Iron and manganese in Antarctic bivalves

132 Pages·2014·4.8 MB·English

Iron and manganese in Antarctic bivalves:
Indicators of change in near-shore biogeochemistry?

Eisen und Mangan in antarktischen Muscheln:
Indikatoren für Änderungen der küstennahen Biogeochemie?

Dissertation zur Erlangung des
Doktorgrades der Naturwissenschaften
(Dr. rer. nat.)

an der
Fakultät für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften
der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
- angenommene Dissertation -

von
Harald Poigner

geboren am 21.5.1984 in Wien
Erstreferent: Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Brumsack
Koreferentin: PD Dr. habil. Doris Abele
Koreferent: Prof. Dr. Peter Schupp

Eingereicht: Juni 2013
Disputation: 16.12.2013
gewidmet im Andenken an meinen Großvater,
Johann Diernegger
* 15.11.1930 † 27.11.2013
Preface
Preface
This study was conducted in the framework of the priority program SPP 1158
„Antarktisforschung“, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and was
associated to the IMCOAST-project (AP-9; www.imcoast.org). The present work is
submitted as dissertation and was supervised by PD Dr. habil. Doris Abele (Alfred
Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven,
Germany) and Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Brumsack (Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the
Marine Environment, Oldenburg, Germany) and instructed by Dr. Dorothee Wilhelms-Dick
(Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven,
Germany).

The cumulative thesis includes five manuscripts (one published, one under review and
three in preparation for submission) to which a general introduction is prefixed in
chapter 1. The introduction reviews (i) the characteristics of the clam Laternula elliptica
and (ii) the consequences of glacial retreat on the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) to
the coastal areas as well as the objectives of the thesis (chapter 1). Chapter 2 focuses on
the particle selection and nutrition of L. elliptica to discuss the consequences on trace
metal uptake by the bivalve which is relevant in the subsequent chapters. Within
chapters 3 and 4, both research articles, the influence of the bivalve environment
(sediment, pore water, and seawater) on Fe and Mn concentrations in the hemolymph and
on tissue contents is discussed to define the major Fe and Mn sources for the clam. To
assess the suitability of the bivalves’ chondrophore as archive to monitor the glacial
retreat (i) the mineralogical composition of the condrophore was analyzed to determine
the polymorph depended incorporation of trace elements (chapter 5), (ii) trace metal
concentrations along seasonal growth layers of the chondrophore (containing only
aragonite) were analyzed (chapter 6). In chapter 7, I summarize the main results of the
thesis, draw conclusions, and highlight the main findings and the open questions to be
answered by further research.
During the PhD thesis I cooperated in a German-Ukranian project (Toxicological effect of
Ni2+ and Co2+ on the goldfish, Carassius auratus) and contributed to three further
publications. The abstracts of these publications are presented in chapter 8.

iii
Table of contents

Table of contents

Preface iii
Table of contents iv
List of figures vii
List of tables x
Abbreviations xii
List of publications submitted for the thesis xiii

Abstract 1
Kurzfassung 4

1 Introduction 7
1.1 Consequences of global climate change at the Antarctic Peninsula 7
1.2 Are biological archives suitable to document consequences of climate
change in coastal Antarctic regions? 9
1.3 Formation of bivalve shells and implications on the usability as
environmental archives 10
1.4 The Antarctic softshell clam Laternula elliptica 13
1.5 Objectives of the thesis 16

2 Particle ingestion of the Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica in Potter
Cove, King George Island 17
Abstract 17
2.1 Introduction 18
2.2 Material and methods 19
2.3 Results and discussion 19
Acknowledgements 23

3 Influence of the pore water geochemistry on Fe and Mn assimilation in
Laternula elliptica at King George Island (Antarctica) 24
Abstract 24
3.1 Introduction 25
3.2 Material and methods 26
3.2.1 Sample collection and experimental treatment 26
3.2.2 Element analysis 28
3.2.3 Standard reference material 29
iv
Table of contents
3.2.4 Pore water analysis 31
3.2.5 Statistical analysis 31
3.3 Results 32
3.3.1 Iron withdrawal experiments 32
3.3.2 Element concentrations of hemolymph, pore water, and seawater
samples 33
3.3.3 Tissue element analysis (Fe, Mn) 36
3.3.4 Iron and manganese content in sediment cores 38
3.4 Discussion 38
3.4.1 Does sediment input from glacial erosion increase metal
concentrations in L. elliptica? 38
3.4.2 What determines the Fe concentrations in the hemolymph of
L. elliptica? 40
3.4.3 Discrimination of Mn in L. elliptica? 42
3.4.4 Variations of metal contents in tissues of L. elliptica around
Antarctica 43
3.5 Conclusions and outlook 44
Acknowledgements 45

4 Stable Fe isotopes (56Fe) in the hemolymph of the clam Laternula
elliptica as indicator for sources of assimilated Fe 46
4.1 Introduction 47
4.2 Material and methods 48
4.3 Results 51
4.4 Discussion 52
4.5 Conclusions and outlook 55

