engleski

Impact of sewage sludge disposal on meiofauna community structure

Due to their particular biological characteristics meiobenthic assemblages are often considered a valuable tool in pollution effects studies. Meiofaunal assemblages’ characterization on the locations affected by sewage discharge (the municipal sewage outfall of Rovinj) is necessary in order to detect the effectiveness of wastewater management. Samples were collected along 4 profiles, starting from the discharge point in the directions SE, SW, NE, NW from November to December 2009. At each profile sampling (for the caracterisation of sediments and meiofaunal analysis) was performed at distances of 50, 100 and 150 m from sewage outfall. Low number of meiofaunal taxa was detected with a predominance of nematodes with a high abundance (max. 5213 ind/10 cm², min. 1956 ind/10 cm²). The Nematodes- Copepodes ratios is extremly high (values up to 500). Is visible also an enrichment of sediments with organic matter provenient from the outfall. Only mechanically treated wastewater has a great impact on the researched area, this is visible in the deterioration of the quality of sediments and the state of the meiofaunal assemblages. An adequate secondary biological treatment is necessary for limiting ecological (environmental) damage caused by the organic enrichment (pollution) of sediments. The characterization of meiofaunal assemblages can be a useful tool for assessing the environmental quality of the ecosystem under impact of the sewage outfall.

meiofauna ; community structure ; wastewater pollution

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