Assessment of heavy metal pollution in the coastal sediments of an urbanized atoll in the central Pacific: Majuro Atoll, the Marshall Islands.

Pacific atolls are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Coral reef ecosystems, which are responsible for the island formation and maintenance, can potentially keep pace with rising sea levels. Such ecosystems are sensitive to pollution; however, the sources and levels of atoll pollutants caused by urbanization have rarely been investigated. In this study, we assessed the heavy metal pollution (Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) of coastal sediments to evaluate the effects of urbanization on Majuro Atoll, the Marshall Islands. The densely populated area had the most significant pollution with high levels of Pb, Mn, Zn, and Cu due to road traffic activity. Domestic wastewater, a major pollution source in Pacific atolls, was not identified. Remarkably, the Zn and Pb levels in the lagoonal coasts of the remote island area were 697 - 1539 and 22 - 337 times higher, respectively, than in the natural area of Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu. Thus, the remote island and sparsely populated areas were significantly polluted because of the maritime traffic activity in the lagoon and debris accumulation in/around the lagoon. This pollution resulted from improper municipal solid waste management of the main island. The contamination factor, pollution load index, and geo-accumulation index indicated high levels of heavy metal pollution in these areas. Urbanization of the atoll clearly resulted in a distinct heavy metal composition and high pollution levels compared with Funafuti Atoll. These findings emphasize the importance of pollution management in the conservation and rehabilitation of urbanized atolls threatened by future sea-level rises.

Behavior of eukaryotic symbionts in large benthic foraminifers Calcarina gaudichaudii and Baculogypsina sphaerulata under exposure to wastewater.

Large benthic foraminifers (LBFs) are significant contributors to coral island formation in the Pacific Ocean. In recent years, the population of LBFs has decreased because of the increase in anthropogenic influences, such as wastewater (WW) discharge. To implement efficient mitigation measures, pollution tolerance in LBFs should be understood. However, the effects of WW on LBFs and their symbionts have not yet been demonstrated. This study examined the changes in the photosynthetic efficiency (Y[II]) of Calcarina gaudichaudii and Baculogypsina sphaerulata in response to WW by using a pulse-amplitude-modulation fluorometer. These LBFs were exposed to WW with different dilution levels for 22 days. The Y(II) values of the LBFs were found to deteriorate within 1-2 days. However, the Y(II) values both deteriorated and were enhanced in the experiments, thus indicating that WW contains both harmful and beneficial components. Baculogypsina sphaerulata showed an earlier response and greater sensitivity to WW and a higher epibiont infestation than C. gaudichaudii. This result can be attributed to the differences in the physiological and morphological responses of distinct LBFs. A sequencing analysis of 18S rDNA confirmed that the dominant eukaryotic symbionts in the two LBFs studied were Ochrophyta and Labyrinthulomycetes. These eukaryotic symbionts were released and attached as epibionts onto LBFs that were exposed to WW, thus leading to an increase in inactive LBFs. The Shannon-Weaver and Simpson diversity indices revealed that eukaryotic symbiont communities decreased in biodiversity after exposure to WW because of the abundance of algal symbionts. On the basis of these results, we conclude that WW, even with 10,000 × dilution, causes a decrease in active LBF populations owing to the release of eukaryotic symbionts, the decrease in biodiversity, and the infestation of epibionts even though Y(II) is temporarily enhanced. These responses are more significant in B. sphaerulata than in C. gaudichaudii.