A Reproducible Method to Evaluate Sublethal Acoustic Stress in Aquatic Invertebrates Using Oxidative Biomarkers.

Human activities are increasing in the marine environment causing underwater noise. The most intense source of underwater noise is pile driving during construction of offshore wind farms. This might disturb marine mammals, such as the harbour porpoise. Therefore, measures to prevent and mitigate underwater noise are necessary.In order to be effective such measures should be regulated. However, regulators have to demonstrate and assess the applicability, efficiency and effectiveness of mitigation measures. This requires scientific knowledge on the impact of underwater noise while the normative aspects of noise mitigation have to be considered.Since 2008, operators have to comply with limits for pile driving noise during the construction of offshore wind farms in Germany. Since 2011, they have to use technical noise abatement systems. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) approves offshore wind farms and monitors underwater noise in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).Since 2017, BSH operates the expert tool MarinEARS, which includes the scientific basis for regulating underwater noise. The data shows that the regulations have been successful in the recent years. Underwater noise affected less than 10 percent of the German EEZ at any time, including adjacent nature conservation areas.Here, BSH outlines a step-wise approach to establish a regulatory framework for pile driving noise and to implement mitigation measures in practice. It highlights the successful cooperation between science, authorities and industry in recent years to minimise the impact of underwater noise on the marine environment.These lessons learnt from addressing underwater noise from the construction of offshore wind farms, are currently being transferred to underwater noise from e.g. shipping and the operation of offshore wind farms. Furthermore, the EU issued for the first time thresholds to limit underwater noise in European waters in 2022.BSH plays also a crucial role in the development of European threshold values and the standardised evaluation of underwater noise. This is important for making the assessment of underwater noise comparable and reproducible. In this way, common goals for the protection and sustainable use of the seas can be set in the future.

Marine renewable energy development raised concerns over the impact of underwater noise. We assessed the acoustic impacts of an operating tidal current turbine (Paimpol-Bréhat site, France) on marine fauna. The turbine’s source level (SL) was estimated using 19 acoustic drifting transects at distances between 100m to 2400m from the device. SL ranges from 118 to 152dBre1μPa@1m in the third-octave bands at frequencies between 40 and 8192Hz, a noise level comparable to the one emitted by a 19m boat travelling at 10kt. The SL was used to estimate the impact of the turbine’s noise based on acoustic propagation simulations. The overall acoustic footprint of the device corresponds to a disk of 350 meters radius. Our results showed that within this footprint, physiological trauma is improbable but behavioral disturbance may occur up to 350m around the device for marine mammals (impact limited by the footprint area), and 55m, 5m and 5m respectively for pollocks, sea basses and a shrimp species. Feedbacks from this study show that the assessment of TTS and PTS risk areas for marine mammals is rather mature, but there are still many uncertainties about the assessment of risk areas for behavioral disturbance and masking for fishes and marine invertebrates.

Marine Heatwaves: Impact on Physiology, Populations, and Communities of Coastal Marine Invertebrates

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 611:179-188 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12872 Bacterial community dynamics during embryonic and larval development of three confamilial echinoids Tyler J. Carrier*, Adam M. Reitzel Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA *Corresponding author: tcarrie1@uncc.edu ABSTRACT: Development of some animals is influenced by and, in some cases, dependent on the associated microbiota. The timing of when associated bacterial communities are established during the development of marine invertebrates and their subsequent dynamics across stages are known for only a few species. Here, we compared the bacterial communities of 3 confamilial echinoids from egg to juvenile using sequence-based approaches. Bacterial communities are established on unfertilized eggs and change gradually during embryonic and larval development. Despite the differences amongst these pre-metamorphic stages, approximately 30% of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) identified in association with unfertilized eggs were present in the juveniles. During embryonic development, host-associated communities diverged from the environmental microbiota but later converged following the onset of larval feeding. Taken together, the data presented here support the hypothesis that bacterial communities are established prior to fertilization and community composition shifts gradually thereafter, all the while remaining distinct from the environment. Future work will need to determine the relative influence of the host and bacteria-bacteria interactions in shaping the associated bacterial community to more broadly determine the potential functional importance of bacteria during the development of larval sea urchins and benthic marine invertebrates. KEY WORDS: Microbiome · Strongylocentrotus · Mesocentrotus · Host-microbe · Symbiosis Full text in pdf format Supplementary materialSupplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Carrier TJ, Reitzel AM (2019) Bacterial community dynamics during embryonic and larval development of three confamilial echinoids. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 611:179-188. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12872 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 611. Online publication date: February 14, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.

