Shift in benthic assemblages and organisms’ diet at salmon farms: community structure and stable isotope analyses

Type Article
Date 2013
Language English
Author(s) Callier MyriamORCID1, 2, Lefebvre Sebastien3, Dunagan Mary K.2, Bataille Marie-Paule4, Coughlan Jennifer2, Crowe Tasman P.2
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Dept Ressources Biol & Environm, Unite Biol Organismes Marins Exploites, ECOSYM,UMR 5119,Stn Palavas, F-34250 Palavas Les Flots, France.
2 : Univ Coll Dublin, Sch Biol & Environm Sci, Dublin 4, Ireland.
3 : Univ Lille 1 Sci & Technol, LOG, UMR CNRS 8187, Stn Marine Wimereux, F-62930 Wimereux, France.
4 : Univ Caen, Inst Biol Fondamentale & Appl, EVA, INRA,UMR 950, F-14032 Caen, France.
Source Marine Ecology Progress Series (0171-8630) (Inter-research), 2013 , Vol. 483 , P. 153-167
DOI 10.3354/meps10251
WOS© Times Cited 18
Keyword(s) Aquaculture, Organic matter, Stable isotope, Community structure, Diet shift, Trophic structure
Abstract The extent of the influence of salmon farming on the environment and on the uptake of particulate and dissolved effluents by benthic organisms was assessed using community structure and stable isotope analyses. Sediment cores were collected in 2 directions: perpendicular and parallel to the main residual current, 0, 25 and 200 m from 2 salmon farms (Millstone and Cranford) located in Mulroy Bay, Ireland. In addition, artificial substrates were placed for 2 mo at 1 m depth 0, 25 and 200 m from one farm to trace the uptake of farm-related nutrients by fouling organisms. The extent of measurable change in benthic communities (abundance, diversity, structure, trophic composition) depended on residual current direction. Intraspecific variation in isotopic values in benthic invertebrates was mostly explained by distance from cages. Organisms collected at impacted sites exhibited a shift in isotopic composition towards that of farm wastes. A shift in δ13C was observed in several invertebrates, including the polychaetes Malacoceros fuliginosus and Nephtys hombergii, Nematoda and the anemone Anthopleura balii. Fouling communities collected on artificial structures, mainly composed of the tunicate Ascidiella aspersa, showed higher δ15N values at fish cage sites compared to sites 200 m away. The study demonstrated that fish effluents were assimilated and became food sources for several organisms.
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Callier Myriam, Lefebvre Sebastien, Dunagan Mary K., Bataille Marie-Paule, Coughlan Jennifer, Crowe Tasman P. (2013). Shift in benthic assemblages and organisms’ diet at salmon farms: community structure and stable isotope analyses. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 483, 153-167. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10251 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00144/25481/