How can SPI be used to measure benthic community condition?
Evaluating Community Succession
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| Courtesy: Science Applications International Corporation |
Stage I communities appear in the deposit site within days to weeks of a disposal event. These communities typically are composed of large numbers of polychaete worms living in tubes near the sediment surface. They have high growth and reproductive rates, allowing them to colonize the area quickly. During this early colonization, oxygen penetration in the sediment is usually shallow. This condition is recognizable as a transition from light to dark sediment. Additionally, biological disturbance of sediments (bioturbation) is limited to shallow depths at this stage.