Tidal flat macrobenthos resistance to medium-term emersion: the case of the Tricolor oil pollution prevention in the Zwin nature reserve (Belgium)

As a result of the empending Tricolor oil pollution in the Southern Bight of the North Sea at the end of January 2003, the Zwin nature reserve was blocked from the North Sea by use of a sandbarrier. This method of protection has an important consequence for tidal flat ecosystems: the absence of the tide. To estimate the effects of the tideless situation on the ecological very important bottom-life of tidal flats, macrobenthic samples were collected starting just before, two times during (after 12 and 21 days of emersion), and frequently, after the removal of the sandbarrier, during one year. T... Mehr ...