Coral communities are found at high latitude on the East Coast subtropical reefs of South Africa. They are biodiverse, economically important, and afforded World Heritage Site status in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park where some are subjected to recreational use. While the Park's unique coral reefs have, to date, suffered little bleaching from climate change, they are susceptible to the phenomenon and provide a natural laboratory for the study of its effects at high latitude. This review covers recent advances in the regional oceanography; coral community dynamics and the underpinning reef processes, including minor bleaching events; the incidence of coral disease; and coral genetic connectivity. The effects of human activity (SCUBA diving, recreational fishing, pesticide use) were assessed, as well as the nursery benefits of Acropora austera, a coral which provides the reefs with much structure and is vulnerable to damage and climate change. The reefs were valued in terms of human use as well as services such as sediment generation and retention. The results have provided valuable information on relatively pristine, high-latitude reefs, their socio-economic benefits, and the anticipated effects of climate change.

Concentrations of 23 trace elements (TEs; essential: Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Se, V, Zn; non-essential: Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cs, Li, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Ti, Tl, U) in whole soft tissues of Noah's Ark shell (Arca noae) were determined monthly during one year (March 2013–February 2014) at two sampling sites in the central part of the Eastern Adriatic Sea. Our aim was to detect the influence of reproductive cycle and changes in the environmental factors on the variabilities of TEs' contents. Higher concentrations of Pb, Ba, V, Mo, Mn and Fe were found at potentially contaminated site in Pašman channel, whereas higher concentrations of Tl, Ni, Li, Cr, Cd, Ti and Se were found at reference site in Nature Park Telašćica. Since several bioaccumulated TEs were associated to mean gonadal index, in TEs monitoring in A. noae, animal gonadal status has to be considered.

Fifteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in seawater and atmosphere of Bransfield Strait. The concentration of ∑15[PAH] in the atmosphere ranged from 3.75 to 8.53 ng m−3, and three-ring PAHs were the most abundant compounds. Dissolved ∑15[PAH] in seawater ranged from 5.42 to 34.37 ng L−1, and the level of PAHs was markedly different on each side of the strait. The air–sea gas exchange process and molecular diagnostic ratios were calculated, results showed that the environmental behavior of PAHs was net deposition along this cruise. Given the changes in global transport routes of pollutants under global warming, the role of long-range transport (LRT) may be enhanced. Taking the Antarctic as a sink of PAHs due to the LRT and net deposition, PAHs will continue to load into the seawater of this area via atmospheric deposition, which contributes to improving our understanding of the environmental behavior of PAHs.

Marine debris is dispersed worldwide and has a considerable impact on biodiversity. In this study, the effect of marine debris on the time needed for hatchling loggerheads to reach the ocean once they have emerged from the nest was investigated. After a preliminary census of marine debris on different beaches of Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde, a field test was carried out with four different scenarios: low density marine debris, medium density marine debris, high density marine debris, and a control scenario. The time that hatchlings required to cross the different scenarios was recorded (n = 232). The results showed that crawl times were affected by the different marine debris scenarios, with the “high density” scenario specifically showing a significant difference from the control, low density and medium density scenarios. This study provides information on the risks of marine debris for hatchling sea turtles and provides conservation recommendations to reduce this potential risk.

Fish ingestion of microplastic has been widely documented throughout freshwater, marine, and estuarine species. While numerous studies have quantified and characterized microplastic particles, analytical methods for polymer identification are limited. This study investigated the applicability of pyr-GC/MS for polymer identification of microplastics extracted from the stomach content of marine fish from the Texas Gulf Coast. A total of 43 microplastic particles were analyzed, inclusive of 30 fibers, 3 fragments, and 10 spheres. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were the most commonly identified polymers (44.1%), followed by nylon (9.3%), silicone (2.3%), and epoxy resin (2.3%). Approximately 42% of samples could not be classified into a specific polymer class, due to a limited formation of pyrolytic products, low product abundance, or a lack of comparative standards. Diethyl phthalate, a known plasticizer, was found in 16.3% of the total sample, including PVC (14.3%), silicone (14.3%), nylon (14.3%), and sample unknowns (57.2%).

Anthropogenic debris ingestion has been reported for green turtles in all their life stages worldwide. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the marine debris ingestion by green turtles stranded in Uruguayan coast between 2005 and 2013. Debris items were categorized and quantified by frequency of occurrence, relative weight, volume and number of items. A total of 96 dead stranded turtles were analyzed and 70% presented debris in their guts. The majority of debris found were plastic, being hard plastics the most abundant in weight. We found no differences in debris ingestion in stranded turtles a long the Uruguayan coast. However we detected a negative correlation between the presence of debris and turtle's size. Smaller turtles are new recruits to neritic grounds indicating that the early juvenile stage of this species is the most vulnerable to this threat in the Southwestern Atlantic.

The effects of underwater noise pollution on marine life are of increasing concern. Research and management have focussed on the strongest underwater sound sources. Aerial sound sources have understandably been ignored as sound transmits poorly across the air-water interface. However, there might be situations when air-borne noise cannot be dismissed. Commercial passenger airplanes were recorded in a coastal underwater soundscape exhibiting broadband received levels of 84–132 dB re 1 μPa rms. Power spectral density levels of airplane noise underwater exceeded ambient levels between 12 Hz and 2 or 10 kHz (depending on site) by up to 36 dB. Underwater noise from airplanes is expected to be audible to a variety of marine fauna, including seals, manatees, and dolphins. With many of the world's airports lying close to the coast, it is cautioned that airplane noise not be ignored, in particular in the case of at-risk species in small, confined habitats.

This study was conducted to investigate the amounts of heavy metals in the Gorgan Bay. For this purpose, 12 sediment samples were taken from the Gorgan Bay, and then, the amounts of metals were determined using the ICP-OES spectrometer. Accordingly, the average value of the metals aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn) was 1.3 ± 0.2%, 8.1 ± 3.8 ppm, 17.9 ± 4.3 ppm, 16.8 ± 4.2 ppm, 16.6 ± 4 ppm, 7.4 ± 1.3 ppm, 17.6 ± 3.7 ppm, and 29.5 ± 6.9 ppm, respectively. According to the Pearson test, a significant correlation was observed among all metals (except arsenic) in this study (P < 0.01), which indicates that the source of the metals (human or natural) is the same in this gulf. There was also a positive correlation between organic matter and all metals (except lead and vanadium) (P > 0.05). This positive correlation probably indicates that these metals enter the aquatic environment along with organic matter or that they are of the same origin (organic matter and metals). On the basis of the PER index, all the measured metals had a low ecological risk at all stations.

Fluorescence microscopy is an important step in visual identification of microplastics and is used to highlight white and transparent plastics that are otherwise easily missed or misidentified. Investigators using fluorescence must proceed with caution, however, as fluorescence photobleaching can significantly reduce the fluorescence output of samples within experimentally relevant time frames. We report on the photobleaching rate and subsequent lack of fluorescence recovery of five common plastics. Our results reveal statistically different photobleaching rates across plastic types. In the best-case scenario of low illumination intensity and a robust plastic, initial fluorescence intensity decayed by 10% in just 11(3) s and by 33% in 230(40) s. In all cases, fluorescence failed to recover more than 13(8)% in 3 h. These results indicate that significant bleaching can occur while searching a sample for plastics to identify and that the lack of recovery can compromise samples for further study.