The description of sound as a form of energetic pollutant is very complex as is also its impact on aquatic life. Human activities causing continuous and implosive underwater noise, such as marine traffic, maintenance of ships, coastal tourism, marine research, military, offshore energy platforms, generation of ocean energies and construction operations are expected to increase. The paper analyses current approach to minimise the impact of underwater noise and limit its emissions, examines regulatory approach and discusses the possibilities to control this type of pollution in order to ensure the preservation of natural underwater soundscape. The timely implementation and further development of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive and its provisions related to underwater noise is of exceptional importance for the Adriatic Sea, which is facing increasing pressure from various industries generating underwater noise.

Many marine invertebrates are able to regenerate lost tissue following injury, but regeneration can come at a cost to individuals in terms of reproduction, behavior and physiological condition, and can have effects that reach beyond the individual to impact populations, communities, and ecosystems. For example, removal and subsequent regeneration of clams' siphons, polychaetes' segments, and brittlestars' arms can represent significant energetic input to higher trophic levels. In marine soft-sediment habitats, injury changes infaunal bioturbation rates and thus secondarily influences sediment-mediated competition, adult-larval interactions, and recruitment success. The importance of injury and regeneration as factors affecting the ecology of marine invertebrate communities depends on the frequency of injury, as well as on individual capacity for, and speed of, regeneration. A key question to answer is: "How frequently are marine benthic invertebrates injured?" Here, I review the sources and the frequencies of injury in a variety of marine invertebrates from different benthic habitats, discuss challenges, and approaches for accurately determining injury rates in the field, consider evidence for species-specific, temporal and geographic variation in injury rates, and present examples of indirect effects of injury on marine invertebrates to illustrate how injury and regeneration can modify larger-scale ecological patterns and processes.

Introduction: Few studies have reported on the association between a systematic consumption of organic diet and human health effects. Pesticides, commonly used in conventional, but not in organic agriculture, could lead to generation of reactive oxygen species, indicative of oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. We aimed to evaluate the literature on the association between organic diet and biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity. Methods: Using PubMed, we searched for peer-reviewed articles that examined the influence of organic diet interventions in altering key biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation and antioxidant capacity in human studies; in-vitro and animal studies were excluded. Results: Only 9 relevant human studies were identified. Some of the biomarkers assessed in these articles were vitamins, cytokines, malondialdehyde and C-reactive protein. For most biomarkers, no statistically (p>0.05) significant differences were observed between conventional and organic diet interventions. In three crossover studies, organic diet resulted in significant (p<0.05) changes for markers of antioxidant capacity (vitamin B12, carotenoids, flavonols, total plasma antioxidant capacity), inflammatory biomarkers (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6 and -1) and for biomarkers of oxidative stress (protein oxidation). Conclusions: The small number of existing studies and their heterogeneity did not provide us with solid evidence on the association of organic diet with biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation. Randomized controlled human trials with sufficient power and long enough windows of monitoring exposures and biomarkers of effect should be implemented.

With ships operating in areas including important marine biodiversity, it is crucial to understand the sources and characteristics of underwater noise and develop effective measures to mitigate underwater noise's impact on the environment. The underwater noise signature from a ship is usually dominated by machinery noise and propulsion engines at low speeds. Given the importance of onboard electrical power, diesel generators might continuously function (i.e., even when a ship is docked) and generate low-frequency underwater noise. Université de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, Canada) and Innovation Maritime (Rimouski, Canada) lead a collaborative work focusing on the means and methods for attenuating machinery noise. Two main research axes are considered. The first concerns the setup and validation of a small-scale platform that can be used to test noise reduction methods in a controlled water basin environment. The second research axis investigates passive, tunable, and possibly multi-resonant vibroacoustic solutions to attenuate machinery noise. These solutions mostly come as 3D-printed folded quarter-wave resonators following spiral or cantilever resonators. Acoustic resonators can also be embedded into a layer of sound-absorbing material to improve soundproofing properties at specific frequencies. The applications and scope of this work are finally put into perspective.

