Pollution and zoobenthos
Benthic communities are particularly vulnerable to pollution because they have very limited mobility. [1] Contaminants are usually associated to particles. These particles are often very small, and can therefore stay in solution for a very long time. Nevertheless, concentrations of heavy metals in the soil are often 10 to 100 times higher than those in solution. They can become biologically available when benthic organisms eat them. Because of their limited mobility, benthic communities are of special interest for monitoring pollutants. Changing concentrations of pollutants in zoobenthos typically reflect changes in the environment. Particularly mussels (the mussel watch program) have been widely used as a sentinel species to detect trends in pollutant concentrations. [2]
TBT nearly caused collaps of oyster farms of Arcachon bay in France[3]
TBT causes imposex in gastropods, which affects female strility. as a consequence many gastropods became locally extinct in the Wadden Sea and the Eastern Scheldt bay. International ban in 2003, remove all TBT by 2008 [4]
Has been shown that due to physico chelical processes metals in soils can become available for uptake. [5]
Very low TBT burdens (10-20 ng/g) caused a disruptance in the hormone ballance, which leads to malformation of oviducts and suppression of oogenesis in whelks. A.K.A. imposex: in 50 different species of gastropods reported. It leads to a decline of the population, and even species extinction. [6]
Case studies
Case study 1: Heavy metal content of mussels in the Western Scheldt estuary[7]
Case study 2: Common starfish can act as a bioindicator for heavy metal pollution[8]
Case study 3: Heavy metals in various Belgian benthic invertebrates[5]
Case study 4: Effects of heavy metals on the sperm quality and the larvae survival of sea urchins[9]
Case study 5: Effects of copper-based antifouling paints on brine shrimp[3]
Case study 6: TBT and intersex in periwinkles[4]
Case study 7: Levels of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in various benthic species in the Belgian North sea and the Western Scheldt estuary[10]
Case study 8: PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in shrimp from the Belgian North Sea[11]
References
- ↑ Kennish M. J., (1998), Pollution impacts on marine biotic communities CRC Press 310 pp
- ↑ Elliot, M.; Hemingway, K. (2002). Fishes in estuaries. Blackwell Science: London, UK. 636 pp.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Katranitsas, A.; Castritsi-Catharios, J.; Persoone, G. (2003). The effects of a copper-based antifouling paint on mortality and enzymatic activity of a non-target marine organism. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46(11): 1491-1494
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 De Wolf, H.; Handa, C.; Backeljau, T.; Blust, R. (2004). A baseline survey of intersex in Littorina littorea along the Scheldt Estuary, The Netherlands. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 48(5-6): 592-596
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Guns, M.; Van Hoeyweghen, P.; Vyncke, W.; Hillewaert, H. (1999). Trace metals in selected benthic invertebrates from Belgian coastal waters (1981 - 1996). Marine pollution bulletin, Vol 38 No. 12 pp. 1184-1193. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "gu" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Md. Shahidul Islam and Masaru Tanaka, 2004, Impacts of pollution on coastal and marine ecosystems including coastal and marine fisheries and approach for management: a review and synthesis, Marine Pollution Bulletin Volume 48, 7-8 Pages 624-649.
- ↑ Mubiana, V.K.; Blust, R. (2006). Metal content of marine mussels from Western Scheldt Estuary and nearby protected Marine Bay, the Netherlands: impact of past and present contamination. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 77(2): 203-210
- ↑ Temara, A.; Skei, J.M.; Gillan, D.; Warnau, M.; Jangoux, M.; Dubois, Ph. (1998). Validation of the asteroid Asterias rubens (Echinodermata) as a bioindicator of spatial and temporal trends of Pb, Cd, and Zn contamination in the field. Mar. Environ. Res. 45(4-5): 341-356
- ↑ Warnau, M.; Iaccarino, M.; De Biase, A.; Temara, A.; Jangoux, M.; Dubois, Ph.; Pagano, G. (1996). Spermiotoxicity and embryotoxicity of heavy metals in the echinoid Paracentrotus lividus. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 15(11): 1931-1936
- ↑ Voorspoels, S.; Covaci, A.; Maervoet, J.; De Meester, I.; Schepens, P. (2004). Levels and profiles of PCBs and OCPs in marine benthic species from the Belgian North Sea and the Western Scheldt Estuary. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 49(5-6): 393-404
- ↑ Raemaekers, M.; Derveaux, S.; Parmentier, K. (2006). Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlor pesticides in brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) of the Belgian Continental Shelf, in: Luten, J.B. et al. (Ed.) (2006). Seafood research from fish to dish: quality, safety and processing of wild and farmed fish. pp. 489-496
