Trophic transfer of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in a tidal freshwater marsh

The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) at Tinicum Marsh contains one of the last remaining tidal freshwater marsh communities along the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River Estuary. The marsh receives a significant load of nutrients and sediment-associated contaminants and is hypothesised to act as an effective trap for these chemicals. The goal of this study was to quantify the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at various trophic levels at two sites within Tinicum Marsh and assess the factors important in determining their bioaccumulation and trophic transfer. For both PCBs and PBDEs, lipid variation for all species was a large factor in determining contaminant body burden. Also, concentrations in biota increased with increasing trophic level as determined by nitrogen isotope analysis (δ¹⁵N values) at the downstream site within Tinicum Marsh. This trend was less apparent at the upstream site and may be due to differences in feeding behaviours among species between the two sites and/or differences in carbon and nitrogen sources and recycling. These data are valuable in assisting bioaccumulation/trophic transfer studies and serve as benchmarks to which future PCB and PBDE concentrations will be compared.     

Level,pattern, and risk assessment of the selected soil trace metals in the calcareous-cultivated Vertisols

Dynamics and distribution pattern of trace metals in agricultural lands are an increasing concern due to potential risks to the environment and human health. To ascertain more knowledge of this aspect, the fractions of total and available Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Cd belonging to Vertisols under intensive cultivation and adjoining uncultivated soils were investigated. The order of abundance of metals in both cultivated and uncultivated soils was Fe?>?Mn?>?Cu?>?Zn?>?Cd and Fe?>?Mn?>?Zn?>?Cu?>?Cd for both available and total fraction, respectively. A relative enrichment was observed in the value of diethylene-triamine pentaacetic acid-extractable Fe (1.2–201%), Mn (2–31%), Cu (1–40%), and Cd (21–45%) as well as total fraction of Zn (3–17%), Cu (12–32%), and Cd (42–108%) after intensive cropping, which can be contributed to repeated application of agrochemical inputs and manure over long time. The values of RI (potential ecological risk) showed that cultivation caused a low potential ecological risk (33.3% of the soil samples) to moderate potential ecological risk (66.7% of the soil samples) in the study region and that cadmium made up 88%, on average, of the RI value.     

Heavy metals contents of roadside mosses in the northern and south-eastern regions of Nigeria

Levels of lead, zinc, cadmium, copper and nickel were determined in roadside moss samples within towns in the northern and south-eastern regions of Nigeria. Average lead level in the south-east (59 ppm) was higher than the average for the northern region (44 ppm). Average levels of zinc, cadmium, copper and nickel did not differ significantly between the two regions, with overall averages for the entire study area being 50.9, 1.2, 11.3 and 5.6 ppm for these metals. Lead levels were poorly correlated with those of the other metals, indicating that automobile emissions may not be the main source for these metals in the moss. In comparison with a previous study of the south-west region, the results indicate a generally slightly higher level of metal pollution in the south-west region than in both the northern and south-eastern regions.     

Rare earth elements distribution in seawater and suspended particulate of the Central Mediterranean Sea

Rare earth element (REE) content in suspended and dissolved phases from the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) has been measured. Vertical profiles of several dissolved REEs along the water column reflect the 3-D oceanographic features of the studied area and identifies the different water masses present there. Shale-normalized REE distribution patterns and derived parameters calculated for the suspended particulate show different atmospheric dust-surface inputs and their interactions with seawater. Finally, combined information from [La/Yb]_N, ratios, REE/La ratios and Eu anomalies measured in the suspended particulate suggest an important contribution of volcanic materials from the Etna volcano and Saharan dust to the lithogenic fraction of the suspended particulate.     

Mapping of the benthic communities in the Taranto seas using side-scan sonar and an underwater video camera

Side-scan sonar and underwater video camera records as well as dredging samples were used to map the bottom morphology and biocoenoses in the Taranto seas. A 1:20,000 scale chart has been produced with all the data recorded. Most of the study area consists of biocoenoses affected by the anthropogenic activities of the town of Taranto. Some native broadly tolerant species seem to benefit from these activities and become increasingly dominant. Environmental modifications also seem to favour the settlement of exotic species.     

Characterization of fulvic acids during olive mill waste composting (Elemental,Thermal and fluorescence analyses)

Elemental analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were applied to the study of fulvic acids isolated from different stages during olive mill waste composting. The fulvic extracted acids are characterized by a high nitrogen content and O/C ratio values that may result from the high degree of humification and the synthesis of more condensed humic complexes. This was confirmed by fluorescence spectroscopy in the synchronous-scan mode by the decrease of shoulder intensities at intermediate wavelengths indicating the increase of polycondensation and conjugation of unsaturated structures and the greater uniformity of fluorophores. Fluorescence spectra in the emission, excitation and synchronous modes became simpler with compost maturation. This was confirmed by DSC results which proved the high degree of polycondensation of aromatic nuclei of fulvic acid molecules during olive mill waste composting.     

