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Abstract

Pollution increasingly impacts healthy functioning of marine ecosystems globally. Here we quantify concentrations of major pollutant types (heavy metals/sewage/petrochemicals/plastics) as accumulated within marine sediments on and/or immediately adjacent to shallow reefs for 42 sites spanning coastal population centres across south-eastern Australia. Gradients in pollutants were revealed, but few pollutants co-varied, while increasing wave exposure ostensibly diluted concentrations of all pollutants except microplastics. Examination of reef biodiversity indicators revealed that maximum size of fauna and flora, a key life-history parameter summarised by the Community shortness index, plus declining functional and species richness, were the most sensitive bioindicators of pollutants – for which heavy metals and nutrient-enrichment were most pervasive. Results indicate that assemblages of biogenic habitat formers and associated fauna collapse from “long and complicated” to “short and simplified” configurations in response to increasing pollution, and this community signature may form an effective bioindicator to track human-driven degradation.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Ling, SD and Davey, A and Reeves, SE and Gaylard, S and Davies, PL and Stuart-Smith, RD and Edgar, GJ
Keywords:	bioindicators, heavy metal, eutrophication, habitat loss, habitat functional diversity, size-based indicators
Journal or Publication Title:	Marine Pollution Bulletin
Publisher:	Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
ISSN:	0025-326X
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.02.053
Copyright Information:	Crown Copyright 2018 Elsevier Ltd.
Related URLs:	Google Scholar: Ling, SD UTAS Profile: Ling, SD Google Scholar: Stuart-Smith, RD UTAS Profile: Stuart-Smith, RD Google Scholar: Edgar, GJ UTAS Profile: Edgar, GJ
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