Ecological quality of some Tunisian coast and lagoon locations,by using benthic community parameters and biotic indices

Three Tunisian coastal and lagoon sites, variously affected by human activities, and differing according to their degree of communication with the sea, were studied. The total organic matter content and the granulometry of the sediment were measured and the macro-invertebrates were sampled and identified. Currently due to the lack of an efficient single biotic index for quality assessment, indications from these measurements can contribute to enrich our knowledge of the southern Mediterranean areas. Several biotic indices (AMBI, BENTIX, BOPA, BOPA modified, I2EC, ITI), most of which have been used in the context of the European Water Framework Directive, and some other structural parameters were used. The results show that the Bizerte lagoon, an almost closed area characterized mainly by extreme salinity/temperature and with a strong fluctuation of nutrients, appears biologically more impoverished. The Dkhila coast, which is more open to the sea, however, appears to be less dominated by the principal species. Biotic indices showed that the most polluted areas included the region exposed to urban inputs of Bizerte, the mouth of Hamdoun wadi and the harbour areas. In these locations, benthic macrofauna is dominated by opportunistic species like Capitella capitata, Scolelepis fuliginosa, Prionospio malmgreni, Polydora sp., Cirratulus cirratus and Cirriformia tentaculata. Other stations, which are farther from the sources of disturbance such as the mouths of the principal Wadis, the south of the Bizerte ship canal and the south of the Tunis bay, appear to be in good ecological condition and hosted a variety of sensitive species, Other stations were classified differently by the biotic indices used mainly because of the lack of a real inter-calibration of the various classification methodologies used by these indices.     

南沙群岛珊湖礁潟湖垂直沉降颗粒物中主要元素的生物地球化学过程研究

本文首次报道用沉积物捕捉器（ＳＴ）研究南沙群岛珊瑚礁湖沉降颗粒物中主要元素垂直通量、垂直转移形态、再循环过程及垂直通量与表层海水温度的关系。结果显示,作为生物化学沉积标志的Ｃａ、Ｍｇ具有最高的垂直通量,达１．４和０．１ｇ／（ｍ２·ｄ）以上,作为生物富集标志的Ｂｒ、Ⅰ也有较高的垂直转移量;垂直转移形态的研究表明Ｎａ、Ｋ、Ｃａ、Ｍｇ、Ｓｒ主要以碳酸盐结合态向海底转移,其中Ｃａ、Ｍｇ、Ｓｒ占９９％以上,Ｆｅ、Ｉ、Ｂａ主要以铁锰氧化物结合态向海底输送,在垂直沉降颗粒物到达海底后,有相当部分的主要元素可再循环进入水体中,Ｂｒ、Ｉ、Ｋ、Ａｌ的绝大部分进入再循环,Ｍｇ、Ｎａ、Ｃｌ有一半左右进入再循环,Ｃａ、Ｓｒ、Ｂａ、Ｆｅ大部分被埋葬;Ｎａ等９种元素的垂直转移量随ＳＳＴ呈指数降低响应,对ＳＳＴ的敏感性Ｆｅ＞Ｂｒ＞Ｓｒ＞Ｃａ＞Ｎａ＞Ｃｌ＞Ｍｇ＞Ｉ＞Ａｌ,这再一次验证了ＣａＣＯ３随温度升高,其溶解度降低、化学沉积量增加这一自然界的普遍规律,表明在珊瑚礁海水的垂直沉降颗粒物中主要元素是作为珊瑚的重要成分与ＣａＣＯ３一同被沉积下来的,ＣａＣＯ３起到稀释剂的作用。     

Conservation Priority Index for Estuarine Fish (COPIEF)

Public awareness regarding environmental issues has increased in recent decades. The increasing number of impact assessment studies, management and conservation plans, as well as ecological monitoring studies, demand new and more efficient techniques. Indices are an important tool to aid biologists in these studies and should allow an easier comprehension of the data by managers, decision-makers and the general public. This study presents the first multi-metrical index able to establish a hierarchical ordination of the conservation priority of the estuarine fish species using 72 species from 16 estuarine systems (W and S coasts of Portugal). The index is composed of 10 metrics, comprising species life traits, distribution and population trends. The information needed to score each metric was gathered from the published literature and the index validation was done by external means. This methodology allowed the definition of those fish species most in need of conservation planning, and those less prone to extinction in Portuguese estuarine systems. The proposed index fills a gap in our knowledge and provides a useful tool to the scientific community and to the decision-makers, being a breakthrough in the field of conservation planning of estuarine fish species.     

