Corals are fundamental elements of rocky shore ecosystems, which are threathened by wastewater and river discharges, tourism and climate change. Among many threats, that posed by emerging contaminants still needs to be throughly investigated. The aim of this study was to test wether a prolonged exposure to low concentrations of pharmaceuticals and bisphenol A (BPA) might affect the common and widespread shallow water zooxanthellate coral Balanophyllia europaea. B. europaea polyps were collected at 6 m depth in Calafuria (LI, Italy) in May 2023 and 2024, soon before the brooding period. B. europaea larvae were exposed to Carbamazepine (CB), Ibuprofen (IB) and Valsartan (VS) at 1-10 µg/L and to BPA at 10-100 µg/L, both separately and as mixtures (MIX_L: 1 µg/L CB, IB, VS + 10 µg/L BPA; MIX_H: 10 µg/L CB, IB, VS + 100 µg/L BPA), for 4 weeks. Toxicity endpoints were: mortality, metamorphosis and the average amount of chlorophyll (Chl) a-c₂/larva. Adults of B. europaea were exposed to MIX_L and MIX_H for 4 weeks, and toxicity endpoints were: Chla-c₂/zooxanthellae, Chla-c₂/coral surface, zooxanthellae/coral surface and the predation ability. Results showed no significant mortality for the larvae but an alteration in their ability to metamorphosize, which was reduced for larvae exposed to single pharmaceuticals but was enhanced for those exposed to BPA. In the adults, the ratio Chla-c₂/zooxanthellae was significantly reduced upon exposure to both MIX_L and MIX_H, as well as the ratio Chla-c₂/coral surface, while the ratio zooxanthellae/coral surface showed a slight increase. The predation ability resulted reduced in specimens exposed to both mixtures. The overall results showed that the prolonged exposure to low concentrations of pharmaceuticals and BPA might impact both larvae and adults of B. europaea and that the chlorophyll content, the metamorphosis and the predation ability might represent sensitive endpoints for the impact of such compounds.

This study investigates the occurrence and effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across various environmental matrices, including water, soil, different plant parts (roots, leaves), arthropods, and annelids, at a contaminated firefighting training site in Trelleborg, Sweden. We gathered and assessed both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, successfully reconstructing the trophic web by means of Stable Isotopic Analysis (SIA).

The results offer significant insights into the bioaccumulation and biomagnification processes of PFAS. Our data showed that in the terrestrial ecosystem, BSAF values showed a consistent increase across the trophic levels with a trend consistently higher than 1 for short-chain PFAS such as PFHxA, PFHpA, and PFPeA. In contrast, long-chain PFAS such as PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS were often below the threshold level indicating a low bioaccumulative potential. For the aquatic system, BCF values at the top of the trophic chain were significantly higher, ranging from 10^3 to 10^4 in top predators. While long-chain PFAS exhibited a staple increase across the trophic levels, congeners such as PFHxA, PFHpA, and PFPeA showed non-linear trends.

A key component of this research involved also a 30-day long-term experiment using the OECD species Eisenia fetida (Oligochaeta) exposed in the Trelleborg’s soils across a PFAS contamination gradient. Our multi-tiered analysis encompassed molecular, enzymatic, behavioural, and high order level effects such as survival and reproduction, highlighting the impairment of lower and apical biological functions.

This study underscores the intricate interactions and potential ecological risks associated with legacy PFAS contamination. The findings are critical for enhancing our understanding of the long-term environmental consequences of PFAS exposure and for developing informed risk assessment and management strategies.

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) include a variety of compounds increasingly detected in the marine environment that could represent a threat to the ecosystem health, while being still insufficiently regulated. The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is worldwide employed as bio-indicator of the marine environment status and may represent a promising bio-indicator of CECs impact as well.

In the framework of the PNRR spoke 2 zero pollution project, this research focuses on two important classes of CECs: a representative mix of pharmaceuticals compounds (ibuprofen, valsartan, carbamazepine) and plasticizers (bisphenol A and phthalates), selected based on environmental contaminants data available in the literature.

To explore whether the selected CECs could elicit biological responses in Caretta caretta, we employed an ex-vivo approach. Skin biopsies and blood were collected from hospitalized sea turtles and immediately treated with environmentally realistic concentrations of CECs (1-10-100 ug/L) for 12h (Blood) and 24h (biopsies). The biological response was measured through gene expression analysis of specific target genes. Expression of genes involved in inflammation and innate immunity (PTGS2, LYZ), endocrine receptors (THRα, RXRα, Erα, PRα), energy and lipid metabolism (ACADL, PPARα, FASN), detoxification (GST) and oncosuppression (TP53) were quantified through droplet digital PCR.

Plasticizers (phthalates and bisphenol A) caused a stronger gene expression dysregulation than pharmaceuticals, mainly due to their interaction with endocrine nuclear receptors such as progesteron (PRα) and estrogen (ERα) receptors. The selected pharmaceuticals show limited effect on gene expression although some specific target genes, such as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) may still represent promising markers of exposure. The results of this study contribute to develop ex-vivo experimentation methodologies in C. caretta and furnish preliminary data on the biological effects of CECs in this species, aiming to develop potential new molecular monitoring tools.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure (21 days) to an environmentally relevant concentration (10 µg/L) of two different nanoplastic (NP) polymers on the aquatic model organism Daphnia magna. This study examined the impact of exposure to 200 nm polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics (PVC-NPs), which had an average size similar to that of PS-NPs (ranging from 50 nm to 350 nm). The effects of polymer exposure on morphometric parameters, number of molts, swimming behaviour, and reproductive outcomes were evaluated. The findings indicate that both polymers resulted in an increase in molting behaviour. Moreover, exposure to PVC-NPs had a negative impact on the reproduction of D. magna, as evidenced by a delay in the day of the first brood, a reduction in the total number of offspring produced, and, consequently, a slower population growth rate. This study identified the fitness impairments caused by exposure to PVC-NPs, which can lead to relevant ecological consequences. Although the influence of particle size cannot be ruled out, it can be inferred that polymer properties may have played a role in the observed effects. We hypothesised a correlation between the hormonal functionality of ecdysone and the impairment of reproduction. Further investigation of the impact of this plastic polymer at lower levels of biological organisation is recommended to gain a better understanding of the potential mechanisms involved in the effects of this plastic polymer on wild organisms.