Threats of illegal,unregulated, and unreported fishing to biodiversity and food security in the Republic of the Congo

Illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing poses a major threat to effective management of marine resources, affecting biodiversity and communities dependent on these coastal resources. Spatiotemporal patterns of industrial fisheries in developing countries are often poorly understood, and global efforts to describe spatial patterns of fishing vessel activity are currently based on automatic identification system (AIS) data. However, AIS is often not a legal requirement on fishing vessels, likely resulting in underestimates of the scale and distribution of legal and illegal fishing activity, which could have significant ramifications for targeted enforcement efforts and the management of fisheries resources. To help address this knowledge gap, we analyzed 3 years of vessel monitoring system (VMS) data in partnership with the national fisheries department in the Republic of the Congo to describe the behavior of national and distant-water industrial fleets operating in these waters. We found that the spatial footprint of the industrial fisheries fleet encompassed over one-quarter of the Exclusive Economic Zone. On average, 73% of fishing activity took place on the continental shelf (waters shallower than 200 m). Our findings highlight that VMS is not acting as a deterrent or being effectively used as a proactive management tool. As much as 33% (13% on average) of fishing effort occurred in prohibited areas set aside to protect biodiversity, including artisanal fisheries resources, and the distant-water fleet responsible for as much as 84% of this illegal activity. Given the growth in industrial and distant-water fleets across the region, as well as low levels of management and enforcement, these findings highlight that there is an urgent need for the global community to help strengthen regional and national capacity to analyze national scale data sets if efforts to combat IUU fishing are to be effective.     

Trace metal concentrations in hairs of three bat species from an urbanized area in Germany

Metal-contaminated soils and sediments are widespread in urbanized areas due to atmospheric deposition close to emission sources. These metals are bio-available for organisms, e.g., insects, and accumulate in food chains of insectivorous mammals. Especially bats, which live in urban regions and ingest large amounts of food relative to their body mass, are at risk of being poisoned due to the accumulation of trace metals. To determine species-specific trace metal contents in bats from urban environments, hair samples were analyzed by ICP-OES. Observed trace metal concentrations were related to species-specific foraging habitat, prey spectrum and degree of synanthropy. The species studied were Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Myotis daubentonii and Nyctalus noctula. P. pipistrellus showed the highest concentrations of lead and zinc and slightly higher concentrations of cadmium than the other two species, which was related to its high degree of synanthropy with foraging habitat mostly located in cities. In contrast, N. noctula displayed the highest contents of manganese and copper. The reason might be found in its prey spectrum, as N. noctula feeds mainly on beetles that are caught in cultured areas. Trace metal concentrations determined in hair samples of M. daubentonii ranged between the values of P. pipistrellus and N. noctula, probably reflecting an intermediate level of synanthropy. Positive correlations were observed between the concentrations of cadmium and lead and those of manganese and copper. Hair samples from bats are suitable monitoring tools to study trace metal exposure and can be used to determine differences in trace metal levels between species.     

Analyses of cyanobacterial toxins (microcystins,cylindrospermopsin) in the reservoirs of the Czech Republic and evaluation of health risks

Massive cyanobacterial water blooms and production of toxins (cyanotoxins) have become a worldwide problem. In this report, we present results of cyanotoxins analyses (peptide microcystins, alkaloid cylindrospermopsin) in the Czech Republic reservoirs using HPLC-PDA and ELISA. Our study suggests the occurrence of cylindrospermopsin in the Czech Republic for the first time (particularly, in water blooms containing Aphanizomenon klebahnii). We also discuss human health risks associated with microcystins in relation to the drinking water guideline value of 1.0 μg/l as recommended by the World Health Organization.     

Spatial-temporal variability of aerosol sources based on chemical composition and particle number size distributions in an urban settlement influenced by metallurgical industry

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The Moravian-Silesian region of the Czech Republic with its capital city Ostrava is a European air pollution hot spot for airborne particulate matter...     

Total mercury in marine species from the French coast of the Eastern English Channel

Mercury (Hg) in fish can present a potential risk to wildlife and human consumers. Mercury levels were determined in 12 fish species and 2 invertebrate species from the French coast of the Eastern English Channel collected in June and November 2012. Total mercury concentrations in the muscle tissues ranged between 0.04 and 1.63 µg g^-1 (d.w.). Dab and sandeel displayed a significant positive correlation between Hg concentrations and fish length. Seasonal differences in Hg concentrations were observed for dab and shrimp. The lesser weever showed significantly higher concentrations of Hg (0.97 ± 0.34 µg g^-1 d. w.) than all other species. Gobies and sprat, which had the smallest size, showed significantly lower concentrations than herring, whiting, pout and sardine. Among the considered species, flatfish such as dab, flounder, plaice and sole displayed intermediate levels of Hg. In the present study, the fish age expressed as specimen length seems to be one of the major factors governing Hg contents in muscle tissues. Finally, mercury concentrations in commercial fish from the Eastern English Channel were below the levels fixed by the European Union for total mercury in edible parts of fish products.     

Using online databases to find journal articles on injury prevention and safety promotion topics: How do SafetyLit subscribers use other databases?

