scholarly journals Mapping the spatio-temporal risk of lead exposure in apex species for more effective mitigation

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20160662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Mateo-Tomás ◽  
Pedro P. Olea ◽  
María Jiménez-Moreno ◽  
Pablo R. Camarero ◽  
Inés S. Sánchez-Barbudo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Blood Levels ◽  
Ecosystem Integrity ◽  
Environmental Lead ◽  
Gyps Fulvus ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Effective mitigation of the risks posed by environmental contaminants for ecosystem integrity and human health requires knowing their sources and spatio-temporal distribution. We analysed the exposure to lead (Pb) in griffon vulture Gyps fulvus —an apex species valuable as biomonitoring sentinel. We determined vultures' lead exposure and its main sources by combining isotope signatures and modelling analyses of 691 bird blood samples collected over 5 years. We made yearlong spatially explicit predictions of the species risk of lead exposure. Our results highlight elevated lead exposure of griffon vultures (i.e. 44.9% of the studied population, approximately 15% of the European, showed lead blood levels more than 200 ng ml −1 ) partly owing to environmental lead (e.g. geological sources). These exposures to environmental lead of geological sources increased in those vultures exposed to point sources (e.g. lead-based ammunition). These spatial models and pollutant risk maps are powerful tools that identify areas of wildlife exposure to potentially harmful sources of lead that could affect ecosystem and human health.

scholarly journals Vultures attacking livestock: a problem of vulture behavioural change or farmers’ perception?

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (03) ◽  
pp. 437-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLIVIER DURIEZ ◽  
SANDRINE DESCAVES ◽  
REGIS GALLAIS ◽  
RAPHAËL NEOUZE ◽  
JULIE FLUHR ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Recent Change ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Spatially Correlated ◽  
Gyps Fulvus ◽  
Perception Bias ◽  
Human Perceptions ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Biased Perception

SummaryHuman-wildlife conflicts are often partly due to biased human perceptions about the real damage caused by wildlife. While Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus are obligate scavengers, 156 complaint reports about vultures attacking livestock were officially recorded over eight years (2007–2014) in France. We investigated whether this conflict could be explained by a change in vulture behaviour, or by a biased perception by farmers. If vultures became predators, as a consequence of density-dependent processes, we predicted that reports would concern mostly ante-mortem consumption of healthy livestock and would be temporally and spatially correlated to vulture population size and space use. Under the hypothesis of perception bias of farmers, we predicted that reports would concern mostly post-mortem consumption, and would be more numerous in areas where farmers are less familiar with vultures and where herds are less attended by shepherds. The spatio-temporal distribution of reports was not correlated with the vulture’s population trend and was not centred on the core area of vulture home range. In 67% of reports, vultures consumed post-mortem an animal that had died for other reasons. In 18% of reports, vultures consumed ante-mortem an animal that was immobile and close to death before vulture arrival. The fact that 90% of complaining farmers did not own vulture supplementary feeding stations and that 40% of these farms were located outside protected areas (where most education programmes take place) suggests that most farmers had little familiarity or personal knowledge of vultures. There was no shepherd witness present in 95% of the reports. Therefore, the hypothesis of a perception bias due to lack of knowledge was most likely to explain this vulture-livestock conflict rather than the hypothesis of a recent change in vulture feeding behaviour. Environmental education should be better included in conservation programmes and enhanced in areas where vultures are expanding to recolonise their former distribution range.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Distribution and Influencing Factors of Human and Veterinary Pharmaceuticals in the Tributary Surface Waters of the Han River Watershed, South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7969
Author(s):  
Jong Kwon Im ◽  
Sang Hun Kim ◽  
Young Seok Kim ◽  
Soon Ju Yu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Veterinary Pharmaceuticals ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Han River ◽  
Detection Frequency ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Human and veterinary pharmaceuticals are being increasingly used for disease treatment; hence, their distribution and factors influencing them in the aquatic environment need to be investigated. This study observed the effect of human and animal populations, usage, purchasing criteria (prescription vs. non-prescription), and land use to identify the spatio-temporal distribution of eight pharmaceuticals at twenty-four sites of the tributaries of the Han River watershed. In rural areas, the mean concentration (detection frequency) of non-prescription pharmaceuticals (NPPs) was higher (lower) compared to that of prescription pharmaceuticals (PPs); in urban areas, a reverse trend was observed. Pharmaceutical concentrations in urban and rural areas were mainly affected by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and non-point sources, respectively; concentrations were higher downstream (4.9 times) than upstream of the WWTPs. The concentration distribution (according to the target) was as follows: human–veterinary > human > veterinary. Correlation between total concentration and total usage of the pharmaceuticals was high, except for NPPs. Most livestock and land use (except cropland) were significantly positively correlated with pharmaceutical concentrations. Concentrations were mainly higher (1.5 times) during cold seasons than during warm seasons. The results of this study can assist policymakers in managing pharmaceutical pollutants while prioritizing emerging pollutants.

