In this study, the acute toxicity of microplastics (MPs) on unicellular organisms as marine decomposers and microalgae was assessed, by evaluating standards endpoints included in International Standard Organization (ISO) protocols. The bacteria Vibrio fischeri and the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum were exposed to different sizes (1-500 μm) of polyethylene MPs in order to evaluate bioluminescence inhibition a...
Despite the use of tributyltin (TBT) had been banned worldwide in 2008 there is still evidence of its deleterious presence in environment. We evaluate the usefulness of a 28 days sediment bioassay with Nassarius reticulatus females to monitor TBT pollution, using imposex as endpoint. In addition, butyltins were determined in sediments and tissues, and, whenever posible, imposex was assessed in native N. reticul...
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) represents a transformation of the guidelines for water quality assessment and monitoring across all EU Member States. At present, it is widely accepted that the WFD requires holistic and multidisciplinary ecological approaches by integrating multiple lines of evidence. Within the scope of the WFD, the scientific community identified clear opportunities to take advan...
A need for environmentally acceptable alternative antifouling (AF) biocides has arisen through restrictions in the use of many common biocides in the European Union through the Biocidal Product Regulation (Regulation EU No. 528/2012). Three such alternatives are triphenylborane pyridine (TPBP), tralopyril and capsaicin. This study aims at extending the available information on the toxicity of these three emergi...
Among the Cyanoprokaryota, the genera Synechocystis and Synechococcus have rarely been studied with respect to potential toxicity. This is particularly true with marine environments where studies about the toxicity of cyanobacteria are restricted to filamentous forms at the warmer temperate and tropical regions and also to filamentous forms at cold seas such as the Baltic Sea. In this study, we describe the eff...