Emma Martínez-López

• University of Murcia

We analyzed for the first time the concentration of potentially toxic trace elements Hg, As, Pb, Cr and Se and POPs (PCBs and OCPs) in tissues of 41 grey seal pups (Halichoerus grypus) stranded on the shores of the Gulf of Riga. Lanugo was the sample with the highest concentrations of all trace elements except Hg. The concentrations found in this b...

The Eurasian Eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) meets the requirements of a suitable sentinel species for biomonitoring environmental contaminants in Southeastern Spain (Murcia Region and Alicante Province). In this area, it is an abundant species, showing the highest breeding density within its distribution range. Since 1992, different sample types from free-l...

The COST Action ‘European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility’ (ERBFacility) aims to develop pan-European raptor biomonitoring in support of better chemicals management in Europe, using raptors as sentinel species. This presents a significant challenge involving a range of constraints that must be identified and addressed. The aims of this study were to:...

Geothermal activities (e.g., volcanic eruptions) represent one of the most important natural sources of metal emissions (heavy metals and metalloids). They can be one of the main risks for the ecosystems in regions like North of Argentiniean Patagonia, a sparsely populated area, close to an extensive network of active volcanoes on the Andes Range....

Birds of prey, owls and falcons are widely used as sentinel species in raptor biomonitoring programmes. A major current challenge is to facilitate large-scale biomonitoring by coordinating contaminant monitoring activities and by building capacity across countries. This requires sharing, dissemination and adoption of best practices addressed by the...

Nineteen loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) stranded along the southwestern Mediterranean coastline (Andalusia) were used in this study. A total of 68 samples of fat (n = 18), liver (n = 15), kidney (n = 13), pectoral muscle (n = 19), and brain (n = 3) were analysed for total mercury (Hg) and organochlorine pesticides [OC: ∑Dichlorodiphenyltr...

Can animals reflect human and environmental health risks? This is a frequently asked question in the research community. Sentinel species are organisms that can provide early warning signs of potential risks to humans, so that preventive measures can be taken in time to avoid serious adverse health consequences. In spite of the well-known cases of...

The correct affiliation of Sabrina Lo Brutto is shown in this paper.

Citation: Movalli, P., Ramello, G., Sbokos, J., Dekker, R., Vrezec, A., Shore, R.F., García-Fernández, A.J., Wernham, C., Krone, O., Alygizakis, N., Aradis, A., Badry, A., Barbagli, F., Berry, P., Biesmeijer, K., Boano, G., Bond, A.L., Choresh, Y., Kristensen, J.B., Cincinelli, A., Danielsson, S., Dias, A., Dietz, R., Eens, M., Espín, S., Eulaers,...

Probably the most important threat currently affecting vultures worldwide is exposure to pesticides, both accidentally and through deliberate abuse. This is of special concern since around 70% of vulture species are threatened by human activities. However, information about this threat is sparse and geographically biased. We compiled existing knowl...

Background Intensification of agricultural practices has caused several negative effects to the environment. The use of fertilizers and pesticides may alter geochemical cycles or cause direct wildlife intoxication. Detrimental effects of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have forced the authorities to ban or restrict its use. This study evaluates th...

This opinion paper focuses on the role of eco-toxicological tools in the assessment of possible impacts of emerging contaminants on the aquatic ecosystem, hence, on human health. Indeed, organic trace pollutants present in raw and treated wastewater are the pivot targets: a multidisciplinary approach allows defining the basic principles for managin...

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in food chains and is associated with adverse effects in both humans and wildlife. We used feather samples from bird scavengers to evaluate Hg concentrations in two different areas of Northern Patagonia. Hg concentrations were analyzed in feathers obtained from turkey vultures...

The study of haematocrit and biochemical parameters is considered a useful tool for diagnosis of health status in birds. However, an adequate interpretation requires reference values for each species. Moreover, factors such as age and sex should also be taken into account, as it is well known that they can also influence several parameters. For the...

The main aim of the present study was to assess the concentration of metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, Cu and Zn) in blood, and elucidate their potential effects on oxidative stress biomarkers in red blood cells of Audouin's gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii) and Slender-billed gull (Chroicocephalus genei) chicks in Southeastern Spain. For this purpose, total glutathi...

Biomonitoring using birds of prey as sentinel species has been mooted as a way to evaluate the success of European Union directives that are designed to protect people and the environment across Europe from industrial contaminants and pesticides. No such pan-European evaluation currently exists. Coordination of such large scale monitoring would req...

Research and Monitoring for and with Raptors in Europe (EURAPMON) is a European Science Foundation (ESF) Research Networking Programme (http://www.eurapmon.net). One objective of EURAPMON is to spread best practice and build capacity in Europe for harmonised monitoring with raptors. From May 31st to June 2nd 2013, representatives from six countries...

