Due to human activities, there is an increasing presence of agrochemicals residues in water bodies, which could be attributed to an increased use of these chemicals, incorrect disposal of packaging materials, and crop leaching. The effects of these residues on prey-predator relationship of aquatic animals are poorly known. Here, we show that fish acutely exposed to glyphosate, 2,4-D, and methylbenzoate-based agrichemicals have their anti-predatory responses impaired. We exposed zebrafish to sub-lethal concentrations of agrichemicals and evaluated their behavioral reaction against a simulated bird predatory strike. We observed that agrichemical-exposed fish spent more time in a risky area, suggesting that the pesticides interfered with their ability of risk perception. Our results highlight the impairment and environmental consequences of agrochemical residues, which can affect aquatic life and crucial elements for life (food web) such as the prey-predator relationship.

Very little information is available on the stressed growth of Microcystis imposed by arsenate (As(V)) under different phosphorus (P) regimes. In this study, we examined the growth characteristics and arsenic transformation of four Microcystis species exposed under As(V) with two P sources involving dissolved inorganic phosphorus (IP) and organophosphate (D-glucose-6-phosphate disodium salt, GP). Results showed that all the four chosen Microcystis species could grow and reproduce with GP as the only P source, and the difference was insignificant when compared with IP. From optical density (OD), chlorophyll a (Chla), and actual quantum yield (Yield), the tolerance to As(V) of the chosen species was following as FACHB 905 > FACHB 1028 > FACHB 1334 > FACHB 912. Specifically, the 96 h EC₅₀ of As(V) for FACHB 905 in IP was approx. 4 orders of magnitude higher than that in GP, but for other three algal species, the 96 h EC₅₀ values were similar under the two given different P conditions. Furthermore, all antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxide dismutase (POD), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and metalloproteinase (MTs) in algal cells were significantly increased in GP conditions. Moreover, the enzyme activities of AKP, GSTs, and MTs were inhibited with increasing As(V) levels under both IP and GP conditions. In addition, arsenite (As(III)) and methylated As of monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylthioarsinic acid (DMA) were found in FACHB 912 and FACHB 1334 media, indicating that these Microcystis could detoxify As(V) by As biotransformation under IP and GP conditions. Specifically, As(V) reduction was elevated in media of FACHB 1334 and FACHB 905, but was decreased in media of FACHB 912 under GP conditions. Our results highlight the different P sources that impact the toxic effects of arsenate exposure on Microcystis and subsequent As biotransformation.

Petroleum-industry wastewater (PI-WW) is a potential source of water that can be reused in areas suffering from water stress. This water contains various fractions that need to be removed before reuse, such as light hydrocarbons, heavy metals and conditioning chemicals. Constructed wetlands (CWs) can remove these fractions, but the range of PI-WW salinities that can be treated in CWs and the influence of an increasing salinity on the CW removal efficiency for abovementioned fractions is unknown. Therefore, the impact of an increasing salinity on the removal of conditioning chemicals benzotriazole, aromatic hydrocarbon benzoic acid, and heavy metal zinc in lab-scale unplanted and Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia planted vertical-flow CWs was tested in the present study. P. australis was less sensitive than T. latifolia to increasing salinities and survived with a NaCl concentration of 12 g/L. The decay of T. latifolia was accompanied by a decrease in the removal efficiency for benzotriazole and benzoic acid, indicating that living vegetation enhanced the removal of these chemicals. Increased salinities resulted in the leaching of zinc from the planted CWs, probably as a result of active plant defence mechanisms against salt shocks that solubilized zinc. Plant growth also resulted in substantial evapotranspiration, leading to an increased salinity of the CW treated effluent. A too high salinity limits the reuse of the CW treated water. Therefore, CW treatment should be followed by desalination technologies to obtain salinities suitable for reuse. In this technology train, CWs enhance the efficiency of physicochemical desalination technologies by removing organics that induce membrane fouling. Hence, P. australis planted CWs are a suitable option for the treatment of water with a salinity below 12 g/L before further treatment or direct reuse in water scarce areas worldwide, where CWs may also boost the local biodiversity. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

