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1.
Abstract. Episodic events have been shown to strongly affect structure and function of marine benthic ecosystems. Severe storms can have profound effects on the distribution of marine sediments which could, in turn, influence the development of benthic communities. The rich and diverse epibenthic communities on the United States mid-Atlantic continental shelf owe their existence to the presence of a complex sequence of rocky outcrops. An unusually strong storm struck this shelf system in March 1993. Two of these carbonate platforms had been characterized by moderate sediment cover for at least the previous two years, but bottom water velocities generated by this storm removed considerable amounts of sediment from these upper flat hardbottom habitats. Macroalgal cover on these platforms dramatically increased between 1992 and 1993 with the increased exposure of hard substrate for attachment. The edges of the outcrops (scarps and rubble ramps), which are usually free of sediment, maintained their dense algal cover. Settlement blocks placed in various sub-habitats showed little variation in algal cover among flat hardbottom and scarp areas during both years, indicating that available hard substrate habitat may be the primary limiting factor for algal growth on the North Carolina continental shelf. Since macroalgal meadows provide food and shelter for juvenile fish, the increase in critical habitat following these storms may have implications for recruitment of economically important fish species. Thus, indirect effects of episodic storms, i.e ., redistribution of sand bodies leading to algal meadow development over large spatial scales, may have important consequences for benthic community development and persistence in temperate reef systems.  相似文献   

2.
The distributions of benthic assemblages, heavy metals and organic carbon (Corg) in sediments were examined during a long-term study at a sewage sludge disposal site off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The disposal of sewage sludge has a marked but localized, seasonally dependent, impact on the benthic assemblages and sediment quality. Elevated concentrations of Corg, Hg, Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, and to a lesser degree Ni in the sediments were detected mostly northward of the sewage outfall, in the direction of the prevalent longshore current. High concentrations of Corg and metals were reflected by elevated populations of tolerant and opportunistic polychaetes in spring and by an azoic zone in fall. The impacted area extended mainly towards the north (up to ca. 4 km) and to a lesser extent south of the outfall (up to ca. 2.5 km). No evidence of increased accumulation of sewage sludge with time was found, nor of pollutants associated with it. Principal component analysis (PCA) grouped the anthropogenic metals and Corg with infaunal abundance for the spring surveys, while biotic diversity was negatively correlated with the pollutants. In the PCA of fall surveys, abundance was negatively correlated with the pollutants, decreasing with increased concentration of Corg and anthropogenic metals. We suggest that the seasonal pattern shown by infaunal abundance, anthropogenic metals and Corg is due to the stratification of the water column from spring to fall on one-hand and winter storms on the other. Winter storms resuspend and disperse the fine organic particles, sweeping the site clean of sludge; accumulation of sludge takes place throughout the quiescent periods of the year, when stratification is reestablished. The disposal site is dispersive and the spatial extent of the impacted area varies seasonally and interannually. This monitoring study, in addition to addressing specific questions about sewage sludge impact, represents an unusually large and unique set of long-term measurements that will serve as a basis to evaluate the site recovery following the cessation of disposal.  相似文献   

3.
Fish communities and habitat structures were evaluated by underwater visual censuses a rocky location impacted by thermal discharge (I) and at two control locations, one in a Sargassum bed (C1) and the other in a rocky shore with higher structural complexity (C2). Habitat indicators and fish communities exhibited significant differences between the impacted and control locations, with the impacted one showing a significant decrease in fish species richness and diversity, as well as a decrease in benthic cover. At the I location, only 13 fish species were described, and the average water temperature was 32 ± 0.4 °C, compared with 44 species at C1 (25.9 ± 0.3 °C) and 33 species at C2 (24.6 ± 0.2 °C). Significant differences in fish communities among locations were found by ANOSIM with Eucinostomus argenteus, Mugil sp. and Haemulon steindachneri typical of location I, while Abudefduf saxatilis, Stegastes fuscus and Malacoctenus delalandi were typical of the control locations. Our study shows that thermal pollution alters benthic cover and influences fish assemblages by altering composition and decreasing richness.  相似文献   

