Damia Barcelo

• Professor
• Other at University of Almería

High-mountain lakes in the Alps are highly sensitive freshwater ecosystems, increasingly impacted by climate change, pollution, and anthropogenic disturbances. This discussion assesses the ecotoxicological effects of global change such as rising temperatures, earlier snowmelt, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw, increased ultraviolet radiation, and p...

Pollution from industrial, agricultural, and pharmaceutical activities poses significant challenges to ecosystems worldwide. While environmental monitoring and ecotoxicological assessments are essential, traditional analyt- ical and toxicity testing methods often rely on large amounts of chemicals, generate waste, and involve animal testing, raisin...

Freshwater species play a key role in monitoring microplastics (MPs) pollution, providing insights into its distribution, accumulation, and potential ecological and human health risks in aquatic ecosystems. This study evaluates the invasive snail Sinotaia quadrata as a potential tool for monitoring MPs pollution in freshwater ecosystems heavily imp...

Pesticide contamination remains a significant environmental concern globally, with important implications for aquatic ecosystems. Despite being one of the world’s largest pesticide consumers, monitoring and assessment of pesticide pollution are limited in Brazil, especially in sensitive regions like the Amazon. In this study, the occurrence and env...

Lakes supply multiple ecosystem services (ES), key to supporting socio-ecologic systems and human well-being. In the context of future land use and climate change, it is imperative to anticipate potential impacts on lake ES supply. Hence, studies that deal with future lake ES, such as mapping, are lacking. In this work, we mapped and assessed the f...

Sediments of alpine lakes serve as crucial records that reveal the history of lacustrine basins, offering valuable insights into the effects of global changes. One significant effect is the variation in rainfall regimes, which can substantially influence nutrient loads and sedimentation rates in lacustrine ecosystems, thereby playing a pivotal role...

Land use impacts land surface temperature (LST), especially in urban areas where anthropogenic materials have a high capacity to store energy. Nevertheless, cities have many other land uses (e.g., forests, lawns) that can reduce LST and contribute to high microclimate regulation. In this work, we develop a method to map land use impacts on microcli...

Microplastics pose detrimental effects on the environment, aquatic products, and human health. This comprehensive analysis highlights the repercussions of microplastic contamination within aquaculture. Microplastics in aquaculture are primarily from land-based plastic waste, tourism-related disposal, shipping activities, fisheries/ aquaculture, and...

The impact of Microplastic Pollution (MPs) on human health, the environment, economy, and society has been previously investigated. However, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding specific areas that require urgent measures to address marine pollution. The accumulation of MPs in Mediterranean coastal envi ronments is particularl...

Coastal and marine ecosystems supply multiple Ecosystem Services (ES). Nevertheless, these ecosystems are among the most impacted by human activities, harming the ES sustainable supply. Since ES are a spatial phenomenon, mapping can contribute to understand ES supply. For this, we use quantitative spatio-temporal frameworks to map and assess the su...

Floods have an important impact on life and loss of goods. Urban green spaces are crucial to mitigating flood impact. However, their capacity to prevent floods depends on their condition, especially in areas highly affected by human activities such as lawns. Here, we developed a simple method to assess flood regulation using soil penetration resist...

Urban areas have detrimental impacts on the ecosystems. Nevertheless, they still supply many ecosystem services (ES), such as Pollination, in different urban green spaces (UGS). Lawns are among the most degraded UGS due to very high human impact. Still, flowers such as Dandelions (Taraxacum officinalis) live in these spaces. These flowers are consi...

This paper aims to emphasize the occurrence of various emerging contaminant (EC) mixtures in natural ecosystems and highlights the primary concern arising from the unregulated release into soil and water, along with their impacts on human health. Emerging contaminant mixtures, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, dioxins, polychlorina...

This work aims to shed light on the key factors contributing to the development of environmental resistance and the urgent need to address the growing problem of antibiotic resistance (AR) under the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The article provides an overview of the main mechanisms involved in AR development and dissemination globally and the chall...

The presence in seawater of low-molecular-weight polyethylene (PE) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), synthetic polymers with high chemical resistance, has been demonstrated in this study for the first time by developing a novel methodology for their recovery and quantification from surface seawater. These synthetic polymer debris (SPD) with very low...

