This paper analyzes a unique, aquatic phytobial biocenosis that has been forming naturally for over 20 years and operating as a filter for Cr(VI)-polluted groundwater. Our study presents a thorough taxonomic analysis of the biocenosis, including filamentous algae, vascular plants, and microbiome, together with the analysis of Cr accumulation levels, bioconcentration factors and other environmentally-significant parameters: siderophore production by bacteria, biomass growth of the plants or winter hardiness. Among 67 species identified in the investigated reservoir, 13 species were indicated as particularly useful in the bioremediation of Cr(VI)-polluted water and sediment. Moreover, three species of filamentous algae, Tribonema sp., and three easily culturable bacterial species were for the first time shown as resistant to Cr concentration up to 123 mg/dm3, i.e. 6150 times over the permissible level. The work presents a modern holistic phytobial consortium indispensable for the remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated aquatic environment in temperate zones worldwide. | Biological mat, Cr(VI), Phytobial remediation, Pseudomonas peli, Tribonema | 100 | 1-14

The high capacity of many ant species to accumulate trace metals raises the question of whether the metal concentration in ants’ bodies could reliably reflect the contamination of ecosystems. The idea of applying the metal accumulation in ants for bioindication purposes is tempting; however, the methods should consider that ants are unique organisms due to their social way of life. In this study, we describe the between-colony variation in the accumulation of Zn and Cd in workers of the common garden ant Lasius niger originated from the post-mining area of a zinc-and-lead smelter in southern Poland. We show that the accumulation of both metals differs significantly between colonies even within the same study site; at the maximum, we detected a three-fold difference in Zn accumulation and a six-fold difference in Cd. The results showed that in the study area, the capacity of L. niger to accumulate metals is highly colony-specific. If future studies on other ant species concur with our findings, this may suggest that incorporating the between-colony variation of metal accumulation in prospective bioindication protocols would provide a higher accuracy of the assessments on the contamination of impacted environments. We suggest that using ants for bioindication should be preceded by preliminary studies to assess representative samples of colonies that could reliably indicate the contamination of the investigated area. | Pollution, Colony, Zinc, Cadmium | 100 | 1-6 | Part A

Reactive filter materials used for phosphorus (P) removal from wastewater can be disposed of as soil amendments after treatment, thus recycling P and other macro- and micro-nutrients to plants. In addition, materials with a high pH and Ca content, such as Polonite, are potential soil conditioners, which can be particularly beneficial for acid soils. Polonite previously used for on-site wastewater treatment was applied as a soil amendment to a mountain meadow. The amendment significantly increased soil pH and decreased the hydrolytic acidity, thus reducing Al toxicity risks. The effects were comparable to those of liming. No difference in yield and P uptake by meadow plants was observed. The uptake of metals was lower for amended soils, especially the uptake of Mn. Using Polonite after wastewater treatment as a soil amendment is thus a viable disposal alternative that can replace liming, when necessary, being capable of recycling P and other nutrients to meadow plants. | Amendment, Fertilizer, Liming, Polonite, Yield | 32 | 2147-2152 | 7

Development of a flux DMT with integrated adsorptive stripping voltammetry for free metal ions detection in solution. Interfaces Against Pollution

