This work investigated levels of PAHs and HMs in fourteen species from seven genera of scleractinian corals, adjacent sediments, and surface seawater in Hainan, China. The sources of contaminations were analyzed as well. The results showed that scleractinian corals had a relatively higher bioaccumulation capacity for PAHs from sediments than for HMs. There were inter-species differences for these contaminants enriched in corals. Pavona varians and Porites lutea could accumulate PAHs more readily. While higher concentrations of Cr, Mn and Pb occurred in Favites flexuosa, other metal levels, such as for Ni, Cu, Zn and As, were found to be elevated in Pocillopora damicornis, as well as for Cd in Acropora echinata. It was found that PAHs originated from petrogenic and pyrolytic sources, and were mainly linked to onshore and on-sea activities, such as motorboats. Mn, Ni, As and Cd were from crustal materials or natural weathering, while Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb were non-crustal origin connecting with the use of anti-fouling boat paint and agricultural and/or aquacultural chemicals. This study suggested that corals could serve as good bioindicators for two types of chemical pollution in the reef system, especially for the two species P. varians and P. lutea for PAHs contaminants.

Twenty-five offshore sediment samples were collected after the Gaja cyclone to evaluate the sediment quality in terms of its metal concentration. The samples were examined for organic matter, textural characteristics, calcium carbonate, and trace metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, and Cr). The geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, contamination factor, and pollution load index revealed that the study area was highly contaminated with Cu, Zn, and Co. Reasonable to extensive contamination was observed for Fe, Cr, and Ni, whereas Mn was under the uncontaminated category. Statistical analyses revealed that the contamination of Cu, Zn, and Ni are mainly originated from human activities such as boat navigation, fuel combustion, and tourism. Cyclones such as Gaja cause ecological disturbances of the terrestrial and transitional environments and also increase the level of offshore contamination by flooding the contaminated coastal landforms and transporting the contaminants to the sea.

A bleached kraft pulp mill operating in Nova Scotia, Canada has discharged effluent into a former tidal estuary known as Boat Harbour since 1967. After treatment in Boat Harbour, effluent is discharged into Northumberland Strait. Contaminated sediments in Boat Harbour are slated for remediation following cessation of effluent discharge. A review of historical documents to identify contaminants in marine biota in Northumberland Strait found insufficient data to properly assess baseline conditions prior to remediation. This study measured metal, methylmercury, dioxin and furan concentrations in surficial sediments and American lobster (Homarus americanus), rock crabs (Cancer irroratus) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) in Northumberland Strait. When compared to Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment sediment quality guidelines and Canadian Food Inspection Agency tissue guidelines results indicated limited contamination in sediments and biota, posing low risk to marine biota. Long-term monitoring is recommended to verify effectiveness of remediation.

The Ria Formosa is a sheltered large coastal lagoon located on the Atlantic South Coast of Portugal, that has been classified as a natural park since 1987. The lagoon hosts a diverse and abundant fish community and other species of commercial importance. Several economical activities are supported by shipping, and as such, vessel traffic within the Ria Formosa lagoon is very intense at some locations during particular seasons of the year, creating high levels of underwater noise. Recently, strong efforts are being made to turn the main inlet of the lagoon, the Faro-Olhão Inlet, a testing site for small scale tidal stream turbines, which will bring an additional source of underwater noise. Underwater noise can be one of a number of factors causing habitat degradation, as it can perturb fish behavior and cause physiological damage. Therefore, in order to comply with underwater noise pollution regulations, tidal energy technology developers are very interested in minimising the introduction of acoustic energy in the environment during the operation of their devices. Under the scope of project SCORE, which involved the deployment and operation of a floating tidal energy converter, this paper presents and discusses the first baseline noise monitoring performed at Ria Formosa. The acoustic data were collected in two occasions over several days, one in the winter and the other in the summer, in 2017. The obtained analysis results highlight the potential impact of the intense boat traffic in Ria Formosa, and the wide range of sound levels introduced in that ecosystem, and the high diurnal and seasonal variability.

The effects of anthropogenic noise have garnered significant attention in marine ecosystems, but comparatively less is known about its impacts on freshwater ecosystems. For fish that provide parental care, the effects of acoustic disturbance could have fitness-level consequences if nest tending behavior is altered. This study explored the effects of motorboat noise on the parental behavior of nesting male smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu; Lacépède, 1802), an important freshwater game fish in North America that provides sole paternal care to offspring. Specifically, we evaluated how boat noise proximity to a bass nest (ranging from 4.5 to 90 m) influenced paternal care behaviors. A total of 73 fish were exposed to a 3-min motorboat playback designed to simulate a boat sound that typically occurs in areas near littoral nesting sites. The fish were video recorded, and their behaviors were analyzed before, during, and after exposure to the playback. Residency time was the only behavioral metric to be adversely affected by noise playbacks but only when in close proximity to the speaker. Our results suggest that boat noise may have an impact on bass reproductive fitness in specific contexts where combustion motors are used near shore during the nesting period. The largely null findings may indicate a resilience to boat noise and/or habituation to the noise. In addition, boats displace water and create waves that represent another form of disturbance that could be experienced by fish but was not simulated here. Future research should integrate behavioral and physiological responses to boat noise and other aspects of boat disturbance to better understand the fitness impacts of boating activity on freshwater fish.

