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| 2. |
- Van den Brink, P. J., et al.
(author)
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Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for Europe
- 2018
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In: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. - : Wiley. - 0730-7268 .- 1552-8618. ; 37:9, s. 2281-2295
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals have been established to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals will require a healthy and productive environment. An understanding of the impacts of chemicals which can negatively impact environmental health is therefore essential to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, current research on and regulation of chemicals in the environment tend to take a simplistic view and do not account for the complexity of the real world, which inhibits the way we manage chemicals. There is therefore an urgent need for a step change in the way we study and communicate the impacts and control of chemicals in the natural environment. To do this requires the major research questions to be identified so that resources are focused on questions that really matter. We present the findings of a horizon-scanning exercise to identify research priorities of the European environmental science community around chemicals in the environment. Using the key questions approach, we identified 22 questions of priority. These questions covered overarching questions about which chemicals we should be most concerned about and where, impacts of global megatrends, protection goals, and sustainability of chemicals; the development and parameterization of assessment and management frameworks; and mechanisms to maximize the impact of the research. The research questions identified provide a first-step in the path forward for the research, regulatory, and business communities to better assess and manage chemicals in the natural environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2281-2295. (c) 2018 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.
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| 3. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 4. |
- Brack, Werner, et al.
(author)
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Towards the review of the European Union Water Framework Directive : Recommendations for more efficient assessment and management of chemical contamination in European surface water resources
- 2017
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 576, s. 720-737
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Water is a vital resource for natural ecosystems and human life, and assuring a high quality of water and protecting it from chemical contamination is a major societal goal in the European Union. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives are the major body of legislation for the protection and sustainable use of European freshwater resources. The practical implementation of the WFD with regard to chemical pollution has faced some challenges. In support of the upcoming WFD review in 2019 the research project SOLUTIONS and the European monitoring network NORMAN has analyzed these challenges, evaluated the state-of-the-art of the science and suggested possible solutions. We give 10 recommendations to improve monitoring and to strengthen comprehensive prioritization, to foster consistent assessment and to support solution-oriented management of surface waters. The integration of effect-based tools, the application of passive sampling for bioaccumulative chemicals and an integrated strategy for prioritization of contaminants, accounting for knowledge gaps, are seen as important approaches to advance monitoring. Including all relevant chemical contaminants in more holistic chemical status assessment, using effect-based trigger values to address priority mixtures of chemicals, to better consider historical burdens accumulated in sediments and to use models to fill data gaps are recommended for a consistent assessment of contamination. Solution-oriented management should apply a tiered approach in investigative monitoring, to identify toxicity drivers, strengthen consistent legislative frameworks and apply solutions-oriented approaches that explore risk reduction scenarios before and along with risk assessment.
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| 5. |
- Adewumi, Oluseun, et al.
(author)
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Characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines by the International Stem Cell Initiative
- 2007
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In: Nature Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1087-0156 .- 1546-1696. ; 25:7, s. 803-816
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The International Stem Cell Initiative characterized 59 human embryonic stem cell lines from 17 laboratories worldwide. Despite diverse genotypes and different techniques used for derivation and maintenance, all lines exhibited similar expression patterns for several markers of human embryonic stem cells. They expressed the glycolipid antigens SSEA3 and SSEA4, the keratan sulfate antigens TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81, GCTM2 and GCT343, and the protein antigens CD9, Thy1 (also known as CD90), tissue- nonspecific alkaline phosphatase and class 1 HLA, as well as the strongly developmentally regulated genes NANOG, POU5F1 (formerly known as OCT4), TDGF1, DNMT3B, GABRB3 and GDF3. Nevertheless, the lines were not identical: differences in expression of several lineage markers were evident, and several imprinted genes showed generally similar allele-specific expression patterns, but some gene-dependent variation was observed. Also, some female lines expressed readily detectable levels of XIST whereas others did not. No significant contamination of the lines with mycoplasma, bacteria or cytopathic viruses was detected.
