Natural marine biofilms provide signatures of the events that occur over a period of time and can be used as bioindicators of environmental changes. Hence, the effects of temperature (30 and 34°C), pCO2 (400 and 1500μatm) and nutrients (unenriched and enriched f/2 media) on the marine biofilm were evaluated using a 2×2×2 factorial design. In unenriched condition, acidification significantly increased the abundance of phytoperiphytes whereas reduced that of bacteria and it was vice versa in the enriched condition. Warming had significant negative effect on the abundance of both phytoperiphytes and bacteria, except in unenriched condition wherein it favoured bacterial growth. Synergistically, acidification and warming had deleterious effects resulting in further reduction in the abundance of both phytoperiphytes and bacteria, except in enriched condition wherein bacterial abundance increased. Such changes in biofilm communities in response to warming and acidification can have cascading effect on the subsequent build-up of macrofouling community.

Changes in bed sediment chemistry of Hempstead Bay (HB) have been evaluated in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which resulted in the release of billions of liters of poorly-treated sewage into tributaries and channels throughout the bay. Surficial grab samples (top 5cm) collected before and (or) after Hurricane Sandy from sixteen sites in HB were analyzed for 74 wastewater tracers and steroid hormones, and total organic carbon. Data from pre- and post-storm comparisons of the most frequently detected wastewater tracers and ratios of steroid hormone and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations indicate an increased sewage signal near outfalls and downstream of where raw sewage was discharged. Median concentration of wastewater tracers decreased after the storm at sites further from outfalls. Overall, changes in sediment quality probably resulted from a combination of additional sewage inputs, sediment redistribution, and stormwater runoff in the days to weeks following Hurricane Sandy.

Persistent thermohaline pollution at a site along the northern coast of Israel, due to power and desalination plants, is used as a natural laboratory to evaluate the effects of rising temperature and salinity levels on benthic foraminifera living in shallow hard-bottom habitats. Biomonitoring of the disturbed area and a control station shows that elevated temperature is a more significant stressor compared to salinity, thus causing a decrease in abundance and richness.Critical temperature thresholds were observed at 30 and 35°C, the latter representing the most thermally tolerant species in the studied area Pararotalia calcariformata, which is the only symbiont-bearing species observed within the core of the heated area.Common species of the shallow hard-bottom habitats including several Lessepsian invaders are almost absent in the most exposed site indicating that excess warming will likely impede the survival of these species that currently benefit from the ongoing warming of the Eastern Mediterranean.

We investigated the nine heavy metal contents in the sediments and macrobenthos of the Yellow River Delta Wetlands using three experimental areas that received freshwater releases and one reference area that did not. Heavy metal contents, the single-factor contamination index (SFCI), the metal contamination index (MCI), and the biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) were used to evaluate the potential ecological risk and bioaccumulation. We found that As exceeded the national standard value by more than 50%, and that the ranges of SFCI for each metal were generally larger in autumn than in spring. MCI showed no clear pattern, but the BSAF results suggest that Cd bioaccumulates from sediments to macrobenthos. Pollution-resistant species such as Corophium sinense, Chironomus sp., and Einfeldia sp. became dominant in the areas receiving freshwater releases, and provide direct evidence of ecological risk in the wetlands. Our results provide preliminary information to guide managers for ecological risk assessments.

We examined the variation of pelagic larval durations (PLDs) among three damselfishes, Dascyllus aruanus, D. marginatus, and D. trimaculatus, which live under the influence of an environmental gradient in the Red Sea. PLDs were significantly correlated with latitude, sea surface temperature (SST), and primary production (CHLA; chlorophyll a concentrations). We find a consistent decrease in PLDs with increasing SST and primary production (CHLA) towards the southern Red Sea among all species. This trend is likely related to higher food availability and increased metabolic rates in that region. We suggest that food availability is a potentially stronger driver of variation in PLD than temperature, especially in highly oligotrophic regions. Additionally, variations in PLDs were particularly high among specimens of D. marginatus, suggesting a stronger response to local environmental differences for endemic species. We also report the first average PLD for this species over a broad geographic range (19.82±2.92days).

