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Water
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Marine Ecological Monitoring, Assessment and Protection
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Marine Ecological Monitoring, Assessment and Protection

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2024) | Viewed by 3947

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ningdong Xie

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Interests: carbon cycle; microbial interaction; photosynthesis; heterotrophic protist; marine ecosystem; metabolic regulation
Prof. Dr. Guangyi Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Interests: marine microbial ecology; ocean carbon cycling; environmental monitoring and management; marine microalgae energy; synthetic biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Hongxia Ming

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian 116023, China
Interests: pathogenic microbiology; risk assessment; concentration prediction; enteric viruses; marine microbial ecology; microbial diversity; microbial source tracking
Dr. Qian Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: marine microplankton ecology; food webs; trophodynamics; mixotrophic phytoplankton; predator-prey interactions; phytoplankton viruses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine ecosystems represent the majority of habitable space on Earth, harbor great biodiversity, and play a fundamental role in global biogeochemical cycles and climate regulation. The current health of the ocean ecosystem has been challenged with increasing anthropogenic disturbance (e.g., CO2 emission, pollution and overfishing) and climate change (e.g., global warming and extreme weathers). Consequentially, the ocean is experiencing rapid changes, including seawater temperature increases, sea-level rise, eutrophication/hypoxia and acidification. This Special Issue focuses on research advances in marine monitoring, assessment and protection that help us to understand the causes and impacts of, and solutions for, marine ecological changes and disasters. Through multidisciplinary research contributed by peers across the marine and environmental sciences, we aim to improve our understanding of fundamental science and practical tools needed to achieve a healthier relationship between humans and the ocean. This Special Issue welcomes a broad range of research types (original results, reviews and opinions/letters). The main interests and scope of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following perspectives.

(1) Empirical study using field observations and experimental approaches to provide new insights into marine ecological structures, biodiversity, functions and processes in various marine environments;

(2) Model development, statistical and computational tools for a better understanding of the current and future oceans;

(3) Advanced techniques developed for short- and long-term marine ecosystems monitoring, assessment and protection;

(4) Proposed human interventions, ecological engineering tools and solutions to reduce ecological risks related to human impact and climate change in the ocean.

Dr. Ningdong Xie
Prof. Dr. Guangyi Wang
Prof. Dr. Hongxia Ming
Dr. Qian Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine ecosystem
  • monitoring
  • assessment
  • protection
  • biodiversity

