Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Erin N. Miller, Nicholas J. Lunn, David McGeachy, Andrew E. Derocher
Summary: This study on the autumn migration of polar bears in Hudson Bay, Canada reveals that climate change can affect their migration and reproductive behavior. It shows that the delay in sea ice freeze-up leads to a northward shift in polar bear migration, causing fasting issues for adult female bears and their dependent offspring. This research has important implications for the conservation of polar bear habitat and survival capabilities.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Alyssa M. Bohart, Nicholas J. Lunn, Andrew E. Derocher, David McGeachy
Summary: Migration of polar bears is influenced by climate change, with decreasing ice concentration impacting their access to prey and movement patterns. Continued monitoring is crucial to understanding the environmental variables affecting their migration behavior.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Erin N. Miller, Vicki Trim, Nicholas J. Lunn, David Mcgeachy, Andrew E. Derocher
Summary: Human-carnivore conflicts have been on the rise due to habitat disruption caused by development and climate change. This study focused on the autumn migratory movement of polar bears and explored the impact of biological factors, sea ice conditions, and management decisions. The findings suggest that conflict bears tend to migrate further north and bears released later in the migratory period are less likely to re-enter communities.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Eric Regehr, Markus Dyck, Samuel Iverson, David S. Lee, Nicholas J. Lunn, Joseph M. Northrup, Marie-Claude Richer, Guillaume Szor, Michael C. Runge
Summary: Arctic marine mammals are important subsistence resources for Indigenous people, with a focus on understanding the impacts of climate change on sea-ice loss and harvesting activities for ice-dependent species like polar bears. A demographic model was developed for polar bears in Southern Hudson Bay, Canada, using Bayesian methods to estimate parameters and inform a harvest management strategy. The study showed that under different environmental scenarios, maintaining sustainable harvest levels for polar bears requires careful consideration of female harvest rates.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tomasz M. Ciesielski, Christian Sonne, Eli I. Smette, Gro Dehli Villanger, Bjarne Styrishave, Robert J. Letcher, Daniel J. Hitchcock, Rune Dietz, Bjorn M. Jenssen
Summary: This study examined the relationship between testosterone (T) and persistent organic pollutant (POPs) concentrations in male polar bears from East Greenland. The results showed that age, body length, and adipose lipid content in adult males significantly influenced the variation in POP concentrations.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Adam D. Morris, Birgit M. Braune, Mary Gamberg, Jason Stow, Jason O'Brien, Robert J. Letcher
Summary: Temporal trends of mercury in Arctic wildlife are inconsistent and often insignificant. Weather and climate factors are related to mercury concentrations. This study compared time series of mercury concentrations in different species and found relationships with sea ice conditions, precipitation levels, and time-lagged Arctic and/or North Atlantic Oscillation indices.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Kayla J. Buhler, Antonia Dibernardo, Nicholas W. Pilfold, N. Jane Harms, Heather Fenton, Suzanne Carriere, Allicia Kelly, Helen Schwantje, Xavier Fernandez Aguilar, Lisa-Marie Leclerc, Geraldine G. Gouin, Nicholas J. Lunn, Evan S. Richardson, David McGeachy, Emilie Bouchard, Adrian Hernandez Ortiz, Gustaf Samelius, L. Robbin Lindsay, Michael A. Drebot, Patricia Gaffney, Patrick Leighton, Ray Alisauskas, Emily Jenkins
Summary: Northern Canada is experiencing a rapid warming trend, leading to changes in the diversity and distribution of vectors and pathogens. Antibodies of California serogroup (CSG) viruses were detected in various wildlife species, including caribou, Arctic foxes, red foxes, and polar bears. Factors such as sex, age, summer temperatures, location, year, and ecotype were found to be associated with the exposure of polar bears and caribou to CSG viruses. This study highlights the link between wildlife exposure to CSG viruses and climate change in northern Canada, emphasizing the importance of ongoing surveillance to evaluate human health risks.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ran Tao, Paul G. Myers
Summary: The Hudson Bay Complex is a semi-enclosed waterbody system with increasing ship traffic, which could raise the risk of maritime accidents. A high-resolution numerical model was used to study pollutant circulation pathways, showing that particles released in eastern Hudson Strait spread most extensively, posing a threat to the environment.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Igor A. Dmitrenko, Denis L. Volkov, Tricia A. Stadnyk, Andrew Tefs, David G. Babb, Sergey A. Kirillov, Alex Crawford, Kevin Sydor, David G. Barber
Summary: This study focused on sea-level variability at the Port of Churchill in Hudson Bay, finding that wind forcing and local river discharge are key factors affecting sea-level changes, especially during the winter ice break-up and freeze-up periods, when cyclonic winds play a significant role.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhiyong Xie, Peng Zhang, Zilan Wu, Shuang Zhang, Lijia Wei, Lijie Mi, Anette Kuester, Juergen Gandrass, Ralf Ebinghaus, Ruiqiang Yang, Zhen Wang, Wenying Mi
Summary: This paper reviews the occurrence and transport processes of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) and legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in polar regions. It highlights the differences between the Arctic and Antarctica, and the potential effects of remobilization on pollutant concentrations.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Water Resources
Nicole Balliston, Jonathan S. Price
Summary: Patterned bog and fen peatlands in the Hudson Bay Lowlands act as important water storage and conveyance features. This study characterized the thresholds of hydrological connectivity between wetlands and peatlands, and found that connectivity is mainly influenced by precipitation and temperature.