4.
In order to realize the spatiotemporal variations of benthic macrofaunal communities at the "Amphioxus Sand"habitat, six surveys including four seasons and three consecutive summers(i.e., 2014, 2015 and 2016) were conducted in two core sites, i.e., Huangcuo(HC) and Nanxian-Shibaxian(NX), in the Xiamen Amphioxus Nature Reserve in China. A total of 155 species of macrofauna were recorded, therein, polychaetes were dominant in terms of species number and density. Significant spatiotemporal variations of macrofaunal communities were observed. The density of polychaetes and the biomass of molluscs in the HC site were higher than those in the NX site. Macrofauna were more diverse and abundant in the cold seasons(winter and spring) than that in the warm seasons(summer and autumn). The annual variations of macrofaunal communities may be attributed to the changes in sediment texture among the three years of the survey. The variations in macrofaunal communities were mainly related to the proportion of polychaetes within the community. In addition, the density of amphioxus(include Branchiostoma japonicum and B. belcheri) was negatively correlated to that of polychaetes, bivalves, and crustaceans. Amphioxus was less likely to be found in the sediments with higher silt and clay content. Five biotic indices including Margaref's richness index(d), Peilou's evenness index(J′), Shannon-Wiener diversity index(H′),AMBI and M-AMBI were calculated in the present study. AMBI seems suitable in assessing benthic health at the"Amphioxus Sand" habitat, and a potential risk of ecological health in Xiamen Amphioxus Nature Reserve should be aware.  相似文献   

5.
From the Indian coast only limited data are available on the benthic fauna of the seagrass communities. In this study, seasonal variation in the distribution of macrobenthos and influence of environmental parameters was explored at four seagrass beds and two mangrove stations along the Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India, from September 1999 to August 2001. A total of 160 macrobenthic species from eight major groups represented the macrofauna of the Minicoy Island. Of the identified taxa, molluscs 70（gastropods 41.46%, bivalves 7.5%）, polychaetes 27（16.88%）, crustaceans 30（18.75%）, echinoderms 11（6.88%） and remaining others. Average seasonal abundance of benthic macrofauna ranged from 219 to 711 ind./m2, species diversity varied from 1.45 to 3.64 bits per individual, species richness index ranged from 4.01 to 26.17, evenness 0.69 to 1.66. In general, the higher abundance and species diversity was noticed in southern seagrass stations and northern seagrass stations, but in the mangrove stations comparatively low species diversity was observed. Three-way analysis of variance indicated that all communities resulted as being significantly different between seagrass and mangrove station, mainly when the seasonal interaction was considered. Multivariate analyses were employed to help define benthic characteristic and the relationship between environmental parameters at the six monitoring stations. Results of cluster analyses and multidimensional scale plot suggest that for mangrove region, different physiographic provinces, lower salinity, dissolved oxygen and sediment biotic structure have a higher influence on the species composition and diversity than other oceanographic conditions.  相似文献   

6.
In situ measurements of ammonium and carbon dioxide fluxes were performed using benthic chambers at the end of spring and the end of summer in two soft-bottom Abra alba communities of the western English Channel (North Brittany): the muddy sand community (5 m, about 10% of surface irradiance) and the fine-sand community (19 m, about 1% of surface irradiance). High rates of ammonium regeneration were measured in the two communities at the end of summer (296.03±40.07 and 201.7±62.74 μmolN m−2 h−1, respectively) as well as high respiration rates (2.60±0.94 and 2.23±0.59 mmolC m−2 h−1, respectively). Significant benthic gross primary production (up to 6.11 mmolC m−2 h−1) was measured in the muddy sand community but no benthic primary production was measured in the fine-sand community. It suggests that microphytobenthic production values used in simulations previously published for these two communities were overestimated while values of community respiration were underestimated. The study confirms that this benthic system is heterotrophic and strengthens the idea that an important pelagic-benthic coupling is required for the functioning in such coastal ecosystems.  相似文献   

7.
Habitat change induced by organic enrichment is a growing concern for the sustainability of benthic communities in coastal aquatic environments. This case study describes the spatial and temporal response patterns and the recovery potential of low-diversity benthic communities to organic enrichment at two fish farm locations, during the rearing periods (15 and 20 years, respectively) and the following recovery periods (2 years). The spatial extent of disturbance differed depending on the hydromorphological characteristics of the rearing sites, but degraded macrobenthic communities close to both fish farms were recorded soon after the activity started. Continued organic enrichment resulted in high species turnover-rates and in an altered benthic community composition at both locations. After fish farm abatement, a partial recovery was detected in species richness, but abundance and biomass values were reduced and changes in structural composition remained. Alterations in benthic biological traits were observed at both fish farm locations, implying that organic enrichment might cause changes in benthic community function within low-diversity benthic communities.  相似文献   

