Artificial turf (AT) is a surfacing material that simulates natural grass by using synthetic, mainly plastic, fibers in different shapes, sizes and properties. AT has spread beyond sports facilities and today shapes many urban landscapes, from private lawns to rooftops and public venues. Despite concerns regarding the impacts of AT, little is known about the release of AT fibers into natural environment. Here, for the first time, we specifically investigate the presence of AT fibers in river and ocean waters as major conduits and final destination of plastic debris transported by water runoff. Our sampling survey showed that, AT fibers – composed mainly of polyethylene and polypropylene – can constitute over 15% of the mesoplastics and macroplastics content, suggesting that AT fibers may contribute significantly to plastic pollution. Up to 20,000 fibers a day flowed down through the river, and up to 213,200 fibers per km2 were found floating on the sea surface of nearshore areas. AT, apart from impacting on urban biodiversity, urban runoff, heat island formation, and hazardous chemical leaching, is a major source of plastic pollution to natural aquatic environments.

peer reviewed | The levels of eighteen trace elements (TEs) were evaluated in association with stable isotopes (δ15N, δ34S, and δ13C) in feathers and eggs of five migratory species breeding on the Antarctic Peninsula to test the factors that influence their exposure to contaminants. The feathers of seabirds migrating to the Northern Hemisphere (South polar skua) have concentrations (mean ± SD, μg. g-1) of Li (1.71 ± 2.08) and Mg (1169.5 ± 366.8) one order of magnitude higher than southern migrants, such as Snowy sheathbill Li (0.01 ± 0.005) and Mg (499.6 ± 111.9). Feathers had significantly higher concentrations for 11 of a total of 18 metals measured compared to eggs. South polar skua have higher concentrations of all TEs in eggs compared to antarctic tern. Therefore, the present study showed that migration and trophic ecology (δ15N, δ13C, and δ34S) influence Fe, Mn, Cu, and Se concentrations in feathers of Antarctic seabirds. The concentrations of Cu, Mn, Rb, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr are higher than previously reported, which may be due to increased local and global human activities.

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International audience | Contamination of surface waters by pharmaceuticals is an emerging problem globally. This is because the increased access and use of pharmaceuticals by a growing world population lead to environmental contamination, threatening non-target species in their natural environment. Of particular concern are neuroactive pharmaceuticals, which are known to bioaccumulate in fish and impact a variety of individual processes such as fish reproduction or behaviour, which can have ecological impacts and compromise fish populations. In this work, we investigate the occurrence and bioaccumulation of 33 neuroactive pharmaceuticals in brain, muscle and liver tissues of multiple fish species collected in four different estuaries (Douro, Tejo, Sado and Mira). In total, 28 neuroactive pharmaceuticals were detected in water and 13 in fish tissues, with individual pharmaceuticals reaching maximum concentrations of 1590 ng/L and 207 ng/g ww, respectively. The neuroactive pharmaceuticals with the highest levels and highest frequency of detection in the water samples were psychostimulants, antidepressants, opioids and anxiolytics, whereas in fish tissues, antiepileptics, psychostimulants, anxiolytics and antidepressants showed highest concentrations. Bioaccumulation was ubiquitous, occurring in all seven estuarine and marine fish species. Notably, neuroactive compounds were detected in every water and fish brain samples, and in 95% of fish liver and muscle tissues. Despite variations in pharmaceutical occurrence among estuaries, bioaccumulation patterns were consistent among estuarine systems, with generally higher bioaccumulation in fish brain followed by liver and muscle. Moreover, no link between bioaccumulation and compounds' lipophilicity, species habitat use patterns or trophic levels was observed. Overall, this work highlights the occurrence of a highly diverse suite of neuroactive pharmaceuticals and their pervasiveness in waters and fish from estuarine systems with contrasting hydromorphology and urban development and emphasizes the urgent need for toxicity assessment of these compounds in natural ecosystems, linked to internalized body concentration in non-target species.

International audience | Copper (Cu) concentration in agricultural soils often exceeds toxicological limits due to application of Cu-based fungicides. The potential of weeds for their use as functional cover plants in vineyard management and phytoremediation practices is little explored. We identified five weed species widely present in vineyards and assessed their Cu accumulation from eleven Mediterranean vineyards (soil Cu: 60-327 mu g g(-1)) and two adjacent control sites (soil Cu: 15-30 mu g g(-1)). Soils and plants were characterized by their physico-chemical properties and nutrient content. We applied multivariate techniques to analyze relationships between soil properties and leaf nutrient composition. Copper tolerance and accumulation traits were further tested in hydroponics using a series of CuSO4 concentrations (0.1-16 mu M).Under field conditions, the highest Cu concentration in both roots and leaves were found in Lolium perenne (221 and 461 mu g g(-1), respectively), followed by Plantago lanceolata, Rumex obtusifolius and Taraxacum officinale (>100 mu g g(-1) Cu in leaves). Only one species, Trifolium repens, did not accumulate remarkable Cu concentrations. Overall, and as revealed by the multivariate analyses, leaf Cu concentration was driven by soil Cu content, soil texture, organic matter, nitrogen, and Cu uptake into roots. However, functional regression analysis and controlled experiments suggested that Cu might be additionally absorbed from the deposits on the leaf surface related to the Cu-fungicide treatments and soil dust. Our study highlights the importance of intra-specific variability in Cu accumulation among weed species in Cu-contaminated agricultural soils. Further validation of these findings under controlled conditions could provide essential insights for optimizing management and remediation strategies.

