Brief description
This experiment tested the effects of secondary treated sewage effluent on infaunal assemblages that were collected 50m from a sewage outfall ('outfall' 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 no dose of effluent, high dose (7mls effluent per minute) or a 'no escape' treatment. The experiment ran for 13 days in December 1999. 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, infauna remaining in the sediment were counted and identified and the wet weight biomass of each species group was recorded.Lineage
Maintenance and Update Frequency: notPlanned
Statement: The low dose treatment (see 'reference' assemblage metadata record) was excluded from this experiment because low levels of effluent were unlikely to affect assemblages that were collected so close to the sewage drain. Instead the 4 replicates were assigned to the 'no escape' treatment which received a high dose of effluent but the animals could not escape from the cores as there was plankton mesh blocking the outflow. 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.
Dissolved oxygen levels were measured daily using a hand held oxygen meter. Infauna that migrated from the sediment were caught in plankton nets on the overflow pipes. On the final day of the experiment after the water had drained from the cores the sediment was divided into 2 cm depth strata and sieved using a 0.33mm mesh sieve. Infauna in the different layers were counted and identified to the lowest possible taxon.
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 : 4ec0d770-db80-11dc-943c-00188b4c0af8
