Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue concerns studies of the use of fish as bioindicators of fresh and marine water ecosystems’ status, impacted by different environmental and anthropogenic factors. Fish (in situ) are a good indicator of environmental changes and ecosystem health, especially in case of toxic water pollution. In general, indicators at all levels of their biological organization provide information on the status of the fish population and their environment. Biochemical and physiological indicators reflect the functional status of individual organisms, while intermediate-level responses, such as histopathological conditions and morphological characteristics, are indicative of the structural integrity of tissues and organs. Community- and population-level measurements integrate responses to a variety of environmental conditions and therefore may be less reflective of contaminant-induced stress in comparison to the level of organisms. Pathological changes in fish organs enable us to determine the toxicity of water and the potential danger of man-entering substances in water. Fish, in comparison with invertebrates, are more sensitive to many toxicants and are a convenient test organism for an indication of ecosystem health. Besides that, fish physiological systems are comparable with warm-blooded animals, which makes it possible to evaluate the consequences of water pollution for people. In this Special Issue, papers concerned with fish responses to pollution, biochemical and physiological biomarkers, pathologies, genetic anomalies in the case of long-term impact, use of various fish characteristics for the purposes of water quality assay, reasons for the indicators of negative consequences, determination of bioassays and bioavailability of different toxicants in the water environment, critical levels of pollution, and their long-term consequences are required.

Background: Fish are very sensitive to varying environmental characteristics, including anthropogenic pollution by various chemical elements. Therefore, their responses at various levels of the biological organization can provide information about water ecosystem health.

Aim and scope: The objective of this Special Issue is to examine the relationships between water quality and fish health status using various biomarkers, namely biochemical, physiological, histological, pathological, morphological, etc.

History: The assessment of pollution level in freshwater and marine waters is an important part of environmental risk evaluation and the development of protection methodologies and monitoring programs. However, the values of pollutant concentration may not accurately reflect the pollutant-related biological effects, and, for this reason, the ecotoxicological approach based on the application of biomarkers may be a good tool for environmental health. Fishes are very sensitive to anthropogenic pollution, and some of them may be tested as biomonitors for the evaluation of the effects of contaminant-related stress on the water environment and used widely in marine and fresh water monitoring. Fish and their responses have been extensively used as indicators of habitat quality.

What kind of paper we are looking for: research papers, review papers, and short communications.

Prof. Dr. Tatyana Moiseenko
Prof. Dr. Irina Rudneva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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• fresh water and marine fish
• biochemical and physiological status
• environmental stress
• pathologies and disfunctions
• and biomarkers and bioindicators
• criteria of the water evaluation
• bioavailability and critical levels