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 4551 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Leachate Generated by Sargassum spp. in the Mexican Caribe: Part 1 Spatial Variations
by Rosa Maria Leal-Bautista, Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Garcia, Gilberto Acosta-González, Rubi Chablé-Villacis, Raul Tapia-Tussell, Jose Epigmenio Bautista-García, Edgar Olguìn-Maciel, Liliana Alzate-Gaviria and Gloria González-López
Water 2024, 16(9), 1251; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16091251 - 27 Apr 2024
Viewed by 439
Abstract
In this study, we evaluate the degradation by Sargassum spp. as a consortium in 2020 and 2021, and by species during 2021, collected at different distances from a coastline and in land deposits. The year 2021 had the largest leachate volume and the [...] Read more.
In this study, we evaluate the degradation by Sargassum spp. as a consortium in 2020 and 2021, and by species during 2021, collected at different distances from a coastline and in land deposits. The year 2021 had the largest leachate volume and the offshore site with the highest volume (60 mL/day) among five sites of collection. In relation to species’ leachate generation, S. fluitans reached 47.67 mL/day as its peak, which is earlier than S. natans (41.67 mL/day 14 days after S. fluitans). pH shows alkaline behavior and EC reflects the saline condition in the leachate, the consortium and species reaching values of pH 7.5 to 8.3 and 80 to 150 mS/cm of EC; the results do not show significant differences among sites, or between species. Despite a BOD/COD ratio of less than 0.1, the degradation process occurs as evidenced by the presence of leachate. The results confirm the existence of a variability in leachate production and the composition of Sargassum under the influence of factors such as the periodicity, site of collection, and proportions of species. Thus, even though these results emphasize leachate generation, knowing the limitations of leachate generation is crucial information for decision making on Sargassum storage and environmental management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Ecological Monitoring, Assessment and Protection)
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19 pages, 3658 KiB  
Article
Using the Heavy Metal and Biotic Indices to Assess Ecological Quality in the Central Area of the East Sea, South Korea
by Jian Liang, Chae-Woo Ma and Dae-Sun Son
Water 2024, 16(9), 1230; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16091230 - 25 Apr 2024
Viewed by 520
Abstract
With the rapid development of the South Korean economy, human activities have extensively affected Korea’s coastal environment. A precise ecological quality assessment remains paramount despite the relatively lower impact of human activities on the East Sea compared to the West and South Seas [...] Read more.
With the rapid development of the South Korean economy, human activities have extensively affected Korea’s coastal environment. A precise ecological quality assessment remains paramount despite the relatively lower impact of human activities on the East Sea compared to the West and South Seas of South Korea. Accurate ecological quality assessments can provide valuable marine environmental protection and management references. In our study, we employed seven indices based on heavy metals and macrobenthos to comprehensively assess ecological quality. Our results indicated the final ecological quality in the central East Sea of South Korea was acceptable at most stations; however, the ecological quality in winter marginally falls short compared to that in spring. The concentration of heavy metals emerges as a significant determinant of the final ecological quality, underscoring the need for subsequent studies to investigate the origins of heavy metals in the central East Sea of South Korea and the influence of anthropogenic activities on heavy metal concentrations. Furthermore, employing a single biotic index proves challenging for accurately assessing ecological quality in the East Sea of South Korea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Ecological Monitoring, Assessment and Protection)
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15 pages, 4085 KiB  
Article
Bacterial Communities in Zostera marina Seagrass Beds of Northern China
by Yong Zhang, Qiuzhen Wang, Yuan Yao, Faqi Tan, Lin Jiang, Weijie Shi, Wen Yang and Jiayi Liu
Water 2024, 16(7), 935; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16070935 - 23 Mar 2024
Viewed by 651
Abstract
Microbial communities associated with seagrass beds play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of seagrass ecosystems. However, the driving mechanisms behind the structure and functional succession of seagrass microbial communities are still unclear despite the close interaction between seagrass and surrounding microorganisms. [...] Read more.
Microbial communities associated with seagrass beds play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of seagrass ecosystems. However, the driving mechanisms behind the structure and functional succession of seagrass microbial communities are still unclear despite the close interaction between seagrass and surrounding microorganisms. To enhance our knowledge of the diversity and functional characteristics of microbial communities in seagrass beds, we employed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to investigate bacterial communities in seagrass leaves, roots, seawater, and sediments in Caofeidian Zostera marina seagrass beds of Hebei Province, Northern China. Our results highlighted that specific types of bacteria were enriched in different sample compartments, indicating the importance of habitat in influencing microbial diversity and community structure in seagrass bed ecosystems. Notably, the microbial community structure of seagrass leaves and roots showed more similarity to that found in seawater and sediments. Among all the samples, the phylum Pseudomonadota exhibited the highest relative abundance, particularly in sediment samples where they accounted for over 95% of the total bacterial population. In addition, the enrichment of Vibrio, an opportunistic pathogen in several plant samples, alerted us to seagrass and its surrounding marine environments. Finally, functional predictions of microbial communities using PICRUSt2 revealed variations in microbial functions, indicating specific metabolic preferences of microbial communities in different natural environments. The present research sheds light on the mechanisms underlying microbial community succession and their ecological function in seagrass beds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Ecological Monitoring, Assessment and Protection)
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Review

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12 pages, 276 KiB  
Review
A Review of Seagrass Bed Pollution
by Yong Zhang, Xinping Yu, Zuoyi Chen, Qiuzhen Wang, Jiulong Zuo, Shanshan Yu and Ran Guo
Water 2023, 15(21), 3754; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15213754 - 27 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1548
Abstract
Due to climate change and human activities, seagrass is in crisis as the coverage of seagrass declines at an accelerated rate globally. In this paper, the severe challenges of seagrass ecosystem were briefly reviewed, including adverse effects of natural factors and human activities [...] Read more.
Due to climate change and human activities, seagrass is in crisis as the coverage of seagrass declines at an accelerated rate globally. In this paper, the severe challenges of seagrass ecosystem were briefly reviewed, including adverse effects of natural factors and human activities on seagrass beds. The research status of pollutants and pollution in seagrass bed ecosystem was reviewed, the future research directions in related fields were proposed as well. The eutrophication in coastal waters and discharge of pollutants such as sulfide, heavy metals, organic matter and microplastics caused by human activities are important reasons for seagrass loss. In addition, environmental stressors lead to reduced immunity and decreased resistance of seagrass to various pathogens, leading to seagrass wasting diseases. Future studies concerning the influence of novel pollutants, i.e., plastic waste on non-native algae, microorganisms and seagrasses, as well as their interrelationships, will be of vital importance. In addition, researches on seagrass wasting diseases and their pathogens should be much accounted in China, to fill in gaps in related fields and improve the response ability to emergent seagrass diseases. In conclusion, this review was proposed to arouse the concern about the seagrass bed pollution, and provide possible enlightening information for the protection and restoration of this significant ecosystem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Ecological Monitoring, Assessment and Protection)
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