Lipid and fatty acid biomarkers as proxies for environmental contamination in caged mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis

Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were transplanted from a reference site (Syracuse harbour) to an impacted site (Augusta Bay) from January to July 2013 to assess the biochemical response of caged mussels to high trace element and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, using lipid and fatty acid (FA) biomarkers. Sediment and mussels were analysed to assess contaminant bioavailability in the study sites and bioaccumulation in mussel tissue. Trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and PAHs were significantly higher in mussels from Augusta than in those from Syracuse, mirroring the different environmental contamination. The biological impact quotient (BIQs), which indicates the potential biological impact of mussel-accumulated contaminants, reflected the highest contaminant concentrations found in Augusta and their temporal trend, which increased from the start of the experiment to 3–4 months after transplanting, followed by a decrease, as indication of mussel detoxification processes. Lower condition index (CI) and phospholipids (PL), as well as higher total (TL) and neutral lipids (NL) in mussels from Augusta, indicated the occurrence of a physiological and biochemical stress response to pollutant exposure and accumulation. Differences in FA composition, especially polyunsaturated (PUFA), essential (EFA) and non-methylene interrupted dienoic (NMID) FAs between the study sites revealed the occurrence of stress-induced lipid peroxidation, followed by compensatory/adaptive processes in Augusta mussels. The marked increase in bacterial biomarkers, mainly cyclopropyl (CY) FAs, reflecting the greater bioaccumulation of chemicals in the Augusta mussels, may be the result of bacterial infections or symbiosis with bacteria involved in detoxification processes.     

Foraging habits in a generalist predator: Sex and age influence habitat selection and resource use among bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

This study examines resource use (diet, habitat use, and trophic level) within and among demographic groups (males, females, and juveniles) of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We analyzed the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of 15 prey species constituting 84% of the species found in stomach contents. We used these data to establish a trophic enrichment factor (TEF) to inform dietary analysis using a Bayesian isotope mixing model. We document a TEF of 0‰ and 2.0‰ for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, respectively. The dietary results showed that all demographic groups relied heavily on low trophic level seagrass‐associated prey. Bayesian standard ellipse areas (SEA_b) were calculated to assess diversity in resource use. The SEA_b of females was nearly four times larger than that of males indicating varied resource use, likely a consequence of small home ranges and habitat specialization. Juveniles possessed an intermediate SEA_b, generally feeding at a lower trophic level compared to females, potentially an effect of natal philopatry and immature foraging skills. The small SEA_b of males reflects a high degree of specialization on seagrass associated prey. Patterns in resource use by the demographic groups are likely linked to differences in the relative importance of social and ecological factors.     

象山港不同养殖类型海域大型底栖动物群落比较研究

于2009年2月在象山港顶部海域分别对海带、牡蛎和鱼类网箱3种不同养殖区进行了大型底栖动物调查。调查共鉴定大型底栖动物73种,隶属8门12纲53科,以软体动物和环节动物为主。海带养殖区优势种有5种;牡蛎养殖区有4种;网箱养殖区有9种。海带、牡蛎和网箱养殖区大型底栖动物平均栖息密度分别为(132±71)个/m²、(94±91)个/m²和(210±132)个/m²;平均生物量分别为(26.51±11.06) g/m²、(53.03±61.94) g/m²和(108.80±73.56) g/m²。栖息密度和生物量不同养殖区和不同调查站位间差异显著。Tukey多重比较结果显示,栖息密度海带养殖区与牡蛎和网箱养殖区间均无显著差异,而牡蛎与鱼类网箱养殖区间存在显著差异;生物量海带养殖区与牡蛎养殖区间无显著差异,海带养殖区和牡蛎养殖区与网箱养殖区间均显著差异。典范对应分析结果表明,对大型底栖动物群落起主要影响的环境因子有温度、盐度、总氮和总磷等,排序轴对物种-环境关系的贡献率计算结果表明环境变量可以较好的解释主要类群的变化情况。丰度/生物量比较曲线(ABC曲线)分析结果表明,网箱养殖区大型底栖动物群落受较明显扰动,而海带和牡蛎养殖区大型底栖动物群落未受扰动。     

