Search

Naval armed forces are commonly prone to stressors during military activities which are associated with their working environment. This can adversely impact the oral health of these personnel. This scoping review aimed to explore the literature concerning oral health among naval personnel. Relevant articles that reported oral health among naval armed forces published from 1990 to December 2022 were retrieved from five main databases. Of the 641 articles searched, 15 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Occurrences of caries, periodontal disease and barodontalgia were high among the naval armed forces, with a significant number of dental emergencies during deployment and training operations. The dental diseases and emergencies experienced by the naval personnel on duty may influence their performance during missions. Given the far-reaching effects of dental diseases among personnel in the naval armed forces, further prospective studies with standardised report investigating oral health and dental diseases are recommended. Oral health services in the naval armed forces can also be improved by increasing the dentist-to-navy personnel ratio both at the military bases and on board the vessels during missions, as well as designing preventive strategies to improve oral health among the naval personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil spills remain a persistent threat to marine life, but their long-term effects across different taxonomic groups are poorly understood. Few ecosystem models can predict the long-term effects of oil spills in marine systems due to data gaps and complexity of both marine systems and oil as a contaminant mixture. To support the development of regional ecosystem models, we reviewed the available data on the effects of oil spills on the marine ecosystem, and present and apply a process for selecting and assessing data on contaminant stressors. Our region of interest is the Salish Sea, a marginal sea in the Pacific Ocean, spanning the USA and Canada. We collate and present the data currently available on the impacts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oil-derived persistent organic pollutants, across multiple ecological groups within the Salish Sea. We then apply a scoring system to gauge the usefulness of those data for modelling the ecosystem impacts of these contaminant stressors. Within the available data on ecological processes and impacts of PAH, we identify data gaps in PAH uptake rates and metabolism across most biological groups, and in the overall effects of contaminants on marine mammals, sharks, and seabirds. These data gaps highlight research priorities that can enhance long-term risk assessments of oil-related contaminants on the marine ecosystem, and support broader modelling efforts and environmental management efforts in the Salish Sea and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical environmental problems in the marine and coastal environments of the Black Sea basin require international cooperation. Although there is no comprehensive assessment in the academic literature about these environmental problems, the Bucharest Convention has not been included in court decisions in Türkiye, and consequently, the convention has not been effectively incorporated into the judicial process in Türkiye. This article is to understand and measure the impact of the Bucharest Convention on Turkish domestic law and its implementation. In doing so, the significance and effectiveness of the convention in domestic law will be revealed, and ways to improve legislation and court decisions will be explored. Considering the protocols included in the Bucharest Convention, criteria have been identified, and the adequacy of Turkish legislation has been investigated. The criteria were determined through technical–legal analysis by the EFLD (Environmental and Forestry Law Department). The compliance of the convention with domestic legislation was evaluated statistically. As a result, Turkish legislation was found to be 71, 42% compatible with the convention. The study highlights the effectiveness of the Bucharest Convention in addressing deficiencies in domestic law in the areas of pollution caused by activities on the continental shelf (10%), pollution from or through the atmosphere (25%), cooperation in pollution response during emergencies (50%), and the conservation of living marine resources (50%). A notable outcome of the study is that the direct impact of the convention on court decisions is limited. There is a need to enhance the effectiveness of the convention by improving the capacity of actors involved in the judicial processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe environmental conditions can have a diverse impact on marine microorganisms, including bacteria. This can have an inevitable impact on the biofouling of membrane-based desalination plants. In this work, we have utilized indicator bacteria such as total coliform, fecal coliform, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as 16S rRNA sequencing, to investigate the impact of environmental conditions and spatial variations on the diversity of bacterial communities in the coastal waters and sediments from selected sites in Qatar. The concentration levels of indicator bacteria were affected by increasing temperatures and pH, and by decreasing salinity of seawater samples. Diversity indices and the molecular phylogeny demonstrated that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria were the dominant phyla in all locations. The most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the family level were from Flavobacteriaceae (27.07%, 4.31%) and Rhodobacteraceae (22.51%, 9.86%) in seawater and sediment, respectively. Alphaproteobacteria (33.87%, 16.82%), Flavobacteria (30.68%, 5.84%), and Gammaproteobacteria (20.35%, 12.45%) were abundant at the species level in both seawater and sediment, while Clostridia (13.72%) was abundant in sediment only. The results suggest that sediment can act as a reservoir for indicator bacteria, with higher diversity and lower abundance compared to seawater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: In Tasmania, Australia, the government's response to range-extending, barren-forming longspined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) includes rebuilding of southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) stocks to increase predation. But lobster preference for native species and continued barren expansion challenges the control efficacy. Aims: To determine the impact of lobster predation on C. rodgersii in different habitats. Methods: Multi-method dietary analysis consisting of stomach contents, faecal DNA and stable isotopes was performed on 64 lobsters from four habitats varying in barren extent and density of urchins and lobsters. Key results: C. rodgersii contributed to lobster diet in all barren habitats and was found in lobsters of every size class. Stable isotope and DNA analyses showed that C. rodgersii was more common in lobster diet than were targeted native species at incipient barren sites. Surprisingly, in extensive barrens C. rodgersii is less prominent in lobster diet. Conclusions: Combined with site-specific urchin population data, our findings indicated that lobster predation may be less effective at sites where most C. rodgersii individuals have reached a size refuge than at sites dominated by small urchins. Implications: Lobster predation may provide a useful control for smaller C. rodgersii , but top–down predatory control may be constrained at sites dominated by urchins that exceed the size suitable for lobster predation. Using a diverse set of methods, we investigated lobster diet in Tasmania to see whether lobsters prey on, and, consequently, contribute to the control of a destructive, range-extending sea urchin. We found that lobsters do consume the urchins, but to a lesser extent in the habitat where suitably sized urchins are scarce. These findings highlight the complexity of using native predators for pest control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Anthropology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Microplastics are small plastic materials often defined as those between 5 mm and 0.05 mm in size. Microplastics can have toxicological impacts on various biota, from gut blockages to the transport or leaching of toxicants used in their production or absorbed from the surrounding environment. Although microplastic research has increased significantly, microplastic research in Africa lags behind that of developed countries. South Africa is the African nation with the highest number of microplastic publications. We aimed to determine the current state of microplastic research in South Africa. A total of 46 publications on microplastics in South Africa have been produced. However, many of these publications use methods that might not be accurate in determining holistic descriptions of microplastics in the aquatic environment. Similarly, many ecologically relevant environments and species have not been investigated for microplastics in the country, including any atmospheric or terrestrial environment. We conclude that, although the research being produced in South Africa can be considered adequate, a singular standard method for sampling and assessing microplastics in South African environments is required. The production of such a standard method would be critical to use as a monitoring tool to determine and compare microplastic abundances across the country and globally. Significance: • More than 40 publications on microplastics have been produced in South Africa. • Microplastics have been discovered in multiple aquatic environments in South Africa, but have not been investigated in atmospheric or terrestrial environments. • Polymer analysis was limited in published research. • A standard method is required for comparing between studies. • Terrestrial and atmospheric microplastic studies are required.

