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Environments
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Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Quality in Coastal Ecosystems Volume...
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Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Quality in Coastal Ecosystems Volume III

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2024) | Viewed by 4195

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sílvia C. Gonçalves

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine and Environmental Sciences Center, ESTM-School of Tourism and Maritime Technology, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal
Interests: coastal ecosystems with emphasis in sandy beaches; environmental quality monitoring and assessment; human impacts; contamination by trace metals; macrobenthos ecology; ecological indicators; phytoremediation of metals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coastal ecosystems are dynamic, complex, and often fragile transition environments between land and oceans. They are exclusive habitats for a broad range of living organisms, functioning as havens for biodiversity and providing several important ecological services that link terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments.

Humans living in coastal zones have been strongly dependent on these ecosystems as sources of food, physical protection against storms and the advancing sea, and a range of human activities that generate economic income (e.g., tourism and water sports). The intensification of human activities in coastal areas in recent decades, as well as the global climatic changes and coastal erosion processes of the present, have introduced detrimental impacts on these environments. Organic and inorganic pollution; marine anthropogenic litter; destruction, fragmentation, and modification of habitats for multiple purposes; overexploitation of natural resources; introduction of invasive species; and loss of biodiversity are among the most common impacts. Maintaining the structural and functional integrity of these environments, as well as recovering an ecological balance or mitigating disturbances in systems under the influence of such stressors, are complex tasks, only achievable through the implementation of monitoring programs and assessment of environmental quality.

In this Special Issue, I invite colleagues to contribute original research papers and review articles on all aspects of environmental quality monitoring and assessment of coastal ecosystems. There will be a focus on biotic or abiotic compartments (or both) as well as the the range of ecological levels of organization, from individual to ecosystem-wide efforts.

The publications in the first and second volumes, which we believe may be of interest to you, can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/environments/special_issues/Environmental_Quality; https://www.mdpi.com/journal/environments/special_issues/Environmental_Ecosystems.

Dr. Sílvia C. Gonçalves
Guest Editor

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. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • coastal ecosystems
  • environmental quality and environmental indexes
  • monitoring and/or assessment programs
  • environmental disturbances
  • pressures and stressors
  • anthropogenic impacts
  • bioindicators
  • biomonitors
  • ecotoxicology and biomarkers
  • populations
  • communities and ecosystem responses

