Assessing the impact of contaminated sediments on hard-substrate Antarctic marine communities

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2691
See the link below for public details on this project.

Contaminants may persist in marine sediments and be re-suspended during storms or by the activity of animals. This project will assess the impact of contaminated sediments on plants and animals that live directly above the sediment. Rocky-reef organisms form a large component of Antarctica's biodiversity and include algae as well as filter feeding animals such as sponges, lace corals, and fanworms. Many of these plants and animals live on boulders embedded within sediments. Information on the response of individuals, populations and communities to contamination will be used to develop sediment quality guidelines appropriate for the protection of the Antarctic environment.

The toxicity of aqueous metals and metal-contaminated resuspended sediment to the spirorbid polychaete Spirorbis nordenskjoldi Ehlers, 1900 was assessed in assays conducted during the 2005/6 and 2006/7 field seasons. A more detailed description of the design of experiments and the methods used can be found in Hill et al, 2009. Spirorbids were exposed to aqueous solutions of copper, lead and zinc singularly, and in mixtures. Spirorbids were also exposed to resuspended metal-spiked sediments.

Spirorbids attached to the brown alga Desmarestia sp were collected from Beall Island, Windmill Islands, East Antarctica, a clean site located approximately 2 km from Casey Station. Algae and animals were kept in the aquarium facility on station, in seawater maintained at 1 C and a 12-h light:dark photoperiod. Seawater was constantly aerated and changed every 5
to 6 d. Spirorbids were used within two weeks of their collection and fed once per week with plankton. Spirorbids were removed from the surface of algal blades 24 h before the start of a test, and allowed to recover in a constant-temperature chamber (CTC) at 0.5 C. Immediately before the start of tests, spirorbids were examined, and only healthy individuals were selected for tests. Spirorbids were determined to be healthy if their tentacular crown (fan) was extended and retracted quickly in response to stimuli.

The download file contains further information on the data.

本文件为ASAC项目2691的数据集元数据记录。请点击下方链接查看该项目的公开详情。

污染物可在海洋沉积物中持久留存，并可在风暴过程中或因动物活动而再悬浮。本项目将评估受污染沉积物对栖息于沉积物表层上方的动植物的影响。岩礁生物是南极生物多样性的重要组成部分，涵盖藻类以及海绵、蕾丝珊瑚（lace corals）、扇虫（fanworms）这类滤食性动物。其中多数动植物栖息于嵌于沉积物中的岩块之上。针对污染物的个体、种群及群落响应相关数据，将用于制定适配南极环境保护需求的沉积物质量基准。

本研究于2005/2006及2006/2007野外季开展的实验中，评估了水相金属及金属污染再悬浮沉积物对旋鳃环节动物（spirorbid polychaete）*Spirorbis nordenskjoldi* Ehlers, 1900的毒性。实验设计与所用方法的详细说明可参见Hill等人2009年的研究成果。研究中将旋鳃管虫分别暴露于铜、铅、锌的单一水相溶液以及混合溶液中，此外还将其暴露于金属掺杂的再悬浮沉积物中。

附着于褐藻德斯马雷斯藻属（*Desmarestia* sp.）的旋鳃管虫采集于南极东部风车群岛的比尔岛，该点位距离凯西站（Casey Station）约2公里，为清洁对照区域。采集到的藻类与旋鳃管虫被安置于站内的水族设施中，养殖海水温度维持在1℃，光照周期为12小时光照:12小时黑暗。海水持续曝气，且每5至6日更换一次。旋鳃管虫于采集后两周内用于实验，每周投喂一次浮游生物。实验开始前24小时，将旋鳃管虫从藻叶表面剥离，并置于0.5℃的恒温箱（constant-temperature chamber, CTC）中进行恢复。实验开始前即刻对旋鳃管虫进行筛选，仅选取健康个体用于实验。若旋鳃管虫的触手冠（扇状结构）可对刺激快速伸出与收缩，则判定为健康个体。

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