| Summary: | Progress Code: completed Statement: Gammarid, Isopod, gastropod faunas identified at the Australian Museum. Remaining faunas identified by J. Stark. The effects of hyrdocarbon and heavy metal contamination of marine sediments on recruitment of soft-sediment assemblages were examined in a field experiment at Casey Station, East Antarctica. Three locations were used, a polluted bay adjacent to an old disused tip site (Brown Bay) and two control locations (O'Brien Bay and Sparkes Bay). At each location three types of defaunated sediment (hydrocarbon treated, heavy metal treated and control) were placed at approximately 15 m depth and left in place for 3 months, from December to February. Sediments were artificially contaminated with hydrocarbons and metals at concentrations which were representative of levels found in sediments at contaminated sites around Casey Station. There were large differences in recruitment between the three locations and significant differences between the control and contaminated sediment. Sediments in the experiment were also examined for evidence of degradation and attenuation of hydrocarbons and heavy metals. A total of 104 recruitment samples were collected. Samples were sieved at 500 micro m and sorted mainly to species. Other work to arise from this experiment includes examination of the effects on diatom communities and microbial communities. Data includes fauna, metals and hydrocarbon concentrations in experiment. Pre-deployment concentrations (before experiment was deployed in water) are indicated as 'pre-deployment'. Concentrations of contaminants in sediments surrounding the experiment (within several metres) are indicated as 'surrounding'. This project also links to ASAC 1100. The fields in this dataset are: Location Site Treatment (tmt) Site and replicate Species Toxicity Arsenic Cadmium Copper Lead Silver Zinc Special Antarctic Blend Fuel (SAB) Lube TPH
|
|---|