Differential sensitivity of flounder (Platichthys flesus) in response to oestrogenic chemical exposure: an issue for design and interpretation of monitoring and research programmes

This study was conducted as an initial investigation of 'differential response' in one of the main sentinel organisms used for monitoring programmes in United Kingdom estuaries, the flounder Platichthys flesus. It has been hypothesised that monitoring using species with a wide geographical spread and limited migration, such as flounder, might result in the comparison of different genetic stocks and certainly of populations with differing early life stage contaminant exposure histories. Furthermore, it is probable that these pre-exposure and genetic differences could manifest themselves in an ability to respond differently to contaminant exposure, so-called 'differential response'. It is important that the extent and nature of this response is understood, if we want to be able to fully interpret the monitoring data from such programmes. During this study, flounder were collected from four separate sources; wild caught fish from the estuaries of the Rivers Alde, Mersey and Tyne, and farmed flounder from Port Erin Farm, Isle of Man. Under controlled laboratory conditions, groups of fish from each source were exposed to water-borne concentrations of the synthetic oestrogen ethynylestradiol (EE2) at a nominal concentration of 50 ng/l. Plasma was taken from each male fish after 6 and 10 days exposure and analysed for the presence of vitellogenin (VTG) using an ELISA technique. Significant levels of VTG induction were evident in fish from all sources after both 6 and 10 days exposure. Flounder from the Mersey were the only fish with significantly elevated initial background levels of VTG (day 0) and this appeared to be reflected in that these specimens showed the highest induction response after day 6. However, after day 10, fish from all other sites had a slightly higher mean VTG than those from the Mersey which showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower mean plasma VTG. It is suggested that other differential responses may have been masked by the use of a high dose of EE2 which produced maximum induction in nearly all fish. The findings of the study are discussed in terms of implications for further research into the differential response issue and how the initial plasma VTG figures contribute to a time-series from the Mersey, Tyne and Alde estuaries.     

印度尼西亚北苏拉威西红树林生态系统碳库研究

近年来的研究指出红树林在海岸带碳固定和碳储存方面发挥着重要的作用。尽管印度尼西亚的红树林面积在全球占很大的比重,对于该地区红树林的有机碳储量和土壤有机碳来源的认识仍有限。本研究调查了印度尼西亚北苏拉威西海洋型的Wori红树林中生态系统有机碳储量及其空间分布特征,以及土壤有机碳的来源,以期加深该地区红树林“蓝碳”功能的认识。研究结果显示,Wori红树林0-50cm深度土壤中有机碳储量为15.4 kg/m²,占生态系统碳储量的主要部分（65%）。红树植物生物量和生态系统碳储量分别为8.3 kg/m²和23.7 kg/m²。土壤有机碳储量在不同离岸距离的采样站位中未表现出显著的空间分布差异,而生物量碳储量则在外滩最高。¹³C稳定同位素分析结果表明红树林土壤中蓄积的有机碳主要来源于红树林有机质,而潮水中的悬浮有机质和红树林外缘的海草并不构成红树林土壤有机碳的重要来源,它们的贡献者都低于20%。研究结果进一步证实了热带地区海洋型红树林湿地在碳储存以及红树植物对碳固定方面的重要性。     

The role of water mass dynamics in controlling bacterial abundance and production in the middle Adriatic Sea

Month-to-month fluctuations in the abundance of bacteria and heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and bacterial production, as well as various chemical (nutrients, oxygen) and physical (salinity, temperature) parameters were analysed at a station located in the open middle Adriatic Sea during one decade (1997-2006). Being influenced by both coastal waters and open Adriatic circulation in the surface layer, and by the deep Adriatic water masses in the deep layers (100 m), this station is quite suitable for detecting the environmental changes occurring in the open Adriatic Sea with respect to the circulation of its water masses and their long-term changes and anomalies. Multivariate methods were used to identify seasonal and inter-annual changes of the investigated parameters, associating observed changes to the changes in Adriatic water masses and circulation regimes. The analyses showed that bacterial abundance and production were controlled by different water mass dynamics during 1997-2001 compared to 2002-2006 period, particularly noticeable in different seasonal patterns of biological parameters. The interplay between North Adriatic Dense Water (NAdDW) and Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) resulted in a change in the available nutrients (NAdDW is poor in orthophosphates), and as a consequence different bacterial abundance and production. A few periods were examined in detail, such as 2004, when LIW inflow was particularly strong and was accompanied by an increase of bacterial and HNF abundances, as well as of bacterial production.     

