Does grazing pressure modify diuron toxicity in a biofilm community?

Herbicides affect the structure and functional parameters of fluvial biofilm. Diuron is toxic to primary producers and disrupts endocrine activity. Here, we studied the interaction between this toxicant and several biological compartments in a simple food chain composed of herbivores (the snail Physella [Costatella] acuta) and biofilm. We used indoor experimental channels to which Diuron was added at a realistic concentration (2 μg/L). Bacterial survival and chlorophyll-a and photosynthetic activity were analyzed in the biofilm. We monitored biomass, mortality, reproduction, and motility as end points in the freshwater snail P. acuta. Our results showed that bacterial survival and photosynthetic activity were sensitive to Diuron. Snails were not affected by the herbicide at the concentration tested. No significant interactions between the toxicant and grazers were observed on the biofilm. Reproductive traits, however, were slightly affected, indicating a possible endocrine disruption

Bridging levels of pharmaceuticals in river water with biological community structure in the Llobregat river basin (NE Spain)

A wide range of human pharmaceuticals are present at low concentrations in freshwater systems, particularly in sections of polluted river. These compounds show high biological activity, often associated with a high stability. These characteristics imply a potential impact of these substances on aquatic biota even when present at low environmental concentrations. Low flow conditions in Mediterranean rivers, most of which flow through densely populated areas and are subjected to intensive water use, increase the environmental risk of these emergent compounds. Here, we studied whether pharmaceuticals in river water affect the local benthic community structure (diatoms and invertebrates). For this purpose, we analyzed the occurrence of pharmaceuticals along the Llobregat River and examined the benthic community structure (diatoms and invertebrates) of this system. Some pharmaceutical products in the Llobregat River registered concentrations greater than those cited in the literature. Multivariate analyses revealed a potential causal association between the concentrations of some anti-inflammatories and β-blockers and the abundance and biomass of several benthic invertebrates (Chironomus spp. and Tubifex tubifex). Further interpretation in terms of cause-and-effect relationships is discussed; however, it must be always taken with caution because other pollutants also may have significant contributions. Combined with further community experiments in the laboratory, our approach could be a desirable way to proceed in future risk management decisions

Not Only Toxic but Repellent: What Can Organisms’ Responses Tell Us about Contamination and What Are the Ecological Consequences When They Flee from an Environment?

The ability of aquatic organisms to sense the surrounding environment chemically and interpret such signals correctly is crucial for their ecological niche and survival. Although it is an oversimplification of the ecological interactions, we could consider that a significant part of the decisions taken by organisms are, to some extent, chemically driven. Accordingly, chemical contamination might interfere in the way organisms behave and interact with the environment. Just as any environmental factor, contamination can make a habitat less attractive or even unsuitable to accommodate life, conditioning to some degree the decision of organisms to stay in, or move from, an ecosystem. If we consider that contamination is not always spatially homogeneous and that many organisms can avoid it, the ability of contaminants to repel organisms should also be of concern. Thus, in this critical review, we have discussed the dual role of contamination: toxicity (disruption of the physiological and behavioral homeostasis) vs. repellency (contamination-driven changes in spatial distribution/habitat selection). The discussion is centered on methodologies (forced exposure against non-forced multi-compartmented exposure systems) and conceptual improvements (individual stress due to the toxic effects caused by a continuous exposure against contamination-driven spatial distribution). Finally, we propose an approach in which Stress and Landscape Ecology could be integrated with each other to improve our understanding of the threat contaminants represent to aquatic ecosystems.Versión del edito

Analysis of monitoring programmes and their suitability for ecotoxicological risk assessment in four Spanish basins

