Alteration of bottom roughness by benthic organisms in a sandy coastal environment

This work deals with the potential influence of benthic communities on the sediment dynamics of the coastal zone, and specifically with the modifications to bottom roughness caused by communities and their effects on wave propagation across the coastal profile. Time-series of video observations of the sea bottom on the Ebro delta coast were analysed in order to estimate the bottom roughness associated with physical and biological morphological components and the sediment reworking rates caused by epifaunal organisms. Biological roughness was mainly caused by ophiuroids and tanatocenosis of bivalve and gastropod shells, which changed their abundance during the study period. The total biological roughness (K_bio) ranged between 0.27 and 0.81 cm and represented a significant part (<20%) of the total form drag roughness. Flattening of ripples caused by bioturbation was observed under low-energy conditions. Surface sediment perturbation and bioturbation rates were also estimated. Based on these observations a wave propagation model was applied in order to carry out a sensitivity analysis of the significance of biological roughness on wave dissipation in the study area under different wave conditions.     

Seasonal closures as a measure of trawling effort control in two Mediterranean trawling grounds: effects on epibenthic communities

Within the framework of ecosystem-based management, we focused on the use of seasonal closures as effective measures to minimise the degradation of benthic communities by trawling. These closures imply the complete cessation of trawling fleet activity and are commonly used in the Mediterranean to reduce the annual fishing effort, with the ultimate goal of effective resource management. In this study, we aimed to investigate how epibenthic communities respond to seasonal closures. The potential benefits of short-term annual closures in two Mediterranean fishing grounds were evaluated by analysing changes in community structure and composition that were linked to the closure. A decrease of faunal abundance was observed with the resumption of fishing activity after the closure at both fishing grounds. Remarkably, results indicated that some large and mobile fauna were able to respond to these closures. We concluded that the currently planned closures are too short to benefit benthic communities.     

Molecular investigations into pollutant impact on roundnose grenadier (C. rupestris) and transplanted common mussel (M. edulis) in Skagerrak, the North Sea

The use of a suite of different biochemical markers in the deep sea fish Roundnose grenadier and caged common mussels, and analyses of contaminant levels in the mussels, indicate that Skagerrak are more polluted than waters around the Faroe Islands. In Roundnose, induction of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) is consistent with increased benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase (BPH) in mussels and elevated levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in mussels and sediment from Skagerrak. This evidence of a large-scale environmental impact of pollutants should lead to further efforts to decrease transport into, and deposition of, waste compounds in the Skagerrak area.     

Stratigraphy of the Middle Devonian boundary: Formal definition of the susceptibility magnetostratotype in Germany with comparisons to sections in the Czech Republic, Morocco and Spain

One major difficulty in geology is high-resolution correlation among widely separated sections, especially in the Paleozoic where magnetostratigraphy polarity is not well established because rocks are often remagnetized, where critical biostratigraphic zonation may be poor or lacking, or where structural complexities make correlations very difficult. To address this problem, we have been using magnetostratigraphy susceptibility measurements. Here, we report our work from the Middle Devonian in Europe and North Africa. The Middle Devonian (Emsian–Eifelian) global boundary stratotype section and point (GSSP), located in the Eifel Hills, western Germany, was ratified by the International Subcommission on Stratigraphy in 1985, after careful evaluation of the biostratigraphy for this and many other sections. The boundary interval has been characterized using biostratigraphy, and the beginning of the Eifelian stage has been specifically defined by the first occurrence of the conodont Polygnathus costatus partitus. We have collected the Eifel Hills section for magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurement and here we establish it as the magnetostratotype for the Emsian–Eifelian stage boundary, by formally defining the magnetostratigraphy susceptibility for the section. We then collected, measured and compared the magnetostratotype to four other sections for which conodont biostratigraphy has been studied and where P. costatus partitus is present; two Emsian–Eifelian sections in Morocco and two sections in the Czech Republic (including the Emsian–Eifelian parastratotype). Finally, we have measured the MS for the El Puerto Creek section in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain and identified the location of the Emsian–Eifelian boundary within the section based on MS comparison to the GSSP in conjunction with excellent biostratigraphic indicators, primarily brachiopods. While the conodont zonation in the El Puerto Creek section is poorly defined, we believe that the correspondence between the MS and biostratigraphy in the section allows the identification of the Emsian–Eifelian boundary. These results indicate that this method can be successfully applied to marine sequences where ambiguities in correlation exist.     

