Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in the sediments and their impacts on bacterial community structure: A case study of Bamen Bay in China.

Heavy metal pollution associated with human activity is of big concern in tropical bays. Microorganisms may be highly sensitive to heavy metals. Nonetheless, little is known about effects of heavy metals on microbial structure in tropical bay sediments.

Functional Traits of Terrestrial Plants in the Intertidal: A Review on Mangrove Trees.

AbstractTrue mangroves are vascular plants (Tracheophyta) that evolved into inhabiting the mid and upper intertidal zone of tropical and subtropical soft-sediment coasts around the world. While several dozens of species are known from the Indo-West Pacific region, the Atlantic-East Pacific region is home to only a mere dozen of true mangrove species, most of which are rare. Mangrove trees can form dense monospecific or multispecies stands that provide numerous ecosystem services.

A functional analysis reveals extremely low redundancy in global mangrove invertebrate fauna.

Deforestation results in habitat fragmentation, decreasing diversity, and functional degradation. For mangroves, no data are available on the impact of deforestation on the diversity and functionality of the specialized invertebrate fauna, critical for their functioning. We compiled a global dataset of mangrove invertebrate fauna comprising 364 species from 16 locations, classified into 64 functional entities (FEs).

Pond aquaculture effluents feed an anthropogenic nitrogen loop in a SE Asian estuary.

Coastal aquaculture expansion resulted in mangrove area loss and ecosystem degradation in the past decades, mainly in tropical Asia. Despite increasing environmental concerns regarding nutrient and organic matter-rich effluents, little is known on the effects on adjacent estuarine and coastal food webs. To assess the impact and fate of anthropogenic nitrogen released from aquaculture facilities, we studied water quality and nitrogen (N) flow across an estuarine food web in an estuary in Hainan, China, using nitrogen stable isotopes (δN).

The impact of acute benzo(a)pyrene on antioxidant enzyme and stress-related genes in tropical stony corals (Acropora spp.).

Coral reefs have extremely high ecological value in tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. However, they have been subjected to the most extensive and prolonged damage in recent decades. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous hazardous pollutants and are highly resistant to degradation in marine environments.

Mangrove Crab Ucides cordatus Removal Does Not Affect Sediment Parameters and Stipule Production in a One Year Experiment in Northern Brazil.

Mangrove crabs influence ecosystem processes through bioturbation and/or litter feeding. In Brazilian mangroves, the abundant and commercially important crab Ucides cordatus is the main faunal modifier of microtopography establishing up to 2 m deep burrows. They process more than 70% of the leaf litter and propagule production, thus promoting microbial degradation of detritus and benefiting microbe-feeding fiddler crabs.

Accumulation patterns of lipophilic organic contaminants in surface sediments and in economic important mussel and fish species from Jakarta Bay, Indonesia.

Non-target screening analyses were conducted in order to identify a wide range of organic contaminants in sediment and animal tissue samples from Jakarta Bay. High concentrations of di-iso-propylnaphthalenes (DIPNs), linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in all samples, whereas phenylmethoxynaphthalene (PMN), DDT and DDT metabolites (DDX) were detected at lower concentrations. In order to evaluate the uptake and accumulation by economic important mussel (Perna viridis) and fish species, contaminant patterns of DIPNs, LABs and PAHs in different compartments were compared.

Burrows of the semi-terrestrial crab Ucides cordatus enhance CO2 release in a North Brazilian mangrove forest.

Ucides cordatus is an abundant mangrove crab in Brazil constructing burrows of up to 2 m depth. Sediment around burrows may oxidize during low tides. This increase in sediment-air contact area may enhance carbon degradation processes.

A combined chemical and biological assessment of industrial contamination in an estuarine system in Kerala, India.

The Cochin Backwaters in India are part of the Vembanad-Kol system, which is a protected wetland and one of the largest estuarine ecosystems in South Asia. The backwaters are a major supplier of fisheries resources and are developed as tourist destination. Periyar River discharges into the northern arm of the system and receives effluents from chemical, petrochemical and metal processing industries which release huge amounts of wastewaters after little treatment.

Anthropogenic organic contaminants in water, sediments and benthic organisms of the mangrove-fringed Segara Anakan Lagoon, Java, Indonesia.

Segara Anakan, a mangrove-fringed coastal lagoon in Indonesia, has a high diversity of macrobenthic invertebrates and is increasingly affected by human activities. We found > 50 organic contaminants in water, sediment and macrobenthic invertebrates from the lagoon most of which were polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). Composition of PACs pointed to petrogenic contamination in the eastern lagoon.