Marine ecotoxicology: field and laboratory approaches

Preliminary results on the levels of organochlorine residues and mercury in the main compartments of the North Sea are described and the advantage of presenting data on three bases (wet weight, fat weight and water volume) is emphasized.Higher concentrations are by far found in the pelagic seabirds but no biomagnification can be detected at the first levels of the food chain (phytoplankton -zooplankton and fish). The results are discussed considering the relative importance. of the uptakes by food and directly from water.The modeling of the pollutants cycles in marine ecosystems requires notably the knowledge of the percentages of ingested pollutants assimilated, the concentration factors and the rates of excretion which all have to be determined in the laboratory.Some physiological adaptations to pollution are described which can change their kinetics of uptake and should be taken into account in the interpretation of the ecotoxicological data. Finally we discuss the fact that the liposolubility of all stable pollutants (organic and inorganic) would be related to their rate of uptake, suggesting that general laws describing the fate of pollutants in aquatic systems may exist

Methylmercury and selenium in vitro effects on harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) lymphocytes : a multidisciplinary approach

Methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulates along the food web, leading to the highest levels in tissues of predatory species. It constitutes the predominant form present in the blood of marine mammals. The blood cells, including the immune cells, are therefore exposed to the toxic properties of that chemical. Nevertheless, selenium (Se) is an essential element absorbed concomitantly to MeHg which seems to modulate this toxicity. The goal of this study is to evaluate the immunotoxicity of MeHg on the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) T lymphocytes, highly important in the adaptive immune response, and to investigate the modulating effect of Se on that toxicity. In parallel, the concentrations of MeHg, total mercury (T-Hg) and Se are determined in free-ranging harbour seal blood in order to follow their contamination levels. The T lymphocytes were isolated from the whole blood, exposed to various MeHg and Se concentrations and the exposure effects were estimated by functional tests including the evaluation of viability, proliferation, metabolic activity, DNA and protein synthesis, and by morphological analysis by transmission electron microscopy. The mean T-Hg concentration was 172 ± 143 µg/l of whole blood. The T lymphocytes cultures in vitro displayed a decreasing number of viable cells with increasing concentrations of MeHg, and numerous ultrastructural defects. The cells exposed to MeHg notably displayed distortion of the plasmic membrane, nucleus fragmentations, chromatin compaction, swelling mitochondrias and cytoplasmic vacuolisations. Those results highlighted various immunotoxic effects of MeHg, both at the functional and ultrastructural levels. The antagonistic role of Se on MeHg immunotoxicity is discussed

Posidonia oceanica meadow: a low nutrient high chlorophyll (LNHC) system?

BACKGROUND: In spite of very low nutrient concentrations in its vicinity – both column and pore waters-, the Posidonia oceanica of the Revellata Bay displays high biomass and productivity. We measured the nutrient fluxes from the sediment into the water enclosed among the leaf shoots ("canopy water") to determine if it is possible source of nutrients for P. oceanica leaves. RESULTS: During the summer, the canopy water appears to act as a nutrient reservoir for the plant. During that period, the canopy water layer displays both a temperature 0.5°C cooler than the upper water column, and a much higher nutrient content, as shown in this work using a very simple original technique permitting to sample water with a minimal disturbance of the water column's vertical structure. Despite low nutrient concentrations in pore water, mean net fluxes were measured from the sediment to the canopy water. These fluxes are sufficient to provide 20% of the mean daily nitrogen and phosphorus requirement of the P. oceanica shoots. CONCLUSION: An internal cycling of nutrients from P. oceanica senescent leaves was previously noted as an efficient strategy to help face low nutrient availability. The present study points out a second strategy which consists in holding back, in the canopy, the nutrients released at the water-sediment interface. This process occurs when long leaves, during poor nutrient periods in the water column, providing, to P. oceanica, the possibility to develop, high biomass, high chlorophyll quantities in low nutrient environment (a Low Nutrients High Chlorophyll system)

Trophic relationships within intertidal communities of the Brittany Coasts: A stable carbon isotope analysis

More than 100 species belonging to plant and animal tars that are commonly observed in the intertidal zone were collected on both rocky and soft bottom shores of Brittany, France, to be analysed for their C-13/C-12 ratio. Plant material displayed a wide range of delta(13)C values (from -12 to -34 parts per thousand), with relatively distinct values among producer groups (Chlorophyce ae, Fucales, Laminariales, Rhodophyce ae seagrasses, plankton), and among strata of intertidal zonation. Animal delta(13)C range was narrower (-15 to -22 parts per thousand), and in general, values differed more between than within phyla or classes, according to the staple diet of organisms. A good correlation between the delta(13)C values of food and consumers was noted, together with a slight C-13- enrichment (approximate to 1 parts per thousand) with increasing trophic levels from suspension-feeders to predators

Fish farm impacts on Posidonia oceanica meadows: interest of the microbenthic loop.

