Impacts of organic enrichment on macrobenthic production, productivity, and transfer efficiency: what can we learn from a gradient of sewage effluents?
Vesal, S.E.; Auriemma, R.; Libralato, S.; Nasi, F.; Negro, P.D. (2022). Impacts of organic enrichment on macrobenthic production, productivity, and transfer efficiency: what can we learn from a gradient of sewage effluents? Mar. Pollut. Bull. 182: 113972. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113972
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. Macmillan: London. ISSN 0025-326X; e-ISSN 1879-3363, more
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| Author keywords |
Benthic ecology, Sewage discharge, Production, Productivity, Transfer efficiency, Marine coastal areas |
| Authors | | Top |
- Vesal, S.E.
- Auriemma, R.
- Libralato, S.
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| Abstract |
We studied the macrobenthic invertebrate biomass (B), production (P), productivity (P/B̅-ratio), and transfer efficiency (TE) influenced by sewage effluents discharge in a diffusion zone. Our results indicated a clear distribution pattern of macrofauna communities along the sewage discharge gradient where biological factors (B, P, P/B̅, and TE) were driven by changes observed in community structure, composition, and the influence of environmental variables. The lowest B, P, and P/B̅ were observed at the stations sampled close to the pipelines. Abundance, biomass, production, and productivity increased with increasing distance from the pipelines toward stations placed at 100 m distance and then decreased toward the stations placed at >200 m, where there was a negative relationship between TE and B of macrofauna at sampling stations. Overall, there was a clear influence of the sewage discharge on macrofauna communities, but surrounding environment was influenced moderately by organic impact and discharges had no negative impacts. |
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