TP239 (CAR-1116-949448) Toxic effects of African dust in Caribbean waters.
Start time: 8:00 AM
Carr, R.¹, Nipper, M.², Garrison, V.³, ¹ USGS, MERS, Corpus Christi, TX, USA² TAMU-CC, Corpus Christi, TX, USA³ USGS, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
The transport of dust from the African Sahara and Sahel to the Americas via the Saharan Air Layer has been occurring for millennia, but the production, use and release of man-made organic chemicals into the environment is a relatively recent phenomenon. Land use changes in Africa may also contribute to the transport of larger amounts of dust. Therefore, the quantity and quality of dust transported in recent decades and reaching downwind ecosystems may have changed. It is hypothesized that contaminants associated with African dust are contributors to the decline of coral reefs in the Caribbean. The current project has the objective of testing this hypothesis. Toxicity assessments were performed with seawater elutriates of African dust collected in the U.S. Virgin Islands, using the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata early life stage tests, the copepod Schizopera knabeni survival and hatching success test, and the polychaete Dinophilus gyrociliatus life cycle test. All experiments indicated elevated toxicity of several dust elutriates and toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) procedures identified metals as the toxic agents. However, the level of contamination of marine environments due to dust input is not clear. Toxicity tests are underway using several types of marine samples collected under dust and no-dust conditions: sea surface microlayer, subsurface seawater, water from coral interstices and porewater from areas adjacent to coral reefs. Results and their implications for coral reef ecosystems will be discussed.

TP241 (FOR-1117-836229) Synthetic organic chemicals, microorganisms, African and Asian dust, and coral reefs.
Start time: 8:00 AM
Garrison, V.¹, Carr, R.², Foreman, W.³, Griffin, D.¹, Kellogg, C.¹, Majewski, M.⁴, Shinn, E.¹, Simonich, S.⁵, Smith, G.⁶, ¹ U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL, U.S.A.² U.S. Geological Survey, Corpus Christi, TX, U.S.A.³ U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, U.S.A.⁴ U.S. Geological Survey, Sacramento, CA, U.S.A.⁵ Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, U.S.A.⁶ University of South Carolina, Aiken, SC
Coral reef declines worldwide are well documented, but the processes driving the increases in numbers and types of diseases, increased mortality from disease, and lack of recovery on damaged coral reefs remain elusive. In 1997, Shinn presented a new hypothesis to explain the widespread occurrence of apparently "new" diseases and the lack of recovery of damaged coral reefs close to and remote from human populations–that African and Asia dust systems transport nutrients and viable microorganisms that adversely affect coral reefs and human health. Shinn et al. (Geophys. Res. Letters, 2000) suggested that the composition of dust air masses changed over the past 30 years, coincident with increased quantities of dust transported. Dust may be linked with coral reef declines by: 1) widespread distribution of pathogens to downwind reefs; 2) deposition of limiting micronutrients, such as iron, or macronutrients that could spike pathogen reservoir populations or trigger microorganism pathogenicity; and 3) influx of chemical contaminants (toxins, carcinogens, mutagens, or endocrine disruptors) that can weaken the natural immunocompetency of coral reef organisms, adversely affect reproduction (at any stage including settlement of planula larvae) or invoke direct toxicity (Garrison et al., BioScience, 2003). Current research involves a large, international network of collaborating scientists from many disciplines. Our research shows that viable microorganisms appear to be transported in African dust, because air samples from dust events in the U.S. Virgin Islands (VI) contain significantly more microbes than from ambient, nondust conditions, and air samples from a dust source region (Mali) contain orders of magnitude more viable microorganisms than in the Caribbean. Preliminary results from analysis of chemical contaminants in air samples provide new information that adds to our knowledge of the global transport of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Analysis of air samples collected in the VI during dust events and in the Sahel in Africa identified a nearly identical suite of POPs, with concentrations of POPs usually much higher (mid-to-sub ng/m³ range) in the African source region.

TP243 (COD-1117-850924) Biological and chemical assessment of PFW effluent on a tropical reef species, Lutjanus carponotatus, from the Harriet A Platform on the NW Shelf of Australia.
Start time: 8:00 AM
Codi King, S¹, ¹ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
A comprehensive biological and chemical assessment of the fate, effects and potential risks associated with Produced Formation Water (PFW) were conducted at the Harriet A platform on the Northwest Shelf of Australia. A controlled in situ caging study was conducted using a Australian, tropical reef species, Stripey seaperch (Lutjanus carponotatus), deployed in 6 separate galvanised steel cages set 1 m subsurface at 3 stations; Site A (near-field within 300 m), Site B (far-field, within 1000 m) and Site C, a reference site. Samples were collected at T= 0, T= 3 and T=10 days for EROD, cytochrome P450, bile metabolites, CYP1A, CYP2K1- and CYP2M1-like proteins, vitellogenin, GST, HSI, and histopathological assessment of liver and gills. In addition, time-integrated water column samplers (SPMDs) were deployed at all 3 sites to assess in situ petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations. The results from a 3 factor nested ANOVA, demonstrated that were no effects of cages nested in site, and no interactions between cages and time of sampling, therefore the effect of cages was removed from all subsequent analyses. As a result of univariate analysis (ANOVA), bile metabolites, CYP1A, CYP2M1- and CYP2K1-like proteins, and histopathological assessment of livers and gills were statistically significant (p < 0.05) at Site A after 10 days of exposure to PFW, corresponding with higher levels of PAHs at this site. Analysis by PCA established trends that the CYP-like proteins explained most of the variation amongst all biomarker responses, and these correlations were driven largely by the effects of site (Site A) and time of sampling (T = 10). This study demonstrated that PFW discharged into this shallow tropical ecosystem is causing environmental degradation of water quality within close proximity to the Harriet A platform (< 300 m).

TP244 (PAI-1117-831198) Characterizing chemical contamination, coral biomarkers and biogeography in a coral reef system in southwest Puerto Rico.
Start time: 8:00 AM
Pait, A¹, Whitall, D¹, Christensen, J¹, Caldow, C¹, ¹ NOAA/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
The apparent degradation of tropical marine ecosystems is a growing concern worldwide. The cumulative impact of chemical and microbial contamination on coral reef ecosystem health is largely unknown. To begin investigating links between these stressors and reef health, NOAAs National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, and the University of Hawaii have begun a pilot project in southwestern Puerto Rico. The goal of the project is to demonstrate how information on chemical contamination, biomarkers of coral health, and biogeographic patterns in the seascape can be brought together to characterize the area in an effort to quantify linkages between contaminants and coral ecosystem health. Results from this study will serve as a model for integrating these types of data in other coral reef systems of the region. Information on the sampling design, contaminants and coral biomarkers analyzed and the use of biogeographic data will be discussed; preliminary results will also be presented.