2024, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Teresa Sani; Mauro Marini; Alessandra Campanelli; Mariana Machado Toffolo; Stefano Goffredo; Federica Grilli
The evaluation of the hydrography and biogeochemistry of the Adriatic Sea over the last century was summarized in this review to point out any changes in river runoff and provide an overview of the cause and effect of these trends on marine ecosystems. Although several rivers flow into the Adriatic, the most affected area is the northern Adriatic, where the Po River loads into the basin half of the total freshwater input, carrying river runoff and causing algal blooms and hypoxia phenomena. These fresh waters of the northern Adriatic flow predominantly along the entire western side, reaching the southernmost part of the basin up to the Mediterranean Sea. Here, and in the whole basin, variations in river runoff and nutrient concentration have been observed through the years. Starting from 1960 until the end of the century, an increase in nutrient discharge and phytoplankton activity was reported, with negative repercussions on local fisheries, species richness, and recreational activities within the basin. However, a recent decrease in river inflow has been observed along the coastal belt, which can trigger negative consequences for the food web of the marine ecosystem. These trends, more broadly, corroborate the vulnerability of the Adriatic Sea and stress the importance of implementing strategies for the defense of the relevant ecosystems within its confines.
2023, Monografia o trattato scientifico, ENG
Mauro, Marini; Anna, Annibaldi
Eight research articles and two reviews are included in this Special Issue focused on the transport, persistence, and toxicity of pollutants in different seas: the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the South China Sea. The results, specifically described below, highlight different aspects of the main topic of the Special Issue, including: - The implications of anthropogenic effects on the coastal environment and seabed; - How climate change modifies surface water regimes and whether it affects the runoff of contaminants in the sea; - Pollutants in sediments and marine organisms; - Seasonal variations in pollutants in the sea; - Estuarine pollution and the influence on seawater contamination. The results provided in this Special Issue are grouped into three different topics that thoroughly cover the themes reported in all the papers.
2023, Materiale didattico, ITA
Marini Mauro
lezione Universitaria
2023, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Antonella Penna ab , Mauro Marini cb , Christian Ferrarin d, Stefano Guicciardi c, Federica Grilli c, Elisa Baldrighi e, Fabio Ricci a b, Silvia Casabianca a b, Samuela Capellacci a b, Nadia Marinchel a, Pierluigi Penna c, Fabrizio Moro c, Alessandra Campanelli c, Luigi Bolognini f, Marin Ordulj g, Maja Krzelj g, Vedrana ?pada h, Josipa Bili? h, Marija Sikoronja i, Neven Bujas i, Elena Manini c 1
This study is based on assessing fecal indicator bacteria contamination along meteorological, hydrological and physical-chemical variables after high rainy events during the summer period. The study focused on four different coastal sites in the western and eastern Adriatic coast characterized by various geomorphological and hydrological features, levels of urbanization and anthropogenic pressures, with the aim of finding appropriate and effective solutions to ensure the safety and sustainability of tourism and public health. Detailed in-situ survey revealed a wide range of fecal indicator bacterial (FIB) across the different river mouths with concentrations of E. coli ranging from 165 to 6700 CFU 100 mL-1. It was found that nitrogen compounds track microbial load and acted as tracers for fecal contaminants. Further, a modelling tool was also used to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of fecal pollution at these coastal sites. The integrated monitoring through high frequent survey in river waters and modeling framework allowed for the estimation of fecal indicator bacterial load at the river mouth and examination of fecal pollutant dispersion in recreational waters, considering different scenarios of fecal dispersion along the coast. This study formed the basis of a robust decision support system aimed at improving the management of recreational areas and ensuring the protection of water bodies through efficient management of bathing areas.