To evaluate the effects of diffuse contamination, biological measurements were applied in a scrap cargo harbour, a marina and an industrial area. Metal accumulation and biomarkers (survival in air, digestive gland and gonad histopathology, lysosomal membrane stability, intralysosomal metal accumulation, transcription of vitellogenin and MT20, peroxisome proliferation and micronuclei formation) were measured in transplanted mussels, together with metrics of benthic invertebrates. Benthic species were classified into ecological groups and univariate indexes were calculated. The marina showed high richness (16) and percentage of opportunistic species (55.1%) and low metal accumulation. Mussels in the scrap cargo harbour showed high metal accumulation, up-regulation of MT20 transcription, reduced health status (LP<6min) and increased micronuclei frequencies (up to 11.3‰). At the industrial area, low species richness (4) and badly organised assemblages were detected and chemical analyses indicated significant amounts of bioavailable metals. Overall, selected biological measurements showed potential for the assessment of diffuse contamination.

Phosphorus is generally considered as the prime limiting nutrient responsible for cyanobacterial blooms. However, recent research is drawing attention to the importance of bioavailable nitrogen (N) in freshwater eutrophication. This study investigated the bioavailability of NO3−-N, NO2−-N, NH4+-N and Urea-N under different concentrations of 1.2, 3.6 and 6.0mgL−1 to Microcystis aeruginosa. Overall, Urea-N ranked the first in promoting M. aeruginosa growth, followed by NO3−-N and NO2−-N. However, the algal growth cultured in NH4+-N was depressed under test N levels. The bioavailability of N to M. aeruginosa was seriously influenced by both N forms and N concentrations (p<0.01). Total N concentrations in Urea-N treatment decreased the fastest, which were corresponding with the μ values of M. aeruginosa. The high enzymic activities of nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase and glutamine synthetase indicated that the decomposition process for urea is effective, which contributed in N assimilation and utilization in M. aeruginosa cells.

Contrary to the global trend, the area of mangrove in Guangdong Province, southern China, has been increasing over the last two decades. Currently, three exotic mangrove species have been introduced for large-scale afforestation since 1985. A reassessment of the overall status of the mangrove species, habitat change, population of introduced species, was conducted through a comprehensive literature review as well as field investigations covering 96 sites. The success of conservation efforts is also evaluated. Upstream and high intertidal habitats are more vulnerable than downstream and lower intertidal ones, with habitat alteration being the biggest threats. Five mangrove species have narrow distributional extents with small populations, which could incur regional extinction. With the introduced species having naturalized at 42 sites, their role in mangrove management needs to be reconsidered. These findings collectively suggest a need to manage latent species loss and habitat degradation beyond the apparent increase in mangrove area and protection.

The applicability of estuarine meiofauna and harpacticoid copepods' communities in an artificial substrate unit (ASU) was assessed and compared to natural substrates (sediment and pneumatophores) as a tool to discern estuaries under different types of anthropogenic impacts. The ASU's replicates demonstrated a low variation of density among replicates when considering the total meiofauna and copepod species, which was reflected by a great similarity within the samples. In relation to the most abundant groups found, the ASU samples properly represented the natural substrates, even though nematodes were poor colonizers. That the ASU only showed significant differences between areas suggested that standard substrates could more efficiently detect the differences between communities and pointed toward the applicability of ASUs meiobenthic communities as useful tools for impact studies.

This study investigated the effects of 48h heavy metal exposure upon the metabolic profiles of Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum using 1H NMR metabolomics. Both species were exposed to increasing concentrations of lead nitrate (10, 40, 60 and 100μg/L) and zinc chloride (20, 50, 100 and 150μg/L), under laboratory conditions. ICP-OES analysis was further performed on the clams' samples in order to verify the occurrence of heavy metal bioaccumulation. With respect to the controls, the metabolic profiles of treated R. decussatus exhibited higher levels of organic osmolytes and lower contents of free amino acids. An opposite behavior was shown by R. philippinarum. In terms of heavy metal, the exposure effects were more evident in the case of Pb rather than Zn. These findings show that NMR-based metabolomics has the required sensitivity and specificity for the identification of metabolites that can act as sensitive indicators of contaminant-induced stress.