Long-term persistence of sedimentary copper contamination in Lake Orta: potential environmental risks 20 years after liming

Lake Orta, northern Italy, has suffered from severe copper pollution and human-induced acidification between the 1920s and the 1990s because of discharges from a rayon factory and electroplating industries located in its water basin. Following liming operations in the late 1990s, the chemical quality of the water column has been restored and signs of, still ongoing, biological recovery observed. Examination of two sediment cores collected close to the main historical Cu discharge and in the central part of the Lake shows that Cu concentrations in the uppermost layers of bottom sediments remain 10 to 40-fold higher than background levels. Past studies demonstrated the toxic potential of Lake Orta sediments to a variety of organisms at Cu concentrations comparable to present ones. Comparison with published results suggests that current level of Cu contamination may still pose a risk to sediment-ingesting organisms and slow down further ecological recovery of Lake Orta. Particular attention should be given to understand the effects of dietary ingestion of Cu from sediments which, unlike in previous ecotoxicological studies, may now represent the main route of Cu exposure for sediment-ingesting benthic organisms

Biomonitoring of lake sediments using benthic macroinvertebrates

The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) is an innovative piece of legislation aimed at protecting the quality of all continental and coastal waters in Europe through an ecological evaluation of the ecosystems. Since it is widely acknowledged that the greater the ecological realism the greater the difficulty of its definition, we describe the different uses of benthic organisms as a tool for assessing the quality of sediment in lakes. We review the responses from single species to the community. We focus on studies in the laboratory and in the field, and we also critically consider the use of predictive models for these evaluations. Our discussion of the information collected underlines the importance of the relation between sensitivity of single species and contaminants. Moreover, the recent approach in developing mechanistic models to predict the response of natural communities seems to be particularly powerful for community ecology, and we strongly recommend more effort along these lines

What Are Lake Beaches Made of? An Assessment of Plastic Beach Litter on the Shores of Como Bay (Italy)

Plastic waste dispersion is a well-recognized environmental threat, despite continuous efforts towards improving waste disposal management over the last few decades. Plastic litter is known to strongly impact upon water bodies and shorelines, affecting the health of ecosystems and impacting upon the aesthetic value of sites. Moreover, plastic waste that is abandoned on beaches contributes towards different degradation processes that potentially lead to the formation of secondary microplastics (MPs), with likely cascade effects upon the whole ecosystem. In this view, this study aims to characterize the plastic beach litter found on the shores of the western basin of Como Lake (Italy) to better understand the origin of MPs in littoral sediments, including the recognition of object typologies and the chemical characterization of polymers using Fourier-transformed infrared analysis (FTIR). The results highlighted that the most abundant polymers on beaches are polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), representing 73% of the collected polymers. This confirms that floating, low-density polymers are more likely to accumulate on beaches. Moreover, almost 66% of litter is represented by commonly used manufactured items (disposable objects, packaging, and everyday items). This evidence, combined with the analysis of the main environmental features of the sampling sites (the main winds, distance to urban areas, and the presence of tributaries) indicate that abundance of beached litter is mainly linked to beach accessibility and the local winds. These results highlight that multiple factors affect the environmental fate of plastic litter and give insights into the assessment of secondary microplastics in beach sediments.publishedVersio

Contaminanti nello zooplancton

Not availableIndagini su DDT e sostanze pericolose nell\u27ecosistema del Lago Maggiore. Programma 2013-2015. Rapporto annuale 2014 - Contaminanti nello zooplancto

Contaminanti nelle acque lacustri e seston

No abstract availabl

Biomass and species structure of the phytoplankton of an high mountain lake (Lake Paione Superiore, Central Alps, Italy)

In the framework of the EU MOLAR Project on “Measuring and modelling the dynamic response of remote mountain lake ecosystems to environmental change” a three whole-year study (1996-1998) on the composition and dynamics of phytoplankton community of the high mountain lake, acid sensitive Lago Paione Superiore (LPS) was carried out. The data were analyzed and compared with those gathered during the years 1991-1993. The phytoplankton was made up by nanoplanktonic unicellular algae, the only exception being the colonial Dinobryon sertularia. Just four species, belonging to Chrysophyceae (Chromulina sp., Dinobryon sertularia and Mallomonas alveolata) and to Dinophyceae (Gymnodinium sp.) were important as biomass and density, and they were always present throughout the year. The prevalence of potentially mixotrophic species suggests an adaptive strategy to the low environmental concentrations of inorganic carbon and phosphorus. The seasonal variations of the total biomass were similar to those observed in the previous years. The total number of species has increased; this could be related with the recent increase of the pH and of the alkalinity

N-(4-{4-[2-(Trifluoro­meth­oxy)phen­yl]piperazin-1-yl}but­yl)thio­phene-2-carboxamide dihydrate

In the title compound, C20H24F3N3O2S·2H2O, a dopamine D3 ligand, the piperazine ring adopts a chair conformation while the piperazine and benzene rings form a dihedral angle of 47.71 (6)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the mol­ecular structure, the F atoms of the trifluoro­methyl group are disordered over two sites with occupancies of 0.69 (11) and 0.31 (11)

Contaminanti nello zooplancton

Not availableContaminanti nello zooplancton nell\u27ambito del progetto di ricerca "Indagini su DDT e sostanze pericolose nell\u27ecosistema del Lago Maggiore"

Monitoring and Management of Inland Waters: Insights from the Most Inhabited Italian Region

Monitoring of freshwaters allows the detection of the impacts of multiple anthropic uses and activities on aquatic ecosystems, and an eco-sustainable management of natural resources could limit these impacts. In this work, we highlighted two main issues affecting inland waters, referring to findings from the most inhabited Italian region (Lombardy, approximately 10 M inhabitants): the first issue is lake pollution by old generation pesticides, the second is river development for hydropower. In both cases, some management strategies reducing the anthropic impacts on freshwaters were discussed: organic farming and biocontrol as an alternative to diffuse pollution by agrochemicals; environmental flows and controlled sediment flushing operations to limit the hydropower impact on rivers. Although the two mentioned issues were discussed separately in this paper, the management of water resources should be carried out in a comprehensive way, accounting for the multiple impacts affecting freshwater ecosystems, including those related to the climate changes

Unfolding the interaction between microplastics and (trace) elements in water: A critical review

Plastic and microplastic pollution is an environmental and societal concern. The interaction of plastic with organic chemicals in the environment has attracted scientific interest. New evidences have highlighted an unexpectedly high affinity of environmental plastics also for metal ions. The degree and typology of plastic ageing (including from mechanical, UV and biological degradations) appear as a pivotal factor determining such an interaction. These earlier evidences recently opened a new research avenue in the plastic pollution area. This review is the first to organize and critically discuss knowledge developed so far. Results from field and laboratory studies of metal accumulation on plastic are presented and the environmental factors most likely to control such an interaction are discussed. On the light of this knowledge, a generalist conceptual model useful for building hypotheses on the mechanisms at stake and directing future studies was elaborated and presented here. Furthermore, all available data on the thermodynamics of the plastic-metal interaction obtained from laboratory experiments are inventoried and discussed here, highlighting methodological and technical challenges that can potentially affect cross-comparability of data and their relevance for environmental settings. Finally, insights and recommendations on experimental approaches and analytical techniques that can help overtaking current limitations and knowledge gaps are proposed