| 1. |
- Kankainen, Max, et al.
(författare)
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In situ ecological quality status in the Kosterhavet National Park (Skagerrak, North Sea): a 100 year-perspective
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecological Indicators. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-160X. ; 147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Koster Trench is the deepest part of the Kosterfjord located in the Skagerrak at the north-west coast of Sweden. In 2009 the Kosterfjord was included into the Marine Protected area Kosterhavet National Park characterized by high biodiversity and a presence of cold-water coral reefs dominated by Lophelia pertusa. The cold-water coral reefs show signs of deterioration and are known to have a much wider distribution during the past. In this study we investigate the temporal variability of the Ecological Quality Status (EcoQS) using benthic foraminifera and sediment geochemistry from a sediment core collected in the Koster Trench together with available hydrographic timeseries and meteorological data. We found that the EcoQS for TOC, metals, and foraminiferal indices suggest high to good ecological status close to natural background levels (reference conditions). However, arsenic (As) content in the sediment has been rising steadily over the period ∼ 1880–2009. Given this pollutant will continue to rise further, it may pass a threshold after which it becomes toxic to the benthic organisms, reaching intermediate EcoQS as it was shown by previous studies. Multivariate statistics performed on foraminiferal data identified three assemblages characterising the record: 1) Stainforthia fusiformis group at ∼ 1880–1940; 2) Bulimina marginata, Cassidulina laevigata and Hyalinea baltica group between ∼ 1940–1985, and, finally, 3) Stainforthia fusiformis and Textularia earlandi group at ∼ 1985–2009. The benthic foraminifera and sediment geochemistry suggests that a decrease in coastal upwelling due to positive NAO together with an increase in freshwater inflow from 1979/1980s; changes in phytoplankton community composition in late 2000s, and trawling activity shifted to the deepest fjord basin from 2009, all together likely have caused a shift towards more opportunistic foraminiferal species with an omnivorous feeding strategies and tolerance of physical disturbance.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Nordberg, Kjell, 1955, et al.
(författare)
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Historic distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (PAC) in a Skagerrak fjord, Swedish west coast as reflected in a high-resolution sediment record and compared to the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS)
- 2024
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Ingår i: Marine Pollution Bulletin. - : Elsevier. - 0025-326X .- 1879-3363. ; 199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the historic distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (PAC) in a Skagerrak fjord, a relatively unexploited area, on the Swedish west coast. PACs encompass various compounds, including PAHs, alkyl-PAHs, nitro-PAHs, and oxy-PAHs. These compounds, have environmental implications due to their harmful properties. Using a high-resolution sediment record, PAC variations including standard PAHs, nitro-PAHs and oxy-PAHs were investigated over the last approximately 170 years, comparing them with other European records. The sediment record reveals a significant increase in PAC levels during the 1940s–1950s, followed by peaks in the 1960s and 1970s, and a subsequent decrease in the 1980s. These trends align with industrial growth and evolving stronger environmental regulations in the region. The highest recorded concentration of PACs (1950–1970) reached levels comparable to present-day polluted urban environments. The study also compared PAH levels with EQS values. Results indicated that PAH levels exceeded EQS standards, potentially posing risks to sediment-dwelling organisms.
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| 4. |
- O'Brien, Phoebe A. J., 1995, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the environmental quality of a historically-polluted fjord: a comparison of benthic foraminiferal eDNA and morphospecies proxy approaches
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Congress FORAMS2023, Perugia, Italy, 25-30th June, 2023. - : Micropress Europe & The Grzybowski Foundation.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transitional environments present a unique challenge to Ecosystem Quality Status (EcoQS) assessment due to highly heterogenous conditions within the system, resulting in the “estuarine quality paradox”. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages provide high resolution environmental proxy records of the interaction between abiotic and biotic parameters in aqueous ecosystems. Fjords particularly have complex seabed topography which limits bottom water exchange and can result in hypoxia, and Idefjord on the Swedish Norwegian boarder is no exception. Although this oxygen decline is a natural occurrence which impairs fjord’s EcoQS, these ‘naturally stressed conditions’ complicate the definition of in-situ reference conditions if the system becomes subject to anthropogenic impact. At Idefjord the prolonged dumping of waste products from the paper and pulp manufacturing and bleaching industry, situated at the city of Halden, into the river Tista which feeds the fjord system, has led to a build-up of organic matter, sewage effluent and pollutant accumulation in the sediments. This study is the first assessment of foraminiferal diversity using sedimentary eDNA from one of the most polluted and anoxic fjords in Scandinavia, comparing the assemblage response reported by morphology-based and molecular ecosystem assessment techniques. Although index thresholds and genetic data processing decisions influence the EcoQS assessment category determined by each technique, both datasets report congruous responses in the benthic foraminiferal assemblages to pollution and environmental stress factors. Genetic methods tend to overestimate EcoQS at highly anoxic sites probably due to a presence of dormant propagules or extraorganismal DNA and suggesting that morphological methods are more suited to assessment in such conditions.
