C. Van Colen

Long-term divergent tidal flat benthic community recovery following hypoxia-induced mortality.

Macrobenthos recovery after hypoxia-induced mass mortality was assessed in an estuarine tidal mudflat during 3 years. During the first 2 years, a Pearson-Rosenberg type of community recovery took place along with the improving bottom water oxygen conditions. After 3 months, spionid polychaetes became superabundant (i.e. opportunistic peak), followed rapidly by a steep decline (i.e. ecotone point). Subsequently, a moderate increase in species richness and a steep increase in biomass, related to the growth of long-lived species occurred (i.e. transition region). Afterwards, however, the recovering community diverged again from the ambient, undisturbed, sediments due to enhanced recruitment success of long-lived species presumably resulting from the lowered interference from bioturbation during early recovery stages in the disturbed plots. Hence, despite early community recovery may be more or less deterministic, lagged divergent community reassembling may occur at the longer-term, thereby contributing to benthos patchiness in areas which are frequently subjected to disturbances.

PLASTOX: Direct and indirect ecotoxicological impacts of microplastics on marine organisms

The PLASTOX project will investigate the ingestion, foodweb transfer, and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics, together with persistent organic pollutants (POPs), metals and plastic additive chemicals associated with them, on key European marine species and ecosystems. It will also study the temporal dynamics of microplastics colonisation by microbial communities in the field and the influence of microbial biofilms on ingestion rates and POP toxicity. The influence of microplastics physicochemical properties (size, shape, surface area and composition) on these processes will be evaluated. PLASTOX will combine field-based observations, laboratory tests, mesocosm and manipulative field experiments to study the ecological effects of microplastics.