Natural storms are able to determine reworking of seabed up to considerable depths and favour suspension of sediment-associated chemicals. Yet, a direct link between exposure to resuspended contaminants and the biological effects on marine organisms have to be fully established. We exposed adults of a suspension feeder, the ascidian Ciona robusta, to polluted sediment (e.g., containing mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals) from the industrial area of Bagnoli-Coroglio under two temporal patterns (‘aggregated’ vs. ‘spaced’) of turbulence events. Then, we assessed the impact of resuspended pollutants on the ascidian gut environment via four broad categories: oxidative stress, innate immunity, host-microbiota interactions, and epithelium. An early oxidative stress response was seen after a week of exposure to static sediment. Instead, water turbulence had no effect on the antioxidant defence. The first episode of turbulent suspension induced a minimal pro-inflammatory response in the ‘spaced’ pattern. Mucus overproduction and a complete occlusion of the crypt lumen were found following sediment reworking. This study suggests a protective response of the gut environment in marine invertebrates exposed to environmental extremes, leading to increased susceptibility to disease and to concerns on the combined effects of chronic environmental contamination and acute disturbance events possibly associated with climate change.

自然风暴能够确定海床的返修深度，并有利于悬浮沉积物相关化学物质的悬浮。但是，必须完全建立暴露于重悬浮污染物的暴露与对海洋生物的生物学影响之间的直接联系。我们以两种时间模式（“合计”与“间隔” ）将来自巴格诺利-科罗格里奥工业区的悬浮喂食器海鞘罗氏Ci（Cioa Robusta）的成虫暴露于受污染的沉积物（例如，含有多环芳烃和重金属的混合物））的湍流事件。然后，我们再悬浮评估污染物对海鞘肠道环境的影响通过四个主要类别：氧化应激，先天免疫，宿主菌群相互作用和上皮细胞。暴露于静态沉积物一周后，观察到早期的氧化应激反应。相反，水湍流对抗氧化剂防御没有影响。湍流悬浮的第一集以“间隔”模式引起最小的促炎反应。沉积物修复后，发现粘液过剩和隐窝腔完全闭塞。这项研究表明，在暴露于极端环境的海洋无脊椎动物中，肠道环境具有保护作用，从而导致疾病易感性增加，并引起对慢性环境污染和可能与气候变化有关的急性干扰事件的综合影响的关注。