This study investigated the responses of marine nematodes to crude oil contamination in polluted and relatively uncontaminated sites in Dalian Xingang, China, 40days after an oil spill. Samples were taken at different tide levels on the beach and at different positions along the beach. We present the results of a comparison of nematode assemblages from undisturbed sediment from the Xiajiahezi Bathing Beach with those from sediment from the Xinghai Bathing Beach contaminated with crude oil. A total of 1666 nematodes from 26 genera were found in this study. Results showed significant differences in nematode assemblages between samples from undisturbed controls and those from the polluted area. Nematode abundance, number of species, diversity and species richness decreased significantly with increasing levels of crude oil contamination. Fifteen genera were eliminated and seemed to be composed of species intolerant to crude oil contamination; only the abundance of Marylynnia sp. increased slightly.

We investigated levels of the pollutant tributyltin (TBT) in blood of pufferfishes (six species), Japanese sea perch, red sea bream, Japanese common goby, Japanese flounder, rockfish, conger eel, and sea mullet collected off the coast of northern Kyushu, Japan. We found considerable levels of TBT (1.4–190ng/mL) accumulated in the blood of these fish. Blood TBT concentrations were 1.3–22.5times liver concentrations and 4.9–78times muscle concentrations, except in conger eel and mullet. We detected TBT (16–111ng/mL-blood) in the plasma of the fine-patterned puffer (Takifugupoecilonotus) year-round, without any apparent seasonal trend. These results suggest that fish inhabiting coastal areas of Kyushu, Japan, continue to be contaminated with TBT.

Time series of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁹Tc activity concentrations in the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus and seawater, gathered at three locations on the eastern Irish coastline during the period 1988–2008, have been modelled using a novel approach incorporating a variable uptake rate in the seaweed. Seasonal variations in the time series, identified using spectral analysis, were incorporated into the model which was used to determine transfer kinetic parameters and to predict ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁹Tc concentrations in seaweed, as influenced by levels in ambient seawater. An optimisation method combining evolutionary and grid search minimisation techniques was adopted to determine the best values for the model parameters, from which concentration factors (CF) and biological half-lives (tb₁/₂) for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁹Tc in F. vesiculosus were calculated. CF values of 170–179 and 1.1×105lkg⁻¹ (dry weight) were obtained for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁹Tc, respectively, while the corresponding tb₁/₂ values were 39–47 and 32days, respectively.

Despite a large number of gas platforms existing in the Adriatic Sea, which is a semi-enclosed basin characterized by a slow turnover rate and increasing industrial as well as other anthropogenic activities, the effects of these structures on the aquatic ecosystem require further investigation. Since 1998, multidisciplinary studies have been performed by CNR-ISMAR to comply with legislation and to support the development of protocols for the monitoring of offshore activities in the Adriatic Sea. The present study was developed to implement a biomonitoring plan to assess the ecotoxicological effects of the extraction activities of an off-shore gas platform. Biomarkers were evaluated in mussels collected from the platform in relation to physiological stress, DNA damage, cellular damage, oxidative stress and exposure effects. Organic contaminants and trace element bioaccumulation were also assessed in the soft body of the mussels to correlate bioaccumulation of pollutants with biomarker responses. The results indicate an absence of platform-related environmental stress.

While many surface foraging seabirds ingest plastic, the spatial overlap of these far-ranging predators with debris aggregations at-sea is poorly understood. We surveyed concurrent distributions of marine birds and debris along a 4400km cruise track within a debris accumulation area in the North East Pacific Ocean using line and strip transect methods. Analysis of debris and bird distributions revealed associations with oceanographic and weather variables at two spatial scales: daily surveys and hourly transects. Hourly bird abundance (densities; 0–9 birds km⁻²) was higher in lower wind and shallower water. Hourly debris abundance (densities; 0–15,222 pieces km⁻²) was higher in lower wind, higher sea-level atmospheric pressure and deeper water. These results suggest that debris and seabird abundance and community structure are influenced by similar environmental processes, but in opposing ways, with only three far-ranging seabird species (Black-footed Albatross, Cook’s Petrel and Red-tailed Tropicbird) overlapping with high debris concentrations over meso-scales.

