Biodiversity effects on seedling growth are modified by light environment across functional groups.

Numerous studies have shown that biodiversity influences the functioning of ecosystems over space and time. The sensitivity of such biodiversity-ecosystem effects to environmental heterogeneity, however, remains poorly understood. In forests, seedling recruitment is a critical phase of forest dynamics, and this phase is highly sensitive to environmental heterogeneity and biotic interactions with surrounding plants.

In Science Journals.

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Assessment of chemical footprints of hydrophobic pesticide/biocide contamination in western Kenya using polydimethylsiloxane silicone passive samplers.

In a previous study based on LC-HRMS screening of pesticides and other organic micropollutants, it was shown that pesticide pollution of water resources in western Kenya poses a significant risk to aquatic and human health. In the current study, this assessment was completed with the investigation of more hydrophobic organochlorine, organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides in surface waters and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influents and effluents using polydimethylsiloxane silicone passive samplers and Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Chemical footprints were assessed based on the mixture risks of the detected pesticides on algae, fish and crustaceans determined using the Toxic Unit approach.

Soil Texture Mediates the Toxicity of ZnO and FeO Nanoparticles to Microbial Activity.

The widespread use of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) in industrial and household products has raised concerns about their potential soil contamination and its ecological consequences. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the effects of iron oxide nanoparticles (FeONPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on the microbial activity and biochemical properties of differently textured soils. A mesocosm experiment was conducted using three soil types-clay loam (CL), sandy clay loam (SCL), and sandy loam (SL) amended with farmyard manure (FYM), ZnONPs and/or FeONPs.

Occurrence and potential risk of steroid hormones in selected surface water and wastewater treatment plants in western Kenya.

Steroid hormones are significant contributors to endocrine disruption, affecting the hormonal functions of both humans and aquatic organisms. However, data on their occurrence and risks in fresh water systems particularly in low- and middle-income countries, is scarce. In this regard, a comprehensive investigation of 58 steroid hormones in rivers and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was conducted in western Kenya.

Mixtures of toxic organic micropollutants compromise the safety of water resources in urban agglomerations in low- and medium-income countries: The example of Lahore, Pakistan.

Contamination of water resources with mixtures of organic micropollutants (OMP) including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals is a serious threat to aquatic organisms and human health. Long-term exposure to such pollutants may cause detrimental effects even at very low concentrations. Water resources in urban agglomerations in low- and medium-income countries may be under particular pressure due to high population densities, significant industrial activities, and limited water treatment and management resources.

Estimation and attribution of nonlinear trend of water use efficiency using a normalized partial derivative approach.

Investigating trends in water use efficiency (WUE) and its causality is critical for understanding ecosystem behaviors. Although WUE has shown nonlinear changes in the last several decades across most global ecosystems, the majority of available studies have focused on its linear trend. This study attempted to accurately attribute the linear and nonlinear variations in WUE using normalized driving factors in the Partial Derivative (PD) equation to develop a Normalized Partial Derivative model (NPD-model).

Sequential pesticide exposure: Concentration addition at high concentrations - Inhibition of hormesis at ultra-low concentrations.

Sequential pesticide exposure is a common scenario in both aquatic and terrestrial agricultural ecosystems. Predicting the effects of such exposures is therefore highly relevant for improving risk assessment. However, there is currently no information available for predicting the effects of sequential exposure to the same toxicant at both high and low concentrations.

Predicting the Combined Effects of Multiple Stressors and Stress Adaptation in .

Global change confronts organisms with multiple stressors causing nonadditive effects. Persistent stress, however, leads to adaptation and related trade-offs. The question arises: How can the resulting effects of these contradictory processes be predicted? Here we show that from agricultural streams were more tolerant to clothianidin (mean EC 148 μg/L) than populations from reference streams (mean EC 67 μg/L).

Revealing the cascade of pesticide effects from gene to community.

Global pesticide exposure in agriculture leads to biodiversity loss, even at ultra-low concentrations below the legal limits. The mechanisms by which the effects of toxicants act at such low concentrations are still unclear, particularly in relation to their propagation across the different biological levels. In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time, a cascade of effects from the gene to the community level.

Impact of Cadmium Contamination on Fertilizer Value and Associated Health Risks in Different Soil Types Following Anaerobic Digestate Application.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination in the soil potentially hampers microbial biomass and adversely affects their services such as decomposition and mineralization of organic matter. It can reduce nitrogen (N) metabolism and consequently affect plant growth and physiology. Further, Cd accumulation in plants can pose health risks through vegetable consumption.

In Science Journals.

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Planting design influences green infrastructure performance: Plant species identity and complementarity in rain gardens.

Green infrastructure's capacity to mitigate urban environmental problems, like heat island effects and excessive stormwater runoff, is partially governed by its plant community. Traditionally, green infrastructure design has focused on engineered aspects, such as substrate and drainage, rather than on the properties of its living components. Since the functioning of these plant assemblages is controlled by ecophysiological processes that differ by species, the identity and relative abundance of the species used will influence green infrastructure performance.

Association of common BRCA1 variants with predisposition to breast tumors in Pakistan.

BRCA1 variants are extensively associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Early detection and screening of variants is still rare in developing countries. Here, we investigated six BRCA1 variants in 300 subjects from Pakistani population using tetra amplification-refractory mutation system (T-ARMS) PCR.

Diversity and extinction risk are inversely related at a global scale.

Increases in biodiversity often lead to greater, and less variable, levels of ecosystem functioning. However, whether species are less likely to go extinct in more diverse ecosystems is unclear. We use comprehensive estimates of avian taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity to characterise the global relationship between multiple dimensions of diversity and extinction risk in birds, focusing on contemporary threat status and latent extinction risk.

Environmental risk in an age of biotic impoverishment.

The science underpinning biodiversity's importance to human well-being seems to be taken up little by environmental decision makers. Since the 1950s, ecological, evolutionary and environmental research has pointed to the importance of biodiversity as a significant factor influencing the stability and functioning of population, community, eco- and Earth-systems and the environmental services they provide. Despite its prominence and the tremendous contributions to our understanding of the natural world, this field of research, which we term 'bio-functional ecology', seems not to have had the impact it should.

Pesticide-induced metabolic changes are amplified by food stress.

In natural ecosystems, long-term detrimental effects of pesticides may occur at very low concentrations, below those considered safe by the governmental risk assessment. Mechanisms potentially responsible for this unexpected sensitivity include environmental stress-factors such as food deficiency. To understand this so called "effect-paradox", we investigated how food stress interacts with insecticide-induced biochemical fingerprints.