Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland.
Ecotoxicology. 2012 Jul;21(5):1333-44. doi: 10.1007/s10646-012-0887-2. Epub 2012 Apr 6.
Chironomid species are a vital component in many benthic and terrestrial food webs; they have an important role in the detritus cycle, and are an important source of food for many species. We studied how tributyltin (TBT) in brackish water sediments affect the composition of chironomid species communities. Emergence traps were used at selected sites on a TBT gradient in the Archipelago Sea, S-W Finland. Increased sediment TBT concentration was associated with significant chironomid species turnover, which in turn was related to decreased species diversity (number of species and genera). However, the overall number of individuals did not decrease markedly with increasing TBT contamination. This suggests that the ecological role of chironomids in the food web may be preserved even under severe impoverishment of the chironomid community due to organic tin contamination. The increased prevalence of more TBT tolerant species can potentially lead to a transport of organic tin compounds between aquatic and terrestrial food webs. Furthermore, the reduced diversity of an ecologically influential group might lower the resistance of the entire food web to other environmental hazards and perturbations.
摇蚊种类是许多底栖和陆地食物网的重要组成部分；它们在碎屑循环中起着重要的作用，是许多物种的重要食物来源。我们研究了半咸水沉积物中的三丁基锡 (TBT) 如何影响摇蚊种类群落的组成。在芬兰西南部群岛海的 TBT 梯度上的选定地点使用了出现陷阱。沉积物 TBT 浓度的增加与摇蚊种类的显著更替有关，而这又与物种多样性（物种和属的数量）的降低有关。然而，随着 TBT 污染的增加，个体的总数并没有明显减少。这表明，即使由于有机锡污染导致摇蚊群落严重减少，摇蚊在食物网中的生态作用也可能得以保留。更能耐受 TBT 的物种的增加可能会导致有机锡化合物在水生和陆地食物网之间的转移。此外，具有生态影响力的群体多样性的降低可能会降低整个食物网对其他环境危害和干扰的抵抗力。
