There have been numerous reports of plastic debris accumulation in surface waters of the central North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Further, incidences have been reported of plastic ingestion by different marine organisms, including seabirds and small planktivorous fishes. Diet studies (2007 to 2012) of predatory pelagic fishes from this general region showed repeat observations of anthropogenic m...

An individual's environmental history may have delayed effects on its physiology and life history at later stages in life because of irreversible plastic responses of early ontogenesis to environmental conditions. We chose a marine fish, the common sole, as a model species to study these effects, because it inhabits shallow marine areas highly exposed to environmental changes. We tested whether...

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires EU member states (MS) to develop and implement marine strategies containing programs of measures to protect and preserve the marine environment. Prior to their implementation, impact assessments, including Cost-Benefit-Analyses (CBA), need to be carried out. While the costs of introducing such measures are often relatively easy to determin...

Annelids are among the first coelomates and are therefore of special phylogenetic interest. They constitute an important part of the biomass of the seashore, estuaries, fresh water and terrestrial soils. Moreover, they occupy a central position in the trophic networks, as a major food source for fishes, birds and terrestrial fauna. Among Annelids, the large majority of polychaetes is restricted...

The surface of many marine organisms is colonized by complex communities of microbes, yet our understanding of the diversity and role of host-associated microbes is still limited. We investigated the association between Ectopleura crocea (a colonial hydroid distributed worldwide in temperate waters) and prokaryotic assemblages colonizing the hydranth surface. We used, for the first time on a ma...

In the present study the hydrographical parameters like temperature, hydrogen ion concentration (pH), salinity, conductivity, light penetration, turbidity, total suspended solids (mg/l), total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen (mg/l), biological oxygen demand (mg/l) and nutrients of the surface waters were studied in both stations of Manamelkudi and S.P. Pattinam. All the physico-chemical para...

Pollution of marine waters is one of the important issues that has a irreparable effects. Also, in the organic oil pollutants, due to inappropriate effects on the environment and humans health and ability to create cancer, hydro carbons of polycyclic (PAHS) and heavy metals (Ni,Hg,V) have a particular importance. According to the importance of study of the environ mental contaminants in the fou...

Ships transport about 80 percent of world trade and transfer approximately three to five billion tons of ballast water internationally every year. Due to the likely presence of pollutants, the ballast water discharged by ships can have negative effects on aquatic ecosystems. This study was conducted on 10 ships that entered the Bushehr port to determine the effectiveness of the ballast water ex...