Thirteen years ago in a review that appeared in the American Zoologist, we presented the first survey of the chemical and ecological bioactivity of Antarctic shallow-water marine invertebrates. In essence, we reported that despite theoretical predictions to the contrary the incidence of chemical defenses among sessile and sluggish Antarctic marine invertebrates was widespread. Since that time we and others have significantly expanded upon the base of knowledge of Antarctic marine invertebrates' chemical ecology, both from the perspective of examining marine invertebrates in new, distinct geographic provinces, as well as broadening the evaluation of the ecological significance of secondary metabolites. Importantly, many of these studies have been framed within established theoretical constructs, particularly the Optimal Defense Theory. In the present article, we review the current knowledge of chemical ecology of benthic marine invertebrates comprising communities along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), a region of Antarctica that is both physically and biologically distinct from the rest of the continent. Our overview indicates that, similar to other regions of Antarctica, anti-predator chemical defenses are widespread among species occurring along the WAP. In some groups, such as the sponges, the incidence of chemical defenses against predation is comparable to, or even slightly higher than, that found in tropical marine systems. While there is substantial knowledge of the chemical defenses of benthic marine invertebrates against predators, much less is known about chemical anti-foulants. The sole survey conducted to date suggests that secondary metabolites in benthic sponges are likely to be important in the prevention of fouling by benthic diatoms, yet generally lack activity against marine bacteria. Our understanding of the sensory ecology of Antarctic benthic marine invertebrates, despite its great potential, remains in its infancy. For example, along the WAP, community-level non-consumptive effects occur when amphipods chemically sense fish predators and respond by seeking refuge in chemically-defended macroalgae. Such interactions may be important in releasing amphipods from predation pressure and facilitating their unusually high abundances along the WAP. Moreover, recent studies on the sensory biology of the Antarctic keystone sea star Odontaster validus indicate that chemotactile-mediated interactions between conspecifics and other sympatric predatory sea stars may have significant ramifications in structuring community dynamics. Finally, from a global environmental perspective, understanding how chemical ecology structures marine benthic communities along the WAP must increasingly be viewed in the context of the dramatic impacts of rapid climatic change now occurring in this biogeographic region.

