Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a conserved molecular chaperone contributing to cell cycle control, organism development and the proper regulation of cytosolic proteins. The full-length HSP90 cDNA of Mytilus coruscus (McHSP90, KT946644) was 2420bp, including an ORF of 2169bp encoding a polypeptide of 722 amino acids with predicted pI/MW 4.89/83.22kDa. BLASTp analysis and phylogenetic relationship strongly suggested McHSP90 was a member of HSP90 family, and it was highly conserved with other known HSP90, especially in the HSP90 family signatures, ATP/GTP-Binding sites and ‘EEVD’ motif. The mRNA of McHSP90 in haemolymph was upregulated in all treatments including Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio harveyi challenge, metals stresses (copper and cadmium) and 180 CST fuel exposure. All the results implied the expression of McHSP90 could be affected by Vibrio challenge and environmental stress, which might help us gain more insight into the molecular mechanism of HSP against adverse stresses in mollusca.

To date, the longevity of plastic litter at the sea floor is poorly constrained. The present study compares colonization and biodegradation of plastic bags by aerobic and anaerobic benthic microbes in temperate fine-grained organic-rich marine sediments. Samples of polyethylene and biodegradable plastic carrier bags were incubated in natural oxic and anoxic sediments from Eckernförde Bay (Western Baltic Sea) for 98days. Analyses included (1) microbial colonization rates on the bags, (2) examination of the surface structure, wettability, and chemistry, and (3) mass loss of the samples during incubation. On average, biodegradable plastic bags were colonized five times higher by aerobic and eight times higher by anaerobic microbes than polyethylene bags. Both types of bags showed no sign of biodegradation during this study. Therefore, marine sediment in temperate coastal zones may represent a long-term sink for plastic litter and also supposedly compostable material.

Washing clothes made from synthetic materials has been identified as a potentially important source of microscopic fibres to the environment. This study examined the release of fibres from polyester, polyester-cotton blend and acrylic fabrics. These fabrics were laundered under various conditions of temperature, detergent and conditioner. Fibres from waste effluent were examined and the mass, abundance and fibre size compared between treatments. Average fibre size ranged between 11.9 and 17.7μm in diameter, and 5.0 and 7.8mm in length. Polyester-cotton fabric consistently shed significantly fewer fibres than either polyester or acrylic. However, fibre release varied according to wash treatment with various complex interactions. We estimate over 700,000 fibres could be released from an average 6kg wash load of acrylic fabric. As fibres have been reported in effluent from sewage treatment plants, our data indicates fibres released by washing of clothing could be an important source of microplastics to aquatic habitats.

Rapid assessment sampling for target species is a fast cost-effective method aimed at determining the presence, abundance and distribution of alien and native harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens that may have been introduced by shipping. In this study, the method was applied within a large tropical port expected to have a high species diversity. The port of Kaohsiung was sampled for bivalve molluscan species that attach using a byssus. Such species, due to their biological traits, are spread by ships to ports worldwide. We estimated the abundance and distribution range of one dreissenid (Mytilopsis sallei) and four mytilids (Brachidontes variabilis, Arcuatula senhousa, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Perna viridis) known to be successful invaders and identified as potential pests, or high-risk harmful native or non-native species. We conclude that a rapid assessment of their abundance and distribution within a port, and its vicinity, is efficient and can provide sufficient information for decision making by port managers where IMO port exemptions may be sought.

Oil–particle interactions play a major role in removal of free oil from the water column. We present a new conceptual–numerical model, A-DROP, to predict oil amount trapped in oil–particle aggregates. A new conceptual formulation of oil–particle coagulation efficiency is introduced to account for the effects of oil stabilization by particles, particle hydrophobicity, and oil–particle size ratio on OPA formation. A-DROP was able to closely reproduce the oil trapping efficiency reported in experimental studies. The model was then used to simulate the OPA formation in a typical nearshore environment. Modeling results indicate that the increase of particle concentration in the swash zone would speed up the oil–particle interaction process; but the oil amount trapped in OPAs did not correspond to the increase of particle concentration. The developed A-DROP model could become an important tool in understanding the natural removal of oil and developing oil spill countermeasures by means of oil–particle aggregation.

The effects of confounding by temporal factors remains understudied in pollution ecology. For example, there is little understanding of how disturbance history affects the development of assemblages. To begin addressing this gap in knowledge, marine biofilms were subjected to temporally-variable regimes of copper exposure and depuration. It was expected that the physical and biological structure of the biofilms would vary in response to copper regime. Biofilms were examined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, chlorophyll-a fluorescence and field spectrometry and it was found that (1) concentrations of copper were higher in those biofilms exposed to copper, (2) concentrations of copper remain high in biofilms after the source of copper is removed, and (3) exposure to and depuration from copper might have comparable effects on the photosynthetic microbial assemblages in biofilms. The persistence of copper in biofilms after depuration reinforces the need for consideration of temporal factors in ecology.

This study reviews recent research on volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from motorized vehicle sources by means of online mass spectrometry. Chemical ionization is a powerful tool that usually permits soft ionization of chemical species and it allows the time-resolved measurement of multiple VOCs, even in complex samples where many kinds of VOCs coexist. The vehicular exhaust gasses are investigated using H₃O⁺, NO⁺, Hg⁺, and CH₃C(O)O⁻ as a reagent ion in online chemical ionization mass spectrometry. The proton transfer using H₃O⁺ as a reagent ion was used for the detection of nitro-organic compounds such as nitromethane and nitrophenol. The time-resolved measurement of the nitro-organic compounds in the laboratory experiments with a chassis dynamometer system revealed their emission properties, such as the dependence of the emissions as a function of vehicular velocity and acceleration/deceleration, as well as the effect of various types of exhaust gas treatment. The data regarding the nitromethane and nitrophenol emissions obtained in the field measurements were consistent with the results of the laboratory experiments done with a chassis dynamometer system. In the experiments involving evaporative emissions from gasoline-powered cars, NO⁺ was used as a reagent ion. Online measurements showed that the adsorption of hydrocarbons in a sealed housing evaporative determination unit could result in emissions being underestimated, if the concentrations are monitored only before and after a diurnal breathing loss test. The composition analysis gave an estimated ozone formation potential (OFP) approximately 20 % higher for breakthrough emissions and refueling emissions than for the gasoline that was tested, but the OFP for the permeation emissions was almost the same as the OFP for the test fuel.