Monitoring efforts are required to understand the sources, distribution and abundance of microplastic pollution. To verify the abundance of microplastics along the Tuscan coastal waters (Italy), ...water-column and surface samples were collected in two seasons across four transects at different distances to the coast (0.5, 5, 10 and 20 km), within the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The results show an average concentration of 0.26 items/m3 in the water-column samples and 41.1 g/km2 and 69,161.3 items/km2 of floating microplastics, with an increase with the distance to the coast The seasonality and the sampling area do not affect the abundance of microplastics. The most abundant size class is 1–2.5 mm as fragments and sheets suggesting that fragmentation of larger polyethylene and polypropylene items could be the main source of microplastics. These data represent the application of a harmonized protocol to make the data on microplastics comparable and reliable.
•Microplastics have been monitored applying the European MSFD monitoring protocol.•Floating microplastic abundance increases with the distance to the coast.•Secondary plastic fragments are the most abundant in the area investigated.•Polyethylene and polypropylene are predominant polymers.
The Mediterranean Sea has been described as one of the most affected areas by marine litter in the world. Although effects on organisms from marine plastic litter ingestion have been investigated in ...several oceanic areas, there is still a lack of information from the Mediterranean Sea. The main objectives of this paper are to review current knowledge on the impact of marine litter on Mediterranean biodiversity, to define selection criteria for choosing marine organisms suitable for use as bioindicator species, and to propose a methodological approach to assessing the harm related to marine litter ingestion in several Mediterranean habitats and sub-regions. A new integrated monitoring tool that would provide the information necessary to design and implement future mitigation actions in the Mediterranean basin is proposed.
According to bibliographic research and statistical analysis on current knowledge of marine litter ingestion, the area of the Mediterranean most studied, in terms of number of species and papers in the Mediterranean Sea is the western sub-area as well as demersal (32.9%) and pelagic (27.7%) amongst habitats.
Applying ecological and biological criteria to the most threatened species obtained by statistical analysis, bioindicator species for different habitats and monitoring scale were selected. A threefold approach, simultaneously measuring the presence and effects of plastic, can provide the actual harm and sub-lethal effects to organisms caused by marine litter ingestion. The research revealed gaps in knowledge, and this paper suggests measures to close the gap. This and the selection of appropriate bioindicator species would represent a step forward for marine litter risk assessment, and the implementation of future actions and mitigation measures for specific Mediterranean areas, habitats and species affected by marine litter ingestion.
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•Marine litter ingestion represents a serious harm to Mediterranean biodiversity.•A bibliographic research and statistics identified the most affected habitat/species by marine litter ingestion in the Med.•The identification of suitable bioindicators is necessary to address the effects of marine litter on marine fauna and habitat.•To assess the harm by marine litter ingestion is necessary to quantify its presence and ecotoxicological effects.
Selection of suitable bioindicators of marine litter ingestion and the simultaneous quantification of its presence and ecotoxicological effects is recommended in order to monitor the impact on Mediterranean fauna and habitats.
The honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), a keystone pollinator of wild plant species and agricultural crops, is disappearing globally due to parasites and diseases, habitat loss, ...genetic constraints, beekeeper management issues and to the widespread use of pesticides. Besides insecticides, widely studied in this species, honeybees are also exposed to herbicides and fungicides and heavy metals whose lethal and sublethal effects need to be investigated. In this context, our study aimed to evaluate the effects of fungicides and of heavy metals on honeybees and to develop and apply a multi-biomarker approach that include an Integrated Biological Index (IBRv2) to assess the toxicological status of this species. Biomarkers of neurotoxicity (AChE and CaE), metabolic alteration (ALP, and GST) and immune system (LYS, granulocytes) were measured, following honeybees’ exposure to cadmium or to a crop fungicide, using the genotoxic compound EMS as positive control. A biomarker of genotoxicity (NA assay) was developed and applied for the first time in honeybees. At the doses tested, all the contaminants showed sublethal toxicity to the bees, highlighting in particular genotoxic effects. The data collected were analyzed by an IBRv2 index, which integrated the seven biomarkers used in this study. IBRv2 index increased with increasing cadmium or fungicide concentrations. The IBRv2 represents a simple tool for a general description of honeybees ecotoxicological health status. Results highlight the need for more in-depth investigations on the effects of fungicides on non-target organisms, such as honeybees, using sensitive methods for the determination of sublethal effects. This study contributes to the development of a multi-biomarker approach to be used for a more accurate ecotoxicological environmental monitoring of these animals.
