Abstract
Benthic invertebrate communities have been known to change due to impacts from nutrient-rich industrial outputs, such as those from pulp and paper, sewage-treatment plants, or aquaculture. Fish-processing plants have been recognized as contributors of large volumes of nutrient rich effluent to marine and estuarine environments, but their effect on benthic invertebrate communities is unknown. Benthic invertebrates and sediment samples were obtained from marine sampling stations at 0-, 10-, 30-, and 100-m distances from two fish-processing outfalls in Atlantic Canada. Sediment grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia, sulphide, and redox, as well as invertebrate abundance, density, taxa richness, Simpson's Inverse Diversity Index, Bray-Curtis Index of (%) Similarity, and the AZTI marine biotic index (AMBI), were determined for all sampling sites. Results from this study illustrate that taxa richness and density significantly increased as distance from the outfall discharge increased. In our study, TOC was only significantly correlated to AMBI but not to the other benthic invertebrate assemblage descriptors calculated in this study (invertebrate density, taxa richness, Simpson's Inverse Diversity Index). The study results suggest that taxa richness and density may be affected by effluent from fish-processing plants.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