Data from four Spanish basin management authorities were analysed. Chemical and biological data from four Spanish basin management authorities were analysed, focusing on three consecutive years. Aims were to i) determine the chemicals most likely responsible for the environmental toxicological risk in the four Spanish basins and ii) investigate the relationships between toxicological risk and biological status in these catchments. The toxicological risk of chemicals was evaluated using the toxic unit (TU) concept. With these data we considered if the potential risk properly reflects the risk to the community or, alternatively, if new criteria should be developed to improve risk assessment. Data study revealed inadequacies in processing and monitoring that should be improved (e.g., site coincidence for chemical and biological sampling). Analysis of the chemical data revealed high potential toxicological risk in the majority of sampling points, to which metals were the main contributors to this risk. However, clear relationships between biological quality and chemical risk were found only in one river. Further investigation of metal toxicity may be necessary, and future analyses are necessary to accurately estimate the risk to the environment.The present work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness through the Consolider-Ingenio 2010 Program (project Scarce CSD2009-00065). The authors would like to acknowledge the Confederacion Hidrografica del Ebro (C. Duran and V. Sanchez-Tello), Confederacion Hidrografica del Guadalquivir (V. Cifuentes), Agenda Andaluza del Agua, Agenda Catalana de l'Aigua (A Munne, L Tirapu) and Confederacion Hidrografica del Jucar (MA Pinon) which kindly provided the monitoring data. Nuria De Castro-Catala holds a predoctoral grant from the University of Barcelona. We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions which have improved this manuscript.López Doval, JC.; De Castro Catala, N.; Andrés Doménech, I.; Blasco, J.; Ginebreda, A.; Muñoz, I. (2012). Analysis of monitoring programmes and their suitability for ecotoxicological risk assessment in four Spanish basins. Science of the Total Environment. 440:194-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.035S19420344

Potential effects of triclosan on spatial displacement and local population decline of the fish Poecilia reticulata using a non-forced system

Triclosan (TCS) is an emerging contaminant of concern in environmental studies due to its potential adverse effects on fish behavior. Since avoidance has been shown to be a relevant behavioral endpoint, our aims were: (i) to determine if TCS is able to trigger an avoidance response in Poecilia reticulata; (ii) to predict the population immediate decline (PID) caused by TCS exposure, by integrating lethality and avoidance responses; and (iii) to verify the overestimation of risk when mortality is assessed under forced exposure. Fish were exposed to TCS in a forced exposure system, to assess mortality, and to a TCS gradient in a non-forced exposure (NFE) system. Two NFE scenarios were simulated: (#1) a spatially permanent gradient, including low and high concentrations; and (#2) a scenario with high concentrations, simulating a local discharge. The fish avoided TCS concentrations as low as 0.2 μg L−1 (avoidance of 22%). The AC50 obtained from scenario #1 (8.04 μg L−1) was about 15 times more sensitive than that from scenario #2 (118.4 μg L−1). In general, up to the highest concentration tested (2000 μg L−1), the PID was determined by the avoidance. Mortality from the forced exposure was overestimated (48 h-LC50 of 1650 mg L−1), relative to the NFE. The reduced mortality in a non-forced environment does not imply a lower effect, because part of the population is expected to disappear by moving towards favorable environments. TCS is a potential environmental disturber, since at environmentally relevant concentrations (<2 μg L−1) it could cause a decline in the fish population.Financial support for this work was provided by FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, grant 14/22581-8). Scholarships were provided by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior). Thanks are due to Cassiana Montagner and Raphael Acayaba (Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Campinas) for the triclosan analyses. C.V.M. Araújo is grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for a Juan de la Cierva contract (IJCI-2014-19318).Peer reviewe

What happens when salinization meets eutrophication? A test using stream microcosms

