Putnamblum4877

Notwithstanding impacts of marine debris on fauna by ingestion and suffocation, little is known about debris-related behavior. Lytechinus variegatus is a common sea urchin known for its covering behavior. We hypothesized that L. variegatus would select more marine debris (i.e. litter) than natural material as cover and we also expected that the selected natural and artificial material would be different in weight, sizes and transparency. We haphazardly collected marine debris and natural material on 20 individuals of L. variegatus and on the bottom, around each individual. All sampled material was weighed, measured and classified regarding opacity, nature (natural or artificial). Our results showed that i) sea urchins picked more litter than natural objects, ii) proportional weight of litter carried by urchins was significantly larger than expected by chance, iii) when considering all objects (on urchins and on the bottom) litter was heavier, wider and less opaque than natural material and iv) litter carried by the urchins were wider and less opaque than natural material. We suggest that litter can influence urchin's protection against sunlight, camouflage and ballast and that sea urchins with covering behavior might be used as indicators of marine debris in coastal and deep waters.Mollusk shells can provide important information regarding environmental parameters. It is known that shell morphology is affected by both natural and anthropogenic factors. However, few studies have investigated alterations in shell morphology over a historical perspective and considering chemical contamination and climate changes. The present study assessed shell form (shape and size) variations of limpet (Lottia subrugosa) shells sampled from 1950 to 1981 (past) in comparison with organisms obtained in 2018 (present). Differences between shells from the past and present (2018) were detected, being shell weight and height the two most important affected parameters. The differences observed were attributed to the possible increase in contamination over the years due to human population growth and to climate change. Additionally, when shells from the past were evaluated according to the decade they were sampled, results indicate that it was necessary an interval of 40 years to shell form be altered within populations.In order to maintain the hydraulic outflow in land reclaimed canalizations, the competent agencies provide to mechanically mow the Giant Reed (Arundo donax, L. 1753) along the aquatic ecosystem banks. Nevertheless, the reeds mowed can be transported away from the waters following storm surges and can be deposited in large quantities along the sandy beaches. We carried out a stratified study in a Mediterranean sandy beach to test the hypothesis that Giant Reed wrack may act as a sink and barrier for plastic beach litter. We observed a large amount of plastic litter entrapped in the Arundo donax wrack (density of 0.868 items/m2), with a higher density when compared to both the inner and the shoreline belts. Density of litter is significantly higher considering the categories of meso- and micro-plastics. Organic macrophyte wrack is useful for dunal macrodetritivorous invertebrates and generally for fauna communities, which use this litter as refuge and trophic pabulum. LTGO-33 mouse Significant accumulations of organic wrack can mitigate coastal erosion; nevertheless, for its structural characteristics, Arundo wrack can also act as a barrier for litter towards the inner vegetated dunes, so entrapping a large amount of anthropogenic litter. In this regard, Arundo wrack can represent a sink habitat, first attracting (due to large availability of detritus with a relative high rate of decomposition) and then, entrapping many organisms in anthropogenic litter. We suggest that, once mechanically mowed, the land reclaimed agencies should periodically remove from the channel banks the Arundo donax reeds, impeding the accumulation of incoherent vegetated matter along the aquatic ecosystem banks.Bulk sedimentary phosphorus (P) is studied to evaluate its source, distribution, preservation and enrichment in relation with organic carbon (OC), sediment textures and moisture contents in the northern Beibu Gulf. Approximately 80% of surface sediments in the investigated sites were composed of coarse sandy texture (>63 μm). Total P (TP), inorganic P (IP) and organic P (OP) contents were lower to medium range compared to the levels reported for other marginal seas. Sedimentary OC and P were derived from mixed sources, with high terrestrial influence in the coastal areas (molar OC/OP ratios >2501). The distribution of P corroborated with the variation tendency of fine-grained sediments, moisture contents and OC. Both IP and OP may significantly influence the trophic state of seawater if released from surface sediments. Influenced by hydrodynamics, frequent resuspension and high abundance of sand, TP is less preserved, and shows low to moderate enrichment in surface sediments.French Polynesia exhibits a wide diversity of islands and coral-reef habitats, from urbanized high islands to remote atolls. Here, we present a geographically extensive baseline survey that examine the concentrations of nine metals (Ag, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) and one metalloid (As) in superficial sediments from 28 sites spread over three islands of French Polynesia. We used Principal Component Analysis, Pearson's correlation, hierarchical cluster analysis and generalized linear mixed-effect models on Pollution Load Index to investigate site contamination and metal(loid) associations. At most sites, metal(loid) concentrations were below commonly applied sediment quality guidelines. However, a few sites located near