8.
The dynamics of benthic primary production and community respiration in a shallow oligotrophic, marine lagoon (Fællestrand, Denmark) was followed for 1·5 years. The shape of the annual primary production cycle was explained primarily by seasonal changes in temperature (r2 = 0·67-0·72) and daylength (r2 = 0·63), whereas temperature almost explained all variation in benthic community respiration (r2 = 0·83-0·87). On a daily basis the benthic system was autotrophic during spring and summer supplied by 'new' and 'regenerated' nitrogen and predominantly heterotrophic during fall and winter caused by light and nutrient limitation. The linear depth-relationship between porewater alkalinity and ammonium indicated that the C:N ratio of mineralized organic matter is low in spring and summer (3-6) and high in fall and winter (9-16). This is inversely related to net primary production and thus the input of labile, nitrogen-rich algal cells. Accordingly, mineralization occurred predominantly in the upper 2-5 cm of the sediment. The pool of reactive material (microalgal cells) was estimated to account for 12% of total organic carbon in the upper 3 cm, and had an average turnover time of less than 1 month in summer. Assimilation of organic carbon by benthic animals was equivalent to about 30% of the annual gross primary production. Grazing reduced chlorophyll a concentration in the sediment during summer and spring to values 30-40% lower than in winter, but maintained a 3-4 times higher specific microalgal productivity. The rapid turnover of organic carbon and nitrogen, and important role of benthic microalgae showed that the benthic community in this oligotrophic lagoon is of a very dynamic nature.  相似文献   

9.
The biogeography of macrobenthic communities with large-scale differences in species distribution and abundance was studied along the eastern and western coastal regions of the Gulf of Suez to indicate biodiversity of benthos in relation to the prevailing environmental conditions. In general, benthos have a wide variety of species of mainly polychaet worms, crustaceans, bivalves, and other bottom invertebrates living in burrows in/or on the sediment surface. Coastal development clearly affects the ecosystem after the construction of coastal projects. The highest values of benthic diversity, evenness, richness and dominance are found at the Gulf of Suez （WG 1, WG 3）, Ras Gharib （WG 7, WG 8） and Ras Shukier （WG 9a） by contrast to others. The abundance of macrobenthic organsims along the coasts of Gulf of Suez can be arranged in the following sequence： other groups （34%） greater than crustaceans （25%） greater than polychaetes （22%） greater than molluscs （17%） greater than echinoderms （2%）. The biomass of benthic assemblages at different sampling sites can also be ranked as follows： echinoderms （52%） greater than molluscs （27%） greater than crustaceans （16%） greater than polychaetes （2%） greater than other groups （3%）. Some benthic groups or species indicated a distinctive correlation to pollution sources in the marine ecosystem which obviously increased in the coastal areas due to the extension of the coastal development. These activities needed regular information to establish database for the biology and distribution of marine benthic communities. The density and diversity of benthos are significantly affected by eutrophication at Ain Sukhna, whereas the benthos in the open Gulf of Suez do not seem to be adversely affected by pollution.  相似文献   

10.
本文应用数理统计的方法研究了象山港、三门湾软底相潮间带中７个断面的底栖动物群落结构。根据断面的位置及其群落的变化特点，可以比较明显地分为开敞性程度高的湾口群落和屏蔽性程度高的湾底群落。湾口群落不稳定、群落结构季节变化较大，湾底群落则相反，并且形成代表群落的特征种。从湾底到湾口，群落的Ｓｈａｎｎｏｎ－Ｗｉｅｎｅｒ多样性指数Ｈ＇（Ｓ）和Ｐｉｅｌｏｕ均匀度Ｊ均增加，而Ｍａｒｇａｌｅｆ种类丰度ｄ和ＭｃＮａｕｈｏｎ优势度Ｄ均减少。对环境诸因子的聚类分析结果基本上与相似性群落数量的聚类分析结果相同，表明群落的形成与环境因子的影响有一定的关系。  相似文献   

11.
根据１９７６—１９８３年３—８月珠江三角洲０８：００—０８：００局地强风暴与重大灾害局地强风暴资料，以及广州０８：００探空资料，采用对比度分析方法研究了有和无重大灾害局地强风暴发生环境条件的差异。与非重大灾害局地强风暴相比，重大灾害局地强风暴是在低压辐合上升、层结不稳定和位势不稳定，低层高温高湿和大的环境风速（特别是中低层风速）等方面更有利的条件下形成的。环境风对重大灾害局地强风暴形成有重要影响的是风速，而不是垂直风速切变，后者与局地强风暴进一步发展成重大灾害局地强风暴没有机理上的联系。  相似文献   

