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Environmental Pollution and Ecological Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 15164

Special Issue Editor

College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
Interests: microbial ecology; water pollution; new pollutants; water quality security; eutrophication and algal biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental pollution and ecological health hazards are the frontiers and hotspots in the field of ecological environment research and are also major environmental safety issues that need to be solved urgently in the world. Many researchers have carried out a lot of research work on environmental monitoring, toxicological effects and mechanisms, and hazard control of typical and new pollutants, laying a theoretical foundation for understanding the risks of exposure to pollutants and reducing their ecological health threats and technical reserves. However, the current research on the toxicological mechanism of pollutants is still not thorough enough, and the molecular origin and target of toxicity need to be identified, which hinders the construction of harmful outcome pathways. In addition, the economic and social costs of traditional hazard control measures are huge, and it is necessary to combine toxicological research findings and continue to explore convenient and feasible governance methods to effectively protect the ecosystem and people's health. This Special Issue aims to publish novels insights into Environmental Pollution and Ecological health. The focus of this issue is mainly on pollutants, toxins, toxic mechanisms, ecological safety and monitoring. Novel insights into the biology and ecology of harmful aquatic microorganisms are also welcome.

Dr. Yang Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • environmental pollution
  • aquatic ecosystem
  • new pollutants
  • microplastics pollution
  • water pollution
  • algal toxin
  • ecological health
  • environmental monitoring

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2224 KiB  
Article
Riverine Microplastic Pollution: Insights from Cagayan de Oro River, Philippines
by Aiza D. Gabriel, Ruben F. Amparado, Jr., Arnold A. Lubguban and Hernando P. Bacosa
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(12), 6132; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20126132 - 15 Jun 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 11007
Abstract
Rivers are vital water sources for humans and homes for aquatic organisms. Conversely, they are well known as the route of plastics into the ocean. Despite being the world’s number one emitter of riverine plastics into the ocean, microplastics (MPs), or plastic particles [...] Read more.
Rivers are vital water sources for humans and homes for aquatic organisms. Conversely, they are well known as the route of plastics into the ocean. Despite being the world’s number one emitter of riverine plastics into the ocean, microplastics (MPs), or plastic particles less than 5 mm, in the Philippines’ rivers are relatively unexplored. Water samples were collected from six sampling stations along the river channel of the Cagayan de Oro River, one of the largest rivers in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. The extracted microplastics’ abundance, distribution, and characteristics were analyzed using a stereomicroscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed a mean concentration of 300 items/m3 of MPs dominated by blue-colored (59%), fiber (63%), 0.3–0.5 mm (44%), and polyacetylene (48%) particles. The highest concentration of microplastics was recorded near the mouth of the river, and the lowest was in the middle area. The findings indicated a significant difference in MP concentration at the sampling stations. This study is the first assessment of microplastic in a river in Mindanao. The results of this study will aid in formulating mitigation strategies for reducing riverine plastic emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution and Ecological Health)
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9 pages, 2097 KiB  
Article
Inhibition Effect of Ionic Liquid [Hmim]Cl on Microcystis Growth and Toxin Production
by Yang Liu, Yijie Zhang, Yousef Sultan, Peng Xiao, Li Yang, Hanyang Lu and Bangjun Zhang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8719; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148719 - 18 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1783
Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) are known as “green solvents” and widely used in industrial applications. However, little research has been conducted on cyanobacteria. This study was conducted to investigate the toxicity of ionic liquids ([Hmim]Cl) on Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806. The EC50 (72 h) [...] Read more.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are known as “green solvents” and widely used in industrial applications. However, little research has been conducted on cyanobacteria. This study was conducted to investigate the toxicity of ionic liquids ([Hmim]Cl) on Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806. The EC50 (72 h) of [Hmim]Cl on the growth of Microcystis aeruginosa PCC 7806 was 10.624 ± 0.221 mg L−1. The possible mechanism of toxicity of [Hmim]Cl against M. aeruginosa PCC 7806 was evaluated by measuring cell growth, photosynthetic pigment contents, chlorophyll fluorescence transients, cell ultrastructure, and transcription of the microcystin-producing gene (mcyB). The concentrations of chlorophyll a and carotenoids were significantly reduced in treated M. aeruginosa cultures. The results of chlorophyll fluorescence transients showed that [Hmim]Cl could destruct the electron-accepting side of the photosystem II of M. aeruginosa PCC 7806. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated cell damage including changes in the structure of the cell wall and cell membrane, thylakoid destruction, and nucleoid disassembly. The transcription of the mcyB gene was also inhibited under [Hmim]Cl stress. In summary, this study provides new insights into the toxicity of [Hmim]Cl on cyanobactreia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution and Ecological Health)
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23 pages, 18385 KiB  
Article
New Framework for Dynamic Water Environmental Capacity Estimation Integrating the Hydro-Environmental Model and Load–Duration Curve Method—A Case Study in Data-Scarce Luanhe River Basin
by Huiyu Jin, Wanqi Chen, Zhenghong Zhao, Jiajia Wang and Weichun Ma
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8389; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148389 - 9 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1788
Abstract
A better understanding of river capacity for contaminants (i.e., water environmental capacity, WEC) is essential for the reasonable utilization of water resources, providing government’s with guidance about sewage discharge management, and allocating investments for pollutant reduction. This paper applied a new framework integrating [...] Read more.
A better understanding of river capacity for contaminants (i.e., water environmental capacity, WEC) is essential for the reasonable utilization of water resources, providing government’s with guidance about sewage discharge management, and allocating investments for pollutant reduction. This paper applied a new framework integrating a modified hydro-environmental model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, and load–duration curve (LDC) method for the dynamic estimation of the NH3-N WEC of the data-scarce Luanhe River basin in China. The impact mechanisms of hydrological and temperature conditions on WEC are discussed. We found that 77% of the WEC was concentrated in 40% hydrological guarantee flow rates. While the increasing flow velocity promoted the pollutant decay rate, it shortened its traveling time in streams, eventually reducing the river WEC. The results suggest that the integrated framework combined the merits of the traditional LDC method and the mechanism model. Thus, the integrated framework dynamically presents the WEC’s spatiotemporal distribution under different hydrological regimes with fewer data. It can also be applied in multi-segment rivers to help managers identify hot spots for fragile water environmental regions and periods at the basin scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution and Ecological Health)
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