The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with toxins, pesticides and herbicides". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE
The group typically regarded as pollutants encompasses a large array of compounds and is generally divided into chemical compounds and metals. Estimates of the number of chemicals produced anthropogenically range as high as 100,000, however assessments of the toxicity and bioaccumulative nature of these are limited. Most research has only included a few classes of compounds, notably the halogenated hydrocarbons, a limited number of metals and polyaromatic and non-aromatic hydrocarbons.
Most pollutants identified in marine animals are incorporated into tissues via dietary intake with many accumulating through the food web. Consequently, animals feeding at high trophic levels tend to have higher tissue concentrations than those feeding at lower trophic levels. Various pollutants have been reported to be associated with deleterious effects on the immune, endocrine and nervous systems of marine animals, resulting in disruption to growth, development, sexual differentiation and resistance to disease. However, direct associations between contaminants and these effects are few, and most studies lack substantive evidence of sublethal effects due to numerous confounding factors, both physiological and environmental in nature. This therefore limits quantification of the direct and indirect pressures pollutants may be exerting on the marine environment.
DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT
Published papers and reports. Assessment has been conducted by literature review.
2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]
• 2016 •
Assessment grade: Low impact
Assessment trend: Unclear
Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Confidence trend: Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment
Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment
• 2011 •
Assessment grade: Very good
Assessment trend: Stable
Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus
CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT
Toxins, pesticides, herbicides was assessed under state and trends of physical and chemical processes rather than pressures.
