Article
Environmental Sciences
Robyn E. Jones, Richard K. F. Unsworth, Jon Hawes, Ross A. Griffin
Summary: The study found that using underwater cameras equipped with CLOCs can effectively assess marine benthic biodiversity in turbid environments by enhancing image quality, seabed visibility, and habitat identification. Additionally, the use of CLOCs can reduce sampling effort and increase taxonomic richness, improving the overall quality of data collected for informed management decisions.
AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xinchuang Chen, Feng Li, Xiaoqian Li, Hongxiao Liu, Yinhong Hu, Panpan Hu
Summary: The study highlights the importance of identifying and managing ecological restoration areas for sustainable urban development, while also pointing out the lack of a scientific basis for the scope and scale of ecological restoration in current research. By proposing a transdisciplinary framework combining ecological quality, ecological health, and ecosystem services, priority restoration areas can be effectively identified and classified to achieve policy goals and fulfill public preferences.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Tian Zhang, Bo Jiang, Yi Xing, Haobo Ya, Mingjie Lv, Xin Wang
Summary: This paper summarizes the abundance and types of microplastics in different aqueous environments, and discusses their interactions and toxicity with other contaminants. The combined toxic effects of microplastics and other pollutants are highlighted, and future research focuses on the characterization of microplastics, standardization of units, exploring interactions and toxicity, and degradation for a better understanding of ecological risks.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biology
Chee Kong Yap, Khalid Awadh Al-Mutairi
Summary: This study reviewed and compiled data on the concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn in aquatic sediments in the ASEAN-5 countries. The results showed elevated levels of these heavy metals in high human activity sites compared to reference values. The ecological risk values for Zn were consistently categorized as being between 'low potential ecological risk' and 'considerable potential ecological risk', while Cu and Pb showed similar ranges of risk categories. Non-carcinogenic risk values for Cu, Pb, and Zn in sediments indicated no risk for ingestion and dermal contact pathways. This study provides evidence for the ASEAN-5 countries as a new socio-economic corridor and is the most up-to-date review on this topic.
Article
Ecology
Adele M. Dixon, Piers M. Forster, Maria Beger
Summary: Climate-driven changes are causing severe declines in coral reef ecosystems. Current vulnerability assessments need to include more accurate climate projections and consider a wider range of climate variables to quantify the ecological sensitivity and adaptive capacity of corals. This framework can help reduce uncertainty in projected climate vulnerability and guide targeted investment in managing coral reefs.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marius Breitmayer, Michael Stach, Robin Kraft, Johannes Allgaier, Manfred Reichert, Winfried Schlee, Thomas Probst, Berthold Langguth, Ruediger Pryss
Summary: Mobile applications have become increasingly popular in healthcare, providing new possibilities for data collection and insights into diseases. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a commonly used research method that aims to assess phenomena with ecological validity. TrackYourTinnitus (TYT) is an EMA-based mobile crowdsensing platform that helps predict the presence of tinnitus based on related dimensions captured in the app. Using machine learning techniques, the presence of tinnitus was predicted with up to 78% accuracy and an AUC of up to 85.7%.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Christos Theodoropoulos, Ioannis Karaouzas, Rachel Stubbington
Summary: River biomonitoring using biotic indices can be affected by natural hydrological variability, leading to misclassification of sites as degraded. To address this, dynamic adjustments of static biological reference conditions are proposed, but current tools cannot facilitate their implementation. Region-specific biotic indices of hydrological variability could potentially prevent misclassification and improve ecological status assessment.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shan Zhang, Jindong Zhao, Meng Yao
Summary: Using environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling from 109 water sites in Beijing, China, we detected 126 vertebrate species including fish, birds, mammals, and reptiles. The eDNA approach showed higher detection probabilities for aquatic species compared to terrestrial and arboreal species, and higher detection probabilities for lentic sites compared to lotic sites. The detection probabilities were also correlated with the size of lentic waterbodies. These findings demonstrate the potential of eDNA metabarcoding for efficient monitoring of urban vertebrate biodiversity.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rebeca Arias-Real, Cayetano Gutierrez-Canovas, Margarita Menendez, Isabel Munoz
Summary: This study investigates the drying preferences of macroinvertebrates in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) and their potential as biomonitoring indicators. The research identifies certain macroinvertebrate groups with drying-resistant niches that can serve as potential indicators in IRES. However, functional traits have limited ability to predict drying specialization. The density, relative abundance, and richness of drying-resistant taxa are less affected by drying intensity compared to drying-sensitive taxa.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chisato Kataoka, Shosaku Kashiwada
Summary: Exposure of aquatic organisms to immunotoxic pollutants may lead to changes in the immune system and health issues, even posing a threat to populations.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Congcong Wang, Xiongdong Zhou, Mengzhen Xu, Linyuan Zhang, Xinjue Hou, Zhongsuo Wang, Yao Yang, Yaqi Luo
Summary: Urban water bodies globally are facing ecological pressures that impact freshwater ecosystem services and aquatic biodiversity. A study in Beijing, China, investigated the macroinvertebrates in different water types and identified environmental factors that affect their spatial distribution. A multimetric index (MMI) model based on macroinvertebrates was developed to assess ecological quality, revealing variations in different water types and providing recommendations for ecological protection. This study contributes to urban ecological planning and sustainable development.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Yuanqiang Tang, Yunguo Liu, Yu Chen, Wei Zhang, Jianmin Zhao, Shaoyao He, Chunping Yang, Tao Zhang, Chunfang Tang, Chen Zhang, Zisong Yang
Summary: The widespread issue of microplastics in water has attracted global attention for its potential harm to aquatic organisms and humans. Microplastics act as carriers for heavy metals and other pollutants, amplifying their effects through the food chain. Research and regulations are needed to reduce the impact of microplastics on the environment and human health.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Aashlesha Chekkala Vivekanand, Sanjeeb Mohapatra, Vinay Kumar Tyagi
Summary: Microplastics in the aquatic environment originate from various sources including everyday use, industries, and wastewater treatment plants. Their presence poses significant threats to aquatic life and human health, necessitating comprehensive assessment and control strategies.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nicholas T. Hayman, Gunther Rosen, Marienne A. Colvin, Jason Conder, Jennifer A. Arblaster
Summary: The study evaluated the toxicity of PFOS and PFOA on four marine testing species and found the sensitivity ranking of M. galloprovincialis, S. purpuratus, P. lunula, and A. bahia. The results suggest that these species and endpoints are sensitive to PFAS, making them suitable for deriving toxicity data for other PFAS in marine ecosystems.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dokyung Kim, Tae-Yang Lee, Lia Kim, Rongxue Cui, Jin Il Kwak, Haemi Kim, Sun-Hwa Nam, Minjin Kim, Wonjae Hwang, Ji-In Kim, Seunghun Hyun, Youn-Joo An
Summary: This study emphasizes the importance of selecting bioassay test species that reflect the ecotoxicity of field soils at the screening level in soil ecological risk assessments. Soil algae, nematodes, and plants were identified as the most representative species in soil assays with high correlation coefficients with the integrated ecotoxicological risk index (EtoxRI). Selecting test species that represent ecological risk is crucial in SERAs, and factors such as species sensitivity, ecological relevance, and economic aspects should be considered.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)