Assessing the trophic state and eutrophication of coastal marine systems: a new approach based on the biochemical composition of sediment organic matter (original) (raw)

Abstract

We used a biochemical approach based on the analysis of the quality and quantity of sedimentary organic matter for identifying new descriptors of the trophic state and environmental quality of coastal marine systems. A large-scale study, including 99 stations, belonging to 33 transects, was carried out along 250 km of the Apulian coasts (Mediterranean Sea) in March and September 2000. The investigated area covered a wide range of anthropogenic impacts (industrial ports, tourist harbours, areas affected by power plants and industrial wastes, mariculture areas). Other sites, including marine protected areas (i.e., without any apparent impact), were used as ''control''. Water column and benthic parameters provided different indications and classifications of the trophic state of coastal marine systems. We found that phytopigment content of the sediments changed in response to all different sources of anthropogenic impact and resulted in a useful descriptor of the trophic state and environmental quality. Highest sediment chlorophyll-a concentrations, indicating conditions of increasing eutrophication, were found in areas impacted by the discharge of heated waters from a power plant. In particular, the contribution of the autotrophic biomass to the biopolymeric carbon pool appeared to be a good descriptor of the decreasing environmental quality. Independently from the sampling period or the pollution source such contribution was significantly lower in transects subjected to anthropogenic impact than in control areas. Differences in trophic conditions were evident both in terms of quantity (i.e., total organic matter content) and quality (i.e., biochemical composition) of sediment organic matter. In particular, sediment protein concentration appeared to be a good descriptor of the trophic state of the benthic systems at different spatial scales. Multivariate (MDS) analysis allowed identifying areas characterised by hypertrophic, eutrophic and meso-oligotrophic conditions and to define relative threshold levels. A classification of the trophic state of coastal systems based on protein and carbohydrate concentrations is proposed.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (54)

  1. Albertelli, G., Covazzi, A., Danovaro, R., Fabiano, M., Fraschetti, S., Pusceddu, A., 1999. Differential responses of bacteria Meiofauna and Macrofauna in a shelf area (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterra- nean): role of food availability. Journal of Sea Research 42, 11-26.
  2. Barranguet, C., Plante-Cuny, M.R., Alivon, E., 1996. Microphyto- benthos production in the Gulf of Fos, French Mediterranean coast. Hydrobiologia 333, 181-193.
  3. Bhadauria, S., Sengar, R.M.S., Mitaal, S., Bhattacharjee, S., 1992. Effect of petroleum hydrocarbons on algae. Journal of Phycology 28, 3-16.
  4. Boero, F., 2000. Programma INTERREG Italia-Grecia. Rapporto Annuale, Universit a a di Lecce, Lecce, pp. 1-60.
  5. Boon, A.R., Duineveld, G.C.A., Berghuis, E.M., Van der Weele, J.A., 1998. Relationships between benthic activity and the annual phytopigment cycle in near-bottom water and sediments in the southern North Sea. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 46, 1-13.
  6. Buchanan, J.B., 1971. Sediment. In: Holme, N.A., McIntyre, A.D. (Eds.), Methods for the Study of Marine Benthos. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 30-52.
  7. Cahoon, L.B., Cooke, J.E., 1992. Benthic microalgal production in Onslow Bay, North Carolina, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2, 185-196.
  8. Caroppo, C., Stabili, R.A., Cavallo, M., Pastore, M., Bruno, M., 1999. Trophism, phytoplankton and bacterial flora along the Apulian Adriatic coast (1995-1997). Oebalia 25, 6-85.
  9. Cloern, J.E., 2001. Our evolving conceptual model of the coastal eutrophication problem. Marine Ecology Progress Series 210, 223-253.
  10. Cognetti, G., 2001. Marine eutrophication: the need for a new indicator system. Marine Pollution Bulletin 42, 163-164.
  11. Conde, D., Bonilla, S., Aubriot, L., De Leon, R., Pintos, W., 1999. Comparison of the areal amount of chlorophyll-a of planktonic and attached microalgae in a shallow coastal lagoon. Hydrobio- logia 408/409, 285-291.
  12. Damiani, V., Nike Bianchi, C., Ferretti, O., Bedulli, D., Morri, C., 1988. Risultati di una ricerca ecologica sul sistema marino costiero pugliese. Thalassia Salentina 18, 153-160.
