TEMPORAL VARIATIONS OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES UNDER OR NEAR AQUACULTURE OPERATIONS - DOCUMENTATION OF IMPACT HISTORY

Temporal data derived from foraminiferal and tintinnid assemblages sho w the nature of changing paleoenvironment beneath two different aquacu lture operations. Under the finfish operation there is a detectable vi sual effect on sediment color and texture caused by loading of fish fo od and faecal material, but there is little environmental impact sugge sted from the foraminifera. Tintinnids appear to flourish in the prese nce of aquaculture operations at one site, At shellfish sites there wa s no environmental impact detected in the microfossil data and no visi ble evidence in the sediment to suggest organic matter loading. Forami niferal assemblages in cores provide the only means of obtaining ''a p riori'' information on benthic habitats in these environments. The tin tinnids may provide a biological tracer of pelagic movements of organi c material, even if that material is not settling out locally.