Plastic debris affects the survival of numerous marine species such as seabirds. Several studies have report ingestion and entanglement of seabird species in plastic debris but just few describe plastic presence in nests. Here we report the first evidence of a novel artificial nesting colony of red-legged cormorant (Phalacrocorax gaimardi) using plastic as nesting material in two major seaport structures in Northern Chile. We sampled 18 abandoned nests and determined that overall nests contained plastic: industrial polypropylene bulk bags (35%), plastic bags (33%) and fishing gear (10%). Plastic types differ among seaports, ENAEX (National Company of Explosives) seaport located near the main city contained plastic bags as predominant material while GNL (Liquid Natural Gas Company) seaport located near the industrial area contained bulkbag fibers. Further research should analyze debris in beaches nearby the nesting colony in order to assess whether red-legged cormorants have any plastic preference or if they use the most available in the nature.

Despite being located at the same latitudes, the Bay of Bengal oxygen deficient zone (ODZ) is markedly different than the Arabian Sea ODZ. The uptake of oxygen in the Bay of Bengal does not lead to denitrification as in the Arabian Sea. This difference in ODZ of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea is expected to support different benthic fauna. We report that the living benthic foraminifera in the Bay of Bengal ODZ are markedly different than that in the Arabian Sea ODZ. Only four species (Brizalina spathulata, Eubuliminella exilis, Uvigerina peregrina and Rotaliatinopsis semiinvoluta) dominant in the Bay of Bengal ODZ have also been reported from the Arabian Sea oxygen deficient waters. The difference in living benthic foraminifera dominant in the ODZ of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, is attributed to the lack of denitrification and associated processes in the Bay of Bengal.

Ballast water (BW) is a dead weight used by ships to provide stability in their journeys. It poses health, economic and ecological problems. Since 2017, the International Maritime Organization-IMO mandated management of BW. This research compares plankton mortality and microorganism inactivation in different BW treatments to identify possible decay models. Treatments include solar radiation (Srad), UV, H₂O₂ and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).In the wild populations, the disinfection capacity was measured in natural seawater pumped from the Santa Marta port zone in Colombia. AOPs showed different models and effectiveness according to the treatment and microorganism. Plankton larger than 50 μm was the most resistant; therefore, it must be removed first by a previous filter. Wild microorganisms showed log-linear and log-linear tail decay models for most AOPs in E. coli. For Vibrio, the models were log-lineal tail and biphasic models.

Global warming is a big concern for all organisms and many efforts have been made to reveal the potential effects of temperature elevation on aquatic organisms. However, limited studies on molecular mechanistic approaches on physiological effects due to temperature changes are available. Here, we investigated the effects of temperature changes on life parameters (e.g., population growth [total number of rotifers], and lifespan), oxidative stress levels and antioxidant activities (e.g., glutathione S-transferase [GST], catalase [CAT], superoxide dismutase [SOD]) with expression levels in the monogonont marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. The changes in temperatures led to significant reduction (P < 0.05) in lifespan, possibly due to significant decrease (P < 0.05) in antioxidant activities, reducing the potential to cope with significant elevation in the temperature-induced oxidative stress in B. plicatilis. To further assess the actual induction and clearance of reactive oxygen species (ROS), N-acetyl-L-cysteine was used to examine whether the temperature-induced oxidative stress could be successfully scavenged. Furthermore, expression patterns of the antioxidant-related genes (GSTs, SODs, and CATs) were down- or upregulated (P < 0.05) in response to different temperatures in B. plicatilis. Overall, these findings indicate that ROS-mediated oxidative stress led to cellular damage and antioxidant defense system, resulting in deleterious effects on life parameters in rotifer.

In order to evaluate contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a tropical bay exposed to different anthropogenic pressures, samples of bivalves: mangrove oyster (Crassotrea rhizophorae), mangrove mussel (Mytella guyanensis)and clams (Anomalocardia brasiliana), were collected in different parts of Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia, Brazil. In addition, samples of bivalves and fish, purchased from a seafood market in the city of Salvador were analyzed to evaluate human exposure to PCBs through ingestion. Identification and quantification of PCBs were done by GC/MS after microwave extraction and purification with sulfuric acid. In bivalves, concentrations ranged from <0.08 to 50.1 ng g ⁻¹ (dry weight), with the highest values being detected in mangrove oyster, followed by clams and mangrove mussel of the Subaé estuary and Madre de Deus/Mataripe; regions known to be impacted by anthropic activities. From the total of the 12 fish species analyzed, only 5 presented levels of PCBs above the detection limit, ranging from 0.23 to 4.55 ng g ⁻¹ and 0.51 to 26.05 ng g ⁻¹ by dry weight and lipid weight, respectively. In general, concentrations of PCBs on the bay are lower than in most regions around the world, especially those located in the Northern Hemisphere. Indexes indicated that local biota and seafood from the fish market are not adversely impacted by PCBs and do not represent a risk to human health.