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International audience | Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic metal that adversely impacts human and wildlife health. The amount of Hg released globally in the environment has increased steadily since the Industrial Revolution, resulting in growing contamination in biota. Seabirds have been extensively studied to monitor Hg contamination in the world’s oceans. Multidecadal increases in seabird Hg contamination have been documented in polar, temperate and subtropical regions, whereas in tropical regions they are largely unknown. Since seabirds accumulate Hg mainly from their diet, their trophic ecology is fundamental in understanding their Hg exposure over time. Here, we used the sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus), the most abundant tropical seabird, as bioindicator of temporal variations in Hg transfer to marine predators in tropical ecosystems in response to trophic changes and other potential drivers. Body feathers were sampled from 220 sooty terns, from museum specimens (n=134) and free-living birds (n=86) from Ascension Island, in the South Atlantic Ocean, over 145 years (1876-2021). Chemical analyses included (i) Hg (total- and methyl-Hg), and (ii) carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹5N) stable isotopes, as proxies of foraging habitat and trophic position, respectively, to investigate the relationship between trophic ecology and Hg contamination over time. Despite current regulations on its global emissions, mean Hg concentrations were 58.9% higher in the 2020s (2.0 µg/g, n=34) than in the 1920s (1.2 µg/g, n=107). Feather Hg concentrations were negatively and positively associated with δ¹³C and δ¹5N values. The sharp decline of 2.9 ‰ in δ¹³C values over time indicates ecosystem-wide changes (shifting primary productivity) in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean and can help explain the observed increase in tern’s feather Hg concentrations. Overall, this study provides invaluable information on how ecosystem-wide changes can increase Hg contamination of tropical marine predators and reinforces the need for long-term regulations of harmful contaminants at the global scale.

International audience | Humans are exposed to a growing list of synthetic chemicals, some of them becoming a major public health concern due to their capacity to impact multiple biological endpoints and contribute to a range of chronic diseases. The integration of endogenous (omic) biomarkers of effect in environmental health studies has been growing during the last decade, aiming to gain insight into potential mechanisms linking the exposures and the clinical conditions. The emergence of high-throughput omic platforms has raised a list of statistical challenges posed by the large dimension and complexity of data generated. Thus, the aim of the present study was to critically review the current state-of-the-science about statistical approaches used to integrate endogenous biomarkers in environmental-health studies linking chemical exposures with health outcomes. The present review specifically focused on internal exposure to environmental chemical pollutants, involving both persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and non-persistent pollutants like phthalates or bisphenols, and metals. We identified 42 eligible articles published since 2016, reporting 48 different statistical workflows, mostly focused on POPs and using metabolomic profiling in the intermediate layer. The outcomes were mainly binary and focused on metabolic disorders. A large diversity of statistical strategies were reported to integrate chemical mixtures and endogenous biomarkers to characterize their associations with health conditions. Multivariate regression models were the most predominant statistical method reported in the published workflows, however some studies applied latent based methods or multipollutant models to overcome the specific constraints of omic or exposure data. A minority of studies used formal mediation analysis to characterize the indirect effects mediated by the endogenous biomarkers. The principles of each specific statistical method and overall workflow set-up are summarized in the light of highlighting their applicability, strengths and weaknesses or interpretability to gain insight into the causal structures underlying the triad: exposure, effect-biomarker and outcome.

International audience | Sound emissions from human activities represent a pervasive environmental stressor. Individual responses in terms of behaviour, physiology or anatomy are well documented but whether they propagate through nested ecological interactions to alter complex communities needs to be better understood. This is even more relevant for freshwater ecosystems that harbour a disproportionate fraction of biodiversity but receive less attention than marine and terrestrial systems. We conducted a mesocosm investigation to study the effect of chronic exposure to motorboat noise on the dynamics of a freshwater community including phytoplankton, zooplankton, and roach as a planktivorous fish. In addition, we performed a microcosm investigation to test whether roach’s feeding behaviour was influenced by the noise condition they experienced in the mesocosms. Indeed, compared to other freshwater fish, the response of roach to motorboat noise apparently does not weaken with repeated exposure, suggesting the absence of habituation. As expected under the trophic cascade hypothesis, predation by roach induced structural changes in the planktonic communities with a decrease in the main grazing zooplankton that slightly benefited green algae. Surprisingly, although the microcosm investigation revealed persistent alterations in the feeding behaviour of the roach exposed to chronic noise, the dynamics of the roach-dominated planktonic communities did not differ between the noisy and noiseless mesocosms. It might be that roach’s individual response to noise was not strong enough to cascade or that the biological cues coming from the conspecifics and the many planktonic organisms have diverted each fish’s attention from noise. Our work suggests that the top-down structuring influence of roach on planktonic communities might be resilient to noise and highlights how extrapolating impacts from individual responses to complex communities can be tricky.