title: Responses of benthic macrofauna and biogeochemical fluxes to various levels of mussel biodeposition: an in situ "benthocosm" experiment.
abstract: An in situ experiment was done to evaluate the dose-dependent response of mussel biodeposition on benthic communities and biogeochemical fluxes. Natural benthic communities were exposed to 7 different levels of mussel biodeposition (equivalent to that produced by 0-764 mussels m(-2)) over 50 days. Benthic communities responded as predicted from the Pearson, T.H., Rosenberg, R., 1978. Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev. 16, 229-311 model of organic enrichment. Total abundance and species richness decreased with increasing biodeposition. The abundance and biomass of opportunistic species (Capitella spp.) increased in the mesocosms subject to the greatest biodeposition. Sensitive species Tellina agilis and Pherusa plumosa tended to decrease in abundance and biomass with increasing biodeposition. The biotic index M-AMBI responded clearly to increased biodeposition and may be a useful tool for assessing the effect of mussel biodeposition on the benthic environment. These results are important for the construction of predictive models for determining environmental carrying capacity for bivalve aquaculture.
authors.affiliation: Ocean and Environmental Science, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, 850 route de la mer, P.O. Box 1000, Mont-Joli, QC, Canada G5H 3Z4.
authors.forename: Myriam D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Callier
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richard
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: McKindsey
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Archambault
authors.forename: Gaston
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Desrosiers
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D017753:Ecosystem; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D016014:Linear Models; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011792:Quebec
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen