Jonathan S. Stark

Management and remediation of contaminated sites at Casey Station, Antarctica

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty requires that past and present work sites be cleaned up unless removal would result in greater adverse environmental impact than leaving the contaminant in its existing location. In the early 1990s Australia began the documentation of contaminated sites associated with its research stations, which resulted in an extensive record of contamination at abandoned stations and waste-disposal sites. Currently the technical capability to remediate these sites does not exist because of environmental challenges that are unique to the cold regions. Investigations indicate that clean-up operations in the past have proceeded without adequate precautions and without effective monitoring. To address these problems, three research priorities have been identified to assist meeting international and national obligations to clean up these sites. They are: understanding contaminant mobilisation processes; development of ecological risk assessment for use in monitoring and setting priorities; and development of clean-up and remediation procedures. This study provides sufficient information to guide the completion of a clean-up at Casey Station and to indicate how other similar sites should be managed. The next stage is to develop the theory into an operational plan to include detailed protocols for clean-up, monitoring, site remediation, and management of the waste stream from site to final repository. To achieve this, the Australian Antarctic Division has established a contaminated sites taskforce to facilitate the transition from research and development of techniques to implementation of suitable clean-up options.

Microbial community variation in pristine and polluted nearshore Antarctic sediments

Abstract Two molecular methods were used to investigate the microbial population of Antarctic marine sediments to determine the effects of petroleum and heavy metal pollution. Sediment samples were collected in a nested design from impacted and non-impacted locations. A detailed description of the diversity of the microbial population in two samples was obtained using 16S ribosomal DNA clone libraries constructed from an impacted and a non-impacted location. The clone libraries were very similar with the exception of two sequence clusters containing clones from only the impacted location. All samples were analysed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The band patterns generated were transformed into a presence/absence matrix and a multivariate approach was used to test for differences in the locations. Statistically significant differences were observed both between and within locations. Impacted locations showed a greater variability within themselves than the control locations. Correlations between the community patterns and environmental variables suggested that pollution was one of a number of factors affecting the microbial community composition.

Community fingerprinting in a sequencing world

Despite decreasing costs, generating large-scale, well-replicated and multivariate microbial ecology investigations with sequencing remains an expensive and time-consuming option. As a result, many microbial ecology investigations continue to suffer from a lack of appropriate replication. We evaluated two fingerprinting approaches - terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) against 454 pyrosequencing, by applying them to 225 polar soil samples from East Antarctica and the high Arctic. By incorporating local and global spatial scales into the dataset, our aim was to determine whether various approaches differed in their ability and hence utility, to identify ecological patterns. Through the reduction in the 454 sequencing data to the most dominant OTUs, we revealed that a surprisingly small proportion of abundant OTUs (< 0.25%) was driving the biological patterns observed. Overall, ARISA and T-RFLP had a similar capacity as sequencing to separate samples according to distance at a local scale, and to correlate environmental variables with microbial community structure. Pyrosequencing had a greater resolution at the global scale but all methods were capable of significantly differentiating the polar sites. We conclude fingerprinting remains a legitimate approach to generating large datasets as well as a cost-effective rapid method to identify samples for elucidating taxonomic information or diversity estimates with sequencing methods.

Cost-efficient methods for marine pollution monitoring at Casey Station, East Antarctica: the choice of sieve mesh-size and taxonomic resolution

Contaminants from sewage discharge and abandoned waste tips enter the marine environment adjacent to Australias Casey Station, East Antarctica. To establish cost-efficient methods for benthic pollution monitoring the effects of sieve mesh-size (0.5 and 1.0 mm) and taxonomic aggregation (family, order and class) on the description of infaunal assemblages were determined. The abundance and taxonomy of fauna retained on a 0.5 mm sieve after passing through a 1.0 mm sieve were examined in this study. The 1.0 mm sieve fraction [Human impacts and assemblages in marine soft-sediments at Casey Station, Antarctica, Ph.D. thesis, University of New England, 2001] contained 70% of individuals and 94% of taxa when compared to combined abundances on the 1.0 and 0.5 mm sieves. Furthermore, the addition of 0.5 mm data did not increase sampling precision or the statistical power to detect differences between locations. Differences between locations were detected when species were aggregated to the family level however, further aggregation to order and class levels altered the perceived pattern of differences. Marine pollution monitoring of the soft-bottom benthos at Casey Station is most cost-effective when using a 1.0 mm sieve and identifying fauna to the family level. This is the first reported comparison of sampling techniques using Antarctic benthos.

Human impacts in Antartic marine soft-sediment assemblages: correlations between multivariate biological patterns and environmental variables at Casey Station

Abstract Correlations between the spatial distribution of soft-sediment assemblages and environmental variables were evaluated at a number of control and potentially impacted locations (waste dumps, a sewage outfall and a wharf) at Casey Station, East Antarctica. Patterns of assemblage composition were compared with patterns of environmental variables using univariate and multivariate techniques. The utility of these methods, however, is uncertain in areas of significant habitat heterogeneity (at scales

Evidence of hidden biodiversity, ongoing speciation and diverse patterns of genetic structure in giant Antarctic amphipods