Response of BITS (a benthic index based on taxonomic sufficiency) to water and sedimentary variables and comparison with other indices in three Adriatic lagoons

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) recommends the development of biotic indices for assessing the ecological quality status of water bodies. The Benthic Index based on Taxonomic Sufficiency (BITS) was specifically developed for lagoonal systems, according to the tolerant/opportunistic approach. Macrobenthic data, variables indicative of eutrophication and variables indicative of sedimentary organic matter quality were collected during 18 surveys carried out between 2004 and 2005 in three Adriatic coastal lagoons (Venice Lagoon, Sacca di Goro, Lesina Lagoon). The relationship between environmental variables and biotic indices (AMBI, BENTIX, BITS, BOPA and FINE) was tested using multivariate analyses. Indices based on species classification level appeared to relate better with the variables describing organic matter quality, whereas BITS, which is based on family classification level, seemed related to eutrophication indicative variables, such as sulphide, ammonium, dissolved oxygen and orthophosphate concentrations. The BITS approach reduces the costs associated with sorting and identification of organisms. Providing a rapid assessment of ecological quality, and producing an ecologically relevant classification, BITS seems a promising tool for monitoring programs of Adriatic lagoonal ecosystems. Its sensitivity in reflecting the field conditions elsewhere, however, remains to be assessed.     

Benthic nitrate biogeochemistry affected by tidal modulation of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) through a sandy beach face, Ria Formosa, Southwestern Iberia

To investigate both the role of tides on the timing and magnitude of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD), and the effect on benthic nitrogen biogeochemistry of nitrate-enriched brackish water percolating upwards at the seepage face, we conducted a study of SGD rates measured simultaneously with seepage meters and mini-piezometers, combined with sets (n = 39) of high resolution in-situ porewater profiles describing NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, Si(OH)₄ and salinity distribution with depth (0–20 cm). Sampling took place during two consecutive spring tidal cycles in four different months (November 2005, March, April and August 2006) at a backbarrier beach face in the Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal. Our results show that the tide is one of the major agents controlling the timing and magnitude of SGD into the Ria Formosa. Intermittent pumping of brackish, nitrate-bearing water at the beach face through surface sediments changed both the magnitudes and depth distributions of porewater NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ concentrations. The most significant changes in nitrate and ammonium concentrations were observed in near-surface sediment horizons coinciding with increased fraction of N in benthic organic matter, as shown by the organic C:N ratio. On the basis of mass balance calculations executed on available benthic profiles, providing ratios of net Ammonium Production Rate (APR) to Nitrate Reduction Rate (NRR), coupled to stoichiometric calculations based on the composition of organic matter, potential pathways of nitrogen transformation were speculated upon. Although the seepage face occasionally contributes to reduce the groundwater-borne DIN loading of the lagoon, mass balance analysis suggests that a relatively high proportion of the SGD-borne nitrogen flowing into the lagoon may be enhanced by nitrification at the shallow (1–3 cm) subsurface and modulated by dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA).     

Inland saline lakes with lagoonal biota: some reflections on the concept and nature of athalassic (non-marine), paralic and marine saline waters

First, some inland basins with lagoonal (or paralic) biota are brieffly described. The different kinds of saline aquatic environments are then defined and the composition of their biota are discussed. Finally, the still unknown microbiogeochemical composition of concentrated inland waters is discussed. Under arid and endorheic conditions, it seems that the wider and the more geologically complex a hydrological basin is, the more biogeochemically similar to seawater is the water of its terminal lake. The evolution of the microbiogeochemical complexity of seawater through geological times is considered.This paper has been the subject of considerable discussion among referees. Not all of the views expressed by the author are accepted by them.     