Previous articleNext article No AccessNotes and CommentsEgg Size Distributions Among Closely Related Marine Invertebrate Species: Are They Bimodal or Unimodal?Frank E. Perron, and Robert H. CarrierFrank E. Perron Search for more articles by this author , and Robert H. Carrier Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 118, Number 5Nov., 1981 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/283865 Views: 6Total views on this site Citations: 23Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1981 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Ovidio García-Oliva, Florian M Hantzsche, Maarten Boersma, Kai W Wirtz, Lisa Campbell Phytoplankton and particle size spectra indicate intense mixotrophic dinoflagellates grazing from summer to winter, Journal of Plankton Research 44, no.22 (Mar 2022): 224–240.https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbac013Alexander D. Meyer, Alan Hastings, John L. Largier Larvae of coastal marine invertebrates enhance their settling success or benefits of planktonic development – but not both – through vertical swimming, Oikos 130, no.1212 (Nov 2021): 2260–2278.https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08585Elena K. Kupriyanova, Dmitry Yu. Mikhin Do fecundity-time models really predict extreme optimal egg sizes?, Marine Ecology 36, no.44 (Sep 2014): 873–886.https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12193Elena K. Kupriyanova What do egg size distributions in marine invertebrates tell us about validity of fecundity-time models?, Marine Ecology 35, no.22 (Aug 2013): 249–253.https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12064JS McAlister, AL Moran Effects of variation in egg energy and exogenous food on larval development in congeneric sea urchins, Marine Ecology Progress Series 490 (Sep 2013): 155–167.https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10420S. J. Kamel, F. X. Oyarzun, R. K. Grosberg Reproductive Biology, Family Conflict, and Size of Offspring in Marine Invertebrates, Integrative and Comparative Biology 50, no.44 (Aug 2010): 619–629.https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icq104Phoebe A. Cohen, Andrew H. Knoll, Robin B. Kodner Large spinose microfossils in Ediacaran rocks as resting stages of early animals, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, no.1616 (Apr 2009): 6519–6524.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0902322106 Marissa L. Baskett , Joshua S. Weitz , and Simon A. Levin The Evolution of Dispersal in Reserve Networks. M. L. Baskett et al., The American Naturalist 170, no.11 (Jul 2015): 59–78.https://doi.org/10.1086/518184L. R. McEdward and K. H. Morgan Interspecific Relationships Between Egg Size and the Level of Parental Investment per Offspring in Echinoderms, The Biological Bulletin 200, no.11 (Sep 2016): 33–50.https://doi.org/10.2307/1543083M. Fernandez, C. Bock, H.-O. Portner The cost of being a caring mother: the ignored factor in the reproduction of marine invertebrates, Ecology Letters 3, no.66 (Nov 2000): 487–494.https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2000.00172.xM. Fernández, C. Bock, H.-O. Pörtner The cost of being a caring mother: the ignored factor in the reproduction of marine invertebrates, Ecology Letters 3, no.66 (Jul 2008): 487–494.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2000.00172.x Larry R. McEdward Reproductive Strategies of Marine Benthic Invertebrates Revisited: Facultative Feeding by Planktotrophic Larvae McEdward, The American Naturalist 150, no.11 (Jul 2015): 48–72.https://doi.org/10.1086/286056 H. A. Lessios Adaptation and Phylogeny as Determinants of Egg Size in Echinoderms from the Two Sides of the Isthmus of Panama, The American Naturalist 135, no.11 (Oct 2015): 1–13.https://doi.org/10.1086/285028Andrew Clarke, Janet H. Brown, Lesley J. Holmes The biochemical composition of eggs from Macrobrachium rosenbergii in relation to embryonic development, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry 96, no.33 (Jan 1990): 505–511.https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-0491(90)90048-XH.A. Lessios Temporal and spatial variation in egg size of 13 Panamanian echinoids, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 114, no.2-32-3 (Jan 1988): 217–239.https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(88)90139-6Larry R. McEdward, Louise K. Coulter EGG VOLUME AND ENERGETIC CONTENT ARE NOT CORRELATED AMONG SIBLING OFFSPRING OF STARFISH: IMPLICATIONS FOR LIFE-HISTORY THEORY, Evolution 41, no.44 (May 2017): 914–917.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1987.tb05865.xA. Clarke, A. Skadsheim, L. J. Holmes Lipid biochemistry and reproductive biology in two species of Gammaridae (Crustacea: Amphipoda), Marine Biology 88, no.33 (Sep 1985): 247–263.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392587Chet Chaffee, Richard R. Strathmann Constraints on egg masses. I. Retarded development within thick egg masses, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 84, no.11 (Jan 1984): 73–83.https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(84)90231-4Francesco Angelini, Gianfranco Ghiara Reproductive modes and strategies in vertebrate evolution, Bolletino di zoologia 51, no.1-21-2 (Sep 2009): 121–203.https://doi.org/10.1080/11250008409439459Ib Svane Ascidian reproductive patterns related to long-term population dynamics, Sarsia 68, no.44 (Dec 2011): 249–255.https://doi.org/10.1080/00364827.1983.10420578 A. Grant On the Evolution of Brood Protection in Marine Benthic Invertebrates, The American Naturalist 122, no.44 (Oct 2015): 549–555.https://doi.org/10.1086/284155DAVID JABLONSKI, RICHARD A. LUTZ LARVAL ECOLOGY OF MARINE BENTHIC INVERTEBRATES: PALEOBIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS, Biological Reviews 58, no.11 (Feb 1983): 21–89.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1983.tb00380.xA. H. 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"A comprehensive literature review was conducted to determine the species richness of all the possible taxa of free-living benthic marine invertebrates in Chile. In addition, the extent of endemism to the Pacific Islands and deep-sea, the number of non-indigenous species, and the contribution that the Chilean benthic marine invertebrate fauna makes to the world benthic marine invertebrate fauna was examined. A total of 4,553 species were found. The most speciose taxa were the Crustacea, Mollusca and Polychaeta. Species richness data was not available for a number of taxa, despite evidence that these taxa are present in the Chilean benthos. The Chilean marine invertebrate benthic fauna constitutes 2.47 % of the world marine invertebrate benthic fauna. There are 599 species endemic to the Pacific Islands and 205 in the deep-sea. There are 25 invasive or non-indigenous species so far identified in Chile. Though the Chilean fauna is speciose there is still a considerable amount of diversity yet to be described, particularly amongst the small bodied invertebrates and from the less well explored habitats, such as the deep-sea."