There is much information available on the different types of matrices that are useful for contaminant monitoring. However, there are no detailed guides or protocols on appropriate sampling methods for contaminant monitoring schemes. Different studies use different sampling and processing strategies, and different analytical methods, making it hard...

The aim of this study was to assess the exposure to organochlorine compounds (OC) in 91 primary wing feathers of avian scavengers, Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and Southern crested caracaras (Polyborus plancus) from the southern tip of South America, in the Argentinean Patagonia. We analyzed for a serie...

Oxalic acid (CAS 144-62-7) is a natural constituent in plants, and hence, usually ingested by animals and humans. It is registered to control varroa in bees, and used in the manufacture of several products. Oxalic acid toxicity is related to the rapid chelation of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium ions, although its more relevant toxic effect...

Fenvalerate (51630-58-1) is a potent insecticide in use since 1976. In terms of its insecticidal behavior, it belongs to Type II synthetic pyrethroid insecticides. It is mostly employed in agriculture but also for insect control in houses and gardens and on cattle, alone or in combination with other insecticides. Exposure of the general population...

Diazoaminobenzene (DAAB) (136-35-6) is used as an intermediate, complexing agent, and polymer additive. It is also an impurity in certain color additives used in cosmetics, food products, and pharmaceuticals. The chemical structure of DAAB suggested that it would be metabolized into known carcinogens aniline and benzene. Further evidence of this me...

Biomonitoring using raptors as sentinels can provide early warning of the potential impacts of contaminants on humans and the environment and also a means of tracking the success of associated mitigation measures. Examples include detection of heavy metal-induced immune system impairment, PCB-induced altered reproductive impacts, and toxicity assoc...

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in food chains, and is associated with adverse effects in both humans and wildlife. The Hg levels detected in blood obtained from Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) chicks in Southeast Spain (Murcia) can be considered low (mean Hg concentration in blood from 2006 to 2012 was 36.83±145.58μg/...

Metals are involved in the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which may result in metal-related oxidative stress that can lead to oxidative damage to lipids, DNA and proteins. It is necessary to understand the mechanisms of metal toxicity in wild birds, and the concentrations that cause effects on oxidative stress biomarkers. The aim of thi...

Feathers have many advantages that make them an excellent nondestructive tool for monitoring polyhalogenated compounds (PHCs). This paper proposes a review on the PHCs in feathers and factors influencing the pollutant load. Special attention has given to external contamination and the main analytical methods used to detect these compounds in feathe...

Determinados parámetros bioquímicos sanguíneos pueden verse alterados por la exposición a contaminantes ambientales persistentes y por tanto, ser utilizados como indicadores secundarios del estrés ocasionado. En base a esto, el objetivo del presente estudio fue estudiar las correlaciones entre los niveles de insecticidas organoclorados y albúmina,...

Se han analizado las concentraciones de plomo (Pb), cadmio (Cd), mercurio (Hg), cobre (Cu) y zinc (Zn) en sangre de pollos (n=353) y adultos (n=8) de Búho real (Bubo bubo) muestreados en la Región de Murcia desde 2004. El área de estudio se dividió en dos subáreas, norte y sur, ésta última caracterizada por una importante área industrial y una anti...

Feathers have many advantages that lead them to be considered an excellent non-destructive tool for monitoring polyhalogenated compounds (PHCs). This paper proposes a review on the PHCs in feathers and factors influencing the pollutant load. Special attention has been paid on external contamination, and the main analytical methods used to detect th...

In this study we have used blood of Booted eagle (Aquila pennata) nestlings (n=62) to evaluate the exposure to p,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDD and p,p’-DDE in an agricultural area from Southeastern Spain in 1999-2003 breeding seasons. Our results showed than the trans-Saharan migratory factor cannot account for the results obtained for DDT and its analogues in...

Levels of mercury (Hg) were analyzed in the tissues of 50 Razorbills (Alca torda), from the Mediterranean area, which had drowned in fishing nets. The mercury distribution pattern in tissues was similar to those of other studies (liver>feather vane>kidney>muscle>brain>feather shaft), with mercury concentrations of 2.85±0.90, 2.66±1.60, 2.23±0.87, 1...

The use of anticoagulant rodenticides is the most common method to control rodent plagues. Due to their physicochemical characteristics and particular mechanism of action, the application of these compounds in rural areas can pose a risk of secondary poisoning for their predators. In order to evaluate the risk of these compounds for wildlife, espec...

Nephrotoxicity is one of the most frequent effects observed after the use of medicine. Such situations have been tardily discovered because of existing methods to determine toxicity. The validation of sensitive, alternative methods for the early identification of toxic effects is as important as restrictions on the use of animals. In this light, th...

