lib in a

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Key words; anthropogenic disturbance; Bering Sea; bottom trawls; macrofauna; soft-bottom benthos; recovery trawl impacts
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.565.392; http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/5/1377.full.pdf

xa ea elo ti tte om fished (HF) areas to investigate long-term consequences for the benthos. Using this approach, macrofauna populations in a shallow (48 m average) soft-bottom area were studied during 1996. Samples of 92 taxa (reduced for analysis) were collected at 84-1 nm2 sites straddling a closed-area boundary. Multi- and univariate statistical tests and raw patterns in the data support the following generalizations: (1) sedentary macrofauna (e.g., anemones, soft corals, sponges, whelk eggs, bryozoans, ascidians), neptunid whelks, and empty shells were more abundant in the UF area; (2) mixed responses were observed within motile groups (e.g. crabs, sea stars, whelks) and infaunal bivalves, suggesting the importance of life history characteristics, such as habitat requirements and feeding mode; and (3) overall diversity and niche breadth of sedentary taxa were greater in the UF area. A systematic approach is required to address the complex issue of bottom-trawl disturbances. This begins with the identification of chronic and acute impacts, followed by focused investigations of ecological implications and, ultimately, cost–benefit analyses to evaluate specific resource-management options.