Does temporal and spatial segregation explain the complex population structure of humpback whales on the coast of West Africa?

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean (International Whaling Commission ‘Breeding Stock B’—BSB) are distributed from the Gulf of Guinea to Western South Africa. Genetic data suggest that this stock may be sub-structured, but it remains unknown if this is due to reproductive segregation. This paper evaluates the spatial and temporal population structure of BSB humpback whales using a combination of maternally and bi-parentally inherited markers. The genetic differentiation that we identify in this study could be due to a combination of (1) spatial and/or temporal segregation on breeding grounds in the greater Gulf of Guinea, (2) the possibility of maternally inherited site fidelity to specific feeding grounds and (3) the use of two generalized but exclusive migratory routes (coastal and offshore) between feeding and breeding areas. Further, photo-identification and genetic sampling efforts in other areas of the Sub-Saharan Western Africa winter range and targeted deployment of satellite tags would help to clarify some of the apparent complexity in the population structure of animals biopsied in this region.     

Dust from Zambian smelters: mineralogy and contaminant bioaccessibility

Metal smelting is often responsible for local contamination of environmental compartments. Dust materials escaping from the smelting facilities not only settle in the soil, but can also have direct effects on populations living close to these operations (by ingestion or inhalation). In this particular study, we investigate dusts from Cu–Co metal smelters in the Zambian Copperbelt, using a combination of mineralogical techniques (XRD, SEM/EDS, and TEM/EDS), in order to understand the solid speciation of the contaminants, as well as their bioaccessibility using in vitro tests in simulated gastric and lung fluids to assess the exposure risk for humans. The leaching of metals was mainly dependent on the contaminant mineralogy. Based on our results, a potential risk can be recognized, particularly from ingestion of the dust, with bioaccessible fractions ranging from 21 to 89 % of the total contaminant concentrations. In contrast, relatively low bioaccessible fractions were observed for simulated lung fluid extracts, with values ranging from 0.01 % (Pb) up to 16.5 % (Co) of total contaminant concentrations. Daily intakes via oral exposure, calculated for an adult (70 kg, ingestion rate 50 mg dust per day), slightly exceeded the tolerable daily intake limits for Co (1.66× for fly ash and 1.19× for slag dust) and occasionally also for Pb (1.49×, fly ash) and As (1.64×, electrostatic precipitator dust). Cobalt has been suggested as the most important pollutant, and the direct pathways of the population’s exposures to dust particles in the industrial parts of the Zambian Copperbelt should be further studied in interdisciplinary investigations.     

Platinum in PM2.5 of the metropolitan area of Mexico City

The increase in platinum (Pt) in the airborne particulate matter with size ≤2.5 µm (PM_2.5) in urban environments may be interpreted as result of the abrasion and deterioration of automobile catalyst. Nowadays, about four million vehicles in Mexico City use catalytic converters, which means that their impact should be considered. In order to evaluate the contribution of Pt to environmental pollution of the metropolitan area of Mexico City (MAMC), airborne PM_2.5 was collected at five different sites in the urban area (NW, NE, C, SW, SE) in 2011 during April (dry-warm season), August (rainy season) and December (dry-cold season). Analytical determinations were carried out using a ICP-MS with a collision cell and kinetic energy discrimination. The analytical and instrument performance was evaluated with standard road dust reference material (BCR-723). Median Pt concentration in the analyzed particulate was is 38.4 pg m^?3 (minimal value 1 pg m^?3 maximal value 79 pg m^?3). Obtained Pt concentrations are higher than those reported for other urban areas. Spatial variation shows that SW had Pt concentration significantly higher than NW and C only. Seasonal variation shows that Pt median was higher in rainy season than in both dry seasons. A comparison of these results with previously reported data of PM₁₀ from 1991 and 2003 in the same studied area shows a worrying increase in the concentration of Pt in the air environment of MAMC.     