The aim of this study was to explore the usefulness of feathers as a biomonitoring tool for organochlorine pesticides (OC) in a razorbill population (Alca torda). Fifteen OC were analyzed in feathers, including α-, β- and δ-hexachlorocyclohexane, lindane, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, endosulfan I and II, endosulfan sulfate, p,p'-DDT, DDD, DDE, heptach...

A pesar del déficit hídrico de la Región de Murcia como consecuencia de la escasez de agua, su actividad agrícola es elevada, situándose entre las más importantes de España en este sector. La Región de Murcia es uno de los territorios con mayor número de ventas de productos fitosanitarios (10,14% del total español). La observación de los efectos ad...

La exposición a contaminantes ambientales figura entre los posibles factores que han llevado al descenso poblacional de un número importante de especies, lo cual se ha relacionado con la capacidad de algunos de estos compuestos de interferir con las funciones fisiológicas de los organismos vivos. En la Región de Murcia, el Azor ha sufrido un detrim...

In order to biomonitor lead contamination in Southeastern Spain, 218 blood samples from 28 to 30-day old Eurasian Eagle Owl chicks (Bubo bubo) born between 2003 and 2007 were analysed. In general, mean lead levels showed that chicks were exposed to background concentrations. However, mean levels in chicks born in an ancient and abandoned mining sit...

Sixteen organochlorine pesticides (OC) were analyzed in several tissue types (abdominal and subcutaneous fat, liver and brain) from juvenile (n=14), immature (n=9), subadult (n=7) and adult (n=20) razorbill (Alca torda) collected from the southwestern Mediterranean coastline, in the East of Spain (La Marina, Elche, Alicante, Spain). These razorbill...

Due to the adverse effects of organochlorine pesticides (OC), these compounds have been widely monitored in several species of living beings. Birds have played an important role in monitoring environmental pollution due to their sensitivity to environmental changes and their position in the upper of the food chain. In recent years, many efforts hav...

Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) is actually included in the IUCN as vulnerable species. Its main European population is located in southeastern Spain. Although a great deal of information has been acquired on the internal medicine and survey and even parasitological fauna on these animals, there are no references about contamin...

El plomo es uno de los metales pesados más tóxicos que afecta a numerosos sistemas orgánicos. Su exposición crónica puede alterar la respuesta inmune, el éxito reproductivo y la fisiología en las aves, pudiendo suponer un riesgo para sus poblaciones. Concretamente, a nivel sanguíneo, el plomo es capaz de inhibir las enzimas ä-ácido aminolevulínico...

We estimated the degree of exposure to lindane and endosulfan in the blood of booted eagle nestlings (Hieraaetus pennatus) (1999-2003), in order to assess the usefulness of these samples as a unit for monitoring changes in exposure as a result of shifts in agricultural practices and the implementation of legal measures. The highest blood lindane co...

Initial studies on the pressure from environmental contaminants on raptor populations in Spain date back to the 1980s, and they have been carried out from a range of viewpoints using a range of sentinel raptor species. However, there is no national monitoring scheme, and therefore the research carried out has been sporadic both spatially and tempor...

Cadmium, lead and cadmium-lead (1:10) induced apoptosis were studied using mallard blood cells. The allowable range in concentrations were: 0.01-0.5, 0.1-5.0, and 0.01:0.10-0.50:5.00 mM, for cadmium, lead and cadmium-lead, respectively. The lowest EC(50) achieved was for cadmium (0.22+/-0.04 mM). Two doses from each treatment group were chosen to s...

Cadmium, lead, copper, and zinc were measured in tissues of 21 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from the southwestern Mediterranean coastline. Mean concentrations (dry weight) of essential elements (Zn and Cu) were 107 and 21.6 microg/g in liver, 27.9 and 3.8 microg/g in kidney, 65.4 and 5.0 microg/g in pectoral muscle, 11.1 and 3.45 microg/g i...

Most organochlorine (OC) use has been banned in Spain, but these compounds are persistent and may still adversely affect predatory birds. Data generally are lacking, however. Residues of hexachlorobenzene, alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane, lindane, hexachloro-octahydro-epoxy-dimethanonaphthalene, DDT, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane, dichlorodiphenyldich...

El búho real (Bubo bubo) es una especie relativamente abundante en el Sureste de España, donde la elevada actividad agrícola ha llevado asociada, durante años, el uso de insecticidas organoclorados. Estos compuestos han demostrado su efecto a largo plazo sobre la función reproductiva y la predisposición al padecimiento de otras enfermedades, por al...

La presencia de plomo en el medio ambiente es un hechoindiscutible. Ello es objeto de gran interés sanitario pues repercutetanto en la salud de los animales como en la del ser humano. Elplumbismo es una intoxicación que puede afectar a cualquier especieanimal. En el ámbito de la fauna silvestre se asocia principalmente ala actividad cinegética en l...

