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 divers...

*Correspondence: Erik Kristensen, Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark e-mail: [email protected] We aim at identifying how ecosystem functioning in shallow estuaries is affected by rapid shifts in benthic fauna communities. We use the shallow estuary, Odense Fjord, Denmark, as a case study to test our hypotheses that (1) shifts in benthic fa...

Nereis diversicolor, a marine worm, is unique in its ability to survive in high concentrations of cadmium that would be lethal to other organisms. Investigation into this characteristic led to the discovery of metalloprotein II (MPII), a member of the myohemerythrin family. The affinity of MPII for cadmium makes it unique among the myohemerythrins, which normally bind iron. MPII is thus an inte...

Taiwan abalones, Haliotis diversicolor supertexta, held in 30 parts/per thousand seawater at 28 degrees C, were injected with TSB-grown Vibrio parahaemolyticus (1.6x10(5) cfu abalone(-1)) and then transferred to 20, 24, 28 and 32 degrees C. All abalones transferred to 32 degrees C died by 72 h. The mortality of V. parahaemolyticus-injected abalone held at 20 and 24 degrees C was significantly l...

The ability of the common brackish water polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor O. F. Miiller to regulate osmotically and ionically has been well established (Schlieper, 1929; Beadle, 1937; Smith, 1955; Hohendorf, 1963; Oglesby, 1970; and others). Jergensen & Dales (1957) demonstrated an uptake of chloride against the concentration gradient at low salinities, with a maximum rate of exchange under ...

Although macrobenthic assemblages are considered as major players in many ecosystems around the world, the ecology of Caspian Sea macrobenthos is currently understudied. This study describes the species composition and quantitative distribution of macrobenthos in the southern Caspian Sea and relates the distribution to seasonal changes at three depths (1, 5 and 10 meters) on the Boojagh Marine ...