A comparative allometric study of the morphometry of the gills of an alkalinity adapted cichlid fish,Oreochromis alcalicus grahami,of Lake Magadi,Kenya

A morphometric analysis of the gills ofOreochromis alcalicus grahami has been carried out on specimens from ecologically distinct lagoons and a water-holding tank of Lake Magadi, a highly alkaline salt lake situated in a volcanically active region of the southern part of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya. The data were compared with those fromOreochromis niloticus, a close relative that lives in fresh water and with data from other fresh water and marine fish. Our primary goal was to identify the possible adaptive features which enable the fish to survive in an environment characterized by severely fluctuating levels of oxygen, a condition exacerbated by factors such as high temperature, alkalinity and osmolarity. The specimens ofO. a. grahami from the south-western lagoons of the lake had gills better adapted for gas exchange with a body mass specific diffusing capacity for oxygen which was about 2 times greater than that of the gills of the specimens from the fish spring lagoons and 2.5 times that of those from the water-holding tanks. Some parameters of the gills ofO. a. grahami, e.g. the gill filament length and number of gill filaments are significantly greater than those ofO. niloticus but the number of secondary lamellae, area of secondary lamellae and the diffusing capacity of the gills are similar in the two species. Compared with most other fish, the gills ofO. a. grahami appear to be particularly well adapted for gas exchange especially by having a thin water-blood barrier. Perhaps in no other extant fish have the gills had to be so exquisitely designed to meet environmental extremes and regulate complex and at times conflicting functions such as gas exchange, iono-regulation, acid-base balance and nitrogenous waste excretion as inO. a. grahami     

1979-2010年我国大陆海岸潟湖变迁的多时相遥感分析

潟湖是重要的海岸湿地类型,具有丰富的自然资源和独特的生态功能。近几十年来,我国的海岸潟湖遭到了极大破坏,因此,开展我国海岸潟湖遥感监测与分析具有重要意义。本文根据1979年、1990年、2000年和2010年的4期共102景多时相遥感影像数据,利用遥感和地理信息系统等技术方法对我国大陆海岸潟湖进行了遥感监测,首次调查统计了我国大陆海岸潟湖的名称、数量、分布、岸线长度和面积信息,并对近31年来我国大陆海岸潟湖的变迁状况进行了分析。结果表明,1979年我国大陆海岸潟湖共计251个,近31年,共消失19个潟湖,其中辽宁省消失15个,广东省消失3个,广西壮族自治区消失1个;1979年我国大陆海岸潟湖岸线总长度为2 692.26km,总面积为1 092.805 5km2,至2010年我国大陆海岸潟湖岸线总长度共减少337.80km,潟湖总面积共减少204.103km2;31年间,我国大陆海岸潟湖的岸线长度和潟湖面积总体均处在持续减少的状态,各省(自治区)也基本符合该规律;1979-2010年间,我国大陆海岸潟湖大部分处在老年期,死亡期潟湖消失19个。     

PCBs in Central Vietnam coastal lagoons: levels and trends in dynamic environments

PCBs were analysed in surficial sediments and selected sediment cores collected between 2002 and 2008 in Central Vietnam coastal lagoons. The aim was to determine contamination levels and trends, and to evaluate the effects of anthropogenic pressures and natural events. Samples were mostly fine-grained with low total PCB concentrations (0.367-44.7 μg kg⁻¹). Atmospheric transport and post depositional processes modify to some degree the fingerprint of PCB inputs to the environment favouring the predominance of 3, 4 and 5 chlorinated congeners. The similarity of congener distributions in contemporary surficial samples also suggests the presence of a unique source over the entire study area, probably connected to mobilisation and long range transports from land-based stocks. The removal of consistent sediment layers is hypothesised based on repeated samplings of the same area. Natural meteorological events (such as typhoons) are suspected to be responsible for these sediment losses.