Does wetland watershed land use influence amphibian larval development? A relevant effect of agriculture on biota

Agriculture practices have been widely proposed as the major cause of amphibian population decline. However, the majority of these results have been based on laboratory experiments. The present study was conducted to test the repercussion of wetland sediment provenance on amphibian larval development.Bufo bufo larvae were used in two dif ferent treatments in an outdoor experiment, the ?rst one using sediment from one wetland surrounded by intensive agricultural practices, and the second using sediment with no record of agrochemical uses. A negative ef fect was observed in the agricultural treatment, from subcellular to individual level. The results showed that the sediment from agricultural practices watershed generates a reduction in survival. Furthermore, individuals that developed under this treatment showed a lower total length and a delay in the time necessary to complete metamorphosis; these features are connected with recruitment success. In the same way, biochemical analysis showed high values of lipid peroxidation in metamorphs developing in sediments from an agricultural area. Finally, the results obtained highlight the importance of considering the sediments, not only the water, as origin treatment, allowing us to understand the consequences on amphibian populations that inhabit areas af fected by intensive agriculture.     

Metabolomic Fingerprint of the Model Ciliate,Tetrahymena thermophila Determined by Untargeted Profiling Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The ciliate Tetrahymena is a valuable model organism in the studies of ecotoxicology. Changes in intracellular metabolism are caused by exogenous chemicals in the environment. Intracellular metabolite changes signify toxic effects and can be monitored by metabolomics analysis. In this work, a protocol for the GC-MS-based metabolomic analysis of Tetrahymena was established. Different extraction solvents showed divergent effects on the metabolomic analysis of Tetrahymena thermophila. The peak intensity of metabolites detected in the samples of extraction solvent Formula 1(F1) was the strongest and stable, while 61 metabolites were identified. Formula 1 showed an excellent extraction performance for carbohydrates. In the samples of extraction solvent Formula 2(F2), 66 metabolites were characterized, and fatty acid metabolites were extracted. Meanwhile, 57 and 58 metabolites were characterized in the extraction with Formula 3(F3) and Formula 4(F4), respectively. However, the peak intensity of the metabolites was low, and the metabolites were unstable. These results indicated that different extraction solvents substantially affected the detected coverage and peak intensity of intracellular metabolites. A total of 74 metabolites(19 amino acids, 11 organic acids, 2 inorganic acids, 11 fatty acids, 11 carbohydrates, 3 glycosides, 4 alcohols, 6 amines, and 7 other compounds) were identified in all experimental groups. Among these metabolites, amino acids, glycerol, myoinositol, and unsaturated fatty acids may become potential biomarkers of metabolite set enrichment analysis for detecting the ability of T. thermophila against environmental stresses.     

Mercury in Human Hair and Fish: is there a Hong Kong Male Subfertility Connection?

Hair is a useful indicator of a person’s exposure to mercury. For this reason, hair samples from 94 fertile and 117 subfertile Hong Kong residents were compared over four separate age groups. A typical 30 year old Hong Kong male had a hair mercury concentration of approximately 3.3 mg/kg mercury while a 60 year old Hong Kong subfertile male had a hair mercury concentration of about 7.5 mg/kg. Most of this mercury comes from seafood consumption. Individuals consuming four or more meals of fish per week had a hair mercury of 4.07 mg/kg dry weight of hair while those consuming fish less frequently had significantly lower levels (2.56 mg/kg). Hong Kong residents that consumed no fish had only 1.21 mg/kg hair mercury. The relative risks of males with moderate and high levels of mercury in their hair were significant (p=0.062). Age corrected estimates of risk indicated that compared with men with low levels of mercury in their hair, men with higher levels were twice as likely to be subfertile (relative risk, 1.95) and there was a dose–response trend that was highly significant (p < 0.0005). In light of these risks we concluded that the maximum permitted mercury level in food sold in Hong Kong should be lowered from 0.5 mg/kg wet weight to a level to be determined by risk analysis. In Japan, where fish mercury levels and fish consumption rates are lower than those in Hong Kong, the maximum amount of mercury permitted in food for human consumption is 0.3 mg/kg wet weight.     

Water temperature interacts with the insecticide imidacloprid to alter acute lethal and sublethal toxicity to mayfly larvae

ABSTRACT

Increased temperatures and exposure to agricultural insecticides are increasingly threatening freshwater ecosystems worldwide. However, their combined effects are still poorly understood. We investigated the individual and interactive effects of water temperature and imidacloprid, the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, on larvae of two New Zealand mayflies, Deleatidium spp. and Coloburiscus humeralis. Ninety-six-hour bioassays with imidacloprid were performed at 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24°C, in a full-factorial design. Mayfly survivorship and sub-lethal responses of impairment and moulting were recorded. We documented synergistically increased mayfly mortality and immobility with exposure to imidacloprid at higher temperatures, implying temperature-enhanced toxicity of imidacloprid. Survivorship of both mayflies was synergistically reduced by the combination of imidacloprid exposure and increasing temperatures. The same interaction also affected mobility of C. humeralis and moulting frequency of Deleatidium. Our findings suggest that developing a more thorough understanding of temperature-contaminant interactions may be important to allow better protection of aquatic ecosystems.