BackgroundPersian Gulf is an exposed and stressed area as a result of oil pollution and other fossil fuels containing PAHs. The susceptibility of using mudskippers to monitor marine pollution, like PAHs, points to the fact that mudskippers are able to accumulate and record the PAHs presented in the coastal environments.MethodsPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were examined in the coastal waters, the sediments and biota (i.e., Boleophthalmus dussumieri) along the coast of the Persian Gulf. PAHs concentrations were measured with HPLC method.ResultsTotal PAH concentrations in the sea water, the sediments, the liver and the gill tissues ranged between 0.80-18.34 μg/l, 113.50-3384.34 ng g-1 (d w), 3.99-46.64 ng g-1 (d w) and 3.11-17.76 ng g-1 (d w), respectively. PAHs distribution patterns in the sediment and the liver tissue samples were dominated by three-and four-ring structures whereas two-and three-rings were dominated in the water and the gill.ConclusionsThis finding revealed a negative eco-risk effects occasionally occur in this area. The higher presence of low condensate ring structures reflected a predominant origin of petrogenic and some cases of pyrolitic sources.

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Metallothionein (MT) concentration in gills, liver, and kidney tissues of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) were determined following exposure to sublethal levels of waterborne cadmium (Cd) (50, 400, and 1,000 μg l(-1)) after 1, 2, 4, and 14 days. The increases of MT from background levels were 4.6-, 3-, and 2.8-fold for kidney, liver, and gills, respectively. The results showed that MT level change in the kidney is time and concentration dependent. Also, cortisol measurement revealed elevation at the day 1 of exposure and followed by MT increase in the liver. Cd concentrations in the cytosol of experimental tissues were measured, and the results indicated that Cd levels in the cytosol of liver, kidney, and gills increased 240.71-, 32.05-, and 40.16-fold, respectively, 14 days after exposure to 1,000 μg l(-1) Cd. The accumulation of Cd in cytosol of tissues is in the order of liver > gills > kidney. Pearson correlation coefficients showed that the MT content in kidney is correlated with Cd concentration, the value of which is more than in liver and gills. Thus, kidney can be considered as a tissue indicator in A. persicus for waterborne Cd contamination.

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In the present investigation, we aimed to study diversity and cell abundance of phytoplankton in the southwest of the Caspian Sea. This survey included 4 transects and 12 stations. A total of 48 samples were collected during spring 2012 and spring 2013. Finally, 72 species of phytoplankton were identified including phyla Diatoms (29 species), Chlorophyta (17 species), Pyrrophyta (16 species), Cyanophyta (6 species), and Euglenophyta (4 species). The total average of cell abundance was approximately 43.55 ± 5.10 9 104 cells/ m 3. The number of recorded species in spring, summer, autumn, and winter was 46, 50, 41 and 39, respectively. Diatoms had the highest species diversity and cell abundance in winter related to Thalassionema nitzschiodes at a depth of 10 m. Seasonal changes in diversity of phytoplankton significantly differed, showing maximum in autumn with high diversity index (2.532) and minimum in spring (2.201) on Shannon Diversity Index. Finally, the quality of water is classified according to this index in the middle level.