Coral reef science has grown exponentially in recent decades in the Gulf. Analysis of literature from 1950 to 2012 identified 270 publications on coral reefs in the Gulf, half of which were published in just the past decade. This paper summarizes the growth and evolution of coral reef science in the Gulf by examining when, where and how research has been conducted on Gulf reefs, who conducted that research, and what themes and taxa have dominated scientific interest. The results demonstrate that there has been significant growth in our understanding of the valuable coral reefs of the Gulf, but also highlight the fact that we are documenting an increasingly degraded ecosystem. Reef scientists must make a concerted effort to improve dialogue with regional reef management and decision-makers if we are to stem the tide of decline in coral reefs in the Gulf.

The quantification of entanglements of megafauna with plastic debris at sea is difficult to assess for several reasons, such as detection and reporting biases. We used standardized vessel based counts to describe and quantify the occurrence of marine debris entanglements in northern gannets Morus bassanus at five of its main wintering areas. We observed 34 entangled birds in total, representing 0.93% of all gannets counted (n=3672 individuals). The incidence of entanglements largely varied geographically, being exceptionally high off Mauritania (20.2% of the birds in late spring). Most birds affected were immature (1.88% compared to 0.06% in adults), which in turn represented 52.4% of all the birds. Entanglements in the lower bill mandible were the most frequent, mainly with red-colored plastic objects. Further research is urgently needed to evaluate the impact of entanglements at the population level and its occurrence in other marine species, and to seek potential solutions.

Levels, composition profiles and sources of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments from Nan’ao Island, one of the largest mariculture bases in South China were investigated. The total PAHs concentrations ranged from 265.49 to 951.27ng/g (dry weight) with a mean of 515.90ng/g, and seven possible carcinogenic PAHs accounted for 76.94% of total PAHs. Among various mariculture sections, the highest PAHs level was found in the large seaweed culture; while the lowest concentration was detected in the abandoned culture. The composition of PAHs was characterized by low molecular weight PAHs, and Phe Ant and Pyr were the dominant constituent. PAHs may be mainly originated from petroleum and combustion of biomass and coal. Risk assessments suggested that the probability of adverse effect was lower than 25% and PAHs exposure was moderately carcinogenic.

This study aimed to evaluate the environmental quality of the marine portion of Xixová-Japuí State Park (XJSP), an urban marine protected area, which is influenced by multiple contamination sources, by using ecotoxicological and geochemical analyses. Sediments were predominantly sandy, with low CaCO3 and organic matter contents, and presented contamination by metals (Cd,Cu,Zn). Acute toxicity was detected in three tested samples, and copepod exposed to sediments from four stations exhibited lower fecundities, despite the absence of significant effects. Contamination and toxicity seemed to be associated, suggesting that the environment is degraded and presents risks to the biota. Whole sediment TIE indicated ammonia as a main responsible for toxicity, suggesting sewage is a main contributor to sediment degradation. As external contamination sources seem to be negatively influencing the sediment quality, the park conservation objectives are not being fully reached, demanding actions to mitigate impacts.

The present study investigated nitrogen process in rhizosphere of Kandelia obovata under nitrogen input. Results showed that nitrogen additions significantly increased 4 kinds of enzyme activities (Urease, Nitrate reductase, Nitrite reductase and hydroxylamine reductase). The pH value increased to 7.1 under ammonium addition, but decreased to 6.9 under nitrate addition. Potential Nitrification Intensity (PNI) increased 200–1500% compared with control under ammonium addition, and Potential Denitrification Intensity (PDI) increased more than 200% under nitrate addition. Ten types of organic acids were detected from root exudates, which mainly included oxalic acid, tartaric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, and citric acid. The abundance of 5 kinds of microbial functional groups (nifH, AOA, AOB, nirS, nirK) responded differently. Total nitrogen in organs of K. obovata increased more than 200%. This indicated that nitrogen additions accelerated the transformation of nitrogen directly and stimulated the exudation of root exudates and 5 kinds of genes indirectly.