Abstract Climate change is altering the distribution and abundance of marine species, especially in Arctic and sub‐Arctic regions. In the eastern Bering Sea, home of the world's largest run of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), juvenile sockeye salmon abundance has increased and their migration path shifted north with warming, 2002–2018. The reasons for these changes are poorly understood. For these sockeye salmon, we quantify environmental and biological covariate effects within spatio‐temporal species distribution models. Spatio‐temporally, with respect to juvenile sockeye salmon densities: (1) sea surface temperature had a nonlinear effect, (2) large copepod, Calanus, a minor prey item, had no effect, (3) age‐0 pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), a major prey item during warm years, had a positive linear effect, and (4) juvenile pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) had a positive linear effect. Temporally, annual biomass of juvenile sockeye salmon was nonlinearly related to sea temperature and positively related to age‐0 pollock and juvenile pink salmon abundance. Results indicate that sockeye salmon distributed with and increased in abundance with increases in prey, and reached a threshold for optimal temperatures in the eastern Bering Sea. Changes in population dynamics and distribution of sockeye salmon in response to environmental variability have potential implications for projecting specific future food securities and management of fisheries in Arctic waters.

Satellite-derived Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chla) time series products are essential for large-scale marine environmental monitoring. However, the plenty of missing pixels in current satellite Chla products severely hinder their applications for marine research, due to cloud contamination, solar glint, and unfavorable observation conditions. This study proposed a Chla time series gap-filling method for MODIS 8-day composite Chla product by integrating spatiotemporal information (STGF). This method employed spatially neighboring pixels with similar temporal variation to fill the missing values in time series, without involving training or auxiliary data. The performance of the STGF is assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. The correlation coefficients (CC) between gap-filled data and actual observations for years of 2004, 2010, 2016, and 2022 across the entire study area are all greater than 0.97. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and root mean square error (RMSE) are less than 16.1 % and 0.233 mg/m3, respectively. The proposed STGF outperformed linear interpolation and the DINEOF algorithm from both spatial and temporal perspectives, suggesting the effectiveness of STGF in handling continuous data gaps and capturing detailed Chla variation patterns, especially in regions with significant variability. The findings suggest that the proposed STGF method offers a viable alternative for filling missing values in Chla time series data. This supports the demand for long-term, large-scale, and high-coverage ocean color remote sensing data in marine environmental studies.

UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission launched the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in 2021 to boost global and sustainable Ocean governance. The initiative resulted from historical and political dynamics at the global and lower political scales, with maritime environmental and economic concerns becoming more prominent in 2010. The Ocean Decade's pillars include science and research, sustainability, conservation, and bridging gaps for a global Ocean-Climate-Biodiversity nexus. The Sustainable Development Goals recognized the importance of oceans and marine resources, and the Ocean was officially perceived as a determining factor of Climate Change at CoP 21 in 2015. Portugal has built integrated and far-reaching policies for ocean governance, including significant involvement with an international perspective since the Lisbon World Exhibition in 1998. In addition, the national government established a Ministry of the Sea in 2015 to re-develop relations with its maritime space. This article analyzes and compares the discourse of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals reports and the Portuguese government programs (2005–2022) to explore the prominent trends in Portuguese Ocean governance discourse and how global and national perspectives interact. Through this case study, the research aims to develop insights into the multiscalar impacts of promoting global and sustainable Ocean governance and its interaction with national perspectives.

Abstract While the utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding surveys for biodiversity monitoring continues to be demonstrated, the spatial and temporal variability of eDNA, and thus the limits of the differentiability of an eDNA signal, remains under‐characterized. In this study, we collected eDNA samples from distinct micro‐habitats (~40 m apart) in a rocky intertidal ecosystem over their exposure period in a tidal cycle. During this period, the micro‐habitats transitioned from being interconnected, to physically isolated, to interconnected again. Using a well‐established eukaryotic (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) metabarcoding assay, we detected 415 species across 28 phyla. Across a variety of univariate and multivariate analyses, using exclusively taxonomically assigned data as well as all detected amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), we identified unique eDNA signals from the different micro‐habitats sampled. This differentiability paralleled expected ecological gradients and increased as the sites became more physically disconnected. Our results demonstrate that eDNA biomonitoring can differentiate micro‐habitats in the rocky intertidal only 40 m apart, that these differences reflect known ecology in the area, and that physical connectivity informs the degree of differentiation possible. These findings showcase the potential power of eDNA biomonitoring to increase the spatial and temporal resolution of marine biodiversity data, aiding research, conservation, and management efforts.

Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) is increasingly used to detect animals in aquatic habitats, but uncertainty remains about the relationship between the present location of an animal relative to eDNA detections. In marine environments, physical characteristics—such as tides and currents—can influence the distribution of eDNA. In this study, we make use of hatchery net pens containing >46 million juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) in nearshore Southeast Alaska to test for dispersion of eDNA and the effects of tide. Initially, we collected and filtered surface water every 80 m along a 2 km transect to test eDNA attenuation over surface distance during incoming and outgoing tides on a single day. The following year, we sampled at three depths (0 m, 5 m, and 10 m) every 500 m along the same transect as well as along a perpendicular transect, to understand dispersion by depth and in additional directions. Chum salmon eDNA was quantified using species‐specific qPCR. We found that surface samples showed a consistent signal of decreasing chum salmon eDNA across the 2 km transect (R2 = 0.665), with the majority of eDNA detections within 1.5 km of the net pens. Tide had a significant effect, resulting in higher concentrations of chum DNA throughout the transect during incoming tide and a steeper decline in eDNA over distance during outgoing tide (R2 = 0.759). Depth affected chum salmon DNA concentration, with the majority of eDNA at the surface and a decreasing amount of DNA with increasing depth. This study addresses one of the critical knowledge gaps in applying eDNA to marine fisheries management by providing empirical evidence of eDNA dispersion and demonstrating that most eDNA detections are likely from nearby individuals that are either currently or recently present. Yet even at close proximity, eDNA signal strength fluctuates and depends on the physical environmental variables during a given sampling event.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been used for biodiversity conservation for decades. However, critics argue that evidence of their economic benefits is weak, particularly with regard to fisheries. This continued opposition to MPAs for fisheries slows progress towards conservation targets and undermines the economic and ecological sustainability of the oceans. This paper provides 48 examples of fishery-related and 31 of tourism-related economic benefits in 25 and 24 countries, respectively. There was no evidence of net costs of MPAs to fisheries anywhere. Fishery benefits included increased fish stocks, catch volumes, catch per unit effort, fecundity and larval export, and larger fish and lobsters. Well-designed and enforced MPAs provide sustainable benefits for fishing communities and even sub-optimally designed MPAs can provide economic advantages. MPAs represent one of the best strategies for maintaining the sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