Nutrient and salt pollution often co-occur in rivers and streams due to human activities (e.g., agriculture, urbanization). Thus, understanding the interactive effects of nutrients and salinity on freshwater ecosystems is critical for environmental management. We experimentally assessed the interactive effects of nutrient and salt pollution on stream microcosms using biofilm and macroinvertebrates as model systems. Six treatments were performed in triplicate: control (C: N-NH4+ = 0.05; P- PO43- = 0.037; Cl- = 33.5 mg L-1), intermediate nutrient (IN: N-NH4+ = 0.4; P- PO43- = 0.271; Cl- = 33. 5 mg L-1), high nutrient (HN: N-NH4+ = 0.84; P- PO43- = 0.80; Cl- = 33.5 mg L-1), salt (S: N-NH4+ = 0.05; P- PO43- = 0.037; Cl- = 3000 mg L-1), salt with intermediate nutrient (SIN: N-NH4+ = 0.4; P- PO43- = 0.27; Cl- = 3000 mg L-1) and salt with high nutrient (SHN: N-NH4+ = 0.84; P- PO43- = 0.80; Cl- = 3000 mg L-1). After 14 days of exposure, biofilm chlorophyll-a increased across all treatments, with cyanobacteria replacing diatoms and green algae. Treatments with no added nutrients (C and S) had more P uptake capacity than the rest. The indicator species analysis showed 8 significant taxa, with Orthocladius (Orthocladius) gr. Wetterensis and Virganytarsus significantly associated with the salinity treatment. Overall, salt pollution led to a very strong decline in macroinvertebrate richness and diversity. However, salt toxicity seemed to be ameliorated by nutrient addition. Finally, both structural equation models and biotic-abiotic interaction networks showed that complex biological interactions could be modulating the response of the biological communities to our treatments. Thus, our study calls for species-level assessments of salt and nutrient effects on river ecosystems and advocates for better management of co-occurring pollutants.This work was supported by a doctoral grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e innovación y Colfuturo (Colombia) and IDAEA-CSIC contract associated to Ramón y Cajal (RYC2020-029829-I) for Alvaro Moyano. Miguel Cañedo- Argüelles Iglesias was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020-029829-I). Lorenzo Proia was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020-029829-I). David Cunillera-Montcusí was supported by European Union-NextGenerationEU, Ministry of Universities and Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, through a call from Universitat de Girona.Peer reviewe

Ecotoxicological risk assessment of chemical pollution in four Iberian river basins and its relationship with the aquatic macroinvertebrate community status

Ecotoxicological risk assessment of chemical pollution in four Iberian river basins (Llobregat, Ebro, Júcar and Guadalquivir) was performed. The data set included more than 200 emerging and priority compoundsmeasured at 77 sampling sites along four river basins studied. The toxic units (TU) approach was used to assess the risk of individual compounds and the concentration addition model (CA) to assess the site specific risk. Link between chemical pollution and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in situ was examined by using four biological indexes; SPEAR ('Species at Risk Index') as the indicator of decline of sensitive species in relation to general organic (SPEARorganic) and pesticides (SPEARpesticides) pollution; and Shannon and Margalef biodiversity indexes. The results of the study suggested that organic chemicals posed the risk of acute effects at 42% of the sampling sites and the risk of chronic effects at all the sites.Metals posed the acute risk at 44% of the sites. Themain drivers of the riskwere mainly pesticides and metals. However, several emerging contaminants (e.g. the antidepressant drug sertraline and the disinfectant triclosan) were contributing to the chronic effects risk. When risk associated with metals and organic chemicals was compared, the latter dominated in 2010, mainly due to the presence of highly toxic pesticides, while metals did in 2011. Compounds that are not regulated on the European level were posing the risk of chronic effects at 23% of the sites. The decline of sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa expressed in terms of SPEAR index was correlatedwith the increase of toxic stress related to organic compounds Biodiversity indexes were negatively correlated with the metals and the urban land use type in the catchmentThis study has been financially supported by the EU through the FP7 project GLOBAQUA (Grant Agreement No. 603629), by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [project Consolider-Ingenio 2010 SCARCECSD2009-00065] and by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups: 2014 SGR 418 – Water and Soil Quality Unit and 2014 SGR 291 – ICRA

Ecotoxicological risk assessment of chemical pollution in four Iberian river basins and its relationship with the aquatic macroinvertebrate community status

