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Picone M, Giurin A, Distefano GG, Corami F, Turetta C, Volpi Ghirardini A, Basso M, Panzarin L, Farioli A, Bacci M, Sebastanelli C, Morici F, Artese C, De Sanctis A, Galuppi M, Imperio S, Serra L. Mercury and rare earth elements (REEs) show different spatial trends in feathers of Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) breeding along the Adriatic Sea coast, Italy. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 252:119140. [PMID: 38751003 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Feather analysis is an ethical and effective method for assessing the exposure of wild birds to environmental contamination due to trace elements and organic pollutants. We used feather to monitor the exposure to three toxic and non-essential metals (Hg, Cd, and Pb) and rare earth elements (REEs) of Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) breeding in different coastal areas (Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, and Apulia) along the Italian coast of the Adriatic Sea. Feathers (n = 113) were collected from April to June. Feather concentrations evidenced a significant exposure to Hg (13.05 ± 1.71 mg kg-1 dw) and REEs (447.3 ± 52.8 ng g-1 dw) in the Kentish plover breeding in Veneto (n = 21) compared to the other coastal areas, with several individuals showing Hg concentrations above the adverse effect (5 mg kg-1 dw) and high-risk (9.14 mg kg-1 dw) thresholds reported for birds. Higher REE concentrations compared to Marche (n = 29), Abruzzo (n = 11) and Apulia (n = 13) were also reported for birds breeding in Emilia-Romagna (474.9 ± 41.9 ng g-1 dw; n = 29). The exposure to Cd and Pb was low in all the coastal areas, and only a few samples (n = 6 and n = 4 for Cd and Pb, respectively) exceeded the adverse effect thresholds (0.1 and 4 mg kg-1 for Cd and Pb, respectively). A significant sex-related difference was observed for REE-concentrations, with females showing higher concentration than males. These data highlight the need to monitor the exposure of the Kentish plover to Hg and REEs, especially in the northern basin of the Adriatic Sea, since these elements might negatively affect species' reproductive success and threaten its conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Picone
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venezia-Mestre, Italy.
| | - Alessia Giurin
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venezia-Mestre, Italy
| | - Gabriele Giuseppe Distefano
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venezia-Mestre, Italy
| | - Fabiana Corami
- National Council for the Research - Institute of Polar Sciences, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venezia-Mestre, Italy
| | - Clara Turetta
- National Council for the Research - Institute of Polar Sciences, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venezia-Mestre, Italy
| | - Annamaria Volpi Ghirardini
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venezia-Mestre, Italy
| | - Marco Basso
- Via Gianbattista Verci, 25/4, 35128, Padua, Italy
| | - Lucio Panzarin
- Via Giacomo Leopardi 5, 30020, Torre di Mosto, VE, Italy
| | - Alessio Farioli
- Associazione Ornitologi Dell'Emilia Romagna, Via Giovanni Boccaccio 23, 40026, Imola, BO, Italy
| | - Mattia Bacci
- Associazione Ornitologi Dell'Emilia Romagna, Via Giovanni Boccaccio 23, 40026, Imola, BO, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Morici
- Ornitologi Marchigiani ETS, Via Giuseppe Verdi 10/A, 62100, Macerata, Italy
| | - Carlo Artese
- Servizio Scientifico Parco Nazionale Del Gran Sasso e Monti Della Laga, Via Del Convento 1, 67010, Assergi, AQ, Italy
| | - Augusto De Sanctis
- Stazione Ornitologica Abruzzese, Via Antonio De Nino 3, 65126, Pescara, Italy
| | - Mirko Galuppi
- Via Antonio De Marinis 110, 70021, Acquaviva Delle Fonti, BA, Italy
| | - Simona Imperio
- Area Avifauna Migratrice, Istituto Superiore per La Protezione e La Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Via Ca' Fornacetta 9, 40064, Ozzano Emilia, BO, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Serra
- Area Avifauna Migratrice, Istituto Superiore per La Protezione e La Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Via Ca' Fornacetta 9, 40064, Ozzano Emilia, BO, Italy
