Saturday, May 04, 2024

HKU study reveals crucial role of invertebrates as eco-custodians in global forest litter decomposition

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Research Background
Litter decomposition is a crucial process in carbon cycling and nutrient turnover. Microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, are widely considered the most important decomposers in nature. However, soil invertebrates contribute a large proportion of decomposing and nutrient turnover and are therefore important for functioning and healthy ecosystems. Most previous studies on decomposition and nutrient turnover are conducted in temperate regions like Europe and North America, resulting in a biased perspectives and substantial knowledge gaps regarding the roles of invertebrates in global ecosystem processes.

A major invertebrate decomposer in the tropics are termites, which is often viewed only as pests to humans. However, termites are important ecological engineers in the tropics, helping to break down organic matter and redistribute nutrients. Termite dominance in the tropics, as opposed to temperate regions, should result in differences across regions regarding invertebrate decomposition, but this has not been well established.

Findings
In this study, the HKU research team included 476 case studies from 93 sites across the globe. A meta-analysis approach was used to assess the regional differences in forest litter decomposition mediated by invertebrates. The results showed that invertebrates contributed 31% to global forest litter decomposition, and the contribution of soil invertebrates in tropical and subtropical forests was 1.4 times higher than that in temperate and boreal forests. Termites, together with warm and humid climate contributed to the greater decomposition in tropical and subtropical forests.

This study highlights the global importance of invertebrates in driving the decomposition of forest litter, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. However, the contribution of invertebrates to forest litter decomposition may be underestimated due to the current regional sampling bias. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of termites in nutrient cycling. Many still consider termites as crop pests and widely use insecticides to reduce termite abundance. Conservation of invertebrates in tropical and subtropical regions is crucial for maintaining ecosystem services, given the widespread environmental change in these areas.

Therefore, this study stresses the need to integrate invertebrate functions into earth system models as they contribute approximately 31% of global forest litter decomposition. An extensive and standardised data collection is of great value to develop global database of soil biodiversity and improve the predictive power of earth system models. Furthermore, forest management approaches that focus on insecticide use to control termite populations may have unintended consequences on ecosystem functioning (e.g. nutrient cycling). Instead, forest managers should consider conservation strategies that protect invertebrate populations and promote sustainable forest management practices.

‘This study shows that invertebrates are essential for decomposition, keeping ecosystems working by breaking down dead organic material. Invertebrates like termites are particularly important in the tropics and sub-tropics where most biodiversity occurs. Invertebrate biodiversity is threatened by human activities such as climate change, habitat loss and pollution. It is essential we mitigate biodiversity loss in order to maintain healthy, functioning ecosystems into the future,’ said Professor Louise Ashton, Assistant Professor of HKU School of Biological Sciences.

The journal paper ‘Global contribution of invertebrates to forest litter decomposition’ can be accessed at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14423

Authorship
This study conducted by the Biodiversity and Environmental Change Lab at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) (www.louiseashton.net). The Biodiversity and Environmental Change Lab is led by Professor Lousie A Ashton. The lab is dedicated to research exploring insect biodiversity and ecosystem function and understanding ecological responses to environmental change. This study was conducted by Xiaoyi Zeng (PhD student) as the first author and Professor Louise Ashton as the corresponding author. The co-authors include Huilin Gao from the Faculty of Business and Economics (HKU), Runxi Wang and Bartosz Majcher from the School of Biological Sciences (HKU), Dr Cheng Wenda at Sun Yat-sen University, and research teams from the University of Liverpool, the Natural History Museum, London, and the University of Bristol in the UK. This research was supported by the General Research Fund from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council.

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Casey To, External Relations Officer (tel: 3917 4948; email: caseyto@hku.hk / Ms Cindy Chan, Assistant Director of Communications of HKU Faculty of Science (tel: 3917 5286; email: cindycst@hku.hk).

