The booklet “Genetically modified crops”, published from the German Research Foundation, does not meet the given claim - Discussion article

In December 2009 the German Research Foundation published the booklet "Grüne Gentechnik" (Genetically modified crops) claiming to give a scientifically well balanced information about GMO's in agriculture. In this paper we analyse this approach resulting in a critical review regarding the intention of the booklet. We conclude that the evaluation of GMO's in agriculture primarily from a crop breeding perspective is lacking crucial positions in terms of ecology, socio-economy, agronomy, nutritional sciences and finally ethics in life science.     

Long-run economic and social determinants of the ecological footprint of latin america: a panel causality approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - As a region rich in natural resources and biodiversity, Latin America is particularly vulnerable to environmental crises. The ecological footprint...     

Consumptive and nonconsumptive effects of predators on metacommunities of competing prey

Although predators affect prey both via consumption and by changing prey migration behavior, the interplay between these two effects is rarely incorporated into spatial models of predator-prey dynamics and competition among prey. We develop a model where generalist predators have consumptive effects (i.e., altering the likelihood of local prey extinction) as well as nonconsumptive effects (altering the likelihood of colonization) on spatially separated prey populations (metapopulations). We then extend this model to explore the effects of predators on competition among prey. We find that generalist predators can promote persistence of prey metapopulations by promoting prey colonization, but predators can also hasten system-wide extinction by either increasing local extinction or reducing prey migration. By altering rates of prey migration, predators in one location can exert remote control over prey dynamics in another location via predator-mediated changes in prey flux. Thus, the effect of predators may extend well beyond the proportion of patches they visit. In the context of prey metacommunities, predator-mediated shifts in prey migration and mortality can shift the competition-colonization trade-off among competing prey, leading to changes in the prey community as well as changes in the susceptibility of prey species to habitat loss. Consequently, native prey communities may be susceptible to invasion not only by exotic prey species that experience reduced amounts of mortality from resident predators, but also by exotic prey species that exhibit strong dispersal in response to generalist native predators. Ultimately, our work suggests that the consumptive and nonconsumptive effects of generalist predators may have strong, yet potentially cryptic, effects on competing prey capable of mediating coexistence, fostering invasion, and interacting with anthropogenic habitat alteration.     

Advection and resulting CO2 exchange uncertainty in a tall forest in central Germany

Potential losses by advection were estimated at Hainich Forest, Thuringia, Germany, where the tower is located at a gentle slope. Three approaches were used: (1) comparing nighttime eddy covariance fluxes to an independent value of total ecosystem respiration by bottom-up modeling of the underlying processes, (2) direct measurements of a horizontal CO2 gradient and horizontal wind speed at 2 m height in order to calculate horizontal advection, and (3) direct measurements of a vertical CO2 gradient and a three-dimensional wind profile in order to calculate vertical advection. In the first approach, nighttime eddy covariance measurements were compared to independent values of total ecosystem respiration by means of bottom-up modeling of the underlying biological processes. Turbulent fluxes and storage term were normalized to the fluxes calculated by the bottom-up model. Below a u(*) threshold of 0.6 m/s the normalized turbulent fluxes decreased with decreasing u(*), but the flux to the storage increased only up to values less than 20% of the modeled flux at low turbulence. Horizontal advection was measured by a horizontal CO2 gradient over a distance of 130 m combined with horizontal wind speed measurements. Horizontal advection occurred at most of the evenings independently of friction velocity above the canopy. Nevertheless, horizontal advection was higher when u(*) was low. The peaks of horizontal advection correlated with changes in temperature. A full mass balance including turbulent fluxes, storage, and horizontal and vertical advection resulted in an increase of spikes and scatter but seemed to generally improve the results from the flux measurements. The comparison of flux data with independent bottom-up modeling results as well as the direct measurements resulted in strong indications that katabatic flows along the hill slope during evening and night reduces the measured apparent ecosystem respiration rate. In addition, anabatic flows may occur during the morning. We conclude that direct measurements of horizontal and vertical advection are highly necessary at sites located even on gentle hill slopes.     

