| 1. |
- Ecke, Frauke, et al.
(författare)
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Spatio-temporal variation of metals and organic contaminants in bank voles (Myodes glareolus)
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 713
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental contamination with metals and organic compounds is of increasing concern for ecosystem and human health. Still, our knowledge about spatial distribution, temporal changes and ecotoxicological fate of metals and organic contaminants in wildlife is limited. We studied concentrations of 69 elements and 50 organic compounds in 300 bank voles (Myodes glareolus), Europe's most common mammal, sampled in spring and autumn 2017–2018 in five monitoring areas, representing three biogeographic regions. In addition, we compared measured concentrations with previous results from bank voles sampled within the same areas in 1995–1997 and 2001. In general, our results show regional differences, but no consistent patterns among contaminants and study areas. The exception was for the lowest concentrations of organic contaminants (e.g. perfluorooctane sulfonate, PFOS), which were generally found in the northern Swedish mountain area. Concentrations of metals and organic contaminants in adults varied seasonally with most organic contaminants being higher in spring; likely induced by diet shifts but potentially also related to age differences. In addition, metal concentrations varied between organs (liver vs. kidney), age classes (juveniles vs. adults; generally higher in adults) as well as between males and females. Concentrations of chromium and nickel in kidney and liver in the northernmost mountain area were lower in 2017–2018 than in 1995–1997 and in three of four areas, lead concentrations were lower in 2017–2018 than in 2001. Current metal concentrations (except mercury) are not expected to negatively affect the voles. Concentrations of hexachlorobenzene displayed highest concentrations in 2001 in the mountains, while it was close to detection limit in 2017–2018. Likewise, PFOS concentrations decreased in the mountains and in south-central lowland forests between 2001 and 2017–2018. Our results suggest that season, age class and sex need to be considered when designing and interpreting results from monitoring programs targeting inorganic and organic contaminants in wildlife.
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| 2. |
- Ecke, Frauke, et al.
(författare)
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Landscape structure and the long-term decline of cyclic grey-sided voles in Fennoscandia
- 2010
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Ingår i: Landscape Ecology. - : Springer. - 0921-2973 .- 1572-9761. ; 25:4, s. 551-560
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Changes in forest landscape structure have been suggested as a likely contributing factor behind the long-term decline in the numbers of cyclic grey-sided voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus) in northern Fennoscandian lowland regions in contrast to mountain regions due to the absence of forest management in the mountains. This study, for the first time, formally explored landscape structure in 29 lowland (LF) and 14 mountain forest (MF) landscapes (each 2.5 x 2.5 km) in northern Sweden, and related the results to the cumulated spring trapping index of the grey-sided vole in 2002-2006. The grey-sided vole showed striking contrasts in dynamics close in space and time. The MF landscapes were characterized by larger patches and less fragmentation of preferred forest types. The grey-sided vole was trapped in all of 14 analyzed MF landscapes but only in three out of 29 of the LF landscapes. MF and LF landscapes with grey-sided vole occurrence were characterized by similar focal forest patch size (mean 357 ha, minimum 82 ha and mean 360 ha, minimum 79 ha, respectively). In contrast, these MF compared to the LF landscapes were characterized by larger patches of preferred forest types and less fragmented preferred forest types and by a lower proportion of clear-cut areas. The present results suggest that landscape structure is important for the abundance of grey-sided voles in both regions. However, in the mountains the change from more or less seasonal dynamics to high-amplitude cycles between the mid 1990s and 2000s cannot be explained by changes in landscape structure.
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| 3. |
- Brila, Ilze, et al.
