Ecological network analyses and their use for establishing reference domain in functional assessment of an estuary

We developed a framework to use ecological network analysis for functional assessment of large aquatic ecosystems in the context of ecosystem-based management. We established a reference domain for the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, USA, from changes over time. Four reference network models of the trophic structure of the estuary during early and late summers of 1997 and 1998 were constructed and analyzed. The estuary has experienced various symptoms of eutrophication during the past 20 years, including summer-time hypoxia and fish kills. The networks were used to quantify indices of nominal trophic dynamics and their variation. The ratio of biomass of nekton to that of macrobenthos, derived from network construction, was used to index severity of eutrophication and to promote accessibility of ecological network analysis to environmental management. The ratio increased from early to late summer, and network metrics demonstrated a variety of responses in association with that change. Some variables from network analysis, especially related to consumers, reflected some but not all of this change. Others reflected the most severe increase in the ratio in late summer 1997 when hypoxia was most extensive. We evaluated uncertainty and the modulating effects of hierarchy by comparing variation of input biomasses with integrative response variables. Relative variation in input variables was generally greater than that of the integrative response variables as predicted by hierarchy theory. Ecological network analysis has previously served as support for ecosystem-based management of large aquatic systems with some success. However, its use can be enhanced by making it more accessible to environmental managers and policy makers. Ways to do this include promoting simple metrics from network construction and explicitly associating network analysis to concepts familiar to the management community, such as functional assessment and reference.     

Performance level and efficiency of two differing predator-avoidance strategies depend on nutritional state of the prey fish

Animal prey has developed a variety of behavioural strategies to avoid predation. Many fish species form shoals in the open water or seek refuge in structurally complex habitats. Since anti-predator strategies bear costs and are energy-demanding, we hypothesised that the nutritional state of prey should modify the performance level and efficiency of such strategies. In aquaria either containing or lacking a structured refuge habitat, well-fed or food-deprived juvenile roach (Rutilus rutilus) were exposed to an open-water predator (pikeperch, Sander lucioperca). Controls were run without predators. In the presence of the predator, roach enhanced the performance of the anti-predator strategy and increased the use of the refuge habitat whereby food-deprived roach were encountered more often in the structure than well-fed roach. Nonetheless more starved than well-fed roach were fed upon by the predator. In the treatments offering only open-water areas, roach always formed dense shoals in the presence of the predator. The shoal density, however, was lower in starved roach. Starving fish in shoals experienced the highest predation mortality across all experimental treatments. The experiment confirmed the plasticity of the anti-predator behaviour in roach and demonstrated that food deprivation diminished the efficiency of shoaling more strongly than the efficiency of hiding. The findings may be relevant to spatial distribution of prey and predator–prey interactions under natural conditions because when prey are confronted with phases of reduced resource availability, flexible anti-predator strategies may lead to dynamic habitat use patterns.     

Vegetation dynamics on the Łeba Bar/Poland: a comparison of the vegetation in 1932 and 2006 with special regard to endangered habitats

Coastal dune ecosystems are among the most dynamic habitats with high conservation value in Europe but are also under strong anthropogenic pressure regarding coastal protection and recreation. Hence, it is of high importance to know about long-term natural and anthropogenic changes and development of protected dune habitats for nature conservation, as well as for coastal management. This paper aims to identify the vegetation dynamics on the Łeba Bar/Poland over a period of 74 years by cartometric comparison using modern Geographical Information System (GIS). To quantify the rate of vegetation dynamics two aerial photographs dating from 1932 and 2006 were digitalized and analyzed with GIS to produce digital vegetation maps. Information about decrease, increase and stability of vegetation types of this area are discussed. The results show that there has been a clear reduction in the total area of bare sand and a considerable increase of woodlands and dense grass communities. Nevertheless, the remaining extensive drift sand areas and deflation hollows on the Łeba Bar offer one of the most important habitats for pioneer vegetation on bare sand of migrating dunes and dunes at the Southern Baltic coast. The present work proved the need to observe the future development of the vegetation communities and to implement management measures to maintain the dynamic of this unique dune landscape.     

