Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA; School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China.
Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 May;178:113631. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113631. Epub 2022 Apr 6.
Microzooplankton (<200 μm) are essential intermediates between primary production and organisms at the higher trophic levels. Their ecological functions could be substantially affected by crude oil pollution. A natural plankton community was exposed to 10 μL L of chemically dispersed crude oil (DOil) in outdoor mesocosms for 7 days, with control (Ctrl) mesocosms set up for comparison. Dilution experiments were conducted to estimate the grazing rates of microzooplankton on the 2nd and 6th days of the pollutants exposure. Results showed 0.36-2.28 d microzooplankton grazing rates in the Ctrl mesocosms on both days but negative rates in the DOil mesocosms. A significant linear relationship between in situ phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates was found in the Ctrl treatment but not in the DOil treatment. This suggests a de-coupling between phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton and the potential for the formation of phytoplankton blooms in seawater after an oil spill event.
微型浮游动物（<200μm）是初级生产力和更高营养级生物之间的重要中间环节。它们的生态功能可能会受到原油污染的显著影响。在户外中培养箱中，自然浮游动物群落暴露于 10μL/L 的化学分散原油（DOil）中 7 天，同时设置对照（Ctrl）中培养箱进行比较。在污染物暴露的第 2 天和第 6 天进行了稀释实验，以估计微型浮游动物的摄食率。结果表明，在对照中培养箱中，这两天的微型浮游动物摄食率在 0.36-2.28d 之间，但在 DOil 中培养箱中为负值。在对照处理中发现了现场浮游植物生长和微型浮游动物摄食率之间的显著线性关系，但在 DOil 处理中没有。这表明在溢油事件后，浮游植物生长和微型浮游动物之间可能会出现解耦，并且海水中可能会形成浮游植物水华。