Images download and captions: https://www.scifac.hku.hk/press

Global distribution of forest leaf litter decomposition experiment used in this study. (Illustration adapted from respective paper)

Soil invertebrate contributions to forest litter decomposition across regions. (a) Relative contributions of invertebrates (blue) and microorganisms (grey) to forest litter decomposition against absolute latitude. (b) Effect sizes of invertebrates on forest litter decomposition at global, regional, and biome scales. (Illustration adapted from respective paper)

Termites in Sabah, Malaysia (Photo courtesy: Louise Ashton)

Termites in Sabah, Malaysia (Photo courtesy: Louise Ashton)

JOURNAL

Ecology Letters

DOI

10.1111/ele.14423

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Global contribution of invertebrates to forest litter decomposition

A significant portion of the world’s population continues to trust vaccines, says survey in 23 countries

Responses from 23,000 people point to a need for locally relevant communication strategies to increase vaccine confidence

BARCELONA INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (ISGLOBAL)

A substantial proportion of the world’s population remains willing to get vaccinated against diseases including COVID-19, according to a new survey across 23 countries that represent more than 60% of the world’s population. The study, published in Nature Medicine, was co-led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, and the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy of the City University of New York (CUNY SPH).

The severe human impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the rapid research and development of safe and effective vaccines based on existing models, and resulted in the largest vaccination campaign in history. Just one year after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, more than 250 million people worldwide had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes it.

Although no longer considered a significant public health threat, the virus continues to circulate and mutate. This means that variant-adapted boosters are still needed, especially for the many people at higher risk of severe disease and death.

“Today, vaccine hesitancy, pandemic fatigue and vaccine fatigue are major challenges to ensuring that people stay up to date with their vaccinations, including COVID-19 boosters” says Jeffrey V. Lazarus, head of the Health Systems Research Group at ISGlobal, Professor of Global Health at CUNY SPH, and coordinator of the study.

Vaccine confidence remains high

Through a series of annual surveys across 23 countries over the course of the pandemic, Lazarus and his colleagues have been assessing global trust in information sources and vaccines. In this fourth survey of 23,000 adults, conducted in October 2023, the research team found that the intent to get a COVID-19 booster was slightly lower (71.6% of respondents) compared to 2022 (87.9%). However, the global population’s overall trust in vaccination did not diminish. More than 3 in 5 participants (60.8%) said they were more willing to get vaccinated for diseases other than COVID-19 as a result of their experience during the pandemic, while only 23.1% were less willing.

“This finding suggests there is a general openness to vaccination that can be used to boost confidence in new generations of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters,” says Ayman El-Mohandes, study co-author and Dean of the City University of New York School for Public Health & Health Policy. “We must design targeted messages for trusted communicators to encourage vaccine uptake.”

The new survey also evaluated public trust in information sources used during the pandemic. Overall, the most trusted sources were healthcare providers (with a score of 6.9 out of 10) and the World Health Organization (6.5 out of 10), highlighting the importance of continuing to rely on these sources in future communication campaigns. There was, however, some variability between countries. For example, religious leaders ranked 3.16 in Sweden but 6.72 in India.

Public trust in the ability of authorities, scientists, and health organisations to manage future pandemics presented a mixed picture. “The great variability of trust observed across countries makes it clear that improving vaccine confidence globally will require more culturally appropriate local communication strategies,” says Lazarus. “There is an urgent need to catch up on routine immunisations and prepare for potential new pandemic threats, so we must continue to monitor vaccine confidence,” he adds.

The survey data are highly representative for different geographic regions in the world and different demographic groups (age, gender, education level) within each country.

Reference

Lazarus, J.V., White, T.M., Wyka, K. et al. Influence of COVID-19 on trust in routine immunization, health information sources and pandemic preparedness in 23 countries in 2023. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02939-2

JOURNAL

Nature Medicine

DOI

10.1038/s41591-024-02939-2

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Influence of COVID-19 on trust in routine immunization, health information sources and pandemic preparedness in 23 countries in 2023

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Apr-2024

COI STATEMENT

Study funding was provided by Moderna, to the City University of New York Research Foundation. The authors retained full autonomy in the design of the study; the development of the survey instrument; the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; the presentation of results; and the decision to submit the article for publication. J.V.L. has received speaker fees from Echosens, Gilead Sciences, Moderna, Novo Nordisk, Novovax, Pfizer and ViiV and grants from Gilead Sciences, GSK, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Roche Diagnostics outside the submitted work. The other authors declare no competing interests.

