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Analysis of Benthic Invertebrate Communities as a Function of Distance from Two Fish-Processing Plant Effluent Discharges in New Brunswick, Canada

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Abstract

Benthic invertebrate communities have been known to change due to impacts from nutrient-rich industrial outputs, such as those from pulp and paper, sewage-treatment plants, or aquaculture. Fish-processing plants have been recognized as contributors of large volumes of nutrient rich effluent to marine and estuarine environments, but their effect on benthic invertebrate communities is unknown. Benthic invertebrates and sediment samples were obtained from marine sampling stations at 0-, 10-, 30-, and 100-m distances from two fish-processing outfalls in Atlantic Canada. Sediment grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia, sulphide, and redox, as well as invertebrate abundance, density, taxa richness, Simpson’s Inverse Diversity Index, Bray-Curtis Index of (%) Similarity, and the AZTI marine biotic index (AMBI), were determined for all sampling sites. Results from this study illustrate that taxa richness and density significantly increased as distance from the outfall discharge increased. In our study, TOC was only significantly correlated to AMBI but not to the other benthic invertebrate assemblage descriptors calculated in this study (invertebrate density, taxa richness, Simpson’s Inverse Diversity Index). The study results suggest that taxa richness and density may be affected by effluent from fish-processing plants.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Bertin Gauvin from La Coallition pour la Viabilité de l’Environnement de Shippagan et des Îles Lamèque et Miscou and Simon Courtenay from Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Canadian Rivers Institute for obtaining the sediment samples. We also thank Arenicola Marine for the taxonomy work.

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  1. Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment Canada Dartmouth, 45 Alderney Dr., Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 2N6, Canada

    Benoit A. Lalonde & William Ernst

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  1. Benoit A. Lalonde
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  2. William Ernst
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Correspondence to Benoit A. Lalonde.

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Lalonde, B.A., Ernst, W. Analysis of Benthic Invertebrate Communities as a Function of Distance from Two Fish-Processing Plant Effluent Discharges in New Brunswick, Canada. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 63, 45–53 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9749-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9749-4

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