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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 1992 49(1):55-64; doi:10.1093/icesjms/49.1.55
© 1992 by ICES/CIEM International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer
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Spatial and temporal trends in the benthos and sediments in relation to sewage sludge disposal off the northeast coast of England

H. L. Rees, S. M. Rowlatt, M. A. Lambert, R. G. Lees and D. S. Limpenny

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Directorate of Fisheries Research, Fisheries Laboratory Remembrance Avenue Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM08HA, England

Spatial changes in the benthic fauna, and in a range of physico-chemical measures of sediment quality, were examined on two occasions along a transect running south from a sewage sludge disposal site off the Tyne estuary, UK. The concordance of peak values for certain measures provided strong circumstantial evidence of localized effects of dispersing sludge particles at the seabed. These effects were most clearly defined in the immediate vicinity of the disposal site, but there was also evidence for a secondary zone of sludge impact some 5 km to the south. Effects on the benthos were manifested by enhancement in numbers of individuals of a range of commonly occurring species, but there was no evidence for gross change in community composition. This indicated an early stage in the process of organic enrichment of sediments. From these data, representative stations were selected for the monitoring of temporal trends. These now form part of a regular sampling programme in this area by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and this paper presents an assessment of changes over a 6-year period to 1989 and of their implications for future practice at this waste-disposal site.

Keywords: Key words benthos, sediments, sewage sludge, contaminant effects, monitoring, western North Sea

Received 10 January 1991; accepted 3 June 1991.


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