How evolving landscapes impacted First Peoples’ early migration patterns into Australia

Dynamic modelling of terrain shows how humans travelled across Sahul more than 35,000 years ago

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Predicted human presence across Sahul 35,000 years ago — IMAGE:
PREDICTED HUMAN PRESENCE ACROSS SAHUL 35,000 YEARS AGO, COMBINING BOTH NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN MIGRATION ENTRY POINTS.
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CREDIT: TRISTAN SALLES/NATURE

New research led by the University of Sydney offers fresh understanding of the migration patterns of Australia and New Guinea’s First Peoples, and where they lived in the 40,000 years following humanity’s arrival on the then combined continent.

Using a dynamic model charting the changing landscape, researchers have provided a more realistic description of the of the areas inhabited by the first humans to traverse Sahul: the landmass combining what is now Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.

Led by Associate Professor Tristan Salles from the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney, the research model factors-in evolution of the landscape, driven by climate, during the time of human dispersal. This is a novel approach; previous studies of migration patterns have relied heavily on archaeological findings.

“One aspect overlooked when evaluating how people spread across the continent is the evolution of the Earth’s surface which took place as people migrated,” Associate Professor Salles said.

“Yet landscapes and landform are deeply engraved in Aboriginal culture.”

Humans first set foot on Sahul around 75,000 years ago. The research team used an established landscape evolution model detailing climatic evolution from 75,000 to 35,000 years ago. The model offers a fresh perspective on terrains and environments inhabited by the first hunter-gatherer communities as they traversed Sahul.

Researchers ran thousands of simulations to describe possible migration routes originating from two entry points into Sahul: a northern route through Western Papua and a southern route from the Timor Sea shelf.

Their results were consistent with previous findings, predicting a high likelihood of human occupation at already iconic archaeological sites such as: Ngarrabullgan Cave (in North Queensland), the Puritjarra rock shelter (Central Australia), and the Riwi Cave and Carpenter’s Gap 1 rock shelter in the Kimberley (Western Australia).

Results indicated migration speeds of between 360 metres and 1.15 kilometres a year, depending on entry points and arrival times. They also show that human settlers would have dispersed across the continental interior along river corridors on both sides of Lake Carpenteria.

“Our palaeoecological reconstructions show evidence of diverse interior habitats varying from high altitude tropical forest, subtropical savannah to semiarid woodland and grassland,” Associate Professor Salles said.

Instead of finding well-defined migration routes (indicated by the grey lines on the below map), the research suggests a radiating wave of migration following rivers and coastlines. This correlates with known migration corridors: east of Lake Carpentaria following the Great Dividing Range; southern corridors connecting Lake Eyre to the eastern corridors; and the central super-highways transecting Australia’s arid interior.

Used in conjunction with mechanistic simulations, the findings could help evaluate how often a specific location is likely to have been visited.

“This could help identify new areas of archaeological interest as a precursor to more costly and time-consuming archaeological surveys,” Associate Professor Salles said.

RESEARCH

Salles, T. et al. ‘Physiography, foraging mobility and the first peopling of Sahul’. Nature Communications (Vol 15, 2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47662-1

Co-written by: Manon Lorcery from the University of Sydney and France’s Université Grenoble-Alpes; Associate Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University; Associate Professor Ian Moffatt from Flinders University and Southern Cross University; and Laurent Husson from Université Grenoble-Alpes in France.

DOWNLOAD the research paper, images at this link.

INTERVIEWS

Associate Professor Tristan Salles | tristan.salles@sydney.edu.au

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Marcus Strom | marcus.strom@sydney.edu.au | +61 474 269 459

DECLARATION

The authors declare no competing interests. Research was funded by the Australian Research Council.

JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-47662-1

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Physiography, foraging mobility and the first peopling of Sahul

Let widgeongrass be a weed in the seagrass yard -- making seagrass restoration more resistant to rising temperatures using generalist grasses

VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE

Restoration with lost and generalist species — IMAGE:
TOP LEFT IMAGES ARE COLLECTED WIDGEONGRASS (TOP) AND EELGRASS (BOTTOM) SEEDS THAT WERE SEEDED IN LYNNHAVEN RIVER, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA TO RESTORE SEAGRASS HABITAT (SECOND FROM LEFT) THAT CAN HANDLE MULTIPLE NOVEL STRESSORS INCLUDING WARMING TEMPERATURES.
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CREDIT: CREDIT: ENIE HENSEL, UMCES IAN SYMBOLS, VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE.

New research demonstrates that seagrass habitat restoration can be enhanced by including other grasses in addition to the declining or lost species and – ultimately – that restoration efforts must proactively select species that can withstand current and intensifying stressors driven by human activities and climate change.

Rising global temperatures combined with centuries of humans working within our seascapes has reshaped coastal ecosystems. Rebuilding or restoring coastal habitat is becoming a top priority for natural resource conservation and as an insurance policy for the provision of critical services including shoreline protection, clean water, and seafood. Yet, successful habitat restoration is still rare, and most efforts are unsustainably expensive and labor intensive.

“Any gardener knows the difficultly in mastering how to grow a plant from seed or a clipping, and the same goes for restoration practitioners using habitat-forming species – discovering the perfect conditions.” says Enie Hensel, lead-author, postdoctoral researcher at UF IFAS SWES Nature Coast Biological Station and former postdoctoral researcher at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).

Seagrasses are experiencing global declines and, in the Chesapeake Bay, United States, where this study was conducted, intensifying heat waves are a main cause for declines in the dominant seagrass, eelgrass (Zostera marina). Recent research has shown the most successful restorations span large areas and location selection is key. The location should have a certain sand or sediment type, water quality level, temperature range, and the presence of beneficial ‘bugs’ or invertebrates that graze off grass-smothering algae – all of which are dependent on grass identity (M. M can Katwijk et al., 2016).

“These novel environmental conditions are a challenge for restoration. But what tends to always thrive in someone’s yard, no matter how hard one caters to their prized lawn grass, are weeds. And this fact might translate well to seagrass restoration – incorporating ‘weedy,’ or generalist, seagrass species that aren’t necessarily the targeted species for a given restoration,” says Enie.

“This project is important because Chesapeake Bay eelgrass has been declining for the past 30 years due to warming waters and we need to start thinking about alternative restoration strategies that accommodate this shifting environmental baseline. Here, we included a widely distributed generalist seagrass, widgeongrass [Ruppia maritima], which increases the portfolio of species diversity, providing some insurance that helps enhance long term restoration success.” says co-author Christopher J. Patrick, co-lead of the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Restoration portion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Lynnhaven River Basin Ecosystem Restoration Project and director of the Chesapeake Bay’s SAV Monitoring and Restoration Program

For this study, Enie and her collaborators leveraged a planned seagrass restoration in the lower Chesapeake Bay and conducted a field experiment to evaluate (1) which seeding methods yielded the most widgeongrass growth, tested if seeding widgeongrass next to eelgrass can increase restoration success, and quantified how either seagrass species changes restored bed structure, invertebrate communities, and nitrogen cycling. In the following year, researchers operationalized their experimental findings during a multi-acre pilot restoration.

“This is the first large-scale restoration effort in the lower Chesapeake Bay to use widgeongrass, and one of the few field experiments to identify how to best grow widgeongrass in the wild,” Enie says.

In the experiment, hand-seeded widgeongrass successfully grew. The highest survival and growth were when seeding mimicked nature and for this study that meant seeding widgeongrass in the fall with no pre-seed treatment – an advantageous finding for practitioners as it requires the least effort. Additionally, by seeding both widgeongrass and eelgrass, the restoration nearly doubled in size as widgeongrass was seeded in the shallows where water temperatures were above local practitioners’ recommendation for eelgrass restorations.

“Two exciting findings: these young widgeongrass beds were, one, full of epiphytic algal grazers, the ‘beneficials’ for a seagrass meadow and two, recycled less nitrogen than its surrounding sandy substrate. While this trend will likely change as widgeongrass matures, young widgeongrass recycling a negligible amount of nitrogen in a nutrient-rich area should have a positive effect on both grasses by not further increasing available nutrients, a known seagrass stressor in human-influenced systems like the Virgina Beach area” says Enie.

