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POLRES-Polarforskning POLRES

Benthic biodiversity ? function and toxicology of selected key Arctic organisms

Tildelt: kr 0,59 mill.

Prosjektnummer:

178869

Søknadstype:

Prosjektperiode:

2007 - 2009

Midlene er mottatt fra:

Samarbeidsland:

The proposed project is a cooperation network between the Norwegian institutes Akvaplan-niva and University Centre on Svalbard and the Russian institutes Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO) and Murmansk Marine B iological Institute (MMBI). The programme focuses on benthic fauna in Arctic waters around Svalbard. We address the increasing concern about potential oil spills in Arctic waters from shipping (such as coal transport from Svalbard) and offshore oil and g as exploitation in the Barents Sea. Potential contamination will affect biological activity at the sea floor and in the water column, larval stages of benthic organisms are at risk. The project therefore has two components: Part I: Function and bioturbat ion of adult benthic fauna Part II: Ecotoxicology and sensitivity of larval stages to oil compounds and dispersants. Part I: Function and bioturbation of adult benthic fauna By using radioisotope and fluorescent tracers, we examine the particle transport behaviour of three types of faunal communities and individual organisms, each representing different environmental conditions. The results will give input to ecological models, and will allow us to build hypotheses of a) how vulnerable different types of faunal community are to disturbance and b) how contaminants may behave in sediments dominated by different types of organisms. Part II: Ecotoxicology and sensitivity of larval stages to oil compounds and dispersants. Using live larvae sampled from Adven tfjorden on Svalbard, a series of ecotoxicology experiments are carried out to investigate the vulnerability of polychaete larvae to oil compounds and dispersants. The project is carried out at UNIS, involving two PhD students, and will promote further network building between the partners and the international research activities at the new Research Park on Svalbard.

Budsjettformål:

POLRES-Polarforskning POLRES