Importance of Sediment Working by the Deposit-Feeding Polychaete Arenicola marina on the Weathering Rate of Sediment-Bound Oil

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 591-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Gordon Jr. ◽  
Jacqueline Dale ◽  
Paul D. Keizer
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Large Population ◽  
American Petroleum Institute ◽  
Arenicola Marina ◽  
Weathering Rate ◽  
Black Duck ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Key Words Sediment ◽  
Deposit Feeding

The interactions between the polychaete Arenicola marina, a common deposit feeder in sandy intertidal areas, and sediment contaminated with the fresh API (American Petroleum Institute) reference oils and weathered Bunker C oil remaining from the 1970 Arrow spill were investigated in laboratory experiments. Worms can tolerate low concentrations of sediment-bound oil, although the sediment working rate is reduced depending upon oil type, concentration, and degree of weathering. Hydrocarbon concentrations, measured gravimetrically and by gas chromatography and fluorescence spectroscopy, were substantially lower (17–72%) in worm casts than in initial sediment. This loss can be accounted for by microbial degradation, which is stimulated by the worms' activity, uptake of hydrocarbons into worms, and perhaps dissolution. A large population (10–25/m2) of Arenicola is present at Black Duck Cove, N.S., living in sediment contaminated with weathered Bunker C oil remaining from the Arrow spill. These worms, which have spent their entire lives in oil-polluted sediment, do not have markedly elevated hydrocarbon concentrations and behaved no differently in experiments than worms collected from a clean environment. Calculations suggest that they are capable of removing the oil present in a square metre of sediment in 2–4 yr. After any oil spill, when concentrations reach tolerable levels, activities of deposit-feeding animals such as Arenicola can apparently accelerate the weathering rate of sediment-bound oil. Key words: sediment, Arenicola marina, polychaete, petroleum, weathering rate, pollution, hydrocarbon

scholarly journals Modulation of Human Complement System by Antimicrobial Peptide Arenicin-1 from Arenicola marina

Marine Drugs ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Umnyakova ◽  
Nikolay Gorbunov ◽  
Alexander Zhakhov ◽  
Ilia Krenev ◽  
Tatiana Ovchinnikova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptide ◽  
Complement System ◽  
Complement Activation ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Cytotoxic Agents ◽  
Arenicola Marina ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Marine Polychaete ◽  
Hypothetical Mechanism

Antimicrobial peptides from marine invertebrates are known not only to act like cytotoxic agents, but they also can display some additional activities in mammalian organisms. In particular, these peptides can modulate the complement system as was described for tachyplesin, a peptide from the horseshoe crab. In this work, we investigated the influence on complement activation of the antimicrobial peptide arenicin-1 from the marine polychaete Arenicola marina. To study effects of arenicin on complement activation in human blood serum, we used hemolytic assays of two types, with antibody sensitized sheep erythrocytes and rabbit erythrocytes. Complement activation was also assessed, by the level of C3a production that was measured by ELISA. We found that the effect of arenicin depends on its concentration. At relatively low concentrations the peptide stimulates complement activation and lysis of target erythrocytes, whereas at higher concentrations arenicin acts as a complement inhibitor. A hypothetical mechanism of peptide action is proposed, suggesting its interaction with two complement proteins, C1q and C3. The results lead to the possibility of the development of new approaches for therapy of diseases connected with complement dysregulation, using peptide regulators derived from natural antimicrobial peptides of invertebrates.

Association between the ghost shrimp Trypaea australiensis Dana 1852 (Crustacea : Decapoda) and a small deposit-feeding bivalve Mysella vitrea Laserson 1956 (Mollusca : Leptonidae)

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Kerr ◽  
Jamie Corfield
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Carbon Distribution ◽  
Intertidal Sediments ◽  
Feeding Mode ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Deposit Feeding

The deep-burrowing species Trypaea australiensis and Mysella vitrea inhabit intertidal sediments of the Richmond River, northern New South Wales. Laboratory experiments indicated that a facultative commensal association may exist between the two organisms, because although the bivalves survived independently, their vertical distribution in sediment was significantly different in the presence of T. australiensis. Field observations indicated that redox potential and bivalve abundance in sediment are weakly correlated. However, the absence of strongly reducing conditions in the first metre of the sediment, due to T. australiensis burrow irrigation, may increase potential niche size for M. vitrea. Tank observations revealed no aggregation of M vitrea around the burrows. Feeding observations suggested that M. vitrea can feed either by collecting particles off the sediment surface or by interstitial pedal feeding; the latter feeding mode would allow use of shrimp burrows for feeding. T. australiensis alters organic carbon distribution in the sediment profile, concentrations being significantly higher in the lowermost regions where T. australiensis was present than in controls. Thus, enrichment resulting from the activities of T. australiensis may provide some reward for the energetic cost to M. vitrea of burrowing deeply.

