Influence of bioturbation by Hediste diversicolor on mercury fluxes from estuarine sediments: A mesocosms laboratory experiment

Mercury, with its reactive forms being the most deleterious for the trophic chains, has been identified as a major pollutant in a few confined bodies of the coastal zone. Due to feeding, burrowing, and bioirrigation activities, infauna are known to play a crucial role in the biogeochemical processes...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cardoso, P. G. (author)
Other Authors: Lillebø, A. I. (author), Lopes, C. B. (author), Pereira, E. (author), Duarte, A. C. (author), Pardal, M. A. (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Bioturbation
Hediste diversicolor
Mercury remobilisation
Estuarine sediments
Mesocosms experiment
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10316/5313
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:estudogeral.sib.uc.pt:10316/5313
Description
Summary:Mercury, with its reactive forms being the most deleterious for the trophic chains, has been identified as a major pollutant in a few confined bodies of the coastal zone. Due to feeding, burrowing, and bioirrigation activities, infauna are known to play a crucial role in the biogeochemical processes of contaminants. The main goal of the present study is to evaluate the effects of Hediste diversicolor bioturbation on mercury fluxes from estuarine sediments in a mesocosms laboratory experiment. Additionally, an attempt was made to establish a relationship between the amount of remobilised mercury to the water column and the degree of contamination of the sediments using a mercury contamination gradient.

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