Although urban areas negatively impact the environment, they supply a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), mainly cultural ones. Recreation near urban green areas is widespread, including fishing. In northern latitudes, during the winter, lakes are frozen, and several urban dwellers practice ice fishing. Although this activity is well known, no a...

Environmental pollution is escalating due to rapid global development that often prioritizes human needs over planetary health. Despite global efforts to mitigate legacy pollutants, the continuous introduction of new substances remains a major threat to both human and ecosystem health. In response, global initiatives are focusing on risk assessment...

While Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis, management, and care have become priorities for healthcare providers and researcher's worldwide due to rapid population aging, epidemiologic surveillance efforts are currently limited by costly, invasive diagnostic procedures, particularly in low to middle income countries (LMIC). In recent years, wastewate...

This is the Editorial of a Virtual Special Issue (VSI), which includes a collection of studies providing evidence for hormesis in air, aquatic, soil plants, aquatic and non-aquatic microorganisms, and animals (insects, nematodes). These studies also document hormesis induced by numerous chemical mixtures, including some of the most notorious contam...

Biopolymers infused with bimetallic nanoparticles exhibit a wide range of functionalities necessary for efficiently eliminating diverse water contaminants. However, the protracted production process requires further exploration. As such, this current study seeks to optimize microwave-assisted technique for the facile synthesis of cross-linked chito...

Microplastics (MPs), which are small plastic particles measuring less than 5 mm in size, have emerged as a significant environmental concern in marine ecosystems worldwide. The presence of MPs in aquatic environments has increased due to the contributions from anthropogenic and terrestrial sources, raising concerns about their abundance in aquatic...

Classically, the characterization of wastewater components has been restricted to the measurement of indirect parameters (chemical and biological oxygen demand, total nitrogen) and small molecules of interest in epidemiology or for environmental control. Despite the fact that metaproteomics has provided important knowledge about the microbial commu...

This study aims at the application of a marine fungal consortium (Aspergillus sclerotiorum CRM 348 and Cryptococcus laurentii CRM 707) for the bioremediation of diesel oil-contaminated soil under microcosm conditions. The impact of biostimulation (BS) and/or bioaugmentation (BA) treatments on diesel-oil biodegradation, soil quality, and the structu...

Plant secondary metabolites are important sources of biologically active compounds with wide pharmacological potentials. Among the different classes, the chalcones form integral pharmacologically active agents. Natural chalcones and bis-chalcones exhibit high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in various experiments. Studies are also unde...

In the present work, we present an eight-month longitudinal study of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in Ahmedabad, India, where wastewater surveillance was introduced in September 2020 after the successful containment of the first wave of COVID-19 to predict the resurge of the infection during the second wave of the pandemic. The study aims to...

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) constitute a wide variety of chemistries with diverse properties that may/can pose risks to both humans and the environment. Herein, a total of 26 compounds, including steroids, flame retardants, and plasticizers, were monitored in three major and heavily urbanized river catchments: the R. Liffey (Ireland), the...

Simple Summary The climate crisis we are facing increasingly requires us to achieve zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Green hydrogen is a gas produced from the electrolysis of water using electricity from renewable sources (e.g., photovoltaics, wind power, etc.). It represents a viable alternative to fossil fuels, without generating polluting ef...

The Russian-Ukrainian war is having a dramatic impact on the environment. The effects are still unknown. However, it is expected that the effects will be substantial. Since the conflict is ongoing, it is challenging to have ground-accurate data that could show an idea of the extension of the impact. Remote sensing can support a preliminary analysis...

Contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) are still under research given the vast diversity of compounds reaching freshwater ecosystems and adverse effects they might cause. In this study, the environmental fate of 73 CEC, comprising sweeteners, stimulants and several pharmaceutical therapeutic classes, and changes in fluvial biofilm photosynthetic pa...

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has stoked interest in researching not only the techno-economic crisis that it has caused but also the effects which occurred due to such medical emergencies on our environment. An attempt has been made to critically review detailed overview of different aspects of environmental issues like elevated...