12.
Abstract. Analysis of polychaetes from 60 quantitative soft bottom samples (November 1993 – August 1994) from the São Sebastião Channel at 10 to 45 m yielded 126 species from a total of 12,003 individuals. The distribution of both the bottom sediment type and species was patchy. Abundance data were analysed with multivariate techniques and revealed a strong correlation between species and sediment variables. Polychaetes were more diverse, abundant and richer in species number in those sites with higher sandy fractions. On the other hand, sites where silt, clay and organic carbon predominated showed a poor annelid fauna. Here, pollution by the sewage discharge of a submarine pipe, the oil terminal activities and the clandestine oil tank washing have an important impact on the bottom fauna. Only little temporal variation in the composition of the polychaete associations was found during the study period.  相似文献   

13.
Mangrove forests are known to accomplish crucial ecosystem functions and services. They are nursery areas for fish, prawns and crabs, which provide coastal communities with a variety of food, timber and chemicals, and protect coasts from catastrophic events, such as tsunamis. Recently, a novel ecological service has been proposed for mangrove systems, namely natural wastewater treatment wetlands. This hypothesis was based on experimental data collected mainly in Chinese mangrove systems, which proved that mangrove soils were efficient in absorbing nutrients. Moreover, sewage loading seemed harmless to both plants and benthic communities in these systems. However, before promoting the use of natural mangroves as pollution buffers, or constructed mangrove wetlands as sewage treatment facilities, more data are needed on their overall tolerance to organic loading. Differences in macrobenthos patterns were thus investigated between peri-urban mangroves and sites not affected by sewage disposal in East Africa. We assessed differences in epifaunal assemblages, comprising crabs and molluscs, employing multivariate ACI unbalanced analyses to compare peri-urban mangrove swamps with those characteristic of non-urban mangroves with similar ecological traits. The sampling design was spatially nested, replicates being assessed at equatorial (southern Kenya) and subtropical (southern Mozambique) sites. The results manifested a consistent increase in crab biomass at the peri-urban sites in both Kenya and Mozambique. Moreover, the peri-urban systems were richer than the non-urban mangroves, both in terms of fiddler crabs (Uca spp.) which feed on benthic microalgae and bacteria, and sesarmids, such as Perisesarma guttatum and Neosarmatium meinerti, which feed on both substratum and leaf litter. The abundance of gastropods, in contrast, decreased significantly, especially in Kenya, mainly due to the disappearance of the mud whelk Terebralia palustris. The results thus indicate that, in East African mangrove systems, domestic wastewater has detectable effects on crabs and molluscs, suggesting their usefulness as bioindicators of its effects in mangroves. Transformed benthic patterns at the peri-urban sites indicated the need for further study of the actual potential of natural mangrove forests to absorb pollution in sewage treatment.  相似文献   

14.
This study aimed to assess the potential effects of clam dredging and the subsequent recovery of the benthic environment. Two experimental areas located at 6 and 18 m depth were established in order to analyse whether impacts and recovery of benthic environment are depth-related. Study areas were located within an area closed to dredging and two different plots were established at both depths. One of the plots was subjected to intense clam dredge-fishing, while the other was undisturbed and therefore used as control. Sampling followed a BACI design, with samples for macrobenthic, meiobenthic and sediment particle size analysis being taken by SCUBA divers from both areas before and after fishing stress. For both depths, impacts on the benthic environment were very low resulting in high recovery rates. Nevertheless, at shallower depths communities demonstrated a faster recovery. It was shown that depending on the faunal component used as a bioindicator, different results can be observed. Generally deposit-feeding organisms with scales or chitinous plates and vermiform shape (mainly crustaceans, polychaetes and ophiuroids), without external protection, were the most affected by dredging, while some polychaetes without external protection and with a carnivorous feeding mode seemed to be enhanced by fishing. The low level of perturbations induced by the dredging activities was comparable to the impact of surface waves on the bottom, as experiments were undertaken in wave-dominated environments. The coexistence of storm events during the study period proved to have similar or even more deleterious effects on the benthic environment. It appears that communities from hydrodynamic fishing grounds that are well adapted to natural physical stress are not highly affected by dredging.  相似文献   

