The winter fieldworks passed. The major emphasis was to determine and collect samples from locations where environmental conditions of bottom habitats allowed more likely to find the amphipode Monoporeia affinis. The latter is Baltic Sea glacial limnic relict crustacean, which breeds only amidst winter months. Purpose of this survey – seeking after embryonic aberrations, as malformations of amphipode embryos generally present when the adverse effects of pollution or eutrophication influence the early development of an organism.
Examination of amphipode embryos on malformations.
On collected sediments, the survival test was conducted at the environment mimicking the natural conditions of the bottom habitats. Almost from all sampling sites, the health of collected clams (Limecola balthica) was examined during several ecophysiological tests.
Measurements of adaptive heart rate recovery.
Measurements of aerobic metabolic rate.
From different stations in Narva bay, the soft tissue of Limecola clam was taken for analyses of certain trace metals, while biota samples from all available locations and after all experimental works were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen with the following placement at -80°C for subsequent biochemical analyses.