Journal ArticleDOI
Sponges as biomonitors of heavy metals in spatial and temporal surveys in northwestern mediterranean: Multispecies comparison
TLDR
Crambe crambe provided accurate information on the background levels of metals in the area at both spatial and temporal scales, and furthermore it reflected seasonal fluctuations of the bioavailable metals, which would be impossible to assess by means of a sediment survey.Abstract:
Contamination by heavy metals has increased drastically in the coastal Mediterranean during the last 20 years. A comparative study on metal bioaccumulation by four widespread sponge species (Crambe crambe, Chondrosia reniformis, Phorbas tenacior, and Dysidea avara) has been performed to select the most suitable species for metal monitoring. Copper bioaccumulation fits an accumulation strategy while Pb concentration seems to be regulated in most sponges. Crambe crambe was the only studied species that bioaccumulated Pb and Cu as a function of the available metal, proving its suitability for monitoring purposes. Then, we examined its effectiveness as a bioindicator at large spatial and temporal scales, comparing metal accumulation in this species and in sediments. Crambe crambe provided accurate information on the background levels of metals in the area at both spatial and temporal scales, and furthermore it reflected seasonal fluctuations of the bioavailable metals, which would be impossible to assess by means of a sediment survey.read more
Citations
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Sponge Mass Mortalities in a Warming Mediterranean Sea: Are Cyanobacteria-Harboring Species Worse Off?
TL;DR: The sponge disease reported here led to a severe decrease in the abundance of the surveyed populations, representing one of the most dramatic mass mortality events to date in the Mediterranean Sea.
Journal ArticleDOI
Pollution impacts and recovery potential in three species of the genus Cystoseira (Fucales, Heterokontophyta)
TL;DR: Reduced survival and growth of specimens at the highly polluted area suggested that the disappearance of Cystoseira stands was due to heavy metal pollution, while the healthy state exhibited by specimens transplanted to the slightly polluted area indicated that the current water quality in this area was good enough for the recovery of CyStoseira populations.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sponges and sediments as monitoring tools of metal contamination in the eastern coast of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia.
TL;DR: The strong ability to accumulate specific metals and the diversity of sponges that live in the Red Sea coastal areas make them a promising biomonitor of metal contamination in the areas.
Journal ArticleDOI
Harbor networks as introduction gateways: contrasting distribution patterns of native and introduced ascidians
TL;DR: It is shown that harbors act as dispersal strongholds for introduced species, with native species only appearing sporadically, and that harbor type and geographic location should also be considered when developing management plans to constrain the spread of non-indigenous species in highly urbanized coastlines.
Journal ArticleDOI
An Overview on Marine Sponge-Symbiotic Bacteria as Unexhausted Sources for Natural Product Discovery
TL;DR: An overview on bioactive marine symbiotic organisms with specific emphasis placed on the sponge-associated ones is provided and the international scientific community is invited to contribute towards establishment of in-depth information of the environmental parameters defining selection and acquisition of true symbionts by the host organisms.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Comparisons of Treatments After an Analysis of Variance in Ecology
Robert W. Day,Gerald P Quinn +1 more
TL;DR: The statistical literature on tests to compare treatments after the analysis of variance is reviewed, and the use of these tests in ecology is examined, and particular strategies are recommended.
Journal ArticleDOI
Marine Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: Situation, Problems and Prospects for Future Research
C. Nike Bianchi,Carla Morri +1 more
TL;DR: A rough estimate of more than 8500 species of macroscopic marine organisms should live in the Mediterranean Sea, corresponding to somewhat between 4% and 18% of the world marine species.
Journal ArticleDOI
Biomonitoring of heavy metal availability in the marine environment
TL;DR: It is not valid to compare absolute accumulated metal concentrations in biomonitors interspecifically, although interspecific comparisions of rank orders do allow cross correlations of relative bioavailabilities of heavy metals to different biomonitor at the same sites.
Book
Biomonitoring of Trace Aquatic Contaminants
TL;DR: The early use of biomonitors for aquatic contaminants was discussed in this article, where the authors defined and defined the green revolution aquatic contaminants of concern, the early use and early development of bi-omonitors, the biomonitoring of trace metals and radionuclides, organochlorines and hydrocarbons monitoring trace contaminants in freshwater ecosystems, and the development of De Novo bi-monitoring programmes for trace contaminants monitoring the effects of contaminants.