This study investigates the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on two potentially toxic Pseudo-nitzschia hasleana and P. mannii, isolated from a PAH contaminated marine environment. Both species, maintained in non-axenic cultures, have been exposed during 144 h to increasing concentrations of a 15 PAHs mixture. Analysis of the domoic acid, showed very low concentrations. Dose–response curves for growth and photosynthesis inhibition were determined. Both species have maintained their growth until the end of incubation even at the highest concentration tested (120 µg l-1), Nevertheless, P mannii showed faster growth and seemed to be more tolerant than P. hasleana. To reduce PAH toxicity, both species have enhanced their biovolume, with a higher increase for P. mannii relative to P hasleana. Both species were also capable of bio-concentrating PAHs and were able to degrade them probably in synergy with their associated bacteria. The highest biodegradation was observed for P. mannii, which could harbored more efficient hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. This study provides the first evidence that PAHs can control the growth and physiology of potentially toxic diatoms. Future studies should investigate the bacterial community associated with Pseudo-nitzschia species, as responses to pollutants or to other environmental stressors could be strongly influence by associated bacteria.

This review features recent updates on planktonic community alteration attributed to shellfish farming across three major drivers: predation, nutrient availability and the hydrodynamic environment. The grazing pressure generated by filter-feeder communities (shellfish and epibionts) constitutes a 'top-down' control of planktonic communities in aquaculture areas, inducing a significant depletion of planktonic organism concentration. By selecting larger cells during the filtration process, shellfish also favour smaller organisms in the water column, leading to the dominance of the latter. Direct excretion and the benthic alteration process tend to fertilise the water column and significantly stimulate primary production. The associated epibiont community particularly contributes to this regeneration process. The expected consequence of increasing nutrient availability is generally a planktonic shift in favour of small planktonic species. However, investigation on the relationship between planktonic structure and nutrient conditions has revealed a wide complexity and variability. Finally, all structures used in shellfish farming activities interact with water currents and tend to significantly increase the residence time of planktonic organisms inside shellfish farming areas. In grazing-dominated systems, an increase in residence time tends to increase the exposure time of planktonic populations to detrimental conditions, reducing biomass and production. The general consequences of shellfish farming are a decrease in primary production in farming ecosystems, and a possible alteration of structure and functioning of planktonic communities. The implications of shellfish farming also appear to be quite different from other aquaculture activities such as fish farming, which tend to promote primary production leading to eutrophication process.

Sediment resuspension can provoke strong water enrichment in nutrients, contaminants, and microorganisms. Microcosm incubations were performed in triplicate for 96 h, with lagoon and offshore waters incubated either with sediment elutriate or with an artificial mixture of contaminants issued from sediment resuspension. Sediment elutriate provoked a strong increase in microbial biomass, with little effects on the phytoplankton and bacterioplankton community structures. Among the pool of contaminants released, few were clearly identified as structuring factors of phytoplankton and bacterioplankton communities, namely simazine, Cu, Sn, Ni, and Cr. Effects were more pronounced in the offshore waters, suggesting a relative tolerance of the lagoon microbial communities to contamination. The impacts of contamination on the microbial community structure were direct or indirect, depending on the nature and the strength of the interactions between phytoplankton and bacterioplankton.

We studied the relationships between sediment industrial pollutants concentrations, sediment characteristics and the dinoflagellate cyst abundance within a coastal lagoon by investigating a total of 55 sampling stations within the Bizerte lagoon, a highly anthropized Mediterranean ecosystem. The sediment of Bizerte lagoon is characterized by a high dinocyst abundance, reaching a maximum value of 2742cysts·g−1 of dry sediment. The investigated cyst diversity was characterized by the presence of 22 dominant dinocyst morphotypes belonging to 11 genera. Two dinoflagellate species dominated the assemblage: Alexandrium pseudogonyaulax and Protoperidinium claudicans, representing 29 to 89% and 5 to 38% of the total cyst abundance, respectively, depending on the station. Seven morphotypes belonging to potentially toxic species were detected, including Alexandrium minutum, A. pseudogonyaulax, Alexandrium catenella/tamarense species complex, Lingulodinium polyedrum, Gonyaulax cf. spinifera complex, Prorocentrum micans and Protoceratium reticulatum. Pearson correlation values showed a positive correlation (α=0.05) between cyst abundance and both water content and fine silt sediment content. Clustering revealed that the highest abundance of cysts corresponds to stations presenting the higher amounts of heavy metals. The simultaneous autoregressive model (SAM) highlighted a significant correlation (α=0.05) between cyst accumulation and two main factors: sediment water content and sediment content for several heavy metals, including Hg, Cd, Cu, Ni and Cr. These results suggest that the degree of heavy metal pollution could influence cyst accumulation patterns.

