The present study aimed to evaluate heavy metal concentrations of Arsenic (As), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn), their spatial distribution, enrichment factor index (EF), the pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk (PER) in two different seasons of the year (winter and summer) in surface sediments along southeast coast of the Caspian Sea. The results indicated that there were significant differences between concentrations of As, Ni and Pb in two different seasons. Considering PER, sediments from southeast Caspian coast had low ecological risk. According to PLI, sediment from the southeast coast had no pollution. Risk assessment showed that As threshold concentrations to occasionally be exceeded in the study area.

Selected trace elements, ionic species and organic/elemental carbon in aerosols were measured in summer at Ny–Alesund in the Arctic, and an interpreted approach combining elemental ratios, back–trajectories and enrichment factors was used to assess the sources of aerosols observed at this location. Aerosol samples influenced by ship emissions were featured by elevated concentrations of non–crustal (nc) vanadium (V), nc–nickel (nc–Ni), non–sea salt (nss) sulfate (SO42−) and ratios of nc–Ni/nc–V (1.7) and nss–SO42−/nc–V (200). When two cruise ships with more than 1 500 passengers visited Ny–Alesund in July 2012, the total suspended particulate (TSP) mass reached 2 290ng m−3, almost three times the median TSP concentration (609ng m−3) measured during the study period. The nc–V concentration reached 0.976ng m−3, about 38–fold higher compared to the mean value of the sampling period, and this value was even higher than the annual mean value observed at Zeppelin station and the values measured during Haze events at North American Arctic and Norwegian Arctic. The concentrations of nc–Ni and nss–SO42− were 0.572ng m−3 and 203ng m−3, which were 8–fold and 2–fold higher than the median values of the sampling period. While in the few–ship period, defined as the period with none or only one cruise ship with less than 1 000 passengers being present, aerosols at this location could be affected by a mixed impact of local emissions and long–range transport, reflected by the nc–Mn/nc–V ratios and element enrichment factors often found in the air masses from North America Arctic, Iceland and North Eurasia. Results from this study suggest that cruise ship emissions contributed significantly to atmospheric particulate matter at Ny–Alesund in the summer, effecting air quality in this area.

In animals, biotransformation and the immune system interact with each other, however, knowledge of the toxic mechanism of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) on these two systems is not well known. The present study investigated the toxic effects of BaP on the biotransformation system, cortisol level and DNA integrity of red sea bream (Pagrus major). The results showed that cortisol level was induced under the challenge of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Short-term exposure (96h) of BaP at environmental concentration significantly increased the cortisol level, hepatic EROD activity and CYP1A1 mRNA expression. When P. major was exposed to BaP for 14 d followed by LPS challenge this increased the cortisol level, EROD activity and hepatic DNA damage except CYP1A1 mRNA expression. Combined with our previous data, which showed that BaP exposure can modulate the immunologic response in P. major challenged with LPS, a hypothetical adverse outcome pathway of BaP on fish was suggested.

The use of bivalves such as the brown mussel (Perna perna) and the black mussel (Choromytilus meridionalis) is common in the study of marine pollution and the effect of these pollutants on ecosystems and are important in both economic and ecological roles. Namibian marine ecosystems are threatened by pollution from mining, commercial fishing and population growth. The aims of this study were to determine baseline metal concentrations, spatial variation and variation between species. Metal levels in C. meridionalis from Guano Platform (GP) are the lowest of all the sites. The most polluted sites are Rocky Point (RP), Halifax Island (HIL) and between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund (WS). The bioaccumulation of metals between P. perna and C. meridionalis were not uniform for all metals. Overall the study indicates the condition of the coastline to be mostly normal, with Cd and Pb levels being of concern.

Strong differences have been observed between the assemblages on artificial reefs and on natural hard-bottom habitats worldwide, but little is known about the mechanisms that cause contrasting biodiversity patterns. We examined the influence of spatial attributes in relation to both biogenic and topographic microhabitats, in the distribution and composition of intertidal species on both artificial and natural reefs. We found higher small-scale spatial heterogeneity on the natural reef compared with the study breakwater. Species richness and diversity were associated with a higher availability of crevices, rock pools and mussels in natural habitats. Spatial distribution of certain grazers corresponded well with the spatial structure of microhabitats. In contrast, the lack of microhabitats on the breakwater resulted in the absence of several grazers reflected in lower species richness. Biogenic and topographic microhabitats can have interactive effects providing niche opportunities for multiple species, explaining differences in species diversity between artificial versus natural reefs.

