National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station, Fornače 61, 6630, Piran, Slovenia.
Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 17, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
Mar Environ Res. 2021 Dec;172:105499. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105499. Epub 2021 Oct 7.
Discrepancies were found between Ecological Status of sediments evaluated though the analysis of macrobenthic community and chemical analyses along a heavily trafficked and contaminated maritime seaway in Tyrrhenian Sea. Chemical analyses showed some sites highly contaminated by PAHs and metals with values exceeding thresholds for Good Chemical status and representing potential toxicological risk for benthic animals. Conversely, macrobenthic communities were highly rich and diverse, with Ecological Status (through M-AMBI) Good and High at each site. Sampling depth, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen were the major factors influencing biotic indices (AMBI, M-AMBI, S, H), even if concentrations of PAHs and metals (V, As, and Fe) contributed in explaining a part of indices variability. Habitat heterogeneity of sampled sites is likely acting as a confounding factor for two reasons: (1) high variability of environmental parameters leads to high richness and diversity, to which M-AMBI is sensitive, and (2) environmental parameters explained part of the variability of indices, together with contaminants. Our results suggested the importance of considering natural variability as a fundamental step of environmental impact assessment, for the correct interpretation of biotic indices.
在研究通过分析大型底栖动物群落评估的沉积物生态状况与沿受交通和污染影响的亚得里亚海海域的化学分析结果之间，存在差异。化学分析显示，一些地区受到多环芳烃和金属的高度污染，其值超过良好化学状况的阈值，对底栖动物构成潜在的毒理学风险。相反，大型底栖动物群落高度丰富多样，通过 M-AMBI 每个地点的生态状况（Ecological Status）均为良好和高。采样深度、总有机碳和总氮是影响生物指数（AMBI、M-AMBI、S、H）的主要因素，尽管多环芳烃和金属（V、As 和 Fe）的浓度有助于解释部分指数的变异性。采样点生境异质性可能是一个混杂因素，原因有二：(1) 环境参数的高度变化导致了对 M-AMBI 敏感的高丰富度和多样性，以及 (2) 环境参数与污染物一起解释了部分指数的变异性。我们的结果表明，考虑自然变异性作为环境影响评估的基本步骤的重要性，以便正确解释生物指数。