We present a synthetic review and expert consultation that assesses the actual risks posed by arthropod pests in four major crops, identifies targets for integrated pest management (IPM) in terms of cultivated land needing pest control and gauges the implementation “readiness” of non-chemical alternatives. Our assessment focuses on the world’s primary target pests for neonicotinoid-based management: western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera) in maize; wireworms (Agriotes spp.) in maize and winter wheat; bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) in winter wheat; brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) in rice; cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii) and silver-leaf whitefly (SLW, Bemisia tabaci) in cotton. First, we queried scientific literature databases and consulted experts from different countries in Europe, North America, and Asia about available IPM tools for each crop-pest system. Next, using an online survey, we quantitatively assessed the economic relevance of target pests by compiling country-level records of crop damage, yield impacts, extent of insecticide usage, and “readiness” status of various pest management alternatives (i.e., research, plot-scale validation, grower-uptake). Biological control received considerable scientific attention, while agronomic strategies (e.g., crop rotation), insurance schemes, decision support systems (DSS), and innovative pesticide application modes were listed as key alternatives. Our study identifies opportunities to advance applied research, IPM technology validation, and grower education to halt or drastically reduce our over-reliance on systemic insecticides globally.

Composting has been recommended as a suitable alternative for recycling wastes and could improve tannery sludge (TS) before its use. However, the long-term application of composted tannery sludge (CTS) may bring concerns about its effects on soil properties and, consequently, on plants and environment, mainly when considering Cr contamination. In this study, we summarize the responses of soil chemical and biological parameters in a 10-year study with yearly applications of CTS. Chemical and biological parameters were assessed in soil samples, and the multivariate analysis method principal response curve (PRC) was used to show the temporal changes in all the biological and chemical properties caused by CTS. The PRC analysis showed different long-term response patterns of chemical and biological parameters according to the rates of CTS. Interestingly, Cr content increased strongly in the first 5 years and only increased slightly in the following 5 years. The yearly applications of CTS changed the biological and chemical parameters of the soil, negatively and positively, respectively. Organic matter, K and P, increased during the 10 years of application, while soil pH and Cr concentration increased, and soil microbial biomass and enzymes activity decreased.

Metsulfuron-methyl is a sulfonylurea herbicide, primarily with postemergence activity but also with occasional pre-emergent activity, used for control of weeds and woody plants on agricultural lands and natural areas. The active ingredient is popular in Alaska as Ally XP formulation; little is known about its high-latitude environmental behavior and potential adverse impacts on soil health in cold regions. Our study determined field degradation rates at two experimental farms in Alaska and assessed whether laboratory-incubated soil amended at 1× or 100× label rates would adversely impact microbial community diversity. DT50 was observed at 4.12–5.13 days, with the compound below 1 μg/kg detection limit at 90 days. Interestingly, this is faster than the reported range of field half-lives in the literature (7–42 days). Microbial community composition was not affected by MSM at both 1× and 100× rates. High-latitude regions exhibit extreme summer photoperiods that may exacerbate the MSM degradation/dissipation rate; we postulate that timing of application may have large impacts on MSM attenuation.

Excessive nitrogen (N) loading has had severe consequences in coastal zones around the world. Denitrification and anammox are major microbial pathways for removing N in aquatic environments before it is exported to the coast. To assess two processes in eutrophic riverine systems, the denitrification and anammox and their bacterial participants were investigated in sediments of the Xiaoqing (XQ) River and Jiaolai (JL) River in Northeast China. By combining the evidence from N¹⁵ isotope tracing experiment and functional gene-based analysis, it was found that denitrification and anammox are ubiquitous along the investigated riverine sediments. The denitrification varied from 39.38 to 1433.01 nmol N₂ m⁻² h⁻¹. Moreover, the anammox rates were in the range of 15.91 to 1209.97 nmol N₂ m⁻² h⁻¹. Quantitative PCR results revealed that the nirK and nirS genes were in the order of 10⁴–10⁶ copies g⁻¹ and 10³–10⁵ copies g⁻¹, respectively, in both river sediments, while the hzsA was in the order of 10⁶–10⁵ copies g⁻¹ in XQ at approximately two orders of magnitude compared with JL. The phylogenetic analysis of functional genes revealed the high diversity of the denitrifier and low diversity of anammox bacteria. Variance partitioning analyses verified that the grain particle characteristics were the major factor group determined the N removal efficiency. The denitrification and anammox processes were estimated to have removed 16.1% of the inorganic nitrogen inputs before being exported to Laizhou Bay, which highlights that a more extensive understanding of the regularity of the N removal processes is important in the technical remediation of eutrophication problems.

