This work is the first study on the spatial and temporal distribution of metals in zooplankton collected along the Persian Gulf. The rank order distribution of metals in terms of their overall average concentration in the zooplankton was observed to be Fe > Zn > Cu > Cd > Ni > Cr > Pb > Co > V. No clear pattern and no statistical differences were detected among the areas and the sampling stations. The highest concentrations of Cu, Zn, and Pb were observed in summer while the highest concentration levels of Fe and Ni were observed in winter. The highest mean zooplankton metal concentration level was found to be Fe with 10.42 μg/g (in winter) and the lowest levels were for V (in spring and summer) and Co (in winter), both of which had a level of 0.01 μg/g. The results can be used to establish base-line data for the trace metal content of zooplankton in the northern region of the Persian Gulf.

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the functional diversity of benthic ciliates has high potential to monitor marine ecological status. Therefore, we investigated the spatial and temporal variation of functional diversity of benthic ciliates in the Yangtze Estuary during one year using biological traits analyses and functional diversity indices. Traits and community compositions showed clear spatial and temporal variations. Among a variety of biological traits, feeding type and body size emerged as strongest predictable variables. Functional divergence (FDiv) had an advantage over two other functional diversity indices, as well as over classical diversity measures (i.e. richness, evenness, Shannon-Wiener) to infer environmental status. Significant correlations between biological traits, FDiv and environmental variables (i.e. nutrients, temperature, salinity) suggested that functional diversity of benthic ciliates might be used as a bio-indicator in environmental status assessments. Further mandatory researches need to implement functional diversity of ciliates in routine monitoring programs were discussed.

Sediment runoff has been cited as a major contributor to the declining health of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), however, climate and land use drivers have not been jointly evaluated. This study used alluvial archives from fluvial benches in two tributaries of the Upper Burdekin catchment together with the best available land use history and climate proxy records to provide insights into the timing of depositional events in this region over the past 500 years. This study suggests that mining and the increased runoff variability in the latter half of the nineteenth century are the likely sources of the original excess sediment that was used to build the bench features in these catchments. Grazing also contributed to increased bench sedimentation prior to 1900, however, the contribution of grazing was likely more significant in the second half of the 20th century, and continues to be a dominant land use contributor today.

Atlantic Bigeye (Priacanthus arenatus) is a demersal species from the Priacanthidae family with little literature relating to its biology and catch aspects. Due to this lack of research, the focus of this effort was to describe the feeding preferences of Atlantic Bigeye and to evaluate the influence of plastic debris derived from the local fisheries activities on its diet. The most important items were Corophiidae, Penaeidae, Actinopterygii, Isopoda, Cephalopoda, Policheta and plastic. Plastic was present in 49.17% of the stomachs analyzed. A total of 210 plastic fragments were found, and 63% were derived from fishing. Of those, 55% were derived from paint fragments from vessels and 8% from synthetic fibers (PA). The results suggest that plastic fragments found in stomachs are related to the species' natural diet and that this debris is locally deposited in the coastal environment. Fishing resources appear to have been affected by this local marine pollution.

Marine anthropogenic debris was sampled from two beaches on the remote South Pacific island Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Abundance, composition, and the attached fouling assemblages on stranded litter were analysed. Most litter (n = 172 items found) was composed of plastic material, and 34% of all litter items were fouled. The main fouling species was the encrusting bryozoan Jellyella eburnea. Transporting vectors were exclusively made from plastics and were mainly small items and fragments, probably stemming from the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre. We present the first report of Planes major, Halobates sericeus, and Pocillopora sp. on anthropogenic litter in the South Pacific.

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%).

This study evaluated the impact of sewage discharge in recreational coastal marine environments of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over a six-month period by the detection of waterborne enteric viruses. Ten-liter water samples were collected in four beaches from January to July 2017. Viruses were concentrated by an organic flocculation and human adenoviruses (HAdV), polyomavirus (JCPyV), and Hepatitis A virus (HAV) detected by qPCR. Forty-eight water samples were collected, being 43% positive for HAdV and 23% for JCPyV; only one sample was positive for HAV. Viruses were detected in all sampling sites, including in areas suitable for bathing according to the current bacterial standards. The results herein provide an overview of the viral contamination of beaches used for recreational purposes. The viral presence in the sampled areas indicates the need for more rigid effluent discharge controls in these areas, as sewage represents a possible transmission risk for waterborne viral diseases.

The invasive mussel Xenostrobus securis was recorded for the first time in the Galician Rias Baixas (NW Spain) in 2007, within an area characterized by intense commercial culture of Mytilus galloprovincialis. The main aims of this study were to evaluate whether an immunological assay can be used to detect larvae of this species in field samples of plankton and to determine whether the distribution of larvae matched that of adults. The ability of two monoclonal antibodies to recognize the bivalve was tested by immunofluorescence. Only the M22.8 antibody recognized X. securis larvae. The staining pattern distinguished X. securis from M. galloprovincialis larvae in both laboratory cultures and field samples of plankton. The distribution of larvae did not match that of adults. This tool may prove very useful for monitoring the presence of this invasive species in the plankton, allowing rapid and specific recognition.

Metal release from the deposition of sulfide-containing tailings in seawater was investigated using a batch reaction experiment inside a temperature and dissolved oxygen-controlled chamber. Two hundred grams of tailings from a porphyry Cu-Au and a sediment-hosted Cu deposit were submerged in 1.8 L synthetic seawater. The sulfides present in the porphyry Cu-Au tailings are pyrite (FeS2), chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and bornite (Cu5FeS4) while in the sediment-hosted Cu tailings are bornite, chalcocite (Cu2S) and covellite (CuS). Galena occurs as a minor sulfide in both tailings. Pore water and overlying seawater samples were collected and analyzed for pH, redox potential and trace metals (Cu, Pb and Fe) concentration. Results show that there is very low Cu (10–40 μg/L), Pb (1–10 μg/L) and Fe (5–50 μg/L) released into solution throughout the course of 87 days. Long-term trace metal release from tailings in seawater is therefore theorized to be low and is a slow process.

This study provides the first evidence of nylon filament occurrence in the stomach of an economically important target shrimp species in the Mediterranean Sea, Plesionika narval (Fabricius, 1787). Samples were collected monthly from November 2014 to October 2015 from shallow (10–30 m) and deeper waters (150–170 m). The occurrence of plastics in the stomachs of the Narwal shrimp was 5.93% and identified as Nylon by FT-IR analysis. Higher percentages of ingested plastics were found in females from shallower depths and in males from deeper waters. The maximum number of plastics was recorded in January and March, possibly related to the higher feeding intensity of females prior to their reproduction period. A total of 10.3% of females and 4.8% of males with ingested plastics had almost empty stomachs. The presence of plastics in the stomach of P. narval is an evidence of passive ingestion which in this study related to fishing activities.