farming activities, river discharges and urbanized areas showed concentrations above these guidelines. This study provides critical baseline values for metal(loid) contaminants in this region and in coral-reef areas in general, and spur decreased discharge of metal(loid) contaminants in the anthropogenised areas of French Polynesia.As the largest inland sea of China, the Bohai Sea has confronted significant environmental changes in recent decades, and a shift of phytoplankton community from diatoms to dinoflagellates was observed by microscopic method in previous studies. However, the counting of some small-sized non-diatoms (e.g., flagellates and cyanobacteria) have long been neglected due to the limitation of this method. In this study, we measured the phytoplankton community structure and abundance in the central Bohai Sea in summer and autumn of 2015 by employing both microscopic method and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigments - CHEMTAX analysis. The results of microscopic counting showed that the phytoplankton community was characterized by diatoms, dinoflagellates, and chrysophytes, which contained a total of 107 species. Dinoflagellates and diatoms co-dominated in summer while the latter became the dominant group in autumn. Compared with microscopic counting, CHEMTAX analysis allowed identification of a larger nination of both the methods is needed in future investigations to better understand the current status as well as the future changes of phytoplankton community.The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella spp. in the source waters of shrimp farms in the Nagapattinam region of South India was investigated. Water and sediment samples (188 Nos.) collected from 23 natural creeks during December 2018 to April 2019 were examined for Salmonella spp. by conventional and PCR methods. The study indicated 28.7% of water and 25.5% of sediment isolates as Salmonella spp., while PCR test gave positive for 7.44% and 5.15% of the isolates, respectively. The isolates were resistant to sulfonamide (SF), but sensitive to tetracycline (TC), chloramphenicol (CAP), and furazolidone (FZ). PCR amplification of mitochondrial 16S rRNA region identified the highly resistant Salmonella serovar as S. Montevideo, which is an emerging food-borne pathogen. The incidence of antibiotic-resistant S. Montevideo reported for the first time in the natural creeks that supply water for shrimp farms emphasizes the need for regulatory steps to control its prevalence.Microplastic occurrence and composition were investigated along the Polish coast (southern Baltic Sea) on 12 beaches differing in terms of intensity of their touristic exploitation, urbanisation and sediment characteristics. Their mean concentrations varied between 76 and 295 items per kg dry sediment. Fibres and plastic fragments were the dominant microplastic types. Overall, no relationship was found between their concentrations and sediment characteristics. Fine sediments were not identified as microplastic pollution traps. The highest microplastic concentrations were recorded at some urban beaches indicating that population density and the level of coastal infrastructure development are important factors affecting microplastic pollution level on beaches. On the other hand, microplastic concentrations in national parks did not differ substantially from the other beaches. Our results suggest that sediment accumulation processes may exceed microplastic accumulation, and overcome the effect of tourism and/or urbanisation, highlighting the role of the beach hydrodynamic status in structuring beach microplastic pollution.The International Maritime Organization and U.S. Coast Guard have implemented regulations to reduce introductions of non-indigenous species via ballast water (BW). For phytoplankton, regulations limit discharges to less then 10 live/viable cells mL-1 (size 10-50 μm), ignoring other size fractions. Additionally, challenge conditions of 100 (shipboard) and 1000 (land-based) cells mL-1 are required in BW management system certification testing. How these requirements correspond to natural phytoplankton populations is poorly resolved. We analyzed phytoplankton samples from 31 major ports to evaluate a) how natural communities compare to challenge requirements and b) abundances of unregulated size fractions (i.e., less then 10 and ≥50 μm). None of the ports met land-based challenge conditions, and only 32% met requirements for shipboard testing. Approximately 71% of organisms ≥50 μm were centric diatoms, also unregulated by current protocols. This study demonstrates that current regulations do not consider natural phytoplankton populations, limiting control efforts for potentially harmful non-indigenous species.Microplastic (MP) pollution has become a global concern. We aim to quantify the extent of MP pollution in the coastal ecosystem of the Port Blair Bay, A&N Islands. Water, sediment, zooplankton, finfish, and shellfish samples were collected from the Port Blair Bay and analyzed for the presence of MP. Average concentrations of MP in water, sediment, zooplankton, finfish, and shellfishes were found to be 0.93 ± 0.59 particles per m3, 45.17 ± 25.23 particles per kilogram, 0.12 ± 0.07 pieces per zooplankter and 10.65 ± 7.83 particles per specimen, respectively. High amount of MP retention was observed in the zooplankton community. Maximum MP ingestion was observed in adult Carangoides malabaricus. Fiber was most abundant in water, sediment, and fish samples, followed by fragment and pellet. However, fragments were predominant in zooplankton. Nylon, acrylic, and ionomer surlyn were most abundant polymer types in the bay environment. These results demand further attention to combat plastic pollution in the coastal ecosystem.