Abstract It is critical to characterize submarine landslide hazards near dense coastal populations, especially in areas with active faults, which can trigger slope failure, subsequent tsunamis, and damage seabed infrastructure during earthquake shaking. Offshore southern California, numerous marine geophysical surveys have been conducted over the past decade, and high‐resolution bathymetric and subsurface data now cover about 60 percent of the total region between Point Conception and the United States‐Mexico border from the California coast out to the base of Patton Escarpment ∼200 km offshore. In a comprehensive compilation and interpretive mapping effort, we find evidence of seafloor failure throughout offshore southern California with nearly 1,500 submarine landslide‐related features, including 63 discrete slide deposits with debris and >1,400 slide‐related scarps. In our analysis, we highlight new mapping of submarine landslides in Catalina Basin, the Del Mar slide, the San Gabriel slide complex, and the 232 km2 San Nicolas slide, the largest area of any known submarine landslide mass offshore southern California. Analysis of the spatial distribution of submarine landslide features suggests that most mapped slide features are located relatively near coastal sediment sources, particularly during sea‐level lowstand conditions, which underscores the importance of sediment supply and sediment accumulation on low‐gradient slopes as failure preconditioning processes. Tectonically driven uplift at shelf edges and along basin flanks is another key preconditioning factor, and our results also suggest that earthquakes along active faults trigger mass wasting, especially for repeated, small‐scale failures on tectonically steepened slopes.

Abstract Background Injuries are a common occurrence in military recruit training, however due to differences in the capture of training exposure, injury incidence rates are rarely reported. Our aim was to determine the musculoskeletal injury epidemiology of military recruits, including a standardised injury incidence rate. Methods Epidemiological systematic review following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Five online databases were searched from database inception to 5th May 2021. Prospective and retrospective studies that reported data on musculoskeletal injuries sustained by military recruits after the year 2000 were included. We reported on the frequency, prevalence and injury incidence rate. Incidence rate per 1000 training days (Exact 95% CI) was calculated using meta-analysis to allow comparisons between studies. Observed heterogeneity (e.g., training duration) precluded pooling of results across countries. The Joanna Briggs Institute Quality Assessment Checklist for Prevalence Studies assessed study quality. Results This review identified 41 studies comprising 451,782 recruits. Most studies (n = 26; 63%) reported the number of injured recruits, and the majority of studies (n = 27; 66%) reported the number of injuries to recruits. The prevalence of recruits with medical attention injuries or time-loss injuries was 22.8% and 31.4%, respectively. Meta-analysis revealed the injury incidence rate for recruits with a medical attention injury may be as high as 19.52 injuries per 1000 training days; and time-loss injury may be as high as 3.97 injuries per 1000 training days. Longer recruit training programs were associated with a reduced injury incidence rate (p = 0.003). The overall certainty of the evidence was low per a modified GRADE approach. Conclusion This systematic review with meta-analysis highlights a high musculoskeletal injury prevalence and injury incidence rate within military recruits undergoing basic training with minimal improvement observed over the past 20 years. Longer training program, which may decrease the degree of overload experienced by recruit, may reduce injury incidence rates. Unfortunately, reporting standards and reporting consistency remain a barrier to generalisability. Trial registration PROSPERO (Registration number: CRD42021251080).

Abstract The red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) has one of the most valued fisheries in the southeastern United States and has been largely studied for its aquaculture potential with varied results that revealed production challenges. This study focused on addressing challenges in larval rearing and juvenile production of this species. Broodstock fish were acclimated in a 60 m3 tank equipped with recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and temperature control. After 1 year in captivity, fish volitionally spawned and larval rearing trials were conducted in replicated flow‐through seawater tanks ranging from 0.4 to 2.4 m3, at a temperature range of 24–26°C. Enriched s‐strain rotifers, Brachionus rotundiformis (lorica length of 100–210 μm), were used for first feeding. Enriched Artemia sp. were gradually introduced after 18 days post hatch (DPH). The survival rate before metamorphosis (12 DPH) averaged 66.09 ± 0.08%. Survival rate from yolk‐sac larvae to post‐metamorphic early juvenile averaged 4.43 ± 0.01%. At 40 DPH, early red snapper juveniles averaged 0.35 ± 0.02 g in weight and 28.83 ± 0.60 mm in standard length. A total of 31,849 fully weaned juveniles were harvested. This study demonstrates that small strain rotifers can be used exclusively as first feeding prey organism for red snapper larvae, representing a significant advancement for red snapper juvenile production.

