To understand the pollution characteristics and potential sources of heavy metal(loid)s in the nearshore sediments of Qionghai, 93 surface sediment samples were collected from the region. The concentrations of 20 elements, including Fe, Mg, Ca, Ti, Mn, Ba, Cr, Sr, Ni, Cu, Zr, As, Hg, Se, Be, Co, Mo, Cd, Ga, and Pb, were measured. The extent of contamination and ecological risk posed by these heavy metals/metalloids were evalua...

The intensity of coastal erosion is a measure of the strength of erosion processes affecting coastal areas. Traditionally, assessments of coastal erosion intensity have relied on singular indices, such as the rate of shoreline retreat or erosion, often prioritizing higher rates over lower ones. This approach, however, lacks comprehensive consideration and scientific rigor. In this study, we adopt a more holistic approach by ex...

As one of the typical coastal ecosystems, seagrass bed has important ecological service functions. In order to enrich the basic data of multispecies tropical seagrass beds, the main controlling factors affecting the community status of seagrass were identified. In this study, the species, distribution and community characteristics of seagrass in Wenchang were investigated at five stations in 2023, and Spearman correlation anal...

Lagoons, significant coastal wetlands, stand out for their vital role in the cycles and transformations of phosphorus. However, the relationship between the spatial distributions of various phosphorus forms in the soil and sediments of lagoon areas remains unclear. This study investigated the phosphorus fractions and distribution patterns in the soil and sediments from Shimei Inland Sea, Hainan Province, China, and identified...

Coastal erosion vulnerability assessment is widely used to assess the loss degree of coastal zone caused by erosion, and plays an important role in coastal natural resources protection, planning, management and decision-making. Based on the natural and social characteristics of the east coast of Qiongdong and the coastal erosion vulnerability index (CVI) method, this study selected 8 assessment indicators, such as shoreline ch...

Urea transporters (UTs) are membrane proteins in the urea transporter protein A (UT-A) and urea transporter protein B (UT-B) families. UT-B is mainly expressed in endothelial cell membrane of the renal medulla and in other tissues, including the brain, heart, pancreas, colon, bladder, bone marrow, and cochlea. UT-B is responsible for the maintenance of urea concentration, male reproductive function, blood pressure, bone metabo...