Abstract
Manipulative experiments in the field are important tools, for improving understanding of disturbances, such as contaminants, causing environmental impacts. We tested a method to create patches of increased concentrations of metals in intertidal sediments. The method produced persistent concentrations of metals, which were as large as those observed in contaminated areas and it appears to be applicable in different habitats. The utility of this technique as a tool to improve predictions about environmental effects needs to be evaluated by repeated experimentation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agard, J.B., Gobin, J. and Warwick, R.M. (1993). Analysis of marine macrobenthic community structure in relation to pollution, natural oil seepage and seasonal disturbance in a tropical environment (Trinidad, West Indies). Marine Ecology Progress Series 92, 233–43.
Austen, M.C. and McEvoy, A.J. (1997). The use of offshore meiobenthic communities in laboratory microcosm experiments: Response to heavy metal contamination. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 211, 247–61.
Bakke, T., Follum, O.A., Moe, K.A. and Sørensen, K. (1988). The GEEP workshop: mesocosm exposures. Marine Ecology Progress Series 46, 13–8.
Berge, J.A. (1990). Macrofauna recolonization of subtidal sediments, experimental studies on defaunated sediment contaminated with crude oil in two Norwegian fjords with unequal eutrophication status: I. Community responses. Marine Ecology Progress Series 66, 103–16.
Chapman, P.M., Swartz, R.C., Roddie, B., Phelps, H.L., van den Hurk, P. and Butler, R. (1992). An international comparison of sediment toxicity tests in the North Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 91, 253–64.
Chapman, P.M., Anderson, B., Carr, S., Engles, V., Green, R., Hameedi, J., Harmon, M., Haverland, P., Hyland, J., Ingersoll, C., Long, E., Rodgers Jr., J., Salazar, M., Sibley, P.K., Smith, P.J., Swartz, R.C., Thompson, B. and Windom, H. (1997). General guidelines for using the sediment quality triad. Marine Pollution Bulletin 34, 368–72.
Clarke, K.R. and Ainsworth, M. (1993). A method of linking multivariate community structure to environmental variables. Marine Ecology Progress Series 92, 205–19.
GESAMP (1994). Biological indicators and their use in the measurement of the condition of the marine environment. Reports and Studies No. 55. pp. 56.
Gray, J.S. (1974). Synergistic effects of three heavy metals on growth rates of a marine cicliate protozoan. In F.J. Vernberg and W.B. Vernberg (eds) Pollution and physiology of marine organisms, pp. 465–85. Academic Press.
Gray, J.S. (1997). Marine biodiversity: Patterns, threats and conservation needs. Biodiversity and Conservation 6, 153–75.
Gray, J.S., Poore, G.C., Ugland, K.I., Wilson, R.S., Olsgard, F. and Johannessen, Ø. (1997). Coastal and deep-sea benthic diversities compared. Marine Ecology Progress Series 159, 97–103.
Hare, L., Carignan, R. and Huerta-Diaz, M.A. (1994). A field study of metal toxicity and accumulation by benthic invertebrates: Implications for the acid-volatile sulfide AVS model. Limnology and Oceanography 39, 1653–68.
Jones, M.B. (1975). Synergistic effects of salinity, temperature and heavy metals on mortality and osmoregulation in marine and estuarine Isopods (Crustacea). Marine Biology 30, 13–20.
Lenihan, H.S., Kiest, K.A., Conlan, K.E., Slattery, P.N., Konar, B.H. and Oliver, J.S. (1995). Patterns of survival and behavior in Antarctic benthic invertebrates exposed to contaminated sediments: Field and laboratory bioassay experiments. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 192, 233–55.
McGuinness, K.A. (1990). Effects of oil-spill on macro-invertebrates of saltmarshes and mangrove forests in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 142, 121–35.
Morrisey, D.J., Howitt, L., Underwood, A.J. and Stark, J.S. (1992a). Spatial variation in soft-sediment benthos. Marine Ecology Progress Series 81, 197–204.
Morrisey, D.J., Underwood, A.J., Howitt, L. and Stark, J.S. (1992b). Temporal variation in soft-sediment benthos. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 164, 233–45.
Morrisey, D.J., Underwood, A.J., Stark, J.S. and Howitt, L. (1994a). Temporal variation in concentrations of heavy metals in marine sediments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 38, 271–82.
Morrisey, D.J., Stark, J.S., Howitt, L. and Underwood, A.J. (1994b). Spatial variability in concentrations of heavy metals in marine sediments. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 45, 177–84.
Morrisey, D.J., Underwood, A.J. and Howitt, L. (1996). Effects of copper on the faunas of marine soft-sediments: an experimental field study. Marine Biology 125, 199–213.
Petersen, J.E., Cornwell, J.C. and Kemp, W.M. (1999). Implicit scaling in the design of experimental aquatic systems. OIKOS 85, 3–18.
Rygg, B. (1985). Effects of sediment copper on benthic fauna. Marine Ecology Progress Series 25, 83–9.
Snelgrove, P.V. (1998). The biodiversity of macrofaunal organisms in marine sediments. Biodiversity and Conservation 7, 1123–32.
Somerfield, P.J., Gee, J.M. and Warwick, R.M. (1994). Soft sediment meiofaunal community structure in relation to a long-term heavy metal gradient in the Fal estuary system. Marine Ecology Progress Series 105, 79–88.
Sousa, W.P. (1985). Disturbance and patch dynamics on rocky intertidal shores. In S.T. Pickett and P.S. White (eds) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics, pp. 101–24. Academic Press.
Stark, J.S. (1998a). Heavy metal pollution and macrobenthic assemblages in soft sediments in two Sydney estuaries, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 49, 533–40.
Stark, J.S. (1998b). Effects of copper on macrobenthic assemblages in soft sediments: a laboratory experimental study. Ecotoxicology 7, 161–73.
Underwood, A.J. (1997). Experiments in Ecology—Their Logical Design and Interpretation Using Analysis of Variance, 504 pp. Cambridge University Press.
Underwood, A.J. and Peterson, C.H. (1988) Towards an ecological framework for investigating pollution. Marine Ecology Progress Series 46, 227–34.
Watzin, M.C. and Roscigno, P.R. (1997). The effects of zinc contamination on the recruitment and early survival of benthic invertebrates in an estuary. Marine Pollution Bulletin 34, 443–55.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lindegarth, M., Underwood, A.J. Technical Note: Using an Experimental Manipulation of Contaminants in Intertidal Sediments. Ecotoxicology 8, 495–501 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008976324070
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008976324070