Integrated Environmental Management, Department of Engineering, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Adjunct Professor, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Science Advisor, Center for Technology and the Environment, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Email: rfrance@nsac.ca
Online published on 11 December, 2012.
Previous studies have demonstrated variable success in using stable nitrogen isotope analysis (ratio of 15N to 14N) as a means to gauge the incorporation of sewage-derived organic material (SDOM) into coastal food webs. In this study, 7 species of macroinvertebrates and 7 species of fish, selected to span a wide range in both trophic position as well as food source provenance, were sampled from the food web in Boston Harbour. Results showed that the more that organisms were dependent on benthic food (as measured by stable carbon isotope analysis), the greater their likelihood of 15N-depletion, and presumably, therefore, SDOM incorporation.
Sewage incorporation, benthic foodweb, 15N isotope analysis