Determination of total organic halogen (TOX) in humic acids after microwave-induced combustion

Chemically chlorinated organic matter as well as natural background humic acids contain significant amounts of organically bound halogens that must be determined for assessment of environmental pollution. In this work the use of ion chromatography (IC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is proposed for the determination of total organic Cl, Br and I concentration in humic acids extracted from various forest soil horizons after a single digestion by microwave-induced combustion (MIC). Samples were pressed as pellets and combusted using 20 bar of oxygen and ammonium nitrate solution as igniter. Analytes were absorbed in diluted alkaline solution (50 mM (NH₄)₂CO₃) and a reflux step was applied after combustion to improve analyte recoveries (5 min, microwave power of 1400 W). The accuracy was evaluated using certified reference materials (CRM) and spiked samples. Using MIC the agreement with CRM values and spike recoveries was higher than 97% for all analytes. As an advantage over conventional procedures, using MIC it was possible to digest up to eight samples in only 25 min, obtaining a single solution suitable for all halogens determination in humic acids samples by different techniques (IC and ICP-MS). The limit of detection (3σ) for Cl, Br and I obtained by IC was 1.2, 2.5 and 4.3 μg g⁻¹ and by ICP-MS it was 1.4, 0.03 and 0.002 μg g⁻¹, respectively.     

Analysis of currently available data for characterising the risk of engineered nanomaterials to the environment and human health--lessons learned from four case studies

Production volumes and the use of engineered nanomaterials in many innovative products are continuously increasing, however little is known about their potential risk for the environment and human health. We have reviewed publicly available hazard and exposure data for both, the environment and human health and attempted to carry out a basic risk assessment appraisal for four types of nanomaterials: fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, metals, and metal oxides (ENRHES project 2009(1)). This paper presents a summary of the results of the basic environmental and human health risk assessments of these case studies, highlighting the cross cutting issues and conclusions about fate and behaviour, exposure, hazard and methodological considerations. The risk assessment methodology being the basis for our case studies was that of a regulatory risk assessment under REACH (ECHA, 2008(2)), with modifications to adapt to the limited available data. If possible, environmental no-effect concentrations and human no-effect levels were established from relevant studies by applying assessment factors in line with the REACH guidance and compared to available exposure data to discuss possible risks. When the data did not allow a quantitative assessment, the risk was assessed qualitatively, e.g. for the environment by evaluating the information in the literature to describe the potential to enter the environment and to reach the potential ecological targets. Results indicate that the main risk for the environment is expected from metals and metal oxides, especially for algae and Daphnia, due to exposure to both, particles and ions. The main risks for human health may arise from chronic occupational inhalation exposure, especially during the activities of high particle release and uncontrolled exposure. The information on consumer and environmental exposure of humans is too scarce to attempt a quantitative risk characterisation. It is recognised that the currently available database for both, hazard and exposure is limited and there are high uncertainties in any conclusion on a possible risk. The results should therefore not be used for any regulatory decision making. Likewise, it is recognised that the REACH guidance was developed without considering the specific behaviour and the mode of action of nanomaterials and further work in the generation of data but also in the development of methodologies is required.     

A first evaluation of the usefulness of feathers of nestling predatory birds for non-destructive biomonitoring of persistent organic pollutants

In previous studies, feathers of adult predatory birds have been evaluated as valid non-destructive biomonitor matrices for persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In this study, we assessed for the first time the usefulness of nestling raptor feathers for non-destructive biomonitoring of POPs. For this purpose, we collected body feathers and blood of nestlings from three avian top predators from northern Norway: northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). We were able to detect a broad spectrum of legacy POPs in the nestling feathers of all three species (Σ PCBs: 6.78-140ng g(-1); DDE: 3.15-145ng g(-1); Σ PBDEs: 0.538-7.56ng g(-1)). However, these concentrations were lower compared to other studies on raptor species, probably due to the aspect of monitoring of nestlings instead of adults. Besides their analytical suitability, nestling feathers also appear to be biologically informative: concentrations of most POPs in nestling feathers showed strong and significant correlations with blood plasma concentrations in all species (p<0.050; 0.775相似文献   

