Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF06155
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(5)

Foraminiferal record of ecological impact of deforestation and oyster farms, Mahurangi Harbour, New Zealand

Hugh R. Grenfell A C , Bruce W. Hayward A and Mark Horrocks B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Geomarine Research, 49 Swainston Rd, St Johns, Auckland 1072, New Zealand.

B Microfossil Research, 31 Mont Le Grand Rd, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024, New Zealand.

C Corresponding author. Email: h.grenfell@geomarine.org.nz

Marine and Freshwater Research 58(5) 475-491 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06155
Submitted: 31 August 2006  Accepted: 8 March 2007   Published: 22 May 2007

Abstract

The microfossils in eight short sediment cores in Mahurangi Harbour, northern New Zealand, record major ecological changes since colonisation by Europeans. During the period of catchment deforestation (1850s–1900) these changes include increased sedimentation rates, decline of soft-shore molluscs, increased diatoms and seaward migration of brackish, agglutinate-dominated, foraminiferal associations, inferred to be due to increased freshwater runoff and decreased pH. The interval of most rapid change (1950s–1980s) occurred before and during the establishment of oyster farms, which therefore are not implicated. Comparison of the microfossil content of surface sediment samples taken inside and outside of four oyster farms indicates variable effects dependent on farm location. In less saline sites, the presence of oyster-shell debris in sediment beneath oyster farms appears to have buffered the foraminiferal faunas from some of the impacts of lowered salinity and pH. At more tidally flushed, saline sites, the oyster farms influence a wider surrounding area that has lower relative abundance of three species of Elphidium and other calcareous Foraminifera, attributed to slightly muddier sediment, higher nutrients and consequently lower oxygen. A newly arrived exotic foraminifer, Elphidium vellai, appears to be an indicator species for the enhanced nutrient, carbonate-rich conditions beneath oyster farms.

Additional keywords: benthic Foraminifera, freshwater runoff, pH, salinity.


Acknowledgements

We thank Shungo Kawagata for assistance in the field; Ashwaq Sabaa and Rhiannon Daymond-King for assistance in the laboratory and Barrie Forrest and Andrew Swales for critically reading the manuscript and suggesting improvements. This research was funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.


References

Angel, D. L. , Verghese, S. , Lee, J. J. , Saleh, A. M. , Zuber, D. , Lindell, D. , and Symons, A. (2000). Impact of a net cage fish farm on the distribution of benthic Foraminifera in the northern Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba, Red Sea). Journal of Foraminiferal Research 30, 54–65.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bernhard J. M., and Sen Gupta B. K. (1999). Foraminifera in oxygen-depleted environments. In ‘Modern Foraminifera’. (Ed. B. K. Sen Gupta.) pp. 201–216. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.)

Buzas, M. A. , Culver, S. J. , and Jorissen, F. J. (1993). A statistical evaluation of the microhabitats of living (stained) infaunal benthic foraminifera. Marine Micropaleontology 20, 311–320.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Copin-Montégut G. (1996). ‘Chimie de L’Eau de Mer.’ (Institut Océanographique: Paris.)

Cummings V. J., Turner S. J., Funnell G. A., Milburn C. J., and Thrush S.F. (1997). ‘Mahurangi Estuary Ecological Monitoring Programme: Report on Data Collected up to January 1997.’ Client Report prepared for the Auckland Regional Council. Report number ARC60207. (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research: Auckland.)

Debenay, J.-P. (2000). Foraminifers of paralic tropical environments. Micropaleontology 46((Supplement 1)), 153–160.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Feeney C. M. (1984). ‘Water and Soil Management Issues in the Mahurangi Catchment, Estuary and Harbour.’ Auckland Regional Water Board Technical Publication No.29. (Auckland Regional Authority: Auckland.)

Forrest B. M. (1991). Oyster farm impacts on the benthic environment: a study in Mahurangi Harbour. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland.

Forrest, B. M. , and Creese, R. C. (2006). Benthic impacts of intertidal oyster culture, with consideration of taxonomic sufficiency. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 112, 159–176.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Harris T. F. W. (1993). ‘The Mahurangi System.’ (Environment and Planning Division, Auckland Regional Council: Auckland.)

Hayward, B. W. , and Hollis, C. J. (1994). Brackish Foraminifera in New Zealand: a taxonomic and ecologic review. Micropaleontology 40, 185–222.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Hayward B. W., Grenfell H. R., Reid C. M., and Hayward K. A. (1999). Recent New Zealand shallow-water benthic foraminifera: taxonomy, ecologic distribution, biogeography, and use in paleoenvironmental assessment. Monograph 21, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Avalon.