Marble wastes and pig slurry improve the environmental and plant-relevant properties of mine tailings

Poor soil fertility is often the biggest challenge to the establishment of vegetation in mine wastes deposits. We conducted field trials in the El Gorguel and El Lirio sites in SE Spain, two representative tailing ponds of similar properties except for pH, to understand the environmental and plant-relevant benefits of marble waste (MW) and pig slurry (PS) applications to mine tailings. Low pH (5.4) tailings (El Lirio) exhibit reduction of up to fourfold in bio-availability of metals as shown by the DTPA-Zn, Pb, water-soluble Zn, Pb and up to 3× for water-soluble Cd. Tailings in El Gorguel have high pH (7.4) and did not exhibit significant trends in the reductions of water-extractable Zn, Pb, Cd and Cu. Improvements to the edaphic (plant-relevant) properties of tailings after the amendments are not as sensitive to pH compared to the environmental characteristics. The two sites had increases in aggregate stability, organic matter (total N and organic C) although total N is higher in the El Gorguel (up to 212 μg N kg^?1) than the El Lirio (up to 26 μg N kg^?1). However, cation exchange capacities are similar in both sites at 15.2 cmol(+) kg^?1. We conclude that the characteristics, especially pH, of tailing materials significantly influence the fate of metals but not improvements to plant-relevant properties such as cation exchange capacity and aggregate stability 1 year after the application of MW and PS amendments.     

Identification and assessment of water pollution as a consequence of a leachate plume migration from a municipal landfill site (Tucumán,Argentina)

Landfills constitute potential sources of different pollutants that could generate human health and environmental problems. While some landfills currently work under the protection of a bottom liner with leachate collection, it was demonstrated that migration could take place even yet with these cautions. The purpose of this paper is to assess the pollution caused by a leachate plume from a municipal landfill that is affecting both groundwater and surface waters. The research was carried out at Pacará Pintado landfill in northwestern Argentina. Analysis of water samples indicates that leachate is affecting groundwater under the landfill area and an abandoned river channel hydraulically connected. In the center of the landfill area, the plume is anoxic and sulfate, nitrate, iron and manganese reduction zones were identified. Leachate plume presented high concentration of organic matter, Fe, Mn, NH₄ ⁺, Cl^? and Cr reaching an extension of 900 m. The presence of a leachate plume in a landfill site with a single liner system implies that the use of this groundwater pollution control method alone is not enough especially if permeable sediments are present below.     

Distribution and sources of phthalate esters in the topsoils of Beijing,China

Phthalate esters in the topsoil samples collected from Beijing were determined by derivatization and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry techniques. The results showed that diethyl phthalate (DEP), diisobutyl phthalate ester (DIBP), dibutyl phthalate ester (DBP), dibutyl (2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and dimethyl phthalate (DMP) were found in the topsoils. The total concentrations of the five phthalate esters varied from 2.30 to 24.71 μg g^?1. According to phthalate esters (PAEs) control standards in soil of the USA, the standard exceeding rates of DMP, DBP, and DEHP were 100 %, 100 %, and 4.84 % in soils of Beijing, respectively. The rate of DBP exceeding soil remediation standard was 12.9 %. Overall, concentrations of PAEs in Beijing were at a high level in China. The concentrations of DBP, DEHP, and DIBP were high, and the total concentrations of all the phthalate esters were higher in the areas with intensive human activities than in the other areas, which may be related to the use of phthalate compounds (such as the use of plastic products). The total and individual concentrations of phthalate compounds were relatively low in the areas that used plastic films compared with other samples due to the diffusion of atmospheric motion, categories, and amounts of plastic products and other factors. The greatest contributor may be the usage amount of plastic products in people’s daily lives.     

Spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox processes for modelling wildfire occurrence: the case of Catalonia, 1994–2008

Wildfires have become one of the principal environmental problems in the Mediterranean basin. While fire plays an important role in most terrestrial plant ecosystems, the potential hazard that it represents for human lives and property has led to the application of fire exclusion policies that, in the long term, have caused severe damage, mainly due to the increase of fuel loadings in forested areas, in some forest systems. The lack of an easy solution to forest fire management highlights the importance of preventive tasks. The observed spatio-temporal pattern of wildfire occurrences may be idealized as a realization of some stochastic process. In particular, we may use a space–time point pattern approach for the analysis and inference process. We studied wildfires in Catalonia, a region in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula, and we analyzed the spatio-temporal patterns produced by those wildfire incidences by considering the influence of covariates on trends in the intensity of wildfire locations. A total of 3,166 wildfires from 1994–2008 have been recorded. We specified spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox process models. Models were estimated using Bayesian inference for Gaussian Markov Random Field through the integrated nested Laplace approximation algorithm. The results of our analysis have provided statistical evidence that areas closer to humans have more human induced wildfires, areas farther have more naturally occurring wildfires. We believe the methods presented in this paper may contribute to the prevention and management of those wildfires which are not random in space or time.     

