Benthic foraminifera from the coastal zone of Baia (Naples, Italy): assemblage distribution and modification as tools for environmental characterisation.

The coastal zone of Baia (Naples) is currently included in a protected marine area, but in past it was affected by strong anthropogenic pressure for commercial harbour activity. In order to investigate the impact of past activities, a multidisciplinary characterisation was undertaken to evaluate the environmental quality of marine sediments. Thirty-six grab samples were collected for grain-size, heavy metals, PAHs and PCBs analyses. Rose Bengal stained replicates were taken for the analysis of benthic foraminifera. Chemical analyses highlighted sediment pollution mainly due to Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn, PAHs and PCBs in the northern and southern part of the study area, where some sunken vessels had been present for many decades. Modifications of foraminiferal diversity and density, and increased percentage of abnormal specimens, were considered as indicators of environmental degradation. Correlation between faunal parameters and pollutant concentrations was found by means of statistical analysis. The highest degree of environmental stress shown by foraminifera in the northern sector could be referable to the high concentrations of PCBs (up to 144 ng g(-1) d.w.).

Organochlorine compounds in tissues of swordfish (Xiphias gladius) from Mediterranean Sea and Azores islands.

Polychlorobiphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine (OC) pesticides are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The Italian Ministry of Environment has undertaken a program (1999-2001) to measure levels of contaminants in top marine predators and to develop sensitive biomarkers for the evaluation of toxicological risk in these species. In 1999, 15 swordfishes (Xiphias gladius) taken from the Mediterranean Sea along the Sicilian coast (Strait of Messina, Italy) and in the Atlantic Ocean along the Azores Islands, and analysed for 34 congeners of PCBs and 27 organochlorine (OC) pesticides in gonad, muscle, liver and blubber tissues. In the tissues of Mediterranean swordfishes the sum of the determined PCBs congeners ranged from 4.61 to 4651.17 ng g(-1) on fresh tissue basis. Among organochlorine pesticides DDE, DDT and DDD (TDE) predominated with an overall range of 2.37-4734.56 ng(-1) w.w. In particular p,p'-DDE had concentrations appearing up to 3900 ng(-1), with the highest values found in fatty tissues, such as blubber. In the liver of Azores Island swordfishes lower levels of summation PCBs (8.43-294.17 ng/g w.w.) and summation DDTs (<0.01-217.44 ng/g w.w.) were determined.