Trophic Transfer of Trace Elements in an Isotopically Constructed Food Chain From a Semi-enclosed Marine Coastal Area (S
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Trophic Transfer of Trace Elements in an Isotopically Constructed Food Chain From a Semi-enclosed Marine Coastal Area (Stagnone di Marsala, Sicily, Mediterranean) Salvatrice Vizzini • Valentina Costa • Cecilia Tramati • Paola Gianguzza • Antonio Mazzola
Received: 13 December 2012 / Accepted: 10 June 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract Trace element accumulation is particularly important in coastal and transitional environments, which act as contaminant buffers between the continental and marine systems. We compared trace element transfer to the biota in two locations with different open-sea exposures in a semi-enclosed marine coastal area (Stagnone di Marsala, Sicily, Italy) using isotopically reconstructed food chains. Samples of sediment, macroalgae, seagrasses, invertebrates, fish, and bird feathers were sampled in July 2006 and analysed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (d13C, d15N) and trace elements (arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], total mercury [THg], and lead [Pb]). Trophic magnification factors were calculated through the relationships between trace elements and d15N in consumers. As and Pb were greater in organic matter sources (sediments and primary producers), whereas Cd and THg were greater in bird feathers. At the food chain level, an insignificant trophic transfer was found for all elements, suggesting biodilution rather than biomagnification. Sediments were more contaminated in the location with lower open-sea exposure. Macroalgae and seagrasses overall mirrored the spatial pattern highlighted in sediments, whereas differences between the two locations became further decreased moving toward higher trophic levels, indicating that trophic transfer of sediment and macrophyte-bound trace elements to the coastal lagoon food chain may be of relatively minor importance.
S. Vizzini (&) V. Costa C. Tramati P. Gianguzza A. Mazzola Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, CoNISMa, Universita` degli Studi di Palermo, via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy e-mail: [email protected]
Marine coastal areas are ecosystems of great ecological value due to their high productivity and their roles as nurseries for fish and in staging during bird migration. They are characterized by complex interactions among multiple factors, including abiotic, biotic, and anthropic. Naturally unstable environmental features due to shallowness and confinement from the open-sea produce stressful conditions (Reizopoulou and Nicolaidou 2004). In addition, the geographical continuity with terrestrial ecosystems determines continual exchange and transfer of organic and inorganic materials, thus often resulting in accumulation of organic matter (OM) and pollutants as well as alteration to the natural equilibrium (De Lacerda 1994). In particular, coastal basins act as buffers between the continental and open-sea systems retaining contaminants from different sources (industrial, domestic, and agricultural). As a consequence, these systems are often heavily impacted by human activities. Amo
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