Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:52:47.129Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparing fixed-point and probabilistic sampling designs for monitoring the marine ecosystem near McMurdo Station, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2008

Sally Morehead ,
Paul Montagna  and
Mahlon C. Kennicutt II
Sally Morehead*
Affiliation:
University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, USA
Paul Montagna
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Harte Research Institute, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5869, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
Mahlon C. Kennicutt II
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University, Office of the Vice President for Research, Rm 318C Administration Bldg, College Station, TX 77843-1112, USA
*
*sally.morehead@mail.utexas.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Fixed-point and probabilistic sampling designs were compared to investigate which design best detected known contamination gradients in the marine ecosystem adjacent to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The fixed-point sampling design included transects along historical contamination and physical disturbance gradients. The probabilistic sampling design used randomly selected hexagons spaced at 50 m intervals. In both designs, 15 stations were sampled over a small area (~1 km2) that extended from Winter Quarters Bay to Cape Armitage. Sediment quality triad components (sediment chemical contaminants, sediment toxicity, and a benthic index of biotic integrity) were measured to indicate chemical, toxicological, and biological effects. There were higher correlations between sediment quality triad components for the fixed-point sampling design than for the probabilistic design. The fixed-point design was better at detecting the intensity of alteration because disturbance of the marine ecosystem at McMurdo Station is localized within a small area. Based on these results, a limited fixed-point design with nine stations detected no significant change in macrofaunal community structure over a four year period from 2000–2004. However, the macrofaunal assemblages present in the contaminated portions of Winter Quarters Bay are indicative of a disturbed benthic community that has been subject to organic enrichment and toxic chemical exposure.

Keywords

benthoscontaminationdisturbanceindexmacroinfaunaRoss Island
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , October 2008 , pp. 471 - 484
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2008

