Environmental Research Institute, School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand.
Department of Chemistry and Centre for Trace Element Analysis, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Union Place, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 2;9(1):9573. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-45911-8.
Pollution from the grounding or sinking of ships can have long lasting effects on the recovery and dynamics of coastal ecosystems. Research on the impact of copper (Cu) pollution from the 2011 MV Rena shipwreck at the Astrolabe Reef (Otaiti), New Zealand, 5 years after the grounding, followed a multi-method and multi-disciplinary approach. Three independent measures of aqueous Cu using trace-element-clean-techniques substantiate the presence of high total, total dissolved (<2 µm) and elevated bioavailable Cu in the water column immediately above the aft section of the wreck where the highest sedimentary load of Cu was located. Intermittently elevated concentrations of strong Cu-binding ligands occurred in this location, and their binding strength was consistent with ligands actively produced by organisms in response to Cu induced stress. The recruitment of benthic invertebrates was modified at the high-Cu location. Taxonomic groups usually considered robust to pollution were restricted to this site (e.g. barnacles) or were the most abundant taxa present (e.g. foraminifera). Our results demonstrate that Cu-contaminated sediments can impose a persistent point source of Cu pollution in high-energy reef environments, with the potential to modify the composition and recovery of biological communities.
船舶搁浅或沉没造成的污染会对沿海生态系统的恢复和动态产生持久影响。2011 年，MV Rena 号在新西兰奥塔伊蒂的 Astrolabe 暗礁处搁浅，五年后，研究人员采用多方法和多学科的方法，研究了此次沉船事故造成的铜（Cu）污染的影响。使用痕量元素清洁技术的三种独立的水相 Cu 测量方法证实，在沉船尾部上方的水柱中存在高总铜、总溶解态（<2μm）和高生物可利用性 Cu，而此处的沉积物 Cu 负荷最高。在这个位置间歇性地出现了高浓度的强 Cu 结合配体，其结合强度与生物为应对 Cu 诱导的胁迫而主动产生的配体一致。高 Cu 区域的底栖无脊椎动物的生物量也发生了变化。通常被认为对污染具有较强抵抗力的分类群仅限于该地点（例如藤壶），或者是该地点最丰富的生物类群（例如有孔虫）。我们的研究结果表明，受 Cu 污染的沉积物可能会在高能量的珊瑚礁环境中造成持续的 Cu 点源污染，从而改变生物群落的组成和恢复能力。
