Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Aquat Sci 2020 Mar;82(2):1-44

Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Watershed and Ecosystem Characterization Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Our understanding of how ecosystems function has changed from an equilibria-based view to one that recognizes the dynamic, fluctuating, nonlinear nature of aquatic systems. This current understanding requires that we manage systems for resilience. In this review, we examine how resilience has been defined, measured and applied in aquatic systems, and more broadly, in the socioecological systems in which they are embedded. Read More

Environ Geochem Health 2020 Jun 2. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Department of Environment, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

The application of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) increased gradually because of the rise in global food demand that triggered the agriculture sector to increase the production, leading to OPP residues in the surface water. This study elucidated the presence of OPPs and estimated its ecological risk in the riverine ecosystem of the urbanised Linggi River, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The OPP concentration in surface water was determined using solid-phase extraction method and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection. Read More

Chemosphere 2020 May 25;257:127199. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Life Science, Rama Devi Women's University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Electronic address:

The ever-increasing use of domestic washing machine by urban population is playing a major role in synthetic microfibers (SMFs) pollution via entering the ecosystem. Although many of the sources of fragmented plastic pollution in oceanic environments have been well known, urban areas are playing a major contributor due to huge populations. Thousands of scientific investigations are now reporting the adverse effect of these micro pollutants on aquatic and terrestrial environment, food chain and human health. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics 2020 May 6;35:100685. Epub 2020 May 6.

School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, ON, Canada; Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Québec, QC, Canada. Electronic address:

Japanese medaka embryos were exposed to water accommodated fractions (WAF) and chemically-enhanced WAF of two types of diluted bitumen (dilbit) at concentrations bracketing the EC50s for developmental malformations. Within these treatments, fish were grouped based on the presence or absence of developmental malformations (e.g. Read More

Materials (Basel) 2020 May 25;13(10). Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

The increasing heavy metal pollution in the aquatic ecosystem mainly driven by industrial activities has raised severe concerns over human and environmental health that apparently necessitate the design and development of ideal strategies for the effective monitoring of heavy metals. In this regard, colorimetric detection provides excellent opportunities for the easy monitoring of heavy metal ions, and especially, corresponding solid-state sensors enable potential opportunities for their applicability in real-world monitoring. As a result of the significant interest originating from their simplicity, exceptional characteristics, and applicability, the electrospun nanofiber-based colorimetric detection of heavy metal ions has undergone radical developments in the recent decade. Read More

Chemosphere 2020 May 18;256:127084. Epub 2020 May 18.

School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Benzalkonium chloride (BKC) is a commonly used preservative in personal care products and pharmaceutical preparations. However, its ecological risks are not well understood because of lack of monitoring data and ecotoxicological information. In the present study, occurrence of BKC was investigated in the waters near a pharmaceutical manufacturing complex of South Korea and its acute and chronic ecotoxicities were evaluated using Daphnia magna and Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Read More

J Hazard Mater 2020 May 13;398:122909. Epub 2020 May 13.

International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China. Electronic address:

The highly hydrophobic surfaces make microplastics a potential carrier of organic pollutants in the marine environment. In order to explore the toxic effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDE-47) combined with microplastics on marine organisms, we exposed the marine mussel Mytilus coruscus to micro-PS combined with BDE-47 for 21 days to determine the immune defense, oxidative stress and energy metabolism of the mussels. The results showed that the clearance rate (CR) of mussels exposed to single micro-PS, single BDE-47 or both was lower than control group. Read More

J Med Entomol 2020 May 27. Epub 2020 May 27.

Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Predation is a critical factor that mediates population stability, community structure, and ecosystem function. Predatory natural enemies can contribute to the regulation of disease vector groups such as mosquitoes, particularly where they naturally co-occur across landscapes. However, we must understand inter-population variation in predatory efficiency if we are to enhance vector control. Read More

Environ Toxicol Chem 2020 May 22. Epub 2020 May 22.

Gulf Ecosystem Measurement & Modeling Division, EPA, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL, USA.

Standard ecological risk assessment practices often rely on larval and juvenile fish toxicity data as representative of the amphibian aquatic phase. Empirical evidence suggests that endpoints measured in fish early life stage tests are often sufficient to protect larval amphibians. However, the process of amphibian metamorphosis relies on endocrine cues that affect development and morphological restructuring and are not represented by these test endpoints. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 7;732:139118. Epub 2020 May 7.

Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands.

