Metal mobility and bioaccumulation differences at lower trophic levels in marine ecosystems dominated by Sargassum species

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Hernández-Almaraz ◽  
Lía Méndez-Rodríguez ◽  
Tania Zenteno-Savín ◽  
Federico García-Domínguez ◽  
Alfonso Vázquez-Botello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Metal Mobility ◽  
Metal Bioaccumulation ◽  
Metal Concentrations ◽  
Macroalgal Species ◽  
Sea Slug ◽  
Sea Slugs ◽  
Phosphorite Deposit ◽  
Potential Mobility

Concentrations of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) were measured in three macroalgal species, Codium simulans, Sargassum sinicola and Gracilaria pachydermatica, and in the sea slug Elysia diomedea, living in marine ecosystems dominated by Sargassum species and located near exploited phosphorite deposits. Metal concentrations in macroalgae and sea slugs were significantly different among sites. The highest concentrations of Cd recorded in C. simulans and S. sinicola, as well as in E. diomedea were recorded at the site closest to the phosphorite deposit. In general, Cd and Zn concentrations in E. diomedea were higher than those recorded in specimens of C. simulans, S. sinicola and G. pachydermatica. In contrast, Pb, Cu, and Fe concentrations in E. diomedea were lower than or similar to those in macroalgae from all sampled sites. The information generated contributes to the knowledge about potential mobility and metal bioaccumulation at lower trophic levels in marine eco systems.

scholarly journals Decoupled taxonomic and ecological recoveries from the Permo-Triassic extinction

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. eaat5091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijun Song ◽  
Paul B. Wignall ◽  
Alexander M. Dunhill
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Structure Building

The Permian-Triassic mass extinction was the worst crisis faced by life; it killed >90% of marine species in less than 0.1 million years (Ma). However, knowledge of its macroecological impact over prolonged time scales is limited. We show that marine ecosystems dominated by non-motile animals shifted to ones dominated by nektonic groups after the extinction. In Triassic oceans, animals at high trophic levels recovered faster than those at lower levels. The top-down rebuilding of marine ecosystems was still underway in the latest Triassic, ~50 Ma after the extinction, and contrasts with the ~5-Ma recovery required for taxonomic diversity. The decoupling between taxonomic and ecological recoveries suggests that a process of vacant niche filling before reaching the maximum environmental carrying capacity is independent of ecosystem structure building.

scholarly journals Pigment and Fatty Acid Heterogeneity in the Sea Slug Elysia crispata Is Not Shaped by Habitat Depth

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3157
Author(s):  
Xochitl Guadalupe Vital ◽  
Felisa Rey ◽  
Paulo Cartaxana ◽  
Sónia Cruz ◽  
Maria Rosário Domingues ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Total Lipid ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Habitat Depth ◽  
Sea Slug ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Sea Slugs ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Biochemical Condition

Long-term retention of functional chloroplasts in animal cells occurs only in sacoglossan sea slugs. Analysis of molecules related to the maintenance of these organelles can provide valuable information on this trait (kleptoplasty). The goal of our research was to characterize the pigment and fatty acid (FA) composition of the sea slug Elysia crispata and their associated chloroplasts that are kept functional for a long time, and to quantify total lipid, glycolipid and phospholipid contents, identifying differences between habitats: shallow (0–4 m) and deeper (8–12 m) waters. Specimens were sampled and analyzed after a month of food deprivation, through HPLC, GC-MS and colorimetric methods, to ensure an assessment of long-term kleptoplasty in relation to depth. Pigment signatures indicate that individuals retain chloroplasts from different macroalgal sources. FA classes, phospholipid and glycolipid contents displayed dissimilarities between depths. However, heterogeneities in pigment and FA profiles, as well as total lipid, glycolipid and phospholipid amounts in E. crispata were not related to habitat depth. The high content of chloroplast origin molecules, such as Chl a and glycolipids after a month of starvation, confirms that E. crispata retains chloroplasts in good biochemical condition. This characterization fills a knowledge gap of an animal model commonly employed to study kleptoplasty.

