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Responses of a free-living benthic marine nematode community to bioremediation of a PAH mixture

  • DECAPAGE Project: Hydrocarbon degradation in coastal sediments*
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Abstract

The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the responses of benthic nematodes to a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination and (2) to test bioremediation techniques for their efficiency in PAH degradation and their effects on nematodes. Sediments with their natural nematofauna communities from Bizerte lagoon (Tunisia) were subjected to a PAH mixture (100 ppm) of phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene during 30 days. Nematode abundance and diversity significantly decreased, and the taxonomic structure was altered. Results from multivariate analyses of the species abundance data revealed that PAH treatments were significantly different from the control. Spirinia parasitifera became the dominant species (70 % relative abundance) and appeared to be an “opportunistic” species to PAH contamination while Oncholaimus campylocercoides and Neochromadora peocilosoma were strongly inhibited. Biostimulation (addition of mineral salt medium) and bioaugmentation (inoculation of a hydrocarbonoclastic bacterium) were used as bioremediation techniques. Bioremediation treatments enhanced degradation of all three PAHs, with up to 96 % degradation for phenanthrene resulting in a significant stimulation of nematode abundance relative to control microcosms. Nevertheless, these treatments, especially the biostimulation provoked a weak impact on the community structure and diversity index relative to the control microcosms suggesting their feasibility in biorestoration of contaminated sediments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the CMCU program (PHC-UTIQUE, no. 09G 0189), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), and the Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte (FSB). Dr. Emma Rochelle-Newall is gratefully acknowledged as native English speaker for her helpful criticisms on an early version of the manuscript and for English corrections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Biosurveillance de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021, Zarzouna, Tunisia

    Hela Louati, Olfa Ben Said, Amel Soltani, Patricia Aissa, Ezzeddine Mahmoudi & Olivier Pringault

  2. Equipe Environnement et Microbiologie—UMR CNRS IPREM 5254, IBEAS, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Avenue de l’Université, 64012, Pau, France

    Olfa Ben Said, Amel Soltani, Cristiana Cravo-Laureau & Robert Duran

  3. Laboratoire Ecosystèmes Marins Côtiers, UMR 5119 CNRS-UM2-IFREMER- IRD-ECOSYM, Université Montpellier 2, 34090, Montpellier, France

    Hela Louati & Olivier Pringault

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  1. Hela Louati
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  2. Olfa Ben Said
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Louati, H., Said, O.B., Soltani, A. et al. Responses of a free-living benthic marine nematode community to bioremediation of a PAH mixture. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 15307–15318 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3343-4

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