High congruence of isotope sewage signals in multiple marine taxa

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

卷:71

Article

Connolly, Rod M.^1,2  Gorman, Daniel³  Hindell, Jeremy S.⁴  Kildea, Timothy N.⁵  Schlacher, Thomas A.⁶ 

[1] Griffith Univ, Australian Rivers Inst Coast & Estuaries, Gold Coast, Qld 4222, Australia

[2] Griffith Univ, Sch Environm, Gold Coast, Qld 4222, Australia

[3] South Australian Res & Dev Inst, West Beach, SA 5024, Australia

[4] Dept Sustainabil & Environm Victoria, Heidelberg, Vic 3084, Australia

[5] SA Water, Australian Water Qual Ctr, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia

[6] Univ Sunshine Coast, Fac Sci Hlth & Educ, Q-4558 Maroochydore, Australia

关键词: Sewage;    Nitrogen isotopes;    Monitoring;    Spatial gradients;    Coastal waters;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.03.021

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Assessments of sewage pollution routinely employ stable nitrogen isotope analysis (delta N-15) in biota, but multiple taxa are rarely used. This single species focus leads to underreporting of whether derived spatial N patterns are consistent. Here we test the question of 'reproducibility', incorporating 'taxonomic replication' in the measurement of delta N-15 gradients in algae, seagrasses, crabs and fish with distance from a sewage outfall on the Adelaide coast (southern Australia). Isotopic sewage signals were equally strong in all taxa and declined at the same rate. This congruence amongst taxa has not been reported previously. It implies that sewage-N propagates to fish via a tight spatial coupling between production and consumption processes, resulting from limited animal movement that closely preserves the spatial pollution imprint. In situations such as this where consumers mirror pollution signals of primary producers, analyses of higher trophic levels will capture a broader ambit of ecological effects. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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