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Abstract Despite a vast amount of literature has focused on trace element (TE) contamination in Antarctica during the last decades, the assessment of the main pathways driving TE transfer to the biota is still an overlooked issue. This limits the ability to predict how variations in sea-ice dynamics and productivity due to climate change will affect TE allocation in the food web. Here, food web structure of Tethys Bay (Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica) was first characterised by analysing carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) in organic matter sources (sediment and planktonic, benthic and sympagic primary producers) and consumers (zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, fish and birds). Diet and trophic position were also characterised using Bayesian mixing models. Then, relationships between stable isotopes, diet and TEs (Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and V) were assessed in order to evaluate if and how horizontal (organic matter pathways) and vertical (trophic position) food web features influence TE transfer to the biota. Regressions between log[TE] and δ13C revealed that the sympagic pathway drives accumulation of V in primary consumers and Cd and Hg in secondary consumers, and that a coupled benthic/pelagic pathway drives Pb transfer to all consumers. Regressions between log[TE] and δ15N showed that only Hg biomagnifies across trophic levels, while all the others TEs showed a biodilution pattern, consistent with patterns observed in temperate food webs. Although the Cd behavior needs further investigations, the present findings provide new insights about the role of basal sources in the transfer of TEs in polar systems. This is especially important nowadays in light of the forecasted trophic changes potentially resulting from climate change-induced modification of sea-ice dynamics. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Horizontal and vertical food web structure was characterised using δ13C and δ15N. • Trace element (TE) transfer was assessed in the Antarctic food web. • Sympagic and pelagic pathways drove Cd and Hg transfer to invertebrates. • Benthic pathway (sediment and phytodetritus) drove Pb to invertebrates. • Hg concentration increased along trophic levels and biomagnified. Depiction of trace element transfer in the Antarctic food web highlighted an important role of both sympagic and pelagic pathways, suggesting that forecasted modification of sea-ice dynamics due to climate change may alter contaminant accumulation and biomagnification patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polar regions are warming faster than the world average and are profoundly affected by changes in the spatio-temporal dynamics of sea ice, with largely unknown repercussions on the functioning of marine ecosystems. Here, we investigated the impacts of interannual sea-ice variability on coastal benthic communities in Antarctica, focusing on a close-to-pristine area (Adélie Land). We investigated shell growth of the circum-Antarctic bivalve Laternula elliptica , considered a key species in these soft bottom benthic communities. Chondrophores of live-collected clams were prepared using standard sclerochronological methods to study the interannual variability of shell growth from 1996 to 2015. Our results show that the master chronology varied with sea-ice dynamics. When sea ice breaks up too early, sympagic algae do not have time to accumulate sufficiently high biomass, thus strongly limiting the energy input to the benthos. This negatively affects the physiological performance of L. elliptica , thereby altering their population dynamics and hence the functioning of these soft-bottom ecosystems. • Laternula elliptica shell growth was studied in Adélie Land using sclerochronology. • Lantern clam growth increments can be measured with accuracy in shell chrondrophores • A 20-year long chronology highlighted strong growth synchrony between individuals. • Interannual variation in the chronology was mostly attributed to sea-ice phenology. • Clam shells can serve as archives of the zoobenthic response to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Palmitoleic acid oxidation products are used to monitor Arctic ice algae degradation. • Biotic degradation of algae in ice is mainly induced by bacterial lipoxygenase. • Salinity changes in ice and toxic free fatty acids of ice algae may stress bacteria. • Ice algae material appeared to be very weakly degraded within the water column. • Ice algae released during the early stages of melting strongly contribute to sediment. Abstract Degradation of palmitoleic acid (C 16:1ω7), the main fatty acid component of sea ice-associated (sympagic) diatoms, was monitored in Arctic sea ice at the beginning of ice melting and in the underlying sinking particles and superficial bottom sediments. In sea ice, degradation of sympagic algae involved biotic oxidation induced by 10 S -DOX-like lipoxygenase of unknown salinity-stressed attached bacteria, while photo- and autoxidation were limited. In the water column, strong hydratase and Z / E isomerase activity were observed. Hydration of unsaturated fatty acids seems to be a detoxification strategy, which is essential for bacterial survival when associated with free fatty acid-rich environments such as ice algae. In contrast, Z / E isomerisation of palmitoleic acid was attributed to the release of Fe2+ ions during radical-induced damage of the active site of the bacterial 10 S -DOX-like lipoxygenase and Z / E isomerases. Due to the poor physiological state of their attached bacteria resulting from salinity stress in brine channels or toxicity of free ice algae fatty acids, sympagic algae appeared to be only very weakly biotically degraded within the water column. In bottom sediments, free radicals resulting from 10 S -DOX-like lipoxygenase activity induced a strong autoxidation of the ice algal material. The presence in bottom sediments of a significant proportion of oxidation products resulting from 10 S -DOX-like lipoxygenase activity attested to the strong contribution of sea ice-derived OM released during the early stages of ice melt prior to deposition in the sediments. However, on the basis of the highest fatty acid photooxidation state observed in these sediments, an additional contribution of highly photooxidized material (ice algal material released at the end of ice melting or open water phytoplankton) seems likely. The degradation of hydroperoxides, resulting from biotic and abiotic degradation of palmitoleic acid, appeared to involve: (i) homolytic cleavage of the peroxyl group affording the corresponding hydroxy- and oxoacids, (ii) reduction to the corresponding hydroxyacids by peroxygenases, (iii) heterolytic proton-catalysed cleavage and (iv) conversion to allylic 1,4-diols by diol synthases and hydroperoxide isomerases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]