Abstract:

Microcosm experiments were established and run for 80 days to test the impacts of sediment type (clay and marine snow) and oil concentration (0, 3, 10 g/m2) on the benthos. During the course of the experiment, multiple aspects of the community were examined. Organisms were identified and their abundance determined. Diversity and nematode to copepod ratios were calculated across all treatments and replicates.

Suggested Citation:

Melissa Rohal and Paul Montagna. 2019. The impact of experimental oil-contaminated marine snow on meiofauna. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N74J0CRK

Publications:

Foekema, E. M., van Eenennaam, J. S., Hollander, D. J., Langenhoff, A. M., Oldenburg, T. B. P., Radović, J. R., … Murk, A. J. (2019). Testing the Effect of MOSSFA (Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation) Events in Benthic Microcosms. Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills, 288–299. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12963-7_17

Rohal, M., Barrera, N., Van Eenennaam, J. S., Foekema, E. M., Montagna, P. A., Murk, A. J., … Romero, I. C. (2020). The effects of experimental oil-contaminated marine snow on meiofauna in a microcosm. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 150, 110656. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110656

Purpose:

To test the effects of oil contaminated marine on benthic meiofauna.

Data Parameters and Units:

Summary worksheet: Obs, Oil (0, 3, or 10 g oil/m2), Total Number (total number of animals), Hill's N1, Nematode copepod ratio, Total Number STD, Hill's N1 STD, Nematode copepod ratio STD. Meiofauna day 80 worksheet: NAquarium, Trt_Rep (treatment and replicate where: Control: No treatment, Snow C0: Marine snow without oil, Snow C1: Marine snow with 3 g oil/m², Snow C2: Marine snow with 10 g oil/m², Clay C0: Clay without oil, Clay C1: Clay with 3 g oil /m², Clay C2: Clay with 10 g oil/m²), Date (MM/DD/YYYY), Replicate, Meiofauna count. Average across replicates worksheet: Trt_Rep (treatment and replicate where: Control: No treatment, Snow C0: Marine snow without oil, Snow C1: Marine snow with 3 g oil/m², Snow C2: Marine snow with 10 g oil/m², Clay C0: Clay without oil, Clay C1: Clay with 3 g oil /m², Clay C2: Clay with 10 g oil/m²), Meiofauna average.

Methods:

Data are from a microcosm experiment run for 80 days testing the impact of marine oiled snow on the benthic community. Samples for meiofauna were collected only on the final day of the experiment. Meiofauna analysis was an afterthought of the original experiment. Values are total count for each core. Three cores were collected in each aquaria. Core diameter was 1.9 cm.

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