(författare)
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Low-level environmental metal pollution is associated with altered gut microbiota of a wild rodent, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus)
- 2021
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 790
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mining and related industries are a major source of metal pollution. In contrast to the well-studied effects of exposure to metals on animal physiology and health, the impacts of environmental metal pollution on the gut microbiota of wild animals are virtually unknown. As the gut microbiota is a key component of host health, it is important to understand whether metal pollution can alter wild animal gut microbiota composition. Using a combination of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and quantification of metal levels in kidneys, we assessed whether multi-metal exposure (the sum of normalized levels of fifteen metals) was associated with changes in gut microbiota of wild bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from two locations in Finland. Exposure to increased metal load was associated with higher gut microbiota species diversity (α-diversity) and altered community composition (β-diversity), but not dispersion. Multi-metal exposure and increased levels of several metals (Cd, Hg, Pb and Se) were associated with differences in the abundance of microbial taxa, especially those within the families Clostridiales vadinBB60 group, Desulfovibrionaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Muribaculaceae and Ruminococcaceae. Our data indicate that even low-level metal pollution can affect the diversity of microbiota and be associated with deterministic differences in composition of host gut microbiota in wild animal populations. These findings highlight the need to study a broader range of metals and their cocktails that are more representative of the types of environmental exposure experienced by wild animals.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Öhlander, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Biogeochemical mapping of stream plants to trace acid sulphate soils : A comparison between water geochemistry and metal content in macrophytes
- 2014
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Ingår i: Geochemistry. - : Geological Society of London. - 1467-7873 .- 2041-4943. ; 14:1, s. 85-94
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The efficiency of biogeochemical mapping for identifying acid sulphate soils (AS soils) was studied by sampling and analysing water, transplanted aquatic moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) and leaves of the vascular plant Calamagrostis purpurea at two sites in a stream in northern Sweden with AS soils in its drainage area. One upstream sampling station (Mårtsmarken) was situated in an area dominated by till, and a downstream station (Persraningen) was situated in an area where AS soils are common. Metal contents in F. antipyretica and C. purpurea at these sites were compared to those in water (both unfiltered samples, and samples subjected to 0.22 μm membrane filtration and 1 kDa ultrafiltration to obtain data on metal speciation and its effects on uptake). Oxidation of sulphides with associated increases in acidity and release of metals were clearly reflected by differences in the water samples. At Persraningen the pH was lower than at Mårtsmarken, and the unfiltered concentrations of Al, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, S, Sr, Y and Zn were higher. At the upstream station, Mårtsmarken, the suspended fraction was an important carrier of Fe and P, and the colloidal concentrations were higher than or similar to the dissolved concentrations for all determined elements except Na and K. At Persraningen the low pH resulted in changes of speciation, so that the dissolved concentrations were higher than the colloidal concentrations for most elements. For Al, As, Cr, Cu, Pb and Y, the dissolved and colloidal concentrations were similar. For Fe, the colloidal concentration was usually higher than the dissolved concentration, and suspended Fe was detected. Aluminium, Cr, Cu, Fe and Y concentrations were significantly higher in Fontinalis antipyretica at Persraningen than at Mårtsmarken. In addition, concentrations of Al and Fe in C. purpurea were significantly higher at Persraningen. Our results highlight the potential of biogeochemical mapping for predicting the occurrence of AS soils. A limitation is the strong pH dependence of the uptake of metals in the aquatic mosses resulting in that only a few of the elements typically occurring at high concentrations in waters draining AS soils are enriched in the macrophytes. A combination of maps showing both absolute concentrations and elemental ratios would be useful for this, including not only ratios of previously suggested utility (e.g. Y:Pb and Ni:Pb), but also others, such as Y:Ca, Al:Ca, Cu:Ca, Y:Mg, Al:Mg and Cu:Mg. © 2014 AAG/The Geological Society of London.
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| 6. |
- Chlot, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Modelling nitrogen transformations in waters receiving mine effluents
- 2011
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 409:21, s. 4585-4595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents a biogeochemical model developed for a clarification pond receiving ammonium nitrogen rich discharge water from the Boliden concentration plant located in northern Sweden. Present knowledge about nitrogen (N) transformations in lakes is compiled in a dynamic model that calculates concentrations of the six N species (state variables) ammonium-N (Nam), nitrate-N (Nox), dissolved organic N in water (Norg), N in phytoplankton (Npp), in macrophytes (Nmp) and in sediment (Nsed). It also simulates the rate of 16 N transformation processes occurring in the water column and sediment as well as water–sediment and water–atmosphere interactions. The model was programmed in the software Powersim using 2008 data, whilst validation was performed using data from 2006 to 2007. The sensitivity analysis showed that the state variables are most sensitive to changes in the coefficients related to the temperature dependence of the transformation processes. A six-year simulation of Nam showed stable behaviour over time. The calibrated model rendered coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.93, 0.79 and 0.86 for Nam, Nox and Norg, respectively. Performance measures quantitatively expressing the deviation between modelled and measured data resulted in values close to zero, indicating a stable model structure. The simulated denitrification rate was on average five times higher than the ammonia volatilisation rate and about three times higher than the permanent burial of Nsed and, hence, the most important process for the permanent removal of N. The model can be used to simulate possible measures to reduce the nitrogen load and, after some modification and recalibration, it can be applied at other mine sites affected by N rich effluents.
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| 7. |
- Rodushkin, Ilya, et al.
(författare)
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Uptake and Accumulation of Anthropogenic Os in Free-Living Bank Voles (Myodes glareolus)
- 2011
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Ingår i: Water, Air and Soil Pollution. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0049-6979 .- 1573-2932. ; 218:1-4, s. 603-610
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Osmium tetroxide (OsO4) is one of the most toxic air contaminants but its environmental effects are poorly understood. Here, for the first time, we present evidence of osmium uptake in a common herbivore (bank vole, Myodes glareolus) in boreal forests of northern Sweden. Voles (n = 22) and fruticose arboreal pendular lichens, the potential main winter food source of the vole, were collected along a spatial gradient to the west of a steelwork in Tornio, Finland at the Finnish-Swedish border. Os-187/Os-188 isotope ratios increased and osmium concentrations decreased in lichens and voles along the gradient. Osmium concentrations in lichens were 10,000-fold higher than those in voles. Closest to the steelwork, concentrations were highest in kidneys rather than skin/fur that are directly exposed to airborne OsO4. The kidney-to-body weight ratio was higher at the two localities close to the steelwork. Even though based on a small sample size, our results for the first time demonstrate that osmium is taken up, partitioned, and accumulated in mammal tissue, and indicate that high kidney-to-body weight ratios might be induced by anthropogenic osmium.
