Djiboutian coral reefs are poorly studied, but are of critical importance to tourism and artisanal fishing in this small developing nation. In 2014 and 2016 we carried out the most comprehensive survey of Djiboutian reefs to date, and present data on their ecology, health and estimate their vulnerability to future coral bleaching and anthropogenic impacts. Reef type varied from complex reef formations exposed to wind and waves along the Gulf of Aden, to narrow fringing reefs adjacent to the deep sheltered waters of the Gulf of Tadjoura. Evidence suggests that in the past 35 years the reefs have not previously experienced severe coral bleaching or significant human impacts, with many reefs having healthy and diverse coral and fish populations. Mean coral cover was high (52%) and fish assemblages were dominated by fishery target species and herbivores. However, rising sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and rapid recent coastal development activities in Djibouti are likely future threats to these relatively untouched reefs.

North Abu Ali Island is contaminated by crude oil from exogenous sources with a variety of persistent toxic substances (PTSs) being input into intertidal sediments. We detected an array of PTSs in sediments and benthic biota off north Abu Ali Island (Arabian Gulf), including 35 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 6 alkylphenols (APEOs), 10 styrene oligomers (SOs), and tributyltin. The PTS concentrations were generally greater than those reported in other areas of Arabian Gulf. PAHs mainly originated from petrogenic sources, and APEOs and SOs seem to be of recent origin. Field-based biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAF) varied by taxa and compounds, but clearly depended on the log Kₒw values of individual compounds. Some PTSs exceeded the established guidelines for sediments and biota; we found particularly great BSAFs for alkyl-naphthalenes (C1- and C2-), nonylphenol monoethoxylates, and 2,4,6-triphenyl-1-hexene. Remediation will require on-site clean-up of toxic chemicals together with immediate efforts on preventing input of current pollution sources in the given area.

The chemical industrial zone located along the Xiaoqing River wetlands adjacent to Bohai Sea is one of the largest production bases for brominated flame retardants in China. Herein, high levels of bisphenol-A, tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA), tribromobisphenol-A, dibromobisphenol-A, and monobromobisphenol-A were detected in sediment, soil, and water samples of this zone in the range of below method detection limit (<MDL)–5.45 × 10⁶ ng/kg dw, <MDL–8.37 × 10⁴ ng/kg dw, and <MDL–5.59 × 10² ng/L, respectively. They were mainly buried in sediments as their highest levels in sediment samples. The small concentration fluctuation between water samples retrieved in the upstream and downstream zones is likely attributed to seawater backflow. The nearby chemical factories were point pollution sources and the less brominated analogs are largely from debromination of TBBPA. High pollution levels and the ecological risks of these pollutants along the Xiaoqing estuary to Bohai Sea need to be further assessed in future studies.

We surveyed the deposition of drill cuttings on the seafloor along a transect at eight drilling locations in the south-western Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea, comparing traditional visual surveying methods and underwater hyperspectral imagery (UHI). The locations range from newly-drilled to around 30 years post-drilling. The visual assessments detected deposited drill cuttings to extend to around 150–200 m from the drilling location at recently drilled sites and generally less than 50 m at older locations. Quantitative UHI analyses of relative change in the spectral signature of the sediments with increasing distance from the drilling location mostly showed a change-over to conditions resembling undisturbed sediments at approximately similar distances as the visual assessments. Biological faunal community analyses also reflected these trends. The UHI-based detection of drill cuttings thus in general supported the results of visual assessments and potentially could be further developed as a method for automated surveying of drilling sites.

The present study investigates the occurrence of plastic pollution in two commercially important marine teleosts (Zeus faber and Lepidopus caudatus) from the northern coasts of Sicily (Tyrrhenian Sea). Plastics occurrence in the gastrointestinal tract was higher in Lepidopus caudatus (78.1%) than Zeus faber (51.4%). Debris characterization, carried out by micro-Raman spectroscopy, allowed identified the main types of found polymers as: polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), nylon and, to a lesser extent, polyethylene (PE). Of the two fish species studied, the silver scabbardfish appeared to be the more vulnerable to plastic ingestion. Our study represents a starting point that may pave the way for future investigation of the fate, accumulation and transfer of plastic debris to upper trophic levels, to verify their potential toxicity and to better understand strategies to mitigate this phenomenon.