A statistical methodology for the evaluation of long-range dispersion models: an application to the ETEX exercise

This paper describes the statistical methodology applied to evaluate the performance of the long-range dispersion models that were used in the modelling activities of ETEX (European Tracer EXperiment). The availability of a large number of models makes this exercise rather unique. These models are used for the practical purpose to quantify the contamination effects over a vast area, following a hypothetical accidental release of harmful material. This makes the quality judgement that could be attributed to the results of each model particularly important.The statistical indicators considered to be the most effective for the evaluation of long-range dispersion models are introduced and commented, with specific examples in the frame of ETEX simulations. The importance of using several indices and critically interpreting the results is discussed.     

Uran in Wässern

The study presents 172 measurements of the uranium²³⁸U and²³⁴U isotopes in ground water and 21 measurements of these substances in the rivers of Eastern Germany. The uranium concentration in the ground water ranged from under 0.1 mBq/l to over 1000 mBg/l with a mean of 12 mBq/l. The respective activity relationships of²³⁴U/²³⁸U ranged from 0.85 to 12.6 with a mean of 1.66. A comparison of these values with those in the literature demonstrates an agreement with more recent measurements obtained from water in Thuringia and Saxony which were seen to have a mean value of 19 mBq/l. The activity relationships of²³⁴U/²³⁸U which were seen to be substantially over the equilibrial value of 1.0 and which were found in a quite high proportion of the samples must be taken into consideration when evaluating these. The measurements of river water demonstrated values for the Elbe river which are related to the periods of extensive uranium mining in Saxony and Thuringia. Measurements performed in the catchment regions going into the Baltic Sea revealed substantially higher values than would be expected from the distribution of uranium in these areas. A number of reasons are discussed here in an attempt to explain these findings.     

Uptake and metabolism of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in higher plants

The fate of the explosive 2,4,6-TNT in plants is of major interest. Therefore, a method was developed to analyse TNT and derivatives in plant tissue. The method was utilized to investigate the uptake and metabolism of TNT inMedicago sativa andAllium schoenoprasum grown in hydroponic cultures containing TNT levels of 0.1 to 10 mg/1. Detectable concentrations of nitrotoluenes were significantly higher inAllium schoenoprasum than inMedicago sativa. The uptake of TNT in plants was directly related to the initial TNT level. The principal nitroaromatic components in roots and shoots of both plant species were identified as 4-ADNT and 2-ADNT in equal amounts, with substantially less TNT.     

