Abstract

AbstractThe influence of nutrient loading and other anthropogenic stressors is thought to be greater in low inflow, microtidal estuaries, where there is limited water exchange. This 11-month study compared spatial changes in macrofaunal communities adjacent to regions that varied in land cover in Oso Bay, Texas, an estuarine secondary bay with inflow dominated by hypersaline discharge, in addition to discharge from multiple municipal wastewater treatment plants. Macrofauna communities changed in composition with distance away from a wastewater treatment plant in Oso Bay, with the western region of the bay containing different communities than the head and the inlet of the bay. Ostracods were numerically dominant close to the wastewater discharge point. Macrobenthic community composition is most highly correlated with silicate concentrations in the water column. Silicate is negatively correlated with salinity and dissolved oxygen, and positively correlated with nutrients within the bay. Results are relevant for environmental management purposes by demonstrating that point-source discharges can still have ecological effects in hydrologically altered estuaries.

Highlights

  • Coastal systems are increasingly subject to environmental degradation due to stressors of both natural and anthropogenic origin

  • This study focuses on spatial differences in land cover and the influence of nutrient inputs on macrobenthic communities to inform ongoing management activities by state (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) and federal (U.S Environmental Protection Agency) environmental management agencies

  • Sampling occurred at six sites within Oso Bay, including the head of Oso Bay below a hypersaline discharge point to Oso Creek (Yorktown Bridge, YB), and the mouth at Oso Bay inlet (OI), as well as four sites in the western region of the bay: an active golf course that uses reclaimed wastewater from for watering (AG), a defunct golf course (DG), a mix of agricultural land and impervious surface (AI), and a mixed residential area with outflow dominated by effluent from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WP) (Figure 1)

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Summary

Introduction

Coastal systems are increasingly subject to environmental degradation due to stressors of both natural and anthropogenic origin. Macrobenthos are sensitive to organic enrichment, making these communities useful for studying the influence of nutrient inputs on a system (Pearson & Rosenberg, 1978). Microtidal, low-flow estuaries such as Oso Bay are believed to be more sensitive to anthropogenic influences than “classical” estuaries with strong riverine and/or tidal influences due to limited flushing (Bricker et al, 2007). This sensitivity makes management of these systems more challenging

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