In recent years, there is great concern about plastic pollution due to the identification of several environmental risks associated with microplastics (<5 mm). This study investigated microplastic and macroplastic accumulation patterns in a newly formed Spartina alterniflora colonized saltmarsh of an estuary in southeastern China. Abundance of microplastic and macroplastic particles was in the range of 9600–130725 and 200-4350 n/m², respectively. Abundances of microplastics and macroplastics were highest at the saltmarsh edge, but the mass of macroplastics was highest in the saltmarsh interior. Mass of microplastics and macroplastics in bareflats was significantly lower than vegetated areas. Although microplastics accounted for 96.3% of total plastic abundance, macroplastics accounted for 90% of total plastic mass. Results showed that S. alterniflora dominated saltmarshes have a strong ability to trap plastic debris, especially macroplastics. Thus, coastal saltmarshes may serve as a transformer of macroplastics to microplastics and consequently as a source of microplastics to the ocean.

Bryozoans are the major component of marine macro-fouling communities. In the study, the relations between bryozoan species and environmental variables were investigated at seven stations along the Aegean coast in August and December 2015. Constant bryozoan species in both sampling periods were Bugula neritina, Amathia verticillata, Shizoporella errata, Cryptosula pallasiana and Celleporaria brunnea. Their relationship with physico-chemical variables (Temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonium, nitrite and nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphate phosphorous, total phosphate, chlorophyll-a) were analysed by means of logistic regression analysis. The result showed that temperature with B. neritina; NH4-N, oPO4-P and TPO4-P with A verticillata; dissolved oxygen concentrations with S. errata and C. brunnea were positively related (p < 0.05).

Thanks to several European directives and conventions there is a general increase of awareness regarding the key ecological role of coralligenous habitats in the Mediterranean Sea, addressing several research projects to standardize protocols for the description of its integrity. Here we surveyed 13 stations along the Italian coasts of the Western Mediterranean Sea, using video-transects technique, comparing the biological structure of coralligenous assemblages and testing the importance of their three-dimensional complexity as a proxy to define their health conditions. We considered the diversity of taxa, fishing impacts and the entity of damage on gorgonian's choenenchyme due to thermal stress, to evidence a gradient in the coralligenous health conditions. Here we developed a method to evaluate coralligenous complexity, selecting categories of taxa particularly sensitive to multiple stressors, named Structural Descriptors to describe the three-dimensional structure of the bioconcretions and to assess a unique Index of 3D - Structural Complexity.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin. Its main source of entry into the human body is the consumption of fish and seafood. Within the past few decades a new species of crab has appeared in the food web of the southern Baltic: Rhithropanopeus harrisii. The aim of the present study was to estimate the level of total and labile mercury concentrations in this species collected from the southern Baltic Sea. Analyses were performed using the thermodesorption method. The share of organic mercury fraction, as well as the Hgtot, increased with the size class of the crabs. Due to the increasingly common occurrence of R. harrisii and the low HgTOT concentration in its body, and assuming that it is bound to become a more and more common component of the diet of fish, it can be supposed that the load of toxic mercury entering the food web is likely to decrease.

Marine litter is a global, persistent, and increasing threat to the oceans, and numerous initiatives aim to address this challenge. Fishing For Litter (FFL) is a voluntary clean-up scheme, where litter is collected as part of routine fishing operations. We surveyed fishers (n = 97) and stakeholders (n = 22) in the UK to investigate perceptions of FFL, its strengths and weaknesses, and potential co-benefits of the scheme. Fishers reported being aware of and concerned about the negative impacts of litter. Overall, FFL was evaluated very positively (7.85/10). In addition, FFL fishers reported less environmentally harmful waste management behaviors both out at sea and in other contexts than did non-FFL fishers. Fishers and stakeholders listed strengths and weaknesses of the scheme and made suggestions for future changes. As well as directly helping to remove litter, this paper demonstrates that clean-up schemes can make a contribution to addressing the underlying causes of marine pollution.