One of the primary threats to ocean ecosystems from plastic pollution is ingestion by marine organisms. Well-documented in seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals, ingestion by fish and sharks has received less attention until recently. We suggest that fishes of a variety of sizes attack drifting plastic with high frequency, as evidenced by the apparent bite marks commonly left behind. We examined 5518 plastic items from random plots on Kamilo Point, Hawai’i Island, and found 15.8% to have obvious signs of attack. Extrapolated to the entire amount of debris removed from the 15km area, over 1.3tons of plastic is attacked each year. Items with a bottle shape, or those blue or yellow in color, were attacked with a higher frequency. The triangular edges or punctures left by teeth ranged from 1 to 20mm in width suggesting a variety of species attack plastic items. More research is needed to document the specific fishes and rates of plastic ingestion.

This study corresponds to preliminary work representing an initial assessment for spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Cilician Basin coastal sediments. The concentrations of PAHs in shelf sediments were determined from the three different regions of Cilician Basin (Eastern Mediterranean) in 2011. Concentrations of PAHs were low 5.43–271ngg−1 with respect to other coastal sediments in the Mediterranean and these results could be compared with concentrations found in open sea areas. PAH composed mainly of pyrolytic four and five-ring compounds. An abundance of high molecular weight PAHs indicated that atmospheric particles and urban aerosols are the major input route of hydrocarbons in the Cilician and Lattakia Basins. PAH levels were assessed in accordance with numerical Sediment Quality Guideline (SQG) of the USEPA. The results showed that no samples exceeded biological thresholds to pose biological impairments.

Jellyfish blooms are generally attributed to a biological response to the environment, neglecting the role of transport patterns in redistributing existing populations. Here, we use high-resolution (1.25km) ocean modeling to examine the role of transport in the onshore arrival and abundance of the pelagic stinging jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca on the Ligurian Sea coast. Jellyfish are modeled as Lagrangian particles with a 0–300-m diel vertical migration typical of P. noctiluca. Over the course of a year, onshore arrivals are not restricted to the summer. Arrivals are concentrated at capes, but abundance can reach maxima in bays and in the lee of capes. Two factors impact jellyfish arrivals at the coast: the position of the Northern Current and the wind. A comparison of summer 2006 and available onshore jellyfish observations suggests a correct capture of the main stranding events by the model. These results have implications for understanding long-term fluctuations.

Watershed discharge, water quality, and seagrass assemblages were examined along the western coast of Yap Proper, Micronesia. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) during low tides associated with new and full moons contributed disproportionally to freshwater delivery where compromised Thalassia habitats existed. Despite SGD influence, nutrient sampling indicated that one characteristic regime may be a net import of new nitrogen and phosphorous (NO3 and PO4) from offshore to inshore waters, agreeing with sparse watershed development. Biologically recycled nitrogen (NH4), however, was highest where SGD contribution was largest. Time-and-tide-limited sampling likely precluded generalized relationships between SGD and NH4 across the entire study area, however, spatial profiling of SGD during low-tide events (i.e., a proxy to nutrient input) was strongly associated with seagrass habitat condition (defined within). Concomitantly, sea cucumber densities were over a magnitude of order lower than in regionally comparable Thalassia habitats, and negatively correlated with seagrass condition. Both top-down and bottom-up considerations are discussed.

The functional composition of reef fish assemblages is highly conserved across large biogeographic areas, but it is unknown whether assembly rules hold at biogeographical and environmental extremes for coral reefs. This study examined the functional composition of butterflyfishes in the Persian Gulf, Musandam Peninsula, and Gulf of Oman. Only five species of butterflyfishes were recorded during this study, and mostly just in the Gulf of Oman. Unlike most locations in the Indo–Pacific where butterflyfish assemblages are dominated by obligate corallivores, the only obligate corallivore recorded, Chaetodon melapterus, was rare or absent at all locations. The most common and widespread species was Chaetodon nigropunctatus, which is shown to be a facultative corallivore. The diversity of butterflyfishes in the Persian Gulf is likely to have been constrained by its’ biogeographical history and isolation, but functional composition appears to be further affected by limited abundance of prey corals and harsh environmental conditions.