  13. Danovaro, R., 1996. Detritus-Bacteria-Meiofauna interactions in a seagrass bed (Posidonia oceanica) of the NW Mediterranean. Marine Biology 127, 1-13.
  14. Danovaro, R., Fabiano, M., Della Croce, N., 1993. Labile organic matter and microbial biomasses in deep-sea sediments (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Deep-Sea Research 40, 953-965.
  15. Danovaro, R., Marrale, D., Della Croce, N., Parodi, P., Fabiano, M., 1999a. Biochemical composition of sedimentary organic matter and bacterial distribution in the Aegean Sea: trophic state and pelagic-benthic coupling. Journal of Sea Research 42, 117-129.
  16. Danovaro, R., Dinet, A., Duineveld, G., Tselepides, A., 1999b. Benthic response to particulate fluxes in different trophic environ- ments: a comparison between the Gulf of Lions-Catalan sea (W- Mediterranean) and the Cretan Sea (E-Mediterranean). Progress in Oceanography 44, 287-312.
  17. Danovaro, R., Gambi, C., Manini, E., Fabiano, M., 2000. Maiofauna response to a dynamic river plume front. Marine Biology 137, 359-370.
  18. de Jong, D.J., de Jonge, V.N., 1995. Dynamics of microphytobenthos chlorophyll-a in the Scheldt estuary (SW Netherlands). Hydrobi- ologia 311, 21-30.
  19. de Jonge, V.N., 1980. Fluctuations in the organic carbon to chloro- phyll-a ratios for estuarine benthic diatom populations. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2, 345-353.
  20. Devinny, J.S., 1980. Effects of thermal effluents on communities of benthic marine macro-algae. Journal of Environmental Manage- ment 11, 225-242.
  21. Dubois, M., Gilles, K., Hamilton, J.K., Rebers, P.A., Smith, F., 1956. Colorimetric method for determination of sugars and related substances. Analytical Chemistry 28, 350-356.
  22. Fabiano, M., Danovaro, R., 1994. Composition of organic matter in sediments facing a river estuary (Tyrrhenian Sea): relationships with bacteria and microphytobenthic biomass. Hydrobiologia 277, 71-84.
  23. Fabiano, M., Danovaro, R., Fraschetti, S., 1995. Temporal trend analysis of the elemental composition of the sediment organic matter in subtidal sandy sediments of the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean): a three years study. Continental Shelf Research 15, 1453-1469.
  24. Fichez, R., 1991. Composition and fate of organic matter in submarine cave sediments: implications for the biogeochemical cycle of organic carbon. Oceanologica Acta 14, 369-377.
  25. Garrigue, C., 1998. Distribution and biomass of microphytes measured by benthic chlorophyll-a in a tropical lagoon (New Caledonia, South Pacific). Hydrobiologia 385, 1-10.
  26. Gerchacov, S.M., Hachter, P.G., 1972. Improved technique for analysis of carbohydrates in sediment. Limnology and Oceano- graphy 17, 938-943.
  27. Giovanardi, F., Tromellini, E., 1992. Statistical assessment of trophic conditions. Application of the OECD methodology to the marine environment. In: Vollenweider, R.A., Marchetti, R., Viviani, R. (Eds.), Marine Coastal Eutrophication, pp. 211-234.
  28. Hartree, E.F., 1972. Determination of proteins: a modification of the Lowry method that give a linear photometric response. Analytical Biochemistry 48, 422-427.
  29. Ignatiades, L., Karydis, M., Vounatsou, P., 1992. A possible method for evaluating oligotrophy and eutrophication based on nutrient concentration scales. Marine Pollution Bulletin 24, 238-243.
  30. Jørgensen, B.B., 1996. Material flux in the sediment. In: Jørgensen, B.B., Richardson, K. (Eds.), Eutrophication in Coastal Marine Ecosystems. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp. 115-135.
  31. Justic, D.A., 1990. A simple oxygen index for trophic state description. Marine Pollution Bulletin 22, 201-204.
  32. Karydis, M., Ignatiades, L., Moschopoulou, N., 1983. An index associated with nutrient eutrophication in the marine environment. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 16, 339-344.
  33. Kim, B.H., 1999. Ecology of a cyanobacterial mat community in a Korean thermal wastewater stream. Aquatic Ecology 33, 331-338.
  34. K€ o oster, M., Meyer-Reil, L.A., 2001. Characterization of carbon and microbial biomass pools in shallow water coastal sediments of the southern Baltic Sea (Nordr€ u ugensche Bodden). Marine Ecology Progress Series 214, 25-41.