The application of chemical pesticides is one of the main practices in citrus orchards. But during this operation, a considerable amount of sprayed volume is emitted to off-target areas using air-blast sprayers. The present study aimed to investigate pesticides' toxicological impacts in citrus orchards through determining the proportion of pesticides in different areas (air, soil, and canopy), which facilitate toxicity assessment of pesticides in citrus orchards. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 May 18. Epub 2020 May 18.

Ecosystem Management Research Directorate, Ethiopian Environment and Forest Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Due to changes in global climate and local hydrological variability, land-water interactions are considered the prevailing processes underpinning aquatic ecology. Periodic meteorological conditions could have significant effect upon freshwater plankton communities by modifying the relative influences of biotic and abiotic structuring factors. However, the influence of unusual meteorological events, such as the El-Niño Southern Oscillation cycles, and advection on zooplankton communities of tropical shallow lakes and reservoirs are not fully understood. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 May 16. Epub 2020 May 16.

School of Life Science, Shanxi University, No. 92 Wucheng Road, Taiyuan, 030006, China.

Large-scale, inter-basin water diversion projects have been developed to relieve water scarcity crisis and water pollution problems. Environmental status and ecosystem impacts are largely unknown for the Wanjiazhai Yellow River Diversion Project (YRDP-WJZ), a water body critical in northern China. In the current study, twelve hydrochemical indices (including Mn, Cu, Zn, Hg, Pb, NH-N, COD-Mn, DO, BOD, COD, TP, and TN) were collected from 2008 to 2017 based on multiple analytical approaches to understand environmental status and ecological risks. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 May 15;10(1):8021. Epub 2020 May 15.

Research Group of Ecology and Behavioural Biology, Institute of Biology, Department of Chemistry-Biology, University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Strasse 2, Siegen, 57076, Germany.

One major environmental problem of our time are emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment. While nanoparticles exhibit attractive features such as antimicrobial properties in the case of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), earlier studies suggest that NPs are not completely filtered out at wastewater treatment plants and may therefore be continuously introduced into the aquatic environment. Although adverse effects of AgNPs on aquatic organisms have been extensively studied, there is still a lack of knowledge on how this chemical stressor interacts with natural cues on the maternal and subsequent generation of aquatic organisms. Read More

J Exp Biol 2020 May 15. Epub 2020 May 15.

Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, Graham Kerr Building, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.

While evidence suggests that warming may impact cognition of ectotherms, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. A possible, but rarely considered mechanism is that metabolic response of ectotherms to warming associate with changes in brain morphology and functioning. Here we compared aerobic metabolism, volume of brain, boldness, and accuracy of maze solving of common minnows () acclimated for eight months to either their current optimal natural (14 °C) or warm (20 °C) water temperature. Read More

Environ Geochem Health 2020 May 14. Epub 2020 May 14.

Department of Environmental Geochemistry, Fluminense Federal University, Outeiro São João Baptista, s/n., Centro, Niterói, RJ, 24020-007, Brazil.

Worldwide, environmental tragedies involving mining dam ruptures have become more frequent. As occurred a few years ago in Brazil (on 5 November 2015, in Minas Gerais state) the Fundão Dam rupture released 60 million m of tailings into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Since then, little information on the ecotoxicity of these tailings has been disclosed. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Jul 19;724:138057. Epub 2020 Mar 19.

University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, 1988 Fitch Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, United States of America. Electronic address:

Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, hormones, and other chemicals lacking water quality standards are frequently found in surface water. While evidence is growing that these contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) - those previously unknown, unrecognized, or unregulated - can affect the behavior and reproduction of fish and wildlife, little is known about the distribution of these chemicals in rural, tribal areas. Therefore, we surveyed the presence of CECs in water, sediment, and subsistence fish species across various waterbodies, categorized as undeveloped (i. Read More

Aquat Toxicol 2020 Apr 27;224:105493. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, 4511, Egypt.

Currently, the contamination of water with different insecticides like profenofos (PFF) is a critical concern in the aquatic ecosystem. There are limited studies available on the negative impacts of PFF on common carp fish (Cyprinus carpio L.). Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Aug 4;730:138643. Epub 2020 May 4.

Unidad Academica de Ecología y Biodiversidad Acuática, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México.