Abstract We investigated the possible conditions to cryopreserve six marine microalgae that are frequently used in Taiwanese aquaculture: Amphora exigua, Isochrysis galbana, Nannochloropsis oculata, Seminavis gracilenta, Skeletonema costatum, and Tetraselmis elliptica. The approaches for microalgae cryopreservation with cooling from room temperature to −40°C, a rate of approximately −1°C/min, and final storage in liquid nitrogen at −196°C are described. We subsequently assessed the viability of cultures of these microalgae after thawing in a 40°C water bath and evaluated the relative survival rates to compare the suitability of cryoprotectant and cryopreservation conditions. We used four concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) of five cryoprotectants, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol (MeOH), glycerine (GLY), ethylene glycol (EG), and propylene glycol (PG), and found that the individual microalgae required distinct cryoprotectant and concentrations. Only S. costatum was not viable after cryopreservation under any of the conditions tested. Relative survival rates were 87.6% (A. exigua), 70.73% (I. galbana), 87.48% (N. oculata), 91.0% (S. gracilenta), and 57.8% (T. elliptica), when using 20% DMSO, 15% Gly, 20% EG, 20% DMSO, and 20% PG as cryoprotectants, respectively. In summary, we established suitable conditions to cryopreserve these five microalgae that will facilitate conserving their genetic diversity.

Abstract Four decades of research on the health effects of ‘connection to nature’ identifies many wellbeing advantages for young people. Yet this literature has developed largely without reference to biophysical evidence about mass biodiversity loss, the degradation of marine environments and climate change. As these interlocking planetary crises progress, children will be more likely to witness the marine environments they learn about degrade or disappear as they grow up. Improving ocean literacy is important to protect marine environments into the future. However little is known about how learning about ocean degradation affects young people's emotional wellbeing. We undertook qualitative research to investigate how ocean literacy educators in Aotearoa New Zealand view the content they deliver in relation to the emotional wellbeing of young people. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 21 key informants from non‐government organisations (NGOs), Ministry of Education funded programmes, university‐community partnerships, youth‐led initiatives and local and national museums and aquariums. Transcripts were analysed using the six steps of Braun and Clarke's (2022) reflexive thematic analysis. Ocean literacy education was described as positively affecting young people's emotional wellbeing through interactive experiences in coastal environments. These provided opportunities for experiencing wonder, curiosity and a shared sense of connection and belonging. Educators reported witnessing distress and overwhelm in young people when some information was delivered. This resulted in educators ‘not focusing on the negative’ and moving straight to solutions young people could take part in. Our findings provide opportunities for re‐imagining ocean literacy education as a space for promoting mental wellbeing, especially when young people have the opportunity to be part of collective experiences that promote joy and wonder. Intergenerational solutions where young people can be supported to take action with adults who work in solidarity with them are also recommended. Further research into how educators can be resourced to acknowledge and facilitate support around young people's negative emotional responses (such as grief, overwhelm and anxiety) is required. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The terrestrial and marine biotypes of Madagascar are critical priorities for conservation, with almost unparalleled levels of endemism, species diversity and human threat for a land area of its size. Field inventories and molecular-based research conducted from the mid 1980s to present have greatly expanded knowledge of the country's biota, for some groups with nearly exponential growth in measures of species diversity. I provide updated measures of estimated species diversity between a book with 289 contributors, published in 2003 (The Natural History of Madagascar), and a full-scale update with 539 contributors, published in 2022 (The New Natural History of Madagascar). I compare biodiversity information presented in the new book with data from the earlier book, providing insight into scientific advancements, and revised estimates of species richness and endemism of a range of taxonomic groups.

We present a data set reporting the checklist of the species of the phylum Rotifera for Italy, updating the one previously published in the series ‘Checklist delle Specie della Fauna d'Italia’ in 1995. The records of the updated checklist refer to the 483 taxa at the species and subspecies level currently known from national Italian territories (119 Bdelloidea, 362 Monogononta, 2 Seisonacea) at the regional level (22 terrestrial and nine marine geographical units). The records refer to various freshwater, limno-terrestrial, and marine coastal habitats. The previous checklist reported 245 taxa (54 Bdelloidea, 189 Monogononta, 2 Seisonacea): three taxa were removed because currently considered not valid and 241 were added, scanning 21 papers we found that were published between 1993 and 2020, expanding the regional records and including four papers older than 1993 with overlooked records in the previous checklist. The Rotifera data are part of the updated Checklist of the Italian Fauna, which is viewable on the LifeWatch Italy platform at https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/en/initiatives/checklist-fauna-italia-en/checklist and is freely available on the LifeWatch Italy Data Portal (https://dataportal.lifewatchitaly.eu/data). The checklist will be dynamically updated with new records; this paper describes the state of the art of the data set regarding Rotifera on May 2021.

