The use of benthic mesocosms for the assessment of sediment contamination

摘要

The diagnostic capability of changes in the benthic macroinvertebrate community composition to determine the cause in con- taminated sediments were addressed using box core mesocosms subjected to cadmium, atrazine and nutrient enrichment. Intact cores of lake sediment were collected from Lake Erie at four accasions during 1996 and laboratory where they were maintained and manipulated. The benthic community composition of the artificially polluted mesocosms was compared with field data, collected at the same time as the intact cores, and to untreated control boxed.