International audience | Mangroves are threatened ecosystems that provide numerous ecosystem services, especially through their wide biodiversity, and their bioremediation capacity is a challenging question in tropical areas. In a mangrove in Mayotte, we studied the potential role of microbial biofilm communities in removing nutrient loads from pre-treated wastewater. Microbial community samples were collected from tree roots, sediments, water, and from a colonization device, and their structure and dynamics were compared in two areas: one exposed to sewage and the other not. The samples from the colonization devices accurately reflected the natural communities in terms of diversity. Communities in the zone exposed to sewage were characterized by more green algae and diatoms, higher bacteria densities, as well as different compositions. In the area exposed to sewage, the higher cell densities associated with specific diversity patterns highlighted adapted communities that may play a significant role in the fate of nutrients.

International audience | We assessed the temporal variability of nutrients, phytoplankton and bacterioplankton at two sites of different trophic status in New Caledonia's South-West lagoon, a tropical coastal ecosystem. During stable meteorological conditions, Chl.a, bacterial production and nutrient concentrations experience weak but consistent daily variation. Short-term (1–2 week interval) fluctuations of planktonic variables are in the same range as annual variations at both sites. A part of these short term variations is linked to local meteorological events (wind in the main channel, precipitation at the coastal station). Although annual variations are weak compared to short term variations, phytoplankton and bacterioplankton production show consistent temporal patterns, with maxima in December–January and April–May and minima in August. Annual bacterial production represents 21% and 34% of particulate primary production at the oligotrophic and mesotrophic sites, respectively. Mineral nutrient availability indicates that nitrogen is probably the primary limiting factor of phytoplankton throughout the year.

Tobacco products are widely recognized as a major contributor to death. Cigarette smoke contains several toxic chemicals including heavy metals particulate causing high health risks. However, limited information has been available on the health risks associated with the heavy metals in cigarettes commonly sold in the Bangladeshi market. This study evaluated the concentrations and potential health risks posed by ten concerned heavy metals in ten widely consumed cigarette brands in Bangladesh using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The concentration (mg/kg) ranges of heavy metals Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Co, Ni, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn vary between 0.46–1.05, 0.55–1.03, 0.80–1.2, 0.22–0.40, 0.46–0.78, 2.59–3.03, 436.8–762.7, 115.8–184.4, 146.6–217.7, and 34.0–42.7, respectively. We assume that the heavy metals content among cigarette brands is varied due to the differences in the source of tobacco they use for cigarette preparation. The carcinogenic risks posed by heavy metals follow the order of Cr > Co > Cd > As > Ni > Pb, while the non-carcinogenic risks for Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn were greater than unity (HQ > 1), except for Fe. The existence of toxic heavy metals in cigarette tobacco may thus introduce noticeable non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health impacts accompanying inhalation exposure. This study provides the first comprehensive report so far on heavy metal concentration and associated health risks in branded cigarettes commonly sold in Bangladesh. Hence, this data and the information provided can serve as a baseline as well as a reference for future research and have potential implications for policy and legislation in Bangladesh.

peer reviewed | Hg accumulation in marine organisms depends strongly on in situ water or sediment biogeochemistry and levels of Hg pollution. To predict the rates of Hg exposure in human communities, it is important to understand Hg assimilation and processing within commercially harvested marine fish, like the European seabass Dicentrarchus labrax. Previously, values of Δ199Hg and δ202Hg in muscle tissue successfully discriminated between seven populations of European seabass. In the present study, a multi-tissue approach was developed to assess the underlying processes behind such discrimination. We determined total Hg content (THg), the proportion of monomethyl-Hg (%MeHg), and Hg isotopic composition (e.g. Δ199Hg and δ202Hg) in seabass liver. We compared this to the previously published data on muscle tissue and local anthropogenic Hg inputs. The first important finding of this study showed an increase of both %MeHg and δ202Hg values in muscle compared to liver in all populations, suggesting the occurrence of internal MeHg demethylation in seabass. This is the first evidence of such a process occurring in this species. Values for mass-dependent (MDF, δ202Hg) and mass-independent (MIF, Δ199Hg) isotopic fractionation in liver and muscle accorded with data observed in estuarine fish (MDF, 0–1‰ and MIF, 0–0.7‰). Black Sea seabass stood out from other regions, presenting higher MIF values (≈1.5‰) in muscle and very low MDF (≈-1‰) in liver. This second finding suggests that under low Hg bioaccumulation, Hg isotopic composition may allow the detection of a shift in the habitat use of juvenile fish, such as for first-year Black Sea seabass. Our study supports the multi-tissue approach as a valid tool for refining the analysis of Hg sourcing and metabolism in a marine fish. The study’s major outcome indicates that Hg levels of pollution and fish foraging location are the main factors influencing Hg species accumulation and isotopic fractionation in the organisms.