The presence of lead in the environment is an undisputable fact. Furthermore, it is a serious health concern as it affects not only the well-being of animals, but also that of human beings. Plumbism is a type of intoxication that can affect any animal species. In wild fauna, it is mostly associated with cynegetic species in wetlands and the ingesti...

The present study was carried out with the aim of determining the capacity of a "Daphnia-Toximeter" equipment to detect toxic compounds in water in a real-time assay. The response of the daphnia was tested after a seven-hour exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury, copper, cyanide, cypermetrin, diazinon, chlorpyrifos and a combination of insecticides (c...

Aldicarb and strychnine are frequently used to poison wild and domestic animals. Strychnine was widely used until it was banned in 1994, being substituted for carbamates such as aldicarb or carbofuran. Recently, an increase of deliberated poisonings using strychnine has been observed. Symptoms of aldicarb and strychnine poisonings have been widely...

Two different Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson beds growing in mining-contaminated sediments were compared with two reference beds in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon. The accumulation of Zn, Pb and Cd in different fractions of the plant, the sediment parameters that regulate the availability of metals, the seabed structure and dynamics of each seagr...

El Búho real (Bubo bubo) es una especie relativamente abundante en nuestro entorno y nidificante en áreas de cultivo donde el uso de insecticidas es abundante. En el presente trabajo se ha realizado el análisis de insecticidas organoclorados en sangre de pollos y tejidos internos de adultos. La recogida de muestras de sangre se realizó en los nidos...

Distintos estudios sobre las concentraciones de plaguicidas organoclorados y PCB's ponen de manifiesto daños reproductivos sobre las poblaciones de vida silvestre. Aunque muchos de los organoclorados fueron prohibidos en España, todavía existe una preocupación en cuanto a los efectos negativos de estas sustancias en las poblaciones aviares debido a...

En los últimos años se ha asistido a cambios de cultivo, pasando de los cereales a otros más productivos, lo cual ha llevado asociado cambios en los productos fitosanitarios a utilizar. El objetivo de este trabajo es el de comprobar la utilidad de la muestra de sangre de pollos de águila calzada (Hieraaetus pennatus) como unidad para monitorear los...

The blood lead of 23 griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) trapped in 2003 was analyzed in order to evaluate exposure to lead in the vulture population of Cazorla Natural Park (in southern Spain). In 2001 the use of leaded gasoline in vehicles was banned in the European Union; however, lead ammunition is still used in Spain in big-game hunting for red dee...

No abstract available.

This paper presents the levels of lead found in the feathers of adult and blood of nestlings of booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), European buzzard ( Buteo buteo), and goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) sampled in the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons in a Mediterranean forest of the Province of Murcia (Southeastern Spain) located far from potential source...

Dioxins are an intriguing and difficult group of chemicals for risk assessment. They are environmental chemicals: their risks are not studied for registration purposes. They cannot be banned, because they were never used; yet they are politically highly charged. We all are exposed, and population exposure is close to TDI, but historically exposure...

Data of toxicological analyses carried out over a 10-y period for suspected cases of wild and domestic animal poisonings are summarized. Of the 123 cases suspected as deliberate, 102 were be analyzed and 50 of them were positive to intentional poisoning, a total of 107 dead animals. Pesticides, especially insecticides (72%) and rodenticides (26%),...

La determinación de plomo y cadmio en sangre y tejidos de aves rapaces permite obtener información útil sobre el estado de salud de los individuos, de la especie y del medio ambiente en el que viven. Además su medición sistemática en programas de toxicovigilancia facilita la predicción de riesgos y la toma de decisiones de gestión medioambiental. E...

RESUMEN La determinación de plomo y cadmio en sangre y tejidos de aves rapaces permite obtener información útil sobre el estado de salud de los individuos, de la especie y del medio ambiente en el que viven. Además su medición sistemática en programas de toxicovigilancia facilita la predicción de riesgos y la toma de decisiones de gestión medioambi...

Se revisan los datos seleccionados de 10 años de análisis químico toxicológico realizados en el Servicio de Toxicología de Murcia (España), por la sospecha de envenenamientos en animales domésticos y silvestres. De los 123 casos seleccionados y confirmados como intencionados, se pudieron analizar 102 de los cuales 50 fueron positivos a envenenamien...

Se revisan los datos seleccionados de 10 años de análisis químico toxicológico realizados en el Servicio de Toxicología de Murcia (España), por la sospecha de envenenamientos en animales domésticos y silvestres. De los 123 casos seleccionados y confirmados como intencionados, se pudieron analizar 102 de los cuales 50 fueron positivos a envenenamien...