Impact of excessive sedimentation caused by anthropogenic activities on benthic suspension feeders in the Sea of Marmara


Topcu N. E., Turgay E., Yardimci R. E., Topaloglu B., Yuksek A., Steinum T. M., ...Daha Fazla

JOURNAL OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, cilt.99, sa.5, ss.1075-1086, 2019 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 99 Sayı: 5
  • Basım Tarihi: 2019
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1017/s0025315418001066
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1075-1086
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Corals, disturbance, gorgonians, mass mortality, Mucor, Vibrio, GORGONIAN SPINIMURICEA-KLAVERENI, MARINE PROTECTED AREA, MASS MORTALITY EVENT, 16S RIBOSOMAL-RNA, PARAMURICEA-CLAVATA, VIBRIO-SPLENDIDUS, MUCOR-CIRCINELLOIDES, CAUSATIVE AGENT, CORAL-REEFS, SP-NOV.
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

A massive die-off of benthic suspension feeders (BSF) covered by large amounts of sediments was observed along Prince Islands coasts (north-eastern Sea of Marmara) in August 2015. Alcyonarians, pennatulaceans, bivalves and sponges were severely affected. Many BSF probably died from burial and clogging of their feeding and respiratory apparatus. Of the gorgonian colonies, 66 +/- 34% (mean +/- SD) were dead, while 15 +/- 16% (mean +/- SD) displayed recent necrosis on the colony surface. In addition, histopathological and microbial examinations of the affected gorgonians and gold corals (Savalia savaglia) suggest that stress caused by sedimentation made them vulnerable to exploitation by consistently isolated opportunistic microorganisms. We isolated Vibrio splendidus and Vibrio neptunius from diseased gold coral colonies, but the bacterial isolates obtained from gorgonians could only be identified to genus Vibrio level. The presumably artificially introduced fungus Mucor circinelloides was common on both gold coral and gorgonians. This mould and opportunistic bacteria may have colonized BSF by taking advantage of low oxygen levels leading to impaired coral immune responses and thereby exacerbated the BSF mortality. Construction and landfill operations at Yassiada seem to be the greatest contributor to the observed sedimentation, as shown by silicate concentrations in nearby waters. These observations imply that preventive measures are necessary when construction operations take place in the vicinity of sensitive marine habitats.