2023, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Mauro Marini, Federica Grilli
first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessReview The Role of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Eutrophication of the Northern Adriatic Sea: History and Future Scenarios by Mauro Marini 1,2,*ORCID andFederica Grilli 1,*ORCID 1 Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies, National Research Council (IRBIM, CNR) Largo Fiera della Pesca 2, 60125 Ancona, Italy 2 Fano Marine Center, The Inter-Institute Center for Research on Marine Biodiversity, Resources and Biotechnologies (FMC), Viale Adriatico 1/N, 61032 Fano, Italy * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(16), 9267; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169267 Received: 31 July 2023 / Revised: 9 August 2023 / Accepted: 13 August 2023 / Published: 15 August 2023 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members' Collection Series: Pollutants and Climate Change, Runoff, Behaviour and Adverse Effects in Aquatic Ecosystems) Download Browse Figures Review Reports Versions Notes Abstract In the last two decades of the 21st century, a gradual decrease in nitrogen and phosphorus has been observed along the coastal area of the Northern Adriatic Sea. This depletion is attributed to reduced river flows. Studies conducted over the past four decades have indicated that the N/P ratio in the open sea is unlikely to undergo significant change. In fact, it tends to increase due to the unique characteristics of the Northern Adriatic Sea, which experiences slow water turnover and is influenced by strong winds. Additionally, the Northern Adriatic Sea receives a substantial amount of freshwater from rivers, accounting for about one-third of the total freshwater flow into the Mediterranean. These rivers carry nutrient loads that contribute to the high productivity and abundance of fish in this sea, making it one of the most productive areas in the Mediterranean. It has been observed that the cessation of anthropogenic phosphorus input, which has been regulated since the late 1980s with legislation limiting its use in detergents, has significantly affected the trophic chain. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the eutrophication trend in the Northern Adriatic Sea, highlighting the importance long-term data series.
2023, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Andrea De Giovanni, Vincenzo Iannuzzi, Gianni Gallello, Cristina Giuliani, Mauro Marini, M. Luisa Cervera, Donata Luiselli
Seafood constitutes the primary source of exposure to the organic form of mercury in the general population, and the Trieste Gulf is considered a hotspot of mercury contamination. We used a newly developed quantitative food frequency questionnaire to obtain an estimation of the intake of mercury through seafood consumption in a sample of 32 individuals from Trieste. Then, we validated the results obtained from the questionnaire against those of the analysis of total mercury measured in the hair of the same individuals through Spearman rank correlation coefficients, Cohen's weighted Kappa statistic, and a Bland-Altman plot. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient and Cohen's weighted Kappa statistic were 0.76 and 0.69, respectively. In the Bland-Altman plot, 93.75% of the data points lay within the acceptability range. The plot revealed an ever-increasing overestimation of mercury intake by the questionnaires as the hair mercury increased. By applying a standardized filtering procedure to the results of the questionnaires, we obtained a Spearman rank correlation coefficient and Cohen's weighted Kappa statistic of 0.69 and 0.57, respectively. In this Bland-Altman plot, 93.75% of the data points lay within the acceptability range. In this latter plot, the proportionality between the mean difference and the magnitude of the measurement was more subtle compared to that observed in the plot built upon the non-filtered questionnaires. This preliminary study shows the high accuracy of the reported questionnaire in the estimation of habitual mercury intake, similar to the one measured through the analysis of hair.
