Symbiotic associations are complex partnerships that can lead to new metabolic capabilities and the establishment of novel organisms. The diversity of these associations is very broad and there are still many mysteries about the origin and the exact relationship between the organisms that are involved in a symbiosis. The aim of the present study is to find symbiotic crude-oil degrading bacteria in the mussels that collected from the Persian Gulf. Fifteen crude-oil degrading bacteria were isolated from Mactra stultorum mussel that collected from oil contaminated area at Persian Gulf. According to high growth rate on crude oil five strains were selected from 15 isolated strains for more study. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding 16S rRNA show that these isolated strains belong to: Alcanivorax dieselolei strain BHA25, Idiomarina baltica strain BHA28, A. dieselolei strain BHA30, Alcanivorax sp. strain BHA32 and Vibrio azureus strain BHA36. Analysis of remaining of crude oil by Gas Chromatography (GC) confirmed that these strains can degrade: 64%, 63%, 71%, 58% and 75% of crude oil respectively.

Persistent organic pollutants were assessed in fat samples of the Gentoo (Pygoscelis papua), Chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) penguins collected during the austral summers of 2005/06 and 2006/07 in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. The predominant organic pollutants were PCB (114 to 1115), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (60.1 to 238.7), HCB (<0.3 to 132.2) and BDE-47 (<1.0 to 10.7) in ng g−1 wet weight. The mean concentrations of the majority of organic pollutants were similar among the three species of penguins. Chicks of all three species showed similar profiles of PCB congeners, with predominance of lower chlorinated compounds. The distribution of PAHs was similar in all birds, with a predominance of naphthalene and alkyl-naphthalene, which are the main constituents of arctic diesel fuel. These data contribute to the monitoring of the continued exposure to organic pollutants in the Antarctic biota.

Both cadmium and arsenic are the important metal/metalloid pollutants in the Bohai Sea. In this work, we sampled the dominant species, shrimp Crangon affinis, from three sites, the Middle of the Bohai Sea (MBS), the Yellow River Estuary (YRE) and the Laizhou Bay (LZB) along the Bohai Sea. The concentrations of metals/metalloids in shrimps C. affinis indicated that the YRE site was polluted by Cd and Pb, while the LZB site was contaminated by As. The metabolic differences between shrimps C. affinis from the reference site (MBS) and metal-pollution sites (YRE and LZB) were characterized using NMR-based metabolomics. Results indicated that the metal pollutions in YRE and LZB induced disturbances in osmotic regulation and energy metabolism via different metabolic pathways. In addition, a combination of alanine and arginine might be the biomarker of Cd contamination, while BCAAs and tyrosine could be the biomarkers of arsenic contamination in C. affinis.

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.