The effect of crude oil on the colonization of meiofauna into salt marsh sediments
Decker, C.J.; Fleeger, J.W. (1984). The effect of crude oil on the colonization of meiofauna into salt marsh sediments, in: Heip, C.H.R. (Ed.) Biology of Meiofauna. Proceedings of the Fifth International Meiofauna Conference, held in Ghent, Belgium 16-20 August 1983. Developments in Hydrobiology, 26: pp. 49-58 In: Heip, C.H.R. (Ed.) (1984). Biology of Meiofauna: Proceedings of the Fifth International Meiofauna Conference, held in Ghent, Belgium 16-20 August 1983. Developments in Hydrobiology, 26. Dr. W. Junk Publishers: Dordrecht. ISBN 978-9061935131. IX, 133 pp., more In: Dumont, H.J. (Ed.) Developments in Hydrobiology. Kluwer Academic/Springer: The Hague; London; Boston; Dordrecht. ISSN 0167-8418, more |
| Keywords | Accidents > Oil spills
Aquatic communities > Benthos
Aquatic communities > Benthos > Meiobenthos
Colonization
Mineral resources > Mineral deposits > Subsurface deposits > Fuels > Fossil fuels > Petroleum > Crude oil
Natural resources > Mineral resources > Mineral deposits > Subsurface deposits > Fuels > Fossil fuels > Petroleum
Pollution effects
Water bodies > Inland waters > Wetlands > Marshes > Salt marshes
Spartina alterniflora Loisel. [WoRMS]
ASW, USA, Louisiana [Marine Regions]
Marine/Coastal |
| Authors | | Top | - Decker, C.J.
- Fleeger, J.W.
| | |
| Abstract | The effect of an oil spill on estuarine meiofauna was examined in a controlled colonization experiment. Forty-five replicate azoic sediment chambers treated with 0, 133 or 381 mg hydrocarbons: 100 g dry sediment of South Louisiana crude oil were each quantitatively sampled with three replicate cores for colonizing meiofauna. Chambers were sampled on days 2, 5, 10, 30 and 60 postplacement in a Louisiana Spartina alterniflora (Loisel) salt marsh. Polycheates showed a delayed colonization and reduced densities in oiled relative to non-oiled sediments. Nematode numbers were significantly depressed in the high oil treatment but no delay in colonization was identified. Only one species of meiobenthic copepods, Enhydrosoma woodini , displayed a reaction to the presence of the oil but only in the top centimeter of sediment. This species showed significantly decreased densities due to the heavily oiled treatment throughout the study until day 60 when numbers in the heavily oiled chambers were significantly higher than those in the non-oiled chambers. Species diversity in the high oil treatment was generally lower than that in other treatments through day 30. |
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