Results of an ex-situ experiment testing the effects of mining-generated sediment plumes on the cold-water octocoral Dentomuricea aff. meteor in the Azores ...

• Main Authors: Carreiro-Silva, Marina, Martins, Ines, Raimundo, Joana, Caetano, Miguel, Bettencourt, Raul, Cerqueira, Teresa, Colaço, Ana
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2022
• Subjects: Cnidaria; enzyme activity; experiment; gene expression; metabolism; metal bioaccumulation; North Atlantic; octocorals; A Trans-Atlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe ATLAS; Integrated Assessment of Atlantic Marine Ecosystems in Space and Time iAtlantic; JPI Oceans - Ecological Aspects of Deep-Sea Mining JPIO-MiningImpact; Managing Impacts of Deep-seA reSource exploitation MIDAS
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.948414; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.948414

We report the results of an aquaria-based experiment testing the effects of suspended particles generated during potential mining activities, on a common habitat-building coral species in the Azores, Dentomuricea aff. meteor. Corals were collected from the summit of Condor Seamount (Azores, NE Atlantic) at depths between 185-210 m in August 2014. Coral fragments were maintained in 10-L aquaria and exposed to three experimental treatments for a period of four weeks at the DeepSeaLab aquaria facilities (Okeanos-University of the Azores): (1) control conditions (no added sediments); (2) suspended polymetallic sulphide (PMS) particles; (3) suspended quartz particles. PMS particles were obtained by grinding PMS inactive chimney rocks collected at the hydrothermal vent field Lucky Strike. Both particle types were delivered at a concentration of 25 mg L-1. The putative effects of PMS particles were evaluated through measurements of the coral physiological responses at the levels of the organism (oxygen consumption, ...