title: Responses of benthic foraminifera to the 2011 oil spill in the Bohai Sea, PR China.
abstract: The 2011 oil spill in the Bohai Sea was the largest spill event in China. Nine sediment cores were taken near the spill site and environmental factors including Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAHs), oils, sulfides, organic carbon were measured 6 months later. Benthic foraminifera were separated into >150 μm (large) and 63-150 μm (small) size fractions for 2-cm depth interval of each sediment core. Statistical analyses suggested that the species composition of living foraminifera was impacted by oils, PAHs and sulfides. Large foraminifera were more sensitive to the oils than the small. Abnormal specimens were positively correlated with oils or PAHs. Small forms, however, tended to have high reproduction and mortality. Pollution-resistant and opportunistic taxa were identified to calculate a Foraminiferal Index of Environmental Impacts (FIEI). The FIEI increased from low to high oil-polluted station and from deep layer to surface sediment reflects the impact of oil pollution in this area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Organism Taxonomy & Phylogeny, Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Organism Taxonomy & Phylogeny, Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, PR China. Electronic address: tgli@qdio.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Tie Gang
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomon, MD 20688, USA.
authors.forename: Hongsheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: The Organization of North China Sea Monitoring Center, SOA, PR China.
authors.forename: Wen Lin
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: The Organization of North China Sea Monitoring Center, SOA, PR China.
authors.forename: Wen Peng
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: The Organization of North China Sea Monitoring Center, SOA, PR China.
authors.forename: Ji Ye
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Organism Taxonomy & Phylogeny, Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, PR China.
authors.forename: Cheng Chun
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D056908:Foraminifera / Q000502:physiology*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Benthic foraminifera; Biological response; Ecological monitoring; Indicator species; The Yellow Sea