5 Coexistence of three calcium carbonate polymorphs in the shell of the
Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica 56
Abstract 56
5.1 Introduction 57
5.2 Material and methods 59
5.2.1 Sample preparation 59
5.2.2 Micro analysis 60
5.3 Results and discussion 60
5.4 Conclusions 65
Acknowledgements 65

v
Table of contents
6 Trace metal incorporation into the chondrophore of Laternula elliptica:
Indicator of change in nearshore biogeochemistry? 66
Abstract 66
6.1 Introduction 67
6.2 Material and methods 69
6.2.1 Bivalve shell sampling 69
6.2.2 Laser ablation analysis 70
6.2.3 Statistical analysis 72
6.3 Results 72
6.4 Discussion 76
6.4.1 Strontium and magnesium 76
6.4.2 Barium 79
6.4.3 Manganese and iron 80
6.4.4 Boron 80
6.5 Conclusions 82
Acknowledgements 84

7 Conclusions and perspectives 85
7.1 Conclusions 85
7.2 Perspectives 89

8 German-Ukranian coproject: Toxicological effects of Ni2+ and Co2+ on
the goldfish, Carassius auratus (Abstracts) 90
8.1 Tissue specificity in nickel uptake and induction of oxidative stress in
kidney and spleen of goldfish Carassius auratus, exposed to waterborne
nickel 90
8.2 Antioxidant system efficiently protects goldfish gills from Ni2+-induced
oxidative stress 91
8.3 Goldfish brain and heart are well protected from Ni2+-induced oxidative
stress 92

9 References 93

Danksagung 114
Curriculum vitae 116
Erklärung 117

vi
List of figures
List of figures
(abbreviated)

Fig. 1.1 a) Map of the Antarctic Peninsula; b) Map of King George Island;
c) View to Nelson Island, overlooking Carlini Station and Dallmann
Laboratory, Potter Cove, and Maxwell Bay. 7

Fig. 1.2 Potter Cove. 8

Fig. 1.3 a) Schematic cross section of a bivalve shell; b) Schematic overview of
two calcification models. 11

Fig. 1.4 a) Laternula elliptica; b) cut through the shell and the chondrophore;
c) seasonal growth layers. 14

Fig. 2.1 a) Map of the Antarctic Peninsula; b) Map of King George Island;
c) Map of Potter Cove including the sampling stations. 19

Fig. 2.2 Smear slide samples. 20

Fig. 3.1 a) Map of the Antarctic Peninsula; b) Map of King George Island;
c) Map of Potter Cove including the sampling stations. 27

Fig. 3.2 Background Fe concentrations in the aquarium water during the 14 day
Fe withdrawal experiment with L. elliptica. 33

Fig. 3.3 Hemolymph Fe concentrations in bivalve hemolymph during the 14 day
Fe withdrawal experiment with L. elliptica. 34

Fig. 3.4 Iron concentrations in bivalve hemolymph. 35

Fig. 3.5 Pore water profiles of Fe and Mn of four stations related to the
sampling sites of L. elliptica. 36

Fig. 3.6 Shell volume normalized Fe and Mn tissue contents in gills, digestive
gland, and mantle tissue. 37

vii
List of figures
Fig. 3.7 Possible Fe and Mn uptake pathways for L. elliptica in Potter Cove
related to diagenetic processes in the upper sediment layer. 42

Fig. 4.1 a) Map of the Antarctic Peninsula; b) Map of King George Island;
c) Map of Potter Cove including the sampling stations. 49

Fig. 4.2 Fe isotope data (hemolymph, reference materials) as 57Fe versus
56Fe and interpolated by the least-square regression line. 51

Fig. 4.3 Pore water profiles of Fe2+ and SO 2-. 52
4

Fig. 5.1 a) Laternula elliptica; b) cut through the shell and the chondrophore;
c) chondrophore including visible seasonal growth layers; d) seasonal
growth layers. 59

Fig. 5.2 a) Reflected light microscopy image of the investigated chondrophore;
b) Distribution of aragonite, calcite, and vaterite measured by CRM;
Element distributions of c) calcium, d) magnesium, and e) strontium
within the chondrophore area of L. elliptica as measured by EMP. 61

Fig. 5.3 Raman spectra of the CaCO polymporphs aragonite, calcite, and
3
vaterite. 62

Fig. 5.4 Overlay of a Raman mapping on a reflected light microscopy image. 64

Fig. 6.1 a) Map of the Antarctic Peninsula; b) Map of King George Island;
c) Map of Potter Cove including the sampling station B21. 70

Fig. 6.2 a) Laternula elliptica cut through the shell and the chondrophore;
b) continuous laser ablation transect of the annual growth layers in the
chondrophore of L. elliptica. 71

Fig. 6.3 Sr, Mg, Ba, B, and Mn concentrations in the chondrophore of
L. elliptica measured in continuous transects by LA-ICP-MS with an
ICP-MS resolution of 300. 73

viii
Fig. 6.4 Fe and Sr concentrations in the chondrophore of L. elliptica measured
in continuous transects by LA-ICP-MS with an ICP-MS resolution of
4000. 74

Fig. 6.5 Shift of the Sr and Mg peaks within the winter growth layer. 74

Fig. 6.6 Raman fluorescence distribution map of growth layers of a
chondrophore of L. elliptica. 77

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