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Carlee Morency, Loic Jacquemot, Marianne Potvin, Connie Lovejoy
Summary: There is usually a clear divide between freshwater and marine microbial communities, with transitional communities found in estuarine zones. This study in two river-to-sea systems in Canada found that river flow and estuarine circulation have a significant impact on the selection of bacterial species in estuaries, with implications for food web functionality and biogeochemical cycles, especially in the Anthropocene where flow regimes are affected by larger climatic variability.
ELEMENTA-SCIENCE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Boris Fuchs, Kyle Joly, Grant V. Hilderbrand, Alina L. Evans, Ilia Rodushkin, Lindsey S. Mangipane, Buck A. Mangipane, David D. Gustine, Andreas Zedrosser, Ludovick Brown, Jon M. Arnemo
Summary: Contamination with toxic elements like arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead is a global concern, affecting the resilience of organisms and ecosystems. Bears living in remote areas can still be exposed to these elements through atmospheric and oceanic pathways. The study found that the blood concentrations of these elements varied based on bear diet and age, with Alaskan bears feeding on salmon having higher mercury concentrations. These findings highlight the importance of understanding baseline contaminant concentrations in the changing world.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Bruce G. Marcot, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Anthony M. Pagano, Steven C. Amstrup
Summary: Updating predictions on the response of at-risk species to climate change and human activity is crucial for effective conservation efforts. In this study, researchers reviewed previous Bayesian network probability models and provided an updated model for predicting the global polar bear population based on recent research findings and sea-ice projections. The results showed that polar bears are likely to experience population declines throughout the 21st century, particularly in the Polar Basin Divergent Ice Ecoregion, due to the expected degradation and loss of sea ice.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daniela Negrete-Bolagay, Camilo Zamora-Ledezma, Cristina Chuya-Sumba, Frederico B. De Sousa, Daniel Whitehead, Frank Alexis, Victor H. Guerrero
Summary: Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) have become a serious environmental issue due to their toxicity and resistance to degradation, primarily originating from industrial and agricultural activities. This review article discusses the types, impacts, and removal methods of POPs, focusing on promising technologies such as bioremediation, advanced oxidation, ionizing radiation, and nanotechnology. Alternative approaches to control the use of pollutants and mitigate their effects on water sources are also suggested.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Toshimi Nakajima, Mao Kuragano, Makoto Yamada, Ryo Sugimoto
Summary: This study compared the contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to river nutrient budgets at nearshore and embayment scales, and found that SGD-derived nutrients become more important at larger spatial scales.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fan Liu, Lei Zhang, Chongyang Zhang, Ziguang Chen, Jingguang Li
Summary: NO2 emissions from wall-mounted gas stoves used for household heating have become a significant source of indoor pollution in Chinese urban areas. The high indoor concentration of NO2 poses potential health risks to residents. It is urgently necessary to establish relevant regulations and implement emission reduction technologies to reduce NO2 emissions from wall-mounted gas stoves.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Letter
Environmental Sciences
Hans Peter H. Arp, Raoul Wolf, Sarah E. Hale, Sivani Baskaran, Juliane Gluege, Martin Scheringer, Xenia Trier, Ian T. Cousins, Harrie Timmer, Roberta Hofman-Caris, Anna Lennquist, Andre D. Bannink, Gerard J. Stroomberg, Rosa M. A. Sjerps, Rosa Montes, Rosario Rodil, Jose Benito Quintana, Daniel Zahn, Herve Gallard, Tobias Mohr, Ivo Schliebner, Michael Neumann
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Philomina Onyedikachi Peter, Binessi Edouard Ifon, Francois Nkinahamira, Kayode Hassan Lasisi, Jiangwei Li, Anyi Hu, Chang-Ping Yu
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between dissolved organic matter (DOM) and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in sediments from Yundang Lagoon, China. The results show four distinct fluorescent components, with protein-like substances being the most prevalent. Additionally, the total fluorescence intensity and LREE concentrations exhibit a synchronized increase from Outer to Inner to Songbai Lake core sediments. The findings demonstrate a strong correlation between DOM content and pollution levels.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Surya Gupta, Pasquale Borrelli, Panos Panagos, Christine Alewell
Summary: The objective of this study is to incorporate soil hydraulic properties into the erodibility factor (K) of USLE-type models. By modifying and improving the existing equations for soil texture and permeability, the study successfully included information on saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) into the calculation of K factor. Using the Random Forest machine learning algorithm, two independent K factor maps with different spatial resolutions were generated. The results show that the decrease in K factor values has a positive impact on the modeling of soil erosion rates.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jesmin Akter, Wendy J. M. Smith, Yawen Liu, Ilho Kim, Stuart L. Simpson, Phong Thai, Asja Korajkic, Warish Ahmed