2023, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Palladino, Giorgia; Rampelli, Simone; Scicchitano, Daniel; Nanetti, Enrico; Iuffrida, Letizia; Wathsala, Rajapaksha Haddokara Gedara Rasika; Interino, Nicolo; Marini, Mauro; Porru, Emanuele; Turroni, Silvia; Fiori, Jessica; Franzellitti, Silvia; Candela, Marco
Marine mussels, especially Mytilus galloprovincialis, are well-established sentinel species, being naturally resistant to the exposure to multiple xenobiotics of natural and anthropogenic origin. Even if the response to multiple xenobiotic ex-posure is well known at the host level, the role of the mussel-associated microbiome in the animal response to environ-mental pollution is poorly explored, despite its potential in xenobiotic detoxification and its important role in host development, protection, and adaptation. Here, we characterized the microbiome-host integrative response of M. galloprovincialis in a real-world setting, involving exposure to a complex pattern of emerging pollutants, as occurs in the Northwestern Adriatic Sea. A total of 387 mussel individuals from 3 commercial farms, spanning about 200 km along the Northwestern Adriatic coast, and in 3 different seasons, were collected. Multiresidue analysis (for quantitative xenobiotic determination), transcriptomics (for host physiological response), and metagenomics (for host-associated microbial taxonomical and functional features) analyses were performed on the digestive glands. Ac-cording to our findings, M. galloprovincialis responds to the presence of the complex pattern of multiple emerging pol-lutants - including the antibiotics sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin, and tetracycline, the herbicides atrazine and metolachlor, and the insecticide N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide - integrating host defense mechanisms, e.g., through upreg-ulation of transcripts involved in animal metabolic activity, and microbiome-mediated detoxification functions, in-cluding microbial functionalities involved in multidrug or tetracycline resistance. Overall, our data highlight the importance of the mussel-associated microbiome as a strategic player for the orchestration of resistance to the multixenobiotic exposure at the holobiont level, providing strategic functionalities for the detoxification of multiple xenobiotic substances, as occurring in real world exposure settings. Complementing the host with microbiome-dependent xenobiotic degradative and resistance genes, the M. galloprovincialis digestive gland associated microbiome can have an important role in the detoxification of emerging pollutants in a context of high anthropogenic pressure, supporting the relevance of mussel systems as potential animal-based bioremediation tool.
2023, Comunicazione in rivista (Letter - Letter to editor), ENG
Frapiccini E.; Caroselli E.; Franzellitti S.; Prada F.; Marini M.; Goffredo S.
2023, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Neri F.; Romagnoli T.; Accoroni S.; Ubaldi M.; Garzia A.; Pizzuti A.; Campanelli A.; Grilli F.; Marini M.; Totti C.
The Northern Adriatic Sea is one of the most productive areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Long-term series of phytoplankton are crucial to detect changes in the marine ecosystems, due to its high sensitiveness to environmental conditions. In this study, we compared two long-term phytoplankton time series (1988-2019) related to a coastal and an offshore stations located along the LTER Senigallia-Susak transect (Northern Adriatic Sea), using several statistical descriptors: diversity indices, multivariate statistical analyses (PCA, HCPC, NMDS), IndVal (indicator value analysis) and graph-network analysis. The coastal station was found to be more variable than the offshore one, being directly affected by the Western Adriatic Current and therefore by riverine inputs. The two stations appeared to be more different in winter and autumn, and more similar in summer when riverine waters spread offshore in stratified conditions. Due to its more oligotrophic condition, the offshore phytoplankton community showed a higher biodiversity than the coastal one, where phytoplankton blooms occurred frequently. Graph-network analysis turned out to be a useful tool to study the phytoplankton community through the number of interactions occurring among phytoplankton taxa, that was higher at the offshore station. This study highlighted that any evaluation of the Good Environmental Status (as required by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive) should consider the oceanographic differences between different areas, combining several statistical approaches.
2023, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Prada F.[1,2,13,14], Franzellitti S.[2,3,14], Caroselli E.[1,2], Cohen I.[4], Marini M.[2,5], Campanelli A.[5], Sana L.[3], Mancuso A.[1,2], Marchini C.[1,2], Puglisi A.[3], Candela M.[2,6], Mass T.[7], Tassi F.[8,9], LaJeunesse T.C.[10], Dubinsky Z.[11], Falini G.[2,12], Goffredo S.[1,2]
