Fiddler crabs Uca rapax were analyzed in three mangrove areas located in both a lagoon and estuarine system in order to study the influence of eutrophication on their population dynamics and production. Populations at the three sites showed a biased sex ratio. Densities were similar at the three sites, but biomass was higher at the lagoon system. Despite biomass being higher at the most eutrophic site, this site exhibited the lowest production. Regarding age structure, the population inhabiting the less eutrophic site mainly comprised younger crabs. The lower production and smaller P/B ratio found in the more eutrophic site were most likely consequences of a high mortality rate and an aged population. Our study evidences the high plasticity of the fiddler crab U. rapax, and confirms secondary production and P/B ratio estimates as useful tools to assess the effects of environmental change.

Zhoushan Archipelago and the adjacent Xiangshan Harbor are important commercial, tourism, fishing, and mariculture areas. Considering the concern on the effects of anthropogenic activities on the environment, the level and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments were investigated. The sum of 16 PAH (∑16 PAH) concentrations in the Zhoushan Archipelago ranged from 3.67 to 31.30ngg−1 d.w., with a mean of 15.01±1.21ngg−1 d.w., and that in Xiangshan Harbor varied from 11.58 to 481.44ngg−1 d.w., with a mean of 62.52±32.85ngg−1 d.w. Diagnostic ratios and factor analysis were performed to identify PAH sources. Results show that PAHs have mixed origins (i.e., traffic-related sources, coal combustion, petrogenic sources, and biomass burning), with pyrolytic-related pollution as the dominant source. This study provided a baseline to promote environmental protection and pollution episode monitoring in the East China Sea.

A twenty-two year record of marine debris collected on Tern Island is used to characterize the temporal variability of debris deposition at a coral atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Debris deposition tends to be episodic, without a significant relationship to local forcing processes associated with winds, sea level, waves, and proximity to the Subtropical Convergence Zone. The General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment is used to estimate likely debris pathways for Tern Island. The majority of modeled arrivals come from the northeast following prevailing trade winds and surface currents, with trajectories indicating the importance of the convergence zone, or garbage patch, in the North Pacific High region. Although debris deposition does not generally exhibit a significant seasonal cycle, some debris types contain considerable 3cycle/yr variability that is coherent with wind and surface pressure over a broad region north of Tern.

Oil spills are one of the major sources of marine pollution; it is important to conduct comprehensive assessment of losses that occur as a result of these events. Traditional methods are required to assess the three parts of losses including cleanup, socioeconomic losses, and environmental costs. It is relatively slow because assessment is complex and time consuming. A relatively quick method was developed to improve the efficiency of assessment, and then applied to the Penglai 19-3 accident. This paper uses an SAR image to calculate the oil spill area through Neural Network Classification, and uses historical oil-spill data to build the relationship between loss and other factors including sea-surface wind speed, and distance to the coast. A multiple regression equation was used to assess oil spill damage as a function of the independent variables. Results of this study can be used for regulating and quickly dealing with oil spill assessment.

A total of 1351 Enterobacteriaceae isolates from 144 seawater samples were collected over a four-year period from three public beaches in the eastern Adriatic Sea in Croatia. Approximately 35% of the strains were multidrug-resistant. BlaESBL genes were detected in 4.2% of the isolated Enterobacteriaceae, the main species of which were Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae and Klebsiella pneumoniae. BlaTEM-1+SHV-12 was the most dominant genotype, followed by blaCTX-M-15.Raoultella terrigena and E. intermedius simultaneously harboured blaTEM-1,blaSHV-11/12 and blaCTX-M-15. Isolate fingerprinting revealed that marine E. coli isolates were clonally related to CTX-M-producing strains from a regional university hospital. These results indicate that marine beach waters are reservoirs of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae and thus constitute a public health problem with further potential to act as mediators in gene flow between marine coastal areas and clinical settings.

Metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V), have been determined in species of Mediterranean marine organisms collected from areas supposed to be at background contamination levels. The Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) approach was adopted for the determination of all the metals. Arsenic, Cd and Pb determined in the 42 samples, do not exceed the pertinent maximum level except a sample of hake. In wild fish, the concentration range for Cr, Ni, V and Cu was, respectively: 0.07–0.09, 87.6–124, 0.022–0.075 and 0.79–1.74μg/g fresh weight (fw). The farmed fish samples show concentration levels below the wild fish ones, except for Cr which range at the same levels. Cadmium and Pb show a high sample number under the quantification limit. The elements do not bio-magnify among the species considered and appear to show low variations in relation to organisms’ position in the food chain and at sampling sites.

In an effort to assess the impact of mercury in the Antarctic Peninsula, we conducted ecotoxicological research in this region during the summer of 2012 and 2013. The objectives were to assess: (a) mercury levels in sediment samples; (b) mercury accumulation in Antarctic seabird feathers: Catharacta lonnbergi (brown skua), Pygoscelis papua (gentoo penguin) and Pygoscelis antarctica (chinstrap penguin); and (c) biomagnification (BMF predator/prey) and biota sediment accumulation (BSAF skuas/sediment) factors. Mercury concentrations in sediment were relatively low. Mercury concentrations were significantly higher in brown skuas and gentoo penguins than in chinstrap penguins (2012), and significantly higher in brown skuas than in both penguins (2013). BMF indicated 2–7.5 times greater mercury levels in brown skuas than in penguins. BSAF values suggested an apparent temporal decrease of 18.2% of this ratio from 2012 to 2013. Long-range environmental transport is the likely route of entry of mercury into the Antarctic Peninsula.

Mobulid rays are targeted in fisheries for their branchial plates, for use in Chinese medicine. Branchial plate and muscle tissue from Mobula japanica were collected from fish markets in Sri Lanka, and muscle tissue biopsies from Manta alfredi in Australia. These were analysed for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury and compared to maximum levels (MLs) set by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), European Commission (EC) and Codex Alimentarius Commission. The estimated intake for a vulnerable human age group was compared to minimal risk levels set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The mean inorganic arsenic concentration in M. japanica muscle was equivalent to the FSANZ ML while cadmium exceeded the EC ML. The mean concentration of lead in M. alfredi muscle tissue exceeded EC and Codex MLs. There were significant positive linear correlations between branchial plate and muscle tissue concentrations for arsenic, cadmium and lead.

A challenging aspect of benthic quality indices used for assessing the marine environment has been to compile reliable measures of the species’ sensitivity to disturbances. Sensitivity values and their uncertainties can be calculated, but a problem to cope with is that the results may depend on the actual proportion of samples from disturbed and undisturbed environments.Here we calculated sensitivity values for each species along an artificial disturbance gradient created by bootstrapping varying numbers of samples from disturbed and undisturbed environments. The values were increasing, decreasing, or more or less constant along this gradient. The lowest value with the lowest uncertainty was adopted as the species sensitivity value.Analyses of the uncertainties indicated that the accuracy rather than the precision might be a concern. We suggest a method to exclude species for which the uncertainty is outside predefined limits as a precaution to reduce bias in the environmental status classification.