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Changes in the ecological balance of invertebrate communities in kelp holdfast habitats of some polluted North Sea waters

Veränderungen des ökologischen Gleichgewichts von Invertebraten-Lebensgemeinschaften in Habitaten der Haftorgane von Tangen einiger verunreinigter Nordseegewässer

Kurzfassung

Die durch Wasserverunreinigungen bedingten räumlichen und zeitlichen Veränderungen der Lebensgemeinschaften von Invertebraten, die auf dem Haftorgan der BraunalgeLaminaria hyperborea Gunn. Fosle siedeln, wurden untersucht. Alle Beobachtungen beziehen sich auf die nordöstliche Küste Englands und die südwestliche Küste Schottlands. Die Arbeit schließt sich an eine frühere Veröffentlichung (Jones 1971) an, in der die chemischen, physikalischen und biologischen Faktoren behandelt wurden, welche die verschmutzten Küstengebiete charakterisieren. Dabei wurde unterschieden zwischen der jährlichen Zuwachsrate des Haftorgan-Habitats (gemessen in mm3 „ecospace“) und der Besiedlungsrate („ecoperiod“). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die Entwicklung der Epifauna aufLaminaria hyperborea in einem Radius von ungefähr 50 km um den Firth of Forth und in einem Bereich von 100 km in offenen, verschmutzten Küstengewässern verlangsamt ist. In verunreinigten Küstengewässern entsteht eine wenig stabile Nahrungskette, die sich auf Detritus aufbaut. Der periodische Verlust einiger nur kurzfristig siedelnder Arten scheint zu bewirken, daß sich die Biozönose nicht unabhängig von benachbarten, in unverschmutzten Gebieten vorkommenden marinen Gemeinschaften entwickeln kann. Die möglichen Dauerfolgen der Verschmutzung auf derartige neotene Lebensgemeinschaften werden diskutiert.

Summary

1. This paper presents a thirty-one month study of a neotenous invertebrate community which developed inLaminaria hyperborea holdfasts in some polluted waters of the North Sea (northeast England und southwest Scotland).

2. Sixty miles of open coastal waters and approximately thirty miles of the Forth Estuary are affected by pollutants.

3. Reduction in the species diversity leaves only one possible detritus food chain in the habitat.

4. This simple community is not in balance.

5. The ecology of the polluted water community is considered and the possible long-term effects of pollution in the kelp forest are discussed.

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Jones, D.J. Changes in the ecological balance of invertebrate communities in kelp holdfast habitats of some polluted North Sea waters. Helgolander Wiss. Meeresunters 23, 248–260 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01609692

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Keywords

  • Polluted Water
  • Coastal Water
  • Detritus
  • Invertebrate Community
  • Kelp Forest