Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T01:24:39.294Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Foraminifera as potential bio-indicators of the “Erika” oil spillin the Bay of Bourgneuf: Field and experimental studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2004

Julie Morvan ,
Valérie Le Cadre ,
Frans Jorissen  and
Jean-Pierre Debenay
Julie Morvan
Affiliation:
Université d'Angers, UPRES-EA (Unité Propre de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur-Équipe d'Accueil) 2644, Laboratoire des bio-indicateurs actuels et fossiles, 2 Bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers Cedex 01, France and LEBIM (Laboratoire d'étude des bio-indicateurs marins), 85350 Ile d'Yeu, France
Valérie Le Cadre
Affiliation:
Université Bretagne Sud, LAUBS, Centre de recherche et d'enseignement Y. COPPENS, Campus de Tohannic, 56017 Vannes, France
Frans Jorissen
Affiliation:
Université d'Angers, UPRES-EA (Unité Propre de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur-Équipe d'Accueil) 2644, Laboratoire des bio-indicateurs actuels et fossiles, 2 Bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers Cedex 01, France and LEBIM (Laboratoire d'étude des bio-indicateurs marins), 85350 Ile d'Yeu, France
Jean-Pierre Debenay
Affiliation:
Université d'Angers, UPRES-EA (Unité Propre de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur-Équipe d'Accueil) 2644, Laboratoire des bio-indicateurs actuels et fossiles, 2 Bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers Cedex 01, France and LEBIM (Laboratoire d'étude des bio-indicateurs marins), 85350 Ile d'Yeu, France
Get access

Abstract

Benthic foraminifera are used as potential bio-indicators of pollution due to the “Erika” oil spill. The foraminiferal assemblages from a site situated on the tidal mudflat of the southern Bay of Bourgneuf (Vendée, France) have been sampled 19 times on a monthly/bimonthly scale. The field study reveals uncommon low densities and poor faunas in the first 21 months of the survey. In order to understand the effect of the “Erika” fuel, foraminiferal cultures with 0 to 72.0 mg per 100 ml of “Erika” oil were maintained in controlled conditions in the laboratory. In the laboratory, an experiment with 5.5 mg per 100 ml of oil shows morphological abnormalities, cellular modifications and a low rate of reproduction. These first results confirm the potential toxicity of the fuel No. 2 from “Erika” and the sensitivity of foraminifera to this pollutant.

