were sampled and analysed. The soil samples were analysed for 32 elements by ICP-AES. Waters were analysed by ionic chromatography and ICP-MS for major and trace elements. Plants were analysed for As, Fe and Pb by AAS. The results are discussed taking into account the risk-based standards for soils and groundwater's (target and intervention values) proposed by Swartjes (1999). The results show elevated concentration of As and Pb which were found in soils collected from agricultural areas. Foodstuff plants species collected in the Castromil agricultural area show high concentrations of As in the leaves (cabbage and lettuce) and in the tubers (potatoes). Groundwaters in the mining area contain high concentrations of As that exceeds the intervention values. The area must to be subject to a remediation process, considering the actual risks to humans and ecosystems and the risks due to contaminant migration.     

Molecular phylogeny of the American <Emphasis Type="Italic">Callinectes</Emphasis> Stimpson, 1860 (Brachyura: Portunidae), based on two partial mitochondrial genes

The genus Callinectes encompasses 16 species of commercially important swimming crabs. Most (13) occur on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the Americas. We compare mtDNA regions corresponding to 964 basepairs of the large (16S) and small (12S) ribosomal subunits among American Callinectes in order to examine phylogenetic relationships. The status of Callinectes affinis Fausto-Filho and Callinectes maracaiboensis Taissoun is questioned, and C. maracaiboensis is concluded to be a junior synonym of Callinectes bocourti A. Milne-Edwards, from which it cannot be consistently distinguished. We find two major lineages, one of which includes C. affinis, C. bocourti, Callinectes rathbunae Contreras, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, and Callinectes toxotes Ordway. A second lineage is comprised of Callinectes arcuatus Ordway, Callinectes bellicosus (Stimpson), Callinectes danae Smith, Callinectes exasperatus (Gerstaecker), Callinectes larvatus Ordway, Callinectes ornatus Ordway, and Callinectes similis Williams. Definition of these clades is supported by previously described morphological differences in the length of the gonopods and shared physioecological adaptations. A calibrated molecular clock is used to estimate divergence of the two lineages near 13 mybp. Our analyses suggest that C. ornatus is the closest relative of C. arcuatus, and that C. affinis is closest to C. bocourti.     

Monitoring concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in the general population: the international experience

Assessing the adverse effects on human health of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and the impact of policies aiming to reduce human exposure to POPs warrants monitoring body concentrations of POPs in representative samples of subjects. While numerous ad hoc studies are being conducted to understand POPs effects, only a few countries are conducting nationwide surveillance programs of human concentrations of POPs, and even less countries do so in representative samples of the general population. We tried to identify all studies worldwide that analyzed the distribution of concentrations of POPs in a representative sample of the general population, and we synthesized the studies' main characteristics, as design, population, and chemicals analyzed. The most comprehensive studies are the National Reports on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (USA), the German Environmental Survey, and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. Population-wide studies exist as well in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Flanders (Belgium) and the Canary Islands (Spain). Most such studies are linked with health surveys, which is a highly-relevant additional strength. Only the German and Flemish studies analyzed POPs by educational level, while studies in the USA offer results by ethnic group. The full distribution of POPs concentrations is unknown in many countries. Knowledge gaps include also the interplay of age, gender, period and cohort effects on the prevalence of exposures observed by cross-sectional surveys. Local and global efforts to minimize POPs contamination, like the Stockholm convention, warrant nationwide monitoring of concentrations of POPs in representative samples of the general population. Results of this review show how such studies may be developed and used.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons storage by Fusarium solani in intracellular lipid vesicles

Accumulation and elimination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were studied in the fungus Fusarium solani. When the fungus was grown on a synthetic medium containing benzo[a]pyrene, hyphae of F. solani contained numerous lipid vesicles which could be stained by the lipid-specific dyes: Sudan III and Rhodamine B. The fluorescence produced by Rhodamine B and PAH benzo[a]pyrene were at the same locations in the fungal hyphae, indicating that F. solani stored PAH in pre-existing lipid vesicles. A passive temperature-independent process is involved in the benzo[a]pyrene uptake and storage. Sodium azide, a cytochrome c oxidation inhibitor, and the two cytoskeleton inhibitors colchicine and cytochalasin did not prevent the transport and accumulation of PAH in lipid vesicles of F. solani hyphae. F. solani degraded a large range of PAHs at different rates. PAH intracellular storage in lipid vesicles was not necessarily accompanied by degradation and was common to numerous other fungi.