Ocean acidification caused by shifts in ocean carbonate chemistry resulting from increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations is threatening many calcifying organisms, including corals. Here we assessed autotrophy vs heterotrophy shifts in the Mediterranean zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Balanophyllia europaea acclimatized to low pH/high pCO2 conditions at a CO2 vent off Panarea Island (Italy). Dinoflagellate endosymbiont densities were higher at lowest pH Sites where changes in the distribution of distinct haplotypes of a host-specific symbiont species, Philozoon balanophyllum, were observed. An increase in symbiont C/N ratios was observed at low pH, likely as a result of increased C fixation by higher symbiont cell densities. delta13C values of the symbionts and host tissue reached similar values at the lowest pH Site, suggesting an increased influence of autotrophy with increasing acidification. Host tissue delta15N values of 0%o strongly suggest that diazotroph N2 fixation is occurring within the coral tissue/mucus at the low pH Sites, likely explaining the decrease in host tissue C/N ratios with acidification. Overall, our findings show an acclimatization of this coral-dinoflagellate mutualism through trophic adjustment and symbiont haplotype differences with increasing acidification, highlighting that some corals are capable of acclimatizing to ocean acidification predicted under end-of-century scenarios.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Mariana Machado Toffolo, Federica Grilli, Catia Prandi, Stefano Goffredo and Mauro Marini
Climate change is one of the main problems currently strongly conditioning ecosystems all over the world. Coastal lagoons are amongst the most vulnerable habitats, and they are undergoing extensive human impact due to their high production rates and the close proximity of urban and agricultural centers. The Mar Menor, the largest saltwater lagoon in Europe, is an example of a highly impacted ecosystem. In December 2016 and September 2019, climate change-induced DANA (upper-level isolated atmospheric depression) flooding events took place there, temporarily altering the lagoon oceanographic properties. Data gathered throughout the lagoon (11 stations inside and 1 outside the lagoon) from 2016 to 2021 were analyzed in order to assess the variability of seawater parameters: salinity, density, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen, due to DANA events. Results showed a change in seawater parameters that were reestablished at different rates, 4 and 10 months in 2016 and 2019, respectively, following a description of the environmental conditions and effects that have been reported after extreme rainfall in the lagoon. The amount of rainfall correlated with changes in the analyzed seawater parameters, such as an increase in turbidity and chlorophyll-a values. Furthermore, turbidity correlated with chlorophyll-a and oxygen saturation, while density correlated with salinity. Such extreme weather events are worsened by climate change, growing more frequent and between shorter intervals in time. In order to decelerate ecosystem decline, comprehensive management plans are needed to address the various factors that might add to anthropic impacts in natural environments.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Federico Girolametti; Emanuela Frapiccini; Anna Annibaldi; Silvia Illuminati; Monica Panfili; Mauro Marini; Alberto Santojanni; Cristina Truzzi
Mercury (Hg) is a pollutant that has toxic effects on ecosystems and biota. As it biomagnifies in the food chain, its presence in edible fish poses a high risk to human health. Herein, total Hg (THg) content was quantified in 2018-2019 using thermal decomposition amalgamation atomic absorption spectrometry in muscle tissue of red mullet (Mullus barbatus), a commercially important species throughout the Adriatic Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea). Specimens were grouped into 16 pools based on sex, reproductive stages, and sampling area. The overall mean value of THg content was 0.20 ± 0.15 mg kg-1 in terms of wet weight. THg levels in males and females showed no statistically significant differences, whereas specimens that were captured in open sea showed a higher THg content than coastal samples. Statistically significant differences between THg content and the reproductive stages of fish were found in females. However, neither lipid content nor fish length were statistically correlated with THg content. The analyzed specimens were considered to be safe food according to EU directives, but it is necessary to exercise caution and further investigate Italian people in the 0-18 age group, because they were found to be exposed to a higher dose of methylmercury than the safety threshold set by the EFSA.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Frapiccini Emanuela, Caroselli Erik, Franzellitti Silvia, Prada Fiorella, Marini Mauro, Goffredo Stefano
