Plastic pollution in freshwater systems represents a major global concern, as rivers serve as critical pathways between land-based sources and marine environments. Yet, inconsistencies are observed between estimated plastic inputs from land and concentrations in the ocean. Despite growing monitoring efforts, the lack of standardized methods and the use of diverse metrics for quantifying plastic pollution hamper direct comparis...

Emerging contaminants pose significant risks to environmental and human health, warranting detailed investigation. Among these contaminants, pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are of particular concern, as they are widely released into the ecosystem. Their chemical and biological stability contributes to their persistence in aquatic systems and limits the effectiveness of conventional water treatment technologies. Adsorptio...

Globally, plastic pollution in aquatic environments has become an emerging concern. A multitude of monitoring techniques have been used to collect information on the presence of macroplastics (> 25 mm) and mesoplastics (> 5 mm ≤ 25 mm) in river systems. The differences between these methodological approaches, combined with limited knowledge of the fundamental processes that affect plastic presence and detection ability, lead t...

The United States, the EU and Canada established a trilateral working group on the ecosystem approach to ocean health and stressors under the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. Recognizing the Atlantic Ocean as a shared resource and responsibility, the working group sought to advance understanding of the Atlantic Ocean and its dynamic systems to improve ocean health, enhance ocean stewardship and promote the sustainable use and...

Longitudinal training dams (LTDs) in the river Waal are novel river training structures that protect the littoral zone from the adverse effects of navigation providing new habitats for riverine macroinvertebrates. In order to inform river management and to better understand their ecological value for native and alien mussel species, it is important to assess the habitat suitability of the protected LTD shore channels. We appli...

Current conservation templates prioritize biogeographic regions with high intensity ecosystem values, such as exceptional species richness or threat. Intensity‐based targets are an important consideration in global efforts, but they do not capture all available opportunities to conserve ecosystem values, including those that accrue in low intensity over large areas. We assess six globally‐significant ecosystem values—intact wi...

The western Irish Sea is an important spawning and nursery ground for many commercially exploited fish. Spawning begins in the Irish coastal regions in early spring, and moves offshore as the season develops. As a result of the onset of seasonal heating in spring, stratification isolates a dome of cold bottom winter water in the deep (>100 m) basin of the western Irish Sea. The resultant density fields drive a cyclonic gyre wh...