Marine Biology Department, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, RJ, Brazil; Department of Nuclear Physics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Department of Nuclear Physics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Micron. 2019 Jun;121:77-83. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2019.03.004. Epub 2019 Mar 26.
Bioturbation is one of the principle biological processes involved in transporting particles and solutes within sediments, which contributes to the maintenance of biodiversity. In muddy polluted environments, bioturbation may increase pollutant flux at the water-sediment interface, thereby enhancing contaminant bioavailability. The behavior of organisms dictates bioturbation, and gallery shape influences the magnitude of solute transport. Thus, quantitative investigations of gallery shape are fundamental to understanding how pollutant and solute transport is enhanced by bioturbators in muddy sediments. However, there is a lack of tools for quantitatively analyzing gallery geometry, especially for assessing bioturbation and gallery properties through time. Despite the potential of microcomputed tomography (μCT) for quantitative analyses of bioturbation, few such studies have been carried out. Here, we aimed to investigate the potential of μCT for quantitatively assessing the shape and geometric properties of galleries made by small marine polychaetes and their evolution through time in muddy sediments. We focused on Laeonereis acuta (Treadwell, 1923) (Nereididae, Polychaeta), which is a key bioturbator in marine coastal ecosystems. Using 2D and 3D images generated from μCT, we evaluated L. acuta galleries and propose several indexes to quantitatively assess gallery evolution and the role of gallery parameters in bioturbation. Quantitative investigations of polychaete galleries using μCT can assist in monitoring how bioturbation influences sedimentary systems.
生物扰动是涉及在沉积物中运输颗粒和溶质的主要生物过程之一，有助于维持生物多样性。在泥泞污染的环境中，生物扰动可能会增加水-沉积物界面处的污染物通量，从而提高污染物的生物可利用性。生物体的行为决定了生物扰动，而通道的形状影响着溶质的传输量。因此，定量研究通道的形状对于理解生物扰动如何增强泥泞沉积物中的污染物和溶质的传输至关重要。然而，目前缺乏定量分析通道几何形状的工具，特别是缺乏评估生物扰动和通道特性随时间变化的工具。尽管微计算机断层扫描 (μCT) 具有定量分析生物扰动的潜力，但很少有这样的研究。在这里，我们旨在研究 μCT 用于定量评估小型海洋多毛类动物在泥泞沉积物中形成的通道的形状和几何特性及其随时间的演变的潜力。我们专注于海洋沿海生态系统中的关键生物扰动者 Laeonereis acuta (Treadwell, 1923) (Nereididae, Polychaeta)。我们使用 μCT 生成的 2D 和 3D 图像来评估 L. acuta 通道，并提出了几个指标来定量评估通道的演变以及通道参数在生物扰动中的作用。使用 μCT 对多毛类动物通道进行定量研究可以帮助监测生物扰动如何影响沉积系统。