Integral assessment of estrogenic potentials in sediment-associated samples

Background, aim, and scope  The enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) detects estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects at the molecular level of receptor binding and is a useful tool for the integrative assessment of ecotoxicological potentials caused by hormonally active agents (HAA) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). The main advantage of the ELRA is its high sample throughput and its robustness against cytotoxicity and microbial contamination. After a methodological adaptation to salinity of the ELRA, according to the first part of this study, which increased its salinity tolerance and sensitivity for 17-β-estradiol, the optimised ELRA was used to investigate 13 native sediments characterised by different levels of salinity and chemical contamination. The applicability of the ELRA for routine analysis in environmental assessment was evaluated. Salinity is often a critical factor for bioassays in ecotoxicological sediment assessment. Therefore, salinity of the samples was additionally adjusted to different levels to characterise its influence on elution and binding processes of receptor-binding substances. Materials and methods  The ELRA was carried out with the human estrogen receptor α (ER) in a 96-well microplate format using the experimental setup known from the competitive immunoassay based on ligand–protein interaction. It is an important improvement that a physiologically relevant receptor was used as a linking protein instead of an antibody. The microplates were coated with a 17-β-estradiol-BSA conjugate, and dilution series of estradiol and of native sediment samples were added and incubated with the ER. After a washing step, a biotinylated mouse anti-ER antibody was added to each well. Receptor binding to estradiol, agonistic and antagonistic receptor binding, were determined by a streptavidin-POD-biotin complex with subsequent measurement of the peroxidase activity at the wavelength of 450 nm using a commercial ELISA multiplate reader. The sediment elutriates and pore water samples of sediments were tested in a dilution series to evaluate at which dilution step the receptor-binding potential ends. In the elution process (see Section 2.1 to 2.2), a method was developed to adjust the salinity to the levels of the reference testings, which offers an appropriate option to adjust the salinity in both directions. Statistical evaluation was made with a combination of the Mann–Whitney U test and the pT-method. Results  This part of the study characterised the environmental factor ‘salinity’ for prospective applications of the ELRA. Using reference substances such as 17-β-estradiol, the ELRA showed sigmoid concentration-effect relations over a broad range from 0.05 μg/l to 100 μg/l under physiological conditions. After methodological optimisation, both sensitivity and tolerance of the assay against salinity could be significantly raised, and the ELRA became applicable under salinity conditions up to concentrations of 20.5‰. The mean relative inter-test error (n = 3) was around 11% with reference substances and below 5% for single sediments elutriates in three replicates each. For sediment testings, the pore water and different salinity-adjusted elutriates of 13 sediments were used. A clear differentiation of the receptor-binding potential could be reached by application of the pT-method. Thereby, pT-values from one to six could be assigned to the sediments, and the deviation caused by the different salinity conditions was one pT-value. The mean standard deviation in the salinity adaptation procedure of the elutriates was below 5%. Discussion  Although the ELRA has already been used for assessments of wastewater, sludge and soil, its applicability for samples to different salinity levels has not been investigated so far. Even if the ELRA is not as sensitive as the E-screen or the YES-assay, with regard to reference substances like 17-β-estradiol, it is a very useful tool for pre-screening, because it is able to integrate both estrogenic as well as anti-estrogenic receptor-binding effects. According to the results of sediment testing, and given the integrative power to detect different directions of effects, the ELRA shows sufficient sensitivity and salinity tolerance to discriminate receptor-binding potentials in environmental samples. Conclusions  The optimised ELRA assay is a fast, cost-effective, reliable and highly reproducible tool that can be used for high-throughput screening in a microplate format in detecting both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects. Additionally, the ELRA is robust against microbial contaminations, and is not susceptible towards cytotoxic interferences like the common cell-culture methods. The general applicability and sufficient sensitivity of the ELRA was shown in freshwater environments. Marine and brackish samples can be measured up to salinity levels of 20.5‰. Recommendations and perspectives  In view of the proven sensitivity, functionality and the fastness of the ELRA, it is recommendable to standardise the test method. At the moment, no adequate in vitro test procedure exists which is standardised to DIN or ISO levels. The E-screen and the yeast estrogen/androgen screens (YES/YAS) sometimes underlie strong cytotoxic effects, as reported in the first part of this study. Further development of an ELRA assay using human androgen receptors appears to be very promising to gain information about androgenic and anti-androgenic effects, too. This would offer a possibility to use the ELRA as a fast and reliable pre-screening tool for the detection of endocrine potentials, thus minimising time and cost-expensive animal experiments.     

Ökotoxikologie am Beispiel der Rheinverschmutzung durch den Chemie-Unf all bei Sandoz in Basel

A fire at a chemical manufacturing plant at Schweizerhalle (near Basel) in November 1986 and the subsequent release of toxic agrochemicals into the Rhine river is taken as a basis to discuss some problems and needs in ecotoxicological research. Especially serious is the lack of knowledge about chronic effects of mixtures of chemicals to individuals and whole ecosystems. There is an urgent need for generally applicable principles and concepts. A discussion of the relationship between toxic effects to fish, exposure time, and concentration provides some hints about the direction towards which research should proceed. Finally, eight theses pertaining to ecotoxicology summarize what can be learned from the analysis of a chemical spill.