Introduction Spartina alterniflora invasion may alter the characteristics and functions of the coastal wetland ecosystems. Previous studies have shown that invasion changes the biogeochemical processes and microbial diversity in marsh ecosystems; however, knowledge of the changes in bacterial communities and their function at different soil depths during invasion remains limited. Methods In the present study, we investigated S...

Malformation disease (MD) is one of the major constraints in the mariculture of the commercially important seaweed Saccharina japonica , which can cause severe losses of the kelp seedlings in the production process. However, the pathogenesis of MD remains largely undetermined. In this study, using cultivation experiments under laboratory conditions, MD severity was estimated for the young sporophytes of S. japonica , which wer...

Most studies of whether and how nanoparticles (NPs) affect antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) focus on testing single NPs type. In this study, we determined the combined effect of Cu- and ZnO- NPs in the water samples collected from the Yangtze River Estuary and found the effect differs greatly from that produced by individual NPs. The results showed that the Cu- and ZnO- NPs co-exposure resulted in an enrichment of ARGs, wher...

Vibrio bacteria, particularly members of the Harveyi clade, are the most important pathogens of aquatic organisms that cause significant economic losses in the world. It is difficult to provide specific data on taxa of the Harveyi clade for biological research and prevention strategies. Therefore, we conducted an extensive phenotypic and antibiotic resistance study, as well as phylogenetic and molecular typing of 192 isolates...

In recent years, microplastics have been widely detected in marine fish and may pose potential risks to fish and human health. Even though microplastic pollution is a critical issue, it represents as yet non-quantified threat for some context in the marine environment. In this study, 271 individuals comprising 32 species of marine fish collected from Beibu Gulf were examined for microplastic prevalence, with an aim to provide...

The lateral advection of sinking particles is a well-known phenomenon in the South China Sea (SCS) and has a significant impact on the estimation of the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. However, little is known about the sources and pathways of sinking particles. Here, we present benthic and freshwater diatom fluxes and relative abundances collected by a sediment trap deployed at a water depth of 1,000 m and more than...