Petroleum-related hydrocarbons in deep and subsurface sediments from South-Western Barents Sea

Subsurface sediments from a pockmark area in South-Western Barents Sea have been earlier found to contain elevated levels of petroleum-related polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This work describes a comprehensive analysis of various biomarkers, including the highly source-specific hopanes, in a 4.5?m long gravity core from the same area, together with subsurface sediment samples from other areas in the region without pockmarks present ("background samples"). A clear difference between the pockmark gravity core and the background sediment cores was found, both with regard to genesis and the level of transformation of organic matter. A number of indicator parameters, such as methylphenanthrene index (MPI-1), point towards a significantly higher maturity of hydrocarbons in the pockmark core throughout its length as compared to the other sampled locations. Higher contents of microbial hopanoids (hopenes) may indicate the former presence of petroleum. These findings confirm the hypothesis of a natural hydrocarbon source in the deeper strata present in the studied location with pockmarks.     

基于2002-2018年MODIS数据的黄海叶绿素a时空变化研究

浮游植物作为食物链的基础,对海洋生态系统具有重要影响。黄海作为我国重要的渔场,渔业资源面临枯竭的危险,因此对该区浮游植物进行研究具有重要意义。叶绿素a浓度是反映浮游植物生物量的重要指标。利用谷歌地球引擎平台对2002-2018年的MODIS Aqua叶绿素a浓度数据进行处理,并研究其时空分布与变化特征,然后结合区域气候、水文与地理特征以及海洋表面温度、风速、盐度、光合有效辐射和混合层厚度数据分析了其分布与变化的原因。研究发现:受陆源营养物质输入、近岸上升流以及黄海中央冷水团影响,叶绿素a浓度分布呈现由近岸向黄海中部递减特征;在季风、气候、水文的控制下,受风速、海洋表面温度、光合有效辐射、中央冷水团的影响,叶绿素a浓度的最大值出现在4月份,而最小值出现在6、7月份;受苏北沿岸海域海水污染和水体富营养化影响,沿岸海域盐度明显增加,海州湾叶绿素a浓度增速较大;影响黄海叶绿素a浓度变化的环境因子较复杂,除了部分月份存在显著的相关影响因子外,在全年和各季中不存在主导影响因子。     

Fatal attraction: synthetic musk fragrances compromise multixenobiotic defense systems in mussels

We studied interactions of nitromusk compounds musk ketone and musk xylene and polycyclic musks Galaxolide trade mark (HHCB), Celestolide trade mark (ADBI), Tetralide trade mark (AHTN), and Traseolide trade mark (AITI) with multixenobiotic resistance (mxr) transporters in gill tissue of the marine mussel Mytilus californianus (Conrad, 1837). A competitive substrate transport test with rhodamine B was used to assay modulation of transport activity by musks. All tested musks inhibited the transport activity in the low microm range as indicated by increased accumulation of rhodamine B in the tissue. Compared to known substrates of mxr transporters, the effective concentration range was similar to quinidine and about 100 times higher than verapamil. Musk ketone and musk xylene also inhibited efflux of rhodamine B from gill tissue which was loaded with the dye and subsequently incubated with these compounds. Synthetic musk compounds are persistent environmental pollutants in aquatic environments with a high potential to bioaccumulate. As potent inhibitors of mxr transporters they may also play a role as chemosensitizers that enable toxic mxr substrates to accumulate in cells of aquatic organisms.     

The influence of salinity on the heat-shock protein response of Potamocorbula amurensis (Bivalvia)

For biomarkers to be useful in assessing anthropogenic impacts in field studies involving aquatic organisms, they should not be affected by naturally occurring changes in environmental parameters such as salinity. This is especially important in estuarine environments and for relatively unspecific biomarkers like heat-shock proteins (hsps, stress proteins). In this study, the heat-shock protein response was measured in the euryhaline clam, Potamocorbula amurensis, after exposure to a range of salinities reflecting normal and extreme environmental conditions in Northern San Francisco Bay, California. The ability to raise cellular hsp70 levels in response to heat-shock was significantly impaired in P. amurensis collected from a low (0.5 ppt) salinity field site, and after 14 day exposure to low salinity in the laboratory.     

Oxidative stress in ecotoxicology: from the analysis of individual antioxidants to a more integrated approach

An integrate approach will be discussed for investigations on oxidative stress in xenobiotic toxicity. While the analysis of individual antioxidants is useful for their sensitivity and to understand the mode of action of a stressor, the integration with the analysis of the total antioxidant capacity provides a more holistic assessment of the overall biological significance of such variations. TOSC has a greater predictive value on the health condition of the organisms and allows to discriminate the different role of specific ROS in oxidative stress syndrome.