Organochlorine pesticides (HCHs, DDTs and HCB) have been investigated in sediments of Laizhou Bay and its adjacent rivers. The average concentrations of HCHs, DDTs and HCBs are 0.09ng/gdw, 0.59 and 0.05 for marine sediments and 0.55, 8.6 and 1.1 for riverine sediments, respectively. Laizhou Bay is less contaminated by HCHs and DDTs in comparison with other coastal regions around the world, including the other two biggest bays in Bohai Sea. Fresh input of lindane and dicofol-type DDT were found in several riverine sites. Relatively strong TOC-dependence of HCB distribution in the entire studied area suggested no point source existed and/or water–sediment equilibrium achieved. No significant difference of α/γ-HCH ratios have been observed between marine and riverine sediments. However, o,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDT ratios varied largely between the two regions.

Scallop dredging grounds in the Firth of Lorn, western Scotland, are juxtaposed with rocky reef habitats raising concerns that reef communities may be impacted by sediment disturbed by nearby scallop dredging. A particle-tracking model of sediment transport and settling is applied at two scales. In the near-field, a suspension of typical sand/gravel-dominated bed sediment is subjected to a steady current across the dredge track. In the far-field, silt particles, which may persist in suspension for multiple tidal cycles, are tracked in the context of a regional model of tidally-driven flow. The principal sedimentary risk to reef habitats is predicted to come from settling sand particles when dredge tracks approach within tens of metres of a reef. The cumulative effect of dredging at the relatively low intensities recorded in this region is not expected to have a significant long-term impact on suspended silt concentrations and settlement in this highly dispersive environment.

After the termination of phosphogypsum discharges to the Huelva estuary (SW Spain), a unique opportunity was presented to study the response of a contaminated environmental compartment after the cessation of its main source of pollution. The evolution over time of uranium concentrations in the estuary is presented to supply new insights into the decontamination of a scenario affected by Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) discharges. The cleaning of uranium isotopes from the area has not taken place as rapidly as expected due to leaching from phosphogypsum stacks. An in-depth study using various techniques of analysis, including ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁰Th/²³²Th ratios and the decreasing rates of the uranium concentration, enabled a second source of uranium contamination to be discovered. Increased uranium levels due to acid mine drainage from pyrite mines located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) prevent complete uranium decontamination and, therefore, result in levels nearly twice those of natural background levels.

Oryzias melastigma, also called O. dancena, is becoming a very useful model for estuarine and marine ecotoxicity studies. With O. melastigma being adopted by ILSI Health and Environmental Science Institute (HESI) for embryo toxicity testing, improved knowledge of biomarker based embryonic development becomes especially important for mechanism-based toxicity evaluations. Using whole mount in situ hybridization and immunostaining techniques together with widely used molecular markers, this study describes the molecular development of marine medaka embryos, focusing on the brain, eye, heart, pectoral fin, pancreas, liver, muscle and neuron system. These organs are targets of environmental pollutants that disrupt normal embryonic development in medaka and other fish.

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) on the reef flat of Bolinao, Pangasinan (Philippines) was mapped using electrical resistivity, ²²²Rn, and nutrient concentration measurements. Nitrate levels as high as 126μM, or 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than ambient concentrations, were measured in some areas of the reef flat. Nutrient fluxes were higher during the wet season (May–October) than the dry season (November–April). Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN=NO₃+NO₂+NH₄) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) fluxes during the wet season were 4.4 and 0.2mmolesm⁻²d⁻¹, respectively. With the increase population size and anthropogenic activities in Bolinao, an enhancement of SGD-derived nitrogen levels is likely. This could lead to eutrophic conditions in the otherwise oligotrophic waters surrounding the Santiago reef flat.