Calabretta Christopher J, Oviatt Candace A
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882, United States.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2008 Oct;56(10):1680-95. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.07.012. Epub 2008 Sep 5.
The present state of knowledge regarding the input of anthropogenic pollutants into Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island was reviewed and benthic infaunal communities present at four depositional environments within the upper Bay were characterized. Inter-station differences in species composition and abundance of these assemblages were examined in relation to established pollution gradients. Using diversity curves and multivariate statistics, evidence of significant anthropogenic impact on the structure of benthic macrofaunal communities in Narragansett Bay was identified. The magnitude of this impact was greatest at stations closest to the Bay's urban centers, where exposure to multiple stressors had resulted in communities of opportunistic taxa which persisted in a state of low faunal diversity characteristic of early stages of species succession. As was expected based on historic models of faunal succession; the apparent maturity of benthic assemblages in Narragansett Bay increased along the north-south gradient of decreasing anthropogenic stress.
回顾了关于人为污染物输入罗德岛纳拉甘西特湾的现有知识状态，并对该湾上游四个沉积环境中的底栖动物群落进行了特征描述。研究了这些群落物种组成和丰度的站间差异与既定污染梯度的关系。利用多样性曲线和多元统计方法，确定了人为因素对纳拉甘西特湾底栖大型动物群落结构有显著影响的证据。这种影响的程度在最靠近海湾城市中心的站点最大，在那里，暴露于多种压力源导致了机会主义类群的群落，这些群落持续处于物种演替早期低动物多样性的状态。正如基于动物群落演替历史模型所预期的那样，纳拉甘西特湾底栖群落的明显成熟度沿着人为压力降低的南北梯度增加。