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Floreani F, Zappella V, Faganeli J, Covelli S. Gaseous mercury evasion from bare and grass-covered soils contaminated by mining and ore roasting (Isonzo River alluvial plain, Northeastern Italy). ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 318:120921. [PMID: 36565908 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
High amounts of mercury (Hg) can be released into the atmosphere from soil surfaces of legacy contaminated areas as gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0). The alluvial plain of the Isonzo River (NE Italy) suffered widespread Hg contamination due to the re-distribution of Hg-enriched material discharged by historical cinnabar mining at the Idrija mine (Slovenia), but an assessment of Hg0 releases from the soils of this area is still lacking. In this work, Hg0 fluxes at the soil-air interface were evaluated using a non-steady state flux chamber coupled with a real-time Hg0 analyser at 6 sites within the Isonzo River plain. Measurements were performed in summer, autumn, and winter both on bare and grass-covered soil plots at regular time intervals during the diurnal period. Moreover, topsoils were analysed for organic matter content and Hg total concentration and speciation. Overall, Hg0 fluxes tracked the incident UV radiation during the sampling periods with daily averages significantly higher in summer (62.4 ± 14.5-800.2 ± 178.8 ng m-2 h-1) than autumn (15.2 ± 4.7-280.8 ± 75.6 ng m-2 h-1) and winter (16.9 ± 7.9-187.8 ± 62.7 ng m-2 h-1) due to higher irradiation and temperature, which favoured Hg reduction reactions. In summer and autumn significant correlations were observed between Hg0 fluxes and soil Hg content (78-95% cinnabar), whereas this relationship was not observed in winter likely due to relatively low emissions found in morning measurements in all sites coupled with low temperatures. Finally, vegetation cover effectively reduced Hg0 releases in summer (∼9-68%) and autumn (∼41-78%), whereas the difference between fluxes from vegetated and bare soils was not evident during winter dormancy due to scarce soil shading. These results suggest the opportunity of more extended spatial monitoring of Hg0 fluxes particularly in the croplands covering most of the Isonzo River alluvial plain and where bare soils are frequently disturbed by agricultural practices and directly exposed to radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Floreani
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, Via E. Weiss 2, Trieste, Italy; Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 5, Trieste, Italy.
| | - Valeria Zappella
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, Via E. Weiss 2, Trieste, Italy
| | - Jadran Faganeli
- Marine Biology Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornace 41, Piran, Slovenia
| | - Stefano Covelli
- Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, Via E. Weiss 2, Trieste, Italy
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Total Mercury Mass Load from the Paglia-Tiber River System: The Contribution to Mediterranean Sea Hg Budget. TOXICS 2022; 10:toxics10070395. [PMID: 35878300 PMCID: PMC9317560 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10070395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Mediterranean Sea is characterized by a marked mercury (Hg) geochemical anomaly, arising in part from large Hg deposits. Mercury mass loads discharged from the Monte Amiata mining district (Central Italy) to the Mediterranean Sea through the Paglia–Tiber River system were estimated. Data from two seasons showed that up to 40 kg year−1 of Hg are drained to Tiber River and finally to the Mediterranean Sea. The mercury mass loads varied in different seasons, from 3 mg day−1 in the upper section of Paglia River in November to 42 g day−1 before the confluence with Tiber River in June. Along Tiber River, up to 15 ng L−1 of the total Hg found at a site after Rome showed that Hg can be discharged to the sea. The Alviano reservoir along Tiber River acts as a temporary trap for Hg-rich particulate, while dam operations may promote Hg release (up to 223 g day−1). The combination of hydrologic factors controlling Hg transport, the torrential regime in the upper catchment of Paglia River, the waterway steepness, together with Hg-contaminated legacy sediments in the Paglia River floodplain, make the Paglia–Tiber River system a long-lasting intermittent source of Hg to Tiber River and the Mediterranean Sea.
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