engleski

Changes in structure and function of benthic microbial communities as a consequence of anthropogenically induced pollution of the Adriatic coastal zones

Coastal zones of the Adriatic Sea are continuously subjected to multiple anthropogenic pressures including pollution from urban areas, industry, agriculture and aquaculture, habitat degradation, introduction of invasive species and climate change. To preserve its integrity, countries within this region, including Croatia, have adopted a number of initiatives. One of them is the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) developed with the aim to monitor and preserve Good Environmental Status (GES) of the Adriatic Sea. Even though multiple anthropogenic pressures are affecting all components of these ecosystems, MSFD overlooks the importance of human-induced changes on the level of complex microbial communities, having key role in functioning of marine food webs, biogeochemical cycling and in maintaining stability and health of marine ecosystems. To tackle this issue project MicroLink, funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, is intended to find that missing link that exists between changes in microbial assemblages and ecosystem quality, paving the way towards integration of microbes among qualitative Descriptors of the GES. Altogether, 67 sediments were collected from seven harbors situated along the eastern Adriatic coast, being defined as pollution hot spots in the Adriatic, and a comprehensive physicochemical characterization was conducted (measuring concentrations of selected metals, Hg, TP, TN, TC, TBT, toxicity…). To determine responsiveness of benthic microbial assemblages to the observed pollution we investigated changes in microbial communities on several levels including (i) structural changes (in bacterial, archaeal, protists and fungal communities), (ii) changes in interaction networks and (iii) functional changes (abundance of important biogeochemical cycling genes). We believe that changes observed on the level of benthic habitat, being a sink for accumulation of pollutants, can provide us with valuable insight into the long-term consequences of anthropogenic pressures on the Adriatic environment, with microbes that could potentially be used as an early warning sign of anthropogenically polluted environment.

anthropogenic pressures ; marine sediment ; coastal pollution ; microorganisms ; biogeochemical cycling

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