15.
根据2009年11月至2010年8月在山东宁津附近海域进行4个季度月航次调查所得大型底栖动物采泥资料,运用优势度指数、物种多样性指数及Cluster聚类和MDS排序等方法,分析了该海域的大型底栖动物群落特征和季节变化。结果表明:4个航次在底泥样品中共鉴定大型底栖生物11门159种,其中,多毛类动物73种,是主要的优势类群,甲壳动物39种,软体动物25种,棘皮动物9种,其他类群共13种。主要优势种有拟特须虫、丝异蚓虫、索沙蚕、轮双眼钩虾等。宁津邻近海域年平均生物量和丰度分别为9.144g/m~2和233.90ind./m~2,均较低且存在季节性差异。丰富度指数(D)、均匀度指数(J)和多样性指数(H′)的年平均值分别为2.436、0.800和2.924,次级生产力较低,平均值仅为1.903g(AFDW)/(m~2·a)。聚类分析结果表明,秋、春航次群落分布格局均包含近岸群落和远岸群落,但各群落间界线不明显,群落结构受扰动情况不明显。  相似文献   

16.
Macrobenthic fauna were collected seasonally at 44 sites in Deukryang Bay from February to November, 2012. The species number of macrobenthic fauna was in the range of 140 to 181, and polychaetes comprised 41.4% of them. The average density of the whole study area changed seasonally from 755 to 1,507 ind. m?2, and the most abundant fauna group was crustaceans which accounted for 55.1% of total abundance. An amphipod species Nippopisella nagatai was the most dominant species and a decapod species Xenophthalmus pinnotheroides, an amphipod species Photis longicaudata, and a polychaete species Paralacydonia paradoxa were also dominant in all seasons. The mean seasonal values of Shannon’s diversity index (H′) were in the range of 2.2–2.4, and those values for the evenness index and richness index were 0.7–0.7 and 4.6–5.7, respectively. From the cluster analysis, Deukryang Bay could be divided into 3 or 4 station groups with its specific fauna composition. The cluster analysis and an nMDS ordination revealed that local environmental factors such as water depth were related to the spatial delineation of macrobenthic fauna communities in Deukryang Bay.  相似文献   

17.
During the strong warm El Niño (EN) that occurred in 1997/98, Independence Bay (14°S, Peru) showed a ca. 10 °C increase in surface temperatures, higher oxygen concentrations, and clearer water due to decreased phytoplankton concentrations. Under these quasi-tropical conditions, many benthic species suffered (e.g. macroalgae, portunid crabs, and polychaetes) while others benefited (e.g. scallop, sea stars, and sea urchins). The most obvious change was the strong recruitment success and subsequent proliferation of the scallop Argopecten purpuratus, whose biomass increased fiftyfold. To understand these changes, steady-state models of the bay ecosystem trophic structure were constructed and compared for a normal upwelling year (1996) and during an EN (1998), and longer-term dynamics (1996–2003) were explored based on time series of catch and biomass using Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) software. Model inputs were based on surveys and landings data collected by the Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE). Results indicate that while ecosystem size (total throughput) is reduced by 18% during EN, mainly as a result of decreased total primary production, benthic biomass remains largely unchanged despite considerable shifts in the dominant benthic taxa (e.g. scallops replace polychaetes as secondary consumers). Under normal upwelling conditions, predation by snails and crabs utilize the production of their prey almost completely, resulting in more efficient energy flow to higher trophic levels than occurs during EN. However during EN, the proliferation of the scallop A. purpuratus combined with decreased phytoplankton increased the proportion of directly utilized primary production, while exports and flows to detritus are reduced. The simulations suggest that the main cause for the scallop outburst and for the reduction in crab and macroalgae biomass was a direct temperature effect, whereas other changes are partially explained by trophic interactions. The simulations suggest that bottom-up effects largely control the system.  相似文献   

18.
The aim of this study was to attempt to fill current knowledge gaps on midlittoral Mediterranean biodiversity at local and regional scales, by using benthic polychaetes as a model taxon. Two different data sets were analysed: (i) a quantitative data set from the two Natural Geography in Shore Areas (NaGISA) study sites in Crete and (ii) a qualitative data set from multiple sites across the Mediterranean. At the local scale, the results provide evidence that (i) discrete species communities are formed in midlittoral Mediterranean habitats, which vary by geographical location and year, depending on the scale of observation; (ii) macrophyte coverage and Chl‐a are the only environmental variables associated, albeit weakly, with the above pattern; (iii) although naturally disturbed, the Cretan NaGISA sites do not seem to experience any anthropogenic stress; (iv) environmental heterogeneity and history seem to be much less important in shaping the polychaete communities than inter‐specific interactions; however, it is not possible to specify at this stage whether local or regional processes or even their interactions may shape the polychaete communities. At the regional scale, the results indicate that (i) the only factor that seems to be involved in the regional pattern is the identity of the study providing the data sets, which implies variability and bias in how research projects are carried out, from the sampling design through to data collection and analysis; (ii) the Cretan NaGISA sites may be considered as representative of the habitat in the Mediterranean, under certain conditions.  相似文献   

