1,721,203 research outputs found
Twelve years of the Italian research on benthic foraminifera for monitoring pollution: a review
No full textThe response of benthic foraminiferal assemblages to copper exposure: a pilot mesocosm investigation
No full textBenthic Foraminifera from the central Adriatic Sea coast of Italy: ecological and trace element pollution implications
No full textBenthic foraminifera for heavy metal pollution monitoring: A case study from the central Adriatic Sea coast of Italy.
Full text linkBenthic foraminifera are increasingly used as environmental bio-indicators of pollution in coastal and marginal marine settings. Their community structure provides information on the general characteristics of the environment and some species are sensitive to specific environmental parameters. Among various criteria, the occurrence of test abnormalities may represent a useful bioindicator for monitoring environmental impacts in coastal regions. A study of living benthic foraminifera was carried out in 42 sediment samples collected from the central Adriatic coast of Italy. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from this area are rich, well preserved, and dominated by Ammonia parkinsoniana, and subordinately by Ammonia tepida, Aubignyna perlucida, Eggerella scabra, and Nonionella turgida. Heavy metal concentrations have been analysed which indicate low polluted environmental conditions. Foraminiferal species and heavy metal concentrations were investigated both with bivariate (correlation matrix) and multivariate techniques of principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. Statistical analysis shows a possible control of these pollutants both on the taxonomic composition of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages and the development of test malformations. Increasing heavy metal contents lead to an increase in relative abundance of A. tepida A. perlucida, N. turgida and E. scabra, and a relative concurrent decrease in relative abundance of A. parkinsoniana and higher percentages of deformed specimens (FAI) and species (FMI). Our results confirm that A. parkinsoniana prefers clean to low polluted environments and show that it is a very sensitive and un-tolerant species to heavy metal pollution being deeply affected by heavy metal content even at low concentrations. Our findings also confirm the capacity of the A. tepida to tolerate increasing heavy metal concentrations, and highlights that A. perlucida, N. turgida and E. scabra can be considered as tolerant species at least in low polluted environments. Following this, A. parkinsoniana and A. tepida can be reciprocally considered good bioindicator of heavy metal pollution over the surveyed area. The development of test abnormalities with a variety of malformations is a noticeable feature over the study area where the living deformed assemblages are largely dominated by a few species. The low percentages of deformed specimens (Foraminiferal Abnormality Index up to 4.7, with 2 on average) match well with the low concentrations of heavy metals that lead to low polluted environmental conditions. This study confirms and supports the suitability of studying benthic foraminifera as a technique for the in situ continuous bio-monitoring of heavy metal pollution of coastal marine sediments
Benthic foraminifera as indicators of heavy metal pollution: A case study from the central Adriatic Sea coast of Italy
No full textBenthic foraminifera bioindicator for pollution monitoring in a low polluted coastal area of the Adriatic Sea
No full textBenthic foraminifera and environmental quality: the case study of Sulaibikhat Bay (Kuwait)
No full textThe environmental quality of Sulaibikhat Bay (Kuwait) has been evaluated with an integrated approach that combines trace elements and grain size, organic matter qualification and quantification, and benthic foraminiferal analyses. On the basis of the comparison of the trace element concentrations to both background levels and values reported for the USEPA's sediment guidelines, the bay can be considered from moderately to severely contaminated. More specifically, the eastern part of the bay appears to be more affected by trace element pollution whereas the western one is characterized by relatively high values of total organic carbon (TOC). Biotic and abiotic data, analyzed with bivariate and multivariate techniques of statistical analysis, confirm the marked distinction between the eastern and western parts of the bay. The lowest values of benthic foraminiferal diversity (S, H, and Fisher alpha index) were found near the Al-Shuwaikh port in the eastern part of the bay, where there is also the highest level of pollution. Conversely, the western part of the bay was characterized by higher values of foraminiferal density probably in response of higher TOC values. The present study represents a first attempt to evaluate the level of pollution and its effects on the bay by assessing sediment characteristics and benthic foraminifera as bioindicators of environmental quality. Knowledge of the impact of pollution on the biological constituents of the marine environment in the area is essential when it comes to planning sustainable future developments
I foraminiferi bentonici come bioindicatori dello stato di salute degli ecosistemi acquatici di transizione e marino costieri: il caso studio della laguna di Lesina
No full textPaleoceanographical changes induced by late Eocene impacts: evidences from the planktonic foraminifera at the Massignano GSSP (central Italy)
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