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

Bhaud, M., Koubbi, P., Razouls, S., Tachon, O. & Accornero, A. 1999. Description of planktonic polychaete larvae from Terre Adelie and the Ross Sea (Antarctica). Polar Biology, 22, 329–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burton, G.A. 1992. Sediment toxicity assessment Chelsea: Lewis Publishers, 457 pp.Google Scholar
Carr, R.S., Chapman, D.C., Presley, B.J., Biedenbach, 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. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 53, 2618–2628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, R.S., Montagna, P.A., Biedenbach, J.M., Kalke, R., Kennicutt, M.C., Hooten, R. & Cripe, G. 2000. Impact of storm-water outfalls on sediment quality in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 19, 561–574.Google Scholar
Christie, G. 1984. The reproductive-biology of a Northumberland population of Sphaerodorum gracilis (Rathke, 1843) (Polychaeta, Sphaerodoridae). Sarsia, 69, 117–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. & Warwick, R.M. 2001. Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation Plymouth, UK: PRIMER–E, 859 pp.Google Scholar
Conlan, K.E., Kim, S.L., Lenihan, H.S. & Oliver, J.S. 2004. Benthic changes during 10 years of organic enrichment by McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 49, 43–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crockett, A.B. 1997. Water and wastewater quality monitoring, McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 47, 39–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crockett, A.B. & White, G.J. 2003. Mapping sediment contamination and toxicity in Winter Quarters Bay, McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 85, 257–275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dauer, D.M. 1993. Biological criteria, environmental-health and estuarine macrobenthic community structure. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 26, 249–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day, J.H. 1967. A monograph on the polychaeta of Southern Africa, part one. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), 656 pp.Google Scholar
Dayton, P.K. 1989. Interdecadal variation in an Antarctic sponge and its predators from oceanographic climate shifts. Science, 245, 1484–1486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dayton, P., Robilliard, G., Paine, R. & Dayton, L. 1974. Biological accommodation in the benthic community at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Ecological Monographs, 44, 105–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dezwart, D. & Slooff, W. 1983. The Microtox as an alternative assay in the acute toxicity assessment of water pollutants. Aquatic Toxicology, 4, 129–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fauchald, K. & Jumars, P.A. 1979. The diet of worms: a study of polychaete feeding guilds. Oceanography and Marine Biology, 17, 193–284.Google Scholar
Grassle, J.F. & Grassle, J.P. 1974. Opportunistic life histories and genetic systems in marine benthic polychaetes. Journal of Marine Research, 32, 284.Google Scholar
Green, R.H. & Montagna, P. 1996. Implications for monitoring: Study designs and interpretation of results. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 53, 2629–2636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennicutt, M.C., Sericano, J.L., Wade, T.L., Alcazar, F. & Brooks, J.M. 1987. High molecular weight hydrocarbons in Gulf of Mexico continental-slope sediments. Deep-Sea Research, 34, 403–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennicutt, M.C., Sweet, S.T., Fraser, W.R., Stockton, W.L. & Culver, M. 1991. Grounding of the Bahia Paraiso at Arthur Harbor, Antarctica. 1. Distribution and fate of oil-spill related hydrocarbons. Environmental Science & Technology, 25, 509–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennicutt, M.C., Mcdonald, S.J., Sericano, J.L., Boothe, P., Oliver, J., Safe, S., Presley, B.J., Liu, H., Wolfe, D., Wade, T.L., Crockett, A. & Bockus, D. 1995. Human contamination of the marine environment - Arthur Harbor and McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Environmental Science & Technology, 29, 1279–1287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kerans, B.L. & Karr, J.R. 1994. A benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) for rivers of the Tennessee Valley. Ecological Applications, 4, 768–785.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenihan, H.S., Oliver, J.S., Oakden, J.M. & Stephenson, M.D. 1990. Intense and localized benthic marine pollution around Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 21, 422–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenihan, H.S. 1992. Benthic marine pollution around McMurdo Station, Antarctica - a summary of findings. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 25, 318–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenihan, H.S. & Oliver, J.S. 1995. Anthropogenic and natural disturbances to marine benthic communities in Antarctica. Ecological Applications, 5, 311–326.Google Scholar
Lenihan, H.S., Peterson, C.H., Kim, S.L., Conlan, K.E., Fairey, R., Mcdonald, C., Grabowski, J.H. & Oliver, J.S. 2003. Variation in marine benthic community composition allows discrimination of multiple stressors. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 261, 63–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Llanso, R.J., Dauer, D.M., Volstad, J.H. & Scott, L.C. 2003. Application of the benthic index of biotic integrity to environmental monitoring in Chesapeake Bay. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 81, 163–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Long, E.R., Macdonald, D.D., Smith, S.L. & Calder, F.D. 1995. Incidence of adverse biological effects within ranges of chemical concentrations in marine and estuarine sediments. Environmental Management, 19, 81–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, E.R., Carr, R.S. & Montagna, P.A. 2003. Porewater toxicity tests: value as a component of sediment quality triad assessments. In Carr, R.S. & Nipper, M., eds. Porewater toxicity testing: biological, chemical, and ecological considerations Pensacola, FL.: SETAC Press, 163–200.Google Scholar
McCall, P.L. 1977. Community patterns and adaptive strategies of infaunal benthos of Long Island Sound. Journal of Marine Research, 35, 221–266.Google Scholar
