Bottom sediments around the world store large amounts of legacy hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs), forming mixtures of unknown chemical composition. Primary emissions to the environment of many HOCs have been reduced as a consequence of regulation. However, HOCs may be released from the sediments to water and biota, and there is therefore a risk of negative effects on local ecosystems. The activity of benthic organisms can enhance the sediment-to-water flux of HOCs, a process called bioturbation. Few in situ assessments of the sediment-to-water flux are available in the scientific literature, and the effect of bioturbation on the sediment-to-water flux of HOCs has not been studied in the field. Thus, there is a need to improve in situ methods for direct determination of sediments as a source of HOCs to water, and thereby include the effect of bioturbation. In Paper I, a benthic flow-through chamber was developed for environmentally realistic in situ assessments of the sediment-to-water flux. In Paper II, the sediment-to-water flux of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was assessed using the flow-through chamber at four sites on the Swedish Baltic Sea coast. The sediments at all four sites acted as sources of PAHs to water. In the same study, potential effects of bioturbation, with an increase of the sediment-to-water flux by up to one order of magnitude, were observed at sites with bioturbating organisms. In the past, assessing the toxicity of HOCs has been challenging due to difficulties in maintaining stable exposure concentrations of the test chemical. In Paper III, a passive dosing method, where the test chemical partitions from a polymer (silicone) to the aquatic exposure medium, was developed and tested for chronic exposure. A stable exposure concentration could be maintained, and the chronic toxicity to the sediment-dwelling harpacticoid Nitocra spinipes of chronic exposure to triclosan was assessed in a 6-week population development test. In Paper IV, a passive sampling and dosing method was developed and used to assess the toxicity of an environmental chemical mixture of bioavailable sediment-associated HOCs transferred from a contaminated sediment to the laboratory-based bioassay. The passive sampling and dosing method can be used to assess the toxicity of environmental mixtures of chemicals at environmentally realistic concentrations to which ecosystems are constantly exposed. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript.</p>

Lake Macquarie is the largest estuarine lake in New South Wales and is located on the eastern seaboard of Australia, approximately 85 km north of Sydney.The study of heavy metal concentrations in surficial sediments, sediment cores, seagrasses and fish conducted by the New South Wales Department of Mines in 1974 revealed that significant heavy metal contamination of Lake Macquarie has occurred. The metalloid selenium was found in elevated concentrations in 1987. Selenium has a complex chemistry and is both an important nutrient and in high concentrations toxic. This review describes briefly the Lake Macquarie environment and suggests some approaches of modelling the remobilisation and cycling of selenium in sediment. The biogeochemical cycling of selenium in an estuarine environment is exceedingly complex. Factors include Eh, pH, ligand complexing ability, solubility of selenium containing minerals, sediment/soil characteristics, microbially-mediated reactions and physical reworking by biota (bioturbation). The goal of the model will be to be able to estimate the transport rates from a calculated value of Se concentration in sediment pore water resulting in a Se flux value for the interface between sediment and overlaying water. / www.ima.kth.se

No description available.

