Evaluating the impact of gadolinium contamination on the marine bivalve Donax trunculus: Implications for environmental health.

Gadolinium (Gd), commonly used in contrast agents for medical imaging, has been detected in hospital wastewater and aquatic environments, raising environmental concerns. This study examined the accumulation and cellular impacts of Gd in the clam species Donax trunculus, commonly used as bioindicator of contamination. Gadolinium accumulation in clams increased with exposure and over time.

Riparian vegetation entraps macroplastics along the entire river course: Implications for eco-safety activities and mitigation strategies.

Macroplastic litter causes detrimental effects on freshwater biota affecting human health. Despite the significant role of rivers in transporting plastic waste, most plastics remain in fluvial ecosystems, accumulating in infrastructure, river sediment, and (riverbank) vegetated areas. However, the entrapment of plastics by riparian vegetation was overlooked, particularly in upper and middle river courses.

Mapping Italian high-altitude ponds.

Permanent and temporary ponds are considered peculiar ecosystems which provide important ecosystem functions, services, supporting biodiversity on small and large scales. Pond's conservation status is globally critical. Moreover, their ecological functioning and conservation status is frequently overlooked, because of the habitat small size, their seasonal occurrence and their unique appearance.

Microplastic in an apex predator: evidence from Barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets in two sites with different levels of anthropization.

Plastic pollution in terrestrial and freshwater environments and its accumulation along food chains has been poorly studied in birds. The Barn owl (Tyto alba) is an opportunistic and nocturnal apex predator feeding mostly on small mammals. In this note, we reported evidence of microplastics (MPs) contamination in Barn owl pellets collected, for the first time, in two sites with different levels of anthropization (low: natural landscape mosaic vs.

Assessing teratogenic risks of gadolinium in freshwater environments: Implications for environmental health.

Gadolinium (Gd) is among the rare earth elements extensively utilized in both industrial and medical applications. The latter application appears to contribute to the rise in Gd levels in aquatic ecosystems, as it is excreted via urine from patients undergoing MRI scans and often not captured by wastewater treatment systems. The potential environmental and biological hazards posed by gadolinium exposure are still under investigation.

Passive biomonitoring of airborne microplastics using lichens: A comparison between urban, natural and protected environments.

Currently, natural and urban ecosystems are affected by different types of atmospheric deposition, which can compromise the balance of the environment. Plastic pollution represents one of the major threats for biota, including lichens. Epiphytic lichens have value as bioindicators of environmental pollution, climate change, and anthropic impacts.

Anthropogenic litter in a Mediterranean coastal wetland: A heterogeneous spatial pattern of historical deposition.

Coastal wetlands represent areas that can testify historical accumulation of litter. We analyzed the anthropogenic litter deposited on the channel bottom of a coastal wetland area that experienced water stress due to extreme summer dryness after about 20 years. We hypothesize that the litter accumulated in the different areas over the years reflects the different social user categories (i.

The under-investigated plastic threat on seagrasses worldwide: a comprehensive review.

Marine plastic pollution is a well-recognised and debated issue affecting most marine ecosystems. Despite this, the threat of plastic pollution on seagrasses has not received significant scientific attention compared to other marine species and habitats. The present review aims to summarise the scientific data published in the last decade (January 2012-2023), concerning the evaluation of plastic pollution, of all sizes and types, including bio-based polymers, on several seagrass species worldwide.

Diatom and macroinvertebrate communities dynamic: A co-occurrence pattern analysis on plastic substrates.

Wetlands are habitats that provide numerous ecosystem services, but are often understudied and threatened by anthropogenic pollution, particularly plastic pollution. Macroplastics are a significant component of plastic litter that have high biological impacts but are often understudied. Previous studies have highlighted negative impacts on biota, but there is a lack of information about the communities of micro and macro organisms that settle on macroplastic litter.

Dune plants as a sink for beach litter: The species-specific role and edge effect on litter entrapment by plants.

Anthropogenic litter accumulates along coasts worldwide. In addition to the flowing litter load, wind, sea currents, geomorphology and vegetation determine the distribution of litter trapped on the sandy coasts. Although some studies highlighted the role of dune plants in trapping marine litter, little is known about their efficiency as sinks and about the small-scale spatial distribution of litter across the dune area.

Teratogenic effects of environmental concentration of plastic particles on freshwater organisms.

Given the widespread presence of plastics, especially in micro- and nanoscale sizes, in freshwater systems, it is crucial to identify a suitable model organism for assessing the potential toxic and teratogenic effects of exposure to plastic particles. Until now, the early life stage of freshwater organisms and the regeneration capacity in relation to plastic particles exposure is a still poorly investigated topic. In this study, we examine the teratogenic effect on diatom Cocconeis placentula and cnidarian Hydra vulgaris under controlled exposure conditions of poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate) (P(S-co-MMA)) particles.

Nanoplastic exposure inhibits feeding and delays regeneration in a freshwater planarian.

The concentration of nanoplastics (NPs) is expected to increase in aquatic environments thus potentially threatening freshwater organisms through interactions with plastic particles that variously float, circulate in the water column or sink into the benthos. Studies into the mechanisms of any NP effects are still scarce, particularly with respect to the regenerative ability of biota for which there is no recognised model organism. The present study therefore aimed to investigate behavioural and regeneration responses of the freshwater planarian Girardia tigrina after 10 days exposed to along a gradient 0.

New ecological frontiers in the plastisphere: Diatoms and macroinvertebrates turnover assessment by a traits-based approach.