The influence of early diagenesis on the vertical distribution of metal forms in the sediments of Bohai Bay was discussed in this paper. The results showed that the concentrations were: Al>Fe≈Ca>Mn>Cr>Zn>Cu>Pb>Cd. In vertical distribution, the forms of Cr and Pb were stable from the top to the bottom. However, the exchangeable forms and acid-extracted forms of Cd, Cu and Zn presented an obvious declining trend. The metals would be transformed to more stable forms during the early-diagenesis process. Further analysis found that early diagenesis can change the sedimentary environment, affecting pH, oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), total dissolved solid (TDS) and the structure of organic matter (OM), all main factors influencing metal forms in the sediments of Bohai Bay.

The present study examined the relationships between soil characteristics, microbial community structure and function in the forests artificially planted with exotic Sonneratia apetala at stand ages of 1-, 2-, 7-, 10- and 14-years and Sonneratia caseolaris of 1-, 4-, 7-, 10- and 14-years in Futian National Nature Reserve, Shenzhen Bay, China. The 7-years old forests of both Sonneratia species reached peak growth and had the highest content of nitrogen and phosphorus, enzymatic activities, including dehydrogenase, cellulase, phosphatase, urease and ß-glucosidase, except arylsulphatase which increased continuously with stand ages. The microbial community structure reflected by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles also reached the maximum value in the 7-years old forests and soil bacterial PLFAs in both forests were significantly higher than fungal PLFAs. The canonical correlation analysis revealed that differences in microbial structural variables were significantly correlated to the differences in their functional variables, and the highest correlation was found between the soil enzymatic activities and the content of carbon and nitrogen.

Understanding the fate and effects of marine spills is essential if the scientific and response communities are to develop best practices. The effective deployment of environmental monitoring activity can be complex and requires planning and coordination but the levels of preparedness to deliver the necessary expertise, coordination and funding are often low. This paper identifies and describes the importance of 8 principles of effective post-spill monitoring programmes. These principles are then used in the assessment of monitoring preparedness through the generation of a monitoring preparedness assessment score (MPAS). This approach can be used by local, regional or national authorities to establish the level of preparedness for environmental monitoring and prioritise areas for improvement. It also has value to responders, policy makers, environmental scientists and planners as a tool to assess preparedness and capability for specific scenarios. The approach is demonstrated through the assessment of previous incidents and potential future scenarios.

Documenting the extent of fishery gear interactions is critical to wildlife conservation efforts, especially for reducing entanglements and ingestion. This study summarizes fishery gear interactions involving common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus truncatus), Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and sea turtles: loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green turtle (Chelonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) stranding in Florida waters during 1997–2009. Fishery gear interactions for all species combined were 75.3% hook and line, 18.2% trap pot gear, 4.8% fishing nets, and 1.7% in multiple gears. Total reported fishery gear cases increased over time for dolphins (p<0.05), manatees (p<0.01), loggerheads (p<0.05) and green sea turtles (p<0.05). The proportion of net interaction strandings relative to total strandings for loggerhead sea turtles increased (p<0.05). Additionally, life stage and sex patterns were examined, fishery gear interaction hotspots were identified and generalized linear regression modeling was conducted.

For heavy metals, quality standards indicating good environmental status are designed to evaluate concentrations in the whole fish body, whereas monitoring of metals is often conducted using muscle or liver tissue. As most metals accumulate at different rates in different parts of fish, data should be adjusted to reflect whole fish body concentrations; however, this requires knowledge on distribution of metal concentrations within fish. Here, concentrations of cadmium, mercury, and lead were analyzed in the liver, muscle and whole fish of herring and perch to create conversion factors for transformation of heavy metal concentrations between these tissues. Species-specific accumulation of metals between muscle, liver, and whole fish were observed. Relationships between different tissues were used to recalculate data from monitoring programs in the Baltic Sea region. Based on whole fish concentrations, environmental status for cadmium and mercury in herring improved compared to assessments based on muscle or liver concentrations alone.