胶州湾湿地海域水体和表层沉积物环境质量评价

基于2009年对胶州湾湿地48个站点的调查数据,采用内梅罗(Nemerow)指数、富营养指数(EI)和Hakanson潜在生态危害指数法对胶州湾湿地水体和表层沉积物环境质量现状进行了评价.结果表明:对参与评价的pH值、溶解氧、无机氮、活性磷酸盐、CODMn、石油类、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd、Hg、As、六六六、滴滴涕、大肠菌群、粪大肠菌群等16项指标而言,各调查月份大沽河感潮河段水质处于中污染-重污染水平,潮间带区域水质处于轻污染-中污染水平,浅海区域水质处于轻污染水平.胶州湾湿地不同区域富营养化程度差异明显,其中大沽河感潮河段水体EI值在58.13 ～327.89,富营养化程度严重;潮间带区域水体EI值在1.34 ～19.96,富营养化程度较为严重;浅海区域水体EI值在0.65 ～ 2.10,富营养化程度较轻.胶州湾湿地海域表层沉积物质量基本处于轻污染水平,其中大沽河感潮河段处于轻污染水平,潮间带区域处于轻污染-中污染水平,浅海区域处于较清洁-轻污染水平.胶州湾湿地海域表层沉积物中重金属单项污染参数(Cfi)和污染程度指数(Cd)较低,污染程度处于低级水平,Cu、Zn是表层沉积物中的主要污染因子;重金属潜在的生态危害系数(Eir)和潜在生态危害指数(RI)较小,污染程度属于低生态危害范畴.     

钦州湾大型底栖动物生态学研究

通过2008年~2009年在钦州湾及附近海域进行的4个航次的大型底栖动物调查,共获大型底栖动物8门62科94种,软体类最多,其次为多毛类,种类季节变化较大。以优势度指数Y>0.02为判别标准,调查区春季优势种为方格皱纹蛤（Periglypta lacerata (Hanley)）、刺足掘沙蟹（Scalopidia spinosipes Stimpsom）和独齿围沙蚕（Perinereis cultrifera Grube）,夏季优势种为方格皱纹蛤、刺足掘沙蟹和持真节虫,秋季优势种为曲波皱纹蛤和网纹藤壶,冬季优势种为肋鲳螺和方格皱纹蛤。春、夏季优势种变化不大,秋、冬季优势种变化较大,除方格皱纹蛤外均为季节特有种。海区底栖生物平均总密度和平均总生物量分别为439ind./m2和115.14g/m2。与20世纪80年代钦州湾茅尾海调查结果相比,平均栖息密度有所升高,但是平均生物量却有较大程度的降低。底栖动物群落的丰富度指数（D）、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数（H′）和均匀度指数（J′）平均值分别为4.01、1.80和0.73,水平不高。用SPSS软件将各站大型底栖动物的平均密度、平均生物量、多样性指数等生态特征值与水深等理化因子进行了Pearson相关分析,结果表明春季各特征指数与环境因子相关性不显著;夏季丰度、多样性指数和均匀度指数均与水深呈显著负相关,种类数、丰富度和多样性指数与沉积物pH呈显著负相关;秋季密度与硫化物呈显著正相关;冬季生物量与硫化物和有机质均呈显著正相关。     

三门湾海域冬夏季口足目和十足目虾类的种类组成、时空分布及多样性分析

根据2007年12月和2008年6月三门湾海域的2个航次的渔业资源调查资料,研究三门湾海域口足目与十足目中虾类在冬季和夏季的密度、优势种及多样性的时空分布,并结合该调查海区的地形地貌和水文等因素对虾类的分布进行分析.结果表明,三门湾海域虾类以广温、广盐种为主,其夏季种类数高于冬季,且夏季虾类质量和尾数密度均值亦高于冬季...     

Microbian Indication of Pollution of the Coastal Zone of the Sea of Okhotsk and Avacha Bay

The results of microbiological analysis of a number of microorganisms of various ecological–trophic groups in plankton microbial communities of some water areas of the Sea of Okhotsk and Avacha Bay are presented. The data were compared to the hydrochemical parameters (temperature, salinity, BOD₅, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, organic phosphate, detergents) determined simultaneously. The microbian indication method is used for express assessment of water pollution of the surveyed areas. The data demonstrated that Avacha Bay was subjected to heavier anthropogenic impact than the water areas of the ports of Kholmsk and Magadan.     