BackgroundA thorough search of the scholarly literature is an important part of any project. Although there are ethical and scientific reasons to justify the effort required to perform an exhaustive search, we hypothesize that many searchers do not use a sufficient number of databases nor do they use the query focusing techniques necessary to perform a comprehensive search.DesignSubscribers (approximately 19,000 people) to the SafetyLit email update, a weekly listing of recently published research on injury prevention and safety promotion, were surveyed to learn about their performance and knowledge of several key search behaviors necessary for conducting an exhaustive literature search.ResultsOver 90% of respondents perform searches of online databases and, although few have had any training in database use, they always or usually perform the search themselves. They reported performing searches using a wide variety of online bibliographic databases but only 10.3% queried two or more databases the last time they searched. Respondents’ assessment of their own knowledge and skills at searching a database had little to do with the amount of training they have received in the use of the database.ConclusionMost users self-limit the information they gather to that from one or two professional disciplines. Conducting a literature search using only one or two familiar sources can lead to a failure to access essential information published by researchers in parallel fields.     

Enantioselective effects of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers on androgen receptor activity in vitro

Alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH), a part of the HCH pesticide mixture, is one of the most widespread persistent organic pollutants. Interestingly, only limited number of studies addressed the toxicity of alpha-HCH and the effects of its individual optical isomers have not been investigated in detail. In the present study we separated two alpha-HCH enantiomers by preparative HPLC and studied their activities towards androgen receptor (AR) using the MDA-kb2 cell line stably transfected with the luciferase reporter gene under the control of AR. There was no direct effect of alpha-HCH on AR but both isomers significantly suppressed the activity of AR in co-exposure with the natural ligand dihydrotestosterone in a concentration-dependent manner. One of the enantiomers appeared to be more active at lower concentration, which was also supported by the molecular modeling calculations with AR that showed a slight difference in estimated free energy of binding and inhibition constant between two enantiomers. Although studies with other pesticides demonstrated strong enantioselective differences in toxicity, the present research shows rather minor differences in modulations of AR by both alpha-HCH enantiomers. For the first time, enantioselective effects of alpha-HCH were demonstrated and the results suggest interaction with multiple regulatory events controlling the AR activity. Full elucidation of the toxicity mechanism will require further research.     

Development of Lymantria dispar affected by manganese in food

We studied the response of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)) to the content of manganese in food in the laboratory breeding of caterpillars. The food of the caterpillars {Betula pendula Roth (Fagales: Betulaceae) leaves} was contaminated by dipping in the solution of MnCl₂·4H₂O with manganese concentrations of 0, 0.5, 5 and 10 mg ml^?1, by which differentiated manganese contents (307; 632; 4,087 and 8,124 mg kg^?1) were reached. Parameters recorded during the rearing were as follows: effect of manganese on food consumption, mortality and length of the development of caterpillars, pupation and hatching of imagoes. At the same time, manganese concentrations were determined in the offered and unconsumed food, excrements, and exuviae of the caterpillars, pupal cases and imagoes by using the AAS method. As compared with the control, high manganese contents in the food of gypsy moth caterpillars affected the process of development particularly by increased mortality of the first instar caterpillars (8 % mortality for caterpillars with no Mn contamination (T0) and 62 % mortality for subjects with the highest contamination by manganese (T3)), by prolonged development of the first–third instar (18.7 days (T0) and 27.8 days (T3)) and by increased food consumption of the first–third instar {0.185 g of leaf dry matter (T0) and 0.483 g of leaf dry matter (T3)}. The main defence strategy of the caterpillars to prevent contamination by the increased manganese content in food is the translocation of manganese into frass and exuviae castoff in the process of ecdysis. In the process of development, the content of manganese was reduced by excretion in imagoes to 0.5 % of the intake level even at its maximum inputs in food.     

Seabird mortality induced by land‐based artificial lights

Artificial lights at night cause high mortality of seabirds, one of the most endangered groups of birds globally. Fledglings of burrow‐nesting seabirds, and to a lesser extent adults, are attracted to and then grounded (i.e., forced to land) by lights when they fly at night. We reviewed the current state of knowledge of seabird attraction to light to identify information gaps and propose measures to address the problem. Although species in families such as Alcidae and Anatidae can be grounded by artificial light, the most affected seabirds are petrels and shearwaters (Procellariiformes). At least 56 species of Procellariiformes, more than one‐third of them (24) threatened, are subject to grounding by lights. Seabirds grounded by lights have been found worldwide, mainly on oceanic islands but also at some continental locations. Petrel breeding grounds confined to formerly uninhabited islands are particularly at risk from light pollution due to tourism and urban sprawl. Where it is impractical to ban external lights, rescue programs of grounded birds offer the most immediate and employed mitigation to reduce the rate of light‐induced mortality and save thousands of birds every year. These programs also provide useful information for seabird management. However, these data are typically fragmentary, biased, and uncertain and can lead to inaccurate impact estimates and poor understanding of the phenomenon of seabird attraction to lights. We believe the most urgently needed actions to mitigate and understand light‐induced mortality of seabirds are estimation of mortality and effects on populations; determination of threshold light levels and safe distances from light sources; documentation of the fate of rescued birds; improvement of rescue campaigns, particularly in terms of increasing recovery rates and level of care; and research on seabird‐friendly lights to reduce attraction.