About this Research Topic
Coastal zone is the interface between the land and the ocean. It provides important habitats not only for humans but also for ecotone wildlife, including many endangered species. However, our coasts have been undergoing increasing anthropogenic perturbations in the past decades. Fast development of industries and coastal urbanization have greatly changed the coastal morphodynamics and hydrodynamics, and at the same time led to a surge of metal pollutants discharging into coastal environments. This consequently exerts substantial pressures on the receiving ecosystems and indirectly affects the social and economic activities.
Different from organic pollutants, metals are non-degradable pollutants and can be persistent in the environment once released. Coastal waters could have a large dilution capacity and metal pollution is seldomly considered as a major issue as compared to inland waters. But decades of metal accumulation in coastal sediments and continuous metal input start to produce emerging effects in coastal ecosystems. The metal cycling in coastal waters could be very different from what it used to be as it is intertwined with changing climate, ocean acidification, sea level rise, storm surge, eutrophication, hypoxia, and overfishing. Moreover, coastal and estuarine environments receive a large amount of plastic litter which could become a new source of metals in these areas, as the plastic materials usually contain metals as additives and catalysts during manufacturing. The health of coastal ecosystem is now facing more challenges than ever from human activities. More research efforts are needed to address these emerging challenges. In this Research Topic, we intend to explore:
(1) How do metal bioaccumulation and trophic transfer respond to changing climate in coastal ecosystems?
(2) What are the effects of ocean acidification on metal bioaccumulation in marine organisms?
(3) How does eutrophication interact with metal pollution in coastal environments?
(4) How does human disturbance influence mercury contamination in coastal food webs?
(5) How does plastic litter contribute to metal contamination in marine environments?
The following subtopics are included in the Research Topic, but are not limited to:
• The effects of climate change on metal bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in coastal ecosystems;
• The effects of ocean acidification on metal bioaccumulation in marine organisms;
• Combined effects of metal pollution and eutrophication in coastal environments;
• Metal contamination in coastal wetlands under human activities;
• Plastic litter as a source of metals in marine environments.
Different from organic pollutants, metals are non-degradable pollutants and can be persistent in the environment once released. Coastal waters could have a large dilution capacity and metal pollution is seldomly considered as a major issue as compared to inland waters. But decades of metal accumulation in coastal sediments and continuous metal input start to produce emerging effects in coastal ecosystems. The metal cycling in coastal waters could be very different from what it used to be as it is intertwined with changing climate, ocean acidification, sea level rise, storm surge, eutrophication, hypoxia, and overfishing. Moreover, coastal and estuarine environments receive a large amount of plastic litter which could become a new source of metals in these areas, as the plastic materials usually contain metals as additives and catalysts during manufacturing. The health of coastal ecosystem is now facing more challenges than ever from human activities. More research efforts are needed to address these emerging challenges. In this Research Topic, we intend to explore:
(1) How do metal bioaccumulation and trophic transfer respond to changing climate in coastal ecosystems?
(2) What are the effects of ocean acidification on metal bioaccumulation in marine organisms?
(3) How does eutrophication interact with metal pollution in coastal environments?
(4) How does human disturbance influence mercury contamination in coastal food webs?
(5) How does plastic litter contribute to metal contamination in marine environments?
The following subtopics are included in the Research Topic, but are not limited to:
• The effects of climate change on metal bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in coastal ecosystems;
• The effects of ocean acidification on metal bioaccumulation in marine organisms;
• Combined effects of metal pollution and eutrophication in coastal environments;
• Metal contamination in coastal wetlands under human activities;
• Plastic litter as a source of metals in marine environments.
Keywords: Metal, bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, toxicity, coastal environments
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