Vertical distribution and germination ability of Alexandrium spp. cysts (Dinophyceae) in the sediments collected from Kure Bay of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

The vertical distribution of Alexandrium tamarense/ catenella (hereinafter Alexandrium spp.) cysts was investigated with special attention to living cysts filled with fresh protoplasm and empty cysts. In addition, based on the incubation experiments of Alexandrium spp. cysts, the germination ability of the cysts was examined. A sediment core 63 cm in length, collected from Kure Bay of the Seto Inland Sea, West Japan, in September 2000, was provided for an analysis on the vertical distribution of Alexandrium spp. cysts. Samples from every 1 cm interval depth from the top down to 13 cm depth of the same core were taken to examine the germination ability of the cysts. Results show that Alexandrium spp. cysts were continuously observed from 59 to 60 cm depth to the top. The cyst densities in the upper parts of the core (from 9 to 10 cm depth to the top) were much more abundant those that in the lower parts (below 10–11 cm depth). The relationship between living and empty cysts in each depth did not reveal a positive correlation with the sediment depth. Based on the sedimentation rate of the core sediment (approximately 1.6 cm/year), Alexandrium spp. cysts have been produced since 1962, and a remarkable increase of these cysts was observed from ca 1993. Such a rapid increase of Alexandrium spp. cysts has probably been as a result of dense blooms of A. tamarense occurring since 1992 in Hiroshima Bay, including Kure Bay. The germination of Alexandrium spp. cysts was observed in samples collected from the top to 12–13 cm depth of the core. It suggests that the Alexandrium spp. cysts can keep the germination ability for more than 8 years.     

Age, distribution and abundance of viable resting eggs of Acartia pacifica (Copepoda: Calanoida) in Xiamen Bay, China

The distribution and abundance of viable resting eggs of copepod Acartia pacifica in Xiamen Bay, China, were determined in the laboratory by the presence of nauplii hatched from the sediments. Sediment cores to a depth of 30 cm, sliced at 1.0 cm intervals, showed that most viable resting eggs of A. pacifica occurred near the sediment surface (0-5 cm), and the number of viable eggs sharply decreased with depth of the sediment, although resting eggs remained viable as deep as 23 cm. ²¹⁰Pb analyses of the sediments indicated that the maximum age of viable eggs of A. pacifica was 20.5 years and the mean egg age was 4.3 years. The egg mortality of A. pacifica in the sediment was 0.1408 year⁻¹, or 85.92% annual egg survival, calculated by regressing ln(egg density) on the age of the sediment. The horizontal distribution of viable resting eggs ranged from 2.27×10³ to 3.85×10⁵ m⁻², with a mean value of 9.49×10⁴ m⁻². Regressions between viable eggs of A. pacifica and all fine-fraction particle size classes (at 2 μm intervals) were not significant. The accumulation of viable resting eggs that can persist for an extended period of time provided evidence for the existence of an egg bank of A. pacifica in the seabed of Xiamen Bay.     

Nutrient pulsing as a regulator of phytoplankton abundance and community composition in Galveston Bay, Texas

Galveston Bay, Texas, is a large shallow estuary with a watershed that includes 60% of the major industrial facilities of Texas. However, the system exhibits low to moderate (2-20 μg l⁻¹) microalgal biomass with sporadic phytoplankton blooms. Both nitrogen (N) and phosphate (P) limitation of phytoplankton growth have been proposed for the estuary. However, shifts between N and P limitation of algae growth may occur due to annual fluctuations in nutrient concentrations. The primary goal of this work was to determine the primary limiting nutrient for phytoplankton in Galveston Bay. Nutrient addition bioassays were used to assess short-term (1-2 days) phytoplankton responses (both biomass and community composition) to potentially limiting nutrients. The experimental bioassays were conducted over an annual cycle using natural water collected from the center to lower part of the estuary. Total phytoplankton biomass increased in the nitrate (10 μM) additions in 11 of the 13 bioassays, but no significant increases were detected in the phosphate (3 μM)-only additions. Bioassay results suggest that the phytoplankton community was usually not phosphate limited. All major groups increased in biomass following nitrate additions but diatoms increased in biomass at a faster rate than other groups, shifting the community composition toward higher relative abundance of diatoms. The results of this study suggest that pulsed N input events preferentially favor increases in diatom biomass in this estuary. The broader implications of this study are that N pulsing events, primarily due to river discharge, play an important role in structuring the phytoplankton community in the Galveston Bay estuary.