Contaminants in fine sediments and their consequences for biota of the Severn Estuary

Langston, W.J.; Pope, Nick; Jonas, P.J.C.; Nikitic, C.; Field, Michael D.R; Dowell, B.A.; Shillabeer, N.; Swarbrick, R.H.; Brown, A. Ross

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.12.014

Cited by 47 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Because sediments tend to integrate environmental variations over time, they can be used as an appropriate environmental compartment in environmental assessments. Many studies on sediment quality have been conducted and have provided information on the effects of sediment contaminants on aquatic organisms and ecosystems (Araújo et al, 2009;Cesar et al, 2009;Ré et al, 2009;Langston et al, 2010;Du et al, 2012;Gonçalves et al, 2013;Roig et al, 2015). In Brazil, investigations into sediment quality have been concentrated in some industrial and port zones of the southern and southeastern regions (Carvalho et al, 2002;Machado et al, 2002;Abessa et al, 2005;Pusceddu et al, 2007;Torres et al, 2009;Choueri et al, 2009a;Buruaem et al, 2013a;Fonseca et al, 2013;Rodrigues et al, 2013;Zalmon et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using an integrated approach to assess the sediment quality of an estuary from the semi-arid coast of Brazil

Souza

Araujo

Cruz

et al. 2016

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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The Jundiaí-Potengi Estuary (JPE) on the semi-arid coast of Brazil is influenced by multiple sources of pollution. Sediment quality at 10 JPE sites was evaluated through an integrated approach. Rainy and dry seasons were considered. Collected sediments were analyzed for texture, metal, nitrogen, phosphorus concentrations, and toxicity to invertebrates. Geochemical and ecotoxicological data were integrated using qualitative approaches and multivariate techniques. We observed decreased sediment quality in both seasons, particularly in the mid-estuary. In the dry season, the contamination-toxicity relationship was clearer, as hydrological conditions favor contaminant retention within the estuary. Rainy season conditions were found to be worse, since stormwater drainage from agricultural and urban areas carries the contamination into the estuary. Because of the contamination sources and dissolved and particle-bound metal transport, contamination and toxicity did not correlate as clearly in the rainy season. The results suggest that unmeasured contaminants are contributing to JPE sediment degradation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using an integrated approach to assess the sediment quality of an estuary from the semi-arid coast of Brazil

Souza

Araujo

Cruz

et al. 2016

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…Although data for such concentrations in the Severn Estuary and inner Bristol Channel are only available for some years, those data still demonstrate that, in the period between the years preceding the current study and the mid 2000s, there was a decline into this estuarine environment, of the input of metals, such as Hg, Pb, Cu and Zn, thereby accounting for the reduction in the concentration of such metals in the suspended matter and water column (Jonas and Millward, 2010). It is thus proposed that the overall increases in the annual mean of both the number of species and total abundance of mysids and caridean decapods during the present study reflect, in part, a response to the beneficial environmental effects of the introduction of stricter pollution controls, namely the Environmental Pollution Act (1990) andIntegrated Pollution Prevention Control Directive (1996), and to closures of major industries (Langston et al, 2010b;Henderson et al, 2011a).…”

Section: Annual Trends In Biotic Variablesmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…These benefits include an improvement in overall sediment and water quality, including increased oxygen concentrations, and a reduction in the accumulated burdens in estuarine bio-indicator species in this previously heavily-polluted, estuarine environment (Duquesne et al, 2006;Jonas and Millward, 2010;Langston et al, 2010b). While the annual mean number of both the species and total abundance of mysids and caridean decapods were always greater in the later than earlier years of the study, the mean abundances tended to level off in the recent years, recognising that the highly elevated value for 2007 was clearly an outlier.…”

Section: Annual Trends In Biotic Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term annual and monthly changes in mysids and caridean decapods in a macrotidal estuarine environment in relation to climate change and pollution