In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is a core occupation and also a source of marine plastic pollution. To look at this relationship, we examined 216 gastrointestinal tracts of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) caught by commercial fishers at Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. We found three tracts contained plastic for a frequency of occurrence of 1.4%. While this result is consistent with other cod sampled in the province, this study found two gastrointestinal tracts contained intact bait bags, used in commercial pots, and the third tract contained a polypropylene thread, likely originating from fishing rope. Our findings demonstrate the frequency of plastic ingestion in this region is low, but fishing-gear related plastics represent a key source of marine plastics in the region that should be addressed.

Metallic contamination in seafood, especially fish, has been of increasing concern to human health. Moreover, with increasing dependency on farmed fish for fish resources, the metallic contamination in them is still questionable. This study aimed to investigate the effects of cooking (steaming) on heavy metal concentration in farmed fish and to estimate its potential human health risk. Farmed sea basses (Lates calcarifer) from Setiu Lagoon were used to study the difference in metal uptake through human consumption of raw and cooked (steamed) fish samples. Selected heavy metals, namely copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb), were measured using ICP-MS following Teflon bomb closed digestion of the fish samples. Cooking of the fish muscle by steaming was applied to investigate if cooking changes the concentration of heavy metals. Mercury and As were found accumulated more notably in the fish muscle, though only Hg was found to show significant (p > 0.05) increase when L. calcarifer is cooked. The amount of As in the fish muscle throughout its growth can be potentially harmful to humans, with the highest averaged concentration at 3.29 ± 0.65 mg/kg dw. above the standard set by the Malaysian Food Regulation (1985) of >1 mg/kg. All the other heavy metals were at relatively safe concentrations well below the standard set by both national and international guidelines. The PTWI per individual of L. calcarifer for As was at 0.84 mg/kg bw., which indicated that the amount of this fish safe for consumption without any adverse effect is 170 g/week. Therefore, long-term intake of these fish may pose a risk to human health due to the relatively higher Hg and As concentration found in these fishes.

“Innovative actions towards a pollution free-planet” is a goal of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). Aided by both the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and its Global Soil Partnership under the 3rd UNEA resolution, a consensus from > 170 countries have agreed a need for accelerated action and collaboration to combat soil pollution. This initiative has been tasked to find new and improved solutions to prevent and reduce soil pollution, and it is in this context that this review provides an updated perspective on an emerging technology platform that has already provided demonstrable utility for measurement, mapping, and monitoring of toxic trace elements (TTEs) in soils, in addition to the entrapment, removal, and remediation of pollutant sources. In this article, the development and characteristics of functionalized mesoporous silica nanomaterials (FMSN) will be discussed and compared with other common metal scavenging materials. The chemistries of the common functionalizations will be reviewed, in addition to providing an outlook on some of the future directions/applications of FMSN. The use of FMSN in soil will be considered with some specific case studies focusing on Hg and As. Finally, the advantages and developments of FMSN in the widely used diffusive gradients-in-thin films (DGT) technique will be discussed, in particular, its advantages as a DGT substrate for integration with oxygen planar optodes in multilayer systems that provide 2D mapping of metal pollutant fluxes at submillimeter resolution, which can be used to measure detailed sediment-water fluxes as well as soil-root interactions, to predict plant uptake and bioavailability.

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) such as hormones, pesticides, phenolic compounds, and pharmaceuticals compounds can cause adverse effects on humans, animals, and other living organisms. One of the largest mariculture areas situated in Pulau Kukup, Johor, Malaysia, is actively involved in exporting marine fish to other countries worldwide. This paper aims to provide baseline data on the level of EDC pollutants found in mariculture sediments in Malaysia since no reports have investigated this issue. Calculated samples recovered are between 50.39 and 129.10% at 100 ng/g spiking level. The highest concentration in the sediment samples was bisphenol A (0.072–0.389 ng/g dry weight) followed by diethylstilbestrol (<0.208–0.331 ng/g dry weight) and propranolol (<0.250–0.275 ng/g dry weight). Even though the concentrations of the targeted compounds obtained were low, their effects could become more evident longer term, which raises not only environmental health concerns but the potential risk to humans.

The Ganga-Brahmaputra delta is among the largest river systems in terms of sediment discharge and the amount of arsenic present in the groundwater. Any slim possibility of arsenic intrusion in the coastal estuaries on account of active submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) can prove fatal to the biotic population at large. In the present study, a working hypothesis for the probable intrusion of arsenic through SGD has been postulated by re-analyzing the data of river discharge, sediment load, and arsenic concentration in the Bengal delta. Our study puts forward a strong argument for the coastal vulnerabilities of Bay of Bengal as the arsenic flux has reached at 1275 × 10³ kg/year and 865.8 × 10³ kg/year in the suspended and the dissolved form respectively. The enriched arsenic adsorbed on the surface of the Cenozoic sediments (dissolved and suspended) is contributing to the majority of arsenic flux to the Bay of Bengal. Furthermore, the flux resulting due to SGD contributes roughly 1% of the total flux, which if unregulated can prove catastrophic to the primary autotrophs. More so, the existence of flood-like conditions, as well as the region susceptibility to the fast-changing climatic trends, significantly increases the risk for the region in the near future. Therefore, ignoring the contributions of SGD in aiding the arsenic carcinogenicity in the coastal region of Bengal cannot continue for long and the time has come when a strong framework for SGD monitoring should be put in place, especially for regions falling under the purview of arsenic hazard zones.