International audience | Wintertime anticyclonic conditions, associated with clear sky and cold nights, trigger the formation of persistent layers of stable air over the ground. In an urban area, these persistent layers lead to poor air quality, especially when the terrain is mountainous. This is particularly the case in the Arve River Valley near the city of Passy, located 20 km downstream of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, where air quality stands among the poorest ones in France.Beyond the monitoring of air quality, as performed by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes air quality agency or within the scientific project DECOMBIO led by the Institute for Geosciences and the Environment (IGE), knowledge of the atmospheric dynamics at the valley scale should be gained to understand how pollutants are dispersed. This is the motivation of the Passy project, which started in 2014. It relies on the Passy-2015 field experiment, whereof presentation, along with the discussion of a few results, is the purpose of the present paper. The objective of this field experiment is to document the atmospheric dynamics in the Arve River Valley during wintertime pollution episodes.The work conducted during the Passy project and the analysis of the Passy-2015 field experiment will benefit from a several-year long collaboration among the different partners. The knowledge thus gained will contribute to refine weather forecast and air quality prediction in the Arve River Valley and, more generally, in mountain urban areas under stable conditions. From an operational perspective, our goal is to improve our ability to forecast critical events such as low temperatures, ice and fog formation, pollution events or locations subject to high pollutant concentration. | Les conditions anticycloniques hivernales (ciel clair, nuits froides) conduisent à la formation de couches stables persistantes qui favorisent les épisodes de pollution, particulièrement en terrain montagneux. La vallée de l’Arve est très sensible à ce phénomène, en particulier près de la ville de Passy (Haute-Savoie), située à 20 kilomètres en aval de Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, où la qualité de l’air est l’une des moins bonnes de France.Au-delà du suivi de la qualité de l’air, tel que réalisé par Atmo Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ou par le projet DECOMBIO piloté par l’Institut des Géosciences et de l’Environnement (IGE), il est primordial d’améliorer la connaissance de la dynamique atmosphérique à l’échelle de la vallée en conditions stables pour mieux comprendre comment, couplée au cycle et à la géographie des émissions, elle pilote la dispersion des polluants. C’est la motivation du projet Passy, initié en 2014. Ce projet s’appuie sur les observations de la campagne Passy-2015, présentées dans cet article avec quelques premiers résultats. L’objectif général de cette campagne est de documenter la dynamique atmosphérique au sein de la vallée de l’Arve lors des épisodes de pollution hivernale.Les travaux menés dans le cadre du projet et de l’analyse des données de la campagne s’inscrivent au sein d’une collaboration sur plusieurs années entre les différents partenaires. Ils contribueront à affiner la prévision du temps et de la qualité de l’air dans ce type de vallée, et plus généralement en conditions stables. Il s’agit en particulier d’améliorer la capacité à prévoir des phénomènes critiques, comme les températures minimales, le verglas, le brouillard, les évènements de pollution ou encore les zones de pollution intense.

International audience | This study evaluates the efficiency of two small constructed wetlands installed in the regulatory grass strips between a drained plot and a river. The observed nitrate removal efficiencies were independent of the season or type of constructed wetland and ranged from 5.4 to 10.9% of the inlet amounts. The pesticide mass budgets ranged from −618.5 to 100%, depending on the molecule. The negative efficiencies were attributed to runoff and remobilization. In contrast, the highest efficiencies were associated with pesticides with high Koc and low DT50 (half-life) values, suggesting sorption and degradation. However, the effectiveness of these wetlands is limited for pesticides with low Koc or high DT50 values; thus, the use of these molecules must be reduced. Increasing the number of these small, inexpensive and low-maintenance wetlands in the agricultural landscape would reduce the level of water pollution whilst preserving the extent of cultivated land, but their long-term effectiveness should be evaluated.

Significant expansion in salmon production globally has been partially enabled through the establishment of large-capacity sea-farms in high-energy environments that collectively produce substantial quantities of organic waste with potential to cause regional scale environmental degradation. We analyse results from comprehensive spatial and temporal surveys of water column particulates and seabed environmental indicators for responses to farm production, and residual effects. Results confirmed that while the particles can and do reach a relatively wide area, benthic effects do not necessarily follow suit. There was limited evidence of longer-term environmental degradation at some near-field locations and spatially removed deeper sites. We concluded that evidence for regional biological effects was negligible, suggesting: i) modern waste tracing techniques are more sensitive than traditional effects indicators, and ii) waste fluxes in the far-field were being assimilated without causing environmental perturbation. Monitoring at potential accumulation points, especially for sites with complex bathymetry and hydrodynamics is advised. | publishedVersion

