Diclofenac disposition in Indian cow and goat with reference to Gyps vulture population declines

Gyps vultures across India are declining rapidly and the NSAID diclofenac has been shown to be the major cause. Vultures scavenge livestock carcasses that have been treated with diclofenac within the days preceding death. We present data on diclofenac disposition in Indian cow and goat, and field data on the prevalence of diclofenac in carcases in the environment. In the disposition experiment, animals were treated with a single intramuscular injection of diclofenac at 1000 microg kg-1 bw. In cow, diclofenac was detectable in liver, kidney and intestine up to 71 h post-treatment; in plasma, half-life was 12.2 h. In goat, tissue residues were undetectable after 26 h. Prevalence of diclofenac in liver from 36 dead livestock collected in the field was 13.9%. Data suggest that diclofenac residues in Indian cow and goat are short-lived, but diclofenac prevalence in carcasses available to vultures may still be very high.     

An estimate of the contribution of outdoor concrete yards used by livestock to the UK inventories of ammonia, nitrous oxide and methane

Many farms have unroofed concrete yards used by livestock. These concrete yards have received little attention as sources of gaseous emissions. From 1997 to 1999 measurements were made of emissions of ammonia (NH₃), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) from 11 concrete yards used by livestock. A postal survey was carried out to assess the areas of yards on farms in England and Wales to enable the measurements to be scaled up to estimate national emissions. Using the results of this study NH₃-N emissions from farm concrete yards were calculated to be ca. 35×10³ t annually. This is 13% of the current estimated total NH₃-N emission from UK livestock. Concrete yards were an insignificant source of N₂O and CH₄ which were both <0.01% of current estimates of agricultural emissions.     

Managing ammonia emissions from livestock production in Europe

Around 75% of European ammonia (NH(3)) emissions come from livestock production. Emissions occur at all stages of manure management: from buildings housing livestock; during manure storage; following manure application to land; and from urine deposited by livestock on pastures during grazing. Ammoniacal nitrogen (total ammoniacal-nitrogen, TAN) in livestock excreta is the main source of NH(3). At each stage of manure management TAN may be lost, mainly as NH(3), and the remainder passed to the next stage. Hence, measures to reduce NH(3) emissions at the various stages of manure management are interdependent, and the accumulative reduction achieved by combinations of measures is not simply additive. This TAN-flow concept enables rapid and easy estimation of the consequences of NH(3) abatement at one stage of manure management (upstream) on NH(3) emissions at later stages (downstream), and gives unbiased assessment of the most cost-effective measures. We conclude that rapid incorporation of manures into arable land is one of the most cost-effective measures to reduce NH(3) emissions, while covering manure stores and applying slurry by band spreader or injection are more cost-effective than measures to reduce emissions from buildings. These measures are likely to rank highly in most European countries.     

Identification of multixenobiotic defence mechanism (MXR) background activities in the freshwater bivalve Dreissena polymorpha as reference values for its use as biomarker in contaminated ecosystems

The biological defence mechanism called MXR or MXD for multixenobiotic resistance or defence protects cells against the entry and the accumulation of xenobiotics. As the defence is modulated by man made chemicals, MXR is used as a biomarker of organisms' exposure to environmental contamination. However, to reliably assess and evidence MXR induction, the use of a reference level is required. In this context, we focused on MXR background level in a freshwater bivalve, the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha, in order to propose its use as a reference during MXR evaluation. We monitored the MXR transport activity in mussels collected either in a natural population or in a caged population and then transplanted to clean water in the laboratory. The results showed that MXR activity was decreased to its baseline level after an eight to nine day depuration period (13.1+/-3.1; 7+/-2.6; 13.7+/-3.9 pmol RB min(-1)org(-1) after three experiments of laboratory depurations). Moreover, significant MXR induction was measured in depurated zebra mussels exposed to contaminated sites (39.6+/-3.7; 59.2+/-20.3 pmol RB min(-1)org(-1) after two experiments of field exposure), showing that the laboratory depuration did not affect the induction potential. The MXR responses (decrease as well as increase) occurred in few days and were highly significant, highlighting its reactivity in zebra mussels. Finally, this paper confirms the usefulness of MXR as a tool in biomonitoring studies and provides a protocol for field experiments that enables to establish and use the background level of MXR activity as a reference.     

受西班牙阿斯纳科利亚尔黄铁矿有毒污染液影响的土壤和植物中镉和锌浓度

引言 阿斯纳科利亚尔矿处于自西班牙中南部延伸至葡萄牙的黄铜矿丰富地带,劳斯福若斯是该矿的一个新开采地点,位于西班牙南部塞维尔以西45km,于1996年开工.提炼具有极高商业价值的锌(Zn)、铅(Pb)和汞(Hg)等高等级矿石产生了大量的重金属矿泥污水和高酸度废水(pH 2),而这些废水贮存在残渣围坝内,1998年4月25日,一处50m宽的决口使600万m3富含重金属的酸性废水和有毒矿渣泥浆(2:1的比例)泄漏到流经唐娜纳的高迪亚玛河(Gaudiamar).     

Exposure to trace elements of flamingos living in a biosphere reserve, the Camargue (France)

Recent research has shown that some adult flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus collected from the Camargue Biosphere Reserve had tissue metal concentrations considerably higher than the average for this species. As the range of these birds is large, the origin of the contamination was unknown. Blood and feather samples from nestling flamingos were therefore analysed for trace metals to determine the presence and origin of local contamination. A comparison of elemental concentration in the feathers of nestling and adult flamingos revealed higher concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb and Se in adults, and higher concentrations of Zn in juveniles. This was attributed to increased exposure to atmospheric pollutants of adults, and either differences in Zn requirements and metabolism between adults and juveniles, or a local contamination of the juveniles' food supply by Zn. Concentrations of Zn in serum were also very elevated compared with human standards. Cd, Cu, Zn and Se concentrations were analysed in outer (O) and inner (I) barbs (i.e. barbs that are, respectively, exposed or not exposed to external deposits) of greater coverts of nestling flamingos. A comparison of elemental concentrations in these two feather components indicates a local atmospheric contamination by Cd, Cu and Pb.