Assessing the sources and accumulation patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in corals is critical, as they threaten coral ecosystem resilience in addition to other anthropogenic pressures. We determined acenaphthene, fluorene, fluoranthene, and pyrene concentration in the skeleton and soft tissue of 7 adult and 29 old specimens of the non-zooxanthellate coral Leptopsammia pruvoti from the Mediterranean Sea. Leptopsammia pruvoti accumulated 2-72 times higher PAH concentrations than the previously investigated zooxanthellate Balanophyllia europaea living at the same site at shallower depth, likely in relation to the different trophic strategy. Low molecular weight PAHs were preferentially accumulated compared to high molecular weight PAHs. Detected PAHs were mainly petrogenic, consistently with local pollution sources. Populations of L. pruvoti immobilized PAHs in the skeleton 3-4 orders of magnitude more efficiently than B. europaea. This highlights the need to investigate other non-zooxanthellate species, which represent the majority of Mediterranean scleractinians, but are widely overlooked with respect to the few zooxanthellate species.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Sabina Susmel, Elisa Baldrighi, Maja Krzelj, Josipa Bilic, Mauro Marini, Anna Annibaldi, Viviana Scognamiglio and Mauro Celussi
The present Special Issue brought together recent research findings on the delicate but ever-growing problem of the impact of urban wastewaters along the Adriatic coasts. The 11 research contributions originated from the two Interreg project AdSWiM and WATERCARE. The published papers highlight several aspects related to the environ-mental protection through cross-cutting technological solutions, to treat wastewater, to control chemical and microbiological pollution, to manage the wastewater with a cross border vision, to share knowledge in order to better manage the bathing waters and protect the Adriatic Sea. This Special Issue also intended to point out the im-portance of communication and knowledge transfer from science and research to the general public as a paramount step to raise people's awareness about environmental issues.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Mauro Marini, Anna Annibaldi
The Special Issue: Transport, Persistence and Toxicity of Pollutants in the Sea, helped to describe the path of pollutants transported to the sea from the mainland and their accumulation process in the marine environment (sediment and organisms). In this volume we have tried to make a contribution to increase the knowledge on the dangerous effects of pollutants that reach the sea and their fate once they entered the marine food chain. Moreover this Special Issue includes two reviews for organic and inorganic contaminants respectively, and will also improve information about the pollutants loading in the sea during all the seasons, due to the contribution of rivers and rainfall, and the relative influence on marine organisms.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Elisa Baldrighi 1,*, Patricija Muzlovic 2,*, Anna Annibaldi 3,4 , Antonella Penna 4,5 , Elena Manini 1 , Elia Rosetti 1, Enrico Esposito Renzoni 6, Federica Grilli 1 , Gloria Giacomini 6, Ivana Kristovic 7, Ivo Duracic 7, Maja Krzelj 8, Marin Ordulj 8, Martin Bu´can 9, Pierluigi Penna 1 , Vedrana Spada 10 , Josipa Bilic 10 , Mauro Marini 1,4 and Sabina Susmel 11
The transfer of communication and knowledge from science and research to the general public is a paramount step to raise people's awareness about environmental issues and their negative and positive impacts on each of us. Many projects and initiatives seek to raise awareness among citizens, with particular attention to young people, about the importance of maintaining clean and healthy oceans. With this paper, we aim to present the successful communication initiatives developed during two Interreg projects, AdSWiM andWATERCARE, with schools and educational organisations on the local and national levels in Italy and Croatia. Both projects make a special effort to realize dedicated communication strategies with the objective of raising the awareness of environmental topics and issues among young people (i.e., students of different school grades) and teachers. The promotion of ocean literacy among students is crucial, as children and young people represent the future citizens and consumers who will develop attitudes and make decisions that will inevitably affect the environment.
2022, Dataset, ENG
De Giovanni, Andrea; Abondio, Paolo; Frapiccini, Emanuela; Luiselli, Donata; Marini, Mauro
The present database contains the harmonised results of investigations on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood caught from FAO fishing divisions 37.1.3 (Sardinia), 37.2.1 (Adriatic) and 37.2.2 (Ionian), in Western and Central Mediterranean Sea. Of the 10,704 records included in the database, 5790 were extracted from a database on contaminants in Mediterranean biota available at https://www.emodnet-chemistry.eu/data (accessed on 01/12/2021), while the other 4,914 come from 38 scientific publications from peer-reviewed journals. The database was compiled along the lines of the work of Cinnirella and colleagues (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.899723) on mercury concentration in Mediterranean biota. The following parameters have been retrieved when available: Country; Location; FAO fishing division; Sea where sampling took place; Latitude; Longitude; Taxonomic class; Taxonomic order; Taxonomic Family; Species scientific name; Species common name; Marine habitat; Trophic level; Sampling depth; Sample length; Sample weight; Age; Sex; Sampled tissue; PAH analysed; Molecular weight of analysed PAHs; Origin of analysed PAHs; Tissue water content; Mean PAH concentration; Minimum PAH concentration; Maximum PAH concentration; Sample size; Sampling period; Sampling date; Sampling season; State of the organism; Reference source; Sampling year. Moreover, two health risk indexes were calculated for each record, based on FAOSTAT data on seafood consumption in Italy (FAOSTAT, 2017), and included in the database.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Fabio Ricci, Samuela Capellacci, Alessandra Campanelli, Federica Grilli, Mauro Marini, Antonella Penna