Sulphide Metabolism in Thalassinidean Crustacea

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.R. Johns ◽  
A.C. Taylor ◽  
R.J.A. Atkinson ◽  
M.K. Grieshaber
Keyword(s):  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Cytochrome C Oxidase ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Poisoning Effect ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Detoxification Mechanism ◽  
Muddy Sediments ◽  
Callianassa Subterranea

Sulphide occurs widely in marine sediments and is highly toxic to most organisms. Its principal poisoning effect occurs at extremely low concentrations and is the result of inhibition of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase. Mud-shrimps (Crustacea: Thalassinidea), construct burrows in sublittoral muddy sediments. The sediment in which they burrow is markedly reduced and conditions within the burrow are usually hypoxic and hypercapnic. Field measurements indicate that the shrimps may be exposed to potentially toxic levels of sulphide in the burrow water (range 0–206 μM, N=37). Laboratory experiments carried out onCalocaris macandreae, Callianassa subterraneaandJaxea nocturnahave shown that these species have a high tolerance of sulphide. An oxygen dependent detoxification mechanism exists to defend cytochrome c oxidase from sulphide poisoning. The main detoxification product of this mechanism is thiosulphate which accumulates rapidly even during brief exposures to low concentrations of sulphide. Sulphite also appears as a secondary detoxification product. Aerobic metabolism can be maintained even under severe hypoxia and toxic sulphide conditions. The mud-shrimps switch to anaerobiosis when the detoxification mechanism is saturated. These data indicate that mud-shrimps are physiologically adapted to tolerate elevated levels of sulphide that they may encounter in their natural habitat.

Mode of Action Investigations with the Herbicides HOE-39866 and SC-0224

Weed Science ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 779-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin R. Bellinder ◽  
Kriton K. Hatzios ◽  
Henry P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Glycine Max ◽  
Ribonucleic Acid ◽  
Mode Of Action ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Lipid Synthesis ◽  
Target Site ◽  
Primary Target ◽  
Low Concentrations

In laboratory experiments, the effects of the herbicides HOE-39866 [ammonium (3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)-methylphosphinate] and SC-0224 (trimethylsulfonium carboxymethylaminomethylphosphonate) on the incorporation of NaH14CO3, [14C]-leucine, [14C]-uracil, and [14C]-acetate into enzymatically isolated soybean [Glycine max(L.) Merr. ‘Essex’] cells were evaluated to assess the activity of these herbicides on CO2fixation, protein, ribonucleic acid (RNA), and lipid syntheses. At low concentrations neither compound exhibited rapid or distinct inhibitions of any process as might be expected in the case of inhibition of a primary target site. Photosynthesis was the process least affected. At equimolar concentrations, protein and RNA syntheses were more sensitive to HOE-39866 than to SC-0224 while the reverse occurred in lipid synthesis. Protein synthesis appears to be a possible target site that may be involved in the herbicidal action of these two compounds.

Interactions of Globobulimina Auriculata with Nematodes: Predator Or Prey?

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-75
Author(s):  
Nicolaas Glock ◽  
Julia Wukovits ◽  
Alexandra-Sophie Roy
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Soft Sediment ◽  
Controlled Experiments ◽  
Benthic Foraminifers ◽  
Foraminiferal Species ◽  
Video Observations ◽  
Deposit Feeding

Abstract Studies of carnivorous behaviour of benthic foraminifers are rare and mostly focused on laboratory experiments. Controlled experiments have shown that some agglutinated and intertidal species prey on meio- to macrofaunal metazoans. Here we present observations of the behaviour of specimens of the infaunal benthic foraminiferal species, Globobulimina auriculata and G. turgida, made within several hours of collection from ∼117 m depth in the Alsbäck Deep of the Gullmar Fjord, Sweden. We observed live nematodes within the tests of G. auriculata. Video observations recorded over a 17-hour period showed a G. auriculata specimen with a living nematode whose tail appeared to be entangled within the foraminifer's reticulopodial network. The nematode eventually coiled around the foraminifer's aperture and became much less active, though ingestion into the foraminifer's test was not documented. If these observations indicate feeding by G. auriculata, they differ from previous observations of predation by Ammonia tepida, which utilised external reticulopodial activity to extract the soft tissue of its prey. An alternative interpretation of the video observations, consistent with the observations of the live nematodes inside G. auriculata, was that the nematode was attempting to prey upon the foraminifer. The G. turgida specimens, in contrast, relatively quickly surrounded themselves in soft sediment spheres commonly seen in deposit-feeding foraminifers, and were never observed with nematodes within their tests. We speculate that these contrasting feeding strategies might reduce competition and facilitate the coexistence of these two globobuliminid species.

The Effect of Dissolved Nutrients and Inorganic Suspended Solids on the Survival of E. coli in Seawater

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Milne ◽  
J. C. Curran ◽  
J. S. Findlay ◽  
J. M. Crowther ◽  
J. Bennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Glucose Concentration ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Salinity Range ◽  
Survival Times ◽  
Dissolved Nutrients ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Solids Concentration ◽  
Low Concentrations

The effect of dissolved nutrients and inorganic suspended solids on E. coli inactivation has been examined in laboratory experiments. The work employed artificial seawater with dissolved glucose and peptone, laboratory processed suspended solids and chemostat steady state E. coli cultures to establish the effect of these parameters on the viability of an E. coli population. Initial E. coli concentration was 5 × 103 100ml−1, the temperatures 5 °C and 20°C, the suspended solids concentration range was 0 - 100mgl−1, glucose concentration l.0mgl −1, peptone concentration 9.0mgl−1, salinity range 27 - 32‰ and the experimental vessels were shielded from light. Previous work has shown that nutrient-free inorganic suspended solids, at low concentrations, markedly increased the survival of E. coli in seawater. The work presented here shows that the presence of dissolved nutrients greatly increased E. coli survival, in the absence of suspended solids. However at suspended solids concentrations of >5 - 12mgl−1survival time was greatly reduced; thereafter increasing suspended solids concentration in the range >12.5 - 100mgl−1, generally resulted in increasing survival times.

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