Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences

A REVIEW OF AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY INVESTIGATIONS IN TURKISH WATERS

2023-07-26T21:45:37+00:00

Aquatic toxicity studies have been conducted for many years, and their importance has been understood for some time. The need for aquatic toxicity studies arises from the widespread use of chemicals in many different industries, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and energy production. These chemicals can enter aquatic environments through various means, including runoff from fields, discharges from factories, and spills or leaks from storage tanks or pipelines. Once in the aquatic environment, these chemicals can have harmful effects on aquatic life, including fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and algae. By conducting aquatic toxicity studies, researchers can gain a better understanding of the potential harmful effects of chemicals on aquatic life and ecosystems and can inform decisions about their use and regulation to protect the environment. This review summarizes the available aquatic toxicity studies in Turkish waters.

BRINE SHRIMP PROVIDES A RICH-HIGH ENERGY FOOD FOR MIGRATING BIRDS: A CASE STUDY OF AN ARTIFICIAL POND IN BASRAH, IRAQ

2023-07-26T19:28:19+00:00

A case study focusing on the attraction of migrating birds by brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) into an artificial pond in Basrah, Iraq. A dump area had constructed at the intertidal mudflat’s zone of Khor Al-Zubair Channel, Basrah, Iraq. Basra Gas Company implemented a dredging operation to increase the channel depth in 2019 to use the dump area as a disposal place for the company’s benthic sediments, which are usually mixed with seawater, converting the dump area to a large hypersaline artificial pond. Unexpectedly, the pond became a habitat for many shorebird species a few months later. The pond has been surveyed five times between March 2019 and January 2020. For each survey, frequent environmental and biological events were observed. Due to high temperature during most summer months (30-50°C), the water level decreased dramatically to (< 0.5 m), which ultimately led to increase levels of salinity in the pond (80 psu). Moreover, growth of blue-green algae was observed and appearance of brine shrimp A. franciscana. During autumn and winter surveys, an abundance of live A. franciscana and their cysts was observed. Birds appeared to forage primarily on A. franciscana in the pond. The abundance of brine shrimp attracts migrating birds to exploit this prey. 11 species of migrating birds were detected in the pond. These species were flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber, flocks of avocet Ricurvirosta avosetta and Shelduck Tadorna tadorna. Therefore, this site with abundant food resources could provide a rich-high energy food for migrating birds and staging area for a long flight.

ELEMENTAL ACCUMULATION IN MACROALGAE TREPTACANTHA BARBATA (STACKHOUSE) ORELLANA & SANSÓN, 2019 FROM SINOP, TÜRKIYE

2023-08-04T07:10:43+00:00

In this study, the contamination profile of heavy metal levels (Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, Zn) of Treptacantha barbata (Stackhouse) Orellana & Sansón, 2019, seawater and sediment samples were analyzed by ICP-MS and reference materials were used to determine the reliability of the analysis. All samples were collected from the Sinop coast (Türkiye) from August 2021 through April 2022. As a result of the study, metal levels were found in the following sequence: Hg < Cd < Pb < Cu < Zn < Fe for seawater and T. barbata and Hg < Cd < Cu < Pb < Zn < Fe for sediment. Among the metals, Cu was bio-accumulative in biota; Cd and Hg metals in the sediment are micro concentrator by T. barbata.

CHARACTERIZATION OF LONG-SPINED SEA URCHIN DIADEMA SETOSUM SHELL AND POTENTIAL USAGE AREAS

2023-08-04T07:47:22+00:00

The long-spined sea urchin Diadema setosum (Leske, 1778) is the most common seashore sea urchin in the tropical Indo-Pacific and also this species is distributed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we characterize the shell of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema setosum using FTIR and XRD analyses. The powdered shell of D. setosum was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. It was determined that 714 cm^-1 and 871 cm^-1 peaks from the formed peaks determined the amorphous and crystal structure, respectively. The results of the XRD analysis of the long spiny sea urchin shell overlap 91% with calcite with chemical formula Ca₅MgC₆O₁₈ and 9% with periclase chemical formula Mg₄O₄. Analysis results show that D. setosum shell was found to be in calcite structure, and can be used in many areas such as paper, paint, plastic, construction, food, ceramics, and pharmaceuticals. When combined with other studies as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant, it has been revealed to contain amorphous and crystal structures that are useful for different biomedical industries. High availability and accessibility of the long-spined sea urchin, can become a very economical product for these sectors, and in this way, an invasive species will be brought into the economy.

METAL CAUSING DNA DAMAGE IN LION FISH PTEROIS MILES FROM THE NORTHEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

2023-08-11T07:36:18+00:00

The influence of trace metal contamination on marine ecosystems and marine waters is a complex construct. Metal concentrations can cause carcinogenic and toxicogenic harm in marine environments. With a variety of sizes, ages, and trophic levels, fish are excellent markers of pollution from heavy metals for the identification of genotoxic factors in freshwater as well as marine systems. The current study used the damage frequency (%), arbitrary unit (%), and genetic damage index (%) in the gill and liver cells of P. miles to assess DNA damage brought along by toxic metals. Under the constant levels criteria used in this investigation, the levels of Cr, Hg, Fe, and Zn in the surrounding water are only slightly above the tolerance level. According to our findings, the frequency of damage in the lionfish's gill and liver cells was 53.66 to 73.512% and 39.33 to 45.033%, accordingly. The gill tissue had a higher frequency of injury than the liver tissue. Furthermore, Pb, Hg, Cr, Co, Fe, Ni, and Cu contents in seawater were shown to have a positive correlation with DNA damage levels in P. miles. As a result, our study revealed the first time genotoxic damage resulting from metal contamination in P. miles.