The mollusc fauna of the Mediterranean Sea is still considered as the best-known marine mollusc fauna in the world. The previous modern checklists of marine Mollusca were produced by joint teams of amateurs and professionals. During the last years the Italian Society of Malacology (Società Italiana di Malacologia – S.I.M.) maintained an updated version of the Mediterranean checklist, that served as the backbone for the development of the new Italian checklist. According to the current version (updated on April 1st, 2021), 1,777 recognised species of marine molluscs are present in the Italian Economic Exclusive Zone, including also the Tyrrhenian coasts of Corsica and the continental shelf of the Maltese archipelago. The new checklist shows an increase of 17% of the species reported in the 1995 Checklist. This is largely (yet not solely) due to the new wave of studies based on Integrative Taxonomy approaches. A total of 135 species (7.6%) are strictly endemic to the Italian waters; 44 species (2.5%) are alien and correspond to the 28% of the Mediterranean alien marine molluscs. All eight extant molluscan classes are represented. The families represented in the Italian fauna are 307, an increase of 14.6% from the first checklist, partly due to new records and partly to new phylogenetic systematics. Compared with the whole Mediterranean mal-acofauna, the Italian component represents 71% in species and 61% in families, which makes it a very remarkable part of the Mediterranean fauna.

We present a data set reporting the checklist of the species belonging to the class Ascidiacea for the 9 Italian marine biogeographical units, updating the one previously published by Mastrototaro & Tursi in 2010. In detail, the updated checklist includes 138 taxa at species level (66 Aplousobranchia, 30 Phlebobranchia and 42 Stolidobranchia). Records refer to various marine habitats, including lagoons, harbours and semi-enclosed environments as well as deep habitats. The previous checklist reported 129 taxa (66 Aplousobranchia, 27 Phlebobranchia and 36 Stolidobranchia): in detail, 12 species were added, of which four newly described species, seven non-indigenous species and a new record for the Italian waters. On the other hand, three species reported in the previous checklist were removed: two because currently considered dubious, and one because its occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea is not actually confirmed. Finally, two species were renamed because they are considered synonyms of older ones and five species are currently accepted with new combinations. In addition, five species expanded their biogeographic distribution. The checklist data set will be dynamically updated with new records, and it will be freely available from Lifewatch Italy at https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/en/initiatives/checklist-fauna-italia-en/checklist. This note describes the state of the art of the Ascidian checklist data set until February 2022.

Currently, there is an urgent need for new antibacterial and antifungal agents to combat the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance. As the largest ecosystem on Earth, the marine ecosystem includes a vast array of microorganisms (primarily bacteria and fungi), plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates, making it a rich source of various antimicrobial compounds. Notably, terpenoids, known for their complex structures and diverse bioactivities, are a significant and promising group of compounds in the battle against bacterial and fungal infections. In the past five years, numerous antimicrobial terpenoids have been identified from marine organisms such as bacteria, fungi, algae, corals, sea cucumbers, and sponges. This review article provides a detailed overview of 141 terpenoids with antibacterial and/or antifungal properties derived from marine organisms between 2019 and 2024. Terpenoids, a diverse group of natural organic compounds derived from isoprene units, are systematically categorized based on their carbon skeleton structures. Comprehensive information is provided about their names, structures, biological sources, and the extent of their antibacterial and/or antifungal effectiveness. This review aims to facilitate the rapid identification and development of prospective antimicrobials in the pharmaceutical sector.

Nitrogen heterocycles have drawn considerable attention because of their structurally novel and significant biological activities. Marine-derived fungi, especially the Aspergillus species, possess unique metabolic pathways to produce secondary metabolites with novel structures and potent biological activities. This review prioritizes the structural diversity and biological activities of nitrogen heterocycles that are produced by marine-derived Aspergillus species from January 2019 to January 2024, and their relevant biological activities. A total of 306 new nitrogen heterocycles, including seven major categories—indole alkaloids, diketopiperazine alkaloids, quinazoline alkaloids, isoquinoline alkaloids pyrrolidine alkaloids, cyclopeptide alkaloids, and other heterocyclic alkaloids—are presented in this review. Among these nitrogen heterocycles, 52 compounds had novel skeleton structures. Remarkably, 103 compounds showed various biological activities, such as cytotoxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-virus, and enzyme-inhibitory activities, and 21 compounds showed potent activities. This paper will guide further investigations into the structural diversity and biological activities of nitrogen heterocycles derived from the Aspergillus species and their potential contributions to the future development of new natural drug products in the medicinal and agricultural fields.

