A microcosm approach for evaluating the microbial nonylphenol and butyltin biodegradation and bacterial community shifts in co-contaminated bottom sediments from the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea.

Pollution of aquatic ecosystems with nonylphenol (NP) and butyltins (BuTs) is of great concern due to their effects on endocrine activity, toxicity to aquatic organisms, and extended persistence in sediments. The impact of contamination with NP and/or BuTs on the microbial community structure in marine sediments was investigated using microcosms and high-throughput sequencing. Sediment microcosms with NP (300 mg/kg) and/or BuTs (95 mg/kg) were constructed.

Organotin compounds (OTs) in surface sediments, bivalves and algae from the Russian coast of the Barents Sea (Kola Peninsula) and the Fram Strait (Svalbard Archipelago).

Organotin pollution in components of benthic ecosystems was investigated in 2019 in the Barents Sea (South shore, Kola Peninsula) and the Fram Strait (Icefjord, Svalbard Archipelago). Six species of organotin compounds (OTs), including monobutyltin, dibutyltin, tributyltin, tetrabutyltin, triphenyltin and tricyclohexyltin, were measured in the surface sediments, bivalve molluscs (Ciliatocardium ciliatum, Macoma calcarea, Chlamys islandica) and macrophyte algae (Saccharina latissima, Palmaria palmata, Ulvaria obscura, Fucus serratus, Fucus distichus). The results obtained showed moderate contamination of the studied samples with OTs.

Organotin Compounds (OTCs) in Saccharina latissima (Phaeophyceae) from the Barents Sea.

The degree of contamination of Saccharina latissima, the dominant species among macrophyte algae in the sublittoral zones of the Kola Bay and Eastern Murman of the Barents Sea, with organotin compounds (monobutyltin, dibutyltin, tributyltin, tetrabutyltin, triphenyltin, and tricyclohexyltin) has been assessed. The results show a moderate degree of contamination of the studied samples with organotin compounds. The total concentration of six tin compounds was 17-74 ng/g (dry weight) in algal samples.

Participation of the Green Algae Ulvaria obscura in Bioremediation of Sea Water from Oil Products.

Participation of green algae in bioremediation of sea water from oil products (OPs) has been studied. Decrease in the content of OPs in water is accompanied by their accumulation by the alga Ulvaria obscura (Chlorophyta). It has been assumed that neutralization of OPs in Ulvaria occurs, similarly to Fucus vesiculosus (Phaeophyta), all over the thallome: destruction of OPs starts on the alga surface by epiphytic hydrocarbonoxidizing bacteria providing absorption and subsequent degradation of OPs by plant cells.

Occurrence of PCDD/PCDFs, dioxin-like PCBs, and PBDEs in surface sediments from the Neva River and the Eastern Gulf of Finland (Russia).

A total of 26 samples of surface sediments collected in the Neva River (including the St. Petersburg city area) and in the Russian part of the Gulf of Finland were analyzed for 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs), and 10 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The concentrations of total PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs in sediments ranged from < 0.