Wastewater-based epidemiology has been revealed as a powerful approach for surveying the health and lifestyle of a population. In this context, proteins have been proposed as potential biomarkers that complement the information provided by currently available methods. However, little is known about the range of molecular species and dynamics of pro...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented negative impacts in the modern era, including economic, social, and public health losses. On the other hand, the potential effects that the input of SARS-CoV-2 in the aquatic environment from sewage may represent on non-target organisms are not well known. In addition, it is not yet known whether the a...

Lagoons play an important role in providing a variety of ecological services. They provide important habitats for several plant and animal species, also acting as natural filters that regulate water quality. Microplastic (MP) pollution has become a global environmental problem that warrants in-depth studies to understand its impact on socioeconomic...

We quantified the occurrences and seasonal variations of the target Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at four (two major municipals, and two academic institutions) WWTPs in Dehradun city, Uttarakhand, India. The results showed estrone in higher concentrations at μgL-1 levels in influent among the WWTPs, compared to triclosan (TCS) at ngL-1 leve...

Microplastics (MPs) are in all environmental compartments, including atmosphere, terrestrial, and aquatic environments as well as in marine organisms, foods, drinking water, and indoor and outdoor environments. MPs can enter the human body through the food chain and contaminated environment. Ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact are the routes...

The sustainability of life on Earth is under increasing threat due to human-induced climate change. This perilous change in the Earth's climate is caused by increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, primarily due to emissions associated with burning fossil fuels. Over the next two to three decades, the effects of cli...

Recently, environment pollution around the globe has increased because of anthropogenic activities. As part of the biota, plants can assimilate the compounds present in air, water and soil and respond to changes in surround conditions, for that, they can be used as bioindicators of global pollution. However, urban plants' ability to monitor organic...

As the World slowly emerged from the then-ongoing pandemic, War broke out in Europe with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The enduring military conflict in Ukraine has had sweeping consequences at the human, social, economic, and environmental levels, not only for the nations involved but across Europe and globally. Damaged infrastructures, sever...

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a new complementary alternative to traditional epidemiological surveillance approaches for community health surveys. It provides objective, flexible, and comprehensive data on diseases, exposure to toxicants and pathogens, social habits, and lifestyle. Wastewater is regarded as an integrated pooled sample of t...

Microplastic (MP) pollution is a major environmental concern for mountain ecosystem and for high-mountain lakes in particular, which are recognized indicators of global change. In this study, the presence of MPs was assessed in abiotic (water and sediment) and biotic (zooplankton, tadpoles, fish) compartments of two high-mountain lakes (Upper Lake...

Microplastic pollution has become pervasive. Identifying a bioindicator species to track the occurrence and effects of microplastics (MPs) on ecosystems is crucial for determining their impact on the environment. The digestive tract of Procambarus clarkii was thought to be of interest for investigating MPs accumulation in freshwater organisms. Our...

Contaminants of emerging concern and other chemicals are widespread in the environment. While their effects are ambiguous, a wealth of literature now illustrates their ability to induce various effects at concentrations/doses smaller than the toxicological threshold, leading to hormetic biphasic responses. Such responses are increasingly understood...

Evidence of the increase of emerging contaminants in the environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfectants, pharmaceuticals, etc., has enlarged. Here we explain the variety of pathways of these emerging contaminants to enter the environment, including wastewater treatment plants, improper disposal...

Coastal ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to terrestrial inputs from human-impacted areas. The prevalence of wastewater treatment plants, unable to remove contaminants such as pharmaceuticals (PhACs), leads to their continuous input into the marine environment. In this paper, the seasonal occurrence of PhACs in a semi-confined coastal lagoon (...

Carcinogenic metals affect a variety of cellular processes, causing oxidative stress and cancer. The widespread distribution of these metals caused by industrial, residential, agricultural, medical, and technical activities raises concern for adverse environmental and human health effects. Of these metals, chromium (Cr) and its derivatives, includi...

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought increments in market sales and prescription of medicines commonly used to treat mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, stress, and related problems. The increasing use of these drugs, named psychiatric drugs, has led to their persistence in aquatic systems (bioaccumulation), since they are recalcitra...

The Regions of Interest Multivariate curve Resolution (ROIMCR) methodology has gained significance for analyzing mass spectrometry data. The new SigSel package improves the ROIMCR methodology by providing a filtering step to reduce computational costs and to identify chemical compounds giving low-intensity signals. SigSel allows the visualization a...

