Co-exposure of environmental contaminants with unfavorable temperature or humidity/moisture: Joint hazards and underlying mechanisms

• Published in: Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 2023-10, Vol.264, p.115432-115432, Article 115432
• Main Authors: Wang, Mingpu, Hou, Jie, Deng, Rui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Co-exposure; Ecotoxicology of climate change; Humidity/moisture; Pollutants; Temperature
• ISSN: 0147-6513; 1090-2414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115432

In the context of global climate change, organisms in their natural habitats usually suffer from unfavorable climatic conditions together with environmental pollution. Temperature and humidity (or moisture) are two central climatic factors, while their relationships with the toxicity of contaminants are not well understood. This review provides a synthesis of existing knowledge on important interactions between contaminant toxicity and climatic conditions of unfavorable temperature, soil moisture, and air humidity. Both high temperature and low moisture can extensively pose severe combined hazards with organic pollutants, heavy metal ions, nanoparticles, or microplastics. There is more information on the combined effects on animalia than on other kingdoms. Prevalent mechanisms underlying their joint effects include the increased bioavailability and bioaccumulation of contaminants, modified biotransformation of contaminants, enhanced induction of oxidative stress, accelerated energy consumption, interference with cell membranes, and depletion of bodily fluids. However, the interactions of contaminants with low temperature or high humidity/moisture, particularly on plants and microorganisms, are relatively vague and need to be further revealed. This work emphasizes that the co-exposure of chemical and physical stressors results in detrimental effects generally greater than those caused by either stressor. It is necessary to take this into consideration in the ecological risk assessment of both environmental contamination and climate change. [Display omitted] •Hazards from chemical or physical stressor are usually enhanced after co-exposure.•Heat and drought are main physical stressors increasing the contaminant toxicity.•The knowledge of animal responses is broader than that of plants and microorganisms.•Potential mechanisms are diverse and may vary depending on species or contaminants.•Joint effects of contaminants and high humidity deserve more concerns.