Le lessivage du lutum (0-2 µm) est un de processus majeurs de la pédogenèse, qui a néanmoins été peu quantifié et modélisé. Ce processus ainsi que la bioturbation ont été quantifiés ici en couplant des différents systèmes isotopiques (137Cs, 210Pb (xs), 10Be atmosphérique, 206/207Pb, δ13C, 14C) à une modélisation numérique par une équation de diffusion-convection à paramètres variables avec la profondeur. Cette méthode originale a été appliquée sur des anthroposéquences de Luvisols développées sur du loess et différantes de par leur utilisation (culture, prairie ou forêt) et leurs pratiques agricoles (travail du sol, apport du fumier). Nos résultats montrent que 91 ± 9 % du 137Cs et 80 ± 9 % du 10Be sont associés au lutum et ainsi peuvent effectivement tracer des transferts verticaux de matière solide dans les sols à pH > 5 et à teneur en carbone organique faible. Le partage du plomb entre les différentes phases solides est plus complexe. En considérant deux compartiments pour les isotopes (macropores ou la matrice de sol), nous avons conçu un modèle multi-isotopique permettant de quantifier la contribution des transferts de matière solide à la distribution verticale de la fraction 0-2 µm actuelle. Le lessivage est responsable de 9 à 66 % de l'accumulation de lutum dans l'horizon Bt. Le coefficient de diffusion permet de quantifier le taux de mélange par la bioturbation. La modélisation multi-isotopique est une méthode de prédilection pour les études modernes de la pédogenèse et des processus de la zone critique. / Clay translocation is one of the major soil forming processes, howeverit is poorly quantified and modeled. We propose to quantify it togetherwith bioturbation by combining different isotopic systems (137Cs , 210Pb (xs),meteoric 10Be, 206/207Pb, δ13C, 14C) with numerical modeling based on a nonlineardiffusion-convection equation with depth dependent parameters. Thisnovel method has been applied on Luvisol anthroposequences developed onloess, differing by their land use (cropping versus grassland or forest) andtheir agricultural practices (reduced tillage, no tillage and manure input).Our results show that as much as 91 ± 9 % and 80 ± 9 % of 137Cs and10Be, respectively, are associated to the clay size fraction (0-2 µm) and canthus effectively trace vertical solid matter transfers in soils with pH > 5 andlow organic carbon. Lead partitioning between different solid phases is morecomplex. Considering two spatial distributions of isotopes (macropores or soilmatrix), we built up a multi-isotopic modelling approach that simulates theexperimental data with the common set of transfer parameters and allowedus to quantify the relative contributions of vertical solid matter transfers topresent-day 0-2 µm vertical distributions. Clay translocation is responsiblefor 9 to 66 % of the clay accumulations in the Bt-horizon. The diffusion coefficientalso quantifies the rate of soil mixing by bioturbation. Modeling of thekinetics of solid matter transfer at multiple spatio-temporal scales should becomea method of predilection in modern pedogenic and critical zone studies.

Dans les environnements côtiers, soumis à l’impact des marées noires, les microorganismes jouent un rôle crucial dans le devenir des hydrocarbures pétroliers. Toutefois, de nombreux facteurs influencent les activités microbiennes, notamment par les organismes bioturbateurs qui modifient la pénétration de l’oxygène dans les sédiments. Le travail de la thèse vise à mieux comprendre l’impact d’une pollution pétrolière sur les communautés microbiennes dans des sédiments bio turbés. Il s’agissait de comparer les remaniements structuraux de la communauté microbienne liée à la contamination pétrolière dans des sédiments présentant une faible et une forte activité de bioturbation. Des sédiments marins ont été maintenus en microcosmes durant 9 mois et soumis à quatre conditions : (i) pas de traitement (contrôle), (ii) pétrole, (iii) bioturbation et (iv) pétrole et bioturbation. Les efficacités de dégradation des hydrocarbures pétroliers se sont révélées similaires dans les deux types de sédiments. Par des approches moléculaires, la diversité taxonomique et fonctionnelle des communautés microbiennes totales et métaboliquement actives a été évaluée au cours du temps. Les communautés microbiennes ont subi d’importants remaniements structuraux spécifiques à chaque traitement. Nous suggérons que le fonctionnement global de la communauté est modifié par l’activité bioturbatrice sans pour autant modifier l’activité de dégradation. Ces travaux ont mis en évidence une redondance fonctionnelle de l’activité de biodégradation des hydrocarbures pétroliers des communautés microbiennes. L’isolement de communautés hydrocarbonoclastes a permis de confirmer cette redondance fonctionnelle. / Coastal areas such as mudflats are affected by oil spills. In these environments, microorganisms play a crucial role in the fate of petroleum hydrocarbons. However, many factors influence microbial activities, especially the bioturbating organisms, which altered the oxygen penetration in sediments. The present work attempts to better understand the impact of petroleum contamination on microbial community associated with petroleum contamination in sediments with low and high bioturbation activity. This study is based on microcosm experiments with a device simulating tidal cycles. Marine sediments were maintained for 9 months in microcosms and subjected to four conditions: (i) no treatment (control), (ii) oil, (iii) bioturbation and (iv) oil and bioturbation. Chemical, microbiological and biological analyses were conducted throughout the experiment. The efficiencies of degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons were similar in both sediments. By molecular approaches, we assessed the dynamic of the functional and taxonomic diversity of the total and metabolically active communities during the oil contamination. Microbial communities showed significant structural rearrangements specific for each treatment that resulted in distinct microbial communities in both sediments. Hence, the overall microbial community structure was changed by bioturbating activity without changing the degradation capacity revealing a functional redundancy of the biodegradation capacity of hydrocarbons. This result was further supported by the isolation and characterization of hydro carbonoclastic communities.

