Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway.
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Oester Voldgade 10, 1350, Copenhagen K, Denmark.
Mar Environ Res. 2020 Apr;156:104885. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.104885. Epub 2020 Jan 24.
The present study performed in Horten Inner Harbor (southern Norway) shows that foraminifera link the present-day Ecological Quality Status (EcoQS) to EcoQS of former times and, this way, bridge an important knowledge gap concerning determination of reference conditions, even in naturally stressed environments such as transitional waters and oxygen depleted habitats. In Horten Inner Harbor, geochemical data in the oldest deposits showed stable background concentrations for about 200 years (from about 1600 to 1800) before human activity became noteworthy, reflecting 'good' to 'high' status. Hence, it is reasonable that organisms, which lived in the area during the same nearly un-impacted time interval, represent the biologically defined reference conditions, irrespectively of whether the biotic indices are classified as 'good' or 'bad'. The present paper illustrates, with a conceptual model, how the retrospective foraminiferal biomonitoring method can be used to detect environmental perturbations in estuaries and meet the difficulties of the Estuarine Quality Paradox.
本研究在豪顿内港（挪威南部）进行，结果表明，有孔虫将现今的生态质量状况（EcoQS）与过去的生态质量状况联系起来，从而填补了关于确定基准条件的重要知识空白，即使在过渡水域和缺氧生境等自然压力环境中也是如此。在豪顿内港，最古老沉积物中的地球化学数据显示，在人类活动变得显著之前，大约 200 年（约 1600 年至 1800 年）的时间里，背景浓度保持稳定，反映出“良好”到“高”的状态。因此，在几乎未受影响的同一时间段内生活在该地区的生物，代表了生物定义的参考条件，这是合理的，而不论生物指数被归类为“良好”还是“不良”。本文通过概念模型说明了回溯有孔虫生物监测方法如何用于检测河口的环境干扰，并解决河口质量悖论的困难。