McFeters, G.A., Barry, J.P. & Howington, J.P. 1993. Distribution of enteric bacteria in Antarctic seawater surrounding a sewage outfall. Water Research, 27, 645–650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mileikovsky, S.A. 1971. Types of larval development in marine bottom invertebrates, their distribution and ecological significance: a re-evaluation. Marine Biology, 10, 193–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Negri, A., Burns, K., Boyle, S., Brinkman, D. & Webster, N. 2006. Contamination in sediments, bivalves and sponges of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Environmental Pollution, 143, 456–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olive, J.W. & Clark, R.B. 1978. Physiology of reproduction. In Mill, P.J., ed. Physiology of annelids London: Academic Press, 271–368.Google Scholar
Pearson, T.H. & Rosenberg, R. 1978. Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology, 16, 229–311.Google Scholar
Peterson, M.E. 1999. Reproduction and development in Cirratulidae (Annelida: Polychaeta). Hydrobiologia, 402, 107–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C.H., Kennicutt, M.C., Green, R.H., Montagna, P., Harper, D.E., Powell, E.N. & Roscigno, P.F. 1996. Ecological consequences of environmental perturbations associated with offshore hydrocarbon production: A perspective on long-term exposures in the Gulf of Mexico. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 53, 2637–2654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramaiah, N. & Chandramohan, D. 1993. Ecological and laboratory studies on the role of luminous bacteria and their luminescence in coastal pollution surveillance. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 26, 190–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rhoads, D.C., Mccall, P.L. & Yingst, J.Y. 1978. Disturbance and production on estuarine seafloor. American Scientist, 66, 577–586.Google Scholar
Risebrough, R.W., Delappe, B.W. & Younghanshaug, C. 1990. PCB and PCT contamination in Winter Quarters Bay, Antarctica. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 21, 523–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rouse, G. & Fitzhugh, K. 1994. Broadcasting fables - is external fertilization really primitive - sex, size, and larvae in sabellid polychaetes. Zoologica Scripta, 23, 271–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sas Institute Inc. 1999. SAS/STAT User's Guide: Version 8. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc, 846 pp.Google Scholar
Schiewe, M.H., Hawk, E.G., Actor, D.I. & Krahn, M.M. 1985. Use of a bacterial bioluminescence assay to assess toxicity of contaminated marine sediments. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 42, 1244–1248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seitz, R.D. & Schaffner, L.C. 1995. Population ecology and secondary production of the polychaete Loimia medusa (Terebellidae). Marine Biology, 121, 701–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Short, J.W., Jackson, T.J., Larsen, M.L. & Wade, T.L. 1996. Analytical methods used for the analysis of hydrocarbons in crude oil, tissues, sediments, and seawater collected for the natural resources damage assessment of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. American Fisheries Society Symposium, 18, 140–148.Google Scholar
Stark, J.S. 2000. The distribution and abundance of soft-sediment macrobenthos around Casey Station, East Antarctica. Polar Biology, 23, 840–850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stark, J.S., Riddle, M.J., Snape, I. & Scouller, R.C. 2003. Human impacts in Antartic marine soft-sediment assemblages: correlations between multivariate biological patterns and environmental variables at Casey Station. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 56, 717–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stark, J.S., Snape, I. & Riddle, M.J. 2006. Abandoned Antarctic waste disposal sites: monitoring remediation outcomes and limitations at Casey Station. Ecological Management & Restoration, 7, 21–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sweet, S.T. & Wade, T.L. 1998. Total organic and carbonate carbon content in sediments, in national status and trends program. Sampling and analytical methods of the national status and trends program mussel watch project: 1993–1996 update. In Lauenstein, G.G. & Cantillo, A.Y., eds. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 130 Silver Spring, MD: NOAA, 23–26.Google Scholar
USEPA. 1989. Method 1620: metals by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrography and atomic absorption spectroscopy (draft). Washington, DC: USEPA Report, 821-B-89-100, 42 pp.Google Scholar
USEPA. 1991. Methods for the determination of metals in environmental samples Cincinnati, OH: USEPA Report, EPA/600/4-91/010, 308 ppGoogle Scholar
Van Dolah, R.F., Hyland, J.L., Holland, A.F., Rosen, J.S. & Snoots, T.R. 1999. A benthic index of biological integrity for assessing habitat quality in estuaries of the southeastern USA. Marine Environmental Research, 48, 269–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wade, T.L., Atlas, E.L., Brooks, J.M., Kennicutt, M.C., Fox, R.G., Sericano, J., Garciaromero, B. & Defreitas, D. 1988. NOAA Gulf of Mexico status and trends program - trace organic contaminant distribution in sediments and oysters. Estuaries, 11, 171–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warwick, R.M. 1986. A new method for detecting pollution effects on marine macrobenthic communities. Marine Biology, 92, 557–562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warwick, R.M. & Clarke, K.R. 1993. Comparing the severity of disturbance: a meta-analysis of marine macrobenthic community data. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 92, 221–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weisberg, S.B., Ranasinghe, J.A., Schaffner, L.C., Diaz, R.J., Dauer, D.M. & Frithsen, J.B. 1997. An estuarine benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) for Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries, 20, 149–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, W.H. 1991. Sexual reproductive modes in polychaetes - classification and diversity. Bulletin of Marine Science, 48, 500–516.Google Scholar