Contamination levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in wild versus cultivated samples of female and male mussels (Mytilus sp.) from the Northwest Coast of Iberian Peninsula—new application for QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) methodology

A newly analytical method based on QuEChERS extraction followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was developed and validated for the quantification of 18 PCBs in wild (from Matosinhos Beach, Portugal) and cultivated (from Ria de Arousa, Spain) mussel samples, pooled by sex. Wild animals showed higher PCB levels than cultivated mussels, with males from both origins, presenting an upper contamination profile comparing with females. This fact seems to be correlated with few biometric parameters, but other interdependencies, not addressed herein, such as distinct lipid contents between sexes, as a consequence of the gametogenic stage, may also explain this data. Overall, data reiterate the importance of investigating the presence of PCBs in marine biological samples, which can act both as bioindicators of environmental contamination, either as food quality controls for human health.     

Bioaccumulation and elimination of 14C-lindane by Enchytraeus albidus in artificial (OECD) and a natural soil

Bioaccumulation and elimination of 14C-lindane in Enchytraeus albidus was studied in artificial OECD soil and a silty loam from an agricultural field in Central West Portugal. Results showed that enchytraeids were able to bioaccumulate the chemical with a kinetic pattern similar to that of earthworms: fast uptake within a few days and a biphasic elimination pattern. A 10 day period to study uptake was sufficient, but a few more days were probably necessary for elimination. Bioaccumulation was influenced by soil type. The authors suggest that higher organic matter (OM) content and also the higher content on sand particles in the OECD soil may have led to a faster elimination: hydrophobic chemicals tend to adsorb to OM being in this way less bioavailable and therefore less bioaccumulated having bioaccumulation factor value around 6 while in natural soil is 10; the sand could act as abrasive particles (helpers) in the elimination process leading to an elimination of 90% of the chemical in two days while in natural soil 67% was eliminated in the same period of time.     

Forecasting model to assess the potential of secondary lead production from lead acid battery scrap

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Lead acid battery (LAB) scrap management is an important issue both environmentally and economically. The recovery of lead from battery scrap leads to...     

Variation in biogenic volatile organic compound emission pattern of Fagus sylvatica L. due to aphid infection

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been the focus of interest to understand atmospheric processes and their consequences in formation of ozone or aerosol particles; therefore, VOCs contribute to climate change. In this study, biogenic VOCs (BVOCs) emitted from Fagus sylvatica L. trees were measured in a dynamic enclosure system. In total 18 compounds were identified: 11 monoterpenes (MT), an oxygenated MT, a homoterpene (C₁₄H₁₈), 3 sesquiterpenes (SQT), isoprene and methyl salicylate. The frequency distribution of the compounds was tested to determine a relation with the presence of the aphid Phyllaphis fagi L. It was found that linalool, (E)-β-ocimene, α-farnesene and a homoterpene identified as (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), were present in significantly more samples when infection was present on the trees. The observed emission spectrum from F. sylvatica L. shifted from MT to linalool, α-farnesene, (E)-β-ocimene and DMNT due to the aphid infection. Sabinene was quantitatively the most prevalent compound in both, non-infected and infected samples. In the presence of aphids α-farnesene and linalool became the second and third most important BVOC emitted. According to our investigation, the emission fingerprint is expected to be more complex than commonly presumed.     

The progress of interdisciplinarity in invasion science

Interdisciplinarity is needed to gain knowledge of the ecology of invasive species and invaded ecosystems, and of the human dimensions of biological invasions. We combine a quantitative literature review with a qualitative historical narrative to document the progress of interdisciplinarity in invasion science since 1950. Our review shows that 92.4% of interdisciplinary publications (out of 9192) focus on ecological questions, 4.4% on social ones, and 3.2% on social–ecological ones. The emergence of invasion science out of ecology might explain why interdisciplinarity has remained mostly within the natural sciences. Nevertheless, invasion science is attracting social–ecological collaborations to understand ecological challenges, and to develop novel approaches to address new ideas, concepts, and invasion-related questions between scholars and stakeholders. We discuss ways to reframe invasion science as a field centred on interlinked social–ecological dynamics to bring science, governance and society together in a common effort to deal with invasions.     

