Danshuei River in the northwestern tip of Taiwan discharges into the boundary coastal waters between the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. We conducted a 5-year study between October 1998 and September 2003 to assess the influence of the northeast (NE) and the southwest (SW) monsoons on copepod assemblages in the area. A total of 110 copepod species were identified. Temora turbinata, Paracalanus aculeatus, Acrocalanus gibber, Parvocalanus crassirostris and Oithona rigida comprised 80% of the copepod assemblages that consisted of coastal species from the East China Sea and species associated with the Kuroshio Branch Current. The effect of the NE monsoon was observed during a short period of each winter when species such as Calanus sinicus were transported into the study area by the China Coastal Current. In summer, species such as A. gibber, Acrocalanus gracilis and Canthocalanus pauper may be transported into the study area from Southern Taiwan by the combined effect of the SW monsoon and the Kuroshio Current. Influence of the NE monsoon on the copepod assemblages in terms of introduction of species from the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea during winter was observed every year but was unlikely to represent an important carbon source into the region due to its short-term nature. Local species such as T. turbinata, P. crassirostris and O. rigida form a major component of the copepod assemblage. The high copepod diversity in the area was caused by the year-round presence of many local species and the aggregation of different species from subtropical, tropical, and temperate water masses. Monsoon-driven water currents and the Kuroshio Branch Current appeared to mask the effect of river discharge in the region.

Microbes or parasites spread vector-borne diseases by mosquitoes without being affected themselves. Insecticides used in vector control produce a substantial problem for human health. This study synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Lawsonia inermis L. and were characterized by UV–vis, FT-IR, SEM with EDX, and XRD analysis. Green synthesized ZnO NPs were highly toxic against Anopheles stephensi, whose lethal concentrations values ranged from 5.494 ppm (I instar), 6.801 ppm (II instar), 9.336 ppm (III instar), 10.736 ppm (IV instar), and 12.710 ppm (pupae) in contrast to L. inermis treatment. The predation efficiency of the teleost fish Gambusia affinis and the copepod Mesocyclops aspericornis against A. stephensi was not affected by exposure at sublethal doses of ZnO NPs. The predatory potency for G. affinis was 45 (I) and 25.83% (IV), copepod M. aspericornis was 40.66 (I) and 10.8% (IV) while in an ZnO NPs contaminated environment, the predation by the fish G. affinis was boosted to 71.33 and 34.25%, and predation of the copepod M. aspericornis was 60.35 and 16.75%, respectively. ZnO NPs inhibited the growth of several microbial pathogens including the bacteria (Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis) and the fungi (Alternaria alternate and Aspergillus flavus), respectively. ZnO NPs decreased the cell viability of Hep-G2 with IC₅₀ value of 21.63 µg/mL (R² = 0.942; P < 0.001) while the concentration increased from 1.88 to 30 µg/mL. These outcomes support the use of L. inermis mediated ZnO NPs for mosquito control and drug development.

The rising demand of ecosystem services, due to the increasing human population in coastal areas, and the subsequent need to secure healthy and sustainable seas constitute a major challenge for marine ecosystems management. In addition, global anthropogenic changes have transformed the marine realm, thereby challenging ecosystem health and the services necessary for human welfare. These changes have opened ecological space for opportunistic organisms, such as jellyfish, resulting in ecosystem-wide and economic implications that threaten marine ecosystem services. Here, we used a comprehensive dataset of jellyfish hazards over the period 1960-2019 to track their dynamics and implications for human welfare. Our results revealed that their large-scale patterns have been mainly enhanced in human-perturbed Large Marine Ecosystems, although the contribution of jellyfish Class to hazard type changed across ocean regions. The long-term variability of these events suggests that their temporal patterns mirror the pace of ocean warming and ocean health degradation nurtured by global anthropogenic changes in recent decades. These results warn of the wide socioecological risks of jellyfish hazards, and their implications advocate for transboundary, regional cooperation to develop effective ecosystem-based management actions. Failure to integrate jellyfish into ocean surveys will compromise coastal ecosystem services governance. Classification: Social Sciences/Sustainability Science, Biological Sciences/Ecology.

Taiwan waters are oceanographically complex, being characterized by different water masses in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Taiwan Strait, which form contiguous but distinct ecosystems. These ecosystems interact one with another through complex and strong water circulations. The present work investigates the relatively few studied interactions between the local copepod communities and the heterogeneous hydrodynamical regimes. Gathering data from 53 cruises carried out since June 1998 to October 2004 all around Taiwan, this study leads to the mapping of eleven local calanoid assemblages taking into account the physical properties of the environment in which they appeared and the characteristics of their indicator species. Three of these identified assemblages were located in the tropical waters, southwest of Taiwan. First, the assemblage of the 2001 South China Sea sampling cruises revealed a tropical community dominated by Acrocalanus gracilis and Undinula vulgaris. In the other cluster, tropical calanoid species such as Labidocera detruncata, Centropages calaninus and A. monachus were found. The eight other assemblages were associated with the seasonal dynamics of the water masses north of Taiwan. Although the seasonal characteristics in the north can be subtle, the demarcation between these assemblages was clear. The early spring community is dominated by Calanus sinicus and followed by Temora turbinata since the beginning of summer. September marks a transition period to a new community characterized by the indicator species A. gibber. When the north-easterly monsoon prevails in winter, it is the turn of the community of northern common species such as Paracalanus parvus and Euchaeta concinna to prevail. In the mean time, C. sinicus starts its intrusion from the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea towards the northwest of Taiwan. Thus, according to our results, identified assemblages appear to be good indicators of different, distinctive, water masses.

Mosquito borne diseases are on the rise because of their fast spread worldwide and the lack of effective treatments. Here we are focusing on the development of a novel anti-malarial and virucidal agent with biocidal effects also on its vectors. We have synthesized a new quinoline (4,7-dichloroquinoline) derivative which showed significant larvicidal and pupicidal properties against a malarial and a dengue vector and a lethal toxicity ranging from 4.408 µM/mL (first instar larvae) to 7.958 µM/mL (pupal populations) for Anopheles stephensi and 5.016 µM/mL (larva 1) to 10.669 µM/mL (pupae) for Aedes aegypti. In-vitro antiplasmodial efficacy of 4,7-dichloroquinoline revealed a significant growth inhibition of both sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum with IC₅₀ values of 6.7 nM (CQ-s) and 8.5 nM (CQ-r). Chloroquine IC₅₀ values, as control, were 23 nM (CQ-s), and 27.5 nM (CQ-r). In vivo antiplasmodial studies with P. falciparum infected mice showed an effect of 4,7-dichloroquinoline compared to chloroquine. The quinoline compound showed significant activity against the viral pathogen serotype 2 (DENV-2). In vitro conditions and the purified quinoline exhibited insignificant toxicity on the host system up to 100 µM/mL. Overall, 4,7-dichloroquinoline could provide a good anti-vectorial and anti-malarial agent.