Marine benthos near the Saldanha Bay iron-ore loading terminal

Beckley, L.E. (1981) Marine benthos near the Saldanha Bay iron-ore loading terminal. South African Journal of Zoology, 16 (4). pp. 269-271.

Preview

PDF - Published Version Download (184kB) | Preview

Abstract

The development of Saldanha Bay (33 degree S/18 degree E) for the export of iron-ore required the construction of a long breakwater, loading terminal and jetty. Associated dredging operations removed 25 million cubic meters of sediment and resulted in significant changes in the faunal structure of the bay (Moldan 1978). The present study investigated the marine benthos near the completed and functioning iron-ore loading terminal and the data may be useful in the long term monitoring of the effects of port development and industrialization of Saldanaha Bay. It appears that the benthos beneath the iron-ore loading jetty at Saldanha Bay differs from that of other areas in the bay. Macrofauna is dominated by Prionospio sexoculata which is tolerant of adverse conditions whilst meiofauna and bacteria numbers are higher under the jetty than elsewhere in Saldanha Bay.