Response of single benthic metrics and multi-metric methods to anthropogenic pressure gradients, in five distinct European coastal and transitional ecosystems   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Borja A  Barbone E  Basset A  Borgersen G  Brkljacic M  Elliott M  Garmendia JM  Marques JC  Mazik K  Muxika I  Magalhães Neto J  Norling K  Rodríguez JG  Rosati I  Rygg B  Teixeira H  Trayanova A 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(3):499-513

In recent times many benthic indices have been proposed to assess the ecological quality of marine waters worldwide. In this study we compared single metrics and multi-metric methods to assess coastal and transitional benthic status along human pressure gradients in five distinct environments across Europe: Varna bay and lake (Bulgaria), Lesina lagoon (Italy), Mondego estuary (Portugal), Basque coast (Spain) and Oslofjord (Norway). Hence, 13 single metrics (abundance, number of taxa, and several diversity and sensitivity indices) and eight of the most common indices used within the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) for benthic assessment were selected: index of size spectra (ISS), Benthic assessment tool (BAT), Norwegian quality index (NQI), Multivariate AMBI (M-AMBI), Benthic quality index (BQI), (Benthic ecosystem quality index (BEQI), Benthic index based on taxonomic sufficiency (BITS), and infaunal quality index (IQI). Within each system, sampling sites were ordered in an increasing pressure gradient according to a preliminary classification based on professional judgement. The different indices are largely consistent in their response to pressure gradient, except in some particular cases (i.e. BITS, in all cases, or ISS when a low number of individuals is present). Inconsistencies between indicator responses were most pronounced in transitional waters (i.e. IQI, BEQI), highlighting the difficulties of the generic application of indicators to all marine, estuarine and lagoonal environments. However, some of the single (i.e. ecological groups approach, diversity, richness) and multi-metric methods (i.e. BAT, M-AMBI, NQI) were able to detect such gradients both in transitional and coastal environments, being these multi-metric methods more consistent in the detection than single indices. This study highlights the importance of survey design and good reference conditions for some indicators. The agreement observed between different methodologies and their ability to detect quality trends across distinct environments constitutes a promising result for the implementation of the WFD’s monitoring plans. Moreover, these results have management implications, regarding the dangers of misclassification, uncertainty in the assessment, use of conflicting indices, and testing and validation of indices.  相似文献   

Evaluation of heavy metals and arsenic speciation discharged by the industrial activity on the Tinto-Odiel estuary, SW Spain     

Pérez-López R  Nieto JM  López-Cascajosa MJ  Díaz-Blanco MJ  Sarmiento AM  Oliveira V  Sánchez-Rodas D 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(2):405-411

This study reports the annual amount of heavy metals discharged by industrial activity into the estuary of the Ría of Huelva (SW Spain). The findings showed that the discharged metals found in highest amounts were Fe (11 t y⁻¹), Zn (3.4 t y⁻¹) and Mo (0.88 t y⁻¹). There were other metals with high pollutant charge, such as Ti (232 kg y⁻¹), As (228 kg y⁻¹), Ni (195 kg y⁻¹), Pb (100 kg y⁻¹), Cr (39 kg y⁻¹) and Cd (33 kg y⁻¹). These results were compared with pollutants transported via the Tinto and Odiel rivers from abandoned mining activities in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), and it was deduced that the amounts spilled exclusively by industries were less than 1% in relation to the total discharge. Hence, the treatment of residues from the IPB should be the priority goal to improve water quality in the estuary.  相似文献   

Probabilistic risk assessment of common booster biocides in surface waters of the harbours of Gran Canaria (Spain)     

Sánchez-Rodríguez A  Sosa-Ferrera Z  Santana-del Pino A  Santana-Rodríguez JJ 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(5):985-991