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| 6. |
- Brack, Werner, et al.
(author)
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The SOLUTIONS project : Challenges and responses for present and future emerging pollutants in land and water resources management
- 2015
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 503, s. 22-31
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- SOLUTIONS (2013 to 2018) is a European Union Seventh Framework Programme Project (EU-FP7). The project aims to deliver a conceptual framework to support the evidence-based development of environmental policies with regard to water quality. SOLUTIONS will develop the tools for the identification, prioritisation and assessment of those water contaminants that may pose a risk to ecosystems and human health. To this end, a new generation of chemical and effect-based monitoring tools is developed and integrated with a full set of exposure, effect and risk assessment models. SOLUTIONS attempts to address legacy, present and future contamination by integrating monitoring and modelling based approaches with scenarios on future developments in society, economy and technology and thus in contamination. The project follows a solutions-oriented approach by addressing major problems of water and chemicals management and by assessing abatement options. SOLUTIONS takes advantage of the access to the infrastructure necessary to investigate the large basins of the Danube and Rhine as well as relevant Mediterranean basins as case studies, and puts major efforts on stakeholder dialogue and support. Particularly, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) working groups, International River Commissions, and water works associations are directly supported. with consistent guidance for the early detection, identification, prioritisation, and abatement of chemicals in the water cycle. SOLUTIONS will give a specific emphasis on concepts and tools for the impact and risk assessment of complex mixtures of emerging pollutants, their metabolites and transformation products. Analytical and effect-based screening tools will be applied together with ecological assessment tools for the identification of toxicants and their impacts. The SOLUTIONS approach is expected to provide transparent and evidence-based candidates or River Basin Specific Pollutants in the case study basins and to assist future review of priority pollutants under the WFD as well as potential abatement options.
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| 7. |
- Kemppinen, Julia, et al.
(author)
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Microclimate, an important part of ecology and biogeography
- 2024
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In: GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 33:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Brief introduction: What are microclimates and why are they important?Microclimate science has developed into a global discipline. Microclimate science is increasingly used to understand and mitigate climate and biodiversity shifts. Here, we provide an overview of the current status of microclimate ecology and biogeography in terrestrial ecosystems, and where this field is heading next.Microclimate investigations in ecology and biogeographyWe highlight the latest research on interactions between microclimates and organisms, including how microclimates influence individuals, and through them populations, communities and entire ecosystems and their processes. We also briefly discuss recent research on how organisms shape microclimates from the tropics to the poles.Microclimate applications in ecosystem managementMicroclimates are also important in ecosystem management under climate change. We showcase new research in microclimate management with examples from biodiversity conservation, forestry and urban ecology. We discuss the importance of microrefugia in conservation and how to promote microclimate heterogeneity.Methods for microclimate scienceWe showcase the recent advances in data acquisition, such as novel field sensors and remote sensing methods. We discuss microclimate modelling, mapping and data processing, including accessibility of modelling tools, advantages of mechanistic and statistical modelling and solutions for computational challenges that have pushed the state-of-the-art of the field.What's next?We identify major knowledge gaps that need to be filled for further advancing microclimate investigations, applications and methods. These gaps include spatiotemporal scaling of microclimate data, mismatches between macroclimate and microclimate in predicting responses of organisms to climate change, and the need for more evidence on the outcomes of microclimate management.
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| 8. |
- De Laender, Frederik, et al.