La compréhension des processus contrôlant le fonctionnement des mangroves est capitale au vu des services socio-économiques/écosystémiques rendus par ces écosystèmes et des menaces qu’ils subissent. En Guyane Française, les mangroves se développent rapidement en réponse aux contraintes sédimentaires récurrentes induites naturellement par les apports sédimentaires amazoniens. Cette thèse étudie la structure et la composition de trois classes de taille de communautés benthique (méso, macro, mégafaune), et les activités de bioturbation associées (remaniement sédimentaire biologique : RS, terriers) dans les jeunes stades de mangrove. 51 taxons de méso-macrofaune et 12 espèces de crabes (mégafaune) ont été identifiés. Bien que la biodiversité benthique soit spécifique à l'âge de la mangrove, des taxons tolèrent les modifications brusques du milieu, et cette persistance maintient des fonctions clés du remaniement sédimentaire tout au long du développement des mangroves. L’intensité du RS varie le long de ce gradient (21-146 g PS.m-2.cycle tidal-1). Si les crabes dominent le RS, cette thèse souligne la contribution effective de la méso-macrofaune aux transports particulaires. Les communautés benthiques montrent des capacités de bioturbation adaptées aux instabilités récurrentes du littoral. Les variations du RS au cours du temps pourraient indiquer l’état fonctionnel des mangroves. Cette étude conclut que l’hétérogénéité morpho-sédimentaire au sein des jeunes stades de mangroves influence la structuration spatiale des crabes, le remaniement sédimentaire qu’ils induisent, et la morphologie des terriers. Les microhabitats devraient être considérés lors de l'évaluation du rôle fonctionnel de la faune benthique des mangroves. / Understanding the processes that control mangroves functioning is essential regarding the socioeconomic/ecosystemic services these ecosystems provide and the increasing threats they suffer. In French Guiana, mangroves grow rapidly in response to natural sedimentary perturbations caused by sediment inputs from the Amazon River. This thesis characterizes the structure and the composition of benthic fauna communities (three size classes: meso-, macro- and megafauna) and the associated bioturbation activities (biological sediment reworking: SR, burrows) in mangrove early growth stages. 51 meso- macrofaunal taxa and 12 crab (megafauna) species were identified.Despite a mangrove age specific biodiversity, some taxa tolerate abrupt environmental changes, and such persistence maintains key sediment reworking functions along mangrove development.The SR intensity varies along this gradient from 21 to 146 g DW.m-2.tidal cycle-1. Burrower crabs dominate the SR but this thesis also outlines the non-negligible contribution of smaller-sized (meso- and macrofauna) organisms to particulate transport. Benthic communities’ bioturbation capacities are adapted to recurrent environmental instabilities. Changes of the biologicallyinduced SR may be used as a proxy of the functional status of mangrove ecosystems. This study concludes that morpho-sedimentary heterogeneity of early-growth mangrove stages influences crab spatial structuration, the crab-induced sediment reworking and burrow shapes. Thus, microhabitat specificities should be considered when evaluating the role of benthic fauna in mangroves ecosystem functioning.