In Bangladesh, people primarily depend on on-site sanitation facilities (OSSF) with an immense challenge in achieving safe sanitation due to unplanned infrastructure development, improper management of fecal sludge, and inadequate monitoring. The commitment of attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6.2 (ensuring safe sanitation for all) by 2...

Agricultural soil degradation is a global phenomenon that is expected to increase in the future due to agricultural intensification and climate change. In Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), after the Soviet Union fall, the impacts of agriculture on the ecosystems decreased. However, soil compaction, erosion, pollution and acidification...

The World Health Organization recognised variant B.1.1.529 of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 as a variant of concern, termed "Omicron", on November 26, 2021. Its diffusion was attributed to its several mutations, which allow promoting its ability to diffuse worldwide and its capability in immune evasion. As a consequence, some...

Given the rapid advancement of microplastic (MP) contamination studies, we present a comprehensive review in which the studies that identified and characterized MPs in human biological samples, indexed in consulted databases until December 23, 2022, are presented, evaluated, and discussed. Although the studies included in this review report importa...

This work describes the development of analytical workflows based on pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Pyr-GC/MS) for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of 12 of the most common plastic polymers in environmental samples. The most suitable characteristic pyrolyzate compounds and respective indicator ions were select...

Climate change is a global challenge that threatens global ecological security and sustainable development. Finding ways to mitigate their impacts is paramount through engineering carbon storage, low-carbon energy transition, or natural climate solutions (NCS). NCS involve a set of measures (e.g., afforestation, land restoration, biochar reuse or s...

The use of functional traits of a community as a method to measure its functional dynamics in response to environmental change has gained attention because trait-based approaches offer systematic opportunities to understand the interactions between species diversity and ecosystem function. However, the relationship between functional traits of peri...

Microplastics represent one of the main environmental concerns of our time and their presence is well known in all freshwater ecosystems. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the interference with some environmental dynamics, such as the leaf litter decomposition, which represents a key process in freshwater ecosystems. The work presen...

Access to secure water sources has become one of the biggest challenges for human sustainability. Climate change and associated droughts make it difficult to guarantee the usual water source and move to groundwater use or to the re-use of treated wastewater remains unviable due the lack on the capacity of monitoring water quality. Moreover, reusing...

The global decline in amphibian populations is a major environmental issue. Chytridiomycosis, Ranaviruses and the red-leg syndrome have been identified in unusual mortality events. However, these infections do not account for all causes of declining amphibian populations. Moreover, several cases of amphibian mortality are difficult to solve without...

Healthy coastal sabkhas (sabkha is an Arabic term for a salt flat) offer plenty of ecosystem services including climate change mitigation. However, fewer research studies were conducted at coastal sabkhas compared to other coastal marshes. This study was conducted in a total of ten coastal sabkha sites with different vegetation covers along the sou...

Although the in vivo toxicity of nanoplastics(NPs) has already been reported in different model systems, their effects on mammalian behavior are poorly understood. Thus, we aimed to evaluate whether exposure to polystyrene (PS) NPs (diameter: 23.03±0.266 nm) alters the behavior (locomotor, anxiety-like and antipredator) of male Swiss mice, induces...

Lake ecosystems are essential for human well-being. Due to its transboundary nature, connecting terrestrial and aquatic habitats, its environmental processes and functions support a wide array of ecosystem services (ES). Hence, despite its importance in supporting socio-ecologic systems, these freshwater ecosystems are highly impacted due to anthro...

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, facemasks became mandatory, with a great preference for disposable ones. However, the benefits of face masks for health safety are counteracted by the environmental burden related to their improper disposal. An unprecedented influx of disposable face masks entering the environment has been reported in...

Predictive models were generated to evaluate the degree to which nine metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were absorbed by the leaves, stems and roots of forage sorghum in growing media comprising soil admixed with poultry manure concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 g/kg. The data revealed that the greatest contents of the majority of...

In this study, a non-target metabolomic approach was used to investigate changes in the metabolome of juvenile meagre (Argyrosomus regius) exposed to venlafaxine (20µg/L). A total of 24, 22 and 8 endogenous metabolites tentatively identified in liver, brain and plasma, respectively, were significantly changed in venlafaxine exposed meagre, showing...