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Ecological studies on macroinvertebrate populations associated with polluted kelp forests in the North Sea
Ökologische Studien an Populationen von Makro-Invertebraten auf verunreinigten Seetang-Wäldern in der Nordsee
Helgoländer wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen volume 22, pages 417–441 (1971)
Kurzfassung
Die Arbeit berichtet über erste Ergebnisse einer ökologischen Untersuchung an verschmutzten Küstengewässern im Bereich der Grafschaften Durham und Midlothian (im Nordosten Englands). Die untersuchten Küstenstreifen enthalten sowohl städtische als auch industrielle Gebiete, während die dazwischenliegende Landmasse weitgehend landwirtschaftlich genutzt wird. Die Küstengewässer in Durham sind seit über 100 Jahren verschmutzt, d. h. seit dem Beginn der industriellen Revolution. Das Ausmaß der Verschmutzung wird kurz umrissen. Es wird eine Methode beschrieben, die einen Vergleich der in den verschmutzten Seetang-Gebieten gewöhnlich anzutreffenden Invertebraten-Epifauna ermöglicht. Repräsentative Proben der auf dem Haftorgan der BraunalgeLaminaria hyperborea lebenden Fauna wurden gesammelt und mit Proben aus unverseuchten Gewässern verglichen. Die Ergebnisse deuten an, daß in verschmutzten Gewässern die Artenfolge, die Geschwindigkeit der Aufeinanderfolge, die Häufigkeit der Individuen und die trophische Struktur der Lebensgemeinschaft verändert sind. In verschmutzten Gewässern ist die Entwicklung zu komplexen Lebensgemeinschaften verlangsamt; es entstehen „neotene“ Gemeinschaften. Gründe, welche einer Entwicklung zu einer normalen Lebensgemeinschaft im Wege stehen, werden herausgestellt.
Summary
1. The English Counties of Midlothian and Durham are situated on the North Western Edge of the North Sea. Both counties have a high population density and a variety of industries located in them.
2. The coastal seas adjacent to these areas are heavily polluted.
3. In one of these industrial areas, County Durham, the coastal waters have been polluted for 150 years — from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
4. Two gradients of pollution, one estuarine and one off the open coast, are described. The intervening sea coast has little or no pollution.
5. A comparative method of pollution surveying is presented which makes use of the epifauna in the holdfast or hapteron of the large brown algaLaminaria hyperborea (Gunn.)Fosl.
6. The size of the habitat is measured in cubic millilitres and called ecospace.
7. The rate of invertebrate colonisation is measured in ecoperiods.
8. Statistical investigation reveals similar habitats in clean and polluted water.
9. The ‘normal’ sequence of habitat colonisation by invertebrates is described for clean waters. It contains species groups commonly found on rocky sublittoral kelp forests elsewhere in the North Atlantic.
10. Ecological comparison is made of the community development described for clean and polluted stations.
11. Results indicate that in polluted water, invertebrate ‘succession’ is retarded; the species composition of the community is simplified, 43 % of the species are lost, rates of habitat colonisation by individuals of pollution tolerant species are speeded up; the polluted community undergoes neotenous development i.e. retaining juvenile characteristics throughout development to community maturity.
12. Functional aspects of ‘new’ (pollution present) and ‘old’ (pollution absent) communities are discussed.
13. The marginal presence of some species in polluted water is also discussed.
15. Two ecological barriers to normal community development in the polluted environment are postulated.
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Jones, D.J. Ecological studies on macroinvertebrate populations associated with polluted kelp forests in the North Sea. Helgolander Wiss. Meeresunters 22, 417–441 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01611128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01611128