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| 5. |
- Polovodova Asteman, Irina, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental changes in the Kosterhavet National Park marine protected area: evidence from local sediment archives
- 2022
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Ingår i: 14th International Palaeoceanography Congress (ICP14), Bergen (Norway).
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Koster Trench is the deepest part of the Kosterfjord (North Sea), which stretches along the west coast of Sweden. Since 2009 Kosterfjord has been included in the MPA Kosterhavet National Park due a presence of cold water coral communities. To effectively manage national parks, long-term time series of ecological data are needed and those can be derived from local sediment archives. In this study we present multiproxy geochemical (bulk TOC, C/N and heavy metals) and micropaleontological (dinoflagellate cysts, selected palynomorphs and benthic foraminifera) data from a sediment core taken in the southern part of the Koster Trench. Radiometric dating by 210Pb and 137Cs places the core within 1988 - 2012. The TOC, heavy metals and foraminiferal indices indicate high to good ecological quality status (EcoQS), with moderate EcoQS for arsenic concentrations. Dinoflagellate cysts suggest a major change occurring in the upper water column around 2002. The cysts of Pentapharsodinium dalei show overall slightly higher relative abundances between 1988 and 2002. Increased Biecheleria baltica cysts are present during ~ 2002 to 2012. Also, there is a clear increase of Alexandrium cysts in the top of the core (~ 2008 – 2012). Benthic foraminifera show a significant increase of agglutinated species (mainly Textularia earlandi) from 2007 towards present day, while during 1988-2007 calcareous species dominate. This suggests an increased freshwater input or a higher river/land runoff, as supported by the observed increased precipitation, lower salinity, and an increased POC in surface waters during the 2000s. These changes, in combination with trawling activities, likely favoured dinoflagellate and foraminiferal species with mixotrophic and omnivorous feeding strategies. Similar to the dinocysts, calculated foram-AMBI and NQIforamindices show a shift around 2002 suggesting that environmental changes occurring in the study area are likely linked to darkening of coastal waters.
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| 6. |
- Polovodova Asteman, Irina, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Leisure boat harbours, metal pollution and alien foraminifera: a case study of Hinsholmskilen Harbour (Gothenburg, Sweden)
- 2024
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Ingår i: TMS – CFFR Joint Foraminifera Spring Meeting, 22-25th May, Köln, Germany. - : The Micropalaeontological Society and Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Small leisure boat harbours have important aesthetic and recreational values in any country with a coastline. Sweden, with its long and complex coastline, is a particularly good example of a rich public boat life. It is estimated that there are about 860 000 leisure boats in Sweden, which is one of the highest numbers in the world in relation to the country’s population. Yet, small boat harbours also present a wide range of environmental problems such as e.g. metal pollution and introduction of alien species. In this study we have investigated the ecological quality status (EcoQS) of the small boat harbour of Hinsholmskilen, located south-west of Gothenburg city (Sweden). We have analysed surface sediment (0-1 cm) samples, taken in 2019, for heavy metals (As, Cu, Zn, Pb, Co, Ni, Cr and Hg) and performed a reconnaissance survey of the harbour’s previously unstudied benthic foraminiferal communities. The results showed that the harbour has good to high EcoQS corresponding to no or little deviation from reference conditions for Cd, Co, Ni and Pb distribution. Some of the metals (Pb, As, Zn and Cr) showed poor to bad EcoQS in the innermost harbour in proximity to high pressure cleaning plants, where boats are usually lifted up, cleaned, and prepared for winter storage on land. Finally, Cu and Hg showed consistently bad and poor EcoQS all over the harbour, reflecting use of both metals as biocides in antifouling boat paints. Based on the total fauna distribution, the benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the Hinsholmskilen Harbour represented a typical estuarine community with highly abundant Ammonia and Elphidium species, as documented elsewhere in European estuaries. Based on molecular and morphological data, we report two alien and putatively invasive species likely originating from Asia: Trochammina hadai and Ammonia confertitesta (phylotype T6). Both species have been recently identified elsewhere on the Swedish west coast based on molecular data but were not recorded by morphology-based studies yet.
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| 7. |
- Polovodova Asteman, Irina, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Recent environmental change in a marine protected area as reflected by sediment proxy data.
