peer reviewed | This study analyzed the potential use of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a strategy for improving water supply management. This study focused on the Siminehroud Sub-basin due to its high importance to the Basin of Urmia Lake (UL). Siminehroud is the second provider of water (by volume) to Urmia Lake. To evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a PES scheme, the current land use map was extracted using satellite imagery. In addition, the two algorithms of Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) are used for Landsat images classification, rather than analyzing the relationship between land use and ecosystem services. Then, the most relevant ecosystem services provided in the region were evaluated using the Benefit Transfer Method. In the last step, by designing and implementing a survey, on the one hand, the local farmers' Willingness to Accept (WTA) cash payments for reducing the area they cultivate, and on the other hand, the farmers' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for managing the water consumption were determined. The results illustrated that the WTA program is more acceptable among the beneficiaries. It is also notable that this program needs very high governmental funding. Furthermore, the results of the program indicate that the land area out of the cultivation cycle will gradually increase while the price of agricultural water will also increase.

Neonicotinoids are globally used insecticides, and there are increasing evidence on their negative efects on birds. This study is aimed at characterizing the behavioral and physiological efects of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (IMI) in a songbird. Adults of Agelaioides badius were exposed for 7 days to non-treated peeled millet and to peeled millet treated with nominal concentrations of 75 (IMI1) and 450 (IMI2) mg IMI/kg seed. On days 2 and 6 of the trial, the behavior of each bird was evaluated for 9 min by measuring the time spent on the foor, the perch, or the feeder. Daily millet consumption, initial and fnal body weight, and physiological, hematological, genotoxic, and biochemical parameters at the end of exposure were also measured. Activity was greatest on the foor, followed by the perch and the feeder. On the second day, birds exposed to IMI1and IMI2 remained mostly on the perch and the feeder, respectively. On the sixth day, a transition occurred to sec tors of greater activity, consistent with the disappearance of the intoxication signs: birds from IMI1 and IMI2 increased their time on the foor and the perch, respectively. Control birds always remained most of the time on the foor. IMI2 birds signifcantly decreased their feed intake by 31% the frst 3 days, compared to the other groups, and signifcantly decreased their body weight at the end of the exposure. From the set of hematological, genotoxic, and biochemical parameters, treated birds exhibited an alteration of glutathione-S-transferase activity (GST) in breast muscle; the minimal efects observed are probably related to the IMI administration regime. These results highlight that the consumption of less than 10% of the bird daily diet as IMI-treated seeds trigger efects at multiple levels that can impair bird survival. | Fil: Poliserpi, María Belén. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina | Fil: Abad, Tatiana Noya. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Universidad Maimómides. Centro de Ciencias Naturales, Ambientales y Antropológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina | Fil: De Gerónimo, Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. | Fil: Brodeur, Julie Céline. Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos. Argentina | Fil: Aparicio, Virginia Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina

peer reviewed | Managers can determine the function of ecosystem services in decision-making processes through valuation. Ecological functions and processes that benefit people lead to ecosystem services. Valuing ecosystem services mean finding values for the benefits of ecosystem services. For the concepts related to ecosystem services and their valuation, categories in different articles have been presented. One of the most important issues is providing a suitable grouping for different methods and concepts of valuing ecosystem services. In this study, the most recent topics related to ecosystem service valuation methods were compiled and categorized by using the system theory. The aim of this study was to introduce some of the most important classical and modern methods and concepts of valuing ecosystem services. For this aim, a review of articles related to ecosystem service valuation methods, content analysis, and categorization of their contents was used to provide definitions, concepts, and categorization of different methods. To summarize, valuation methods are classified into two types: classical and modern methods. Classical approaches include the avoided cost method, the replacement cost method, the factor income method, the travel cost method, hedonic pricing, and contingent value. Modern methods include the basic value transfer method, deliberative ecosystem service valuation, valuation of climate change risks, and other cases that evolve every day in the world of science. Findings of the paper have the potential to be beneficial in comprehending the definitions and ideas of ecosystem services in ecosystem management, particularly in protected areas, participatory management, and pollutant research. This research can add to the worldwide literature on the valuing of ecosystem services while also determining the most pressing issues and difficulties of today, such as climate change, pollution, ecosystem management, and participatory management.

International audience | Plastic has been largely detected in estuarine environments and represents major concern towards aquatic living organisms. The present study evaluates the impact of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) under realistic exposure conditions. Scrobicularia plana individuals were exposed to low concentrations (0.008, 10, and 100 µg L−1) of environmental MPs and NPs as well as to standard PS NPs, as a comparison condition. The aim of this study was to understand the ecotoxicological effects of environmental plastic particles on S. plana gills and digestive glands but also to compare the effects of plastic polymers size in order to highlight if the size could induce different toxicity profiles within this model organism, at different levels of biological organization. Results showed a differential induction of detoxification enzymes (CAT, GST), immunity (AcP), DNA damage processes as well as a differential effect on behavior and condition index of animals depending upon the type of plastic, the size, the concentration tested, and the type of organ. This study underlines the necessity of testing (i) plastics collected from the environment as compared to standard ones and (ii) the effect of size using plastics coming from the same batch of macrosized plastics. This study concludes on the future need directions that plastic-based studies must take in order to be able to generate a large quantity of relevant data that could be used for future regulatory needs on the use of plastic.

International audience | Chemical pollution is a major threat to marine ecosystems, and top predators such as most shark species are extremely vulnerable to being exposed and accumulating contaminants such as metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). This work aimed to study the degree, composition, and the sources of contamination in the blue shark (Prionace glauca) inhabiting the Northeast Atlantic, as well as the potential risk faced by human consumers. A total of 60 sharks were sampled in situ aboard fishing vessels, and the concentrations of a set of metals and POPs were analysed in various tissues and complemented with stable isotope analyses. High levels of contaminants were found in most sharks sampled. The concentrations of most metals were higher in the muscle when compared with the liver. Regarding the dangers to consumers posed by the concentrations of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb), over 75% of the sharks presented muscle concentrations of at least one contaminant above the legal limits for human consumption, and a risk assessment determined that consumption of meat of these sharks exceeding 0.07 Kg per week could potentially expose human consumers to dangerous amounts of methylmercury (MeHg). Additionally, the assessment of single contaminants may lead to an underestimation of the risk for the human health. Finally, the overall accumulation of contaminants seems to be mostly influenced by the sharks' geographical distribution, rather than sex, size, or trophic level of their prey. ☆ This paper has been recommended for acceptance by Christian Sonne.

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.

International audience | Contamination of sunflower seeds with soil Cd is an important issue for food and feed because this species strongly accumulates this metal. The present work reports that seeds from three sunflower varieties (ES Biba, Extrasol, Vellox) cultivated in the field in a calcareous agricultural soil having a moderately high Cd content (1 mg Cd/kg) had Cd contents of 0.84, 0.88 and 0.76 mg Cd/kg, respectively, all exceeding the regulation limit of 0.5 mg Cd/kg seeds for human food. On average, for the three varieties, washing seeds did not affect their total Cd contents but slightly increased the Cd in the kernels at the expense of that in hulls. Despite the Cd content of the whole seeds not differing between the varieties, the Cd fraction in the edible kernel differed significantly between varieties from 78 to 87% of the total seed Cd. The results of this study suggest that (i) the size of the kernel, relative to that of the hull, may affect the dilution of Cd in kernel tissues and (ii) there might be genetic variability for the capacity of transfer of Cd from the hull to the kernel. This opens the perspective to increase food safety by selecting sunflower genotypes that retain more Cd into the hull and transfer less of it to the edible kernel.