Contamination of coastal environments is often due to a complex mixture of pollutants, sometimes in trace levels, that may have significant effects on diversity and function of organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term dynamics of bacterioplankton exposed to natural and artificial mixtures of contaminants. Bacterial communities from a southwestern Mediterranean ecosystem, lagoon and the bay (offshore) of Bizerte were exposed to i) elutriate from resuspension of contaminated sediment, and ii) an artificial mixture of metals and herbicides mimicking the contamination observed during sediment resuspension. Elutriate incubation as well as artificial spiking induced strong enrichments in nutrients (up to 18 times), metals (up to six times) and herbicides (up to 20 times) relative to the in situ concentrations in the offshore station, whereas the increases in contaminants were less marked in the lagoon station. In the offshore waters, the artificial mixture of pollutants provoked a strong inhibition of bacterial abundance, production and respiration and significant modifications of the potential functional diversity of bacterioplankton with a strong decrease of the carbohydrate utilization. In contrast, incubation with elutriate resulted in a stimulation of bacterial activities and abundances, suggesting that the toxic effects of pollutants were modified by the increase in nutrient and DOM concentrations due to the sediment resuspension. The effects of elutriate and the artificial mixture of pollutants on bacterial dynamics and the functional diversity were less marked in the lagoon waters, than in offshore waters, suggesting a relative tolerance of lagoon bacteria against contaminants.

Human activities generate large volumes of waste that supply marine coastal environments in pathogens, organic matter, nutrients and toxicants. Among the wide range of toxicants are trace elements. Since the latter are toxic for aquatic organisms from threshold levels and as they are therefore likely to cause multiple damage to the population, the community and the ecosystem levels, their environmental occurrence has to be accurately monitored in order to guarantee appropriate environmental management of coastal zones and to preserve marine coastal ecosystems and the goods and services they provide. In the framework of the STARECAPMED project, the present study aimed to monitor, for the first time, the coastal contamination of the entire Mediterranean by As, Ag, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni and Pb, using Posidonia oceanica as bioindicator species. But sustainable coastal management also requires the development of appropriate contamination classification systems intended, among other purposes, for environmental managers and policy makers. The combined utilization of several complementary monitoring tools, i.e. water quality scale, pollution index (TEPI and TESVI) and spatial analysis (PCA, CA, correlation analysis and GIS mapping) successfully led to the development of an operational classification system of this kind. In particular, the mapping of the trace element contamination according to a new proposed 5-level water quality scale using the quantile method precisely outlined the contamination severity along Mediterranean coasts and facilitated interregional comparisons. The reliability of the use of P. oceanica as bioindicator species was further again demonstrated through several global, regional and local detailed case studies. In conclusion, holistic approaches such as developed in the present study should be privileged to accurately monitor the contamination rate of coastal waters and to transfer relevant information on this composite problem to environmental managers and policy makers.

