Floating marine litter is known to be currently a widespread pollution problem, especially in the Mediterranean basin, but records on the levels of floating debris in the eastern part are less known. By using an observation platform (32 days, 137 transects, 1784 km), this study provides evidence of a high amount of floating debris in the Levantine sub-basin, within the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The density of floating litter varied between 18 and 1593 items km⁻² (average 232 ± 325 items km⁻²), and small plastic debris accounted for >90% of the items surveyed. These values tend to be higher than densities reported for the central and western Mediterranean areas, which may be related to the circulation patterns and inputs from coastal sources. Significant correlations of floating macro litter density with wind force and sea state were found, thus strengthening the need to standardise protocols (including oceanographic variables) of visual surveys of floating debris.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in marine molluscs could be a serious threat to the health of consumers; however, studies on this subject are limited. To understand this threat, the indicator PCBs (PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153 and PCB-180) found in six different kinds of molluscs were determined, and the associated cancer risk for consumers that intake these indicator PCBs via molluscs was assessed. The total concentrations of PCBs in molluscs ranged from 17.51 to 47.43 ng/g (d.w.). The order of contamination levels for indicator PCBs in molluscs was Perna viridis > Ruditapes philippinarum > Crassostrea gigas > Mimachlamys nobilis > Glossaulax didyma > Anadara antiquata. Tri-, tetra- and penta-PCBs were the dominant congeners in molluscs from Haikou City. Tetra-PCBs are the most common PCB, accounting for 38.49% of total PCBs. Compared with previous global studies on PCBs in molluscs, the pollution level of indicator PCBs in the molluscs from Haikou City was lower than most of reports in Europe and China, but higher than those from France and Korea, suggesting a moderate pollution level. The 50% and 95% cancer risks of indicator PCBs in molluscs for adult consumers were 2.75 × 10−7 and 4.32 × 10−7, indicating that the cancer risk was at an acceptable level. Since the dioxin like-PCBs were not analyzed in this study, the cancer risk of PCBs to human health might be underestimated; therefore, more studies on PCB pollution in molluscs are required.

Sediments of Yellow Sea dumping sites (YSDS) collected in 2015 were analyzed using the European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential extraction method to assess the contamination and potential risk to the environment. Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn exhibited the most dominant residual fraction, whereas Cd was mostly in the exchangeable fraction and Pb in the reducible fraction. Cr contains a significant amount of oxidizable fraction in the dumping area due to the dumping of tannery sludge with high concentrations of Cr, mainly in the organic matter-bound form. The global contamination factor (GCF) showed that high non-residual fractions of Cd and Pb contributed considerably to contamination. Nevertheless, modified potential ecological risk index (MRI) suggested low ecological risk for metals in YSDS because of the low total content of Cd and the small mobile fraction of other metals.

Cleaning is a fundamental concern of beach managers in many destinations as well as an important requirement in beach quality awards. However, it has been largely neglected in the literature. This paper provides an overview of empirical studies on beach cleaning and analyzes cleaning-related requirements of 11 beach awards that generate controversy in the literature. This study comments on key aspects of beach cleaning, resolves various misconceptions, and provides new perspectives by integrating related topics drawn from a wide range of literature. The arguments based on both the ecological and tourism managerial perspectives are presented, indicating the gaps and proposing research solutions. The paper calls for empirical studies with regard to the efficiency of different cleaning approaches on beaches with varying levels of use intensity and for methodological designs that separate the impacts of mechanical grooming from those of trampling, dune destruction, shore armoring, artificial lighting, among others.

Mangroves are ecosystems located in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and are vital for coastal protection. Their unique characteristics make them hotspots for carbon cycling and biological diversity. Studies on isolated filamentous fungi and environmental and anthropogenic factors that influence sediments offer new understandings on how to preserve mangroves. Here we report on the filamentous fungi isolated from four mangroves. We correlated fungal community composition with sediment texture, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentration (oil pollution), pH, salinity, organic matter, total and thermotolerant coliforms (sewage pollution). In total we identified 34 genera and 97 species. The most polluted sites had highest species richness whereas the best preserved site showed the lowest species richness. Oil spill and sewage pollution were identified as the drivers of fungal community composition in the most polluted sites. We found very distinct fungal communities with no >5 species shared between any two mangrove sites.

