Changes in zooplankton communities along a mercury contamination gradient in a coastal lagoon (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal)

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

卷:76

Article

Cardoso, Patricia Goncalves¹  Marques, Sonia Cotrim²  D'Ambrosio, Mariaelena¹  Pereira, Eduarda^4,5  Duarte, Armando Costa^4,5  Azeiteiro, Ulisses Miranda^2,3  Pardal, Miguel Angelo² 

[1] Univ Coimbra, IMAR Inst Marine Res, Dept Life Sci, P-3004517 Coimbra, Portugal

[2] Univ Coimbra, Dept Life Sci, CFE Ctr Funct Ecol, P-3001401 Coimbra, Portugal

[3] Univ Aberta, Dept Sci & Technol, P-4200055 Oporto, Portugal

[4] Univ Aveiro, Dept Chem, P-3810193 Aveiro, Portugal

[5] Univ Aveiro, CESAM, P-3810193 Aveiro, Portugal

关键词: Mercury;    Contamination gradient;    Estuaries;    Mesozooplankton;    Bioaccumulation;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.09.007

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The main objective of this paper was to evaluate the impact of mercury on the zooplankton communities' structure and functioning and their bioaccumulation patterns along a contamination gradient in a temperate coastal lagoon. Our results demonstrated that total abundance was not negatively affected by Hg contamination, since the most contaminated areas presented the highest values, being the copepod Acartia tonsa the dominant species, which means that it is a very well adapted and tolerant species to mercury. Nevertheless, negative effects were observed in terms of species diversity, since the most contaminated areas presented the lowest values of species richness, evenness and heterogeneity. Moreover, the spatial mercury gradient was reflected on the bioaccumulation patterns of the zooplankton communities. This reinforces the idea that zooplankton can be considered as an important vehicle of mercury transfer through the food pelagic web since it constitutes a primordial food resource for several commercial fish species. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free