A large scale survey of the trace element (TE) contamination of Mediterranean coastal waters was performed from the analysis of Ag, As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni and Pb in the bioindicator Posidonia oceanica, sampled at 110 sites differing by their levels of exposure to contaminants. The holistic approach developed in this study, based on the combined utilization of several complementary monitoring tools, i.e. water quality scale, pollution index and spatial analysis, accurately assessed the TE contamination rate of Mediterranean coastal waters. In particular, the mapping of the TE contamination according to a new proposed 5-level water quality scale precisely outlined the contamination severity along Mediterranean coasts and facilitated interregional comparisons. Finally, the reliability of the use of P. oceanica as bioindicator species was again demonstrated through several global, regional and local detailed case studies.NB: The designations employed and the presentation of the information in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the authors concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biological indicators have the capacity to integrate the temporal changes of contaminants, concentrations or fluxes over various time-scales, and are thus considered as interesting tools for water quality biomonitoring. Since the mid-70ies, French programs have developed water monitoring approaches based on the use of bivalve molluscs; and recently the natural background and the extent of water contamination were bioassessed at the scale of the whole western Mediterranean. But even if bivalve molluscs are viewed as reliable bioindicators, their use is not always made easy as a result of their absence in numerous coastal regions that force their transplantation (cages) during several months before their sampling and analysis. This weakness led several scientists to evaluate the bioindicator abilities of other marine organisms. Seagrasses, whose ability to bioaccumulate contaminants proportionally to environmental contamination levels has been clearly demonstrated, have thus been proposed as an appropriate alternative tool for coastal water quality assessment. Very little studies have however so far considered the combined utilization of these two groups of bioindicator organisms, i.e. caged bivalve molluscs and seagrasses. In the framework of the STARECAPMED project, we therefore compared and discussed the bioaccumulation of trace elements in the Neptune grass Posidonia oceanica and in caged Mediterranean mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis . The sampling was performed at the scale of the western Mediterranean. The two species told two contamination stories which, although sometimes different, showed to be complementary. P. oceanica and M. galloprovincialis bioaccumulated dissolved trace elements from the water column and thus provided information regarding trace element contamination severity integrated over several days to a few months. Seagrasses, strongly rooted in the sediments, reflected the long-term exposure to trace elements since sediments offer a degree of time integration over several years to decades. Caged mussels, as filter feeder artificially maintained in the water column, bioaccumulated trace elements from their particulate phase, and therefore gave valuable information regarding continental-terrigenous inputs to coastal waters. In conclusion, seagrasses and mussels should neither supplant, nor substitute, but rather complement each other in order to provide the full time- and space-integrated coastal contamination story of the Mediterranean.

The black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus) is a common plant species in saltmarshes of the Gulf of Mexico. Our knowledge of the trophic fate of the plant’s productivity, which is important for an understanding of marsh functionality, is incomplete. Here we examine the productivity and trophic fate (herbivory, decomposition and biomass storage) of two black needlerush-dominated marshes in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We also investigate the effects of low intensity, short duration (1.5 years) nutrient inputs. The marshes experienced low rates of leaf herbivory and decomposition, thereby leaving most leaf production available for storage in the marsh or export to other systems. The marshes also featured large pools of belowground biomass, which indicates an important role as carbon reservoirs. Our nutrient inputs did not affect significantly the plant’s productivity and trophic fate. These results suggest black needlerush marshes may be resistant to low intensity, short-term nutrient inputs. However studies with other marsh plants have shown that longer, more intense nutrient inputs may lead to larger and diverse effects on plant productivity and trophic fate. Establishing the nutrient dose rates at which significant impacts occur on plant productivity and trophic fate in these and other marshes deserves more research.

The combined effects of contaminants and nutrients released from sediment into the water column during resuspension-mixing events were assessed on the phytoplankton composition and productivity in the anthropized lagoon of Bizerte (Tunisia, Mediterranean Sea). During a 4-day experiment, phytoplankton was exposed in in situ immersed microcosms to sediment elutriates (untreated: El and sterilized: S-El), prepared from a sediment resuspension simulation process, and its responses were evaluated and compared with controls. Elutriate addition resulted in an enrichment of the water with contaminants (mix of metals and PAHs) and nutrients (NO2-, NH4+, PO43-, Si(OH)(4)). The resulting contaminant enrichment was similar among treatments, but the nutrient enrichment was slightly higher in the S-El treatment than in the El treatment. Our results show that both elutriates strongly stimulated phytoplankton growth. They also show that the S-El-induced shifts in the phytoplankton community composition slightly enhanced the species diversity, whereas the El did not seem to have any effect on the phytoplankton community composition. In addition, our results show that the net production was stimulated by both elutriate treatments, after 24 h and 48 h of exposure to S-El and El. During the first hours, both elutriates induced a prompt increase in respiration, resulting in a temporary (2-3 days) switch of the systems from net autotrophy (P:R > 1) to net heterotrophy (P:R < 1). Hence in anthropized coastal environments, sediment resuspensions are likely to have significant effects on the structure and productivity of pelagic primary producers, and thereby on carbon transfer throughout food webs.

