Ecotoxicological risk assessment of a quarry filling with seaport sediments using laboratory freshwater aquatic microcosms

Purpose

In France, contaminated seaport sediments cannot be discharged into the sea according to recent regulation. Hence, they must be managed on land. Among the solutions identified, that of filling terrestrial quarries located in the littoral zone is one of the most promising. However, this requires developing a methodology for ecological risk assessment; which was the aim of the SEDIGEST research program. In the present study, we report the results of toxicological impacts of three sediments on aquatic ecosystems close to a quarry. These results were used to formulate a risk assessment methodology.

Materials and methods

The ecotoxicological approach was based on laboratory microcosm assays applied to leachates obtained from the sediments. The microcosms contained synthetic water and sediment and five pelagic (micro-algae, duckweeds and daphnids) and benthic (chironomids and amphipods) freshwater species. The biota were exposed for 3 weeks to a range of leachate concentrations; metals were monitored in the water column and the effects (i.e. mortality, growth inhibition and midge emergence) were measured.

Results and discussion

The results showed an absence of acute toxicity at concentrations of <10% (v/v) but sublethal effects for concentrations between 1 and 10%. Given the complex nature of the leachates, it was difficult to determine the factors of toxicity. Metals, especially Cu, might have been responsible for some of the effects on the amphipods.

Conclusions

Future quarries filled with seaport sediments might emit pollutants to aquatic ecosystems in their vicinity, and risk assessors should ensure that predicted environmental concentrations of leachates are below the maximum leachate concentration acceptable for the whole ecosystem; for example, by multiplying the concentration safe for the microcosm organisms by a factor of 10.     

A noninvasive optical system for the measurement of xylem and phloem sap flow in woody plants of small stem size

Over the past 70 years, heat has been widely used as a tracer for estimating the flow of water in woody and herbaceous plants. However, most commercially available techniques for monitoring whole plant water use are invasive and the measurements are potentially flawed because of wounding of the xylem tissue. The study of photosynthate transport in the phloem remains in its infancy, and little information about phloem transport rates is available owing to the fragility of the vascular tissue. The aim of our study was to develop a compact, stand-alone non-invasive system allowing for direct detection of phloem and xylem sap movement. The proposed method uses a heat pulse as a tracer for sap flow. Heat is applied to the surface of the stem with a near-infrared laser source, and heat propagation is monitored externally by means of an infrared camera. Heat pulse velocities are determined from the thermometric data and related to the more useful quantity, mass flow rate. Simulation experiments on the xylem tissue of severed silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) branch segments were performed to assess the feasibility of the proposed approach, highlight the characteristics of the technique and outline calibration strategies. Good agreement between imposed and measured flow rates was achieved leading to experimentation with live silver birch and oak (Quercus robur L.) saplings. It was demonstrated that water flow through xylem vessels can be monitored non-invasively on an intact stem with satisfactory accuracy despite simultaneous sugar transport in the phloem. In addition, it was demonstrated that the technique allows for unequivocal detection of phloem flow velocities.     

Evaluating the effect of drier and warmer conditions on water use by Quercus pyrenaica

Under climate change, severe and recurrent droughts can reduce forest production and cause widespread tree dieback. The response of different vegetation types to climate change can vary greatly and, therefore, must be individually assessed. This study was carried out in a Mediterranean oak forest (Quercus pyrenaica) subject to seasonal summer drought. To examine the response of the forest to the climate conditions predicted under climate change, a Soil–Vegetation–Atmosphere Transfer model [SPA, Williams, M., Rastetter, E.B., Fernandes, D.N., Goulden, M.L., Wofsy, S.C., Shaver, G.R., Melillo, J.M., Munger, J.W., Fan, S.M., Nadelhoffer, K.J. 1996. Modelling the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum in a Quercus–Acer stand at Harvard Forest: the regulation of stomatal conductance by light, nitrogen and soil/plant hydraulic properties. Plant, Cell, Environment 19, 911–927] was used. The model was parameterized using mostly local measurements (independent of the verification data) and tested against in situ sap flow measurements obtained during year 2007. The predictions of the model were broadly consistent with the observed dynamics of sap flow (the model explained 71% of the variance in daily transpiration and 75% of half-hourly sap flow), leaf water potentials and soil water content. Once the model had been validated, simulations were carried out under warmer and dryer conditions. Predicted warmer conditions (4 °C) caused a moderate increase in total simulated transpiration. Less frequent precipitation (40% longer dry periods between rainfall events) had very little effect on transpiration. In contrast, transpiration was reduced by 17% when the soil water reserves at the beginning of the summer were lower than in 2007, corresponding to those measured in a very dry year (2005). The reduction was exacerbated when changes in temperature and rainfall were also considered (up to 28% decline in transpiration). The higher atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (712 ppm) simulated together with climate change, did not prevent the decline in tree water use or soil water storage at the end of the summer. All scenarios caused the soil water storage to reach extremely low values at the end of the dry season (a minimum of 25 mm). It is concluded that climate change is likely to have a negative impact on tree water use and soil water resources in the study area, increasing the water deficit by as much as 30%.     