Many studies have consistently demonstrated that the near-surface phytoplankton chlorophyll (Chl) levels in anticyclonic eddies (AEs) are higher than in cyclonic eddies (CEs) in the South Pacific Ocean (SPO), using remote sensing data, which is attributed to higher phytoplankton biomass or physiological adjustments in AEs. However, the characteristics of the Chl profile induced by mesoscale eddies and their underlying dynamic mechanism have not been comprehensively studied by means of field measurement, and the influence mechanism of environmental factors at different depths on Chl has not been investigated. To fill this gap, we utilized Biogeochemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) data to investigate the relationships between Chl concentration and environmental factors at different water layers and the underlying dynamic mechanisms of mesoscale eddies in the SPO. Our findings indicate that the same environmental factor can have different effects on Chl at different depths. Within a mixed layer (ML), the elevated Chl levels in AEs result from both physiological adjustments and increased phytoplankton biomass, and the former plays a more dominant role, which is induced by enhanced nutrient availability and weakened light, due to the deepening ML in AEs. At depths ranging from 50 m to 110 m, and between 110 m and 150 m (near the depth of pycnocline or the bottom of the euphotic zone), the dominant factor contributing to higher Chl levels in CEs is phytoplankton physiological adaptation driven by reduced temperature and light. At depths exceeding 150 m (beyond the euphotic zone), higher Chl in AEs is primarily caused by high phytoplankton biomass as a result of downwelling by eddy pumping. This work should advance our comprehensive understanding of the physical–biological interactions of mesoscale eddies and their impacts on primary productivity throughout the water column, and it should provide some implications for understanding the biogeochemical processes.

The current 2019–2021 marine pharmacology literature review provides a continuation of previous reviews covering the period 1998 to 2018. Preclinical marine pharmacology research during 2019–2021 was published by researchers in 42 countries and contributed novel mechanism-of-action pharmacology for 171 structurally characterized marine compounds. The peer-reviewed marine natural product pharmacology literature reported antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis, and antiviral mechanism-of-action studies for 49 compounds, 87 compounds with antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activities that also affected the immune and nervous system, while another group of 51 compounds demonstrated novel miscellaneous mechanisms of action, which upon further investigation, may contribute to several pharmacological classes. Thus, in 2019–2021, a very active preclinical marine natural product pharmacology pipeline provided novel mechanisms of action as well as new lead chemistry for the clinical marine pharmaceutical pipeline targeting the therapy of several disease categories.

Talaromyces, a filamentous fungus widely distributed across terrestrial and marine environments, can produce a diverse array of natural products, including alkaloids, polyketones, and polyketide-terpenoids. Among these, chrodrimanins represented a typical class of natural products. In this study, we isolated three previously undescribed pentaketide-sesquiterpenes, 8,9-epi-chrodrimanins (1–3), along with eight known compounds (4–11). The structures of compounds 1–3 were elucidated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS), while their absolute configurations were determined through X-ray crystallography and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) computations. The biosynthetic pathways of compounds 1–3 initiate with 6-hydroxymellein and involve multiple stages of isoprenylation, cyclization, oxidation, and acetylation. We selected four strains of gastrointestinal cancer cells for activity evaluation. We found that compound 3 selectively inhibited MKN-45, whereas compounds 1 and 2 exhibited no significant inhibitory activity against the four cell lines. These findings suggested that 8,9-epi-chrodrimanins could serve as scaffold compounds for further structural modifications, potentially leading to the development of targeted therapies for gastric cancer.

The macroalgae collection of the UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) Herbarium has been utilized as a resource by students and researchers at UCSB. In order to increase the scientific value of the collection, we have initiated a digitization project to add to a growing data set being assembled by a consortium of seaweed herbaria. Collectively, these data can be used to address questions of changing climate, ocean currents, invasive species, and biodiversity along the Pacific Coast of North America. Our IMLS-funded digitization project is focused on digitizing ca. 10,000 specimens in our Pacific Coast of North America collection. Our digital data are currently available on two Symbiota-based web portals: The Consortium of California Herbaria 2 and the Macroalgal Herbarium Portal. Our data are also aggregated and shared worldwide through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Our digitization project is not only creating high-quality public data, but also is providing ample opportunities for learning about algae and the activities associated with curation in a natural history museum. USCB students, interns, and volunteers gain hands-on experience with our collections, seaweed identification, and phycological special events. The history and scientific insight that herbaria can tell argue for the importance of their preservation and for the continued need for new field collections. Reimagining these collections to present them to a wider audience increases the kinds of voices in science and the types of questions that can be asked about our changing world. This poster was presented at the annual meeting for the Western Society of Naturalists, which in 2021 was held virtually.