In shallow human-impacted systems, sediment resuspension events can result in pulsed exposures of pelagic organisms to multiple contaminants. Here, we examined the impact of the resuspension of contaminated sediment on phytoplankton in the Biguglia lagoon (Corsica, Mediterranean Sea), by conducting an in situ microcosm experiment over a 96-h period. Natural phytoplankton was exposed to elutriates prepared from a contaminated-sediment resuspension simulating process, and its functional and structural responses were compared with those of non-exposed phytoplankton. The elutriates displayed moderate multiple contamination by trace metals and PAHs. Our results show that elutriate exposure induced both functional and structural phytoplankton changes. Elutriates strongly stimulated phytoplankton growth after 24 h of exposure. They also enhanced phytoplankton photosynthetic performance during the first hours of exposure (up to 48 h), before reducing it toward the end of the experiment. Elutriates were also found to slightly stimulate Bacillariophyceae and conversely to slightly inhibit Dinophyceae in the short term. Additionally, they were found to stimulate phycocyanin-rich picocyanobacteria in the short term (8-48 h) before inhibiting it in the longer term (72-96 h), and to inhibit eukaryotic nanophytoplankton in the short term (8-48 h) before stimulating it in the longer term (72-96 h). Sediment resuspensions are thus likely to have significant effects on the global dynamics and functions of phytoplankton in contaminated coastal environments. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The objectives of this study were to (i) assess trace metal concentrations in Hydrilla verticillata and sediment from an estuarine creek in Alabama (USA), where high metal levels in biota were previously reported, and (ii) investigate the relationship between metal concentrations in H. verticillata and the sediment compartment. Our results indicate that sediment and H. verticillata exhibit moderate metal concentrations in the study area. We found that levels in plant tissues can be up to five times higher than in the sediment (e.g., Cd), suggesting that H. verticillata can take up and store several trace metals (Cd, Hg, Ni, and Zn) from this compartment. Together with studies focused on the uptake and accumulation of trace metals from the surrounding water, laboratory- and field-based studies are needed to better evaluate this plant's ability to acquire metals from the sediment that constitutes a contaminant sink in human-impacted coastal regions.

Understanding what controls the capacity of a coastal lagoon ecosystem to recover following climatic and anthropogenic perturbations and how these perturbations can alter this capacity is critical to efficient environmental management. The goal of this study was to examine the resilience and stability of Cymodocea nodosa-dominated seagrass meadows in Urbino lagoon (Corsica, Mediterranean Sea) by characterizing the spatio-temporal dynamics of seagrass meadows over a 40-year period and comparing (anthropogenic and climatic) environmental fluctuations. The spatio-temporal evolution of seagrass meadows was investigated using previous maps (1973, 1979, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999) and a 2011 map realized by aerial photography-remote sensing combined with GIS technology. Environmental fluctuation was investigated via physical-chemical parameters (rainfall, water temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen) and human-impact changes (aquaculture, artificial channel). The results showed a severe decline (estimated at -49%) in seagrass meadows between 1973 and 1994 followed by a period of strong recovery (estimated to +42%) between 1994 and 2011. Increased turbidity, induced either by rainfall events, dredging or phytoplankton growth, emerged as the most important driver of the spatio-temporal evolution of Cymodocea nodosa-dominated meadows in Urbino lagoon over the last four decades. Climate events associated to increased turbidity and reduced salinity and temperature could heavily impact seagrass dynamics. This study shows that Urbino lagoon, a system relatively untouched by human impact, shelters seagrass meadows that exhibit high resilience and stability. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In coastal environments, plants are used for phytoremediation of contamination. Organic and inorganic contaminants may be due to natural and/or anthropogenic sources. The aim of this study is to compare inorganic (trace metal) and organic (PAH) contamination in Posidonia oceanica and to analyse the relationship between these types of pollutants indeed very few studies have been interested in their correlations and common sources. P. oceanica leaves were collected in two sites exhibiting different levels of human-induced pressure. Higher values were recorded in the more polluted site (Toulon) for trace metals (Ag, Hg, Pb) as well as for PAHs (Medium Molecular Weight and High Molecular Weight) due to the presence of the city and/or harbour in proximity. For the first time in a coastal environment, correlations were observed between metals and PAHs.

