Several anthropogenic factors, including contamination by oil spills, constitute a threat to coral reef health. Current methodologies to remediate polluted marine environments are based on the use of chemical dispersants; however, these can be toxic to the coral holobiont. In this study, a probiotic bacterial consortium was produced from the coral Mussismilia harttii and was trained to degrade water-soluble oil fractions (WSFs). Additionally, we assessed the effect of WSFs on the health of M. harttii in tanks and evaluated the bacterial consortium as a bioremediation agent. The consortium was responsible for the highly efficient degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons, and it minimised the effects of WSFs on coral health, as indicated by raised photosynthetic efficiencies. Moreover, the impact of WSFs on the coral microbiome was diminished by the introduced bacterial consortium. Following introduction, the bacterial consortium thus had a dual function, i.e promoting oil WSF degradation and improving coral health with its probiotic features.

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The Potiguar Basin has oil and gas production fields offshore and onshore. All treated produced water (PW) from these fields is discharged through submarine outfalls. Although polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are minor constituents of PW, their input into the marine ecosystem is environmentally critical due to potential ecological hazards. A 2-year monitoring program was conducted in the vicinity of the outfalls to evaluate PAH bioaccumulation in marine life from PW discharges. The study was performed using transplanted bivalves Crassostrea brasiliana and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) to measure PAH concentrations via bioaccumulation and in seawater. The bioaccumulation of PAH in transplanted bivalves reached up to 1105 ng g(-1) in the vicinity of the monitored outfall. Significantly lower PAH concentrations were found in the reference area in comparison to the studied area around the outfalls. Time-integrated PAH concentrations in seawater ranged from 38 to 0.3 ng L(-1) near the outfalls and from 10 ng L(-1) to not detected in the reference area. Both measurement techniques were found to be effective for determining a gradient of descending PAH concentrations from the outfalls. In addition, this study also evaluated the bioavailability of PAH for local marine biota and provided information about the influence of PW discharges on the water quality of marine ecosystems.