Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms

Abstract

Papers reviewed herein are limited to the biological, chemical and physical effects of environmental disturbance, natural, and anthropogenic, on marine and estuarine plants and animals. The world wide literature is reviewed including textbooks, conference proceedings and reviews. A special feature is a tabular listing of the body burden of inorganic and organic contaminants in plants and animals. The effects of pollutants on individual species and communities are included. Changes at the cellular and subcellular level as caused by contaminants are reviewed. GENERAL Books and reviews on the different aspects of marine and estuarine pollution continued to appear during 1998-1999. A new series on current topics in ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry was initiated. The first volume was edited by Forbes (1998) and dealt with genetics and ecotoxicology. The role of genetics in understanding if and how chemical contaminants affect organisms and populations was stressed. The current status of the effects of pesticides on 15 tropical countries was summarized as a practical guide (Klaine, 1999). Guest editors Stebbing et al. (1998) assembled a series of studies on the integration of the interaction of rivers, estuaries, ocean and land in the United Kingdom with emphasis on the Humber Estuary. The reports emphasized three aspects: (1) to estimate the fluxes of sediment, nutrients and contaminants into and out of the coastal zone by rivers, coasts, ground water and atmosphere, (2) to determine the key physical and biogeochemical processes that govern coastal ecosystems, and (3) to describe the evolution of the coastal system from the geological past to the present using the Humber Estuary as a case study.