The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary assessment of the potential impacts of Atlantic Canadian seafood processing effluents on the aquatic environment through physical-chemical characterization. Shellfish and finfish effluent samples were collected and characterized by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), adsorbable organic halides (AOX), soluble BOD5 and soluble COD. Effluent concentration ranges were BOD5 (179 to 276mgL−1), COD (458 to 1717mgL−1), turbidity (28.8 to 88.3NTU), TSS (27.2 to 120.1mgL−1), NH3-N (1.5 to 12.9mgL−1) and AOX (3.2 and 0.4mgL−1) for flatfish and salmon processing effluents respectively, and cleanup shift AOX (3.5 and 0.5mgL−1). The characteristics of these effluents assessed have the potential to contaminate and degrade receiving water body environments. Improved performance may be possible with further treatment technology optimization on an effluent-specific basis.

Ocean acidification (OA) and eutrophication intensifies in coastal sea under anthropogenic impact. OA coupled with the NH4-N source effect in coastal water is likely to affect the planktonic ecosystem. In this work, Skeletonema costatum and Nitzschia closterium were chosen as typical species of diatom in Chinese coastal ecosystems to test the potential effect of OA and NH4-N. Results showed that the growth and NH4-N uptake of S. costatum and N. closterium were significantly inhibited by pH decline. The maximum uptake rate is higher than the maximum growth rate, implying that NH4-N was assimilated faster for S. costatum and N. closterium with decreasing pH. Therefore, the inhibition rate of the growth of the two diatoms by the coupling effect of OA and eutrophication (pH7.45) is higher that than in the coastal sea by the end of the 21st century (pH7.71).

The possible impact of three types of anthropogenic surfactants on the ability of marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to form self-assembled microgels was evaluated. The behavior of existing native microgels was also examined in the presence of surfactants. These results reveal that the release of surfactants even at low concentrations into the aquatic environment could effectively hinder the self-assembly of DOC polymers. The extent of the size reduction had the following order: anionic, cationic, and non-ionic. Furthermore, charged surfactants can disrupt existing native microgels, converting large assemblies into smaller particles. One possible mechanisms is that surfactants are able to enhance the stability of DOC polymers and disrupt aggregates due to their surface charges and protein-denaturing activities. These findings suggest that the ecological system is altered by anthropogenic surfactants, and provide useful information for ecological assessments of different types of surfactants and raise warnings about surfactant applications.

The proximity of coral reefs to coastal urban areas and shipping lanes predisposes corals to petroleum pollution from multiple sources. Previous research has evaluated petroleum toxicity to coral using a variety of methodology, including monitoring effects of acute and chronic spills, in situ exposures, and ex situ exposures with both adult and larval stage corals. Variability in toxicant, bioassay conditions, species and other methodological disparities between studies prevents comprehensive conclusions regarding the toxicity of hydrocarbons to corals. Following standardized protocols and quantifying the concentration and composition of toxicant will aid in comparison of results between studies and extrapolation to actual spills.

This study assessed DDTs, HCHs and PAHs contamination in sediments from the Tema Harbour (Ghana) and the associated ecotoxicological risks. The results showed widespread DDTs, HCHs and PAHs contamination in the harbour sediments with mean concentrations ranging from 6.0–12.8, 2.8–12.7 and 2750–5130μg·kg−1d·w, respectively. The silt-clay and total organic carbon contents of the sediments poorly correlated with the pollutant concentrations. DDTs and HCHs contamination relate to past use of DDT and lindane, which under the anoxic harbour conditions resulted in disproportionately higher concentrations of p,p′-DDD and γ-HCH in the sediments. No conclusion could be drawn on the sources of PAHs as either petrogenic or pyrogenic. The pollutant concentrations in the harbour sediments, particularly γ-HCH, may pose high ecotoxicological risks. In comparison to a previous study, this study indicates there has been a considerable reduction in PAH contamination in the Tema Harbour since the last major oil spill in 2007.

