Occurrence and behaviour of classical (PBDEs) and alternative (HNs, HBB, PBEB, DBDPE and HBCD) flame retardants, together with naturally produced MeO-PBDEs, were studied in short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) in two sampling locations from Southern European waters. PBDEs, Dec 602, Dec 603, DP, α-HBCD and two MeO-PBDEs were detected in all three species. ∑PBDEs were between 17 and 2680 ng/g lw; ∑HNs were between 1.1 and 59 ng/g lw; α-HBCD levels ranged between 3.2 and 641 ng/g lw; ∑MeO-PBDEs were between 34 and 1966 ng/g lw. Bottlenose dolphins were the most contaminated species and some individuals could present health risk for endocrine disruption since levels found were above the reported threshold (1500 ng/g lw). Stable isotope analysis was used to evaluate the biomagnification capacity of these compounds. PBDEs, MeO-PBDEs and Dec 602 showed a significant positive correlation with trophic position.

In a free-air fumigation experiment with subalpine grassland, we studied long-term effects of elevated ozone (O3) and nitrogen (N) deposition on ecosystem N pools and on the fate of anthropogenic N. At three times during the seventh year of exposure, N pools and recovery of a stable isotope tracer (15N) were determined in above- and belowground plant parts, and in the soil. Plants were much better competitors for 15N than soil microorganisms. Plant N pools increased by 30–40% after N addition, while soil pools remained unaffected, suggesting that most of the extra N was taken up and stored in plant biomass, thus preventing the ecosystem from acquiring characteristics of eutrophication. Elevated O3 caused an increase of N in microbial biomass and in stabilized soil N, probably resulting from increased litter input and lower litter quality. Different from individual effects, the interaction between the pollutants remained partly unexplained.

To implement metabolic activation by S9 rat liver homogenate in the selection of candidate promutagens in effect-directed analysis, we critically assessed the capability of LC-HRMS measurements to detect depletion and formation of metabolites by S9 exposure. The exposure of a reference mixture to S9 led to a depletion by >70% for most compounds. Other processes than metabolism were excluded as significant contribution to compound depletion. Metabolites formed by S9 exposure were identified and S9 metabolism was incorporated in the identification of candidate promutagens in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent with mutagenic activity only after metabolic activation by S9. The metabolism by S9 in the WWTP effluent was confirmed. Based on a candidate exclusion of all peaks not depleted, thus not activated by the S9 mix, the number of candidate promutagens was reduced by 40%. Selected remaining candidates were evaluated and identified, but could not be confirmed as promutagens.

Airborne fungal spores, a type of bioaerosols, are significant air pollutants. We conducted a study to determine the spatiotemporal distributions of ambient fungi in the Greater Taipei area and develop land use regression (LUR) models for total and major fungal taxa. Four seasonal sampling campaigns were conducted over a year at 44 representative sites. Multiple regressions were performed to construct the LUR models. Ascospores were the most prevalent category, followed by Aspergillus/Penicillium, basidiospores, and Cladosporium. The highest fungal concentrations were found in spring. According to the LUR models, higher concentrations of Aspergillus/Penicillium and basidiospores were respectively present in residential/commercial areas and in areas with shorter road lengths. Various meteorological factors, particulates with aerodynamic diameters of ≤10 μm, and elevation also had significant relationships with fungal concentrations. The LUR models developed in this study can be used to assess spatiotemporal fungal distribution in the Greater Taipei area.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF MF), or power frequency fields, and non-specific physical symptoms (NSPS). In a cross-sectional study, personal exposure to ELF MF was measured for 99 adults selected in and around Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 2009–2010. They were scored on 16 NSPS. As a cut-off point for the individual 24-h time weighted average exposure the 80-percentile (0.09 μT) was chosen. As only one man scored “moderately high” on the somatisation scale against nine women, we decided to proceed analyses only with the 48 women. The crude odds ratio (OR) for women was 8.50 (CI 95%: 1.73–46.75), suggesting that for women environmental exposure to ELF MF is associated with an increased score on NSPS. As this is an exploratory cross-sectional study in a relatively small sample, no conclusions regarding causality can be drawn.

Bioinvasions are a major cause of biodiversity and ecosystem changes. The rapid range expansion of the invasive quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) causing a dominance shift from zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) to quagga mussels, may alter the risk of secondary poisoning to predators. Mussel samples were collected from various water bodies in the Netherlands, divided into size classes, and analysed for metal concentrations. Concentrations of nickel and copper in quagga mussels were significantly lower than in zebra mussels overall. In lakes, quagga mussels contained significantly higher concentrations of aluminium, iron and lead yet significantly lower concentrations of zinc66, cadmium111, copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum than zebra mussels. In the river water type quagga mussel soft tissues contained significantly lower concentrations of zinc66. Our results suggest that a dominance shift from zebra to quagga mussels may reduce metal exposure of predator species.

Generally, ecotoxicologists rely on short-term tests that assume populations to be static. Conversely, natural populations may be exposed to the same stressors for many generations, which can alter tolerance to the same (or other) stressors. The objective of this study was to improve our understanding of how multigenerational stressors alter life history traits and stressor tolerance. After continuously exposing Daphnia magna to cadmium for 120 days, we assessed life history traits and conducted a challenge at higher temperature and cadmium concentrations. Predictably, individuals exposed to cadmium showed an overall decrease in reproductive output compared to controls. Interestingly, control D. magna were the most cadmium tolerant to novel cadmium, followed by those exposed to high cadmium. Our data suggest that long-term exposure to cadmium alter tolerance traits in a non-monotonic way. Because we observed effects after one-generation removal from cadmium, transgenerational effects may be possible as a result of multigenerational exposure.

The effect of iron (Fe) redox cycling on the mobility and bioavailability of arsenic (As) in paddy soils has attracted increasing concerns, especially in Asia, where the paddy soil is characteristic of Fe with high abundance and activity. However, whether amorphous Fe oxide-bound As acts as a source or a sink of As in natural field conditions needs to be clarified further. In this study, 73 pairs of soil and rice were collected from paddy fields contaminated by As-containing acid mining drainage. The most significant correlations between the iron fractions and As fractions suggest that Fe redox cycling can directly affect As fractionation in soils, which can then indirectly affect As bioavailability. Significantly negative correlations between amorphous Fe oxide-bound As in soil and As in rice grain were found, indicating that amorphous Fe oxide-bound As acts a sink of As.

This study investigated the mass dependent (MDF) and independent fractionation (MIF) of stable mercury isotopes in fish during the uptake and elimination of inorganic species. Mercury accumulation during the exposure led to re-equilibration of organ isotopic compositions with the external sources, and elimination terminated the equilibrating with isotope ratios moving back to the original values. Generally, the isotopic behaviors corresponded to the changes of Hg accumulation in the muscle and liver, causing by the internal transportation, organ redistribution, and mixing of different sources. A small degree of MDF caused by biotransformation of Hg in the liver was documented during the elimination, whereas MIF was not observed. The absence of MIF during geochemical and metabolic processes suggested that mercury isotopes can be used as source tracers. Additionally, fish liver is a more responsive organ than muscle to track Hg source when it is mainly composed of inorganic species.