(author)
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The contribution of intra- and interspecific tolerance variability to biodiversity changes along toxicity gradients
- 2014
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In: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 17:1, s. 72-81
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The worldwide distribution of toxicants is an important yet understudied driver of biodiversity, and the mechanisms relating toxicity to diversity have not been adequately explored. Here, we present a community model integrating demography, dispersal and toxicant-induced effects on reproduction driven by intraspecific and interspecific variability in toxicity tolerance. We compare model predictions to 458 species abundance distributions (SADs) observed along concentration gradients of toxicants to show that the best predictions occur when intraspecific variability is five and ten times higher than interspecific variability. At high concentrations, lower settings of intraspecific variability resulted in predictions of community extinction that were not supported by the observed SADs. Subtle but significant species losses at low concentrations were predicted only when intraspecific variability dominated over interspecific variability. Our results propose intraspecific variability as a key driver for biodiversity sustenance in ecosystems challenged by environmental change.
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| 9. |
- Diepens, Noel J., et al.
(author)
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Effect of pesticides used in banana and pineapple plantations on aquatic ecosystems in Costa Rica
- 2014
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In: Journal of environmental biology. - 0254-8704. ; 35:1 (SI), s. 73-84
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Current knowledge on fate and effect of agricultural pesticides comes is mainly from temperate ecosystems. More studies are needed in tropical systems in order to assess contamination risks to non-target endemic tropical species from the extensive use of pesticides e.g. in banana and pineapple plantations. In this study, acute laboratory toxicity tests with organophosphate pesticides ethoprophos and chlorpyrifos were conducted on two Costa Rican species, cladoceran Daphnia ambigua and fish Parachromis dovii. Tests showed that chlorpyrifos was more toxic than ethoprophos to D. ambigua and P. dovii and that D. ambigua was also more sensitive than P. dovii to both pesticides. Additionally, bioassays were performed by exposing D. magna and P. dovii to contaminated water collected from the field. Chemical analyses of field water revealed that fungicides were generally the most frequent pesticide group found, followed by insecticides/nematicides and herbicides. The bioassays and values obtained from the literature confirmed that D. magna was more sensitive to pesticide contamination than P. dovii and that D. ambigua was more sensitive than D. magna, suggesting that the native cladoceran is a more suitable test species than its temperate counterpart. Species sensitivity distributions showed no significant difference in sensitivity between tropical and temperate fish and the arthropod species exposed to chlorpyrifos in this study. Choline esterase activity (ChE) was measured in P. dovii in laboratory tests in order to assess the applicability of this biomarker. ChE inhibition in P. dovii was observed in the laboratory at levels below the LC10 of both ethoprophos and chlorpyrifos, confirming that ChE is an efficient biomarker of exposure. Both indigenous Costa Rican species used in this study were found to be suitable standard tropical test species. Further studies are needed to investigate how protective the safe environmental concentrations, derived from LC50 of native tropical species, are for protecting tropical aquatic natural communities.
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| 10. |
- Echeverría-Sáenz, Silvia, et al.
(author)
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In situ toxicity and ecological risk assessment of agro-pesticide runoff in the Madre de Dios River in Costa Rica
- 2018
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 25:14, s. 13270-13282
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The River Madre de Dios (RMD) and its lagoon is a biodiversity rich watershed formed by a system of streams, rivers, channels, and a coastal lagoon communicating with the Caribbean Sea. This basin sustains a large area of agricultural activity (mostly banana, rice, and pineapple) with intensive use of pesticides, continually detected in water samples. We investigated in situ the toxicological effects caused by pesticide runoff from agriculture and the relation of pesticide concentrations with different biological organization levels: early responses in fish biomarkers (sub-organismal), acute toxicity to Daphnia magna (organismal), and aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure. The evaluation was carried out between October 2011 and November 2012 at five sites along the RMD influenced by agricultural discharges and a reference site in a stream outside the RMD that receives less pesticides. Acute toxicity to D. magna was observed only once in a sample from the RMD (Cano Azul); the index of biomaiker responses in fish exposed in situ was higher than controls at the same site and at the RMD-Freeman. However, only macroinvertebrates were statistically related to the presence of pesticides, combined with both physical-chemical parameters and habitat degradation. All three groups of variables determined the distribution of macroinvertebrate taxa through the study sites.
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