Competition is a ubiquitous structuring force across systems, but different fields emphasize the role of different types of competition. In benthic marine environments, where some of the classic examples of competition were described, there is a strong emphasis on interference competition: marine invertebrates are assumed to compete fiercely for the limiting resource of space. Much of our understanding of the dynamics of this system is based on this assumption, yet empirical studies often find that increases in density can reduce performance despite free space being available. Furthermore, the assumption that space is the exclusively limiting resource raises paradoxes regarding species coexistence in this system. Here, we measure the availability of oxygen in the field and in the laboratory, as well as the tolerance of resident species to low-oxygen conditions. We show that oxygen can be the primary limiting resource in some instances, and that exploitative competition for this resource is very likely among benthic marine invertebrates. Furthermore, growth form (and the associated risk of oxygen limitation) covaries with the ability to withstand oxygen-poor conditions across a wide range of taxa. Oxygen availability at very small scales may influence the distribution and abundance of sessile marine invertebrates more than is currently appreciated. Furthermore, competition for multiple resources (space and oxygen) and trade-offs in competitive ability for each may promote coexistence in this system.

Timing of Turmeric Consumption and Oxidative Stress

Accurate knowledge of factors affecting the survival of early life stages of marine invertebrates is critically important for understanding their population dynamics and the evolution of their diverse reproductive and life-history characteristics. Chemical defense is an important determinant of survival for adult stages of many sessile benthic invertebrates, yet relatively little consideration has been given to chemical defenses at the early life stages. This review examines the taxonomic breadth of early life-stage chemical defense in relation to various life-history and reproductive characteristics, as well as possible constraints on the expression of chemical defense at certain life stages. Data on the localization of defensive secondary metabolites in larvae and the fitness-related consequences of consuming even a small amount of toxic secondary metabolites underpin proposals regarding the potential for Müllerian and Batesian mimicry to occur among marine larvae. The involvement of microbial symbionts in the chemical defense of early life stages illustrates its complexity for some species. As our knowledge of chemical defenses in early life stages grows, we will be able to more rigorously examine connections among phylogeny, chemical defenses, and the evolution of reproductive and life-history characteristics among marine invertebrates.

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 256:111-121 (2003) - doi:10.3354/meps256111 Fecundity-time models of reproductive strategies in marine benthic invertebrates: fitness differences under fluctuating environmental conditions Larry R. McEdward†, Benjamin G. Miner* Department of Zoology, University of Florida, PO Box 118525, 223 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, Florida 32611-8525, USA †Deceased *Corresponding author. Email: miner@zoology.ufl.edu ABSTRACT: Fecundity-time models have been widely used to analyze the evolution of larval strategies in marine benthic invertebrates. To further explore the behavior of this influential class of models, we examined the effect of fluctuating food availability on the expected duration of the planktonic larval period and the number of offspring that survive to metamorphosis in marine invertebrates with planktotrophic larvae. Food concentrations were allowed to fluctuate randomly on a daily basis between specified upper and lower bounds. Variation in food levels generally had a much stronger effect on development time and reproductive success when the level of egg provisioning was low (small-egg strategies). When food was abundant, smaller eggs were favored. Fluctuations in planktonic food concentrations affected small-egg strategies more strongly than large-egg strategies, but the variation in fitness was small relative to fitness differences across egg sizes. There should be consistently strong directional selection to minimize egg size whenever food is abundant, even if the concentrations fluctuate widely. However, when larvae were strongly food-limited, larger eggs were favored and fluctuations in planktonic food supply led to variation in fitness that was large relative to fitness differences among strategies. There was no clear peak on the fitness curve, due to overlap of fitness distributions across reproductive strategies. This leads to the prediction that there should be a range of intermediate- to large-egg strategies, rather than a single optimal egg size. With facultative feeding by planktotrophic larvae, there were intermediate egg sizes above which variation in food level had only negligible effects on development and survival. When the magnitude of environmentally caused variation in reproductive success exceeds the fitness differences among reproductive strategies, this should flatten out the adaptive landscape, reduce the intensity of disruptive or directional selection, and facilitate evolutionary transitions between planktotrophy and lecithotrophy or vice versa. KEY WORDS: Fecundity-time model · Life history · Facultative feeding · Egg size · Reproductive strategy · Larva Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 256. Online publication date: July 17, 2003 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2003 Inter-Research.