Photodegradation of multiclass fungicides in the aquatic environment and determination by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The photodegradation behaviour for nine widespread fungicides (benalaxyl, cyprodinil, dimethomorph, fenhexamide, iprovalicarb, kresoxim-methyl,...     

The relative importance of COVID-19 pandemic impacts on biodiversity conservation globally

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on almost all aspects of human society and endeavor; the natural world and its conservation have not been spared. Through a process of expert consultation, we identified and categorized, into 19 themes and 70 subthemes, the ways in which biodiversity and its conservation have been or could be affected by the pandemic globally. Nearly 60% of the effects have been broadly negative. Subsequently, we created a compendium of all themes and subthemes, each with explanatory text, and in August 2020 a diverse group of experienced conservationists with expertise from across sectors and geographies assessed each subtheme for its likely impact on biodiversity conservation globally. The 9 subthemes ranked highest all have a negative impact. These were, in rank order, governments sidelining the environment during their economic recovery, reduced wildlife-based tourism income, increased habitat destruction, reduced government funding, increased plastic and other solid waste pollution, weakening of nature-friendly regulations and their enforcement, increased illegal harvest of wild animals, reduced philanthropy, and threats to survival of conservation organizations. In combination, these impacts present a worrying future of increased threats to biodiversity conservation but reduced capacity to counter them. The highest ranking positive impact, at 10, was the beneficial impact of wildlife-trade restrictions. More optimistically, among impacts ranked 11-20, 6 were positive and 4 were negative. We hope our assessment will draw attention to the impacts of the pandemic and, thus, improve the conservation community's ability to respond to such threats in the future.     

Fungal biotransformation of 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol

Fungal degradation of 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH, C₆F₁₃CH₂CH₂OH) by two wood‐decaying fungal strains and six fungal isolates from a site contaminated with per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) was investigated. 6:2 FTOH is increasingly being used in FTOH‐based products, and previous reports on the microbial fate of 6:2 FTOH have focused on bacteria and environmental microbial consortia. Prior to this study, one report demonstrated that the 6:2 FTOH biotransformation by the wood‐decaying fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, generated more polyfluoroalkyl substances, such as 5:3 acid (F(CF₂)₅CH₂CH₂COOH), and diverted away from producing the highly stable perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs). Most of the fungi (Gloeophyllum trabeum and isolates TW4‐2, TW4‐1, B79, and B76) examined in this study showed similar degradation patterns, further demonstrating that fungi yield more 5:3 acid (up to 51 mol% of initial 6:2 FTOH dosed) relative to other metabolites (up to 12 mol% total PFCAs). However, medium amendments can potentially improve 6:2 FTOH biotransformation rates and product profiles. The six fungal isolates tolerated up to 100 or 1,000 milligrams per liter of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, and some isolates experienced increased growth with increasing concentrations. This study proposes that fungal pathways must be considered for the biotransformation of potential PFAS precursors, such as 6:2 FTOH, and suggests the basis for selecting proper microorganisms for remediation of fluoroalkyl‐contaminated sites.