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Drivers of variation in seagrass-associated amphipods across biogeographical areas

Publication . Navarro-Mayoral, Sandra; Tuya, Fernando; Prado, Patricia; Marco-Méndez, Candela; Fernandez-Gonzalez, Victoria; Fernández-Torquemada, Yolanda; Espino, Fernando; Antonio de la Ossa, Jose; Vilella, David Mateu; Machado, Margarida; Martínez-Crego, Begoña

Amphipods are one of the dominant epifaunal groups in seagrass meadows. However, our understanding of the biogeographical patterns in the distribution of these small crustaceans is limited. In this study, we investigated such patterns and the potential drivers in twelve Cymodocea nodosa meadows within four distinctive biogeo-graphical areas across 2000 Km and 13 degrees of latitude in two ocean basins (Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean). We found that species abundances in the assemblage of seagrass-associated amphipods differed among areas following a pattern largely explained by seagrass leaf area and epiphyte biomass, while the variation pattern in species presence/absence was determined by seagrass density and epiphyte biomass. Seagrass leaf area was also the most important determinant of greater amphipod total density and species richness, while amphipod density also increased with algal cover. Overall, our results evidenced that biogeographical patterns of variation in amphipod assemblages are mainly influenced by components of the habitat structure, which covary with envi-ronmental conditions, finding that structurally more complex meadows harboring higher abundance and rich-ness of amphipods associated.

2023Journal article

Open Access

Benthic foraminifera and pore water carbonate chemistry on a tidal flat and salt marsh at Ria Formosa, Algarve, Portugal

Publication . Schönfeld, Joachim; Mendes, Isabel

Benthic foraminifera showed a vertical zonation in tidally influenced salt marshes, which has been used for sea level reconstructions. Growing evidence suggested that freshwater influx, salinity, or the pH of interstitial waters has also an impact on the foraminiferal distribution. A tidal flat and salt marsh transect was investigated in the north-western Ria Formosa coastal lagoon, Algarve, Portugal, to constrain the relationship of benthic foraminifera, halophytes, and pore water properties. The dominance of saltworts from the subfamily Salicornioideae and landward increasing soil salinities depicted evaporation as governing environmental factor. The carbonate chemistry from lagoonal and pore waters identified anoxic tidal flat sediments of as main source of total alkalinity. The alkalinity was lower in the salt marsh, where the pCO(2) was extremely high. Salt marsh pore waters showed a high variability of carbonate system parameters, which mirrored small-scale spatial heterogeneities in the soil. The distribution of textulariid salt marsh foraminifera was confined to the vegetated zones, where their abundance increased with elevation. Calcareous species were frequent on the tidal flat and in the highest salt marsh. Many of them were specialised to high salinities or to extreme and variable environmental conditions. Two levels of faunal change in the salt marsh coincide with vegetation zonal boundaries, mean tide or mean high water levels. The two other faunal changes were related to changes in calcite saturation state or organic carbon concentrations. The proportion of textulariids showed a negative correlation with submergence time or eleva-tion, and a significant correlation with pore water pCO(2). The faunal distribution, pore water calcite saturation, and Ammonia dissolution patterns indicated that calcareous species specialised to tolerate carbonate-corrosive conditions prevailed even at lowest saturation levels.

2022Journal article

Restricted

Taurine supplementation to Plant-Based Diets improves lipid metabolism in Senegalese Sole

Publication . Raquel Cêa de Aragão Teixeira, Cláudia; Teodósio, Rita; Colen, R.; Richard, Nadège; Rønnestad, Ivar; Dias, Jorge; Conceição, Luís E. C.; Ribeiro, Laura

Taurine is a sulphur-containing amino acid with important physiological roles and a key compound for the synthesis of bile salts, which are essential for the emulsion and absorption of dietary lipids. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of taurine supplementation to low-fishmeal diets on the metabolism of taurine, bile acids, and lipids of Senegalese sole. A fishmeal (FM) and a plant-protein-based (PP0) diet were formulated, and the latter was supplemented with taurine at 0.5 and 1.5% (diets PP0.5 and PP1.5). Diets were assigned to triplicate tanks containing 35 fish (initial weight ~14 g) for 6 weeks. Fish from the PP0 treatment presented lower taurine and bile-acid concentrations compared with the FM treatment, and a downregulation of cyp7a1 and abcb11 was observed. Triolein catabolism decreased in PP0-fed fish, resulting in increased hepatic fat content and plasma triglycerides, while no effects on plasma cholesterol were observed. Taurine supplementation to plant-based diets resulted in a higher taurine accumulation in fish tissues, increased bile-acid concentration, and upregulation of cyp7a1 and abcb11. Hepatic fat content and plasma triglycerides decreased with increasing dietary taurine supplementation. Taurine supplementation mitigated part of the negative effects of plant-based diets, leading to better lipid utilisation.

