The Anthropogenic Disturbance - Essay Example

The Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Benthic Community Structure and Diversity This research project would deal with specific anthropogenic impacts and disturbances in the benthic community and I would use the case of individual organisms that would allow specific laboratory research addressing the following points: Overview: 1. Background of the research project and technological or scientific issues involved 2. Underlying rationale for working on this project and the socioeconomic benefits if any 3. Specific objectives of the research and its relevance to international research in the field as well as anticipated achievements and outputs 4. Methodology and Approach of the research showing how the data collection procedures are carried out 5. Programme and Plan of research is also given to show the basic framework according to which the research is carried out 6. Justification of the resources used for the project seem to be an important aspect of research 7. The next stage would be project management that would help to identify career development opportunities for personnel working on the project or long term consequences of the project and the impact that the results would have on this particular field of study 8. Potential databases could be set up from the study to help other scientists 9. Results could be used to disseminate information for better public understanding of the issues considered 10. Conclusion could be drawn and recommendations made for improving the techniques of research Background of Specific Issues given: This study deals with the effects of human and even environmental influences on the life and survival of benthos or benthic communities that are comprised of organisms living in the bottom of ocean floors and consists of worms, crabs, lobsters, flounders and clams etc. Although in the early days it was believed that there could be no life at the bottom of the sea, a steady production of energy deep down at the ocean floor has led to a thriving benthic community which may however be affected by environmental and anthropogenic changes. Investigation of benthic communities is done by deep sea diving and actually obtaining samples of such organisms from the ocean floor. Traps, dredging and investigation of seafloor sediments could be useful in establishing the biological nature of such communities. The benthic organisms are essential for the environment as they clean up the water and are responsible for re-mineralization of organic matter. Since benthic sea creatures are a diverse group with many functions, they also tend to form a major link in the biological chain. This project deals with the study of human disturbance on the benthic community and the changes in the structural and functional manifestations of these organisms when anthropogenic interventions are obvious in any ocean floor inhabited by these organisms. Dudgeon (2006) studied benthic invertebrates and their drift in eight streams within Northern Indonesia where rainforest streams and oceans are disturbed by anthropogenic activities. The benthic community studied were that found in Papua New Guinea and South East Asia and in general not predatory. The results indicated that the benthic communities were strongly affected by channelisation and conversion of forests to agriculture. Some benthic species were found to show drifting activities at night showing some sort of community reactions to changes in the external environment. Arasaki et al (2004) suggests that anthropogenic disturbance is one of the major problems in marine communities and any such disturbance could be quantified by using multivariate techniques for analysing the distribution of such communities. The results of the study showed that ecological trends are determined by faunal abundance and all central continental regions with widespread distribution of benthic communities seem to be affected by human activities. There are many studies that show the effects of fishing or dredging on the benthic community. Dolmer et al (2001) suggested that mussel dredging has short term effects as dredging changes community structure of benthos by reducing the density of the polychaetes. Dolmer et al studied the effects of experimental dredging and reported that immediately after dredging, a significantly lowered number of species has been found in the dredged areas than in other areas. The dredged areas seem to be invaded by brown shrimps which have predatory qualities although the organic content of the seabed was not affected. The study shows that disturbance of the mussel bed structure reduced growth and species rate although there was no increase in accumulation of biomass. The impact of deep sea fishing has been described by Kaiser et al (2000) who studied the use of fishing gears such as dredges, trawls and pots. Bottom fishing gear and fixed ones are sources of anthropogenic disturbances in seabed habitats and emergent faunal communities are altered by such activities. The benthic habitat and communities were studied to find differences between communities in closed fishing and open fishing areas. Habitat complexity was found in communities closed to towed fishing gears. Gear restriction measures have been proposed to conserve habitat as benthic fauna seem to be sensitive to bottom fishing disturbance (Kaiser et al, 2000). Apart from fishing and dredging, other activities such as mining for mineral resources would have sufficient impact on the benthic communities. Mining for mineral resources and disposal of waste into the sea would be potential sources of environmental hazards in the deep sea. Some of the minerals that are useful for mining would be manganese crusts, sulphidic mud, phosphorite deposits and so on and wastes disposed in the sea include radioactive