Measurement of stress effects (scope for growth) and contaminant levels in mussels (Mytilus edulis) collected from the Irish Sea     

Widdows J  Donkin P  Staff FJ  Matthiessen P  Law RJ  Allen YT  Thain JE  Allchin CR  Jones BR 《Marine environmental research》2002,53(4):327-356

The objective of this research was to quantify the impact of pollution along the coastlines of the Irish Sea. Pollution assessment was based on the combined measurement of scope for growth (SFG), and chemical contaminants in the tissues of mussels (Mytilus edulis) collected from 38 coastal sites around the Irish Sea during June-July in 1996 and 1997. On the UK mainland coast, the SFG showed a general trend with a significant decline in water quality in the Liverpool and Morecambe Bay region. High water quality was recorded along the west coast of Wales, as well as southwest England and northwest Scotland (clean reference sites outside the Irish Sea). Along the coast of Ireland there was a similar trend with reduced SFG within the Irish Sea region. SFG was generally low north of Duncannon and then improved north of Belfast. The poor water quality on both sides of the Irish Sea is consistent with the prevailing hydrodynamics and the spatial distribution of contaminants associated with urban/ industrial development. The decline in SFG of mussels on both sides of the Irish Sea was associated with a general increase in contaminant levels in the mussels. Certain contaminants, including PAHs, TBT, sigmaDDT, Dieldrin, gamma-HCH, PCBs, and a few of the metals (Cd, Se, Ag, Pb), showed elevated concentrations. Many of these contaminants were particularly elevated in the coastal margins of Liverpool Bay, Morecambe Bay and Dublin Bay. A quantitative toxicological interpretation (QTI) of the combined tissue residue chemistry and SFG measurements indicated that at the majority of coastal sites, c. 50 to > 80% of the observed decline in SFG was due to PAHs as a result of fossil fuel combustion and oil spills. TBT levels were highest at major ports and harbours, but these concentrations only made a minor contribution to the overall reduction in SFG. At no sites were individual metals accumulated to concentrations that could cause a significant effect on SFG. The study identified many sites where the observed reduction in SFG was far greater than predicted from the limited number of chemical contaminants analysed, thus indicating the presence of additional 'unknown toxicants'. Sewage (containing domestic, agricultural and industrial components) appears to be an important contributor to reduced SFG and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) and As may provide suitable 'sewage markers'. There was a highly significant positive correlation between SFG and As (P < 0.001). This relationship may be due to reduced As uptake by algal food material and mussels at sites with elevated P04 concentrations (e.g. at sites with sewage inputs). Phosphate is a known competitive inhibitor of As accumulation, at least in algae. The results highlight that further research is required on 'sewage markers' in mussels. The SFG approach therefore provides a rapid, cost-effective and quantitative measure of pollution impact, as well as a means of identifying the causes through a QTI of tissue contaminants levels. It also serves to identify the presence of unidentified toxicants and areas that require further study.  相似文献   

Images of the seabed in the Faroe-Shetland Channel from commercial 3D seismic data     

Bulat  J.  Long  D. 《Marine Geophysical Researches》2001,22(5-6):345-367

A large number of 3D deep seismic surveys in the Faroe-Shetland Channel gives continuous coverage over most of the region. These surveys were designed primarily to image depths in excess of 4 km, use low frequency sources and are recorded at low temporal sample rates. However, commercial 3D data can generate highly detailed images of the seabed due to the high spatial sample rate, typically 12.5 m. This is particularly true in waters below 200 m. Despite geophysical artefacts, the images reveal that there are a number of sedimentary processes at work adjacent to and within this channel. On the West Shetland Shelf, iceberg scouring and moraines reflect the impact of glaciation. On the West Shetland slope there is clear evidence for down-slope processes, such as debris flows, linear erosion channels, basal fans and (one case) slope failure. Along-slope processes are also active as indicated by the presence of sediment waves and contourite mounds. On the floor of the basin, polygonal cracking can be observed. The most spectacular feature appears to be the Judd Deeps, a system of cliffs approximately 200 m high and 40 km across. Traditionally, seabed investigation has been performed using high-resolution surveys. This study shows that deep exploration data can also provide useful images of the seafloor.  相似文献   

The role of sex change, growth and mortality in Pandalus population dynamics and management     

Fu  Caihong; Quinn  Terrance J.  II; Shirley  Thomas C. 《ICES Journal of Marine Science》2001,58(3):607-621

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A quantitative evaluation of the impact of beam trawling on benthic fauna in the southern North Sea     

Piet  G. J.; Rijnsdorp  A. D.; Bergman  M. J. N.; van Santbrink  J. W.; Craeymeersch  J.; Buijs  J. 《ICES Journal of Marine Science》2000,57(5):1332-1339

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An ecosystem model with iron limitation of primary production in the equatorial Pacific at 140°W     

Harilaos Loukos  Bruce Frost  D.E. Harrison  James W. Murray 《Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography》1997,44(9-10)

We construct a one-dimensional ecosystem model (nitrate, ammonium, phytoplankton, zooplnakton and detritus) with simple physics and biology in order to focus on the structural relations and intrinsic properties of the food web that characterizes the biological regime in the central equatorial Pacific at 140°W. When possible, data collected during the EgPac and other cruises were used to calibrate model parameters for two simulations that differ in the limiting nutrient, i.e. nitrogen or iron. Both simulations show annual results in good agreement with the data, but phytoplankton biomass and primary production show a more pronounced annual variability when iron is used as the limiting nutrient. This more realistically reproduces the variability of biological production and illustrates the greater coupling between vertical physical processes and biological production when the limiting nutrient is iron rather than nitrogen. The iron simulation also illustrates how iron supply controls primary production variability, how grazingbalances primary production and controls phytoplankton biomass, and how both iron supply and grazingcontrol primary production. These results suggest that it is not possible to capture primary production variability in the central equatorial Pacific with biological models using nitrogen as the limiting nutrient. Other indirect results of this modeling study were: (1) partitioning of export production between dissolved and particulate matter is almost equal, suggesting that the importance of DOC export may have been previously overestimated; (2) lateral export of live biomass has to be taken into account in order to balance the nitrogen budget on the equator at 140°W; and (3) preferential uptake of ammonium (i.e. nitrate uptake inhibition by ammonium) associated with high regeneration of nitrogen (low f ratio as a consequence of the food web structure imposed by iron limitation) largely accounts for the surface build-up of upwelled nitrate.  相似文献   

