Assessing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Sicily Island atmosphere, Mediterranean, using PUF disk passive air samplers

Abstract

Diet plays a pivotal role in dictating behavioral patterns of herbivorous animals, particularly specialist species. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is well-known as a bamboo specialist. In the present study, the response of giant pandas to spatiotemporal variation of bamboo shoots was explored using field surveys and GPS collar tracking. Results show the dynamics in panda-bamboo space-time relationships that have not been previously articulated. For instance, we found a higher bamboo stump height of foraged bamboo with increasing elevation, places where pandas foraged later in spring when bamboo shoots become more fibrous and woody. The time required for shoots to reach optimum height for foraging was significantly delayed as elevation increased, a pattern which corresponded with panda elevational migration patterns beginning from the lower elevational end of Fargesia robusta distribution and gradually shifting upward until the end of the shooting season. These results indicate that giant pandas can respond to spatiotemporal variation of bamboo resources, such as available shoots. Anthropogenic interference of low-elevation F. robusta habitat should be mitigated, and conservation attention and increased monitoring should be given to F. robusta areas at the low-and mid-elevation ranges, particularly in the spring shooting season.

Characterizing Spatial Diversity of Passive Sampling Sites for Measuring Levels and Trends of Semivolatile Organic Chemicals

“…Many studies have demonstrated that for relatively short sampling durations (weeks or months) the variability between measured concentrations is rather high even in relatively small regions and between sites classified as background sites. − Long-term monitoring makes it possible to reduce this variability because short-term fluctuations are averaged out.…”

Occurrence, Loading, and Exposure of Atmospheric Particle-Bound POPs at the African and European Edges of the Western Mediterranean Sea

“…This semi-enclosed environment of high ecological and socio-economic relevance is largely impacted by POPs and related contaminants. 17,18,19 PCDD/Fs, PCBs and PBDEs are among the POPs found in the atmospheric compartment from various NW Mediterranean coastal environments (from rural to large cities), [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] and the central/Eastern basin [27][28][29][30][31][32][33] , but also farther from the coast in the entire Mediterranean Sea. [34][35][36] The European Mediterranean coast is by far the most studied and only few measurements (focussing in the SE Mediterranean) have been carried out in the African Mediterranean edge.…”

Impact of Air Pollution in Airway Diseases: Role of the Epithelial Cells (Cell Models and Biomarkers)

“…These substances are present in fabrics, electrical materials, dust; e.g., they induce pulmonary toxicity by promoting an inflammatory response in lung epithelial cells [43][44][45]. The same PBDE profile has been described in southern Europe by Besis et al [46], while Pozo et al identified, of 26 PBDEs routinely analyzed, the presence of three (PBDE-47, -99 and -100) in the coastal areas of Sicily [47]. These substances are highly carcinogenic, and they certainly interfere with the endocrine system (endocrine disruptors).…”