wastes, sewage sludge and dredge spoils. Two types of studies are in place, one that deals with the environmental changes that have already occurred and those that predict the potential impact of such changes. Environmental impacts of human penetration into the deep sea are expected to be long lasting and all experimental studies should begin with simulation of small scale industrial operations (Ahnert and Borowski, 2000). Rationale and Objectives: This particular research project seem to be geared towards understanding the structure and functions of the benthic communities and further studies would throw more light on these deep sea organisms and provide more insights on how these communities are advantageous to the environment and to the human beings. The objectives of this study are to Provide more insights into the nature of benthic organisms Show how these organisms are affected by human disturbance Suggest methods or means of controlling adverse impact of anthropogenic activities on deep sea organisms. Methodology: The Methodology of the study would be based on qualitative analysis of existing studies if no experimental studies are done to obtain direct results on the impact of human activities on benthic organisms. Secondary literature will be used and all former studies as selected from the resources here would be analyzed thoroughly to understand the impact of human intervention on deep sea organisms, their life and habitat. Plan of Research: The research would be conducted in a period of 6 months and all earlier studies would be considered to understand the literature behind the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on benthic communities. The aim is to study deep sea life and its influences. Opportunities and Conclusion: This study would go a long way to provide new insights on the nature, structure and functions of the benthic deep sea organisms and would help to provide an understanding of the effects of human deep sea activities such as fishing, mining, dredging on the lives of organism living at the bottom. Bibliography and Further Reading: Ahnert A.;Borowski C. (2000) Environmental risk assessment of anthropogenic activity in the deep-sea Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery, Volume 7,Number 4, pp. 299-315(17) Arasaki Emilia;Pablo Muniz;Ana Maria S. Pires-Vanin (2004) A Functional Analysis of the Benthic Macrofauna of the So Sebastio Channel (Southeastern Brazil) Marine Ecology, Volume 25,Number 4, pp. 249-263(15) Carballo J.L.;Naranjo S. (2002) Environmental assessment of a large industrial marine complex based on a community of benthic filter-feeders Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 44,Number 7, pp. 605-610(6) Cody D.G.;Heath R.T.;Leff L.G. (2000) Characterization of benthic bacterial assemblages in a polluted stream using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis Hydrobiologia, Volume 432, Numbers 1-3, pp. 207-215(9) Dolmer P.;Kristensen T.;Christiansen M.L.;Petersen M.F.;Kristensen P.S.;Hoffmann E. (2001) Short-term impact of blue mussel dredging (Mytilus edulis L.) on a benthic community Hydrobiologia, Volume 465, Numbers 1-3, pp. 115-127(13) Donohue I.;Irvine K. (2004) Seasonal patterns of sediment loading and benthic invertebrate community dynamics in Lake Tanganyika, Africa Freshwater Biology, Volume 49,Number 3, pp. 320-331(12) DUDGEON, DAVID (2006) The impacts of human disturbance on stream benthic invertebrates and their drift in North Sulawesi, Indonesia Freshwater Biology, Volume 51,Number 9, pp. 1710-1729(20) Eggermont H.;Verschuren D. (2003) Impact of soil erosion in disturbed tributary drainages on the benthic invertebrate fauna of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa Biological Conservation, Volume 113,Number 1, pp. 99-109(11) Hill, B. H.;Herlihy, A. T.;Kaufmann, P. R. (2002) Benthic microbial respiration in Appalachian Mountain, Piedmont, and Coastal Plains streams of the eastern U.S.A. Freshwater Biology, Volume 47,Number 2, pp. 185-194(10) JACKSON, JOHN K.;FREDER, LEOPOLD (2006) Long-term studies of freshwater macroinvertebrates: a review of the frequency, duration and ecological significance Freshwater Biology, Volume 51,Number 3, pp. 591-603(13) Pranovi, F.;Franceschini, G.;Casale, M.;Zucchetta, M.;Torricelli, P.;Giovanardi, O. (2006) An Ecological Imbalance Induced by a Non-Native Species: The Manila Clam in the Venice Lagoon Biological Invasions, Volume 8,Number 4, pp. 595-609(15) Roth S.;Wilson J.G. (1998) Functional analysis by trophic guilds of macrobenthic community structure in Dublin Bay, Ireland Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Volume 222,Number 1, pp. 195-217(23) Sarkar, Santosh;Bhattacharya, Asokkumar;Giri, Sankar;Bhattacharya, Badal;Sarkar, Dipak;Nayak, Dulal;Chattopadhaya, Asish (2005) Spatiotemporal variation in benthic polychaetes (Annelida) and relationships with environmental variables in a tropical estuary Wetlands Ecology and Management, Volume 13,Number 1, pp. 55-67(13) Kasangaki, Aventino;Babaasa, Dennis;Efitre, Jackson;McNeilage, Alastair;Bitariho, Robert (2006) Links Between Anthropogenic Perturbations and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Afromontane Forest Streams in Uganda Hydrobiologia, Volume 563,Number 1, pp. 231-245(15) Kaiser, Michel J.;Spence, Fiona E.;Hart, Paul J. B. (2000) Fishing-Gear Restrictions and Conservation of Benthic Habitat Complexity Conservation Biology, Volume 14,Number 5, pp. 1512-1525(14) Kennedy A.D.;Jacoby C.A. (1999) Biological Indicators of Marine Environmental Health: Meiofauna - A Neglected Benthic Component Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Volume 54,Number 1, pp. 47-68(22) Xu, Ping;Leff, Laura (2004) Longitudinal changes in the benthic bacterial community of the Mahoning River (Ohio, U.S.A.) Hydrobiologia, Volume 522, Numbers 1-3, pp. 329-335(7) Read More