The identification of heavy metals in the atmosphere has increased a strong and growing interest. Thereby, monitoring of elements in aerobiological samples could be a powerful tool for detection of environmental pollution. In this work, a simple and fast method for the determination of trace metals bound to aeroparticles such as pollen was optimized. A single-step procedure for the dissolution of aerobiological samples in nitric acid and further determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with a high-efficiency sample introduction system was developed. The procedure involved low dilution and low detection limits with adequate precision and its direct introduction into the ICP-MS system. The novel method proposed was successfully applied to determine five elements in concentrations from 0.04 mg g⁻¹ (U) to 14.1 mg g⁻¹ (Mn) in aerobiological samples. Through this procedure, the most significant correlations between pollen of Cupressaceae, Ulmus, and Moraceae with Mn, and pollen of Moraceae with Pb were found. This methodology could be a very useful tool to assess air pollution. We are not only proposing a new strategy to analyze air samples particles but also giving new information of the elemental composition carried by pollen. Graphical Abstract Development of elements determination in aerobiological samples based on the nitric acid dissolution and its direct introduction into the ICP-MS system

Phosphorus removal from wastewater is very important in order to prevent water eutrophication. Although there are many ways to remove phosphorus, electrocoagulation (EC) is a promising method. However, the efficiency of conventional EC processes needs to be further improved. In this study, magnetized iron particle anodes used for EC were fabricated and batch experiments were conducted. The results showed that magnetized anode configuration (iron powder, iron filings, iron sheet), current density (i), as well as electrolysis time had significant effects on phosphorus removal. Particle electrodes (e.g., iron powder) with both large specific surface area and high current density were beneficial for phosphorus removal. Simultaneously, anode magnetization could also enhance the phosphorus removal to some extent based on the effect of magnetic field (MF) on water characteristics (e.g., conductivity). Combining the advantages of particle electrode and MF, magnetized particle anode was superior to other electrodes in phosphorus removal and cell voltage maintenance. Compared with the conventional plate anode, the magnetized iron particle anode was more economical and could reduce operating cost by more than 50%. The results are useful for the practical application of phosphorus removal by EC.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are promising adsorbents for the removal of various contaminants from water. However, a comprehensive understanding of how ternary LDHs differ from the divalent ones in terms of dye adsorption capacity and the underlying mechanisms still remain unknown. Remazol brilliant blue reactive (RBBR) adsorption on pristine and calcined (C) ZnAl, MgAl, and ZnMgAl LDHs were comprehensively investigated for the first time in this study. The characteristics of the pristine and calcined samples were established with X-ray diffractometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, zeta potential analyzer, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method. A considerably larger adsorption capacity was obtained with pristine MgAl (220 mg/g) and ZnAl (191 mg/g) compared to that of ZnMgAl (164 mg/g) at all studied initial dye concentrations (10–250 mg/L) and solution pH (3–12). However, when the LDH samples were calcined, the largest RBBR mass adsorbed was achieved with ZnMgAl-C (263 mg/g) followed by MgAl-C (247 mg/g) and ZnAl-C (236 mg/g). In comparison to the pristine samples, the faster adsorption rate and higher adsorption capacity of the calcined samples were attributed to the large specific surface area and enhanced electrostatic interactions due to the higher positive charge obtained after calcination. ZnMgAl-C had the largest surface area and the charge, explaining its superior adsorption capacity over the divalent LDHs. Pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Elovich models described the kinetics data well while Freundlich and Redlich–Peterson isotherms suitably fit to the equilibrium data for the pristine and calcined LDHs. Surface adsorption via electrostatic interactions was found to be the effective mechanism for RBBR adsorption on all pristine and calcined LDHs while intercalation was not.