Ecotoxicological risk assessment of chemical pollution in four Iberian river basins (Llobregat, Ebro, Júcar and Guadalquivir) was performed. The data set included more than 200 emerging and priority compounds measured at 77 sampling sites along four river basins studied. The toxic units (TU) approach was used to assess the risk of individual compounds and the concentration addition model (CA) to assess the site specific risk. Link between chemical pollution and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in situ was examined by using four biological indexes; SPEAR ("Species at Risk Index") as the indicator of decline of sensitive species in relation to general organic (SPEARorganic) and pesticides (SPEARpesticides) pollution; and Shannon and Margalef biodiversity indexes. The results of the study suggested that organic chemicals posed the risk of acute effects at 42% of the sampling sites and the risk of chronic effects at all the sites. Metals posed the acute risk at 44% of the sites. The main drivers of the risk were mainly pesticides and metals. However, several emerging contaminants (e.g. the antidepressant drug sertraline and the disinfectant triclosan) were contributing to the chronic effects risk. When risk associated with metals and organic chemicals was compared, the latter dominated in 2010, mainly due to the presence of highly toxic pesticides, while metals did in 2011. Compounds that are not regulated on the European level were posing the risk of chronic effects at 23% of the sites. The decline of sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa expressed in terms of SPEAR index was correlated with the increase of toxic stress related to organic compounds Biodiversity indexes were negatively correlated with the metals and the urban land use type in the catchmentThis study has been financially supported by the EU through the FP7 project GLOBAQUA (Grant Agreement No. 603629), by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [project Consolider-Ingenio 2010 SCARCE CSD2009-00065] and by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups: 2014 SGR 418 – Water and Soil Quality Unit and 2014 SGR 291-ICRA

Consenso de dislipemia en diabetes

Se estima que hasta el 80% de las personas con DM2 presenta una o más anomalías lipídicas. La prevalencia de hipercolesterolemia aislada es similar a la de la población general, mientras que la hipertrigliceridemia (HTG) moderada y el descenso de c-HDL suele ser normal o 2 a 4 veces superior. El c-LDL suele ser normal o levemente aumentado, con predominio de partículas pequeñas y densas (fenotipo beta de las LDL) y también hay mayor número de partículas aterogénicas ( c-VLDL, c-IDL y c-LDL), que se refleja en el aumento de apolipoproteína B (apoB) y del no-c-HDL En personas con DM1 metabólicamente compensadas y sin nefropatía, las concentraciones de lípidos son similares a las de la población general.Fil: García Albarracín, Alicia Beatriz. No especifíca;Fil: Brites, Fernando Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Luongo, Ángela M.. No especifíca;Fil: Alvariñas, Jorge. No especifíca;Fil: Araujo, María I.. No especifíca;Fil: Belloso, Waldo Horacio. No especifíca;Fil: Bereziuk, Eulalio. No especifíca;Fil: Burlando, Guillermo. No especifíca;Fil: Carrera, Mabel. No especifíca;Fil: Cuniberti, Luis. No especifíca;Fil: Chioccone, Mónica. No especifíca;Fil: Doval, Hernán. No especifíca;Fil: Elbert, Alicia. No especifíca;Fil: Enrico, Teresa. No especifíca;Fil: Faingold, María C.. No especifíca;Fil: Ferraro, Mabel Catalina. No especifíca;Fil: Frechtel, Gustavo. No especifíca;Fil: Fuente, Graciela. No especifíca;Fil: Gónzálz, Claudio. No especifíca;Fil: Lapertosa, Silvia. No especifíca;Fil: Livov, Alberto. No especifíca;Fil: López González, Eva. No especifíca;Fil: Mollerach, Julio. No especifíca;Fil: Mollerach, Marecelo. No especifíca;Fil: Mazza, Carmen. No especifíca;Fil: Montero, Julio. No especifíca;Fil: Paneth, Mónica Graciela. No especifíca;Fil: Portunato, Gabriela. No especifíca;Fil: Salzberg, Susana. No especifíca;Fil: Schraier, Silvio Daniel. No especifíca