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•A multi-biomarker approach in A. mellifera investigated the sublethal effects of Cd and a fungicide.•Biomarkers alteration, including genotoxicity, was highlighted in exposed honeybees.•An Integrated Biomarker Response (IBRv2) Index was applied in honeybees for the first time.
A plethora of different sampling methodologies has been used to document the presence of micro-plastic fragments in sea water. European Marine Strategy suggests to improve standard techniques to make ...future data comparable. We use Manta Trawl sampling technique to quantify abundance and distribution of micro-plastic fragments in Sardinian Sea (Western Mediterranean), and their relation with phthalates and organoclorine in the neustonic habitat. Our results highlight a quite high average plastic abundance value (0.15 items/m3), comparable to the levels detected in other areas of the Mediterranean. “Site” is the only factor that significantly explains the differences observed in micro-plastic densities. Contaminant levels show high spatial and temporal variation. In every station, HCB is the contaminant with the lowest concentration while PCBs shows the highest levels. This work, in line with Marine Strategy directives, represents a preliminary study for the analysis of plastic impact on marine environment of Sardinia.
•Manta Trawl was used to estimate micro-plastic abundance on Sardinian Sea surface.•Micro-plastic densities and contaminants levels show high variability.•Hydrodynamic conditions can affect the level of plastic density.
Understanding the effects of environmental contaminants on honeybees is essential to minimize their impacts on these important pollinating insects. The aim of this study was to assess the ...ecotoxicological status of honeybees in environments undergoing different anthropic pressure: a wood (reference site), an orchard, an agricultural area, and an urban site, using a multi-biomarker approach. To synthetically represent the ecotoxicological status of the honeybees, the responses of the single biomarkers were integrated by the Integrated Biological Response (IBRv2) index. Overall, the strongest alteration of the ecotoxicological status (IBRv2 = 7.52) was detected in the bees from the orchard due to the alteration of metabolic and genotoxicity biomarkers indicating the presence of pesticides, metals, and lipophilic compounds. Honeybees from the cultivated area (IBRv2 = 7.18) revealed an alteration especially in neurotoxicity, metabolic, and genotoxicity biomarkers probably related to the presence of pesticides, especially fungicides. Finally, in the urban area (IBRv2 = 6.60), the biomarker results (GST, lysozyme, and hemocytes) indicated immunosuppression in the honeybees and the effects of the presence of lipophilic compounds and metals in the environment.
The research objective was to study the presence of DNA damages in haddock exposed to petrogenic or pyrogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from different sources: 1) extracts of oil produced ...water (PW), dominated by 2-ring PAHs; 2) distillation fractions of crude oil (representing oil-based drilling mud), dominated by 3-ring PAHs; 3) heavy pyrogenic PAHs, mixture of 4/5/6-ring PAHs. The biological effect of the different PAH sources was studied by feeding juvenile haddock with low doses of PAHs (0.3-0.7 mg PAH/kg fish/day) for two months, followed by a two-months recovery. In addition to the oral exposure, a group of fish was exposed to 12 single compounds of PAHs (4/5/6-ring) via intraperitoneal injection. The main endpoint was the analysis of hepatic and intestinal DNA adducts. In addition, PAH burden in liver, bile metabolites, gene and protein expression of CYP1A, GST activity, lipid peroxidation, skeletal deformities and histopathology of livers were evaluated. Juvenile haddock responded quickly to both intraperitoneal injection and oral exposure of 4/5/6-ring PAHs. High levels of DNA adducts were detected in livers three days after the dose of the single compound exposure. Fish had also high levels of DNA adducts in liver after being fed with extracts dominated by 2-ring PAHs (a PW exposure scenario) and 3-ring PAHs (simulating an oil exposure scenario). Elevated levels of DNA adducts were observed in the liver of all exposed groups after the 2 months of recovery. High levels of DNA adduct were found also in the intestines of individuals exposed to oil or heavy PAHs, but not in the PW or control groups. This suggests that the intestinal barrier is very important for detoxification of orally exposures of PAHs.
