E. Papathanassiou et A. Zenetos, A CASE OF RECOVERY IN BENTHIC COMMUNITIES FOLLOWING A REDUCTION IN CHEMICAL POLLUTION IN A MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEM, Marine environmental research, 36(3), 1993, pp. 131-152
The paper examines the effects of a reduction in pollution on benthic
communities after the introduction of a tannery-effluent-treatment pla
nt in the Gulf of Geras (Lesvos Island, Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean
Sea, Greece). The univariate methods used were the diversity index, th
e evenness, the plots of the individuals among species, and the k-domi
nance curves, applied to data from five stations from 1983 to 1988. Cl
assification, ordination, and the ANOSIM randomization test were also
used to examine the similarity between years and stations. Results sho
wed that multivariate methods are much more sensitive than univariate
techniques. Descriptive plotting (k-dominance curves) was also proved
to he valuable for evaluating the pollution effects. Dominance pattern
s of species are important, provided that there is a good knowledge of
benthic assemblages in clean and undisturbed areas. In all cases, a l
arge data set throughout time is needed to evaluate in the best way th
e effects of pollution on benthic communities. There was evidence of r
ecovery in the benthic communities at sites near the tannery after the
introduction of a biological-treatment plant.