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Beiras, R., Bellas, J., Cachot, J., Cormier, B., Cousin, X., Engwall, M., et al. (2018). Ingestion and contact with polyethylene microplastics does not cause acute toxicity on marine zooplankton. J. Hazard. Mater., 360, 452–460.
Résumé: Toxicity of polyethylene microplastics (PE-MP) of size ranges similar to their natural food to zooplanktonic organisms representative of the main taxa present in marine plankton, including rotifers, copepods, bivalves, echinoderms and fish, was evaluated. Early life stages (ELS) were prioritized as testing models in order to maximize sensitivity. Treatments included particles spiked with benzophenone-3 (BP-3), a hydrophobic organic chemical used in cosmetics with direct input in coastal areas. Despite documented ingestion of both virgin and BP-3 spiked microplastics no acute toxicity was found at loads orders of magnitude above environmentally relevant concentrations on any of the invertebrate models. In fish tests some effects, including premature or reduced hatching, were observed after 12 d exposure at 10 mg L-1 of BP-3 spiked PE-MP. The results obtained do not support environmentally relevant risk of microplastics on marine zooplankton. Similar approaches testing more hydrophobic chemicals with higher acute toxicity are needed before these conclusions could be extended to other organic pollutants common in marine ecosystems. Therefore, the replacement of these polymers in consumer products must be carefully considered.
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Ben Gharbia, H., Laabir, M., Ben Mhamed, A., Gueroun, S. K. M., Yahia, M. N. D., Nouri, H., et al. (2019). Occurrence of epibenthic dinoflagellates in relation to biotic substrates and to environmental factors in Southern Mediterranean (Bizerte Bay and Lagoon, Tunisia): An emphasis on the harmful Ostreopsis spp., Prorocentrum lima and Coolia monotis. Harmful Algae, 90, 101704.
Résumé: Harmful events associated with epibenthic dinoflagellates, have been reported more frequently over the last decades. Occurrence of potentially toxic benthic dinoflagellates, on the leaves of two magnoliophytes (Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera noltei) and thalli of the macroalgae (Ulva rigida), was monitored over one year (From May 2015 to April 2016) in the Bizerte Bay and Lagoon (North of Tunisia, Southern Mediterranean Sea). The investigated lagoon is known to be highly anthropized. This is the first report on the seasonal distribution of epibenthic dinoflagellates hosted by natural substrates, from two contrasted, adjacent coastal Mediterranean ecosystems. The environmental factors promoting the development of the harmful epibenthic dinoflagellates Ostreopsis spp., Prorocentrum lima and Coolia monotis were investigated. The highest cell densities were reached by Ostreopsis spp. (1.9 x 10(3) cells g(-1) FW, in October 2015), P. lima (1.6 x 10(3) cells g(-1) FW, in June 2015) and C. monotis (1.1 x 10(3) cells g(-1) FW, in May 2015). C. nodosa and Z. noltei were the most favorable host macrophytes for C. monotis (in station L2) and Ostreopsis spp. (in station L3), respectively. Positive correlations were recorded between Ostreopsis spp. and temperature. Densities of the epibenthic dinoflagellates varied according to the collection site, and a great disparity was observed between the Bay and the Lagoon. Maximum concentrations were recorded on C. nodosa leaves from the Bizerte Bay, while low epiphytic cell abundances were associated with macrophytes sampled from the Bizerte Lagoon. The observed differences in dinoflagellate abundances between the two ecosystems (Bay-Lagoon) seemed not related to the nutrients, but rather to the poor environmental conditions in the lagoon.
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Ben-Gharbia, H., Yahia, O. K. - D., Amzil, Z., Chomerat, N., Abadie, E., Masseret, E., et al. (2016). Toxicity and Growth Assessments of Three Thermophilic Benthic Dinoflagellates (Ostreopsis cf. ovata, Prorocentrum lima and Coolia monotis) Developing in the Southern Mediterranean Basin. Toxins, 8(10), 297.
Résumé: Harmful benthic dinoflagellates, usually developing in tropical areas, are expanding to temperate ecosystems facing water warming. Reports on harmful benthic species are particularly scarce in the Southern Mediterranean Sea. For the first time, three thermophilic benthic dinoflagellates (Ostreopsis cf. ovata, Prorocentrum lima and Coolia monotis) were isolated from Bizerte Bay (Tunisia, Mediterranean) and monoclonal cultures established. The ribotyping confirmed the morphological identification of the three species. Maximum growth rates were 0.59 +/- 0.08 d(-1) for O. cf. ovata, 0.35 +/- 0.01 d(-1) for C. monotis and 0.33 +/- 0.04 d(-1) for P. lima. Toxin analyses revealed the presence of ovatoxin-a and ovatoxin-b in O. cf. ovata cells. Okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin-1 were detected in P. lima cultures. For C. monotis, a chromatographic peak at 5.6 min with a mass m/z = 1061.768 was observed, but did not correspond to a mono-sulfated analogue of the yessotoxin. A comparison of the toxicity and growth characteristics of these dinoflagellates, distributed worldwide, is proposed.
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Blanchet, M., Pringault, O., Panagiotopoulos, C., Lefevre, D., Charriere, B., Ghiglione, J. - F., et al. (2017). When riverine dissolved organic matter (DOM) meets labile DOM in coastal waters: changes in bacterial community activity and composition. Aquat. Sci., 79(1), 27–43.
Résumé: Heterotrophic bacterial communities in marine environments are exposed to a heterogeneous mixture of dissolved organic compounds with different bioreactivity that may control both their activity and composition. The coastal environment is an example of a mixing area where recalcitrant allochthonous organic matter from rivers can encounter labile organic matter from marine phytoplanktonic blooms. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of mixed qualities of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on bacterial community activity (BCA) and bacterial community composition (BCC) and to test for a priming effect when DOM sources are added in combination. Coastal marine bacterial communities were incubated separately with a mixture of amino acids and with natural riverine DOM or with both sources together for 42 days. Addition of amino acids alone or in combination with riverine DOM led to a similar stimulation of BCA compared to control condition, whereas addition of riverine DOM alone did not modify BCA compared to the control. On the contrary, BCC analyzed by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing was not affected by the addition of amino acids alone, but changed dramatically with riverine DOM alone or in combination with amino acids. Our results show that changes in BCA and BCC can be driven by different types of DOM, but that these changes are not necessarily coupled. Moreover, the addition of labile DOM did not modify the microbial decomposition of riverine DOM, nor the BCC, suggesting that a priming effect did not occur under these experimental conditions.
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Boukef, I., Bejaoui, B., Hassan, M. B., Mraouna, R., Got, P., Harzallah, A., et al. (2012). Spatial distribution and decay rates of coliforms in the sediments and water column of the bizerte lagoon. Vie Milieu, 62(1), 29–36.
Résumé: In order to assess the impact of bacterial input loads in Bizerte lagoon (Northern Tunisia), a seasonal survey was done for total coliform bacteria covering the whole lagoon area, to reproduce and prevent dispersion of input loads of terrestrial discharges in the lagoon. Effect of solar radiation on Escherichia coli strains was investigated using seawater microcosms comparatively exposed to sunlight and dark conditions. The results revealed (i) high charges of coliforms in the sediment rather than in the water column, (ii) total coliforms increased periodically with season in both compartments, (iii) anthropogenic discharges influence coastal areas of the lagoon, and (iv) solar radiation has an effect on decay rate of E. coli maintained in microcosm experiments.
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