The petrochemical industry and urban activities are widely recognized worldwide as a source of pollution to mangrove environments. They can supply pollutants such as trace elements that can modify the ecosystem structure and associated services, as well as human populations. Through geochemical data, multivariate statistical analysis and pollution indices such as the enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), adverse effect index (AEI) and the pollution load index (PLI), we evaluated the factors that control trace element distribution, punctual sources and determined the pollution level of sediments and their potential biological impact in the mangrove ecosystem of Isla del Carmen, Mexico. Read More

J Environ Sci Health C Toxicol Carcinog 2020 ;38(1):1-20

Enzyme and Microbial Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, New Delhi, India.

Microplastics (MPs) and associated contaminants have become a major environmental concern. From available literature, their ubiquitous presence is now well established. However, the kind and level of toxicological impacts these MPs accomplish on various life forms are not well understood. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 May 12. Epub 2020 May 12.

Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskoleringen 5, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.

Microplastics (MPs) are physical anthropogenic pollutants and their ability to act as contaminant vectors in biological matrices is of serious ecosystem and human health concern. In the present study, we have, for the first time, screened and detected MPs in the stomach of a select group of commonly consumed fish species from a municipal water supply lake (Eleyele) in Nigeria. A total of 109 fish samples consisting of eight (8) species: Coptodon zillii (CZ: n = 38), Oreochromis niloticus (ON: n = 43), Sarotheron melanotheron (SM: n = 19), Chrysicthys nigrodigitatus (CN: n = 3), Lates niloticus (LN: n = 3), Paranchanna obscura (PO: n = 1), Hemichromis fasiatus (HF: n = 1), and Hepsetus odoe (HO: n = 1) were collected between February-April, 2018. Read More

Environ Monit Assess 2020 May 11;192(6):356. Epub 2020 May 11.

Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University, Ordu Street No 200, 34470, Laleli, Istanbul, Turkey.

The composition and metabolic properties of cultivable heterotrophic aerobic bacteria, the levels of indicator bacteria, and physicochemical parameters were investigated in the seawater samples collected from 20 stations in coastal areas of the eastern part of the Black Sea, Turkey, between May 2017 and February 2018. The levels of indicator bacteria were detected above the national limit values during the study period. Thirty-five different bacterium species were identified. Read More

Animals (Basel) 2020 May 7;10(5). Epub 2020 May 7.

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Beni-suef University, Beni-suef 65211, Egypt.

As a result of the global industrial revolution, contamination of the ecosystem by heavy metals has given rise to one of the most important ecological and organismic problems, particularly human, early developmental stages of fish and animal life. The bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish tissues can be influenced by several factors, including metal concentration, exposure time, method of metal ingestion and environmental conditions, such as water temperature. Upon recognizing the danger of contamination from heavy metals and the effects on the ecosystem that support life on earth, new ways of monitoring and controlling this pollution, besides the practical ones, had to be found. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2020 Apr 18;397:122655. Epub 2020 Apr 18.

Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Knowledge of exposure to a wide range of chemicals, and the spatio-temporal variability thereof, is urgently needed in the context of protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems. This paper discusses a computational material flow analysis to predict the occurrence of thousands of man-made organic chemicals on a European scale, based on a novel temporally and spatially resolved modelling framework. The goal was to increase understanding of pressures by emerging chemicals and to complement surface water monitoring data. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2020 13;2020:6185231. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Department of Zoology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Health and environmental problems arising from metals present in the aquatic ecosystem are very well known. The present study investigated toxicological effects of LC of metals such as copper, chromium, and lead for 24, 48, 72, and 96 h on hematological indices, RBC nucleus and cell morphology, and gill and muscle tissues of grass carp (). Experimental dose concentrations of copper were 1. Read More

Photochem Photobiol Sci 2020 May;19(5):542-584

Biospherical Instruments Inc., San Diego, California, USA and.

This assessment, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), one of three Panels informing the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, provides an update, since our previous extensive assessment (Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2020 Apr 25;397:122773. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China; International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Ministry of Science and Technology, China; Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, State Oceanic Administration & Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China. Electronic address:

Microplastics (MPs) have become a severe concern in marine environment worldwide. Micro-polystyrene particles have been proved to accumulate in vivo and caused disorders of digestion, antioxidant system, immunity and intestinal microflora, but little is known about the effects of nano-polystyrene (nano-PS). In order to understand response mechanism of marine fish to nano-PS, the effects of nanoplastics on the intestinal health and growth performance of the juvenile Larimichthys crocea were investigated. Read More

Lancet Planet Health 2020 Apr;4(4):e141-e148

Université du Québec à Montréal, Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur le bien-être, la santé, la société et l'environnement (Cinbiose), Montréal, QC, Canada. Electronic address:

Background: Little is known about the influence of toxic exposures on reduced life expectancy in First Nations people in Canada. The Grassy Narrows First Nation community have lived with the consequences of one of the worst environmental disasters in Canadian history. In the early 1960s, 10 000 kg of mercury (Hg) was released into their aquatic ecosystem. Read More

Front Microbiol 2020 15;11:594. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Marine Biogeochemistry, Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina.

