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DINOFLAGELLATE CYST RECORD AND HUMAN DISTURBANCE IN NEW BEDFORD HARBOR, MA AND NARRAGANSETT BAY ESTUARIES
Citation:
Pospelova, V., G. L. Chmura, AND J S. Latimer. DINOFLAGELLATE CYST RECORD AND HUMAN DISTURBANCE IN NEW BEDFORD HARBOR, MA AND NARRAGANSETT BAY ESTUARIES. Presented at New England Estuarine Research Society, Block Island, RI, November 2, 2000.
Description:
We studied the dinoflagellate cyst records in sediments from New Bedford Harbor and Apponagansett Bay over the last 350 yr provides to determine if cysts are sensitive to environmental change caused by human activity in the watershed. Changes in the total number, and absolute and relative abundance of dinoflagellate cyst taxa reflect main periods of historical development in estuaries. The most dramatic change in the dinoflagellate cyst record in New Bedford Harbor occured within the past 40 years. In the late 1960s, the total cyst abundance in the harbor reached its maximum, while the total number of cyst taxa decreases from 25 to 16. We hypothesize, that these changes are related to human activity in the harbor and in the watershed, and represent a "pollution" signal. We suggest that construction of the hurricane barrier across the harbor in the 1960s induced major changes in dinoflagellate population recorded in the cyst assemblages. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of dinoflagellate cysts indicate that they can be used as biological indicators of environmental conditions in estuarine systems.