Common buzzards (Buteo buteo) bio-indicators of heavy metals pollution in Sicily (Italy)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of toxic (As, Cd and Pb) and essential (Cu, Mn and Zn) metals in samples (feathers, liver, kidney, lung, intestine and muscle) of common buzzards (Buteo buteo) from Sicily, used as bio-indicators for monitoring environmental metals pollution. All samples of buzzards were collected at the “Recovery Center of Wild Fauna” of Palermo, through the Zooprophilactic Institute. The quantitative determinations of metals were carried out using an atomic absorbtion spectrophotometer (AAS). The results obtained showed the presence of metals in all samples analyzed. For toxic metals the highest levels of Pb and As were found in liver and those of Cd in kidney; for essential metals Zn levels were higher than Cu and Mn in all tissues analyzed. Significant differences are observed in metal levels between female and male and juvenile and adult bird samples.Highest metal levels found in liver, kidney and muscle can be considered indicative of chronic exposure to metals while the presence of metals in feathers can be consequential to storing and elimination processes. The results obtained suggest that common buzzards (Buteo buteo) may be very useful as bio-indicators for monitoring environmental pollution.     

Understanding the fate and transport of petroleum hydrocarbons from coal tar within gasholders

Coal tars have been identified as posing a threat to human health due to their toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic characteristics. Workers involved in former gasholders decommissioning are potentially exposed to relevant concentrations of volatile and semi-volatile hydrocarbons upon opening up derelict tanks and during tar excavation/removal. While information on contaminated sites air-quality and its implications on medium-long term exposure is available, acute exposure issues associated with the execution of critical tasks are less understood. Calculations indicated that the concentration of a given contaminant in the gasholder vapour phase only depends on the coal tar composition, being only barely affected by the presence of water in the gasholder and the tar volume/void space ratio. Fugacity modelling suggested that risk-critical compounds such as benzene, naphthalene and other monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may gather in the gasholder air phase at significant concentrations. Gasholder emissions were measured on-site and compared with the workplace exposure limits (WELs) currently in use in UK. While levels for most of the toxic compounds were far lower than WELs, benzene air-concentrations where found to be above the accepted threshold. In addition due to the long exposure periods involved in gasholder decommissioning and the significant contribution given by naphthalene to the total coal tar vapour concentration, the adoption of a WEL for naphthalene may need to be considered to support operators in preventing human health risk at the workplace. The Level I fugacity approach used in this study demonstrated its suitability for applications to sealed environments such as gasholders and its further refining could provide a useful tool for land remediation risk assessors.     

Mass balance approach to estimating radionuclide loads and concentrations in edible fish tissues using stable analogues

Humans can consume a number of types of biota tissues, which have varying propensities to accumulate radionuclides. As a result, depending upon the biota species, the radionuclide and the tissue under consideration, it may be necessary to estimate the percent radionuclide load in specific edible tissues, and in cases where whole organisms are consumed, to estimate the radionuclide load in the whole body of an organism, based on data that have been collected for individual tissues. To accomplish this, data were compiled that can be used to estimate the partitioning patterns and percent loads of various groups of elements in edible tissues of freshwater fishes. General trends in partitioning, such as those provided in this paper, can be used to predict radionuclide transfer to humans and the corresponding potential radiological dose to humans via dietary pathways, in this case following the consumption of fish.     

A review and test of predictive models for the bioaccumulation of radiostrontium in fish

Empirical relations between the ⁹⁰Sr concentration factor (CF) and the calcium concentration in freshwater aquatic systems have previously been determined in studies based on data obtained prior to the Chernobyl accident. The purpose of the present research is to review and compare these models, and to test them against a database of post-Chernobyl measurements from rivers and lakes in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Finland. It was found that two independently developed models, based on pre-Chernobyl empirical data, are in close agreement with each other, and with empirical data. Testing of both models against new data obtained after the Chernobyl accident confirms the models’ predictive ability. An investigation of the influence of fish size on ⁹⁰Sr accumulation showed no significant relationship, though the data set was somewhat limited.     

Ecological plasticity of nest-building behavior of the redwing (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Turdus iliacus</Emphasis> L.) in Karelia according to individual marking data

The placement of 1918 redwing nests has been analyzed, including 214 nests of 90 marked females (2–8 known nests per female). A high level of intraspecific and individual variation in utilization of different types of nest supports is described. It is shown that redwings choose nest sites without regard to previous experience (either positive or negative) or to the placement of their parent nest. Under conditions of the northern taiga, such behavior provides for significant reduction of chick mortality by the end of the season. This is con- firmed by comparison with the song thrush (T. philomelos), which nests mainly on spruce trees.     

On causes of gigantism in herbaceous plants

Landscape-geochemical features providing for manifestation of gigantism in herbaceous plants have been revealed in natural habitats in the south of Sakhalin and Kunashir islands. Tall herb assemblages have proved to be associated with geochemical landscapes characterized by reducing (gley or hydrogen sulfide) conditions and increased contents of petroleum hydrocarbons and some trace elements (total and movable forms). A hypothesis is put forward that gigantism in herbaceous plants is manifested in zones of active faults, which serve as a kind of conduits supplying endogenous heat, matter, and water to the root systems.     

Assessment Tools for Urban Catchments: Defining Observable Biological Potential1

Abstract: Urbanization represents a strong and increasingly more prevalent impact on stream quality worldwide. One of the characteristic effects of increased urbanization is a consistent decline in biological stream condition. The characterization of this biological degradation with increasing urbanization presents a number of advantages for the study and management of urban streams and catchments. In this paper, the limitation of biological condition with urbanization, called observed biological potential, is characterized. Using an urban intensity index and a biological index developed specifically for urban systems in the Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; and San Jose, California regions, two principal techniques were compared (quantile regression and bin regression) to define observed biological potential along urban gradients. Quantile regression was selected as the preferable tool for describing observed biological potential given the consistency with which it can be applied and its statistical efficiency, however, bin quantile regression performed similarly. Having identified a numeric approximation of observed biological potential, two methods for identifying factors related to distance from potential as a way of identifying critical environmental factors affecting biological condition in urban areas were explored. The results of this work can be used for identifying benchmarks for urban stream biological condition, identifying limiting catchment characteristics, and prioritizing urban stream management efforts.     

Adaptive Management of Stream Channel Maintenance at Bridge Crossings in the Northern Tier Region,Pennsylvania1

Abstract: An adaptive management framework is applied to the problem of identifying mitigation measures for sediment deposition near bridge crossings in small streams in the Northern Tier region of northern Pennsylvania. The presence of the rigid bridge infrastructure introduces a challenge for applying adaptive management practices, because the integrity of the bridge structure itself has to be maintained regardless of the mitigation practices used in the stream channel near the bridge. In an effort to overcome the unacceptable risk that field‐scale adaptive management experiments present to rigid bridge infrastructure, an adaptive management approach for laboratory‐scale experimentation of mitigation methods at bridge crossings in the Northern Tier region is presented as a way to decrease the level of uncertainty about channel response to mitigation measures and increase the rate of learning about the effectiveness of these measures. Four cycles of adaptive management experiments are discussed to demonstrate that this approach results in fast and efficient learning about channel response to mitigation methods for the given conditions. The value of monitoring and of assessment of monitored data in the overall efficiency of the adaptive management approach is highlighted. Assessment of what was learned in the adaptive management experiment cycles presented here leads to new directions to continually improve management policies and practices in stream channels at bridge crossings in the Northern Tier region. The adaptive management process, rather than continuing with a normally risk‐averse management approach, results in opportunities for learning new information about a system’s response.