The rapid dissemination of microplastics in many habitats of the oceans has raised concerns about the consequences for marine biota and ecosystems. Many adverse effects of microplastics on marine invertebrates are consequences of ingestion. Accordingly, the identification of mechanisms that facilitate the uptake of microplastics is essential for the evaluation of possible implications for marine organisms and food webs. Gastropods produce mucus for locomotion. Gastropod pedal mucus naturally retains formerly suspended micro-organisms, such as bacteria, microalgae, and seaweed spores. The retained organisms are consumed by gastropods that forage on pedal mucus. Here, we investigated the potential of gastropod pedal mucus to retain suspended microplastic particles and make them available for ingestion by periwinkles that forage on the contaminated mucus. In laboratory experiments, mucus of the periwinkles Littorina littorea and Littorina obtusata efficiently retained microplastics. Retention of microplastics varied between mucus from conspecifics of different size but not between mucus from either species. The density of microplastics in mucus trails increased concomitantly with the experimental particle concentration but was independent of incubation time. Aging of mucus and, particularly, desiccation affected the retention of microplastics. Periwinkles ingested microplastics when foraging on the contaminated mucus. Our results reveal a functional link between biogenic accumulation of microplastics and their trophic transfer by marine benthic herbivores into marine food webs.

The concentrations of 17 non-essential elements (Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Ce, Cr, Hg, La, Li, Pb, Sb, Sn, Sr, Th, Ti, and Tl) were determined in brown grain rice samples of two varieties: Fortuna and Largo Fino. The samples were collected from the four main producing regions of Corrientes province (Argentina). Quantitative determinations were performed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), using a validated method. The contents of As, Be, Cd, Ce, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sb, Sn, Th, and Tl were very low or not detected in most samples. The non-essential element levels detected were in line with studies conducted in rice from different parts of the world. In order to characterize the influence of geographical origin in the samples, the following classification methods were carried out: linear discriminant analysis (LDA), k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), support vector machine (SVM) and random forests (RF). The best performance was obtained by using RF (96%) and SVM (96%). The results reported here showed the variation in the non-essential element profiles in rice grain depending on the geographical origin.

peer reviewed | Endocrine disruption compounds (EDCs) and parasitism can both interfere with the reproduction process of organisms. The amphipod Gammarus pulex is the host of the vertically transmitted microsporidia Dictyocoela duebenum, and this work was devoted to the investigation of the effect of an exposure to the anti-androgen compound, cyproterone acetate (CPA), and/or of the presence of D. duebenum on the spermatozoa production and length. Significant reduction of the spermatozoa production was observed when G. pulex males were uninfected and exposed to CPA. There also appeared a lower number of spermatozoa when D. duebenum infects G. pulex, whatever the exposure condition. Moreover, we highlighted that CPA has no effect on spermatozoa production when males are infected by D. duebenum, and no treatment has impacted the spermatozoa length. Our results suggest CPA and D. duebenum could impact the endocrine system of G. pulex and especially processes close to the spermatozoa production (e.g., androgenic gland, androgen gland hormone released, gonad-inhibiting hormone synthesized by X-organ). However, as no mechanism of action was highlighted, further testing need to be performed to improve the understanding of their impacts. Finally, results confirm that vertically transmitted microsporidia could be a confounding factor in the endocrine disruption assessments in Gammaridae.

peer reviewed | Cyflumetofen is a novel benzoyl acetonitrile acaricide without cross-resistance to existing acaricides. In the present study, for the first time, the environmental behaviors of cyflumetofen and the formation of its main metabolites, 2-(trifluoromethyl) benzoic acid (B-1) and 2-(trifluoromethyl) benzamide (B-3), in the four types of soil (black soil, sierozem, krasnozem, and fluvo-aquic soil) and three types of water/sediment systems (Northeast Lake, Hunan paddy field, and Beijng Shangzhuang reservoir) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions were investigated. The degradation dynamics of cyflumetofen followed first-order kinetics. Under aerobic environment, the half-lives of cyflumetofen in black soil, sierozem, krasnozem and fluvo-aquic soil were 11.2, 10.3, 12.4, and 11.4 days. Under water anaerobic conditions, the half-lives were 13.1, 10.8, 13.9, and 12.8 days. The effects of different conditions and soil types on the half-lives of cyflumetofen were studied using a one-way ANOVA test with post hoc comparison (Tukey’s test). It was shown that the differences in black soil, krasnozem, and fluvo-aquic soil were extremely significant difference (p < 0.05) under aerobic and water anaerobic conditions. And there is a strong correlation between half-life and pH. Under aerobic environment, the half-lives of cyflumetofen in Northeast Lake, Hunan paddy field, and Beijng Shangzhuang reservoir were 15.4, 16.9, and 15.1 days. Under anaerobic conditions, they were 16.5, 17.3, and 16.1 days. Analyzing the differences of the half-lives under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, the difference only in Shangzhuang reservoir was extremely significant difference (p < 0.05). In soils, cyflumetofen degraded metabolites B-1 and B-3, from the first day 0.24 % B-1 was generated, while, only very low levels of B-3 generated at the same time. As time increased, B-3 gradually increased, cyflumetofen reduced gradually. Until 100 days, there were about 3.5 % B-1 and B-3 in the soils. In the water/sediment systems, from the first day, it degraded into B-1 in the sediment, and in the water mainly degraded into B-3.