Brief description
This experiment tested the effects of secondary treated sewage effluent on infauna assemblages that were collected 2km from a sewage outfall ('reference' assemblage). Twelve intact sediment cores were collected from this site on the Western Treatment Plant foreshore (Port Phillip Bay, Victoria) and brought back to the laboratory. Four cores were assigned to each of three treatments, which were low dose (3.5mls effluent per minute), high dose (7mls effluent per minute) or no dose of effluent. The experiment ran for 14 days in October 1997. Throughout the experimental period, dissolved oxygen levels were measured and animals that migrated from the sediment were collected, counted and identified. At the end of the experiment, sediment chlorophyll levels were measured and infauna remaining in the sediment were counted and identified.Lineage
Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlanned
Statement: The infauna assemblages in this experiment were taken from the Western Treatment Plant mudflats 2km south west of the Lake Borrie sewage drain. This was considered a 'reference' assemblage as it represented background conditions found across the Western Treatment Plant foreshore. The sediment cores were PVC pipe with an internal diameter of 9cm and a height of 20cm. Effluent was collected from the sewage drain every few days during the course of the experiment. Effluent and seawater were delivered to the cores using flow meters to control the flow. All cores received 90 mls per minute and were either seawater alone (control) or seawater mixed with effluent (dose treatments).
Dissolved oxygen levels were measured daily using a hand held oxygen meter. On the final day of the experiment after the water had drained from the cores, the sediment was divided into 2cm depth strata and sieved using a 0.33mm mesh sieve. Infauna in the different layers were counted and identified to the lowest possible taxon. A sediment sample was taken from the top 2cm layer and used for chlorophyll analysis.
Notes
CreditKeough, M.J., Prof
Purpose
To determine if taxa show different levels of vertical migration in response to dosing with secondary treated sewage effluent.
To determine if taxa show different levels of vertical migration in response to dosing with secondary treated sewage effluent.
Created: 15 02 2008
Data time period: 1997-10-01 to 1997-10-14
text: westlimit=144.30; southlimit=-38.30; eastlimit=145.20; northlimit=-37.80
Subjects
22 002000 |
22 096000 |
24 486001 |
28 546000 |
28 551000 |
Biosphere | Aquatic Habitat | Benthic Habitat | soft sediment | mudflat |
Biosphere | Ecological Dynamics | Migratory Rates/routes | vertical migration |
Biosphere | Ecological Dynamics | Oxygen Demand | hypoxia |
Biosphere | Ecological Dynamics | Survival |
Biosphere | Zoology | Invertebrates |
Capitellidae |
Corophiidae |
Gammaropsis sp. |
Oceans | Marine Biology | Marine Invertebrates | infauna |
Port Phillip Bay |
Salinator fragilis |
Spionidae |
Western Treatment Plant |
biota |
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Other Information
Identifiers
- global : 6701f9e0-db58-11dc-943c-00188b4c0af8
