A conceptual framework was developed for assessing the sub-level of protection in 185 multiple-use marine protected areas (MPAs) in the English Channel through a survey on management effort. Data were retrieved from 153 MPAs: 4.56% were assigned low management effort, 83.70% were assigned medium management effort, and 11.76% were assigned high management effort. Overall, French MPAs performed better in terms of management effort than English MPAs and lack of consistency in ratings by different management bodies in England was found. Lack of correlation between management effort and conservation status within an available subset of 13 MPAs suggests that management may not be as influential a factor for the effective conservation of MPAs, especially in marine environments under heavy human pressure such as the English Channel. It is suggested that MPAs in such areas may therefore require an upgrade of their legal level of protection to be effective.

Few water quality measurements exist from pristine environments, with fewer reported studies of coastal water quality from Solomon Islands. Water quality benchmarks for the Solomons have relied on data from other geographic regions, often from quite different higher latitude developed nations, with large land masses. We present the first data of inshore turbidity and sedimentation rate for a pristine catchment on Isabel Island. Surveys recorded relatively high coral cover. The lowest cover was recorded at 22.7% (Jejevo) despite this site having a mean turbidity (continuous monitoring) of 32 NTU. However, a similar site (Jihro) was significantly less turbid (2.1 mean NTU) over the same period. This difference in turbidity is likely due to natural features of the Jihro River promoting sedimentation before reaching coastal sites. We provide an important baseline for Solomon Island inshore systems, whilst demonstrating the importance of continuous monitoring to capture episodic high turbidity events.

A prediction that faunal recovery of a marine aggregate extraction site subjected to high dredging intensity was likely to take 15–20years was investigated. Samples were collected at the high dredging intensity site and two reference sites in 2011 (15years post-dredging). Results indicated that the high site had similar sediment characteristics to the reference sites by 2011. Macrofaunal data analyses showed no difference between the values of all calculated univariate measures (abundance, number of taxa, biomass and evenness) between the high and reference sites. Multivariate analyses found that the macrofaunal community at the high site was comparable to those of the reference sites by 2011. Overall, the results supported the predicted recovery time. The findings of the study suggest that persistent physical impacts prolonged the biological recovery of the high site.

The influence of tide on the distribution of hypoxia adjacent to the Yangtze Estuary was investigated using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic eutrophication model. In the absence of tide, the hypoxic areal extent increased from 5226.75km2 in the base model run to 19,514.25km2, and it mainly occurred in the inner shelf region near the mouth of the Yangtze Estuary and in the inner part of Hangzhou Bay. During neap tide, the hypoxic areal extent further increased to cover 20,704.50km2. Hypoxia first appeared to the southeast of Hangzhou Bay. During the neap to spring tide transition, the hypoxic areal extent decreased to 2430.00km2 due to reduced stratification (2.65×10−3S–2) and the direction of the current. The hypoxic areal extent further decreased to 2319.75km2 during spring tide along with increased current and reduced stratification. Also, hypoxia mainly appeared in the submarine valley.

Four biota species were collected from mangrove ecosystems of the Pearl River Estuary to investigate the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), dechlorane plus (DP), and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE). Concentrations of ΣPCBs, ΣDDTs, ΣPBDEs, DP, DBDPE and anti-Cl11-DP (the dechlorination product of anti-DP) in mangrove biota ranged from 32.1–466, 153–3819, 3.88–59.8, 0.18–6.88, not detected (nd)–30.6 and nd–2.65ng/g lipid weight, respectively. Daggertooth pike conger (Muraenesox cinereus) had higher concentrations of contaminants than the other three biota species. Significant positive relationship between anti-Cl11-DP and anti-DP levels was observed in mangrove biota. DDTs were the predominant HOPs in all biota species, followed by PCBs and PBDEs. All the target compounds exhibited biomagnification, with biomagnification factors greater than 1 in the studied feeding relationships. Food web magnification was found for ΣPCBs, ΣDDTs, ΣPBDEs and DP, with trophic magnification factors of 2.76, 2.61, 2.20 and 2.31, respectively.