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4092 KiB  
Article
Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the Trophic State in the Marano and Grado Lagoon (Adriatic Sea, Italy) during the 2011–2021 Period
by Alessandro Acquavita, Nicola Bettoso, Oriana Blasutto, Federico Pittaluga and Claudia Orlandi
Environments 2024, 11(7), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11070152 - 16 Jul 2024
Viewed by 319
Abstract
The Marano and Grado Lagoon (Adriatic Sea, Italy) is an important transitional environment that furnishes numerous ecosystem services and is under protection as Site of Community Importance. It suffers from an excess of nutrients, especially nitrate (NO3−), and has been [...] Read more.
The Marano and Grado Lagoon (Adriatic Sea, Italy) is an important transitional environment that furnishes numerous ecosystem services and is under protection as Site of Community Importance. It suffers from an excess of nutrients, especially nitrate (NO3−), and has been designated as a nitrate vulnerable zone. In this work, sixteen water bodies were seasonally monitored for physicochemical parameters and nutrients, to elucidate the trophic state of the lagoon and to check the occurrence of significant temporal trends in a time series from 2011 to 2021. Steep gradients of spatial and seasonal distribution were observed for all parameters with elevated concentration of N-NO3− (up to 360 µM) in the western sector. The whole lagoon was in phosphorous limitation (P-PO43− mean ± s.d. = 0.15 ± 0.22 µM) with a mean Redfield ratio of 1130. The concentration of nutrients was significantly correlated with the degree of both freshwater inputs and precipitation. The calculation of trophic indices shows that the lagoon is in an oligotrophic to hypertrophic condition (i.e., TRIX 1.9–6.8). The analysis of the temporal series showed that despite some significant trends, the time span considered is too short to detect significant changes in the trophic state of this dynamic environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Quality in Coastal Ecosystems Volume III)
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18 pages, 3885 KiB  
Article
Factors Influencing Endangered Marine Species in the Mediterranean Sea: An Analysis Based on IUCN Red List Criteria Using Statistical and Soft Computing Methodologies
by Dimitris Klaoudatos, Teodora Karagyaurova, Theodoros G. I. Pitropakis, Aikaterini Mari, Dimitris R. Patas, Maria Vidiadaki and Konstantinos Kokkinos
Environments 2024, 11(7), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11070151 - 16 Jul 2024
Viewed by 593
Abstract
The Mediterranean Sea is the second largest biodiversity hotspot on earth, with over 700 identified fish species is facing numerous threats. Of more than 6000 taxa assessed for the IUCN Red List, a minimum of 20% are threatened with extinction. A total of [...] Read more.
The Mediterranean Sea is the second largest biodiversity hotspot on earth, with over 700 identified fish species is facing numerous threats. Of more than 6000 taxa assessed for the IUCN Red List, a minimum of 20% are threatened with extinction. A total of eight key factors that affect vulnerability of marine fish species in the Mediterranean Sea were identified using the scientific literature and expert-reviewed validated databases. A database of 157 teleost fish species with threat status ranging from least concern to critically endangered was compiled. Nominal logistic curves identified the factor thresholds on species vulnerability, namely, age at maturity, longevity, and asymptotic length at 8.45 years, 36 years, and 221 cm, respectively. A second-degree stepwise regression model identified four significant factors affecting the threat category of Mediterranean fish species, namely, overfishing, by-catch, pollution, and age at maturity according to their significance. Predictive analysis using supervised machine learning algorithms was further employed to predict the vulnerability of Mediterranean marine fish species, resulting in the development of a framework with classification accuracy of 87.3% and 86.6% for Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Gradient Boosting machine learning algorithms, respectively, with the ability to assess the degree of variability using limited information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Quality in Coastal Ecosystems Volume III)
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26 pages, 2828 KiB  
Article
Svalbard Fjord Sediments as a Hotspot of Functional Diversity and a Reservoir of Antibiotic Resistance
by Gabriella Caruso, Alessandro Ciro Rappazzo, Giovanna Maimone, Giuseppe Zappalà, Alessandro Cosenza, Marta Szubska and Agata Zaborska
Environments 2024, 11(7), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11070148 - 12 Jul 2024
Viewed by 559
Abstract
The sea bottom acts as a key natural archive where the memory of long-term timescale environmental changes is recorded. This study discusses some ecological and chemical features of fjord sediments that were explored during the AREX cruise carried out in the Svalbard archipelago [...] Read more.
The sea bottom acts as a key natural archive where the memory of long-term timescale environmental changes is recorded. This study discusses some ecological and chemical features of fjord sediments that were explored during the AREX cruise carried out in the Svalbard archipelago in the summer of 2021. The activity rates of the enzymes leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), beta-glucosidase (GLU), and alkaline phosphatase (AP) and community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs) were studied with the aim of determining the functional diversity of the benthic microbial community, while bacterial isolates were screened for their susceptibility to antibiotics in order to explore the role of these extreme environments as potential reservoirs of antibiotic resistance. Enzyme activity rates were obtained using fluorogenic substrates, and CLPPs were obtained using Biolog Ecoplates; antibiotic susceptibility assays were performed through the standard disk diffusion method. Spatial trends observed in the functional profiles of the microbial community suggested variability in the microbial community’s composition, presumably related to the patchy distribution of organic substrates. Complex carbon sources, carbohydrates, and amino acids were the organic polymers preferentially metabolized by the microbial community. Multi-resistance to enrofloxacin and tetracycline was detected in all of the examined samples, stressing the role of sediments as a potential reservoir of chemical wastes ascribable to antibiotic residuals. This study provides new insights on the health status of fjord sediments of West Spitsbergen, applying a dual ecological and biochemical approach. Microbial communities in the fjord sediments showed globally a good functional diversity, suggesting their versatility to rapidly react to changing conditions. The lack of significant diversification among the three studied areas suggests that microbial variables alone cannot be suitable descriptors of sediment health, and that additional measures (i.e., physical–chemical characteristics) should be taken to better define environmental status. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Quality in Coastal Ecosystems Volume III)
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18 pages, 15995 KiB  
Article
The Use of Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery to Assist in the Monitoring of the Time Evolution of Challenging Coastal Environments: A Case Study of the Basilicata Coast
by Emanuele Ferrentino, Nicola Angelo Famiglietti, Ferdinando Nunziata, Giovanna Inserra, Andrea Buono, Raffaele Moschillo, Antonino Memmolo, Gerardo Colangelo, Annamaria Vicari and Maurizio Migliaccio
Environments 2023, 10(12), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10120212 - 3 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1871
Abstract
This study focuses on a very complex environment, namely the Ionian coast of the Basilicata region, Southern Italy, which includes different kinds of beaches, river mouths and built-up areas. This complex environment is used as a test case to analyze the time variability [...] Read more.
This study focuses on a very complex environment, namely the Ionian coast of the Basilicata region, Southern Italy, which includes different kinds of beaches, river mouths and built-up areas. This complex environment is used as a test case to analyze the time variability of the coastline using measurements that were remotely sensed by the satellite European Copernicus Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mission. First, the accuracy of the coastline, extracted by the SAR, is discussed with respect to finer-spatial-resolution drone-based light detection and ranging (LIDAR) measurements. Then, a time series of SAR dual-polarimetric measurements acquired by the European Copernicus mission is used to discuss the time variability of the coastline of the area of interest in a time period spanning from 2015 to 2021. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the SAR-based coastline is better than 15 m, which is reasonably good precision for monitoring the erosion/accretion processes that characterize the area of interest at a moderate scale. The estimated time variability of the extracted coastline suggests a dominant erosion process, which is always within 60 m. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Quality in Coastal Ecosystems Volume III)
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