To date, there are very few studies regarding the colonization of artificial substrates in wetlands by macroinvertebrates and diatoms and even fewer are the studies in Italy that take into consideration the diatomic guilds and the biological and ecological traits proposed in literature. Wetlands are at the forefront through the most delicate and threatened freshwater ecosystems. In this study, we want to evaluate the colonization capacity of plastics of diatoms and macroinvertebrates and characterize the diatomic and macroinvertebrate communities using a "traits-based" approach focusing on the colonization of virgin substrates made of polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate.

Dunal plants as sink for anthropogenic marine litter: The entrapping role of Salsola kali L. (1753) in a Mediterranean remote beach (Sardinia, Italy).

The ability to retain anthropogenic marine litter by a halo-psammophilous plant formation dominated by a single prostrate species (Salsola kali) on a Sardinian beach was measured. We hypothesized that the anthropogenic litter (i) is trapped by plants to a greater extent than in control areas, and (ii) has more elongated size, mimicking the organic Posidonia wrack, largely occurring locally as 'banquettes'. Salsola kali patches show an apparently higher anthropogenic litter density than control sites without vegetation.

Dunal plants intercepting macrolitter: Implications for beach clean-ups.

Coastal vegetation intercepts macroplastics and, consequently, it may represent a reservoir of anthropogenic litter and organic wrack. We aimed at investigating (i) the abundance variation of macrolitter from the beach to foredune and backdune (three cross-shore plots over 20 long-shore sectors) and (ii) the role of the halo-psammophilous plants and Phragmites australis reedbed in intercepting the macrolitter, respectively, in the foredunes and backdunes. The vegetation in the foredunes (mainly halo-psammophilous species) acted as a first interception belt for macrolitter, while the bigger litter reached the backdunes.

General macro-litter as a proxy for fishing lines, hooks and nets entrapping beach-nesting birds: Implications for clean-ups.

Fishing lines, hooks and nets represent a sub-category of macro-litter potentially entrapping plover birds nesting on sandy beaches. Here, during a winter period, the accumulation pattern of both general beach litter and fishing lines, hooks and nets was analysed on four central Italy beaches. Despite the active monthly litter removal by clean-ups, there was not a decrease in its density during the winter period, due to the continuous accumulation by frequent winter storms.

From city to sea: Spatiotemporal dynamics of floating macrolitter in the Tiber River.

Rivers are undoubtedly the main pathway of waste dispersed in the environment that from land reaches oceans and seas increasing the amount of marine litter. Major cities are a great source of riverine litter as large urbanization can originate pressure on the integrated waste management resulting in litter entering the rivers. Within this study, we aim to investigate the dynamic of floating riverine macrolitter (items >2.

Epiplastic microhabitats for epibenthic organisms: a new inland water frontier for diatoms.

Plastic pollution is widespread in each type of ecosystems. However, the colonization events of microorganisms on plastics seem to be neglected in inland waters. Therefore, in this study we analyze the possible colonization on the surface (hereafter epiplastic microhabitats) of two typology of plastic supports by diatom community.

Another one bites the plastics.

Old-growth forests host a rich diversity of invertebrate assemblages. Among them, saproxylic insects play a fundamental role in the nutrient cycle and ecosystem functioning. In these environments, coevolution between insect and plants have reached a stable equilibrium over millions of years.

Temporal changes of plastic litter and associated encrusting biota: Evidence from Central Italy (Mediterranean Sea).

We investigated the temporal changes from spring to summer of the stranded litter and the composition of plastic encrusting biota along an Italian beach. Our findings highlight a higher quantity of litter (average value 1510.67 ± 581.

Anthropogenic particles in coypu (Myocastor coypus; Mammalia, Rodentia)' faeces: first evidence and considerations about their use as track for detecting microplastic pollution.

Anthropogenic plastic litter is widespread in all environments, with particular emphasis on aquatic habitats. Specifically, although freshwater mammals are important as they are at the top of food web, research mainly focus on marine animals, while only few studies have been carried out on freshwater mammals. The main gap is that microplastics (MP) are completely understudied in freshwater mammals.

Microplastics distribution and possible ingestion by fish in lacustrine waters (Lake Bracciano, Italy).

Understanding the spatial distribution patterns of microplastics (plastics < 5 mm) contributes to the assessment of sources and sinks of pollution thus providing information for the management of biota safety and overall ecosystem functionality. We chose a semi-closed study area, Lake Bracciano (Italy), to assess the environmental variability of contamination, focusing on the water compartment and the exposure of biota, specifically fish, by analysing the ingestion of microplastics. The focus of this study is to evaluate the concentration of microplastics in water (surface and column) across the lake and the ingestion of microplastics by two fish species of economic interest: Atherina boyeri and Coregonus lavaretus, inhabiting demersal and pelagic habitats respectively.

Riparian vegetation as a trap for plastic litter.

Plastic pollution represents the most widespread threaten throughout the world and, amongst aquatic habitats, freshwaters and in particular riparian zones seems to be highly disturbed. Since the plastic storage and accumulation on the riparian vegetation have not yet been deeply investigated, here, we focussed on the riparian zone's function in trapping plastic litter. To do so, we assessed the occurrence and density of plastics in different vegetated (arboreal, shrubby, herbaceous, reed, bush) and unvegetated types in 8 central Italian rivers, running in different land use contexts.

Field evidence for microplastic interactions in marine benthic invertebrates.

Microplastics represent an important issue of concern for marine ecosystems worldwide, and closed seas, such as the Mediterranean, are among the most affected by this increasing threat. These pollutants accumulate in large quantities in benthic environments causing detrimental effects on diverse biocenoses. The main focus of this study is on the 'polychaetes-microplastics' interactions, particularly on two species of benthic polychaetes with different ecology and feeding strategies: the sessile and filter feeder Sabella spallanzanii (Gmelin, 1791) and the vagile carnivorous Hermodice carunculata (Pallas, 1766).