Contamination in sediments, bivalves and sponges of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Negri, Andrew P.; Burns, Kathryn A.; Boyle, Steve; Brinkman, Diane L.; Webster, Nicole S.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2005.12.005

Cited by 154 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Higher levels of contamination were always found in the vicinity of scientific stations, and the concentration levels decreased dramatically (an order of magnitude) within a relatively short distance (i.e. hundreds of meters) from the 'hotspot' sources (5,6) . Most likely, this strong gradient is due to the low temperature in the Antarctic, reducing the mobility of the POPs away from point sources.…”

Section: Concentrations Of Pcbs and Ocps In Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparison made with these studies can be found in SI on page 8 and in Table SI-4. These studies suggested anthropogenic activity such as scientific activities and tourism in the Antarctic are another possible source of local pollution for POPs (2,3,5,6,24,58) in addition to long-range transport. Higher levels of contamination were always found in the vicinity of scientific stations, and the concentration levels decreased dramatically (an order of magnitude) within a relatively short distance (i.e.…”

Section: Concentrations Of Pcbs and Ocps In Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased anthropogenic activity will very likely place extra stress on Antarctic ecosystems, which includes the contamination by anthropogenic organic pollutants (3) . Several baseline studies around deserted and current scientific research stations have been conducted to investigate local levels of contaminants (2,4,5) . They have found patchy distribution of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and higher concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adjacent to scientific station (5,6) , indicating contamination from human activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several baseline studies around deserted and current scientific research stations have been conducted to investigate local levels of contaminants (2,4,5) . They have found patchy distribution of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and higher concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adjacent to scientific station (5,6) , indicating contamination from human activities. Atmospheric and oceanic long range transport may also contribute to the presence of POPs in the Antarctic (7) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Organochlorine Pollutants in Western Antarctic Peninsula Sediments and Benthic Deposit Feeders

Zhang

Dickhut

Demaster

et al. 2013

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Section: Concentrations Of Pcbs and Ocps In Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concentrations Of Pcbs and Ocps In Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Organochlorine Pollutants in Western Antarctic Peninsula Sediments and Benthic Deposit Feeders

Zhang

Dickhut

Demaster

et al. 2013

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Studies about the metals concentration in the sediments around McMurdo (USA) station and its bioaccumulation in the tissues of L. elliptica, suggest that the total metal concentrations in the bivalve tissues may not be an apropriate method to detect contamination from anthropogenic sources (Negri et al 2006), and then it is necessary to study the biodeposition of these metals in the sediments. Therefore, information about the subcellular distribution of these metals and their true concentrations (in the form of free metal ions) in the L. elliptica tissues, can contribute to a better understanding of its ecophysiological relationships and identification of new parameters as heavy metals biomarkers.…”

