In this study, baseline information about the environmental status of Ushuaia (UB) and Golondrina (GB) bays is presented. Surface and bottom seawater and freshwater discharged from land were evaluated. Multivariate analysis identified different water quality zones within the bays, two of them located next to the north and northwest coastlines of UB, where the majority of human activities are developed. Porosity, total organic matter, biochemical components, ammonium, and phytopigments were determined in sediment samples from each quality zone. Benthic fluxes of nutrients and dissolved oxygen were assessed in situ using opaque chambers. In northwest zone of UB, carbon equivalents of proteins and carbohydrates in surficial sediments were the same order as in hypertrophic ecosystems, whereas ammonium and phosphate released from sediment greatly exceeded the allochthonous sources. Management of municipal wastewater is required to remediate this chronic pollution.

Environmental fate of fish farm wastes (FFW) released from an open-sea-cage farm at Kat O, Hong Kong was examined by measuring carbon and nitrogen stable isotope (SI) ratios in selected benthic organisms collected along a 2000m transect from the farm. Our results showed that FFW significantly influenced the energy utilization profile of consumers near the fish farm. Although nitrogen enrichment effect on δ¹⁵N was anticipated in biota near the farm, the predicted patterns did not consistently occur in all feeding guilds. Two species of suspension-feeders, which relied on naturally δ¹⁵N-depleted sources, were δ¹⁵N-enriched near the fish farm. In contrast, both species of benthic grazer and deposit-feeder, which relied on naturally δ¹⁵N-enriched algal sources, were δ¹⁵N-depleted under the influence of FFW. The SI signatures of biota can, therefore, serve as feasible biomarkers for FFW discharges only when the trophic structure of the receiving environment is fully elucidated.

PCBs were analysed in surficial sediments and selected sediment cores collected between 2002 and 2008 in Central Vietnam coastal lagoons. The aim was to determine contamination levels and trends, and to evaluate the effects of anthropogenic pressures and natural events. Samples were mostly fine-grained with low total PCB concentrations (0.367–44.7μgkg⁻¹). Atmospheric transport and post depositional processes modify to some degree the fingerprint of PCB inputs to the environment favouring the predominance of 3, 4 and 5 chlorinated congeners. The similarity of congener distributions in contemporary surficial samples also suggests the presence of a unique source over the entire study area, probably connected to mobilisation and long range transports from land-based stocks. The removal of consistent sediment layers is hypothesised based on repeated samplings of the same area. Natural meteorological events (such as typhoons) are suspected to be responsible for these sediment losses.

The implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is directing European marine research towards the coordinated and integrated assessment of sea environmental status, following the ecosystem-based approach. The MSFD uses a set of 11 descriptors which, together, summarise the way in which the whole system functions. As such, the European Commission has proposed an extensive set of indicators, to assess environmental status. Hence, taking account of the large amount of data available for the Basque coast (southern Bay of Biscay), together with a recent proposal for assessment within the MSFD, an integrated environmental status assessment approach is developed (for the first time) in this contribution. The strengths and weaknesses of the method, combined with proposals from the MSFD, are discussed.

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have emerged as significant global environmental pollutants with persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic properties. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of PFCs in water (wastewater, submarine emissaries and port-waters), sediment and transplanted mussels in estuarine areas of high urban and industrial impact from Northern Spain. Five PFCs of industrial use were studied: perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorohexanesulfonate, perfluorobutanesulfonate, perfluorooctanoate acid and perfluorononanoate acid. After selective extraction, samples were analyzed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. ΣPFCs ranged from 0.06 to 10.9ng/L in water, with higher levels in wastewater treatment plants effluents and port waters than in submarine emissaries. Little accumulation was observed in sediments and mussels with ΣPFCs ranging from 0.01–0.13ng/g dw and 0.01–0.06ng/g ww, respectively. Most ubiquitous compounds were PFOS and PFOA. Mass fluxes of PFCs to the Cantabrian Sea are estimated and the impact to the coastal ecosystem is discussed.

The natural process of eutrophication is accelerated by human activities worldwide that interrupt nutrient biogeochemical cycles. Three algal bloom events have been monitored in the northern tributary of the Jiulong River since 2009. The inflection points in a robust locally-weighted regression analysis (LOESS) of the relationship between TN and TP concentrations in the river water, and a TN:TP comparison with nutrient source loadings, suggested that both external loading and internal nutrient cycling contributed to these algal blooms. Nutrient release from the sediments may have played an important role in regulating the nutrients in the overlying water column. In particular, excessive nutrient inputs from various sources and ubiquitous river damming caused further accumulation of the nutrient loading. In-situ autochthonous primary production was enhanced in this relatively stable “river” to “lake” water body. Thus, attention must be paid to the effects of river damming and the consequent internal nutrient release.

The objective of this study is to develop the marine medaka Oryzias melastigma as a potential marine fish model for innate immune and immunotoxicological studies. Hepcidin plays an important role in innate immune system. Two hepcidin genes (OM-hep1 and OM-hep2) were identified and characterized in the O. melastigma, which were highly conserved with other reported hepcidins. During embryogenesis, significant elevation of OM-hep1 and OM-hep2 transcripts were coincided with liver development in the embryos. In adult medaka, differential tissue expressions of both hepcidin transcripts were evident: high in liver, moderate in spleen and low in non-immune tissues. After bacterial challenge, the two hepcidin mRNAs were rapidly and remarkably induced in liver and spleen, suggesting the two OM-hepcidins in O. melastigma play a complementary role in innate defense. Gender difference in time of induction and extent of the two hepcidin mRNAs elevation in infected O. melastigma should be considered in immunotoxicological studies.

Various reviews, resolutions and guidance from international and regional fora have been produced in recent years that acknowledge the significance of marine noise and its potential impacts on cetaceans. Within Europe, ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS have shown increasing attention to the issue. The literature highlights concerns surrounding the negative impacts of active sonar on beaked whales in particular, where concerns primarily relate to the use of mid-frequency active sonar (1–10kHz), as used particularly in military exercises. The authors review the efforts that European regional policies have undertaken to acknowledge and manage possible negative impacts of active sonar and how these might assist the transition from scientific research to policy implementation, including effective management and mitigation measures at a national level.

Despite the regulatory mandate to maintain “natural water quality”, there are ⩾271 storm drain discharges that potentially threaten the 14 designated marine water quality protected areas in Southern California called Areas of Special Biological Significance (ASBS). After sampling 35 site-events, the geomean concentrations of total suspended solids, nutrients, total and dissolved trace metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ocean following storm events were similar between reference drainages and ASBS discharge sites. Concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons were nondetectable and no post-storm sample exhibited significant toxicity to the endemic purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) near ASBS discharge sites. A reference-based threshold was developed and, despite the similarities in average concentrations, there were some individual ASBS discharge sites that were greater than reference background. Cumulatively across all ASBS, the constituents that were most frequently greater than the reference-based threshold were nutrients and general constituents, followed by dissolved and total trace metals.

Chemical elements and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are globally present in aquatic systems and their potential transfer to loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) has become a serious threat for their health status. The environmental fate of these xenobiotics may be traced by the analysis of turtles’ tissues and blood. Generally, loggerhead turtles exhibited a higher metal load than other turtle species, this could be explained by differences in diet habits being food the main source of exposure. Literature shows that muscle, liver and kidney are most considered for the quantification of chemical elements, while, organic compounds are typically investigated in liver and fat. This paper is an overview of the international studies carried out on the quantification of chemical elements, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorines (OCs) and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), in tissues, organs and fluids of C. caretta from the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.