This work investigated the impact of a clay mineral on toxic waste. The Ivorian Anti-pollution Center discovered the toxic waste from Probo Koala boat on 21 August 2006. This boat had been used to refine oil named naphtha of cokéfaction by Trafigura firm in the sea. The process of refining consists of caustic sodium carbonate washing and produced toxic waste. These toxic wastes have been unloading in 13 zones of the Abidjan district: Akouédo, Abobo, Abobo Alépé road (Djibi village), civile prison road (MACA), industrial zone of Koumassi, Port-Bouët - Vridi CAP Logistic (Rue Saint-Sylvestre)… This situation caused a socio-political crisis and generated the death of many people. To solve this problem, one first part has been excavated and sent to France to be incinerated. A second part is used to be a biopile for bioremediation. After these two processes, the rest of toxic waste remained in the place where they have been unloaded. The analyses of these toxic wastes show that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oxygenated polycyclic aromatic compounds (O-PACs), volatile aromatic compound (VAC), mercaptan and sulfur molecules, and also heavy metal and organometallic are the principal polluters of these contaminated soils. From a mineralogical viewpoint, the tropical climate soils of Ivory Coast in general and district of Abidjan in particular constituted of about 50% of kaolinite, 30 to 40% of smectite, and 10 to 20% of illite (OSTROM 1993). In this study, we want to show the impact of this local clay on toxic waste.

The seasonal variations of dissolved and bioavailable copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were studied in two recreational marinas in Sweden and Finland. The time series from the two marinas were characterized by rising concentrations during the spring boat launching, elevated concentrations all through the peak boating season, and decreasing concentrations in autumn when boats were retrieved for winter storage. This pattern shows a clear link between Cu and Zn concentrations and boating activity, with antifouling paints as the principal source. The leaching from antifouling paints was also found to significantly alter the speciation of dissolved Cu and Zn in marina waters, with an increase of the proportion of metals that may be considered bioavailable. This change in speciation, which occurred without any change in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), further increases the environmental risk posed by antifouling paints. In the Swedish marina, dissolved Cu and Zn exceed both Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) and Predicted No Effect Concentrations (PNEC), indicating that the current Swedish risk assessment (RA) of antifouling paints is failing to adequately protect the marine environment. An evaluation of the RA performance showed the underlying cause to be an underestimation of the predicted environmental concentration (PEC) by factors of 2 and 5 for Cu and Zn, respectively. For both metals, the use of inaccurate release rates for the PEC derivation was found to be either mainly (Cu) or partly (Zn) responsible for the underestimation. For Zn, the largest source of error seems to be the use of an inappropriate partitioning coefficient (KD) in the model. To ensure that the use of antifouling coatings does not adversely impact the sensitive Baltic Sea, it is thus recommended that the KD value for Zn is revised and that representative release rates are used in the RA procedure.

The Gippsland Lakes estuary, a Ramsar listed wetland, in Victoria, Australia, is an area of potential concern for metal pollution due to influxes of human population and associated anthropogenic activities. A biomonitoring exercise was undertaken where the concentrations of 9 metals (Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, Cd and Hg) were analysed in the soft tissue of two common sessile invertebrates: the mussel Mytilus edulis and the barnacle Amphibalanus variegatus from 6 locations on two different occasions throughout the Gippsland Lakes estuary. A salinity gradient exists in the Lakes, from seawater at Lakes Entrance in the east, decreasing down to < 10 PSU in the west at Lake Wellington during times of rainfall, which is a major factor governing the growth and distribution of both species. Dissolved metal levels in general were low; however, Cu at most sites exceeded the 90% trigger values, while all Zn concentrations exceeded the lowest 80% trigger values of the ANZECC marine water quality guidelines for environmental health. Elevated levels of Cu and Zn were found particularly in barnacles at some sites with environmental contamination due to leaching from anti fouling paints and sacrificial zinc anodes. Elevated levels of Ag and Cd were found in mussels at the Hollands Landing site, which is immediately adjacent to a boat ramp, and Cd and Ag at this site are suspected to originate from inland anthropogenic sources. Concentrations of As in M. edulis across all 6 sites in both sampling periods had mean wet weight As concentrations exceeding the maximum level stated in the FSANZ guidelines. A. variegatus contained elevated levels of Hg especially at the North Arm site with a maximum of 13.6 μg Hg/g dry wt., while A. variegatus also showed temporal changes in Hg concentrations across sites. The maximum Hg concentration found in Mytilus edulis was 1.49 μg Hg/g dry wt. at the Hollands Landing site. Previous contaminant studies of biota in the Lakes have targeted sampling of singular predatory or migratory species, such as Black Bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) and the Burrunan dolphin (Tursiops australis). This is the first biomonitoring study conducted on sessile organisms to assess metal contamination in the system.

The Ganges River is one of the biggest transboundary streams in the Indian sub-continent. The significant part of this waterway channel drains one of the most densely populated areas on the planet so it is unequivocally influenced by human activities. Unprecedented high-temporal-resolution samples were collected for investigating the seasonal variability of water quality. Water quality index (WQI) reveals large seasonal variation among three major seasons and also indicates that the river water is not suitable for drinking and other household uses. The dominant water facies is bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻). The water quality indices, %Na, Kelley’s ratio (KR), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), reveal that the water is appropriate for irrigation. The permeability index (PI) indicated that the water is moderate to poorly useable for agricultural purposes. Heavy metals concentrations demonstrated significant seasonal variations with high concentrations during the monsoon due to flushing of pollutants from catchment areas by intense monsoonal precipitations. In addition, local activities such as oil spills from the boat, vehicle washing water, and agricultural runoff may also added pollutants. The single-factor pollution index (Ii) and Nemerow pollution index (Ni) exhibits minor pollution. The values of heavy metal pollution index (HPI) are far below than the critical limit (100) for the studied month, although relatively higher HPI values found for April, August, and November than other months might come from domestic wastes and agricultural activities. The heavy metal evaluation index (HEI) values of all the months indicated a low degree of pollution. Even though the river water pollution level is low, the authority should take proper management and monitoring strategy for sustainable use.