International audience | The aim of this study was to propose a tool for freshwater environmental genotoxicity assessment using Gammarus fossarum, a high ecologically relevant species. In a first part, gammarids were caged upstream and downstream wastewater treatment plant effluent output. The sensitivity of genotoxic responses of haemocytes, oocytes and spermatozoa was compared using the Comet assay. Spermatozoa appeared to be the most sensitive, suitable and relevant cell type for genotoxicity risk assessment. In a second part, a watershed-scale study was conducted over 2 years to evaluate the applicability of our caging procedure. The genotoxic impact of a contamination was followed, taking into account seasonal variability. DNA damage in spermatozoa exhibited low basal level and low variability in control upstream sites, providing a reliable discrimination of polluted sites. Finally, DNA damage in caged G. fossarum has been proved to be a sensitive and reproducible tool for freshwater genotoxicity assessment. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International audience | A survey of 153 acid grasslands from the Atlantic biogeographic region of Europe indicates that chronic nitrogen deposition is changing plant species composition and soil and plant-tissue chemistry. Across the deposition gradient (2–44 kg N ha−1 yr−1) grass richness as a proportion of total species richness increased whereas forb richness decreased. Soil C:N ratio increased, but soil extractable nitrate and ammonium concentrations did not show any relationship with nitrogen deposition. The above-ground tissue nitrogen contents of three plant species were examined: Agrostis capillaris (grass), Galium saxatile (forb) and Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (bryophyte). The tissue nitrogen content of neither vascular plant species showed any relationship with nitrogen deposition, but there was a weak positive relationship between R. squarrosus nitrogen content and nitrogen deposition. None of the species showed strong relationships between above-ground tissue N:P or C:N and nitrogen deposition, indicating that they are not good indicators of deposition rate.

no sp Assessment of Nitrogen Fluxes to Air and Water from Site Scale to Continental Scale | Modelling nitrogen transfer and transformation at the landscape scale is relevant to estimate the mobility of the reactive forms of nitrogen (Nr) and the associated threats to the environment. Here we describe the development of a spatially and temporally explicit model to integrate Nr transfer and transformation at the landscape scale. The model couples four existing models, to simulate atmospheric, farm, agro-ecosystem and hydrological Nr fluxes and transformations within a landscape. Simulations were carried out on a theoretical landscape consisting of pig-crop farms interspersed with unmanaged ecosystems. Simulation results illustrated the effect of spatial interactions between landscape elements on Nr fluxes and losses to the environment. More than 10% of the total N2O emissions were due to indirect emissions. The nitrogen budgets and transformations of the unmanaged ecosystems varied considerably, depending on their location within the landscape. The model represents a new tool for assessing the effect of changes in landscape structure on Nr fluxes.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]BELCA | International audience | A modified MicroRespÔ technique as a tool for measuring induced tolerance to heavy metals of a microbial biofilm community. a b s t r a c t Understanding the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems and the impact of anthropogenic contamination requires correlating exposure to toxicants with impact on biological communities. Several tools exist for assessing the ecotoxicity of substances, but there is still a need for new tools that are ecologically relevant and easy to use. We have developed a protocol based on the substrate-induced respiration of a river biofilm community, using the MicroRespÔ technique, in a pollution-induced community tolerance approach. The results show that MicroRespÔ can be used in bioassays to assess the toxicity toward biofilm communities of a wide range of metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Ag, Ni, Fe, Co, Al and As). Moreover, a community-level physiological profile based on the mineralization of different carbon substrates was established. Finally, the utility of MicroRespÔ was confirmed in an in-situ study showing gradient of tolerance to copper correlated to a contamination gradient of this metal in a small river.

Revisamos las consecuencias ecológicas de la deposición de N en las cinco regiones mediterráneas del mundo. La estacionalidad de las precipitaciones y los incendios regulan el ciclo del N en estos ecosistemas con escasez de agua, donde domina la deposición seca de N. La acumulación de nitrógeno en los suelos y en las superficies de las plantas produce picos de disponibilidad con las primeras lluvias invernales. El desacoplamiento entre los flujos de N y la demanda de la planta promueve pérdidas por lixiviación y emisiones de gases. Las diferencias en la disponibilidad de P pueden controlar la respuesta a los aportes de N y la susceptibilidad a la invasión de plantas exóticas. Los pastos invasores se acumulan como combustible durante la estación seca, alterando los regímenes de incendios. California y la cuenca mediterránea son las más amenazadas por la deposición de N; sin embargo, existe evidencia limitada de los impactos de la deposición de N fuera de California. En consecuencia, se necesita más investigación para determinar las cargas críticas para cada región y tipo de vegetación en función de los elementos más sensibles, como los cambios en la composición de las especies de líquenes y el ciclo del N.

Sediment cores from the deep Balearic basin and the Cretan Sea provide evidence for the accumulation of Cd, Pd and Zn in the top few centimeters of the abyssal Mediterranean sea-bottom. In both cores, 206Pb/207Pb profiles confirm this anthropogenic impact with less radiogenic imprints toward surface sediments. The similarity between excess 210Pb accumulated in the top core and the 210Pb flux suggests that top core metal inventories reasonably reflect long-term atmospheric deposition to the open Mediterranean. Pb inventory in the western core for the past 100 years represents 20-30% of sediment coastal inventories, suggesting that long-term atmospheric deposition determined from coastal areas has to be used cautiously for mass balance calculations in the open Mediterranean. In the deeper section of both cores, Al normalized trace metal profiles suggest diagenetic remobilization of Fe, Mn, Cu and, to a lesser extent, Pb that likely corresponds to sapropel event Si

International audience | Phytoplankton diversity, primary and bacterial production, nutrients and metallic contaminants were measured during the wet season (July) and dry season (March) in the Bach Dang Estuary, a sub-estuary of the Red River system, Northern Vietnam. Using canonical correspondence analysis we show that phytoplankton community structure is potentially influenced by both organometallic species (Hg and Sn) and inorganic metal (Hg) concentrations. During March, dissolved methylmercury and inorganic mercury were important factors for determining phytoplankton community composition at most of the stations. In contrast, during July, low salinity phytoplankton community composition was associated with particulate methylmercury concentrations, whereas phytoplankton community composition in the higher salinity stations was more related to dissolved inorganic mercury and dissolved mono and tributyltin concentrations. These results highlight the importance of taking into account factors other than light and nutrients, such as eco-toxic heavy metals, in understanding phytoplankton diversity and activity in estuarine ecosystems.

International audience | Phytoplankton diversity, primary and bacterial production, nutrients and metallic contaminants were measured during the wet season (July) and dry season (March) in the Bach Dang Estuary, a sub-estuary of the Red River system, Northern Vietnam. Using canonical correspondence analysis we show that phytoplankton community structure is potentially influenced by both organometallic species (Hg and Sn) and inorganic metal (Hg) concentrations. During March, dissolved methylmercury and inorganic mercury were important factors for determining phytoplankton community composition at most of the stations. In contrast, during July, low salinity phytoplankton community composition was associated with particulate methylmercury concentrations, whereas phytoplankton community composition in the higher salinity stations was more related to dissolved inorganic mercury and dissolved mono and tributyltin concentrations. These results highlight the importance of taking into account factors other than light and nutrients, such as eco-toxic heavy metals, in understanding phytoplankton diversity and activity in estuarine ecosystems.