Characterization of the effluent from a nanosilver producing washing machine

The increasing number of nanomaterial based consumer products raises concerns about their possible impact on the environment. This study provides an assessment of the effluent from a commercially available silver nanowashing machine. The washing machine released silver in its effluent at an average concentration of 11μgL(-1), as determined by inductive coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was confirmed by single particle ICP-MS as well as ion selective electrode measurements and filtration techniques. Size measurements showed particles to be in the defined nanosize range, with an average size of 10nm measured with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and 60-100nm determined with nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). The effluent was shown to have negative effects on a natural bacterial community as its abundance was clearly reduced when exposed to the nanowash water. If washing machines capable of producing AgNPs become a common feature of households in the future, wastewater will contain significant loadings of AgNPs which might be released into the environment.     

Quantification of carbamazepine and atrazine and screening of suspect organic contaminants in surface and drinking waters

A new approach for the identification of suspect trace organic contaminants in drinking and surface waters is presented. Samples were initially analyzed using a target determination method for two contamination tracers, carbamazepine (CBZ) and atrazine (ATZ). This method used offline solid-phase extraction and online solid-phase extraction techniques coupled to liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry to accelerate the sample preparation process and improve method performance. CBZ and ATZ were found respectively in 31% and 56% of the samples, and concentrations were usually <20 ng L⁻¹. These samples were re-analyzed with a similar method on a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer to identify suspect contaminants by means of exact mass measurements and isotope patterns. A database of 264 common organic contaminants was built and used in conjunction with a Molecular Feature algorithm to identify the presence of these substances in drinking and surface water collected from different sources at various locations across Canada. Several organic contaminants were identified in the samples, but only the presence of caffeine, desethylatrazine, simazine and venlafaxine could be verified by comparison to pure standards. The presence of desethylatrazine was also confirmed by MS/MS experiments. These results suggest that target analysis for tracers of organic contamination may be a helpful tool to prioritize samples which should be further screened for suspect contaminants. This study also shows that the combination of separation techniques (offline and online SPE, LC) contribute to advance the applicability of high-resolution mass spectrometry for the identification of trace organic contaminants by accelerating the preparation step, reducing complexity and increasing analyte concentrations for optimal detection.     

The development and achievements of EU waste policy

While waste amounts are still growing in the EU, there is a clear shift in the waste management options employed to deal with waste. Less waste is landfilled and more is recycled or incinerated with energy recovery. In all, 62% of municipal waste was landfilled in 1995, but that figure had fallen to 40% by 2008. Waste management has a strong influence on the environment by either provoking or preventing impacts; for example, greenhouse gas emissions vary significantly between treatment options. The overall CO2-equivalent impacts from municipal waste management have in the same period been more than halved. The drivers for this change in waste management have been EU and national policies and legislation that have set up clear targets for recycling and recovery of waste. This article gives an overview of the set targets, the achieved results, and the consequences for greenhouse gas emissions of municipal waste management.     

Secretion profiles of fungi as potential tools for metal ecotoxicity assessment: a study of enzymatic system in Trametes versicolor

The relationship between the expression of extracellular enzymatic system and a metal stress is scarce in fungi, hence limiting the possible use of secretion profiles as tools for metal ecotoxicity assessment. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd, tested alone or in equimolar cocktail, on the secretion profiles at enzymatic and protein levels in Trametesversicolor. For that purpose, extracellular hydrolases (acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase, β-galactosidase and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase) and ligninolytic oxidases (laccase, Mn-peroxidase) were monitored in liquid cultures. Fungal secretome was analyzed by electrophoresis and laccase secretion was characterized by western-blot and mass spectrometry analyses. Our results showed that all hydrolase activities were inhibited by the metals tested alone or in cocktail, whereas oxidase activities were specifically stimulated by Cu, Cd and metal cocktail. At protein level, metal exposure modified the electrophoretic profiles of fungal secretome and affected the diversity of secreted proteins. Two laccase isoenzymes, LacA and LacB, identified by mass spectrometry were differentially glycosylated according to the metal exposure. The amount of secreted LacA and LacB was strongly correlated with the stimulation of laccase activity by Cu, Cd and metal cocktail. These modifications of extracellular enzymatic system suggest that fungal oxidases could be used as biomarkers of metal exposure.