Making use of apex predator sample collections: an integrated workflow for quality assured sample processing, analysis and digital sample freezing of archived samples

Using monitoring data from apex predators for chemicals risk assessment can provide important information on bioaccumulating as well as biomagnifying chemicals in food webs. A survey among European institutions involved in chemical risk assessment on their experiences with apex predator data in chemical risk assessment revealed great interest in using such data. However, the respondents indicated that constraints were related to expected high costs, lack of standardisation and harmonised quality criteria for exposure assessment, data access, and regulatory acceptance/application. During the Life APEX project, we demonstrated that European sample collections (i.e. environmental specimen banks (ESBs), research collection (RCs), natural history museums (NHMs)) archive a large variety of biological samples that can be readily used for chemical analysis once appropriate quality assurance/control (QA/QC) measures have been developed and implemented. We therefore issued a second survey on sampling, processing and archiving procedures in European sample collections to derive key quality QA/QC criteria for chemical analysis. The survey revealed great differences in QA/QC measures between ESBs, NHMs and RCs. Whereas basic information such as sampling location, date and biometric data were mostly available across institutions, protocols to accompany the sampling strategy with respect to chemical analysis were only available for ESBs. For RCs, the applied QA/QC measures vary with the respective research question, whereas NHMs are generally less aware of e.g. chemical cross-contamination issues. Based on the survey we derived key indicators for assessing the quality of biota samples that can be easily implemented in online databases. Furthermore, we provide a QA/QC workflow not only for sampling and processing but also for the chemical analysis of biota samples. We focussed on comprehensive analytical techniques such as non-target screening and provided insights into subsequent storage of high-resolution chromatograms in online databases (i.e. digital sample freezing platform) to ultimately support chemicals risk assessment

The importance of in-year seasonal fluctuations for biomonitoring of apex predators: a case study of 14 essential and non-essential elements in the liver of the common buzzard (Buteo buteo) in the United Kingdom

Trace elements are chemical contaminants spread in the environment by anthropogenic activities and threaten wildlife and human health. Many studies have investigated this contamination in apex raptors as sentinel birds. However, there is limited data for long-term biomonitoring of multiple trace elements in raptors. In the present study, we measured the concentrations of 14 essential and non-essential trace elements in the livers of the common buzzard (Buteo buteo) collected in the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2019 and investigated whether concentrations have changed during this period. In addition, we estimated the importance of selected variables for modelling element accumulations in tissues. •Except for cadmium, hepatic concentrations of harmful elements in most buzzards were lower than the biological significance level of each element. Hepatic concentrations of certain elements, including lead, cadmium, and arsenic, varied markedly seasonally within years. Their peak was in late winter and trough in late summer, except copper which showed an opposite seasonal pattern. In addition, lead in the liver consistently increased over time, whereas strontium showed a decreasing trend. Hepatic concentrations of cadmium, mercury, and chromium increased with age, whereas selenium and chromium were influenced by sex. Hepatic concentrations of arsenic and chromium also differed between different regions. •Overall, our samples showed a low risk of harmful effects of most elements compared to the thresholds reported in the literature. Seasonal fluctuation was an important descriptor of exposure, which might be related to the diet of the buzzard, the ecology of their prey, and human activities such as the use of lead shot for hunting. However, elucidating reasons for these observed trends needs further examination, and biomonitoring studies exploring the effects of variables such as age, sex, and seasonality are required

Significant turning point: common buzzard (Buteo buteo) exposure to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides in the United Kingdom

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) are widely used to control rodent populations, resulting in the serious secondary exposure of predators to these contaminants. In the United Kingdom (UK), professional use and purchase of SGARs were revised in the 2010s. Certain highly toxic SGARs have been authorized since then to be used outdoors around buildings as resistance-breaking chemicals under risk mitigation procedures. However, it is still uncertain whether and how these regulatory changes have influenced the secondary exposure of birds of prey to SGARs. Based on biomonitoring of the UK Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) collected from 2001 to 2019, we assessed the temporal trend of exposure to SGARs and statistically determined potential turning points. The magnitude of difenacoum decreased over time with a seasonal fluctuation, while the magnitude and prevalence of more toxic brodifacoum, authorized to be used outdoors around buildings after the regulatory changes, increased. The summer of 2016 was statistically identified as a turning point for exposure to brodifacoum and summed SGARs that increased after this point. This time point coincided with the aforementioned regulatory changes. Our findings suggest a possible shift in SGAR use to brodifacoum from difenacoum over the decades, which may pose higher risks of impacts on wildlife

Government Exports, Instability and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

No abstract available

Using the feder-ram and military keynesian models to examine the link between defense spending and economic growth in Sri Lanka

This study uses the Feder-Ram model in conjunction with the military Keynesian model to examine the nexus between defence spending and economic growth in Sri Lanka. We find that the Keynesian aggregate demand model is better suited to analyse the link than the Feder-Ram model for the case of Sri Lanka. Based upon our results we expect a higher economic growth rate in Sri Lanka if more public resources are diverted from the defence to civilian sectors of the economy, now that the war between the government and separatist guerrillas has come to an end. However, recent post war events cast doubt upon whether a diversion of sources from military to non-military spending will actually occur. We conclude that the sanguine predictions of our economic analysis are entirely dependent upon the political decisions of the Sri Lankan government for their realization