Advances in the Assessment of Contaminated Marine and Transitional Coastal Ecosystems Undergoing Global Climate Changes.

Shallow coastal areas are among the most heavily impacted ecosystems, simultaneously affected by multiple stress factors, including a variety of chemical contaminants, microplastics, and high organic and nutrient loads. The combined effects from interactions between contaminants and climate change factors are particularly pronounced in these regions. Global temperature rises associated with climate change result in heat accumulation in seas, sea level rise, higher precipitation and extreme weather events, and enhanced river inputs, leading to increased eutrophication. These stressors are further exacerbated by ocean acidification and reduced oxygen levels. Consequently, all these factors significantly diminish the ability of organisms and communities to respond to combined climate change and contamination stressors, leading to biodiversity loss and a decline in the stability and functioning of marine ecosystems.

This Research Topic aims to highlight recent research focused on evaluating, modeling, and simulating the effects of chemical contamination within climate change scenarios, such as higher seawater temperatures, deoxygenation, acidification, and salinization. It focuses on the structure and function of benthic and pelagic communities, as well as the main biogeochemical processes of shallow marine and transitional ecosystems. The combination of contamination and climate change creates adverse ecological effects for marine biotic communities and habitats, which can compromise their resilience and long-term integrity. An in-depth understanding of the short- and long-term ecotoxicological effects of chemical contamination and climate change factors on keystone species and functional interactions among organisms is crucial. The ultimate goal is to understand the extent to which these multiple stressors can alter community structures and critical ecosystem functions, such as primary production, decomposition rates, oxygen dynamics, and nutrient recycling, while assessing the ecological risks associated with combined stressor exposure.

To gather further insights in understanding and mitigating the challenges faced by coastal ecosystems, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

o Advanced methodologies in assessing organism and community response to multiple stressors.

o Comparative in-field and laboratory studies on targeted ecosystems.

o Integrated or holistic approaches to multi-stressor impact assessment.

o Ecotoxicological studies on the functional impacts of stress factors on ecosystem dynamics.

o Interdisciplinary research exploring multi-risk evaluations of climate change and contamination effects.

We especially encourage submissions that report innovative experimental studies spanning multiple trophic levels, elaborate on the resilience of coastal systems, and highlight interdisciplinary perspectives on the assessment of climate change and contamination impacts on marine environments.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Multiple Stressors, Climate Change, Contamination, Synergistic Effect, Biological Processes, Ecosystem Functioning, Biodiversity Loss, Integrated Approach

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.