The highly populated coasts of the Bay of Bengal are particularly vulnerable to water-borne diseases, pollution and climatic extremes. The environmental factors behind bacterial community composition and distribution were investigated in an estuarine system of a cholera-endemic region in the coastline of Bangladesh. Higher temperatures and sewage pollution were important drivers of the abundance of toxigenic . Read More

ScientificWorldJournal 2020 16;2020:6594109. Epub 2020 Apr 16.

Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.

Heavy metals such as Zn, Pb, Fe, and Cu are abundant in the environment and contribute largely to the sustainability and equilibrium of ecosystem processes. However, because of their bioaccumulation, nondegradability, and the excessive amounts in which they exist, these metals contaminate the food chain and subsequently become a source of toxicity to human beings and the entire ecological function. This is a major issue of concern within the study of environmental science and geochemistry. Read More

J Environ Manage 2020 Aug 28;267:110651. Epub 2020 Apr 28.

Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710127, China; Institute of Qinling Mountains, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710127, China.

A healthy aquatic ecosystem plays an important role in the operation of nature and the survival of human beings. Understanding the mechanism of its interaction with the habitat process is conducive to formulating targeted ecological recovery plans. In this study, fish and macroinvertebrates were collected from 49 investigation sites in the Weihe River basin, China, during periods of the summer and the autumn of 2017. Read More

Microorganisms 2020 Apr 27;8(5). Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

Decabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-209) is a primary component of the brominated flame retardants used in a variety of industrial and domestic applications. BDE-209 bioaccumulates in aquatic organisms and has been identified as an emerging contaminant that threatens human and ecosystem health. Sequential photolysis-microbial biodegradation processes were utilized here to treat BDE-209 in clay- or soil-water slurries. Read More

Environ Toxicol Chem 2020 Apr 29. Epub 2020 Apr 29.

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Center for Applied Geoscience, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.

Organic micropollutants of anthropogenic origin in river waters may impair aquatic ecosystem health and drinking water quality. To evaluate micropollutant fate and turnover on a catchment scale, information on input source characteristics as well as spatial and temporal variability are required. The influence of tributaries from agricultural and urban areas and the input of wastewater were investigated by grab and Lagrangian sampling under base flow conditions within a 7. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 Apr 28. Epub 2020 Apr 28.

SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice, 5700, South Africa.

Natural water sources are habitually marred by insidious anthropogenic practices and municipal wastewater discharges that contain either of xenobiotic pollutants and their sometimes more toxic degradation products, or both. Although wastewater is considered as both a resource and a problem, as explained in this review, it is however daunting that, while the global village is still struggling to decipher the mode of proper handling, subsequent discharge and regulation of already established aromatic contaminants in wastewater, there emanates some more aggressive, stealth and sinister groups of compounds. It is quite ironic that majority of these compounds are the 'go through' consumables in our present society and have been suspected to pose several health risks to the aquatic ecosystem, eliciting unfavourable clinical manifestations in aquatic animals and humans, which has heightened the uncertainties conferred on freshwater use and consumption of some aquatic foods. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Apr 19;728:138765. Epub 2020 Apr 19.

U.S. Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Pennsylvania State University, 402 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address:

Investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of contaminants in surface water is crucial to better understand how introduced chemicals are interacting with and potentially influencing aquatic organisms and environments. Within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, United States, there are concerns about the potential role of contaminant exposure on fish health. Evidence suggests that exposure to contaminants in surface water is causing immunosuppression and intersex in freshwater fish species. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Apr 23;17(8). Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Departamento de Química, Laboratorio de Toxicología y gestión ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 No. 76-103 Montería 230002, Córdoba, Colombia.

