The Benthic Trophic Corner Stone Compartment in POPs Transfer from Abiotic Environment to Higher Trophic Levels—Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera Pre-Alert Indicator Role

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been at the forefront of environmental contamination research even before their ban in 2001 at the Stockholm Convention. Their relation to different compartments of the environment (biotic and abiotic) has been thoroughly investigated. This article aims to identify whether the benthos could represent a reliable indicator of environmental contamination with POPs and to highlight its potential transfer role between abiotic and upper trophic compartments—benthos feeders. In this regard, we determined that the Ephemeroptera samples have higher concentrations (p < 0.05) of ΣPCB, ΣHCH, and ΣDDT than sediment samples while Trichoptera samples have higher concentrations (p < 0.05) only in the case of ΣPCB and ΣDDT. This, along with the fact that the frequency of detection for POPs is similar between the sample types (sediments, Trichoptera, and Ephemeroptera), makes the benthos samples valuable indicators of contamination with sediment samples working as complementary information about how recent the contamination is.

Bacterial Microbiomes in the Sediments of Lotic Systems Ecologic Drivers and Role: A Case Study from the Mureş River, Transylvania, Romania

“…In human impacted lotic systems, environmental flows are a vital tool for managing water in the water-energy-food nexus, environmental flows allocate water among competing uses, within the limits of availability, integrating the water needs of ecosystems with those of other sectors and stakeholders [18,19]. Overall, the water provided and managed within any lotic system, both from quantitative [20,21] and qualitative [22,23] characteristics perspective of an environmental flow, need in-depth knowledge of all the system's components/compartments. Historically, the field of microbiome research has emerged from environmental microbiome research (microbial ecology) and it provides an interdisciplinary platform and useful approach tool for many fields of interest [24].…”

Anthropogenic Sewage Water Circuit as Vector for SARS-CoV-2 Viral ARN Transport and Public Health Assessment, Monitoring and Forecasting—Sibiu Metropolitan Area (Transylvania/Romania) Study Case

“…However, the pandemic is not over, and the number of cases is surging in countries all over Europe, including Romania. In this situation, a method with low costs, rapid turnaround times, and reliability, such as wastewater-based epidemiology, should be considered a tool for public health surveillance and be included in the study area assessment and monitoring activities related to a new generation of threats and risks [ 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ] for human and environmental health.…”

Freshwater as a Sustainable Resource and Generator of Secondary Resources in the 21st Century: Stressors, Threats, Risks, Management and Protection Strategies, and Conservation Approaches

“…As lipophilic substances with high stability through time, POPs bioaccumulate, bioamplificate, and concentrate throughout all freshwater trophic levels [ 108 , 109 , 110 ]. Furthermore, they become toxic at some specific concentrations [ 98 , 104 , 111 , 112 , 113 ] for humans as well as ecosystems [ 114 ].…”