Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Trophic Response To Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons And Copper In Tidal Flats Of North Inlet, South Carolina, Leslie Lynn Muggelberg

Theses and Dissertations

The trophic link between benthic microalgae (BMA) and fiddler crabs is critical for the ecosystem functioning of estuaries and alterations in this linkage by anthropogenic activities could have cascading impacts on food webs and biogeochemical cycling in these sensitive habitats. Singular and interactive effects of two common pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and copper (Cu), were investigated by exposing field collected sediment communities to the contaminants and measuring changes in BMA biomass and community composition in a bioassay design. The consequential impacts on the food web were then explored by examining the effects of PAHs and copper …