Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
Mar Environ Res. 2011 Feb;71(1):22-30. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2010.09.005. Epub 2010 Oct 7.
The aim of this work was to study the dispersion of particulate wastes derived from marine fish farming and correlate the data with the impact on the seabed. Carbon and nutrients were correlated with the physico-chemical parameters of the sediment and the benthic community structure. The sedimentation rates in the benthic system were 1.09, 0.09 and 0.13 g m⁻² day⁻¹ for particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic nitrogen (PON) and total phosphorus (TP), respectively. TP was a reliable parameter for establishing the spatial extent of the fish farm particulate wastes. Fish farming was seen to influence not only physico-chemical and biological parameters but also the functioning of the ecosystem from a trophic point of view, particularly affecting the grazers and the balance among the trophic groups. POC, PON and TP sedimentation dynamics reflected the physico-chemical status of the sediment along the distance gradient studied, while their impact on the benthic community extended further. Therefore, the level of fish farm impact on the benthic community might be underestimated if it is assessed by merely taking into account data obtained from waste dispersion rates. The benthic habitat beneath the fish farm, Maërl bed, was seen to be very sensitive to aquaculture impact compared with other unvegetated benthic habitats, with an estimated POC-carrying capacity to maintain current diversity of 0.087 g C m⁻² day⁻¹ (only 36% greater than the basal POC input). Environmental protection agencies should define different aquaculture waste load thresholds for different benthic communities affected by finfish farming, according to their particular degree of sensitivity, in order to maintain natural ecosystem functions.
本研究旨在探讨水产养殖过程中产生的颗粒废物的分散情况，并将相关数据与对海底的影响进行关联。碳和营养物质与沉积物的理化参数以及底栖生物群落结构相关联。底栖系统中颗粒有机碳（POC）、颗粒有机氮（PON）和总磷（TP）的沉降速率分别为 1.09、0.09 和 0.13 g m⁻² day⁻¹。TP 是确定鱼类养殖颗粒废物空间范围的可靠参数。研究表明，水产养殖不仅会影响理化和生物参数，还会从营养角度影响生态系统的功能，特别是会影响食草动物和营养组之间的平衡。POC、PON 和 TP 的沉降动态反映了研究距离梯度内沉积物的理化状况，而其对底栖群落的影响则更为深远。因此，如果仅根据废物分散率获得的数据来评估水产养殖对底栖群落的影响，可能会低估其影响程度。与其他无植被底栖生境相比，鱼类养殖场下方的底栖生境（Maërl 床）对水产养殖的影响非常敏感，其维持当前多样性的 POC 承载能力估计为 0.087 g C m⁻² day⁻¹（仅比基础 POC 输入高出 36%）。环境保护机构应根据受鱼类养殖影响的不同底栖生物群落的特殊敏感程度，为其定义不同的水产养殖废物负荷阈值，以维持自然生态系统功能。
