peer reviewed | Metalliferous soils provide very restrictive habitats for plants due to phytotoxicity, resulting in severe selection pressures. Species comprising heavy-metal plant communities are genetically altered ecotypes with specific tolerances to, e.g., cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc and arsenic, adapted through microevolutionary processes. Evolution of metal tolerance takes place at each specific site (Ernst 2006). A high degree of metal tolerance depends on the bioavailable fraction of the metal(loids) in the soil and the type of mineralization. At extremely high soil metal concentrations, especially on polymetallic soils, even metal-tolerant genotypes are not able to evolve extreme tolerances to several heavy metals simultaneously. Adapted genotypes are the result of the Darwinian natural selection of metal-tolerant individuals selected from surrounding non-metalliferous populations (Antonovics et al. 1971; Baker 1987; Ernst 2006). Such selection can lead ultimately to speciation and the evolution of endemic taxa. Heavy-metal tolerance was first reported by Prat (1934) in Silene dioica and demonstrated experimentally in grasses by Bradshaw and co-workers in Agrostis spp. and by Wilkins in Festuca ovina in the late 1950s and 1960s (see Antonovics et al. 1971) and from the early 1950s onwards in the herb Silene vulgaris by Baumeister and co-workers (see Ernst 1974). Metal-tolerant plants avoid intoxication by an excess of heavy metals by means of special cellular mechanisms, as long as the soil metal levels do not exceed the levels of metal tolerance (Ernst 1974; Ernst et al. 2004). They can thus thrive on soils that are too toxic for non-adapted species and ecotypes.

International audience | The tropical climate and human pressures (mining industry, forest fires) cause significant sediment inputs into the New Caledonia lagoon and are a major cause of degradation of the fringing reefs. The erosion process is spatially characterized on the west coast of New Caledonia to assess potential sediment inputs in the marine area. This paper describes the methodologies that are used to map soil sensitivity to erosion using remote sensing and a geographic information system tool. A cognitive approach, multi-criteria evaluation model and Universal Soil Loss Equation are implemented. This article compares the relevance of each model in order to spatialize and quantify potential erosion at catchment basin scale. These types of studies provide valuable results for focusing on areas subject to erosion and serve as a decision-making tool for the minimization of lagoon vulnerability to the natural and human dynamics on the level of the catchment basins.

peer reviewed | Elemental carbon and nitrogen levels and isotope ratios were assessed in different biological compartments of a Northwest (NW) Mediterranean bay to trace the various sources of nutrient input from natural (river runoffs) and anthropogenic (harbor outflows, fish farms and urban sewage outfall) sources. Samples from transplanted mussels and natural sea grass communities (Posidonia oceanica leaves and epiphytes) were harvested from different locations throughout the bay during the touristic summer and rainy seasons. The results from the nitrogen analysis revealed that sewage and harbor outflow promote higher nitrogen levels, enrichment of N-15 in the tissues, and a higher seasonal variability in sea grass and epiphytes. In mussel tissues, the delta N-15 was also influenced by sewage and harbor outflow, whereas delta C-13 was influenced by terrestrial inputs. These results suggest that natural and anthropogenic nutrient inputs have a temporary and localized influence and affect the sensitivity of natural isotopic ratios to changes in hydrologic conditions, especially to rain and tourism. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

peer reviewed | A previous study has shown a simultaneous increase of vitamin A and PCBs in grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) milk at late lactation (Debier et al., 2004). Here we sought to understand this unexpected relationship by comparing the dynamics of vitamin A and PCBs in the different tissue compartments of transfer. Lactating grey seals and their pups were sampled longitudinally in Scotland during the 2006 breeding season. As blubber reserves decreased, concentrations of vitamin A and PCBs increased during lactation in the inner layer of maternal blubber. A concomitant rise was observed in milk and consequently in the serum of suckling pups. The similar dynamics of vitamin A and PCBs in milk and inner blubber suggest a common mechanism of mobilisation from maternal body stores and transfer into the milk. A panel data analysis highlighted a negative impact of PCBs in milk and pup serum on vitamin A status in pup serum. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Due to increasing amounts of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the aquatic environment, their largely unknown effects to non-target organisms need to be assessed. This study examined physiological changes in the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha exposed to increasing concentrations (0.534, 5.34, 53.4 and 534 mg L1) of the b-blocker metoprolol in a flow-through system for seven days.The two lower concentrations represent the environmentally relevant range. Surprisingly, metallothionein mRNA was immediately up-regulated in all treatments. For the two higher concentrations mRNA up-regulation in gills was found for P-glycoprotein after one day, and after four days for pi class glutathione S-transferase, demonstrating elimination and biotransformation processes, respectively. Additionally, catalase and superoxide dismutase were up-regulated in the digestive gland indicating oxidative stress. In all treated mussels a significant up-regulation of heat shock protein mRNA was observed in gills after four days, which suggests protein damage and the requirement for repair processes. Metoprolol was 20-fold bioaccumulated for environmentally relevant concentrations. | International audience

International audience | Evidence from an international survey in the Atlantic biogeographic region of Europe indicates that chronic nitrogen deposition is reducing plant species richness in acid grasslands. Across the deposition gradient in this region (2–44 kg N ha−1 yr−1) species richness showed a curvilinear response, with greatest reductions in species richness when deposition increased from low levels. This has important implications for conservation policies, suggesting that to protect the most sensitive grasslands resources should be focussed where deposition is currently low. Soil pH is also an important driver of species richness indicating that the acidifying effect of nitrogen deposition may be contributing to species richness reductions. The results of this survey suggest that the impacts of nitrogen deposition can be observed over a large geographical range. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition is reducing biodiversity in grasslands across Europe.

International audience | The ability of the free ion activity model (FIAM), the terrestrial biotic ligand model (TBLM), the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique and a plant-based biotest, the RHIZOtest, to predict root copper (Cu) concentration in field-grown durum wheat (Triticum turgidum durum L) was assessed on 44 soils varying in pH (3.9-7.8) and total Cu (32-184 mg kg(-1)). None of the methods adequately predicted root Cu concentration, which was mainly correlated with total soil Cu. Results from DGT measurements and even more so FIAM prediction were negatively correlated with soil pH and over-estimated root Cu concentration in acidic soils. TBLM implementation improved numerically FIAM prediction but still failed to predict adequately root Cu concentration as the TBLM formalism did not considered the rhizosphere alkalisation as observed in situ. In contrast, RHIZOtest measurements accounted for rhizosphere alkalisation and were mainly correlated with total soil Cu.