The role of lag phases between real-term marine heatwaves in the trait responses of two macrophyte species.

Coastal marine macrophytes are critical ecosystem engineers providing valuable ecosystem services. However, they experience detrimental impacts from climate change-induced stresses such as marine heatwaves (MHW), which are becoming more intense and frequent. This study investigated trait responses in real-term heatwaves, Continuous (1MHW) and Consecutive (with a 4-day lag phase, 2MHW), on two key macrophytes, the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus and seagrass Zostera marina.

Relationship between foliar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations and plant traits: Intracanopy variability for a broadleaf species in an urban environment.

The emission of potentially harmful compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and the resulting air pollution is a serious problem in modern cities. It is therefore important to develop mitigation strategies, such as "smart" planting of trees that act as sinks for PAHs. However, the intra-individual (within-tree) variability in leaf PAH concentrations remains unknown.

Case report of plastic nurdles pollution in Galicia (NW Atlantic) following the Toconao's spill in December 2023: The VIEIRA Collaborative.

Plastic nurdles pose a significant environmental threat due to recurrent accidental spills into marine ecosystems. This report examines the nurdle pollution over the 1498 km of the Galician coastline (Spain) following the spill of 25 t of nurdles into the Northwest Atlantic after the loss of six containers from the Toconao vessel in December 2023. This accident highlights the urgent need for proactive, effective measures in maritime transport to prevent and mitigate such environmental catastrophes.

Tree Physiological Variables as a Proxy of Heavy Metal and Platinum Group Elements Pollution in Urban Areas.

Physiological variables (the content of chlorophyll, flavonoids and nitrogen, together with F/F) and the content of ten heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, V and Zn) and two platinum group elements (PGEs: Pd and Rh) were measured in the leaves of 50 individuals of trees regularly distributed in the city of Logroño (Northern Spain). Three of these variables increased with increasing physiological vitality (chlorophyll, nitrogen and F/F), whereas flavonoids increased in response to different abiotic stresses, including pollution. Our aim was to test their adequacy as proxies for the pollution due to heavy metals and PGEs.

Finding Biomarkers in Antioxidant Molecular Mechanisms for Ensuring Food Safety of Bivalves Threatened by Marine Pollution.

Aquaculture production as an important source of protein for our diet is sure to continue in the coming years. However, marine pollution will also likely give rise to serious problems for the food safety of molluscs. Seafood is widely recognized for its high nutritional value in our diet, leading to major health benefits.

Optimising Artificial Moss Growth for Environmental Studies in the Mediterranean Area.

Bryophytes are poikilohydric organisms that play a key role in ecosystems, while some of them are also resistant to drought and environmental disturbances but present a slow growth rate. Moss culture in the laboratory can be a very useful tool for ecological restoration or the development of urban green spaces (roof and wall) in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, we aim to: (i) determine the optimal culture conditions for the growth of four moss species present in the Mediterranean climate, such as , , and ; (ii) study the optimal growth conditions of the invasive moss to find out if it can be a threat to native species.

Testing different methods of estimating edaphic inputs in moss biomonitoring.

Although soil is known to contribute to the concentrations of elements in moss, protocols for atmospheric biomonitoring with terrestrial moss do not include recommendations on how to address this factor. As a result, researchers indiscriminately use a wide range of detection/correction methods without considering whether the results are equivalent. In this study, three of these methods were compared: i) use of the enrichment factor (EF) index; ii) calculation of the ratios of different elements in soil and moss, and subtraction of the contribution of soil concentrations from the raw concentrations of elements in mosses (SCS); and iii) positive matrix factorization (PMF), a receptor modelling method for source apportioning based on multivariate analysis techniques.

Temporal trends in mercury concentrations in raptor flight feathers stored in an environmental specimen bank in Galicia (NW Spain) between 2000 and 2013.

Temporal trends in Hg concentrations were investigated in primary flight feathers from 319 specimens of three birds of prey: P7 in the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), P6 in the common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and P5 in the tawny owl (Strix aluco). The samples were stored in a regional environmental specimen bank and belonged to specimens which died between 2000 and 2013 in Galicia (NW Spain). We would expect to see a decline in Hg concentrations across the study period, as data of atmospheric emissions show a gradual reduction of this pollutant in Europe in the last two decades.