Effect of temperature and sunlight on the leachability potential of BPA and phthalates from plastic litter under marine conditions.

This study investigates the leaching potential of several additives embedded in six different plastic types when exposed to extreme simulated marine conditions for 140 days. The findings achieved herein contribute to a better understanding of the impact of macro- and microplastics leaching harmful compounds (bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates) in the marine environment when exposed to harsh climatic conditions. Leachability experiments showed that bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and BPA were detected in seawater (SW) samples.

Contamination of planktonic food webs in the Mediterranean Sea: Setting the frame for the MERITE-HIPPOCAMPE oceanographic cruise (spring 2019).

This paper looks at experiential feedback and the technical and scientific challenges tied to the MERITE-HIPPOCAMPE cruise that took place in the Mediterranean Sea in spring 2019. This cruise proposes an innovative approach to investigate the accumulation and transfer of inorganic and organic contaminants within the planktonic food webs. We present detailed information on how the cruise worked, including 1) the cruise track and sampling stations, 2) the overall strategy, based mainly on the collection of plankton, suspended particles and water at the deep chlorophyll maximum, and the separation of these particles and planktonic organisms into various size fractions, as well as the collection of atmospheric deposition, 3) the operations performed and material used at each station, and 4) the sequence of operations and main parameters analysed.

Insights into the degradation mechanism of PET and PP under marine conditions using FTIR.

Plastics possess diverse functional properties that have made them extremely desirable. However, due to poor waste management practices, large quantities eventually end up in the oceans where their degradation begins. Hence, it is imperative to understand and further investigate the dynamics of this process.

Acute and chronic toxicity assessments of 17β-estradiol (E) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE) on the calanoid copepod Acartia clausi: Effects on survival, development, sex-ratio and reproduction.

Estrogens, such as the 17β-estradiol (E2) and the 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), have been regarded as a global threat to aquatic ecosystems due to their pseudo-persistence, their high estrogenic activity and their toxicity towards non-target species. Data regarding their ecotoxicological effects on marine calanoid copepods are very scarce. In this study, the calanoid copepod Acartia clausi was used as a model organism for estrogens exposure in marine pelagic ecosystems.

Effects of nickel oxide nanoparticles on survival, reproduction, and oxidative stress biomarkers in the marine calanoid copepod Centropages ponticus under short-term exposure.

Excessive use of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) in various industrial and commercial products can lead to various negative effects in human and environmental health due to their possible discharge into the environment. Nerveless, information about their ecotoxicological effects on marine organisms are lacking. Copepods are good ecotoxicological models because of their high sensitivity to environmental stress and their key role in the marine food webs.

A novel index based on planktonic copepod reproductive traits as a tool for marine ecotoxicology studies.

Copepods are excellent bioindicators of climate change and ecosystem pollution in anthropized coastal waters. This work reviewed the results of previous studies examining changes in egg production rate (EPR), hatching success (HS), and nauplius survival rate (NSR) in natural conditions and in the presence of pollutants, including heavy metals and organic contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). At high concentrations, cadmium and silver induce an increase in EPR in the copepods Acartia tonsa and Acartia hudsonica, while exposure to mercury decreases EPR in adults by 50%.

Occurrence of epibenthic dinoflagellates in relation to biotic substrates and to environmental factors in Southern Mediterranean (Bizerte Bay and Lagoon, Tunisia): An emphasis on the harmful Ostreopsis spp., Prorocentrum lima and Coolia monotis.

Harmful events associated with epibenthic dinoflagellates, have been reported more frequently over the last decades. Occurrence of potentially toxic benthic dinoflagellates, on the leaves of two magnoliophytes (Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera noltei) and thalli of the macroalgae (Ulva rigida), was monitored over one year (From May 2015 to April 2016) in the Bizerte Bay and Lagoon (North of Tunisia, Southern Mediterranean Sea). The investigated lagoon is known to be highly anthropized.

Toxicity assessment of cadmium chloride on planktonic copepods using biochemical markers.

Pollution of the aquatic environment by heavy metals has become a worldwide problem. Most heavy metals exhibit toxic waste on aquatic organisms. Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic metal which affects aquatic organisms acutely and chronically.

Jellyfish Stings Trigger Gill Disorders and Increased Mortality in Farmed Sparus aurata (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Jellyfish are of particular concern for marine finfish aquaculture. In recent years repeated mass mortality episodes of farmed fish were caused by blooms of gelatinous cnidarian stingers, as a consequence of a wide range of hemolytic, cytotoxic, and neurotoxic properties of associated cnidocytes venoms. The mauve stinger jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa) has been identified as direct causative agent for several documented fish mortality events both in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea aquaculture farms.