Microalgal–meiofaunal interactions in a sublittoral site of the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy): A three-year study

Cibic, Tamara; Blasutto, Oriana; Bettoso, Nicola

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2008.12.006

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…When comparing similar sampling periods (i.e., June), abundances were even more alike, suggesting that sediment contamination, especially at St. 2 and 3, did not seem to severely affect total meiofaunal numbers. The community, dominated by nematodes and copepods as in most coastal areas of the Adriatic Sea (Balsamo et al, 2010), reflected the composition already reported for the Gulf of Trieste (Cibic et al, 2009). Compared to the stations inside the port area, the highest number of meiofaunal groups (n = 10) was reported at St. C1, suggesting the presence of a more structured community at the reference station.…”

Section: Discussion Benthic Trophic Web In the Port Areasupporting

confidence: 77%

The Port of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)—A Case Study of the “Ecosystem Approach to Management”

et al. 2017

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This study is a rare example of "the ecosystem approach to management" that has been carried out for the purpose of providing practical support to decision-makers in managing a Site of National Interest (SIN) where activities such as fishing, aquaculture and swimming are restricted. Benthic ecosystem functioning was assessed to verify whether it would be possible to exclude the less contaminated part from the SIN and its legislative constraints. At five macrosites subjected to diversified industrialization and anthropization, we evaluated the structural characteristics of the sediments, both heterotrophic and phototrophic communities, and the main processes of production, transformation and consumption of organic matter at seven stations, plus a reference site. Along the north-eastern boundary of the bay, the port, shipbuilding and iron foundry areas, characterized by high levels of contaminants, low macrozoobenthic diversity, major organic contents (up to 51.1 mgC g −1 ) and higher numbers of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria (up to 5,464 MPN g dry −1 ), differed significantly (R ANOSIM = 0.463, p = 2.9%) from the other areas (stations). Oxygen consumption (−15.22 ± 1.59 mgC m −2 ) prevailed over primary production and the trophic state was net heterotrophic. In contrast, on the other side of the harbor (residential area/center bay), contamination levels were below the legal limits and both the microalgal and macrobenthic communities displayed higher biodiversity. Higher macrofaunal abundances (up to 753 ± 174.7 ind.m −2 ), primary production rates (up to 58.60 ± 8.41 mgC m −2 ) and exoenzymatic activities were estimated. nMDS and SIMPROF analyses performed on benthic communities significantly separated the most contaminated stations from the other ones. Overall, by applying this holistic approach, a better environmental situation was highlighted along the southern boundary of the bay and according to these results this part of the bay could be excluded from the SIN. However, further sampling is required along a finer sampling grid in the less contaminated side of the port in order to confirm these first results. Our work is one of the first case studies where such an ecosystem approach has been applied to a port area, in order to provide practical support to decision-makers involved in the spatial planning of harbor zones.

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Section: Discussion Benthic Trophic Web In the Port Areasupporting

confidence: 77%

The Port of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)—A Case Study of the “Ecosystem Approach to Management”

et al. 2017

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“…In the present study, the maxima of Chl a in surface sediments were observed in summer and confirmed the importance of autotrophic organisms. Nevertheless, these high concentrations were ascribable mainly to the benthic diatom biomass that is known to reach its maximum amount from May to August (Cibic et al, 2009). This was also supported by the highly significant correlation between these two variables (r = 0.89; p<0.01, Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…The costs required for puncturing heavily silicified diatoms can be too high when compared to the benefits obtained from the assimilation of the cytoplasmic material, thus influencing the grazing strategy exerted by piercing nematodes. At St. C1, benthic diatoms typically show two distinct assemblages over the year: one dominated by photophilous genera (Navicula and Nitzschia) and warm-water loving species such as Gyrosigma fasciola (Cibic et al, 2007a(Cibic et al, , 2012) in summer; one characterised by heavily silicified diatoms, such as Diploneis (Rogelja et al, 2016), Pinnularia and Paralia (Cibic et al, 2009), in winter. Since this alternation was also reported during the study (Appendix 2; Franzo et al, 2016), the lower abundances of Chromadoridae in winter samplings were concomitant with the higher numbers of heavily silicified diatoms, indicating a minor ability of these nematodes to graze on microalgae.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between free-living nematodes and benthic diatoms: insights from the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea)