Trace Element Contaminants in Sediments From the Noaa National Status and Trends Programme Compared to Data From Throughout the World

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Status and Trends (NS&T) Programme has analyzed samples of surface sediment collected at almost 300 coastal and estuarine sites throughout the United States since 1984. the overall distributions for concentrations of each element are approximately lognormal allowing a definition of geometric means and of “high” concentrations as those exceeding the mean plus one standard deviation of the lognormal distribution. Those mean and “high” concentrations should be useful for comparing the NS&T data set and with other reports on sediment contamination. A world-wide data set, constructed from data in the literature, was summarized in an identical manner. It was found, after excluding locally extreme values, that the NS&T and world-wide data sets yielded very similar mean and “high” concentrations for Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. Chromium was the sole element showing higher summary statistics in the NS&T data set, a result attributed to NS&T sampling in areas of naturally (not contaminated) elevated Cr content. It remains undetermined, however, why the world-wide data set, even with exclusion of “hot spots”, yielded higher means and “highs” for Cd, Hg, As, and Ag.     

Composition of Floating Debris in Harbours of the United States

As part of a programme to characterize floating anthropogenic debris in the aquatic environment, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted 18 field surveys in the harbours of major metropolitan cities of the east, west, and Gulf coasts of the United States and the Mid-Atlantic Bight. the surveys were designed to provide information on the types, relative amounts, and distributions of aquatic debris in different geographic regions of the United States. Neuston nets (0.33 mm mesh) were used to collect surface debris during outgoing tides on two or three consecutive days in selected areas of each city. After each net tow, the debris, which ranged in size from small resin pellets to large plastic sheeting pieces, was identified, categorized, and counted. the data are being used to qualitatively characterize aquatic debris in coastal metropolitan areas, to examine potential regional variations, and to tentatively identify potential sources.     

Pre-and Post-Liming Aquatic Communities and Trout Diets

In the period following liming and before the introduction of brown trout to Loch Fleet, there was a reduction in the numbers of invertebrates, including the Chironomidae, Oligochaeta and Hydracarina in the loch, but an overall increase in invertebrates in the inlet and outlet streams. This was followed in the loch by a recovery in the numbers of certain groups (particularly the Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera) to pre-liming levels in spite of the introduction of the trout.

The diets of the trout comprised a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial organisms ranging in size from Fprotozoans to newts and are dominated by chironomids. Opportunistic type of feeding as found in the present study appears to be typical of the brown trout and is reported for many water bodies by other workers.

Significant differences (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001) were found in the numbers and weights of certain food organisms in the stomachs of brown trout caught by different fishing methods in the summers of 1992 and 1993. Fish caught by gill net contained fewer planktonic crustaceans and chironomids, but greater numbers of trichopterans and terrestrial organisms, than in those caught by fly and spinner. the differences are probably related to differences in the depth at which the fish, caught by the various methods, were feeding.     

Assessing the Risk of Ships Striking Large Whales in Marine Spatial Planning

Marine spatial planning provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment and has the potential to minimize environmental impacts and reduce conflicts among users. Spatially explicit assessments of the risks to key marine species from human activities are a requirement of marine spatial planning. We assessed the risk of ships striking humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), and fin (Balaenoptera physalus) whales in alternative shipping routes derived from patterns of shipping traffic off Southern California (U.S.A.). Specifically, we developed whale‐habitat models and assumed ship‐strike risk for the alternative shipping routes was proportional to the number of whales predicted by the models to occur within each route. This definition of risk assumes all ships travel within a single route. We also calculated risk assuming ships travel via multiple routes. We estimated the potential for conflict between shipping and other uses (military training and fishing) due to overlap with the routes. We also estimated the overlap between shipping routes and protected areas. The route with the lowest risk for humpback whales had the highest risk for fin whales and vice versa. Risk to both species may be ameliorated by creating a new route south of the northern Channel Islands and spreading traffic between this new route and the existing route in the Santa Barbara Channel. Creating a longer route may reduce the overlap between shipping and other uses by concentrating shipping traffic. Blue whales are distributed more evenly across our study area than humpback and fin whales; thus, risk could not be ameliorated by concentrating shipping traffic in any of the routes we considered. Reducing ship‐strike risk for blue whales may be necessary because our estimate of the potential number of strikes suggests that they are likely to exceed allowable levels of anthropogenic impacts established under U.S. laws. Evaluación del Riesgo de Colisiones de Barcos y Ballenas en la Planificación Marina Espacial