The presence of booster biocides in the aquatic environment has been associated with a risk to non-target species due to their proven toxicity. The aim of the present study was to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of common booster biocides in different harbours of the island of Gran Canaria (Spain) and evaluate, by means of a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), the ecological risk posed by these compounds. With these objectives, a monitoring campaign was conducted between January 2008 and May 2009, collecting a total of 182 seawater samples. Four common booster biocides (TCMTB, diuron, Irgarol 1051 and dichlofluanid) were monitored. Diuron levels ranged between 2.3 and 203 ng/L and Irgarol 1051 between 2.4 and 146.5 ng/L. The ecological risk associated with these levels was always low, however, with probabilities of exceeding the 10th percentile of autotroph toxicity below 3.5%.  相似文献   

Ecological quality assessment of small estuaries from the Portuguese coast based on fish assemblages indices     

Cardoso I  Pais MP  Henriques S  da Fonseca LC  Cabral HN 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(5):992-1001

The importance of establishing the ecological quality of estuarine systems has been widely acknowledged and led to the development of several fish community-based multimetric indices. Nevertheless, a question rose about the accuracy of these tools when natural disturbance is acting upon the organization of the systems’ communities. Four multimetric indices were used to examine their ability to differentiate the ecological status of five small estuarine systems (southern Portugal), and also to test if they reflected the level of anthropogenic pressures. Fish assemblages from Mira, Odeceixe and Aljezur (in the Southwest coast), Gilão and Bensafrim (in the South coast) estuaries were sampled seasonally for one year, and anthropogenic sources of pressure were identified and quantified. We found that although the applied indices provided information on ecological condition differentiation among systems, they are unable to explain different classes of ecological status in systems with equivalent pressure levels.  相似文献   

Coastal habitat degradation and green sea turtle diets in Southeastern Brazil     

Santos RG  Martins AS  Farias Jda N  Horta PA  Pinheiro HT  Torezani E  Baptistotte C  Seminoff JA  Balazs GH  Work TM 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(6):1297-1302

To show the influence of coastal habitat degradation on the availability of food for green turtles (Chelonia mydas), we assessed the dietary preferences and macroalgae community at a feeding area in a highly urbanized region. The area showed low species richness and was classified as degraded. We examined stomach contents of 15 dead stranded turtles (CCL = 44.0 cm (SD 6.7 cm)). The diet was composed primarily of green algae Ulva spp. (83.6%). In contrast, the macroalgae community was dominated by the green alga Caulerpa mexicana. We found a selection for red algae, seagrass and Ulva spp., and avoidance for C. mexicana and brown alga Dictyopteris delicatula. The low diversity of available food items, possibly a result of environmental degradation, likely contributed to the low dietary diversity. The nutritional implications of this restricted diet are unclear.  相似文献   

Uranium pollution in an estuary affected by pyrite acid mine drainage and releases of naturally occurring radioactive materials     

Villa M  Manjón G  Hurtado S  García-Tenorio R 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(7):1521-1529

After the termination of phosphogypsum discharges to the Huelva estuary (SW Spain), a unique opportunity was presented to study the response of a contaminated environmental compartment after the cessation of its main source of pollution. The evolution over time of uranium concentrations in the estuary is presented to supply new insights into the decontamination of a scenario affected by Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) discharges. The cleaning of uranium isotopes from the area has not taken place as rapidly as expected due to leaching from phosphogypsum stacks.An in-depth study using various techniques of analysis, including ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁰Th/²³²Th ratios and the decreasing rates of the uranium concentration, enabled a second source of uranium contamination to be discovered. Increased uranium levels due to acid mine drainage from pyrite mines located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) prevent complete uranium decontamination and, therefore, result in levels nearly twice those of natural background levels.  相似文献   

Pathogenic fungi: an unacknowledged risk at coastal resorts? New insights on microbiological sand quality in Portugal     

Sabino R  Veríssimo C  Cunha MA  Wergikoski B  Ferreira FC  Rodrigues R  Parada H  Falcão L  Rosado L  Pinheiro C  Paixão E  Brandão J 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(7):1506-1511