This study assesses the potential human health risks posed by six heavy metals (Hg, As, Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn) found in five of the most consumed fish species ( and ) collected by the riverine population living in Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM), the largest estuary in Colombia. Metal concentrations were low compared with those reported in other regions around the world and the maximum value established by international monitoring organizations. The estimation of the potential risk (HQ) indicated that Cu and Hg could generate negative effects in groups of women of childbearing age (WCA) and the remaining population (RP), because they exceeded their related reference doses, with HQ values > 1; however, Cu and Hg concentrations were not high in fish and EWI, MFW, or MeHgPSL values shows that there is no evidence of a potential health risk from MeHg exposure in the study population. Read More

3 Biotech 2020 May 20;10(5):205. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

2Department of Biochemistry, Centenary Campus, Bose Institute, P-1/12 C.I.T. Scheme VII-M, Kolkata, 700054 India.

Heavy metal (HM) pollution in aquatic ecosystems has an adverse effect on both aquatic life forms as well as terrestrial living beings, including humans. Since HMs are recalcitrant, they accumulate in the environment and are subsequently biomagnified through the food chain. Conventional physical and chemical methods used to remove the HMs from aquatic habitats are usually expensive, slow, non-environment friendly, and mostly inefficient. Read More

Microorganisms 2020 Apr 15;8(4). Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain.

One of the main public health problems nowadays is the increase of antimicrobial resistance, both in the hospital environment and outside it (animal environment, food and aquatic ecosystems, among others). It is necessary to investigate the virulence-associated factors and the ability of horizontal gene transfer among bacteria for a better understanding of the pathogenicity and the mechanisms of dissemination of resistant bacteria. Therefore, the objective of this work was to detect several virulence factors genes (, , III, , and ) and to determine the conjugative capacity in a wide collection of extended-spectrum β-lactamases-producing isolated from different sources (human, food, farms, rivers, and wastewater treatment plants). Read More

Environ Res 2020 Apr 14;186:109508. Epub 2020 Apr 14.

ICAR- Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Fishery Resource and Environmental Management Division, Biochemistry Laboratory, Barrackpore, Kolkata, 700 120, India; ICAR-Fisheries Science Division, Krishi Anusandhan Bhawan II, Pusa, New Delhi, 110 012, India. Electronic address:

Aquatic pollution is one of the most common threats to the ecological health of aquatic ecosystems and its biota. Fish as lower vertebrates are excellent model to study the impact and responses of aquatic pollution. In fish, gill is the main organ indicator of whole animal health as it comes in contact with the surrounding water and absorbs many pollutants and contaminants; therefore, investigations on alterations in fish gill at transcriptome level could provide newer insights to the stress response mechanism(s) and pathways. Read More

Environ Geochem Health 2020 Apr 23. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Soil Sciences, Faculty for Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18051, Rostock, Germany.

Controlled drainage is considered as a soil management tool to improve water supply to crops and reduce nutrient losses from fields; however, its closure may affect phosphorus (P) mobilization in soil. To assess the P mobilization potential, three soil profiles with redoximorphic features were selected along a slight hill in Northern Germany. Soil samples from three depths of each profile were characterized for basic properties, total element content, oxalate- and dithionite-extractable pedogenic Al, Fe and Mn (hydr)oxides, P pools (sequential extraction), P species [P K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy] and P sorption behavior. Read More

Environ Pollut 2020 Apr 7;263(Pt B):114323. Epub 2020 Apr 7.

Environmental Geosciences, University of Basel, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland.

Despite the mercury (Hg) control measures adopted by the international community, Hg still poses a significant risk to ecosystem and human health. This is primarily due to the ability of atmospheric Hg to travel intercontinentally and contaminating terrestrial and aquatic environments far from its natural and anthropogenic point sources. The issue of Hg pollution is further complicated by its unique physicochemical characteristics, most noticeably its multiple chemical forms that vary in their toxicity and environmental mobility. Read More

J Agric Food Chem 2020 May 30;68(19):5296-5301. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Dipartimento di Medicina e Scienze della Salute V.Tiberio, Università del Molise, Via Francesco De Sanctis, 1, 86100 Campobasso, Italy.

The occurrence of microplastics in the marine ecosystem and aquatic organisms, their trophic transfer along the food web, and the identification of seafood species as suitable indicators have become a research priority. Despite the high quantity of research in this field, a comparison between the available data and an appropriate risk assessment remains difficult. In this perspective, as an innovative approach, the association of the feeding strategies of commercial seafood and the microplastic level was considered. Read More

Harmful Algae 2020 Mar 1;93:101791. Epub 2020 Apr 1.

