Abstract
The appearance of the spionid polychaete Marenzelleria spp. in the Tay estuary (Scotland) was first reported in 1984. Since estuaries are known as environments where abiotic conditions fluctuate widely, a laboratory study was conducted aimed to elucidate how this introduced species deals with low oxygen concentrations and exposure to hydrogen sulphide. Experimental evidence reveals that during severe hypoxia Marenzelleria cf. wireni switched to anaerobic pathways known from other marine invertebrates. Under the influence of sulphide (1 mmol l-1) accumulation of anaerobic end products is more pronounced. It is assumed that in the presence of sulphide, due to its inhibition of aerobic respiration, the worms have to switch to anaerobic energy production directly after the onset of hypoxia. Seasonal differences in the metabolic reaction were found. It was shown that in specimens that were filled with gametes (winter), accumulation of end products of anaerobic metabolism was more pronounced than in immature worms (summer). The amount of succinate, an indicator for anaerobic energy production for instance, was nearly twice as high in the ‘winter specimens’. Since the amount of thiosulphate (a typical sulphide detoxification product) in the tissues is relatively low, it is suggested that Marenzelleria cf. wireni also accumulates other detoxification products. Sulphite, however, also known as a detoxification product, was found only in traces. Field measurements provide evidence that the potential of Marenzelleria cf. wireni to survive low oxygen and high sulphide concentrations is clearly higher than that normally needed in the Tay estuary.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arndt C and Schiedek D (1997) Nephtys hombergii, a free-living predator in marine sediments: energy production under environmental stress. Mar Biol, in press
Atkins SM, Jones AM and Garwood PR (1987) The ecology and reproduction cycle of a population of Marenzelleria viridis (Annelida: Polychaeta: Spionidae) in the Tay Estuary. Proc Roy Soc Edinburgh 92B: 311–322
Bagarinao T (1992) Sulfide as an environmental factor and toxicant: tolerance and adaptations in aquatic organisms. Aquat Toxicol 24: 21–62
Bestwick BW, Robbins IJ and Warren LM (1989) Metabolic adaptations of the intertidal polychaete Cirriformia tentaculata to the life in an oxygen-sink environment. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 125: 193–202
Bick A and Zettler ML (1997). On the identity and distribution of two species of Marenzelleria (Polychaeta: Spionidae) in Europe and North America. Aquat Ecol 31: 137–148
Charton JA, Mcnicholl W and West JR (1975) Tidal and freshwater induced circulation in the Tay Estuary. Proc Roy Soc Edinburgh 75B: 11–27
De Zwaan A (1991) Molluscs. In: Bryant C (ed.), Metazoan life without oxygen. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 186–217
Gilboa-Garber N (1971) Direct spectrophotometric determination of inorganic sulfide in biological materials and other complex mixtures. Anal Chem 43: 129–133
Grieshaber MK, Kronig E and Koormann R (1978) A photometric estimation of phospho-L-arginine, arginine and octopine using octopine dehydrogenase isoenzyme from the squid, Loligo vulgaris. Hope-Seylers. Z Physiol Chem 359: 133–136
Grieshaber MK, Hardewig I, Kreutzer U and Pörtner H-O (1994) Physiological and metabolic responses to hypoxia in invertebrates. Rev Physiol Biochem Pharmacol 125: 44–147
Grieshaber MK, Hauschild K, Sommer A, and Völkel S (1995) Anaerobiosis and sulphobiosis in the lugworm, Arenicola marina L. In: Eleftheriou A, Ansell AD and Smith CH (eds), Biology and ecology of shallow coastal waters, Olsen and Olsen, Fredensborg, pp. 131–137
Jørgensen BB and Fenchel T (1974) The sulfur cycle of a marine sediment model system. Mar Biol 24: 189–201
Light WJ (1978) Spionidae (Polychaeta, Annelida). Boxwood press, Pacific Grove, California, 211 pp
Llanso RJ (1991) Tolerance of low dissolved oxygen and hydrogen sulfide by the polychaete Streblospio benedicti (Webster). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 153: 165–178