Dynamics of the physical and biogeochemical properties in a temperate coastal area in the north-western Adriatic Sea were analyzed. Multi-year (1997-2019) continuous observations allowed assessing their trends at two sites directly influenced by the discharges of two minor rivers as well as by human activities and climate change. Statistical models were applied to investigate the temporal variability and trends of seawater temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, nutrients, river discharges and precipitations. The analysis highlighted a role for the minor river inputs and for ecological processes on interannual and seasonal biogeochemical dynamics. We found a significant trend toward more oligotrophic conditions; in particular, chlorophyll a exhibited a long-term decline (-1.38% year-1 and - 1.5% year-1 at the two Foglia and Metauro river transects, respectively) that was largely determined by low phosphate and nitrate seawater concentrations as a result of a significant reduction in the phosphate and nitrate loadings of the two minor rivers (respectively mean values of -4.65% year-1 and -2.65% year-1). In contrast, salinity showed a long-term decrease of -0.24% year-1 and -0.19% year-1 at Foglia and Metauro, respectively, corresponding to a significant increase of the freshwater discharges of the two minor rivers (+1.86% and +1.57% year-1 at Foglia and Metauro, respectively) possibly due to precipitations. Data analysis highlighted the conditions of temperate coastal areas affected by freshwater discharges. Nutrient load management and climate conditions such as precipitation regimes appear to be the main factors driving physical and biogeochemical dynamics in the north-western Adriatic Sea.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
Francesca Neri, Tiziana Romagnoli, Stefano Accoroni, *, Alessandra Campanelli, Mauro Marini, Federica Grilli, Cecilia Totti
A long term (1988-2018) data set of phytoplankton and physico-chemical parameters was analyzed for the first time in an offshore station of the LTER Senigallia-Susak transect (northern Adriatic Sea) not directly affected by the coastal nutrient input. The mean annual cycle of phytoplankton markedly differed from that observed in the coastal areas, showing the maximum in June and the minimum in November. The main component of phytoplankton community was represented by phytoflagellates, whose trend paralleled that of total phytoplankton. On average, diatoms peaked in July, dinoflagellates in June and coccolithophores in April. The phytoplankton maximum in summer is explained mainly by the allochthonous input of DIN and PO4 carried by the low salinity waters expanding eastward, during the stratification of water column. Resuspension processes seem to be less effective for PO4 than for DIN. The most representative phytoplankton taxa for each season as indicated by the Ind- Val analysis were identified and were only in part similar to those observed in the coastal area. The interannual anomaly trend showed a significant increase of temperature, DIN and phosphates. Although no significant changes were found for the total phytoplankton, a reduction of winter dinoflagellate and coccolithophore abundances was observed.
2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG
De Giovanni A, Abondio P, Frapiccini E, Luiselli D, Marini M
The aim of this work was to collect and harmonize the results of several studies achieved over the years, in order to obtain a database of georeferenced observations on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Western and Central Mediterranean seafood. For each observation, some information on the taxonomy and the ecology of the sampled species are reported, as well as details on the investigated hydrocarbon, and spatial and temporal information on sampling. Moreover, two health risk indexes were calculated for each record and included in the database. Through several statistical methods, we conducted a meta-analysis of the data on some of the species in this database, identifying trends that could be related to the biology of the investigated organisms, as well as to the physico-chemical properties of each hydrocarbon and to the oceanographic characteristic of this part of the Mediterranean. The analysis of the data showed that, at a consumption rate like the one typical of the Italian population, seafood caught from the area considered in the present work seems to pose a minimal risk to health. However, we also found evidence of an increasing trend of PAH concentrations in Mediterranean mussels, pointing to the need for constant monitoring. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.