This study measured spatial distribution of marine debris stranded on beaches in South Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Citizen science, fetch modeling, relative exposure index and predictive mapping were used to determine marine debris source and abundance. Citizen scientists quantified debris type and abundance on 16 beaches within three coastal exposures (The Atlantic Ocean, Great Bahama Bank and The Exuma Sound) in South Eleuthera. Marine debris, (~2.5 cm or larger) on each beach was monitored twice between March–May and September–November 2013 at the same locations using GPS. Approximately, 93% of all debris items were plastic with plastic fragments (≤2.5 cm) being the most common. There were spatial differences (p ≤ 0.0001) in plastic debris abundance between coastal exposures. Atlantic Ocean beaches had larger quantities of plastic debris by weight and by meter (m) of shoreline. Stranded plastic may be associated with Atlantic Ocean currents associated with leakage from the North Atlantic sub-tropical gyre.

Metals, whether essential (Cu, Zn, Cr, Fe, Mn) or non-essential (Al, As, Cd, Ni, Pb, Hg) for organism metabolism, occur naturally in the marine environment and their abundance can increase due to the presence of human activities. In this study, fish were used as bio-indicators, to determine a correlation between the bio-accumulation of metals in muscle and gill tissues and the health status of fish. The study area was the Gulf of Tigullio (north-western Italy), which is impacted by various sources of metal contamination. Histopathology served as a significant tool to investigate possible alterations in gills, one of the main organs involved in fish physiology. Results highlighted some correlations between certain metals (e.g. Pb, Ni) and gill alterations (e.g. epithelial hyperplasia, epithelial lifting), providing baseline data from a pool of different fish species, which can be used for comparison purposes in further studies.

During the last years, the oil and gas explorations, extractions and refineries have led to severe ecological damages into the sensitive environment of the Persian Gulf. In this study, the level of oil contamination, the source of hydrocarbons and the degree of weathering or degradation extent were investigated in the Surface Sediments of Pars Special Zone, Persian Gulf. Fifteen sediment samples were collected. The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry used to analyze Aliphatic Hydrocarbons (AHC) and EPA's sixteen compounds of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). The total concentration of Aliphatic Hydrocarbons found to be in the range of 693 to 3752 μg/g and the 16 EPA PAHs compounds varied between 46.6 and 84.7 ng/g dry weight in the region. The concentration of hydrocarbons found to be lower than the level of threshold effects. The source of compounds was also identified by developing the multiple indices.

Seismic surveys increasingly operate in deeper Arctic waters with propagation conditions and marine mammal fauna different from the better-studied temperate, or shallow-water, regions. Using 31 calibrated sound recorders, we quantified noise contributions from four concurrent seismic surveys in Baffin Bay, Greenland, to estimate their potential impacts on marine mammals. The impact was cumulative as the noise level rose in response to the onset of each survey: on a minute-by-minute scale the sound-exposure-levels varied by up to 70 dB (20 dB on average), depending on range to the seismic vessel, local bathymetry effects and interference patterns, representing a significant change in the auditory scene for marine mammals. Airgun pulse energy did not decrease to ambient before arrival of the next pulse leaving very little low-frequency masking-free time. Overall, the measured values matched well with pre-season-modeling, emphasizing the importance of noise-modeling in impact assessments, if responses of focal marine mammals are known.

Heavy metal concentrations were investigated in water and sediments of Shadegan Wetland southwest of Iran to assess the fate, partitioning, and risk assessment and also to quantify the sources of heavy metals using MLR-APCS (multiple linear regression of absolute principal component scores) receptor model. The relatively high values of Kd (partition coefficient) for Pb, Zn, Ni, As, and V revealed their affinity for being enriched in sediments while Sb, Mo, and Se exhibited greater partitioning towards water. Enrichment factors of Se, Cd, Pb, Mo, Co, Zn, and Cu revealed significant to moderate contamination and should be of some concern. Application of the modified ecological risk index (MRI) revealed sediments moderate to high risk. Hazard index values for Hg were found less than the safe level. MLR-APCS model indicated that anthropogenic sources in sediments were responsible for 80.9%, 73.2%, 73.1%, 88.6% and 74.2% of Se, Mo, Hg, Pb, and Zn, respectively.

Feather fouling is a primary cause of seabird mortality during marine hydrocarbon oil spills. Understanding how oils interact with feathers is an important step in mitigating this threat. Seabird feathers from 12 taxa, representing most seabird families from the tropics and southern latitudes, were exposed to crude and condensate oil films under laboratory settings. Feathers were measured for changes in mass proportional to feather size, and for barbule clumping. Seabird feathers from six distinct families exposed to very thin oil sheens (<0.3 μm) showed no significant change in proportional mass relative to control treatments, and 10 of the 12 species exposed to these films revealed no significant difference in barbule clumping. By contrast, exposure to both crude and condensate oil films ≥3 μm resulted in significant increases in feather mass and clumping. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the influence of oil on feather structure when compiling threat assessments involving seabirds.

Within tropical environments, short-term impacts of increased seawater temperature and pCO₂ on algae-herbivore interactions remain poorly understood. We investigated the isolated and combined 7-day effects of increased temperature (+4 °C) and pCO₂ (~1000 μatm) on the trophic interaction Ulva sp./Trochus histrio, by assessing: i) topshells’ survival and condition index; ii) grazer consumption rates, nutritional composition and interaction strength expressed as a dynamic index. No survival differences were observed whilst body condition varied significantly. Topshells under high pCO₂ displayed poor performance, concomitant with lower consumption of macroalgae. Individuals exposed to increased temperature had better physical condition, thus stimulating herbivory, which in turn was negatively correlated with carbon and nitrogen contents. The dynamic index was temperature- and pCO₂- interactively dependent, suggesting lower grazing pressure under single acidification. Despite some limitations inherent to a short-term exposure, this study provides new insights to accurately predict tropical species' phenotypic responses in a changing ocean.

Heavy metal stress changes the morphological and anatomical structure of plant organs. In this study, we determined the anatomical changes and Cd distribution in the roots of Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco (Black mangrove) under Cd stress. The results showed that Cd levels in A. corniculatum root tissues decreased in the following order: endodermis > pith > xylem > epidermis and exodermis > phloem > cortex. The endodermis secondary casparian strip replaces exodermis casparian strip and plays a role in the “retardation mechanism”, which sort of compensates for the missing exodermis retardation effect. The xylem and pith both show high affinity for Cd and contain enriched Cd. This creates a low-Cd environment for phloem and protects the nutrient transport function of the vasculature against Cd toxicity. The present study provides new evidences suggesting that Cd regional enrichment and anatomical structure changes are an adaptive strategy of mangrove plants to HM tolerance.