General

Benthic infauna live in sediment within soft substrate areas such as shallow mud flats and sand flats. Most estuaries support large numbers of benthic infauna, including worms, bivalves and crustaceans. All these species have burrowing mechanisms. Benthic communities provide a significant food source for many species of fish including higher order consumers such as flathead, whiting and flounder. Wading birds also rely on benthic infauna to form an integral part of their diet, taking advantage of different bill morphologies to forage.

Protocol

Leagdsgaard, P. (2003). A guide to monitoring a created wetland at Kooragang Island, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation
http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/care/coast/pdfs/kooragang_isl_webv.pdf

Keough, M. J. and Mapstone, B. D. (1995). Protocols for designing marine ecological monitoring programs associated with feasibility of using risk assessment techniques to evaluate the potential BEK mills. National Pulp Mills Research Program Technical Report No. 11. Canberra: CSIRO, 185 pp.

Costs

A charge may be incurred if specimens are sent to an institution, such as the Australian Museum, for confirmation of species identification.

Case studies

Carey, J.M. and Keough, M.J. (2002). Compositing and Subsampling to Reduce Costs and Improve Power in Benthic Infaunal Monitoring Programs, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 55 (5) pp 795-804.
Abstract: http://www.botany.unimelb.edu.au/envisci/jan/CK02subsabs.pdf

Subsampling of soft-sediment infauna
http://www.zoology.unimelb.edu.au/QMS/old/phdresearch.htm

Estuarine health assessment using benthic macrofauna
www.museum.vic.gov.au/ehealth/pdfs/Moverly_pdfs.pdf

People Contacts

Dr Pia Laegdsgaard
Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources

Jan Carey
Research Fellow
University of Melbourne
Ph: 03 83444334
Email: j.carey@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au

Keith Rowling
Research Officer
Aquatic Sciences
Ph: 08 8200 2494
Fax: 08 8200 2481
E-mail: rowling.keith@saugov.sa.gov.au
Web: www.sardi.sa.gov.au/pages/aquatics/staff/rowling.pdf

Professor Tony Underwood
Director EICC
02 9351 2590

Dr Marcus Lincoln-Smith
The Ecology Lab
02 9907 4400

Organisation Contacts

Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities
http://www.eicc.bio.usyd.edu.au/eicc.html

The Ecology Lab
4 Green St
BROOKVALE NSW 2097
02 9907 4400

Advanced References

Blanchard, A.L., Feder, H.M. and Shaw,D.G. (2002). Long-term investigation of benthic fauna and the influence of treated ballast water disposal in Port Valdez, Alaska, Marine Pollution Bulletin 44 pp 367-382.

Crawford, C.M., Macleodm C.K.A. and Mitchell, I.M. (2003). Effects of shellfish farming on the benthic environment, Aquaculture 224 (1-4) pp 117-140.

Inglis, G.J. and Kross, J.E. (2000). Evidence for Systematic Changes in the Benthic Fauna of Tropical Estuaries as a Result of Urbanisation, Marine Pollution Bulletin 41 (7-12) pp 367-376.

Qian, P., Qui, J., Kennish, R. and Reid, C.A. (2003). Recolonization of benthic infauna subsequent to capping of contaminated dredged material in East Sha Chau, Hong Kong, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56 pp 819-831.

Seiderer, L.J. and Newell, R.C. (1999). Analysis of the relationship between sediment composition and benthic community structure in coastal deposits: Implications for marine aggregate dredging, ICES Journal of Marine Science 56 (5) pp 757-765.

Urbanski, J.A. and Szymelfenig, M. (2003). GIS-based mapping of benthic habitats, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56 pp 99-109.