19.
The acute toxicity of a used seawater chrome lignosulphonate drilling mud to several species of marine annelids, crustaceans and molluscs was evaluated. The medium density mud (13·4 lb/gal, 1·57 kg/litre) was composed primarily of seawater, bentonite clay, chrome lignosulphonate, lignite, sodium hydroxide and barium sulphate. The toxicity of four mud/seawater preparations was determined. These were the layered solids phase (LSP), the suspended solids phase (SSP), the unfiltered mud aqueous fraction (MAF) and the filtered mud aqueous fraction (FMAF). Four species each of marine annelids and bivalve molluscs and five species of marine crustaceans were evaluated. The median lethal concentration of the MAF (96-h LC50) varied from 32 to > 100% MAF for the different species. The FMAF was slightly less toxic than the MAF. Adult polychaetes, Neanthes arenaceodentata and Ctenodrilus serratus, one-day old juveniles of opossum shrimp, Mysidopsis almyra, and four day zoeae of grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, were the most sensitive to the MAF. Juvenile N. arenaceodentata, adult polychaetes, Ophryotrocha labronica, and three bivalve molluscs were highly tolerant to the MAF. The SSP preparation at concentrations of 10-20 ml/litre was toxic to post-larvae and juveniles of the commercial shrimp, Penaeus duorarum and P. aztecus, respectively. Exposure to the LSP preparation caused greater than 50% mortality amongst adult N. arenaceodentata, juvenile and adult coquina clams, Donax variabilis texasiana and adult scallops, Aequipecten amplicostatus. Other species tested were quite tolerant. A sublethal response observed was the inhibition of reproduction in the marine annelids, Dinophilus sp. and Ctenodrilus serratus. Toxicity of the mud aqueous fractions appeared to be due primarily to volatile soluble organic materials in the extract, whilst that of the SSP and LSP preparations appeared to be due to the smothering action of fine particulates in the mud. Based on the results of this investigation and published observations of solids concentrations in the water column during drilling mud discharge, it is concluded that discharge of a used chrome lignosulphonate drilling mud, such as that used in the present investigation, from offshore platforms is not likely to cause measureable damage to benthic, demersal or pelagic marine animals.  相似文献   

20.
This study examined two shallow‐water, offshore oil facilities and their surroundings in the Umm Al Dalkh and Zakum oilfields [United Arab Emirates, Persian (Arabian) Gulf]. The focus was on sediment contamination levels and the detection of disturbance based on two representative invertebrate components of the benthos: molluscs and polychaetes. We tested the hypothesis that significant disturbance to the community has occurred, by examining whether distance from the platform or variation in contaminants explains among‐site variation in the composition of benthic communities. Moreover, we also tested the hypothesis that organic enrichment because of oil input has modified the feeding guild structure by examining whether the relative abundances of filter‐feeders, deposit‐feeders and omnivores are correlated with distance from the platform or with contamination by hydrocarbons. The contamination levels and their spatial distribution in the sediments differed significantly between the two fields, as did their mollusc and polychaete communities. The within‐field variability, however, was much lower: no clear structuring of contamination values and species composition and abundance was detectable in relation to distance from the oil platform. Contamination levels were low, often below detection levels or international guideline values. Variation in contaminant concentrations did not explain variation in taxonomic composition and abundance. The relative abundance of the above‐mentioned feeding guilds did not correlate with either distance from the platform or with contaminant concentrations. These patterns may reflect the long time that has elapsed since drilling (15–20 years), which appears to have allowed contaminants to disperse and degrade and assemblages to recover from the impact, if indeed such a disturbance ever occurred. In contrast to low values of barium and total petroleum hydrocarbons, associated with well drilling, some metals were at their highest concentrations beneath the central platforms. This suggests that production‐related activities (including platform cleaning and maintenance) are currently a more relevant contamination source.  相似文献   

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