2023-04-28Journal article

Open Access

Worldwide cases of water pollution by emerging contaminants: a review

Publication . Morin-Crini, Nadia; Lichtfouse, Eric; Liu, Guorui; Balaram, Vysetti; Ribeiro, Ana Rita Lado; Lu, Zhijiang; Stock, Friederike; Carmona, Eric; Teixeira, Margarida Ribau; Picos-Corrales, Lorenzo A.; Moreno-Piraján, Juan Carlos; Giraldo, Liliana; Li, Cui; Pandey, Abhishek; Hocquet, Didier; Torri, Giangiacomo; Crini, Grégorio

Water contamination by emerging contaminants is increasing in the context of rising urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture production. Emerging contaminants refers to contaminants for which there is currently no regulation requiring monitoring or public reporting of their presence in our water supply or wastewaters. There are many emerging contaminants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, drugs, cosmetics, personal care products, surfactants, cleaning products, industrial formulations and chemicals, food additives, food packaging, metalloids, rare earth elements, nanomaterials, microplastics, and pathogens. The main sources of emerging contaminants are domestic discharges, hospital effluents, industrial wastewaters, runoff from agriculture, livestock and aquaculture, and landfill leachates. In particular, effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants are major contributors to the presence of emerging contaminants in waters. Although many chemicals have been recently regulated as priority hazardous substances, conventional plants for wastewater and drinking water treatment were not designed to remove most emerging contaminants. Here, we review key examples of contamination in China, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. Examples include persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, dibenzofurans, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, in lake and ocean ecosystems in China; emerging contaminants such as alkylphenols, natural and synthetic estrogens, antibiotics, and antidepressants in Portuguese rivers; and pharmaceuticals, hormones, cosmetics, personal care products, and pesticides in Mexican, Brazilian, and Colombian waters. All continents are affected by these contaminants. Wastewater treatment plants should therefore be upgraded, e.g., by addition of tertiary treatment systems, to limit environmental pollution.

2022Journal article

Restricted

Exposure to silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles at supra-environmental concentrations decreased sperm motility and affected spermatozoa subpopulations in gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata

Publication . Oliveira, Catarina; Ferrão, Leonor; Gallego, Victor; Mieiro, Cláudia; Oliveira, Isabel B.; Carvalhais, Ana; Pachedo, Mário; Cabrita, Elsa

Marine pollution by nanoparticles (NPs) can be reprotoxic for fish and disturb successful reproduction of wild populations. In gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), a mild effect on sperm motility was observed after exposure to high concentrations of silver NPs. Considering the great heterogeneity traits within a sperm sample, it is possible that NPs affect spermatozoa accordingly, modulating subpopulation profile. Thus, this work aimed to analyse NP effects in sperm motility in general and considering spermatozoa population structure, using a subpopulation approach. Seabream sperm samples from mature males were exposed for 1 h to increasing concentrations of titanium dioxide (1, 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000 & mu;g L-1) and silver (0.25, 25 and 250 & mu;g L-1) NPs, including Ag NP and Ag+, dissolved in a non-activating medium (0.9 % NaCl). Concentrations chosen include realistic (10-100 and 0.25 & mu;g L-1, respectively, for TiO2 and Ag) and supra-environmental values. The mean particle diameter was determined as 19.34 & PLUSMN; 6.72 and 21.50 & PLUSMN; 8.27 nm in the stock suspension, respectively, for titanium dioxide and silver. After the ex vivo exposure, sperm motility parameters were determined using computer-assisted sperm analysis, and sperm subpopulations were later identified using a two-step cluster analysis. Results revealed a significant reduction in total motility after exposure to the 2 highest concentrations of titanium dioxide NPs, while curvilinear and straight-line velocities were not altered. Exposure to silver NPs (Ag NP and Ag+) lowered significantly total and progressive motilities at all concentrations, while curvilinear and straight-line velocities were significantly lower only at the highest concentration. Sperm subpopulations were also affected by the exposure to both titanium dioxide and silver NPs. In both cases, the highest levels of NPs triggered a decrease in the percentage of fast sperm subpopulations (38.2% in TiO2 1000 & mu;g L-1, 34.8.% in Ag NP 250 & mu;g L-1, and 45.0% in Ag+ 250 & mu;g L-1 vs 53.4% in the control), while an increase on slow sperm subpopulations. A reprotoxic effect was proven for both NPs, but only at supra-environmental concentrations.

2023-07Journal article

Open Access