The effect of environmental lead exposure on human health and the contribution of inflammatory mechanisms, a review

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 404-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzie Boskabady ◽  
Narges Marefati ◽  
Tahereh Farkhondeh ◽  
Farzaneh Shakeri ◽  
Alieh Farshbaf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Environmental Lead ◽  
Environmental Lead Exposure

scholarly journals The role of socioeconomic status, environment, and temperature in the spatio-temporal distribution of the first Chikungunya epidemic in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laís Picinini Freitas ◽  
Alexandra M. Schmidt ◽  
William Cossich ◽  
Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz ◽  
Marilia Sá Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Green Area ◽  
Arboviral Diseases ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The City

AbstractChikungunya is an Aedes-borne disease therefore its dynamics are impacted by the vector’s ecology. We analysed the spatio-temporal distribution of the first chikungunya epidemic in Rio de Janeiro, estimating the effect of the socioeconomic and environmental factors as proxies of mosquitoes abundance. We fitted spatial models using notified cases counts by neighbourhood and week. To estimate the instantaneous and the memory effect of the temperature we used a transfer function. There were 13627 chikungunya cases in the study period. The sociodevelopment index, especially in the beginning of the epidemic, was inversely associated with the risk of cases, whereas the green area proportion effect was null for most weeks. The temperature increased the risk of chikungunya in most areas and this effect propagated for longer where the epidemic was concentrated. Factors related to the Aedes mosquitoes contribute to understanding the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban arboviral diseases.

scholarly journals Effect of river inputs on environmental status and potentially harmful phytoplankton in a coastal area of eastern Mediterranean (Maliakos Gulf, Greece)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
IOANNA VARKITZI ◽  
VASSILIKI MARKOGIANNI ◽  
MARIA PANTAZI ◽  
KALLIOPI PAGOU ◽  
ALEXANDRA PAVLIDOU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Area ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Environmental Status ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Status Assessment ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Harmful Species

In this work we study the response of phytoplankton and potentially harmful species to river inflows in a coastal area of eastern Mediterranean, within the context of environmental status assessment suggested by the European Commission’s Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC). The spatio-temporal distribution of phytoplankton communities and biomass (as chlorophyll a), potentially harmful species, nutrient levels, dissolved oxygen, salinity and temperature were studied. A marginal good to moderate physicochemical status was assigned in the delta of Spercheios river that outflows in Maliakos Gulf. Silicates and nitrates were indicated as proxies of freshwater influence in Maliakos Gulf, whereas ammonium, nitrites and phosphates as proxies of pollutants from non-point sources. Phytoplankton biomass and abundances reached high levels throughout Maliakos Gulf inter-seasonally. High silicates favored the dominance of Diatoms. The potentially harmful species were blooming frequently, with higher levels in the estuary, and they were associated with low salinity, showing the riverine influence on them. Pseudo-nitzschia was the most frequent potentially harmful genus with an interesting strong linkage with low silicates and nitrates. Maliakos Gulf demonstrated an overall mesotrophic condition and failed to achieve good ecological status.

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