Abstract
AbstractLand-based aquaculture facilities are located throughout Nova Scotia. They are generally located beside streams, to which they discharge large quantities of used water, and their discharges are usually only monitored for some nutrient parameters at varying frequencies. However, intermittent water sampling is not sufficient to assess any aquatic ecosystem health impacts resulting from discharges. Monitoring benthic invertebrate populations’ characteristics can be used to assess aquatic ecosystem health, and this study evaluated the benthic invertebrate population characteristics downstream of five land-based aquaculture facilities in Nova Scotia. Total abundance and relative abundance of Chironomidae were elevated, while number of taxa, relative abundance of Ephemeroptera + Plecoptera + Trichoptera (EPT), Pielou’s evenness and diversity were reduced at three out of the five sampling locations. Furthermore, a comparison of populations of benthic invertebrates downstream of the facilities to those pr...
Highlights
Land-based aquaculture facilities in Nova Scotia serve two main purposes: stock enhancement for the sport fishery; grow out phases for fish destined to ocean-based fish farms
The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics in benthic invertebrate populations downstream of land-based facilities in Nova Scotia, Canada, using standard population indices as well as using the outputs of the new reference condition approach (RCA) model for Atlantic Canada
Materials and methods Benthic invertebrates were obtained within 10-m downstream of the discharge from 5 land-based fish farm outfalls in September and October 2011 in Nova Scotia, Canada
Summary
Land-based aquaculture facilities in Nova Scotia serve two main purposes: stock enhancement for the sport fishery; grow out phases for fish destined to ocean-based fish farms. These facilities are usually located by streams since they require a great quantity of high-quality water for their day-today operations. Water flowing through the different ponds or pools at these facilities undergoes various treatments, depending on the facility, before being discharged back into the receiving environment Since these facilities require high-quality water for their operations, they are often located in the upper reaches of their watersheds. One study which examined benthic invertebrate impacts due to land-based facilities was based in Canada (British Columbia) (Munro, Samis, & Nassichuk, 1985)
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