Recent molecular research on Antarctic benthic organisms has challenged traditional taxonomic classifications, suggesting that our current perceptions of Antarctic biodiversity and species distributions must be thoroughly revised. Furthermore, genetic differentiation at the intraspecific level remains poorly understood, particularly in eastern Antarctica. We addressed these issues using DNA sequence data for two sibling amphipod species that could be collected on a circum‐Antarctic scale: Eusirus perdentatus and Eusirus giganteus. Haplotype networks and Bayesian phylogenies based on mitochondrial (COI, CytB) and nuclear (ITS2) DNA provided strong evidence of multiple cryptic species of Eusirus, with several occurring in sympatry and at least one likely to have a true circum‐Antarctic distribution. Within species, gene flow was often highly restricted, consistent with a brooding life history and in some cases suggestive of current or future allopatric speciation. Patterns of genetic structure were not always predictable: one cryptic species showed preliminary evidence of high genetic differentiation across ∼150 km in eastern Antarctica (FST > 0.47, P < 0.01), yet another was remarkably homogenous across ∼5000 km (FST = 0.00, P = 1.00). Genetic diversity also varied among cryptic species, independent of sample size (π = 0.00–0.99). These results indicate several hidden levels of genetic complexity in these Antarctic amphipods that are neither apparent from previous taxonomic or ecological studies nor predictable from their life history. Such genetic diversity and structure may reflect different modes of survival for Antarctic benthic organisms during historic glacial cycles, and/or subsequent re‐establishment of populations on the shelf, and highlight our misunderstanding of Antarctic marine species diversity.

The distribution and abundance of soft-sediment macrobenthos around Casey Station, East Antarctica

Abstract Grab samples of shallow (5–35 m) marine benthic sediments and epi- and infaunal assemblages were taken from nearshore regions around Casey Station, Windmill Islands, East Antarctica. A hierarchical, spatially nested sampling design was used with locations (kilometres apart), sites (hundreds of metres apart) and plots (tens of metres). Two potentially impacted, polluted locations (adjacent to a sewage outfall and an old garbage tip) were compared with two control locations in an asymmetrical design. Significant differences in assemblages were found between locations and between sites within locations. Significant differences in the abundances of taxa at several taxonomic levels (species, family, order, phylum) were found at all three spatial scales. Significant differences were also detected between the polluted and control locations. Compared with other Antarctic locations, the assemblages were dominated by crustaceans (90–97% of individuals) and there was a paucity of polychaete fauna at the locations sampled.

An Antarctic Research Station as a Source of Brominated and Perfluorinated Persistent Organic Pollutants to the Local Environment

This study investigated the role of a permanently manned Australian Antarctic research station (Casey Station) as a source of contemporary persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to the local environment. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and poly- and perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) were found in indoor dust and treated wastewater effluent of the station. PBDE (e.g., BDE-209 26-820 ng g(-1) dry weight (dw)) and PFAS levels (e.g., PFOS 3.8-2400 ng g(-1) (dw)) in dust were consistent with those previously reported in homes and offices from Australia, reflecting consumer products and materials of the host nation. The levels of PBDEs and PFASs in wastewater (e.g., BDE-209 71-400 ng L(-1)) were in the upper range of concentrations reported for secondary treatment plants in other parts of the world. The chemical profiles of some PFAS samples were, however, different from domestic profiles. Dispersal of chemicals into the immediate marine and terrestrial environments was investigated by analysis of abiotic and biotic matrices. Analytes showed decreasing concentrations with increasing distance from the station. This study provides the first evidence of PFAS input to Polar regions via local research stations and demonstrates the introduction of POPs recently listed under the Stockholm Convention into the Antarctic environment through local human activities.

Polar lessons learned: Long-term management based on shared threats in Arctic and Antarctic environments

The Arctic and Antarctic polar regions are subject to multiple environmental threats, arising from both local and ex-situ human activities. We review the major threats to polar ecosystems including the principal stressor, climate change, which interacts with and exacerbates other threats such as pollution, fisheries overexploitation, and the establishment and spread of invasive species. Given the lack of progress in reducing global atmospheric greenhouse-gas emissions, we suggest that managing the threats that interact synergistically with climate change, and that are potentially more tractable, is all the more important in the short to medium term for polar conservation. We show how evidence-based lessons learned from scientific research can be shared between the poles on topics such as contaminant mitigation, biosecurity protocols to reduce species invasions, and the regulation of fisheries and marine environments. Applying these trans-polar lessons in tandem with expansion of international cooperation could substantially improve environmental management in both the Arctic and Antarctic.

Genetic Population Structure in the Antarctic Benthos: Insights from the Widespread Amphipod, Orchomenella franklini

Currently there is very limited understanding of genetic population structure in the Antarctic benthos. We conducted one of the first studies of microsatellite variation in an Antarctic benthic invertebrate, using the ubiquitous amphipod Orchomenella franklini (Walker, 1903). Seven microsatellite loci were used to assess genetic structure on three spatial scales: sites (100 s of metres), locations (1–10 kilometres) and regions (1000 s of kilometres) sampled in East Antarctica at Casey and Davis stations. Considerable genetic diversity was revealed, which varied between the two regions and also between polluted and unpolluted sites. Genetic differentiation among all populations was highly significant (F ST = 0.086, R ST = 0.139, p<0.001) consistent with the brooding mode of development in O. franklini. Hierarchical AMOVA revealed that the majority of the genetic subdivision occurred across the largest geographical scale, with Nem≈1 suggesting insufficient gene flow to prevent independent evolution of the two regions, i.e., Casey and Davis are effectively isolated. Isolation by distance was detected at smaller scales and indicates that gene flow in O. franklini occurs primarily through stepping-stone dispersal. Three of the microsatellite loci showed signs of selection, providing evidence that localised adaptation may occur within the Antarctic benthos. These results provide insights into processes of speciation in Antarctic brooders, and will help inform the design of spatial management initiatives recently endorsed for the Antarctic benthos.