The aim of this study was to evaluate a set of ecotoxicity biotests on three marine model species exposed to elutriates of marine sediments inoculated with the biodegradable plastic Mater-Bi or with ...cellulose. The sediments were incubated at 28°C and tested after 6 months, when clear signs of degradation were visible in the exposed samples, and after 12 months, when the samples had completely disappeared. The model organisms selected for the study were the unicellular algae Dunaliella tertiolecta, the sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles. The unicellular algae and sea urchins were used to determine the toxicological endpoint of growth inhibition and embryotoxicity, respectively, and the sea bass juveniles were tested to evaluate sublethal effect endpoints using lipid peroxidation and genotoxicity biomarkers. Elutriates of sediment inoculated with Mater-Bi for 6 and 12 months showed an absence of toxic effects in all of the model organisms exposed in this study. The Mater-Bi degradation process did not generate or transfer into the elutriates toxic substances that could cause alterations in the growth of D. tertiolecta, in the P. lividus embryo-toxicity assay or in the sensitive biomarker responses of the fish Dicentrarchus labrax. The results obtained in this study suggest that the ecotoxicological approach applied may be suitable for investigating the environmental impact of the degradation of bioplastics in marine sediments.
The research presented here was conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of recovery technologies in remediating a compromised marine environment. The multidisciplinary approach aims to integrate ...traditional chemical-physical analysis and to assess the biological parameters of
Mytilus galloprovincialis
within different experimental mesocosms (W, G, and B). In particular, this system was designed to reproduce sediment resuspension in a marine environment, which is thought to be one cause of contaminant release. The study combined morphological and ultrastructural observations with DNA damage assessment and mRNA expression of those genes involved in cellular stress responses. The tissues of mussels maintained in the polluted mesocosm showed a higher accumulation of Pb and Hg than in those maintained in restored mesocosm. This observation correlates well with mRNA expression of
MT10
and data on DNA damage. The outcome of the biological evaluation consolidates the chemical characterization and supports the concept that the remediation method should be evaluated at an early stage, both to analytically determine the reduction of toxic components and to assess its ultimate impact on the biological system.
Since 2013, loggerhead sea turtle ( Caretta caretta , Linnaeus 1758) nesting has been observed further north along the Italian coast, reaching the Tuscan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea). The four ...nesting events that occurred in Tuscany in the summer of 2019 spurred the scientific community to monitor these occurrences more carefully, following them from egg deposition to hatching. This provided an opportunity to collect samples for conducting multidisciplinary investigations, including the toxicological investigations of the biological material collected from the four nests. The aim of this study was to conduct an initial assessment of persistent organic pollutants in the eggs laid in Tuscany, aiming to establish a baseline on this topic for subsequent nesting events that have occurred until today. Organochlorine compounds (OCs), specifically polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), were analyzed and detected in unhatched eggs, embryos, and chorio-allantoic membranes (CAMs). OCs were detected in all samples, with PCBs > DDTs ≫ HCB. A significant spatial variation in pollutant levels and profiles among sea turtle nesting locations was found. Embryos showed higher levels of contamination than egg contents regardless of the developmental stages. Depth of the laying chamber and egg mass were not significant factors in OC bioaccumulation. For the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, this study assessed the role of CAM in the transfer of contaminants to the embryo. Overall, the OC levels found were lower compared to the results from other studies conducted worldwide on loggerhead sea turtle biological material. This was the first assessment of nest biological material for the North-Western coast of Italy.
Brodifacoum is the most common rodenticide used for the eradication of invasive rodents from islands. It blocks the vitamin K cycle, resulting in hemorrhages in target mammals. Non-target species may ...be incidentally exposed to brodifacoum, including marine species. A case study conducted on the Italian Marine Protected Area of Tavolara Island was reported after a rodent eradication using the aerial broadcast of a brodifacoum pellet. Brodifacoum presence and effects on non-target marine organisms were investigated. Different fish species were sampled, and a set of analyses was conducted to determine vitamin K and vitamin K epoxide reductase concentrations, prothrombin time, and erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities (ENA) assay. In all the examined organisms, brodifacoum was not detected. The results obtained showed differences in vitamin K and vitamin K epoxide concentrations among the samples studied, with a positive correlation for three species between vitamin K, vitamin K epoxide, and fish weight. The prothrombin time assay showed a good blood clotting capacity in the fish. Higher abnormality values were recorded for four species. The results of this study suggest that it is possible to hypothesize that the sampled fish were not likely to have been exposed to brodifacoum and that consequently there are no negative issues concerning human consumption.
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