Macrophage activity and histopathology of the lymphohematopoietic organs in male Wistar rats orally exposed to single or mixed pesticides

The noxious effects of low or effective dose exposure to single or mixed pesticides on macrophage activity and the lymphohematopoietic organs were investigated. Male Wistar rats were orally exposed to dichlorvos, dicofol, endosulfan, dieldrin and permethrin, either as single or combined mixtures during a 28-day study containing eight groups: one group received a semipurified diet (non-treated); two groups received a semipurified diet containing low dose mixture (dieldrin 0.025 mg/kg, endosulfan, 0.6 mg/kg, dicofol 0.22 mg/kg, dichlorvos 0.23 mg/kg, permethrin 5 mg/kg) or an effective dose mixture (dichlorvos 2.3 mg/kg, dicofol 2.5 mg/kg, endosulfan 2.9 mg/kg, dieldrin 0.05 mg/kg and permethrin 25.0 mg/kg), respectively; the other five groups received a semipurified diet containing each single pesticide in effective doses. At sacrifice, the thymus, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, Payer's patches and bone marrow were removed for histological analysis. Peritoneal macrophages were obtained to determine the phagocytosis and spreading indexes and tumoral necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), nitric oxide (NO) and H₂O₂ production. Exposure to pesticide mixtures did not alter the percentage of macrophage phagocytosis and spreading, TNF-α production or the NO and H₂O₂ release when compared to the non-treated group. Neither was there any apparent evidence that a pesticide mixture at low or effective doses altered the histological structure of the lymphohematopoietic organs. The findings indicate that short-term treatment with pesticide mixtures did not induce an apparent immunotoxic effect in male Wistar rats.     

Propiconazole inhibits the sterol 14α-demethylase in Glomus irregulare like in phytopathogenic fungi

The increasing concentrations impact (0.02, 0.2 and 2 mg L⁻¹) of a Sterol Biosynthesis Inhibitor (SBI) fungicide, propiconazole, was evaluated on development and sterol metabolism of two non-target organisms: mycorrhizal or non-mycorrhizal transformed chicory roots and the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus irregulare using monoxenic cultures. In this work, we provide the first evidence of a direct impact of propiconazole on the AMF by disturbing its sterol metabolism. A significant decrease in end-products sterols contents (24-methylcholesterol and in 24-ethylcholesterol) was observed concomitantly to a 24-methylenedihydrolanosterol accumulation indicating the inhibition of a key enzyme in sterol biosynthesis pathway, the sterol 14α-demethylase like in phytopathogenic fungi. A decrease in end-product sterol contents in propiconazole-treated roots was also observed suggesting a slowing down of the sterol metabolism in plant. Taken together, our findings suggest that the inhibition of the both AM symbiotic partners development by propiconazole results from their sterol metabolism alterations.     

Revisiting the plant hyperaccumulation criteria to rare plants and earth abundant elements

The several established criteria to define a hyperaccumulator plant were applied to a rare and endangered species, Plantago almogravensis, and to the 3rd most abundant element in the earth crust, Al. Using the most common criteria, P. almogravensis undoubtedly is an Al hyperaccumulator plant. If the recent proposed requirements were considered, most of them matching those for a plant to be used in phytoextraction, it can only be considered an unusual accumulator of Al. A discussion is made concerning the several criteria of a hyperaccumulator plant in order to include rare and endemic ones and abundant elements. In ecological terms, the enrichment in Al and Fe observed may account for the differences in the vegetation pattern. Due to the rarity and endangered nature of this plant, the contribution of this work is also relevant for the ecological understanding and the development of conservation options of this endemic species.