Whilst the potential impact on beach users from microorganisms in water has received considerable attention, there has been relatively little investigation into microbial contaminants in sand. Thirty three beaches across Portugal were analyzed during a five year period (2006-2010) to determine the presence of yeasts, pathogenic fungi, dermatophytes, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci in sand.Our results showed that 60.4% of the samples were positive for fungi and that 25.2% were positive for the bacterial parameters. The most frequent fungal species found were Candida sp. and Aspergillus sp., whereas intestinal enterococci were the most frequently isolated bacteria. Positive associations were detected among analyzed parameters and country-regions but none among those parameters and sampling period.Regarding threshold values, we propose 15 cfu/g for yeasts, 17 cfu/g for potential pathogenic fungi, 8 cfu/g for dermatophytes. Eighty four cfu/g for coliforms, 250 cfu/g for E. coli, and 100 cfu/g for intestinal enterococci.  相似文献   

Estuarine ecological risk based on hepatic histopathological indices from laboratory and in situ tested fish     

Costa PM  Caeiro S  Lobo J  Martins M  Ferreira AM  Caetano M  Vale C  DelValls TÁ  Costa MH 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(1):55-65

Juvenile Senegalese soles were exposed through 28-day laboratory and field (in situ) bioassays to sediments from three sites of the Sado estuary (W Portugal): a reference and two contaminated by metallic and organic contaminants. Fish were surveyed for ten hepatic histopathological alterations divided by four distinct reaction patterns and integrated through the estimation of individual histopathological condition indices. Fish exposed to contaminated sediments sustained more damage, with especial respect to regressive changes like necrosis. However, differences were observed between laboratory- and field-exposed animals, with the latest, for instance, exhibiting more pronounced fatty degeneration and hepatocellular eosinophilic alteration. Also, some lesions in fish exposed to the reference sediment indicate that in both assays unaccounted variables produced experimental background noise, such as hyaline degeneration in laboratory-exposed fish. Still, the field assays yielded results that were found to better reflect the overall levels of contaminants and physico-chemical characteristics of the tested sediments.  相似文献   

Do benthic biofilters contribute to sustainability and restoration of the benthic environment impacted by offshore cage finfish aquaculture?     

Aguado-Giménez F  Piedecausa MA  Carrasco C  Gutiérrez JM  Aliaga V  García-García B 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(8):1714-1724

Benthic biofilters were deployed under a cage fish farm and in two reference locations to assess the influence of the farm on the biofilters and the surroundings, as well as to verify the usefulness of this technology as a mitigation tool. The biofilters underneath the farm recruited a fouling community practically identical to that of the control biofilters, which included a variety of trophic strategies. The former showed a higher ¹⁵N enrichment, indicating that fouling beneath the farm was benefiting from the farm waste. The waste retention efficiency was low (0.02 g N m⁻² month⁻¹) beneath the farm. Benthic biofilters aggregated demersal wild fish around and within them. Pelagic wild fish also frequently used the biofilters beneath the farm, forming compact shoals around them. The increased complexity of the habitat below the fish farm enhanced biodiversity, but this improvement did not lead to the recovery of the sediments around the biofilters.  相似文献   

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a large South American industrial coastal area (Santos Estuary, Southeastern Brazil): sources and depositional history     

Martins CC  Bícego MC  Mahiques MM  Figueira RC  Tessler MG  Montone RC 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,63(5-12):452-458

Located in southeastern Brazil, the Santos Estuary has the most important industrial and urban population area of South America. Since the 1950's, increased urbanization and industrialization near the estuary margins has caused the degradation of mangroves and has increased the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents. The main objectives of this work were to determine the concentrations and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment cores in order to investigate the input of these substances in the last 50 years. The PAHs analyses indicated multiple sources of these compounds (oil and pyrolitic origin), basically anthropogenic contributions from biomass, coal and fossil fuels combustion. The distribution of PAHs in the cores was associated with the formation and development of Cubat?o industrial complex and the Santos harbour, waste disposal, world oil crisis and the pollution control program, which results in the decrease of organic pollutants input in this area.  相似文献