Section: +mentioning

confidence: 99%

NITROGEN METABOLISM OF THE ANTARCTIC BIVALVE Laternula elliptica (KING & BRODERIP) AND ITS POTENTIAL USE AS BIOMARKER

2007

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The Antarctic marine environment is characterized by the extreme seasonality of the primary production in the water column and the low but stable temperatures. Both are considered the main factors in the adaptative evolution of Antarctic ectothermic organisms. Studies about physiological and biochemical processes of the cold-adapted species revealed the presence of antifreeze glycoproteins in the biological fluids and cold-adapted proteins. The low and stable temperatures have resulted in the appearence of enzymes with high catalytic efficiency and the absence of the thermal stress proteins in some Antarctic fishes. The austral winter promotes a seasonal food shortage, submitting the benthic ectotherms to long periods of starvation. This is particularly true for the organisms that depend on phytoplankton as their primary source of food. The Antarctic marine environment also presents areas of high copper concentrations on the sediment surface as well as cadmium in the water column. The bivalve Laternula elliptica, a circumpolar species, has been proposed as bioindicator for long term monitoring of heavy metals in the shallow waters of Antarctica due to its capacity to accumulate metals, especially cadmium and zinc. Like other Antarctic ectothermic organisms, L. elliptica changes its metabolism from aerobic to anaerobic as a function of temperature, being 6 ºC critical and 9 ºC lethal. This bivalve also shows a marked seasonality in its metabolism, with low oxygen consumption in winter as compared to summer. It is speculated that it enters into a dormancy state during the austral winter as it apparently retracts its siphons below the sediment surface. The apparent supression of the water pumping by the siphons during winter forces L. elliptica to mobilize its energy reserves, using the siphon proteins as its principal source of energy (ratio of oxygen consumption/excreted nitrogen = 3.0). Even during summer, when the high food supply stimulates the bivalve growth, the metabolism is mainly protein based. (O:N ratio = 16). The excretory nitrogen metabolism of this bivalve is typically ammoniotelic, characterized by the excretion of almost 90% of nitrogen in the form of ammonia and 10% as urea. Probably, the urea excreted arises from the hydrolysis of the proteic aminoacid L-arginine by arginase in order to maintain the tissue levels of that aminoacid. In such case, the presence of this enzyme in the kidney tissues may be related to the physiological constraints caused by the retraction of the siphons and the requirements for the excretion of this nitrogen compound during the austral winter. Studies with the renal arginase of this bivalve showed a high metabolic tolerance to the metallic cations Cu, Zn, Fe and Cd, when compared to the arginase behavior of other bivalves such as Dreissena polymorpha. The present work covers the life history of this bivalve, its potential use as a biomarker and its adaptations to the extreme marine environment conditions in Antarctica. Key-words: Antarctica, benthos, Laternula ...

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Acute and chronic toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyl 126 to Tigriopus japonicus: Effects on survival, growth, reproduction, and intrinsic rate of population growth

Guo

Wang

2012

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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The harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus has a wide geographical distribution and is considered as a suitable model species for the assessment of toxicity of marine pollutants. The aim of the present study was to test the impacts of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 126 (3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl) on the growth, development, and reproduction of T. japonicus in two successive generations. We first quantified the 96-h 50% lethal concentration (2.83 mg/L; all reported concentrations are nominal values), the no-observed-effect concentration (0.6 mg/L), and the lowest-observed-effect concentration (LOEC; 1.2 mg/L) of PCB126 in the nauplii. Nauplii were more sensitive than the adults, which still survived at the highest tested PCB126 concentration (8 mg/L). In the chronic toxicity testing, 10 life history traits were quantified for T. japonicus. No obvious effect on any of these traits was observed in the first generation (F0) at tested concentrations (<100 µg/L) lower than the LOEC. During the second generational life-cycle exposure (F1), however, PCB126 had an obvious toxic effect on the reproduction (>1 µg/L) and growth (>0.1 µg/L). Thus, copepods became more sensitive to PCB126 exposure as generations developed. Among the different traits tested, body size was the most sensitive parameter. Reproduction (fecundity, number of clutches, nauplii/clutch) and intrinsic population growth were also significantly impacted by PCB exposure. The survivorship, sex ratio, hatching time, and development were not affected. Environmental risk assessment of contaminants must therefore be based on a long-term multigenerational exposure to provide a realistic measurement of the influences of pollutants on aquatic life.

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Contamination in sediments, bivalves and sponges of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Cited by 154 publications

References 39 publications

Organochlorine Pollutants in Western Antarctic Peninsula Sediments and Benthic Deposit Feeders

Organochlorine Pollutants in Western Antarctic Peninsula Sediments and Benthic Deposit Feeders

NITROGEN METABOLISM OF THE ANTARCTIC BIVALVE Laternula elliptica (KING & BRODERIP) AND ITS POTENTIAL USE AS BIOMARKER

Acute and chronic toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyl 126 to Tigriopus japonicus: Effects on survival, growth, reproduction, and intrinsic rate of population growth

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