A microplastics (MPs) emergence study in pelagic and mesopelagic species was carried out to delineate coastal degradation and ecosystem status around the Karachi metropolis. Species of high commercial and ecological worth were sampled using a gillnet of 1.5 cm knot-to-knot mesh size in November and December 2021. In total twenty-six individuals including Liza subviridis (15), Thryssa dussumieri (3), Rastrelliger kanagurta (2), and Portunus sanguinolentus (6) were used to perceive MPs. A strong linearity between body length and MPs (R2 = 0.937, SE 0.071 and R2 = 0.928, SE 0.104) were calculated for L. subviridis and P. sangiuilatus, respectively. However, the data of T. dussummeiri and R. Kanagurta showed minimization failure. The MPs in GIT were extracted using direct observation under a sophisticated binuclear microscope and chemical digestion (KOH) together with wet peroxide oxidation (H2O2+FeSO4) methods. The MP materials were categorized as foam, film, fiber, fragment, and beads of three different sizes 170, 120, 100 μm in the stomach, intestine, and esophagus. Film-type MPs appeared frequently, whereas beads were rarely seen. It is hoped that this baseline research would help to minimize industrial release, recognize critical knowledge gaps, and demonstrate MP flux being released into the aquatic environment. The results will support mitigation of this emerging threat to the living resources around the Karachi coastal area.
Une série de films et de photographies du monde entier qui vise à enrichir notre connaissance, notre appréciation et notre compréhension de l'économie bleue.
On field trips to Hibernia Reef off the coast of Western Australia Jenna CROWE-RIDDELL, and colleagues from the University of Adelaide, filmed a male turtle-headed sea snake (Emydocephalus annulatus) courting a female underwater.
It's visible in satellite images from just off Sri Lanka's coast: a thin grey film that snakes three kilometres out to sea before disappearing into the waves.
The marine environment is most vital and flexible with continual variations in salinity, temperature, and pressure. As a result, bacteria living in such an environment maintain the adaption mechanisms that are inherent in unstable environmental conditions. The harboring of metal-resistant genes in marine bacteria contributes to their effectiveness in metal remediation relative to their terrestrial counterparts. A total of four mercury-resistant bacteria (MRB) i.e. NIOT-EQR_J7 (Alcanivorax xenomutans); NIOT-EQR_J248 and NIOT-EQR_J251 (Halomonas sp.); and NIOT-EQR_J258 (Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus) were isolated from the equatorial region of the Indian Ocean (ERIO) and identified by analyzing the 16S rDNA sequence. The MRBs can reduce up to 70% of Hg(II). The mercuric reductase (merA) gene was amplified and the mercury (Hg) volatilization was confirmed by the X-ray film method. The outcomes obtained from ICP-MS validated that the Halomonas sp. NIOT-EQR_J251 was more proficient in removing the Hg from culture media than other isolates. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy results revealed alteration in several functional groups attributing to the Hg tolerance and reduction. The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis confirmed that strain Halomonas sp. (NIOT-EQR_J248 and NIOT-EQR_J251) released Isooctyl thioglycolate (IOTG) compound under mercury stress. The molecular docking results suggested that IOTG can efficiently bind with the glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme. A pathway has been hypothesized based on the GC-MS metabolic profile and molecular docking results, suggesting that the compound IOTG may mediate mercuric reduction via merA-GST related detoxification pathway.
Une tonne de déchets toxiques déversée le long des côtes somaliennes ne coûte que 2,50 $. C'est la décharge la moins chère du monde avec des bénéfices confortables pour les occidentaux. Des centaines de Somaliens tombent malades. Qui déverse ces déchets? Qui en tire profit? Deux journalistes italiens sont morts pour avoir posé ces questions. Enquête sur les réseaux où collaborent hommes d'affaires et criminels, les pirates somaliens et les trafics entourant la gestion des déchets nucléaires.