The impact of autochthonous anaerobic bacteria on the release of metals in river sediment was studied. The sediments were characterized and bacterial activity was monitored in a batch reactor, where the sediments were incubated with a synthetic substrate solution containing glucose as carbon source. The results showed that metal release was correlated to the bacterial growth (carbon mineralization). In particular, a relationship between iron reduction and metal release was observed indicating that iron-reducing bacteria had a strong influence. By reductive dissolution of iron oxides, bacteria also released their associated toxic elements into the liquid phase. While organic analysis showed acetate and butyrate production leading to a decrease in pH and indicating a Clostridium fermentative bacteria activity, the results did not indicate any direct role of organic acids in the dissolution of iron and their associated metals.

The uptake, elimination and transformation of six PBDE congeners (BDE-28, -47, -99, -100, -153, -209) were studied in juvenile common sole (Solea solea L) exposed to spiked contaminated food over a three-month period, and then depurated over a five-month period. Methoxylated (MeO-) and hydroxylated (OH-) PBDEs were determined in fish plasma exposed to PBDEs and compared to those obtained in control fish. While all MeO- and some OH- congeners identified in fish plasma were found to originate from non-metabolic sources, several OH- congeners, i.e., OH-tetraBDEs and OH-pentaBDEs, were found to originate from fish metabolism. Among these, 4 '-OH-BDE-49 was identified as a BDE-47 metabolite. Congener 4 '-OH-BDE-101, identified here for the first time, may be the result of BDE-99 metabolic transformation. Our results unequivocally showed that PBDEs are metabolised in juvenile sole via the formation of OH- metabolites. However, this was not a major biotransformation route compared to biotransformation through debromination. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecolirimed

We compare foraminifera and macrofauna as bio-indicators of oil-based drill mud disposal site off Congo. The most polluted sites are characterized by poor faunas, dominated by some very tolerant taxa. Slightly further from the disposal site, there is an area with strongly increased densities, heavily dominated by opportunistic taxa. Still further, macrofauna appears to be similar to that at the reference area, but the foraminiferal meiofauna still suggests a slight environmental perturbation. The foraminiferal FIEI index, based on the species distribution in the study area, appears to be more discriminative than the macrofaunal ITI index, based on a priori definitions of the trophic guilds of the various taxa. Our comparative approach allows us to point out the benefits of (1) the use of macrofauna and foraminifera together and (2) the definition of the species groups used in biotic indices on the basis of observations made directly in the study area. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shrimp farming in New Caledonia typically uses a flow-through system with water exchange rates as a tool to maintain optimum hydrological and biological parameters for the crop. Moreover, the effluent shows hydrobiological characteristics (minerals, phytoplankton biomass and organic matter) significantly higher than that of the receiving environment. Separate surveys were carried out in a bay (CH Bay) with a medium-size intensive farm (30 ha) (PO) and in a mangrove-lined creek (TE Creek) near a larger semi-intensive farm (133 ha) (SO). Net loads of nitrogen exported from the semi-intensive farm and the intensive farm amounted to 0.68 and 1.36 kg ha(-1) day(-1), respectively. At CH Bay, discharge effects were spatially limited and clearly restricted to periods of effluent release. The high residence time at site TE favoured the installation of a feedback system in which organic matter was not exported. Mineralization of organic matter led to the release of nutrients, which in turn, caused in an increased eutrophication of this ecosystem. The study of the pico- and nanophytoplankton assemblages showed (i) a shift in composition from picophytoplankton to nanophytoplankton from offshore towards the coast and (ii) a shift within the picophytoplankton with the disappearance of Prochlorococcus and the increase of picoeucaryotes towards the shoreline. These community changes may partially be related to a nitrogen enrichment of the environment by shrimp farm discharges. Thus, in view of the recent addition of the New Caledonian lagoon to the UNESCO World Heritage list, the data presented here could be a first approach to quantify farm discharges and evaluate their impact on the lagoon. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The present work aimed at better understanding metal and metalloid bioaccumulation in the edible Pacific blue shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris, using both laboratory and field approaches. In the laboratory, the bioaccumulation kinetics of Ag, Cd, Co, Cr, and Zn have been investigated in shrimp exposed via seawater and food, using the corresponding gamma-emitting radiotracers (Ag-110m, Cd-109, Co-57, Cr-51, and Zn-65) and highly sensitive nuclear detection techniques. Results showed that hepatopancreas and intestine concentrated the metals to the highest extent among the blue shrimp organs and tissues. Moulting was found to play a non negligible detoxification role for Co, Cr and, to a lesser extent, Zn. Metal retention by L stylirostris widely varied (from a few days to several months), according to the element and exposure pathway considered (a given metal was usually less strongly retained when ingested with food than when it was taken up from the dissolved phase). In the field study, Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn were analysed in shrimp collected from a New Caledonian aquaculture pond. Metal concentrations in the shrimp muscles were generally relatively low and results confirmed the role played by the digestive organs and tissues in the bioaccumulation/storage/detoxification of metals in the Pacific blue shrimp. Preliminary risk considerations indicate that consumption of the shrimp farmed in New Caledonia is not of particular concern for human health. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The south-west lagoon of New Caledonia is a wide semi-open coral reef lagoon bounded by an intertidal barrier reef and bisected by numerous deep inlets. This paper synthesizes findings from the 2000-2008 French National Program EC2CO-PNEC relative to the circulation and the transport of suspended particles in this lagoon. Numerical model development (hydrodynamic, fine suspended sediment transport, wind-wave, small-scale atmospheric circulation) allowed the determination of circulation patterns in the lagoon and the charting of residence time, the later of which has been recently used in a series of ecological studies. Topical studies based on field measurements permitted the parameterisation of wave set-up induced by the swell breaking on the reef barrier and the validation of a wind-wave model in a fetch-limited environment. The analysis of spatial and temporal variability of suspended matter concentration over short and long time-scales, the measurement of grain size distribution and the density of suspended matter (1.27 kg 1(-1)), and the estimation of erodibility of heterogeneous (sand/mud, terrigenous/biogenic) soft bottoms was also conducted. Aggregates were shown to be more abundant near or around reefs and a possible biological influence on this aggregation is discussed. Optical measurements enabled the quantification of suspended matter either in situ (monochromatic measurements) or remotely (surface spectral measurements and satellite observations) and provided indirect calibration and validation of a suspended sediment transport model. The processes that warrant further investigation in order to improve our knowledge of circulation and suspended sediment transport in the New Caledonia lagoon as well as in other coral reef areas are discussed, as are the relevance and reliability of the numerical models for this endeavour.