[en] Highlights: • Heavy metal accumulation in marine sediments of Veraval harbour • Mobilization of Fe and Mn due to reduction of FeMn oxyhydroxides • Formation of metal sulfides in anoxic sediments - Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the behaviour of trace metals in anoxic environment. Water column of the harbour was found to be anoxic (DO − 1) with high concentration of NH₄⁺-N (av. 459 ± 21 μmol l^{− 1}) and H₂S (av.73 ± 2.5 μmol l^{− 1}) irrespective of season and tide. High concentrations of Fe, Mn in bottom water indicated that Fe, Mn were diagenetically mobilized under the anoxic conditions prevailing in the harbour. In harbour sediments significant correlation of metals with TOC and TS indicated their diagenetic immobilization in anoxic environment. Fe was positively correlated with TS suggesting FeS formation in anoxic condition. TOC/TN ratio of sediments was higher (16 ± 5.2) than the normal marine planktonic sediments suggesting an increased burden of terrestrial carbon in the harbour. A sediment core collected 10 km away from the shore indicated build-up of trace metals in recent years, showing diagenetically upward movement of metals.

[en] Veraval, one of Asia’s largest fishing harbours, situated on the south-west coast of Gujarat, India, has transformed into an industrial hub dominated by fish processing units, rayon manufacturing industry, and transportation facilities. The study investigated the high abundance of Tetraspora gelatinosa along with the augmented level of ammonia in the harbour. The high concentration of ammonia was associated with the accumulation of sewage, industrial, and fishery wastes in the harbour. Low-energy expenditure associated with assimilation of ammonia made it a principal nitrogen source for Tetraspora gelatinosa growth. Even though ammonia is the preferred nitrogen source by phytoplankton, elevated concentration causes toxicity to the cells. Augmented level of ammonia and high TSS hampered the efficiency of PS II, thereby impeding the chlorophyll a degradation and oxygen evolution. Built of the organic load from fish processing industries as well as domestic waste along with a reduction in photosynthetic oxygen evolution has made the harbour hypoxic (DO < 1.6 mg L⁻¹)/anoxic (DO = 0.0 mg L⁻¹). Shannon-Wiener diversity index as a pollution index suggested that the inner harbour area was highly polluted as the diversity ranged from 0.01 to 1.57. Whereas, the outer harbour (Near-shore and off-shore) with less anthropogenic effect recorded high diversity (av. 2.17) suggesting a healthy environment.

[en] Alcaligenes species capable of degrading highly recalcitrant, carcinogenic, water-soluble dye—Congo red—were isolated from Indian West coastal sediments. Individual strains showed decolorization rates ranging from 76.49 to 98.76% within 24–48 h. Decolorization was most efficient at anoxic conditions catalyzed by intracellular azoreductase enzyme with an activity of 0.032 µmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ of protein. Degradation was confirmed by HPLC and FTIR analysis. LC/MS analysis of degraded metabolites established the cleavage of the azo bond-producing biphenyl diamine and 1,2′-diaminonapthalene-4-sulfonic acid. These results signify the effectiveness and ease to engineer processes such as feed batch/immobilized cell systems using these strains as biocatalysts to address the problem of global coastal water pollution caused by increased disposal of azo dye-containing industrial effluents.

[en] Highlights: • AAS, ICP-OES were used to evaluate metal content in various marine fishes. • Heavy metal levels significantly (p < 0.05) varied within and between the fish species. • Heavy metal levels were lower than the permissible levels prescribed by the European Union. • Fish catchments from this region are still safe for human consumption. - Abstract: Seventeen commercially important marine fish species were caught in Mumbai Harbor using a trawl net and evaluated using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and ICP-OES. It was found that certain species of fish contained lower levels of all metals tested. J. elongatus and C. dussumieri had the highest levels of all 8 metals tested. The heavy metal concentrations were significantly varied within and between the studied fishes (p < 0.05). However, a significant correlation among heavy metals was observed. This investigation indicated that various levels of heavy metals exist in the fish species sampled, but those concentrations are within the maximum residual levels recommended by the European Union and FAO/WHO. Therefore, fish caught in Mumbai Harbor can be considered safe for human consumption

[en] Particulate matter (PM), which are chemically and biochemically complicated particles, accommodate a plethora of microorganisms. In the present study, we report the influence of heavy metal pollution on the abundance and community structure of archaea and bacteria associated with PM samples collected from polluted and non-polluted regions of Cochin Estuary (CE), Southwest coast of India. We observed an accumulation of heavy metals in PM collected from CE, and their concentrations were in the order Fe > Zn > Mn > Cr > Pb > Cu > Cd > Co > Ni. Zinc was a major pollutant in the water (4.36–130.50 μgL⁻¹) and in the particulate matter (765.5–8451.28 μgg⁻¹). Heavy metals, Cd, Co, and Pb were recorded in the particulate matter, although they were below detectable limits in the water column. Statistical analysis showed a positive influence of particulate organic carbon, nitrogen, PM-Pb, PM-Zn and PM-Fe on the abundance of PM-archaea and PM-bacteria. The abundance of archaea and bacteria were ten times less in PM compared with planktonic ones. The abundance of PM-archaea ranged between 4.27 and 9.50 × 10⁷and 2.73 to 3.85 × 10⁷ cellsL⁻¹ respectively for the wet and dry season, while that of PM-bacteria was between 1.14 and 6.72 × 10⁸ cellsL⁻¹ for both seasons. Community structure of PM-bacteria varied between polluted and non-polluted stations, while their abundance does not show a drastic difference. This could be attributed to the selective enrichment of bacteria by heavy metals in PM. Such enrichment may only promote the growth of metal resistant archaea and bacteria, which may not participate in the processing of PM. In such cases, the PM may remain without remineralization in the system arresting the food web dynamics and biogeochemical cycles. - Highlights: • Heavy metal pollution proliferated substantially in Cochin estuary. • Heavy metal pollutants are accumulated in the particulate matter. • Pollution affected the diversity of bacteria associated with PM.