Determination of isopropyl thioxanthone (ITX) in fruit juices by pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A rapid LC-MS method, which compares different mass analyzers-single quadrupole, ion trap, and triple quadrupole-was developed for the quantitative determination of isopropyl thioxanthone (ITX) in fruit juices. ITX, a photoinitiator in UV-cured inks that can reach foods from the cartons for beverages in which they are used, was extracted from fruit juice samples with acetone/hexane (50:50) using pressurized liquid extraction. This method gave detection limits of 3, 3, and 0.01 microg/L and quantification limits of 10, 10, and 0.05 microg/L using single quadrupole, ion trap, and triple quadrupole, respectively. Five replicate fortifications of different fruit juices at the quantification limit gave recoveries oscillating between 68 and 72% with CV varying between 14 and 18%. This is the first report of a positive mass spectrometric identification and quantification of ITX in fruit juice samples packed in TetraPack. The sensitivity and specificity of the LC-MS/MS analysis using the triple quadrupole enables it to be the method of choice for risk assessment and monitoring. The method was applied to apricot, orange, peach, apple, grape and pineapple, and cherry and strawberry juices and to fruit nectars from Spain and Italy, and the ITX was detected in the range of 0.05-0.78 microg/L.     

Egg Yolk and Glycerol Requirements for Freezing Boar Spermatozoa Treated with Methyl β-Cyclodextrin or Cholesterol-loaded Cyclodextrin

Egg yolk (EY) and glycerol are common constituents of extenders used for sperm cryopreservation. It has been demonstrated that using cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins (CLC) improves sperm cryosurvival in several species. However, standard freezing extenders might not be the most appropriate for CLC-treated sperm. This study evaluated the EY and glycerol requirements for freezing CLC-treated boar spermatozoa. Semen samples from 34 ejaculates coming from 4 boars were used. Each ejaculate was split into three aliquots: one was used untreated (control), and the other two were treated with 1 mg of CLC or methyl-β-cyclodextrin/120 × 10⁶ sperm for 15 min at 22 C prior to cryopreservation. Our results indicated that reducing the concentration of EY was detrimental for sperm viability after thawing (31.57 ± 2 vs. 19.89% ± 2 for 20 and 10% EY, respectively; P <0.05), even in semen treated with CLC. On the other hand, it was observed that the traditional concentration of glycerol (3%) was not the appropriate for freezing CLC-treated sperm (61.10 ± 3 vs. 47.87% ± 3 viable sperm for control and CLC-treated sperm, respectively; P <0.05). Thus, CLC-treated sperm showed a higher tolerance to high glycerol concentrations (5%) in terms of sperm viability (59.19% ± 3) than non-treated sperm (45.58% ± 3; P<0.05). Therefore, it could be necessary to modify the freezing extenders for CLC-treated sperm. Nevertheless, additional studies will be needed to evaluate alternative cryoprotectants and to determine the effect of high glycerol concentrations on sperm functionality.     

Dynamic regulation of larval fish self‐recruitment in a marine protected area

The factors that regulate the self‐recruitment of fish larvae were explored in Cabrera National Park (CNP), an insular Marine Protected Area (MPA) located off southern Mallorca (Western Mediterranean). Our study attributes the regulation of larval arrival to the MPA to a combination of retention by topographically generated circulation patterns around the island and shelf break frontal dynamics. Specifically, within the shelf, interaction of the wind‐induced oscillatory flow with the island was shown to generate ephemeral recirculation patterns that, over time, favor larval retention in the proximity of the MPA. According to our measurements, oscillatory flows produced by wind‐forced island‐trapped waves (ITWs) dominate the flow around CNP. ITW‐forced dispersion simulations were in agreement with the observed distributions of several typical fish species that breed in the CNP. A second regulator of environmental variability is the influence of boundary currents and open ocean mesoscale structures at the shelf break. These structures generate frontal zones that are comparatively more long‐lived than inner‐shelf circulation patterns, and they were shown to act as barriers to the offshore dispersion of coastal fish larval assemblages. Finally, inferences from larval size distributions around the MPA together with particle‐tracking model simulations suggested the relevance of behavioral processes for larval recruitment to the MPA. Based on these observations, the waters around the CNP can be viewed as a relatively stable system that allows breeding fish populations to rely on self‐recruitment for their long‐term persistence, independent of other source populations along the coast of Mallorca.     

The Dark Age of the universe

The Dark Age is the period between the time when the cosmic microwave background was emitted and the time when the evolution of structure in the universe led to the gravitational collapse of objects, in which the first stars were formed. The period of reionization started with the ionizing light from the first stars, and it ended when all the atoms in the intergalactic medium had been reionized. The most distant sources of light known at present are galaxies and quasars at redshift z congruent with 6, and their spectra indicate that the end of reionization was occurring just at that time. The Cold Dark Matter theory for structure formation predicts that the first sources formed much earlier.