Key Laboratory of Sustainable Exploitation of Oceanic Fisheries Resources, Ministry of Education, College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, 999 Huchenghuan Road, Lingang New City, Shanghai, 201306, People's Republic of China.
Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hadal Science & Technology, College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2022 Mar;200(3):1395-1407. doi: 10.1007/s12011-021-02728-9. Epub 2021 May 21.
Hadal trenches are the deepest areas worldwide. Amphipods are considered a key factor in hadal ecosystems because of their important impacts on the hadal environment. Amphipods have benthic habits, and therefore, serve as good metal biomonitors. However, little is known about the hadal amphipod metal accumulations. In the present study, Alicella gigantea, Hirondellea gigas, and Scopelocheirus schellenbergi were sampled from the New Britain Trench (8824m, 7.02S 149.16E), Mariana Trench (10,839m, 11.38N 142.42E), and Marceau Trench (6690m, 1.42N 148.74E) in the West Pacific Ocean, respectively. The elemental concentrations of the three hadal amphipods were subsequently investigated. Nine trace elements (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Se, Mo, Ag, and Cd) of three tissues (exoskeleton, leg muscle, and gut) of the hadal amphipods were detected by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method. The concentrations of Cr, Cd, and Mn were comparably higher among those nine examined elements. The greatest accumulations of the elements Cr, Ag, and V in the exoskeleton and leg muscle were observed in H. gigas, and elements Mn, Co, and Se showed the highest accumulations in the gut in H. gigas among the three hadal amphipods. In addition, comparisons of the leg muscle trace element accumulation between the hadal amphipods and non-abyssal and shallow water decapoda and amphipoda species showed that the hadal amphipods possessed comparably higher concentrations of the trace elements Cd, Co, Mo, Ag, and V. This finding suggested a bottom-up effect of food availability and indicated the effects of human activities within the hadal environments. This study reveals the trace element bio-accumulation of three hadal amphipods, and suggests that deep-sea amphipods are potential indicator species for trace element bioavailability in the deep-sea environment.
深渊海沟是全球最深的区域。十足目端足类动物因其对深渊环境的重要影响而被认为是深渊生态系统的关键因素。十足目端足类动物具有底栖习性，因此是很好的金属生物监测物。然而，人们对深渊端足类动物的金属积累知之甚少。在本研究中，分别从西太平洋的新不列颠海沟（8824m，7.02S 149.16E）、马里亚纳海沟（10839m，11.38N 142.42E）和马绍尔海沟（6690m，1.42N 148.74E）采集到了巨型阿里仙虾（Alicella gigantea）、大鳞阿里仙虾（Hirondellea gigas）和斯切伦伯格氏巨虾（Scopelocheirus schellenbergi）。随后对这三种深渊端足类动物的元素浓度进行了研究。采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）检测了这三种深渊端足类动物的三个组织（外骨骼、腿肌和肠道）中的 9 种痕量元素（V、Cr、Mn、Co、Ni、Se、Mo、Ag 和 Cd）。在这 9 种被检测元素中，Cr、Cd 和 Mn 的浓度相对较高。H. gigas 的外骨骼和腿肌中 Cr、Ag 和 V 的元素积累量最大，而三种深渊端足类动物中，H. gigas 的肠道中 Mn、Co 和 Se 的元素积累量最高。此外，将深渊端足类动物与非深渊和浅海十足目甲壳动物和端足类动物的腿肌痕量元素积累进行比较，结果表明，深渊端足类动物具有更高浓度的 Cd、Co、Mo、Ag 和 V 等痕量元素。这一发现表明了食物可利用性的底层效应，并表明了人类活动对深渊环境中痕量元素的影响。本研究揭示了三种深渊端足类动物的痕量元素生物积累情况，表明深海端足类动物是深海环境中痕量元素生物可利用性的潜在指示物种。