Three optimization methods are employed to allocate Marine Environmental Carrying Capacity (MECC) in the Xiamen Bay. The hydrodynamic and pollutant fields are first simulated by the Princeton Ocean Model. Taking phosphorus as an index of the water quality, the response fields are then calculated. These response fields represent the relationship between the concentration of the sea zone and the pollution sources. Finally, MECC is optimized and distributed in the Xiamen Bay by three optimization methods. The results show classical linear optimization can only maximize the satisfaction level for one of the stake holders’, e.g., dischargers or environmental protection bureau, satisfaction level. However, the fuzzy and grey fuzzy optimizations can provide a compromise, and therefore a fairer result, by incorporating the conflicting goals of all of the different stakeholders. Compared with fuzzy optimization, the grey fuzzy optimization provides a more flexible choice for the decision-makers.

This study aims to determine the concentrations of total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in beach water, Teluk Kemang beach. This study was also aimed to determine relationship between total coliforms, E. coli and physicochemical parameters. As perceived health symptoms among beach visitors are rarely incorporated in beach water studies, this element was also assessed in this study. A total of eight water sampling points were selected randomly along Teluk Kemang beach. Total coliforms concentrations were found between 20 and 1940cfu/100ml. E. coli concentrations were between 0 and 90cfu/100ml. Significant correlations were found between total coliforms and E. coli with pH, temperature and oxidation reduction potential. Skin and eyes symptoms were the highest reported though in small numbers. Microbiological water quality in Teluk Kemang public beach was generally safe for recreational activities except sampling location near with sewage outfall.

Extensive CO2 vents have been discovered in the Wagner Basin, northern Gulf of California, where they create large areas with lowered seawater pH. Such areas are suitable for investigations of long-term biological effects of ocean acidification and effects of CO2 leakage from subsea carbon capture storage. Here, we show responses of benthic foraminifera to seawater pH gradients at 74–207m water depth. Living (rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera included Nonionella basispinata, Epistominella bradyana and Bulimina marginata. Studies on foraminifera at CO2 vents in the Mediterranean and off Papua New Guinea have shown dramatic long-term effects of acidified seawater. We found living calcareous benthic foraminifera in low pH conditions in the northern Gulf of California, although there was an impoverished species assemblage and evidence of post-mortem test dissolution.

To reduce the negative effect of climate change on Biodiversity, the use of geological CO2 sequestration has been proposed; however leakage from underwater storages may represent a risk to marine life. As extracellular homeostasis is important in determining species’ ability to cope with elevated CO2, we investigated the acid–base and ion regulatory responses, as well as the density, of sea urchins living around CO2 vents at Vulcano, Italy. We conducted in situ transplantation and field-based laboratory exposures to different pCO2/pH regimes. Our results confirm that sea urchins have some ability to regulate their extracellular fluid under elevated pCO2. Furthermore, we show that even in closely-related taxa divergent physiological capabilities underlie differences in taxa distribution around the CO2 vent. It is concluded that species distribution under the sort of elevated CO2 conditions occurring with leakages from geological storages and future ocean acidification scenarios, may partly be determined by quite subtle physiological differentiation.

The aim of this work was to test the efficiency of statistical methods as compared to the traditional diagnostic ratios to improve hydrocarbon source identification in sediments subjected to multiple inputs. Hydrocarbon determination in Guanabara Bay sediments pointed out high degradation and ubiquitous petrogenic pollution through the presence of high unresolved complex mixture. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) ratios suggested pervasive contamination derived from combustion in all sediments and failed discriminating samples despite the specificity of sources in different sampling sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) effectively distinguished the petrogenic imprint superimposed to the ubiquitous combustion contamination, since this technique reduces the influence of PAHs distribution which is common to all samples. PCA associated to multivariate linear regression (MLR) allowed a quantitative assessment of sources confirming predominance of the pervasive contaminant component superimposed to a generalized petrogenic imprint. The pervasive component derives from combustion contributions as well as from differential PAHs degradation.