  35. Lorenzen, C., Jeffrey, J., 1980. Determination of chlorophyll in sea water. UNESCO. Technical Papers in Marine Science 35, 1-20.
  36. Lucas, C.H., Widdows, J., Brinsley, M.D., Salkeld, P.N., Herman, P.M.J., 2000. Benthic-pelagic exchange of microalgae at a tidal flat. 1. Pigment analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 196, 59-73.
  37. Manini, E., Danovaro, R., Fabiano, M., 2001. Benthic-pelagic coupling in frontal system areas of the northern Adriatic sea: analysis of the carbon budgets. Chemistry and Ecology 18, 1-9.
  38. Marsh, J.B., Wenstein, D.B., 1966. A simple charring method for determination of lipids. Journal of Lipids Research 7, 574-576.
  39. Nixon, S.W., 1995. Coastal marine eutrophication: a definition, social causes, and future concerns. Ophelia 41, 199-219.
  40. Parker, J.G., 1983. A comparison of method used for the measurement of organic matter in marine sediments. Chemistry and Ecology 1, 201-210.
  41. Plante-Cuny, M.R., Bodoy, A., 1987. Biomasse et production primaire du phytoplancton et du microphytobenthos de deux biotopes sableux (Golfe de Fos, France). Oceanologica Acta 10, 223-237.
  42. Porter, J.W., Lewis, S.K., Porter, K.G., 1999. The effect of multiple stressors on the Florida Keys coral reef ecosystem: a landscape hypothesis and a physiological test. Limnology and Oceanography 44, 941-949.
  43. Pusceddu, A., Sar a a, G., Armeni, M., Fabiano, M., Mazzola, A., 1999. Seasonal and spatial changes in the sediment of a semi-enclosed marine system (W-Mediterranean Sea). Hydrobiologia 397, 59-70.
  44. Pusceddu, A., Dell'Anno, A., Fabiano, M., 2000. Organic matter composition in coastal sediments at Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) during summer 1995. Polar Biology 23, 288-293.
  45. Rheinheimer, G., 1998. Pollution in the Baltic Sea. Naturwissenshaften 85, 318-329.
  46. Rice, D.L., 1982. The detritus nitrogen problem: new observation and perspectives from organic geochemistry. Marine Ecology Progress Series 9, 153-162.
  47. Tselepides, A., Polychronaki, T., Marrale, D., Akoumianaki, I., Dell'Anno, A., Pusceddu, A., Danovaro, R., 2000. Organic matter composition of the continental shelf and bathyal sediments of the Cretan Sea (NE Mediterranean). Progress in Oceanography 46, 311-344.
  48. Verlaque, M., 1976. Effect of thermal pollution from the Martigues- Ponteau station on the macrophytobenthos. Tethys 1, 19-46.
  49. Verlaque, M., Giraud, G., Boudouresque, C.F., 1981. Effects of a thermal power plant on the Mediterranean marine phytobenthos: the area of high frequency temperature changes. Botanica Marina 24, 69-87.
  50. Vicente, V.P., 1979. Impact of heated effluents from a power plant on seagrass beds. In: Proceeding of the Association of Island Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, 33 pp.
  51. Viel, M., Damiani, V., Setti, M., 1986. Caratteristiche granulometriche e composizione mineralogica dei sedimenti della piattaforma pugliese. In: Viel, M., Zurlini, G. (Eds.), Indagine Ambientale del Sistema Marino costiero Della Regione Puglia. ENEA, S. Teresa, La Spezia, pp. 127-148.
  52. Vollenweider, R.A., Giovanardi, F., Montanari, G., Rinaldi, A., 1998. Characterisation of the trophic conditions of marine coastal waters with special reference to the NW Adriatic Sea: Proposal for a trophic scale, turbidity and generalised water quality index. Environmetrics 9, 329-357.
  53. Zimmerman, A.R., Canuel, E.A., 2000. A geochemical record of eutrophication and anoxia in Chesapeake Bay sediments: anthro- pogenic influence on organic matter composition. Marine Chem- istry 69, 117-137.
  54. Zurlini, G., 1996. Multiparametric classification of trophic conditions. The OECD methodology extended: combined probabilities and uncertainties application to the North Adriatic Sea. The Science of the Total Environment 182, 169-185.