Cyanobacterial blooms at Lake Atitlán in Guatemala threaten and compromise the livelihood and health of local residents. Indigenous Tz’utujil, Kaqchikel, and K’iche’ rely directly on lake water for drinking, bathing, cleaning, cooking, and fishing. Nonpoint source runoff and untreated wastewater pumped directly into the lake contribute to high fecal pathogen loads into source waters. Concurrent nutrient loading results in cyanobacterial blooms further compromising water quality. A lakeside municipality facing high rates of childhood gastrointestinal illness volunteered to engage in community-based participatory research (CBPR) to evaluate efficacy, utility, and longevity of filters in households. The filters consistently reduced the risk of coliforms and E. coli in household water drawn from the lake based on World Health Organization guidelines. Household surveys were simultaneously administered through a student leadership group regarding water usage, water quality, and community health. Filters demonstrated ability to reduce high loads of fecal indicators from source waters and ability to remove a cyanobacterial toxin (microcystin) at 10 µg/L in deionized water. Further studies are imperative to determine longevity of use in households and CBPR provides a powerful avenue to test efficacy of a possible intervention while engaging stakeholders and empowering community members with sustainable solutions.

The benthopelagic fauna distributed in and around the Santa Maria di Leuca (SML) cold-water coral (CWC) province (Northern Ionian Sea–Central Mediterranean Sea) was analyzed through the development of a mass-balanced ecosystem model. A total of nine balanced simulations were provided taking into account the biomass data collected during several experimental bottom trawl surveys carried out from 2005 to 2010 in a depth range between 101 and 541 m. A total of 100 species were included in the analysis corresponding to 15 cephalopods, 25 crustaceans, 7 chondrichthyes and 54 osteichthyes. Simulations were developed maintaining the species-level detail. The total system throughput estimated in the SML CWC province trophic web resulted mainly due to consumption and about 80% of it was maintained by species with trophic level between 2 and 4. Results highlighted important features in terms of the structure and functioning of the system, such as the high level of activity maintained by intermediate trophic levels and the important role of top-down control in the faunal assemblage due to both vertebrate and invertebrate species.

Overland flows contaminated with manure borne pathogens pose risks to public health, because fecal pathogens may infiltrate into soil matrix from overland flows and contaminate soil water aquifers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vegetative filter strip (VFS) on infiltration rates (CFU 100 ml⁻¹ h⁻¹) of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in overland flow and their survival rates in soil matrix. Thirty samples of the specimen were collected from VFSs each sampling time. The samples were each filtered, followed by a series of ten dilutions; then analyses for E. coli using membrane filtration technique. Wet oxidation method and potassium persulfate technique were used to analyze particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at (p < 0.05) level of significance, respectively. A strong relationship was obtained between E. coli, POC and DOC in the overland flows (R ² = 0.89, p ≤ 0.05; df = 29). This study confirms the hypothesis that DOC released from Napier grass and Kikuyu grass exudates supported the initial survival, subsequent growth and adaptation of E. coli in its new secondary habitat outside its primary host. Thus, in the soil habitat, DOC and POC provided the initial energy for microbial cell multiplication from the VFS grasses. VFS influenced partitioning, infiltration and survival of E. coli in the overland flow into soil matrix. Thus, root zone retention data and information on E. coli in VFS systems are significant and could be used for scientific and management of soil erosion and the control of fecal pathogens entering surface water ecosystems both locally in Mau Ranges, Njoro River Watershed and internationally in other areas with similar environmental problems. VFS could be utilized under various designs of VFSs with different plants that have different setup of plants’ root zone cover and penetrations systems that could help in infiltrating overland flow manure borne pathogens, a process that could be useful in the management of these pathogens in agro-pastoral systems locally and internationally.

The intensity of human-induced impacts on the distribution and diversity of macroinvertebrates and water quality of Gbako River, North Central, Nigeria, was evaluated monthly for 6 months using modified kick sampling techniques. Four study stations were selected along the river course (upper reaches of less human impacts through mid-reaches with relative high human impacts to lower reaches of less human impacts), designated as Stations 1, 2, 3, and 4. Water temperature (23.10–30.00 °C), flow velocity (0.10–2.40 m/s), pH, conductivity (32.00–110.00 µS/cm), and alkalinity (7.50–10.50 mg/L) were similar in all the stations sampled. However, BOD (2.20–6.00 mg/L) and nitrates (0.50–1.67 mg/L) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in Station 3. A total of 676 individuals from 41 invertebrate taxa in 27 families from nine orders were collected from the four stations during the study. Aquatic insects represented 85.4 % of the taxa and 76.6 % of all individuals collected. The rest of the fauna was composed of Mollusca, Crustacea, and Gastropoda. Ten macroinvertebrate taxa, Philaccolus, Pseudocloeon, Bugilliesia, Calopteryx, Coenagrion, Brachythemis leucostica, Gomphus, Hydrometra, Sphaerudx, and Potadoma species, were found in all the four sampled stations. The overall abundance of benthic invertebrates was not significantly different (P > 0.05) among the sampling stations. Stations 2 and 3 with higher human disturbance recorded lower richness when compared with the less disturbed stations (1 and 4). Furthermore, the marginally high nutrient levels (phosphate and nitrate) obtained at these stations are an indication that the water body is becoming stressed with organic input and increasing levels of anthropogenic activities. The CCA ordination revealed strong relationships between species abundances and measured environmental variables. The low relative abundance of Ephemeroptera–Plecoptera–Tricoptera (EPT) taxa indicated that the environmental conditions were relatively stressed, along the whole stations. However, the abundance of mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Coleoptera (Gyrinus, Dytiscus), and Anisoptera in all the sites studied is an indication that the sites are relatively free from gross pollution, especially at the upper reaches. Overall, relatively less human impacts in some of the study stations and the heterogeneous nature of the stations served as suitable habitat for a more diverse benthic fauna. This could be responsible for the high abundance (number of individuals) and diversity of benthic invertebrates that was recorded in this study. This study revealed that macroinvertebrate communities responded to changes in disturbance as well as water quality along the river stations.

The aim of this study was to assess environmental risk due to heavy metals such as cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) in the groundwater around integrated industrial estate (IIE) Haridwar. Index of geo-accumulation (I _geo) values showed Cr contamination in groundwater of both the industrial areas. The quantification of contamination index showed that anthropogenic causes were source of contamination of all metals. Contamination factor showed that contamination levels in the study area ranged from low contamination to moderate contamination. Pollution linked index (PLI) values were highest in Bahadrabad old industrial area > Shivalik Nagar > commercial area > IIE Haridwar = Aneki > RNP. Ecological risk index (ERI) was highest in Bahadrabad old industrial area > Shivalik Nagar > commercial area > IIE Haridwar > RNP > Aneki rural area. Values of PLI and ERI showed moderate pollution and low ecological risk due to heavy metals in the study area. Study showed that although Rajaji National Park (RNP) is a protected area, it was not free of metal contamination.