Biofouled commercial and recreational vessels are primary vectors for the introduction and spread of marine non-indigenous species (NIS). This study designed and assessed a portable system to reactively treat biofouling in the internal pipework of recreational vessels – a high-risk ‘niche area’ for NIS that is difficult to access and manage. A novel thermal treatment apparatus was optimised in a series of laboratory experiments performed using scale models of vessel pipework configurations. Treatment effectiveness was validated using the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas, a marine NIS with known resilience to heat. In subsequent field validations on actual recreational vessels, treatment was successfully delivered to high-risk portions of pipework when an effective seal between delivery unit and targeted pipework was achieved and ambient heat loss was minimised. In addition to demonstrating the feasibility of in-water treatment of vessel pipework, the study highlights the importance of robust optimisation and validation of any treatment system intended for biosecurity purposes.

Increasing evidence shows that herbivores can facilitate plant growth and maintain the resistance of plant communities to trophic consumption in a variety of ecosystems. However, the positive effects of herbivores on annual saltmarsh plants in coastal ecosystems are relatively understudied. In this study, field investigations and manipulative experiments were conducted to explore whether and how microtopographical modification by the herbivorous crab Helice tientsinensis stimulates the growth of the saltmarsh plant Suaeda salsa. Results showed that, despite grazing on S. salsa, H. tientsinensis can promote density, total biomass, average plant height, average root length, and average biomass through burrowing-generated concave-convex microtopography, which can improve the edaphic environment (decreased soil hardness and salinity, and increased soil moisture content, oxidation-reduction potential, and carbon and nitrogen content), and provide plants more clustered growth opportunities that could facilitate positive intraspecific plant interactions. This study can provide scientific guidance for ecosystem restoration in coastal intertidal saltmarshes.

Organic pollution is a serious environmental problem for the coastal zones of seas. The study tested the hypothesis that allochthonous organic carbon derived from St. Petersburg wastewaters is a significant basal resource of carbon for the benthic food webs. We analyzed stable isotope composition of carbon and nitrogen in suspended organic matter in the Neva Estuary and in the tissues of macroinvertebrates and fish. The Stable Isotope Bayesian mixing model showed that waste waters were an important source of carbon for the most of consumers in the Neva Estuary. The autochthonous carbon produced by phytoplankton was a significant source of carbon only for some macroinvertebrates. The main consumers of the carbon derived from waste waters were tubificid worms, chironomid larvae and alien polychaete, which currently dominate in the zoobenthos of the estuary. These species replaced the former dominants, native crustaceans, which to a lesser extent use anthropogenic carbon.

The Nerbioi-Ibaizabal estuary (Bilbao, Basque Country) suffered an important input of contaminants, including metals and metalloids, between 1875 and 1975. We collected sediments in the tidal part of the river in January 2018 and measured the concentrations of 27 elements in them. At that time, two important construction works were taking place in the area: the extension of the commercial port and the opening of long semi-closed channel. Comparing the current metallic hotspots with the geographical distribution of elements in previous years (2009, 2010 and 2014) showed us that these works seem to have significantly influenced the distribution of toxic elements in the estuary, even if the critical point of the second one is still to arrive with the inundation of the connection to the mainland. Long term pollution monitoring reveals as a powerful tool to check the effects of ongoing engineering works in estuarine environments.

Naturally occurring radioactive material was characterized in selected seafood samples from three areas in the Gulf of Mexico. Relatively desirable and abundant fish such as Red Snapper, Red Drum, Northern Whiting, and Spotted Trout as well as oysters were collected and analyzed using gamma spectroscopy to determine the concentration of ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰ K. Average total activity concentration from these radionuclides were 0.9 ± 0.6, 1.6 ± 1.2, and 132 ± 57 Bq kg⁻¹ respectively, in the edible portion of wet weight samples. The results were consistent with previous studies for other bodies of water. A small but statistically significant increase in ²²⁶Ra was found in comparison to similar research performed 20 years prior. These measurements provide a reasonable baseline for the examined species from the Gulf of Mexico.