An Experimental Investigation of the Influence of Diesel Fuel on the Food Webs of Two Sedimentary Communities/Direct and Indirect Effects of Diesel Fuel on Microphyto Benthos and Meiofauna in Saltmarsh Sediments

Abstract

The influence of diesel fuel on benthic food webs in coastal salt marshes were examined in a series of microcosm experiments. Diesel contamination resulted in high mortality to all copepods except Cletocamptus deitersi, while nematode abundance increased. Blooms of benthic microalgae that developed in contaminated sediment were primarily a response to reduced copepod grazing, and secondarily a consequence of enhanced NH4+ flux from sediments. Microalgal grazing by nematodes and copepods was enhanced in contaminated sediments, and was a consequence of C. deitersi competition with copepods other than C. deitersi.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 30, 1998
Accession Number
ADA360734

Entities

People

  • John W. Fleeger
  • Kevin R. Carman
  • Thomas Bianchi

Organizations

  • Louisiana State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aromatic Hydrocarbons
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Communities
  • Competition
  • Contamination
  • Cyclic Hydrocarbons
  • Diesel Fuels
  • Fish
  • Fuels
  • Hydrocarbons
  • Invertebrates
  • Nematoda
  • Nitrogen
  • Oceanography
  • Sediments
  • Toxicity

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.
  • Marine Ecotoxicology
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.