We collected plastic debris in the Stockholm Archipelago using a manta trawl, and additionally along a transect in the Baltic Sea from the island of Gotland to Stockholm in a citizen science study. The samples were concentrated by filtration and organic material was digested using hydrogen peroxide. Suspected plastic material was isolated by visual sorting and 59 of these were selected to be characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Polypropylene and polyethylene were the most abundant plastics identified among the samples (53% and 24% respectively). We found nearly ten times higher abundance of plastics near central Stockholm than in offshore areas (4.2×105plastics km−2 compared to 4.7×104plastics km−2). The abundance of plastic debris near Stockholm was similar to urban areas in California, USA, and the overall abundance in the Stockholm Archipelago was similar to plastic abundance reported in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea.

This study estimated the total loads of plastic litter (macro-meso- and micro-plastics) in sediments from a wide stretch of marine and coastal environment of Tyrrhenian Sea. The prevailing category of debris was microplastic. The results obtained, in terms of average amount of microplastic per kilogram of dry sediment, are in agreement with data reported by various Authors internationally. The study area resulted to be uniform for plastic items levels. Particularly evident was the influence of a flood, occurred in November 2012 in Talamone, on sediments collected at the harbour of this locality: in this area, a difference in levels and quality of plastic debris, attributable to periods before and after the flood, was observed in sediments. In addition to focusing on the effect of this phenomenon, this study gives an important overview, for what concerns the presence of plastic litter, of a significant naturalistic area.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the post-legislation change in tributyltin (TBT) pollution at Croatian Adriatic coast. Gastropod Hexaplex trunculus and sediments were collected, nearly 10years after TBT based antifouling paints were banned, at 12 locations along the coast where a previous study was conducted in 2005. The study showed a decline of TBT levels over the investigated period, although all gastropods populations were highly affected by imposex meaning that prohibition did not result in the recovery of populations. The further aim was to propose the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) boundaries for potential use of H. trunculus as a principal bioindicator in the assessment of the ecological status of the Mediterranean regarding TBT pollution, under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). According to the proposed EQR classes, the WFD target for achieving the Good ecological status of the marine environment by 2015 was not reached.

Our study aimed to evaluate crack cocaine effects in different life stages of the marine mussel Perna perna. For this purpose, fertilization rate, embryo-larval development, lysosomal membrane stability and DNA strand breaks were assessed. Effect concentrations in gametes and in larval development were found after 1h (IC50=23.53mg·L−1) and 48h (IC50=16.31mg·L−1), respectively. The highest tested concentration showing no acute toxicity (NOEC) was 10mg·L−1, while the lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) was 20mg·L−1. NOEC concerning embryo-larval development was 0.625mg·L−1, while the LOEC was 1.25mg·L−1. Cyto-genotoxic effects were evidenced in mussels exposed to crack cocaine concentrations ranging from 5 to 500μg·L−1. Our results report the first data on effects of an illicit drug to marine organisms and should encourage further ecotoxicological studies of these contaminants of emerging concern in coastal ecosystems.

Our objective was to measure the concentrations of Hg, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sb, V and Zn in the body feathers of grey-faced petrel (Pterodroma gouldi), fluttering shearwater (Puffinus gavia), little shearwater (Puffinus assimilis) and common diving petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix) from breeding colonies in New Zealand between 2006 and 2013. The mean Hg concentration (36.48ppm; SD=9.59) in grey-faced petrel feathers was approximately 8.5 to 14 times that detected in the other three species sampled. We detected no trend or differences in Hg concentrations in grey-faced petrels over the 8years of this study, but Hg concentrations varied between breeding colonies although there was no strong relationship with latitude. The elevated Hg concentrations detected in grey-faced petrels could pose a risk to the breeding performance of grey-faced petrels and the customary harvest of chicks by Māori (New Zealand's indigenous peoples).