Summary: The choice of workflow in wastewater surveillance has a significant impact on SARS-CoV-2 concentrations, while having minimal effects on HF183 and no effect on HAdV 40/41 concentrations. Certain components in the workflow can be interchangeable, but factors such as buffer type, chloroform, and homogenization speed can affect the recovery of viruses and bacteria.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yu Luo, Xueting Yang, Diwei Wang, Hongmei Xu, Hongai Zhang, Shasha Huang, Qiyuan Wang, Ningning Zhang, Junji Cao, Zhenxing Shen
Summary: Atmospheric PM2.5, which can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), is associated with cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality. The study found that both the mass concentration of PM2.5 and the DTT activity were higher during the heating season than during the nonheating season. Combustion sources were the primary contributors to DTT activity during the heating season, while secondary formation dominated during the nonheating season. The study also revealed that biomass burning had the highest inherent oxidation potential among all sources investigated.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Erin L. Murphy, Leah R. Gerber, Chelsea M. Rochman, Beth Polidoro
Summary: Plastic pollution has devastating consequences for marine organisms. This study uses a trait-based framework to develop a vulnerability index for marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles in Hawai'i. The index ranks 63 study species based on their vulnerability to macroplastic pollution, providing valuable information for species monitoring and management priorities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kenji Maurice, Amelia Bourceret, Sami Youssef, Stephane Boivin, Liam Laurent-Webb, Coraline Damasio, Hassan Boukcim, Marc-Andre Selosse, Marc Ducousso
Summary: Growing pressure from climate change and agricultural land use is destabilizing soil microbial community interactions. Little is known about microbial community resistance and adaptation to disturbances, hindering our understanding of recovery latency and implications for ecosystem functioning. This study found that anthropic disturbance and natural disturbance have different effects on the topology and stability of soil microbial networks.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yunhao Li, Yali Feng, Haoran Li, Yisong Yao, Chenglong Xu, Jinrong Ju, Ruiyu Ma, Haoyu Wang, Shiwei Jiang
Summary: Deep-sea mining poses a serious threat to marine ecosystems and human health by disturbing sediment and transmitting metal ions through the food chain. This study developed a new regenerative adsorption material, OMN@SA, which effectively removes metal ions. The adsorption mechanism and performance of the material for metal ion fixation were investigated.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Antonio Medici, Margherita Lavorgna, Marina Isidori, Chiara Russo, Elena Orlo, Giovanni Luongo, Giovanni Di Fabio, Armando Zarrelli
Summary: Valsartan, a widely used antihypertensive drug, has been detected in high concentrations in surface waters due to its unchanged excretion and incomplete degradation in wastewater treatment plants. This study investigated the degradation of valsartan and identified 14 degradation byproducts. The acute and chronic toxicity of these byproducts were evaluated in key organisms in the freshwater trophic chain.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiang Lin, Lianbao Chi, Qing Yuan, Busu Li, Mingbao Feng
Summary: This study investigated the photodegradation behavior and product formation of two representative pharmaceuticals in simulated estuary water. The study found that the formed transformation products of these pharmaceuticals have potential toxicity on marine organisms, including oxidative stress and damage to cellular components.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hua Fang, Dongdong Jiang, Ye He, Siyi Wu, Yuehong Li, Ziqi Zhang, Haoting Chen, Zixin Zheng, Yan Sun, Wenxiang Wang
Summary: This study revealed that exposure to lower levels of air pollutants led to decreased pregnancy rates, with PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO emerging as the four most prominent pollutants. Individuals aged 35 and above exhibited heightened susceptibility to pollutants.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ali Shaan Manzoor Ghumman, Rashid Shamsuddin, Amin Abbasi, Mohaira Ahmad, Yoshiaki Yoshida, Abdul Sami, Hamad Almohamadi
Summary: In this study, inverse vulcanized polysulfides (IVP) were synthesized by reacting molten sulfur with 4-vinyl benzyl chloride, and then functionalized using N-methyl D-glucamine (NMDG). The functionalized IVP showed a high mercury adsorption capacity and a machine learning model was developed to predict the amount of mercury removed. Furthermore, the functionalized IVP can be regenerated and reused, providing a sustainable and cost-effective adsorbent.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rita Bonfiglio, Renata Sisto, Stefano Casciardi, Valeria Palumbo, Maria Paola Scioli, Erica Giacobbi, Francesca Servadei, Gerry Melino, Alessandro Mauriello, Manuel Scimeca
Summary: This study investigated the presence of aluminum in human colon cancer samples and its potential association with biological processes involved in cancer progression. Aluminum was found in tumor areas of 24% of patients and was associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell death. Additional analyses revealed higher tumor mutational burden and mutations in genes related to EMT and apoptosis in aluminum-positive colon cancers. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of aluminum toxicity may improve strategies for the management of colon cancer patients.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)