Interim report of the HELCOM CORESET project

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of contaminants in sediments with higher load of organic content. The same study didn’t show any relationship
between oxygen concentrations in bottom waters, temperature and malformation rate. A negative
correlation was found between females carrying a dead brood and the oxygen concentration of the
bottom water. Fecundity was positively correlated with the carbon content of the sediment but negatively
correlated with the temperature of the bottom water. These results confi rm the fi ndings of previous laboratory
experiments (Eriksson et al. 2001). Undeveloped eggs (undifferentiated eggs) are not correlated to
contaminant exposure but seem to occur due to low food resources and possibly to increased temperatures
but there are no clear correlations so far (Sundelin et al. 2008). To meet the possible confounding factors
additional variables i.e. organic content and oxygen in sediment and bottom waters should be measured
on sampling stations.
Ecological relevance
Crustaceans are one of the most abundant invertebrate groups and it is relevant to include them in monitoring
activities. Amphipods are regarded as particularly sensitive to contaminant exposure (Conlan 1994).
Furthermore amphipods lack pelagic larvae and thus they are comparatively stationary facilitating the
linkage between effects and environmental conditions. The deposit-feeding amphipod Monoporeia affi nis,
and the marine species Pontoporeia femorata are important benthic key stone species in the Swedish fresh
and brackish water environment and are effi cient bioturbators and important for the oxygenation of the
sediment. They are signifi cant food source for several fi sh species and other macrofauna species (Arrhenius
& Hansson 1993, Aneer 1975). By analyzing reproduction variables as malformed embryos and other aberrant
embryo development we combine the supposedly higher sensitivity of low-organization level biomarkers
with the higher relevance attributed to variables giving more direct information on next-generation
and population level effects (Sundelin 1983, Tarkpea et al. 1999, Cold & Forbes 2004, Heuvel- Greve et al.
2007, Hutchinson 2007).
Quality Assurance
Guidelines are available in ICES Techniques in Marine Environmental Sciences (TIMES) no 41. Quality
assurance declaration is updated regularly at website at Swedish EPA http://www.naturvardsverket.
se/upload/02_tillstandet_i_miljon/Miljoovervakning/programomraden/kust_och_hav/kvalitetsdeklaration_embryonal_vitmarla.pdf.
Quality assurance has been practiced during training courses and workshops
when different persons analyzing the embryos checked the accordance by examining the same brood. The
accordance was between 90 to 97%. Since M. affi nis is a glacial relict of fresh water origin occurring in
inland waters below the highest coastline and the method has been used and evaluated also in Swedish
greater lakes as Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern (Sundelin et al 2008). For method description see Sundelin
et al. 2008 (http://ices.dk/pubs/times/times41/TIMES41.pdf).
Assessment Criteria
The reproduction success of the freshwater amphipod Monoporeia affi nis and the marine species Pontoporeia
femorata in terms of various embryo aberrations have been measured in Baltic proper and Bothnian
Sea since an international evaluation in 1993 priorotized the method as one of the most useful for effect
monitoring of contaminants in the Baltic.
The method has also been used for other amphipod species in coastal waters outside Great Britain, Gulf
of Riga, Gulf of Gdansk and in the Belt Sea. The method is used in the Bonus Beast programme as a core
biomarker in all areas of the beast programme.
All species of amphipods could be analyzed for embryo aberrations and health status. The same protocol
and method could be used for all of them (See TIMES 41). Field studies using different species of amphipods
inhabiting the same area show a similar background level of malformation rate. However assessment