The overarching goal of this in situ study was to investigate the integrated impact(s) that metal/metalloid contamination might have on the overall health and performance of the ecologically important aquatic macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis. Morphological (i.e., shoot growth-based endpoints) and photo-physiological (i.e., photosynthetic activity measured as chlorophyll a fluorescence and oxygen exchange) variables, along with aboveground tissue metal/metalloid concentrations, were measured in natural populations of V. neotropicalis that differed with respect to their anthropogenic pressure. With the exception of an overall negative effect on growth, our results suggest that there were no detrimental effects of low/moderate contamination of V. neotropicalis by trace elements (i.e., arsenic As and mercury Hg; 1.04-2.77 μg g(-1) dry wt. and 3.76-15.18 ng g(-1) dry wt., respectively) on the photosynthetic physiological performance of this species. V. neotropicalis appears to tolerate low/moderate levels of trace element contamination with little impact on plant health and performance.

Arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) are among the most toxic metals/metalloids. The overall goal of this study was to investigate the bioaccumulation of these trace elements in Vallisneria neotropicalis, a key trophic species in aquatic environments. For this purpose, As and Hg concentrations were determined in sediments and natural populations of V. neotropicalis in sub-estuaries of Mobile Bay (Alabama, USA), differing with respect to past and present anthropogenic impact. Analyses indicate that the Fish River is the most contaminated among the sub-estuaries investigated; levels of As found in Fish River sediments fall within a range that could potentially cause adverse effects in biota. Sediment As concentrations were only moderately correlated with those in V. neotropicalis; no correlation was found between sediment and plant Hg levels. However, several parameters could have masked such potential relationships (e.g., differences in sediment characteristics and “biological dilution” phenomena). Results presented herein highlight the numerous parameters that can influence metal/metalloids accumulation in aquatic plants as well as species-specific responses to trace element contamination. Finally, this study underscores the need for further investigation into contaminant bioaccumulation in ecologically and economically important coastal environments.

Metal concentrations have been measured in blades of the endemic Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, along transects from three different contaminant point sources (the former asbestos mine of Canari - Corsica, France; the chemical plant of Solvay/Rosignano - Livorno, Italy; and the industrial harbour of Porto-Torres - Sardinia, Italy). The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial extent of the impact of these sources in terms of metal contamination. The results showed that metal contamination from the former mine of Canari (cobalt - Co, chromium - Cr and nickel - Ni) extends at least 5 km to the north and south. The impact of this mine, which closed in 1965, seems to be lingering still. Mercury (Hg) contamination in the Livorno location was difficult to evaluate due to the presence of others potential sources of mercury in the area (e.g. industrialized city of Livorno, natural cinnabar deposits, intense tectonic activity of the area). At any rate, mercury concentration decreased strongly with distance from the plant. Lead (Pb) contamination at the Porto-Torres harbour was very low and disappeared with distance from the harbour. However, as the Porto-Torres harbour does not appear as a substantial point source of Pb contamination and because of the ubiquitous characteristic of the Pb element, it is difficult to draw any general conclusions concerning this element. The results presented in this study demonstrated the usefulness of the seagrass P. oceanica as a tool for the evaluation of the spatial extent of metal contaminations from point sources and could, therefore, contribute to on-going efforts to manage coastal environments. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This study aims at determining the metal concentrations in blades and sheaths of Posidonia oceanica adult leaves, in 16 stations of the Corsican coastline. It shows that except for Cr, all the metals are preferentially accumulated in the blades. This result is particularly interesting as it means that trace metals analyses may be carried out only on the blades avoiding thus the removal of the shoots. Moreover, this study shows that metal concentrations generally fall within the range of the lowest values available in literature and may reflect the "background noise" of the Mediterranean. Station 15 (Canari) can however be distinguished from the others due to its high Co, Cr and Ni concentrations. This result may be related to the presence of a previous asbestos mine, located near this station. Therefore, this study reinforces the relevance of the use of P. oceanica as a tracer of metal contamination.