Keywords

ForaminiferaBio-indicatorsCulturesOil spillNorth Atlantic coast
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 17 , Issue 3: The "Erika" Oil Spill: Environmental Contamination and Effects in the Bay of Biscay , July 2004 , pp. 317 - 322
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alve, E., 1991, Benthic foraminifera in sediment cores reflecting heavy metal pollution in Sorfjord, Western Norway. J. Foramin. Res. 21, 1-19. CrossRef
Alve, E., 1995, Benthic foraminiferal responses to estuarine pollution: A review. J. Foramin. Res. 25, 190-203. CrossRef
Amiard, J.-C., Ettajani, H., Jeantet, A.-Y., Ballan-Dufrançais, C., Amiard-Triquet, C., 1995, Bioavailabality and toxicity of sediment bound lead to a filter-feeder bivalve Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg). Biometals 8, 280-289. CrossRef
Bonetti C., Eichler B.B., Debenay J.-P., Bonetti Filho J., Montone R., Bocego M. C., Taniguchi S., Nishigima F., Sarkis J.S., 1999, Benthic foraminifers tolerants to organic persistent and heavy metal pollution in estuarine ecosystem. Quaternary micropaleontology: ecological studies and paleoenvironment applications, Porto Seguro-Bahia, Brazil.
Cajaraville, M.P., Bebianno, M.J., Blasco, J., Porte, C., Sarasquete, C., Viarengo, A., 2000, The use of biomarkers to assess the impact of pollution in coastal environment of the Iberian Peninsula: a practical approach. Sci. Total Environ. 247, 295-311. CrossRef
Carr, R.S., Chapman, D.C., Presley, B.J., Biebenbach, J.M., Robertson, L., Boothe, P., Kilada, R., Wade, T., Montagna, P., 1996, Sediment porewater toxicity assessment studies in the vicinity of offshore oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 53, 2618-2628. CrossRef
de Rijk, S., 1995, Salinity control on the distribution of salt marsh foraminifera (Great Marshes, Massachusetts). J. Foramin. Res. 25, 156-166. CrossRef
Debenay, J.-P., Guillou, J.J., 2002, Ecological transitions indicated by foraminiferal assemblages in paralic environments. Estuaries 25, 1107-1120. CrossRef
Debenay J.-P., Guillou J.-J., Redois F., Geslin E., 2000, Distribution Trends of Foraminiferal Assemblages in Paralic Environments. A Base for Foraminifera as Bioindicators. In: Martin R.E. (Ed.), Environmental Micropaleontology: The Application of Microfossils to Environmental Geology. Topics in Geobiology. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp. 39-67.
Domouhtsidou, G.P., Dimitriadis, V.K., 2001, Lysosomal and lipid alterations in the digestive gland of mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis (L.) as biomarkers of environmental stress. Environ. Pollut. 115, 123-137. CrossRef
Geffard, O., Geffard, A., His, E., Budzinski, H., 2003, Assessment of the bioavailability and toxicity of sediment-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals applied to Crassostrea gigas embryos and larvae. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 46, 481-490. CrossRef
Geslin E., 1999, Impact des stress environnementaux sur les peuplements, la morphologie et la texture des foraminifères paraliques : implications pour leur utilisation comme bioindicateurs. Thèse de Doctorat, Université d'Angers, France.
Geslin E., Stouff V., Debenay J.-P., Lesourd M., 2000, Environmental Variation and Foraminiferal Test Abnormalities. In: Martin R.E. (Ed.), Environmental Micropaleontology: The Application of Microfossils to Environmental Geology. Topics in Geobiology. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp. 191-215.
Le Cadre V., 2003, Impact de stress naturels et de polluants sur la morphologie et la cytologie des foraminifères en culture - Implications pour leur utilisation comme biomarqueurs. Thèse de Doctorat, Université d'Angers, France.
Le Cadre, V., Debenay, J.-P., Lesourd, M., 2003, Low pH effects on Ammonia beccarii test deformation: Implications for using test deformations as a pollution indicator. J. Foramin. Res. 33, 1-9. CrossRef
Le Hir, M., Hily, C., 2002, First observations in a high rocky-shore community after the Erika oil spill (December 1999, Brittany, France). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 44, 1243-1252. CrossRef
Locklin, J.A., Maddocks, R.F., 1982, Recent foraminifera around petroleum production platforms on the Southwest Louisiana shelf. Trans. Gulf coast Assoc. Geol. Soc. 32, 377-397.
Mayer E.M., 1980, Foraminifera of the Gaspian and Aral Seas. Unpubl. Ph. D. Thesis, Moscow University, Moscow.
Maskaoui, K., Zhou, J.L., Hong, H.S., Zhang, Z.L., 2002, Contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Jiulong River Estuary and Western Xiamen Sea, China. Environ. Pollut. 118, 109-122. CrossRef
Murray, J.W., 1971, Living foraminiferids of tidal marshes: A review. J. Foramin. Res. 1, 153-161. CrossRef
Redois, F., Debenay, J.-P., 1996, Influence du confinement sur la répartition des foraminifères benthiques : exemple de l'estran d'une ria mésotidale de Bretagne méridionale. Rev. Paléobiol. 15, 243-260.
Redois, F., Debenay, J.-P., 1999, Répartition des foraminifères benthiques actuels sur le plateau continental sénégalais au sud de Dakar. Oceanol. Acta 22, 215-232. CrossRef
Ruiz, F., González-Regalado, M.L., Borrego, J., Abad, M., Pendón, J.G., 2004, Ostracoda and foraminifera as short-term tracers of environmental changes in very polluted areas: the Odiel Estuary (SW Spain). Environ. Pollut. 129, 49-61. CrossRef
Samir, A.M., 2000, The response of benthic foraminifera and ostracods to various pollution sources: a study from two lagoons in Egypt. J. Foramin. Res. 30, 83-98. CrossRef
Samir, A.M., El-Din, A.B., 2001, Benthic foraminiferal assemblages and morphological abnormalities as pollution proxies in two Egyptian bays. Mar. Micropaleontol. 41, 193-227. CrossRef
Sharifi, A.R., Croudace, I.W., Austin, R.L., 1991, Benthic foraminiferids as pollution indicators in Southampton Water, Southern England, U. K. J. Micropalaeontol. 10, 109-113. CrossRef
Stouff V., 1998, Intérêt des élevages de foraminifères en laboratoire : études biologiques et ultrastructurales. Thèse de Doctorat, Université d'Angers, France.
Stouff, V., Debenay, J.-P., Lesourd, M., 1999a, Origin of double and multiple tests in benthic foraminifera: observations in laboratory cultures. Mar. Micropaleontol. 36, 189-204. CrossRef
Stouff, V., Geslin, E., Debenay, J.-P., Lesourd, M., 1999b, Origin of morphological abnormalities in Ammonia (Foraminifera): Studies in laboratory and natural environments. J. Foramin. Res. 29, 152-170. CrossRef
Vénec-Peyré, M.-T., 1981, Les Foraminifères et la pollution : étude de la microfaune de la cale du Dourduff (embouchure de la rivière de Morlaix). Cah. Biol. Mar. 22, 25-33.
Walton, W.R., 1952, Techniques for recognition of living foraminifera. Contrib. Cush. Foundat. Foramin. Res. 3, 56-60.
Yanko, V., Ahmad, M., Kaminski, M.A., 1998, Morphological deformities of benthic foraminiferal tests to response to pollution by heavy metals: Implications for pollution momitoring. J. Foramin. Res. 28, 177-200.
Yanko V., 1997, Benthic foraminifera as bio-indicators of stress environment: Anthropogenic problems-Foraminiferal solution. First International Conference, Application of Micropaleontology in Environment Sciences, Tel Aviv, Israel, pp. 117-119.
Yanko V., Arnold A.J., Parker W.C., 1999, Effects of Marine Pollution on Benthic Foraminifera. In: Sen Gupta B.K. (Ed.), Modern Foraminifera. Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 217-235.
Yanko V., Flexer A., 1992, Meiofauna as possible indicator of hydrocarbons seepages, method for oil-gas trap reconnaissance. Annual Meeting of the Geological Society, Ashkelon, Israel, pp.169-170.
Yanko, V., Kronfeld, J., Flexer, A., 1994, Response to benthic foraminifera to various pollution sources: Implication for pollution monitoring. J. Foramin. Res. 24, 1-17. CrossRef
Zhou, J.L., Maskaoui, K., 2003, Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and surface sediments from Daya Bay, China. Environ. Pollut. 121, 269-281. CrossRef