Research Unit: Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Research Unit: Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Mar Environ Res. 2020 Apr;156:104916. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.104916. Epub 2020 Feb 8.
Shallow shipwrecks, can have severe ecological and toxicological impacts on coral atolls. In 2012, a tuna longliner ran aground on the reef crest of St Brandon's Atoll, Mauritius, broke up into three pieces which was moved by currents and storms into the lagoon. In the months following the grounding, the coral around the wreck became dead and black. Down-current from the wreck, a dense bloom of filamentous algae (Ulva sp.) attached to coral occurred. To determine the ecological effects of the wreck on the system, the marine biota around the wreck, in the algal bloom, and fish reference zones were counted in 2014. Metal concentrations in reference and affected coral was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS). A pronounced difference was seen in the metal concentration pattern between coral from the wreck- and algal zones, and the coral reference zone. While the wreck zone contained the highest abundance of fish, the fish reference zone had the highest species diversity but with fewer fish. We also counted eleven Critically Endangered hawksbill sea turtles Eretmochelys imbricata and significantly more sea cucumbers in the algal zone than the reference zones. The effects of shipwrecks on coral reefs must be considered a threat over periods of years and should be studied further.
浅沉船对环礁珊瑚具有严重的生态和毒理学影响。2012 年，一艘金枪鱼延绳钓船在毛里求斯的圣布兰登环礁的礁顶搁浅，船体分成三块，被海流和风暴卷入泻湖。在搁浅后的几个月里，沉船周围的珊瑚变得死亡和黑色。在沉船的下游，大量丝状藻类（Ulva sp.）附着在珊瑚上。为了确定沉船对该系统的生态影响，于 2014 年对沉船周围、藻类丛生区和鱼类参考区的海洋生物进行了计数。使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP/MS）测定参考和受影响珊瑚中的金属浓度。从沉船区和藻类区以及珊瑚参考区的珊瑚中可以看出金属浓度模式有明显差异。尽管沉船区鱼类丰度最高，但鱼类参考区的物种多样性最高，但鱼类较少。我们还在藻类区发现了 11 只极危的玳瑁海龟 Eretmochelys imbricata 和数量明显多于参考区的海参。沉船对珊瑚礁的影响必须被视为多年来的威胁，应该进一步研究。