Posidonia oceanica, the seagrass endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, is a valuable tool to assess the environmental quality in coastal zones. However, only few studies have attempted to use characteristics of its sediment compartment as an indicator of environmental perturbations. In this study, the impact of a fish farm on the microbenthic loop (organic matter, bacteria, microphytobenthos and meiofauna) of P. oceanica meadows will be described. Samples were taken under an aquaculture situated in Calvi Bay (Corsica, France) at a depth of 22 m, in March and June 2008. The control site was the meadow situated in front of the research station STARESO (Calvi Bay, Corsica, France), sampled at the same periods and depth. Results concerning bacteria, microphytobenthos and organic matter will be presented here. For both seasons, differences between sites exist. For example, biomasses of organic matter, microphytobenthos and bacteria are higher in the fish farm than in the control site, indicating that the microbenthic loop has potential to be a good early indicator of pollution in this sea.Utilisation de l'exergie pour mesurer et détecter les effets des perturbations affectant les herbiers à Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile: caractérisation au sein du compartiment sédimentaire

Zn, Cu, Cd and Hg binding to metallothioneins in harbour porpoises <i>Phocoena phocoena</i> from the southern North Sea

Background: Harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena from the southern North Sea are known to display high levels of Zn and Hg in their tissues linked to their nutritional status (emaciation). The question arises regarding a potential role of metallothioneins (MTs) with regard to these high metal levels. In the present study, metallothionein detection and associated Zn, Cd, Cu and Hg concentrations were investigated in the liver and kidney of 14 harbour porpoises collected along the Belgian coast. Results: Metallothioneins seemed to play a key role in essential metal homeostasis, as they were shown to bind 50% of the total hepatic Zn and 36% of the total hepatic Cu concentrations. Renal MTs also participated in Cd detoxification, as they were shown to bind 56% of the total renal Cd. Hg was mainly found in the insoluble fraction of both liver and kidney. Concomitant increases in total Zn concentration and Zn bound to MTs were observed in the liver, whereas Zn concentration bound to high molecular weight proteins remained constant. Cu, Zn and Cd were accumulated preferentially in the MT fraction and their content in this fraction increased with the amount in the hepatocytosol. Conclusion: MTs have a key role in Zn and Cu homeostasis in harbour porpoises. We demonstrated that increasing hepatic Zn concentration led to an increase in Zn linked to MTs, suggesting that these small proteins take over the Zn overload linked to the poor body condition of debilitated harbour porpoises

Potential early indicators of anthropogenically derived nutrients : a multiscale stable isotope analysis

Increasing human pressure along Mediterranean coastlines raises the need to define sensitive bioindicators that provide an early response to nutrient enrichment. We performed multiscale carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses on the limpet Patella caerulea, the snail Monodonta turbinata, epilithic biofilms, and the macroalga Rissoella verruculosa inhabiting the rocky midlittoral zone. Samples were seasonally collected in 2006 from 5 sites exposed to a range of anthropogenic discharges in the Revellata Bay area and in Marseille harbour (France). All bioindicators exhibited strongly elevated δ15N values at impacted sites compared to pristine ones, which revealed the biological availability of anthropogenically derived nutrients. Only epilithic biofilms tended to show both the occurrence of nutrient pulses during the tourist season and a δ13C response at impacted sites. In contrast to macroalgae, which exhibited a somewhat equivocal signal, gastropods and especially M. turbinata provided the best time-integrated picture of the graduated exposure of the 5 sites to anthropogenic impact. Results also showed first evidence of large isotopic variability at a scale of tens of metres, close to that found at the kilometre scale. The intra- and interspecific isotopic variability in gastropods may be explained by the patchiness of resources and specific morphological and behavioural features, but these factors do not greatly hamper their potential as early bioindicators of wastewater disturbances.Peer reviewe