Some aspects of the ecology of benthic invertebrates in Long Pond, Conception Bay, Newfoundland.

Christie, Peter Morris Paul (1966) Some aspects of the ecology of benthic invertebrates in Long Pond, Conception Bay, Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The benthos of part of Long Pond, a lagoon separated by a barachois from Conception Bay, was studied quantitatively. Most of the bottom was covered by silt of high organic content. Six stations in differing substrata were sampled intensively and three communities described in the Petersen concept were recognized. The infaunistic Macoma-Mya and the epifaunistic Mytilus-Littorina communities, characterized by high biomass estimates, occupied about 5% of the study area. The infaunistic Polycirrus-Mya community covered an estimated 95% of the bottom and was characterized by a low biomass. The distribution of individual species was examined in relation to the sediment and substratum preferences correlated with particle size, organic content, compactness and depth of water were demonstrated in a number of species. The population of one station was sampled periodically over a year without detecting a gross seasonal change. The populations of individual species did fluctuate, balancing each other out over the year, and fluctuations were related to life cycles where possible. The temperature in the surface and bottom water of one station in Long Pond and in the surface water of Conception Bay followed a normal annual pattern whereas the dissolved oxygen, always near saturation, followed a pattern inverse to that of temperature. The salinity fluctuated widely in the surface water of Long Pond, especially during spring, but varied to a small extent in the bottom water and in the surface water of Conception Bay.

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