La sédimentation dans le Golfe de Cadix, de Gibraltar au Cap Saint-Vincent, est soumise à la circulation d’un flux permanent d’eau profonde venant de la Méditerranée connu sous le nom de Veine d’Eau Méditerranéenne ou VEM. Cette eau plus chaude, plus salée et plus dense que les eaux atlantiques s’écoule sur les marges espagnole et portugaise avec un débit moyen aussi important queplusieurs fleuves du globe. Ce courant de fond entraîne le transport et le remaniement des particules déjà déposées sur le fond. L’étude biostratigraphique détaillée à partir du sens d’enroulement de l’espèce de foraminifère planctonique Globorotalia truncatulinoides, de l’espèce polaire Neogloquadrina pachyderma senestre et du ptéropode Limacina retroversa calibrée par de nombreuses datations 14C AMS et des analyses isotopiques a permis de corréler les carottes. Les variations des processus sédimentaires dans le temps et dans l’espace montrent l’influence du climat sur les variations des taux de sédimentation et la granularité des dépôts. Ainsi, deux périodes de moindre activité de la VEM se situent pendant le Bølling-Alleröd et l’Holocène inférieur. Le Younger Dryas traduit au contraire une période de forte circulation de la VEM. De nombreux hiatus sédimentaires et dépôts gravitaires (glissements, turbidites) traduisent une instabilité sédimentaire liée à la fréquence des tremblements de terre qui se produisent dans le Golfe de Cadix et dans les régions adjacentes. Huit types de traces fossiles ont été reconnus (Chondrites, Diplocraterion, Nereites, Paleophycus, Phycosiphon, Thalassinoides, Zoophycos, des filaments (Trichichnus et Mycelia) et des traces restent indéterminées. Les traces fossiles de Zoophycos et de Paleophycus pendant le LGM traduisent la présence de circulations de masses d’eaux riches en oxygène au niveau du fond. Ces traces fossiles de Zoophycos sont visibles du LGM à l’Holocène inférieur au niveau du chenal-levée de Tasyo. / Sedimentation in the Gulf of Cadiz from Gibraltar Strait to Cape Saint Vincent is submitted to a permanent deep water flux coming from the Mediterranean Sea and called the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW). This hotter and saltier water is denser that the Atlantic waters and flows along the Spanish and Portuguese margins with an average discharge as large as the discharge of several world rivers. This bottom current generates the transport and the remolding of already deposited particles. The detailed biostratigraphic study using the coiling direction of planktonic foraminifer species Globorotalia truncatulinoides, of polar specie Neogloquadrina pachyderma sinistral and of pteropod Limacina retroversa and calibrated by numerous 14C AMS dating and stable isotope analysis allowed to correlate sediment cores. Variation of sedimentary processes in time and space shows the impact of climate on sedimentation rates and sediment grain size. Two periods of lesser activity of the MOW are identified during the Bölling-Alleröd and early Holocene. Conversely, the Younger Dryas shows a higher activity of the MOW. Numerous sedimentary hiatuses and mass flow deposits (slumps, turbidites) suggest sedimentary instabilities related to the frequent earthquakes that are initiated in the Gulf of Cadiz and neighboring areas. Height types of fossil traces have been identified (Chondrites, Diplocraterion, Nereites, Paleophycus, Phycosiphon, Thalassinoides, Zoophycos, filaments (Trichichnus and Mycelia) and undetermined traces. Fossil traces of Zoophycos and Paleophycus during the LGM show the activity of oxygen-rich water flowing along the seafloor. Fossil traces of Zoophycos are identified from LGM to lower Holocene in the Tasyo channel-levee.

Le remaniement sédimentaire, défini comme l'ensemble des mouvements de particules sédimentaires induits par les organismes benthiques, est l'une des deux composantes du phénomène de bioturbation. Il constitue un processus clé du fonctionnement des écosystèmes côtiers. Ce manuscrit présente une étude intégrée de ce depuis l'échelle de la simple particule sédimentaire jusqu'à celle de la communauté benthique in toto.Le développement d'une nouvelle approche expérimentale basée sur l'acquisition à haute fréquence et l'analyse de séries temporelles d'images de mouvements de luminophores le long de la paroi d'aquariums plats a permis de mesurer directement les mouvements élémentaires de particules de sédiment effectués par le bivalve A. alba. Cette approche a ainsi conduit à la première détermination expérimentale d' " empreintes " du remaniement sédimentaire d'un invertébré marin, d'après le formalisme du modèle CTRW (Continuous Time Random Walk).Dans un second temps, le déploiement de cette nouvelle approche a permis d'évaluer, de manière dynamique (i.e. pendant des expériences de 48h) et sur l'ensemble de la partie de la colonne sédimentaire affectée par ce bivalve, le contrôle exercé par la température et par la disponibilité de matière organique fraîche sur les caractéristiques du processus de remaniement sédimentaire effectué par A. alba.Enfin, l'intensité du remaniement sédimentaire effectué par l'ensemble de la communauté benthique a été mesurée in-situ dans le Bassin d'Arcachon, à la fois dans un herbier à Zostera noltii et dans une zone de vase nue d'où celui-ci a disparu. Ceci a permis de déterminer les effets limitant de la présence d'herbier et de certaines espèces benthiques clés, sur le remaniement sédimentaire.