This study investigates the effects of environmentally-relevant concentrations of fluoxetine (FLX, commercial name: Prozac) on wound healing. Pollution of water systems with pharmaceutical and personal care products, including antidepressants such as FLX and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, is a growing environmental concern. Environmentally-relevant FLX concentrations are known to impact physiological functions and behaviour of aquatic animals, however, the effects of exposure on humans are currently unknown. Using a combination of human skin biopsies and a human keratinocyte cell line, we show that exposure to environmental FLX promotes wound closure. We show dose-dependent increases in wound closure with FLX concentrations from 125 ng/l. Using several –omics and pharmaceutical approaches, we demonstrate that the mechanisms underlying enhanced wound closure are increased cell proliferation and serotonin signalling. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 350 differentially expressed genes after exposure. Downregulated genes were enriched in pathways related to mitochondrial function and metabolism, while upregulated genes were associated with cell proliferation and tissue morphogenesis. Kinase profiling showed altered phosphorylation of kinases linked to the MAPK pathway. Consistent with this, phosphoproteomic analyses identified 235 differentially phosphorylated proteins after exposure, with enriched GO terms related to cell cycle, division, and protein biosynthesis. Treatment of skin biopsies and keratinocytes with ketanserin, a serotonin receptor antagonist, reversed the increase in wound closure observed upon exposure. These findings collectively show that exposure to environmental FLX promotes wound healing through modulating serotonin signalling, gene expression and protein phosphorylation, leading to enhanced cell proliferation. Our results justify a transition from the study of behavioural effects of environmental FLX in aquatic animals to the investigation of effects of exposure on wound healing in aquatic and terrestrial animals, including direct impacts on human health. | QRB acknowledges a ‘Happy Chemical’ PhD studentship funded by the University of Hull. BGM would also like to express her gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the FPI predoctoral contract PRE2019–089339 and to the University of Cantabria for the predoctoral mobility grant Erasmus+ nº 2021-1-ES01-KA131-HED-000005117. The York Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry was created thanks to a major capital investment through Science City York, supported by Yorkshire Forward with funds from the Northern Way Initiative, and subsequent support from EPSRC (EP/K039660/1; EP/M028127/1).

Marine vibrators are a new technology being developed for seismic surveys. These devices can transmit continuous instead of impulsive sound and operate over a narrower frequency band and at lower peak pressure than airguns, which is assumed to reduce their environmental impacts. We exposed spawning Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) to sound produced by a prototype, but full-scale, marine vibrator, and monitored behavioural responses of tagged cod using acoustic telemetry. Fish were exposed to 10 × 3 h continuous sound treatments over a 4-day period using a randomised-block design. Sound exposure levels were comparable to airgun exposure experiments conducted previously with the same set-up ranging from ∼115 to 145 dB re 1 μPa2s during exposure. Telemetry data were used to assess 1) whether marine vibrator exposure displaced cod from the spawning ground, through estimation of residence and survival probabilities, and 2) fine-scale behavioural responses within the test site, namely swimming depth, activity levels, displacement, and home ranges. Forty-two spawning cod were tagged prior to the exposure, with 22 present during the exposure. All 22 tags were equipped with pressure sensors and ten of these additionally with accelerometers. While no premature departure from the spawning site was observed, cod reacted to the exposure by decreasing their activity levels (by up to 50%, SE = 7%) and increasing their swimming depth (by up to 2.5 m, SE = 1.0 m) within the test site during the exposure period. These behavioural responses varied by sex and time of day. Cod reactions to a marine vibrator may be more pronounced than reactions to airguns, possibly because continuous sound is more disturbing to fish than intermittent sound at the same exposure levels. However, given sample size limitations of the present study, further studies with continuous sound are necessary to fully understand its impact and biological significance. | publishedVersion

Chemotherapeutants used to control infestations by sea lice can be released into the marine environment surrounding aquaculture farms. Among these therapeutic agents, emamectin benzoate is extensively utilized even though its impact on non-target taxa has not been thoroughly examined. In this context, we explored the effects of emamectin benzoate on a common Norwegian habitat-forming species: the phosphorescent sea-pen Pennatula phosphorea. Specifically, we examined P. phosphorea metabolic and responses before, during and after exposure to emamectin benzoate. Results indicate that an 8-day emamectin benzoate exposure (0.8 mg/L) did not induce P. phosphorea mortality or significant behavioural or metabolic modifications. However, we highlighted the presence and persistence of emamectin benzoate in exposed P. phosphorea tissue. These results indicate that emamectin benzoate is unlikely to adversely impact P. phosphorea populations in the environment. However, persistence of emamectin benzoate in tissue constitutes a potential for bioaccumulation with repeated treatments and should be examined in further studies. | publishedVersion