Colonization of mine tailings by marine invertebrates

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine if a tailings substrate would inhibit recolonization of benthic macrofauna upon closure of a submarine tailings disposal (STD) operation. Trays of defaunated marine sediment, serving as a reference, and trays of tailings from a proposed gold mine were placed at 21 m depth on the ocean floor to allow colonization via settlement from the water column. Trays of reference sediment and tailings, and cores of ambient sediment were collected 9, 17, and 22 months after tray placement. Probable tray effects, which were desirable given the objectives of this study, precluded direct comparison of ecological succession in the tray sediments to the ambient assemblage. The ambient macrofauna assemblage was distinguishable from the reference sediment and tailings assemblages throughout the experiment and displayed more pronounced seasonality. Differences between the reference sediment and tailings assemblages were generally insignificant, including total abundance, total biomass, number of taxa, average size of individuals, numerically dominant taxa, abundance by ecological guilds, and overall community composition. Upon cessation of STD, recolonization of a benthic macrofauna community should not be inhibited by the presence of these tailings as a benthic substrate.