National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address:

Microcystis aeruginosa bloom releases microcystins (MCs) into global aquatic environment, which other living organisms can ingest the released MCs. The toxic effects of MCs on organisms are amplified through the food chain, threatening human and animal health. Lanthanum(III) [La(III)], a pollutant in aquatic environments worldwide, has been confirmed to stimulate MC synthesis in M. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 Apr 19. Epub 2020 Apr 19.

State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.

Organic micro-pollutants such as pesticides and endocrine disruptors cause serious harm to human health and aquatic ecosystem. In this study, the potential degradation of atrazine (ATZ), triclosan (TCS), and 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) by UV-activated peroxydisulfate (UV/PDS) and UV-activated HO (UV/HO) processes were evaluated under different conditions. Results showed that UV/PDS process was more effective than UV/HO under the same conditions. Read More

Water Res 2020 Jun 2;176:115766. Epub 2020 Apr 2.

Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada. Electronic address:

Humic substance is a ubiquitous class of natural organic matter (NOM) in soil and aquatic ecosystems, which severely affects the terrestrial and aquatic environments as well as water-based engineering systems by adsorption on solids (e.g., soil minerals, nanoparticles, membranes) via different interaction mechanisms. Read More

Water Res 2020 Jun 1;176:115774. Epub 2020 Apr 1.

State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.

Hydroxyl radical (HO∙) in natural waters plays a critical role in contaminant transformation and ecosystem health. In this study, the photogeneration and steady-state concentration of HO∙ in different aquatic environments (e.g. Read More

mBio 2020 Apr 7;11(2). Epub 2020 Apr 7.

College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA

Aquifers, which are essential underground freshwater reservoirs worldwide, are understudied ecosystems that harbor diverse forms of microbial life. This study investigated the abundance and composition of prokaryotic and viral communities in the outflow of five springs across northern Florida, USA, as a proxy of microbial communities found in one of the most productive aquifers in the world, the Floridan aquifer. The average abundances of virus-like particles and prokaryotic cells were slightly lower than those reported from other groundwater systems, ranging from 9. Read More

Front Microbiol 2020 17;11:380. Epub 2020 Mar 17.

Aquatic Biology, IRF Life Sciences, KU Leuven, Kortrijk, Belgium.

In spite of the growing interest in the role of the gut microbiome (GM) in host physiology and health, the mechanisms governing its assembly and its effects on the environment are poorly understood. In this article, we show that the host genotype and the GM of influence the community structure of the surrounding bacterioplankton (BPK). When genotypes were placed in an identical environment, both the GM and BPK showed a genotype and diet-dependent taxonomic composition. Read More

Indian J Microbiol 2020 Jun 14;60(2):125-138. Epub 2020 Feb 14.

Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar, 382 010 Gujarat India.

Pesticides are the chemicals used to prevent plant diseases, weeds, pests and to enhance the quality of the food products. The uniqueness of their chemical structure, and/or their interactions with the environment characterize the nature of pesticides. In most scenarios, the end users such as farmers and consumers, who know the serious effects of pesticides cannot translate this awareness into their practice. Read More

J Environ Manage 2020 May 27;262:110317. Epub 2020 Feb 27.

Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, England, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Fishways are commonly employed to improve river connectivity for fishes, but the extent to which they cater for natural phenotypic diversity has been insufficiently addressed. We measured differential upstream passage success of three wild brown trout (Salmo trutta) phenotypes (anadromous, freshwater-resident adult and parr-marked), encompassing a range of sizes and both sexes, at a Larinier superactive baffle fishway adjacent to a flow-gauging weir, using PIT telemetry (n = 160) and radio telemetry (n = 53, double tagged with PIT tags). Fish were captured and tagged downstream of the weir in the autumn pre-spawning period, 2017, in a tributary of the River Wear, England, where over 95% of tributary spawning habitat was available upstream of the weir. Read More

J Environ Manage 2020 May 2;262:110311. Epub 2020 Mar 2.

TropWATER, The Centre for Tropical Water & Aquatic Ecosystem Research, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia. Electronic address:

Human societies are closely linked to their ecological environments. Natural ecosystems and wildlife populations are often in better condition in countries with healthy, educated and economically prosperous populations compared to countries with lower health and literacy conditions, and depressed economies. In the latter countries, these socio-economic factors can compromise government's capacity to manage their natural resources. Read More