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QUANTIFYING ASSIMILATION OF SEWAGE‐DERIVED ORGANIC MATTER BY RIVERINE BENTHOS
Author(s) -
deBruyn Adrian M. H.,
Rasmussen Joseph B.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
ecological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.864
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-5582
pISSN - 1051-0761
DOI - 10.1890/1051-0761(2002)012[0511:qaosdo]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - benthic zone , environmental science , seston , environmental chemistry , sewage , benthos , particulates , organic matter , trophic level , ecology , chemistry , environmental engineering , nutrient , biology , phytoplankton
Fresh waters worldwide receive substantial loadings of particulate organic waste from municipal sewage collection and treatment works. This material may transport a wide variety of particle‐associated contaminants. Using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, we detected the influence of a nearby primary sewage treatment plant on the benthic food web of a large temperate river. Despite the low concentration of wastewater and the absence of accumulated sediment, >60% of carbon and nitrogen in benthic organisms near the outfall was of sewage origin. This fraction is disproportionately high relative to the fraction of sewage‐derived suspended particulate matter in the seston, suggesting preferential assimilation. Assimilation of sewage‐derived particulate organic matter exposes benthos to high levels of contamination and may represent an important source of contaminants to higher trophic levels.