Carinacuma umesi, a new genus and species of bodotriid cumacean (Crustacea: Malacostraca: Peracarida) from shallow waters of the Maryland Coastal Bays, Mid-Atlantic region, USA

Carinacuma, a new bodotriid cumacean genus, is diagnosed to receive Spilocuma watlingi Omholt & Heard as its type species and C. umesi sp. nov., described from shallow waters (0.8 to 2.8 m) on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America. Carinacuma gen. nov. has its closest affinities to the North American genera Spilocuma and Mancocuma, but can be distinguished from them and the other genera within the subfamily Vaunthompsoniinae by a combination of characters, including the presence of a dorsal carina or keel on pereonite 3 of the female, morphology of the antenna, absence of pleopods in the male, and the setation and segmentation of the uropods. Carinacuma umesi sp. nov., can be differentiated from its northern Gulf of Mexico cognate, C. watlingi comb. nov. by several characters, including: (1) maxilliped 3 carpus of female with inner margin bearing four to five simple setae, (2) uropod peduncle of female with inner margin bearing one sub-distal micro-serrate seta with single sub-terminal medial setule, (3) male antennule peduncle articles 1–2 sub-equal length, and (4) male antennule accessory flagellum slightly longer than basal article of main flagellum. A key to the five known males lacking pleopods within Vaunthompsoniinae is provided.

Economic evaluation of sea-level rise adaptation strongly influenced by hydrodynamic feedbacks

Coastal communities rely on levees and seawalls as critical protection against sea-level rise; in the United States alone, $300 billion in shoreline armoring costs are forecast by 2100. However, despite the local flood risk reduction benefits, these structures can exacerbate flooding and associated damages along other parts of the shoreline—particularly in coastal bays and estuaries, where nearly 500 million people globally are at risk from sea-level rise. The magnitude and spatial distribution of the economic impact of this dynamic, however, are poorly understood. Here we combine hydrodynamic and economic models to assess the extent of both local and regional flooding and damages expected from a range of shoreline protection and sea-level rise scenarios in San Francisco Bay, California. We find that protection of individual shoreline segments (5 to 75 km) can increase flooding in other areas by as much as 36 million m3 and damages by $723 million for a single flood event and in some cases can even cause regional flood damages that exceed the local damages prevented from protection. We also demonstrate that strategic flooding of certain shoreline segments, such as those with gradually sloping baylands and space for water storage, can help alleviate flooding and damages along other stretches of the coastline. By matching the scale of the economic assessment to the scale of the threat, we reveal the previously uncounted costs associated with uncoordinated adaptation actions and demonstrate that a regional planning perspective is essential for reducing shared risk and wisely spending adaptation resources in coastal bays.

Anthropogenic Influences on Dissolved Organic Matter in Three Coastal Bays, North China

Coastal bays bear anthropogenic influence strongly, and thus dissolved organic matter (DOM) in coastal bays, which is an important component of global carbon cycling, could be heavily affected by anthropogenic inputs. Utilizing absorbance, fluorescence spectroscopy, and stable carbon isotope (δ13C), this study analyzed the characteristics and distribution of DOM in three coastal bays (Jiaozhou Bay, Sishili Bay, and Taozi Bay), located in North China. The results showed that there was always a high concentration of DOM near the river mouth in all three bays and the DOM concentration decreased along the salinity gradient in Jiaozhou Bay, indicating the riverine inputs are the main factor that causes the variation of DOM in these coastal bays. The effects of inflowing rivers on DOM in coastal bays differed with their watershed characteristics (i.e., agricultural/urban). In addition, humic-like DOM components were found to be positively correlated with the apparent oxygen utilization, suggesting microbial activities could contribute to the DOM in this region. There was generally a higher averaged concentration of fluorescent DOM in surface water than that in bottom water in Jiaozhou Bay. In contrast, higher humic-like DOM was found in bottom water than that in surface water in Sishili Bay and Taozi Bay, which could be attributed to aquaculture activities and biological production. Moreover, photodegradation/photobleaching, dumping, and sewage discharge had their effects on DOM in coastal bays. This study demonstrates that DOM in coastal bays is regulated by multiple sources (rivers, aquaculture, dumping, and sewage) and processes (biological production and photodegradation), and anthropogenic activities have their influences on optical and isotopic characteristics of DOM in coastal bays.

Analysis of Estrogenic Activity in Maryland Coastal Bays Using the MCF-7 Cell Proliferation Assay

Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with estrogenic or estrogenic-like activity have been increasingly detected in aquatic environments and have been an issue of global concern due to their potential negative effects on wildlife and human health. This study used the MCF-7 cell proliferation assay (E-Screen) to assess the estrogenic activity profiles in Maryland Coastal Bays (MCBs), a eutrophic system of estuaries impacted by human activities. Estrogenic activity was observed in all study sites tested. Water samples from MCBs increased MCF-7 cell proliferation above the negative control from 2.1-fold at site 8, located in Sinepuxent Bay close to the Ocean City Inlet, to 6.3-fold at site 6, located in Newport Bay. The proliferative effects of the sediment samples over the negative control ranged from 1.9-fold at the Assateague Island National Seashore site to 7.7-fold at the Public Landing site. Moreover, elevated cell proliferation (p < 0.05) was observed when cells were co-exposed with 17ß-Estradiol (E2), while reduction in cell proliferation was observed when cells were co-exposed with the antagonist ICI 182, 780 suggesting that cell proliferative effects were primarily mediated by the estrogen receptor (ER). These results suggest the occurrence of some estrogenic or hormonal-like compounds in the MCBs and are consistent with our previous findings based on vitellogenin analyses.

Antimicrobial and Genetic Profiles of Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus Isolated From the Maryland Coastal Bays, United States

Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus, found naturally in marine and estuarine environments, are the leading cause of seafood associated gastrointestinal illness and death. Consumption of improperly cooked crabs and handling of live crabs are potential routes of exposure to pathogenic bacteria such as V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus. Little information is available on serotype genetic and antimicrobial profiles of V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus recovered from Maryland estuaries. The aim of the present study was to determine the serotype of V. parahaemolyticus, evaluate antimicrobial susceptibility and genetic profiles of V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus isolated from water and blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) samples collected from the Maryland Coastal Bays. One hundred and fifty (150) PCR confirmed V. parahaemolyticus including 52 tdh+ (pathogenic) and 129 V. vulnificus strains were tested for susceptibility to twenty (20) different antibiotics chosen by clinical usage for Vibrio species. The O serogroups were determined using an agglutination test with V. parahaemolyticus antisera. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used for molecular subtyping to investigate the genetic diversity among tested strains. The most prevalent serotypes were O5 (33.3%), O3 (18.7%) and O1 (14.7%). More than 41% of all tested Vibrio isolates were resistant to three or more antibiotics. Cephalothin showed the highest resistance (42% and 61%), followed by cefoxitin (42% and 31%) and ceftazidime (36% and 29%) for V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus, respectively. Most strains (99–100%) were susceptible to ampicillin/sulbactam, levofloxacin, piperacillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, and tetracycline. Fifty percent (50%) of the cephalothin resistant strains were crab isolates. Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus isolates demonstrated a high genetic diversity and 31% of V. vulnificus and 16% of V. parahaemolyticus strains were PFGE untypeable. No correlations were found between the V. parahaemolyticus serotype, pathogenicity, genetic and antimicrobial resistance profiles of both species of Vibrio. The observed high multiple drug resistance of V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus from blue crab and its environment is of public health concern. Therefore, there is a need for frequent antibiotic sensitivity surveillance for Vibrio spp.