Abstract Background Marine medicine is one of the medical fields that deals with the health and safety of people related to the sea but the marine medicine syllabus for education to the students is not specified yet. The present study aimed to develop the marine medicine syllabus to medical sciences students education. Methods This study was conducted in three phases. First, a literature review was conducted to find the concepts and topics related to marine medicine. Second, a content analysis research method was conducted. Data collection was done first by using semi-structured interviews with the 12 experts in marine medicine. Sampling was purposeful and continued until data saturation was reached. The information obtained from the interviews was analyzed by conventional content analysis with Geranheim's method. The found topics in the literature review and content analysis of interviews were combined and formed the initial draft of the marine medicine syllabus, which was validated with the Delphi method in the third phase. The Delphi was conducted in two rounds and the panel consisted of 18 experts in the field of marine medicine. After the completion of each round, the items that had less than 80% consensus among the participants were removed and the remaining topics after round two formed the final syllabus of the marine medicine. Results The findings showed that the marine medicine syllabus should include an overview of marine medicine, health at sea, common physical diseases and injuries at sea, subsurface medicine and hyperbaric, safety action in marine incidents, medical care at sea, psychology at sea and medical examinations of people working at sea main topics and their sub topics. Conclusions Marine medicine is an extent and specialized medical field which has been neglected and it is necessary to teach this lesson to medical sciences students with the syllabus found in the present study.

The Maritime Power strategy is of great and far-reaching significance for the high-quality development of China. With the development of this strategy in recent years, academics and the government have been increasingly focusing on marine and national defense issues. It is of great theoretical value and practical significance to clarify the destination images of China's marine national defense tourism and its mode of communication to enhance tourists' national identity. Using data from 15 marine national defense tourist attractions, this study analyzes the official projections and tourist perceptions of marine national defense tourism in China. Key elements were identified using social semantic network and image depth analyses. The Jaccard distance score and Stuart Hall's encoding and decoding theory were applied to explore the internal differences in projections and perceptions in different regions and propagation modes. The results are as follows: (1) China's marine national defense tourism destination images have distinct regional characteristics. The cultural and military images of the northern coastal region were more distinct than the other two regions, the maritime and educational significance of the eastern coastal region was more prominent than the other two regions, and the historical and international characteristics of the southern coastal region were more significant than the other two regions. (2) The projected and perceived destination images of China's marine national defense tourism are focused on tourism. Each scenic spot emphasizes its own social and educational value, while tourists are more impressed by interactive and experiential events than by those ornamental events. 3) The dominant and consultative modes are the main dissemination modes of China's marine national defense tourism destination images, and the dominant mode is mainly embodied in national identity, which is presented through concrete cultural resources, educational activities, and so on. The negotiation model is more significant on tourism activities and tourism infrastructure, while no evident manifestations were observed in the oppositional model. Finally, this study provides recommendations for the construction and promotion of China's marine national defense tourism destination images, such as improving the infrastructure and services to enhance the tourism image, playing an active role in education to strengthen the national identity, broadening the channels of image dissemination, and paying attention to the management of guest-host co-construction.

In oligotrophic regions, ammonium (NH4+) concentrations can be below 50 nM, however, few existing instruments can measure below this level with high confidence. This work, based on the o-pthaldialdehyde (OPA) fluorescence assay, is applied to measure nanomolar NH4+ in a novel optofluidic Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC) microchip using a low-power (20 mW) Light Emitting Diode (LED) as the excitation source. The optical arrangement was first modeled using ray tracing software to determine the initial detection volume size. Ammonium standards made with artificial seawater of 5 nM to 1000 nM, were run in triplicates. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained was 1.5 nM (3 x σ of the blank) or a LOD of 15 nM when the y-intercept and the vertical variation of each measured concentration on the calibration curve were taken into consideration (y-intercept +3. S y/x). Precision at 5 nM and 1000 nM was 3.3% and 0.5% respectively. The optofluidic system was also compared to an off-the-shelf fluorometer (Jasco FP2020) and an existing high-resolution shipboard analyser using five different standard concentrations. The LOD and the ammonium concentrations uncertainty for the Jasco FP2020, shipboard analyser, and current microsystem were 217 nM, 39 nM, and 15 nM and ± 232 nM, ± 48 nM, and ± 16 nM respectively. The optical setup was also validated using real samples from the Atlantic. This optical design, without optical fibres, makes the system simple and suitable for use with other fluorescent assays when compact, rugged, low-cost, and low-power consumption instrumentation is required.