Hayward, B. W. , Scott, G. H. , Grenfell, H. R. , Carter, R. , and Lipps, J. H. (2004). Techniques for estimation of tidal elevation and confinement (~salinity) histories of sheltered harbours and estuaries using benthic Foraminifera: Examples from New Zealand. The Holocene 14, 218–232.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Johnston R. M. S. (1984). Sediments and sedimentary processes in Mahurangi Harbour. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Waikato, Waikato.

Jorissen F. J. (1999). Benthic foraminiferal microhabitats below the sediment–water interface. In ‘Modern Foraminifera’. (Ed. B. K. Sen Gupta.) pp. 161–179. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.)

Kaiser, M. J. , Laing, I. , Utting, D. , and Burnell, G. M. (1998). Environmental impacts of bivalve mariculture. Journal of Shellfish Research 17, 59–66.
Kovach W. L. (1993). MVSP shareware, multivariate statistics package. Kovach Computing Services, Pentraeth, Wales.

Le Cadre, V. , Debenay, J.-P. , and Lesourd, M. (2003). Low pH effects on Ammonia beccarii test deformation: implications for using test deformations as a pollution indicator. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 33, 1–9.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | McGlone M. S. (1994). Unpublished report on the pollen analysis of cores from the Mahurangi Estuary. Landcare Research, Lincoln.

Morrisey, D. J. (1993). Environmental impact assessment – a review of its aims and recent developments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 26, 540–545.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Murray J. W. (1991). Ecology and distribution of benthic Foraminifera. In ‘Biology of Foraminifera’. (Eds J. J. Lee and O. R. Anderson.) pp. 221–253. (Academic Press: London.)

Murray, J. W. (2000). The enigma of the continued use of total assemblages in ecological studies of benthic foraminifera. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 30, 244–245.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Oldman J. W., and Black K. P. (1997). ‘Mahurangi Estuary Numerical Modelling. Client Report prepared for ARC Environment. Report number ARC60208/1.’ (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research: Auckland.)

Orr, J. C. , Fabry, V. J. , Aumont, O. , Bopp, L. , Doney, S. C. , Felly, R. A. , Gnanadesikan, A. , Gruber, N. , Ishida, A. , and Joos, F. , et al. (2005). Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms. Nature 437, 681–686.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Sen Gupta B. K. (1999). Foraminifera in marginal marine environments. In ‘Modern Foraminifera’. (Ed. B. K. Sen Gupta.) pp. 141–159. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.)

Stroud M. J., and Cooper A. B. (1997). ‘Modelling Sediment Loads to the Mahurangi. Client Report prepared for ARC Environment. Report number ARC60211.’ (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research: Auckland.)

Swales A., Hume T. M., Oldman J. W., and Green M. O. (1997). ‘Mahurangi Estuary: Sedimentation History and Recent Human Impacts. Client Report. Report number ARC60201.’ (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research: Auckland.)

Swales A., Hume T. M., McGlone M. S., Pilvio R., Ovenden R., Zviguina N., Hatton S., Nicholls P., Budd R., Hewitt J., Pickmere S., and Costley K. (2002). ‘Evidence for the physical effects of catchment sediment runoff preserved in estuarine sediments: Phase II (field study).’ Auckland Regional Council Technical Publication 221.

Trotter S. A. (1990). Estuarine sedimentation and land cover history: the case of the Mahurangi. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Auckland.

Wang P. (1992). Distribution of Foraminifera in estuarine deposits: a comparison between Asia, Europe and Australia. In ‘Centenary of Japanese Micropaleontology’. (Eds K. Ishizaki and T. Saito.) pp. 71–83. (Terra Scientific Publishing: Tokyo.)

Wildish, D. J. , Hargrave, B. T. , and Pohle, G. (2001). Cost-effective monitoring of organic enrichment resulting from salmon mariculture. ICES Journal of Marine Science 58, 469–476.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |





Appendix 1.  Taxonomic reference list
Dominant foraminiferal taxa cited in the text and figures are included, together with citations of figured specimens that reflect the taxonomic concept followed here. Species classification largely follows Hayward et al. (1999). The original descriptions of these species can be found in the Ellis and Messina world catalogue of foraminiferal species on www.micropress.org
A1