et al. 2018

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From July 2010 to July 2012, free-living nematodes were investigated in terms of abundance, genera and trophic composition at the long term St. C1 (depth 18 m), located in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea). The integration of these results with environmental (e.g. sediment grain-size, Biopolymeric C and Chl a) and biological variables (benthic diatom biomass and composition) collected synoptically with nematodes, allowed to clarify the linkage between these organisms and another ecosystem component, i.e. benthic diatoms. The observed peaks of nematode abundance in summer samplings were ascribable almost exclusively to piercing nematodes that feed on microalgae (Chromadoridae and, among them, Ptycholaimellus) and were concomitant with the highest numbers of benthic diatoms. DISTLM outputs further corroborated this interaction by indicating Chl a, i.e. a proxy of benthic diatoms, as the only environmental variable that significantly shaped nematode assemblage over the 2-year period. This linkage was not explained only quantitatively (i.e. more diatoms supported more nematodes) but also qualitatively. During winter, in fact, the presence of heavily silicified diatoms co-occurred with nematode minima and the lowest percentage of piercing organisms, suggesting an overall minor ability of the assemblage in using this feeding strategy. In a benthic ecosystem functioning point of view, the observed seasonal pattern of variation in both nematodes and benthic diatoms suggests that more of the energy flowing to nematodes during the summer derives directly from benthic diatom primary production while in the winter this linkage is less important.

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“…The regression analysis indicated that chlorophyll-a had no effect on the densities of meiofaunal groups. It was an unexpected result since not only many harpacticoids (Montagna et al, 1989) but also ostracods (Giere, 2009) and kinorhynchs in fine/estuarine sediments (Neuhaus & Higgins, 2002) typically use to feed on diatoms and be influenced by microalgae (Cibic et al, 2009). However, to what extent can this be considered as an indirect effect of endosulfan?…”

Section: Experimental Validation Of Samples Set On Day 0: the Issue Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Endosulfan (Thiodan 35 EC®) on Meiofauna Community Through a Microcosm Approach

Murolo¹,

Brito²,

Santos³

2024

Ecotoxicol. Environ. Contam.

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A microcosm experiment with natural community of meiofauna was performed to test the effects of the organochlorine pesticide Thiodan 35 EC (35% endosulfan) at concentrations more likely to reach the estuaries by the sugar cane crops runoff. A methodological proposal for microcosms was tested for tropical estuaries. The nominal concentrations (0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.35 and 0.55 µg.g -1 + control) and experimental times (0, 1, 4, 8 and 16 days) were adopted. Nominal and measured endosulfan concentrations in Thiodan showed highly significant correlation with losses below 60%. Significant differences were detected for meiofauna structure between experimental days and concentrations tested. The organochlorine Thiodan measured as endosulfan concentrations had affected the Kinorhyncha group on Day 8 and the Simple Linear Regression explained part of densities variation. There were no significant concentration effects on microphytobenthos and its concentration was not related to groups' feeding. Despite the moderate to high volatilization rate of the endosufan observed in the end of the experiment, it is suggested the absence of mortality patterns due to pesticide bioavailability related to both sedimentary factors and the presence of microalgae. Possible replacement of sensitive by tolerant species or predominance of resistant species in each meiofauna group throughout the experiment is another hypothesis to be discussed.Keywords: meiofauna, microcosm, pesticide, endosulfan, Thiodan, sugar cane, microphytobenthos. RESUMO Efeitos do Endosulfan (Thiodan 35 EC ® ) sobre a Comunidade e Meiofauna Através de uma Abordagem de MicrocosmosUm experimento de microcosmo com a comunidade natural de meiofauna foi realizado para testar os efeitos do pesticida organoclorado Thiodan 35 CE (35% de endosufan) nas concentrações mais prováveis que atingem os estuários através do runoff da cana-de-açúcar. Uma proposta metodológica para microcosmos foi testada em estuários tropicais. A concentrações nominais (0,001, 0,005, 0,01, 0,05, 0,10, 0,20, 0,35 e 0,55 µg.g -1 + controle) e os tempos experimentais (0, 1, 4, 8 e 16 dias) foram adotados. As concentrações nominais e medidas de endosulfan do Thiodan apresentaram correlação altamente significativa com perdas inferiores a 60%. Foram detectadas diferenças significativas para a estrutura da meiofauna entre os dias experimentais e as concentrações testadas. As concentrações do organoclorado medidas como endolsulfan presentes no Thiodan afetaram o grupo Kinorhyncha no dia 8 e a regressão linear simples explicou parte da variação da densidade. Não houve efeito significativo na concentração de microfitobentos e sua concentração não esteve relacionada à alimentação dos grupos. Apesar da taxa de volatilização de moderada a alta do endosufan observado ao final do experimento, sugere-se que a ausência de padrões de mortalidade deva-se a biodisponibilidade dos pesticidas relacionada tanto a fatores sedimentares como a presença de microalgas. Uma possível substituição de espécie...

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Microalgal–meiofaunal interactions in a sublittoral site of the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy): A three-year study

Cited by 27 publications

References 41 publications

The Port of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)—A Case Study of the “Ecosystem Approach to Management”

The Port of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)—A Case Study of the “Ecosystem Approach to Management”

Interactions between free-living nematodes and benthic diatoms: insights from the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea)

Effects of Endosulfan (Thiodan 35 EC®) on Meiofauna Community Through a Microcosm Approach

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