The Effects of a Small Sewage Outfall on an Algal Epifaunal Community at Macquarie Island (Sub-Antarctic): A Drop in the Southern Ocean?

摘要

Macquarie Island, in the sub-Antarctic, is the location of one of four permanently staffed based operated by the Australian Antarctic Division. As part of a wider pro- Gramme investigating the effects of human presence on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic ecosystems, this study eval- Uated the impact of the small sewage outfall at Macquarie Island on the epifauna living within turfs of the intertidal Red alga Chaetangium fastigiatum. Sampling was con- Ducted during early December (austral summer) in both 1996 and 1997 at six sites, two sites within each of three adjacent bays. The site closest to the outfall was 3 m from the point of discharge.