This study was a part of the initial phase for SAV Restoration led and supported by William G. Reay of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NOAA NOS/OCM, NA21NOS4200127) at VIMS as well as Robert J. Orth and Christopher J. Patrick of VIMS (NSF OCE 1737258 and 1658135) for the ‘Lynnhaven River Basin Ecosystem Restoration Project’ led and funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with local Norfolk District USACE (W912HZ-20-2-0021) as well as collaboration with City of Virginia Beach Department of Defense.

Closed and sprouting widgeongrass seeds

New seagrass growth during project

CREDIT

Enie Hensel

JOURNAL

Journal of Applied Ecology

DOI

10.1111/1365-2664.14643

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Incorporating generalist seagrasses enhances habitat restoration in a changing environment

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Apr-2024

Cars as particles

Traffic jams explained with statistical physics

SISSA MEDIALAB

Miami traffic congestion — IMAGE:
FROM Wikimedia commons
view more
CREDIT: PUBLIC DOMAIN

What do the flow of cars on a highway and the movement of bacteria towards a food source have in common? In both cases, annoying traffic jams can form. Especially for cars, we might want to understand how to avoid them, but perhaps we've never thought of turning to statistical physics, as Alexandre Solon, a physicist from Sorbonne Université, and Eric Bertin, from the University of Grenoble, both working for the Centre national de la recherche scientifique CNRS, have done. Their research, recently published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (JSTAT), has developed a one-dimensional mathematical model that describes the movement of particles in situations similar to cars moving along a road or bacteria attracted to a nutrient source, which they then tested with computer simulations to observe what happened as parameters varied.

"The model is one-dimensional because the elements can only move in one direction, like on a one-lane one-way street," explains Solon. It's an idealized situation, but not so different from what happens on many roads where you can find yourself stuck in rush hour traffic. The models from which this research is derived historically come from studying the behavior of atoms and molecules, for example, those in a gas being heated or cooled. In the case of Bertin and Solon’s model, however, the behavior of the individual elements is a bit more sophisticated than that of an atom. "Among other things, a component of inertia has been inserted, which can be more or less pronounced, replicating for example the reactivity of a driver at the wheel. We can imagine a fresh and reactive driver, who brakes and accelerates at just the right moments, or another one at the end of the day, more tired and struggling to stay in sync with the rhythm of the flow of cars they are in," Solon explains.

By conducting simulations with different values of certain parameters (the density of the elements, inertia, speed), Solon and Bertin were able to determine both situations in which traffic flowed smoothly or, on the contrary, became congested, as well as the type of jams that formed: large and centralized, or smaller and distributed along the route, akin to a "stop-and-go" pattern.

Borrowing language from statistical mechanics, Solon speaks of phase transitions: "just as when the temperature changes water becomes ice, when the values of some parameters change, a smooth flow of cars becomes a congestion, a knot where no movement is possible." When the system reaches a critical density or when movement conditions favor accumulation rather than dispersion, the particles begin to form dense clusters, similar to traffic jams, while other areas may remain relatively empty. Traffic jams, therefore, can be seen as the dense phase in a system that has undergone a phase transition, characterized by low mobility and high localization of particles.

Solon and Bertin have thus identified conditions that can favor this congestion. Continuing with the metaphor of cars, contributing to the formation of traffic jams is the high density of vehicles, which reduces the space between one vehicle and another and increases the likelihood of interaction (and thus slowdown). Another condition is the frequent entries and exits from the flow: the addition of vehicles from the access ramp or attempts to change lanes in dense areas increase the risk of slowdowns, especially if vehicles try to merge without leaving sufficient space. A third factor is the already mentioned inertia in the behavior of drivers, who, when they react with some delay to changes in the speed of the vehicles ahead of them, create a chain reaction of braking that can lead to the formation of a traffic jam. In contrast the aggregation observed in bacterial colony happens in absence of any inertia and bacteria can move in any direction contrary to cars that need to follow the direction of traffic. As Éric Bertin says " it is thus interesting and surprising to find that both types of behaviors are connected and can be continuously transformed into one another."