A modelling study of ecosystem dynamics and nutrient cycling in the Humber plume, UK     

J. I. Allen   《Journal of Sea Research》1997,38(3-4)

The European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) has been coupled with a two-dimensional depth-averaged transport model of the Humber plume region and run to simulate 1988–1989. Simulations of the spatial and temporal variations in chlorophyll-a, nitrate, phosphate and suspended particulate matter distributions in winter, spring and summer show how the development of the spring bloom and subsequent maintenance of primary production is controlled by the physicochemical environment of the plume zone. Results are also shown for two stations, one characterised by the high nutrient and suspended matter concentrations of the plume and the other by the relatively low nutrient and sediment concentrations of the offshore waters. The modelled net primary production at the plume site was 105 g C m⁻² a⁻¹ and 127 g C m⁻² a⁻¹ offshore. Primary production was controlled by light limitation between October and March and by the availability of nutrients during the rest of the year. The phytoplankton nutrient demand is met by in-situ recycling processes during the summer. The likely effect of increasing and decreasing anthropogenic riverine inputs of nitrate and phosphate upon ecosystem function was also investigated. Modelling experiments indicate that increasing the nitrogen to silicate ratio in freshwater inputs increased the production of non-siliceous phytoplankton in the plume. The results of this model have been used to calculate the annual and quarterly mass balances describing the usage of inorganic nitrogen, phosphate and silicate within the plume zone for the period of the NERC North Sea survey (September 1988 to October 1989). The modelled Humber plume retains 3.9% of the freshwater dissolved inorganic nitrogen, 2.2% of the freshwater phosphate and 1.3% of the freshwater silicate input over the simulated seasonal cycle. The remainder is transported into the southern North Sea in either dissolved or particulate form. The reliability of these results is discussed.  相似文献   

Seasonally Hypersaline Estuaries in Mediterranean-climate Regions     

J.L. Largier  J.T. Hollibaugh  S.V. Smith 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》1997,45(6):789-797

Data collected in three Californian estuaries indicate that hypersaline conditions exist during the dry summers typical of a Mediterranean climate. The generalised seasonal and longitudinal hydrographic structures are described and explained. It is argued that this seasonal hypersalinity is common and that it represents a major class of estuaries. The observed accumulation of salt indicates surprisingly long residence times in small basins which have free exchange with the ocean. This semi-isolation of the inner basin leads to a large build-up or severe depletion of nutrients, pollutants and plankton in these systems. Of concern are the trends to increase pollutant loading in the same systems that are experiencing an increase in residence times owing to freshwater extraction in the watershed.  相似文献   

Associations between Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and hydrographic variables: implications for the management of the 4VsW cod stock     

Smith  Stephen J.; Page  Fred H. 《ICES Journal of Marine Science》1996,53(3):597-614

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Sensitivity to stress of the estuarine bivalve Macoma balthica from areas between the Netherlands and its southern limits (Gironde)     

H. Hummel  C. Amiard-Triquet  G. Bachelet  M. Desprez  J. Marchand  B. Sylvand  J.C. Amiard  H. Rybarczyk  R.H. Bogaards  J. Sinke  Y. De Wit  L. De Wolf 《Journal of Sea Research》1996,35(4):315-321

Variation in the sensitivity to stress of Macoma balthica was measured in several French and Dutch estuaries. For adult and juvenile Macoma balthica exposed to copper under conditions of starvation, differences in mortality rate, condition, glycogen, burrowing rate and copper content were assessed. No significant differences were observed between adults and juveniles; the influence of treatment and origin was always evident. Animals from the most southern estuaries, Loire and Gironde, near to the species's southern limit of distribution, showed, in the field, the strongest deviations for the ecophysiological traits measured, and were in the experiments the most sensitive to stress.  相似文献   

Effects of predation and oxygen deficiency on different age classes of the amphipod Monoporeia affinis     

E. Sandberg  E. Bonsdorff 《Journal of Sea Research》1996,35(4):345-351

Predation by the big brackish-water isopod Saduria entomon on two age-classes (juveniles and adults) of the small deposit-feeding amphipod Monoporeia (syn. Pontoporeia) affinis was studied at different oxygen conditions (normoxia>11 mg/l O₂, and moderate hypoxia 4 mg/l O₂). Vulnerability of juvenile and adult M. affinis was studied in single and mixed age-class treatments. The proportions of juveniles and adults were varied at one total numerical density. The predatory effects were measured as numbers of individuals consumed and of total biomass intake (mg ash-free dry weight). The highest predation rate (in numbers) was detected in the single-prey treatment with juvenile M. affinis, both in normoxia and moderate hypoxia. No preference for any of the two size classes was found in the treatment with equal numbers of adults and juveniles. In normoxia, the total number of prey consumed decreased with increasing proportions of adults, while intake increased in terms of biomass. In moderate hypoxia, high proportions of adults reduced the predation rate of S. entomon to such an extent that also the intake in terms of biomass was significantly negatively affected.  相似文献