The impact of heavy metal pollution gradients in sediments on benthic macrofauna at population and community levels

Abstract

The effect of sediment pollution on benthos was investigated in the vicinity of a large sewage treatment outflow at Incheon North Harbor, Korea. Animal size, vertical distribution and standard community parameters were analyzed along a 3 km transect line (n = 7). Univariate parameters showed a general trend of increasing species diversity with increasing distance from the pollution source. Multi-dimensional scaling analysis led to the clear separation of 3 locational groups, supporting gradient-dependent faunal composition. The innermost location was dominated by small sub-surface dwellers while the outer locations by large mid to deep burrowers. Looking for the size-frequency distribution, most abundance species (Heteromastus filiformis) showed the presence of larger size animals with increasing proximity to the pollution source. Meanwhile, species-specific vertical distributions, regardless of the pollution gradient, indicated that such shifts were due to species replacement resulting from a higher tolerance to pollutants over some species.