Foraminiferal assemblages in sediment grab samples were utilized to evaluate the impacts of anthropogenic activities on benthic habitats in Bellingham Bay, Washington State, U.S.A. Seventy-three samples taken in 1987, 1997, 2006 and 2010 yielded 35 species of foraminifera from 28 genera. Assemblage composition and diversity data indicate a marked deterioration between 1987 and 2010, contrary to the published Chemical Index, but analogous to the situation with macrobiota. Correlation of diversity with chemical pollutants and metals did not identify any significant correlations, however, an unrelated but highly relevant study of bottom water dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH in Bellingham Bay suggests eutrophication with accompanying hypoxia and acidification may be part of the cause. Thus, the metrics of contamination alone do not adequately characterize habitat viability, and benthic foraminiferal assemblages provide insight into the health of coastal ecosystems.

We provide the first report on winter concentrations of 32 trace metals from dovekies (Alle alle), a small, Arctic seabird that has a seasonal shift in diet from small zooplankton in the breeding season to larger zooplankton and small fish in the non-breeding season. Concentrations of selected trace elements, as well as stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope concentrations for a sample of 25 dovekies, were similar between adult males and females, and there was evidence that dovekies feeding at higher trophic levels had higher hepatic Hg. We also found plastic debris in nine of 65 (14%) gizzards examined. Our study helps provide a more complete picture of the foraging ecology and contaminant profile of dovekies, an important species in Arctic marine food webs.

Coprostanol (5β-cholestan-3β-ol) and other fecal steroids were used as markers to trace the input of sewage to the shelf along the coast of Sergipe and Alagoas States, in NE Brazil. Surface sediment samples in shallow regions (<50m depth) on the shelf were collected adjacent to four fluvial systems, whose drainage basins exhibit distinct levels of human influence. Highest coprostanol concentrations were observed in the area under influence of the Sergipe River (58.6±74.6ngg−1; maximum of 184.1ngg−1), whereas in the Vaza-Barris (18.9±23.6ngg−1) and the Piaui/Real (12.3±6.7ngg−1) rivers the levels of coprostanol were near the method’s limit of detection. Nearby the São Francisco River, the largest in the NE Brazil, coprostanol was virtually absent. The findings of the present study, supported by coprostanol-based diagnostic ratios, revealed that, when sanitation is lacking in the coastal region, even a small-sized river like the Sergipe River can effectively contribute to the export of sewage-derived organic matter to the inner continental shelf in the studied region.

The ALien Biotic IndEX (ALEX) has been recently proposed to evaluate biological invasions in soft-bottom macro-invertebrate assemblages. The present paper proposes the use of ALEX in sessile assemblages of Mediterranean hard bottom habitats and tests it along gradients of invasion. For five invasive macroalgae a variable number of case studies per each of four habitats were examined from the available data sets. For each case study samples were attributed to four levels of invasion depending on the abundance of the invading macroalgae. Results showed that the application of ALEX to sessile assemblages of hard bottoms allows to qualify the level of invasion along the considered gradients. Moreover, the decline of index values matched the impact of invasion on species number of the assemblages. Results also suggest that the concurrent use of ALEX and indices of benthic quality status can be a valuable tool to assess biopollution in hard bottom habitats.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the jellyfish population in Chinese seas is increasing, and decomposition of jellyfish strongly influences the marine ecosystem. This study investigated the change in water quality during Cyanea nozakii decomposition using simulation experiments. The results demonstrated that the amount of dissolved nutrients released by jellyfish was greater than the amount of particulate nutrients. NH4+ was predominant in the dissolved matter, whereas the particulate matter was dominated by organic nitrogen and inorganic phosphorus. The high N/P ratios demonstrated that jellyfish decomposition may result in high nitrogen loads. The inorganic nutrients released by C. nozakii decomposition were important for primary production. Jellyfish decomposition caused decreases in the pH and oxygen consumption associated with acidification and hypoxia or anoxia; however, sediments partially mitigated the changes in the pH and oxygen. These results imply that jellyfish decomposition can result in potentially detrimental effects on marine environments.