RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ACUTE SEDIMENT TOXICITY IN LABORATORY TESTS AND ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY OF BENTHIC INFAUNA IN MARINE SEDIMENTS: A REVIEW

摘要

Acute sediment toxicity tests have become important in regulatory, monitoring, and scientific programs, partly because it has been assumed that they are indicative of ecological damage to benthic infaunal resources. Data from tests of sediment toxicity and measures of benthic community structure were examined from > 1,400 saltwater samples to determine the relationships between acute toxicity and changes in the abundance and diversity of infauna resources. Data were compiled from studies conducted along portions of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific coasts of the United States.