EFFECTS OF WOOD WASTE ON SAND-BED BENTHOS

Impact on benthos of wood waste (abraded bark and wood) at an industrial log handling site was examined through the medium of infauna of a shallow sand bed (depth 4-11 m). This sand bed supported a diverse biological community with abundant suspension-feeding polychaetes ad bivalves, e.g., Mysella tumida, Mesochaetopterus taylori and Phyllochaetopterus prolifica. Deposition of more than 1 cm wood waste layer produced noticeable losses of these suspension feeders. The impact increased progressively with waste amount deposited. The community inhabiting thickest deposits (up to 15 cm measured) had virtually lost the suspension feeding trophic pathway, was reduced in diversity and biomass, and was dominated by few abundant deposit-feeding crustaceans and polychaetes, e.g., Nebalia pugettensis and Dorvillea annulata.