Interception of nutrient rich submarine groundwater discharge seepage on European temperate beaches by the acoel flatworm, Symsagittifera roscoffensis

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2013-10, Vol.75 (1-2), p.150-156
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Liliana F., Rocha, Carlos, Fleming, Alexandra, Veiga-Pires, Cristina, Aníbal, Jaime
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algal symbiosis; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Bathing Beaches; Beaches; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biological and medical sciences; Coastal; coasts; Discharge; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Environmental Monitoring; Europe; Flatworms; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Groundwater; Groundwater - chemistry; Inorganic N assimilation rate; littoral zone; Marine; Marine and brackish environment; microalgae; Nitrates; nitrogen; Nitrogen - analysis; Nitrogen - metabolism; Phosphorus - analysis; Phosphorus - metabolism; Platyhelminthes; Platyhelminths - physiology; runoff; Sandy beaches; Sea water ecosystems; Seawater - chemistry; Seepage; solutes; Submarine groundwater discharge; Synecology; Transformations; Uptakes; Water Movements; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; water pollution
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.07.045

•Apparent association of S. roscoffensis presence in sandy beaches with SGDs.•First estimate of inorganic N assimilation rate determination with S. roscoffensis.•Importance of biological natural filter in nutrient-rich water discharges.•Potential use of S. roscoffensis as a natural bioremediator. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) occurs in intertidal areas, representing a largely unquantified source of solute fluxes to adjacent coastal zones, with nitrogen being constantly the keynote chemical of concern. In Olhos de Água SGD is present as groundwater springs or merely sub-aerial runoff. The occurrence of the flatworm Symsagittifera roscoffensis is described for the first time in Olhos de Água in connection to seepage flows. To assess the impact of this symbiotic flatworm on the nitrogen associated to groundwater discharge flow at the beach, nitrate uptake experiments were conducted in laboratory microcosms. Our results show that S. roscoffensis actively uptakes nitrate at different rates depending on light availability, with rates ∼10times higher than that of its symbiotic microalgae alone. This supports the hypothesis thatS. roscoffensis could be an important in situ nitrate interceptor, potentially playing a biological role on the transformation of groundwater-borne nitrate loads at the land–ocean boundary.