Assessing ecological health in areas with limited data by using biological traits.

A multitude of biotic indices that represent environmental status have been developed over the past decades making status comparisons difficult. However, transferring an existing index to a new region can be problematic due to differing stressors, ecosystem components and lack of knowledge on regional species sensitivities. Here we assess whether calculating species sensitivities to specific stressors based on biological traits offers a solution. We use biological traits of macrofaunal species to assess sensitivity to suspended sediment concentrations and calculated the Benthic Quality Index (BQI) at 47 sites across a suspended sediment gradient. This trait-based modification of the BQI was well correlated (0.82) to suspended sediment. Problems previously highlighted, relating to trait plasticity and differential weightings of indifferent and beneficial species, were investigated but did not strongly affect results. A trait-based approach has the additional benefit that the data could be easily converted to evaluate ecosystem function.

Can benthic quality assessment be impaired by uncertain species sensitivities?

This study tested robustness of mathematically defined species sensitivity with manipulation of disturbance gradient coverage by datasets on two different pressures and two depth zones of the central Baltic Sea. The results indicate large differences of sensitivity values for the same species when depth range changed. After addition of samples from impacted sites to the control datasets, estimated sensitivity values decreased for half of analysed species. Sensitivity of tolerant species appeared to be highly dependent on the coverage of disturbance gradient by the dataset, while sensitive species were highly robust to this effect. Although pressure type and coverage of disturbance gradient by the dataset was important, sensitivity changes were primarily linked to the altered environmental conditions. It is suggested that sensitivity values based on natural variability of pre-selected communities will better integrate the role of important environmental factors and increase robustness of discrimination between disturbed and undisturbed sites.

Association of bisphenol A exposure with dietary quality indices in Spanish schoolchildren.

Young children, whose growth and development are highly dependent on the endocrine system, are particularly vulnerable to endocrine disruptor exposure. The main objectives of this study were to measure BPA migration levels from cans, fruit juice bottles/packs, and microwave containers used for food/drinks consumed by a sample of 6- to 8-year old schoolchildren in Spain and to estimate the relationship between their resulting BPA exposure and diet quality index scores (Mediterranean Diet Score and Breakfast Quality Index). The mean BPA concentration was 11.8 ng/mL for vegetable cans, 22.1 ng/mL for pulse cans, 3.6 ng/mL for juice bottles/packs, and 1.2 ng/mL for microwave containers. Results revealed a significant association between the Mediterranean Diet Score and low BPA exposure of the children. BPA exposure below the median level was significantly associated with a higher score in both the first-grade (P = 0.030) and second-grade (p = 0.0001) groups. However, no association was found between BPA exposure and the Breakfast Quality Index. In conclusion, children with a stronger adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet appear to be less exposed to BPA migrating from food packaging and microwave containers. Further research is warranted on the inadvertent exposure of children to endocrinedisrupting chemicals from these sources.

Reducing spatial variation in environmental assessment of marine benthic fauna.

The Benthic Quality Index, BQI, is widely used for benthic quality assessment. Here, we investigated if spatial variation in the BQI can be reduced by accounting for the environmental factors instead of having different boundaries for different salinity regimes between status classes in the EU Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive. For this purpose we tested salinity, sediment structure, and depth in a regression model to test their contribution to variations in BQI. The spatial variation in BQI was better explained by depth than by salinity or sediment structure. The proposed assessment method uses the residuals from the regression model between BQI and depth. With this method the variance in BQI between samples was reduced by 50% to 75% in the majority of situations. A method to establish the boundary between good and moderate status and how to derive EQR-values according to the WFD is presented.

Long-term (1998-2010) large-scale comparison of the ecological quality status of gulf of lions (NW Mediterranean) benthic habitats.

A comprehensive Mediterranean data set has been used to address 3 questions associated with the use of sensitivity/tolerance based biotic indices to infer the Ecological Quality status (EcoQs) of benthic habitats. Our results showed: (1) a significant effect of the reference database on derived sensitivity/tolerance measure (ES500.05) as well as associated Benthic Quality Index values and derived EcoQs; (2) a lack of correlation neither between BQI and AZTI Marine Biotic Index values nor between BQI and Multivariate-AZTI Marine Biotic Index values; (3) a lack of correlation between the values of the Benthic Habitat Quality Index (index derived from Sediment Profile Imagery) and those of either of the 3 tested biotic indices; and (4) a general agreement between the 3 tested biotic indices in describing the lack of global trend for the EcoQs of the Gulf of Lions despite the occurrence of significant changes in benthic macrofauna composition between 1998 and 2010.