Impact of sewage on the distribution, abundance and community structure of rocky intertidal macro-organisms

Littler, Mark M.; Murray, Steven N.

doi:10.1007/bf00390633

Cited by 193 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…L. oceanica was only found in the impacted area. This isopod is a mobile omnivore that feeds on particulate organic matter and detritus (Littler & Murray, 1975;Fish & Fish, 2001) that might explains its higher abundance near the sewage discharges. On the contrary, no differences were found for M. neritoides between sampling areas.…”

Section: Littoral Fringementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless there are several studies focusing on intertidal populations of polychaetes (Dauer & Conner, 1980;Elías et al, 2006;Jaubet et al, 2011), molluscs (Bishop et al, 2002;Terlizzi et al, 2005a;Vallarino and Elías, 2006;Atalah & Crowe, 2012) or crustaceans (Calcagno et al, 1998;De-la-Ossa-Carretero et al, 2010). But studies dealing with the effect on the entire intertidal benthic community are very rare (Littler & Murray, 1975;López-Gappa et al, 1990;Archambault et al, 2001, Klein & Zhai, 2002. Moreover, several of those studies do not have the most appropriate sampling design to detect human disturbances (e.g., using only one reference site).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, earlier studies have only focused on one of the tidal level (López-Gappa et al, 1990Klein & Zhai, 2002). Finally, previous research was mainly based on visual census, which has the disadvantage of underestimating species with smaller dimensions (Littler & Murray, 1975;Archambault et al, 2001). Nevertheless, previous studies have already pointed out important results, such as the changes in the structure and functioning of the community, and the replacement of sensitive species by opportunistic ones due to the presence of sewage discharges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of sewage pollution on the structure of rocky shore macroinvertebrate assemblages

et al. 2013

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The urgency to find efficient indices and indicators to prevent further deterioration of coastal areas is one of the hot topics in today's scientific publication. However, a detailed knowledge of community responses to anthropogenic impacts is essential to sustain those indices. The studies on the response of benthic community to sewage pollution on intertidal rocky shores are generally based on visual census and do not take into account the tidal levels. In order to fulfil this gap in this study: (i) the sampling was performed by destructive sampling, with all individuals identified to the species level; (ii) the sampling was done at all levels of the intertidal (sublittoral fringe, eulittoral, and littoral fringe). Sewage pollution changed the environmental variables and the abundance of macroinvertebrates, being Mytilus galloprovincialis, Melarhaphe neritoides, and Chthamalus montagui the species most responsible for the dissimilarities observed. Effects were different on the three intertidal zones: community structure changed in the sublittoral fringe; suspensionfeeders abundances and species richness increased in the eulittoral; no differences were detected in the littoral fringe. Moreover, the results confirm that the presence of sewage discharges tended to benefit suspension feeders, and that the sensitive species were replaced by opportunistic ones.

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Section: Littoral Fringementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of sewage pollution on the structure of rocky shore macroinvertebrate assemblages

et al. 2013

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“…However, Shannon diversity only showed a significant increase at the most degraded site. The loss of both species richness and diversity in the vicinity of sewage outfalls has been reported on many occasions (Borowitzka, 1972;Littler & Murray, 1975;May, 1985;Tewari & Joshi, 1988;Munda, 1993;Are´valo et al, 2007). Similarly, several studies (Hardy et al, 1993;Bonk et al, 1996;Gorostiaga & Dı´ez, 1996;Archambault et al, 2001;Soltan et al, 2001) point out that the number of species in marine assemblages increases following water quality improvements.…”

Section: Diversitymentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In this context, several papers (Belsher, 1974;Littler & Murray, 1975;Brown et al, 1990;Cormaci & Furnari, 1991) report less algal cover in the vicinity of sewage effluent outfalls, whereas Soltan et al (2001) found no significant differences in algal cover in the vicinity of the Marseille sewage outfall 8 years after the setting up of a wastewater treatment plant. These results suggest that a significant reduction in algal cover takes place when a threshold of pollution intensity is exceeded.…”

Section: Algal Covermentioning

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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The effects of shore‐based diamond‐diving on intertidal and subtidal biological communities and rock lobsters in southern Namibia

Pulfrich

Parkins

Branch

2002

Aquatic Conservation

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ABSTRACT1. Divers mine shallow-water diamonds on the west coasts of South Africa and Namibia. In the process they cut kelp, suck up gravel that is sorted on the shore and then deposited intertidally, and uncover and overturn subtidal boulders.2. The impacts of these divers on intertidal and subtidal reefs, and on the population structure of the commercially important rock lobster Jasus lalandii, were monitored for 5 years near L . u uderitz in southern Namibia. Sampling was undertaken at unmined reference (control) sites and at sites mined at various times in the past. Percentage cover and densities of benthic organisms were recorded, and the abundance, length-frequencies and sex ratios of rock lobsters determined.3. High natural variability in benthic community structure made it difficult to distinguish mining impacts even a short time after mining had ceased. Nevertheless, mining reduced the species diversity and abundance of both intertidal and subtidal communities. Recovery did, however, occur within 2 years. During, or immediately after mining, the intertidal community became characterized by the near disappearance of grazers, proliferation of fast-growing, opportunistic foliose algae and decreased cover of filter-feeders. Subsequently, grazers increased, curtailing the algae. In contrast, mining reduced subtidal algal cover. Kelp was cut to facilitate mining, foliose algae were removed and smothered as rocks were overturned, and reef-building filter-feeders diminished.4. The abundance and population structure of rock lobsters appeared to be largely determined by environmental conditions and habitat suitability. Their abundance and catch per unit effort were more often higher at reference sites and recently mined sites than at sites mined >5 years previously. Sex ratios and mean sizes of rock lobsters were not statistically affected by mining. Mining does alter the biological and physical characteristics of the habitat, and in the process, it may temporarily increase the availability of suitable rock lobster habitats. No negative impacts of shore-based diamond-diving on rock lobsters were detected.

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Impact of sewage on the distribution, abundance and community structure of rocky intertidal macro-organisms

Cited by 193 publications

References 23 publications

Effects of sewage pollution on the structure of rocky shore macroinvertebrate assemblages

Effects of sewage pollution on the structure of rocky shore macroinvertebrate assemblages

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

The effects of shore‐based diamond‐diving on intertidal and subtidal biological communities and rock lobsters in southern Namibia

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