JOURNAL

Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Biased motility-induced phase separation: from chemotaxis to traffic jams

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Apr-2024

Scientists’ new approach in fight against counterfeit alcohol spirits

HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY

In the shadowy world of counterfeit alcoholic spirit production, where profits soar and brands are exploited, the true extent of this illegal market remains shrouded.

Now scientists from the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) at Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, Scotland, working alongside Dr John Edwards of Process NMR Associates, based in New York, are compiling a database to test, compare and log counterfeit spirits.

The research has featured in a paper, titled, Worldwide Illicit and Counterfeit Alcoholic Spirits: Problem, Detection, and Prevention, published in the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists.

The team have spent the last six months using lab-based analytical techniques to detect the chemical fingerprint of hundreds of international spirits, including whisky, tequila, mezcal, and bourbon.

Michael Bryan of the ICBD at Heriot-Watt, is leading the research as part of his PhD project. He said: “Once complete, this database will provide in-depth analysis of hundreds of legitimate spirits, becoming an information source to determine the authenticity of a product.

“At present, testing apparatus, methodology and human resource is ridiculously expensive, costing up to half a million or more pounds. And the analysis machinery is huge, they can be size of a car or bigger. So, it’s a very difficult process and what I want to do is to take a different approach.

“Let’s transfer the heavy lifting from analytical services to comparative mathematics.”

While counterfeit spirit production is sizeable, the paper acknowledges there is no single solution with tougher legislation and increased fines not proven to be significant deterrents. It highlights the need for the development of low-cost methods to determine the authenticity of a product without the need to physically open a bottle.

Working with Process NMR Associates, the scientists are using a variety of analytical tools including near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), ultra-violet visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to determine the chemistry of sample spirits.

Michael continues: “By having a database of hundreds of spirits, outlining the legitimacy of a product, we can use less expensive techniques to sample a product. If it doesn’t meet those benchmarks, then we can quickly determine that it requires further analysis.

“This will ultimately save time and resources and ensure that we focus efforts on products that we suspect of being counterfeit.”

The true scale of counterfeit spirit production is unknown however the World Health Organisation estimates that at least 25% of all spirits consumed are illicit. Many other authorities including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development place this figure at over 40% in some areas.

Counterfeit spirits are commonly sold through online marketplaces, social media, and black-market websites, making them difficult to regulate and allowing sellers to hide their identity. In many cases the buyer of counterfeit spirits does so willingly, often due to affordability.

A major impact of illicit spirit production relates to public health. Some counterfeit spirits can contain harmful ingredients including, in extreme cases, aviation fuel or embalming fluid to increase the alcoholic concentration. Consequently, cases of liver damage, blindness, and death result.

Only last year, Iran saw a rise in fatalities linked to counterfeit alcohol and poisoning in the Alborz region in the north of the country with 14 deaths and at least 120 additional poisonings.

The economic impact of this illegal trade is significant, with up to 23,400 jobs said to be lost and eroding the trust of reputable manufacturers. It costs the EU, each year, around €3B in lost revenue.

As much as 33% of tested old and collected Scotch whisky is said to be counterfeit. A figure underlined in 2018 when the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre tested 55 bottles of Scotch Whisky that were old and considered rare. These were obtained from private collectors, auctions, and retail. The test concluded 21 bottles (38%) were faked, and every bottle from before 1900 found to be counterfeit.

Professor Annie Hill from Heriot-Watt University is the academic supervisor for the project. She said: “The Scotch Whisky Association drives the fight against counterfeit Scotch, and The Scotch Whisky Research Institute is a world leader in the detection of counterfeit spirits.

“This paper defines the problems and highlights potential solutions and our continuing research aims to further increase awareness, and to develop accessible and affordable methods to enable wider detection and identification of illicit distilled spirit products.”

DOI

10.1080/03610470.2024.2319934

ARTICLE TITLE

Worldwide Illicit and Counterfeit Alcoholic Spirits: Problem, Detection, and Prevention