Variations in heavy metal concentrations among trophic levels of the food webs in two agroecosystems

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Soliman ◽  
Mohamed El-Shazly ◽  
Emtithal Abd-El-Samie ◽  
Hamed Fayed
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Metal Concentrations ◽  
Heavy Metal Concentrations

scholarly journals Lipids in Marine Ecosystems

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher C. Parrish
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Organic Contaminants ◽  
Essential Fatty Acids ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Sterol Composition ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Objective Interpretation ◽  
Marine Lipids ◽  
Pollutant Bioaccumulation

Lipids provide the densest form of energy in marine ecosystems. They are also a solvent and absorption carrier for organic contaminants and thus can be drivers of pollutant bioaccumulation. Among the lipids, certain essential fatty acids and sterols are considered to be important determinants of ecosystem health and stability. Fatty acids and sterols are also susceptible to oxidative damage leading to cytotoxicity and a decrease in membrane fluidity. The physical characteristics of biological membranes can be defended from the influence of changing temperature, pressure, or lipid peroxidation by altering the fatty acid and sterol composition of the lipid bilayer. Marine lipids are also a valuable tool to measure inputs, cycling, and loss of materials. Their heterogeneous nature makes them versatile biomarkers that are widely used in marine trophic studies, often with the help of multivariate statistics, to delineate carbon cycling and transfer of materials. Principal components analysis has a strong following as it permits data reduction and an objective interpretation of results, but several more sophisticated multivariate analyses which are more quantitative are emerging too. Integrating stable isotope and lipid data can facilitate the interpretation of both data sets and can provide a quantitative estimate of transfer across trophic levels.

Trophic cascades in benthic marine ecosystems: lessons for fisheries and protected-area management

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.K. PINNEGAR ◽  
N.V.C. POLUNIN ◽  
P. FRANCOUR ◽  
F. BADALAMENTI ◽  
R. CHEMELLO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Trophic Cascades ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Rocky Subtidal ◽  
Fishery Exploitation ◽  
Cascade Effects

An important principle of environmental science is that changes in single components of systems are likely to have consequences elsewhere in the same systems. In the sea, food web data are one of the few foundations for predicting such indirect effects, whether of fishery exploitation or following recovery in marine protected areas (MPAs). We review the available literature on one type of indirect interaction in benthic marine ecosystems, namely trophic cascades, which involve three or more trophic levels connected by predation. Because many indirect effects have been revealed through fishery exploitation, in some cases we include humans as trophic levels. Our purpose is to establish how widespread cascades might be, and infer how likely they are to affect the properties of communities following the implementation of MPAs or intensive resource exploitation. We review 39 documented cascades (eight of which include humans as a trophic level) from 21 locations around the world; all but two of the cascades are from shallow systems underlain by hard substrata (kelp forests, rocky subtidal, coral reefs and rocky intertidal). We argue that these systems are well represented because they are accessible and also amenable to the type of work that is necessary. Nineteen examples come from the central-eastern and north-eastern Pacific, while no well-substantiated benthic cascades have been reported from the NE, CE or SW Atlantic, the Southern Oceans, E Indian Ocean or NW Pacific. The absence of examples from those zones is probably due to lack of study. Sea urchins are very prominent in the subtidal examples, and gastropods, especially limpets, in the intertidal examples; we suggest that this may reflect their predation by fewer specialist predators than is the case with fishes, but also their conspicuousness to investigators. The variation in ecological resolution amongst studies, and in intensity of study amongst systems and regions, indicates that more cascades will likely be identified in due course. Broadening the concept of cascades to include pathogenic interactions would immediately increase the number of examples. The existing evidence is that cascade effects are to be expected when hard-substratum systems are subject to artisanal resource exploitation, but that the particular problems of macroalgal overgrowth on Caribbean reefs and the expansion of coralline barrens in the Mediterranean rocky-sublittoral will not be readily reversed in MPAs, probably because factors other than predation-based cascades have contributed to them in the first place. More cascade effects are likely to be found in the soft-substratum systems that are crucial to so many large-scale fisheries, when opportunities such as those of MPAs and fishing gradients become available for study of such systems, and the search is widened to less conspicuous focal organisms such as polychaetes and crustaceans.

scholarly journals Marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: what’s known and what’s next?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Gamfeldt ◽  
Jonathan S Lefcheck ◽  
Jarrett E K Byrnes ◽  
Bradley J Cardinale ◽  
J. Emmett Duffy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Full Data ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Marine Realm ◽  
Pervasive Loss