Maciolek N (1984) New records and species of Marenzelleria Mesnil and Scolecolepis Ehlers (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from Northeastern North America. Proc of the 1st Int Polychaeta Conference, Syndney, pp. 43–62
Michal GH, Beutler HO, Lang G and Guenter U (1976) Enzymatic determination of succinic acid in food stuffs. Z Anal Chem 279: 137–138
Poethke W (1973) Parktikum der Maßanalyse. Steinkopf, Dresden
Schiedek D (1997a) Marenzelleria viridis (Verrill 1873) (Polychaeta) a new benthic species within European coastal waters. Some metabolic features. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 211(1): 85–101
Schiedek D (1997b) Marenzelleria cf. viridis (Polychaeta: Spionidae) — ecophysiological adaptations to a life in the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. Aquat Ecol 31: 199–210
Schiedek D, Arndt C and Schmidt R (1996) The effect of hydrogen sulphide on the ecophysiological adaptability of polychaetes. In: Fischer U and Grieshaber MK (eds), Processes and structures in marine methane and sulfide biotopes. Shaker Verlag, Aachen, pp. 49–51
Schneider A (1995) Metabolic rate of the brackish water polychaete Marenzelleria viridis under reducing conditions. Thermochimica Acta 27: 1–10
Schöttler U (1979) On the anaerobic metabolism of three species of Nereis (Annelida). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 1: 249–254
Schöttler U (1989) Anaerobic metabolism in the lugworm Arenicola marina during low tide: the influence of developing reproductive cells. Comp Biochem Physiol 92A: 1–7
Schöttler U and Schroff G (1976) Untersuchungen zum anaeroben Glykogenabbau bei Tubifex tubifex M. J Comp Physiol 108: 243–254
Schöttler U and Grieshaber MK (1988) Adaptation of the polychaete worm Scoloplos armiger to hypoxic conditions. Mar Biol 99: 215–222
Schöttler U and Bennet EM (1991) Annelids. In: Bryant C (ed.), Metazoan life without oxygen. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 165–185
Smith L, Kruszyna H and Smith RP (1977) The effects of methemoglobin on the inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase by cyanide, sulphide or azide. Bioch Pharm 26: 2247–2250
Vetter RD, Matrai PA, Javor B and O'Brien J (1989) Reduced sulfur compounds in the marine environment: analysis by HPLC. Symp Ser Am Chem Soc 393: 243–261
Vismann B (1990) Sulfide detoxification and tolerance in Nereis (Hediste) diversicolor and Nereis (Neanthes) virens (Annelida: Polychaeta). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 59: 229–238
Vismann B (1991a) Sulfide tolerance: physiological mechanisms and ecological implications. Ophelia 34: 1–27
Vismann B (1991b) Physiology of sulfide detoxification in the isopod Saduria (Mesidotea) entomon. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 76: 283–293
Völkel S and Grieshaber MK (1992) Mechanisms of sulfide tolerance in the peanut worm Sipunculus nudus (Sipunculida) and the lugworm Arenicola marina (Polychaeta). J Comp Physiol 162B: 469–477
Völkel S and Grieshaber MK (1994) Oxygen-dependent sulfide detoxification in the lugworm Arenicola marina. Mar Biol 118: 137–147
Völkel S and Grieshaber MK (1995) Sulfide tolerance in marine invertebrates. In: Heisler N (ed.), Mechanisms of systemic regulation: acid-base regulation, ion transfer and metabolism. Advances in comparative and environmental physiology. Vol. 22, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 233–257
Völkel S, Hauschild K and Grieshaber MK (1995) Sulfide stress and tolerance in the lugworm Arenicola marina during low tide. Mar Ecol Prog Ser: 122: 205–215
Vogan C (1995) The effects of low oxygen and sulphide on the metabolism of Marenzelleria viridis (Annelida: Polychaeta: Spionidae). BSc Honours Degree, St. Andrews University, Scotland
Williams DJ and West JR (1975) Salinity distribution in the Tay Estuary. Proc Roy Soc Edinburgh 75B: 29–39
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schiedek, D., Vogan, C., Hardege, J. et al. Marenzelleria cf. wireni (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from the Tay estuary. Metabolic response to severe hypoxia and hydrogen sulphide. Aquatic Ecology 31, 211–222 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009911723907
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009911723907