Plastic pollution in a special protected area for migratory birds.

Plastic pollution in Special Protected Areas for Migratory Birds and Sites of Community Importance is a growing environmental concern. These areas, often designated to provide safe habitats for migratory bird species, are increasingly threatened by plastic litter. In this study, we conducted the first assessment of plastic litter, ranging from macro to microplastics, in beach sediments from two sites (Montorsoli Beach and Pylon Beach) along the coast of the Strait of Messina, a Special Protected Area, to assess beach quality and ecological risk.

Flavonoids derived from medicinal plants as a COVID-19 treatment.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 disease. Through its viral spike (S) protein, the virus enters and infects epithelial cells by utilizing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a host cell's receptor protein. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on global public health and economies.

Plastic litter colonization in a brackish water environment.

Transitional waters, including coastal ponds, represent unique environments. These distinct ecosystems are often among the most severely polluted systems due to intensive human activities. Our study marks the first evaluation of aquatic invertebrates associated with plastic litter in two brackish ponds.

Exploring the Impact of Contaminants of Emerging Concern on Fish and Invertebrates Physiology in the Mediterranean Sea.

In this historical context, the Mediterranean Sea faces an increasing threat from emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, heavy metals, pesticides and microplastics, which pose a serious risk to the environment and human health. In this regard, aquatic invertebrates and fish are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of these pollutants, and several species have been identified as bio-indicators for their detection. Among these, bivalve molluscs and elasmobranchs are now widely used as bio-indicators to accurately assess the effects of contaminants.

Is Wild Marine Biota Affected by Microplastics?

The present review provides detailed information on the adverse effects of MPs on wild marine organisms, including tissue damage, fish condition, oxidative stress, immune toxicity, and genotoxicity. A bibliometric analysis was carried out on CiteSpace (version 6.1.

Investigating the effects of microplastic ingestion in Scyliorhinus canicula from the South of Sicily.

Plastic pollution is increasing dramatically worldwide, causing adverse effects on a wide variety of marine organisms at all trophic levels. As predators, sharks play a key role in marine ecosystems and they could especially be threatened by the ingestion of microplastics. This study contributes to expand the existing data on the MPs ingestion by a Mediterranean elasmobranch species, Scyliorhinus canicula, adding new information on the potential impact that this class of contaminants can have on the metabolism of this ecologically relevant species.

Microplastics in the bogue, Boops boops: A snapshot of the past from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea.

The present investigation focuses on Boops boops specimens gathered in the Gulf of Patti in 2010. Providing a snapshot from the past, this paper represents, chronologically, the first record of microplastic ingestion in the Mediterranean bogue. The plastic abundance and composition in gastrointestinal tracts of the bogue was assess, in order to improve the knowledge on spatial-temporal variability of microplastics pollution in the Mediterranean basin and in particular, in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea.

Plastics occurrence in the gastrointestinal tract of Zeus faber and Lepidopus caudatus from the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The present study investigates the occurrence of plastic pollution in two commercially important marine teleosts (Zeus faber and Lepidopus caudatus) from the northern coasts of Sicily (Tyrrhenian Sea). Plastics occurrence in the gastrointestinal tract was higher in Lepidopus caudatus (78.1%) than Zeus faber (51.