Plenty

Tweedley

Bird

et al. 2018

Journal of Sea Research

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A 26-year time series of monthly samples from the water intake of a power station has been used to analyse the trends exhibited by number of species, total abundance, and composition of the mysids and caridean decapods in the inner Bristol Channel. During this period, annual water temperatures, salinities and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) in winter did not change significantly, whereas annual NAOI declined. Annual mean monthly values for the number of species and total abundance both increased over the 26 years, but these changes were not correlated with any of the measured physico-chemical/climatic factors. As previous studies demonstrated that, during a similar period, metal concentrations in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel (into which that estuary discharges) declined and water quality increased, it is proposed that the above changes are due to an improved environment. The fauna was dominated by the mysids Mesopodopsis slabberi and Schistomysis spiritus, which collectively contributed 94% to total abundance. Both species, which were represented by juveniles, males, non-brooding females and brooding females, underwent statisticallyindistinguishable patterns of change in abundance over the 26 years. When analysis was based on the abundances of the various species, the overall species composition differed significantly among years and changed serially with year. When abundances were converted to percentage compositions, this pattern of seriation broke down, demonstrating that changes in abundance and not percentage composition were responsible for the seriation. As with the number and abundance of species, changes in composition over the 26 years were not related to any of the physico-chemical/climatic factors tested. Species composition changed monthly in a pronounced cyclical manner throughout the year, due to statistically different timestaggered changes in the abundance of each species. This cyclicity was related most strongly to salinity.

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“…Other authors have described the relationship between grain size and bioavailability of metals. They have shown that the availability of metals bound to the sediments is higher when increasing the percentage of fines (Langston et al 2010). In fact in Cabezuela Port the fine fraction of sediment was only a 26%, while in the other stations it ranged between 83 and 95%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Application of neutral red retention assay to caged clams (Ruditapes decussatus) and crabs (Carcinus maenas) in the assessment of dredged material

et al. 2011

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Dredged material management is a key issue for the protection of aquatic environments. The in situ approach using caged bioindicator species has been chosen lately as a new methodology for the assessment of dredged material. In a tier testing approach, neutral red retention (NRR) assay has been applied as a screening tool to detect adverse changes in health status associated with contamination. Nevertheless, to authors' knowledge, little is known about the application and validation of this technique in sediment bioindicator species and under field conditions. Caged Ruditapes decussatus and Carcinus maenas were exposed during 28 days to potentially contaminated sediments at three sites in Algeciras Bay (SW Spain) and one site in Cádiz Bay (SW Spain). Lysosomal membrane stability was measured over time in haemolymph samples of exposed clams and crabs using the NRR assay. Sediment characterization of the study sites was performed in parallel. NRR time did not vary significantly (p > 0.05) over time in organisms from Cádiz Bay. Conversely, significant differences (p < 0.05) in NRR time were found in clams and crabs exposed to sediments from Algeciras Bay, which exhibited a 30-70% decrease in haemocyte lysosome membrane stability compared to day 0. Statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between the drop of haemocyte lysosome membrane stability, in both crabs and clams, and the presence of metals (p < 0.05) and PAHs (p < 0.01) in the studied sediments. The results obtained confirmed the use of NRR assay as a suitable and sensitive method to be used in the assessment of sediment quality using as bioindicator species the clam R. philippinarum and the crab C. maenas.

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Contaminants in fine sediments and their consequences for biota of the Severn Estuary

Cited by 47 publications

References 28 publications

Using an integrated approach to assess the sediment quality of an estuary from the semi-arid coast of Brazil

Using an integrated approach to assess the sediment quality of an estuary from the semi-arid coast of Brazil

Long-term annual and monthly changes in mysids and caridean decapods in a macrotidal estuarine environment in relation to climate change and pollution

Application of neutral red retention assay to caged clams (Ruditapes decussatus) and crabs (Carcinus maenas) in the assessment of dredged material

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