Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and Sediments
The extraction of minerals from land-based mines necessitates the disposal of large amounts of mine tailings. Dumping and storage of tailings into the marine environment, such as fjords, is currently being performed without knowing the potential ecological consequences. This study investigated the e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2017-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00169/full |
| _version_ | 1811238990790000640 |
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| author | Lisa Mevenkamp Tanja Stratmann Katja Guilini Leon Moodley Dick van Oevelen Ann Vanreusel Stig Westerlund Andrew K. Sweetman |
| author_facet | Lisa Mevenkamp Tanja Stratmann Katja Guilini Leon Moodley Dick van Oevelen Ann Vanreusel Stig Westerlund Andrew K. Sweetman |
| author_sort | Lisa Mevenkamp |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The extraction of minerals from land-based mines necessitates the disposal of large amounts of mine tailings. Dumping and storage of tailings into the marine environment, such as fjords, is currently being performed without knowing the potential ecological consequences. This study investigated the effect of short-term exposure to different deposition depths of inert iron ore tailings (0.1, 0.5, and 3 cm) and dead subsurface sediment (0.5 and 3 cm) on a deep water (200 m) fjord benthic assemblage in a microcosm experiment. Biotic and abiotic variables were measured to determine structural and functional changes of the benthic community following an 11 and 16 day exposure with tailings and dead sediment, respectively. Structural changes of macrofauna, meiofauna, and bacteria were measured in terms of biomass, density, community composition and mortality while measures of oxygen penetration depth, sediment community oxygen consumption and 13C-uptake and processing by biota revealed changes in the functioning of the system. Burial with mine tailings and natural sediments modified the structure and functioning of the benthic community albeit in a different way. Mine tailings deposition of 0.1 cm and more resulted in a reduced capacity of the benthic community to remineralize fresh 13C-labeled algal material, as evidenced by the reduced sediment community oxygen consumption and uptake rates in all biological compartments. At 3 cm of tailings deposition, it was evident that nematode mortality was higher inside the tailings layer, likely caused by reduced food availability. In contrast, dead sediment addition led to an increase in oxygen consumption and bacterial carbon uptake comparable to control conditions, thereby leaving deeper sediment layers anoxic and in turn causing nematode mortality at 3 cm deposition. This study clearly shows that even small levels (0.1 cm) of instantaneous burial by mine tailings may significantly reduce benthic ecosystem functioning on the short term. Furthermore, it reveals the importance of substrate characteristics and origin when studying the effects of substrate addition on marine benthic fauna. Our findings should alert decision makers when considering approval of new deep-sea tailings placement sites as this technique will have major negative impacts on benthic ecosystem functioning over large areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T12:52:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9281d1b20434a9fbfbc6af632910814 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T12:52:59Z |
| publishDate | 2017-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9281d1b20434a9fbfbc6af6329108142022-12-22T03:32:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452017-05-01410.3389/fmars.2017.00169267208Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and SedimentsLisa Mevenkamp0Tanja Stratmann1Katja Guilini2Leon Moodley3Dick van Oevelen4Ann Vanreusel5Stig Westerlund6Andrew K. Sweetman7Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent UniversityGhent, BelgiumNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Utrecht UniversityYerseke, NetherlandsMarine Biology Research Group, Ghent UniversityGhent, BelgiumEnvironment Department, International Research Institute of StavangerRandaberg, NorwayNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Utrecht UniversityYerseke, NetherlandsMarine Biology Research Group, Ghent UniversityGhent, BelgiumEnvironment Department, International Research Institute of StavangerRandaberg, NorwayThe Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology, Heriot-Watt UniversityEdinburgh, United KingdomThe extraction of minerals from land-based mines necessitates the disposal of large amounts of mine tailings. Dumping and storage of tailings into the marine environment, such as fjords, is currently being performed without knowing the potential ecological consequences. This study investigated the effect of short-term exposure to different deposition depths of inert iron ore tailings (0.1, 0.5, and 3 cm) and dead subsurface sediment (0.5 and 3 cm) on a deep water (200 m) fjord benthic assemblage in a microcosm experiment. Biotic and abiotic variables were measured to determine structural and functional changes of the benthic community following an 11 and 16 day exposure with tailings and dead sediment, respectively. Structural changes of macrofauna, meiofauna, and bacteria were measured in terms of biomass, density, community composition and mortality while measures of oxygen penetration depth, sediment community oxygen consumption and 13C-uptake and processing by biota revealed changes in the functioning of the system. Burial with mine tailings and natural sediments modified the structure and functioning of the benthic community albeit in a different way. Mine tailings deposition of 0.1 cm and more resulted in a reduced capacity of the benthic community to remineralize fresh 13C-labeled algal material, as evidenced by the reduced sediment community oxygen consumption and uptake rates in all biological compartments. At 3 cm of tailings deposition, it was evident that nematode mortality was higher inside the tailings layer, likely caused by reduced food availability. In contrast, dead sediment addition led to an increase in oxygen consumption and bacterial carbon uptake comparable to control conditions, thereby leaving deeper sediment layers anoxic and in turn causing nematode mortality at 3 cm deposition. This study clearly shows that even small levels (0.1 cm) of instantaneous burial by mine tailings may significantly reduce benthic ecosystem functioning on the short term. Furthermore, it reveals the importance of substrate characteristics and origin when studying the effects of substrate addition on marine benthic fauna. Our findings should alert decision makers when considering approval of new deep-sea tailings placement sites as this technique will have major negative impacts on benthic ecosystem functioning over large areas.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00169/fullsubmarine tailings placementanthropogenic disturbancedeep seabenthosalgal carbonpulse-chase analysis |
| spellingShingle | Lisa Mevenkamp Tanja Stratmann Katja Guilini Leon Moodley Dick van Oevelen Ann Vanreusel Stig Westerlund Andrew K. Sweetman Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and Sediments Frontiers in Marine Science submarine tailings placement anthropogenic disturbance deep sea benthos algal carbon pulse-chase analysis |
| title | Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and Sediments |
| title_full | Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and Sediments |
| title_fullStr | Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and Sediments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and Sediments |
| title_short | Impaired Short-Term Functioning of a Benthic Community from a Deep Norwegian Fjord Following Deposition of Mine Tailings and Sediments |
| title_sort | impaired short term functioning of a benthic community from a deep norwegian fjord following deposition of mine tailings and sediments |
| topic | submarine tailings placement anthropogenic disturbance deep sea benthos algal carbon pulse-chase analysis |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00169/full |
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