- 2020
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Ingår i: European Geoscience Union 2020 - Sharing Geoscience Online.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Koster Trench is the deepest part of the Kosterfjord (Skagerrak, North Sea), which stretches southward along the west coast of Sweden. Since 2009 Kosterfjord has been included in the Marine Protected Area Kosterhavet National Park due to the presence of cold-water coral reefs. In this study we present multiproxy data from the sediment core KSK12-01D taken in the southern part of the Koster Trench. The core has been dated by 137Cs and was subject to bulk geochemistry (TOC, C/N and heavy metals: Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb) and micropaleontological (benthic foraminifera, dinocysts and selected palynomorphs) analyses. Results show that the core is an archive for the environmental changes that took place between ~1988 and 2012. Both TOC and heavy metals indicate high/good to moderate ecological quality status, as defined by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Dinocysts suggest a major change occurring in the upper water column around 2002. The cysts of Pentapharsodinium dalei peak around 1992 and shows overall slightly higher relative abundances between 1988 and 2002. Increased abundance of cysts produced by Protoceratium reticulatum (i.e. Operculodinium centrocarpum sensu Wall and Dale 1966), cysts produced by Biecheleria baltica and heterotrophic dinoflagellates, oligotrichids, pollen and spores characterise the upper core part deposited from 2002 to 2012. Furthermore, there is a clear increase of calcareous Alexandrium cysts in the top of the core (~2008-2012). Benthic foraminifera show a major faunal change reflected in a drastic increase of agglutinated species (mainly Textularia earlandi) from 2007 towards present day, while the lower part of the core (1988-2007) is dominated by calcareous species (Stainforthia fusiformis, Epistominella exigua, Cassidulina laevigata, Bulimina marginata andHyalinea balthica). Overall, the changes in the dataset suggest an increased freshwater input or a higher river/land runoff, as supported by a local climate and hydrography data showing increasing precipitation and particulate organic carbon in the surface waters over the time period covered by our record.
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| 8. |
- Polovodova Asteman, Irina, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Recent environmental change in the Kosterhavet National Park marine protected area as reflected by hydrography and sediment proxy data.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Marine Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0141-1136. ; 166
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Koster Trench is the deepest part of the Kosterfjord (Skagerrak, North Sea), which stretches southward along the west coast of Sweden. Since 2009 Kosterfjord has been included in the Marine Protected Area Kosterhavet National Park. To effectively manage national parks, long-term time series of ecological data are needed and those can be derived from local sediment archives. In this study we present multiproxy geochemical (bulk TOC, C/N and heavy metals) and micropaleontological (dinoflagellate cysts, selected palynomorphs and benthic foraminifera) data from a sediment core taken in the southern part of the Koster Trench. Radiometric dating by 210Pb and 137Cs shows that the core archived the environmental changes that took place between 1988 and 2012. The TOC, heavy metals and foraminiferal indices indicate mainly high to good ecological quality status, with moderate ecological quality for arsenic concentrations. Dinoflagellate cysts suggest a major change occurring in the upper water column around 2002. The cysts of Pentapharsodinium dalei peak around 1992 and show overall slightly higher relative abundances between 1988 and 2002. Increased abundance of Biecheleria baltica cysts, heterotrophic species, oligotrichids, pollen and spores characterise the upper core part deposited from 2002 to 2012. Also, there is a clear increase of Alexandrium cysts in the top of the core (∼2008 – 2012). Benthic foraminifera show a major faunal change reflected in a significant increase of agglutinated species (mainly Textularia earlandi) from 2007 towards present day, while the lower part of the core (1988-2007) is dominated by calcareous species. Overall, the changes demonstrated by the dataset suggest an increased freshwater input or a higher river/land runoff, as supported by climatic and hydrographical data showing increased precipitation over the study area, decreasing salinity, and an increasing trend in particulate organic carbon in the surface waters. These changes, in combination with trawling activities, which have been moved to the deepest part of the trench since 2009, seem to favour dinoflagellate and benthic foraminiferal species with mixotrophic and omnivorous feeding strategies. Similar to the dinocysts, calculated foram-AMBI and NQIforam indices show a shift around 2002 suggesting that environmental changes occurring in the study area are likely linked to darkening of coastal waters.
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| 9. |
- Polovodova Asteman, Irina, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Too old to be new? A recent discovery of a pteropod Limacina lesueurii (d'Orbigny 1836) at the Swedish west coast (Skagerrak, North Sea)
- 2022
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Ingår i: Marine Micropaleontology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0377-8398 .- 1872-6186. ; 171
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pteropod Limacina lesueurii (d'Orbigny 1836) is a subtropical species, which in the Atlantic Ocean shows maximum abundance between 30°N and 25°S. In the North Sea, this species has so far only been occasionally reported from the coastal waters off the northern Scotland and in the English Channel. In this short note, we for the first time report presence of L. lesueurii in two sediment cores taken in the Kosterfjord (Skagerrak, North Sea). The pteropod, generally absent or occurring in low numbers throughout both cores, showed distinctly higher abundances between 100 and 130 cm core depth, which based on dating by 137Cs, 210Pb and lead pollution records corresponds to ~1920–1950s. During this period positive sea surface temperature anomalies were reported in the North Atlantic and number of oceanic water inflows have been documented for the North Sea. Some of these inflows were accompanied by ”enormous shoals” of L. lesueurii observed in the English Channel and NE of Scotland. We hypothesize that L. lesueurii was transported into the Skagerrak in connection with these and propose this pteropod species as a new valuable stratigraphic marker for oceanic water inflows in the study area.
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