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| 8. |
- Husson, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing biomass and metal contents in riparian vegetation along a pollution gradient using an unmanned aircraft system
- 2014
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Ingår i: Water, Air and Soil Pollution. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0049-6979 .- 1573-2932. ; 225:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quantifying plant biomass and related processes such as element allocation is a major challenge at the scale of entire riparian zones. We applied sub-decimetre-resolution (5 cm) remote sensing using an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in combination with field sampling to quantify riparian vegetation biomass at three locations (320-m river stretches) along a mining-impacted boreal river and estimated the amounts of Cd, Cu, and Zn stored in the dominant species. A species-level vegetation map was derived from visual interpretation of aerial images acquired using the UAS and field sampling to determine species composition and cover. Herbaceous and shrub biomass and metal contents were assessed by combining the vegetation maps with field sampling results. Riparian zone productivity decreased from 9.5 to 5.4 t ha-1 with increasing distance from the source of contamination, and the total amount of vegetation-bound Cd and Zn decreased from 24 to 0.4 and 3,488 to 211 g, respectively. Most Cu was stored at the central location. Biomass and metal contents indicated large variation between species. Salix spp. comprised only 17% of the total dominant-species biomass but contained 95% of all Cd and 65% of all Zn. In contrast, Carex rostrata/vesicaria comprised 64% of the total dominant-species biomass and contained 63% of all Cu and 25% of all Zn. Our study demonstrates the applicability of UAS for monitoring entire riparian zones. The method offers great potential for accurately assessing nutrient and trace element cycling in the riparian zone and for planning potential phytoremediation measures in polluted areas
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| 9. |
- Husson, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Unmanned aircraft systems help to map aquatic vegetation
- 2014
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Ingår i: Applied Vegetation Science. - : Wiley. - 1402-2001 .- 1654-109X. ; 17:3, s. 334-348
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- QuestionsDo high-resolution (sub-decimetre) aerial images taken with unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) allow a human interpreter to recognize aquatic plant species? Can UAS images be used to (1) produce vegetation maps at the species level; and (2) estimate species abundance? LocationOne river and two lake test sites in northern Sweden, middle boreal sub-zone. MethodsAt one lake and at the river site we evaluated accuracy with which aquatic plant species can be identified on printouts of UAS images (scale 1:800, resolution 5.6 cm). As assessment units we used homogeneous vegetation patches, referred to as vegetation stands of one or more species. The accuracy assessment included calibration and validation based on field controls. At the river site, we produced a digital vegetation map based on an UAS orthoimage (geometrically corrected image mosaic) and the results of the species identification evaluation. We applied visual image interpretation and manual mapping. At one of the lake sites, we assessed the abundance (four-grade scale) of the dominating Phragmites australis and produced a cover map. ResultsWe identified the species composition of vegetation stands at the lake and the river site with an overall accuracy of 95.1% and 80.4%, respectively. It was feasible to produce a digital vegetation map, albeit with a slight reduction in detail compared to the species identification step. At the site for abundance assessment, P. australis covered 20% of the total lake surface area, and 70% of the covered area had cover ≤25%. ConclusionsThe tested UAS facilitates lake and river vegetation identification and mapping at the species level, as well as abundance estimates
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| 10. |
- Chlot, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Effects on nutrient regime in two recipients of nitrogen-rich mine effluents in northern Sweden
- 2013
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Ingår i: Applied Geochemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0883-2927 .- 1872-9134. ; 31, s. 12-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The question of the limiting nutrient(s) for production of phytoplankton and macrophytes was explored in two contrasting freshwater systems receiving N- and P-rich mine effluents from the Boliden and Kiruna mine sites, northern Sweden. For both sites, total N (TN), total P (TP) and TN:TP mass ratios in water, sediment and macrophytes were used to examine (1) spatial variations within the systems, (2) differences between the systems and (3) seasonal variations. The TN concentration from the discharge point at the Kiruna site was about seven times higher than at the Boliden discharge point, while the TP concentration was 10 times lower than in the discharge point at the Boliden site. The majority of the studied lakes showed elevated biomass of phytoplankton, with maximum values found in Lake Bruträsket (Boliden). Mining activities have affected the nutrient regime of the two recipients by contributing to elevated TN and TP concentrations and TN:TP mass ratios as well as elevated production of phytoplankton and macrophytes compared to the reference sites. Depending on the NH4 concentration in the effluent at the Boliden site, water column TN:TP mass ratios shifted from being >22, indicating P-deficiency, to between 9 and 22, indicating a transition from N- to P-deficiency (co-limitation). However, water column TN:TP mass ratios at the Kiruna site always indicated P-deficiency, while TN:TP mass ratios of macrophytes indicate that both sites may vary from N- to P-limitation. The study suggests that for the design of efficient monitoring programmes and remediation measures, it is important to consider the major N and P species in water, phytoplankton, sediment and macrophytes.
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