Growth and primary productivity of marine macrophytes exposed to domestic sewage effluents

Kindig, Andrew C.; Littler, Mark M.

doi:10.1016/0141-1136(80)90018-5

Cited by 34 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The substitution of nitrophilic green algae by C. elongata has already been observed in Saronikos Gulf after an improvement in water quality (Tsiamis et al 2013). In fact, several calcareous red algae have been shown to be tolerant of domestic pollution (Bellan and Bellan-Santini 1972, Kinding and Littler 1980, Díez et al 1999, Soltan et al 2001. However, there are also records of their decline in the surroundings of sewage outfalls (Borowitzka 1972, Brown et al 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term changes in sublittoral macroalgal assemblages related to water quality improvement

2013

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Sampling of sublittoral macroalgal assemblages was carried out in 1982 and 1999 along the coast of Catalonia (Northwestern Mediterranean, Spain) in order to study long-term changes in species composition. Ordination analysis revealed significant differences in species composition and abundance between the two study periods. The number of stations with indicators of eutrophication, such as species of Chaetomorpha, Cladophora, and Ulva, decreased from 1982 to 1999. This decrease was not balanced by an increase in species typical of pristine environments, such as large perennial brown algae (in particular, Cystoseira mediterranea), but rather by an increase of stress-resistant species such as Corallina elongata. The observed shifts seem to be driven by the decrease in nutrient loadings in the water column, resulting from the progressive implementation of sewage treatment management in the study region since the mid-1970s.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term changes in sublittoral macroalgal assemblages related to water quality improvement

2013

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“…Likewise, Marshall and Edgar (2003) found that coralline algae was unaffected by the Jessica wreck in the Galápagos. Calcareous red algae are considered to be species tolerant to moderate levels of domestic pollution (Kindig and Littler 1980;Díez et al 1999;Arévalo et al 2007), which could partially explain that no measurable or slight effects were detected on coralline populations after some oil spills. In general, coralline algae appears to have a quick recovery when being damaged from large oil spills, as it was recorded at the Sea Empress oil spill or after a major oil spill in the Panamanian coast where crustose coralline algae cover was reduced to levels well below those observed prior to the spill, but regained typical abundance within a 12-month time period (Jackson et al 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological monitoring of intertidal phytobenthic communities of the Basque Coast (N. Spain) following the Prestige oil spill

Díez

Secilla

Santolaria

et al. 2008

Environ Monit Assess

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Following the Prestige oil spill, six-monthly samplings (spring and autumn) of intertidal macroalgal assemblages were carried out from 2004 to 2006 in twelve locations along the Basque coast. Macroalgal species appeared to be little modified, but species richness, diversity, and algal cover were significantly lower in the first year of the study, so it cannot be ruled out that the arrival of oil on the Basque coast might have had a damaging effect on intertidal communities. On the other hand, no significant differences were detected between locations slightly and moderately affected by oil in any of the structural parameters considered. By contrast, significant differences were detected between locations within each oiling level that indicate that other natural environmental factors play a greater role in the differences between locations than the oiling level. Likewise, significant differences were detected between areas within each location which were not consistent with time, indicating that communities are highly heterogeneous in species richness, diversity and algal cover at the scale of tens of meters. The dominant Corallina elongata and most of the accompanying species did not show significant year-on-year differences in terms of cover. Also, there were no differences between the two oiling levels. Analyses revealed a high spatial variability at the scale of kilometers (locations) and tens of meters (areas) for most of the taxa. The results obtained provide detailed quantitative data on intertidal phytobenthic assemblages of the Basque coast at different spatial and temporal scales that were hitherto unavailable for the region.

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“…The identification of G. pusillum and C. elongata as bioindicator species at two different pollution levels coincides with the findings of several other studies. Although calcareous red algae are considered as domestic pollution-tolerant species (Bellan & Bellan-Santini, 1972;North et al, 1972;Kindig & Littler, 1980;Are´valo et al, 2007), several authors highlight their partial replacement by Gelidium pusillum in the surroundings of the outfalls (Littler & Murray, 1975;May, 1985;Brown et al, 1990). It seems likely that these differences in Corallina spp.…”

Section: Recovery Stagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery stages over long-term monitoring of the intertidal vegetation in the ‘Abra de Bilbao’ area and on the adjacent coast (N. Spain)

Díez

Santolaria

Secilla

et al. 2009

European Journal of Phycology

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Few studies have documented the recovery of phytobenthic marine assemblages following the reduction of long-standing sewage discharges. This paper reports on the main changes in intertidal macroalgal communities after the gradual application from 1984 to 2006 of a sewerage plan for the metropolitan area of Bilbao. Sampling sites along a pollution gradient were surveyed eight times during the course of the above period. Improvements in water quality were followed by noticeable changes in species composition and vegetation structure. Species richness significantly increased throughout the study area, while algal cover only increased at the most degraded sites. Pollution removal promoted the development of morphologically more complex species. Intertidal vegetation at the degraded sites became progressively more similar to that at the reference site. Five recovery stages discriminated by different species (SIMPER routine) were characterized from ordination (MDS) analyses: (i) extremely degraded -Gelidium pusillum is the most abundant species which is accompanied by Bachelotia antillarum at the low intertidal level (0.75 m); (ii) heavily degraded -Gelidium pusillum remains dominant and accompanied by Caulacanthus ustulatus at the high intertidal level (1.4 m); (iii) moderately degraded -Corallina elongata becomes dominant, C. ustulatus remains abundant at the high level; (iv) slightly degraded -C. elongata remains dominant in both tidal levels, Chondracanthus acicularis and Lithophyllum incrustans are abundant at the high level, whereas the latter, Pterosiphonia complanata and Stypocaulon scoparium become abundant at the low level; (v) reference stage -Lithophyllum incrustans and Laurencia obtusa are abundant together with C. elongata at the high level, whereas Stypocaulon scoparium dominates the low level, with Bifurcaria bifurcata, Jania rubens and Cystoseira tamariscifolia as abundant species. Thus, this study reveals that phytobenthic communities are useful indicators of water quality and provide real data that contribute to the assessment of the ecological status of rocky open shores on the Basque coast.

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Growth and primary productivity of marine macrophytes exposed to domestic sewage effluents

Cited by 34 publications

References 10 publications

Long-term changes in sublittoral macroalgal assemblages related to water quality improvement

Long-term changes in sublittoral macroalgal assemblages related to water quality improvement

Ecological monitoring of intertidal phytobenthic communities of the Basque Coast (N. Spain) following the Prestige oil spill

Recovery stages over long-term monitoring of the intertidal vegetation in the ‘Abra de Bilbao’ area and on the adjacent coast (N. Spain)

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