纳米水稳型C60（nC60）促进Zn2+和Cr6+ 在大型溞体内的吸收、抗氧化性和急性毒性

富勒烯(C60)作为一种被广泛使用的纳米工程材料,其环境行为和所造成的毒效应越来越引起人们的关注,特别是其与重金属的联合毒性.文章选取模式生物大型溞研究纳米水稳型富勒烯(nC60)与Zn+和Cr6+的联合毒性.按EPA 2024急性毒性试验结果,nC60对大型溞48 h-LC50为0.47 mg·L-1,最大无观察效应浓度(NOEC)为0.10 mg·L-1.NOEC浓度选定为nC60亚急性试验浓度,用于联合毒性试验.nC60增强了Zn2+和Cr6+对大型溞的毒性,Zn2和Cr6+对大型溞48 h-LC50分别由2.33mg·L-1和0.40mg·L-1降低为1.52 mg·L-1和033 mg·L-1;nC60增加了大型溞对Zn2+和Cr6+的摄入,暴露1440 min后体内Zn2+和Cr6+累积量分别由6.52 μg·g-1湿重和1.52 μg·g-1湿重增加到9.98 μg ·g-1湿重和3.01 μg·g-1湿重;nC60和Zn2+和Cr6+联合作用于大型潘后,大型溞SOD酶活性均呈现出增强的诱导现象,联合作用时诱导作用强于两种物质单独作用.此研究表明:在亚急性浓度下,nC60增强了Zn2+和Cr6+对大型溞的毒性,提高了大型潘体内Zn2+和Cr6+的积累,并提高大型溞体内自由基活性.     

微囊藻毒素在太湖白鲢体内的累积规律及其影响因素

太湖蓝藻水华及其次级代谢产物微囊藻毒素(MCs)的生物累积对生态系统和人体健康造成严重威胁,已成为最近环境科学研究的热点。本研究从太湖的不同区域(梅梁湖、西部沿岸区、南部沿岸区和湖心区)采集不同体重和体长的白鲢,利用固相萃取方法提取、高效液相色谱-质谱联用仪测定了白鲢不同器官中MCs的3种异构体MC-RR、MC-YR及MC-LR的含量,结合不同湖区的相关水质指标分析了MCs在白鲢体内的累积规律及其影响因素。研究结果表明:白鲢不同器官MCs的含量由高到低为:肠壁肾脏肝脏肌肉心脏,且肠壁累积的MCs显著高于肾脏、肝脏、肌肉和心脏。MC-RR含量是白鲢各器官累积MCs的异构体的主体,约占MCs的60%。梅梁湖鲢鱼的肌肉、肾脏和心脏中MCs均高于西部沿岸区、南部沿岸区和湖心区。生物指标(体重和体长)是影响白鲢肾脏内MCs和MC-RR含量以及肠壁内MCs含量重要因素。太湖水质指标总磷(TP)、藻细胞数量、湖泊营养指数及环节动物数量尤其是TP对白鲢肝脏累积MCs产生明显影响,TP、总氮(TN)、铵态氮(NH4-N)、内梅罗指数和环节动物数量尤其是NH4-N对肠壁累积MCs产生明显影响。     

Removal of 17β-estradiol in laccase catalyzed treatment processes

The removal of 17β-estradiol （E2） in laccase catalyzed oxidative coupling processes was systematically studied in this work. We focused on the influence of pH and natural organic matter （NOM） on the performance of the enzymatic treatment processes. It was found that the optimal pH for E2 removal was between 4 and 6. The removal of E2 was slightly inhibited in the presence of NOM. Enzymatic transformation of E2 was second-order in kinetics with first-order to both the concentrations of the enzyme and contaminant. Mass spectrum （MS） analysis suggested that coupling products were formed through radical-radical coupling mechanism. The results of this study demonstrated that laccase catalyzed oxidative coupling process could potentially serve as a treatment strategy to control steroid estrogens.