Sediment diffusive fluxes of Fe,Mn, and P in a eutrophic lake: Contribution from lateral vs bottom sediments

Water column data and porewater profiles are used to study the chemical evolution with time and with depth of a eutrophic lake. By using different approaches, diffusion fluxes for dissolved iron, manganese and phosphate are calculated and used to describe the processes occurring at the sediment-water interface as well as in the hypolimnion of the lake. These data are used in the elaboration of a qualitative model to describe the chemical behaviour of the sedimentary interface of an anoxic lake with emphasis on the Fe/P/S system. Acorona model is proposed to explain the evolution with time of the diffusion process by estimating the relative contribution of bottom and lateral sediment surfaces to the total fluxes of dissolved elements diffusing from the sediment to the overlying water. As the hypolimnion becomes more anoxic, it has been observed that lateral sediment surfaces (16 to 10 meters in depth) represents a larger supplier of diffusing dissolved components than the bottom sediment portion (bottom to 18 meters).     

Computer simulation of the low-molecular-weight inorganic species distribution of antimony(III) and antimony(V) in natural waters

Computer speciation models of antimony in aqueous, multicomponent solutions of environmental and biological interest have been developed. Antimony is an element of increasing environmental significance but one whose chemical speciation has not previously been modelled in any comprehensive way. The available thermodynamic data have been critically evaluated and entered into a thermodynamic database. The JESS suite of computer programs has been used to develop the thermodynamically-consistent mass balance equations used for modelling purposes. The calculated speciation distributions successfully account for some but not all key known properties of antimony in natural waters. It is believed that the main difference is most likely due to kinetic factors.     

Sediment segregation by biodiffusing bivalves

The selective processing of sediment fractions (sand and mud; >63 μm and ≤63 μm median grain size) by macrofauna was assessed using two size classes of inert, UV-fluorescent sediment fraction tracers (luminophores). The luminophores were applied to the sediment surface in 16 m² replicated plots, defaunated and control, and left to be reworked by infauna for 32 days. As the macrofaunal assemblage in the ambient sediment and the control plots was dominated by the common cockle Cerastoderma edule, this species was used in an additional mesocosm experiment. The diversity, abundance and biomass of the defaunated macrobenthic assemblage did not return to control values within the experimental period. Both erosion threshold and bed elevation increased in the defaunated plots as a response to the absence of macrofauna and an increase in microphytobenthos growth. In the absence of macrobenthos, we observed an accretion of 7 mm sediment, containing ca. 60% mud. Image analysis of the vertical distribution of the different luminophore size classes showed that the cockles preferentially mobilised fine material from the sediment, thereby rendering it less muddy and effectively increasing the sand:mud ratio. Luminophore profiles and budgets of the mesocosm experiment under “no waves–no current” conditions support the field data very well.     

Defining ecological indicators of trawling disturbance when everywhere that can be fished is fished: A Mediterranean case study

Selecting indicators of the response of the benthic community to fishing effort restrictions is important for testing the efficacy of management actions that seek to minimise ecosystem degradation. Components of epifaunal communities are sensitive to trawling, and concordant measurements of trawling effort can be used to establish a link between response and impact variables. Trawling effort on Mediterranean fishing grounds can be assessed, but the lack of data from communities inhabiting these areas makes establishing the response–impact relationship difficult. This study addresses this challenge by investigating benthic communities from the NW Mediterranean subjected to a gradient of fishing effort, and confirms that indicators based on functional components of epibenthos can be a useful tool to describe the response of communities to disturbance across habitat types.     

Antimony in the environment: A review focused on natural waters. III. Microbiota relevant interactions

Antimony is ubiquitously present in the environment as a result of natural processes and human activities. Antimony is not considered to be an essential element for plants or animals. In this third review paper on the occurrence of antimony in natural waters, the interactions of antimony with microbiota are discussed in relation to its fate in natural waters. This paper covers the following aspects: occurrence in microbiota, uptake transport mechanisms, pathways of Sb(III) removal from cells involved in antimony tolerance, oxidation and reduction of antimony by living organisms, phytochelatin induction and biomethylation. This review is based on a careful and systematic examination of a comprehensive collection of papers on the above mentioned aspects of the subject. All data are quoted from the original sources. Relatively little existing information falls within the strict scope of this review and, when relevant, discussion on the interactions of antimony with reference microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and different protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, has been included.     

Slab pull effects from a flexural analysis of the Tonga and Kermadec trenches (Pacific Plate)

Thin-plate flexure models have been frequently used to explain the mechanical behaviour of the lithosphere at oceanic trenches, but little attention has been paid to using them as a way to check the relative importance of different plate-driving mechanisms. A 2-D numerical algorithm accounting for the flexural deflection of the lithosphere controlled by multilayered elastic–plastic rheology (brittle–elastic–ductile) has been applied to the seaward side of the Tonga and Kermadec trenches. This approach gives a better fit to the bathymetry on both trenches than assuming classical homogeneous plate models, and allows the interplate coupling forces and the lithospheric strength profile to be constrained. Our results show that, in order to fit the observed deflection of the lithosphere, a regional tensile horizontal force must act in both regions. This tensile force and its flexural effects are discussed in terms of slab pull as a main plate-driving mechanism. The predicted stress and yielding distributions partially match the outer-rise earthquake hypocentres within the subducting plate, and thus do not invalidate the model.