Marine ecosystems are experiencing rapid and pervasive loss of species. Understanding the consequences of species loss is critical to effectively managing these systems. Over the last several years, numerous experimental manipulations of species richness have been performed, yet existing quantitative syntheses have focused on a just a subset of processes measured in experiments and, as such, have not summarized the full data available from marine systems. Here, we present the results of a meta-analysis of 174 marine experiments from 42 studies that have manipulated the species richness of organisms across a range of taxa and trophic levels and analysed the consequences for various ecosystem processes (categorised as production, consumption or biogeochemical fluxes). Our results show that, generally, mixtures of species tend to enhance levels of ecosystem function relative to the average component species in monoculture, but have no or negative effect on functioning relative to the ‘highest-performing' species. These results are largely consistent with those from other syntheses, and extend conclusions to ecological functions that are most commonly measured in the marine realm (e.g. nutrient release from sediment bioturbation). For experiments that manipulated three or more levels of richness, we attempted to discern the functional form of the BEF relationship. We found that, for response variables categorised as consumption, a power-function best described the relationship, which is also consistent with previous findings. However, we identified a linear relationship between richness and production. Combined, our results suggest that losses of species will, on average, tend to alter the functioning of marine ecosystems. We outline several research frontiers that will allow us to more fully understand how, why, and when diversity may drive the functioning of marine ecosystems.

Metal concentrations and concomitant metal mobility in unsaturated mine and mill wastes

1995 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37
Author(s):  
V. E. Chamberlain ◽  
R. E. Williams ◽  
P. Towatana
Keyword(s):  
Metal Mobility ◽  
Metal Concentrations

scholarly journals Marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: what’s known and what’s next?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Gamfeldt ◽  
Jonathan S Lefcheck ◽  
Jarrett E K Byrnes ◽  
Bradley J Cardinale ◽  
J. Emmett Duffy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Full Data ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Marine Realm ◽  
Pervasive Loss

Marine ecosystems are experiencing rapid and pervasive loss of species. Understanding the consequences of species loss is critical to effectively managing these systems. Over the last several years, numerous experimental manipulations of species richness have been performed, yet existing quantitative syntheses have focused on a just a subset of processes measured in experiments and, as such, have not summarized the full data available from marine systems. Here, we present the results of a meta-analysis of 174 marine experiments from 42 studies that have manipulated the species richness of organisms across a range of taxa and trophic levels and analysed the consequences for various ecosystem processes (categorised as production, consumption or biogeochemical fluxes). Our results show that, generally, mixtures of species tend to enhance levels of ecosystem function relative to the average component species in monoculture, but have no or negative effect on functioning relative to the ‘highest-performing' species. These results are largely consistent with those from other syntheses, and extend conclusions to ecological functions that are most commonly measured in the marine realm (e.g. nutrient release from sediment bioturbation). For experiments that manipulated three or more levels of richness, we attempted to discern the functional form of the BEF relationship. We found that, for response variables categorised as consumption, a power-function best described the relationship, which is also consistent with previous findings. However, we identified a linear relationship between richness and production. Combined, our results suggest that losses of species will, on average, tend to alter the functioning of marine ecosystems. We outline several research frontiers that will allow us to more fully understand how, why, and when diversity may drive the functioning of marine ecosystems.

scholarly journals Trace metal bioaccumulation in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from Liaodong Bay (Bohai Sea, China)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonghua Liu ◽  
Jiayu Xu ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Song Yang
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metal ◽  
Atomic Absorption ◽  
Crassostrea Gigas ◽  
Bohai Sea ◽  
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry ◽  
Liaodong Bay ◽  
Metal Bioaccumulation ◽  
Metal Concentrations ◽  
Absorption Spectrophotometry ◽  
Cu And Zn

AbstractCd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations were measured in oysters (C. gigas), plankton, and seawater during spring, summer, and autumn in Liaodong Bay (Bohai Sea, China) to elucidate the effects of season, region, and oyster size on metal bioaccumulation in oysters. Metal concentrations were quantified via atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Our study determined that metal concentrations in oysters, plankton, and seawater were the highest in summer, whereas the lowest levels occurred in autumn. Regarding oyster sizes, the highest Pb levels occurred in C3-sized oysters (> 5-cm length), whereas the highest Cd, Cr, Cu, and Zn levels occurred in C2 (3–5-cm length) oysters. In contrast, the lowest Cu and Pb levels occurred in C1 (< 3-cm length) oysters, whereas the lowest mean Cd, Cr, and Zn concentrations were observed in C3 oysters. Significant differences in trace metal concentrations in the three sample types were observed in all sampling sites.

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