Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea 2413-5577 20250109 Research Article The Dynamics of the Mollusks Mytilaster lineatus Settlement in the Black Sea Waters with Different Degrees of Petroleum Pollution Tkachenko Yu. S.
Russian Federation
yulechkatkachenko.90@mail.ru Tikhonova E. A.
Russian Federation
tihonoval@mail.ru Viter T. V.
Russian Federation
tatjana-viter@rambler.ru A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS Sevastopol Russia 31 03 2025 2025 1 137 154 13 05 2024 17 12 2024 14 10 2024 Copyright © 2025, Yu. S. Tkachenko, E. A. Tikhonova, T. V. Viter 2025 Yu. S. Tkachenko, E. A. Tikhonova, T. V. Viter https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ https://ecological-safety.ru/en/repository/issues/2025/01/09/

The paper estimates the dynamics of the settlement of mytilasters in the coastal water area with different degrees of petroleum pollution using the example of Sevastopol Bay (high level of anthropogenic load) and Laspi Bay (conditionally clean water area). To assess the marine environment quality at the sites of mytilaster fouling in the mentioned bays, data on the petroleum hydrocarbons content in the water was analysed (2012, 2015, 2018). The study material was samples of Mytilaster lineatus mollusks and bottom sediments taken in Sevastopol Bay from 2012 to 2018 at depths from 7 to 17 m during three sanitary and biological surveys. The abundance of mytilasters on various natural and artificial substrates of Sevastopol Bay in 2012, 2015 and 2018 under conditions of chronic oil pollution was analysed. It was revealed that the abundance of mytilasters on solid substrates was primarily influenced not by pollution of the marine environment but by water temperature and surf-wave phenomena. The values of the functional abundance index show that under chronic petroleum pollution, mytilasters, inhabiting artificial substrates of Sevastopol Bay, make a more significant contribution to transformation of matter and energy. At the same time, the energy significance of the studied mollusks in the soils of Sevastopol Bay is considerably lower than that in the conditionally clean water area (Laspi Bay). An analysis of average abundance and biomass of mollusks for 2012, 2015 and 2018 showed that the number of mytilasters in the marine soils of Sevastopol Bay increased. It was established that the quality of life of the community was influenced by the physical and chemical parameters of bottom sediments, which either accelerate or slow down the oxidation processes, thereby changing the oxygen level in the bottom sediments. According to the correlation analysis results, there is a direct relationship between the abundance, biomass of mollusks and concentrations of chloroform-extractable substances, petroleum hydrocarbons and redox potential. It was revealed that in the soils of Laspi Bay, the quantitative indicators of mytilasters were four times higher than in Sevastopol Bay.

 coastal waters Mytilaster artificial substrates natural substrates petroleum hydrocarbons Black Sea This work was carried out under IBSS state research assignment "Study of biogeochemical patterns of radioecological and chemoecological processes in the ecosystems of water bodies of the Sea of Azov-Black Sea Basin in comparison with other areas of the World Ocean and individual aquatic ecosystems of their drainage basins to ensure sustainable development in the southern seas of Russia" (No. 124030100127-7).

About the authors:

Yulia S. Tkachenko, Junior Research Associate, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimova Ave, Sevastopol, 299011, Russian Federation), ORCID ID: 0009-0001-1752-1043, Scopus Author ID: 1220495, yulechkatkachenko.90@mail.ru

Elena A. Tikhonova, Leading Research Associate, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimova Ave, Sevastopol, 299011, Russian Federation), PhD (Biol.), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-9137-087X, Scopus Author ID: 57208495804, ResearcherID: X-8524-2019, tihonoval@mail.ru

Tatiana V. Viter, Junior Research Associate, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimova Ave, Sevastopol, 299011, Russian Federation), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-6792-5548, Scopus Author ID: 57208484620, tatjana-viter@rambler.ru

Contribution of the authors:

Yulia S. Tkachenko – preparation of bottom sediment samples, analysis of the results and literature sources on the study topic, writing and execution of the article

Elena A. Tikhonova – study goal and objectives statement, sampling of bottom sediments, determination of physical and chemical parameters of bottom sediments, revision of the article text

Tatiana V. Viter – participation in monitoring surveys of the bay, determination of abundance and biomass of mytilasters in bottom sediments of Sevastopol Bay for 2012–2018, discussion of the results, writing of the article

All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Article text not included.

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