Traditionally, hypoxia has been defined as the situation where DO levels have fallen below 2.0 mg O2 L-1, but increasing evidence suggests that this low level of DO is inadequate to describe the onset of hypoxia impacts for many organisms. Consequently, there is a need for a greater understanding of how ‘moderate’ alterations in DO levels will affect ecosystem processes and functionality, specifically through behavioural and physiological alterations at the organism and community level. This thesis reports on mesocosm experiments which were conducted to examine the effects of moderate ( > 3.0 mg O2 L-1) hypoxia on firstly, a key ecosystem engineer, the brittlestar Amphiura filiformis, and secondly, on the Station L4 infaunal macrobenthic community. Station L4 is a longstanding marine biodiversity and MSFD reference site and forms part of the Western Channel Observatory. At the organism level, short-term (14 d) exposure to moderate hypoxia significantly reduced oxygen uptake rates, oocyte diameter and oocyte development in A. filiformis. However, these physiological affects occurred irrespective of brittlestar population density. Additionally, moderate hypoxia reduced brittlestar activity, in terms of bioturbation behaviour, consequentially having an effect on ammonium and silicate fluxes. These observations were only detected when brittlestar population density was high. It was concluded that denser populations of A. filiformis may therefore exhibit the greatest changes in behaviour and shifts in ecosystem function as competition for resources and oxygen heightens. The benthic community at Station L4, displayed considerable tolerance to medium-term (6 wk.) exposure to moderate hypoxia, in terms of structure, diversity and bioturbatory behaviour, but these results may be different if exposure was longer or more severe. Alterations in nutrient fluxes were detected, but there was little evidence to suggest these changes were due to macrofaunal behavioural alterations. Additionally, results from this study revealed that bringing complex natural communities into the mesocosm caused a substantial loss of individuals and species, mainly due to translocation and disturbance effects. This important insight into the effects of bringing community assemblages into the mesocosm confirms that even with a loss of diversity, the L4 community maintained functionality and was resilient to alterations in DO. This suggests that the L4 benthic community does not depend on any one specific species for the provision of important ecosystem processes, resulting in considerable functional resilience within the L4 system. However, vulnerability to benthic systems may increase if functionality is dominated by species such as A. filiformis. Consequently, moderate hypoxia may not immediately affect benthic communities in terms of structure and diversity, but the physiological effects on individuals, especially to reproductive development, may cause alterations in the quality and quantity of planktonic propagules supplied by benthic species to the pelagic environment. This could affect benthic community diversity and functionality in the long term if repeated hypoxic events occur.

During the winters in recent years Laholmsbuktens VA's treatment plant in Halmstad has recorded unexcepted levels of phosphorus from the polishing pond. Only between 8 and 20 January 2016 samples indicates a realese of net 75 kg. In winter the pond temperature never goes below about 8oC, which attracts wintering waterfowl. In February 19, 2016 the largest number of birds in the inventory for this thesis was noted, 325 individuals, of which 208 were tufted ducks.  Even if the number of waterfowl at peak levels was to be about 1000 individuals, their combined contribution of phosphorus through droppings into the pond could not be more than 500 g per day. This study proposes that a significant factor is the foraging activity of tufted ducks, which are diving ducks. In search of food at daytime they disturb the sediment at the bottom of the pond, i.e bioturbation.  The higher proportion of particle-bound phosphorus in samples with high phosphorus content also fits well with this hypothesis. A scientific investigation in which the bottom of this part of the pond was stirred up mechanically gave similar proportions between phosphorus and water-soluble phosphorus.