This study compared 2 standardized protocols to monitor subtidal rocky shores. We tested 2 sampling methods (temporal unit and quadrat) to assess the efficiency of extracting biota parameters (diversity, abundance, and biomass) of macroalgae, Mollusca, and Porifera with respect to time–cost and the number of sampling units. Species richness and occurrence of rocky subtidal habitats were better described by visual censuses than by quadrats. The same estimated richness was provided by the 2 methods. The association of a visual census and a quadrat was the most efficient way for responding to the requirements. A minimum of 5 sampling units per discrete area is recommended for accurately describing habitats. Then, we tested the sensitivity of the proposed protocol on the Bizeux Islet to study the variations of community structures according to depth and station. Based on the results, recommendations for monitoring purposes have been proposed according to European directives.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, particular matter (PM) is the air pollutant that is most harmful to public health and the environment when compared to other measured criteria pollutants. During recent years, the Government of Bangladesh has tried to control PM emissions coming from anthropogenic sources. About 30–50% of the PM10 mass in Dhaka (depending on location) is in fine particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.2 µm. These particles are mainly of anthropogenic origin and predominately from transport–related sources. However, the combination of meteorological conditions, long–range transport during the winter and local sources results in PM concentrations remaining much higher than the Bangladesh National Ambient Air Quality Standard (BNAAQS). It has been found that black carbon accounted for about 50% of the total fine PM mass before the adoption of control policies. As a result, the PM emission as well as BC has not increased in proportion to the increase in the number of combustion sources like motor vehicles, diesel power generator or brick kiln. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was applied to fine particle composition data from January 2007 to February 2009. It was found that motor vehicles contribute less BC with respect to brick kiln industry. This result demonstrates the effectiveness of the government’s policy interventions since previously vehicles represented the major contributors of BC. BC is also transported over long distances, mixing with other particles along the way as demonstrated by a potential source contribution function analysis. Transboundary transport of air pollution in the South Asian region has become an issue of increasing importance over the past several decades. The relative amounts of local and long–range transported pollutants are currently unknown.

Corals in the Arabian/Persian Gulf endure summer temperatures of up to 36°C, making them ideal subjects to study the mechanisms underlying thermal tolerance. Unexpectedly, we found the “generalist” Symbiodinium clade C3 to be the prevalent symbiont among seven coral species from Abu Dhabi (UAE) waters. Moreover, C3 represented the only dominant symbiont type in Porites spp. from this region. The “thermotolerant” symbionts D1a and C15 were not encountered, indicating that the association with these symbionts cannot be the sole reason for the heat tolerance of Gulf corals. The association of Porites lobata with specific symbiont types (C3 vs. C15) in samples from habitats with very different temperature regimes (Abu Dhabi vs. Fiji) remained unaffected by laboratory culture. During temperature stress experiments specimens from both locations strongly downregulated green fluorescent protein (GFP)-like pigments. However, the Abu Dhabi samples were less prone to bleaching and showed lower mortality.

We present a global dioxin model that simulates one year of atmospheric emissions, transport processes, and depositions to the earth’s terrestrial and marine habitats. We map starting emission levels for each land area, and we also map the resulting deposits to terrestrial and marine environments. This model confirms that ‘hot spots’ of deposition are likely to be in northern Europe, eastern North America, and in parts of Asia with the highest marine dioxin depositions being the northeast and northwest Atlantic, western Pacific, northern Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. It also reveals that approximately 40% of airborne dioxin emissions are deposited to marine environments and that many countries in Africa receive more dioxin than they produce, which results in these countries being disproportionately impacted. Since human exposure to dioxin is largely through diet, this work highlights food producing areas that receive higher atmospheric deposits of dioxin than others.

This study assessed the impact of secondary hard substrate, as being introduced into marine ecosystems by the establishment of wind farm pillars, on the occurrence and distribution of the moon jelly Aurelia aurita in the southwestern Baltic Sea. A two-year data sampling was conducted with removable settlement plates to assess the distribution and population development of the scyphozoan polyps. The data collected from these samples were used to set up a model with Lagrangian particle technique. The results confirm that anthropogenic created hard substrate (e.g. offshore wind farms) has the potential to increase the abundance of the A. aurita population. The distribution of wind farm borne jellyfish along Danish, German and Polish coasts indicates conflicts with further sectors, mainly energy and tourism.