Contamination and potential biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mangrove sediments of Xiamen, China.

Five stations were established in the Fenglin mangrove area of Xiamen, China to determine the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the numbers of PAH-degrading bacteria in surface sediments. Assessing the biodegradation potential of indigenous microorganisms and isolating the high molecule weight (HMW)-PAH degrading bacteria was also one of the aims of this work. The results showed that the total PAH concentration of sediments was 222.59 ng g(-1) dry weight, whereas the HMW-PAH benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) had the highest concentration among 16 individual PAH compounds. The variation in the numbers of PAH-degrading bacteria was 2.62 x 10(2)-5.67 x 10(4)CFU g(-1) dry weight. The addition of PAHs showed a great influence in increasing the microbial activity in mangrove sediments. A bacterial consortium, which could utilize BaP as the sole source of carbon and energy, and which was isolated from mangrove sediments and enriched in liquid medium for nearly one year degraded 32.8% of BaP after 63 days incubation.

[Polychaete community in mangrove and salt marsh in Zhangjiang River Estuary, Fujian Province of East China].

In order to understand the community structure of polychaete in different botanic habitats in Zhangjiang River Estuary, an investigation was conducted in the habitats of Kandelia candel, Aegiceras corniculatum, Spartina alterniflora, and Avicennia marina in four seasons, 2010. A total of 15 polychaete species were recorded, and 6 species including Eteone delta, Namalycastis abiuma, Paraleonnates uschakovi, Polydora ciliata, Capitella capitata, and Mediomastus californiensis were found in the four habitats and four seasons. The density, biomass, richness index, evenness index, and diversity index of the polychaete had no significant differences among seasons but significant differences among habitats, and the dominant species of polychaete in S. alterniflora habitat differed from that in the other three mangrove habitats. Pearson correlation analysis showed that in the mangrove and salt marsh, there were no significant correlations between the polychaete parameters (density, biomass, richness index, evenness index, and diversity index) and the environmental factors (sediment temperature, salinity, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen), except that the species number of polychaete had significant correlation with sediment temperature due to the common species of polychaete such as Capitella capitata, Mediomastus californiensis, and Namalycastis abiuma in the mangrove and salt marsh in Zhangjiang River Estuary being of eurytherm and eurysalinity, and resistant to high organic matter content.

[Secondary productivity of macrobenthos in mangrove and salt marsh in Gaoqiao of Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province of South China].

In order to understand the secondary productivity of macrobenthos in different botanic habitats in intertidal zone in Gaoqiao of Zhanjiang, the Brey's empirical formula was applied to calculate the secondary productivity based on the investigations in the habitats of Sonneratia apetala, Aegiceras corniculatum, Sporobolus virginicus, and Bruguiera conjugate in four seasons, 2010. The secondary productivity of the macrobenthos in the habitats in four seasons was averagely 11.77 g AFDM x m(-2) x a(-1), being the highest in S. apetala habitat (18.16 g AFDM x m(-2) x a(-1)), followed by in A. corniculatum habitat (17.67 g AFDM x m(-2) x a(-1)), S. virginicus habitat (8.34 g AFDM x m(-2) x a(-1)), and B. conjugate habitat (2.92 g AFDM x m(-2) x a(-1)). The P/B ratio of the macrobenthos was the highest in B. conjugate habitat (2.38), followed by in S. virginicus, S. virginicus, and A. corniculatum habitats, with the values of 1.23, 0.99, and 0.48, respectively. The differences in the secondary productivity and P/B ratio of the macrobenthos among the four botanic habitats were mainly related to the sediment total organic carbon, food type, and macrobenthos individual size.